Over the past few weeks, the topic of Cincinnati's restaurant scene, or perceived lack thereof, has been catapulted to the front pages in salacious fashion as confirmation of the long-rumored (since last April at least) breakup between financial backers Martin & Marilyn Wade and chef Jean-Robert de Cavel has finally come to fruition. The battle lines have been demarcated quickly along the stereotypical and facile grounds of "mad creative genius with no regard for the bottom line" versus "bean-counting, green eyeshadow-wearing Philistine-bookkeeper" (I'll let you guess who's who).
While the truth of the matter most likely lies somewhere between these two polar extremes, the sad fact of the matter is that Jean-Robert is leaving his beloved
Pigall's, as well as all of the other affiliated restaurants to which he lent his finely tuned expertise. Those other restaurants (Chalk, Bistro JeanRo, Greenup and Lavomatic…let's keep Edgecliff out of the discussion) will soldier on without him, and the flagship Pigall's is slated to re-open in the Spring with a new concept supposedly more befitting of our current economic climate. While the chattering culinary classes have engaged in much hand wringing and furious gnashing of teeth ("Oh I fear this may very well be the death knell for fine dining in Cincinnati as we know it…"), such hyperbolic scenarios of an epicurean doomsday appear both overly simplistic and reactionary. Pour a bottle of Dom on the 4th Street curb and move on folks. Moreover, what should truly be celebrated and encouraged is that Jean-Robert plans to stay in the city and continue to practice his widely appreciated and admired craft, if only with different financial backers (which, if rumors are correct, is already in place).
As news of the split went public, Jean-Robert made the following statement: "I plan to offer concepts that more accurately reflect my vision for the culinary arts. My future may well include burgers to Cajun. I can assure you that it will be with flair, passion and fun!" Blackened Cajun burger devotees were reportedly waiving le Tricolor at the barricades upon hearing this choice news bite.
Nevertheless, aside and apart from all of the gossip swirling around the breakup, Cincinnati, and, by implication, its dining scene, remains a better place with Jean-Robert squarely in the middle of it. Moreover, I for one hope that all of the restaurants for which he previously toiled (all of which are in and around the downtown core) continue to thrive, succeed and stand on their own two gastronomic feet, while co-existing peacefully and competitively with whatever new business to which Jean-Robert lends his toque. If his former restaurants fail, it should not be because of the threatened schadenfreudian-induced "boycotts" by fierce Jean-Robert loyalists, but rather because the product that they deliver is sub-par.
Which brings me to the current landscape of our dining scene, as this front page story has ignited a firestorm of commentary, ranging from the slightly more informed blogosphere to the usual quasi-closeted klavern of ignorami at the Enquirer comments page. While some ignorant rube exurbanites have predictably weighed in with ill-informed comments about why they won't set foot in the city and how this is just further proof of downtown's "decline," I'm not interested in educating the Applebee's/Outback frequent dining cardholder about the finer aspects of the city's dining scene.
What is important, however, is to realize that Cincinnati does in fact have a pretty impressive stable of vibrant restaurants in and around the downtown core as well as scattered about the neighborhoods. While one can't help but see the flagrant irony in announcing a restaurant's closure within seconds of announcing its recently awarded Mobil 4-Star rating, one might raise the question of who actually plans their lives around Mobil ratings other than Mobil and the recipients of the accolades. As opposed to a shimmering star, the Mobil ratings are more akin to a fading comet which, in many respects, is more redolent of an outdated and musty marketing artifact as opposed to a cutting edge gauge of gastronomy. Many doomsday theorists bemoaned the closing of the archaic and antediluvian Maisonette and concomitant loss of its long-running 5 Stars rating as both the "literal and figurative End of Days of the Cincinnati the dining world as we know it." Fact of the matter is that the Maisonette's time had come and gone. The owners plead poverty as an allegedly direct consequence of doing business downtown, threatening to relocate to the burbs if the city didn't incentivize them to stay with a generous dollop of tax incentives. Well, guess what? The city held fast, didn't roll over and the Maisonette never reopened in the burbs. The neighborhood of 6th and Walnut, where the Maisonette was previously located, has since seen the opening of
Oceanaire (a veritable Morton's for seafood),
Nada (locally owned and quasi-casual yet exceedingly refined Mexican fare),
Cadillac Ranch (enormous bar/restaurant, big young bar crowd, negligible food) and
Bootsy's (spectacularly thumping Jeff Ruby-produced tapas/sushi restaurant with requisite glammy albeit sometimes predictably lecherous bar scene). The Maisonette couldn't make a go of it on that block? - then step aside. The closing had more to do with living on the faded remnants of past glory and the public's dwindling demand for Chateaubriand as the flickering flames of Bananas Foster were slowly extinguished. Kudos to the city for refusing the shakedown efforts and recognizing the failure of an outdated model more than anything else.
