Trip to Cincinnati

I left home, Berkeley Co., WVa Sunday the 13th heading for Cincy. First stop was about 3 hrs later at Zien's in Wheeling Wva. This had been recommended to me by some people here and after that and a couple reviews elsewhere on the net I decided to try it out. Since it was Sunday I got there in time for the Brunch. Brunch hours are between 10AM and 2PM. They also offer menu service. Since Mike loves buffett...

They had biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, link sausage, roasted chicken, sliced roast beef, Belguim waffles, pancakes and French (or is it Freedom?)toast, Danish and canned juices. The cheese blintz were my favorite, especially with the tart cherry topping they provided. The sausage was also good. The biscuits were from the freezer and the sausage gravy was probably from a can.

For 7.95 including drink, not too bad. To be fair I should have ordered off the menu.

More to come, when I have more time.

Mike

Trip continued;
Got to Cincy about 6PM, checked in and went to find a grocery store, had to get supplies for the week since I have a kitchenette in the hotel room. Actually a suite. If you ever travel to Cincinnatti I highly recommend the Garfield suites downtown.

At the Kroger I found real buttermilk. In the DC area all we find is FAT FREE buttermilk. How do you have b'milk when it is fat free??? I bought a gallon, (2 halves actually) When I got home I called the wife and rubbed it in a little
I'll bring home at least 2 gallons to share, so don't be too mad at me.

Next to the Kroger grocery store there is a Lee's fried chicken place. I asked a couple of the workers in the store if it was any good. They said yes, so I decided to try it. But before the chicken I went next door to Gold Star chili for a Coney.

A Coney is a hot dog in a bun, covered with chili sauce, topped with onions and cheese. The Gold Star dog was a sub-standard sized hot dog. It was shorter and smaller around then the average 'dog. The onion over-powered the chili taste and there was so much grated cheese that I actually took about half off. For a buck29 I felt gipped.

Back to the fried chicken dinner, Lee's chicken was similar to the Colonel's. It was moist, not too greasy and tasty. The mashed potatoes and gravy was good, especially the potatoes. A nice buttery taste to them. The cole slaw was OK. I still prefer the Colonel though.

Monday breakfast was Goleta, bacon and eggs cooked by me. I mention this meal because I had never heard of Goleta until I came to this site and read a bit about it a couple weeks ago. I had bought Glier's(sp?). Let me say that I wasn't impressed. I'll stick to country sausage, Farmer John's if I could get it. I can't in WVa so I'll stick to Bob Evan's.

Skipped lunch since breakfast was lateish.

Dinner was at La Rosa's Itialian in Covington Ky. Another recommended place from this web site. I had pizza and salad. The salad was iceberg lettuce, my favorite, with lots of croutons and grated mozzarela, tomato and onion. Pretty good. The pizza was the original thin crust combo, lots of cheese and meats and onion, skipped the green peppers since they don't agree with the stomach any more. Again pretty good. There were a number of dishes on the menu that looked good and if I don't find other places to try this week we'll go back.

Oh yeah, I had a real nice surrise Monday evening in the hotel lobby. 2 old friends from Fresno are here for the week too. We ran into each other by chance. They went to dinner with me and we shared the pizza.

Tuesday b'fast was a banana. Lunch was at a chinese buffet I found last year when I was here. About 12 hot items, a small selection of fresh mellon and a few desserts. The food is pretty good for chinese buffet, kept fresh by the large turnover. It is a popular lunch time place. This is one of the better chinese buffets I have found.

Dinner tonight will be Camp Washington Chili, my favorite Cincy chili, with 3 or 4 co-workers. Some of which have never had the pleasure of Cincy chili. I'll let you know later how it went.

So dinner Tuesday was at Camp Washington Chili. 6 of us went, 3 were newbies. They all liked it, 1 gal was really estatic. I evidently owe GoldStar a bit of an apology. Sorry GoldStar. The Coneys at CW were also of the sub-standard from normal hot dog size. I don't remember them being this way last year, did things change? Or did I just not realize the size issue then???

Lunch today will be at Izzy's, famous for the corned beef. I'll let ya know.

Mike.

Ok, I see that people are reading this saga, so do you want to me to continue? Finish out my week here or just drop it do to boredom, on your part???

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by MikeSh

Ok, I see that people are reading this saga, so do you want to me to continue? Finish out my week here or just drop it do to boredom, on your part???

Mike

Keep Going. It's good for us to see a non-Cincinnatian's view of things.

