WhereToEat: Cincinnati and N.Ky (open chat)

who go to try our foods tooday

im waiting for reply

I was disappointed at the Cadillac Ranch, yes it may have been opening week jitters.

I had a steak dusted, medium rare. It was not dusted and is was more med well than rare.

The service was slow, but the place was packed we did get some appetizer coupons for our wait.

The atmosphere was a little overwhelming (opening week hype) I guess I am more of the quiet dining place now, There is no way you could get me to ride the bull though! OH GAWD I AM GETTING OLDER!!

I went to Cadillac Ranch last night, and disappointed is an understatement. My opinion is they rushed to open the place, and are not near ready.

At @ 7:30 pm, the place wasn't crowded, but it was Sunday. Our server, who could barely speak English, gave us a lunch menu. We were told that they were only serving the lunch menu, "because they just opened".

One friend ordered a White Zin and one a dirty martini. The bartender came out to ask who ordered a "Winferder" and what was it. Then they sent out the martini, not dirty and no olives. After sending it back, we were informed that they "ran out of olives".

I was disappointed with the lunch menu. For those that work downtown, lunch here is a little pricey. I was looking for more of a meal, but all they offered on the lunch menu was appetizers, sandwiches, a caesar salad and soup.

My friends caesar{no meat} was $7.75, and she got a cup of soup that was definitely pre-packaged. Another friend was going to order the ribs, but they were $10.75 for a half rack with NO SIDE!! So she settled on a pulled pork sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries, which she liked, but the fries were bland {$9.75, plus a $1.00 extra for the sweet potato fries}.

The biggest disappointment was my burger. $9.50, $0.50 extra for cheese, and $1.00 to upgrade to onion rings. The burger was preformed. I ordered it medium rare, and it was served well done and dry. You can get the same burger {maybe better} at Rockin'Robin's on Sunday Night, with any toppings you wish, for $5.00, but, no, I paid $11.50 for the experience.

We could have complained, but our server really couldn't understand anyway, and most of the staff looked completely disinterested, so we decided to just chalk it up to a bad first impression for them. I don't think I'll be rushing back anytime soon.

If anyone has a better experience after they "get their bearings", let us know!!

Couple of quick notes

Dink's - It's been a while since I have been in there, but I was in the other day and had the immensely improved cheesesteak. The roll, meat quality, and meat quantity were much improved from when I tried it soon after Dink's opened, a year or more ago. Ken (the ever-present and very friendly owner) says he will be adding wiz as a free cheesesteak option fairly soon. The homewrecker (the half pound hot dog) is off the menu because it was not selling quickly enough to keep the product quality high. He also told me that he is planning on going a bit more upscale with his menu, adding more specialty burgers and dogs, and raising prices overall. He expects to implement these changes in the coming weeks, and so we should see a notably different menu by the end of July, I'd guess.

Sonic - I've been dreaming about the burger I had there last week, that's how good it was. Picked the kids up after work at their gramma's and drove all the way from Newport to Hamilton, just for a burger. The kids loved it. The wife (hearing about this later) shook her head sadly at the lengths I will go for a good meal. My cheeseburger was not quite as good as the previous one, but it was still great. Three things stood out again: top quality bakery bun well sized to the patties, very fresh toppings, and fresh, juicy meat. Only one minus, and minor: the grilled onions were unpleasantly salty - I will get raw onion next time. I'm going to have to make the trip to Mainville (the other 'local' Sonic location) to see if the food quality is as good there.

I've been to Dink's twice in the last few weeks and the service quality has improved dramatically. Anecdotally, it also seems to be a little more crowded each time I go in, which I like as long as the service is quick. And the Chicago dog is very good to boot...

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Couple of quick notes

Dink's - It's been a while since I have been in there, but I was in the other day and had the immensely improved cheesesteak. The roll, meat quality, and meat quantity were much improved from when I tried it soon after Dink's opened, a year or more ago. Ken says he will be adding wiz as a free cheesesteak option fairly soon. The homewrecker (the half pound hot dog) is off the menu because it was not selling quickly enough to keep the product quality high. He also told me that he is planning on going a bit more upscale with his menu, adding more specialty burgers and dogs, and raising prices overall. He expects to implement these changes in the coming weeks, and so we should see a notably different menu by the end of July, I'd guess.

Sonic - I've been dreaming about the burger I had there last week, that's how good it was. Picked the kids up after work at their gramma's and drove all the way from Newport to Hamilton, just for a burger. The kids loved it. The wife (hearing about this later) shook her head sadly at the lengths I will go for a good meal. My cheeseburger was not quite as good as the previous one, but it was still great. Three things stood out again: top quality bakery bun well sized to the patties, very fresh toppings, and fresh, juicy meat. Only one minus, and minor: the grilled onions were unpleasantly salty - I will get raw onion next time. I'm going to have to make the trip to Mainville (the other 'local' Sonic location) to see if the food quality is as good there.

