After a long day lounging at the pool of our condo complex, we decided to have dinner delivered rather than driving to a restaurant. A quick online search led me to Dough Boys Pizza. A few online reviews highly recommended their pizzas with ricotta cheese on top, and I was hooked on that right away, and fortunately so was the rest of my family.

Local Legends

We ordered from the “local legends” menu and tried RD’s delight ($19 for 16″) which came topped with chicken, sausage, mushroom, garlic, ricotta, and house cheese blend. We also ordered a half cheese and half Doug’s big Elvis ($20 for 16″) with sweet onion, green pepper, mushroom, bacon, pepperoni, and house cheese blend. RD’s delight was definitely the highlight of our meal, and the ricotta was an awesome addition to the pizza. Doug’s big Elvis was also very good and the toppings were piled high.

Dough Boys serves up excellent pizza and has some very creative specialty topping combinations. Give them a try and don’t forget to take advantage of having their pizza delivered after a day full of poolside cocktails.

While vacationing in Hilton Head a couple of weeks ago, we visited the Wild Wing Cafe for lunch on a Monday. This location is one of around a dozen in South Carolina and they also have another couple dozen restaurants in six other southern states. We joined some friends of ours who always stop here at least once on their trips to Hilton Head.

Boneless Wings

I knew right away that I was going to get boneless wings ($9.99 for a dozen) but the list of 33 made from scratch sauces was a little intimidating. Eventually I went with fireball (a flavorful and fiery mix of sweet ‘n spicy) and ragin’ cajun. I like my wings wet, in fact the more sauce the better for me. So I definitely enjoyed the fireball more than the ragin’ cajun, which seemed to more of a spice rub than a sauce. The fireball was a great sauce and it definitely had plenty of heat in the mix.

House Chips

I also had a side of house chips ($1.99) which are a lightly seasoned homemade potato chip. These were fairly standard but exactly what I needed to accompany the spicy wings. I washed it all down with a couple of SweatWater beers from the pretty decent draft lineup. Overall Wild Wing Cafe provides a solid lunch option especially after you’ve had your fill of seafood.

On the backside of Coligny Plaza, just around the corner from the Piggly Wiggly, sits a wonderful little sub shop called Stu’s Surfside Subs. This tiny shop only has seating for about a dozen people on the inside, and there are also a few tables outside if the steamy weather doesn’t get to you.

Inside

I walked over to Stu’s from our condo just south of Coligny Circle on our first day in town. I placed a carry out order for three sandwiches and waited ten or fifteen minutes for them to be prepared. Next time I think I’ll order a beer to enjoy during the wait or call my order in ahead of time.

Chicken Salad

I had a chicken salad sub with provolone, lettuce, and tomato ($6.50). Stu’s bread is fresh-baked in the store and it shows, as the bread is soft, fluffy, and delicious! The chicken salad was good, but I was immediately jealous of my wife’s beach club with peppered turkey, avocado, and cheese. We both liked the subs so much we returned on our final day at the beach and this time I went with the Calibogue (ham, turkey, bacon, and cheese with veggies) and it was easily the best of the bunch ($6.95). The Local with turkey, cheese, homemade honey mustard, and granny smith apples was also top-notch!

Stu’s is an amazing sub shop and I can’t believe that a Subway remains in business in the same shopping center. I will definitely be back for more delicious subs in the future.

After driving through the night from Cincinnati to Hilton Head Island, SC we arrived just before 8 AM ready for breakfast. After a quick search I quickly decided on the Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe, which is located just off the southern end of the Cross Island Parkway, making it a great spot to stop on your way to the beach.

Inside

There are both tables inside and tables outside, as well as a high-top bar inside adjacent to the kitchen. The restaurant never filled to capacity throughout our visit, so perhaps this is a somewhat hidden spot away from the lengthy waits for a table at restaurants near the beach.

Biscuits & Gravy

I had a full order of the homemade biscuits and sausage gravy ($6.99). Though very standard in appearance, the biscuits were flaky and the gravy was peppered and tasty. I added a little Cholula to spice it up but this was definitely a solid dish. I also stole a few bites of my sons pancake from the kid’s menu, which was gigantic and delicious!

Kid’s Pancake

My wife had the eggs all ways early bird special which included two eggs, thick sausage links, hash browns, and toast ($5.99), which is a ton of food for a great price. The sausage was especially tasty.

The Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe provided a great family friendly start to our vacation on Hilton Head Island and we would not hesitate to visit again.

I recently had the opportunity to sample a few free meals from food delivery service Blue Apron. For roughly $60 per week this service delivers all the ingredients and a recipe to prepare three meals for two people. Blue Apron delivers original, step-by-step recipes and fresh ingredients to customers nationwide. The menus change every week, so with each delivery you learn to cook inventive new dishes with seasonal ingredients.

Ingredient List

Cooking Instructions

The dish I liked the best of the three I tried was lemon and pea tendril risotto. The portion was about 550 calories per serving and was more than I could eat in one sitting.

Cooking Risotto

Finished Risotto

We also enjoyed the Mexican-style chopped salad. The roasted poblano peppers were a nice touch to compliment the corn and tortilla strips. This meal was not nearly as filling though and could have definitely used a protein source.

Chopped Ingredients

Mexican-Style Chopped Salad

I though the price was pretty fair, though maybe just a touch on the high side. I used to cook meals from scratch often, but times have changed and we mostly eat prepared meals at home now. The majority of these meals come from Dream Dinners, a monthly service that we use for prepared meals. Once per month I visit the local store and assemble meals using already prepped ingredients and include the appropriate cooking instructions. On average, the cost of these meals are roughly half of what Blue Apron charges per serving size.