Yes, definitely keep going. On the subject of Coneys, it's my impression that the Cincy Coneys are indeed pint-size, to be eaten in braces of three, four, or more. Just like Coney's in Rhode Island.

Mike
There are several entries on various threads about Jungle Jim's..The greatest foodie grocery in the Mid-West. It is just north of the 275 beltway in Fairfield Ohio. Do a search of the name and I am sure they will come up..Photo's included. Here is the website if you want a map.
[url]www.junglejims.com[/url]

Well, I am enjoying your posts, keep going. Nothing like living vicariously...

I am still stunned over the fat-free buttermilk. Whoever heard of such a thing? I don't care for buttermilk to drink, but use it in cooking. Fat-free would be defeating the purpose I think.

I'm enjoying your posts, keep them coming. BTW, what did you have at Camp Washington? A three-way?

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen

Mike
There are several entries on various threads about Jungle Jim's..The greatest foodie grocery in the Mid-West. It is just north of the 275 beltway in Fairfield Ohio. Do a search of the name and I am sure they will come up..Photo's included. Here is the website if you want a map.
[url]www.junglejims.com[/url]

Al, got your e-mail on this subject and plan on checking the place out. Probably tonight since I have nothing better to do. Thanks!

Mike

Ok, a few positive replies and none negative.

At CW I did have a small 3-way and 2 coneys. I also bought 2 qts of chili to go. One for me for when I get back to WVa and one for a buddy in WVa that used to live here and turned me onto CW last year when I came. They are in the freezer back in the room, boy I love staying at the Garfield.

Fat free butermilk

Lunch today was Izzy's for corned beef. Darn good sandwich that Rueben makes I had a whole Reuben with 1000 island, salad bar and kosher dill pickles. The sandwich was piled high with corned beef sliced very thin, sauerkraut & 1000 island on very nice rye bread. Very tasty! The salad bar was an addition to them (On Main St. only) since I was there last year. It was fairly basic but still very good. Iceberg lettuce, my favorite, hand torn. Macaroni salad, raw broccoli & cauliflower, peas, shredded carrots, crisp croutons, grated cheese, boiled egg & turkey chunks. Plus a few more items. About 6 different dressings to choose from.

Last year in May I was in Cleveland for a week and found a better corned beef sandwich inside a neighborhood type bar/restaraunt downtown. Not too far from the Federal building. Sorry, I don't remember the name. Izzy's is #2 in my book but it beats anything I have found in the greater DC area, by a long shot.

Jmckee;
any suggestions for dinner tomorrow?

Dinner tonight will probably be something I find while going to Jungle Jim's International Market.

Mike

Jmckee;

How about authentic German where they actually speak some German, I do.

Mike

Mike, cross the river into Covington into the old area, Plenty of authenic German.
You could almost walk there from downtown Cincy
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

A very interesting topic - thanks for the accounts of your trip.

Buttermilk, by the way, typically is non-fat, or at least
low-fat. The name doesn't refer to fat content but the fact
that it originally was the liquid residue left over after
cream had been churned into butter. Today buttermilk is
generally made by adding bacteria to low-fat or skim milk,
not unlike the way yogurt is made. I don't drink it myself,
but love it for cooking. For my purposes, the dry buttermilk
powder works fine, although I'm told it's not as good to
drink.

My grandfathers favorite bedtime snack was cold cornbread crumbled up into a glass of buttermilk and eaten with a spoon.

*shudder*

I love that you have to stop for a hot dog before you go have a fried chicken dinner!

MikeSh: I, too, am stunned, particularly since I also live in the DC area and never have a problem finding regular buttermilk. From the lowliest bodega to Dean and DeLuca, it's out there for the taking.

quote:

Originally posted by Lone Star

I am still stunned over the fat-free buttermilk. Whoever heard of such a thing? I don't care for buttermilk to drink, but use it in cooking. Fat-free would be defeating the purpose I think.

quote:

Originally posted by Lone Star

My grandfathers favorite bedtime snack was cold cornbread crumbled up into a glass of buttermilk and eaten with a spoon.

*shudder*

My mother's family always did this with regular "sweet" milk and so do I on occasion. My wife's family on the other hand uses buttermilk and I too "shudder" at that one. I like buttermilk to drink and cook with.

quote:

Originally posted by EliseT

I love that you have to stop for a hot dog before you go have a fried chicken dinner!

