What I Ate This Week

Ah yes, Northside.  Like a good friend that you mean to visit regularly but just don’t find the time, Northside ranges on the fringes of my awareness, tempting me to come and play…when I remember it.  The neighborhood really is a must-visit, as I do firmly believe that a part of Cincinnati’s soul is planted in this little bohemia where shopkeepers, barkeeps, and restaurant owners all come together in the spirit of NEIGHBORHOOD-liness.  It’s a really beautiful thing and it’s really hard not to let the infectious vibe of the place win you over.

Sarah and I were in the ‘hood to attend a benefit concert for a fallen student of the SCPA (Cincinnati’s School for the Creative and Performing Arts)—it was a lovely event and took place at one of my favorite places in town-the Northside Tavern.  (If you’ve never seen local music there, you are missing out!)  Afterward, as we didn’t want to walk more than necessary in the cold, we crossed the courtyard to The Hideaway.

It’s hard to believe that the same person doesn’t own The Hideaway, the Northside Tavern, and Melt, because they all share the same “good friends, good spirits” kind of vibe.  The Hideaway is BYO, which usually means grabbing a draft pint, or a glass of wine and walking it through the patio on inside the restaurant which is quaint and cozy without being pretentious.

Service was efficient and just plain lovely—Sarah volunteered to head back to the Tavern to get us some drinks while I perused the just-perfectly-sized menu.

The Hideaway “specializes” in a very nice version of American comfort food—you’ll find soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and entrees—none of which are so “out there” so as to give you pause, but most of which have something just a little bit interesting or different about them.  We started with what would ultimately be my favorite thing of the night, a quesadilla with bacon and cheese.  (They have a different quesadilla and pita pizza every night.) 

The quesadilla was nicely browned, the bacon was allowed its space to shine, and the size was perfect for 2.  From there, I ordered a burger—I know, I know, I’m doing too much of that lately.  (However, I do find it a great way to learn about the varying level of quality and service in an establishment.) 

The Italian Burger comes with cheese and caramelized onions and peppers.  Like all the burgers, it’s a half pound, and served on a foccacia roll with a pickle spear and “cajun” potato salad (I say “cajun” because they went really easy on the spices—it tasted like a standard American picnic potato salad to me!)

The burger itself was unfortunately just “okay.”  It certainly was a full half-pound, but definitely cooked beyond medium rare to something approaching medium-well.  Even so, a good burger needn’t be a bad experience even cooked that far.  I didn’t fall in love with the meat (it sat pretty heavy), and the foccacia bread was a little tough for me.  The onions and peppers provided some much needed flavor but I think they were cooked in a little too much oil as they were more “limp” than they needed to be. 

By the way, Sarah had fish tacos—I loved the shell, a lightly fried tortilla with an excellent “bite” to it, but we thought the fish was just a touch bland.  I think a good hit of citrus and salt (or 1-2 minutes more on the grill) might have made all the difference!

I’m not a big cheesecake fan, but Sarah is and she raved about the peanut butter cheesecake.  It definitely was the boldest-tasting thing we had and the peanut flavor was nice.  Sarah loved it, and this was one of several very tempting-looking choices on the dessert menu.

Overall, there’s lots to like about the Hideaway—a great location, super and warm service, a communal feel with Northside Tavern, and the occasional menu bright spot.  With a little more care on ingredient preparation and perhaps the incorporation of some brighter flavors, the Hideaway could become a bigger destination in its own right—I’ll be back!

Footnote:  Ambar India

Cincinnati’s rife with Indian restaurants, many of them very, very good.  As I’ve noted previously, there’s a whole sub-set of Indian restaurants run by the same folks that get excellent take-out to diners across Cincinnati’s east and north sides.  But the grand dame of that group is Ambar India in Clifton.  I don’t know why, but the food seems to taste a little better and the air’s just a little bit clearer and more happy there.  Unlike some of the others in the set, Ambar is mostly about dine-in and on Friday night there were dozens of people out front and in line to eat.  I should say that for the first time I ordered the Ambar Special, and it was a treat!

It’s kind of a super-combo meal—you start with pakora and then a few minutes later a big heaping pile of delicious food arrives.  In addition to the rice and naan at center, you get some chicken tandoori and lamb curry, among a couple of sides and a nice simple dessert.  At $14 or so, it’s cheaper than getting a main dish + starter, and I highly recommend it—though obviously only if you’re dining in (those silver platters make quite an impression!).  Anyway, we were happy to eat Indian out, instead of on the couch watching TV—you should, too!

That’s all for this week—next weekend I’m in Michigan soaking up a little bit of extra cold—have a great week everyone!

