I finally made it down to MadTree Brewing Company this past Sunday. I have been wanting to visit their tasting room since it opened in April, just a couple of days after my daughter was born. However I haven’t had much free time to do so with two little ones keeping us busy. Fortunately I needed somewhere to watch the Bengals game Sunday and it just so happens that there was an Alzheimer benefit going on at the brewery at the same time.

Road Signage

The brewery is just a ten minute drive from my house, but road construction in the area has made it a little difficult for me to get there. Once the Kennedy Connector project is finished, it will be much easier for me and it should also bring a lot of extra traffic past the brewery.

Tasting Bar

The tasting area at MadTree is really quite large. There is a bar that wraps around the beer cooler and seats at least a dozen. Plus there are another dozen or so high top tables that each seat over a handful of people. The space was crowded on Sunday, not to the point that you couldn’t move, and it was great to see such wonderful support for the brewery and for the charity.

Fermenters

The brewery recently had a capacity expansion and their two new 60 barrel fermenters are the first thing you see from the tasting room. These brought the capacity up from 90 barrels to 210, a 133% increase! Needless to say, MadTree is doing very well in their first two quarters of operation. More details on the expansion can be found online compliments of the Brew Professor.

Big Winner

My parents joined Trey and I on this visit to the brewery and my mom put Trey’s name in for a variety of baskets. We had to leave at half time for his nap, but eventually had to drive back to pickup three baskets that he had won. The one that he was most excited about was filled with Coke and candy. I’d say it was a great first visit to MadTree and that I will be back again soon.

The Mt. Adams Bar & Grill has been around for a long time. When prohibition was repealed in 1933 the Bar & Grill in its present location was the first drinking establishment in Ohio to obtain a liquor license.

Sign Outside

Surprisingly this past Saturday’s visit was my first time inside the historic building, but we don’t make it up to Mt. Adams as often as we once did in our younger years for bar hopping. We arrived around 6:30 in the evening and found no wait for a table of four. We were seated right away in a booth behind the hostess stand, near the large wooden bar.

Inside

While waiting for the other couple to arrive, my wife and I snacked on a small order of fried jalapeño ravioli ($7.25). Though the menu claimed that the ravioli are stuffed with chopped jalapeño peppers, I did not detect much spice in them at all. With that said I still enjoyed the fried pasta filled with ricotta cheese.

Decor

For dinner I ordered the southwestern chicken sandwich, which features a chicken breast marinated in a special sauce and grilled to perfection, topped with sour cream, green taco sauce, pepper jack cheese, tomato, lettuce, mayonnaise and served on grilled buttercrust bread ($6.75). It comes served with a side of chips, though other options are available for an additional charge. The sandwich was really good with a nice spicy finish. The chips were nothing special, and I probably should have went with sweet potato fries instead.

Southwestern Chicken

My wife ordered the veggie burger, a combination of oats, tofu, wheatgerm, sesame seeds, and a variety of seasonings. It is served with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, pickle, red onion, mustard and Monterey jack cheese ($6.25). I was fortunate enough to have a couple of bites of this sandwich and I have to say this is one of the best veggie burgers around. The mix of so many ingredients comes together in a somewhat spicy and very filling meal.

Veggie Burger

I honestly wasn’t expecting much from the food at Mt. Adams Bar & Grill, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The prices are extremely fair and the food is very good. This is easily a top spot in Mt. Adams for an affordable and casual meal before heading out to the bars, and is even worthy of a visit at any other time.

This past Saturday my family and I made a brief appearance at the first annual Fifty Fest down at Fifty West Brewing Company. Throughout the summer the brewery hosted smaller concert series leading up to this day long celebration at the end of summer.

Festival Grounds

In addition to numerous offerings from Fifty West, select beers from Blank Slate, MadTree, Triple Digit, Mt. Carmel, and Rhinegeist were all available. The event also featured eights bands on two stages. My favorite beers of the short day were both from Rhinegeist, the limited Monogamy: Mosaic and their latest seasonal Fiction.

Rhinegeist!

It was very family friendly. My family especially enjoyed the nice hillside lawn where we spread out a blanket and had some lunch while listening to the music of Los Honchos. I wish we could have stayed longer, but it was hot outside and we had a few other things to accomplish throughout the day.

