WhereToEat: Cincinnati and N.Ky (open chat)

TJ - Thanks for the heads-up on the beef sandwich.
 
Have you tried Mac's?

New Orleans to Go in Blue Ash is now open daily for lunch. They plan on opening for dinner on Fridays in October up until 8pm so check their facebook page for exact dates. They'll serve dinner on Fridays as long as they get enough business. We stopped by last Friday for dinner to find that they were closing for the day. The Filsons loaded us up with shrimp and grits, crawfish stuffing, and gumbo. Even after reheating at home the food was all delicious! They said they've added some new menu items as well.
 
We didn't see the dining room. They don't have a vent hood in their current space so frying is done in their food truck. 
 
The restaurant is tucked back into an office complex so it is a bit difficult to find, but well worth it. 

Although many in Cincinnati already know this, the second Jungle Jim's location opened today
http://cincinnati.com/blo...gate-opens-on-tuesday/
 
 
 

TJ Jackson


Although many in Cincinnati already know this, the second Jungle Jim's location opened today
http://cincinnati.com/blo...gate-opens-on-tuesday/

 
I went after work, just to walk around ... it's terrific.

We went yesterday...it's great fun! Mostly we browsed, but we DID buy a durian fruit, cracked it open and ate it this morning. We were disappointed that it wasn't odiferous as promised. The fruit part tastes vaguely like vanilla pudding. We also visited colonel De's, a favorite from Findlay Market and bought a few spices. We're going to love that JJ's is so close!

They have a Colonel De's there? That's awesome!
 
I've been waiting for the madness to die down. I'm subcribing to the Yogi Berra theory: Nobody goes there any more. It's too crowded.

We went Friday night after dinner, got there about 8:30. It was busy but we found a parking spot no problem. It may be my imagination but the international section seems larger. No seafood yet; that department will open next month. Huge huge huge beer and wine department. Big growler station, and they charge 25 cents for tastes of draught beer. In general it seems to be about 85% open. It doesn't have the "crazy" vibe you get from the Fairfield store that was built in pieces over the years, but that won't keep me away.

Finally got around to trying SmoQ.  Have to say I was pretty impressed by the Meat.  I had the brisket which was served on a slice of toasted jalapeno bread.  Darn nice, I plowed through the whole thing and it was a reasonably sized serving.
 
Wasn't too excited about the sides though; succotash was chewy; "baked beans" were forgettable, I'd prefer Bush's canned beans actually.   Also they need to provide something better than the little muffin pan sweet cornbread discs with the meal - pretty boring.
 
Also a little disappointed with the beer selection, not a ot to choose from if that is your thing.
 
Oh and I had a surly waitress.  They happen, I take it in stride, but it's always a little disappointing.
 
Actually after thinking back through my visit, the only good thing for me was the Meat.  It's worth another visit for that though, I would return to try some of the other things I have heard people talk about on here.

Did the Eastgate Jim's today. It was definitely a completely different set-up than the Fairfield location, which I expected.
 
I went at 9 a.m., and it wasn't crowded, but it was pretty awesome. I found a red beans and rice stove-top box and we made it tonight. I'm elated I can make this a regular grocery stop.
 
The map says they're putting in a Highway 55 burger, which I'd never heard of. Looks like it's a N.C.-based chain.

a few misc items
 
--The Popeye's in Covington at the north tip of the Mainstrasse is open
 
--Some years back, some of you gave some serious love to a little place on Dixie Highway in Erlanger called the German Butcher.  I never made it there, unfortunately.   It has of course been closed for a few years.  Word comes today in the Enquirer that the former owners/operators of German Butcher are opening a new place in Florence: http://cincinnati.com/blo...nt-in-florence/.  Hopefully they'll have all the wursts and etc they had at the old place. 
 
--A Tavola Pizzeria has always been closed on Mondays and only open for dinner since they started the business a year or so back, but they have added Monday dinners hours and allegedly are planning to add lunch hours soon.  Although I think it is overrated, and I remain perturbed that they put oregano on a margherita pizza, its stiull good stuff.

That's the wurst news I've heard in a while.

Bonk


That's the wurst news I've heard in a while.

It's better than nothing...so don't knock it.

ScreamingChicken

Bonk


That's the wurst news I've heard in a while.

It's better than nothing...so don't knock it.

Don't be such a brat.

You wouldn't say that if you'd ever mett me.

I'd love it if Jungle Jim opened a place in Knoxville!

ScreamingChicken


You wouldn't say that if you'd ever mett me.

 
I really need to stop casing this thread.

