Heading off to the Big Apple...

Terry and I are off to New York! I have a few posts scheduled to post while we're gone so you won't miss us too terribly. I'll also try to post an update via my Blackberry while I'm there-- I'm not sure how much I want to pay in exorbitant wifi rates while I'm there (though I'll have my laptop with me). If you know of any free wifi hotspots, do let me know. Terry will need his blog fix (I've apparently gotten him addicted!).

So sayonara for now-- talk to you next Wednesday!



(Terry's favorite song is "New York, New York" as performed by Ol' Blue Eyes. Thus the picture.)

Review: Golden Rule, Irondale, AL

Because we're talking so much about barbecue, here are a few pictures of The Golden Rule in Irondale, Alabama. I took these back in December, before I started the blog (but while it was definitely jostling in the back of my mind).

That is their pit. I told the Pitmaster, who has been doing his thing for 30 years, that I was from out of town and wrote a food blog, and he said I could even poke the pork butts with a giant fork. I declined. Maybe next time.

Extra pork plate, sliced, half and half. This means that it is essentially a double order of pork (see the plate on the right? Yeah.), sliced and not chopped, half from the inside (tender and delicious) and the outside (a little burnt and delicious). The fries and the coleslaw? The fries are awesome, crispy and skin-on. The coleslaw is vinegar-based, but not "hot slaw" as I know it.

In about a two-month span, I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, the top of the Empire State Building, and visited the World's Largest Office Chair in Anniston, AL. I'm sure you can guess which was the most impressive.

What's your favorite non-local barbecue place?

Re-view and Review of BBQ Revue

(Guest post by The Boyfriend)

In the months that Julie has been writing this blog, we have both learned that the quickest way to ignite a firestorm is to make unfavorable comments about local establishments that have a loyal following. A couple of months back, for instance, Julie mentioned that the bread on a sandwich that we purchased at Taste of Cincinnati was stale and that the meat wasn't particularly flavorful.

Hilarity did not ensue.

Name-calling occurred. Taste buds were insulted. Family genealogies were challenged (not by Julie, but by anonymous commenters). "This place is the real deal! You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know anything about food."

To see if we would change our minds about the food, we made two separate visits to the establishment. We both concluded that our initial thoughts were justified, or at least were not wildly off-base.

To true fans of the establishment: If we disagree, sorry. If you love the place, great. Enjoy.

This episode has been in the back of my mind for the past few days.

A few months back, Julie and I had lunch at BBQ Revue on Madison Road in Oakley. We were less than impressed, but Julie never did a formal review. During the ensuing months, in conversation with friends who are BBQ Revue fans and in the comments section of wine me, dine me, the place has been mentioned several times. As with the previously mentioned incident, our less-than-favorable experience was met with incredulity.

"You don't like BBQ Revue? That place is awesome! You must be crazy. You don't know anything about barbecue."

After Julie's mini-review of City Barbeque, a couple of commenters again sang the praises of BBQ Revue.

Because of the burning need to settle the BBQ Revue question (and because I was hungry and live five minutes away), I decided to have lunch there on Tuesday.

On our first visit, Julie had the pulled chicken sandwich while I had the pulled pork sandwich. We both had the same complaint: What we were eating was no better than standard crock pot barbecue. (Aside: Doesn't it drive you mad, the countless ways to spell barbecue, barbeque, BBQ, Bar-B-Q, Bar-B-Que, etc.?)

Not that there's anything wrong with crock pot barbecue. I've made it myself dozens of times, and I'm sure I'll make dozens more times in the future. BBQ Revue's version might have been made with genuine, on-site-smoked meat and the restaurant's own sauce. Still, it was standard crock pot fare. (Check the internet and/or your stash of cookbooks. I'm sure you'll find scores of crock pot barbecue recipes. Most will involve some combination of pork butt, store-bought barbecue sauce, onions, and Liquid Smoke, cooked for several hours in a crock pot, and then chopped or pulled.)

The typical comment from friends or from commenters here on the blog ended with something to the effect of "You need to try the ribs."

On Tuesday, I did both. I had the ribs, and I got a pulled pork sandwich to go.

Nothing I tasted or saw on Tuesday caused me to re-think my original impression of the pulled pork sandwich. Barbecued pork, chopped or pulled fine and mixed with sauce, simmering in a warming tray. In other words: crock pot barbecue. In the ten minutes it took to get it home, the sandwich bun had become soggy from the mixture of sauce, grease, and/or juice. With real chopped or pulled barbecue (sauce added after the fact), this shouldn't have happened.

As for the ribs, I must say that I wasn't a fan. The meat was quite tender, though not falling-off-the-bone tender. Prior to smoking, they were covered with a dry rub, heavily laden with pepper (cayenne, I suspect). The end result was incredibly spicy. The sauce that was served with the ribs was also very spicy and hot. Again, I think the sauce was pretty heavily loaded with cayenne pepper.

What makes for good barbecue is the perfect marriage of meat and smoke. Whatever sauce or rub that one chooses to use should enhance that union, not hide or overpower it.

I thought that the ribs were best without the sauce. With the sauce, I almost couldn't taste the meat.

I saved all leftovers for Julie to sample. She basically concurred with my thoughts.

It's probably worth mentioning that BBQ Revue has received numerous awards and accolades, including City Beat's Best Barbecue award in 2004, Cincinnati Magazine's Best Barbecue award in 2001, and The Cincinnati Enquirer's Best Ribs award in 1996. Who am I to argue with such an impressive trophy case?

