Pleasant Ridge has become one of our go-to neighborhoods. In addition to Nine Giant and Revolution Rotisserie, we recently discovered the Latin inspired cuisine of Casa Figueroa. Located in an old house on Montgomery Road, you might drive right past it if coming from the south. It sits back off the road and hides behind the Everybody’s Records building. But that allows for a large patio out front, which is where my wife and I sat to enjoy a dinner out.

Outside

We both started with the House Margarita ($7 on happy hour), and while these were delicious, I really enjoyed the spicy margarita I ordered for my second drink.

House Margarita

We also started with guacamole and chips ($6). The guac was made fresh and was delicious!

Guacamole & Chips

For dinner, I had the Armadillo Crunch with chicken ($15). This is similar to the turtle at Gomez, or the crunchwrap from Taco Bell, with a corn tostada surrounded by a flour tortilla and grilled. There was plenty of chicken inside, with the addition of pico, lettuce, and a nice aioli sauce. It was served with a side of rice and beans, which were really good.

Armadillo Crunch

My wife went with a couple of taco choices. The Florida shrimp were fried and served with pineapple salsa and avocado crema ($7). The chicken fajita was served with green mole, roasted poblano, onions, red bell peppers, pepitas, and cotija ($7). I stole a bite of the fajita and it was delicious and not like anything I’ve had before.

Tacos

We had a great meal at Casa Figueroa and look forward to returning in the future. The prices are a little higher than other more traditional Mexican restaurants, but the quality of the food and the variety was worth the extra cost.

Condado Tacos started in Columbus in 2014, and now has a dozen locations spread across Columbus, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, with more scheduled to come soon. They specialize in a build your own taco concept where the tacos are customizable in toppings, proteins, and shells.

Outside

The Cincinnati location occupies the southwest corner of Freedom & Joe Nuxhall Ways, directly across from Great American Ballpark. On nice days the entire walls of windows can be pushed back to really open up the restaurant space.

Bar

The inside is completed covered in street art style murals, all designed and painted by local artists. My wife and I sat at the bar and were lucky enough to discover it was happy hour, Monday through Friday 4-7, with half-price margaritas and $1 off tacos.

El Tres Amigos

On recommendation from the bartender, we started with the El Tres Amigos, a selection of 3 salsa, quesos, and guacamoles ($15). He also let us know that he would give us the salsa verde and salsa roja at no charge with our taco orders. So we went with the traditional guacamole, the diablo queso, and the chorizo queso. The chorizo queso was really good and comes highly recommended.

Tacos

While the make your own taco concept was intriguing, I decided to play it safe and ordered off of their taco suggestion menu. The El Santo ($4) was my favorite I think. It’s a sweet Lucy shell, which is a soft flour tortilla wrapped around a hard corn shell with queso and guac, topped with chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, queso fresco, salsa roja, and Condado Secret Sauce. I do think I will try creating my own on my next visit, which I hope is sometime soon!

I’ve been a fan of Revolution Rotisserie & Bar dating back to my 2015 visit to their Over-the-Rhine location. Since then they have grown up quite a bit. They added a location in Pleasant Ridge, they have more on the menus other than pita sandwiches, they offer a kids menu, and the list goes on.

Inside

I really like the openness and the feel of the newer Pleasant Ridge location. My wife and I stopped in one Saturday afternoon for lunch. Actually, we were there for brunch as they serve brunch on Saturdays and Sunday until 3 pm. I’m not really much of a brunch fan, mainly due to the dependence on egg-heavy dishes, but there were a couple of items I found to try.

Joan of Arc

First, my wife went with the tried and true Joan of Arc salad with goat cheese, strawberries, toasted almonds, and raspberry basil vinaigrette ($8). She has had this salad before and consistently goes back to it, so it must be good! I slightly allergic to almonds, so I cannot comment on the flavor of the salad, but it looked pretty good, though I thought it appeared on the small side.

Jackie Robinson

For my brunch offering, I went with the Jackie Robinson Chita (chicken pita) with bacon, pepperjack cheese, tater tot hash, and hot honey ($9). This was really good, as have been the other chita sandwiches I have tried on previous visits. I would still recommend getting a chita when you visit.

Side Salad

I also had a simple side salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing ($3) on the side. The ingredients were fresh and the salad was tasty. Overall, I am still a fan of Revolution and their rotisserie chicken, and you should definitely give it a try if you haven’t already done so.