WhereToEat: Cincinnati and N.Ky (open chat)

quote:

Originally posted by arianej

quote:

Originally posted by Sandy Thruthegarden
Any particularly interesting dishes at Ando?

Thanks for all the details! The flounder appetizer does sound good, and agedashi tofu is one of my favorites.

Ando has a relatively small menu, I think, but there's a few things we like to keep an eye out for...

Wow! The santen-mori options sound wonderful!

At Matsuya, traditional full-course meals, called kaiseki, are offered. You get five or six courses depending on which dinner you choose. Tons of food. We rarely order kaiseki unless we're really hungry or it's a special occasion. One of the courses is zensai which consists of 3 small appetizers: sometimes a tiny whole octopus which has been steamed or tiny fish presented on daikon, or whatever other appetizer is being offered. We found that one can order zensai (which Bill and I refer to as "three treats") without ordering the whole kaiseki. Sounds a little like the santen-mori.

We'll have to try Ando if we get out to Blue Ash. Of course, we can always use a visit to CAM as a legitimate excuse!

quote:

Originally posted by Pat T Hat

I loved the Anchor! I've not been in a while but they use to rock a mean grill. I'd go there after shift when I use to bartend. Steak and eggs were my thing there. Always just right! I love it when you can get a place that fry's a perfect over medium egg. Steak was always just at medium too. Never had it so I'm not sure if the goetta is home made or that packaged dog food soaked in nitrates so many places use.

Thanks for the info, Pat. I may get an early start some morning and stop for breakfast. Gliers' commisary is practically across the street. Maybe they use Gliers' goetta?

They biscuits at Anchor are commercial - arriving already baked in the box, all they do is thaw, heat, and serve.

The sausage gravy is not good either. I don't recall the specifics, but I didn't even finish it

The goetta of course is quite good

To be fair to the Anchor on biscuits, you can count on one hand how many joints make fresh biscuits in the tri-state or anywhere for that matter. Might have a finger or two left over. It's a Sysco Foods(or Sam's)world out there anymore. Although I hate to admit it, the frozen biscuits aren't to bad. I'm sorry to hear the gravy's gone down hill. More than likely it's the Sysco powdered in a bag stuff. My definition of above average I guess is it did'nt have a skin over the top, had sausage in it, and was'nt so thick you could walk on it (or so thin you can see through it). This is what I usually get if I order B&G after 7am anywhere. I'm headed up there Thursday. I can't say I remember eating there anytime other than dark thirty in the morning. Might be interesting without a room full of drunks (hopefully). I'll try the goetta if it's not Gliers. I know it's a hit but I can't eat the stuff. There's not an antacid made that could help me. I was lucky to be raised with homemade. Hoffmans wasn't to bad, seems to me they cook it longer, but I still can't eat all the preservitives they stuff into it.

(I'd like you to try mine one day, I think you'd like it)

quote:

Originally posted by Sandy Thruthegarden
Wow! The santen-mori options sound wonderful!

At Matsuya, traditional full-course meals, called kaiseki, are offered. You get five or six courses depending on which dinner you choose. Tons of food. We rarely order kaiseki unless we're really hungry or it's a special occasion. One of the courses is zensai which consists of 3 small appetizers: sometimes a tiny whole octopus which has been steamed or tiny fish presented on daikon, or whatever other appetizer is being offered. We found that one can order zensai (which Bill and I refer to as "three treats") without ordering the whole kaiseki. Sounds a little like the santen-mori.

We'll have to try Ando if we get out to Blue Ash. Of course, we can always use a visit to CAM as a legitimate excuse!

I'd heard that Matsuya does kaiseki, and I'd really love to try it because I never have. The santen-mori sounds similar... little dishes, enough for two people to have a few bites each to taste.

Hehe, and CAM is neat. Sometimes we swing by there after dinner if there's enough time, they've got a nice selection of ice-cream filled mochi in the freezer. :)

Made a weekday lunch trip to Teranga to see if the lunchtime wait would be any shorter-- and it was! Very uncrowded around 12:45ish or so with few diners but a few people coming in for large trays of take out.

They have a nice menu, but on a given day, they usually only have certain dishes prepared, so there's not a whole lot of choice. I had... something I can't remember. It's the first item on the lunch menu, the national dish. Dolof Rice, I think it is, which comes with an assortment of things on top: fish, cassava, carrot, eggplant, and cabbage, with a large dollop of some kind of pepper paste on the side.

The fish is also stuffed with something green and quite spicy... I think it's habaneros and too big a bite made the tip of my tongue go numb. My tolerance for heat is pretty good too, so this isn't really for the faint of heart, although you can eat around the hot stuff for the most part. That caveat aside, it was delicious, and I'd order it again in a heartbeat.

Erik had some sort of peanutty lamb stew, which was very good, too. I don't think it was as spicy, but you might want to ask. Sadly, they didn't have any ripe plantains on hand, otherwise we would've gotten some. Portions were huge, they give you enough rice with your bowl of curry to feed a couple people (and this is coming from someone who's Chinese, for pete's sake!) so no worries about that. Erik like the homemade ginger drink on the menu, which tasted like a sort of gingery pineapple juice-- very refreshing.

