My family and I met another family for dinner at Mi Cozumel, a new addition to the Oakley Station development. We arrived around 5 on a Friday night and were seated right away. The interior and decor are not at all recognizable from the previous tenant of the space, Bar Louie.

Inside

They have an incredibly long and expensive drink list, as well as a more moderately priced but equally as extensive food menu. With the restaurant not at capacity, one would expect service to be fast, but we had to flag down a server after 20 minutes of not even placing a drink order. If considering a large house margarita ($15.99) I would recommend going with the half pitcher instead ($16.99) and splitting it with someone else. The specialty margaritas looked interesting but too expensive for my tastes.

Chimichangas

For dinner, I had the chimichangas, two per order, covered with white queso sauce, served with rice or beans, and guacamole salad ($13.99). This was a good meal and I would definitely order it again, but I’m just not sure we will be back due to slow service and expensive drinks. Plus the line was out the door by the time we left, so make sure to show up early if you do decide to give it a try.

As I attempt to sample everything there is to offer at the Oakley Kitchen Food Hall, I recently had some pizza from Padrino. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this is the same business that I have previously visited in Milford years ago, and they have a spot in Ft. Thomas as well. The menus are different at each, but you will always find some excellent pizza offerings.

Counter

Orders are placed at the counter and prepared quickly to order.

Garlic Knots

My son and I started with some garlic knots (4 for $4) which were a great way to kick things off! He also enjoyed the cheese pizza with a house-made marina ($9 for 10″).

Cheese Pizza

I ordered the drunken goat pizza, with a vodka rose sauce base, goat cheese, bacon, fresh mushrooms, capicola, and a cheese blend ($14.50 for 10″). This was outstanding and a really great combination of flavors.

Drunken Goat Pizza

At the Oakley Kitchen Food Hall, Padrino offers a few appetizers, salads, pastas, and sandwiches, but their specialty pizzas are where they shine!

Nation Kitchen & Bar has operated in Pendleton since 2015, and their newest spot in Westwood opened in late 2020. The Pendleton location isn’t especially kid-friendly, so it is not on our list of regular spots. However, if the Westwood location was closer to our home, it would most likely be in our rotation of lunch/dinner spots. It’s brighter, lively, and offers a kids menu.

Inside

My family and I arrived shortly after 11 on a Saturday and were immediately seated at a high-top table. The restaurant is not huge, but they do make good use of the space that they do have. Also looks like a patio would be in use with better weather. The space was formerly the Engine Co. Number 35 firehouse and a number of artifacts from that time can still be found inside and out.

The Phoenix

Brunch is offered early on Saturday and Sunday, but they also serve the full menu during that time, which I was delighted about. I ordered the phoenix sandwich with a fried buttermilk chicken breast, Nashville hot sauce, spicy jalapeno slaw, chipotle mayo, and pickles on a challah bun ($12). This was a very good sandwich, spicy but not over the top. I especially liked the slaw. I also enjoyed a side of tater tots ($3). My wife and kids enjoyed the burgers. Note that any specialty burger can have the beef subbed for a turkey or black bean patty.

Hyde Park Square has a brewery! Columbus-based North High Brewing opened up a little over a year ago and has quickly become a popular spot for beers and pizza. So popular in fact that I recommend making a reservation on OpenTable if you do want to go for a meal. The space is relatively small so there are limited tables, especially during the colder months when outdoor dining is not available. When the weather is good, there are a number of tables out front that double the available seating.

Inside

As far as the beer goes, you can’t go wrong with a Hopes west coast style IPA. They also have brewed a beer specifically for this location, North High’d Park Honey Wheat. With 16 taps there is something for everyone, with six year-round offerings and plenty of seasonal or limited drafts available.

Pizzas

The food menu features appetizers, salads, pizzas, and subs. Our group of 4 split 2 pizzas, General Cincinnatus and Ohio BBQ. General Cincinnatus combines san marzano, cheese, pepperoni, capicola, cherry peppers, red onion, and crushed red pepper ($13 – 12-inch, $18 16-inch). A little spicy for sure, and piled high with toppings, this was an awesome pizza. Ohio BBQ features BBQ sauce, mixed cheddar, grilled chicken, bacon, red onion, corn salsa, black beans, and ranch ($14 – 12-inch, $19 16-inch). This was also a good pizza, but I preferred the General. Overall this is a great spot and will be a frequent destination for me and my family.

BrewDog has quickly become one of my family’s go-to spots. We typically head there for lunch on Saturday or Sunday. My kids love the upstairs gaming area with ping-pong, pinball machines, and table games. We all enjoy the food and I love the Punk IPA.