Moreover, in a bit of Darwinist restaurant-evolution, the Maisonette kitchen spawned both Jean-Robert as well as David Falk (among a legion of other talented folk now plying their craft throughout the city), both of whom proceeded to put their sauté pans where their mouths were, Jean-Robert with the already aforementioned venues, and Falk with his widely acclaimed
Boca and Nada restaurants.
I'll take that in a trade for a fading 5 Star any day.
Additionally, I haven't even touched upon the Pietoso family, continually bringing consistently excellent Tuscan cuisine to the downtown via their flagship
Nicola's restaurant and
Via Vite on Fountain Square. And let's not forget places such as the duet of sweet and singularly-named restaurants which are helmed by young and talented female chefs: Shoshanna Hafner at
Honey (Northside) and locavore fanatic Julie Francis at
Nectar (Mt. Lookout Square); David Cook continuing to exhibit his eclectic hilltop cuisine at Daveed's www.daveeds.net in Mt. Adams; the creative skills on display in the kitchen at
NuVo in Newport; or Sean Daly's contemporary southern creations at
Hugo in Oakley. As referenced above, Jeff Ruby once again backs up his trademark braggadocio and bravado by opening Bootsy's (as produced by Jeff Ruby), an eclectically cacophonous mixture of tapas, sushi, local rock Hall of Fame, Parisian-Moorish decor and outré nightclub, which, despite a perceived incongruity (at least in theory), works exceptionally well in the execution, both in atmosphere as well as the food. Aside and apart from these quote/unquote "big names" lies yet another layer of excellent smaller venues and diverse ethnic offerings (if you haven't experienced the al fresco tropical Indonesian splendor of
Gajah Wong West's garden in Northside, be sure and check it out when the weather warms up). Cincinnati needs to acknowledge that all of these establishments have creative driving forces at their helm, all of which bodes well for the current state of the dining scene, regardless of the presence of any Mobil stars.
Two Sundays past, I had the pleasure of dining at yet another leading light in our dining scene,
Slim's in Northside, for a Hemingway-inspired "moveable feast" orchestrated by Slim's estimable impresario Patrick McCafferty along with former Lavomatic chef (and Jean-Robert disciple) Joanne Drilling heading up the kitchen. The "fiesta" began with cocktails and appetizers at the cozy
C&D tavern in Northside, where guests were treated to a drag queen ("Miss Velveeta") reading passages from the "Sun Also Rises" and "A Moveable Feast." From there, the feast moved (both literally and figuratively) to Slim's, where, amidst further readings by other diners (as well as the chef), a delicious multi-course meal flowed from the kitchen, highlights of which included a Ruby Trout wrapped in Serrano ham and Xenia hare with olives and rosemary. Great stuff.
The loss of Pigall's as we know it, while regrettable, is not the death knell for the Cincinnati restaurant scene. While yes, the creeping aspects of more proletarian dining experiences may have taken the fine dining standards down a notch (say from bourgeoisie to petite bourgeoisie), that is not to say that the city is overrun by all you can eat smorgasbords, steam tables and sneeze guards. So all you self-respecting gourmands can come in off the ledge, pull up a chair and order some food at any number of the excellent independently owned restaurants still operating in and around the city. You'll be glad you did.
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Photography by Scott Beseler
Jean Robert de Cavel by view of the hot line
Pigall's main dining room
Jean Robert de Cavel at the entrance of Pigall's
Hugo, dining room
Chicken dish at Hugo
Chef
Christian Pietoso of Via Vite