Review: Taz, Mason

My friend Dave IMd me the other night. "Have you tried Taz?" he asked. "Nope. Where is it?" "Mason," he replied. "And it's better than Mythos."

Mythos, as many of you know, is the gold standard when it comes to gyros for a lot of people in Cincinnati. Me, I've always been a loyal Sebastian's fan, but as I have had gyros elsewhere, I've found theirs to be lacking: watery tzatziki, not a lot of meat, clear across town. I don't think I've had Sebastian's once since I moved to OTR.

For additional motivation, Dave added, "And they're 7.50 with a drink and fries." Sold!

Steve (who seems to be my at-work blog companion these days) and I headed over to Taz for lunch today. It's on Mason-Montgomery Road, next to Pizza Tower and behind Frisch's in an old Fazoli's. The owners have redecorated the Fazoli's with tapestries, sheer curtains and pillows to make it feel like you're dining in the classic, storybook Sultan's palace. Not bad for Mason.

We each got the same thing-- Gyros Supreme with fries. The difference between the regular Gyros and the supreme is the addition of some feta. Honestly, there wasn't enough feta on it to taste, so next time I'll just go with regular Gyros.

This was the biggest Gyro I've ever seen. It was absolutely stuffed with meat, tomatoes, onions, and thick, creamy tzatziki-- not watery at all. We could have easily split the gyro and been more than full. The meat was well seasoned, particularly good for what is probably the standard gyro meat and the bread was slightly crispy, warm, and delicious. The tomatoes were pretty fresh-- sometimes they can be tasteless, but these were obviously in season. The fries were okay, the kind with the slightly crunchy coating. Not bad.

Their dinner menu is pretty impressive, too. I'd love to come here for a Lebanese/Greek feast (their menu borrows liberally from both cuisines). For $10, with tip, this place is a steal. Taz may have stolen my gyro heart.

News: Iron Horse Inn Reopened

Looks like my buddy Drew wrote about the Iron Horse Inn reopening. Awesome! I can't wait to try it out-- I've heard their wine dinners used to be fabulous. I hope they restart them!

(Real content later, I promise.)

Review: Trattoria Roma

Do you guys ever watch Kitchen Nightmares? I love that show. It would be fun to make a drinking game from it: every time Gordon drops the f-bomb, drink a tequila shot. I'd be down for the count by the first commercial break.

It's also helped me, in a small way, to become a critical diner. It's not that I subscribe to WWGRD? (What Would Gordon Ramsay Do?), but there are some things he's pointed out that I agree with-- one of which is, if available, use high quality ingredients.

Trattoria Roma has been a favorite of mine for years. I'd never ventured much past pasta with them-- I loved their tortellini alla vodka (which is off the menu but supposedly you can ask for it) and their tiramisu (which I liked until I had better tiramisu). Trattoria Roma feels really fancy when you're 18 and you've not spent a lot of time downtown. Now, it feels just a tiny bit dingy, but in a charming way. It is incredibly slow if there's nothing going on at the Aronoff, but when there is, you're greeted buy a maître d' who is straight out of the Godfather, slicked back hair, Italian accent and all. At times you wonder if someone is going to burst in with a tommy gun and take people out, St. Valentine's Day Massacre-style.

Our first problem with the high-quality ingredients? The "Mediterranean salad". It looked like a good idea-- mozzarella, olives, and red pepper with Balsamic vinaigrette. Its execution, however, wasn't. The black olives were the big ones that come in a can, and the red pepper wasn't freshly roasted, but also jarred. The mozzarella was tasteless, and it was all served atop iceberg lettuce. This is a "dump" salad-- dump a can of this and a can of that. Really not worth the $10. Gordon would send it back. He might even throw things around and make the chef cry.

Pasta? Come here for pasta. Terry got veal Parmigiana, which was good, if overly sauced with a very good, richly flavored tomato sauce. There's not a lot of subtlety here-- big flavors, big portions, moderate price tag. If you think about the owners targeting their clients, which is the theater crowd, it makes sense. The theater crowd is looking for something fast, fancy (but not too fancy) and familiar (but maybe slightly exotic). You can take your grandma here, and you can take a date here. It won't blow them away, but it's not chain Italian, either. Gordon would probably be OK with it, but comment on the oversaucing.


I got the tortellini in cream sauce with artichokes and peas. This is where we get into the "use quality ingredients". The peas and the artichokes were canned. Frozen would have been better-- and understandable-- but it didn't detract from the very nice cream sauce. Gordon would cut out the peas and artichokes and just call it tortellini Alfredo.


In all? This is a totally safe restaurant. It's not amazing, but would probably please someone with simple tastes. It fills the "downtown, traditional Italian" craving pretty well, and it is a good pre-theater choice. Is it Nicola's? No. It's not trying to be. It could be improved with fresh ingredients, but for a simple bowl of pasta, this is a good choice.

Recipe: Simple Salsa

Salsa
Originally uploaded by winemedinemeI seriously don't know why I buy salsa in a jar anymore. It's so darn easy to make it myself, particularly in tomato season (unfortunately, as I've heard from many of the farmers down at Findlay, tomato season has been cut short by the storms from last week). When it isn't tomato season, cherry tomatoes make a great substitute as they tend to be sweeter and more flavorful even "off-season". My friend Maria got this recipe from another friend, and I've made it several times in the few weeks since she shared the recipe with me and it's gotten rave reviews, including "the best salsa I've ever had!" Awesome.

