Dining with Professionals

Monarch provides readers with exposés of visually stunning restaurants that can give you a heads-up on where to take that client no matter what city you are in.

HIGH NOON DELIGHTS

It’s amazing what creators come up with to get people to visit their establishments. It’s even more amazing when the creations work flawlessly. Pick your delight and take a business lunch in one of these fantastic establishments.

It’s all about the location, baby. black olive is set in the right place at the right time. all you need to do is pay them a visit.

Black Olive

731-733 N. High Street and Buttles Columbus, OH 43215 Phone: 614.298.8750

The Black Olive is located in the perfect spot on North High Street in the Short North area. What use to be the Coffee Table where Columbus locals could go for a quick coffee break is now this elegant little restaurant on the corner of Buttles and High Street. This can be a busy location during summer months because of festivals and other festivities, but this coming fall it will be the perfect place to hang out and enjoy the goings-on in the neighborhood. This small establishment is just right for those quick meetings and is one of those places to be seen in. Offering lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, this Midwestern restaurant will surprise you. Get this, one of their menu offerings includes shrimp and grits. New and desirable, this is spot that leaves visitors wanting more. Prepare for seconds at Black Olive.

Pano’s & Paul’s

1232 W Paces Ferry Rd. NW
Atlanta, GA 30327
Phone: 404.261.3662

Georgia is the place to try some scrumptious fried lobster tail. It’s so good I bet even the governor likes to make a few visits.

For a restaurant located inconspicuously in a strip mall can you believe that it has it all? Offering American and Continental cuisine, Pano’s & Paul’s is worth the visit. Located straight down the street from the Governor’s mansion in Buckhead, Georgia, this restaurant calls home one of the most affluent areas in Georgia. When you walk in, prepare to be captivated by it’s lovely flower arrangements and a dining room décor draped with gold walls and ceilings, complemented with sexy burgundy chairs. This is a favorite of the locals, and along with a favorite place there, has to be a favorite dish. Have you ever tried fried lobster tail? If not, look Pano’s & Paul’s up for a lobster delight. Don’t forget to make reservations. After dinner, visit the bar and discover their extensive wine list while enjoying a little romantic piano music on the weekends.

The Grove

1611 Lamar Street Houston, TX 77010
Phone: 713.337.7321
www.thegrovehouston.com

Finish a spectacular meal feeling as if you were one with nature. A picnic in the park without the park.

Opening its doors in January of 2008, this restaurant is located in an interactive urban park called Discovery Green. The name of this restaurant is no coincidence. As you walk up to The Grove, the design of the building is meant to coincide with the natural landscape of the urban park. High ceilings with glass windows bring natural light into the dining room. American cuisine is offered, done by no other than acclaimed chef Ryan Perra. Giving his visitors choices that explode with flavor, his menu features steak, seafood and specialty salads. Combine one of these favorites with appetizers such as deviled eggs and fried shrimp, and you’re in food heaven. Feel comfortable with bringing guests to talk over contracts. Two private rooms that are small enough for a one on one, and big enough for a party of at least ten is provided. These glass wall luxuries go fast, so make sure to reserve your room. After viewing the lower level of the restaurant walk upstairs and view the skyline of the city in the vista room called the Treehouse. Houston is a beautiful place to visit, and The Grove makes it even better.

Katana

8439 W. Sunset Blvd. W. Hollywood, CA 90069
Phone: 323.650.8585
www.katanarobata.com

Looking for a home away from home? Why not try something new like Japanese comfort food.

This stylish Japanese restaurant and lounge is an ultra modern spot with a hip patio that overlooks the strip. Katana is located in the historic Plaza Del Sol building. Are you familiar with American comfort food? If you are, then get ready to be re-educated, because Katana offers what is called Japanese comfort food. Try traditional meats such as chicken, beef and fish roasted over open flames. If this is not enough, the Lobster roll makes you wonder what else the chef has hidden in the kitchen. In the summer, the Sunset Room is where everyone wants to be, but for some quiet time and during the winter months the Tea Room has the slow calm pace for those just enjoying the moment. Private rooms are provided, and though this is a very modern atmosphere, these rooms will provide any space needed for those late night meetings and pressure dinners. Also walk outside and visit their patio that overlooks the strip putting a smile on everyone’s face.

Tantra

1445 Pennsylvania Avenue
Miami Beach, Florida FL 33139
Phone: 305.672.4765
www.tantrarestaurant.com

Tempted to know more about those things we call senses? If so, look up tantra, a restaurant that will offer self exploration along with dinner.

Tantra is an Indian spiritual philosophy of conscious loving, which should be used when dining at this beautiful establishment. Owner Timothy Hogle wants to lure his visitors with the temptation of using all five of their senses to a heightened state. Using the food, décor and ambiance from the minute one walks through Tantra’s doors, the senses are meant to be heightened. A visitor’s smell, touch, sight, and hearing are first to be discovered with the smell of incense, music, color, and the grass that meets your feet as you walk in. Don’t be intimidated, cuddle these senses, and as you sit down to take a bite of The Tantra Plate, use all senses to enjoy oysters, tiger shrimp, scallop ceviche, and spicy tuna roll. This international aphrodisiac cuisine will lighten the mind and tantalize the senses. Open seven days a week with a hundred and eighty seats provided indoors and an extra forty seats provided outdoors, take the night off out to enjoy the Tantra.

