David, what are the entree's price range at Via Vite? I think we're going there tomorrow night with a couple of friends...

 

For prices, you can visit our website at http://www.viaviterestaurant.com/

I'm not sure what to recommend because I don't know if you're going for lunch or dinner and I personally haven't tried everything but as someone who doesn't dig seafood, I love the Linguine with crab meat and the Penne with meat sauce alla bolognese. For Ravioli you'll want to go to Nicola's ;) Via Vite

doesn't have it.

 

If you come in tomorrow, eat upstairs! The band plays every day except wednesday and thursday.

^i called it

^i called it

 

You called what?

Penne with meat sauce alla bolognese.

 

Isn't that a bit redundant?

 

Although I prefer a more creative menu, pretty much everything on there sounds amazing.  I'm sure we'll be checking it out as soon as my wife recovers from the accident she had last week.

 

I just want to go on record saying that I walked by the building yesterday and found it to be entirely abhorrent, regardless of architectural preferences. The building looks like a utility station or boiler room, not a place at which I'd like to eat.  I agree with a lot of the previous statements that trees and awnings and such will improve it (or was that another thread?), but I see no reason that the place shouldn't have charm on its own.  The progress in and around Fountain Square is amazing, but the anti-human mechanical style in which they're building is without a doubt ensuring that we'll have to go through the same overhaul 15-20 years from now.

 

Anyway, save us a seat.  Nicola & family are an asset to this city.

Penne with meat sauce alla bolognese.

 

Isn't that a bit redundant?

 

Actually, No.

 

Bolognese refers to a particular meat sauce from the city of Bologna in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. It is usally a ragu of pork, veal, beef, mortadella and chicken livers made with soffrito, white wine, cream and tomato.

 

Bolognese is meat sauce but not all meat sauce is Bolognese.

If that's the same bolognese sauce from Nicola's, my wife is going to be excessively pleased...

 

The Bryant Park Grill in Manhattan has a bit of a similar structure and as you can see by the picture of the link, they warmed it up with Ivy flowing on it and various plantings (taller greens in pots against the wall of the structure). The restaurant fits VERY well now in Bryant park and looks great. They also have an awning (visible in the pic torwards the end of thewall).  I think, if possible, Via Vite should follow some of these reccos.   

 

http://www.locationsmagazine.com/display.php?id=3641

 

As for the meat sauce question, just wanted to point out that grillage is dead on.  A meat sauce alla Lucchese, for example, has a lot of sausage ini it.  There are a few variations to the meat sauce but bolognese is the most popular.

I love ravioli, lasagna, veal, and pasta with tomato sauce ... any recommendations?

I know you are asking about entrees, but I see on the website that Via Vite has the Boucheron Goat Cheese salad on their menu that they serve at Nicola's.  I am not really a big a fan of goat cheese, but damn that salad is good!   

Via Vite was booked! Damn ...

When did you make a reservation?

I think it was around 4? We ended up going to Teak and then City View Tavern.

She told me that I need to call a week or a few days in advance, because it fills up so quickly. Also, I forgot to mention from my post from yesterday that she said she could possibly squeeze us in at 9, but that was too late and too risky.

i made reservations yesterday arou noon for tonight at 6:00.  I wanted 6:30 but everything was booked but the 6:00.  I also requested upstairs and they said it wouldnt be a problem.

Is Via Vite really that busy, or is it just small?

 

Atlas, what did you think? Large crowd? Also, how was the music?

ate at via vite last night, it was really good.  saw david, said hello.  first walked in and was very impressed with the decor and setup.  Very sleek and modern feel and elegant at the same time.  The seats to watch the kitchen were cool too.  We sat outside on the terrace, which had a great feel on the square.  There seemed to be  alot of seeting, but in a small place, but it wasnt on top of eachother by any means.  The live music was awesome, really a great vibe.  Food and presentation were also great and dessert was amazing.  The place was a bit pricey for a student such as myself so I am not going to be going there regurarly but it was definitely worth the trip.  My only complaint: I really wish the downstair windows had some sort of feature to open up to the square, like a garage door type window that makes the restaurant feel apart of th eopen square.  I know I have already said that on here before but something like that would definitely add a lot to the restaurant.  But overall, this place is highly recommended from me. 

I hope your service wasn't substandard. We were totally slammed at 6 when you first arrived. We had a party of 23 reserved upstairs! I don't think we've ever had so many reservations at once.  I was all over the place.

What do you do there David?