Most of the recipes I post are up for interpretation; change it to your tastes. This is how I've been making it lately. I like a lot of onion and cilantro in mine.

1 container of cherry tomatoes, or 6 or so homegrown tomatoes. Heirlooms work well, and look so pretty, with all of their different colors!

1 red or white onion, chopped semi-coarsely

1-2 jalapenos, chopped finely. I use 1, some people like it super spicy. I am not one of those people.

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped. This is also to taste. I like a ton of cilantro, but some people say it tastes soapy. I think it tastes fresh.

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely. I love garlic, so I use 2.

Zest and juice of 1 lime.

Salt to taste

This is so easy and a great way to practice knife skills. You just chop everything up, throw it in a bowl, juice the lime over the top of it, zest the lime over the top of it and mix it up. Taste it-- it probably needs salt. Add some. Taste it again.

You could easily modify this recipe to be more or less spicy, more or less citrusy, add some peaches or pineapple or corn or beans or whatever. It tastes best if it's sat around for an hour or two. You can take a half cup or so of it and add it to some mashed avocado for guacamole. It's just tasty stuff-- you'll never go back to the jar.

Review: OK 218, Chinatown

It's taking me forever to get these New York posts out, but they're so fun I just can't not post them.

I knew that when we ended up in Chinatown, I wanted to find some Peking duck. I can't think of a single restaurant in Cincinnati that does an authentic Peking duck-- many do roasted duck prepared Peking-style, but I wanted the exceptionally crispy skin that you can only get with proper preparation. As we walked up Grand Street, I saw a place with ducks hanging in the window. That's probably not the best way to judge a restaurant in New York, but it was there, and Terry had never had Peking duck, so it was an easy judgment.



OK 218 is a restaurant that serves the community. We were definitely the only tourists there, and to be honest, our service wasn't fantastic. It consisted of me ordering and the waiter bringing us tea--unasked for but expensive-- and then efficiently (if not artfully) preparing the Peking duck in front of us. If you're looking for a fancy, white tablecloth Chinese experience, you will not get it here. But that really shouldn't matter: it's really good.



Peking duck is served in little packages of pancakes, skin, scallions, a bit of meat and Hoisin sauce. The crispy skin appears due to a multi-step process, including blowing the duck's skin away from the muscle with air, boiling the whole duck briefly, then covering the duck with maltose syrup in order to make it shiny and brown. And tasty. Did I mention tasty?



Peking duck for two with nothing but duck, pancakes, scallions and sauce was $14. A complete dinner, with side dishes, was $28. If you happen to walk down Grand and want some duck-- try it!

Tweets about Quacks

Terry and I visited Terry Lee at Outside on 12th street in Over the Rhine on Saturday. You see, both Terrys are from Alabama-- within an hour or two of each other-- and spent a good amount of time talking about stuff from home. By then end of an hour, Terry Lee got invited to my Thanksgiving dinner, we all got a hankering for barbecue, and Terry was sent home with some maple chips for his smoker.

After a big lunch at Pit to Plate, we drove up to Jungle Jim's and picked up a duck. They had frozen ducks, completely prepared, but since we wanted to smoke the duck tomorrow, we went with a non-frozen duck: a Confucian duck.

That means it was a whole duck, just defeathered and, you know, dead. I had the butcher chop off the head (sorry, I'm not too squeamish but the head is a little much) and we took it back to Terry's to become a yummy smoked duck, as he's the one with the smoker and I didn't want to find the cats playing with duck guts. You think they wouldn't.

I decided to tweet about the experience, because it was pretty darn amusing.

Smoking a duck today. Only wine to touch my lips will be the stuff the duck is marinated in. I SWEAR. about 2 hours ago from TweetDeck

I have to eviscerate a duck today. Maybe I will be drinking wine. about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck

Google "eviscerate duck" No. "prepare duck". No. "gut duck". Hot damn! about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck

I can't get my hand up this duck's ass. Dammit. 38 minutes ago from TweetDeck


Duck frozen inside. While up to my wrist in duck guts, BF hands me garbage can: "For the duck's guts or yours, whichever come up first." 29 minutes ago from web

Duck update: Bought duck because it was not frozen. LIARS. Finishing up gutting once upper duck anatomy is thawed. Drinking wine now. 13 minutes ago from TweetDeck

Back to the duck gutting. 01:41 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck


OK. Backbone removed, heart and lungs removed (lungs HARD. really.). Soaking in milk. Relax time! 02:06 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck


@YatPundit If you check back in my tweets, you'll see today's Duck Saga. Julie 1, Duck 0. 02:11 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck in reply to YatPundit

@ChasingPolly Jungle Jim's has nothing on duck guts. It was this or watch the Bengals lose. I choose duck guts. 03:10 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck in reply to ChasingPolly

Duck nearly finished with its milk bath. Big bowl of milk and blood. Call me Elizabeth Bathory. 03:10 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck

Duck now drying. Preparing rub. 03:22 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck

In my excitement to take out the backbone, I did it backwards. It was a very skilled de-breast-boning, because the breasts are intact. Whew 03:30 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck

Duck now on smoker with maple chips, apple juice and beer. Happy duck. 03:32 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck



naptime while smoking happens. 04:14 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck

Great. Water in the smoker is boiling, but temp gauge only says 200. We'll see how this works out. 06:19 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck

Hands still smell like duck blood, despite loads of washing. Or is it my guilty conscience making me imagine things? Out, damn spot! 06:52 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck

Duck is out of the smoker, about to go into the oven for a few minutes to crisp the skin. 07:03 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck



Currently eating duck. Slightly overdone (will tweak times next time) but OH so great. Worth the duck guts. 08:35 PM September 07, 2008 from TweetDeck



As you can see, yes, it was overdone and yes, it was boned incorrectly, but it was good all the same. The sauce is apple cider and granacha (the smoking liquid), reduced and thickened with a bit of flour. Terry deemed it a bit too sweet upon first tasting, but it went well with the duck. The maple in the smoker added a nice complexity that was subtle and not overwhelming.

I'll definitely be smoking duck again, but I think next time I'll leave the gutting to the professionals. I'm sure that my Twitter friends will appreciate it.

News: Palace Sous Chef Opens (Another) Restaurant

I know, I've been lacking content recently. To tide you over, I have a bit of gossip.

A little bird named Kate tweeted me this: Former Palace sous chef Chris Kritikos will open a location of his Clermont County restaurant in Covington. It will be a pizza place, named Gramma's Pizza (like his other location-- thanks, Emily!).

Seems like everyone at the Palace is going Italian, aren't they?

Post-Blackout Wrap Up

Day 57 / 365 - refrigerator
Originally uploaded by JasonRogers and used under Creative Commons licensing.

I got my power back on on Thursday, around 7:30. Today (Saturday) was the first day I bothered to clean out the fridge, when I realized I had too many containers of milk and only one of them was good. It's never good to play Russian roulette with dairy products. My refrigerator is now cleaner than it's been, oh, since I moved in (with a pleasant bleachy scent!) and I realize it looks like I'm a single guy in college. The contents of my freezer and refrigerator are as follows:

Freezer: empty. Nada. Nothing. I wish I could turn it off, because I have nothing to freeze. I lost mostly vegetables, chicken stock, and veal and chicken bones that I was planning to use to make into stock.

Refrigerator: soda (diet Mountain Dew Code Red, diet Coke, diet Sprite), beer (Corona), soy sauce, Power Ade Zero (Strawberry, Terry's).

I haven't really bothered to do any grocery shopping, aside from a little shopping at Findlay today. We have pork butt for smoking tomorrow after Oktoberfest, and bacon for BLT, but that's it. It's sparse in there!

Did you guys have problems with food storage during the blackout? What did you lose? Heck, do you still not have power? Let me know!

(Photo originally uploaded by JasonRogers and used under Creative Commons licensing.)

Mini-Review: Polo Grille

tomato bisque, Polo Grille
Originally uploaded by winemedineme

I can't call this a full review, because this meal had some special circumstances:

1. It was a vendor lunch. I tromped out into the wilds of Mason with a few coworkers because a vendor invited us. That may have affected the service.

2. It was a limited menu. We had the choice of a starter and an entree off of a custom menu. This also affects service and quality; both are generally better because there's less that can go wrong.

That said, Polo Grille is owned by the Tavern Restaurant Group, which also runs deSha's, Nicholson's, and the Pubs at... restaurants. It bills itself as the "only locally-owned restaurant built on the site of the Cincinnati Polo Club"-- which is correct, all the rest of the restaurants in that complex are chains. I like how they used the history of the site to build a concept for the restaurant. This is their least European feeling restaurant: not only is there Cincinnati Polo memorabilia among English polo memorabilia, but the menu is fairly eclectic, though it does have some standards like fish and chips. I very rarely go to this location, though I work in Mason, because I try to leave Mason as soon as possible.

We each had the choice of a starter-- soup (tomato bisque) and several salads (chopped, citrus and caesar). Entrees included pistachio cream penne, fish and chips, a club sandwich, a crabcake sandwich, or an entree-sized portion of salad.

I chose the tomato bisque and the citrus salad. The soup, pictured, was interesting-- it tasted like a thick vodka sauce, without the brightness that vodka provides. The goat cheese and salsa crostini was a nice touch, but the soup itself was incredibly rich. I suppose that since we're in tomato season, I expected something lighter, brighter and less heavy. I think I would love it in the winter.

The salad (not pictured, I try not to take pictures at vendor lunches) was very light-- perfect for this transitional summer-to-fall period, with a nice, orangey vinaigrette and plenty of fresh fruit and some crunchy peanut brittle.

The service was what impressed me-- the wait staff was very good, and generally the food all came out at about the same time; not synchronized, but no one waited very long after anyone else to eat. They were very accommodating with requests for vegetarian food, and when one person wasn't satisfied with their meal, both the waitress and the manager bent over backwards to make sure the patron was satisfied.

