Southwest Ohio and Environs (Open Chat)

NYPIzzaNut


Anyone been to House of Sun in Sharonville?:

http://houseofsuncincy.com/default.aspx

We had lunch there yesterday and a review and photos follow - I am amazed I never knew about this place before last week!

NYPIzzaNut

NYPIzzaNut


Anyone been to House of Sun in Sharonville?:

http://houseofsuncincy.com/default.aspx

We had lunch there yesterday and a review and photos follow - I am amazed I never knew about this place before last week!

Their menu is similar to King Wok in Clifton in that they have a regular Anglo Chinese menu as well as a more traditional Chinese menu and live fish and lobster tanks for some more authentic dishes.  The place was packed.

I will start off with the photos from our lunch this past Thursday at the House of Sun in Sharonville:


***** 麻 辣 耳 絲
 Hot & Spicy Sliced Pork Ears


炸  豆  腐  Deep Fried Bean Curd

45 

Beef Noodle Soup 

Spicy 

 $6.95

S 1
雀 巢 海 鮮
 Seafood Bird's Nest Shrimp, scallops, and crab meat sauteed with snow peas, black mushrooms, baby corn, water chestnuts, broccoli, Chinese napa and carrots in white sauce  



114 左 宗 鶏  General Tso's Chicken
Deep fried diced chicken sauteed with garlic, ginger and scallion in hot sauce


香  酥  鶏
 Crispy Skin Duck



Our Paris, TN native son proudly displaying a chunk of his fabulous crispy skin duck for the camera to record for posterity



Our gracious waitress, Fang Wang and our satisfied duck eater



A view of the restaurant storefront from out in the parking lot - they are just behind the White Castle on St  Rt 42 just North of I-275 interchange



Bombay Grocers is at the other end of this small strip shopping center - they are the largest Indian/Pakistani grocery store I have seen in the Greater Cinci area - their stock is unbelievably immense - only problem is the language barrier - they speak English somewhat but it it is hard to communicate at times - you could spend hours in their store if you appreciate their cuisines - I was in there before and after our lunch, with my lunch mates.


This is the website for this restaurant - it includes all their menus I believe:

http://houseofsuncincy.com/default.aspx


Overall we found the food to be very good - the sliced pig's ears really started things off on the right foot - for myself and our duck lover - the ladies went for the deep fried bean curd and possibly tasted the ears but were gunshy of the dish to say the least.

My beef noodle soup was excellent as was the duck and General Tao's chicken and the Seafood Bird's Nest.

The only fault we found with the food was that the deep fried noodles in the Seafood Bird's Nest had a bad taste about them - they were fried in rancid vegetable oil it appeared. 

Our duck man took home another appetizer, Marinated Duck and is still raving about it!!

We will definitely be returning to this restaurant - their menu is so extensive it will always be an adventure to choose your dishes.

They do a very good business - they were really packed for the lunch hours we were there (11- 1)

Most likely we will be at the new location of the Country Inn this coming week - their grand opening is tomorrow.

Country Inn Restaurant
290 Brooks Malott Road,
Mount Orab, OH 45154

(937) 444-3330

NYPIzzaNut


Most likely we will be at the new location of the Country Inn this coming week - their grand opening is tomorrow.

Country Inn Restaurant
290 Brooks Malott Road,
Mount Orab, OH 45154

(937) 444-3330

...this is the new building...

NYPIzzaNut

NYPIzzaNut


Most likely we will be at the new location of the Country Inn this coming week - their grand opening is tomorrow.

Country Inn Restaurant
290 Brooks Malott Road,
Mount Orab, OH 45154

(937) 444-3330

...this is the new building...

Below is a link to a recent article on their new location, which I just ran across:
http://browncountypress.1upmonitor.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=10417&TM=33659.45

