Lola, Cleveland Ohio

I've enjoyed Flay and been blown away by Batali, thus when Clevelander Michael Symon was named the new Iron Chef I knew it was only a matter of time before I made the trip to Lola. Having seen Chef Symon on Food Network a number of times over the past few months I admit I like his attitude and personality.....alas, his flagship restaurant and food didn't live up to the hype.

With my sister returning to Cleveland for her final year of school we'd spent a long day moving boxed and arranging furniture prior to our 5:15 Saturday reservations. Early? Yes. Strangely so considering the hostess on the phone told me this was "the only time available," yet the restaurant was nowhere near full when we completed the meal at 7:20. On entering the restaurant I will admit I was duly impressed with the dark wooks, hypnotic acrylic bar, beautiful chandaliers, and wide open (Momofuku style) kitchen. Admittedlly the place was VERY dark, but eating so early provided plenty of ambient outdoor light through the gorgeous front windows looking out onto the interesting 4th Street district of Cleveland.

The hostess was pleasant and we were seated promptly at a great seat with full view of the kitchen. Chairs were relatively uncomfortable, albeit pretty, and the table setting was visually quite impressive. Servers were dressed "cool casual" with jeans and poorly tied ties while kitchen staff wore Symon's mechanic-esque buttondowns.

With regard to service, there were hits and misses. Our server, a cocky fella named Tony K, definitely knew the notably short menu well and sold each dish adequately, but vastly overstepped his role when I attempted to place an appetizer order for the group (myself and 3 ladies) and he bluntly told me "we'll let the ladies order first." This move essentially led to ordering mains before appetizers and the table accidentally forgetting to order a couple side dishes until after appetizers were consumed. Awkward. Water was filled quickly and repeatedly, but the table bread was anemic and a total afterthought....white bread, plain butter, five 3/4" thick slices from what I presume was a baguette. Yawn.

Watching the kitchen was actually quite interesting and a novelty here in Ohio. Each dish was constructed via chefs, sous-chefs, and servers in a stylish and fresh manner, yet the kitchen was very quiet and pristine, much like Momofuku in NYC.

Appetizers arrived in short order and were beautiful and tasty, albeit quite petite in portions. Crispy Veal Sweetbreads w/ leeks, blue cheese, mushrooms were perfectly seared, crisp, and well textured with a great balance of flavors....one of the better presentations I've encountered. Crispy Shrimp w/ soft cheesy polenta, chilies, cilantro were less impressive with a relatively basic fried shrimp that my mother enjoyed vastly more than I - I will admit the polenta was fantastic, however.

The highlight of the appetizers, by far, was the Fresh Berkshire Bacon w/ fruit slaw and BBQ sauce.....on par with anything David Chang is doing in NYC, perfectly textured, and an amazing contrast of the salty fatty pork with the crispy sweet fruit - a MUST order if you visit.

Timing for the mains was delayed for unknown reasons (40 minutes and a few plates of mediocre bread between apps and mains,) but when they arrived everything was once again attractive. Portions of the fish dishes were small while meats were substantially larger.

Halibut w/ Morels, Beans, Herbs, Gnocchi was poorly seasoned and bland overall, but the herb sauce was quite tasty with a complex blend of cilantro and rosemary. Being a huge fan of gnocchi I was disappointed that only 8 small pieces were presented, though the texture was quite good.

Black Bass w/ Clams, Mussels, Saffron Potatoes, Olives was well cooked and well textured, but suffered somewhat from an overly salty broth and far too few Mussels and Clams (2 of each if I counted correctly.) The potatoes were excellent.

Beef Hanger Steak w/ pickle sauce, chilies, lola fries I did not taste as I don't particularly favor beef, but the pickle sauce was (once again) on par with Momofuku and the fries (double basted in lard with rosemary and sea salt) were excellent.

The highlight of the mains, like the apps, was the pork. Smoked Berkshire Pork Chop w/ Chilies, cheesy polenta, bbq onions was large, flawlessly fatty yet perfectly textured, salty yet clean, and served with a perfect contrast of smooth cheesy polenta and sweet/spicy chilies/bbq onions. As good as any pork I've ever encountered and the highlight of the menu by far.

A side of butter sautéed mushrooms was substantial and delicious, shared by the table.

