Rialto 525 Collins Street

Most people would probably title this post Vue de monde, even though the Restaurant is a whole other space.  We're not like that...  We will get to Vue de monde as diners one day - and as it turns out, we even have a verbal commitment floating around - but not for awhile.

Up on the top (or thereabouts) of the Rialto, it doesn't really matter what the decor is (and it's kind of odd, to me anyway) because it's all about the view.  Back towards the city, out over the bay, way past the bridge, and much more...  On a slightly hazy day we didn't get the best view you could, but we certainly can't say we had a bad one.

Only here for a quick visit prior to dinner just down the road a bit, but we did have time to check out the bathrooms where someone(s) spent too much time trying to come up with a unique style - they did and they're not evil looking by any stretch of the imagination, but [on the men's side] I'd be more than a little uncomfortable in there doing my thing with someone else doing his.  Also, if you feel the urge, there's a small deck where you can get out in the wind - but no tables...

The cocktail list has enough to choose from, some snacks too if you're so inclined.  Set up with odd couches, stools and the like it's a bit of a maze for your Server to come visit, which might explain why he doesn't come by, but I'm also tending to think that they're used to most people coming up for just the one drink - which was us from the second we decided it was a good place to start the evening - so don't get too involved in hovering.

Our cocktails went a little like this:

• White Wine
• Kronenbourg 
• Little Creatures Pale Ale 
• White Rabbit Dark Ale - actually, not all that dark.

A fine place to start off the evening, especially if you want to look down on the world... But, it was just a stepping stone before heading off to Dinner A Related Article.  I guess we'll stop back prior to dinner when that commitment comes to fruition...

Stay JOLLY!
DMichael & Luise

601 N State Street

Yep, we popped back!

Our most recent visit A Previous Article was for pretty much the same reason as this one. A place to start before heading off on the rest of our adventure.  As an important side note, the rest of our adventure was to support our dear friend Abby of Felines Inc. A Friend's Home - the wonderful shelter that all 3 of our guys came from - at the Shelter's annual fund raiser.  If you're thinking about adopting start with Abby and you almost certainly won't need to go anywhere else - she knows 'everyone' in the shelter and is a double excellent 'match maker'.

Perhaps the busiest we've ever seen the place with more groups of 5, 6 or more people than the 2s and 4s we've mostly seen in the past.  It did thin out a fair bit over the hour or so we were there.  I don't think we've been in on a Thursday before so it just may be their normal Thursday, but they were just on Check Please which has me leaning towards thinking that to be the reason.  We were still able to head straight to a table and it was one that allowed us to watch the 'go-home' crowd heading towards the el.

Service was initially a bit off, which is what makes us think it was a rush they weren't expecting.  The Server we've had a couple of times (keeping in mind they do work mostly by committee) who took our order (in 2 parts with a delay in the middle, for some reason) was not the whimisical playful knowledgable old guy (and I say old in the nicest possible way only because well, he is) who's come by in the past.  We weren't treated badly by any stretch of the imagination, just differently to get things going.

Our 'meal' went a little something like this:

• A Rose Cava - describe as Brut it was clearly at the drier end of the scale.  Quite spritzy, and really quite gentle on the palette with a medium(ish) finish to the back of the mouth.
• Cheese Board - for the first time at Pops, we had just the right amount of Crackers (to be fair, they've never complained when we've asked for more!)
  • Carr Valley Snowhite Cheddar - really good with both the rasperry and (what we think to be) fig jams.  You could easily skip the crackers.
  • Lazy Lady la Petite Tomme - a little bit of sharpness that went well with our choice of bubbles.
  • Crave Brothers la Petite Frère, It's 3 layers, 2 of them blue - not what we expected, but worked out ok as the blue was definitely at the gentler end of the scale.

Another successful pre-adventure evening!  There will be many more, with the only reason to cross them off our go-back list would be if they shut down, or we left town.