So to the fans of BBQ Revue: If we disagree, sorry. If you love the place, great. Enjoy.

(P.S.--Just after I finished this post, I found the following comment from one of Julie's readers: "re: BBQ Review [sic] I've never been crazy about the ribs nor the pulled pork. However, the brisket and chicken are phenomenal. Give it another try...")

(Sigh.)

Mini Review: City BBQ

I'm really just showing off the fact that I figured out how to get my Blackberry to upload pictures. Finally!

Terry and I go to City BBQ more often than we should. It's a state chain, founded in Columbus, and they have really good barbecue. If you go to Hyde Park Plaza at the right time, you can smell them smoking and it's absolutely addictive. Terry says it's not quite like home, but it'll do in a pinch.

They have three sauces-- Brushfire, Regular and Mustard. I find little difference between the Brushfire and Regular (Though the brushfire is a bit thicker with molasses), but the mustard is darn good. All three are good, really. They also have good coleslaw, excellent skin-on french fries and great hush puppies. Terry swears he can make a meal just of the coleslaw and hush puppies. I could do the same with the fries! You can also order a whole roasted hog (which I SO want to do someday), chicken, and beef.

It is a great place for "fast" food that is actually tasty.

Female bloggers: are we taken seriously?

I've been blogging on and off for about eight years now. I started at Livejournal, where I keep a blog that is mostly geared towards my friends, and tends to be posted as "friends only". Trust me, you don't really care about the stuff I write about there. My Vox is fairly public, and of course I have my food blog and my professional blog. I still feel, quite often, that women as bloggers are not underrepresented (we make up about half of bloggers) but we're not taken as seriously as our male counterparts. I had a male friend last night who was incredibly surprised that I was miffed that a local article virtually ignored female bloggers-- "Does that really matter?" he asked? Yes, it does. Women's voices are often ignored (as this article details), and we really aren't taken as seriously. Though there are tons of successful female food bloggers (Accidental Hedonist, I'm looking at you), it's still a bit of a boys' club. Most lists of prominent bloggers nearly ignore female bloggers, but shouldn't for much longer: mom bloggers are a huge demographic (and quite vocal), women are becoming more prominent in political blogging-- we're becoming more prominent in all areas of the blogosphere.

Maybe I'm just on a high of connecting with so many bloggers (though some may consider it self-congratulatory, knowing you're not alone in your interests or pursuits is pretty important), but what do you think-- women bloggers, do you feel ignored?

ETA: Jezebel and The F Word (UK) both had some interesting things to say. Salon's Broadsheet did too.

clipped from www.nytimes.com Blogging’s Glass Ceiling Blogging has come a long way from its modest beginnings. These days, there is money to be made, fame to be earned and influence to be gained. And though women and men are creating blogs in roughly equal numbers, many women at the conference were becoming very Katie Couric about their belief that they are not taken as seriously as their male counterparts at, say, Daily Kos, a political blog site. Nor, they said, were they making much money, even though corporations seem to be making money from them. Other prominent female bloggers who did not attend the BlogHer conference agreed that there are unique challenges that women in the blogosphere face. “Women get dismissed in ways that men don’t,” said Megan McArdle, an associate editor at The Atlantic Monthly who writes a blog about economic issues.

wine me, dine me (in New York City)

So Terry and I are leaving at the end of next week for NYC. I've been there twice before and Terry's spent a ton of time there, so he's very familiar with the lay of the land, and we already have a few ideas of where we need to eat-- Katz's is #1, followed by Moshe's falafel (Terry's a fan) and I'm sure that Terry has some others. I'm going to drag him to Bouchon Bakery (since Per Se is closed for a good portion of our vacation) and I'm sure we'll go to the Heartland Brewery for a Cornhusker for Terry and to this beer bar whose name I always forget in Hell's Kitchen for a Kona Longboard for me. Maybe craftsteak?

So where do you think we should go? Less touristy stuff, please-- we're staying on Times Square because Priceline put us there, but we much prefer hanging out and eating in places that aren't right around Times Square.

I do promise a tour of Little Italy (we have a little tour we do, it's quite fun and incredibly delicious) and Chinatown (if the fish don't try to get me...). What other neighborhoods would you like a mini-tour of?

1st Annual Cincinnati Blogger Convention

Terry and I had such a great time last night at the Cincinnati Blogger's Convention at Mercantile Library. We met up with some old friends-- Michelle, Shannan, Jeff, Brian Bob and Erin and made a few new ones (who all acknowledged that we all felt like we knew each other already...): Kate , Ashish, Matt, Val, and Brian from CET (who needs to comment so I can read his blog).

For those of you who witnessed our spirited discussion, Jeff and I have come to a draw on the aioli. We've figured out that the egg can be optional-- olive oil + garlic, mashed with a pestle-- but the breadcrumbs are as well. Why add breadcrumbs to a sauce that has egg in it already? Bread's a binder! Breadcrumbs must go into the olive oil and garlic version. Mustard is added to some versions, but not to others. There is obviously no definitive answer. Further research and testing is required. Oh, darn.

(The further I research this, the more muddled it gets. I just found a recipe that involves both breadcrumbs and egg yolks. I think the only real conclusion is that aioli is not mayonnaise. Ta da.)