Soozy

We must have gotten the same wait person. I have had better English speaking and understanding people in our local Chinese place.

Just stopped in at Tom's Pot Pies again, and they are now offerring (not sure if this is daily, experimental, or a special) the broccoli alfredo in the regular size.

Eating one now, and it's great :-)

Ah yes Millilos & Chesters. I can remember traveling back to Hamilton as a kid and my Dad taking us to those places because of his highschool memories. I guess they aren't on my list of must have's when I get back to Hamilton becuase no matter where I go you can find really impressive local pizza joints. But the Richard's steak sandwich is an original, I've never found anything like it anywhere else. I have some shipped at christmas time.

As for Sonic, they are a staple here in SC (and the south in general). I recall their being a Sonic in Middletown. And yes the burger is great for a chain. The Sonic in my town (Hartsville SC) just rebuilt on the same site they had been on for many years, doubling the parking spaces and adding a drive thru. Now it has sand volleyball, big playground and batting cages too. Ours has bike night and classic car night....you just cruise on in, and hang out while "snacking" most the evening. I enjoy trips to Sonic!

I miss Thai food...can't get it locally here. Cinti had so many good places to get it (Clifton, Mt Adams, etc). I recommend the Thai Cafe. Very good, as I was back there in Nov 2006 while at a conference at UC. Then walked down to Greaters for a chip wheelie.

OK now i'm hungry!

While this is a chain, I only know of one in the area. The A&W burger in the Tower Place food court is better than Sonic or Culvers in my humble opinion. Just made the trip downtown recently to have a double bacon cheeseburger and a papa burger along with a root beer freeze. If it wasn't for the parking situation, would make this more of a regular stop.

Both Sonic and Culvers are good, just really enjoyed the A&W burger.

quote:

Originally posted by Suburban Dad

While this is a chain, I only know of one in the area.

There is also one in Harrison. The one in Northgate Mall has apparently closed, but I haven't been in that mall in years. As far as fast food burgers go, I have always enjoyed A&W, definitely moreso than Sonic. I have yet to go to Culver's.

I work within a 3 minute walk of the downtown A&W, and while it is decently good, it is nowhere near Sonic's league, at least in my (very limited, and very recent) experience.

I'm not doubting your opinion, not for a moment - this is just the perfect example of different folks preferring different things....no problem whatsoever :-)

However, I too would go to the A&W before most of the other chain hamburger joints, if alone (kids always want the arches, go figure) and if all choices are equally available.....for me, Sonic would be first, then Culver's, then it's a tossup between Rally's (for the Buford only) and A&W. So top 3 or 4 for me.

Noble Roman's returning to Cincinnati
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070627/BIZ01/306270032/

Never had Noble Roman's.

I almost drove off the road today on my way to work when I saw a Sonic's sign on Eastgate Blvd. Coming soon in front of the Best Buy.

Have been to the Noble Roman's in both West Chester and Mason. Breadsticks are as good as I remember, but for someone who grew up with this and had a monster pizza, this pizza is not the same nor as good. While the pizza is ok, I have a feeling people will go for the value and not necessarily the great taste. Family pack is a large 1 topping pizza, two orders of breadsticks and a 2 liter of soda for $15.

Tried Cheezburger Cafe this afternoon with the family. This has taken the place of Ben and Jerry's on Montgomery road and is next door to Skip's Deli(Same owners) and across the parking lot from HotDoggin It. Wife and I had burger and fries, one child had chicken fingers other a hot dog. Kids meals come with fresh cut fries and a drink. All four of us splurged and had milk shakes, wife and kids had black rasberry chip while I had chocolate peanut butter. There a various burgers choices on the menu or you can build your own. The build your own you pick your choice of cheese(american, swiss, sharp, pepperjack, blue, others i think), choice of toppings (tomato, lettuce, pickles, relish, fried egg, raw onion, grilled onion, grilled mushrooms, etc) and finally your sauce (ketchup, mustard, mayo, chipotle mayo, guacamole, barbeque, tarter sauce, etc.) They didn't ask how we wanted our burgers cooked. When they came out I would say they were medium well. Just the way the wife likes it and little over cooked for me. Still, burger was tasty, but the bun was too big and flaky for the single burger that we had. The fries our fresh cut and come out pipin' hot. Very good similar to Penn Station. The milkshakes were a hit all around, even if a little pricey($3.99 adult think Steak n Shake is cheaper). Kids liked the chicken fingers and hot dog even though I thought the chicken fingers looked like the were of the frozen box variety. The build your burger was reasonably priced with 1/3 lb. singles costing $3.99 and a single order of fries at $1.99 was enough for the wife and I to split. Don't know if I would drive out of my way to go back as there are soooo many burger places around(Culvers, Steak n Shake, Red Robin, Sonic etc..), but I thought overall food quality was good and prices weren't too bad. Interested to hear other opinions if anyone else has given them a try.

quote:

Originally posted by Bonk

I almost drove off the road today on my way to work when I saw a Sonic's sign on Eastgate Blvd. Coming soon in front of the Best Buy.

