Southwest Ohio and Environs (Open Chat)

My wife and I lunched at Song Long Vietnamese Restaurant in Roselawn yesterday and learned the owner and his wife will keep the restaurant open for a couple more years before retiring.  A younger son may take over for them once they retire.

Our Lunchbunch group ate today at CJ Chan A Chinese and Japanese Restaurant in Dayton today:
 
http://www.mycjchan.com/
 
We enjoyed it very much and partook of menu items from both menus - details to follow shortly - I personally loved the food for the most part.  Especially one of my personal favorites that they did very well - Singapore Mai Fun.

I forgot to mention this, but on Monday I ate at Linda's Restaurant in downtown Xenia at 51 E. Main Street.  (See http://urlnew.com/9k for the Google Street View.)  I decided on a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, fries, and Dutch apple pie.  I'll probably go back for another dish, perhaps the chili dog.
 
Interestingly, this place sells RC products.  No Coke or Pepsi.

On Sunday I decided to try Dakota's Roadhouse in Washington Court House.  (It's where US 22/62 exits from US 35; it's near the Home Depot and Wal*Mart.)  Here's the website:  http://www.dakotas-roadhouse.com/ .  The place is closed on Monday's, and Monday is one of my off days, so I had no choice but to go on Sunday.  There are five other locations in the area.
 
The place has a South Dakota theme.  South Dakota, Dakota's Roadhouse, get it???  I decided on two 3.5-ounce medallions over rice, French fries, and fried apples.  Then I opted for their seven-layer chocolate cake for dessert.  It's HUGE; you have to see it to believe it!  Needless to say, I didn't finish my dessert.  That said, my main course was delicious!
 
I may go back in the future.
 
 

Anyone tried any of the J Gumbo's locations?

The sodium content of their food is astronomical - from what I see of their nutrition labeling.

We tried J Gumbo's in White Oak yesterday.
 
The food bears little or no resemblance to Cajun food.

The Fireside Inn in Georgetown was purchased by the owners of the Country Inn recently - have not been back there as yet since they were bought out.
 
The bbq stand on 32 and Eastwood is now open for the season again. (Open Thurs thru Sunday)

http://www.middletownjour...staurant_makes_it.html
 
The Meadowlark Restaurant has relocated - I love their portabello mushroom sandwich and their potato frites - our lunchbunch will be there next week.

On Saturday (my off day for Memorial Day) for lunch I decided to try Taqueria Mixteca at 1609 E. Third Street east of downtown Dayton.  The deciding factor was the Big Daddy's gas station next door, for which I wanted to get a picture of the sign by the street for DaytonGasPrices.com, a GasBuddy site.  I got a VERY detailed pic of the sign.  Inside was a brown menu with bright yellow prices, characteristic of Arby's restaurants in the 1980s.  (The waitress I asked did not know.)  I decided on the quesadilla, which was HUGE for $3.50.  (Or was it $3.75?)  Not bad considering the price.  However, I thought they were a little too heavy on the onions.

For dinner Saturday I decided on the Captain 9's restaurant in Germantown at 1361 W. Market Street (OH 725).  Known for its fire department theme, I wanted to try their pizza.  (I went there back in February and had a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, which wasn't too bad.)  I noticed that the parking lot was full.  However, that was for a country music festival next door and I had no problem at all waiting at Captain 9's.
 
I ordered what was a small pepperoni pizza (10 inches diameter).  I saw that they use a conveyor belt oven.  I enjoyed my pizza, which was cut into 16 squares with a crust somewhere closer to thick than thin.

^ I got a small Captain 9's pizza once after hitting the trails at Germantown Reserve. It's decent for a non chain pizza.

Troni's is calling...

NYPIzzaNut
Troni's is calling...

 
Yes. I do have to get back there, even with the mess that is Wilmington & Dorothy Lane.
 
We had a "NY pizza" from Pie Pizzaria in Springboro a few nights ago. It's hand tossed, and fairly authentic. Much better than average. But it made me hungry for the real thing.

One more thing I like about going to Troni's, with the construction there,  is that generally speaking the other drivers are very considerate and will let you in and out of the place.

You must be rubbing off on me. I have gotten increasingly critical of local pizza. The vaunted Milano's is another Sysco crust place and no big deal. The "authentic Shed recipe" pizza at Harrigan's Pub is Ok but again it has the industrial crust that came out of a machine. Pie's pizza is pretty good, at the 90% percentile for local places, but just not that savory to me.

Dewey's and Troni's - that is all you need.

Picked up another take out pizza pie last night - one of the best ever!
 
Looks like lots of urbanspooners like the joint:
 
http://www.urbanspoon.com...izza-Restaraunt-Dayton

NYPIzzaNut


Our Lunchbunch group ate today at CJ Chan A Chinese and Japanese Restaurant in Dayton today:

http://www.mycjchan.com/

We enjoyed it very much and partook of menu items from both menus - details to follow shortly - I personally loved the food for the most part.  Especially one of my personal favorites that they did very well - Singapore Mai Fun.

 
We tried CJ Chan's back in March and thought it was okay.  The place was packed and service was somewhat disorganized, but that's not surprising for a busy weekend meal rush.  I was a little annoyed that the waiter got one of our sushi orders wrong, then argued about it and didn't offer to take it off our bill.
 
They used plenty of nice, fresh vegetables in the stir-fry, but our dishes were otherwise forgettable-- a decent execution of Americanized Chinese food, and that's about it.  The whole table liked the General Tso's tofu the best, deep-fried squares of tofu in a sweet and spicy dipping sauce.  Not a bad meal, but I don't think I'd bother driving up north to go again.
 

