What I Ate This Week

Hey everyone.  One last post before I’m out the door to sunny Miami and a week of cruising in warm weather.  I know, obnoxious.  But so be it.  I never pick the right week for vacations and it looks like I got one right!

Why is THIS the place that's empty on Fountain Square?

One last lunch with co-workers before time to go.  We wanted something quick, easy, and cheap on the Square downtown and a co-worker suggested Chipotle.  Not my favorite place, but at least they’re consistent.  Oh wait, everyone in Cincinnati who decided to finally come into work today (like me) is apparently eating at Chipotle.  The line was >20 people deep at the registers and they’re lucky if they’ve got 15 chairs.  So… next door to Rock Bottom Brewery.  I love the music they play, I kinda like the atmosphere, but the food… not so much.  No worries, because there’s a 20 minute wait at lunchtime.  For that food!  In desperation (no way we’d get in) we went to the best place on the square, Via Vite.

And there’s no line at all.  The place is nearly empty.  I mean, seriously… what’s going on here?  No more expensive than Rock Bottom and they serve REAL FOOD!  Anyway, I got over myself, had a seat and ordered my favorite appetizer on the menu, a cup of yellow pepper soup.  It’s AWESOME.

I mean, something that color HAS to be good, right?

It was, like always, awesome.  Bright flavored, drizzled with a little olive oil, some tiny croutons and some parmigiano cheese.  Texture, color, and flavor contrast.  Close your eyes, and… it just works.  This is exactly the kind of dish we need more of in places like Cincinnati.  I guess good restaurants might be doomed to failure if they don’t have big screen TV’s showing Sportscenter.  Ugh.

By the way, I had a sweet italian sausage and peperonata “panino” for lunch itself.  It was quite good, even though the menu called it a spicy sausage, it was of the sweet variety.  The peperonata made this thing heavenly, too.  Thanks, Via Vite!

just damn good

So that’s it.  Next time you hear from me, I’ll either be somewhere warmer on a cruise, or traveling for work to China, or most likely at home, back from both.  So… hang in there, I’ll have some good updates soon.  Stay warm!

Well, hello from snowy Cincinnati.  Second straight work-from-home today.  Chaos!  But a beautiful world outside my window:

(Second) snow day!

Hail to the chef...

The finished product (minus Chef's bite!)

Time for sleep...

Sunday arrives again, and with it sad news for Cincinnati diners– Jean-Robert at Pigall’s is closing next month.  I know fine dining has taken a hit with the economy being what it is.  But we’re talking about the only restaurant in Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana to hold a four-star rating for four consecutive years.  It’s the kind of place that should feed a metro area and stay productive.  I mean it’s the only one!  Something will open in its place, and probably quickly… but this is big-time sad news.  A moment of silence, please?

My Day With Ari– A Trip (or three) to Zingerman’s

Dreams Come True Here

So I’ve been lucky enough to spend several days for work this week in Ann Arbor, MI, the town where I spent four years getting schooled and inventing myself.  I marked the occasion, as I usually do, by making a visit to Zingerman’s.  Funny thing is, based on who I was with, and when, this time out it was THREE visits.  One breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner.  Consecutive days, granted.  But far be it from me to try to futilely convince you I’m not a Zingerman’s groupie.  So let’s just get to breakfast!

Don't you just want to dive in...?

Breakfast with Jayson was something that almost didn’t happen.  With wind chill, it was a few degrees below zero.  With you schedule, that made this 7:20am. But I persevered, and he was a sport.  The result was this lovely corned beef hash, with bread and a fried egg.  As with many things Zingerman’s, there’s more than meets the eye.  Their hash (which I’ve pictured close-up so you can see the texture) is really not full-on hash as the flavors are really quite distinct.  Zingerman’s is known for tremendous corned beef (as their reuben is legendary), so the meat plays more of a starring role than in most hashes.  This, expectedly, has positive and negative results.  On the plus side is an interesting flavor profile and some of tha amazing corned beef.  On the minus side, it tastes just a little bit less like breakfast.  The potatoes are fine, but they really don’t stand up strongly to the corned beef, making it more of a meat dish than a breakfast casserole.  The fried egg and toast help keep the balance together.  Overall, delicious, hearty, and warm… pretty much exactly what I needed on such a cold morning!  The “spicy ketchup” served alongside was both too sweet and unnecessary thanks to the flavors already on the plate!

Lunch happened the next day, with a couple of co-workers.  I wasn’t set on going there, but I included among a couple other of my choices, and that’s where they wanted to go.  (Sorry Red Hot Lovers, but I WILL be back next time!)  For lunch, I certainly was thinking reuben, but decided to change up the meat to Montreal smoked meat.  Those of you who have had a Montreal smoked meat sandwich know what I’m talking about, and everyone else is missing out!  It’s got the flavor of smoked meat, sure, but it’s nothing like the (also excellent) corned beef and pastrami reubens they serve.  This meat, by contrast, is a little less “sharp” and a little more well-rounded in flavor.  It allows some of the other flavors of the sandwich come through.  It was excellent.  On the side, I had a nice garlic potato salad, and I was happy with it until my co-workers’ sandwiches came with the macaroni and cheese they ordered.  I shook my head with disgust at myself, realizing what I had just forgotten and would therefore miss out on.  (More on this later.)