Inside

The giant soft pretzel is truly giant! It is served with beer cheese and coriander-turmeric aioli ($9.50). This is enough for our family to share, though my son usually ends up eating over half of it.

Giant Soft Pretzel

Their pizza offerings are good and offer plenty to share. The buffalo chicken pizza is topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, red onion, applewood smoked bacon, crisp celery, blue cheese, bagel spice, and habanero ranch ($17). This was a really good buffalo chicken pizza, with a nice spice level.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

My wife absolutely loves the sweet potato burger made with quinoa and brown rice, topped with charred kale, coriander-turmeric aioli, caramelized onion, and swiss cheese ($15 with a side of fries). I have not tried it myself, but if you are into vegetarian items, I’ve heard this is top-notch!

Sweet Potato Burger

Their fried chicken sandwich is another tasty option. It’s a breaded chicken thigh, andouille-pimento cheese, habanero ranch, romaine, hot mustard bbq, and house pickle ($16 with fries). I know it sounds like it might be spicy, but the spice is quite subtle. They do offer a buffalo chicken sandwich as well, for those who like to spice it up. I wasn’t sure that I’d enjoy the chicken thigh instead of breast, but I actually didn’t really notice the difference. The toppings of this sandwich were such a unique combination of flavors.

Fried Chicken Sandwich

The food menu is actually pretty large at BrewDog and there is something for everyone. I forgot to mention that there is a kids’ menu with a “hoppy meal” featuring a burger or nuggets, side, drink, and dessert ($8). They also have a wide variety of beer on draft, with cider, non-alcoholic beer, and a full bar all available. We will be back again soon!

HighGrain Brewing is a welcome addition to our cities vast brewery options. My family and I arrived early on a Saturday. The inside space was rather spacious. We decided to sit at a high-top table near the bar.

Inside

A brunch menu was available, but my family was ready for lunch (also available). I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with chipotle honey marinated grilled chicken, apple onion jam, herb goat cheese, bacon pickled red onion, and 80 Acres greens ($14 with fries). This was a very good sandwich and I especially loved the combination of the apple onion jam and herb goat cheese. It had a great and unique combination of flavors.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

My wife had the veggie burger made with smoked cauliflower, carrots, onions, celery & shiitakes bonded with black beans & northern white beans on a brioche bun with herb aioli, romaine & pickled red onions ($11 with fries). She really enjoyed this house-made patty that was full of veggies rather than simply black beans.

Veggie Burger

Our kids enjoyed the cheeseburger ($6 with fries), as well as the beer cheese pretzels ($10), served with house-made Saison honey mustard and white American beer cheese. A wide variety of beer is available. I enjoyed the Titan, West Coast IPA, while my wife liked the Monarch, Juicy IPA. We look forward to a return visit soon.

My family and I recently visited our friends and old neighbors at their new home in Saline, Michigan. For lunch, we stopped in at the Salt Spring Brewery in downtown Saline, housed in a former historic church building.

Outside

To start our experience, I had a glass of their Cashmere Zeppelin IPA, brewed with 100% Michigan cashmere hops, giving a citrus fruit flavor, and overall a solid brew. The Ryepalicous IPA was also tasty.

Southern Style Pork Sandwich

For lunch, I ordered the southern-style pork sandwich with house-smoked pork shoulder, sharp cheddar, bread & butter pickles, stout BBQ sauce, and coleslaw on a challah bun ($13.50 with fries on the side). Overall this was pretty good, though I wish that the pork had more smoke flavor. The pickles were fantastic and their BBQ sauce was solid.

Michigan Chicken Sandwich

My wife had the Michigan chicken sandwich with a smoked chicken breast, crispy bacon, sweet pepper chutney, arugula, and chevre on a potato bun ($13.59 with fries). Overall I liked this sandwich better than the pork sandwich. The chicken was well seasoned and the chutney and creamy chevre complimented it well.

Salt Springs Brewery is well worth a visit with the entire family. Our kids enjoyed large servings from the kids’ menu included mac-n-cheese, cheese pizza, and cheeseburger ($7 each).

Happy New Year! Below is the list of cities that I visited in 2021 with at least one night spent in each place. We were able to travel more this year, mostly all through road trips. Michigan has quickly become one of our favorite destinations.

• LaFollette, Tennessee *
• Cincinnati, Ohio *
• Holmes Beach, Florida
• Williamstown, Kentucky *
• Boyne Falls, Michigan *
• Asheville, North Carolina
• Penrose, North Carolina
• Broad Ripple, Indiana
• Frankenmuth, Michigan
• Mackinaw City, Michigan
• Munising, Michigan
• Chicago, Illinois
• Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
• Saline, Michigan
• Oregon, Ohio
• Portage, Michigan

* Those cities marked with an asterisk were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

See also: 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006