Dayton, Ohio, isn’t known for it’s restaurants. There are a few here and there, many of which are from years past. El Meson is a notable exception, offering uncharacteristically authentic South American food in a blue collar neighborhood. l’Auberge is a snobby French place that’s done well for over 30 years now (and the food is very good). But there’s a new player in town that feels like it belongs in a more trendy setting, Rue Dumaine.

Chef Anne Kearney and Tom Sand, Jr., are the proprieters, and they previously had a place called Peristyle in New Orleans, on, you may have guessed, Rue Dumaine. What makes the place different to me is that Anne and Tom have started a restaurant knowing what they wanted it to be. It’s not a jacket and tie formal restaurant, and it’s not a burger joint. It’s a bistro, with small plates and large plates, daily specials and seasonal items. Anne specializes in charcuterie, also, offering a small plate that changes daily.

We’ve only been to Rue Dumaine twice, and what we’ve enjoyed is great food, a friendly place, and having the opportunity to talk to Anne as she made her way around the restaurant. Unlike some chefs I’ve seen do this to get praise from everyone, I think Anne does it to connect with people and put a face to the restaurant. I’d been there only once before, but Anne remembered us last night. She’s friendly and fun to talk to, and taking her tour around the place is something I think she looks forward to doing.

As the title of this entry says, we had a miserable day yesterday. It was the coldest it had been in 14 years in SW Ohio, and I realized, after showering, that our water pressure was dropping. Sure enough, there was a problem, though not in the house. On top of that, the power went out for an hour, fortunately while I was at work. I decided I had to turn around and get home to get things done. A plumber spent several hours trying to thaw our line with no success. Just not a fun day.

So we decided a night at Rue Dumaine would at least help things look up. Knowing Anne’s reputation for charcuterie, and having had a lamb turrine last month, I wanted to know what the night’s offering was. I didn’t expect it to be scallop sausage, served with arugula and raw beets.

While waiting for that, we got glasses of wine. The restaurant has a very nice by-the-glass selection. My wife had a really nice Côtes-Du-Rhône from Andre Brunel, and I had a petite syrah from Michael David. Both were nice wines.

The sausage came out, and it was almost difficult to cut, but only because it was so soft. It was a nice surprise, really. The sausage was so delicate, even more tender than a good scallop would be. The flavor was nice, too, and the beets went well with it. The arugula was a good accompaniment, too. About the only thing I would have changed about this or any of the rest of the meal would have been to add a bit more acid to the greens to balance things, but it was a fun starter; good flavor plus surprisingly nice texture equals fun!

For our mains, my wife chose the steak frites. This was hanger steak with beurre de Montpelier and pomme frites. She wanted this because she was in the mood for French fries, I think. I went for the Friday special of grilled duck breast with haricort verte and beet risotto. It had an orange gastrique infused demi-glace reduction (I copied this from the menu to make sure I got it right!).

Tony was our waiter, and he apologized at one point that our mains would take a bit to come out. I hope this isn’t normal… not the delay in getting the mains, but apologizing for it. We’ve gotten so used to one course coming out while we’re finishing the first course that we get impatient. I much prefer taking some time to relax between courses, which is what we were wanting to do last night anyway.

By the way, Anne, if you read this, having had a rough day, I neglected to get the name of our busser. He was excellent, in both service and attitude. Unlike a lot of places where the bussers won’t talk at all, he was friendly without being pushy at all, and just added to the service very well.

The meals were just great. Really enjoyable. The duck was perfectly medium rare, with crispy green beans. The beet risotto threw me at first, until I realized how well it went with the duck. The hanger steak as very tender, nicely seasoned, and the beurre de Montpelier was great touch. The fries were double fried, as good as they get, and served with a garlic aioli. There must have been 3 potatoes worth of fries on the plate!

We weren’t in too much need of dessert, but we ended by splitting a creme brulee, which was nicely simple. The dessert menu has some interesting items I’m going to try. Anne came by around then, and I mentioned that the apple tarragon sorbet really sounded interesting, so she sent out a sample for me to try. I have to say that it was one of the best combinations I’ve had in a sorbet. The tarragon came in after the apple flavor and just tasted fresh and really pleasant.

The things I left there with were that it’s so nice to have a real restaurant around, with a chef that gives her personality to the menu instead of a cook trying to be consistent to a chain’s menu, and that I need to get back again soon.  There are other good restaurants around, especially in Cincinnati, but part of what will keep me coming back is the personality of the place and how well we’re treated when we’re there.  Anne and Tom have a place where I can look forward to knowing the staff by name and enjoying more great food in the future. I hope bistro dining takes root and stays in Dayton.

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