WhereToEat: Cincinnati and N.Ky (open chat)

The pizza at Via Vite is terrible. actually the whole place is terrible. we were very disappointed in our meal there. i can't imagine anything that would convince me to try it again.

quote:

Originally posted by dlawson

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Originally posted by soozycue520

Bombay Oven and Hi!Bombay are jointly owned.

Are you sure about this? I only ask because we recognized the manager (?), who used to work at Hi Bombay. He told us that he had been fired from Hi Bombay, and made it sound like The Bombay Oven was his own project.

I am pretty positive. My best friend had talked with the owner of Hi! Bombay before Bombay Oven opened about the progress, and he offered her a free drink to stop in when they opened {which is why we went the first time}.

Now, I have talked with many people over the years that claimed they "own" a particular restaurant when the only mananged, or even just worked there. This could be the case.

quote:

Originally posted by soozycue520
I am pretty positive. My best friend had talked with the owner of Hi! Bombay before Bombay Oven opened about the progress, and he offered her a free drink to stop in when they opened {which is why we went the first time}.

Now, I have talked with many people over the years that claimed they "own" a particular restaurant when the only mananged, or even just worked there. This could be the case.

Well, if you've spoken with Hi! Bombay ownership, you've done more research than I have. :)

The guy at The Bombay Oven did encourage us to keep going to Hi!, which I thought was a bit odd if he had indeed been fired from there (unless he was "fired" so that he could be transferred). We'll continue going to both; Hi! is close to my wife's workplace, and Oven is close to our house. I do hope they speed up the service at Oven.

Tacqueria Mercado on Dixie Highway has closed. It was my favorite joint in NKY for authentic puebla-style mexican food. Does anyone else have any other authentic mexican restaurants in the general area that they recommend?

Nada, Boca owner David Falk's new downtown restaurant, opened today:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071203/ENT01/312030057/

http://www.eatdrinknada.com/main.html

re: Indian Eats: does not appear to be a consensus :-) ah well. Do any of them do Dosas?

re: Tacquerias: the only one I knew of was the one on RT4. I'd have to guess that Hamilton, with it's large hispanic population, probably has one or more somewhere, but I rarely get up that way.

re: Tom's Pot Pies: Tom got a writeup in Cincinnati Magazine recently, and (edited in) a writeup in CinWeekly's Two for $20 feature, found here: http://cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/A1/20071205/ENT0104/711280333/

re: new Eats (1 of 3) The Mythos Grill across the street from where I work has had pictures in the window of greek specialties like moussaka and pastichio in the window as they did construction, so my assumption all along was that this location would have a fuller menu including these items. Edit 12/7/2006 Not so. Same gyro-centric menu as the others. Sad. Turns out I was wrong....the wall menuboard shows this limited menu as I described, but the *printed* paper menu (which wasn't available the day I first stopped in) is far, far more extensive. I'm not saying it is good, or that it is cheap (pastichio for 9 bucks?) but there is a lot more to be had here. My bad.

re: new Eats (2 of 3) Construction on Oceanaire (right across the street from the newly opened Nada, per previous post) is well underway. The March 2008 opening data posted on their website looks attainable.

re: new Eats (3 of 3) Cafe 201 has opened in the Atrium I building on 4th at Main. 7$/lb salad bar, soup bar, various somewhat upscale foodcourt-like stations pumping out 5-7 dollar meals. The panini station doesn't look too bad. Given the cold and that it's so darn close I'll be sure to give it a few tries and report back

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Originally posted by TJ Jackson

re: Indian Eats: does not appear to be a consensus :-) ah well. Do any of them do Dosas?

Ambar in Clifton, Akash Downtown, Baba in Oakley are all operated by the same folks. Very good quality. I'd give Ambar the nod as the best in town.

Apna in Clifton and Florence KY. Same group also own Grand India Buffet on Chester, Royal Taj on Beechmont, and India Hyde Park in...Hyde Park. I've only been to Apna in Clifton, but again, the food there very good quality. I'd say on par with those owned by the Ambar folks.

Krishna. It's right across from UC's campus on Calhoun. I've always enjoyed it, and eaten with several Indian friends who believe IT is the best in the city.

Udipi, on Reading. You want dosas? This is the place. They specialize in South Indian cuisine, it's entirely vegetarian, I've never had to wait to be seated, but they always seem nearly full.