Desserts.....desserts were underwhelming, undersized, and overpriced. $9/ea and incredibly small in portions, none were truly mindblowing although one was certainly unique and another had promise that fell far short.

The much hyped 6am special - French toast w/ maple bacon ice cream, carmelized apples was tiny, tasty, and unique, but in reality only a slice of bread drowned in butter and syrup, less than 10 grams of apples, and a tiny scoop of vanilla icecream with berkshire bacon bits embedded.

Savannah Summer - Cornbread, Butter ice cream Peach jam, candied pecan was also quite small and while the butter icecream was quite impressive and tasty, the cornbread was dry and flavorless with a tiny smear of jam that tasted no better than Smuckers. The highlight of the dish was actually the caramel cookie decoration.

Sangria berry Sundae - Blueberry sorbet, chantilly cream, black pepper crumble was another unimpressive dish, though the sorbet was delicious....if there was any black pepper crumble, it was undetectable and somewhere buried in the mildly flavored cream.

Strawberry Short Cake - Mascarpone mousse, strawberry sorbet, lemon curd, almond was possibly the least impressive with only the lemon curd tasting truly inspiring and the cake so small that once everyone had a sliver there was only ~2 inches left.

Coffee was a relatively full bodied English peaberry served from a standard coffee pot.....like the bread this aspect of the meal appeared to be an afterthought, like Chef Symon said "Oh yeah, people might want coffee.....um, just call the distributor and see what they've got in stock"

After dinner we were served Key Lime and Black Pepper jellies along with the bill....these freebies were better than any of the desserts.....and only slightly smaller.

At $58/pp after tax and tip without any drinks, this certainly wasn't a "break the bank" kind of meal, but I've spent less at "Iron Chef" restaurants (Babbo, Otto, Mesa Grill) and been vastly more impressed. I've also spent less at M@Miranova, Rosendales, Rigsby's, Lindey's, and Worthington Inn in Columbus and been vastly more impressed. All told, Michael Symon does two things extremely well - Pork and Polenta - while doing a number of other things adequately, but at far too high a pricepoint for the quality or experience. Sure, he has a great TV personality that many chefs may lack, but for such a celebrated name/restaurant, Lola likely isn't in my top 10 for Ohio let alone all time. More attention to detail, more intuitive servers, more appropriate pricing.....Lola just isn't enough.

Z Cucina di Spirito, Columbus Ohio

Quite frankly, the raw number of 5/5 reviews of this place speaks to two facts: #1) Too many people think of Olive Garden and Buca as 'good Italian' and simply haven't been to enough quality Italian restaurants and #2) the Columbus Italian scene is severely lacking. With that said, Z Cucina is a good restaurant with some standout items, but the whole experience can be summed up in a single word: "Uneven."

Although reservations were suggested they certainly weren't required for 4 people on a Saturday night at 7:00pm in early August. Valet parking was a deal at $4 and we were seated promptly, yet unforunately half underneath a vent blowing cold air quite briskly...being that Z Cucina is actually an old fish store (the fantastic Byerley's...RIP) there is a lot of unevenness to the room, ventilation, and layout. Water was served promptly and refilled rapidly....almost annoyingly, as the juvenile water boy bobbed and weaved around me like a young boxer...I eventually moved my glass to my non-dominant side to avoid this annoyance. Equally rapid and more annoying was our server, Chris, whose pseudo-Italianisms and meth-like delivery of the specials was akin to the micro-machine man moreso than to an experienced waiter. Certainly he knew the menu, but pace is the trick. Those issues aside, the food was pretty good....but once again suffered from unevenness.

First off, the bread, although served in 5 varieties from olive to rosemary to white to wheat was good but suffered from too much surface area (crisp) and not enough center (soft,) while the garlic butter was overpowering. Next up, the Z Tasting Plate with Bluefin Crudo, Ricotta Spinach Spread, Orange-Arugala-Fennel Salad, Calamari Fritti, Parmigiano Risotta Fritters, House Made Mozzarella. A ton of options for a mere $19, no item was bad, but the only one that truly stood out was the incredibly fresh crudo with melt-in-your-mouth bluefin tuna as fine as any high end sushi shop....the rest were relatively standard fare and the squid was tough/gummy.

