winds cafe

one more time. drive your cheap butt toyellowsprings for ridiculously amazing food. awesome food fit for foodies.


-----30 apr, 2010-----

best place in dayton hands down. drive your cheap butt to ys for the best meal in your life.

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 toyellowsprings in 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. becauseyellowsprings has 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 theyellowsprings community 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 inyellowsprings.

the winds is located at 215 xenia aveyellowsprings, 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 aveyellowsprings, 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.

though i had been twice for dinner in august, receiving slow service and average food but a nice atmosphere, i trusted the word of colleagues who (believing i unfortunately ordered the wrong dishes both times) assured me that the winds was the bestyellowsprings had to offer. however, after my last attempt i will never go back. i am a prof at a local university; i was entertaining a visiting guest and prof from the u of michigan and was hoping to treat her to a nice meal on the patio. she is a brilliant, kind woman who happens to be black. i mention this only because we received very unusual treatment from the host, a haughty, dismissive attitude which both of us believed was racist. he ignored my guest's simple question about the patio (we'd spotted two tables empty outside) and horrifyingly looked right past her and spoke to the couple standing behind us as if she hadn't said anything to him. she tried to speak to him again and this time he brusquely answered her but did not look at her--he actually spoke to the air next to her. it was very blatant and shocking.
we had a reservation. many tables were empty when we arrived. we had patiently and cheerfully stood in the lobby for ten minutes with no one at the host stand. when he finally arrived to seat us there were four couples waiting. they all witnessed the treatment. he had no problems meeting their eyes or mine. as he seated the woman in front if us on the patio we simply and quietly left...after the couple behind us acknowledged that his strange rudeness to my guest had been obvious and shocking to them also. i have to say, i didn't trust my own perceptions--i was so caught off guard. i have never been so embarrassed at a restaurant. we were dressed to the nines but deflated. i fought back the urge to force him to attend to his behavior by getting loud and defending her honor, but my guest was too gracious to allow it. i wish i had confronted him. what a mistake the winds is making to have him as the the face of their restaurant. i will never go back and have told other professors with visiting lecturers and speakers to be wary.

service and food disappointing. as far back as 1994 or so, i fell in love with the winds. as a graduate student, i loved coming into town for a hike and a great meal. when i was a newlywed, my spouse and i would come to the winds for romantic dinners. later it became our favorite place for mother's and father's day celebrations and hikes with our kids, grandparents, et al. i would urge people to make the drive from cincinnati just to eat there

my, how things have changed. i ate at the winds maybe 2-3 years ago and was really disappointed. i figured it was just a fluke. it was mother's day--they had been slammed....maybe it was just a bad day, right? just two weeks ago i tried it again with a friend. we had the whole afternoon to spend and were in no rush...and yet....

even with a reservation and many tables sitting vacant, we waited in the lobby for 15 minutes. it was very strange as no one was really at the hostess/host stand. once seated, our drink order was not taken for at least 10-15 minutes...then took a really long time to arrive. ditto on the food order and the arrival of the food. coffee refills and hot water (for tea) was not forthcoming either. it was not very busy in the restaurant so why the horribly sluggish service?

my pancakes were heavy and nothing special. my glass of juice was fine but not worth the cost (it wasn't even fresh-squeezed so why the crazy prices?) my friend main dish was average but the fruit bowl was really interesting....it had a rotten (is in gray in color) strawberry right on top and a piece of honeydew rind in the bowl.

we both know a lot about food (she runs a restaurant) so yeah, maybe we have high standards, but the winds historically has been a foodie haven. on this day, neither of us was looking for haute cuisine...we just wanted a basic, delicious breakfast, our drinks kept hot and somewhat efficient service. our server seemed confused. the whole staff seemed confused. have they changed ownership or something?

so sad to say, but i won't be back. there are better breakfast joints inyellowsprings....and certainly in cinci...for a fraction of the cost.

i've been here twice & it's quickly becoming one of my favorite restaurants! fabulous food & great atmosphere. also top of the line service. i don't really go toyellowsprings for anything but the winds cafe!

very good food and service. going to winds cafe was sort of the focal point of my recent trip toyellowsprings. the reviews are pretty much unanimously positive and the menu looked great. i'm glad to say that i was not disappointed.
first off, service was great. our waiter, while being very busy, was attentive and friendly without being overbearing. he seemed genuinely happy and enthusiastic about the restaurant. food came out in a reasonable time frame.
an assortment of bread was brought to us which was promptly devoured - the focaccia especially was delicious. we started with the italian spidini with bagna cauda - basically skewers of alternating bread and cheese which are browned and drizzled with an anchovy, garlic, lemon and olive oil sauce. this was a great way to start the meal. the bread was tender and the cheese was just softened enough.
for my entree i got the grilled duck breast. this came with mashed sweet potatoes and leeks. first off, i have to say that the duck breast showed great finesse. it was cooked to perfect tenderness with a nice layer or crispy fat on the end. i normally don't like leeks but these had a great seasoning to them. the sweet potatoes were also perfect in consistency. there were a number of ingredients mentioned in the description on the menu which i couldn't really distinguish but the taste of everything was superb. there was also a smoky tomatillo chipotle sauce that while tasty, would've been much better on the duck itself than on the sweet potatoes. the two tastes together became almost cloyingly sweet/spicy. but this is a minor criticism of an otherwise outstanding dish - this was probably the best duck i've had. my girlfriend got the ribeye and said that it was cooked perfectly as well.
the only disappointment of the night was dessert. we tried the "strawberry tiramisu" which ended up being more like strawberry shortbread. it was basically a shortbread cookie with a bowl of strawberries topped by a dollop of marscapone. i realize maybe they were trying to do a deconstructed tiramisu, but it wasn't anything like a tiramisu. it's my favorite dessert and i've ate it so many times that i am just about at connoisseur level for the particular dish, so it was almost kind of offensive for the name to be misapplied so flagrantly. the dessert was what brought winds cafe from a "really likes it" to just a "likes it" for me.
overall though, i was really impressed. it was definitely some of the best food i've had in the dayton area. all of the dishes that came out showed skill and finesse. i'd recommend to anyone looking for some innovative new food and it is worth a trip.

this is a fun restaurant to visit. i love the town ofyellowsprings and this is certainly a gem. a very inventive and original menu and fantastic wine menu will surly please any foodie looking for a new dining experience!