baughman


So after much talk about Country Inn chicken down in Mt Orab. The family and I made the 40 minutes drive out there today. I realised it just opened in the new location , but it was a good sign that at 2pm the parking lot was pretty full. A good 10-12 tables were full when we went in. The place is pretty big now. Just by looking around it looked like 14 or so booths, and 10 tables or so.
   I saw chicken livers on the menu and had to cover it up since I am an innards fan. I came to try the chicken since Campbells barn has failed me the last cpl times I have been.
   Now I must say I was won over as soon as I got to the salad bar and saw Bread and Butter pickles on it. I could have paid the money and just gorged on those. Standard canned Pickles but dang I love them.
   AS for the chicken the meat was juicy as all get out. Plus the skin, well lets just put it this way. My wife hates fried chicken and she ate half the skin off my 3 pieces of chicken.
  Skin was def the highlight of the meal.  Standard home cooked food is all over the menu.
 I would put this chicken in my top 3 in cinci now. Reminded me a bit of the old IGAs chicken in Blanchester which is a good thing.
   Wife and kids got breakfast which was big and cheap. The menu wont break your bank at all. We spent 29.08 for four of us.
   Bonus was the sweet tea was top top also.
 
 I would drive out there agian for the chicken.

My wife stopped there yesterday while running errands and brought some leftover chicken home, which I partially partook of today - our lunch group will be there later this week.  Glad you enjoyed yourselves and found the chicken tasty.

We were at the new Country Inn Restaurant today - a commentary and photos to follow.

NYPIzzaNut

NYPIzzaNut

NYPIzzaNut


Most likely we will be at the new location of the Country Inn this coming week - their grand opening is tomorrow.

Country Inn Restaurant
290 Brooks Malott Road,
Mount Orab, OH 45154

(937) 444-3330

...this is the new building...

Below is a link to a recent article on their new location, which I just ran across:
http://browncountypress.1upmonitor.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=10417&TM=33659.45

Here are some photos from our visit to the new Country Inn Restaurant location yesterday:

Bean soup kettle (cream of broccoli is to the left and not in photo)

Corn muffins and biscuits with butter

salad bar

salad bar

salad bar

salad bar

fried chicken with green beans with ham and California vegetable medley

chicken fried steak with home fries and mashed potatoes with brown gravy

fried chicken livers with green beans and ham and mashed potatoes with brown gravy on the side

fried chicken with corn and sweet potato with butter

Our waitress Joan Frye ( with Country Inn since 1986 ) holding vanilla ice cream and our blackberry cobbler with extra bowls as our fellow lunchbunchers Willie and Frank look on...

vanilla ice cream and blackberry cobbler

Country Inn Restaurant ~ Mt Orab Ohio


this is a view of the restaurant looking from our table towards the entrance

you can see the beverage area to the left - in the middle is the manager walking toward the camera talking on a cell phone

in the foreground is lunchbuncher Connie


this is a view from our table looking toward the front of the restaurant with lunchbuncher Frank in foreground



our bill



the front of the restaurant with lunchbunchers Frank and Willie (holding leftovers)

The new location of the Country Inn Restaurant is a total change in many respects from the old location.

They had been there for 24 years and we (my wife and I) have been eating there for 7 or 8 years - we started when we first began looking in Brown County for a home.

We have always enjoyed their salad bar, corn bread, soups and fried chicken as well as their meat loaf and chicken fried steak, mushroom steak hoagies and chili etc.

The bean soup I had was very flavorful and the cream of broccoli was also very good according to two of my fellow lunchbunchers.

The new location is much bigger and reminds one of a Cracker Barrel feel somewhat.

They have added a lot more staff including a full time location manager.

The food is pretty much unchanged.  The biscuits and corn muffins are now kept in a warmer in the kitchen and must be requested from your waitress.  The corn bread used to be made in large baking pans and cut in squares and was much more moist and tasty at the old location.  The salad bar is exactly as it always has been.

They have added melts to the menu.

The fried chicken seemed a bit different - still very good but the crust was not as thick or flavorful.  I am hoping they get back to the way I am used to it being.

The chicken livers were awfully small and somewhat overcooked and did not taste like much. (I am not a fan of this dish btw lol).

The vegetables do not offer much in the way of any special flavor or herbs or taste.

The various potatoes offered are alway very good but the mashed potatoes are instant although it is hard to tell.

The chicken fried steak was very good - tender and tasty - it came with a white sauce on the side.

The desserts are store bought - our cobbler comes in frozen (it was OK) and their NY cheesecake comes from Sam's.

At the old location most of their desserts were home-made.

So overall I would have to say our first visit was a bit disappointing but their food overall was decent and I do expect and anticipate it will get better as they settle in - there are several cooks now as opposed to one main one at the old location.

They piped in channel 809 from direcTV sonic tap which is mainly 80s and 90s country - I believe they will alternate it with 50s and 60s rock 'n roll as they did at the old place.

