Review: Oceanaire

Through the power of social networking, I got an invitation to the soft opening of Oceanaire , at Fifth and Walnut downtown. It's been on the verge of being open for months-- I've walked by and seen the bar, for example, looking like all it needed was a bartender and some liquor and it would be ready for business-- but it officially opens tomorrow, May 31. My disclaimer is this: the meal, except for the drinks, was at no charge. The drink proceeds went to charity-- which was nice!

It is corporate-- there are sixteen locations (Thanks, Kevin!), the closest one being Indianapolis, which means a couple of things. One, it's not my normal, "small chain at the most" fare, and two, they have incredible buying power. I was told by the general manager that my fish was swimming less than 24 hours ago. That's pretty cool, considering how far inland we are. They also have agreements with tons of fishermen-- including the Deadliest Catch's boat, Time Bandit. You can buy crab legs, about $50 a pound, from crabs caught on TV. Oh, what a world (though I admit that's kinda cool).

The restaurant itself is pretty-- very neo-art deco, and is supposed to feel like a 1930s ocean liner. The walls are pale, the banquettes dark leather, and dark wood abounds. The bathrooms are a trip-- I made Terry take a picture in the men's room.

Brylcreem and Old Spice. How very retro.

Alright, you're not here to read about the bathroom, you want to know about the food. So here goes.

We started out with drinks-- a Patronarita (good, balanced, not too sweet) and an Au Kurant Affair (cherry, currant, sweet and refreshing). They then brought some sourdough bread and a relish tray containing the best pickled herring I've ever had. My grandmother would laugh at me-- according to her, it was German tradition to eat pickled herring at midnight on New Year's, to bring good luck. I thought it was gross. This was great-- fresh, less pickled-tasting and more ceviche-tasting-- and not reminiscent of the stuff my grandma got at the grocery store. Good, good stuff. The rest of the relish tray was crudite-- olives, carrots, cucumbers-- and was nice and refreshing.

The chef also sent out an amuse bouche-- cured salmon and mustard on top of puff pastry. Yum.

For appetizers, we chose the halibut cheeks and softshell crab. The halibut cheeks were great-- breaded lightly, very sweet and tender, and the mango vinagrette served with the accompanying slaw was delicious: well balanced tart and sweet and not heavy at all. I could have made a meal out of it.

I have never had softshell crab before, and I'll be honest-- I couldn't get past the texture, which was just odd to me. Terry, however, assured me that it was downright heavenly. It was served on a bed of watercress and garnished with a tomatillo vinaigrette.

The kitchen, as is the case at a soft opening, was a touch slow, so the waiter brought out a mixed baby green salad with pistachio goat cheese, pickled watermelon, and serrano-lime vinaigrette. This was one of those perfect salad experiences-- you get a bite of each component and it just works beautifully together. The salt of the nuts, creaminess of the cheese, spice of the vinaigrette and sweet tang of the pickled watermelon were great.

For our entrees, I chose one of the chef's specialties. According to the waiter, this is where each location's chefs get to experiment with ingredients, including a few local ones, like Mt. Carmel beer. This chef seemed to want to play with some spice-- there was a lot of blackening and sriracha on the menu. I ended up getting the Black and Bleu Costa Rican Mahi-Mahi. Oceanaire gives you two grilling options: dirty, which is blackened, and angry, which is dirty with some extra spice, citrus, scallions and sriracha. The Mahi-Mahi was served dirty, on a bed of exquisitely sweet caramelized onions, topped with Roquefort butter. It was beautifully presented, moist, and very fresh-- as fresh as I'd tasted at good restaurants in Hawaii. The spice and the sweet went together very well, and I would love some more of the Roquefort butter. Mmm.

Terry got the surf and turf-- a 1 1/4 pound lobster, served "angry" and a filet, rare. We thought the steak was going to come out "angry" (ordering your steak "rare and angry" sounds sort of funny), but instead, the lobster did. The steak was perfectly cooked (a rarity at a seafood place), and the lobster was sweet and spicy at the same time. This surf and turf was not inexpensive-- $59-- but worth it.

Every item is a la carte, so we were permitted to pick two sides. First was grilled summer squash, which was nicely seasoned with tarragon and butter. The second was King Crab mac-and-cheese, which sounded really good, but was in reality a bit dry and not nearly as creamy as I thought it might be. Each of these sides could easily feed 2-3 people. Sadly, they had no take-out boxes so we couldn't take any of it home. The mac-and-cheese might've been better the next day-- most dishes like that are.

For dessert, we ended up with baked Alaska (or really, bombe Alaska). The meringue on this was flambeed tableside, which was impressive, but the meringue doesn't brown as evenly as it would if it were actually baked, nor does the meringue become firm. It was novel, but I'd probably try something different. Oh, and the darn thing feeds four. It was huge, and we left half.

In all: you get what you pay for. With drinks, the meal would have topped out at about $200 for both of us. You're paying for ultra-fresh fish, flown in and butchered on site. You're also paying for almost overwhelming service-- the waiter was attentive and incredibly knowledgeable (they had two weeks of intensive training, and he knew every flavor on the menu), and the bussing staff cleared plates promptly, but not quite unassumingly. If you love seafood, you will definitely like this place.