I would definitely recommend Polo Grille for a large-ish, fixed-menu lunch. I intend on trying it again for a full review-- if Nicholson's and deSha's are any indication, we should be in for a treat.

Update: Blackout '08

Both Terry and I are surviving the blackout. I don't have power (I swear, I am the ONE block downtown that has no power), but Terry does, so I stop by my place to check on the cats and have otherwise been spending a lot of time at Terry's. He's been out of school for the past two days, so we've both gotten a lot of reading done (and I bought a Wii and I think Terry is now addicted!).

I DO have power at work (praise the Internets) but I doubt I'll be posting for the next couple of days because I have no access in the evening. I'm sure you will all live without my food stories.

I'd post some food-saving tips (you know, for all of us whose refrigerators haven't been on since Sunday), but I think that's moot, as most freezers keep things frozen for 48 hours. I guess I'll be cleaning out the fridge later this week!

How are you all faring (those of you who have net access, anyway!)?

Sad news: Grammer's on fire in OTR

Breaking news from Joe Wessels-- Grammer's is on fire. Another report from the scene says that firefighters are dousing the place with water to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings.

Other reports are that there are buildings on fire near Findlay Market.

UPDATE: 5:05 Furniture store near Findlay, and parts of the north side of the market on fire. This is devastating.

Stay safe, folks.

Update: Monday, 10:03 AM Official word from the CFD is that fire started at 1801 Elm Street and burning debris hit other buildings, causing fires. 1801 Elm, according to Google, includes Gibb's Cheese Shop (though their retail outlet is in the main market building). I drove by Grammer's myself and can see that there's not a whole lot of roof left. Very sad.

My power is still out in OTR, and I hope everyone is safe and staying that way.

Review: Landen Smokehouse

I have a confession to make. Terry doesn't know. He's going to be so hurt.

I cheated on him today.

I ate barbecue without him.

My coworker Steve and I didn't know what we wanted for lunch. Mason is, at lunchtime, both a madhouse and chain central. As we walked towards the elevator, we ran into three other coworkers: Joel, Heather and John, who were heading to Landen Smokehouse. I got a little too excited-- new restaurant, barbecue, non chain, at work? Awesome!

After a harrowing car ride (John was leading but he swears it isn't his fault, we arrived at Landen Smokehouse. It is really hard to find-- there is a ton of construction going on on Montgomery road, and it's a mess. However, they set up a breadcrumb trail...


Driving through the parking lot, Steve mentioned that it looked a little iffy. I told him that the sign of good barbecue is iffy surroundings. It's not about the ambiance-- it's about the barbecue.

The interior is sparse, with a few tables and some chairs. They serve pulled pork, beef brisket, and sides: coleslaw, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, potato salad and kettle chips. I chose the coleslaw and baked beans.

All of that? $6.50 with a drink ($6.00 with water). I have enough for Terry to have an entire meal if he wants it.

If he forgives me.

If he lets me back into his life after such a blow to our relationship.

I digress. Let's get back to the food. No one got the brisket, which is sad-- I wanted to try it (after talking with someone else at work about how he prefers Texas barbecue). The pork is smoky, but not too smoky, well seasoned and tastes pretty good without sauce. The smoker is right behind the restaurant, and the back door was open (for air circulation) and we got whiffs of the smoke the entire time we were there. The pork is a little drier than Pit to Plate's, but very tender and delicious, and they gave me a bunch of end meat-- yum! I've been trying not to nibble on it all afternoon.

The baked beans were particularly good, very smoky, a little sweet, and thick. The coleslaw was not house made-- it tasted pretty familiar. In fact, that's the only complaint I have about the place: the coleslaw and the majority of the sauces were not house made. They have one "house" sauce, which is peppery and a little vinegary, with some sweet molasses and tomato, but the rest were store bought (but pretty good). I suppose that if they're focusing on the smoking-- which is of prime importance-- I can forgive them.



Make the trek to Landen. It's good stuff, inexpensive, and pretty good quality meat. Next time, I'll try the brisket (and I'll let you know what Terry thinks, and we can place it in our Cincinnati Barbecue List in its appropriate place).

Great Food Debates-- from The Accidental Hedonist

Coke or Pepsi? Diet Coke, please. Diet Pepsi gets strangely flat in minutes.

Thick crust or thin for your Pizza? Thin. Thick crust is too bready.

Rare or Well Done for you steak? Rare. Why bother eating shoe leather? My tastes have gotten progressively rarer as I've gotten older.

Hot Dogs or Hamburgers? Hamburger. With onions and mustard and ketchup.

Ketchup or Mustard on your hot dog? Both. I'm a heathen.

Cake or Pie? Cake. I used to be a pie girl, but now I appreciate the perfection of buttercream.

Brownies with a fine, glossy crust, or soft cake brownies? I like cake. I like brownies. They are not the same thing.

Nuts in the brownies? No, thank you.

Vanilla or Chocolate ice cream? Really good chocolate. It has to be worth the calories.

Blue cheese or ranch dressing with your Buffalo wings? Blue. Ranch is wrong.

Soup or Salad? Salads. I love salad in any form.

Butter on your Popcorn? Only real butter, please.