OUT FREAKIN STANDING!!!!

Err, not the vehicular control issue, the new Sonic! Eastgate is almost in my back yard :-)

Speaking of burgers (and I can't recall if I have mentioned this before), has anyone else hit Bar Louie at Newport on the Levee for their $1.00 burger Wednesdays? My wife and I have taken advantage of this several times over the past few months. The burger special starts at 5:00 PM and lasts until the kitchen closes (which I believe is 1:45 AM).

The catch is that the $1.00 burger only includes lettuce, and all other toppings cost extra. Everything is between 25 and 50 cents, however, so it's quite easy to come in under $3.00 even after adding stuff like bacon, cheese, spicy olive mix, and chipolte mayo (which has become my default burger for $2.75). We typically add an order of tater tots for $1.99, which is large enough for both of us. I would estimate that the burgers are 1/3 pounders.

We are usually able, for better or for worse, to time dinner so that it coincides with happy hour (5:00 to 7:00 and 10:00 to close), which features all draught beers at $2.50. Our dinner this past week, which consisted of two burgers, two beers, and tater tots, was $14.00 even including tax (but not tip). I really enjoy the meal, despite the drawbacks that it is first and foremost a bar, which means it is typically on the louder side, and that it still allows smoking, being in Kentucky. I suppose the Levee location is also a drawback for some of us (TJ ).

I've always had great food at Bar Louie dating back to 2004 and it and Mitchell's are among the best at at least keeping an even keel on quality at NOTL/EDOTL.;)
For an evening out and good quality food, BL is fun and safe.
Burger Wednesdays sound fun, but I scoot over to Authur's for my burger fix when I'm not cooking them in the summer.

jjjrfoodie

Hi all - I read up on stuff here often but just signed up today to specifically post re my experience at the much-acclaimed Cadillac Ranch:

My husband & I went on Saturday for lunch (~ 1 p.m. 6/30). There was a line to be seated, even though plenty of inside tables available. As we stood, there's a huge poster next to the main door/entrance outlining daily specials. Saturday's special was suppose to be 1/2 price appetizers noon - 5 p.m. When we asked our server, we were told that is only for people who are sitting on the patio. The poster/special board didn't say that; neither did the table card sitting on our INSIDE table. We asked to speak to the manager. Gordie came to our table but he was pretty short. His only explanation was that they PLAN to reprint the cards to clarify.

Hot dog = $8; Burger = $10; Chicken wrap $12; a little pricey for below-average bar food.

I live downtown & trust me, I WANT businesses to succeed. The only way this place will flourish with people like Gordie in charge is out of sheer desperation because there's no where else to simply grap a beer for a weekend lunch.

I can afford to pay full price for appetizers, but it's the principle. I doubt I'll go back based on the customer service & cluelessness of the management. They don't deserve my business.

NCSU: Welcome out of the darkness where the lurkers lurk :-)

How long have you lived downtown, and what are your personal favorite places to grab a meal downtown and thereabouts?

I was at Cadillac for happy hour on Friday - sat on the patio for 15 minutes before someone even cleared our table off. Then waited another 15 minutes at the bar to get a beer (which was $2 for a bottle - not a bad deal). Overheard one of the patrons talking to a manager and he was saying that they still were working some kinks out of the system but they were working hard to get it right.

All this happened before the Reds crowd hit. I could only imagine people going to the game and getting there at 5:30 or 6 thinking they will make the game only to find the place packed with no service. I can't imagine it would be that hard to serve drinks during happy hour as most other places do it quite well but I've never run a restaurant. Seems like there is a lot of low hanging fruit that they can knock off to improve quality. The jury remains out....

quote:

Originally posted by NCSUBrew

Hi all - I read up on stuff here often but just signed up today to specifically post re my experience at the much-acclaimed Cadillac Ranch:

My husband & I went on Saturday for lunch (~ 1 p.m. 6/30). There was a line to be seated, even though plenty of inside tables available. As we stood, there's a huge poster next to the main door/entrance outlining daily specials. Saturday's special was suppose to be 1/2 price appetizers noon - 5 p.m. When we asked our server, we were told that is only for people who are sitting on the patio. The poster/special board didn't say that; neither did the table card sitting on our INSIDE table. We asked to speak to the manager. Gordie came to our table but he was pretty short. His only explanation was that they PLAN to reprint the cards to clarify.

