Adam23

1. No carpet on the floor. Why would this make your feet freeze, though? Do you dine barefoot?

2. No more tchotckes, I'm afraid.

3. There are drapes on the windows, and some along the opposite wall if I recall correctly.

4. The room doesn't look that different if you've been to Mariana. It is more of an improvement to what they had than a complete transformation.

Adam23, thanks for the detailed review. What were the prices of the entrees? How was the pricing on the wine? I will be stopping by in the near future to try that foie.

Entrees were $16-25. Risotto was cheapest @ 16, chicken was $18, scallops and halibut were 21, duck 25. Apps were $6-7 except the Foie. Beers were $5-6. Wine by the glass was $6-8. Bottles were mid $20s+ I wasn't entirely familiar with the wines on the list so not sure the markup. The only wine I was familiar with, the Ici Pinot from Oregon I think was $45 on the list and retails for $25. So about 100% markup on that particular bottle. Deserts were $6-7 too. Overall, I found the prices reasonable and the overall quality was very good.

Decided to check out Bastille this evening.

Service was kind of lousy. Took a few minutes to be acknowledged at the door and the waiter was rarely around. I think the service will improve though as time passes.

Wine list was pretty good. Had a few different French choices, quite a few Portuguese wines and several choices by the glass.

Dinner menu is split. There is a tasting menu option which we did not get. There is also the standard appetizer, entree menu.

We chose two starters. I had the soup of the day which was a Potato and Leek soup. Wife had the Hot and Cold Fois Gras. The soup was excellent. I asked the waiter about the soup and he said it was not really a cream soup. However, when it came out it was clearly a cream soup. Anyhow, the soup had a very nice leek flavor and was very good. No complaints.

As for the Foie Gras appetizer - it was superb. First off, for $9, the portion was huge. We were not expecting much and we were surprised. The Foie was served on a rectangular plate, one side the hot Foie and the other side the cold. In the middle was a fig mixture. The cold Foie was very tasty. A nice piece of it served on a piece of crusty bread. The hot Foie was superb. Perfectly cooked and very tasty. If you like Foie, definitely order this.

For Entrees my wife ordered the Halibut and I ordered the Duck entree. The Halibut was very fresh and perfectly cooked. It was simply prepared with salt and pepper. The fish was served over a very nice lemon/herb risotto which went well with the fish. It was also served with a Tomato/Orange Marmalade. The Marmalade was pretty bad. It was extremely bitter and didn't go so well with the fish and risotto. We asked the waiter what it was, and he mentioned it should have been a nice slightly sweet flavor. Oh well - my wife kicked the marmalade to the side.

The duck was amazing. One of the best duck dishes i've had around and I eat duck fairly often. First, the duck was perfectly cooked medium rare as ordered. The skin was crisp and the duck was very flavorful and tender. The mushroom sauce on the duck was very nice as well - sweet but not overpowering. The endive were good. If you like duck, i'd recommend ordering this dish.

For dessert, my wife and I shared the creme brulee. It was very eggy and not the best I've had. I like a creme brulee that has the sugar on top freshly caramelized so the hot sugar interacts with the cold custard. This tasted as if it was prepared on another day. They were out of the fruit tartin which we really wanted for dessert. The diners next to us had the last one and said it was excellent.

If Fois Gras and duck is your thing, definitely check out Bastille.

Overall, we enjoyed our meal and i'll definitely be back.

Cracked open my last bottle of Dr. Frank 99 Reserve Cab.

It was divine. Little tannin, smooth as could be and a gorgeous fruity nose. It will surely be missed.

If anyone ever comes across a bottle, let me know.

Stopped in for lunch yesterday as well. Place was busy but the food came out in 10 minutes.

The cod was wonderful. Perfectly fried, excellent batter, superb fish.

The chips were also very good. Not normally a fan of fresh cut fries, but these were quite good. Not too greasy and a good amount of crunch.

I enjoyed their Kitty O'Shea and Curry Sauces quite a bit. And the good malt vinegar was a welcome surprise.

Can't wait to go back and try the other items.

I don't know if there are any must eats. I'd definately check out West Side Market as someone mentioned.

If chinese is your thing, C&Y on 21st and St. Clair (Cleveland's Chinatown) is superb - probably better than any place in DC. Their dim sum is superb.

If you will be in town before 3 pm on Friday, i'd recommend you get a corned beef sandwich or reuben at Slymans on St. Clair (I think 19th is the Cross Street). Its cash only, only open till 3 and easily the best Corned Beef anywhere and i've eaten a lot of corned beef. Sandwiches are huge. Also, get an order of fries. Superb.

If you're looking for a relaxed dinner, that is very reasonable, there are a few options. The chefs of Cleveland's best restaurants often have diners they run as well, offering superb high quality food at cheap prices. Two i'd recommend:

Mom's Diner (owned by brad Friedlander of Moxie) which is on Miles and Brainard Road in Chagrin Falls

or

Park City Diner (owned by Lockkeepers) which is on Rockside Road

Both diners are convenient to the highways. Both have superb food - burgers, salads, etc. Kind of like an upscale TGi Fridays for lack of a better description.

Where you staying in Cleveland. I can give you a ton more suggestions.

My wife and I are going there this weekend, and we're pretty unfamiliary with the town. We'd appreciate recommendations for:

1) Road food along the way (traveling from D.C. - I70 to I76 to I80).

2) Any "must eats" while there, preferably of the "non-haute" variety. We'll be there for a big family get-together, so culinary/gastronomic diversions will have to be kept to the quick and cheap variety. I'd be particularly interested in any stereotypical food for the Cleveland area, as off the top of my head, I cannot think of anything.

Thanks for the help!