DC Coast

1401 K street, NW Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202.216.5988
www.dccoast.com

Seafood lovers beware. there is another restaurant in town, and it claims to serve the best food around.

Located in midtown D.C. and open six days a week, this restaurant features American cuisine that beakons people to its doors. A sight worth viewing, oval mirrors hang over the bar while a beautiful stone mermaid greets everyone at the entrance. Feel free to grab a drink, and while you are at it, pick up an appetizer, such as flat bread pizza or some delicious calamari. After a drink, stroll into the dining room that is two stories high with a balcony that can be viewed from passers-by downstairs through the glass walls that enclose it. The menu is made up of mostly coastal delights, perfect for seafood lovers. It’s not the best place for meetings, but if you are just out to show a client a good time, then it’s perfect. Make reservations, because if not you may find yourself left out in the cold.

Yerba Buena

23 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009
Phone: 212.529.2919
www.yerbabuenanyc.com

Sometimes you need a little spice in your life. one place you are sure to receive it is yerba buena.

The name refers to a mint herb that describes this restaurant perfectly. A little herb with an added touch of spice makes everything at restaurant Yerba Buena extra nice. A newly opened establishment in East Village, it puts a new sting in the Latin flavors of cuisine. Mixing flavors of Cuba, Peru, Chile, Mexico and Argentina. Watch through an open kitchen as chef Julian Medina puts his all into presenting individual sublime entrees to each guest. Smell the herbs and feel the spice as the colors of aqua, green, and blue mirrors subdue you. Cool down at the bar under Cuban ceiling fans while sipping on your favorite drink. Select from red, rose’ and desert wines. After a nice drink, go back to the dining room and try a dish called costilla (short ribs) or lechon (suckling pig). It’s all about the food here, so if you’re not ready to chow down, don’t visit.

Chamberlain's Fish Market Grill

4525 Belt Line Rd. Addison, TX 75001
Phone: 972.503.3474
www.chefchamberlain.com

LCD screens, PA systems and microphones, oh my! Don’t just come to eat but also to handle pressing business without worry.

Sometimes some of the best food just can't be bought at home. The Chamberlain’s Fish Market has the reputation of being one of the finest restaurants in the Dallas area. Like the catch of the day, this restaurant likes to vary its menu according to the seasons. This means that every entrée served is as fresh as it gets. Tease your taste buds with Gulf red fish, Atlantic Lemon Sole and Honduran Tilapia. Get your mouth ready for these lip smackers with soups such as cold water oyster and iron skillet mussels. Chef Richard Chamberlain is known as America’s leading chef and to miss one of his entrees would be a sin. Designed with four private dining rooms, no other restaurant is so equipped for handling business like Chamberlain’s. Each room offers LCD projectors, screens, PA systems, and microphones. With the private rooms, entrees can be designed to the likings of you and your guest. Stop by, and you’ll have one up on your colleagues and competitors.

Room 21

2110 South Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL 60616
Phone: 312.328.1198
www.room21chicago.com

The infamous Al Capone often ventured underneath the floors of Room 21.

Not only do you get great food at this unusual establishment, but you also get to experience a little bit of adventure. Under the floors that keep steady visitors above ground lies a secret tunnel. It is said that the infamous Al Capone used this tunnel to hide his stash of liquor. If you are interested in learning more, then after dinner, ask about the tour that Room 21 provides to get the full experience of the restaurant. Let’s not forget the food, because Room 21 does it up just right. This is All-American cuisine at its finest and sure to please. Try their pork chop entrée with mashed potatoes and leave room for dessert because it aims to please. While having dinner, decide if you would like it on the inside or out, because Room 21 has a spectacular patio that just suits the mood on a nice summer day. I must say that this place doesn’t come with a tour for nothing, with valet parking and a swanky bar, the meals are pricey, but for a delicious reason. Feel free to come in big groups, but leave the children at home for this adventure.

Big Rock Chop House

245 S. Eton Street Birmingham, MI 48009
Phone: 248.647.7774
www.bigrockchophouse.com

this chop house serves up great music along with their wonderful food.

The Big Rock Chop House is a spectacular restaurant to visit. People usually go out to restaurants to enjoy a nice outing and some great food, but the Chop House offers you so much more. This four star spot offers its customers an award winning menu with dishes such as short ribs, buffalo strip steak, and Big Rock bone-in filet mignon. With their delicious menu, you can’t leave without sampling one of their four signature beers that promises to quench the thirst, but gives you a taste that just leaves you wanting more. Besides dinner and drinks, the restaurant offers live entertainment upstairs in their Got Rocks Ultra Lounge and their outdoor patio. These live events have led way to network parties so large that they have been centered around their Detroit Harbor. A busy spot, The Big Rock Chop House is open six days a week and closed on Sunday, but don’t worry, Sunday is open for those who are looking to host private events.