Not recommended:

India Palace, across from Cincy State. I've had some VERY GOOD food here, but they're just too darned inconsistent.

Amol. Never had anything better than just "ok" here, although I'd admit I've only eaten the buffet.

I went to the Keystone Bar & Grill {http://www.keystonebar.com/} in Covington, KY, for a late dinner. I ordered the fish & chips dinner {$11.05}, but substituted mac & cheese at no additional charge. THE FISH WAS HUGE!!! I could only eat @ 3/4's of one of the two pieces of beer battered cod. Here are my leftovers.

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Originally posted by TJ Jackson

great report, SD

My brother is trying to find a roving bbq seller who goes by the name "Big Bobs BBQ".....says it is the best he has ever had.

Has anyone come across this particular business in the Cincnnati area? I googled, I checked the online yellow pages, no luck

quote:

Originally posted by Robin Hood

Tacqueria Mercado on Dixie Highway has closed. It was my favorite joint in NKY for authentic puebla-style mexican food. Does anyone else have any other authentic mexican restaurants in the general area that they recommend?

Robin, I used to frequent Carniceria Mexico at 7914 Dream Street when I worked down that way about 3 years ago. It is a LARGE butcher shop and grocery with an adjoining taquiera.

Hi,the place that youre thinking of is "Scott's bbq located on Northland Blvd. in Forest Park. I am the owner of New Orleans To Go and happen to know those folks quite well."tin question would

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Originally posted by beme

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Originally posted by TJ Jackson

great report, SD

My brother is trying to find a roving bbq seller who goes by the name "Big Bobs BBQ".....says it is the best he has ever had.

Has anyone come across this particular business in the Cincnnati area? I googled, I checked the online yellow pages, no luck

Thats it! woo!

Thanks so much, misstoy....

I see Tom's Pot Pies got a "2 for $20" article:

http://cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/ENT0104/711280333/1047/ENT0104

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Originally posted by soozycue520

I went to the Keystone Bar & Grill {http://www.keystonebar.com/} in Covington, KY, for a late dinner. I ordered the fish & chips dinner {$11.05}, but substituted mac & cheese at no additional charge. THE FISH WAS HUGE!!! I could only eat @ 3/4's of one of the two pieces of beer battered cod. Here are my leftovers.

Now that's a meal!!

I was pleasantly suprised today to see that the dining section of this week's Enquirer included reviews of three (count'em, three!) spots with some interest to us here at Roadfoad. Or at least to me, to be fair :-)

First up, an allegedly top notch burger that located just a couple of miles from my house in a place I had never heard of called Terry's Turf Club. Amazing. Then again, I don't drink so I generally ignore bars unless I hear something - like now - about what great food they have, ala Arthur's. Got to get over there and check it out:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071213/ENT01/712140321/
http://rodeo.cincinnati.com/ent2/entity.aspx?e=215894

Next, weren't there some questions about Tacquerias here in Cincinnati? They've got some info on a tacqueria in Mason that sounds pretty darn good:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071213/ENT01/712140324/
http://rodeo.cincinnati.com/ent2/entity.aspx?e=180732

Finally, a little place that serves german food in this community, with his strong german ancestry, sounds good too:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071213/ENT01/712140322/
http://rodeo.cincinnati.com/ent2/entity.aspx?e=214904

Polly, I know you read this space every so often - thanks :-)

I am sad to report that German Cusine, the butcher shop and lunch/weekend eatery in Florence,KY has closed.

Their currywurst with crusty bread and Yaeger schnitzle was terrific.

They also did a good business with Jungle Jim's supplying cryo vacs specailty brats, metts and other choices, but a swing by there this afternoon netted no GC products.

I have perfected my currywurst recipe to GC standards, but it is sad to see another small time high quality food perveyor go by the wayside.

jjjrfoodie

quote:

Originally posted by jjjrfoodie

I am sad to report that German Cusine, the butcher shop and lunch/weekend eatery in Florence,KY has closed.

Their currywurst with crusty bread and Yaeger schnitzle was terrific.

They also did a good business with Jungle Jim's supplying cryo vacs specailty brats, metts and other choices, but a swing by there this afternoon netted no GC products.

