July 8, 200717 yr Latin eatery adds spice to former Bella BY LISA BIANK FASIG & STEVE WATKINS | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER July 6, 2007 DOWNTOWN - The chef of Boca restaurant in Oakley has signed a lease to open his second dining spot, at the former Bella downtown, with plans to convert the space into an almost $2 million eatery. The Latin-themed restaurant will be called Nada. Click on link above for article.
July 8, 200717 yr One article states "latin", another states "mexican" cuisine. There is a difference between the two cuisines so I wonder which one is more accurate?
July 8, 200717 yr One article states "latin", another states "mexican" cuisine. There is a difference between the two cuisines so I wonder which one is more accurate? What do you mean...isn't all Latin culture Mexican?!?! :wink: :laugh:
July 9, 200717 yr mmmmmmm Mexican. Good placed called Rio Grande in Newport at the Grand Ave exit off 471. delicious
July 14, 200717 yr Greyhound Tavern is expanding BY GREG PAETH | CINCINNATI POST July 14, 2007 FT. MITCHELL - The owner of the Greyhound Tavern in Fort Mitchell plans to open another version of his popular restaurant and bar in what had been the Tousey House restaurant, where fine dining put Burlington on the map for foodies from all over Greater Cincinnati. A company headed by Greyhound owner Butch Wainscott acquired the 185-year-old building at 5968 Jefferson in Burlington late last month for $440,000. Click on link above for article.
July 18, 200717 yr This is great news! However, does anyone thing Jean Robert is perhaps expanding a little too quickly? I have worried about that, and have actually been looking forward to seeing one of his restaurants fail, just to see that he is capable of pulling the plug if need be - that he can take a hit without everything unravelling. And I think we kind of saw that with Pho Paris - it did fail in its Oakley location, so he fixed the problem. In this case, thankfully, it was by moving to a better space - but that was probably the most encouraging thing I've seen from Jean Robert thus far - the ability to take a hit and roll with it.
July 18, 200717 yr I do not equate a restaurant moving from Oakley to NKY as a "better space" but that is just bias me :)
July 18, 200717 yr I'm not saying NKY is better than Oakley - just that the beautiful space it's in now, a quick walk from downtown and the river, right near the Ascent and the Roebling, is a much better space than a strip mall next to an antique shop, with a view of a cargo rail line and walking distance to a mega-church, that's all! I love Oakley, no doubt, but I think it's pretty clear that the current space kicks the royal ass of the old space...
July 19, 200717 yr I'm not saying NKY is better than Oakley Oh I know you aren't. Again just my bias coming out.
July 19, 200717 yr I have worried about that, and have actually been looking forward to seeing one of his restaurants fail, just to see that he is capable of pulling the plug if need be - that he can take a hit without everything unravelling. Looking forward to someone having a business venture fail? That sounds nice. BTW, the guy lost his first child to SIDS just before the opening of his first venture Pigal's. I think he's shown "he can take a hit without everything unravelling".
July 19, 200717 yr If you'd like to read evil intentions into what I'm saying, you're welcome to, but you won't find a more enthusiastic supporter of Jean Robert on this forum or in this city...
July 19, 200717 yr Just to clarify - when things went bad for the Queen City Restaurant Group, things went REALLY bad...Bella, Watson's, Donna's Diner, and maybe some others...the house of cards collapsed, all at once, and servers were left out in the cold, and buildings still stand empty. The simple truth is, you will NEVER hit a home run every time - especially in the restaurant business. You can't have Jean Ro and Pigall's and Greenup Cafe and Pho Paris and the catering at the Aquarium and whatever the place is in OTR and whatever else he's doing, and have EVERYTHING work...failure will happen - and when it does, what does a good businessman do? Does he cover it up, prop up a failing venture with his successful ones? Or does he root out the problem and fix it? I have no idea what his family tragedy has to do with any of this. I'm talking about business acumen - not just in building and expanding, but in cutting bait when he needs to. Sorry if I wasn't clear about that.
