It was brought to my attention that I forgot to write about the Newport Gangster Tour that I took a couple of weeks ago with my family. This is put on by the same people who did the Queen City Underground Tour that we all took earlier this summer. We actually bought discount tickets for the gangster tour after enjoying the underground tour so much.

Owners and Tour Guides

We were in for a special treat on this tour, as we soon learned that the founders and owners of the company would be our guides for the afternoon. The amount of research and interviews these two gentlemen have conducted helps fill the tours with tons of historical information and stories. For me the underground tour was great because of the architecture and hidden chambers we were able to tour, whereas the gangster tour was great based purely on the educational material presented.

Northern Kentucky Gambling Museum

I had no idea that Newport was once home to so many casinos and gambling halls. It turns out that there is a Northern Kentucky Gambling Museum, which granted us free admission during part of our tour. In addition Newport was home to many adult entertainment venues, brothels, and some of the biggest gangsters around. While we didn’t get to go into many of the buildings, as most of them have been completely renovated for other purposes, it was very interesting to hear all the guides stories as we walked a few blocks of Newport.

Outside Enjoying The Tour

I’ve really enjoyed both of the tours I’ve taken from American Legacy Tours and I hope to take more in the future.

My last stop on our food tour of the western Cleveland suburbs came on our last night in town. After hanging out at Merry Arts for a good chunk of the afternoon, none of us really were in the mood to drive the three or four hours home. So my family and I reserved a few hotel rooms, picked up some beer, and ordered pizza from Pizza By Robert. There were actually a couple of other places that we considered but we decided on this shop based on favorable online reviews.

Half Sheet Of Pizza

We all agreed on pepperoni and mushroom for our toppings and decided to order the biggest pizza available, the half sheet. This 24 slice monster is enough food to feed an entire family, and it did the job perfectly for us. The sauce that they used was traditional and very tasty. The cheese was also good and toppings were piled on high. It only cost $22.15, which seemed like a great price for the large amount of quality pie.

In case you live in a cave, today is election day. I made it out to my polling location over lunch to color in my ballot. The past couple of years in Denver we had voted through the mail in the weeks before the election, so this my first time voting in person in a while. I was afraid I’d find long waits or complicated processes, but it all went smoothly even though I have yet to obtain my Ohio license.

There were a handful of very important issues on the ballot. The biggest for me is the proposed issue 48. Regardless of your stance on the planned streetcar, this charter amendment impacts much more than it. If it were to pass it would block the streetcar as well as any other rail projects until the end of 2020. I was very happy to cast my vote against issue 48 and I hope you all will join me. It is time for our city to progress into the transportation future.

My dad and I really wanted to watch the University of Cincinnati football game versus South Florida while we were in the western Cleveland suburbs a few weekends ago. I did a quick search online to see if there was any sort of Cleveland alumni group but I didn’t find much other than an event listing for a game watch at Merry Arts Pub & Grille earlier in the season for the NC State game. After a quick phone call to the bar, and a phone call back from them, we were on our way to the bar.

I knew we were in for a treat when we walked in after kickoff to find that the game was already on the biggest screen in the bar and the sound from the game was on too! And it only got better from there. Their beer list was really good, and we later found out that they were all really affordable pints too. This is your classic neighborhood watering hole and we watched as many regulars arrived at the bar with their newspapers in hand, ready for a long Saturday at the bar.

Turkey Panini

Being that the game started at noon, eventually we were ready for some lunch. I had read many reviews mentioning their tacos, but soon realized that they are only available on select days. Eventually I settled on the turkey panini. This isn’t a thin sandwich from a panini press but a thick grilled sandwich topped with french fries, cole slaw, and tomatoes. I’ve had sandwiches similar to this in Pittsburgh, but wasn’t aware that they were available outside of the steel city. This sandwich was very good and the onion rings were awesome!

Slider Basket

My dad went with the slider basket with seasoned fries. I did not sample the sliders but my dad said that they were very good. Their seasoned fries were also a nice touch. The basket did have four sliders, but I couldn’t snap a picture before my dad had already devoured one of them. Distance runners sure do have a ferocious appetite. We stuffed ourselves full of great food and watched as the Bearcats went on to win the big football game.

