Bistro on Main - Best in Findlay

Bistro on Main
407 Main Street
Findlay, OH 45840

I was throwing together some plans for Andrea's birthday. I decided that I would take her out to a nice dinner. I attempted to book a table at Japan West, but I learned that their latest reservation was at 7:45 and Andrea would not make it home from school until 8.

I went to my favorite all things Findlay resource, Matt, and asked him what the best restaurant in town was. His response: Bistro on Main.

Bistro on main is open until 10:30 during the week, which is nice for us with Andrea at class until 7 and then the hour drive from Toledo. She isn't home until at least 8 on most school nights. I made a reservation for 8:30. I picked up some Roses and the birthday plans were complete.

We arrived at Bistro on Main at 8:30 and were immediately impressed. The atmosphere was very laid back, yet upper class. There was a live musician playing various guitar songs from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Including hits of the Eagles and Elton John. The music was just the right volume and the whole setting was perfect for a nice relaxing evening.

We started with the Bruschetta. It was very good with several different little things to put on it. There were mushrooms with olives, tomatoes, fresh grated cheese, and a ranch dip that was very good. The appetizer disappeared quickly.

We each had a glass of wine. I had the Paraiso Pinot Noir, which was fantastic but not the best pinot I have ever had. That would be the pinot offered at Spoodles, on the Boardwalk in Disney. But this wine was no slouch. Andrea ordered the Cavas Bay Sauvignon Blanc. It was a very crisp and smooth wine. It seemed very easy to drink and would be a good choice for someone new to wines.

the salads looked fantastic. Mine was the normal salad, with a honey poppyseed dressing that was very sweet. Andrea substitute the hot bacon spinach salad in place. She said that though the bacon was good, it seemed that the grease from the bacon was all over the rest of the salad.

For our entree, I had the Strip steak while Andrea ordered the Tilapia.

The strip was done to a perfect medium rare, and waitress was dead on with her recommendation of Tuscan style. Tuscan style is prepared by covering the steak with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a mixture of Italian Herbs and Spices. It was fantastic. It gave the steak, that little extra kick to really put it over the top. The mashed potatoes were very very good, although probably not good for me. The vegetables we also extremely good.


Andrea's Tilapia was excellent. At least I think so, she ate it all before I had a chance to sample it. It came with rice and the same vegetables that mine did. The rice had a strange flavor that was something like fishy.


For desert we split the Lava Cake. An extremely rich chocolate cake served hot with a scoop of icecream. To accompany our dessert, Andrea had a glass of Ice Wine, Vidal and I had a 10 year Tawny Port. The ice wine was extremely sweet and stood up well against the rich chocolate cake.

This was the first time I have had Port. It took me by surprise a little. It was a nice strong wine, that was extremely sweet and syrupy. I could tell it had a high alcohol content due to the tingle it left behind. Fantastic.

The scary part was next...The Bill!!

When going to Bistro on Main be prepared to drop some cash. The average entree is around $20, with wines running from $6 to $9 a glass. Our bill, which included 4 glasses of wine, 2 dinners over $20 each, the Bruschetta, and dessert was a little over $100 after tip.

Overall this is the Best Restaurant in Findlay. The food is fantastic and the atmosphere cannot be beat. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a special night out, or if you can afford this on a regular basis, I suggest making it a frequent dining event.

A+.

Best in Town.

Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks - Olive Garden

What a great freaking deal.

I am a huge fan of the Zuppa Toscana soup.

A couple of little things that you might have missed:

There are three salad dressings to choose from. The default is the house Italian, and if you don't ask for the other two then this is what you get. The second is a low fat Italian, which tastes exactly like the normal Italian. The third, which I haven't tried is a peppercorn. I need to sample it the next time we are there

The lunch price for the Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks ($5.99 I think) is good on the weekends as well as during the week, so if you go there for a Saturday or Sunday lunch you can get out with a very small bill.

Diamond River - New Year's Eve

EDIT: Since the writing of this entry Diamond River has shut down and been replaced with Red Pig Inn, a BBQ joint with pretty good ribs.

To celebrate the coming of 2006 we had our friends Rob and Debbie back in town. We decided to make reservations at Diamond River only after hearing that Japan West was having a $60/plate flat rate dinner on the festive night.


I don't think it was a mistake at all. Diamond River gave me one of the best meals I have had in a while.

I ordered the Smoke House Platter. It was the perfect man's dinner. Meat, potatoes and corn bread. What more could you want??

The meal had a half rack of ribs, beef briscuit and a half cornish hen, all covered in a great Bar-B-Que sauce.

Three different animals to munch on between glasses of great red wines.


Overall I give Diamond River a A-.

The food was great and the menu seemed to have something for everyone. The waitress was a little slow to fill the drinks, but she seemed to be extremely busy. I think there was a poor management decision and they seemed understaffed for the busy night.

A great meal.