Some webbernet friends and I decided to keep track of how many new restaurants we went to in 2009. The goal was to get to 25, but I was pleased as punch to reach 13. I may edit this post later with my full (read: very long-winded) reviews, but here's a quick re-cap.

1. Flavors Eatery in Centerville, Ohio - 4 out of 5 sporks
2. Pacchia in Dayton, Ohio (Oregon District, during Restaurant week) - 3 out of 5 sporks
3. Las Piramides - Huber Heights, Ohio - 4 out of 5 sporks
4. Barnsider in Old North Dayton - 4.5 out of 5 sporks
5. Corleone's Pizza - 4.5 out of 5 sporks
6. Blind Bob's in Dayton, Ohio (Oregon District) 2.5 - out of 5 sporks
7. The Winking Lizard in Columbus, Ohio - 4 out of 5 sporks
8. Salsa's in Dayton, Ohio (Airway Shopping Center) - 5 out of 5 sporks
9. Filling Station Sports Bar & Grill (with a game room!) in Dayton, Ohio - 4.5 out of 5 sporks
10. Mimi's Cafe in Beavercreek, Ohio (The Greene) - 1 out of 5 sporks
11. Palermo's in Kettering Ohio (Dixie Shopping Centers behind Wal-Mart) - 2 out of 5 sporks
12. Cheddars in Henryville, IN - 3 out of 5 sporks
13. Ertel's Winery and Bistro in Batesville, IN - 5 out of 5 sporks


As you can see, my ratings system is 1 through 5 scale, based equal parts on service, food and price. I will say, though, that usually terrible service will kill a score faster than so-so food will.

Flavors, for example, would have gotten a full five if it weren't for their piss-poor service. Come to think of it, same goes for Filling Station (fewer points deducted because they'd just opened) and Barnsider. I didn't have terrible service at either of the last two, but I wasn't impressed. The server at Filling Station didn't seem to know the menu at all, and seemed really put out when I asked that she bring me the pickle spear missing from my plate. Barnsider was quite crowded, icy weather had probably caused people to call off, and our server seemed to have some kind of personal crisis.

Flavors...well, I suppose this one is worth posting the full review.


1/16/09

I'd been wanting to try this place for a while, but I'm rarely that far south of town. Business is always a good excuse to go someplace a bit out of the way, so I met a friend there for lunch. She was actually trying to sell me on something for a change, so lunch was on her.

Bad start. It's 5° outside, the sign in the window says they open daily @ 11:30. The doors are still locked, and it's 11:35. The gal who came and opened the doors didn't act completely burdened, but she sure wasn't overly apologetic for making us stand out there when they should have been open, either.

My friend and I ordered the exact same thing - open-faced chicken, artichoke and spinach sandwich with a diet coke. I ordered this because it sounded totally delicious, but honestly - I couldn't read the ridiculously small print on the menu hanging above the register. Our drinks came out and I couldn't decide if I was happy or pissed. Cute little tumblers with orange slices in them...and a CAN of Diet Coke. Love the tumblers, hate the lack of free refills.

Our food arrived and looked delicious. My friend had asked if each of us could have a extra house sauce when we placed our order, which did not arrive with our food. When she asked for it again, she was met with, "Uhhh, ok - but it's already on the chips and the sandwich." This gal pal of mine is pretty demanding, and said "I didn't ask you what it was already on, I asked if I could have extra. That implies I know it's already on the sandwich."

Another negative - the staff yells really loudly to regulars when they leave. For those of you who haven't been, Flavors is set up kind of like a fancy/trendy deli or diner. You order & pay at the counter, someone brings your food out to you. So, the register and all the staff are about 5 feet tops, from anyone who is seated and eating. So, it makes conversation difficult. To boot, we stayed for quite a while - between 1-2 hours, and they looked none to happy that we took up a small table for that long.

The big win is, the food was effing delicious. I'll definitely go back, because I can see myself craving that particular dish - but there's a good chance I may be getting take out.