Cincy Chic: Sushi

Cincy Chic Chic Chefs is in its fourth week-- only two more before they change locations to EQ at The Party Source in Newport. Last night, Chef Chris (who just turned 21, and is now a certified culinarian, the first step for American Culinary Federation certification, congrats, Chris!) made sushi for us. He explained what sushi is (sushi is the rice, not the fish) and made several rolls, with the audience's help. It was definitely fun, and took the mystery out of sushi for many of the women (and a couple of men!) in the audience. You can find the recipes, podcast, and video on CincyChic, presented by Screaming Bob!

It was also Amy Storer's birthday-- we celebrated with chocolate cake and pink champagne. Later, a couple of us went out to Aoi-- I won't do a full review of Aoi because I only sampled a couple of rolls and because I didn't have my camera (though Amy was kind enough to snap a picture)-- but I can't wait to go back. The rolls we shared were awesome!
Another fun night with Cincy Chic-- when are you going to join us?

Review: Seny

I was going to come up with some ridiculous pun on Seny's name (pronounced "sehn") but at 4 PM on a Tuesday, it's pretty lost on me. I'll let my readers (or The Boyfriend) fill in on that one. It would be a "Seny" to skip this restaurant? That might work.

For some reason, Terry and I wanted tapas on Saturday night. I wanted something that could potentially be light, and we definitely wanted to try something new. We looked at Relish in Mason, but their menu looked less like tapas and more like entrees, so we decided on Seny.

Seny, in case you didn't know, is owned by the Maier family of Frisch's Big Boy fame. Don't worry-- no tartar sauce and fish sandwiches here. Their son, Travis, went to culinary school and apprenticed in Spain, then came back here and opened a restaurant. There has been a bit of controversy, mostly because Travis Maier isn't as experienced on paper as some of his chef-owner counterparts in the city, and I had heard some mixed reviews. Instead of heeding the gossip, we decided to dive in.

We were pleasantly surprised.

First, the service: it was laid back and knowledgable. The waiter was incredibly well-versed and enthusiastic-- and became moreso as I demonstrated that I was excited about the food as well. He explained that the dishes didn't come out in any particular order, so we ordered what we liked and noshed until we were full. He understood the nuances of the food. For example, the kitchen had forgotten rosemary oil for one of the dishes, he noticed, and brought some out so we'd have the full experience of the dish. The meal itself was a great deal-- five generous dishes, two drinks apiece, $65 + tip. One of Terry's beers, however, was taken off the tab-- it was half foam, being from a newly tapped keg. We were never rushed-- a good thing because it was far too fun to linger, people-watch, take in the scenery, and listen to the live Spanish guitar.

There were two menus: tapas modernas and tapas tradicionales, as well as a daily special list. We ordered mainly from the tapas tradicionales list, as well as the scallops from the tapas modernas.

Patatas bravas: smoldering hot potatoes, fried and covered with mayonnaise. What's not to like? The mayonnaise is heavy on the paprika, which made it smoky and lovely, and the potatoes were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Very filling.

White gazpacho: this was the most surprising yet delightful dish of the evening. A soup, made traditionally-- almonds, garlic, breadcrumbs, olive oil and grape puree. At the bottom? Sliced grapes. This was sweet, cool. refreshing, garlicky-- all at the same time. I've found a recipe for it and I'm going to have to make it this summer. I think I prefer it to the more well known tomato based gazpacho.

Charcuterie: Chorizo, Serrano ham, house-cured pork loin and salami with a couple of gherkins and two caper fruits. My favorite was the house-cured pork loin, which was salty and a little less rich than the chorizo and salami. Of course, if rich is what you're after, the salami is a great bet-- well marbled and certainly not the stuff of salami sandwiches in your Cincinnati childhood (maybe if you were a child in Europe!).

Scallops: This is about the time the lights went down, thus the change in photo quality. Boo! Perfectly cooked, paired with bacon, crimini mushrooms and watercress in a light saffron cream. The waiter came by to put on the rosemary oil, which complimented it nicely-- I love the combination of woody, smoky and sweet-- and encouraged us to soak up the cream with the bread on the table. Yum, yum, yum.