Dinner was on Friday night, and it was at Zingerman’s Roadhouse, the restaurant outside of town whose Doughnut Sunday inspired the creation of this site (see Week 1, below).  And I had revenge!

Take THAT, Jayson!

Had one of their amazing draft beers while waiting for a table.  Though it isn’t pictured (as it wasn’t very pretty), we had an appetizer called Heaven and Earth that was aptly titled– potatoes sauteed with apple brandy, alongside apples, onions, and bacon.  Yum.  For dinner, it was time to get over my regret with a dish simply called “Macaroni, Smoked Chicken, & Monterey Jack.”:

Real Monterey Jack handmade by the folks at Vella cheese (one of the last creameries in the country to make authentic Monterey Jack) with pit-smoked free-range chicken, freshly-cut corn, and fire-roasted New Mexico green chiles.

It was absolutely unbelievable.  I’ve had this before, but never this good.  REAL pasta.  REAL cheese and cream, alongside chicken that is cooked with purpose (and has texture) alongside some chiles that really pull up the flavor profile of the dish.  This is a top, top dish, folks.  Ari (the founder) even wrote about it:

http://www.zingermansroadhouse.com/2008/02/26/mac-cheese/

Now that’s dinner.  Thanks Ari for three great meals– breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  And sorry to everyone else who serves food in Ann Arbor.  Next time.

Pizza Two Ways:  Chicago Covered @ Pizza House and Brunch Pizza at The French Laundry (no, not that one)

As an aside, a word about two really nice pizzas I had this week in Michigan.

Worth all 30 minutes...

Lunch in Ann Arbor is a tricky proposition, because there aren’t an abundance of really good options.  We were over on campus, and we had just enough time to do one of my favorite stops– Pizza House.  For those who know it, you know it’s not exactly the most gourmet of places.  It looks like it now, but back when I was in school (oh how it hurts to use that phrase) there was no restaurant, just the house from which they delivered.  (Pedestrians beware.)  But even though the digs were improved, the pizza didn’t suffer.  Lunch was the classic Chicago Stuffed pizza, House Special style (Pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, onions, green pepper, and Italian sausage between two layers of dough, then covered with pizza sauce.  It takes 30 minutes.  And that’s a lot for the size of our lunch break, but it was worth it.  It was even worth the inevitable and terrible food coma that followed.  It all just comes together, with the cheese as the glue.  I’ll take NY pizza any day of the week, but as Chicago pizzas go, this is excellent (especially for being outside of Chicago!).

Forgive the name, as brunch lies inside...

One final pizza to speak of, and this one is brunch-related.  (How ‘ya like that, Liz?)  A trip to the French Laundry in Fenton, MI (a suburb of Flint, if you like).  I know… the name is unnecessary.  It’s a bit like calling your little housing development something like, “San Francisco.”  A little much.  And the first time I ate there, last year, I was put off enough by it that I almost didn’t let myself enjoy the experience.  Thank goodness I got over myself.  This is NOTHING like I’ve heard the real French Laundry to be, and it’s not pretentious… but I do think it’s the best food I’ve had in Flint!

A lot of crust, but the magic's inside...

So this morning, we went for brunch.  I’m not much of a brunch person, but the restaurant’s good, and that’s what we were there for.  So I did the best I could… I ordered a breakfast pizza– a little savory, a little breakfast-y, it’s a pizza crust stuffed with scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, onions, green peppers, etc.  It was quite nice!  I’ll admit the dough was a bit much, so I just kind of ate my way around the insides.  I enjoy a good egg scramble, and I like bread products, so what’s not to like!  What would I order different?  I’d get one of their scramble-like creations, but avoid the pizza so I can spend my carb allowance on their breakfast potatoes, of which I snuck a few from the plate next to me.  They are super-nice– quartered redskins pan-fried dark brown and very nicely seasoned.  Awesome.

That leads me to my Question of the Week:  What’s Cincinnati’s best brunch?  I’m getting advice on this from friends, but I’m not sure yet.  I’m looking for someplace that does a nice, genuine brunch.  Let me know– as I proved with my NY pizza adventure, I will travel for your suggestions!

Have a good week, everyone…

Gee... I think they should invest a little more in marketing.

Myself and three dining buddies (Jayson, Amy, and Kyle) decided to ditch the sound-bite nature of watching the inauguration at work and try out a new place in town, J. Gumbo’s.  I read about it from the awesome folks that run a discussion board at Wheretoeat.  Anyway, J. Gumbo’s is hidden (at least to me) around behind the U.S. Bank branch in the U.S. Bank building at 5th and Walnut.  It takes some looking– at first I thought they might have replaced Roly Poly, but SOMEHOW that place is still in business.  (Anyone know why?)  Keep walking and you’ll find it.  It’s the restaurant without a sign.  It might be what they call anti-marketing, but more than likely it’s just the sign of a very new place.