Hot dog = $8; Burger = $10; Chicken wrap $12; a little pricey for below-average bar food.

I live downtown & trust me, I WANT businesses to succeed. The only way this place will flourish with people like Gordie in charge is out of sheer desperation because there's no where else to simply grap a beer for a weekend lunch.

I can afford to pay full price for appetizers, but it's the principle. I doubt I'll go back based on the customer service & cluelessness of the management. They don't deserve my business.

I've lived downtown since moving to Cincinnati 18 months ago - it's the only place I've lived in the "mid-west". We were only here (from NC - hence, the NCSU part) for an assignment for my husband's job & will be moving back to NC in September. I've enjoyed living downtown, but probably am ready to get back to what I've always known as "home".

I have a home office so I have been checking this board for interesting lunch sites & I have tried many thanks for the "reports" here. Unfortunately, weekends are when we WANT to go out & there's no easy place to grap just a sandwich. It's $$$$ or "closed on weekends". I don't have anything much new to add, but some of my favorites:

Lunch:
I love DINKS! Red Foxx on Friday for the fish. My dad ordered a burger there once & it was HUGE & he said it was good. Sports Page has a good chicken fried steak with veggies; homemade mac & cheese!
Sophia's is just ok, but I enjoy going there because the owner/son is so nice. He makes me special lunchtime sandwiches @ breakfast because I'm not a big egg fan. Actually, Rise & Shine does that, too . . . . I get the spicy fried rice with shrimp for breakfast there. I've been to Javier's twice and didn't think it was that good. Been to Mejana & Akash for lunch - but I'm not a fan of the buffet, so I need to try them both @ dinner & order off the menu. I think Gondola Pizza is good, but I know not everyone agrees.

Dinner:
We're so caught in the Sully's/Rockin Robin rut. I want to try Ko-Sho but haven't yet. We like Trattoria Roma, too.

If you're from NC, there's a decent change you work for Duke Energy....is this so?

:) No; in fact, my husband is the one with the job assignment here & his company is in West Chester. Cincy is the largest city we've ever lived in (and I know it doesn't seem big to y'all, but compared to Raleigh, NC it is) so we decided that he would do the reverse commute & we'd experience downtown living (before we have kids, etc.). It's worked well!

Another Enquirer article on some of the places to grab a dog in the city...I have got to make it out to Hot Doggin it soon...

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070703/LIFE/707030302/1079

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

quote:

Originally posted by Bonk

I almost drove off the road today on my way to work when I saw a Sonic's sign on Eastgate Blvd. Coming soon in front of the Best Buy.

OUT FREAKIN STANDING!!!!

Err, not the vehicular control issue, the new Sonic! Eastgate is almost in my back yard :-)

Tom, I've never had Sonic. Is it that good?

And Eastgate is where I live.

Read back a page or so Mr McKee.....the burgers I had recently at the Hamilton location of Sonic were outstanding.....natually, I hope the Eastgate location is as good, although when in need of a burger in Eastgate, I'm usually heading to Roy's

Speaking of dogs and burgers, I stoped at Matteo's Char-Broil on RT 4 in Fairfield last week. They do Rochester, NY style dog's and Garbage Plates (called Sloppy Plates here) and burgers. I had two NY Red Dogs with Chili, Mustard and Onions. The dogs were split and grilled and the chili was really more of a sauce, similar in consistency to drained Cincy Chili. They were very good but next time I would ask for light mustard. The bottom of the bun on the second dog got a little soggy by the time I got to it but I did take-out so it was about 15-20 minutes later.

The menu says they do fresh hand-pattied burgers and make all soups and sides in house. I might give a burger a try later this week and report back. You burger heads might want to check it out too.

All in all it's a nice little mom & pop place.

http://matteoscharbroil.com/

They are half way between 275 and Jungle Jim's in a strip mall across from Taqueria Mercado.

I was just going through Cincinnati.com to find a place to have dinner tonight, and ran across the home page of the Napa Grille {in the Regency building on the corner of Dana and Madison Aves., formerly occupied by J's}. Apparently they are now closed and are not to kind to the Board of the Regency and it's occupants:

http://napagrille.com/

The Napa Grille has closed. It was a beautiful restaurant. The food was fabulous, the Staff courteous and prices more than reasonable. Thank you to so many of you that made all our efforts worthwhile..
Warning to restauranteurs and potential restaurant tennants.
The Regency restaurant site is poison. The Board of The Regency will tell you that the residents are "dying" for a restaurant. That may be half true. But, the residents will not support your restaurant. Worse yet, they will kill it! They will tell you that The Napa Grille was not a "good restaurant", look at our website and judge for yourself. The Napa Grille was an excellent restaurant.

