At the end of October, it was my month again to pick for the monthly outing of the Happy Mouth Supper Club. I selected the Iron Horse Inn, which has newly reopened in Glendale after being closed for a while. Chef Stefan Marcus is at the stove, and does a very nice job!

Almost the entire Happy Mouth group was there (with a few guests: Beth, Julie, and Terry) and we were seated downstairs in the restaurant’s formal dining room. Our server took exceptional care of us all night.

We started with a mussels appetizer compliments of the Chef, then went into other appetizers — the excellent Red Pepper Bisque and the night’s special soup of Creamed Spinach and Cognac. Both were awesome, as were the Lobster Strudles we enjoyed. Afterward, Chef sent out a small green salad with duck confit. The salad was lightly dressed, and the duck confit was very tasty.

After that, it was into entrees. Everyone fell quiet, which is a sure sign that people are enjoying their meals quite a bit! Desserts were great, too!

This was Wendy’s month to pick, and she changed things up for us quite a bit… She told everyone to prepare for “potentially the most expensive Happy Mouth ever”, and that our evening would start at Paul Sturkey’s MESH Restaurant. We all met at the appointed hour for drinks, appetizers (I had their excellent foie gras appetizer), and socializing. After a while, Wendy escorted everyone outside and told them that we had reservations in the private room of the best Swedish restaurant in the area.

It took a moment for everyone to realize that Wendy meant the cafeteria at IKEA, which sits just a few moments away from MESH.

Far from being our most expensive Happy Mouth, Wendy’s outing was one of the least expensive (and most fun in recent memory!). Good choice, Wendy!

A few days ago, the members of Happy Mouth (and guests Julie & Terry) met to dine at Holly’s pick, Apsara, an Asian-fusion restaurant. We found that they had very nice sushi and a lobster soup that Wendy loved, and a nice curry. The rest of the food was very good as well (despite strong rumors to the contrary — inside joke).

There were a couple missteps, though. First, in a large (mostly-empty) restaurant, the management seated our large party (12-14) next to another large party in an otherwise-empty dining room. The noise was staggering, but even worse was that one lone server (with a lovely mullet) was serving both of our tables, which meant that service was slow and uneven.

But worst of all was when I noticed that my sushi order was a bit light — I hadn’t received everything I’d ordered. The server realized that he’d set my sushi plate down at the end of the table, and their sushi order was set before me. Both of us had started eating, but the server simply grabbed the plates and swapped them. Now, I’m no prude, and the folks that had their fingers in my food are friends, but that still counted as a giant mistake in my book. <sarcasm>Fortunately, the server went deaf just before I started complaining.</sarcasm> Otherwise, the food and experience was fun.

Another successful Happy Mouth!

This month’s selection, by Ted, of the outing for HAPPY MOUTH SUPPER CLUB came as an accidental surprise. Apparently, when Ted was seeking a place for us to go, someone mentioned Maribelle’s CAKERY, which Ted misunderstood as Maribelle’s TAVERN, which he picked as our destination.

A happy accident it was, too… Situated near the river on the east side of town, this small neighborhood place offered good upscale-bar-type food and beverages at reasonable prices. Everything was plenty tasty! A few mis-steps here and there (some of our party had overcooked food and heavy seasoning on a few items). Accidental or not, it was a good pick, Ted!

For this month’s outing, a bit of a change-up… The members of HAPPY MOUTH SUPPER CLUB met for brunch at Lavomatic, one of the Jean-Robert French Restaurant Group’s newest places. It’s a favorite of mine for their fresh, local, organic ingredients and whimsical preparations, plus the executive chef is a good friend of mine (hi Joanne!).

This month, because Kristi was busy with other things, we all decided to meet-and-eat anyway at Buca di Beppo for their “red-sauce Italian” fare. We noisily occupied a semi-private dining room and proceeded to eat and drink darned near everything on their menu while Angel drooled over a soccer team that was in the restaurant as well. While it didn’t pan out for Angel, the food, drink, and company was awesome.

This month was Jay’s month to select and he picked Burbank’s Real Bar-B-Q, which we’d overlooked as a club until Jay thought of it. Boy, was it good! Smoky Bar-B-Q and lots of libations made this a great time. And long-lost Chef Doug (and his girlfriend) showed up! A great time was had by all.

This month’s selection for the HAPPY MOUTH SUPPER CLUB was the modestly-priced-but-expensive (more on that in a moment) Cleves Drive-In Restaurant, which was selected by Tracy. The fare was really good, and the desserts were especially delicious.

The reason this moderately-priced place was expensive (at least for Jay, Ron, and myself) was that we three got pulled over for blowing through a stop sign by Cleves’ finest. The officer was very nice and couldn’t have been more patient (and funny) as he hit all three of us with a $100 fine. Each. YOUCH!

Still, a great Happy Mouth!

Tonight’s HAPPY MOUTH SUPPER CLUB was the first pick by Dave & Robin, who finally got a month (to share). Unfortunately, Wendy & I were too sick to attend, so we missed it. Selected was BD’s Mongolian BBQ, and I hear it was a really good time!

On January 19, 2008, members of the Happy Mouth Supper Club met (our first meeting of 2008!) for dinner at Bouquet in Covington Kentucky, which was Angel’s pick. Bouquet is a nice little wine bar and restaurant that opened December 1, 2007 and is developing their big ideas for what the place should be as time and money allows. Chef/owner Stephen Williams, formerly sous chef at Otto’s next door, has opened the intimate space to focus on wine and food, and does well on both counts.

Holly, Jay, Wendy, and I arrived at Bouquet early (after catching an Omnimax showing of SEA MONSTERS at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal) for a glass of wine and an appetizer of crab cakes. Slowly, the rest of our large party (13 of us) arrived, and our evening kicked off with soup (excellent butternut squash soup, served with fresh crusty bread), salads, then entrees such as their salmon, lamb, and various steak selections. Everything was well-prepared and served appropriately seasoned. The service staff was knowledgable and present without being overbearing. Water glasses were filled (and re-filled (we’re a thirsty bunch!)) as necessary, and it was no problem at all for our check to be split (we told them ahead of ordering, for which they seemed grateful). The music was appropriate and played at a suitable volume that made conversation easy. The room, which was empty when we arrived, was filled by the time our dinner was in full swing. Bouquet accepts reservations, and it seems like a good idea to secure them before heading down there.

Stephen Williams is a recent graduate of the Midwest Culinary Institute, so my wishes for his success are doubled (at least!).