What I Ate This Week

Hey gang–

Another weekend comes to a close, and it’s damn warm outside.  Pretty amazing!  I’ve been waiting to be “too warm”– on this night, it’s novel and nice.  But it won’t be for long.   I just want ONE month this year when I don’t have to use BOTH my furnace and my A/C!

Hasn’t been the most exciting food week, I’ll grant you.  So I decided to make it interesting upon my return from Michigan today, and I made a stop at a place I’ve been hearing rumblings about for a month or so:  El Havanero, the new Cuban joint on Route 4 in Fairfield.

As locals know, Fairfield is fairly bursting at the seams with Latin populations, making Fairfield one hot dining spot for true, authentic food.  (I reviewed Rt. 4′s best Mexican food– that I’ve had– from Taqueria Mercado on a previous posting.)  There are still a bunch of places up there I haven’t been (including the new place opening in the former Casa Tequila spot), but this one is high on my list.  Cuban is one of my absolute favorite cuisines and has been for years.  Despite losing a lot from my marriage & divorce, a taste for Cuban food is something I’ve gained possession of over the last 10 years!

El Havanero is pretty non-descript from the outside; it could be any Rt. 4 Latin eatery:

But what lies inside?

There weren’t many cars in the lot, even though the restaurant commands a clear view of Dixie Highway… of course, on such a beautiful Sunday afternoon folks should be outside playing!  Upon walking in, I saw a sight that didn’t terribly surprise me but was refreshing all the same– a spotless interior, with a Cuban (I presume) family playing.  A true family operation, with kids running across the surprisingly large dance floor:

More than just food...

One thing I can say without reservation is that the service is AWESOME.  The owner/manager was as friendly as could be, and I’ll admit he looked a bit surprised to see a person as white as myself order as convincingly as I did.  But he was great.

The menu itself is fairly typical Cuban fare, and therefore pretty atypical for around here!  There is a small section of appetizers (from which I ordered the croquetas de jamon), a small section of sandwiches (from which I ordered the El Havanero special, a “Cuban sandwich”), a few sections of mains (including a section on pork), and a selection of beverages.  Though they appear ready for it, there is at this time no open bar– there were a few American beers on tap and more by the bottle, and for now that will have to do.  In addition to the sandwich and the croquetas, I asked for an order of yuca frita (fried yuca) and a batido de mamey (a sort of milkshake).

While I waited, I spoke with the manager who was very gracious and excited about the restaurant.  They’ve only been serving food a few days, and they are setting their sights completely on this coming weekend’s Grand Opening.  They plan to have everything fully up and running by then, including entertainment– on the 1st, they’ll have a band from Miami playing and a Cincinnati band following them up on the 2nd.  From the size of the dance floor, I can tell that they’ll be ready to party!  I asked about why there aren’t more Cuban restaurants in Cincinnati (or Fairfield, for that matter) and it seems the market just hasn’t been ready yet.  Are we ready now?  Lord knows I hope so!

I thanked the man for my food and started the drive home.  On the way, I enjoyed that batido– it was simply excellent!  Mamey usually has a slightly bitter flavor to me but this shake was lovely and well-rounded.  (I wonder if perhaps they eased up on the mamey content slightly– most Cubans I know like their shakes VERY tart.)  It lasted most of the drive home, by which time I was ready to dig in!  First up, the sandwich:

First things first– this sucker is HUGE!  Easily a foot long and four or so inches wide, it’s a behemoth– it’s $9 price tag seems more manageable when you know it’s two meals big.  My second impression was of the bread, and it was very favorable.  It had the appearance, the texture, and the taste of a good pressed Cuban bread– even if it were a French loaf, it was properly prepared and that means a lot! 

The sandwich tasted really great, although as most Cuban food lovers can spot in the photo, it isn’t exactly the Cuban Sandwich I thought I was promised.  (I’ll admit I need to go back and read the menu more closely, but I believe this was the Cuban I ordered.)  It includes some of the staples– ham, swiss cheese, mustard, and pickle.  But this thing is a Cuban kid’s dream, also including roast pork, tomato slices, and what I believe were little fried potato matchsticks.  Most interesting.  After removing the offensive tomato, it was a very pleasant meal.  This particular arrangement gave me a bonus– a chance to taste El Havanero’s roast pork.  The best news of the whole meal is that the roast pork was EXCELLENT.  I know what I’ll be ordering when I come back to sit down for dinner!  So it was “a” good Cuban sandwich… but it wasn’t THE Cuban Sandwich.

What about the rest of the meal?

As usual, and is in most of my life's meals... the pork is the star.