I wanted to try GoldStar chili and they were right there next to the grocery store. I didn't want chili per se for dinner since I had already decided on fried chicken. So it was an appetizer

quote:

Originally posted by jpatweb

MikeSh: I, too, am stunned, particularly since I also live in the DC area and never have a problem finding regular buttermilk. From the lowliest bodega to Dean and DeLuca, it's out there for the taking.

quote:

Originally posted by Lone Star

I am still stunned over the fat-free buttermilk. Whoever heard of such a thing? I don't care for buttermilk to drink, but use it in cooking. Fat-free would be defeating the purpose I think.

I live about 80 miles from DC proper but get down around the beltway somewhere or another a couple times a month. I have tried Giant, Safeway and Shoppers Food warehouse. None of them carry regular b'milk.

I don't know about bodega's or Dean & DeLuca. Actually have never heard of them.

Where are they? Are they a chain? I'd be willing to find them if they are a chain. Thanks for the tip, BTW.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

Mike, cross the river into Covington into the old area, Plenty of authenic German.
You could almost walk there from downtown Cincy
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Thanks Paul, I'll give it a try.

I get it from Giant, Safeway, or Whole Foods in Northern Virginia and occasionally Rockville, MD, at least once a month for cooking, the most recent being this past weekend. I don't think I've ever not seen it in the dairy case when I've needed to buy it. All I could imagine is that the places you've tried are out of stock when you've gone. Good luck with the hunt. Don't settle for fat-free.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeSh

quote:

Originally posted by jpatweb

MikeSh: I, too, am stunned, particularly since I also live in the DC area and never have a problem finding regular buttermilk. From the lowliest bodega to Dean and DeLuca, it's out there for the taking.

quote:

Originally posted by Lone Star

I am still stunned over the fat-free buttermilk. Whoever heard of such a thing? I don't care for buttermilk to drink, but use it in cooking. Fat-free would be defeating the purpose I think.

I live about 80 miles from DC proper but get down around the beltway somewhere or another a couple times a month. I have tried Giant, Safeway and Shoppers Food warehouse. None of them carry regular b'milk.

I don't know about bodega's or Dean & DeLuca. Actually have never heard of them.

Where are they? Are they a chain? I'd be willing to find them if they are a chain. Thanks for the tip, BTW.

Mike

Wednewday night in Cincy...

I drove about 20 miles to visit the Jungle Jim's International market that Al the Mayor recommended. Just before I got there, maybe a 1/4 mile away, is a White Castle hamburger place. I had never been before and had heard a lot about them for many years. My parents ate there back in the early 50's when dad was stationed in Detroit. So I get to the drive-up and order 1 burger for 45 cents. I knew they were small but I just wanted enough to try one. The guy at ther pick-up window asked, politely, why I was just buying one. So I told him I was a newbie and wanted to try them out. He gave me a 2nd one as a freebie. So I'm driving the 1/4 mile to JJ's and all I smell is onion, potent onion. I get parked, open the bag and here is this small square box with an open side. I slide the burger out, open it up to see what is inside. A thin square of meat that doesn't look like hamburger, 2 dill pickles & a bunch of chopped onion. So I close it back up and bite into it. Good stuff Maynard!

The place is HUGE (JJ's), the biggest grocery store I have ever been in, AND it is expanding. On their web site they say that they have an acre of produce and I beleive them. They have a huge selection of international foods, many things that I have never seen before. The meat counter, with real live butchers carries USDA Prime beef and they have slab bacon with the rind still on that they will slice to your desired thickness.

I haven't seen this style of bacon for years and really like it. I bought 3 pounds and since I bought a nice big ice-chest later on that night. I might go back for more. I also bought 2lbs of applewood smoked bacon, some cold smoked salmon that they do there, some pretty spicy pepper cheddar cheese that they were giving samples of, fresh oysters and 2 large jars of my favorite hot sauce, Cholula. Oh and a variety of cured olives, salami, dried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese from the olive bar.

So for dinner I had fresh oysters with hot sauce and crackers, smoked salmon on toast, olive bar stuff, spicy cheddar cheese and a 12oz Yeungling beer to wash it all down with.

After Jungle Jim's and before dinner though I went and found a Costco that I had plotted out last week, the one just N. of I-275 off of I-71 very near the King's Auto Mall. I needed an ice chest and more bottled water. Plus I like to visit every Costco that I come across. I needed an ice chest to transport the buttermilk I'm taking home.

Breakfast today (Thursday) was 2 slices apple smoked bacon and 3 of with the rind, toast and 2 eggs scrambled.

Lunch today? not sure, I'll let you know. Dinner, probably Werthelim's german in Covington, Ky. Again, I'll let ya know.