No matter what you offer, no matter how high the quality, no matter how resonable the prices, the residents will do nothing but complain. Often loudly and in front of your other Guests. They will run off your best servers with their lousy tipping. They will consistently send back half eaten plates of perfectly prepared entrees in the hopes that you will "comp" their dinners. Worst of all some will demand a white server as opposed to an equally well trained server of aftican-american or oriental heritage.

Make no mistake there are some wonderful people in the building. But they are vastly out numbered by the monsters that live there as well. Consider yourself warned!

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Read back a page or so Mr McKee.....the burgers I had recently at the Hamilton location of Sonic were outstanding.....natually, I hope the Eastgate location is as good, although when in need of a burger in Eastgate, I'm usually heading to Roy's

Ah. I missed it. I'm catching up after vacation.

I'll have to give it a try. My wife has a weakness for Rally's, although she hasn't indulged in some time. I've always been curious about Sonic, though.

With the Frisch's in Mt. Carmel closing, I have to wonder about the future of Roy's.......

quote:

Originally posted by soozycue520

I was just going through Cincinnati.com to find a place to have dinner tonight, and ran across the home page of the Napa Grille {in the Regency building on the corner of Dana and Madison Aves., formerly occupied by J's}. Apparently they are now closed and are not to kind to the Board of the Regency and it's occupants:

http://napagrille.com/

The Napa Grille has closed. It was a beautiful restaurant. The food was fabulous, the Staff courteous and prices more than reasonable. Thank you to so many of you that made all our efforts worthwhile..

Warning to restauranteurs and potential restaurant tennants.
The Regency restaurant site is poison. The Board of The Regency will tell you that the residents are "dying" for a restaurant. That may be half true. But, the residents will not support your restaurant. Worse yet, they will kill it! They will tell you that The Napa Grille was not a "good restaurant", look at our website and judge for yourself. The Napa Grille was an excellent restaurant.

No matter what you offer, no matter how high the quality, no matter how resonable the prices, the residents will do nothing but complain. Often loudly and in front of your other Guests. They will run off your best servers with their lousy tipping. They will consistently send back half eaten plates of perfectly prepared entrees in the hopes that you will "comp" their dinners. Worst of all some will demand a white server as opposed to an equally well trained server of aftican-american or oriental heritage.

Make no mistake there are some wonderful people in the building. But they are vastly out numbered by the monsters that live there as well. Consider yourself warned!

Interesting. I can believe it. The old-line denizens of snotty ol' "Hyde Pahk" can be beastly customers, as I discovered when I worked for a Hyde Park based establishment I won't name. And there ain't no more "old line" Hyde Pahkers than at the Regency.

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Noble Roman's returning to Cincinnati
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070627/BIZ01/306270032/

I always got Noble Roman's confused with Little Caesar's. Which a coworker of mine used to call "Little Seizures".

quote:

Originally posted by jmckee

quote:

Originally posted by soozycue520

I was just going through Cincinnati.com to find a place to have dinner tonight, and ran across the home page of the Napa Grille {in the Regency building on the corner of Dana and Madison Aves., formerly occupied by J's}. Apparently they are now closed and are not to kind to the Board of the Regency and it's occupants:

http://napagrille.com/

The Napa Grille has closed. It was a beautiful restaurant. The food was fabulous, the Staff courteous and prices more than reasonable. Thank you to so many of you that made all our efforts worthwhile..

Warning to restauranteurs and potential restaurant tennants.
The Regency restaurant site is poison. The Board of The Regency will tell you that the residents are "dying" for a restaurant. That may be half true. But, the residents will not support your restaurant. Worse yet, they will kill it! They will tell you that The Napa Grille was not a "good restaurant", look at our website and judge for yourself. The Napa Grille was an excellent restaurant.

No matter what you offer, no matter how high the quality, no matter how resonable the prices, the residents will do nothing but complain. Often loudly and in front of your other Guests. They will run off your best servers with their lousy tipping. They will consistently send back half eaten plates of perfectly prepared entrees in the hopes that you will "comp" their dinners. Worst of all some will demand a white server as opposed to an equally well trained server of aftican-american or oriental heritage.

Make no mistake there are some wonderful people in the building. But they are vastly out numbered by the monsters that live there as well. Consider yourself warned!

Interesting. I can believe it. The old-line denizens of snotty ol' "Hyde Pahk" can be beastly customers, as I discovered when I worked for a Hyde Park based establishment I won't name. And there ain't no more "old line" Hyde Pahkers than at the Regency.