I hope your service wasn't substandard. We were totally slammed at 6 when you first arrived. We had a party of 23 reserved upstairs! I don't think we've ever had so many reservations at once.  I was all over the place.

 

Yea I could tell you guys were busy as hell.  Our waitress was running around.  We felt bad for her.  But no, it wasnt bad. 

My bfrnd, another David who works @ Via Vite, said the downstairs windows do open. 

My bfrnd, another David who works @ Via Vite, said the downstairs windows do open. 

 

yea, I am sitting here looking at them right now.  Maybe they do, but I am not talking about traditional windows that open and close.  It looks to me that even if the windows do open, there would still exist the beams in between the windows.  It would be cool if you could literally lift up the entire area and there wouldnt be anything between the square and the indoor seating except for the difference in height of the restaurant floor and the square surface. 

cadillac ranch has that feature...albeit in a much different environment.....given the winter weather, as well as aesthetic considerations, I don't think you would want that type of feature in the Via Vite space.  It works well for Cadillac Ranch, but that is a totally different dining experience.  As it is, sitting at the bar in Via Vite, the wind blows in cold when the doors open up.  They will need to address that when the cold weather rolls in....

I ate at Via Vite on Saturday night with my wife and friends of ours from CBus.  The place was packed and had a great ambiance; I agree with the others that said it was reminiscent of Bella.  I don't want to be overly critical because it was probably only the 3rd or 4th night that they really were busy and much of the staff is brand new, but here goes...

 

The Good: we were seated right away, there was a lively crowd at the bar, it has a beautiful interior space, and the Lamb Shank was probably the best I've ever had. 

The bad:  They were out of a number of wine selections & vodka, two of our salads came out after the entrees and several reminders, my wife's penne was undercooked (not al dente), and our friend said that his linguine with crab was kind of bland. 

 

Because it's so new I was not surprised about having a few hiccups in the service or them being out of a few types of wine, but I thought more the egregious errors were one dish being bland and the pasta in another not being cooked properly.  On the otherhand, those are probably the easiest things to correct and the lamb - which requires more skill to execute - was done perfectly.  Overall it was a pretty good experience and I will definitely be back.  Nicola's is my favorite restaurant in the city so I faith that all of the kinks at Via Vite will be worked out in time.       

 

David - I kept an eye out for you to say hello, but I either didn't see you or didn't recognize you from your pictures on here.   

David, is your schedule regular yet, or is it going to be a while before it hits a regular groove?  I'd love nothing more than to come down and command you around like the dominatrix I am...I'd promise to tip well!

 

cadillac ranch has that feature...albeit in a much different environment.....given the winter weather, as well as aesthetic considerations, I don't think you would want that type of feature in the Via Vite space.  It works well for Cadillac Ranch, but that is a totally different dining experience.  As it is, sitting at the bar in Via Vite, the wind blows in cold when the doors open up.  They will need to address that when the cold weather rolls in....

 

No, it could work very well.  They have this feature at a very nice restaurant in the shortn north in columbus.  The restaurant is called marcellas and the windows open up so you get a very cool urban atmosphere while dining inside.  love it.  nothing like how cadillac ranch has it really. 

I walked by that saturday it seemed nice.

cadillac ranch has that feature...albeit in a much different environment.....given the winter weather, as well as aesthetic considerations, I don't think you would want that type of feature in the Via Vite space.  It works well for Cadillac Ranch, but that is a totally different dining experience.  As it is, sitting at the bar in Via Vite, the wind blows in cold when the doors open up.  They will need to address that when the cold weather rolls in....

 

No, it could work very well.  They have this feature at a very nice restaurant in the shortn north in columbus.  The restaurant is called marcellas and the windows open up so you get a very cool urban atmosphere while dining inside.  love it.  nothing like how cadillac ranch has it really.

 

This window set-up is all over Old Town Philly.  Very cool!

it's all over Europe and the east coast, from Montreal to Miami.  I'd hope that as interest grows in the city, we'll finally start to see it here.

Yeah, the windows at Via Vite look like they'll open up probably six feet high, three feet across, and then maybe 6" of post until the next one.  They can open that place right the hell up if they want...

 

Just had dinner there tonight...made David run around for water all night like a dog, and berated him loudly and rudely.  He loved it.  Ha!

 

It's a gorgeous place inside.  Love the floor - the darker brown wood, with the tabletops and the chairs, really tie all the modern elements together inside.  I assume that's acoustic tile on the ceiling, which really made a large room feel very intimate - no annoying din, despite a pretty full dining room, and we could all hear each other across a large table with no problem.  I didn't go upstairs - I'm saving that for the next visit - but the place was just wonderful inside.  Dining while watching the fountain is just fantastic.