Shameless Plug: Cincinnati Fringe, 2008

Tonight, the curtain goes up on Cincinnati Fringe. What a great group of people, banding together to make some new, interesting, edgy, fun theater, spoken word, music, dance-- all sorts of things! For full Fringe coverage, check out Cincinnati Fringe's Website or The Conveyor . You may also see a familiar face around-- I'll be reviewing as many shows as I can, starting Thursday (after my preview dinner at Oceanaire). Busy week or so for me, but I promise to keep up my food writing. I won't abandon you for theater reviewing.

Have you been to Fringe before? What were your favorite shows? What are you looking forward to this year? For me, I won't be reviewing it, but The Hotel Plays promises to be interesting-- and involves a couple of my close theater pals (thus why I'm not reviewing it). Go check it out!

Review: Mr. Pig's Rib Tips

Best food to follow a breakfast at Findlay Market (of liege waffles, of course)? Mr. Pig's Rib Tips! Yeah, it didn't make much sense to me either, but Terry got a whiff of the rib tips smoking and couldn't resist. I ended up with a bite, too. Or two.

I really ought to let Terry review this, as he's the barbecue expert. He liked that the sauce, served mild, hot or half and half (which I guess averages out as medium?) really complimented the smoked pork, and wasn't too sweet. It was tomato and Red Hot sauce based, instead. Me, I loved the smokiness of the meat, but the sauce wasn't quite sweet enough. I really like the molasses-based sauces, and for less sweet I prefer mustard-based. It was great, and one $5 small rib tip was more than enough for two people. It came with a tiny container of vinegar and horseradish-based coleslaw and two pieces of cheap white bread (which is, of course, traditional and also makes a good napkin) and is sold out of the side of a building. Can't get more authentic than that.

This is a great find at Findlay-- I want to try their pulled pork, next.

Mini review: Taste of Cincinnati, Part Two

The Horse, was, of course, fabulous.

I had more crepes. A bite of the lemon and lavender sugar variety-- yum!-- and another caramel fleur de sel. Heaven.

Mythos Gyros: Awesome. Better tzatziki than Sebastian's, and surprisingly good tomatoes considering the time of year. I'll have to swing by there sometime for a whole gyro.

Rusty Bucket's Bucket Bites: After a night of beer, there's not a lot better than sliders. These are White Castles with good meat and good bread. Yum.

Honey Corn: From somewhere. Not particularly honeyed or buttery, but surprisingly sweet for the season. Must be South American.

Thai Taste: This used to be next to my gym in Western Hills. Surprisingly good Thai, so good I really ought to go back out there. Their crab rangoon contains crab, but their vegetable spring roll was bland.


Moerlein's new beer: Lager House Helles. Pretty nice. I know little about beer besides "I like Guinness" and "I don't like it too hoppy." This wasn't too hoppy. I drank a lot of it. Yum.

(And yes, Terry and I split everything. Except for the beer. I made him get his own.)

Edited to add: We did Andy's Mediterranean, too-- thank you, Anonymous, for reminding me!-- and though it wasn't bad, I thought it was a bit over-marinated.

Mini review: Taste of Cincinnati

So we braved the crowds of Taste last night, and will again tonight (so we can see The Chocolate Horse play!). We picked up a few bites, and here's what we thought:

Taste From Belgium's Caramel Fleur de Sel Crepes: Yeah. Get one. Get three. Tell Jean-Francois I sent you. Don't bother with banana. This is salty, sweet, but not too sweet or salty. Messy. Delicious. Best of Taste, by far.

Pit to Plate Barbecue: We got the ribs, which were well sauced and well smoked and quite good.

Balboa's Philly Steak and Pizza: Terry spent a couple of years on and off in Philly. He'd rather eat Penn Station than this. Tasteless beef, nasty "whiz", boring and bland bread.

Montgomery Inn Saratoga Chips: Yeah, at least it's local.

I am pondering some Andy's Mediterranean kebab tonight. Not sure yet. I'll definitely report back (and I may do some mobile Twittering while I'm there, so follow me!). We may also try Scotty's, which uses a sauce from Terry's home state of Alabama. I will definitely end up with another crepe.

Review: Acapulco, Lebanon, Ohio

I admit it: I have trouble driving north. I ran into some women at Cincy Chic who suggested restaurants in the West Chester/Montgomery area and I'm embarrassed to say I've just not ventured out there much. I'll be sure to head up there soon to try a few of the fine dining establishments, such as Mesh, that I haven't covered here. I'm equally uncomfortable with Florence (except for Chung Kiwha!) but I want to try NuVo, so I'll have to break out of the comfort zone.

However, with Terry spending so much time in Lebanon, I got to know the north, in particular, the BW-3 up there a little too well. I was glad that, after set strike, the cast decided to go to Acapulco-- a Mexican restaurant. I promise: this is the LAST mexican review I am doing for a while. I am tired of Mexican!

