There are so many new restaurants that have opened in the past few months that I can hardly keep track. Here are my first impressions of two of them, as well as a reminder of an excellent Over-the-Rhine chophouse that opened earlier this year.
Five on Vine, Over-the-Rhine
Five on Vine is the kind of restaurant that pops into your head whenever you hear the word “restaurant.” Great lighting, the din of forks and knives and soft conversations in the background, a pampering staff and comfort foods that naysayers might think they can make at home for less money even though they really can’t.
The name of the restaurant might not pop into most people’s heads when they think of Over-the-Rhine. While it opened early this year, Five on Vine has yet to become a mainstay. That's a shame since it's the kind of place that feels more elegant and “downtown” than most of the ones surrounding it. The menu has recently been revamped to reflect more of a chophouse theme.
On a recent visit, I sat at the bar alone and ordered a pinot noir served in a stemless glass. I’m not normally a wine drinker but this place calls for something more elevated than a beer (a proper co*cktail would have worked just as nicely).
A few seats down from me sat a gray-haired man in a nice suit and expensive watch and a glitzy older woman who looked like a Broadway actress. A piano version of "O Holy Night" played in the background. Even the music here is elegant.
The tavern wedge salad I ordered arrived de-wedged, with crunchy iceberg lettuce and sweet lardons of maple bacon. The ranch dressing is particularly good and comes in a gravy boat alongside the salad, adding class to this steakhouse staple. For an entree, I ordered the pot roast, which cost $29 and was worth every penny. The carrots, parsnips and potatoes cooked perfectly, the meat fork-tender as could be.
Atwood, Over-the-Rhine
Every city deserves a good oyster bar. So when PearlStar Oyster Camp closed last year, I, and other bivalve lovers across town, felt the loss. Luckily, another oyster bar has taken its place, complete with talented executive chef Seth Ridgill from Charleston – who once worked for the superstar chef Sean Brock at Husk as well as our own local superstar Hideki Harada.
The menu Ridgill has put together looks promising, with lots of good surf and turf options. Atwood's arsenal also includes pastry chef Kayla Hunley, formerly of Pleasantry. And if she is the one behind the pawpaw bread I had at Atwood, I'm already a fan.
The dining room is less bright-white and postcard-perfect Maine than PearlStar's was. The walls are now painted a soothing oyster-shell tan, and baroque paintings hang on the wall, most of them borrowed from a local artist's personal collection. Personally, I like the more classic touch.It feels less trendy and more classic.
Ridgill's adventures in Charleston are evident with the crab rice – a take, I assume, on one of Brock's signature dishes. It arrives in clean stripes of creamy hot-sauce spiked Carolina Gold rice, blue crab and smoked greens that are meant to be mashed together before eating. Pull back on the salt a little bit and this dish could be a star.
The oysters came out cold and shucked clean.If they happen to have the Kumamotos available, please try them because they are some of the sweetest, fruitiest oysters I've ever tasted. On the turf side, I recommend the shaved Kentucky ham that's sliced into thin ribbons that have a fantastic funk. A nice splash of olive oil and a scattering of briny capers make it even better.
Gilligan’s on the Green, Wyoming
There’s nothing like a good neighborhood joint. And Gilligan’s fits the bill, with friendly Wyomingites greeting each other as they head to their tables, filling the dining room with inside jokes and laughter.
The Irish-ish restaurant is a joint project between the owners of the West Side's Ivory House and W Bar + Bistro, and West Side Brewing. It’s located on the Wyoming Green, which is undergoing a major renovation, making this already charming neighborhood all the more so.While Gilligan's features Irish fare and Irish beer, its decor is notably devoid of dark woods, John F. Kennedy portraits and Pogues songs playing in the background. If you ever visited the building's previous occupant, Station BBQ, it looks kind of the same with a gray color scheme and light-industrial vibe.
I went there on a recent Friday night with my wife, Amy, my coworker, Carl Weiser, and his wife, Janice, who live just down the street from the restaurant. Carl and I started off with Irish ales (very good) while Janice got a non-alcoholic Moscow mule, and Amy, who was driving, stuck to seltzer (thank you, Amy).
The standout dish was the Galway mussels, which were bathed in a subtly spicy pickled tomato broth with plump, perfectly cooked mussels. I also enjoyed the Cincinnati-style shepherd’s pie for which the beef is rubbed in Cincinnati chili spices and covered with ice cream scoops of potatoes. A special shoutout goes to Amy's $8 bowl of Irish stout beef stew. It tasted similar to the beef stews Amy makes at home, and that’s a nice compliment.
Janice went with a vegetarian option (there are several here), in this case, the roasted cabbage dish: a hash of cabbage, potatoes and vegetables that comes together in an unexpectedly hearty and tasty way. While this isn't an Irish pub in the traditional sense, it's still a nice place for a pint, a bite and some good conversation to boot.
