However the $10 for the guacamole was kind of a surprise when the bill came...

 

Did you word that right??    10 bones EXTRA?

^Yes...$10.  It was a large dish of guacamole and was also damn good, but like I said...it was kind of a surprise.  I was asked by the waiter, "do you like guacamole?"  I responded with, "yes" and before I knew it there was guacamole in front of me and $10 added to our bill.  :laugh:

wow

Went to Nada last night with my dad.  I thought the atmosphere was great, the food was good, and the place was packed.  However the $10 for the guacamole was kind of a surprise when the bill came...other than that a really enjoyable experience.

 

I got the Pork Green Chile ($16) and my dad got the Lamb Shoulder ($19)...both were excellent, and wonderfully presented.  Great addition for Downtown!  Oh and I overheard who I think is the owner or manager of Nada tell a table next to us that he just sold his house and is moving to OTR.

 

It could've been David Faulk. I think he is moving to OTR.

 

Also, Boca is going to supposedly open up a place on Vine in OTR. I'll post more when I hear it.

awesome, another nice restaurant on the streetcar line

Ate at Palmino's (sp?) last friday and it was packed.  We had to wait around 20-25 minutes for a table.  This was around 7P.M.  Good food.

Damn, I wrote a detailed piece on Sung Korean Bistro & the Blue Wisp and they got wiped out. 

 

To recap, Sung Korean Bistro was fantastic but I was disappointed that they offered Sake (Japanese) on their menu and not Soju.  I had the Bibimpop and my wife had the Bulgogi.  If you have never been to a Korean restaurant before and you are looking for something safe, order the Bulgogi.  It is prime cut beef with rice and it tastes great.

Montecarloss - if you haven't had the Haemul Pajun off Sung's appetizer menu, do.  It's flippin' fantastic!

My last night in Cincinnati (before moving to Atlanta) I ate at Via Vite with my gf.  We went early because they only had tables open to reserve at 5pm, 5:30pm, and like 8:30pm.  So we go there at 5:30pm and were seated promptly...the service was good, and so was the food.  Unfortunately the atmosphere was lacking a bit due to the early arrival.  Near the end of our dinner the live music was going, the place was filled, and overall it had a much cooler vibe.

 

Grade:  B+

^Have fun in the ATL.

Why are you moving their if you don't mind me asking?

^Have fun in the ATL.

Why are you moving their if you don't mind me asking?

 

co-op...I'll be back at the end of March (for good).

^Oh cool.....good luck

FYI....I heard a rumor Javier's downtown Cincy had applied for a liquor license.....does this mean evening hours with margaritas?! Count me in!

FYI....I heard a rumor Javier's downtown Cincy had applied for a liquor license.....does this mean evening hours with margaritas?! Count me in!

 

They have applied for the license, and the DRC has approved it.  My guess is that they will have evening hours.  I can't imagine that it would make sense to obtain a liquor license when you only serve lunch Monday through Friday, but I guess it's possible. 

 

I just noticed today that Ingredients has bottles of beer and wine in their cooler, which totally surprised me.  I don't think their kitchen is open past 3 PM, so I can't imagine people really drinking there.

Where is Javiers again?

Where is Javiers again?

 

8th and Walnut

FYI....I heard a rumor Javier's downtown Cincy had applied for a liquor license.....does this mean evening hours with margaritas?! Count me in!

Are they, really? Hell yeah! Margaritas are the only sugary drinks I like.

The word is that Grammers will be reopening on a limited schedule in the next month.  It looks to be open 20 hours a week with a limited menu to start.  Go Jean-Robert!

Oceanaire opens March 22 according to this:

 

http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/foodie/2008/01/more-fish.asp

The good news just keeps on coming...

We finally have reservations tonight for Via Vite! David, are you working tonight? If so, I'll be sure to say hi if I see you.

Oceanaire opens March 22 according to this:

 

http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/foodie/2008/01/more-fish.asp

 

March 22nd means I'll have 3 days to try and eat their before I leave town.....hope I get a seat!

The word is that Grammers will be reopening on a limited schedule in the next month.  It looks to be open 20 hours a week with a limited menu to start.  Go Jean-Robert!

 

If I were Jean robert I would have the best selection of high end draft beer in town at new grammers

Here you go ragerunner...

 

Mongolian Grill coming to Deerfield

BY JEFF MCKINNEY | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

January 11, 2008

 

DEERFIELD TWP. – Two businessmen are investing about $2 million to open bd’s Mongolian Grill at Bowen Drive and Mason-Montgomery Road.

 

See link above for article.

I ate at Nada for the first time and it was unbelievable. The food was good and the proportions were really good. My gf and i couldn't even finish the fajitas for two people. The drinks were expensive for the size, but all in all was a very good experience

I feel like a newbie,,,,maybe I am but what and where is Grammers?