While I agree with you about old-line Hyde Pahkers (I lived in the less fashionable and affluent section during my adolescence so I had a snoot full of it), I went to Napa last December and wasn't impressed. I went with friends and several of our dishes were not particularly impressive despite the prices. Filets were so thickly crusted with salt that it overpowered the meat. One of our appetizers was very bland. The mark up on wine was breathtaking and, in my opinion somewhat deceptive, in that they were serving half glasses (and barely that) which is much less than you'd get for the same wine, same price anywhere else. Our waiter was darling but intrusive. We felt like asking him to pull up a chair.

J.'s was at the same location for years and did good business. I disliked the fact that they wouldn't accet reservations on weekends but. otherwise, I thought the food was excellent and prices were reasonable. So I'd take that complaint with a grain or ten of salt.

Wow, we went to Napa Grille once and liked it, but we did think the prices were a little high. We had a black server, and she was outstanding and very polite. We were celebrating, so we lived it up a little, and our bill was in the $120 range.

I can't see Roy Rogers closing. It's always booming when I go past or stop in. I love that place.

quote:

Originally posted by Suburban Dad

Have been to the Noble Roman's in both West Chester and Mason. Breadsticks are as good as I remember, but for someone who grew up with this and had a monster pizza, this pizza is not the same nor as good. While the pizza is ok, I have a feeling people will go for the value and not necessarily the great taste. Family pack is a large 1 topping pizza, two orders of breadsticks and a 2 liter of soda for $15.

I was wondering about that. I grew up in Bloomington, IN and we had Noble Roman's everywhere including right across the street from my high school. I would go there for lunch maybe two or three times a week. I really wasn't crazy about the Monster pizza but I did really like the little deep dish Pan Ones and the big square deep dish sicilian one. Plus the breadsticks. I live in Columbus now and it is almost impossible to find breadsticks with the spicy cheese dip. Most everywhere just has pizza sauce. All of them are closed in Bloomington now but at least they influenced enough other pizza places in that town so breadsticks with cheese dip are available in a few other places. The best are at Pizza Express.

I might have driven down to Cincinnati if the pizza was the same but probably not worth it based on your assessment. Thanks for saving me some gas

While we never visited the Napa Grill, we ate at J's several times, and often saw the type of behavior described by the Napa people. We saw loud, rude old people who felt as though it was their establishment and their demands were unreasonable. I'll never forget the evening we saw an 80+ woman so drunk that she could hardly make it to the elevator. Frankly, that's why we didn't frequent J's much. I'm sure that these behaviors were the exception...we saw many well-mannered older folks dining, but the rude ones really made their presence known. BTW, we're going to a party tonight, and the former Bounty Seafood proprietor is doing a lobster bake for us. Have heard much about it, and I'm eager to try it.

I noticed in the enquirer hot dog article that the Weiner Haus in Crestview Hills has changed to the more "upscale" Bavarian Grille. Whatever...

Also, in the overlooked burger department, try an all-year Dairy Queen Brazier for a great made-to-order burger. The ones in Wilder or Hebron are never disappointing.

I've been meaning to put in a good word for a place we eat at regularly, but I don't think I have yet... It's Mike's Chili & Gyros, in Hamilton on Rte. 4 just a stone's throw from the Sonic drive-in. They do Cincinnati chili, sandwiches, gyros and other stuff. We like the chili a lot, but I honestly can't say how it compares to Blue Ash (been too long since I was there) or Camp Washington (never been). Husband usually gets the regular gyro with feta cheese, which is good. I switch between that, 4-way (with onions), or their Chicago beer burger, which is a 1/2 lb. monster with grilled onions and cheese on it. Messy, but tasty!

Good place for a quick lunch/dinner stop if you're shopping at Jungle Jim's. The place is almost always quiet when we go, they do most of their business drive-through, I think.

Speaking of Noble Roman's, Cin Weekly has posted a review.

http://cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070704/ENT0104/706270334/1047/rss02

quote:

Originally posted by Alco251

I noticed in the enquirer hot dog article that the Weiner Haus in Crestview Hills has changed to the more "upscale" Bavarian Grille. Whatever...

Also, in the overlooked burger department, try an all-year Dairy Queen Brazier for a great made-to-order burger. The ones in Wilder or Hebron are never disappointing.

So a "Grille" denotes a more upscale restaurant than a "Haus". That's good to know, but I haven't noticed any change in the place. I have had some seriously good hot dogs and wursts there. The chili dog is excellent, and huge.

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Spotted a pizza-by-the-slice joint named Michaelangelo's I hadn't noticed before in Newport on York between 4th and 5th streets. No idea how long it has been open, but probably not long.