TJ Jackson




--The Popeye's in Covington at the north tip of the Mainstrasse is open

--Some years back, some of you gave some serious love to a little place on Dixie Highway in Erlanger called the German Butcher.  I never made it there, unfortunately.   It has of course been closed for a few years.  Word comes today in the Enquirer that the former owners/operators of German Butcher are opening a new place in Florence: http://cincinnati.com/blo...nt-in-florence/.  Hopefully they'll have all the wursts and etc they had at the old place. 

Actually TJ, the shop was called German Cuisine and I stock-piled a BUNCH of stuff from them when they left the biz.
 
They by far have the best currywursts in the region. Bar none. (except for the 6 or 7 German festivals we have each year which is not a weekly accessible item LOL)
 
Humor aside, it was always good food.
 
 
 
 
 

Erk, sorry, poor memory on my part
 
I never did get to try the place.  Went one day to finally try it and they had been closed up like a month
 
I was not impressed with any of the wursts at Wunderbar on 12th in Covington so hopefully this reincarnation of German Cuisine will be something to write about

A couple notes for the downtown lunch crowd:
 
Both Cajun Big Easy and Slammin' Burger in Tower Place Mall food court have closed. I've never dined at Slammin' Burger, so I cannot comment on its closure.
 
However, Big Easy is not a surprise to me personally. I've been eating there almost once a week for the last 7 years or so and the owners had previously told me they were looking to move to Columbus around the first of the year. They cited the rent and complete lack of foot traffic and street level promotion as the main factors.
 
This is a real shame, because their food was delicious and the portions very generous. Not to mention, the owners were very friendly and personable.
 
In better news, it looks like Aunt Flora's Cobbleria is open and the neighboring Skillet fish restaurant will be in the next few days. They are located next to the now closed Scientology building on 4th street, in what I think was the old Jordan Valley restaurant. 

I tried Slammin' Burger, when it first opened, and the burgers were pretty good, for the price. Much better than other fast food places(McD's, Burger King, Wendys). Their onion rings were really good!! But, after being open for a while, the service fell off. I once waited in line for a while, and the employees came from outside the food court, looking like they "enjoyed" their break, while a line formed.
 
The last time I went to the Tower Place food court (a Saturday afternoon), Cajun Big Easy was open, but Slammin' Burger was closed. There was a big convention going on in town. There were a lot of loud young kids hanging around. I ordered a coney, from Gold Star, because I needed some quick sustenance. I saw a number of people come down the escalator, look around, and head right back up.
 
There are not a lot of dining options in downtown on a weekend afternoon. It is not right that the food court at Tower Place is such a joke. Actually, for the most part, Tower Place is a joke.
 
I cannot wait to hit Aunt Flora's new place!! I hope the location works well.
 
http://eggplanttogo.blogspot.com/2012/11/aunt-floras-cobbleria-and-everythings-d.html

I tried Aunt Flora's today. While the door to the Skillet portion of the business was closed, they were taking orders in the Cobbleria. On the menu, they have whiting, catfish, and tilapia in sandwich and platter configurations. Sides include green beans, mac & cheese, black beans, and others I cannot recall. They also have chicken wings.
 
I ordered whiting and green beans to go, the cost was approximately $8.50, and took about 10 minutes to receive my food. While the green beans were very good, I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the whiting. The 4 filets were limp and bland. I expected a bit of crunch and the breading simply had no flavor. Yes, I could dress it up with some tartar and/or hot sauce, I suppose. Perhaps I'm making too much of a comparison to Alabama Fish Bar at Liberty & Vine, but to me, there is no comparison.
 
Hopefully they are simply working out the kinks of opening week and I intend to give them another chance in a month or two.
 
Edit: fixed typo.

A few weeks ago Polly put an entry on her food blog about a fairly new eatery in Price Hill called Happy Days Cafe, with a positive review on their burger.  I made it over there today and I have to say I agree most heartily.  This is a very good burger at a very good price - this burger and a bag of Husmans will run you a mere $4.15. 
 
The skinny: 1/3 pound loosely packed hand pattied beef, griddled, on a VERY high quality toasted bun with your choice of up to 4 regular-type toppings, cheese and fancier toppings at additional cost.  The owner/operator had no problem with me ordering it medium rare.  The lettuce was crisp top quality leaf, the tomatoes were predictably wan and fairly flavorless as one would expect this time of year, but were generously portioned and fresh sliced, and the standard toppings include grilled onions (listed as caramel onions on the ordering pad).  Adding cheese is 50 to 75 cents extra but gets you two slices of cheese instead of the usual single slice.
 
The burger was extremely juicy and flavorful with a perfect bun to meat/toppings ratio - really, REALLY good, and this will definitely be a regular stop for me now whenever I want a burger at lunch.  No, it isn't Terry's Turf Club good, but it also isn't Terry's wait time or prices.
 
You can substitute any other side for the bag o' Husmans for 50 cents off the ala carte price of the side.
 