Weirdly enough, they're also now selling hot wings, from medium heat to "Superkiller", the guy told us, with homemade bbq sauce. They weren't bad, either, and a possible draw for more finicky dining companions.

Teranga
8438 Vine St, in Hartwell

What's CAM?

Chinese Asian Market, IIRC TJ.
At southeast corner of Reading Rd. and Glendale-Milford Rd, just north of the Formica plant and behind the Walgreens. Good place to find those Asian food items that the regular groceries do not carry. Have hot food and made to order sushi as well.

jjjrfoodie

aha...I have been by it and noted it, but haven't been inside and didn't know the place had been acronym-ized like JJ's and TJ's :-)

thankee

I stopped by the downtown Jimmy John's today (not wanting to be too far from work, fearing a downpour at any moment from the very-grey skies) and got the double-meat roast beef sandwich (#10 on the menuu) and added extra meat. Sounds like waaaay waaaay too much meat, right? 6.50, and felt reasonably hefty in the bag as I left, but really wasn't all that much when I opened up the wrapper.

I also noted that the beef slices had an unnaturally round edge to them. Ah well, at least this heavily processed beef won't have any gristle.....wrong again. I pulled at least 8 chunks of dime or better sized chunks of gristle from this sandwich.

I hereby write this chain off as another lost cause...I do like their sub rolls, though

Yesterday, I stopped in about 2pm, well after the lunch rush was over, to have a gyro at Jordan Valley. Ned (the owner) sat down with me and talked mediterranean/middle eastern food and religion. Learned a lot about the muslim faith I hadn't known, and about various gyro-like foods you'd be served if you visted some of these countries. Good stuff.

Anyway, he's switched suppliers for is Gyro meat (I need to call him and get the name) and I thought the gyro's were a little tastier/spicier than when he had the Kronos product in. Very good nonetheless.

He also told me that the restaurant once known as the Blue Fox Grill and more recently open as Apple on Elm is being converted by a friend of his to a Morrocan cafe (he didn't know what the name would be) and it would be open sometime soon. I'll keep you posted.

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

aha...I have been by it and noted it, but haven't been inside and didn't know the place had been acronym-ized like JJ's and TJ's :-)

thankee

Hehe, yeah, it says CAM on the storefront, and I bet many people pass it not having any idea of what it is.

To be honest, I don't find the produce to be great... JJ's is a better bet for quicker turnover, in my opinion. But CAM has a much larger selection of non-perishables, frozen goods, and they also have a fish counter.

They've also got a selection of hot and cold foods(look for beef tendon in the deli section, chicken feet in the hot food section!), plus various baked goods in single-bun packages that are good for sampling. (We like the taro and red bean filled buns.) They also sell roast duck and roast pork for takeaway.

Every now and then, I am reminded that I have failed to visit - ever - one of the truly great food landmarks in all of Cincinnati - the Findlay Market. It's becomign apparent to me that this is more than just a collction of butchers and greengrocers...many of the merchants serve ready to eat meals as well, so it is in a sense it's own "food court" albeit probably quite a bit better than what you'd get in a typical shopping mall

This week, the free local weekly paper CinWeekly did a piece on the local "open" markets as it's cover story, which is about as blatant a reminder as any I get that I need to get over there. To boot, the article is a fairly good read from this typically less-than-stellar journal

Findlay Market
http://cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060607/COV/606070325/0/rsst1

Others covered by the story
http://cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060607/COV/606070326/0/rsst1
http://cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060607/COV/60606003/0/rsst1

I went to get a hoagie up at Harry' Bar and Grill up on 12th and Main (one of my Cincinnati good eats picks) and found that they had closed down. I went next door to the Courtyard Cafe (and had an excellent meal, more on that with pics later) and learned from the bartender that

--Harry's had closed that location for good.

--the manager (Tony) and his brother (Dominic) also owned the club named Jefferson Hall across the street, this was also closed for good,

--but they had opened up a new Jefferson Hall over on Newport on The Levee in the former location of Fat Fish Blue. Their website: http://www.jeffersonhall.com/

So I phoned them and found out that Jefferson Hall will not be doing lunch/dinner business, and they hope to sell Harry's to someone who will carry on with the menu or something resembling it in the near future, but nothing is definite at this point.

Bottom line: another good eats place down the drain, at least for now

I've updated my[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6632#149006']capsule review[/url] to reflect this closure

Update 6/12/2006: well speak-of-the-devil! Only a few days after I found all this out, the Cincinnati Enquirer published a piece on the relocated Jefferson Hall: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20060611/ENT01/606110310/

Ala
Junior Burger

MOVED FROM THE REVIEW THREAD

4 Posts
Posted - 04/20/2006 : 20:21:08
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Absolutely order the Goetta (pronounced GETTA the O is silent) but try and make sure it's Gliers Good Goetta. It's the real deal and if cooked crispy with a couple of eggs, buttered rye toast and coffee....
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

In northern KY there's a nice buffet breakfast at The Greyhound Tavern in Ft. Mitchell KY on Dixie Hwy very close to I-75.
They have crispy fried goetta on the buffet.
Now that's heaven!

