The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 76

Friday, January 10, 2003 19 18 Friday, January 10, 2003 ft -it h. 1 i x. By Polly Campbell The Cincinnati Enquirer Tristate diners should be well-satisfied in 2003. The list of fine-dining restaurants that includes Maisonette, Celestial, the Palace and Daveed's now has another in Jean-Robert at Pi-gall's. Jeff Ruby has opened a fifth place without closing any of the others.

A slew of new places are at Newport on the Levee. Recent favorites, such as Boca, Aioli, Encore, and Bella, continue to serve interesting, satisfying food, and more and better ethnic restaurants quickly are making their way onto the scene. Planning the restaurants you want to hit this year? Here are our "don't miss" suggestions: i I 1 i 7 -i The Cincinnati EnquirerTONY JONES Jeff Ruby (center) in his Tropicana restaurant at Newport on the Levee with (from left): Kelly Hollatz, reservation manager; Aaron Maier, head server; Christa Pettyjohn, server; and Gina Denton, bartender. tw if Maw. Changes at Ruby restaurants Jeff Ruby and corporate chef Jimmy Gibson part ways, Page 26.

i tends to open a fine-dining restaurant somewhere in the city, possibly this year. Other places no longer serving: Mar-go's in Covington, Lyons Grill in Fort Thomas, Abracadabra Cafe in Fairfield, Sweeney's in Roselawn and Dick Clark's American Bandstand in i Seafood restaurants This is the Tristate's hottest dining trend. Ferrari's in Symmes Township is now Kingfish Grill, Hyde Park Grille has changed to Blake's Seafood Grill, and American Pie Cafe is now Cheng-3 Fusion Cuisine Cafe. Joe's Crab Shack is on the river in Bellevue and Bonefish Grill is new in Hyde Park. One hopes there are enough fish in the sea.

Lost dining chances Though we've been mercifully free of sad closings, there was a wrenching one, Chester's Road House in Montgomery. It hurts to see a classic old building knocked down. The Comisars are turning their attention to a planned downtown entertainment venue and takeout cafe. Queen City mu Restaurant 1 --5 i 1 Another fine-dining choice, more and better ethnic restaurants, old favorites here's a quick list of restaurants that do it right Wildflour Cafe, Covington A dinner from the tapas menu at Wildflour Bakery was my favorite recent meal. It wasn't a conventionally excellent restaurant experience: our server was an amateur just helping out that night, and someone was drunkenly singing along, loudly, to Rolling Stones songs in the bar.

But one dish after another arrived, each one a little new to me, perfectly cooked and just the right amount to share. It created a feeling of bounty and possibility without overburdening our palates or digestion. There were light vegetable dishes, such as asparagus or braised escarole; firm and spicy shrimp; new and unusual fish dishes, including a perfect skate wing with lemon and garlic, and then the most wonderfully rich braised lamb ribs (which are not on the menu at the moment). A lovely lemon pot de crime and a sabayon with berries finished it off. I hope the good eating here continues the tapas menu has not had the overwhelming success that it deserves.

King Wok, Clifton Seafood fresh from the tank, an unusual variety of dishes, quick and friendly service and pretty presentations make this Chinese restaurant stand out from the crowd. Federal Reserve Bar and Piano Lounge, downtown All over Greater Cincinnati, architectural treasures lurk behind closed doors, just waiting to be uncovered. That's what happened at the old Fed Julia and William Pitts of A Taste of Julia's, which specializes in comfort food. Jean-Robert at Pigall's, downtown This new Fourth Street restaurant is a gift to downtown, to foodies, to the city's image. I have a feeling that Pigall's will be bringing Cincinnati some out-of-town attention, and raising our national profile as a dining destination.

The understated decor, prix-fixe menu extensive wine list, all are presented to Cincinnatians as if we were, yes, just as sophisticated as people in other urban and urbane parts of the country. And yet, one feels that chef Jean-Robert de Cavel was inspired to open his own restaurant by the kind of hometown goodwill that is harder to coine by in other cities. A Taste of Julia's, West Chester If you're not necessarily into the latest $30 entree and prefer a restaurant that offers plain home-cooking, you should know about a little corner of comfort in a shopping strip among the new houses in West Chester. For baked chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and Southern-style vegetables, Julia's is a comfortable and friendly lunch or dinner spot. Tousey House, Burlington Lots of inspired amateur cooks dream of opening a.

restaurant. Few make as great a success of it as Kristy Schalck, the chef-owner of Tousey House in Burlington. When Ms. Schalck was a cosmetics salesperson, she ate all over the country, and cooked at home as a passionate amateur. When her company had quarterly sales meetings, she'd often turn her house into an impromptu catering hall and cook for them herself.

She went to culinary school at Sullivan College in Louisville so she could open a restaurant, but it's the amateur's sense of gracious sharing that distinguishes her restaurant, along with a passion for interpreting season and locale in her cuisine. An Elliot Jablonsky restaurant "I know how to feed Cincinnati," says Elliot Jablonsky, and that's how he is quietly building a growing family of restaurants. While he admires cutting-edge cuisine, every decision he makes is balanced by what he knows works here, including Greater Cincinnati's need for value. He doesn't go out on a limb, but his restaurants are interesting and consistent. Mr.

Jablonsky grew his Cincinnati roots a little deeper this year by buying Sugar n' Spice Restaurant in Bond Hill, located not far from where he grew up in North Avondale and went to high school at Walnut Hills. He revealed his Cincinnati sensitivity and his ego-less style of managing by changing almost nothing. Smart, because customers would have revolted. Mr. Jablonsky also bought Tmk's in Clifton from Mary Swortwood and kept the name and eclectic concept.

He created the Vineyard Wine Room near his Hyde Tark restaurant, the Vineyard Cafe, that's an intimate and sophisticated little bar for grown-ups. This year will surely include more openings by Mr. Jablonsky, possibly another location of a latin Quarter. The Tropicana, Newport on the Levy If you like good, complete service, Jeff Ruby's restaurants are unique. It's not just that the service you receive in any of his restaurants is always good, it's that his whole success is built on the idea of service.

To put it mildly, Mr. Ruby is obsessed with keeping his customers happy -1 wouldn't be surprised if he reads comment cards in bed at night. Mr. Ruby has opened his fifth restaurant, Tropicana, in Newport. It is the farthest he has wandered in concept from his original steak restaurant, the Precinct there are only a few steaks on the menu at Tropicana.

Mr. Ruby's probably obsessing more than ever, because he wants to make sure he's giving people what they want 1 3 Jbe Cinr inn.iti Enquire MICHAEL SNYOI Group closed the restaurant operation of Jump Cafe in Over-tlie-Khine-keeping the name and location as a bar and lounge. The group in X. The Cincinnati EnquirerTONY JONES Jon Kell brings baguettes out of the oven at Wildflour in Covington. eral Reserve tsanK at rounn aim Race.

It's now a classy bar where you can drink martinis or single-malt Scotch in a room with soaring ceilings, Bernard Wessell murals, marble floors, live piano music and a massive bank vault for wine. Plus, there's a small selection of classy cocktail food carpaccio, crab cocktail and a divine freshly-made guacamole..