We started off with some guacamole and some queso dip. The guacamole was good, if too finely pureed for my tastes (I like it chunky). The queso dip, however, was one of the best I've had: there was, besides cheese, heavy cream, which made it rich and smooth, not processed-tasting or clumpy like many queso dips are . Really, really good.

Terry got the bistec Colorado, which he liked. It was spicy, but not overpoweringly so-- just enough of a kick to be interesting, but not overwhelming to the palate.

I ended up with the carnitas, which is pork poached in fat. Yum! I really need to pick healthier options (at least I didn't get the carnitas Acapulco, which are covered in cheese sauce!). They were good, if rich but a bit bland. I should have gotten the steak or perhaps some enchiladas poblanos.

Terry's castmate, Cherie, who recommended the dishes we tried, went for the camarone de mojo de ajo, which were... weird. Mojo de ajo is usually lemon-and-garlic based, this was more clove-and-allspice based, but not as intensely flavorful as one might imagine. I had a bite of hers, and she said she wouldn't order it again-- and neither would I.

So if you find yourself up in Lebanon, try out Acapulco. A warning: they do not have a Sunday liquor license, only a beer license, so no margaritas on Sundays. And be prepared, when you order a tall beer. It comes out like this:

I had to share it with another woman at the table. It was that big. Sheesh!

No more Mexican for a while. What will our kick be next?

Mini-Review: Red

Terry and I went to Red last night, since he wanted to try the regular menu and not the tasting menu. Plus, as an added bonus, OpenTable offered 1000 points for going at 9 PM. Awesome. I did not take pictures because, frankly, the lighting in there sucks. Great for ambiance, bad for food bloggers.

We started with the foie, which was somehow even better than last time. In fact, it kicked Hugo's tush when it comes to tasty foie. It was pan-seared, again, but this time served on top of a wonderfully flavored risotto cake and rhubarb and port compote. The waiter, Matt, who was excellent, friendly and well-informed, assures us that this preparation was even better than the last one, which involved dried cherry compote and plum gastrique. He was right. In fact, he was right about everything he suggested! The melting richness of the foie contrasted with the crispness of the risotto cake, and the tartness of the rhubarb. It was lovely. (Now, David Lebovitz, will I kill my blog by mentioning rhubarb?)

Terry took Matt's suggestion and got the strip steak, rare. He loved it-- it was much better than the cut of meat provided with the tasting menu. This was thick and well marbled and prepared rare, as it should be, and served on top of some very sweet roasted onions. He said it was very good, but he still prefers Jeff Ruby's. The difference? Red's steaks are not seasoned-- beyond a bit of salt and pepper-- and Ruby's are. I think that might be the difference. We'll obviously have to do extensive testing, in the interest of science and the public.

I got the duck breast, which was served with a very spicy lo mein and hoisin butter. Gosh, I like duck. This entree was particularly generous: two very plump duck breasts, one sliced and one practically begging to be taken home and perhaps shredded for some mu shu duck today for lunch. The lo mein was spicy, but contrasted nicely with the rich duck. This is an entree I'd definitely get again.

For dessert, I wanted some of this pepper cheesecake that Matt had talked about. It was incredibly light and fluffy, but no real hint of pepper. I was really anticipating the contrasting flavors, and was a bit disappointed-- though it was a great cheesecake.

All in all, I'd recommend that, unless you're going for a non-steak entree, go for the regular menu instead of the tasting menu. It is absolutely worth the extra money.

Cincy Chic: Italian

Last night's Cincy Chic featured Italian food: Celery Barquettes with Gorgonzola and Walnuts, Caprissi (er, caprese?) palmiers, and Mediterranean spinach salad with vinaigrette and almond Florentine cookies filled with ice cream and chocolate. Now, a warning: if you are a pretty advanced foodie, you're probably going to come away saying, "this is a little basic", however Chef Chris really makes things approachable to folks who may be afraid of branching out past their own basics, or who earlier thought that maybe doing things at home would be a little more than they could handle. In talking with a Cincy Chic staffer, Maureen, we talked about people like Sandra Lee-- who insist that you have to use nasty sauce packets and other premade stuff to be "gourmet", whereas Chris shows that it's easy to make, say, your own vinaigrette, which can be very empowering.

Next week? French food! Coming weeks? I hear stir fry, I hear sushi... I also hear that there will be a class the roof of the McAlpin. Awesome!

As always, check out Cincy Chic's site for the podcast presented by Screaming Bob, as well as the recipes for all of the dishes prepared by Chef Chris.

(I would post pictures, but I left my camera at Terry's. Oops.)

Welcome to the Summit Room at Midwest Culinary Institute

Finally, the great space MCI has as a working restaurant will actually become a working restaurant! The Summit Room at the Midwest Culinary Institute will open on Friday, and I'll be previewing it tomorrow night. Reservations are necessary, and may be made on OpenTable.com. A huge congratulations to Joe Moss, Director and Dan Cayse, Dean as well as the new chef, Matt Winterrowd and all of the students who will be learning from this live restaurant! I can't wait to report back.