Some pictures from the evening, courtesy 5chw4r7z:

Review: Barcelona, Columbus

When I was at Podcamp, Michelle suggested I try Barcelona for dinner (ETA: Except she didn't She suggested something else. Oops.). Since Barcelona didn't have any reservations open, we ended up at BoMa. Not to be deterred, this past trip up to Columbus, we got a reservation on OpenTable early. I was really, really looking forward to this meal-- I love tapas, and I love Spanish food.

The atmosphere at Barcelona is a little like Nada here-- see and be seen. There were several bachelorette parties, lots of couples, all of them very YP and hip. There was a blown glass art installation, and lots of miscellaneous art around. It was colorful and felt pretty trendy.

It took us a little while to get drinks when we were first seated, but our waiter-- who was excellent-- made sure to apologize and eventually just made the drinks himself (a beer and a sangria). The bar was slammed with only one bartender on duty. I don't mind a delay in service as long as it's acknowledged and the waiter makes sure that we know things are being taken care of. He and his busser were great at making sure we knew they were taking care of things. I can't say enough good things about them!

They don't really do tapas, so as a compromise we did a variety of small plates to simulate tapas, with varying amounts of success. Not all are pictured-- soup generally doesn't photograph well, for example.

First, we started off with a chilled spiced peach soup. I expected it to be a little less sweet and a little more spicy-- perhaps almost to the side of savory. Instead, it was almost syrupy, and the spice was just cinnamon. We decided that this would be quite nice in a blender with some rum and some ice, but was less great as a soup.

We also got some serrano ham, which was served atop potato salad. The serrano was great-- a little smoky and rich and complemented the pickled onions well, but the potato salad, though made of redskin potatoes, was not all that different than something served at a picnic. Great idea, but the execution wasn't quite what it could have been. This held true for the rest of the meal-- great ideas, but the follow through wasn't quite what I expected.

Our next tidbit was pork belly. Longtime readers of this blog know that I love pork belly. Probably too much, but it's just so tender and delicious. Except when it isn't. This was roasted instead of braised, and served with corn and a vanilla-espresso gastrique. The gastrique and corn were great, and the coffee and vanilla really complemented the flavor of the pork, which was very flavorful but-- and to me, this is a cardinal sin of pork belly-- dry. I'm not sure how they managed it-- perhaps it was the roasting?-- but it was almost stringy. The flavors were great, but again, the execution just fell short.

Our fourth and final appetizer was flatbread with goat cheese, caramelized onions, crab and roasted red peppers. This turned out to be incredibly similar to something I make (though I use puff pastry). The flavors were good, but it didn't seem especially inspired.

We did decide on dessert-- flan. Now this was fantastic. Beautifully plated, served with some peaches and berries, it was a standard flan, but there's a reason it is a classic. Perhaps if they stuck to the classics-- simple ingredients done well-- everything would be a hit.

Their sangria was great, and their beer selection quite expansive. Though things fell a little short, I'd still recommend it for dessert, drinks, and people-watching.

Review: Northstar Cafe, Columbus

Terry and I love breakfast. Okay, let's be honest: we haven't met a mealtime we don't like (except that stupid Fourth Meal thing. Call it "drunk munchies", because that's what it is). I poked around TripAdvisor the last time we were in Columbus to find a place for brunch, and ended up finding Northstar Cafe. It sources locally (and helps sponsor a CSA!) and is about as "green" as a restaurant can go these days without being vegan. Terry was a bit worried, as several of the reviews said, "very little meat, just some poultry" but he relented, and boy was it worth it.

Northstar Cafe's menu is tiny. It had maybe six things-- a few sweet things, and a few savory things. Terry's pick was easy: sweet potato hash topped with two eggs, with a side of bacon. The hash was perfect-- soft centers with crispy, sometimes burnt outsides. Terry and I are both the sort of people who like the edges of brownies, the crispy cheese on baked macaroni and cheese-- you get the idea-- so this was heaven.

(Man, do I love natural light.)

I was going to get pancakes until I saw the house-smoked turkey sandwich with roasted red peppers, rosemary foccaccia and pesto aioli. I admit that I'm getting tired of restaurants calling mayonnaise "aioli" (it isn't), but this was incredibly good. Terry helped me finish it, after briefly playing with the biggest toothpicks I've ever seen.

This peanut butter cookie was huge-- we ate it in the car on the way home and I also had some for lunch the next day. Salty, a little sweet but not overly so, and obviously made with natural peanut butter. The best PB cookie I've ever had.

As far as brunch goes, this beat out Cap City Diner, if only because they had more brunch-like selections and they sourced locally. Plus, they didn't have the Evil Chips of Doom to tempt me. Check it out-- they have two locations, one in Beechwood and one in Short North. They were pretty crowded on Sunday, but totally worth the wait.

News: AOL Local City's Best

AOL has released its lists of best restaurants, and I wonder if the people who vote actually live here!

Among their best: Riverside Revolving, Dancing Wasabi, Walt's Barbecue, First Watch, Quatman's, Skyline, Graeter's, El Coyote, La Rosa's, and The Precinct.

Interesting notes: Riverside Revolving was the number one romantic restaurant. It has a pretty view and all, but the food is barely better than your local smorgasbord. There are other restaurants with pretty views-- Primavista comes to mind-- that are far more romantic and not even mentioned.

Three of the five best steaks were Jeff Ruby restaurants.

Several restaurants won awards are now closed: Nick's Chops and Chasers, Napa Grille, Porkopolis. I guess AOL doesn't fact-check.