Sweet... spicy... and tapenade-y...

Folks, reset your expectations– this is a lunch-only Cajun-inspired chain quick-service restaurant.  OK?  But get this… the food was actually pretty good.  I ordered the Voodoo Chicken, a stew-ish chicken dish served over a rice pilaf.  It had a really nice kick to it, and a good blend of cajun spices, very appropriate for mainstream Cajun food.  A full cut above food-court Cajun and much closer to dinner-restaurant style.  The muffaletta (“lotta muffa,” anyone?) was also OK, although it was the tapenade that carried the day.  The bread was without much flavor or texture, and even the coldcuts were a little bland, but the tapenade came through (after the cashier warned us that it would taste “a little bit like olives”).

All in all, I’d definitely recommend it for those working downtown looking for a new lunch option, as I think it’s a nice break from most of the other places that are available down here.  And, at the risk of blaspheming, I’d go so far as to say I enjoyed the food as much (or maybe even a little more) than Knotty Pine on the Bayou, the much-ballyhooed (and in my opinion, VASTLY overated) Cajun place down on the Licking River in KY.  Of course, if you want my Cincy-Cajun pick, I’d say you need to head on down to Dee Felice Cafe in Covington.  But that’s another post for another day.

Well, that’s it.  Tomorrow I’m headed to Michigan for some work and a long weekend.  We’ll see what kind of culinary mischief I can get into up there.  Until then, here’s to new beginnings, everyone!

Ah, the Monday night at the end of a 3-day weekend.  It’s a VERY good thing.

After a most amazing experience this week at Ramundo’s (from which I subsequently ordered dinner on Friday night, to learn that it’s even good brought home to eat!), I kind of went into hibernation this weekend, cooking and eating at home.  It’s a good thing, although I understand it’s not the most exciting thing!

In any case, I feel compelled to keep contributing to this little fledgling food site I call my own, and I’ve been feeling nostalgic this afternoon.  As a result, I’m debuting a new feature– What I Ate Last Year– in which (wait for it) I give myself a fond little look back at an exceptional dish or meal that was SO good, I remember it months later.  Tonight, I start with what might have been my #1 favorite meal of 2008.  Maybe.

What I Ate Last Year, Part 1:  Taco Night in Oaxaca (El Meson Oaxaqueno, Tacos Sierra)

The most intoxicating sight in Oaxaca, the grill at El Meson Oaxaqueno

My solo vacation in Oaxaca was EVERYTHING I wanted it to be– relaxing, warm, beautiful, and full of history, culture, and food.  To the latter, I had some of the best meals of my life that week in August ’08.  One night I dubbed “taco night,” where I tried two locally-beloved taquerias/fondas.  The first (and ultimately my favorite) was El Meson, right off of the zocalo (main square).  The smell brough me in, and the sight of the grill sat me down.  I had pretty much eaten non-stop that day (what a surprise) but I found room in my stomach for five little piles of heaven.  I ordered 2 tacos al carbon and 3 clay-pot chicken tacos and a soda, and sat back and waited.  And salivated…

Al Carbon (left), Chicken (right), The Best Sauce In The World (far right)

…and it all paid off.  Simply excellent.  The tacos were prepared with a quickness as the meat was seared, cooked, and laid aside the super-fresh condiments, served moments later.  I loved it all, but those tacos al carbon made my month.  The meat was not too tender, not too chewy, and the meat with the bright flavor of the cilantro and tomatillo salsa were… well, perfect.  The chicken was nice and compared to virtually anything else I’ve had would have been a complete highlight, just second place on that plate!  Oh, and each taco was something like 40 cents.  Take that, Taco Bell.  But I wasn’t done, because there was one other place to try…

Warm, tender, caliente.

Tacos Sierra is a bit more “known” in Oaxaca than El Meson, at least by what pass for tourists here.  It’s a little dive with a counter, a TV, and a handful of tables.  They’ve only got one food item on the menu– pork tacos.  So I ordered a few, and they were served with a HOT red-chile sauce.  I wasn’t hungry when I walked in, but I found a little hunger when they brought out the plate of these 5 beauties.  Nice flavor on the pork, but it’s all about the sauce which added a really fiery heat.  I liked the contrast and left me with a nice afterburn which thankfully wasn’t flavorless (like so many hot sauces).  But all told, I think I preferred El Meson’s because of the more delicate balance of flavors (without being less bold).  Either way, it was a tremendous night.  Legendary.  And not just because I ended up a few blocks away, drinking and dancing to dance music at a local club.  That was just a bonus.  Some week when the dining’s slow for me up here, I might bring forward another amazing experience from down there, but for now… I’m just going to spend a few minutes meditating on that excellent culinary evening!

Something I Made: Pretty Pathetic Panna Cotta