WhereToEat: Cincinnati and N.Ky (open chat)

Hungry Matt


Thanks for the suggestions. I have heard many bad things from people around me about the Unos in Anderson. Thats why I am avoiding the place.

 
UNO's in Anderson was terrible, and it's been closed for several months.
 
Even though I'm from Chicago I prefer thinner crust. TJ mentioned Bourbon House in Burlington, which is my favorite deep dish in the city. Chi-Nati's off Montgomery Road isn't bad, but I don't think it's as good as Bourbon House.
 
I'm never had Mio's deep dish, but I really like their thin so I'd listen to TJ.
 
You can get Gino's East frozen at Hotdoggin it on Montgomery just south of Fields Ertel. I'm not a big fan of deep dish after it's been frozen, but they're selling a lot.
 
(Funny the subject would come up now -- I just came back from Chicago for my sister's wedding this past weekend, and a friend of mine insisted I bring back a Giordano's stuffed pie)
 
Even though it's a chain and not standard deep dish, I love the pizza at BJ's in Tri-County Mall. It's a thicker but very fluffy crust, and I think the toppings and sauce are awesome.

We went to the Sleepy Hollow Inn in Loveland on Wednesday for their Amish fried chicken special, which is every Wednesday.

The mixed dinner is $9.95 and  is three pieces - consisting of one leg and two HUGE white meat pieces - with two sides. We got there at 7. By 7:30 we started to overhear the server telling people that they were out of mixed and only had the white meat.

The chicken comes out extreeeemely hot and steaming. The breading is dark brown, quite salty, but adheres nicely and is delicious. It seems to be breadcrumb based.

The decor is dark and retro with Christmas lights inside all year long. No deck or outside seating and no windows. But the staff is cheerful and very nice.

A deal, and some of the best fried chicken I've eaten in a very long while.

soozycue520


My reason for bringing this up is, there is a new BAKERY that no one has noticed yet. I cannot find it anywhere (on any blog).  It is called Skirtz & Johnston. It is on the south side of the market, east of Krause, west of Mr. Pig.

They have fresh baked breads, pastries, cakes, etc., etc. Very clean space, and excellent food. It was very crowded when I got there, and when I pushed my way to the front (because everyone was oohing and aahing, and couldn't decide what they wanted), I asked what the bread pudding looking things were.

I ended up buying a slice of the savory breakfast bread pudding, and two cannolis. They also serve cake by the slice, and BELIEVE ME, they all looked excellent!!! They also had Mediterranian bread, and other things, I overheard talked about, while I was there.

SO much food, SO little time, and I wanted to eat everything!!!

Thank you for mentioning this place, by the way. I didn't get to the market until late (3:00) today, and S&J were already out of several things. The lemon bar I grabbed to snack on was absolutely outstanding, however. Going forward, I may have to start ordering the small at Dojo Gelato so that I have room for two desserts.

Sorry if I missed this a long time ago, but is the Taco Casa downtown location still open?  The place was a dump and the service was terrible but the taco salad was fantastic.  I know the one in Hyde Park is still around but was unsure of the downtown location.  Any help is appreciated.

No, the downtown location is gone, but there is also one in East Walnut Hills, at McMillan and Victory Pkwy.

On a twittered recommendation from Polly (she's been coming up with a lot of winners lately) I just picked up a banh mi from the little refreshments stand at the Main Public Library downtown. 

3 bucks (5 bucks for a large), made to order (no cilantro, no mayo, please) and very good, despite the involvement of a microwave during the construction of the sandwich.  They only do a pork version. 

The two workers (probably a married couple, but just guessing here) could not have been friendlier.

Recomended for both taste and value

I went back to Wicked Wich downtown today to try the reuben, which I had heard was very good.  Two things caught my attention: One, the price for a sandwich and side had increased from 5.95 to 6.95.  I'll admit I thought the 5.95 price was a bit low for an excellent sandwich, but wasn't expecting an almost 20% increase.  The second was that it looked like the sandwiches have decreased in size as well.  This is anecdotal since I hadn't been there in a while, but it would not surprise me.