Dave and Buster's has a good singles scene? Who knew?

What do you folks think? Obviously, these lists are pretty subjective-- I should probably make my own.

Recipe: Bon Appetit's Cheddar Burgers with Balsamic Onions and Chipotle Ketchup

It's fairly rare for me to see something in my blog reader and immediately say, "I must make this tonight." Well, I didn't say this, it was more like, "Terry! You must make this tonight!" And he did.

I had actually seen this recipe at B&N when I browsed through Bon Appetit magazine's July issue, which had this baby right on the front cover. Terry did make a few changes.

Here's a link to the recipe. He used soft, cornmeal-dusted burger buns instead of the English muffin (though looking at their pictures, I've never seen an English muffin that looked like that). I'm not a huge fan of raw tomatoes on burgers, so I skipped those, and no spinach graced them either (I'm not sure why).

The burger itself was good and juicy, but the toppings of balsamic onions and the chipotle ketchup were the real winners. The onions were incredibly easy to do, and really flavorful-- I love balsamic with caramelized onions. The ketchup was spicy and needed just a bit more balsamic to be "wow", but was really good on the fries Terry made to go with the burgers.

In all? Great recipe. Man, do I love Bon Appetit.

Mini-Review: Coffee Emporium

Terry's pretty much a regular this summer at The Coffee Emporium on Central Parkway, but in these past couple of months, he's never tried their lunch menu! A travesty. We remedied that on Saturday morning.

Terry got a ham and cheese panini. It was pretty standard-- ham, brie, and Dijon mustard served with some purple Terra chips. It was a good, standard sandwich.

I got the curried chicken salad. I love curried chicken salad! I remember the old Le Cezanne on Hyde Park addicting me to it a few years ago. They served theirs on a baguette, and it was marvelous. I duplicated it myself, but since Terry isn't a curry fan, I don't make it very often. Coffee Emporium's is OK-- it was a little dry (needed just a touch more mayonnaise) but the flavor was good, with a standard yellow curry powder. I'd definitely order it again, but perhaps just as chicken salad and not as a sandwich.

I like that the bread was fresh (from Shadeau, I believe) and that the ingredients also tasted fresh. I watched them make my fruit salad (the alternative to potato chips) right there, as well as some of their other dishes. They also have freshly made Belgian waffles with fresh fruit on Saturdays-- which I plan on trying next Saturday.

Coffee Emporium isn't just for coffee-- their sandwiches are pretty good, too! Combine that with friendly service, a nice atmosphere and WiFi-- it could totally be my office away from home.

Cincy Chic: New Series

Whee! Here's the info for the new Cincy Chic Chic Chefs series-- I hope to see you guys there. I'm really looking forward to it-- the first menu sounds like a lot of fun.

The first one is with Amy Tobin, here's the menu:

Summer Celebration:
Southern Shrimp Salad on Endive Spears
Roasted Redskin and Green Bean Salad
Creamy Corn Bread with Honey Butter
Hoisin BBQ Ribs
Almond Shortcakes with Double Cream and Triple Berries

Mini Review: Dewey's

A group of my theater buddies gathered at Hofbrauhaus for a happy hour last Friday night. I didn't bother to review Hofbrauhaus because their appetizers are unremarkable (but their beer is excellent, I rather enjoy their Munich Weizen-- love wheat beers), but we did waltz over to Dewey's for some pizza afterward. Dewey's is some of my favorite pizza in town-- not New York style, but the topping choices are excellent and the service is usually great. I also like their "specialty" pizzas-- we got a half pepperoni, half Edgar Allen Poe, which has tomatoes, goat cheese, kalamata olives, mushrooms, olive oil and whole roasted garlic on top. I love goat cheese on pizza. Terry was less impressed-- but he's not a real pizza fan. The only pizza he ever suggests we get is LaRosa's-- he's a big fan, since he likes the sweet sauce. I'm pretty sure he's the only non-native I know who loves La Rosa's. Who knew?

(And that's Jay's hand. He's the same guy who did the cheesy fish sandwich in my Arnold's review. The original picture had him giving us the finger. Not nice, Jay!)

Lost Recipes and the Best Summer Drink Ever

(Guest post by The Boyfriend)

Do you ever forget about favorite recipes?

Perhaps you prepared a dish so often that you temporarily burned out on it...and then forgot about it. Maybe you made the dish only on special occasions...and those special occasions didn't occur for a while.

But have you ever said to yourself, for whatever reason, "You know, I haven't made Dish X in ages!"? And then ran to the store to get the ingredients because you couldn't wait to put it together? All the while recalling pleasant memories of the dish?

It was in this vein that re-discovered the perfect summer drink: The Bourbon Slush.

On a recent hot afternoon, I was looking for something to add to my mental file of "Beverages, Summer, Refreshing." This file normally contains three beverages:
1. Beer
2. A 50/50 mix of fruit juice and Sprite
3. Beer

About fifteen years ago, I stumbled across the bourbon slush. And it was a happy accident, indeed. Light. Refreshing. Quick. Perfect for summertime. I made at least one batch of the drink during each of the next several summers. Then, inexplicably, the drink just dropped off my culinary radar for probably ten years.

Just as inexplicably, the drink re-emerged from recipe purgatory. I have no idea as to why I thought of it, but I did. I pulled the recipe that a friend and I had freely adapted from an old charity cookbook that I found years ago on a bargain table in a Philadelphia bookstore (A Second Helping, published by the women's ministries of Gloria Dei Church).