 

I had the cod, and I have to say, I won tonight!  We also had bruschetta, which was just great - it was an assortment of six or eight pieces of thin-sliced bread, each with a different topping - one with a pesto-type thing, one with marscapone, one with a pâté, one with slow-cooked peppers, one with tomato chunks, one with salmon, etc...the potato/leak soup was fantastic...needed a little salt to our taste, but once we salted it a bit, it came alive, and none of us could stop eating it.  Then we had a wood-fired pizza (I guess it's done the Italian way, which is not to make it all crispy - it's cooked quickly, but not crisped, which is what we're used to from Pomi's), a penne bolognese (fan-frickin-tastic), and the clam linguini (which was a very nice flavor).  It is pricier than I'd hoped to see, but still nothing crazy - if we hadn't been drinking like fish, it would have been around $80/person in the end, for a nice full meal.

 

We'll definitely be spending a lot of time there...despite the rain, it was a really great night.  And man, that water was the best!  Must've been the guy who kept bringing it...

 

I was at Via Vite tonight too.

The windows are quadruple hung -- the bottom ones go all the way up to the very top. Something I havent really seen before.  They also appear to be made of (gasp) wood!

 

The food was good.

 

The Bolognese was good, the pepperonata side was REALLY good.

 

I had another friend there tonight (at a different table) who was raving about the lamb.

 

 

From The Cincinnati Enquirer today:

 

Jean-Robert at Pigall's is one of 11 top-rated restaurants in the United States, according to the 2008 Zagat Survey of America's top restaurants.

The Zagat guide, covering 1,416 eateries in 42 major markets, is based on 23 million meals experienced by over 132,000 surveyors.

“It’s wonderful to be recognized as one of the top restaurants in the country and Cincinnati,” Owner and Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel said Wednesday morning, just minutes after learning of the survey results.

“The staff tries to reach for that every day. It’s a wonderful reward because it’s everyone who can vote.”

Jean-Robert at Pigall's scored 29 of 30, according to a press release from Zagat.

 

de Cavel opened the French restaurant on Fourth Street in August 2002. He was the chef at the famed Maisonette before opening his restaurant.

 

Jean-Robert at Pigall's is the only Mobil four-star restaurant in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The restaurant is also listed by the European group of exclusive restaurants and hotels, Relais & Châteaux.

The 2008 America's Top Restaurants guide ($15.95) was edited by Shelley

Gallagher and Robert Seixas and is available at bookstores and other retail

outlets.

 

Wow. Nice. I can't believe its the only four star in all of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana though.

yea, i just wish we still had maisonette, so we could have the only 4 star and the only 5 star around.  Maybe this will help push it up to 5 star. there arent any 4 stars in pitt. either so i suppose the closest is in chicago.  are there any 4 or 5 stars in detroit?

I miss being able to brag about Cincinnati having one of the few mobile five star restaurants in the country, but I can't say I actually miss the Maisonette.  In it's final years, the menu was rather dull and unimaginative. Service was good, but it really wasn't as good as what I've consistently received at Pigall's

yea, i just wish we still had maisonette, so we could have the only 4 star and the only 5 star around.  Maybe this will help push it up to 5 star. there arent any 4 stars in pitt. either so i suppose the closest is in chicago.  are there any 4 or 5 stars in detroit?

 

No Mobil 4 or 5 starts in Detroit.

I stopped by Vinyl yesterday evening to see if they were open for dinner, and of course they were not. I knew that an event was being held there yesterday evening promoting Cincinnati, and the owner was at the bar when I dropped by.  I asked her if they planned to open for dinner again and she said they were doing some remodeling and hoped to be open in early November.  When I pressed the issue that I have left numerous messages and even sent and email inquiring about their status as a restaurant, she then disclosed that the chef had quit and they were in the process of finding another one.  I left my number and email address for them to contact me when the dining room opens back up. I will let you know if I hear anything but honestly I am doubtful.....

I stopped by Vinyl yesterday evening to see if they were open for dinner, and of course they were not. I knew that an event was being held there yesterday evening promoting Cincinnati, and the owner was at the bar when I dropped by.  I asked her if they planned to open for dinner again and she said they were doing some remodeling and hoped to be open in early November.  When I pressed the issue that I have left numerous messages and even sent and email inquiring about their status as a restaurant, she then disclosed that the chef had quit and they were in the process of finding another one.  I left my number and email address for them to contact me when the dining room opens back up. I will let you know if I hear anything but honestly I am doubtful.....