Well, overall the meal was just fine.  As you can tell right away, my yuca was not frita.  It was served boiled, which is the most common Cuban preparation.  I’m “whole hog” (ha ha) on Cuban food, but the only thing I’ve had I just can’t wrap my head around, it’s boiled yuca.  I get that it’s supposed to be like a stringy mashed potatoes, but it just doesn’t work for me.  So that I didn’t like the yuca is no surprise– I didn’t order it and I didn’t want it! But for those of you that do love it, know that this looked to be a better-than-average version– I smelled the garlic all the way home and after opening the container it was nearly overwhelming (in a good way).  The croquetas (rolled balls of meat and cheese, breaded and hard deep-fried) were solid.  While not the best I’ve ever had (the insides were a touch bland), it was fried to perfection.  A nice outer crunch complemented the soft stuffing. 

So, my overall verdict is a positive one, especially for a restaurant that hasn’t had its Grand Opening yet!  If you go, and I think you should, find something with the roast pork (won’t be hard to locate on the menu!).  When I go back, I’ll probably do a lechon asado with some maduros (plantains) and black beans– a more typical sit-down Cuban dinner.  While not perfect, the experience I had was good and I suspect that with a change to my ordering strategy it could become a favorite.  Go check it out and support those independent restaurants!

Flint’s Local Fast Food Paradise:  Halo Burger

On my way through Michigan on Friday, I had a hankerin’ for some good local food but didn’t have any time to spare.  The answer was Halo Burger.  Now I know what some of you not from that area may think this sounds very ordinary, but I assure you it is not.  While many localities have quick-service grills, and while ANY city has fast food, how many have a truly local fast food chain?  These days, very, very few.  But in Flint, Halo Burger is thriving!

All cows go to heaven... at Halo Burger!

The concept is simple– it’s fast food.  But to residents of the Flint area, it’s legendary.  To me, it was just darn, darn good.  The menu wasn’t special, and the restaurant itself looked just like a McDonald’s or a Burger King… but it wasn’t!  The difference?  REAL INGREDIENTS!

The Halo Burger

The burger is awesome.  Big and beefy… the kind of fast food burger that reminds you that most fast food places don’t use anyhting that tastes like meat!  The onion was super-fresh, the bun actually held up to this monster, and yes they don’t shy away from the mayo.  It’s like a Whopper, but… somehow… improved!  All the other extras are nice too, but get the burger.  If you ever find yourself up that way, well, you might be lost.  But before you get directions out of town, do yourself a favor and get a burger.

Post-Script:  Red Part Deux

One final note.  I made it back to Red on Monday with Kyle– I visited Red a couple months ago and declared it unilaterally (OK, not unilaterally, technically):  “Red has one of the best two burgers in Cincinnati!”  So I was excited to give it another go and see if I still agreed or if it was the vodka talking.  But lo and behold, the menu was completely changed (reduced) and the burger was not on it!  We spoke with the server who told us that the restaurant is in a transition state as they prepare for Jeff Ruby’s (former!) assistant Jimmy Gibson to come in to take over.  This is something I expect I’ll be talking about soon enough– STEAKHOUSE WARS!– but for now the smaller menu was a disappointment.  The burger was taken off of the menu, she said, because the quality of the beef in it was SO good, they lost a lot of money if not enough people ordered it– they refused to keep the meat ground overnight, so they tossed what wasn’t ordered.  This went a long way toward reassuring me of the good experience I had last time, but left me at a loss for casual food at the restaurant.  So, we went for the free steak sliders (now THAT’s a good happy hour treat), an order of mac ‘n cheese, and some of their excellent truffle fries.  Aside from the fries, I wasn’t that impressed– the steak was overcooked (and as slides, it seems that would be easy to overcook) and the mac and cheese would have been fine if I hadn’t JUST been to Zingerman’s.  But still a good deal and gave me a reason to come back when Jimmy was at the helm.

(A pretty funny moment occurred when Red was on the news while we were there– the staff were watching themselves on the big screen as the news reported on the change of ownership!)  Overall a good experience, and they are definitely assured of a return trip!

That’s it for this week.  Next weekend is MEMPHIS– my two month BBQ fast is coming to its end and not a moment too soon!  We’ve planned our Memphis meals, as we do every year:  Rendezvous, Cozy Corner, Central BBQ, Corky’s, and Huey’s (not BBQ, but legendary).  We leave Thursday night.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to update on Sunday as I’ll still be eating, but I’ll get to it when I can!!  Have a great week!

What a week.  It’s hard NOT to be happy when it’s 75 and sunny, eh?  Yes, life has been good here in mid-spring.  In addition to being a fun and product week, it started with one of the absolute best meals of the year.