They do a very good business even with this being their first week so hopefully their food will improve in quality and taste.

Did new management take over? Those sound like bean counter changes.

enginecapt


Did new management take over? Those sound like bean counter changes.

Same owner - just a big expansion of their original location operation, with the new move to right off a major highway 30 miles from the Eastgate area of Greater Cincinnati.

NYPIzzaNut


Most likely we will be at the new location of the Country Inn this coming week - their grand opening is tomorrow.

Country Inn Restaurant
290 Brooks Malott Road,
Mount Orab, OH 45154

(937) 444-3330

I looked this up on Google Maps.  It appears to be quite a distance from OH 32 and US 68, and on a road that doesn't have street views yet.  Was it the restaurant's intent to keep it in a very low profile location?

Oh, and here's the Google maps link:http://maps.google.com/maps?q=290+brooks+malott+rd+45154

45013

NYPIzzaNut


Most likely we will be at the new location of the Country Inn this coming week - their grand opening is tomorrow.

Country Inn Restaurant
290 Brooks Malott Road,
Mount Orab, OH 45154

(937) 444-3330

I looked this up on Google Maps.  It appears to be quite a distance from OH 32 and US 68, and on a road that doesn't have street views yet.  Was it the restaurant's intent to keep it in a very low profile location?

Oh, and here's the Google maps link:http://maps.google.com/maps?q=290+brooks+malott+rd+45154

The address is new - the street they are on is pretty rural, and largely undeveloped - they are one mile from the intersection of OH 32 and US 68 and just a few hundred feet off OH 32.  This is a pretty high profile location compared to where they had be on US 68, several miles away from OH 32.

http://www.singerproperties.com/BJ-AsianBuffet-09.htm

Asian Buffet & Grill 6999 Miller Lane, Dayton  937-898-1888  Crab legs, frog legs, octopus, sushi 150 + items Chinese, Asian and American.  Take Benchwood exit (59)off I-75 to Miller Lane. on left hand side of Miller Lane.

We will be at this restaurant this week.

We were at the Asian Buffet and Grill in Dayton yesterday and all four of us agreed it was one of the finest buffets of its type we have ever experienced.  Photos and comments to follow.

One of the nice touches was their Mongolian grill which we had no idea they had!

Small world, we just ate at the Asian Buffet on Miller Lane last month or so.  I should probably note upfront that my family* rarely goes to Asian buffets, but it was on the way home from the airport and my parents were starving. 

I didn't get to try the Mongolian grill, but I did get some sushi.  It was well below par for a good sushi bar, but it's hard to beat the price.  Of the ones I tried, the salmon and the eel were the best.  The tuna wasn't so good, and the fancier rolls looked so busy, I was reluctant to try them.  My dad didn't care for the one he got.

That said, very good selection and execution of what dishes were there.  They had a large salmon fillet on the buffet, lots of choices including stuff like stuffed potato skins and some kind of roast.  The cold section carries kim chee, in-the-shell prawns (I didn't get to try those) and a nice baby octopus in chili sauce cold salad that I liked. 

Overall, it was decent, probably one of the betterAsian buffets I've been to re: selection.  (I know this isn't saying much.)  I'd go again without too much protest if friends or family wanted to, but I wouldn't make the special trip there by myself.

Tsao's in Fairborn does a much, much smaller buffet, but the dishes were better executed.  They carry some unusual specials as well as rice porridge and fried bread on the buffet, which draws in quite a few Asian customers on the weekend.  Worth a look, although the selection is small.


*  We are Chinese.  Buffets tend to serve the more popular Americanized take-out dishes, and none of us actually like sweet and sour pork.

I was wondering what Dayton or Cincinnati location serves up the best Korean fare, as I've never, ever had it before, and have gotten very interested in it with various friends and other, more notable, personages (Anthony Bourdain) extolling the virtues of kimchee, bulgogi, and the single dish that intrigues me the most, bibimbap (or bibimbab, or -bop, or -bob).  I did the scantest of internets digging, and found this place .  Any thoughts?  Any better suggestions?  I figured that it made the most sense to come here and query all you fine Roadfoodies, so that's exactly what I'm-a doin'.  TIA!

ETA: Well, I can't post links yet.  Sheesh.  The link was to Myong's Cafe in Fairborn.  Stupid rules!