The reuben itself was good, except that for some reason the prep cook decided to slice the corned with the grain instead of across it.  This lead to me getting long, stringy pieces of corned beef instead of nice sandwich slices.  I've never had a restaurant cut it this way and was disappointed as the flavor was very good but the texture was way off.

In short, even at 6.95 it still is an ok place to go, but it is no longer a top play for quality and value.

Tried Malia's Kitchen on Beechmont Ave. last week after passing it about 1,000 times.

Saw the online menu, went in for a hot Italian. I'm not very picky, admittedly, but I liked it a lot, and I also tried the cheesy spinach soup and I fell in love with it.

The sandwich is pretty simple -- simple, tasty ingredients served on excellent fresh bread, and the soup is incredibly creamy.

Meal includes a sandwich, soup, pickle and a chocolate chip cookie for $6.19. Sandwich by itself -- which isn't that big -- is still a good value at $3.99.

I went back for the soup and the sandwich on Monday and both were just as good.

Anyone else ever tried this place?

To those of you who having withdrawal symptoms over the closure of New Orleans to Go in Tri County

info out today: http://cincinnati.com/blo...onday-be-ready-to-eat/

UPDATE: Three more trucks got city permission by Friday afternoon to be among the first food trucks to vie for spots to sell downtown starting Monday: Cold Stone Creamery, New Orleans on the Geaux, and Butler Inc. The city says Butler serves snacks, sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs.
Cincinnati’s new mobile food vending program kicks off Monday morning. That means up to 20 food trucks like Cafe de Wheels and Senor Roy’s taco patrol can start parking in three city-owned spots to sell food.
Still trying to get a complete list from the city’s community development department of what food trucks will have permits by then. But Laure Quinlivan’s office says as of this morning, these seven trucks had permits:
Cafe de Wheels, Senor Roy’s, Habanero Burritos, Hey Ice Cream Man, the Gold Star Chilimobile, Fireside Pizza Oven and M&B Distributing. Not quite sure what the last one sells.
They can park, first-come, first-served, in three places – at the Purple People Bridge, on Court Street at Vine Street and in the parking lot at Fifth and Race streets, facing Macys.

To Bonk:  Malia's is in my neck of the woods but I have never gotten in there.   Kinda an understated spot.  Will make an effort to stop in.

Looking for a good hamburger in the Deer Park area. This could include Montgomery Road from Silverton to Montgomery, or Reed Hartmann Highway or Kenwood Road. Please don't ask me why that should make sense. Thanks.

Finally got a chance to eat at Senor Roys Taco Patrol today.  Even though some co-workers were skeptical of ordering from a taco truck, I braved forward and am so glad I did.  It was scrumptious.  I had three tacos, one chicken, one steak, and one pork.  Like TJ mentioned earlier, the chicken was very good but was by far the third best meat choice.  The other two were outstanding.  At $6 for three tacos, it is a great deal as well.  Highly, highly recommend.  Also, it looks like they are camping out at Fifth and Race recently, but check their Twitter account before you head out.

a few downtown notes

* I thought I had reported on this a few weeks back, but I dont see the entry, so pardon me if this is a repeat:  a new Mediterranean/gyro joint has opened on 8th near the Blue Wisp - Al Amin.  Prices are cheap to reasonable.  Menu is VERY similar to Raya's, and on a related note, Sam from Raya's tells me the owner once owned Jordan valley a long while back.  I had the falafel (4.85) which was almost as a good as Rayas while a bit smaller and a bit more expensive.  Well worth a try.

* I stopped by 5th and Race to see if New Orleans to Go Food truck had made its long awaited debut - they had twittered Friday would be the day - but alas, no NOTG.  Will keep checking, keep you posted. They are also twittering: http://twitter.com/NewOrleansToGo

* a new Korean-ish steam table joint - TJ's Korean (no relation) - has opened on Court between Walnut and Vine.  Very, very limited menu: Beef bulgogi for 5.99, Spicey Pork Bulgogi or Teriyaki Chicken for 4.99, any with rice, veggies, and a dumpling.  The Beef Bulgogi (my first) was pretty good, but the portion was on the skimpy side.  I will definitely ask for more rice when I go back to try the Pork.  The little sample of the chicken teriyaki they added to my plate was not all that good, very cloying.  They said they'd been open about 3 week now.