However the biggest issue I had with Blue Apron is that I set my dietary preferences to only receive poultry and pork products, leaving out beef, lamb, fish, and shellfish. I also specified that I was not a vegetarian, but I was given three vegetarian meals. It really would have been nice to receive some recipes revolving around white meat, but I guess that is reserved for people with larger dietary preferences. Unless this restriction is removed and more variety is offered, I don’t see myself using Blue Apron again in the future.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited down to Yelp’s Summer Bucket List Bash, a celebration of all things summer in Cincinnati. It all took place on BB Riverboats‘ Belle of Cincinnati.

BB Riverboats

All three indoor decks of the riverboat were open for tastings of various Cincinnati restaurants including Jeff Ruby’s, Eli’s BBQ, Meatball Kitchen, Mazunte, Keystone, and Holtman’s Donuts.

Food Tasting

The top deck had DJ Chris Handlon and he quickly turned the entire deck into one big dance party.

Yelpie

We cruised all the way out to Rivertowne Marina before turning back to complete the two and a half hour sightseeing cruise.

Barge

On the way back the sun was setting and by the time we arrived back in downtown the city was all light up and the party was in full swing.

Go Reds

I don’t think evening cruises like this are offered often, so it was definitely a special trip, even if I had just cruised with BB Riverboats a month earlier.

Roebling Suspension Bridge

It was a great way to help wind down summer.

I reviewed another Mellow Mushroom location before, but decided to write-up another review after trying additional menu items at the newly opened Hyde Park location. The pizza chain opened in the space recently abandoned by City Barbeque in the Hyde Park Plaza.

Inside

The inside wasn’t as large as other locations I’ve visited in the past. As with all of their restaurants the decor is simple and the walls are covered with interesting paintings and decor representing various local attractions. There are a handful of televisions at the high top bar, and some neighboring tables have a good view, but for the most part this is more restaurant than sports bar.

Enlightened Spinach Salad

My wife and I started with the Enlightened Spinach Salad ($5.95 for the lil’ size). The combination of fresh spinach, dried cherries, apples, homemade candied pecans, and feta cheese is similar to many spinach salads I’ve had before. However the cherries were are nice replacement to the more common cranberries. The flavors were good and this is a nice way to start a meal.

Maui Wowie / Thai Dye Pizza

As far as pizza goes my wife and I split an order as well. Since we couldn’t decide on one pizza we did half Maui Wowie and half Thai Dye (just over $20 for the 14″). The Maui Wowie was my favorite of the two with a very interesting but delicious combination of pesto, ham, pineapple, jerk chicken, banana peppers, Applewood smoked bacon & mozzarella cheese. The jerk chicken was especially well-flavored.

The Thai Dye is no slouch either with olive oil and garlic base topped with curry chicken, mozzarella cheese, Roma tomatoes, onions, fresh basic, cucumbers, and a sweet Thai chili sauce. I think both pizzas are some of the more unique offerings on the menu and are both worth a try.

To wash it all down there is a really good craft beer selection. The prices at Mellow Mushroom are a bit high, but the quality and creativity are there to help justify the cost.

My family and I spent all last week (and a couple of extra days) on vacation with my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend on Hilton Head Island. We rented a three bedroom and three bathroom condo from Shorewood Villas, just a few buildings down from Coligny Circle. It is an excellent location to leave your car sitting idle for your trip, especially if you rent bikes for the week.

Shorewood Villas

Shorewood is an oceanfront property with a private walkway to the beach. There is a keypad locked gate at both the oceanfront entrance and at the South Forest Beach Drive entrance. Our unit was well-appointed and maintained, though I think the cleaning crew could use a full day to really scrub out some of the closets. However a little bit of dust wouldn’t stop me from staying at Shorewood again.

Zero Entry Pool

One of our favorite features at Shorewood was the zero entry pool, which our young children absolutely loved. There was also a decent sized kiddie pool and a hot tub. Private restrooms are also located poolside, which was a nice feature to have on long days spent between the beach and the pool.

Family Shot

We had an excellent trip and I will definitely have more posts coming in the near future about some of our dining and entertainment experiences.

Shorewood on Dwellable

I’ve always heard a lot about Ingredients from my wife but I never got around to trying it for myself until a couple of weeks ago. This salad, sandwich, panini, and pizza quick service restaurant is located in the atrium lobby of the Westin Cincinnati, just across the street from Fountain Square.

Atrium Lobby

The primary draw is definitely the salad station where the customer can choose from a wide variety of ingredients to create a personalized salad or select from one of their signature combinations. The line was very long for this station, while the sandwich and other station was not nearly as crowded. But as this was my first time I figured I better try one of the salads.

Inside

I went with the southwest chicken salad with black beans, corn, tomatoes, tortilla strips, avocado, scallions, cilantro, cheddar cheese, and jalapeno ($7.95). The employees at the salad station quickly threw the ingredients together, tossed it all together with ranch dressing and put it in a super sized to go container.

Southwest Chicken Salad

As the weather was nice I decided to take my lunch over to Fountain Square to enjoy in the sunshine. The salad was very large and I could have easily been split with another for a light lunch. The ingredients were all very fresh and the combination was great! I noticed that these signature salads are also available in a prepared cooler, but I think it’s worth the ten minute wait to get it assembled fresh and tossed together even if you aren’t making any modifications. Ingredients is a great spot for a somewhat healthy lunch downtown.

A few weeks ago some neighbors of ours across part of Williamstown Lake put in a giant slip ‘n slide. Since then they have added a sand volleyball court and tether-ball turning our little part of the lake into party cove.

Slip ‘N Slide

A few years back we created our own giant slip ‘n slide, but it was much rougher than this new and improved version. I took a few rides on it with my youngest brother-in-law and even shot some video with the GoPro.

FYI, the noisy one is my brother-in-law.