 

I've heard several different rumors about Vinyl.  I heard that they were be reopening, but they would have a cheaper menu.  Then I heard that they were switching to soul food (or maybe they already had). 

I stopped by Vinyl yesterday evening to see if they were open for dinner, and of course they were not. I knew that an event was being held there yesterday evening promoting Cincinnati, and the owner was at the bar when I dropped by.  I asked her if they planned to open for dinner again and she said they were doing some remodeling and hoped to be open in early November.  When I pressed the issue that I have left numerous messages and even sent and email inquiring about their status as a restaurant, she then disclosed that the chef had quit and they were in the process of finding another one.  I left my number and email address for them to contact me when the dining room opens back up. I will let you know if I hear anything but honestly I am doubtful.....

 

I was there for the party it was fun

Stopped in at Via Vite Saturday.  I was in around 7:00.  The bar was full, and people were starting to show up for tables.  There was live music upstairs, which is a combination dining/lounge area. There is also a smaller bar upstairs for serving that area and terrace.

 

Back downstairs, I managed to grab a seat at the bar. The service at the bar was efficient.  The made sure that the bar patrons were covered as well as the drink orders coming in from the wait staff (although the dining room wasn't very crowded yet). I ordered a pizza and a glass of wine. 

 

One feature of note in the downstairs bar area, there are three or four bar stools at a short counter which looks into the open kitchen.

 

On the down side, I would recommend ordering something besides the pizza. I think they're still trying to get the hang of their brick oven.

 

Mrs ExPat and I went to to Via Vite today for lunch.  She hadn't been in yet, and we were curious to see how things were going.  My wife ordered the Spaghetti with tomato sauce, basil, and olive oil.  I ordered the Leek and Potato soup with truffle oil, and a Pizza Margherita.

 

I'd have to say that any problems they were having on my first visit appear to have been resolved.  The soup was simply amazing. The pizza was perfectly prepared, reminding me of what I get when travelling in Italy (except they caved and have started slicing it in quarters).  The pasta was cooked just right (al dente), with just the right amount of sauce.

 

 

I went to Seny in East Walnut hills, would not recomend for vegetarians.  Service was great, but food was trying to hard to be super trendy.  Example: Heirloom tomatoes with vinagrette and basil, classic and tasty, but here they made the basil into a tasteless green gelatin, cut it into blocks and stacked it.  I will probably go back one more time to try the meat selections or the paella, but I would give it low marks.  For two people with two drinks and four tapas the bill was $42 with tip.

That seems like a reasonable price, at least...

 

eh the Goose Island beer was $6 a pint, which is a little much and the portions were pretty small

I was just figuring, if you tipped 20%, that's a $35 bill, figured two drinks totaling $10, that leaves around $6 per tapas thingy - that's not too bad, even if they're small...though I normally drink liquor, so $10 is reasonable for two drinks...hell, some places that's a single drink...

 

^Yeah, like our Tequila, its insane.

Nick always had really reasonable drinks at Nicola's - a generous pour of top-shelf scotch on the rocks was $6 for years and years...I know it's gone up since then, but it's still not like Pigall's, where a martini or a cosmo ran $12...

 

What's a standard cocktail cost at Via Vite?

 

River - according to David, a cocktail is $8.50.

I stopped by Vinyl yesterday evening to see if they were open for dinner, and of course they were not. I knew that an event was being held there yesterday evening promoting Cincinnati, and the owner was at the bar when I dropped by.  I asked her if they planned to open for dinner again and she said they were doing some remodeling and hoped to be open in early November.  When I pressed the issue that I have left numerous messages and even sent and email inquiring about their status as a restaurant, she then disclosed that the chef had quit and they were in the process of finding another one.  I left my number and email address for them to contact me when the dining room opens back up. I will let you know if I hear anything but honestly I am doubtful.....

 

Sigh...where else can I go now for Kobe beef sliders and servers in sexy Jetsons diner gowns?

Yeah, those outfits were fantastic...it was complimentary to every body type - I thought everyone in there looked great...

 

Yeah, those outfits were fantastic...it was complimentary to every body type - I thought everyone in there looked great...

 

Pictures anyone?

I'm excited about Cue, Speakeasy, and Mixx on Main St. Does anyone know the people behind these places well enough to take a guess at how well they'll succeed?

 

Btw, the gowns at Vinyl had obligue gashes cut out of the fabric on back, leaving skin exposed in tantalizing arrangements. Almost like a Lucio Fontana canvas turned sideways. Sorry, no pics.