(now if only we could get some inexpensive indian food downtown)

* I have tried almost every slice they offer at Capri Tavola Calda on Walnut near 4th, and have come to the conclusion that they are all mediocre/OK with the noted exception of the excellent roasted red pepper and shaved parmesan slice, which is offerred only as an occasional special.  I check almost every day.  It is _that_ good.

* On a related note - not Roadfood, but I recommend the Ciabatta Bagel at Brueggers.  It seems I am hooked on roasted red peppers (see prev item), which this has in abundance.  Give it a shot.

* I stopped into Fred and Gari's one day when they were slow to ask about their pie schedule - you know, chocolate cream is on Wednesdays only, so I figured there's be other pies on other days.   I was told that there are usually no pies whatsoever on Monday or Friday (business way down due to economy) but that they also made butterscotch on Wednesday and on Thursdays it's Lemon Meringue.  Cant remember what they do on Tuesday, sorry.  In any case, they ocassionally will throw in a pie off that schedule and so the only way to tell is to stop by and check their display case.

* I made it over to Taco Casa at Victory and McMillan and am happy to report that the Sancho Boat and Taco is just as good as ever.  I really miss their old hidden location downtown - the tiny back-alley building that housed this operation has been torn down for a while now

* I still have not made it over to Tacqueria Mercado, and am going to have to rectify that soon.  The menu is pretty extensive, what should I start with?

New Orleans To Go is at 260  Northland Blvd from noon til 8 pm today while the food lasts near  Tri County area - check her on Facebook or Twitter or their website for locations:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000465362502#!/pages/Cincinnati-OH/New-Orleans-to-Go/309639602845?ref=ts&__a=8&ajaxpipe=1

http://www.neworleanstogopoboys.com/

http://twitter.com/NewOrleanstoGo

If all goes well they will be downtown next Friday.

TJ Jackson
 
*  I stopped by 5th and Race to see if New Orleans to Go Food truck had made its long awaited debut - they had twittered Friday would be the day - but alas, no NOTG.  Will keep checking, keep you posted. They are also twittering: 

 
It was there last week and I gave it a try --good sandwiches.  I saw one of the food bloggers has been there as well (cincinnatibites.com)

TJ Jackson
 
* a new Korean-ish steam table joint - TJ's Korean (no relation) - has opened on Court between Walnut and Vine.  Very, very limited menu: Beef bulgogi for 5.99, Spicey Pork Bulgogi or Teriyaki Chicken for 4.99, any with rice, veggies, and a dumpling.  The Beef Bulgogi (my first) was pretty good, but the portion was on the skimpy side.  I will definitely ask for more rice when I go back to try the Pork.  The little sample of the chicken teriyaki they added to my plate was not all that good, very cloying.  They said they'd been open about 3 week now.

 
Ohhh that sounds yummy! 

TJ Jackson
 
* I have tried almost every slice they offer at Capri Tavola Calda on Walnut near 4th, and have come to the conclusion that they are all mediocre/OK with the noted exception of the excellent roasted red pepper and shaved parmesan slice, which is offerred only as an occasional special.  I check almost every day.  It is _that_ good.

 
A lot of food bloggers have mentioned how hit-or-miss Capri is.  I've always liked their pizza, though.

TJ Jackson
 
* I made it over to Taco Casa at Victory and McMillan and am happy to report that the Sancho Boat and Taco is just as good as ever.  I really miss their old hidden location downtown - the tiny back-alley building that housed this operation has been torn down for a while now

 
Was once told the old location had a bug problem.  I like the one in Oakley but its parking lot is almost always empty.  I don't know how they keep that Sancho Boat afloat with Chipotle breathing down their neck next door.

TJ Jackson
 
* I still have not made it over to Tacqueria Mercado, and am going to have to rectify that soon.  The menu is pretty extensive, what should I start with?

 
Try the al pastor and suadero tacos and make sure to get the refried beans.  Also recommend the tortas...the original one is basically a fried steak on a bun, but it's good stuff.