For mains we selected:

1) Garganelle con Langostina with artisanal pasta, langoustines, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and seafood cream sauce -- Decent with well done al dente pasta and great tomatoes, but notably shredded langoustine clearly from the body and not the claw. The cream sauce, noted to be light, was significantly briney and actually hindered the dish even for a seafood lover like myself.

2) Tortellini Gamberi with cheese, jumbo shrimp, asparagus, prosciutto di parma, lemon and butter -- Great shirmp, delicious sauce, but poorly cooked Tortellini that was simply too tough for my palate, though my mother enjoyed it.

3) Cappesante al Forno Roasted scallops, grilled corn polenta, pickled pear tomatoes, red onions, and fennel -- Incredible Scallops, well seared, and a deliciously creamy yet textured Polenta....yet completely offset by sour and acidic pickled tomatoes. This dish could have been amazing were it not for the tomatoes which unbalanced all aspects of the dish.

4) House Made Gnocchi with Pesto, shrimp, sweet tomatoes -- The pesto was stellar, the shrimp plump, and the tomatoes delicious (the kind of tomatoes that could have made the Cappesante)....but as I've noted in the past, gnocchi is either done right or done wrong and this was UNEVENNESS at the max. Some pieces soft and perfect, others tough and gummy...and considering the griddle marks on the noodles I get the idea the chef was aware (grilling to firm up overcooked gnocchi gone soft is a 'technique' of sorts.) Disappointing.

For dessert, like many other Columbus staples, Jeni made an appearance in nearly every dish. Selections included:

1) Lavender Peach Tarte Tatin with Salty Caramel Ice Cream -- Delicious and large with wonderful peaches and a crispy crust yet a perfect air of Lavender that greeted both the tastebuds and nostrils, this dish was further complemented by the wonderful dip of salty caramel at its center. A standout for sure amongst the choices, but not as good as that at Rigsby's the night before.

2) Chocolate Crespelle with Black Currant Syrup, Hazelnuts, Basil -- Interesting, like a baked crepe with 72% dark cocoa in the middle, but nothing special and neither the syrup nor basil were notable over the dominant chocolate tones.

3) Panettone Bread Pudding with Cherry Lambic Sorbetto -- Undoubtedly better than the poor versions served at Lindey's and Deepwood, this dessert was actually quite tasty. Then again, when you take a world famous bread, douse it in cream, and top it with award winning icecream, how can you go wrong?

4) Butterscotch Panna Cotta with Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti -- Their trademark dessert, this one was a glimpse of flawless evenness and wonderful taste. A thick top layer of butterscotch flan over a base of gooey caramel, the only thing that could have made this dish better was some beignets for dunking a la Michael Mina.

Coffee was Staufs and as Staufs always is, underwhelming, but refilled rapidly and at no extra charge.

All told, Z Cucina is a good restaurant in a trendy neighborhood, but needs some work. A four or five star Italian establishment should be elegant yet unpretentious, refined yet whimsical, and most importantly flawless in delivery of an experience. In my opinion, this Z seems like the sort of place where good and not-so-good flow minute-to-minute and that just isn't the kind of place that breeds repeat business. Better overall experience and better dessert than Tucci's or Trattoria la Tavola, but the food at Trattoria is slightly better overall. None of them are even remotely close to Rigsby's, however.

Rigsby's, Columbus Ohio

Having completed a hectic month on the hospital wards, my intern, medical students, and myself decided a celebration was in order. Hailing from different states, countries, and cultures (two of them arriving in the states only months ago) with the additional caveat of a vegetarian in the group, Italian seemed a safe bet and while Lindey's is certainly more "Columbus," we settled on Rigsby's based on its long history of positive reviews and focus on local/seasonal ingredients.

To sum up the experience in a word? Fantastic. Finally I've found an Italian place worth getting excited about in Columbus. As a matter of fact, without overselling, I can honestly say there were moments of this meal that rivaled the mighty Babbo in quality, taste, and texture and while the service wasn't the best ever, it was certainly on par with anything I've found in Columbus outside of M at Miranova.

Arriving at 7:00pm on a Friday without reservations a table was quickly preparred and we were seated immediately. Arriving at the table there was already 3 delicious breads present as well as ice cold water. Per usual, three breads is the perfect number and all three were superb: a soft yet crusty italian, a sweet yet salty basil poppyseed, and a hearty and lucious whole grain with raisins and walnuts. The butter was unremarkable, but smooth and warm enough that spreading did not tear the bread.