Pork or Beef barbecue? If I said anything other than pork, I would be shot.

Coffee or tea? Coffee. I prefer tea in winter, for some reason.

Beer from a can or a bottle? Bottle. Can? Ew.

Oreos or Hydrox? Oreos.

Little Debbie or Hostess? Little Debbie, oatmeal pies in particular.

Bacon or Sausage? Bacon.
Eggs Scrambled or Fried? Scrambled.

Midwest Culinary Winemaker's Dinner: September 17, 2008

I went to the first few Midwest Culinary Institute wine dinners when they started last fall and loved them-- I finally got the dates passed to me again. This is such a great opportunity: good prices, great food and wine from a local wine producer. Thanks to Michelle for passing me the info. I just emailed Carmen at Midwest Culinary and I should be getting these updates regularly. I highly encourage you to come (and no, they're not paying me-- I am unconnected to MCI except for a respect for what they do)!

The winemaker is Burnet Ridge, with Chip Emmerlich talking about his wines between courses (I always learn a lot from the wine discussion). The chef is the Summit Room's chef, Matt Winterrowd-- and the menu looks nice!

Time: 6:30 PM
Price: $70 per person, including gratuity, plus tax.
Make reservations via email Cparks002@cinci.rr.com or by calling her at 574-4789. Deadline for reservations is Sunday, September 14.

Welcoming: 2007 Russian River Vin Gris Pinot Noir served with Cold Smoked Salmon Cheesecake with beet crust and radish salad
First Course: 2007 Lake Erie Pinot Gris served with Shrimp, basmati rice, okra, tomato and coconut
Second Course: 2007 Patianna Organic Sauvignon Blanc served with Crab, mango, avocado and lime
Third Course: 2006 Melange a Trois Chardonnay served with monk fish, roasted parsnips, corn and chives
Fourth Course: 2005 North Coast Pinot Noir served with Chicken, herb d’provence, spinach, chantrelles and bread pudding
Fifth Course: 2004 Super Tuscan and 2005 Purple Trillium served with Seared Beef Tenderloin with rosemary, brussel sprouts and dauphinoise
Dessert: Jackson Triggs Vidal Icewine with Roasted Appe Tart, cardomon ice cream and chamomile golden raisins

Review: Pit to Plate

Well, hallelujah. Pit to Plate doesn't disappoint.

Terry and I, after spending a ton of time talking to Terry Lee over at Outside about barbecue, decided that we absolutely, positively, NEEDED to get barbecue right then. Terry Lee sent us off, telling us to report back on the "Q".

So we did. I love Saturdays.

Pit to Plate, on Hamilton Avenue in Mt. Healthy, is the epitome of kitsch. It is decorated, floor to ceiling, with pigs and symbols of Texas. Several of the booths are made to look like wagon wheels (avoid them, they're uncomfortable) and the whole thing seems like a really pork-oriented episode of Hee Haw. This isn't a bad thing. I could not capture its greatness with my Blackberry's camera, but trust me: it's a trip.

You seat yourself, and at your table there's a huge roll of paper towels and six sauces. Six! Most places have one or two. Your choices: Regular, Hot (not that hot), Mustard-based, North Carolina, Wrangler (which is the Regular, NC and Mustard mixed together) and Garlic (which is essentially hot wing sauce) . There are others, too-- you just have to ask.



My favorites were the Hot and the Mustard, though I tried a little bit of each. This is a good sign-- barbecue is enhanced by sauce, not defined by it, so picking and applying your own is a good thing.

They have a pretty extensive menu, but we chose pretty simply: pulled pork, and Terry got some ribs, too. He chose coleslaw and greens, and I got coleslaw and macaroni and cheese.



The pork was really great-- very moist, very flavorful on its own, and complimented well by the sauce. And there was a TON of it. My only complaint is that I got little outside meat-- the parts that are all crispy and delicious from the smoking process. Darnit. Terry loved it too, and has declared it the best barbecue he's had in Cincinnati. Nice.

The colesaw was fairly standard, studded with celery seeds and mayonnaise-based. The macaroni and cheese was very standard stovetop, and sort of watery and unimpressive. I wouldn't order it again. Terry also picked up some deviled eggs, which were fairly bland.



Terry really liked the greens, and I did too-- not too mushy, with a nice hint of smokiness from whatever pork product they boiled it with (smoked ham hocks, perhaps?). The ribs, however, were killer-- not too smoky, with a really nice rub and a crisp outside. The inside was still moist, and they were fall-off-the-bone tender.

You can wash this all down with sweet tea of the nearly-stand-your-spoon-up-in-it variety. I chose a diet Coke, as I am on a diet. Moderation is the key-- we took home two big boxes of food, which became our lunches the next day.

Our amended Barbecue Ranking

1. Pit to Plate
2. Goodies
3. Mr. Pig
4. City Barbecue
5. Burbank's
A distant 6. BBQ Revue

Non-Review: It's Just Crepes

I would really, really love to review It's Just Crepes. They just opened up on Court Street, and feature... crepes! Sounds like a great idea-- both sweet and savory. However, word on the street is that the owners don't believe that people actually come downtown on the weekends, much less live there, so their hours are only 8-4, Monday through Friday. I totally get that they are starting out and have to have limited hours, but look at how well Taste From Belgium is doing-- and Jean-Francois' business (though it's expanded) started on the weekends, exclusively, at Findlay.