I feel like a newbie,,,,maybe I am but what and where is Grammers?

 

Walnut and Liberty in OTR.

I feel like a newbie,,,,maybe I am but what and where is Grammers?

 

It has also been closed for a little while, but is being resurrected by Cincinnati's restaurant king - Jean Robert.  One less blackeye for OTR.

So this is different then the new place he plans on opening called Lavomatic....if so this guy is going to own the nati

Yes, it is different than Lavomatic on Vine.  Grammers is one of the oldest restaurants in town.  Jim Tarbell owned it until last year.

and I think someone tied to Jean Robert or maybe Jean Robert himself owns a couple properties including a vacant lot next to Grammer's.

^

All of those properties were part of the Grammer's sale.

The word is that Grammers will be reopening on a limited schedule in the next month.  It looks to be open 20 hours a week with a limited menu to start.  Go Jean-Robert!

 

I find this to be rather suprising news.  One of my usually reliable sources told me last month he was just going to hold that property for a while.

Why does this seem to happen so often with restaurants?

 

Seventh Street eatery closed; no notice given

January 14, 2008 | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER

 

DOWNTOWN - McFadden's Restaurant, the casual Irish-inspired pub and eatery on Seventh Street, has shut its doors and left little indication whether it will reopen.

 

See link above for article.

NOOOO!!!!!I love going to McFaddens.  Hopefully if it is closing, it will reopen soon as something else.

Apparently it will re-open - the story with a few new details:

 

McFadden's Restaurant, the casual Irish-inspired pub and eatery on Seventh Street, has shut its doors, but will reopen under new ownership, a spokesman said.

 

No link available.

So I wonder if the name and "theme" is going to change at all?  I always like going their because of the "semi-chill" atmosphere.

I was just there this past Saturday night and it was pretty busy.

I've always seen big crowds outside of McFaddens.  This surprises me.

I'm not surprised anymore really. Not with an ownership that wants a "club-like" atmosphere. They constantly have to rebrand themselves to make it ... especially with Lodge and Sully's right there.

I don't understand why national chains like mcfaddens go for a "traditional bar" look to try and make people feel comfortable with all of the wood, then go and make the place upscale and shove plasma tvs in the center of every booth.  I'd rather go to a hole in the wall or a nice place that has its own theme.

^ I agree.  When I first saw the original announcement for both McFaddens and the Lodge, I was expecting something targeted to a completely different crowd.

 

I thought Sully's, McFaddens, and The Lodge were all tied to the same group.

I thought Sully's, McFaddens, and The Lodge were all tied to the same group.

 

For the most part they are...with McFadden's attracting a slightly older crowd than the other two.  To be honest, the crowd at Cadillac Ranch is pretty much the same target as well.

I can't imagine a McFadden's attracting an older crowd.  The one in Columbus is just a bunch of drunk white boys and dumb white b*tches licking the wood-panel bar with their VD-prone tongues.

Classy Chris...

I can't imagine a McFadden's attracting an older crowd.  The one in Columbus is just a bunch of drunk white boys and dumb white b*tches licking the wood-panel bar with their VD-prone tongues.

 

ha....no but in reality, the mcfaddens in cbus compared to cincy's is different.  the cbus one is a college bar next to campus while cincys is downtown, as im sure you know.  i would agree that an older crowd of mid to late 20's for sure, and even the early 30's folk.

^Yup my experience has always been the upper 20's - low 30's.  Relatively speaking that's an older crowd.

The Enquirer has a story online that simply states, "Downtown bar closed."  You go into the article and it just says that the bar is closed and the website has been taken down (talking about McFadden's).

 

I guess they don't get the RSS feeds from the Cincinnati Business Courier that has already published this story and provided more up-to-date information.

A compare and contrast could be made between Paul Sturkey and Jean Robert.  One chose the suburban route, the other chose the urban route.  Which has been more successful?

I am way late on this conversation so if someone else brought this up forgive me.  I and my wife are friends with the Sturkeys, and to say that the close of Encore had anything to do with them is not telling the whole story.  The Sturkey's have nothing to do with the Encores and haven't for a couple of years now due to a dispute with a partner.  They even had to sue to get their name removed from the Wyoming location.  Mesh is a successful, and completely separate restaurant whos location was picked due to a meeting with Jim Huff at the Mulberry Hill Tour for Life press party. 

 

Although I am generally quick to jump on something that shows a upswing in downtown and a downfall in the burbs, this one was an internal dispute with partners and the Sturkey's ultimately won.

I can't stand how the enquirer reports stories like Mcfadens.....they make it seem like it shutdown because of slow business or something.  What I'm thinking is that they report that story first and then save the fact that it will be reopening for a second story.  They get two stories out of one.