Review: Daybreak

On Saturday, Steve, Mary, Abby, Tony (the newlyweds), Terry and I met up at Daybreak in Hyde Park before seeing Terry's show in Lebanon. We had originally planned to do breakfast or brunch at The Golden Lamb, but their hours are really weird: breakfast is from 8-10, dinner is from 12-7, and nothing between 10-12. As none of us wanted to get up that early on a Sunday morning to drive to Lebanon and eat breakfast, we compromised: Daybreak it was, and it's always a good choice.

Daybreak was opened a few years ago by an ex-employee of First Watch, and to some degree you can tell: Daybreak potatoes are suspiciously similar to that of First Watch, and there are some other menu similarities. However, there are some creative, decadent choices that you will never find at First Watch, most notably the french toast and pancakes.

This is one of those places where I always order the same thing: a half-order of Stuffed Apple French Toast and (sometimes) bacon. The french toast itself is somewhat standard, but the filling is exceptional: almond paste and apples. Two of my favorite flavors! It's really one of the best things on the menu.



Terry is the experimental one at Daybreak. Sometimes he gets an omelet (the Greek omelet is a favorite), but this time he got Banana Nut Pancakes. These were really rich with bananas, and light on the nuts-- it tasted sort of like banana bread. Very, very good.



There's a trick to going to Daybreak on a Sunday: before 10 or after 12. Between 10-12, when churches let out (or when we heathens wake up from our Saturday night debauchery), the place is packed and the wait is interminable. Just before 10, however, and our party of six waited a mere 10 minutes. Not bad.

Review: Dilly Deli

I love Mariemont. I also love Get In Mah Belly's post about Mariemont. It's very true: it's so white bread, Wonder is inspired by this little burg. It's also quaint and cute, and as much of a city girl as I am, I often miss living there merely for the beautiful surroundings and inherent walkability. That Mary Emory sure could design a great town; we'll just ignore its racist and anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic background.

One of my very favorite spots anywhere in Mariemont is the Dilly Deli. They have some of the best outside dining in the city: lots of tables and chairs, a fire in the fall, and big umbrellas in the spring and summer. Their menu is eclectic but simple: they do simple meals that are simply delicious. I usually end up with one of their sandwiches, served with their killer sweet potato fries and apple butter, or sometimes just do wine (they have an incredibly extensive wine selection, and a wine and gourmet store attached) and an appetizer: my favorite is their beer cheese and bread.

So Saturday, as I notice Terry responding to a blog that isn't mine (you must understand, my darling boyfriend isn't very Web 2.0, so this is a big deal), I also notice that it's one of my favorite local blogs and that she's reviewing one of my favorite restaurants. Sheepishly, Terry turned to me and said, "I wanted to go there today anyway..." so, we did!

The downfall of the Dilly Deli? Their service isn't organized. It was "sit where you want" inside, while it was "there's a waiting list" outside, which wasn't terribly clear, causing confusion. We ended up inside, where one harried waitress was serving the whole inside seating area. She did a good job, but boy, it seemed like she needed a break-- or at least some help. The waitresses also run the gourmet shop's register, so I think they were just short-staffed on one of the prettiest Saturdays we've had in a while. However, I've had similar experiences the numerous other times I've eaten there. Still, the food is good so I keep coming back.

I got my usual: the Mariemont Gobbler. French bread, turkey, gouda and cherry-cranberry compote. Yum, yum. The only thing it could use might be an herbed mayonnaise-- turkey itself can be dry, and the compote is not particularly moist, so a little added moisture might do some good. It comes with sweet potato fries, which, for not being in sweet potato season, are great.

Terry got the crab cake sandwich. He liked the seasoning, but the texture was overmixed for his tastes, as someone who spent four years near Chesapeake Bay and became spoiled by crab cakes there.

The Dilly Deli really is best for sandwiches and appetizers-- I've had their entrees and they're just not spectacular, and compared to their sandwiches, downright disappointing. Their desserts, however, are another story: my favorite bread pudding in town is their almond croissant bread pudding. We didn't have any today, but it is rich, filled with almonds and marzipan, and so incredibly good.

So some spring or fall evening, get a glass of wine (or beer; they also have an excellent selection on tap) and a sandwich and hang out among the who's who of Mariemont. It's actually quite romantic and a really fun time. Then, walk around the square and catch a movie at the Mariemont Theater, or drive up Wooster Pike a bit and take in a show at Mariemont Players. It's a great start (or end) to a fantastic evening.

Mini-Review: Tom's Pot Pies

My colleague Donald over at Cincinnati Blog reviewed Tom's Pot Pies a few months ago. It had floated in my mind ever since, but since I am so rarely downtown during the day, I'd never been able to try a pie. On Friday, however, I was stuck at home-- literally. The city decided to put a big hole in the street right outside my garage with no real notice, so I worked from home. I did, however, end up catching lunch with a friend at the food court at Tower Place (wow, has that mall changed, but darn if it doesn't have potential...).