They have goetta and YES it is available to add to a burger.
 
Ghost peppers are listed as an available ingredient, but signing a waiver is required

Minor cautions/quibbles:
 
1) the onions they use are red onions, which are quite a bit stronger flavored than the usual yellow onions.  This will be a plus for some (myself included) but a minus for others
2) a very heavy hand is used with the pepper in the seasoning of the beef patty.  I like pepper, but this was a tad excessive.  If you don't like pepper, ask for them to leave it off, and I am sure they will do so
3) I suspect a very high fat content beef is used, maybe a 70/30 or 75/25.  Again, I like the flavor and juiciness this creates, but some like a  leaner burger
4) Parking  - dont think they have any.  I parked on the outer edge of the Kroger lot right across the street.

The wife and I stopped at Camp Washington Chili on Veteran's Day for lunch. When we placed our order, the server asked if I was a veteran so I figured they were giving a discount for the day. To my amazement, she brings a receipt back, marked 'Thanks for your service', and said the entire lunch, including the wife's, was on the house that day.
The best chili in town, and at the best price!

RKB - That's an awesome story!
 
I went back to Eastside Chili on Ohio 125 about a mile east of I-275 to try a reuben last week. I was definitely impressed. It was about $7 and came loaded with swiss cheese and the meat was good quality and quantity. 
 
That's the second time I've gotten a sandwich there and I've liked both. Not to mention the portions are ample, to say the least.
 
They do conies, obviously, and while I thought they were pretty good one of my lifelong Cincinnati resident friends did not.
 
We also hit Walt's BBQ on the north side of Hamilton over the weekend. I had read some negative reviews regarding the service a couple of years ago but the more recent ones were more positive (it's taken me a while to learn that 2-plus-year-old reviews of a place are practically meaningless).
 
The service was great -- fast and attentive.
 
We got the smoked garlic wings for an appetizer, and at first it almost looked like garlic overkill. There was a pool of garlic in the bottom of the basket and the wings themselves were dotted with minced garlic (strangely they came with a handful of nacho chips at the bottom of the basket nearly submerged). But neither the smoke flavor nor the garlic flavor was overwhelming. I really liked them and my wife said they're near the top of her list of wings (and we've tried a lot of garlic wings).
 
I got the brisket, which was $12 and pretty good but not exceptional. Not quite enough smoke flavor and the thickest parts dried out a little but not much. The fatty end was tremendous though. I got mac and cheese and red beans and rice as sides, and both were pretty good but not exceptional.
 
My wife got a three-slider meal with pulled pork, brisket and I think chicken. I tried the pulled pork and liked it a lot. One of her sides was a sweet potato caserole which was incredible. I wished I'd ordered that as one of my sides.
 
And we both got cornbread, which was very good. We used the garlic pool from the wings to dip the bread in.
 
The bill was right around $33 and we had leftovers. I'll definitely go back, although I'll probably try something other than the brisket for a main course, but I'd order the wings again in a heartbeat.

Although it was a mere shell of its former self at the end, Papa Dinos in Clifton had been there for over 50 years
 
Now it's gone
 
from: http://www.local12.com/ne...zhbU0uqyNrJsNkT2g.cspx
 

Competition has become fierce. Topper's Pizza is two doors down. Mac's Pizza Pub a half block away. Two blocks away are Pomodori's and now Adriatico's. "Students inherently have very tight budgets and changing tastes and it's difficult to keep up with that."

For the last several years, construction pinched traffic to one lane in places and ate up the already-scarce parking. Change can be good, but it leaves some with only memories. "People still come back ya know "when I was in college I was here eating every night after the bars we'd come in and have a bite. They still come back and they bring their family ... their children. It's a landmark."

 

Two more Tower Place food court closings: Sakkio Japan and Great Steak & Potato. That leaves Chinese Combo King, Gold Star Chili, and Subway as the last 3 restaurants. Won't be long now before the food court is completely empty.

I won't miss GS&P, but Sakkio of Japan is a place I have dearly loved for nearly 20 years now
 
Very, very sad

I read in the Enquirer that Gold Star is out at the end of the month.  Sakkio Japan was always a quality place - great food at a great price.  Hopefully someone can come in and re-invent Tower Place because it is close to 100% empty.

RKB


The wife and I stopped at Camp Washington Chili on Veteran's Day for lunch. When we placed our order, the server asked if I was a veteran so I figured they were giving a discount for the day. To my amazement, she brings a receipt back, marked 'Thanks for your service', and said the entire lunch, including the wife's, was on the house that day.
The best chili in town, and at the best price!

Johnny has done that for many years now, it is not publicized very well
 

Camp Washington Chili is a great place. A must on any visit to the Queen City....Russ