July 19, 200717 yr Some credit needs to be given to Jean Robert because he is willing to invest in this city and proves it is a wise business venture when others run and hide because it is "risky". Hey Riverviewer, in mentioning his restaurants, you forgot the new bar next to Pigalls on 4th street.
July 19, 200717 yr Isn't that new bar suposed to act as an addition/complimentary piece of sorts to Pigall's?
July 19, 200717 yr If I remember right from what I was reading about the place (I know it is posted here somewhere) Jean Robert felt the bar in the restaurant was too small to accomodate his patrons so he bought the space next door where a jewelery store used to occupy for a bar. I remember him thinking it would be a place to go after dinner, before a show, with some small plates for food. I am not sure about the setup whether you can access the bar from within Pigalls' or if the street would be in the only entrance. I think the timeframe for completion was this fall. Again, I am pulling all of this from memory, so correct me someone if I am wrong.
July 19, 200717 yr I really think we need another "Bella" downtown. That place added something to the CDB that isn't here now that needs to be. I'm not sure if this is NADA's plans, but something like that (i.e. Bella, Beluga, etc ...) needs to be DT.
July 19, 200717 yr Morton's restaurant readies new spot BY JOHN ECKBERG | [email protected] Plenty of firsts will be found at the new Morton’s the Steakhouse in Carew Tower. With an opening only weeks away, workers were scrambling today to put the finishing touches on the newly relocated restaurant, which is on the second floor of the tower at the southwest corner of Fifth and Vine streets. Click here for article: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070719/BIZ01/307190038/
July 19, 200717 yr I had the worst steak I've ever endured at a Morton's - $45 filet, and it tasted like they didn't bother to unwrap the plastic wrap before they seared it...so even though I wish them the best, I don't plan on trying this one out anytime soon...
July 19, 200717 yr I try not to judge a place by a one-time experience. I know that at the restaurant I worked at, it totally depended on what chef was there. The difference was like night and day. We'd try and get our own orders in before the good one left for the day lol. You could easily go back to the same place and have better service or a better chef. Who knows, maybe they fired that guy or maybe he quit.
July 19, 200717 yr ...and no doubt, a Morton's in Southfield, MI is gonna be very different from one in Cincinnati...but as the price go up, so do my standards. I dropped $150+ on that meal for me and my wife, with drinks and side dishes and tip, and it was pretty terrible. A less expensive restaurant, I'd forgive a bad first experience and try again (like I did with Indigo in Hyde Park); or a local restaurant, even if it's expensive, I'd forgive a bad first experience and try again (like I did with Tink's). But a chain steak house that charges out the butt? When you can't trip in this city without hitting a Jeff Ruby's valet guy? No, I don't think I'll be back...
July 19, 200717 yr You get one chance with me when it comes to dining. There are too many good restaurants in Cincinnati to give second chances! I have been here a year, and am still trying to get to all of them. I do realize that different chefs can affect the quality of food, but for me bad service in unacceptable. That is the main reason I don't go back to places.
July 19, 200717 yr I enjoyed my filet at morton's more than Jeff Ruby's, Red and ponderosa :wink: . . . no joke though, it was definetely a GREAT steak
July 19, 200717 yr David I agree with RiverViewer... At that price they better get it right the first time. MrsAWeeks is right, there are too many quality restaurants in Cincinnati to slip up.
July 19, 200717 yr Some places are obviously a lot better than others but you're potentially susceptible to a bad meal or bad service wherever you go.
July 20, 200717 yr You be the critic! BY ALEX BLUMER | CIN WEEKLY CONTRIBUTOR It’s Friday night, and you don’t have any plans. There’s always the pizza place down the street and then maybe a trip to the neighborhood bar. But your girlfriend's tired of the same old routine. She wants to get dressed up and go out for sushi instead. What to do? We can help. Click here for article: http://www.cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/A1/20070720/ENT/70720001/-1/CINCI
July 20, 200717 yr that's what yelp is for. but, like many other things, it still hasn't really caught on here.
