the winds: doing it right for decades. as the dayton city paper food reviewer i've dined with a purpose more than 100 times, traipsing from tipp city to cincinnati and from union city to yellowspringsin search of high-quality culinary provisions. often the question arises, "what is your favorite restaurant" this sticky situation sends my mind racing through a list of criteria; best concept, service, design or decor, appetizer, soup, salad, entrée, side dish, dessert, cocktail, wine list, etc. there are so many ways to evaluate eateries and all of them have something special to offer. perhaps if i were adam platt, frank bruni or ruth reichl it might be easier to assert my fastidious food preferences. with that said - hands down - the winds café is my favorite because, they do things well and they've been doing it for decades.
dining at the winds for over 20 years, their bravura culinary showmanship never ceases to amaze me. just peruse their website to track this history. all the foodie reverent philosophies are in place as this kitchen sticks to classic flavors while plating with arty flourishes. they have always received high marks for using indigenous ingredients. locavores, before the term was coined, the winds' way has been to buy from suppliers that grow organic food harvested, processed and produced within 30 to 90 mile radius of the restaurant. they accomplish all this respectfully and in an unpretentiously sophisticated way.
the owners are local daytonians, graduates of beavercreek high school, and their interesting biographies can be read on the winds' website. they learned from the ground up through travel, training and doing their homework. the winds is a treasure from the wine and bakery shop next door to the peaceful patio in the rear of the restaurant.
but it is the cooking from scratch that sets me back. at a time when most restaurants take premade short cuts, the winds is flush with chefs, cooks and culinary students turning out every dish. according to their new sous chef, matt klum an oakwood resident and culinary institute of america grad, "we make everything from our mustard to our crème fraîche from basic ingredients. you don't find too many restaurants around here doing that. after working at bouchon restaurant in the napa valley, what is similar to me at the winds is the respect for fresh food service. we have almost no frozen food storage. when we receive fresh fruits and vegetables they are on the diner's plate within 24 hours of reaching our kitchen."
no longer strictly vegetarian, you will find familiar meat dishes that have been updated. the winds' fare is served as one might find food coming out of a great cook's home kitchen or a specialty ethnic restaurant. some sample dishes include dry rubbed duck breast brushed with riesling and honey or moroccan chicken thighs with grilled eggplant and couscous. meatless offerings are planned with the same finesse as these more conventional items. one of my favorite winds' dishes over the years has been the stir fry tofu with scallions, mushrooms, and cashews - this is something that i try to recreate at home because it is another winds' classic.
the winds is a casual fine dining endoit. this means you can have a fancy-schmancy meal as you come off a glen helen hike or from the bike path in riding gear. owner mary kay smith explains, "people still have misconceptions about what we do here. because yellowspringshas lots of tourists and is an 'anything goes' kind of place, people dine here with everything from athletic attire to business suits."
smith and executive chef kim korkan set menus together. their archive of menus on the winds website should be a source of inspiration for other miami valley restaurateurs. lunch highlights can be low cal like a greek taverna salad or funky sandwiches like portabello goes to provence sandwich. a plate lunch might be croque monsieur or a thai shitake stirfry with coconut black rice. when they started back in the 70's it wasn't as easy to get some of the ingredients we see more commonly today.
bistro dinners could have kim's special chicken mole with pumpkin seed rice or panfried halibut cakes with winds' tartar sauce, fried oysters with remoulade, or a southern ohio-style smothered pork chop. other recent additions include grilled mahi mahi with lemon bbq baste or pork meatballs in a chipotle sauce. june 4th look for a skirt steak adobo with corn gratin. just last week, i showed up on the night they were jazzing up a prix fixe dinner with a french soirée pairing dishes from provence with specialty wines.
because i didn't have time to imbibe, they let me order off the menu. a small plate of fried long stem artichokes with a creamy watercress dipping sauce was the starter. i have had artichokes in an assortment of ways as tapenade, in dips or just fresh from the field in california. but this was deliciously different; it's in a class by itself. this week i tried the totally taurus salad. it has a speck ham that is similar to prosciutto but a little drier and smokier atop an early spring mix of spinach for body, arugula, and watercress with a little curly parsley. grape tomatoes are slightly roasted to start the sugar break down intensifying the early season tomato flavors and it was set out with a citrus vinaigrette. they serve their salmon so many different ways one loses count. seared sea scallops with ginger lemongrass beurre noisette was my most recent sampling of seafood. cooked medium rare, it was scored to allow the ginger to gently permeate the scallop frame.
the soups of the day are always posted on the table with a special's list, some of my favorites are the black bean chili and a spicy lentil soup. desserts are made fresh by a pastry and bread chef rick shoop. their raspberry danish and artichoke focaccia bread are just a few of the bakery offerings that i've tried and can recommend. i sampled a panna cotta made in-house, it had a milky fresh taste and was encircled with a sweet finish of roasted strawberry topped with fresh mint sprig.
the wine fare here is matchless as tastings are organized around complementary food and some of the top sellers. this month alone they have a southern french wine tasting, a pacific northwest tasting with oregon's david begg a regional wine sales manager, an austrian and german wine tasting with some of the best rieslings on the market. june 27th friday look for the piedmont wine tasting & dinner with gordon hullar. they'll be serving up the newest releases of barolo and barbaresco along with an assortment of other wines from the piedmontese region.
then there is the local art, artists from around the area find excellent opportunities to exhibit and sell their work. rotating art exhibitions are of the caliber of a fine art gallery. joyce genari's floral paintings help the décor spring into summer. it is exhilarating to dine in a venue that is so supportive of regional artists. the winds steps up to the plate in support of the yellowspringscommunity as in last month's fundraiser for the kids' playhouse.
the one meal i haven't tried is their brunch. migas is a winds' breakfast dish that has caught my curiosity. when they do so many other things precisely, i'm sure they must get brunch right. so yes, for this critic the best concept, service, decor, appetizer, soup, salad, entrée, side dish, dessert, and wine list can be found at the winds in yellow springs.
the winds is located at 215 xenia ave yellow springs, oh. hours of operation tuesday - saturday: lunch: 11:30am - 2pm and dinner: 5 - 10pm. sunday: brunch: 10am - 2pm and closed mondays. check out their very current website at http://www.windscafe.com/. for questions about upcoming events and menu email: info@windscafe.com or phone: 937.767.1144. reservations phone: 937.767.1144. monthly newsletter.
sidedish: bravura culinary showmanship with indigenous ingredients for over 30 years. casual fine dining here with everything from athletic attire to business suits. moroccan chicken thighs with grilled eggplant and couscous, grilled mahi mahi with lemon bbq baste, skirt steak adobo, and vegetarian dishes like stir fry tofu or portabello goes to provence sandwich. freshest appetizers, soups, salads, entrées, side dishes, desserts that are all made from scratch. classic flavors updated through a menu that changes seasonally and prepared with attention to detail. real and unpretentious but artfully sophisticated. meals range from $10 lunches to $60 prix fixe special dinners. reservations recommended. you will to travel the world through ethnic cuisine. excellent wine and bakery shop next door. 215 xenia ave yellow springs, oh. open tuesday - saturday: lunch: 11:30am - 2pm and dinner: 5 - 10pm. sunday: brunch: 10am - 2pm and closed mondays. check out their very current website at http://www.windscafe.com/. for questions about upcoming events and menu email: info@windscafe.com or phone: 937.767.1144. reservations phone: 937.767.1144. monthly newsletter.