WhereToEat: Cincinnati and N.Ky (open chat)

I opened this thread to openly chat about and discuss the contents of the main Cinti/NK eats thread located at http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6632

I realize everyone is free to post where they like, but respectfully ask that the chat be kept in here with the review info in the main thread if at all possible :-)

I had the catfish po' boy at NOTG a few weeks ago. It was delicious. The 11 inch sandwich is easily enough for two unless you have a really hearty appetite.

Trailblazing's tough, huh?
TJ, do you have any first-hand knowledge of Dewey's Pizza. They recently opened in St. Louis and I know there are locations in Cincinnati. They are owned by the son of one of the principal owners of the Cardinals, Bill DeWitt. I haven't tried them yet but after reading the local review I probably will. The review cites the owner as saying STL and Cincy both "suck" as far as pizza is concerned, and I concur for St. Louis. Here is the review:

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/issues/2005-01-26/cafe.html

p.s. I really wanted to post this to your other thread and make you tug on your hair, but I feel there's been enough srtife around here lately.

quote:

Originally posted by gatorbreath

Trailblazing's tough, huh?
TJ, do you have any first-hand knowledge of Dewey's Pizza. They recently opened in St. Louis and I know there are locations in Cincinnati. They are owned by the son of one of the principal owners of the Cardinals, Bill DeWitt. I haven't tried them yet but after reading the local review I probably will. The review cites the owner as saying STL and Cincy both "suck" as far as pizza is concerned, and I concur for St. Louis. Here is the review:

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/issues/2005-01-26/cafe.html

p.s. I really wanted to post this to your other thread and make you tug on your hair, but I feel there's been enough srtife around here lately.

I like Dewey's and have tried almost everything on the menu, but I have to disagree about Cincy pizza "sucking". It's not Chicago, but we have our share of good little out of the way pizza places. Unfortunately we lost the best a few years back; The Brickyard in O'Bryonville.

I've only been to Dewey's once, several years ago when they had only one location (in Oakley) Had a basic pizza, and it was just OK.

Because they now have a location on Newport on the Levy, it's unlikely I will be back.

Sorry.

Cincinnati does indeed have some good pizza, but it does take some looking to find - one might think we have nothing but LaRosa's and the national chains if one doesn't look closely, and this is precisely the assertion they make in the article - quote: "Justice and DeWitt cite a number of similarities between St. Louis and Cincinnati -- particularly the fact that both cities' pizza scenes mostly suck. Both are dominated by the national chains and one local player of arguable quality: Larossa's in Cincy and..."

Dominated? Yes. Totally. But there are plenty of single location pizzerias (and one notable small chain - Mio's) here that make a good pie.

TJ, have you been here? Not sure where I cut the review from. Didn't have time to check it out while in Cincy.

Teranga
What: Casual West African restaurant.
Where: 8440 Vine St., Hartwell.
When: 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Sunday.

Phone: 821-1300

Teranga has a simple decor - just enough art and objects to suggest Senegal. Here we first were served tiny cups of tea, super-strong, highly sweetened and flavored with vanilla. We began with pastels ($3), fried turnovers filled with a remarkably savory beef filling.
I had ceebu yap ($6), a simple stew of lamb in a tomato-rich sauce with carrots and onions, with rice to spoon it onto. Chicken brochettes ($10) were a generous six skewers loaded with grilled, tender chicken, lightly charred,served with couscous and a salad-like garnish. The most dramatic dish was grilled fish ($10), a whole tilapia, skin, bones and all, very crispy on the outside and served with plenty of sauteed onions. It had a citrus zest marinade and was served with a lime for squeezing and plantains. Deep-frying plantains brings out their essential banana flavor, but in texture they're like fried potatoes.
Our host brought a small dish of a green and white sauce that he called cassava. It added a lot to the brochettes and fish with its zingy taste, like horseradish.

TJ, June Bug's has you hooked! I'd be a regular if I lived in Cincy.

Has anyone been to Taqueria Mercado or Azteca?

SH: I do indeed love June Bug's. I printed out the comments you posted from your triplog thread, and dropped it off for him last Friday night on the way home. I'll be stopping in again soon for ribs and sides, and thereafter will add a full review.

I sent the link for Teranga to Carlton Pierre on these forums, and I assume you got it there.

Here's the link again: http://www.cincinnati.com/freetime/dining/reviews/103103_african.html

I am not as adventurous as some other posters here, so I probably won't make it to Teranga for a while. Also, I will be concentrating on restaurants close to downtown, as that's where I work as of about 2 weeks ago.

