$$$$Price: Moderate • American • Cincinnati
My 4 colleagues and I met for lunch for our annual Christmas lunch. We wanted to go to someplace new so chose Cooper's Hawk. We were promptly seated in a comfortable booth and our server was very attentive and totally on top of everything! We ordered several appetizers; the Candied Bacon and Artisan Cheese Plate was yummy (especially the 2 goat cheese offerings) and the Sweet Chili Calamari was deliciously different than any other calamari I've had (they're typically breaded, deep fried and served very crispy like onion rings) . These were huge calamari (very tender, not chewy), lightly battered, and liberally blanketed with a medium-spice sweet chili sauce and served with a Sesame-Sriracha Aioli. Highly recommended! I also ordered a cup of the Seafood Bisque which was rich, creamy and included a generous amount of crab, shrimp and lobster; I shared it with 2 colleagues who also gave it a thumbs up.
Two colleagues shared a white wine flight and a red wine flight; they expected small tasting-sized glasses so were surprised when 8 almost regular-sized glasses of wine (4 white, 4 red) were brought to the table. Two other colleagues each had an individual glass of the Pinot Gris and did a refilll halfway through their meals.
Our entrees were a mixed bag... my Shrimp and Scallop Risotto with peas, asparagus, corn and spinach was underwhelming; I ate about half, brought the rest home but doubt I'll finish it. One colleague had a Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese sandwich with Fries and a side of Tomato Soup; he only ate half (too much cheese, not enough meat). One colleague had the Baked Parmesan Shrimp Scampi and said the shrimp was tough. Two other colleagues ordered the Dana's Parmesan-Crusted Chicken and both cleaned their plates.
Several us of decided to split the Banofee Pie for dessert. While we were waiting, our server brought us 5 small glasses of a fruity dessert wine (didn't catch the name) and it was a delicious. The Banofee Pie was oustanding.