I'll third the endorsement of the House of Sun.  @NYPIzzaNut: House of Sun's Chinese food concentration leans towards Taiwan flavors, while King Wok in Clifton leans towards Hong Kong, aka Cantonese cuisine.  I'm especially fond of the Chinese breakfast on the weekends, especially the homemade dumplings and scallion pancakes with stewed beef, and the beef stew noodle soup, as you had in your picture.  I live out of town, but try to make it up there, monthly.

I am hopeful of making a return visit to House of Sun one of these days.
 
My last experience at King Wok left much to be desired, though.  They oversalted everything.

Anyone familiar with Sankalp Indian Restaurant in Sharonville?

NYPIzzaNut


Anyone familiar with Sankalp Indian Restaurant in Sharonville?

 
I ate there for the first time last week. At $9.99, the lunch buffet is more expensive than most, if not all, of the other Indian restaurants in the area, but it does offer several dishes not seen on most other buffets (including some Indo-Chinese fare like fried paneer, which I have only seen once before at a Dublin, OH restaurant that was strictly Indo-Chinese), as well as freshly cooked naan and dosas (a southern Indian crepe, essentially) brought directly to your table, whether you want them or not.  Waiters were somewhat inattentive when it came to refilling my glass of water, which was slightly frustrating, but not a deal-breaker.
 
It won't be called Sankalp for long, by the way. There is a fishbowl for suggestions for a new name located at the main entrance, and the winner will receive a gift card.

NYPIzzaNut


Anyone familiar with Sankalp Indian Restaurant in Sharonville?

IIRC, Polly Campbell ate there and reviewed it for either the Enquirer or a sister publication.
 
I'll try and find it and post a link.
EDIT: Yep, here it is:

http://cincinnati.com/blo...n-tastes-and-textures/
 
I do eat regularly at the norther Indian not far up the street on the east side in a tiny strip mall and it is among my favorites locally.

(I'm assuming that anything under I-70 and west of US 23 fits the definition of "SW Ohio"... right?)
 
Ha Ha Pizza, Yellow Springs 
 
My brother and I were in Yellow Springs this weekend and we tried Ha Ha Pizza. The last time I stopped here was with a work lunch bunch in 1996 and at the time it was OK.
 
Here's the bottom line: it's more like "ha ha, customers!" Avoid this place.
 
Relatively expensive, hideously slow service, and mediocre product. It just wasn't that busy, either.
 
Sitting down to being asked for our drink and food order was about 15 minutes. 10 minutes after that to actually get drinks. About 40 minutes after we ordered we got our food. We sat down a few minutes after 3 and it was not until 4 PM that we actually got our food.
 
The calzone was stuffed with ricotta  - it looked like a shell full of cottage cheese, and it oozed a ton of water. (If I made something like that at home I'd scrape it in the trash and start over.)  The pizza crust (wheat) was pure mediocrity and I ate the bare minimum to get at the toppings. The crust edges I left uneaten, they had the mouth feel of stale crusty bread. Calzone, personal pizza and two teas were just below $20 - exorbitant for the amount and quality of food and the wait.
 
Too much hippie culture baggage, not enough substance, mediocre food, and very poor value. It appears that 90% of their business is dumb middle class tourist teenagers who are "making a counterculture statement" by eating here.
 
It's pretty much what you'd expect from the graphic they have in their menu of a generic Italian like chef smoking some sort of "cigarette" thing and enjoying it too much.
 
Maybe the Freak Brothers own the place...

Has anyone been to Joya's Bistro in Beavercreek yet?

I thought about posting this as a RoadTrip (on "Where Should I Eat"), but, it really isn't. I wish it could be a longer trip, but time and $$$ are limited. I will be taking my daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren to COSI, in Columbus, OH. We have certain plans, but a couple of options are open, and I think people on this particular board may be able to help me. This trip will be limited to two days.
 
I want to take the back roads, and will be taking different routes from Cincinnati to Columbus, and back. The plan is to take US 22/ OH 3 to Columbus. Leaving in the morning, we will pass through Montgomery, Morrow and Wilmington around breakfast time. Anything good and different? Chains abound, and that is easy. Anyone have any suggestions for a good breakfast stop?
 
I plan on getting to Columbus in the early afternoon, and going to COSI. Lunch suggestions are open (before, or after COSI), but I plan on Schmidt's for dinner, and a stop at the Book Loft, with other stops in German Village. I'm thinking North Market, but maybe the next morning.  Jeni's Ice Cream is a definite, at some point.  Breakfast, the next morning is still up in the air. Monetary constraints may keep us to the hotel breakfast, but open for ideas.
 
On the way back, we are going to Yellow Springs. We've been to The Jersey Dairy Farm (but may go back), and Clifton Mill (probably not this trip). My daughter and son-in-law really want to check out Yellow Springs. Lunch suggestions, maybe?
 
Then, back down US-42 to Cincy. I know almost every good place to eat on this route. I've traveled this route many times, so, unless there is something new, I don't need suggestions on this leg of the trip .
 
I know it's not much, but trying to turn my grandkids on to travelling the back roads, and finding good, independent businesses. Any suggestions for good shopping, or other stops along these routes are greatly appreciated!!!
 
 

I would suggest this place for breakfast in Montgomery:
 
http://www.ophmontgomery.com/location.html
 
A chain but like no other breakfast place.  Simply amazing.
 

NYPIzzaNut


I would suggest this place for breakfast in Montgomery:

http://www.ophmontgomery.com/location.html

A chain but like no other breakfast place.  Simply amazing.

I have actually been there... Not a good experience. I had to wait a long time to get seated. Then, I ordered eggs, that were overcooked. I'm not a fan of "sweet" breakfasts. 
 
Maybe,  I would have been better off ordering their sweeter offerings, like the "Dutch Baby". With the grandbabies, and the wait, and the overcooked eggs, ... not the best breakfast experience ever...

But, it may be worth trying again.