Taqueria Azteca (on Northland Blvd) has been closed for about a year now.

Taqueria Mercado (on Dixie Highway, also known as Rt 4) is doing OK, near as I could tell, as of three weeks ago. Have not been there either. My former employment was just 3 miles from there, could kick myself for not stopping in at least once, but another great mexican place in that area - Acapulco - always drew my mexican food patronage.

Bad news on the Raffie's front - I've made the 8 block hike there 3 times now at lunch in the past ten days, and every time I have been there there has been the same sign on the window claiming they are closed due to a family emergency.

I hope they reopen soon, but am beginning to lose a little hope.

Took the wife to Arnolds (Cincinnati's oldest continuously operating bar, as far as I know, dating back to the civil war) today, and she was impressed as hell - "best lunch ever downtown" she says - and wants to go back...soon. I'll review it after a second trip.

Aside: Lordy, that's two non-chains in a row that she has liked, could a trend be starting here?

TJ, I thought I saw Taqueria Azteca on the way back toward the interstate from Jungle Jims? Must have been another.

If it was set back in a little strip shopping center (alongside a mexican bakery and a mexican grocer)on your left as you headed south towards I-275, then you are thinking of Mercado.

Azteca is/was a bit south of I-275 on Northland Blvd. You'd have to pass under I-275 and keep heading south on Rt 4 a mile or so then left on Northland to get to Azteca.

Tried the burger at Inbetween Tavern (real close to the Red's new stadium, was mentioned in the 2005 Baseball trip thread as a roadfood-type hangout just before or after a game) today.

If you go, check the local paper called "The Downtowner" as there is almost always a coupon for a buck off your meal. 1/3rd pound burger, can't get it any way other than well done, with chips for 4.50, 75 cents extra makes it a cheeseburger. They have a daily sandwich special which tends to be in the 5-7 dollar range, and have two daily soups.

I wasn't impressed with the burger even with the buck off coupon, but I think I will try the place again before making final judgement as it is only 2 blocks away.

The wet and cold weather this late winter in Cincinnati is keeping me fairly close to home base so far. Hopefully next week I can start ranging out again.

Not sure if this should be in this thread or the other, since it's not exactly a formal review...

quote:

Originally posted by SouthHillbilly

TJ, have you been here? Not sure where I cut the review from. Didn't have time to check it out while in Cincy.

Teranga
What: Casual West African restaurant.
Where: 8440 Vine St., Hartwell.
When: 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Sunday.

I've been there, but just once and it was a while back. We always intended to return, but dang... so many restaurants, so little time.

To provide some proper background, we did go at a bad time... It was around 4 pm-ish, too early for dinner, apparently. Service was friendly and very apologetic, but the food took well over an hour to arrive. What we had, however, was great. I had some sort of grilled lamb dish, and the portions were huge--more than enough for one person. My husband had beef kebabs, and really liked it as well, saying they were very juicy and flavorful. Sides were a giant plate of couscous (okay, would've preferred fresh vegetables to frozen mixed) and fried plantains, which we both love. Oh, and the entrees also came with a rather pungent onion salad in some sort of mustardy dressing. Very good, but whoa...breath mints needed afterwards.

The restaurant is extremely casual, more of a hole-in-the-wall place. They seemed to be getting a lot of take out orders from people speaking what I assume is Senegalese, which is certainly a good sign. I'd return without hesitation, but would probably make more of an effort to go closer to normal dinner hours. The menu is small, but everything on it looked good, and I'd love to have that lamb again.



I've also been to Taqueria Mercado, but that too, was a while ago. IIRC, it had a lot of Hispanic customers, and the food was good. I had a giant burrito, and I'm afraid I don't recall any greater detail than that. Atmosphere, menu and food were similar to Mi Tierra in Dayton if that helps.

quote:

Originally posted by QFan

Sugar and Spice.....still in operation?

Yes indeed, it is. Going strong and I'd say unchanged despite ownership change a few years back (Eliot Jablonsky, who owns a number of single location restaurants throughout the area, now owns it) and still very very good. Eliot seems content to allow it to operate more or less on it's own, has a very light hand in actual management of the place.

On Roading in Bond Hill just south of the Norwood Lateral.

My faves: the thin pancakes and the corned beef hash.

arienj: it works in either thread, thanks for the input. If i get a little more input on the place, I will probably have to go out and try it out. The beef kebabs sound like they are up my alley.

ate at Sakkio of Japan today, good as ever. Portions have gotten a tad bit smaller but the price remains an attractive 3.99 for a good sized, nutritionally balanced, freshly cooked lunch.