Oh and also for Cincy chili ONLY Empress Chili... all the rest are copycats. EMPRESS chili in Cincinnati is THE original Cincy chili.
The 3 way or the coney dogs with plenty of the melted cheese is a memory in itself.

Thanks Al :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen

Oh and also for Cincy chili ONLY Empress Chili... all the rest are copycats. EMPRESS chili in Cincinnati is THE original Cincy chili.
The 3 way or the coney dogs with plenty of the melted cheese is a memory in itself.

Love ya, Al, but your chili taste buds are way off. Empress is watery and tasteless, the worst of all the chili I've had in Cincinnati. I'd recommend Dixie, Skyline, Gold Star, the Chili Company, Price Hill Chili, Pleasant Ridge Chili, Chili Time or Camp Washington Chili over Empress, and likely a few more of the neighborhood shops. There's an Empress right near one of the football stadiums that we hit in the fall, and we drive to Gold Star rather than walk to Empress.

Wally - just to clarify, the post you attribute to Al was really made by member[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=34161']Ala[/url]

All that the Mayor did was move the post here from another thread

Sorry 'bout that, and once again, thank you Mr Mayor for the move of the post

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Wally - just to clarify, the post you attribute to Al was really made by member[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=34161']Ala[/url]

All that the Mayor did was move the post here from another thread

Sorry 'bout that, and once again, thank you Mr Mayor for the move of the post

Whew, that's good. I was afraid the Mayor and I were coming to a crisis point in our relationship. Hopefully no hard feelings, Mr. Mayor.
Defending my Cincinnati chili to the end,
Bill

Updated the note on Jefferson Hall & Harry's Bar and Pizza with a link to a article in the local paper on this institution

We happened to be in Northside today and had a couple of tasty sandwiches at a place called Potluck on Hamilton Avenue. Potluck advertises that they specialize in soup, sandwiches and pasta. It has a small seating area inside and a couple of tables on the porch where we sat because it's such a beautiful day. There are also a number of tables in the courtyard in front of Potluck.

Bill had the Cuban sandwich which consisted of a slice of pork loin, ham, swiss cheese and mustard on a crusty pannini-like bread. I had a bite of his sandwich and it was very good. I had the special which was a brie/turkey/chutney sandwich on ciabatta bread. The turkey breast was the real thing. The combination of the brie and the chutney flavors was delicious, sweet and tangy at the same time. Both sandwiches were accompanied by 3 small red potatoes in their skins that had been boiled, then chilled. They were lightly dusted with a salt and sugar combination and served in a puddle of tangy mayo with a hint of mustard. Each sandwich was $6.50. They were thick and filling so the price was reasonable.

We hadn't planned to eat there but we found that most of the shops and restaurants in Northside are closed on Mondays. Still it was a good lunch.

I don't feel qualified to make Cincy Chili judgements. I tend to like'em all. My only gripe with the 3/4/5 way chili's is that I don't like them served on a plate. I would prefer a bowl for easier eating!!

Has anyone been to this promising-sounding pizzeria?

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20060616/ENT01/606160328/

No, but now I will.

Anyone ever try Mr. Gene's Dog House and their so-called famous hot chili cheese metts and chocolate malts?

I may have to trundle on down there this week.

Mr. Gene's Dog House
3703 Beekeman St.
South Cumminsville area

LMK .
Thanks

Edit:
Thanks TJ and Wallyum for the heads-up below. It seems worth the $5 or so for a chili cheese mett and shake combo to try at least once.

quote:

Originally posted by jjjrfoodie

Anyone ever try Mr. Gene's Dog House and their so-called famous hot chili cheese metts and chocolate malts?

I may have to trundle on down there this week.

Mr. Gene's Dog House
3703 Beekeman St.
South Cumminsville area

LMK .
Thanks

Trundle carefully. Tough neighborhood.

jjrfoodie: I have been to Mr Gene's, and have the pics to prove it

You'll need to scroll down a bit....
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9018&whichpage=2

If you like Greek food, Mytho's in Newport KY is the best I have ever had. It is next to Haufbrau Haus another great place if you like German food and athentic experience with their own brewed beer. In addition, when we go out for pizza we go to Dewy's.

I have issue with all three of these places but first things first - are you a regular at Eminent-Domain-On-The-Levee?

(all three businesses mentioned have locations there)

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen


I don't feel qualified to make Cincy Chili judgements. I tend to like'em all. My only gripe with the 3/4/5 way chili's is that I don't like them served on a plate. I would prefer a bowl for easier eating!!

It's gotta be on a plate so ya can cut up the spaghetti easier.