Monday, January 10, 2011

"Raving Fans"

I am currently reading, "Raving Fans" by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. The book is a general approach to Customer Service on a broader level than my restaurant hospitality bible, "Setting the Table" by Danny Meyer. It is a worthwhile read for anyone in any business.

I have been a "Raving Fan" of "La Poste" 3410 Teleford (Clifton) 513-281-3663 since it opened several months ago. This week my experience dropped me from that category to just a fan. No one can expected everything at every meal be up to their imagined expectation and so it is not surprising that my meal left me slightly disappointed with my choices and the results from the kitchen. "La Poste" was reviewed in the current issue of "Cincinnati Magazine" with a full color picture of the wild mushroom Flat bread topped by a beautiful fried egg.
I ordered this as a starter and to my surprise received the flat bread in quarters( no problem) with a mound of watercress nestling a coddled egg, hardly done. The flat bread and mushrooms were quite tasty but the egg added nothing to the enjoyment of the dish.
Next I chose a new menu item "Veal Shot Ribs" which unfortunately, that evening, were quite stringy and chewy. They came with a couple of pieces of underdone sweetbreads, in a delightful sauce on a bed of soft polenta and all was topped with caramelized onions. The flavors were terrific but the meat detracted.
For dessert we shared the white chocolate, sour cherry, bread pudding smothered in Carmel sauce and including a scoop of vanilla ice cream, deliciously deadly.

The other venture this week was to "The Wine Guy Wine Shop, Wine Bar and Bistro", (a mouth full) in Rookwood Pavilion, 2692 Madison Road 513-834-571. This was a new spot for us. It is not our "cup of tea" or glass of wine.
"The Wine Guy" has taken over the space previously occupied by "Smith and Hawkins". The space is fairly large and has been divided into, wine bar and retail wine shop, and restaurant and kitchen. Decorations are pleasant, mostly wine rack and bottles, however the cement floor, heavy chairs and large tables make managing less than easy for us ancients. It is defiantly a "young persons spot". The noise level is on the high side, and if I go again, doubtful, I may take a tablet to communicate with the server and our dinner companions. I was medically restricted from alcohol( only 24 hours) and so I had no wine. Marilyn, as reported previously, does not drink alcoholic beverages. The couple we were with each had several glasses which they reported a standard while the tables around us had 4 glass "flights" which are the trademark of the place.
Our Italian Wedding soup came luke warm, always a deterrant, and was nothing special. My Seafood Carbonara had sufficient shrimp, mussels and clams along with bacon, ham, peas, mushrooms and spinach all mixed in bow tie pasta with a creamy egg and cheese sauce. The dish was quite salty but the portion was large enough to satisfy both that evening and at lunch the next day. My main course was the most expensive pasta on the menu that evening at $19.99.
It was an interesting new experience but it is doubtful that we will return of our own volition.

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