The Cincinnati Enquirer du lieu suivant : Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 77

If SHIP niiCllKo So you finish writing and it looks like a dazed pigeon with inky claws danced on the paper. But it doesn't have to be that way. Handwriting can be an artform. Page E-33. ni HE (SI Thursday, 3, 1979 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER restaurant review Reservation Policies Work Both Ways J' BY DAVID HUNTER Enquirer Restaurant Critic In previous columns we have dealt with reservations and, in particular, with restaurants which accept them and then do not honor them.

This has rankled some local restaurateurs, not so much that what we said was questionable, but that we never seemed to inn is -X. Enquirer The Creel ONCE THE instructions are received, people can't wait to solo, Morgan said. There are three principal areas near Cincinnati where canoes can be rented. Indiana's Whitewater River has several liveries. Even more canoe rental facilities flourish along the Little Miami River.

And rental along the South Fork River, near Falmouth, began this year. Owners advise calling ahead for reservations and checking back again the day of the trip if the weather appears threatening. Most liveries set their rates by the canoe, though some determine cost by number of persons. Both rates usually start around $12 for a three-to-four hour trip and Increase with longer trips. There are 60 miles of canoeable water on the Whitewater, 100 on the Little Miami and 55 on the South Fork.

And as long as we're still dealing in basics, it should be pointed out that the second-most important thing a livery does is provide transportation to or from the river. Canoeists either start above the livery and work back or paddle from the rental location and return by livery bus. On all three mentioned rivers, livery owners own or lease land which can be used for camping on overnight trips. MORGAN OWNS canoe rental facilities on all three rivers and sounds like the Sierra Club member he is when he talks about the sport: "Let's face it, when you canoe on a river or stream you're really intruding upon that area. It's like you're there as a guest." MORGAN SAID canoeing on the South Fork is especially enjoyable because of its undisturbed atmosphere and quiet waters.

With examine the flip side of that card; namely, that there are far more patrons who do not honor reservations than restaurants. The point is not only well taken, but important enough that we think it Is in the interest of pleasurable dining to explore further. Reservations are something special a restaurant offers for the convenience of its guests, but abuses of the system have become so rampant that many If not most restaurant owners are loathe to accept them at all. Why? Because it's costing money and goodwill. Here's how: Diners make reservations then do not show up.

The restaurant turns others down because the table is reserved. Sometimes, people get mad when they see empty tables and are not permitted to use them. Sometimes restaurants get mad when they turn people away from tables that remain empty all night. Some diners make reservations at two or three restaurants for the same evening, apparently jockeying for a choice of on busy nights or allowing; for a choice of locations. Same problem, but far worse.

Others reserve, let's say, for a party of twovand without bothering to phone again show up with five. Sometimes the overload can be accommodated. Sometimes not. But nearly always, the patron's feelings are hurt bccau.se he's turned down or squeezed into a corner. Meanwhile, chefs eye the reservat ions list and calculate how much food they should prepare.

On such nights, a lot winds up in the garbage can. We checked with the five-star Maisonette to see what problems, if any, management has with reservations. The operation there always seems so tidy, we could not visualize anything but good order. Wrong. On a recent Saturday, no fewer than 50 reserved guests failed to show up, a loss of 20 -25 of anticipated business.

"Our reservations book was full of red lines wipe outs," said partner Michael Comlsar, "It was a disaster." No-shows, he said, are common, although not quite in such numbers. So are changes in the number of diners. "WE ARE limited as to how many tables of more than four persons we can set up," he said. "Once we arrange a few like that, it is difficult to change it around. We have to allow enough room for diners to be comfortable and for waiters and captains to work.

"Too, people are taking more time over their meals these days than they did 10 years ago," Comisar said. The Maisonette figures a turnover per evening of two parties for each table of two-four persons, a large factor in planning reservat ions without overbooking. Yet, there's no guarantee how long they'll take to dine. Some tables have been occupied as long as 4U2 hours. And late-comers often crowd out a second seating.