On my way back from lunch, I spied Tom pulling out the chairs from lunch. I pulled out my iPod headphones and asked, "Can I have a card? I am so upset, I just ate lunch, but I've wanted to try your food and review it for a while!" I explained to him that Donald had reviewed it, and I wanted to, too. So he said, "Wait a second..." and presented me with a pie that had only been out of the oven for a half an hour.

Holy crap, was that walk back to my apartment torture. I had just eaten lunch, but I had to take a bite of of this pie. In fact, I took a bite before I took a picture.

This is simply the best damn pot pie I've ever had. The crust was thick and buttery and flaky. The sauce was perfect, with hints of cayenne and celery seed and big huge chunks of chicken. And all for $7? Wow. I ended up eating half, and accidentally left it out. Let's just say the cats liked it too-- I should have taken a picture of the aftermath.

I really wish Tom's was open for late nights-- apparently he used to go up and down Main Street selling his pies. I could totally go for this instead of the standard Asian or White Castles. If you're downtown during the day, check them out! They're located on Vine Street, past Universal Grille, and open between 11:30-2:30.

Cincy Chic Chic Chefs!

I got an IM from my friend Carla the other day:

"Hey, I have two tickets to the Cincy Chic Chic Chefs event. Want to go?"

"Food and drink?"

"Yup!"

"I'm there!"

Cincy Chic is a local website that focuses on women's issues: fashion, beauty, health, career, social-- all sorts of fun things. They host a ton of events-- "Ladies who Lunch", Ladies' Night, all sorts of things. You can sign up for their newsletter on their website, or you can find them on Facebook, too.

Anyway, this series is a cooking series: it is hosted by the McAlpin Building, which has gorgeous condos on 4th Street. They're just breathtaking-- gorgeous cabinetry, huge ceilings, bamboo floor. I could move in right now-- if I could afford it. Ah, well. Something to work towards, right? You start in the bar area with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres (last night's were bruschetta and fiery wontons, which were filled with a chorizo mixture; if you want the recipes, head to Cincy Chic's site). Then we gradually moved up to one of the model penthouses, where Chef Chris Holtz was waiting to share a recipe for an entree.

Chris is the executive chef for Countertops and Cabinetry By Design, which is owned by his dad (who made a great sous chef last night). The deal is, if you buy a kitchen's worth of cabinetry and countertops, you get Chris for an evening (cue clapping by the ladies) to cook a dinner party for you, or show you some cooking techniques. He's close to graduating from Midwest Culinary Institute, and is gaining a ton of experience doing events. It's a pairing that I'd never thought of, but seems like a really great idea. What better way to show off your product by showing someone actually using it? He also works with the chefs at Macy's for product demonstrations, so you might have seen him there.

He showed us how to make shrimp linguine (recipe to be found on Cincy Chic's website). There were a lot of great tips included, and they were mostly geared towards the beginning cook. Things like how to hold a knife (don't use your index finger!), how to salt water (think ocean water), and what kind of salt to use (kosher). He deviated from the recipe a bit, using a bit of grated parmesan, explaining that recipes were just guidelines; that you can change them however you want. He ended the evening with chocolate covered strawberries. Hey, I'll eat chocolate covered anything!

It was a lot of fun-- I hope to see things get a little more advanced with every lesson in the six-week series. Other upcoming themes are French and Italian cuisine, and each session is $15. It's a ton of fun, and a great way to connect with the girls and learn something at the same time.

If you didn't get a chance to attend this event, or will miss others in the future, check out the podcast, provided by Screaming Bob.

Review: Jalapenos

This one will be sort of short, because only one thing really matters in it:

Do you see that? You're looking at the best damn margarita in Cincinnati. Vudutu, this one's for you: real fresh lime juice. You can taste the tequila. A hint of orange. There's absolutely no bar mix involved. Good, good stuff, and had we had the opportunity (and didn't have to both drive home and work the next day), we would have eaten chips and salsa and guacamole and drank those margaritas until, as Terry says, "they came out of our ears".

The food itself was standard Mexican: the mole sauce on my enchiladas was good but not great, and Terry liked his chile relleno and his enchilada mole. It wasn't anything to sing about (and I still prefer La Mexicana) but it wasn't bad. The salsa was good and the chips warm, but I prefer the chips and salsa from Habanero. The nice thing about chips and salsa: the more margaritas you drink, the better they taste.

Jalapenos has two locations: one in Kenwood (near Half Price Books); that location has a club called Chocolate Tequila that focuses on desserts, which wasn't open the night we were there and another location in Colerain.

The margaritas will keep us coming back-- if we can grab a taxi.

Chicago overturns foie gras ban

In 2006, Chicago enacted a ban on foie gras because of cruelty to animals. Today, that ban was overturned. Thoughts on this?

Review: Habanero

I love Habanero. I spent my formative years-- both high school and college-- in the Clifton area, and Habanero hasn't been there the entire time, but it feels like it has. When that new kid on the block, Chipotle, moved into Clifton, I laughed. "Ha ha!" I said. "Who needs Chipotle when you can have Habanero?"