Finally made it to Cafe de Wheels yesterday.  Girlfriend got the burger, which was good and i think reasonably priced.  I had the cuban, which was so-so ( the bread was really good, but i found the meat to be rather dry), and for $6.50 with no sides or drink, I wasn't impressed.  I was even more unimpressed with a 50 cent charge to "change" the cheese on the sandwich from swiss to jack.  I have never been charged a fee to change a cheese before, and I'll admit that I let little things like this taint my whole experience.  

I probably won't go back over 50 cents. Oh well.

My girlfriend surprised me by bringing home Pit To Plate from Mount Healthy for lunch on Saturday. The brisket was outstanding, as good as I've had in the tri-state. Very juicy, good amount of fat, just melt-in-your-mouth good.

She got the ribs, which I tried and they were pretty good, but nowhere near as good as the brisket.

-- Also, Malia's has burgers now. My girlfriend had one and said it was very good, except she would've preferred it a little less done.

Since it's so close to my place (less than a mile), I've become a regular over the past month-plus. Cheesy spinach soup. Totally addictive.

-- Had Chicago Gyro's in Clifton for the first time in nearly three years, and man, how I'd missed that place. The parking is a nightmare and since I don't work near downtown I'd blown the place off since it's such a pain to get there. But their gyros are absolutely awesome. They grill the pita bread in oil, give you tons of meat and the best cucumber sauce in the city with plenty of garlic. 

I've heard Sebastian's on the west side is great, too, but that's even farther away. One of these days... 

Bonk




-- Also, Malia's has burgers now. My girlfriend had one and said it was very good, except she would've preferred it a little less done.

Since it's so close to my place (less than a mile), I've become a regular over the past month-plus. Cheesy spinach soup. Totally addictive.
... 

Bonk,
 
Malia's is on the half price cincy site, and recently, they've been featured on the super tuesday for $15 for $50 worth of gift certs.  If you're a semi regular, you could save some bucks.  Check it out. I would suggest waiting until Tuesday to see if the price drops again.
 
http://halfpricecincy.mediawebconnect.com/Malias-Kitchen/25797 
 
Second, I went to Arnolds for lunch today.  I got the burger with red onion and feta.  It comes with fries for $4.99.  Outstanding price for a sit down service lunch, and it's insanely fast.  Because I parked at a meter, I made a note of what time I got there.  It was exactly 12:30 when i fed the meter.  I was served before 12:45.   Even with as hot as it was outside today, the big fans in the courtyard kept it comfortable.  I don't have a reason to be up that way often for lunch, but I would be there at least once a week if I was in the area.
 

Bonk

-- Had Chicago Gyro's in Clifton for the first time in nearly three years, and man, how I'd missed that place. The parking is a nightmare and since I don't work near downtown I'd blown the place off since it's such a pain to get there. But their gyros are absolutely awesome. They grill the pita bread in oil, give you tons of meat and the best cucumber sauce in the city with plenty of garlic.

And to think that the parking situation has actually improved in the three years since you've been! 


They are very good, though. In my experience, service is a bit spotty when it comes to drink refills, and the fries are always slightly overdone, but I have no complaints about the gyro.

Had the pizza at Ingredients downtown this week - they have a gas pizza hearth right in the store and fire up the pizza for you on demand.  This was a nice thin crust version with the perfect amount of sauce (less than you normally get at other places) and a decent chaw.  It was ready in about 5 minutes.  I'll be stopping by again to try one of their specials. 

Ate last week at Woe Is Me BBQ in the Eastgate area (actually takeout). Quite good. Good texture / flavor to pulled pork, great mac & cheese, corn pudding with a spicy snap, fresh-made hush puppies. We'll definitely go back. Talked to one of the proprietors for a while, and everything is made fresh there -- no packaged foods.

We tried Deep India in Clifton (on McMillan, a few doors down from Mac's) for dinner tonight and were pleasantly surprised. It's geared towards the carryout crowd like Krishna is, but has slightly more seating...by which I mean 4 tables and 16 chairs. You place your order at the counter and wait for your number to be called; there is no wait staff. College students standing around chatting while TruTV blared overhead was an interesting change of pace from the typically sterile Indian restaurant experience.