Una copade vino rojo: A deconstructed glass of Priorat's Miserere 1999. That's all it said on the menu. When the waiter came by, I asked, "Is that what I think it is?" and he explained that the flavors of the wine were deconstructed onto a plate into individual components. I was right: molecular gastronomy in Cincinnati, here we come! I was so, so excited about this, and the waiter was excited that I was excited. Terry was excited that I was excited. It was a table of excitement, let me tell you. It did not disappoint, and I managed to actually write down the individual components:

Concord grape gelee-- not your mama's grape jelly, this was slightly sweet and a little richer than the Welch's variety you're used to. You got a bite of it in just about every bite of the rest of the dish.

Blackberry spheres-- not heavy on the blackberry, indeed, a bit lighter and less jammy than I was expecting.

Grape caviar-- green grapes processed into a caviar-like "puree".

Vanilla pearls-- tiny beads of vanilla flavor

Vanilla char-- the dish was brought out with a bit of still-smoking vanilla bean, which is an amazing scent.

Chanterelle mushrooms-- for the woodsy quality in the wine. Very different.

paprika-- for a touch of spice

a tiny bit of edible rose

The entire plate was surrounded by a bit of rosewater foam and watercress. The entire dish was an experience, and after taking a bite, then taking a sip of the wine, each element the chef was highlighting was apparent. It was beautifully done, and one of the more impressive dishes I've seen in Cincinnati. Price? $11. Not bad, really.

In all? I am so impressed and excited by this place-- it's just what Cincinnati needs. A bit of comfortable food, a bit of cutting edge stuff, a lot of attitude, a lot of ego, but some family roots. I will definitely go back again-- and I look forward to doing so.

Events: HOMEARAMA Cooks for a Cause and Taste of NFL

I'm telling you, Cincinnati is just hopping with food-related events this week-- and most of them benefit charity as well.

First is HOMEARAMA Cooks for a Cause, part of 7 Days for SIDS. Visit HOMEARAMA (which is at Long Cove in Mason-- I drive past there every day and the homes are amazing, if opulent) on Wednesday, June 11 where you can sample creations from several local restaurants, including Andy’s Mediterranean Grill, Chalk Food and Wine, Brown Dog Café, Daveed’s at 934, HUGO Restaurant and Lounge, Jags Steak and Seafood, Jean-Robert at Pigall’s, Mesh, Polo Grille and Red Restaurant. All of the demonstrations occur in the kitchens of the homes between 6-9 PM. The demonstrations are included with your $12 admission (part of which benefits 7 Days for SIDS on Wednesday only), but you can pay an extra $20 for a VIP reception that includes food from Whole Foods from 9-10 PM at the clubhouse.

The next event is on Friday, June 13-- Taste of NFL. This one benefits the Freestore Foodbank and features 30+ chefs/restaurants and current and former Cincinnati Bengals. It's at Paul Brown Stadium from 6:30-9:30 PM, and admission is $100, which includes dinner by-the-bite, a silent auction, a live auction for dinners with players and coaches, and a raffle featuring 20 Nights Out-- 20 $100 gift certificates to various local restaurants. Whew! The list of chefs/restaurants and their featured dishes is breathtaking-- I'm looking forward to trying Cincinnati Cooks! maple chicken and ribs, mesh's braised pork belly and Seny's steak and potatoes. Registration is required. Tickets can be reserved by calling Jennifer at 482-7539 This one's a great night and a fantastic cause. See you there!

Review: Ollie's Trolley

I don't generally get political in this blog, but I have to admit that it is kind of cool that on Saturday afternoon, I had the perfect, post-partied-too-hard meal from a guy who may just have catered for the next President of the United States. After our night out with friends at Mr. Pitiful's, Hotel Plays, Tavern on the Hill, and back to my place for more socializing, the perfect meal had to be a burger. Terry requested Ollie's Trolley, so that's where we went.

