Jojo Bistro & Wine Bar

As the 6-ton NASA satellite plummets to Earth with officials unable to pinpoint where it will make its final resting place, Jim and I figure the odds are against us that we would get hit by it, we decide to go out for dinner.   Jim's only request was that he wanted to go somewhere that had some atmosphere. Thinking I'd like to stay close to home, I suggested Jojo's (as I describe it as the 2 Vine of the Eastside). 

Just a hop, skip and jump from home, we walk into the restaurant and as usual, the bar is packed and full of fun energy.  Instead of trying to struggle to the bar to get a drink, we approach the host stand to be seated and have a cocktail at the table.  No wait, we head right in to the table.

We are seated at one of the crescent shaped banquettes in the back part of the restaurant.  The dining area is appropriately lit, a little on the loud side from the bar, but certainly not a deal breaker.  Our waitress approaches the table, I order my old and trusted friend, Stoli Martini (always on the rocks, a little dirty and of course,  please don't skip or skimp on the olives) and Jim orders a Jojo house specialty cocktail. While we wait for our cocktails, we look over the menu. 

Our waitress arrives with the cocktails then describes the nightly specials (and I didn't even have to ask if there were specials, we are off to a good start). We place our appetizer order and sit back and sip our libations. During this time, I notice the table next to us is about to be seated. The host seating the guests appeared maybe to be the dining room manager as he was dressed differently from the rest of the staff.  Much like a mother duck, he was in front and the 3 guests followed behind to the table.  The host presented the table, turned and walked away.  The 3rd guest wasn't even at the table yet, and the host has now "passed" the guest as he walked back to the front of the restaurant.  Ok... this wasn't my experience; I only observed the situation, but really?  The host can't even wait at the table for all the guests to be seated or even pull a chair out for a guests?  Again, not my experience, but it does goes to show that really good, consistant dining experiences are far and few between. Enough said, at this point, I am well into my cocktail.

Our appetizers arrive, Tuna Tartar and Figs.  The Tuna Tartar, a generous portion of fresh, melt in your mouth Ahi tuna took center stage on the plate with alternating slices of cucumber and tomato surrounding it like a sunburst, drizzled with a refreshing Green Goddess dressing. Yum! Yum!  The Figs, 3 to the serving, arrive warm, stuffed with Stilton blue cheese wrapped in crispy Prosciutto.  I would highly recommend either for a starter.  While enjoying the starters, we place our dinner order and grab a refill on the cocktails, no need to complicate things; we stick with our same cocktail.

Dinner arrives soon after the apps but not before our cocktails.  Keeping it simple, I ordered the Chicken Cutlets. Two over-sized tender cutlets blanketed with shaved parmesan fill the plate along with Arugula greens dressed with lemon vinaigrette. Jim ordered one of the specials, NY Strip, prepared medium with mashed potato and broccolini.  When the plate arrived, the broccolini was replaced with asparagus.  Jim, preferring asparagus, did not mind the substitution. The steak was tasty and tender.

Following dinner, Jim, who would rather start with reviewing the dessert menu before the main dishes, accepts the waitress' offer to have a look at the dessert menu, we also order coffee.  Ultimately, we decide to share a piece of carrot cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting.  The cake was moist and the frosting not overdone with chocolate, more than a whisper of chocolate flavor, but not too much as to overpower the taste of the carrot cake.  It was a nice combination of both flavors. 

Overall, it was a great dining experience, the food was tasty and the service was excellent, a nice change from the past few experiences we've had recently.  As for the satellite, we heard it landed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.


Date: Friday, September 23, 2011.