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.