Ollie's Trolley is hard to miss-- it's on Central Parkway in the West End, and it's a red trolley surrounded by pictures of local and national African-American leaders: Mayor Mallory, Martin Luther King Jr., Ken Lawson and Judge Leslie Isaiah Gaines. More prominently, on top of the trolley, are two huge photographs of the trolley's owner, Marvin Smith, with both Barack and Michelle Obama. He's been catering Obama fundraisers around town for some time. Besides catering, his food is take-out only, but there are chairs and tables outside if you can grab one.

I had no idea that Ollie's was a chain, did you? I did some Googling in preparation for this post, and found out that Ollie's (and the Ollieburger) is a super small but national chain. I mentioned to Terry that there was one in Washington, DC, and he thought it sounded familiar-- he'd walked by it many times! According to an article I found based in Louisville, in the 70s there were a zillion of them, but they never really took off. There are now some locations in Louisville, the one in Cincinnati, and and a couple in DC. Apparently the ones in Louisville stay close to their burger roots, and the one in DC apparently also serves Lebanese food. The Ollie's here serves soul food along with burgers-- ribs, rib tips, turkey tips, deep fried hams and turkeys, and a bevy of sides.

We decided that burgers were the best bet. We each got an Ollieburger and fries. The fries were crispy and seasoned with paprika, some cayenne and celery seed. The burgers had a similarly-flavored sauce (Roadfood mentions that they're based on the same spice mix), onions, Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato on a soft, cornmeal-dusted bun. The burgers were good-- juicy and messy-- and really inexpensive. It's hard to find a non-fast-food burger that is under $5, but this fits the bill. With fries for both of us, the bill was $13.

I can't wait to go back and try some of their barbecue (but I think I'll leave the deep fried ham to someone braver than I-- Terry?)!

The Boyfriend’s Excellent Summer Eating Adventure

(Ed. note: We have a guest blogger this summer, the ever-wonderful Boyfriend. )

A few weeks ago, Julie and I were having lunch at Habanero in Clifton when I was reminded of something I’ve believed for a long time: The country’s best cheap eats are often found close to college campuses.

This shouldn’t be surprising. College students love to eat out but don’t usually have much money. They don’t usually go for complex or sophisticated fare, but there will always be a market for feeding good food at bargain prices to college kids.

Though it has been more years since college than I’d like to admit, I well remember counting out change from my coin jar to finance a Saturday-night burger. Late-night pizza, the cost divvied up among five or six people in the dorm, was a staple back then, as I’m sure it continues to be for college kids today.

I attended a marginally accredited, mid-sized state university in a “college town” in the Deep South. And although, even in those days, there were plenty of fast-food chains available, my favorite places were the locally owned mom-and-pop joints. And what’s truly amazing is that most of them are still there. I still visit all of them from time to time, whenever I find myself in that part of the country. One place, I swear, serves the best wings and fried pickles I’ve ever eaten (and after a recent trip there, Julie concurs). Another serves an incredibly flavorful and juicy hamburger with a peppery ketchup-based sauce and the strongest onions I’ve ever eaten. Probably my favorite place had, among other things on an extensive menu, my all-time favorite char-grilled hamburger steak, smothered with a mountain of sautéed onions.

Or am I wrong? Is it possible that my long-ago favorites aren’t really all that great…that my taste buds are colored by nostalgia? It’s no matter, I suppose.

As a high school teacher, I have a fair amount of free time during the summer months, especially this summer. And as someone who feels a need always to be productive, I’ve decided to undertake a major summer-long project: Lunch.

And this is where I need your help.

What are your favorite food memories from college? I’d love to hear them. And, especially if you attended college within an hour’s drive or so from Cincinnati, I’d like to know what your favorite food haunts were. Give me the names of the restaurants, along with your favorite dishes at those places, and I hereby pledge to treat myself to lunch at least twice a week for the next two months, investigating and reviewing your recommendations.

(I didn’t say it was a noble or worthy project, just a major one.)

Please respond soon. I’m hungry.

Sunday Dinner: Damn, it's hot.