Our waitress arrived shortly and after declining wine service we were told of the nightly specials, 5 in total, all sourced from products bought that day locally, and all sounding delicious. For an appetizer I selected the Squash Blossoms stuffed with Ricotta and topped with Arugala with Tuscan Tomato Sauce. While the dish was pricey at $8 for a mere two blossoms, the flavor was intense and the dish was wonderful in flavor. In retrospect I wish I would have opted for the freshly cracked black pepper, however, as the dish could have used just a little more oomph.

For our mains a number of dishes were selected including the Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage (great per my student,) the Basil Ravioli with Tomato and Parmigiano-Reggiano (mmmmm, wow per another student,) Spaghetti D'Angelo with Sundried Tomatoes, Garlic, and EVOO (kinda plain per another student) and the Free Range Chicken alla Mattone, Panzanella, Buttered Scallions (Awesome according to my intern, notably not a fan of 'fancy' food.)

As the biggest (IE only) foodie of the group, I opted for the half order of Tagliatelle with Pesto Genovese, Fingerling Potatoes, and Green Beans and half order of Potato Gnocchi with Prosciutto di Parma, Basil, Tomato, and Balsamico. While the Tagliatelle was flavorful, perfectly al dente, and a great contrast with the crispy potatoes and clean/snappy greenbeans, the show was entirely stolen by the BEST Gnocchi I've ever had in my life. Toothsome, hearty, thick yet completely cooked, and covered with a perfect tomato and balsamic sauce while complimented by a thin piece of perfectly textured prosciutto......my only complaint is that I didn't get the full order. Better gnocchi than the mighty Batalli......wow.

After a meal like that dessert was a no brainer and like many other Cbus standards, Rigsby's does it right by pairing their complex desserts with Ms. Jeni's stellar icecreams. As two of my colleagues had never experienced Jenni's, this was a treat in and of itself. While others opted for Lemon pannacotta, Molten Chocolate Cake w/ Jeni's Vanilla (noted by one to be the best chocolate cake ever,) and a Cookie plate with espresso semifredo and Jeni's Salty Caramel, I chose the seasonally inspired Blueberry, Plum, and Peach Crostatta with almond clusters and Jenni's Honey Vanilla Icecream......once again, better than Batalli with a crispy yet airy purse of dough lightly cupping a generous serving of fresh berries and berry puree served along with crispy almond clusters and that glorious icecream.....amazing.

Admittedly the TVs in the bar were slightly offputting and the kitchen was a little slow with the meal taking well over 2 hours for only three courses, but bread and water were refilled rapidly and repeatedly throughout the evening and the conversation was good so I've certainly no complaints there. Noise level was pleasant for conversation and certainly not the roar or Tucci's or Trattoria, which was a welcome suprise for Cbus Italian, as well. Regardless of these minor flaws, the food MORE than made up for any atmospheric shortcomings and the meal was stellar. I'll certainly be back as the winter squashes come in and will hope that the oft-raved pumpkin ravioli makes a return.

For now, 4.5 star food and 4.0 star atmosphere......and the best Italian in Cbus, by far.

Deepwood, Columbus Ohio

Good is good and great is great. What Deepwood restaurant is right now is good with flecks of great. What Deepwood could become is great. Clearly there is talent in the kitchen and the staff, but that talent has yet to be realized in many respects. As someone with no relation to the restaurant or care for its staff's roots, I went into Deepwood with the same expectation I would for any ~$50pp restaurant and what I got was a three star experience with a notable brush of five star flavor that pushes my review ALMOST to a four overall.

Beginning the the decor, all I can say is boring. While it is certainly a restuant with a lot of dark and deep wood, the lack of art on the walls combined with mirrors and stars that look direct from Z-Gallerie create for a relatively drab appearance. Admittedly the routunda style ceiling in the early day was pretty with lots of natural light, but as the night drew on the restaurant got somewhat drab despite the growing crowd. Seating was comfy and drinks were refilled quickly, as expected. With regard to our waiter? He was alright, but I seriously doubt "everything is delicious" was truthful, in fact I know it wasn't. While I'm glad to see he loves his job, when I ask for what is best, I want a real opinion. Additionally, if you want to be a fancy place, unfold the lady's napkin for her and when people get up to use the restroom please refold the napkin. Leaving breadcrumbs on the table and finally scraping pre-dessert is also a faux-pas.