I have perfected my currywurst recipe to GC standards, but it is sad to see another small time high quality food perveyor go by the wayside.

jjjrfoodie

That sucks.... I had lunch there at the Imbis last year during my anual training week in January... Had the currywurst too. I wonder if the expansion to the Crescent Springs Center blew the bank. They also split from The Hofbrauhaus which must have hurt the bottom line. Hopefully the young German master butcher they sponsored will find another place to work in the area.

I always feel guilty when a locally owned specialist food place goes out of business. It's like I should have done more to talk them up to my friends who aren't as chow driven as I am. I mean, I still crave the Jerk Chicken and even more the Curry Cabbage from The Patty Shack in Springdale and they've been gone for years. I took a bunch of Jerk Chicken and Pork Rotis to work one day just to get them into it... But in the long run it didn't help. I did the same thing with the Bahn Mi from Chopsticks. Hope it isn't a bad omen.

Care to share your recipie for Currywurst jjjr?

quote:

Originally posted by tpd

quote:

Originally posted by jjjrfoodie

I am sad to report that German Cusine, the butcher shop and lunch/weekend eatery in Florence,KY has closed.

Their currywurst with crusty bread and Yaeger schnitzle was terrific.

They also did a good business with Jungle Jim's supplying cryo vacs specailty brats, metts and other choices, but a swing by there this afternoon netted no GC products.

I have perfected my currywurst recipe to GC standards, but it is sad to see another small time high quality food perveyor go by the wayside.

jjjrfoodie

That sucks.... I had lunch there at the Imbis last year during my anual training week in January... Had the currywurst too. I wonder if the expansion to the Crescent Springs Center blew the bank. They also split from The Hofbrauhaus which must have hurt the bottom line. Hopefully the young German master butcher they sponsored will find another place to work in the area.

I always feel guilty when a locally owned specialist food place goes out of business. It's like is should have done more to talk them up to my friends who aren't as chow driven as I am. I mean, I still crave the Jerk Chicken and even more the Curry Cabbage from The Patty Shack in Springdale and they've been gone for years. I took a bunch of Jerk Chicken and Pork Rotis to work one day just to get them into it... But in the long run it didn't help. I did the same thing with the Bahn Mi from Chopsticks. Hope it isn't a bad omen.

Care to share your recipie for Currywurst jjjr?

I pretty much feel the same way you guys feel about the closing. That said, a guy Sandy works with told her late last week the place had closed. At the same time, he said that a place called European Deli and Bakery (or something like that) had opened in the richardson rd., weaver rd., u.s. 25 area. we're not that familiar with that part of nky., so i can't quite place it, but we'll probably check it out after the holidays. I kinda wonder if that isn't where Stefan, the butcher, didn't end up.

On a potentially positive note, I drove by Taqueria Mercado on RT4 tonight and it appeared to be open. Not sure if the same people are running it but the sign was lit up (but with some bulbs no functioning) and the "OPEN" sign in the window was on.

I tried the new Cityside tavern on Monmouth street in Newport last night. What a mistake. Avoid this place. The daily special was a philly cheese steak sandwich with fries and slaw for $6.95. We each got one. They were forgettable, but not terrible for that price. Then we got the check. We were charged $9.95 for each sandwich. I called the server over to show her the error. She said that $6.95 was only for the "daily" special, and because we ordered ours at 7:15 pm we were charged the night time price. What???? She said that the night time version comes with two sides. I pointed to the board where the specials were written and noted that it said served with fries and slaw too. She shrugged and said, "yeah I told them to erase $6.95 at night." and then she walked off. I was furious because she had already run my card through before I noticed the mistake. I will NEVER, EVER darken the door of this place again. Mediocre to bad food in a super-smokey atmosphere with that kind of shenanigans going on with the prices. No way. Do yourself a favor and skip this place.

Couple of unrelated notes

1) looks like the Enquirer picked up on the news of the closing of Erlanger's German Cuisine - I would assume from your post a few days back, JJR. The notation is in this week's Enquirer Dining News.