Not me. If Chipotle went out of business, I wouldn't cry. I'd just go to Habanero and pick up my favorite, a quesadilla with barbecue chicken, onions, cheese and corn, which is exactly what I got when Terry and I went together last Saturday. I am so predictable, but it's so good!

There are a few things I love about Habanero. First, the salsas. There are approximately a zillion kinds (okay, six, I think today is Hyperbole Day), my favorite is the pineapple-almond salsa and the original, which has just a bit of beer in it. Both are amazingly good, fresh, and I could eat buckets of it with their chips. The chips are flour tortilla, freshly fried and crispy. They're easily the best chips I've ever had.

Terry always orders something different. I say "always" as if it's happened a million times; it's really only been about three. This time, he got the Arroyo Hondo burrito, which is flank steak, rice, beans, lettuce, caramelized onions and goat cheese. I'm a sucker for anything with caramelized onions and goat cheese, but I didn't steal a bite-- I was far too obsessed with my quesadilla.

Other great selling points: beer on tap (usually 3 or 4, most from Great Lakes Brewing Co.), margaritas, mojitos, smoothies, and lots of vegetarian and even vegan options. If you're in a rush, you can even order online.

Best of Taste

2008 “Best of Taste” Awards

Appetizer
Best of Taste: Burbank’s Real Barbeque - Southern Smoked Chicken Tenders
Award of Excellence: Buffalo Southwest Express – Wings & Egg Rolls
Award of Merit: Bangkok Bistro – Crab Rangoon

Soup & Salad
Best of Taste: Indigo Casual Gourmet Café – Black & Blue Tuna Salad
Award of Excellence: Carrabba’s Italian Grill – Mama Mandola Sicilian Chicken Soup
Award of Merit: Market Street Grille – Potato Soup

Entrée
Best of Taste: Carrabba’s Italian Grill– Chicken Bryan
Award of Excellence: Taz Restaurant – Chicken Kabob Sandwich
Award of Merit: Pit to Plate BBQ – Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork

Seafood Entrée
Best of Taste: Shanghai Mama’s – Seafood Shanghai Noodles
Award of Excellence: Carrabba’s Italian Grill – Grilled Salmon
Award of Merit: La Petite France – Crabmeat Crepe

Vegetarian Entrée
Best of Taste: Arloi Dee – Vegetable Pad Thai
Award of Excellence: Balboa’s Philly Steaks & Pizza – Slice of Cheese Pizza
Award of Merit: Bella Luna – Grande Ravioli

Dessert
Best of Taste: Buca di Beppo – Tiramisu
Award of Excellence: Bella Luna – Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding
Award of Merit: La Petite France – Chocolate Berries & Fruit Crepe

Best Damn Dish: Chicken Bryan

I'm sorry. I really am, but non-Cincinnati based restaurants shouldn't be able to win "Best Damn Dish" at The Taste of Cincinnati. I know, I know, they say it's "Best of Taste"-- but I'd prefer La Rosa's or Skyline to win over Carrabba's. I know that logistically, it would be hard for a restaurant to do taste if it is fairly small (though Bella Luna and La Petite France seem to do well), but I'm thinking Jeff Ruby's could do a booth (potatoes Anna, anyone?), and Jean-Robert Group does The Flower Show every year. I don't mind if national chains are present, but they shouldn't be able to win awards.

Review: Via Vite

The theme for this week seems to be "Restaurants where we've had small meals at but really want to write up right." Or maybe we just wanted lots of OpenTable points. My motives are not always altruistic.

Terry and I have been to Via Vite once before-- we got their late night menu after the Over the Rhine Christmas concert in December. He had a pizza, I had a lobster roll. The pizza had olives and capers and was right up Terry's (and probably Vudutu's!) alley. The lobster roll had a light dressing and was served on good quality bread. I desperately wanted to get back, but it took us a while between travel, shows and weddings.

Friday night-- our first Friday night to ourselves in a good long while-- we decided to go to Via Vite. Via Vite is owned by the Pietosos, who also own Nicola's in Over the Rhine. This restaurant, with its gorgeous view of the square and beautiful interior-- with a wall of wine!-- is a bit downscale from the award-winning Nicola's. If you were to classify it on a "restaurant motivation scale", Nicola's would be an 8 ("I really want to impress someone but I'm not on the coasts") and Via Vite would be about a 4 or 5 ("I want a nice dinner out, I don't want to pay a ton for it, and I don't want to eat at a major chain").

Their cuisine is italian-- lots of pasta. We skipped an appetizer-- just weren't in the mood, as we'd been drinking at Mr. Pitiful's for a bit beforehand and figured our entrees wouldn't take too long to come out. And they didn't!

I got the tortellini in vodka sauce-- one of my favorites. It was full of tomatoes and cream and olive oil, and the tortellini were very good and plump, but not overfilled. I would definitely order this again.