July 20, 200717 yr FYI: There are now signs on the doors of NADA/Bella ... yay! Someone go read them and report back to home base! ;)
July 20, 200717 yr Because the staff at CinWeekly doesn't have the balls to say anything bad about ANY local restaurant, now I have to be the critic?
July 21, 200717 yr Because the staff at CinWeekly doesn't have the balls to say anything bad about ANY local restaurant, now I have to be the critic? That's hilarious...yeah, they do seem to be more from the rose-colored-glasses school of criticism, at least in the reviews I've read...
July 21, 200717 yr I can't wait to get downtown to go to some of these restaurants... especially Boi Na Braza. Anyone been there yet? What is the $$ looking like? Went to Boi Na Braza with a group of six for lunch yesterday. Service was very good. It's actually quicker for lunch than you would imagine, because you don't have to order and you just wait for the meat to be brought around (much quicker than, say, lunch at Palomino's). Food was very good. I think they said they have something like 15 varieties of meat that you can try. I thought the filet, the bacon-wrapped filet, and the lamb chop were especially good. And the mashed potatoes were awesome. Price was reasonable; I think it was something like $28.00 per person. (Watch out on the soft drinks, though -- two 8 oz. bottles of diet coke were $2.50 each -- no free refills there). The only drawback with doing it for lunch is that you are worthless at work the rest of the day. It's definitely an experience. It compares well with a Brazilian steakhouse I've been to in midtown Manhattan.
July 21, 200717 yr Signs are up for a new spot in the old Simones, in Gabriel's corner, Sony's or Suny's, (can't remember I saw the sign in the middle of an 8 mile run) spanish tapas restaurant.
July 21, 200717 yr (Watch out on the soft drinks, though -- two 8 oz. bottles of diet coke were $2.50 each -- no free refills there). I loved my experience at Boi Na Braza and we ordered a bottle of wine so soda refills were a non issue but I would be a little irritated if they charged me $2.50 for an 8 ounce bottle of Coke and I didn't get refills. Now when I was in Europe this is common, but this the US and it is quite silly to rape you on soda when they are already getting $28 for lunch.
July 23, 200717 yr Any update/replace the sh*tty signs in Uptown that were put up in the 1970's and barely legible? Earth to city... </rant>
July 23, 200717 yr Okay ... NADA now has renovation paper (you like that term, don't ya ;) ) on it's windows! Whoo-Hoo!
July 23, 200717 yr Okay ... NADA now has renovation paper (you like that term, don't ya ;) ) on it's windows! Whoo-Hoo! Yep...along with a sign telling everyone to wear hard hats when entering. :)
July 25, 200717 yr A friend at work who walked by Mejana this morning said that it has closed (and selling off contents). I'll walk by later and try and check it out. Anybody have the scoop?
July 25, 200717 yr A friend at work who walked by Mejana this morning said that it has closed (and selling off contents). I'll walk by later and try and check it out. Anybody have the scoop? The rumor I heard is that there was a dispute between the owners and their landlord. I don't know the entire story, though.
July 25, 200717 yr Weren't they considering going to NKY anyway because of the smoking ban? I loved that place! Sad to see it go.
July 25, 200717 yr Weren't they considering going to NKY anyway because of the smoking ban? I loved that place! Sad to see it go. If that's the case, then I say don't let the door hit ya on the way out.
July 25, 200717 yr And they'd have live music and people getting up and dancing; it was a fun atmosphere. I loved the people that work there.
July 25, 200717 yr Weren't they considering going to NKY anyway because of the smoking ban? I loved that place! Sad to see it go. If that's the case, then I say don't let the door hit ya on the way out. That's pretty nice considering hookahs were a major part of their concept.
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