I said this on Just Past Central: Court Street is sort of an odd location. I totally wish them all the best, but darn it, I'd like to be able to try them!

Has anyone trekked down to Court Street? What do you think?

ETA: Due to popular demand, It's Just Crepes has changed their hours to 7:30 AM-3:30 PM M-F and 9-1:30 on Saturdays, starting 9/20. Go check them out on 9/20 (I know I will!).

The Carnivore's 100

Inspired by The Omnivore's 100, and Tiger and Strawberries' The Vegetarian 100, I created my own Carnivore's 100.

Man, am I hungry now.

1. This list is in no particular order nor is it all encompassing. It is limited to land-based animals and are not always cuts of meat, but preparations. I like all kinds of foods, and have tried all kinds of foods, but there will probably be a heavy European and American bent. I'll be really interested to hear what your additions or subtractions should be. If you don't know what it is, google it. I haven't eaten all of these items myself (MOST of them. Except the ones involving blood.), but a consensus of random people (read: my coworkers and the Twitterverse) insisted on a few of them.
2. As before, cross out what you'd never eat, bold what you've had.
3. Comment here if you've posted it to your blog, I'd love to see other people's lists!

The Carnivore’s Hundred

1. American-style bacon
2. Canadian bacon
3. Prosciutto with melon
4. Pork belly, braised
5. Pork butt, smoked
6. Pork ribs, smoked
7. Roasted leg of lamb with mint jelly
8. Gyros
9. Duck confit
10. Roasted chicken
11. Standing rib roast, rare
12. Chitlins
13. Cracklins
14. Boudin or blood sausage
15. Haggis
16. Peking duck
17. Roasted turkey with traditional American accompaniments
18. Roasted goose with traditional English accompaniments
19. Foie gras
20. Pate campagne
21. Moo Shu pork
22. Shepherd’s pie
23. Steak and Kidney pie
24. Chicken and dumplings
25. Turducken
26. Venison sausage
27. Pork cheeks
28. Pickled pigs’ feet
29. Barbacoa
30. Birria
31. Chicken Marbella
32. Steak tartare
33. Beef Bourguignon
34. Potatoes roasted in duck fat
35. Spam
36. Tandoori chicken
37. Lamb vindaloo
38. Spaghetti Bolognese
39. Cuban sandwich
40. Croque Monsieur
41. Philadelphia cheesesteak
42. Chicken Satay
43. Shabu-shabu
44. Teppanaki
45. Schwarma
46. Meatloaf
47. Beef Wellington
48. Beef tenderloin with béarnaise
49. Taco salad
50. Chili con carne
51. Pastisto
52. Corned beef brisket
53. Bangers and mash
54. Guinea pig
55. Ropa vieja
56. Wurst (any)
57. Lamb tagine
58. Kosher hot dog (New York-style)
59. Jerk chicken
60. Chorizo
61. All-American hamburger
62. Pigeon/Squab
63. Steak frites
64. Pastrami
65. Salami
66. Sweetbreads
67. Wiener schnitzel
68. Goulash
69. Pho
70. Char siu bao
71. Kalua pig
72. Pork rinds
73. Scrapple or goetta
74. Jaegerspaetzle
75. Sauerbraten
76. Tongue sandwich
77. Baked ham
78. Frog legs
79. Alligator
80. Squirrel
81. Liver and onions
82. Bone marrow and marmalade
83. Cevapcici
84. Creamed beef on toast (shit on a shingle)
85. Red-eye gravy
86. Head cheese
87. Jambalaya
88. Steak Diane
89. Veal piccata
90. Bulgogi
91. Smoked chicken (barbecue)
92. Beer can chicken
93. Chicken teriyaki
94. Coronation chicken (curried chicken salad)
95. Ostrich
96. Rogan josh
97. Poutine
98. Chicken mole
99. Irish beef stew
100. Loose meat

News: Cincinnati EATS

The fall edition of Cincinnati EATS will be held at Daveed's on Tuesday, September 9. You can sign up online at cincinnatieats.com. Tickets are 37.30 apiece and benefit Cincinnati Cooks, a program of the Freestore/Foodbank that helps needy folks gain some skills that can help them find great jobs in the culinary industry.

I do, of course, have the menu-- it looks really interesting! I'm hoping to make it there on Tuesday, but if I don't, someone needs to report back. I'm sure it will be a really fun event (it was last time)!

FEATURING:
Vinho Verde Spanish White Wine ... glass $7 – Bottle $20
Borsao Spanish Red Wine ... $7 – Bottle $20
Daveed’s White Sangria ... $7 glass
Full wine list will be available

1st course
demi tasse of white gazpacho, green grape & spicy shrimp salad

2nd course
golden beet, local corn, fresh montrachet, baby arugula, tomato garni

3rd course (your choice)

vegetarian – wild mushroom risotto
Scottish Salmon over risotto
duck breast medium rare over risotto

4th course
banana cake, white chocolate mousse, fresh berry, crème anglaise

Looks great-- I'd be all over the duck breast and a glass of vinho verde. I assume that the risotto the salmon and duck are served over is wild mushroom-- smart move. Is it dinner time yet? I'm hungry!