We have been to two good ones in this area and both are reported on here:

http://www.activedayton.com/dayton/content/story/restaurants/reviews/sima_korean_japanese_restaurant.html

http://home.fuse.net/sandyjang/index.htm

There are photos and comments in this thread on Riverside. Excellent!

kimchi is the food of the gods. I am afraid to try it at restaurants. Since I have a friend who's X-wife is Korean and still brings him homemade kimchi from time to time, and it is amazing. IT also stinks up the house when I eat it so the wife hates me when we have it around.
   I may have to break my ban and try the riverside.

http://www.thefoodhussy.com/2008/06/aladdins-eatery-still-undecided-about.html

Any comments from anyone on Aladdin's Eatery in West Chester?

NYPIzzaNut


http://www.thefoodhussy.com/2008/06/aladdins-eatery-still-undecided-about.html

Any comments from anyone on Aladdin's Eatery in West Chester?

Our Lunchbunch was at Aladdin's this past  Thursday - we enjoyed it very much and highly recommend it - more detailed comments and photos will follow.

This is their website and menu etc:

http://www.aladdinseatery.com/

http://www.aladdinseatery.com/menu.php

This is a small family owned chain - franchisees are members of the extended family of the founder.  The West Chester location is the first of several to be opened in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

When we got there at 11 am the place was empty - within a half hour the place was packed!

You may find a great write up and reviews of Marx Hot Bagels in Blue Ash here:
http://www.ereach.com/businessprofile.php/3/cincinnati/OH/45242/Marx-Hot-Bagels/CC043908-2F0D-DF11-9763-00145E6948CC?searchTerm=bagels

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=17990671846884447971&q=marx+hot+bagels&gl=us&view=feature&mcsrc=detailed_reviews&num=10&start=0&ved=0CI8BELUF&sa=X&ei=Gq6uS6W1Mo3SNZn44YMF

On the way home from Aladdin's Eatery this past Thursday I stopped and picked up two pizzas to go home from Dewey's Pizzeria in Montgomery:



Half bacon and half mushroom



Half pepperoni and half plain

Delicious as usual!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rabkin


I was wondering what Dayton or Cincinnati location serves up the best Korean fare, as I've never, ever had it before, and have gotten very interested in it with various friends and other, more notable, personages (Anthony Bourdain) extolling the virtues of kimchee, bulgogi, and the single dish that intrigues me the most, bibimbap (or bibimbab, or -bop, or -bob).  I did the scantest of internets digging, and found this place .  Any thoughts?  Any better suggestions?  I figured that it made the most sense to come here and query all you fine Roadfoodies, so that's exactly what I'm-a doin'.  TIA!

ETA: Well, I can't post links yet.  Sheesh.  The link was to Myong's Cafe in Fairborn.  Stupid rules!

Welcome to Roadfood, Rabkin!  :)

I've heard very good things about Myong's Cafe in Fairborn, but haven't been there yet.  Wasn't terribly impressed with Sima on Woodman.  Their pa jun (large crispy scallion and seafood pancake) was fantastic, everything else was only so-so.  The bulgogi tasted of sugar and little else.  I'd go with Myong's.  :)

NYPIzzaNut


http://www.thefoodhussy.com/2008/06/aladdins-eatery-still-undecided-about.html

Any comments from anyone on Aladdin's Eatery in West Chester?

I've been, and it was okay.  A decent light/healthy choice eating option in that area, but I wouldn't make a special trip for it unless there weren't any Middle Eastern restaurants nearer to me.  To be honest, it seemed a bit Middle Eastern food by way of California... and it is priced accordingly. 

Dayton already has two very good Lebanese places (Cedarland on Linden and Taste of the Mediterranean across from Dayton Mall) with better food, so I don't think I'll bother going back.

NYPIzzaNut


This is their website and menu etc:

http://www.aladdinseatery.com/

http://www.aladdinseatery.com/menu.php

This is a small family owned chain - franchisees are members of the extended family of the founder.  The West Chester location is the first of several to be opened in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

When we got there at 11 am the place was empty - within a half hour the place was packed!

This is a composite of the food we ordered and consumed.  The consensus was the food was very tasty - the desserts were all priced at $5.95 which seems a bit stiff - they were very good and came from the chain's commissary twice a week, which is in Akron I believe.  Further photos etc to follow.