And I headed to the grocery store.

I returned half an hour later and went to work...

The Bourbon Slush
2 cups strong tea (3 or even 4 teabags)
1 1/2 cups sugar
12-oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate
12-oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate
2 1/2 cups bourbon
6 cups water
Sprite or 7-Up

Dissolve the sugar in the tea while the tea is still hot. Add all remaining ingredients, and pour into a large freezer-safe container. Put the mixture into the freezer. Stir the mixture every couple of hours for the next 24 hours, until the mixture has frozen. Because of the alcohol, it won't freeze solidly, but will retain a slushy consistency (hence the name "Bourbon Slush"...clever, no?) (Note: The original recipe, titled "Slushy Beach Drink," called for only a half cup of bourbon, and listed even THAT as "optional." Right.)

To serve, fill a glass (any size) two-thirds to three-quarters full of the slush mixture. Give the mixture an extra splash of bourbon (this step is optional, but highly recommended). Finish filling the glass with Sprite or 7-Up. Stir. Enjoy.

The mixture will keep in the freezer for weeks. Once you've made the slush mixture, it's two minutes from freezer to glass. Quick. Easy. Extremely tasty.

So...when was the last time you remembered a long-lost favorite recipe?

Blog Etiquette with wine me, dine me

Good afternoon, class!

It's that time again-- yes, like other local bloggers I feel the need to have a short informational session about how to properly interact in the blogosphere, both as a commenter and as a blogger.

1. Copyright infringement isn't cool. I, for one, spend a ton of my free time writing, taking photographs, reading about food, learning about food, eating food-- you get the idea. I'm also a professional writer and my words are my livelihood: Don't steal them. If you're quoting me, link back. It's generally not recommended to quote the whole post (confusion can arise, trust me). If you want to use a picture, respect Creative Commons and attribute (Flickr makes this very easy) or, if you're going to be super-polite, ask for permission. That is always appreciated, nothing brightens another blogger's day like someone emailing them and saying, "Wow, I loved your picture of such-and-such! Can I use it on my blog?" Remember when you learned how to write a research paper in high school? Cite your sources! And as far as pictures go, I'm a big believer that food blogs can be effective without pictures (the writers of Restaurants and Reservations do a great job at it, for example). There are some things that just don't photograph well (grits, refried beans, anything at The Quarter Bistro because the light is red) , occasionally I leave the house without charging the battery, sometimes I'm just silly and forget-- and if you're writing food reviews, unless it's a stock photo from the restaurant's website, you shouldn't use other people's food photos to document your experience.

2. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Thumper's mom was right. I've been seeing some really mean commenters on other local blogs lately. There's a big difference, in my mind, between snarky and mean. Disagree all you want-- blogs are all about opinion, and I will definitely not always agree with you-- but leave the ad hominem attacks for Gawker.

3. On that note, don't post just to pimp your blog. We all want traffic, we all want readers, but get your readers because you're interesting and have something to say, not by simply posting "I really love your blog!" or "Look what I wrote about that same subject on MY blog!" without any real commentary on what's written.

4. Just because you link to me doesn't mean I will link to you. I'm blatantly stealing this one from Kate, and it's true. Every blog I link to is one I read on a regular basis, one with content that is compelling and well-written, pertinent, signficant or maybe even funny (I mean, I don't think about food ALL the time. Just most of the time.). There are actually a ton of blogs I read that I don't link to here, as I only want to give you, the reader, a limited view into my world. You come to me to read about food, not about my politics or my fashion sense, right? However if you think there's a blog out there I *should* read, feel free to email me a suggestion. I'm always glad to hear it!

4. If you get your food for free, know the owner, date the waiter, whatever-- disclose it! Maybe it's because I'm reading Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires, but I think it's important to disclose anything that might make you have better service or food than a regular diner. Polly Campbell can't really give an unbiased review of Boca (they know her there, she knows they know her, and she always has a spectacular meal-- she's admitted as such, which is admirable). I can't give you an unbiased review of Seny (anymore), because Chef Travis knows me and his maître d' knows me (and read this blog, apparently). I've gotten several meals for free as a member of the press (gotta love new media, right?) and have made sure to disclose it. Also, in these cases, I refuse to overlook problems just because it was free or at a reduced charge. That's just not ethical, and I don't want to be a blogger who can be bought (and if I could, it would cost way more than a free meal. Seriously.).

That's all I can come up with for now. On my other (to-be-started) blog I intend on writing something about the Art of Adding Friends on Twitter-- but that's more appropriate for my professional blog. I guess what we all need is to remember that people, even on the internet, need to have their time and their talents respected. It fosters a sense of community, lends some authenticity, and makes the wide world of food blogs (and the 'net in general) a fun place to be.

Have anything to add?

Review: BoMa, Columbus

God bless OpenTable. It's one of the best ways to find a meal when you're in an unfamiliar place. That's how I discovered BoMa, in downtown Columbus-- and what a gem it is!

BoMa is the former First Baptist Church on E. Broad Street. They've completely rehabbed it, and now it's a restaurant, bar, art gallery, and after dinner hours, it's a club. I know that some people aren't into reclaiming abandoned churches for reuse but I disagree: repurpose to your heart's content. I'd rather see something turned into an Urban Outfitters or restaurant than a parking lot any day. This was a fantastic use of space. I really wish I'd taken more pictures, but the light was dwindling and i didn't want to be Miss Flashbulb.