A Vermilion Experience (Chicago)

I forgot to take this picture, so I took it from the internet instead

As I mentioned last week, I was in Chicago for business this week, and although it was a super-busy trip I committed to make time for one great meal.  Being Easter (!) limited my choices, but thank goodness one of my all-time favorites was open.  Vermilion is a restaurant in the River North neighborhood (one of my favorite “hoods”) that I “discovered” a few years ago.  Its specialty is in upscale Indian-Latin fusion.  It is GOOD.

I won’t wax philosophical much about it, but even though it might sound unusual at first, this combination actually makes a lot of sense.  Both of these cuisines are about an earthy sense of place, and are parts of the world where “spice” means more than “spicy.”  This excludes American versions of both kinds of cuisine, of course, since we tend to think Indian and Latin food must be spicy.  Indians and Latino/as do tend to disagree!

Anyway, myself and my two dining companions spent some time agonizing over the menu… it’s the kind of place where we wanted to try pretty much everything.  So after coming up with an almost endless list of little dishes to order, we asked about a tasting menu.  We were in luck– they were offering three:  Seared/Meats, The Deep/Seafood, and Green/Vegetarian.  So, of course, I went in for the Meats menu and absolutely was not disappointed.  The menu was five courses, 10 items total (plus a couple more we added).  And it was all good!

Course #1:  Lamb and Beef

...and we're off!

The first course was a perfect appetizer.  On the left is a mysore lamb chop with some minty pickled onions– it was very nice.  Cooked well, nice flavor, and the onions really made it unique.  On the right was a “seekh kabab” with a chaat radish salad– clearly the “winner” of the first course, it had bold flavor (which was “cooled” with the radish) and was fall-apart tender.  (If you’re keeping score at home, the first seafood course of a blue-corn crusted scallop received high marks, too.)

Course #2:  Duck and Boar

Tiny Bite, Tremendous Taste

The second course was an amazing 1-2 punch.  First was a duck vindaloo arepa– really nice “pulled” duck with some vindaloo heat sitting atop a Colombian corn cake.  It was served atop a pomegranate molasses that was very interesting but subtle enough to stay below the radar.  Overall it was a bite worth savoring– I wouldn’t have minded another one of those!  Alongside it was an interpretation of a jibarito (open-faced Puerto Rican sandwich) topped with wild boar.  I do love boar, and this tasted really good (if a little more subtle than I’m used to).  But the highlight here was the pear-guajillo pepper chutney served to the right of the table.  Spicy and sweet together, this was fine on its own, but a perfect complement to the jibarito.

Also with this course we got the first “extras” we ordered– plantain chips with an unusual (to me) but tasty mint raita.  (Vermilion makes theur own fresh “raita of the day,” and you could tell it was fresh!)  A nice salty counterpunch to the sweet and spicy of this course.  (My favorite from the second seafood course, by the way, was a lovely cilantro tamarind shrimp with daikon. Really lovely.)

Course #3:  The Filet

Steak and potato-- needed?

The third course was headlined by a filet, prepared a nice medium-rare alongside “kadai” sweet potatoes and apple sticks.  I know we’re in Chicago, a classic steak town, and that Latin cuisine uses a lot of beef, but this was the only thing I ate all night that was unnecessary.  Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious!  Nicely prepared, and the potato and apple were fine accompaniments.  But this dish lacked the real “Get up and go” of the others and seemed a little less inspired.  For this moment, my suspension of disbelief ended and I was back in Chicago.  Thank goodness I was saved by the arrival of the next two “extras” we ordered:  daal makhani and fresh naan:

The real comfort food

The daal was spectacular– a homey blend of indian spices and with a surprising rich and creamy texture.  Bring it in a bowl with a spoon and I’d have dinner.  The naan was perfectly crispy with a little bit of chewy inside.  A little sharper and more interesting than I’m used to in Cincinnati.

For the record, the clear winner of the third course is the seafood menu.  My friend was living right when they brought her caldeirada de peixe, a Brazilian seafood stew with Indian spices.  It was bright and flavorful, with great textures:

So bright, so awesome

Course #4:  The Signatures (Pork and Steak)

A whole meal in a course!

Clearly, the fourth course is the workhorse of the menu, for each menu.  For my “meats” dinner, it included two of the restaurants signature dishes.  The first were 4 huge bones of chili-glazed tamarind ribs (bottom right).  As many of you know (and as I will be writing about very soon!!) I am a big-time barbeque guy, so pork ribs are my thing.  However, this is something completely different– unlike the Southeast US barbeque preparation (where the bones are smoky and spicy with some “bite” in the texture), these were appropriately fall-off-the-bone tender with a sticky-sweet (but surprisingly deep) chili-tamarind sauce that was more reminiscent of Thai food than anything.  It was awesome, and was paired with amchur crisps that kept the texture interesting.