Most of my free time this week (and some of the last couple of weeks) has been dedicated to getting oarsa.org updated. We use the Coppermine Photo Gallery to drive not only the photos section but it is also the backend of the user login system. The software package is updated regularly, but we never bothered to upgrade it on oarsa.org mainly because we had modified some of the source and didn’t want to lose those changes.

Well our version 1.3.x was completely obsolete a few years ago, and it wouldn’t run with PHP 5. We built our own version of PHP to use with the website, but when that stopped working a couple of weeks ago, we were forced to use the PHP 5 version on our host. That means that we had to upgrade Coppermine, as well as some of our own code that wasn’t compatible with the PHP upgrade.

The upgrade actually wasn’t too bad once I got down to it. oarsa.org is now utilizing Coppermine version 1.4.27. The 1.4.x releases are no longer supported, so I may have to upgrade to the latest 1.5.x in the near future if I want to avoid the catastrophe that happened the last couple of weeks. Live and learn I suppose.

Another stop on our short trip to Cleveland was to Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon.  I actually planned to check this place out before our trip even started. A friend of mine is a frequent visitor of their Pittsburgh location and I’ve watched their brewery rise to much fame at the Great American Beer Festival the last couple of years.

Fat Head's Brewery

Fortunately Fat Head’s was just a few minutes drive from our hotel in Westlake, Ohio. My parents joined my wife and my son for a nice Friday lunch before a wedding later that evening. We arrived to find the very large restaurant mostly empty, though there was a growing crowd at the bar and a few other tables throughout the spacious dining areas.

Another Brewery Painting

I forgot to take pictures of the beers we sampled, but they were all delicious. Their Head Hunter IPA has won back to back medals at the previously mentioned GABF and is wonderful. My dad and I both started with a tall glass of this. Altogether we also sampled the Kolsch, Citra Pale Ale, Up In Smoke Porter, and a few others that I cannot remember. I enjoyed everything that I tasted and wish I could enjoy them more regularly.

Aloha Chicken

As good as the food was, I was really impressed by the food. Not only are the portions gigantic but everything tastes very good as well. Just take a look at the plates of food that were served to us.

Smoke House Wings

Beauty & The Beasty

Huge Sandwiches

I had to include  my wife in one of the photos so you could see just how massive the sandwiches were and how much food you are given. I had the Aloha Chicken sandwich with a grilled chicken breast topped with ham, provolone cheese and grilled pineapple. Finished with a splash of Extra Medium Sauce ($8.95). My wife had the Beauty & The Beasty sandwich with pulled pork in Beasty BBQ Sauce. Topped with creamy cole slaw, pickles and raw onions ($10.95). Both were great sandwiches and the accompanying home-made chips were very good too.

The wings were recommended by my friend who is a regular. I was amazed at how large the wings were. My dad and I couldn’t get over how easily the meat fell off the bone from the hours of smoking, which gave a nice smokey flavor to the wings. We tried the Fat Head’s Original Buffalo sauce, which added a nice kick to the wings. It wasn’t too spicy to overpower the other flavors, just enough heat to get my dad sweating a little bit.

We all really enjoyed our lunch here. I definitely want to go back sometime in the future. I just wish it wasn’t so far away.

For the third year in a row I ran the Run Like Hell race this past Friday. Joining me in the race were my dad, Kim, and a few others from Kim’s extended family. I wanted to finish the race under 8 minute pace and that goal was met!

I don’t think they keep any race results, as it is much more of a party than a competition, but I had my GPS watch with me. My dad and I tried running together but he got caught up in the mess of walkers at the start. He didn’t finish far behind though, but I think this is my first victory over him! Kim just walked the route this year since she hasn’t gotten back to running yet. At least she walked in style though.

Me, Kim, and my dad ready to race.