If you can't tell, that's a movie playing on a screen where the altar used to be. They had Breakfast at Tiffany's playing the entire time we were there. It was a little distracting, mostly because I love that movie, but it really made the restaurant feel a little avant garde, a little East coast.

Our server was fantastic-- I believe his name was Eric. Very attentive, knew the menu very well, and very personable. I took his recommendations without hesitation, and he was pretty spot on. I also discovered that they source locally-- local to Columbus, anyway. I'll apologize a bit for the pictures-- the lighting was fairly dim and I haven't decided to buy a Nikon D40 to whip out and be really, really obvious.

We started off with PB&J. No, don't stop reading-- it was PB&J... foie gras. Instead of peanut butter, they used cashew butter; instead of grape jelly, they used grand marnier marmalade and drizzled black pepper infused honey on the plate. It was topped with watercress-- pretty, but superfluous-- but overall the taste was amazing. I love the contrast of salty and sweet; throw in rich and I'm sold.

Next up were our entrees-- we skipped salads because the waiter said that the desserts were "works of art". Who needs lettuce when you can have sweets? Terry went with the New York Strip, which was served with creamed leeks, spinach, truffle demi-glace and topped with more foie gras. The strip, which was Angus, was delightfully tender, moist, cooked properly and flavorful and the mellow leeks and spinach balanced nicely with the rich demiglace and foie. Because we didn't have enough foie with the appetizer, you know.

I had trouble deciding between salmon and duck, so I took the waiter's suggestion of salmon. It was served with two Maryland crab wontons (better known around here as crab rangoon), mushrooms, scallions, and blood orange butter. The crab wontons were okay-- a bit underfilled, which made the filling a bit pasty-- with not quite enough crab. The sustainable salmon (major points!) was overcooked just a bit (take a few points off, there), but not enough to make it unpalatable. The blood orange butter was great, as were the mushrooms and scallions. It was not the best meal I've ever had, but I give them a lot of credit for being experimental and incredibly artistic. The plating on every dish, without exception, was beautiful.

We each got dessert, which is rare, as we both wanted something different: he wanted chocolate, I wanted fruit. We both wanted coffee, which was French press (my favorite!). I got the pineapple mille feuille, which was pineapple encrusted with coconut and topped with mille feuille cookies. You'll have to take my word for it-- it was sweet and the caramelized sugar in the pineapple was fantastic. I love grilled pineapple. Terry ordered the chocolate silk, which was incredibly rich-- two pieces were served and he ate about half of one. He actually wished he had gotten something else, it was filling but not quite what he was looking for. Unfortunately, no pictures-- the light was just too dim.

In all? I'd definitely go back and get the duck instead of the salmon-- I saw it come by on a tray and it looked great. The surroundings were interesting, the food was inspired-- the next time you're in Columbus, try it out.

Review: Cap City Diner (Columbus, OH)

I have a dream.

A dream that one day the old Vinyl/Diner on Sycamore will be a diner again. Maybe it'll be a little upscale (would you like foie with your eggs, sir?), but it'll be open late and serve things that are fried and really good meatloaf. Community members and people who come to OTR just for the bar scene congregate for good food and good service.

You can stop laughing now. It's not that far fetched.

So when I hopped online at Zagat's looking for a place for brunch, I found Cameron Mitchell's Cap City Fine Diner. You may know Mitchell's Fish House in Newport and West Chester-- same guy. Someone referred to him as the Jeff Ruby of Columbus, and that seems to be true. As both Terry and I like Mitchell's (one of our big bonding moments was "You like the Chilean Sea Bass Shanghai? That's the only thing I order there!" Yeah, I know.), we figure we'd try one in Mitchell's hometown of Columbus when we were there for Podcamp Ohio a couple of weeks ago. This was actually our second meal in Columbus (I'll write about the first one later) and all we wanted was some sort of upscale brunch-type food. We didn't quite get it (but that isn't really a bad thing).

This is not the place to go on a diet. They start you off with cinnamon rolls, fresh out of the oven. Cream cheese frosting, cinnamon-- they're not the best I've ever had, but a very unexpected start.

I read on Zagat's that the potato chips were to die for, and mentioned it to Terry, not thinking we'd order it. I mean, who eats potato chips with-- I kid you not-- alfredo sauce and blue cheese for breakfast? We did. It was in the interest of science and my readers or something. Crispy, kettle-style chips, freshly fried topped with alfredo and blue cheese. Stop my beating heart, no pun intended.

I had a bit of a hard time deciding what to order. I thought about the vegetable plate-- I wanted something light, considering the heart-attack-on-a-plate I just nibbled on-- but then someone nearby me ordered it and it looked sort of sad, a bit like someone said, "We need something vegetarian, let's take our side dishes and pile them on a plate!" That was, indeed, the only vegetarian dish on the menu. I ended up with the salmon, probably the least diner-y thing on the menu. It was similar to things I've ordered at Mitchell's Fish House: moist and tender, flavorful, with nice sticky rice and a really great citrus sauce. However, it wasn't anything special, and it wasn't terribly diner-y.

Terry went for the diner experience, and it was one of a limited number of dishes that really said "diner": meatloaf and mashed potatoes with gravy. The meatloaf was tender, almost soft (I am positive that it was made from a blend of meats-- probably beef/pork/veal) and the cloud of mashed potatoes was seasoned with garlic and onion and topped with fried onions. The gravy was made with barbecue sauce (Terry begged me to recreate it; I'll see what I can do) and he proclaimed it the best non-homemade meatloaf he's had in years, and some of the best gravy (excluding mine. Smart man.). It was pretty darn good, and exactly what I imagine when I think "upscale diner food"-- or, as Mitchell puts it, "Fine Diner".