Mike

I knew you would like Jungle Jim's. The "Mayor" turned me on to it several months ago. I stopped the while driving to Springfield, OH. Incredible place and sorta like a museum of food.

I am from Knoxville and we do not have anything like that around here and I have never visited another place like it. If anyone would know about a place like that, it would be Al Bowen aka "The Mayor" and soon to be official moderator.

I will be going back there in October.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Mike
I have yet to meet someone who thinks J J's is just another food-store! We love the place. What did you think of their Hot Sauce Section. I could spend hours just reading the labels.
Glad you enjoyed the visit there.

For anyone traveling I-75 (or I-74 or 71) in the Cincinnati area, Jungle Jim's makes a great break from the freeway drive. Easy to get to from the freeway and always plenty of free samples in the cheese/deli area. The expansion is huge, but even as it stands now it is an amazing place

Thursday night;

We got out of work a bit early so my new friend Jackie and I walked down to 4th st between Vine & Walnut to Grater's Ice Cream. A very popular spot. They have EXECELLENT ice cream. If you are around here, you have got to try them.

After Grater's we walked up a couple blocks to the fountain square, saw and touched it, a "thing" around here I'm told and then went to RockBottom Brewery. I'd never been to rock bottom before and it was pretty cool inside. They offer a sampler menu of about 8 different beers that they brew. Maybe 2 or 3 ounces of each, all for a buck. They start off with the pale ales and go up to the dark brews. Plus there was an IAP Indian Pale Ale and something else. The IAP was too bitter and the something else was absolutely horrible! THE worst beer I've ever tasted. I had to ask for a glass of water to wash out the taste. Horrible stuff!

The pale beers were too light for my taste but as the samples got darker they got better. We both liked the medium dark ones the best.

Went to Old Towne Covington for dinner at Wertheimer's on 6th & Philadelphia. A new friend from here gave me a 2 for 1 coupon so I took new friend Jackie (Dutch) that I met here. We ordered a beer, it is an import from Germany, I forget the brand name, it is called a Dunkel, german for dark.

I had Goulash for a soup, hated it. I've never had Goulash before so I have nothing to compare it to. If presented to me again somewhere else I'll try it again. I also had sausages and kraut as an appetizer and hot cabbage as a salad. The sausage was 2 small pieces, 1 of brautwurst and the other of knockwurst. Both were tasty, what there was of them. I looked at this small portion and am starting to get concerned about the 13.95 price for the Sauerbraten that I had ordered.

The kraut with the sausages was good but nothing to write home about. The hot cabbage salad was pretty tasty, it had a hot bacon dressing that was a bit sweet, which was a good thing.

Gotta go back to work, more to come at next breaking point.

How was the Sauerbraten?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

How was the Sauerbraten?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

SD7, see last line

Thursday night cont.;

The beer we had here, the dunkel draft import was really good. Much better then anything we had at RockBottom. So good in fact that we got the brand name and went to a liquor/beer/wine store a couple blocks away and we each bought a 12 pack to take home. I'll post the brand name at a later date. I just hope that I'll be able to find it again, probably will be able to in Hagerstown, Md. or if not somewhere around the district (D.C.) Jackie is flying so I get to take her's home in my truck and will give it to her when I go to her work site in 2 weeks for a conference.

Now for the main course(s):

Like I said earlier I had the Sauerbraten, which I have had before several times. This one was made from sliced roast beef whereas what I've had before was always made from a roast, like a chuck or arm or something like that. This was very tender and very tasty, just a little too much vinegar I think. Verry litle, being picky probably. I liked it a lot and would definetely have it again except there are to many other places to try and other foods even here. It came with potato dumplings, very bland, and a purple cabbage side. The dumplings were too bland for me and I was getting full. I did eat the cabbage and most of Jackie's, where she ate my dumplings.

She had the Jaeger Schnitzel, a pork cutlet(s) that was breaded and covered in a reduced wine sauce with sauted onions, mushrooms and sour cream. It was VERY good. Almost wish I had ordered it.

I wanted an authentic German type place where someone spoke german. This wasn't the place. It had good food and I would eat most of it again except that if I get back to Cincy I will look for others, trying to practice my old rusty german.

OK, almost time to go. I'll be off for a couple days. Should be able to finish up the trip report Saturday nite late.

Mike.

Best I recall, the Covington area was pretty neat. Lotsa old shops, restaurants, etc.

Paul E. smith
Knoxville, TN