Went to Cincy yesterday and today to visit family. Had lunch at Willie's SportsBar on Rt 747 just north of Tri County Mall. Wasn't my choice to go there, but the service was atrocious, and food was ok. Would not care to ever go back.
Had breakfast this a.m. at Camp Washington Chili. I met a friend of mine there who knows the owner, Jerry Johnson. He's greek, only his name is not. Excellent breakfast of pancakes and goetta. He said he serves about 60-70 gallons of chili per day.
Shopped at Jungle Jim's. Can't imagine any other place like it. I bought 15 lbs. of rice that cannot be found here, along with some cheeses, goodies from the olive bar, etc. Indian food.

Bought a ultracheap (25 bucks) little digicam for taking foodie pics around town. First pic is from[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6632#106133']Gondola Pizzeria[/url]

Not too bad for the price and the fairly poor lighting

Where would be a good place to eat lunch on a weekday near the Netherland Plaza hotel (35 W. 5th)? I'll be there for a conference in a couple of weeks.

depends on what kind of food you want....and whether you are alone or have associates along...and whether you want to sample Cincinnati specialties (chili/coneys/3ways, goeeta, double decker sandwiches) or not...etc etc

Give us some specs to work with :-)

I honestly don't know whether anyone would be with me or not. Cincinnati specialties would be the first choice, not spending much money is a high priority.

Ok then, that made it really really simple ..... go to a Cincinnati style Chili parlor!

The best chili parlors are not downtown, but you'll get an authentic experience at either of the two major chains, both of which are well-represented downtown - Skyline or Gold Star. Of the two, I think Skyline has the best stuff.

Your best bet is at the corner of 7th and Vine, between 2 and 3 blocks from you.

Here's the Skyline locations page
http://www.skylinechili.com/skyline_locations_main.php#downtown

Best way to experience: order a regular sized 3-way plus a cheese coney. Ask them to drain the spaghetti well. If you are fond of beans or onions, order a 4-way instead of the 3-way. If fond of both beans AND onions, order a 5-way.

de Bergerac,
Check out Hathaway's in the Carew Tower. It has great breakfast and goetta (a Cincinnati breakfast specialty).
For a real treat, grab some ribs up at June Bugs. Good homecookin. . . It's a quick cab ride a few blocks north.

SH: not sure Hathaway's serves breakfast all day, will have to check. Also, this fellow is wanting lunch....not breakfast. That said, it certainly is nearby.

June Bug's is a bit out of the way and probably not suited for a quick lunch when one has to return to a conference shortly thereafter. It's also a bit pricey.

PP: Thankee.

Hathaway's does indeed serve breakfast all day. Yum.

Another cheapo diner-like place is Temple Restaurant on West Sixth Street between Elm and Race. I can't speak for their chili, but breakfast is delicious and cheap, and any sandwich you get there will be pretty good. If I remember correctly, goetta omelets are on the menu, too. Or Cafe de Vine on Vine St., between Third and Fourth.

For an exotic lunch, there's Meijana, also on W. Sixth in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It's Mediterranean food, leaning mostly toward Arabic/North African stuff. $6.95 for the lunch buffet, including drinks and dessert.

Dang it, I miss working downtown!

Bad news re:[url='http://www.citybeat.com/2004-12-22/thedish.shtml']Raffies[/url].

I made the 8 block walk again into Over the Rhine and the place was torn out....all the counters and fixtures are gone, with only the overhead sign indicating Raffie's was ever there....

sucks....

My daughter said she had a really terrific meal at Mitchell's Fish Market in Newport Saturday night.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

My daughter said she had a really terrific meal at Mitchell's Fish Market in Newport Saturday night.

Nothing TJ likes better than a good meal at Newport On The Levee.

Had lunch at a locally owned burrito place called Burrito Joes with the same "big burrito" type of food that Chipotle serves. I like Chipotle, and had hopes this place would be a little better.

Prices were a little better, overall, but the food was not that great. ah well.

Update 3/28/2006: returned for another burrito, half traditional chicken, half grilled chicken. what the heck, they're only a two block walk from work. At 4.95 these are still a bit cheaper than Chipotle but i'd happily pay more if they were as flavorful as the Chipotle burritos. They also don't have the fresh green pepper and onion mix you can get at Chipotle, ala fajita style. Pass.