We didn't order dessert. Are you kidding? We'd never make it home. This was a fun place for a Sunday morning, and it has won several "best brunch" awards. I'm not so sure about that-- they didn't have a lot of brunch items on the menu-- but it was fun. It only fueled my dreams of a real diner in the old Diner on Sycamore-- anyone want to pay me and a staff to do it? I promise it'll have good meatloaf and pies to die for...

Review: Alabama Fish Bar

(Guest blog by The Boyfriend)

The most venerable and beloved dish for any native Southerner (That's me...Hi.) HAS to be catfish and hushpuppies. Well, unless you count barbecue. Authentic, slow-hickory-smoked barbecue is the best.

But I digress. That's another story for another posting.

Fried chicken, country ham, grits, biscuits, and cornbread would have to be near the top of the list, too. Oh...and banana pudding...I love banana pudding. And peach cobbler.

Again, I digress. My Southern genes come out with a vengeance when I talk about food.

But catfish and hushpuppies would definitely be number one on the list. I think. (And for what it's worth, "FRIED catfish and hushpuppies" is a redundancy. How else would one cook them? And down South, anything worth eating is worth frying.)

So when I drove past the Alabama Fish Bar (located at the corner of Race and Liberty in Over-the-Rhine) for the first time several months ago, I knew I would be eating there sooner or later. As a native-born Alabamian who spent the first thirty-nine years of his life there, how could I NOT? A few days ago, I was craving catfish and hushpuppies and decided to do a late lunch at AFB.

I arrived around 1:20, well after peak lunchtime, and the line still extended out the door. This is a good sign.

When I finally muscled my way inside the door, the first thing I noticed about the chalkboard menu was that it included neither catfish nor hushpuppies.

ALABAMA Fish Bar? With no catfish or hushpuppies? Excuse me?

(At this point, the reader should disregard everything that appears in the first and fifth paragraphs of this posting.)

Despite my self-righteous indignation, I decided to stay and order.

The menu offers three kinds of fish: cod, whiting, and perch. All the fish are fried. So the place does have at least a passing link to the South, after all. Dinners include six or seven (you read that correctly) fish filets, fries, and two slices of bread. Coleslaw is available as a side dish.

All of the people in line ahead of me seemed to be regulars and to know the protocol of ordering. They all looked at me, and I could read their minds: "New guy." There's nothing worse than being a newbie among veterans. I was trying to make up my mind when the guy behind the counter yelled "NEXT IN LINE! STEP UP AND PLACE YOUR ORDER!" Two other people in line immediately said "That's you." I hate pressure. But at AFB, they apparently move people in and out quickly and efficiently...probably why people don't mind lining up out the door. If you're a customer, it's get out of the way or get run over.

I settled quickly on the perch dinner. Of course, as soon as the guy totaled the order, I remembered that I hadn't ordered coleslaw. I asked meekly if I could add a side to the order. (For a fleeting moment, I felt like George Costanza, reliving "The Soup Nazi" episode of Seinfeld..."NO FISH FOR YOU!") He obliged, but I could read the look on his face (and the faces of the other customers): "New guy."

I spent most of the next four minutes studying the tops of my shoes and trying to appear invisible. I did notice out the corner of my eye, however, that as most customers received their orders, they covered their food with one or more of the three sauces that sat in squeeze bottles on the counter. (I'm not exactly sure what the sauces were, but I suspect that they were ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce.) Customers then received a packet of sauteed peppers and onions before the whole order was wrapped and bagged.

Since I wasn't exactly sure of what was in the squeeze bottles and was too embarrassed to inquire (not to mention that I needed to photograph the order before eating), I asked for tartar sauce in a container. When the whole order was wrapped and bagged, I headed out the door for home.

My earlier umbrage about the catfish was quickly replaced with total satisfaction. The perch filets were perfectly cooked...dredged in a cornmeal breading and fried to golden brown perfection. (The cod and whiting appeared to be dredged in a flour-based batter.) The perch were well seasoned, crispy on the outside, and light and fluffy on the inside. The fries were OK, but nothing more. The coleslaw was creamy and very sweet. I didn't touch the two slices of white bread.

I did take a couple of bites from the pepper/onion packet. To say that the peppers were "hot" would be akin to describing the Empire State Building as "tallish". My eyes watered, and my tongue burned for a good fifteen minutes.

Usually, if I haven't eaten fried foods in a while and then make an entire meal of fried stuff, I'll end up chewing half a Costco-sized bottle of Tums. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the meal was not at all greasy. They use the right kind of batter and have the fryer set to the perfect temperature. I was tempted to finish all seven filets, but thought better of it. No need to tempt fate. Besides, fried fish (like fried chicken) makes a terrific cold snack. (Ed. note: I found them in my fridge when I got home. Yum!)

The people at Alabama Fish Bar fry fish for a living, and they do a terrific job. I forgive them for the catfish issue. I'll be back soon. And I hope this time not to embarrass myself.