Portions are very generous (I had enough chicken curry and perfectly cooked rice left over to make a second meal, which never happens at any of the other places) and are served in a styrofoam container with plastic silverware, whether you are dining in or not. Prices are extremely reasonable as well; while the menu is not as extensive as the other places, the most expensive dish is a $10.95 goat dish, with most of the vegetarian dishes coming in at $6.95, and most of the chicken dishes coming in at $7.95. The Bearcash coupon book contains a "combo meal" offer which gives you a $7.95 (or less) entree, a fountain drink, and your choice of bread (including "flavored" nan) for $9.99.

We'll be back, especially if we intend to bring it home to eat. Dusmesh (across from Cincinnati State), however, remains my favorite for dining out, since they get both the food and the atmosphere right.

I know it's an Ohio chain (well, NOW I know), but we tried Romeo's on the east side yesterday. It's on Ohio 125 just east of I-275 where Garzelli's used to be.

I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to pizza, and I'd give the pie a C+. We ordered the cheese sticks because the description sounded better than the actual product. They were basically BW's-style cheese sticks, which are just OK.

We got the Butcher Shop pizza, which is a meat lover's. Again, not bad, unexceptional -- although we both thought there was too much fennel in the meatballs.

They offer several different types of sauces for pizza, with traditional, marinera and garlic butter standing out as the three I remember.

Cathy also got a Hawaiian to go. She has decent taste, but that's one obsession I'll never understand. Anyway, she tried it today with a garlic butter sauce and like everything else she said it was decent.

I would like to try the calzones and the subs since they looked pretty good. Also, we should've gotten the cheesy breadsticks or cheesy garlic bread instead of the cheese sticks. One of those would have to be exceptional for me to rate Romeo's above Marco's among smaller chains.

Speaking of pizza chains, the Pizza Hut at Eight Mile and Beechmont closed. I would do the buffet there once in a while, and I swear they've radically changed their recipe for the worse recently. Dough is too sweet, sauce isn't quite the same although I can't put a finger on how it differs.

So in short, one pizza place goes in, two go out in a three-mile stretch of Ohio 125. Just another typical month on the east side.

jmckee
Ate last week at Woe Is Me BBQ in the Eastgate area (actually takeout). Quite good. Good texture / flavor to pulled pork, great mac & cheese, corn pudding with a spicy snap, fresh-made hush puppies. We'll definitely go back. Talked to one of the proprietors for a while, and everything is made fresh there -- no packaged foods.

 
I picked up some takeout at Woe Is Me yesterday. 1/2 lb of pulled pork, a family sized collared greens and a family sized potato salad, for $16.50 total. The greens needed a little vinegar and salt but otherwise, everything was excellent. The pork was tasty, lean and as noted had good texture and the potato salad was homemade in quality. This place should be supported by roadfooders.

Do they have indoor seating or are they carry-out only?

They have a dining room. This shows what it looks like: http://www.citybeat.com/c...s-me-%28review%29.html

Thanks.
I had a sandwich there once back when they just had the trailer outside and thought it was just OK, but I really need to give the place another shot.

It's at least on a par with City BBQ. Now, I only had the pulled pork and we both thought that it was toothsome - moist and tender but not falling apart, and mildly (not strongly) smoked. The sauces are a bit strange - the house BBQ sauce is very thin and sweet. The "pain" sauce has a little more viscosity and is not over the top but is pretty hot.

I find it vastly preferable to City BBQ. Everything from scratch.  City "q" is really what a chain love would think of as BBQ.
 
Had it again over the weekend -- brisket sandwich very good, baked beans sturdy and wildly seasoned. Only gripe -- collards need a couple more hours in the pot and about another half cup of pot likker.
 
They package the sandwiches to go with the meat on the bottom of the "clamshell" and the bun on top, separated by a sheet of wax paper -- no sogginess!

Walked past the food truck "food court" - food truck court? - today and NOTG was there. Half Glazed Shrimp Po-Boy, gumbo, and a can of soda: $7.95. Decent price and outstanding taste! Anyone know if they have a location schedule posted anywhere? A Google search revealed nothing...

You should check them on Twitter.