Family Shot

I hope the event returns next year!

My wife and I took advantage of being downtown without the kids last week and stopped in to the Blue Wisp Jazz Club for a drink and appetizer. The Blue Wisp has been around since 1977 but has moved several times. They most recently moved into a space at 700 Race Street last year.

Inside

I was pleasantly surprised by the inside of the space. While it is dark like you would expect from a jazz club, it is not dirty or dingy. Jazz memorabilia lines the walls and live music is featured nearly every night. I’m told there is a separate performance space that can be used for ticketed shows and larger acts. On the night of our visit a simple three-piece band was providing music for the few tables gathered around the large central bar.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

The staff was honest with us and told us that they were very short-staffed and that certain food items could take some time. Therefore we went with a quick option and sampled the spinach & artichoke dip ($9). The dip was pretty standard, yet tasty, but the crispy pita chips that were served with it were very unique and appreciated. They were freshly sliced and fried to a golden crisp. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from the food, but now we may have to venture down that way for dinner sometime in the future.

I am so glad that football is back! The University of Cincinnati Bearcats had a big opening game this past weekend versus Purdue. Unfortunately due to spending the weekend in Troy, I missed the game. My ticket went to good use as my old college buddy and seatmate took his dad to the game. From what I’m told the game was insanely hot as was the Bearcats play on the field. They easily handled the Boilermakers and won the game 42-7!

I look forward to the rest of the Bearcats season and will do my best not to miss another home game. I will also be keeping a close eye on the Bengals, as many think they can win the division this year and have a good shot at the playoffs. Time will tell on that one. I would love to see that happen and I do hope to catch a game down at Paul Brown sometime this season. Who Dey!

Last night my wife and I were treated to a free dress rehearsal performance of Oliver Twist by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company thanks to Yelp. This was our first time seeing this company perform and our first time in their intimate theater that seats roughly 150 audience members. The theater space is just thirteen rows deep and there is not a bad seat in the house.

Hamlet

Prior to the performance we were provided complimentary drinks as well as Holtman’s Donuts and Patty’s Old Fashioned Popcorn, all of which were excellent. Holtman’s will be opening a shop in Over-the-Rhine soon, and I look forward to many mornings with their delicious treats. Patty’s is very close to our house and we are regular customers there. If you’ve never had their cookies ‘n cream flavored kettle corn, it is a must try!

Theater

The performance of Oliver Twist was excellent! I was blown away by the singing and acting of the company, they all appeared to be very professional. While the backdrop was fairly simple, it was perfectly transformed between scenes often times with the actors still on the stage doing most of the lifting themselves. Though I have never read Oliver Twist and only have a slight understanding of the play’s story, I found the performance very entertaining.

Oliver Twist will run September 6 – 29, 2013 with evening performances Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and matinée performances Sundays at 2 p.m. Thursday and Sunday prices are adults $31, seniors $27, and students $22. Friday and Saturday: adults $35, seniors $31, and students $26.

This past weekend was Mumford & Sons Troy Stopover as part of the Gentlemen of the Road tour. Another one of those weekend music festivals that now require much more recovery time than years back. Or maybe I’m just having more fun at my old age.

Campers

My good friend Will lives in Troy, Ohio and he offered his place for us to crash so that we didn’t have to sleep on the floodplain with thousands of others. With that said, I’m sure the on site campground was a good time. I was just glad to have some air conditioning to escape to with the rather hot and humid weather outside.

Under The Tracks

Oh yeah, I’m sure the 4 A.M. wake up calls provided by the passing train weren’t on the top of anyone’s weekend highlights from the campground.

Main Stage

Four bands played the main stage inside the Troy High School football stadium on Friday night. Half Moon Run, a Canadian indie rock band, was my favorite from the day. Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros were the headliners of the night. I thought their set started off really slow, so I found some dinner toward the end of their set. I’m told that the last couple songs they played were great though.

Troy Stadium

Seven bands played the main stage on Saturday afternoon and evening. I only made it in for three of those, but I think they were three of the better of the day. The Vaccines are an English indie rock band and they played a good set of music while we all found our spots for the night as well as a beverage or two. Next was Old Crow Medicine Show, a great bluegrass band. They had Marcus Mumford (and others) come out on stage for an awesome rendition of Wagon Wheel to close out their set.