2) Tho I have not talked about it much for a while, I continue to look for the best italian sub in town - well, mostly downtown. About a week ago, I tried the italian at the newly opened Potbelly's on Fountain Square, and it was OK but not great. Just today, I found the new champion at the most unlikely of spots - the very corporate-cafeteria-like Cafe 201 in the Atrium 1 building at 4th and Main. They call it a panini, but it's an italian sub, with the added benefit of some time on a sandwich press. The roll they use has a very nice and pliant crust that does not allow the press to in any way flatten the sandwich. Priced at 5.40, it's loaded with a generous stack of good quality meats - and the vinegrette they dress it with is outstanding. The really, REALLY surprising thing is that the sandwiches are made up in advance and held in a reach-in fridge near the presses, so I was not expecting this to be even mediocre.....but I'm telling you, give it a try. That said, this is not sopressata, mortadella, prosciutto etc etc - this is ham, salami, pepperoni, and turkey breast, which I didn't think would be all that good, but was. Oh, and ask them to leave it on the grill about double the time they usually do....it takes a while for the heat from the press to work it's way into the stack of refrigerated meat at the center of the sandwich. This place also makes it's own potato chips (haven't tried them yet) and large rice krispy treats (1.30, and well worth it)

It's worth mentioning that Cinti Bell and Convergys employees get a 20% discount here - show your ID if so.

lunchbunch tried Taqueria Maya, 7876 Mason-Montgomery Road, yesterday. we ordered (and shared) the lunch tripe burrito; lunch tongue burrito; pozole soup and found them all to be excellent, although the soup was a tad too salty and the television had loud rap music (don't know what language) blaring... downscale in an upscale neighborhood... lunch burritos are as good as they used to be at Tacqueria Mercada in Fairfield (I find their quality has dropped significantly in past year - stopped by there for takeout a month ago)... Taqueria Maya has goat soup and menudo (one of my favorites IF it's good) on weekends only... and when they have goat soup, according to Denise the waitress, they also have goat tacos, burritos, etc. I recommend it
franklee

almost forgot... the rice and refried beans were above average... the salsa is better if you throw in squirts of the other three kinds...
frank

I am now in MOURNING!!!

German Cuisine had become a favorite stop while over that way, I had tried almost every variety of sausage they produced.

I had their website bookmarked, but the site is not operable anymore either

I guess I now need a new place for authentic German sausages.

Anyone got any ideas??

tpd, my currywurst recipe contains:
canned plain Contadina tomato sauce
olive oil
diced sauteed onions
brown sugar
honey
cider vinegar
dried basil
hot chili flakes or cayenne
white wine
Sun brand Madras Curry Powder from India
Skinned sliced apples (removed at end of cooking)
Nice German brats

I have the #'s written down somewhere.

My little butcher shop sets me up with the fresh made stubby german brats with naturals casings that I use.

They get them locally and do not make them so i will look into it for Cajun King. Findley market and Avril's on Court Street downtown are two good sources for anthing german and stuffed in a casing. :)

jjjrfoodie

I gotta get down to Findlay Market sometime other than opening day.

I always forget about it until it is too late, and with current health issues, walking is not a fun thing to do.

Thanks for checking into where your butcher shop gets them jjjrfoodie

I know it isn't Roadfood, but a lot of you considered this place good eats, and that's what this thread is about, so......some more sad news.

Pho Paris is going away

http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/foodie/2007/12/speaking-of-jean-robert.asp

If you like this place, get in there soon....you have just til the end of the year....yeah, it's gonna go that fast.....

"I tried the new Cityside tavern on Monmouth street in Newport last night. What a mistake. Avoid this place. "

Sorry to hear, always bad when a redo is worse than what it replaced, the real bad news is Ezra Castle who did Sanoma, Zolas and the 915 pub is the new owner. I would have expected him to do a better job, I am sure her will work out the issues but don't think I'll be there. We walked in Cityside last Saturday and turned around and walked out, as we did not like the "sports bar" feel. Funny thing is Ezra was at Terry's Turf Club last Friday eve checking it out.

Welcome to Roadfood, VuDuTu....what did you think of Terry's Turf Club, which suddenly has a lot of mostly positive buzz?

quote:

Originally posted by CajunKing

I am now in MOURNING!!!

German Cuisine had become a favorite stop while over that way, I had tried almost every variety of sausage they produced.

I had their website bookmarked, but the site is not operable anymore either

I guess I now need a new place for authentic German sausages.

Anyone got any ideas??

I heard you guys talk about that place and always meant to get there but never did. Sorry it's gone.

We went to Schmidt's in Columbus on Saturday, and it was better than ever. They now have peanut butter chocolate cream puffs. Unreal.

We went for a hockey game, but I could drive 100 miles just to eat there.