News: Javier's open for happy hour!

Terry and I swam our way (it felt that humid, anyway) towards GABP for our second-last ball game last night, but we got a little sidetracked-- I saw that Javier's was open AND they had a happy hour!

We were the first guests the bartender, Jonathan, had had for Happy Hour. Ever. Since both Terry and I love margaritas, we ordered two of his best.

Damn.

They were good.

They were really balanced, and Jonathan doesn't believe in sour mix, so it was made with fresh orange and lime juice. This kicked the rear ends of Nada's 'ritas all over downtown. At $6 for their happy hour price and $8 for their regular price, it's a steal.

He has huge plans for the bar-- mojitos, margaritas and other beverages with fresh juices, both by the glass and by the pitcher. Me, I'm just excited about the lack of sour mix behind the bar. I hate that stuff. There's talk of half price appetizers as well-- not sure if that will include the really fascinating seafood selections-- but I'd definitely stop in. Right now, the only advertising they're doing for Happy Hour is a sign on a board outside the restaurant-- I'm serious. No PR, no advertising.

The menu looked pretty good too-- they're not quite open for full dinner yet. They have everything from ceviche to octopus tostadas, to barbacoa and chiles rellenos. The entree prices run from $18-25 (including a salad) and the appetizers from $3-11. Their soup is all in the $10-11 range-- which seems a bit high-- but the rest of the menu seems to be priced well. It's more than, say, La Mexicana and a lot less than Nada. I'll be really interested in trying it out. I've heard nothing but good things about Javier's food during the day-- I can't wait to try it for dinner.

Mini Review: Thai Cafe

Ah, Clifton. My favorite neighborhood in the city (that isn't downtown). Where else can you see an indie flick and then chow down on your favorite ethnic food? Within a few blocks, you can get pizza, Mediterranean, Indian (four or five times over), Thai, sushi-- you name it.

A couple of Champagne Tuesdays ago, a few of my friends and I went to Thai Cafe after discovering that Kaldi's kitchen now closes at 3 PM on weekdays-- no more Tuesday Burger Madness! Sad.

Monika and I both ordered Thai dishes, while Lauren and Amy both got sushi. I have never eaten sushi there-- I tend to go to sushi-focused restaurants for sushi-- But both Lauren and Amy were really happy with their choices, which ranged from dragon rolls to eel, spicy to sweet.








Monika got tofu in coconut and yellow curry-- not too spicy!



I got Pad Thai, level 1. I'm a wimp, I admit it. However, I do think that their pad thai is the best in the city-- it's a little sweet, but not too sweet, and definitely savory; the chicken (my choice) is never overdone (some restaurants turn it to either rubbery bits or mealy bits, neither of which is appetizing), nor is the egg. The noodles are well coated in sauce, but not overly greasy (typical) or too wet. The most important thing? It's consistent. It is good every single time, from the service to the food-- I have not had a bad meal there in all of the years I've been going there.

The prices are a little high compared to other fare directed at college kids in Clifton, but still very reasonable-- my bill was right around $12 with a drink-- a real steal, in my mind.

Preview: Oceanaire's First Wine Dinner

Michelle and I got an invite to take a sneak peek at Oceanaire's menu for their first wine dinner on Friday, September 12th. We got to sit down with Assistant Manager Andrew Cecil and, over a plate of some of their fabulous appetizers featured on the Happy Hour menu and most of the wines featured at the wine dinner.

First, Happy Hour: I love happy hour. Nothing makes me happier than happy hour, particularly ones that feature great food AND great drinks. Andrew, as part of his Assistant Manager duties, runs all of the beverage services-- from wine to liquor and beer-- and truly appreciates both wine and a well-mixed cocktail. He only offers top-shelf brands, and at happy hour, they are quite a value. The drink specials are $7, and run from the uber-traditional sidecar and mai tai, to Andrew's own signature drink, Blueberry Lemonade (which I fully intend to try very soon!). They make all of their juices fresh, on-site and never use sour mix. I adore a well-mixed, well thought out cocktail and the ones I've had there are stellar. You can get an 8 oz pour of wine for $7 (McWilliams Chardonnay or Cabernet) and an assortment of domestic beers are $3.


Their lounge menu is also pretty impressive-- everything from $1.50 oyster shooters, oyster sliders (a trend that amuses me to no end!), to crab cakes and calamari. The appetizers we (okay, I-- Michelle's not a seafood fan) sampled included fried calamari with chipotle-tamarind aioli, "drunken" shrimp with jalapeno dipping sauce and a jumbo crab cake.

The calamari was my favorite: soft, not rubbery, with just the right amount of crispy coating and large pieces, both of the bodies and the arms.

The "drunken" shrimp were spicy and well-flavored (and not alive, like the Chinese version traditionally is!) and the crab cake (voted best in Cincinnati by Cincinnati Magazine!) was mostly crab and absolutely luscious with the mustard-mayonnaise sauce (which needed more mustard!). And these appetizers range from $5-10-- you could easily get one to split and enjoy a drink before a show, or make a light meal out of a couple.