"What can you do?" Comisar said. He suggests diners, particularly parties of more than four, make reservations as far ahead as possible, preferably a month in advance. If there is a change in plans, the restaurant should be notified soonest. Then diners should try to arrive on time. We are tempted to compare the reservations situation to the plight of a housewife whose promised guests don't show up, or whose guests bring others with them unexpectedly.

But a restaurant, though it may have similar problems coping, is a business. It is far more profitable to let the hungry wait at the door with no promise of a table. That way, tables can be kept busy all night. And that, we fear, may come to be our lot. index Entertainment Editor JIM KNiPPENBERG 721-2700 ext.

228 DINING OUT E-32 7. Si BY TOM BRINKAAOELLER Enquirer Entertainment Reporter In the very beginning before humanity invented the wheel, mathematics and Fig Newtons rivers, lakes and streams were the first no-man's lands. Tied to the shore, a person could look out and sometimes see across these barriers; he knew all kinds of other animals were able to dart about freely in the liquid; it was a substance that hardly welcomed his presence, however. When he wandered into it too far, he often didn't come back. Who knows when it was the first man or woman watched a fallen tree float easily downstream and borrowed some ingenuity for this other land creature? When It happened, though, water travel was born.

We can guess this early innovator might have felt a bit superior while floating along with the current and waving to his land-locked friends from atop this newest vehicle until he unintentionally coined the phrase "Easy as falling off a log." Dried and undaunted, our hero modified the conveyance by digging a hole out of the tree trunk. Sitting inside, smugly comfortable, he probably waved to those same friends and then sent them post cards from Paducah because he could neither stop nor steer the thing. TIME AND trial finally led to the modern canoe. Once people ended their acquaintance period with water, they sophisticated their approach. They ballet in it and polo atop it.

They Queen-Mary and Titanic across it, fill their beds with it; in some countries, they even store It in special closets. 4 Internationally renowned violinist Isaac Stern joins the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as guest artist Friday and Saturday at Music Hall. Stern debuted with the CSO in 1942 at the age of 21 and has since been Stuck Up aw frioay 1 1 ft a He's world, termed violinist." tackles, civic led New Hall placed the For other check Guide, art by staff artist ASLO VESPKEMi Pac Wear the life jackets the livery gives you. They won't do any good when the canoe tips if the jackets are being used for kneeling Plan the length of ttie i judiciously. Persons new to the sport often overestimate their abilities and wind up exhausted or still on the water after dark.

A 10-mile trip usually takes three to five hours. Call ahead. Owners will he glad to gjve prices, directions, advice about trip lengths and instructions In the art of keep-dry canoeing. Break into the sport in the right way, Morgan said, and almost guarantee yourself an enjoyable pastime with endless plares to practice it. "You don't have to travel to Canada for great water." Me said.

You can go on an outing every weekend for the entire season and not once repeat the same trip. There are so many good canoeing waters and they're all within a 10-mile radius of Cincinnati." Those borders, however, do not take in Paducah vjisen pii go What: Canoeing, an upda' i form of falling off a log. Where: On Indiana's Whitewater, Ohio's Little Miami and Kentucky's South Fork. Several liveries are listed in the Cincinnati Yello Pages under "Boats Rental." Cost: Varies; depends on length of trip and (in some places) nuwiber of people. Note: Call ahead for directions and reservations.

Check again tJv day of the reservations if weather looks threatening. air 3a idles Some were so saturated by all this attention to water they built clothing barriers against it. Repellent as this was to a few, It underlined the fact that people may be able to coexist with the stuff but they'll never conquer it. Recently, more and more people seem to have come to grips with that and basic canoeing is constantly attracting new devotees who, like their ancestors of long ago, are floating down rivers and streams, sometimes falling out and occasionally sending back unexpected post cards from Paducah. Its popularity grows yearly.