Terry got the halibut special and a side of polenta. The polenta was great-- very rich with parmesan, good parmesan-- and probably my favorite part of the meal. The halibut was tender and perfectly cooked, and swimming in a lemon-cream sauce on top of spinach. Yum! I had a bite or two, and really liked it, but Terry wasn't nearly as impressed as I was.

For dessert, we split a chocolate panna cotta. I love the wiggly, giggly, gelatinous-ness of panna cotta, though I only had a couple of bites. It was chocolatey, but not too chocolatey. Just right.

It's a great place to take a date, people watch, or visit after an event downtown. I've heard that it is popular in the same way Nada is-- great space, great location, not as great foodwise as their "big brother" restaurants-- and see the point. But for pretty good, fairly traditional italian that will impress your date? Via Vite's a great bet.

Tagged by Jackie Danicki

What’s your favourite table?

Oh, goodness. This is hard. I love the hustle and bustle of Katz's in NYC; I love this one particular bistro around the corner from Notre Dame on rue St. Michel in Paris (I can't remember the name, but I'd know it if I saw it) because it was intimate and family-owned and I felt comfortable and at home. I love the closest thing to it, Greenup Cafe in Cincinnati. I love the Korean floor pillows at Riverside Korean.

What would you have for your last supper?

It would involve foie gras, cheese, steak, and buttercream. Not all together, but certainly in courses. And maybe some pad thai and bulgogi for kicks.

What’s your poison?

I had a spell there when I had foie gras four or five times in less than two weeks. So foie gras. On an every day basis? Compound butters. Jelly beans (Jelly Belly, thank you).

Name your three desert island ingredients.

I am going to assume that I can eat the fish and the fruit and whatever I find, so soy sauce, peanut oil and butter.

What would you put in Room 101?

Oh, goodness. It's so hard to think of something I despise. Refried beans. I really dislike them, particularly at Mexican restaurants that are "americanized" and dump them on everything. I refer to it as "Mexi-can't."

Which book gets you cooking?

Nearly anything Nigella Lawson. Her books are food porn, both because she's so hot and because she's everything I aspire to be in a food writer. Her recipes are pretty foolproof and tasty, too.

What’s your dream dinner party line-up?

Oh, man. My dear friends, and perhaps if we're picking famous folks--- Nigella, Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay (I want to see THAT fight), Barack Obama and Steve Jobs.

What was your childhood teatime treat?

Rye bread with margarine.

What was your most memorable meal?

Roasted chicken and potatoes that had been cooked in duck fat and goose fat and chicken fat down an alley in Paris. God. Just amazing.

What was your biggest food disaster?

Hmm. I almost had one at Cincy Supper Club with my half-frozen lamb leg, but that was averted. I can't think of any real food disasters. I've been lucky. Oh, wait. Bacon brittle. That was pretty bad.

What’s the worst meal you’ve ever had?

Lately? Arnold's, totally. Overall? I can't really think of any. Maybe lunch at Palacio Real (or whatever it's called) near my office. Refried beans on everything; what a nightmare. Morton's was also particularly bad.

Who’s your food hero/food villain?

The Frugal Gourmet. He taught me all of the foundations I still rely upon today, helped establish my tastes, and made me realize that there was life outside of 1950s-style "gourmet". I was very sad when I found out he'd died.

My food villain is Sandra Lee. Good food does not come from packets of preservatives and artificial flavorings. Sure, you can take shortcuts-- Rachael Ray (who annoys me) and Nigella both do it, but the food still relies on real flavors and ingredients. Sure, something might be store bought, but at least it doesn't involve Cool Whip and Hollandaise mix.

Nigella or Delia?

Nigella. Duh.

Vegetarians: genius or madness?

If it works for you, that's great. Me, I can't live without pork and beef and chicken and... I really don't get veganism, though. Honey? No honey? That's just criminal.

Fast food or fresh food?

I love fresh food, but occasionally I like fast food french fries. Take away my foodie card, I dare you.

Who would you most like to cook for?

I like to cook for Terry. He truly appreciates it and loves to help me. And I love it when he cooks for me, too. We have two very different styles, but we both cook out of love.

What would you cook to impress a date?

Tortellini with browned butter, sage, and parmesan. Some fantastic salad with homemade vinaigrette. Gelato. Nothing I have to slave over, and nothing too filling!

Make a wish.

That everyone could enjoy food as much as I do. That would mean that everyone would be able to buy food and enjoy food, and no one would go hungry. That sounds sort of simplistic and altruistic, but hunger-- particularly right now-- is such a huge problem, and shouldn't be.

Review: Sake Bomb

Terry has been doing a show, so it's been difficult to find time to spend together, much less time to go out and eat. When we realized that Sake Bomb was open late, we realized that we could easily do a late dinner there. This could quite possibly be part one of two installments of "Terry and Julie's Late Night Dinner Adventures".

First, I'd like to establish that I really like their raspberry martinis. They're darn good. They're also the cause of me totally forgetting the fact that we had dessert. In fact, I didn't remember we had dessert until I looked at the pictures. Terry tells me it was good. I'll take his word on it.