Mumford & Sons took the stage next and it was amazing! I’m told 35,000 people crammed into the stadium, many singing every word of every song. Their fourteen song set was then capped off by a five song encore. First covering Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” before silencing the crowd for an amazing a capella version of “Sister.” Then another cover was played, this time was a cool take on The Beatle’s “Come Together” which then launched into the amazing duo of “Babel” and finally “The Cave.” It was my second time seeing the band play, and they were even better than the first time.

Market Street Stage

In addition to the concerts taking place in the main arena, there were two stages into the downtown Troy square with local bands playing day and night. I caught the end of a great set from “The Floorwalkers” out of Columbus. The square was free for everyone with a main stage wristband and just $5 for anyone without.

Elks Lodge

There were also small after shows and events taking place throughout the rest of the weekend. We spent our late nights at the Elks Lodge for bluegrass jams and outdoor DJ dance parties. It was a great way to cap off each day of music. If you get the change to attend a future Stopover, I would very highly recommend it. I would love to do it again.

Ever since my beloved Sennheiser CX 300 headphones started showing their age a few months ago, I’ve been on the lookout for a nice pair of noise isolating in-ear headphones with iPhone controls to replace them. My CX 300’s were around six years old, and while the sound was still amazing (when both headphones would work), I missed the iPhone controls from my Apple EarPods that came shipped with my iPhone 5.

Bright Blue Headphones

While browsing through my RSS feed (yes I am still using RSS) last week I found a great deal on a pair of Klipsch Image S4i Rugged Headphones for $40 shipped. These have a list price of $100, so it was just the kind of deal I was looking for. They arrived this past Sunday and I have been using them ever since. The noise isolation from the earbuds is definitely on par with the old Sennheiser’s and the sound is just as good if not better. It’s all a matter of finding the right size tip for your ear. If you can find a deal on these headphones, definitely give them a try.

Today for lunch I finally made it over to the non fast food restaurant closest to my office in Mason, Viva Tequila Mexican Restaurant. The outside of the restaurant isn’t very flashy, but they have decent curb appeal with their pretty flower beds and updated outside paint. There is an outside patio on one side of the building, but it was much too hot to fully enjoy today.

Outside

The inside of the restaurant is slightly more drab than the outside, but there are plenty of windows to let in a ton of natural light. Plus there are a variety of live plants separating the booths that add a nice touch. There are multiple dining areas, but it seemed that they were only using the first one on my visit. This room has four rows of booths, providing seating for at least a dozen groups. Half of the tables were occupied during my visit.

Inside

I was greeted immediately upon my entry and shown to a table. Before I could even settle in and open up the menu, complimentary chips and salsa were dropped off to my table and my drink order was taken. An extra basket of chips will cost you $.99 and additional salsa $.60. Both were made fresh and were very good. The salsa had a nice spicy kick to it, which I appreciated. One serving was plenty for my table of one, but it would be worthwhile to order more if necessary.

Chips & Salsa

I ordered the lunch chicken chimichanga served with beans and guacamole salad ($6.49), a standard order for my first time somewhere. I am accustomed to larger chimichangas, but what this one lacked in height, it made up for in taste. I could tell that it was freshly prepared and delivered to my table within minutes of my order. The chicken filling was moist and the cheese sauce that was served on top was outstanding! The refried bean serving size was large and they also tasted good. They were topped with some shredded cheese and took up nearly half of the plate. The guacamole salad was fresh and a nice substitution for the standard Mexican rice.

Lunch Chimichanga

I was very impressed by the food and speedy service at Viva Tequila. The menu is very extensive, so there should be something for everyone, and I look forward to trying other dishes in the future.

After taking a year off, Pig-Fest (the annual pig roast and party at my parents’ house) took place this past weekend. The weather was fantastic and all of our favorite events took place once again. Personally I had a great year in the Wiffle ball tournament, bringing home the trophy for the second time!

I used my GoPro camera to create a timelapse video using roughly 440 images captured over nearly four hours. If the battery wouldn’t have died I could have captured even more. Maybe next time I’ll plug it into a power source to keep the footage rolling.

As she normally does, my mom says this is the last Pig-Fest, but the next one would be the 20th edition, so I think we have to do it again!