Onto the food. For an amuse we were served a microsalad of grapefruit, olive oil, and fennel. Flavorful but not overpowering, yet a tad too oily for my palate. Next up we received the bread and butter. Three breads is just right, in my opinion, and the butter with granulated red sea salt was very flavorful. The sourdough was a tad dry, but the cranberry walnut was excellent and hearty while the flatbread was buttery and crisp.....yet a tad too crumbly given the lack of scraping.

For appetizers we selected the Scallop Wellington described as a scallop wrapped in spinach & pastry on a bed of wild mushrooms, foie gras buerre blanc as well as the Boston Baked Beans with spiced pork belly, maple crème fraiche, and dough dads.

First off, the beans: While the maple flavor was hearty and the pork belly appropriately fatty and supple, I certainly detected little smoothness from the creme fraiche and the beans were simply undercooked and hard. The dough dads? A fried mini-donut without much flavor. Skip the baked beans.

Next, the Scallop.....wow. While no visible foie was seen on the plate, this incredible dish was a knockout with a perfectly cooked tender scallop wrapped in dainty spinach and phyllo crust with mushrooms intermingled and an amazing sauce that tasted like grade A foie dissolved in butter. Simple in presentation but explosively complex in flavor....possibly the best appetizer in Columbus.

For mains we selected the Roasted Chatham cod with potato risotto, Napa saute of cabbage, grapes & spring onion, the Gnocchiette with petite hand rolled gnocchi, spinach, citrus prawns and vanilla-saffron cream, and the Roasted Chicken with honey glaze, crisped mashed potatoes, glazed baby carrots, and natural jus.

While the cod was relatively basic, as cod usually is, it was certainly driven up a notch by the incredibly rich potato risotto and cabbage/grape slaw. While the slaw wasn't hit with everyone, I found it to be a fresh take on an old dish and definitely think it would serve as a good salad served solo.

Regarding the gnocchi, it is my opinion that this is a dish by which one can truly gauge a chef's talent since it is so hard to do well and so easy to make poorly. Cheers to the chef, the Gnocchi themselves were wonderfully toothsome yet delicate and perfectly cooked through. The prawns too were fresh, tender, and hearty. With regard to the sauce, I personally believe it was somewhat too thick and would be better served either thinner or on a less dense pasta, but the flavor was excellent. More vanilla and less saffron may have helped to tone down the citrus of the prawns, though.

As I did not try the chicken, my second dinner companion merely noted that it was "okay" while the carrots and potatos were very well done.

Plates were gathered quickly and dessert menus were served, yet once again our waiter failed to commit and continued with the "everything is made in house and everything is good" theme. For dessert we selected the Chocolate Souffle with creme anglaise, the Blueberry Brioche Bread pudding with rosemary-thyme anglaise and blueberry icecream, and the Chimay spice Cake with plum ice cream and candied kumquats.

Souffle, like gnocchi, is a risk for the chef and this one not as well calculated as the other. While the cake was indeed warm, dense, and large, the flavor was rather generic even with the addition of the creme anglaise. Having had other souffle's in the past, this one was below average and one of my dining partners remarked "it tastes like that cocoa cream of wheat, but a little better." I'd say that was pretty accurate.

For myself, I tried the bread pudding (as usual) and much like Lindey's was quite disappointed. The blueberries at Meijer are fresher at this time of year and the anglaise here tasted precisely like the Anglaise for the Souffle, but was served in a much smaller portion and as such left the bread pudding relatively dry and without a lot of flavor. I must note, however, that the icecream was tasty and helped when I mashed it into the bread pudding. If the pudding had been served warmer to melt the icecream or with more creme it could have helped.

I did not taste the spice cake, but was told it was very good.

All told, Deepwood is alright and has potential to be great....there is clearly talent here, the location is great, and the menu is off to a good start. More professional servers, better desserts, and more artful execution of both the interior and plating should be made a priority and I'm certain will get better as the restaurant ages. As I said in my intro, this is ALMOST a 4-star review, but as it is not yet on par with Lindey's, BoMA, Rosendales, or Spagio (and lagging far behind M, Worthington Inn, and Dragonfly) it will have to settle for three to three and a half.