We started off with tempura: theirs is excellent, similar to Apsara's, but with much larger shrimp. They serve it with ponzu (I think that ponzu must be a new, trendy flavor. It's not new, per se, but it's definitely trendy) and it has sweet potatoes in the veggie mix. I love tempura sweet potatoes.

We got two rolls: I had dinner already, so I just ate a couple of pieces. Dinner was at Lebanon Theater Company, and since I was there alone and carrying flowers, I figured they'd already think I was a little weird so I didn't get around to taking pictures. Needless to say, if you have a chance to get to Lebanon for dinner theater, do. Anyway, back to the sushi: we got the Bearcat Roll, which involves eel sauce, spicy mayo, and tempura flakes and the crunch munch roll, which involves eel sauce, spicy mayo, and shrimp. Both were excellent, and incredibly filling. They were also spicier than I'm used to-- I tend to order "hotness" between 1-3. This was maybe a 5-7. Good thing I had those martinis!

And for dessert, tempura-battered matcha ice cream covered in chocolate and raspberry sauce and whipped cream. I vaguely remember eating some of the tempura. Terry assures me that it was good, a Japanese take on a Mexican-American treat (that isn't actually fried, but we don't really deal in technicalities here, do we?). He said he'd probably not order it again, as it wasn't spectacular. Maybe a different flavor of ice cream?

I really wish that there were more restaurants open for late-night meals: right now, besides diners like Camp Washington Chili or Asian restaurants like Shanghai Mama's and Sake Bomb, I can think of very few restaurants whose kitchens are open past midnight, or even 11 PM. Where do you go when you have the late-night munchies?

Review: Chalk

We've all heard mixed reviews about Chalk: spotty service, mediocre food. However, in the interest of my readers, I had to try it out myself. My mom wanted to see Hair at Falcon Theater, so since it was Mother's Day, we decided to try out Chalk, as it's fairly close to the theater.

We had what had to be the earliest reservations for dinner I'd had in ages-- 5:30. They weren't quite ready for us (and we were early), so we hung out in the bar drinking pomegranate fizzes, which are essentially an alcoholic Shirley Temple. They were good, but not terribly strong.

Our server was attentive and very knowledgeable. The chef had just changed menus to something a bit springier, and it featured a lot of citrus and ginger. Instead of the pork belly we'd seen everywhere in the colder months, he'd switched to pork cheeks. Monkfish, halibut cheeks, and filet were also featured on the menu.

We started out with the cheese and bread-- an assortment of cheese served with crostini and cranberry walnut bread. I really thought the cheeses would be more adventurous; instead, they were a bit pedestrian: white cheddar, port salut, mozzarella and asiago. It was served with a citrus mustard syrup-- bits of preserved orange and lemon rind in mustard, and a wine and berry reduction and some sugared ginger. Both were nice, and complimented the cheese well, but I would have liked to see more interesting cheese choices to match the interesting entrees.

As an entree, my mom got the scallops, which were paired with sunchoke and chorizo. She'd never had chorizo, and the waiter and I tried to describe it to her. I said it was "just spicy enough"-- not a wasabi-style "clear your sinuses" hot, but spicy and complex. She wasn't disappointed. She had never seen scallops this large-- and they were pretty darn big. My mom ate every bite-- I think she would have licked the plate had she had the chance.

I chose the pork cheeks, which were served with a citrus-ginger sauce on top of rolled oats. I'd never had oats served in a savory preparation, and though the texture was nice, I thought they were a bit bland and also a bit heavy for what was to be a spring menu. The citrus-ginger sauce, which had bits of preserved ginger, was a very nice, light compliment to the pork cheek. I'd never had pork cheek before, but knew that they were tender and relatively lean. I was not disappointed-- it was very tender, slightly meaty, and just a little sweet. They haven't replaced pork belly as my favorite part of the pig, but these are a nice spring alternative.

I had heard so many things about Summer Genetti's pastry that we had to get dessert. My mom got a mocha mousse covered in ganache. The people at the next table commented that it was a piece of art-- it was beautifully stacked with some homemade cookies and sugar swirls. According to the waiter, Chef Genetti makes everything from scratch-- the ice cream, the marshmallows, the mousse-- everything except for the sprinkles. I joked that she was slacking. I got the Flight of Cupcakes-- there were five: red velvet with cream cheese frosting, lemon with lemon frosting and preserved lavender, chocolate with peanut butter frosting, pistachio with pistachio frosting and yellow cake with bright pink frosting. The cake was okay-- maybe slightly on the dry side-- but the frosting was to die for. I ate three of them, and brought two home for Terry, who wasn't able to join us for dinner because he was busy acting.

Our meal was actually really good, though I walked in without terribly high expectations. I would go back, particularly because the menu will be changing every two weeks. I could do a less expensive meal quite easily: they have an extensive menu of sandwiches and sides, and I'd love to try their fries. And there are so many more desserts to try! Maybe I was there on a good night, or maybe the kinks have been worked out-- but I'd definitely recommend Chalk.

(And, as a bonus: My mom!)