Discuss: Your favorite TV cooking shows

I am such a Food TV whore. I'll admit it. Well, not quite a whore-- I am a little picky. I grew up on The Frugal Gourmet (Terry loved him too and he still uses a lot of "The Frug's" recipes; I remember a writing assignment I did in the sixth grade that involved an obituary for spoiled tuna salad whose survivor was Jeff Smith. I started really young.) and Julia Child (and, hey, The Swedish Chef. Hurdy, gurdy, gurdy!). I love Top Chef (I'd been rooting for Stephanie all season long, and never missed an episode of the previous seasons), I like Kitchen Nightmares and (to a lesser degree) Hell's Kitchen. Alton Brown's intersection of science and food makes cooking make sense to newer cooks (or those of us who just geek out on vaguely scientific things). I'm looking forward to Ted Allen's new show, "Food Detectives" which is supposed to be Mythbusters for food. Nigella Lawson is essentially who I want to be when I grow up: a great cook, excellent writer, sophisticated, witty, and comfortable with herself. I'm not a fan of Paula Deen or Rachael Ray (though both were much better in their earlier years; now they've become photoshopped caricatures of themselves) and Sandra Lee is everything I hate about "American Cuisine"-- the 1950s, packaged, processed, "better nutrition through science" version.

My favorite personality is Anthony Bourdain, and not just because he pals around with Michael Ruhlman. I read both of his books on airplanes, rushed out to get the Les Halles cookbook, and look forward to Top Chef mostly because I know he'll guest judge at least once, and his blogs are hysterical. My DVR is already set to tape the new season of No Reservations. My favorite episode, by far, is the Paris episode-- it made me want to go back so badly, and really captured the environment. Terry sighed longingly during the footage of a trip to Ireland. We end up wanderlusty and hungry after watching the show-- a bad combination! I haven't been to most of the places he covers, but I always feel like I'm getting a real taste-- not the sanitized, travel-brochure version.

So who's your inspiration? Which TV chef is overrated or annoying?

Cincy Chic: Desserts!

For the grand finale, we had some sweet endings-- dessert! Chef Chris made crème brûlée, crème anglaise (a favorite go-to dessert of mine), chocolate mousse, bananas Foster and macerated strawberries. All of the recipes, plus the podcasts, can be found at Cincy Chic. I think a lot of us forget that desserts really can be easy, we just have to be careful and follow directions! Baking is a science, so following instructions is very important.

I can't wait to start up the new session of Cincy Chic Chic Chefs. As soon as I get more details, I'll share them, and I hope to see you there!

Review: Kellogg's Country Kitchen

Sorry I've been away so long, folks. In addition to attending Podcamp Ohio last weekend, I ended up down for the count for a few days due to a stubborn tooth. I'm okay now, and heading into a long weekend-- so I can update a bit!

Kellogg's Country Kitchen was reviewed in the Enquirer a few weeks ago, and Terry made a beeline to try it. He gets a craving every once in a while for food that reminds him of home, and he figured that a country kitchen would fit the bill. He sent me a picture, taken on his camera phone, of his breakfast (while I was at work, of course) but it never got to me. He said it was comparable, style-wise, to a Cracker Barrel sort of place, but better and he wanted me to try it, too.

So a couple of weekends ago, we decided to pop in there on our way to see The Great Trailer Park Musical. It was around noonish, so more of a brunch experience than breakfast, but there were still several tables full, and the menu said that breakfast was served until 3 PM.

Kellogg's is inside an antique mall, and anything you see on the walls, you can buy. There are old movie posters, tin signs, and tons of kitsch. The tables are mostly the sort you'd see in your grandma's kitchen-- big, wooden and with straight backed chairs. It's essentially Cracker Barrel chic, but without that corporate, trying-too-hard vibe that chain restaurants tend to have. It's quaint, and the clientele seemed to mostly be older couples-- generally a good sign in a place known for breakfast. There were also several families with children, and they seemed to be accomdated well.

We each ordered the same thing, two eggs with hash browns and our choice of meat and bread. We both got two scrambled eggs, but I decided on an English muffin and bacon. The eggs were soft scrambled like I like them, the bacon was thick and a touch maple-y-- none of that super-thin stuff you get at most breakfast chains-- the hash browns were a good balance of soft and crispy (though I prefer mine to be a bit more on the crispy side) and the English muffin was an English muffin.

Terry was happy with his hash browns and eggs, but unfortunately, he had a bad experience with the rest. The first time he went, he had country ham and grits and biscuits, and he was really happy with them. The ham was real country ham, with a bit of the bone in, and the grits and biscuits were good. This time, the grits were lumpy-- the size of a large marble, a cardinal sin in the South, I hear-- yet somehow watery, and the country ham, well, wasn't. It seemed to be some sort of processed ham roll instead of the real deal. The biscuits weren't fresh-- they were impossible to crumble with your fingers and hard as a rock-- so he gave up on the biscuits and the ham and just ate the eggs and hash browns.

(The grits aren't pictured. Grits don't photograph well.)

So this is one of those reviews where we had different experiences at the same table. My food was good, standard breakfast food at a reasonable price. His, however, just didn't turn out right. We wondered if it was time of day-- we weren't in the breakfast rush-- but I figure that if you serve breakfast until 3 PM, that it should be just as good as if you'd come in at 8. So my advice would be to definitely try Kellogg's-- just go earlier.

Closing: Pacific Moon

I just heard that Pacific Moon closed from someone who was going to start working there. "Due to unforseen circumstances, Pacific Moon is closed indefinitely." How sad! Their website is down as well.

I guess I'll have to get my dim sum at King Wok.