We had a few good dining experiences in the western suburbs of Cleveland while in town for my cousin’s wedding. The first came on our first morning in town. As we were driving across town from one hotel to another, we stumbled into the Coffee Pot restaurant in Lakewood. My wife researched nearby breakfast places while I ran into Target for a quick purchase and the Coffee Pot was her suggestion.

Outside Coffee Pot

It would be very easy to drive past the Coffee Pot without even noticing it was there. I don’t recall any protruding signage, just the simple neon in the front window. We were looking for it and nearly drove right past it. The inside is as simple as the outside with a few booths around the front and right sides, a long bar counter on the left where the server/cashier worked, and some small tables filling the rest of the space. At the back was the kitchen, where one cook worked to prepare all the food.

Inside Coffee Pot

We were told to sit where we like from the woman behind the counter. I found a high chair beneath the register for our little one, and she was right over to take a drink order. I just had water and my wife tried their run of the mill diner coffee. Though nothing on our visit would be out of this world, it was all so cheap and in plentiful quantities. For breakfast my wife had an omelette which was served with home fries and your choice of toast.  I didn’t sample the omelette, but she really seemed to enjoy it. The home fries were really good served with sautéed onion in the mix.

Omelette

I ordered a short stack of blueberry pancakes and a side of bacon. When my order arrived I was sure glad I went with the short stack of two pancakes. These were the largest and thickest pancakes I had ever seen. Even with my wife’s assistance, I could only eat one and a half. The bacon was crisp, just the way I like it to be.

Blueberry Pancakes And Bacon

Our entire meal cost us $16.39 including tip. The Coffee Pot is a great place for a cheap and filling breakfast.

Check out my little tiger.

My wife and I are slowly working our way through all the restaurants in our new neighborhood of Hyde Park. Two Sundays ago we stopped in at Poco a Poco for dinner. We arrived around 6pm and found the restaurant mostly deserted except for a couple of tables outside on the front sidewalk. We also choose to sit outside to enjoy the wonderful fall weather. The same employee who sat us at our table was also our server for the evening.

Sangria

After looking through the rather extensive drink menu, my wife and I decided on a couple of drinks. She had the sangria while I went with the sazerac. Both were fairly typical drinks, though I was shocked to see mine served in a martini glass. I had only had it served in an old-fashioned glass before. Also interesting was the color of the sangria was white and not red, like usual. Next time I think I’ll just go with a beer, as the drinks were rather pricey and nothing outstanding.

Sazerac

Prior to our visit I was told that this was a tapas style restaurant, however when I glanced at the menu that was not the vibe I got at all. I saw a fairly typical layout of appetizers, entrées , with a special section highlighting tacos. There is also a large selection of sides available. I guess you could order a couple different plates of tacos and some sides and then split it, but this is not what I think of when I hear tapas.

Rancheros

After going over the menu a couple of times I decided on the Rancheros ($16). This features 18 hour slow roasted pork stewed in tomatoes & smokey chipotles, served with refried beans & Latin rice. Not pictured above are the three tortillas that were served on the side, basically so you could make your own tacos. The price is higher than the other tacos on the menu, but this dish includes the beans and rice side, which I could have easily skipped. However the rancheros were delicious! The menu doesn’t  mention the soft cheese that was served on top of the mixed stew, but I really enjoyed it’s presence. If I could order these without the sides I would definitely get them again.

Vegetales Tacos

My wife ordered the Vegetales tacos with grilled summer squash sauteed with red & green bell peppers, dressed with sour cream vinaigrette, fried avocados & pickled jalapenos ($9). She really enjoyed these and after just a couple of bites I could taste why. The fried avocado was unique and definitely one of the standout ingredients. Also the sour cream vinaigrette that they used was very tasty. I would not hesitate to order this dish again.

After our first visit to Poco a Poco I would suggest skipping the pricey cocktails. The taco plates could easily be shared between guests, but that’s as far as the tapas concept goes. I look forward to future visits so I can sample more of the taco varieties and also some of the sides that are offered. There are also a couple of other entrées that look good, but those get much more pricey than the tacos.