You read me correctly there. Damn, it's hot. It's 90+ in June, with 90+ humidity. It is going to be a long summer. Most Cincinnatians aren't used to this kind of heat until at least July. All I want to do is sit on top of the air conditioning vent and drink lemonade. Okay, I really want gin and tonic. Ugh!

We didn't feel like cooking indoors today, so Terry is firing up the charcoal grill and we both made a few things indoors-- all chilled and uncooked.

First, cucumber salad-- one of my favorites. Sometimes I do it with bacon grease (which is how my grandma did it), but I wanted something a little bit healthier. This is inspired by Nigella Lawson's recipe, with a few of my own touches.

Cucumber Salad

3-4 medium cucumbers, sliced quite thinly. I used a v-slicer (since Terry doesn't have a food processor); I often use a food processor or just a knife. Very thin, please! You can leave skin on or not; I chose to leave it on.

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar-- it's my favorite white vinegar; I only use the regular white stuff to clean. White balsamic would work, so would white wine vinegar or champagne citrus vinegar or whatever.

4 tsp white sugar

kosher salt to taste (about 2 tsp)

1/4 cup (or so) fresh dill, chopped finely. I used more-- more towards 1/2 cup.

Toss the very thinly sliced cucumbers into a bowl. Whisk together the vinegar, sugar, and salt and pour over cucumbers. Toss until coated. Sprinkle with fresh dill and toss some more. You can eat this right away, or, for optimum flavor, stick in the fridge for a bit. The salt will draw out a bit of water, but it'll taste better. Trust me.

We also made Roquamole, also from Nigella Express. This is awesome (and the reason I wanted something a little lower fat for the salad) and a little different and very rich. I imagine it could be stomachache inducing if misused. It also has approximately one million calories per bowl, so this is something to serve at a party-- in fact, I intend to serve it at my next one. I used Danish blue instead of the Roquefort, and it turned out just fine, thank you. I also threw in some lemon juice to keep the avocado from oxidizing and that helped brighten the flavor.

A third dish was some simple shrimp with Terry's homemade cocktail sauce. I don't know why anyone buys it in a jar--all it is is ketchup, horseradish, worcestershire, lemon and Tabasco. Mix it together to taste-- we both like it really horseradish-y.

A bit earlier in the day, I braved the sun (and my very hot fire escape) to plant some herbs. It's funny-- I lived in a house with a yard for four years and never really managed to garden. Now I live in an apartment in the middle of a cement jungle and want to grow herbs. Ah, well. I ran over to City Roots and picked up some containers, dirt and herbs. If you know me well, you'll know this is fairly significant, as Julie doesn't like to mess with dirt. Yuck. But I braved the dirt and now have a lovely herb garden planted. I still have some dirt left, so I think I'll swing over there tonight and pick up 2-3 more herb plants. Right now I have lemon thyme, mint, basil, chives, and rosemary as well as two patio tomato plants-- I think I'll grab some dill and some more basil. I love fresh basil.

(Tomatoes)

(Basil and rosemary, apparently making friends)

(Chives, mint and lemon thyme)

I hope to spend a bunch of time using these lovely herbs this summer.

Best (and worst) food at ballparks

Oooh, looks like Terry has half of his work done for him: The New York Times put out a scorecard for major league ballparks (it's accompanied by an interesting article about ballpark food)! I've only been to two ballparks-- GABP and Shea Stadium-- but I'd definitely agree with the writer's opinion on Skyline being one of the best things there. It's pretty good and pretty indicative of something traditionally Cincinnati. And the nachos ARE pretty bad, but I think the hot dogs are worse. I didn't have anything other than a hot dog at Shea Stadium, but darn was it good.

What's your favorite food at an American ballpark?

Recipe Dealbreakers

I read the article in the New York Times on recipes and what turns people off from making them. I read a few comments, posted my own, and got to thinking: Is there anything I won't try? I haven't had luck cooking tofu-- I can never get it to taste like anything other than paste-- but is that to say I wouldn't try a recipe if someone sent it to me and said "here, this is the mother of all tofu recipes"? Marla swears that she has some good tofu recipes, and I'll try them. Not really a "dealbreaker".

