Cincinnati Restaurant Week: La Poste

I was almost going to skip this spring's Restaurant Week, as I scurry to pack and leave for Knoxville and a jam-packed few days at the Southern Food Writing Conference. But I'm glad I didn't.

Restaurant Week is always a great opportunity to try a new restaurant or return to one you've enjoyed in the past. It's hard to beat $33.13 for three courses (two-for-$33.13 and other deals available at some lower-cost venues within the Greater Cincinnati Independents/Eat Local Cincy consortium). The only thing I don't understand is why these restaurants and the parent organization don't do a better job of publicizing their Restaurant Week offerings.

In any case, La Poste has been on my list for some time, and I took advantage of this opportunity to try it out. Delightful and delicious. Here's a quick look.

Fruit salad amuse with crispy bread

Diver scallop with hot bacon vinaigrette, wilted greens, gorgonzola, 

specks of rye croutons, and a beautifully runny egg

Seared tuna salad with Meyer lemon vinaigrette, wasabi tobiko, and baby radishes

Salmon (cooked to a perfect medium rare) over Israeli couscous 

with brown butter sauce and asparagus

Oh, and that lovely chocolate mousse tart with raspberries and creme anglaise at the top of this post. Here's La Poste's Restaurant Week menu, which I couldn't seem to find anywhere else online. (Apologies for the folds; I'm not above walking out of a restaurant with a specials menu.)

I thoroughly enjoyed myself at La Poste and look forward to going back and checking out more of what Chef Dave Taylor and crew have in store. (I overheard a server describing one of tonight's specials that was, understandably, not on the $33.13 Restaurant Week menu that included foie gras and sounded divine.)

I hope you'll take advantage of Cincinnati Restaurant Week to get out and try something new too. If Restaurant Week doesn't work for you, there are more fabulous food and craft beer events going on in the city this weekend than I can possibly link to. I picked a heck of a weekend to head out of town. I'll just have to content myself with adventures at the conference that include dinner at Blackberry Farm, a field trip to Benton's Bacon, and lunch at the Knoxville location of Asheville fave Tupelo Honey. And I'll be back in time to check out the Asian Food Festival at The Banks on Sunday (it runs 4:00-midnight Sat. and 1:00-9:00 Sun.). For now, I gotta run.