The good thing about a rainy Sunday (even a warm rainy Sunday) is that it encourages one to get their work done.  So today I’m knocking it out early!

As you may have seen, I spent a couple nice days in Ann Arbor this week, hitting the old haunts, leaving me a blissfully short 2 day Cincinnati work week—not bad!  And today I’m writing about a lunch on one of those two days.  I’m always on the lookout for interesting, or frankly even just new/different, lunch spots downtown.  Given the number of people who work downtown (and presumably have money to spend on lunch) I’m actually a bit surprised there’s not more variety.  Don’t misread me—there’s plenty of choices (especially compared to other neighborhoods near us) but folks are looking for the new and different.  It’s pretty much precisely this reason that brought me to Gilpin’s Bagel & Deli on Friday.

I wasn’t really in the mood for bagels, but I was in the mood for something a little lighter.  I’ll be the first to admit that when I moved to Cincinnati from Michigan in the late 90’s, I hadn’t ever had a “Bagel & Deli” experience.  I mean I’ve had bagels, and I’ve… well, you get the point.  It wasn’t until my newfound friends from Miami University in Oxford OH explained the deal to me that I really “got it.”

Bagel & Deli is the kind of place you can go anytime in Oxford—they’ve got early and late hours—but it’s really meant for the “protein for the post-bar crowd” kind of scene, meaning they are open late, past last call.  Now Gilpin’s isn’t directly affiliated with “the” Bagel & Deli in Oxford (at least not that I know of) but they’ve got very much the same vibe.

That’s to say… um, utilitarian.  It doesn’t have the careworn edges of its compatriot up the road, but it’s a place to buy a steamed bagel sandwich, some chips, and a beer if you desire.  Ordering couldn’t be easier… if you know what you want.  Little order sheets allow you to fill out what you want—which kind of bagels meats, cheeses, condiments.  If you’re looking for something “already together,” you can look at the “big board” above the cash register or the more unique (and I think fantastic) option of looking at the “customers’ favorites” board near the front door.

It all starts at the bottom of the photo on the “Create Your Own Sandwich Below” whiteboard.  Enterprising (or just plain vocal) patrons can write down the ingredients of their “perfect” sandwich and name it in the hopes other patrons will enjoy it.  Some “fancy” delis choose which celebrities get sandwiches named after them; at Gilpin’s, your choices need only be good or popular.  If you get a few people ordering your sandwich off of the whiteboard, the staff might make a little flyer about it and put it on the board above, which contains four rows of 5 sandwiches each, ranked by popularity.  It’s a very engaging way to engage the regulars!

Since I didn’t have a lot at stake and the number of choices were a little overwhelming, I picked the most popular sandwich, the Blond Bombshell, a turkey and cheese sandwich on a sundried tomato bagel with a kick of coleslaw (or maybe just regular cabbage) and a twist of pepper:

It was actually pretty good, and well better than I expected.  For the most part, sandwiches from Gilpin’s are steamed.  While that sounds like a dangerous mess, it actually does wonders for the world of “bagel sandwiches” (which I’ve historically ordered only when backed into a corner).  The sandwich is piping hot, the cheese is gooey, and the bagel itself becomes moist and yielding to the teeth but more than sturdy enough to hold its cargo.  As a result, the Blond Bombshell was a most interesting study in contrasts of texture.  Unfortunately, the flavor was a little bland—the turkey wasn’t very interesting, and the cheese & cabbage didn’t add to much.  In fact, the strongest flavor of all was the pepper, which was good and a very interesting addition.  (I’ll bet it’s the pepper that keeps this sandwich at the top of the heap!)  Also I should note they serve soups—the potato bacon soup I got was super hot and pretty tasty (even if it was a touch light on the bacon!).

All things considered, Gilpin’s is doing a lot of things right that other “casual” downtown eateries (I’m lookin’ at you, Cold Turkey, wherever you are!) didn’t:  a concept that is both interesting AND something you want to eat, a wide variety of ingredients, a diverse customer base, and a unique way of “hooking” the regulars.  You don’t need to be “in” on the MU Bagel & Deli scene to enjoy it (though I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt).  All in all, I’ll be back… just trust I’ll be looking for bolder flavors next time—anyone have any recommendations?

The best inauthentic Tex-Mex you can buy… Yum! (Caribbean jerk fajitas, Cactus Pear, Clifton/Cincinnati)

Life is so good. Pimento burger at Z Roadhouse.

It’s not the same without the grime: A delicious specimen at the newly cleaned/up Ray’s Red Hots in Ann Arbor.