When people talk about the weekend Jam on the Little Miami, they aren't referring to a musical event. Crowded conditions, coupled with unguided back-to-nature enthusiasm, can lead to what one veteran canoeist calls 'Deliverance' situations" where people find out the hard way good intentions can't steer a rapids or get a stuck canoe off a submerged rock. "Anyone Interested in getting started canoeing should go to a livery or some other qualified place first to get instructions," said Bob Morgan, a man who has been renting canoes to others in Southwestern Ohio for 22 years. There are plenty of places to learn how to canoe safely. Most liveries would rather give new canoeists free Instructions than see them founder and swear off the sport.

Private organizations have the same interests. The Miami Group of the Ohio Sierra Club played to a full house last week at an overnight canoeing camp and will do the same this weekend. The Dayton, Ohio, YMCA still has space In its weekend canoe workshop at Camp Kern May 18, 19 and 20. Call 1-223-5201 for more information. lenty Of "It's a beautiful thing," he said.

"Here you are, only 36 miles from Fountain Square, In a very uninhabited stream. In one 16-mile stretch you'll see only one camp from the water." He called it Kentucky's safest canoeing stream because of the gentle flow of the water and Its normal waist-high depth. It's also an excellent fishing stream and he urged canoeists to give fishermen only a quiet hello and a wide berth so this spot won't be spoiled for them. Some other recommendations: Parents considering canoeing should make the first trip without their children. He said adequate concentration is needed to master the craft and parents who try the first trip with their children along often go away disenchanted.

Newcomers should avoid high water (because of its speed) and cold water (because of the chance of a dangerous drop In body temperature if the canoe should tip). He said water Is usually lower and warmer in the last half of May and the other summer months. Bring along a complete change of clothes no matter what the weather in warm months it's for convenience, in colder ones it could mean survival. Seal them In a water-tight plastic bag and tie them to the boat. Wear shoes that can't be ruined by water.

Even if the canoe doesn't tip, wading may be necessary at times. Protect yourself from the sun by dressing appropriately and wear-ing sunglasses. The reflection off both the water and an aluminum canoe can be three times as Intense as that on land, he said. If you wear shorts, bring long pants to cover up after a few hours. sunoay A good chance High in the 70s the weekend, Sunday.

of rain today and Fridoy. today, cooling slightly over but no rain Saturday or Saturday the common to the exotic, the variety is vast. There'll be summer flowers such as snapdragons and petunias; house plants such as African violets and even orchids; ready-to-hang flowering baskets; shade plants; wild-flowers for naturalizing; plus plenty oi vegeiaoie patch offerings. More than 130 varieties of culinary, fragrant, medicinal and dye herb plants, as well as dried herbs and spices, will be featured. Con-noissuers' Corner will make available many hard-to-ob-tain trees and plants suitable for local growing conditions.

The sale runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and any leftovers will be sold 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday. ik can be a buyer, seller if you're like most dyed-in-the-wool both.

Admission for buy' is $1 per car. Seller's spt is $6 and sellers keep 11 the profits. Space resei vUions are desired (phone iM-4120) but not mandatory, i ni sellers will have to provi-ie their own tables. AdmisH i and space rental proceeds 1 sne-fit Big BrothersLig Sisters of Greater Cincinnati Throughout both days a professional auctioneer will auction off several 'utomo-biles. including a 4-wheel drive vehicles n.l 'j-ton pirk em ups.

In case of rain, event moves indoors. frequent visitor to the city. a frequent visitor to almost everywhere in the the in fact, and has been "the world's busiest This weekend he among others, Beethoven. Stern's prowess as a musician is equaled by his reputation as humanitarian and leader. It was he who the fight which saved York City's Carnegie from demolition and the concert hall on.

register of National Historic Landmarks. details on this and Weekend Winners, the Weekend Go Pages E-30. 31. A fleamarket fanatic's dream-come-true happens right here in River City this weekend. It's "The World's Largest Garage Sale" from 10 a.m.

to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Latonia Race Course in Florence, Ky. Yovj An annual event plantlovers await all year takes place Saturday the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati's plant and herb sale. Everything from anise to zucchini will be offered and at sensible prices. From FILM CLIPS E-34 NIGHT WATCH E-32 WEEKEND TV E-35.