A lot of people said that their "dealbreaker" is odd ingredients-- you know, the spice you need a teaspoon of but rarely use again. Terry often says, "Man, I'd love to make that, but I don't have X," and usually I have it-- I love buying sauces and spices.

Another comment that came up on the Ruhlman blog is cook vs. some other designation-- that you have to be willing to do everything to be a cook, otherwise you're just faking it. This reminds me of the Foodie discussion we had here a couple of months ago.

So are you a cook? What makes a cook? Is there anything you refuse to touch in a recipe?

Cincy Chic: Ameri-French

Don't forget to stop by Cincy Chic's Chic Chef series-- this week is Ameri-French! I won't be able to attend tonight, but I can't wait until next week!

Review: The Summit Room at Midwest Culinary Institute

I was lucky enough to be invited by MCI's director, Joe Moss, to The Summit Room's preview evening on May 22. In an earlier post I gave you a bit of the background, so let's skip the niceties and get on to the food.

We were greeted with glasses of champagne and the first dish of the evening-- a spicy tuna tartare on top of buckwheat noodles. Awesome! What was great about it is they kept the beauty of the dish-- elaborate plating, beautiful presentation-- despite the fact that we were eating one-bite versions of each dish, and they were served on plastic plates. I was very impressed by this. The flavor of the tuna was nicely complimented by the spiciness of the dressing, which came from kochujung, a Korean garlic and pepper paste.

On the ice sculpture, they served some antipasto-- cheeses, meats, and a tapenade made of eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and the biggest capers I've ever seen.

We then moved on to the entrees-- we didn't discover the second courses until after we had entrees, so our experience was slightly out of order.

Duck breast with barley, wild mushrooms, red wine and orange was my first and was most impressive. The duck breast held up well in the hotel pans, and the barley and mushrooms were a nice, rich compliment lightened up by the citrus and red wine.

The risotto cake held up fairly well, too-- though I think I would prefer this as an appetizer than an entree. It is, however, a lovely vegetarian choice.

The next dish, the pork, was my absolute favorite. It involved roasted pork with chipotle and tomatillo sauce, pickled jicama, fried plantain and house-made chipotle ice cream. You get hot and sweet and creamy and cold and sour all in one bite. The chipotle ice cream was surprising-- creamy and sweet, then as it hit the back of your throat warm and spicy. Just awesome. I hope to go back just to get this dish.

As warm and rich as the pork was, the Arctic char was creamy and light-tasting. It was served with some jicama as well as mashed chickpeas, saffron cream and some fennel. Delicious.

We then discovered the second courses, which were tucked away and a little hidden. They were great and inventive-- I could make a meal out of the arugula and gnocchi, with goat cheese and favas. I don't like favas, generally, but I liked them cold and just barely cooked.



The other salad was a composed salad of asparagus, bread, raisin puree, pine nut puree, and parmesan. Beautifully presented, and quite delicious. I loved the sweet and rich raisin puree!

And now for the desserts. Oh, the desserts. We tried all three, of course. This is why I need to actually *go* to the gym:

The rich, dark brownie with banana, passion fruit puree, and malted ice cream on the side was my favorite. I never thought that banana and passion fruit would go together, but boy, did it.

We also had rhubarb tarts with fromage blanc, port, and mint. The rhubarb was cooked in port, and the tart filled with the fromage blanc and topped with the rhubarb. A great use for this seasonal vegetable (which I need to cook with, and soon).

The other item in that picture is lemon custard, topped with pistachio, honey and lavender on top of a crisp cookie. This reminded me of tart lemon curd, with a nice contrast of salty pistachio and sweet honey. Wonderful.

The Summit Room is an absolute gem. The prices are great-- $7-29-- and the flavors are pretty adventurous for Cincinnati. When Joe and I chatted after dinner, he told me about the lamb-- not featured at this tasting, but it involves encapsulated mango puree. Molecular gastronomy in Cincinnati-- who knew? If you want cutting edge food at a good price that helps future chefs shine, you need to try out The Summit Room.