The other “main” (in the upper left corner) was another signature dish of the restaurant:  tandoori skirt steak.  Now folks, THIS is the steak they should be serving, not the filet.  This skirt steak was pounded thin– both the cut of meat and the basic preparation was pure Mexico.  But it was cooked with tandoori spices that made this dish (which I love in the straight Mexican preparation) even MORE interesting.  Really excellent.  Alongside these were two nice sides– a sauteed garlic spinach (bottom left) that was refreshingly straightforward and a nice foil to the bright steak, and a corn-ginger salsa (top right) that made interesting eating in and of itself as well as with both mains.

(It’s worth noting that the seafood menu also had its highlight in course #4– a trio of lobster, including their famous “lobster portugese” (a perfectly extracted and cooked lobstertail with Portugese spices) and a luscious and creamy bisque.

Course #5– Dessert A-Plenty

A story with a happy ending

And we all had the same, very nice, 3-part dessert course.  The menu described the three dishes (left-to-right):  mango-olive shrikhand, vermilion hedonism, and shahi tukra.  Much of it was very nice, butter-and-flour dessert deliciousness– the “hedonism” chocolate dessert was dark and almost spicy, and the two “cakes” were very delicately done.  But there were two most interesting touches– the chili-pepper-dusted orange supreme with the shahi tukra was eye-opening and nice.  But the most interesting and awesome was the shrikhand, basically a “fruit-roll-up for adults” (thanks to our server for that analogy) filled with marinated diced mango and olive– and it REALLY worked!  The kind of dessert that first challenges you, then rewards you.  Really really nice.

Overall, this was a simply spectacular meal.  If you’re open-minded and/or love Indian and/or Latin cuisine, make it a stop when in Chicago.  You will NOT be disappointed.  We had tremendous service, and the atmosphere is kind of world-sleek.  Oh and have I mentioned they make a mean white wine sangria?  Awesome.  It made up for all the stuff I didn’t have time to eat when in Chicago.  Well, except one thing…

A Stop On the Walk to the Gate (O’Hare)

Superdawg it ain't, but not bad for 12 steps from the gate!

On the way back to Cincinnati, I made a stop at Gold Coast Dogs.  Alongside Portillo’s, I view Gold Coast as being a good and reliable dog purveyor, but not quite at the level of Superdawg (yes, folks, believe the hype) or a Hot Doug’s.  But as airport food goes, let’s just say it’s reason enough to book a Delta flight which departs from that concourse.  I went classic this time with a couple of steamed dogs with everything but tomato. This is how to manage a layover!

In-flight amenity

And Finally, a Lunch in Cincinnati (Silverglade’s on 8th)

And I suppose I should write something about a Cincinnati meal!  Had lunch at a regular spot (albeit one I haven’t talked about before), Silverglade’s Deli on 8th.  There are three Silverglades that I know of– 8th St., 4th St., and at Findlay Market.  They do a nice trade in Boar’s Head Meats and have a small grocery for the apartment and condo dwellers downtown, but their main event is lunch.  I had one of my “usuals”:

Louie, Louie

I ordered the Andouille Louie Panini, which is a few nice grilled strips of Andouille sausage with some red onion and cheese– I added a little brown mustard and horseradish and you’ve got yourself a really nice hot sandwich on herbed foccacia.  There are lots of sandwich choices downtown, but I value the diversity and interesting nature of those at Silverglade’s.  I just wish I remembered to go there more often!

OK gang, that’s it for this week.  I’m not sure anyone ever makes it this far in my postings, but it does me good to get it all out there.  Onward into a new week!

Monday was Opening Day in Cincinnati.  It’s a hard thing to describe to out-of-towners… I mean, lots of cities have baseball teams (much less teams of other sports) and Opening Day is kind of a big deal in all of those places.  It means the coming of spring, the ending of hibernation, and a kind of a hopeful turning-of-the-corner.  But in Cincinnati, it’s something more.  It’s the kind of event that fosters unmitigated and irrational hope.  In Cincinnati when it comes to spots, hope is all there is.  When reality NEVER validates that hope, it just increases our reliance on said hope.  So yes… for a day (or even for the month of April) anything is possible.  And the town turns out in NUMBERS, from the Opening Day parade (a sight to be seen, I’ll say) to the game (sometimes the only sellout of the year), to the kind of mood that runs through the city.  Even when it’s 40 and rainy!