As for the wine dinner, I am really excited about the preparations that Chef Dumcum has prepared for the evening.

1st Course: Tatamougouche shooters, Iced Granny Smith Apple Mignonette

This is found on the lounge menu, and in this capacity serves as the amuse bouche. It is paired with Marques de Galida NV Brut, which I think will pair well with the tart apple-- as Michelle notes, it's very refreshing.

2nd Course: Mixed Field Greens, Pickled Watermelon, Sunflower Seed Brittle, Tarragon Chevre, Mango Vinaigrette

I've had the mixed green salad with chevre (previously with pistachio) and pickled watermelon before and loved it. I have high hopes for this salad as well. It is paired with Basa Blanco Rueda, which was fruity and summery and I'll be interested to see how it complements the dish.

3rd Course: Grilled Hawaiian Sea Bass, Sweet Corn Butter, Charred On-The-Vine tomatoes, Baby Bok Choy, Roasted Peach Beurre Blanc.

This is paired with Vegga Sindoa Chardonnay, which we did not get to taste, but we were told that it was not terribly oaky, and very approachable. I'm more interested in the contrasts in tastes and textures in this dish-- Hawaiian Sea Bass is a fish that is increasing in popularity (particularly with the ecological impact of Chilean Sea Bass-- consumers still like to see the words "sea bass" on the menu, even if the fish aren't related biologically or culinarily), plus you have the rich corn butter, sweet tomatoes, sweet-and-rich beurre blanc, salty bok choy-- this could be a lot of fun.

4th Course: Seared Earl Grey Brined Duck Breast, Butternut Squash Puree, Chocolate-Blackberry Demiglace, Mint Oil

I am so excited about this dish! You all know I love duck, but duck brined in floral Earl Grey could be really interesting. I'm also interested in how the chocolate-blackberry demiglace and mint oil will play out. Will it be too minty, too dessert-like? I can't wait to find out. It is paired with Tres Picos Garnacha, which was a very drinkable grenache which I intend to drink more of.

5th Course: Brie-Pear tart, lavender honey, fig compote

Andrew mentioned that Chef Dumcum really wanted to do a cheese course as well, but they settled on just a dessert course-- he still got his cheese in there. The Jorge Ordonez Especial Muscat was sweet but not syrupy-- I loved it (but I adore dessert wines) and look forward to that sweetness paired with the crispness of pear and creaminess of brie. Mmm.

You can read more about the wines at Michelle's blog-- though I will express my love for the Tres Picos Garnacha and the Jorge Ordoñez Especial Moscatel. You will be able to pick up these wines (though I'm not sure about the Moscatel) at a very reasonable price at the dinner, if you choose to go.

And for those of you who say, "Oh, Oceanaire! It's too expensive!" Seriously? Try it. Hop in for Happy Hour-- which is very reasonably priced-- or even split a couple of appetizers and some wine. The portions are HUGE, and it's a good value for the freshness of their fish and the preparation.

Before you think I'm working for Oceanaire (I'm not), I do have to thank them for letting me preview the wines and really put some advance thought into a meal. It's not often that I get to really think about how wines are paired with food, and how the contrasts of texture and flavor really work in harmony with the wine. It's really quite a learning experience and pretty important to me in my culinary adventures.

News: NuVo re-opens; where in the world is Chef Romy?

NuVo is having their grand reopening on September 9th in the old Mokka spot in Newport. The hours will be from M-TH 5-10 Fri-Sat 5-11. There will be an opening week special: your choice of 25% off total check or a prix fixe menu for $25. This new location will only seat 35 guests, so make reservations soon!

Big news: The Palace Restaurant has always been a training ground for chefs, a place where they can establish their culinary point of view, and chefs are never expected to stay for a long time, so it was no surprise when a couple of months ago, Chef Romy announced he was leaving-- he didn't mention, however, where he was going to go.

He is now Chef at Vito's in Fort Thomas. Yes-- you read that correctly. The place with the singing servers! He is staying in town, exploring his options and for now he is revamping Vito's menu to his liking.

Meanwhile, the hunt for a chef for the Palace nearing a close. Word is it's someone from a very popular restaurant in New York, but they can't break the news until this chef has actually accepted. Currently, two of Chef Romy's sous chefs are handling the kitchen (quite well, from what I've heard) as well as the Gourmet Sensations event in Mason next week.

Thanks to Michelle for the tip.

New York Breakfast-- the Bread Factory

New York Breakfast-- the Bread Factory
Originally uploaded by winemedineme

The bagel: a European invention perfected by New Yorkers. For me, there is nothing that says New York like an Everything bagel with cream cheese, coffee, and some newspapers. In college and grad school, a bagel at Bruegger's with some coffee and a newspaper made me feel so sophisticated-- there's just something about it.

The Bread Factory, which has three locations in Manhattan, is one of Terry's favorite spots. When he lived in NY during some summers, he would go to the Bread Factory and people watch. Naturally, he took me there to do the same thing. The bagels in New York-- and I've had them at places other than the Bread Factory, of course-- are so different from here. Marx bagels are good, but there's something about the water that makes bagels in New York far superior.

And yes, that's the New York Post. Such a guilty pleasure.