Stay JOLLY!
D

3705 N Southport

It wasn't too long ago we were here A Recent Visit and seeing it worked out so well last time, it seemed the perfect place for a 'snack' before heading across the road to possibly our favorite wine pairing evening A Related Article that we do.

It was a little bit busier than last time and being seated close to a table of 10 or 12 we again noticed how well that people talking is amplified.  It's odd, because it's doesn't cause us to have problems talking to each other, but over rides the music completely.  And it's not really eavesdropping appropriate, more like the crowd noise at a Ball Game.  Not a deal breaker, it's just the way it is.

Being just down the road from the Music Box, our server assumed that's where we were off to when we asked for the check before we'd finished eating.  A fair assumption that is probably right most of the time.  She took care of us, but we had a schedule to keep to and weren't going to try something new.  We knew pretty much what we wanted straight away and therefore didn't really talk to her.

Our snack went a little something like this:

• Glass of French Chardonnay - a little bit of wood comes through, but overall quite soft.
• Glass of German Riesling - a little bit sweeter than expected, but worked ok with our selections.
• Saba Nigiri (mackerel) - we've become a bit addicted to the Mackerel Nigiri no matter where we are.
• Maguro Nigiri (tuna)
• Hawaiian Maki (eel) - with mango, avocado and macadamia nuts, it's different in a very yummy way.
• Tiger Maki (tempura eel) - double crunchy with the tempura and tobiko.

We broke with our Sushi tradition of one, perhaps two dishes at a time, and ordered everything at once, but as it turned out the Nigiri came first and the Maki a little bit later. And although we have every intention to share everything, we ordered without consultation and ended up with two Unagi Maki rolls - oh well, they were both tasty.

We know we'll be back, we just don't know when or for what kind of meal, but it's good to know it suits us for at least 2 types of dining needs.

Stay JOLLY!
D

601 N State Street

We've been here many times and there's no reason to think we won't be back many times more.  Pops has turned into our preferred starting point when meeting up with friends, and occasionally just ourselves.  A glass of bubbles, a bite of cheese and good company is rarely a bad start to the evening.

As always, we arrived relatively early and had no problem getting a table.  When we left the place was busy enough that the bar was the only place left to find a seat.  With floor to ceiling windows it's quite bright and cheery and at 'go home' time on a Friday lots of people watching to be done.

The staff are certainly knowledgeable and take care of you mostly by committee.  They don't come at you spouting too much information but it's all there when you have questions, they are accessible, available and talkative when you want it - pretty much what you look for in any server. Although it's very rude to assume, it's possible (emphasis on possible!) that the Server who brought our bottle of Cava had been sampling the wares prior to coming to visit us - lets call his dealings with the 3 of us effervescent.

The champagne list is more than just extensive.  No matter who we're with, or what mood we're in there's always something to fill the need.  The menu is all about tastings and looks quite interesting but as we are heading off somewhere else we stay with the Cheeses & Charcuterie options - the selections seem to change just often enough for us not to quite have favorites, but that's quite ok.

It's a modern bar with lots of shiny surfaces and 'interior decorator' style lighting with an interesting array of seating options from bar-stools at the bar to high tables to low tables (with odd little foot stool type seats) to outside - yes sitting outside is just about always nice, but on Ohio / State Streets during rush hour?  I have no idea how it works, but the music is quite loud, the conversation from the other people there is quite loud and somehow it's not a problem talking to your friends.

Our order looked a little something like this:

• Raventós i Blanc 2007 L’Hereu Reserva Cava - might work sitting on the deck in the sun a little better than with the cheeses we chose?
• 3 Cheeses & 3 Charcuterie
  • Carr Valley Snowhite Cheddar
  • Bittersweet Plantation Holy Cow
  • Chaource
  • Finnochietta
  • Capicola
  • Salame con Porcini

Almost without doubt, the next time a friend comes in from out of town, we'll pop back!

Stay JOLLY!
DJay