Game Day at Dewey’s

Destination pizzeria

This week I dropped by Dewey’s Pizza.  I love Dewey’s.  I know some of “you” may think I only have eyes for Ramundo’s as it’s my latest Cincinnati pizza love, but my relationship with Dewey’s is longer and more substantial.  Dewey’s isn’t “authentic” anything… but it’s amazing.  A nice light crust, some inventiveness, and dear lord some atmosphere (no chianti bottles in sight)!  And this week, even THEY got Opening Day fever!

Play Ball!

Awesome.  In honor of the season, Dewey’s is offering a Game Day pizza this month.  Get this:  a spicy mustard base sauce, sauerkraut, carmelized onions, and sliced mettwurst.  It’s EXACTLY how it sounds, only more awesome.  Close your eyes, fold that crust, and enjoy a nice gameday sausage.  I was super-skeptical, but had no reason to be.  It was perfect.  Thanks, Deweys!  (In the far part of the picture you’ll see my “usual,” the Bronx Bomber, with a few meats and lots of veggies.  So good.  But not the star this week!)  So nice to celebrate among my hometown fans…

A French Twist Burger @ Zinc (W. Bloomfield, MI)

A little bit of France, SW Michigan style...Well, Friday night brought us back to Detroit to hang with some of our favorite people, and we were on the hunt for burgers. A few weeks ago we made a trek to the historic Redcoat Tavern, and this night we instead made the move to their (much younger!) sister restaurant, Zinc. Well, it couldn't have been more different! (Though lovely in its own way.)Nice place!

I hate my camera. For burger close-ups.

Popular, anyway

Looks good. Tastes...?

Love.

So, suffice it to say that this week hasn’t exactly been my most exciting or rewarding food week.  That’s the way it goes, folks.  They can’t all be winners.  Unlike some other weeks, though… it’s mostly for lack of trying!  With the weather being so nice outside, it was mostly a “work, home, run, heat something up” routine.  Ah well.  Well, there was one thing…

“Arnold’s Most Interesting Special” or “How the hell did camel meat find its way into the ‘Nati?”

I’ll admit, I’m as surprised as you.  Sitting down at Arnold’s again (third time in a month, but I’ll have you know I didn’t pick it once!), and I’m thankful they’ve revised their menu as extensively as they have… the old menu only had about three things on it!  I had decided to cave in to peer pressure and order the meat lasagna, which did look really good by the way.  But then the server reads the special, and I’ve learned to pay attention because the Bockfest Hot Brown came from the specials list.  Today, just one:  “camel tacos.”  I asked after the joke to know what it really was, but apparently Arnold’s has come into some camel meat and is serving it up Tex-Mex style.  Of course, I ordered it without hesitation– it’s not every day you try meat from an animal you’ve never had before!  But while I waited, lots of thoughts crept into my mind:

• Is “ground” the right way to serve camel meat?
• Is putting that meat inside a flour tortilla appropriate?
• Wait a minute.  Did they say camel?  How the hell did a little Cincinnati bar end up with camel meat?
• It’s not from the zoo, is it?
• Oh god, I think it’s from the zoo.
• It would be really evil to eat a zoo camel.
• And I bet it would taste disgusting.
• You know, Arnold’s kind of has that gangster vibe about it, the oldest bar in town… I wonder if they’re in with the Saudis?
• Maybe they won the camel in a game of poker?
• That lasagna does sound pretty good…

Thankfully, before long my questions were suspended by the arrival of the meal:

It's good to be color blind, I think...

The tacos arrived, and the meat’s color notwithstanding, I was pleased with how it looked.  How did it taste?  Like a turkey taco.  Not that I’ve ever had one, but the meat was so mild it was just like ground turkey.  I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or relieved, or perhaps a bit of each.  To Arnold’s credit, the jicama slaw and blue cheese dressings actually did a fantastic job packing a punch into the dish.  Really nice.  I did need to order some fries to finish filling me up, but a tasty treat.  And I no longer fear the camel…  The final surprise came when the bill came– the special was $5.  At that price, I totally think the camel was local, from just up Vine Street.  But I’m just trying not to think about it.

A Cheeseboard to Love

Finally, I made a trip to the Kroger Fresh Fare in Kenwood (yes, I love it) this week and picked up some noshes to enjoy this weekend, cheeseboard style.  Thanks, Murray’s!  (Have I mentioned how awesome their service is there?)

(Clockwise from upper right: 18-month gouda, herbes-de-Provence salami, rosemary crackers, triple-creme brie, and 2-year cheddar from Grafton Farms

It was awesome.  I even bought the actual cheeseboard!  Now this totally kills deli sandwiches, no? 

Until next week…