Pretty much right across from the courthouse building

Going to have to check it out.

...and I finally did.

Unfortunately, this is nondescript pizza no better than (maybe not as good as) a decent frozen pizza. The crust in particular was very cardboard-like

Ah well. If you saw the outside of this place, you'd have high roadfood-like hopes for it, as I did. Definitely a single proprietor type joint.....

A Dairy Queen Brazier must be a helluva big bra...

Any of you east siders been into the beverage drive through named Hoover's Harvey's on Kellogg near Lunken?

I keep seeing signs up like they have a hot food counter as well....hamburger, dogs, steak hoagies, and the like.....haven't managed to stop by yet because my route home takes me a different way, and they don't seem to be open at breakfast (inbound to work) time when I pass by

Is that near Annie's? Haven't seen it, but I haven't been by there in a few months. Sounds intriguing.

I see they're putting in the drywall now at the Sonic-to-be in Eastgate. Didn't see an opening date anywhere on the sign.

It is a stone's throw east from Annie's, same side of the street

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

I made it to Sub Station II in Florence during a shopping foray to the Florence Mall.

I wasn't honestly aware they were a "national" chain (albeit they're[url='http://www.substationii.com/locationssub.htm']mostly in the Carolinas[/url]) until I did a search to see if I could find a local review I recall reading from a few years back

http://www.substationii.com/alltheway.htm

Had a #19 done up "all the way", which is the closest approximation they have to a standard italian sub. I thought the meat and toppings were very good and very generous, but the bread was not up to par. Overall pretty good, but not worthy of a special trip.

Anyone else eaten there?

I stopped in once and tried the cheese steak because I'm always on the lookout for a good one around here. Unfortunately, Penn Station is still the best I've come across. [|)]Anyway, my heart sunk when I saw the meat go in the microwave and I knew I was in for disappointment. The bread wasn't very good and the steak was obviously tasteless.

I knew I took a risk ordering a cheese steak from a place like that. I thought they might have utilized a grill like Jersey Mike's. I'm sure their other sandwiches are a little better, but I never bothered to go back.

Ate at City Barbecue in Hyde Park today - was very surprised at the great taste that came from this chain. The sides were very average but the beef brisket was sensational - very tender meat with a great smoky flavor. It passed the no sauce test with flying colors but I did sauce up my sandwich and it was fantastic. Has anyone else eaten here? My only gripe was the cost - $9 for a medium sized sandwich and two sides.

The Graeter's ice cream counter has been removed from Cafe Martin (on Walnut across from the Cincinnati Main Library). They say that sales did not support the cost of having it there.

They said it has nothing to do with the imminent return of Grater's to downtown Cincinnati (on Fountain Square. I will not comment further :-)

The menu has changed somewhat at Cafe Martin, but the excellent pizza remains, albeit the price is a bit higher and they don't seem to add all the herbs and garlic to the outer crust. I'll ask about that next time. They've added a burger (8.95) and a steak sandwich (9.95) as well as fries to the permanent menu. One of the wait staff told me that daily specials will return shortly, when everyone is acclimated to the new menu.

Me and my two young'uns travelled up to the Maineville location of Sonic (way north on Montgomery Road) last night and had a fairly bad experience. Not one of our three burgers was right, and all had to be re-made. No ketchup was provided for my daughters, even after a second request.

so

here's to hoping the Eastgate location is more like Hamilton's, and far less like Mainville's.

westsider: I've talked up City BBQ several times on this thread :-)

I pretty much share your conclusions - great meat, good sauce, average sides, wish it were a tad bit less pricey

I thought I remembered you hitting on that but could not remember...we were originally headed to Chipotle, but the line was about 40 people long. People were parked on the sidewalk. We also debated Taco Casa but that lost to City BBQ as well.

Also, if anyone is looking for Indian food downtown, we ate at Akash recently and had a great meal. Entertainment book has a discount if you eat in.

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

westsider: I've talked up City BBQ several times on this thread :-)

I pretty much share your conclusions - great meat, good sauce, average sides, wish it were a tad bit less pricey

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

westsider: I've talked up City BBQ several times on this thread :-)

I pretty much share your conclusions - great meat, good sauce, average sides, wish it were a tad bit less pricey

I would agree with both of you from the Columbus locations. For the sides, I actually really like the green beans. They don't look that appealing but they have great flavor. The rest that I have tried are pretty average.

I am still upset that they stopped serving their smoked wings in February. Wings are hard to smoke without getting the skin to tough but they pulled it off. But I guess they were just too much effort and people weren't buying them. Now I just go for the brisket. I got the smoked turkey once. It was decent. Maybe a little dry. And the pork is pretty good but they have no idea how to make Carolina sauce so don't bother with it.

Taco Casa is very, very good.....very old school, older place, looks like a dump, great food

there is a location HIDDEN downtown, carryout only

I tried City BBQ at a festival on the east side last year, and I remember that the brisket rocked.

Went by Eastgate Sonic, and they have the drywall in and the faux stone exterior is about one-quarter complete. They seem to do most of the work on it over the weekend, believe it or not.

I know this is a ways from Cincinnati, but I have to mention this place just outside of Dayton that my gf and I ate at a couple weeks ago called Giovanni's. Some of the best Italian I've ever eaten, and I grew up in Chicago. Every aspect of the experience was top notch. Atmosphere, prices, portions, service, and of course food quality.

We got garlic bread, I had veal saltimbocca, my girlfriend had beef tips marsala, and we split an order of three-cheese polenta, and she had two drinks, and the bill came to $48. I tipped $12 because the service was so exceptional. And our meals both came with a soup or salad. I had the Italian wedding soup, and it was more meatball than soup -- which was a good thing.

I kid you not: I had half of my veal left over, which I devoured later that night, and since she only ate about 1/3 of her marsala and we only got through about 1/4 of the polenta, we still had enough left over for both of us to eat an entire meal of those items the next night.

Here's the site if any of you are ever on the east side of Dayton: http://www.villadigiovanni.com/Villa/villa-home.htm

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Taco Casa is very, very good.....very old school, older place, looks like a dump, great food

there is a location HIDDEN downtown, carryout only

You're not kidding about the downtown location. I found it completely by accident just roaming around when I lived there.

I don't know if they are affiliated with the one of the same name at Harper's Point, but that location is terrible in terms of both quality and price.

quote:

Originally posted by westsider12

Ate at City Barbecue in Hyde Park today - was very surprised at the great taste that came from this chain. The sides were very average but the beef brisket was sensational - very tender meat with a great smoky flavor. It passed the no sauce test with flying colors but I did sauce up my sandwich and it was fantastic. Has anyone else eaten here? My only gripe was the cost - $9 for a medium sized sandwich and two sides.

It's $8.48 for a half-pound brisket sandwich with two sides, according to their menu. I always buy the brisket and the pulled pork by the pound and make my own sandwiches at home, saving money.

quote:

Originally posted by hatteras04

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

westsider: I've talked up City BBQ several times on this thread :-)

I pretty much share your conclusions - great meat, good sauce, average sides, wish it were a tad bit less pricey

I would agree with both of you from the Columbus locations. For the sides, I actually really like the green beans. They don't look that appealing but they have great flavor. The rest that I have tried are pretty average.

I am still upset that they stopped serving their smoked wings in February. Wings are hard to smoke without getting the skin to tough but they pulled it off. But I guess they were just too much effort and people weren't buying them. Now I just go for the brisket. I got the smoked turkey once. It was decent. Maybe a little dry. And the pork is pretty good but they have no idea how to make Carolina sauce so don't bother with it.

I really like their greens with pulled pork, and I love their macaroni and cheese. I've been known to stop in and pick up a quart of the macaroni and cheese and a pint of the greens to have all by themselves.

TJ & DL: don't keep me in suspense - - - where exactly is this hidden taco place downtown?? I live dt & would love to try it (although my husband doesn't want me to walk alone north of about Central, but I'm not going to stir up that debate any further.........)

Also - we ate at Akash (sp?), the Indian place on 6th for the buffet lunch. We were there a little late (maybe 1:30'ish) and it was pretty sparce. Service not that great, either. I want to try it for dinner with the regular menu.

Did have GREAT sushi @ Ko Sho on 9th last week. The lunch menu (I only looked at the sushi) was pricey, but it was very good. My problem is I can order a burger in one place & never seem to finish it, but when you put sushi in front of me, I just cannot seem to fill up! I guess my appetite is what made it pricey.

Last question: did Rise & Shine close? I searched through the Enquirer website & couldn't find anything about it, but tried to go there for breakfast on Thursday & the sign said "Closed for Maintence". That's downtown code for "out of business", right?

quote:

Originally posted by NCSUBrew

TJ & DL: don't keep me in suspense - - - where exactly is this hidden taco place downtown?? I live dt & would love to try it (although my husband doesn't want me to walk alone north of about Central, but I'm not going to stir up that debate any further.........)

Taco Caso is located in the conjunction of allies behind 7th Street and Sycamore. The allies are named North and New, respectively. If you are coming from Gilbert, cross the viaduct and then turn left on 7th. New Street is just beyond a parking lot and six story building
at 7th and Sycamore. Turn left onto New St....Taco Caso is literally feet away.