Pepperoni & Mushroom

Last Friday my wife and I ordered pizza from Ramundo’s Pizzeria for us and her youngest brother who was staying with us for the night. She placed the order and decided to get two 18″ traditional crust pizzas, one with pepperoni and mushroom and the other plain with cheese. We  had the pizzas delivered and they arrived in timely fashion from the tiny pizzeria that is just down the road from our house.

Cheese Pizza

Both pizzas looked great upon delivery and arrived hot from the oven. I started with the pepperoni and mushroom pizza and was immediately hit with a bit of spiciness in the sauce, which I am a fan of. The sauce wasn’t sweet at all like some of the other pizza places around town. The toppings were pretty good and in fairly generous amounts. I also sampled the plain cheese which was good, though in this case I preferred some toppings. The cheese used on the pizzas was good, but the crust was a little plain. I’m told that they also serve New York style pizza, so next time I will have to give that a try. Overall this is a solid pizza that I’m sure we will order often in the future.

We’ve been without cable TV since moving into our new house at the beginning of July. Even with the fall season in full swing we have yet to miss an episode of all the shows we watch. This is all thanks to a new PC that I recently bought from newegg.com. It has everything needed to easily be configured for a home theater PC except for a tuner which I solved with this little device  and a  rabbit ears antenna that I borrowed from my father-in-law.

The TV signal that I get with the antenna is incredible HD quality from all the local channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, etc.) as well as some PBS type channels. With Windows 7’s built-in Media Center every computer is equipped to be a DVR. Plus Media Center automatically downloads program guides online and full season recordings can easily be set up too.

Since this is only a single tuner configuration versus the dual tuner that many cable system DVR’s have, we simply watch any conflicting shows from that networks website. Nearly every show in our list has full episodes available online for streaming. We also have ESPN3 through our current Internet service provider so we can stream all sorts of sports too.

My friend  Phil  was the one who introduced me to the idea and he has been doing it since the beginning of the year.  I’ve yet to find any major drawback to this setup. If you are even moderately tech savvy this setup shouldn’t be hard to do yourself.

As many times as I’ve visited Lucile’s Creole Cafe near our old home in Denver, I have never once reviewed it, other than mentioning it in other reviews as my favorite breakfast place I have ever found. On our most recent visit to the mile high city I made sure that we stopped in for breakfast one morning and I actually took some photos this time around.

On this particular visit we actually arrived before the doors had opened at 8 AM on Saturdays. This was actually not the first time this has happened, but it’s always a good idea to get to Lucile’s early as the wait for tables just gets longer as the day goes on. Fortunately for us we didn’t have to wait for a table any longer that it took to seat the few others that were actually ahead of us, in line before the doors has opened.

Cajun Bloody Mary

If you do find a wait for a table, you can enjoy one of their  Cajun  Bloody Mary’s around the fire pit outside. Their bloody mix is spicy and delicious. The drink comes garnished with a shrimp, okra, olive, and a massive stalk of celery. The also have great mimosas and Cuban OJ.

Carlin County

On 99% of my visits to Lucile’s I always order the same thing, Carlin County ($7.35), which is sausage gravy on a buttermilk biscuit.   Served with red beans and grits (substituting potatoes for grits).  Chef Mickey’s sausage gravy is like nothing I’ve had before. It is really spicy, thick, and full of andouille  sausage. Also worth mentioning are the  biscuits, which are served on the side with many of the other dishes. They are massive, easily enough to share with another.

The red beans are also very good, and while the potatoes themselves are nothing fancy, their homemade ketchup is to die for! In fact we bought a bottle of it to bring home with us. It is that good. They also make their own hot sauce and various jams that are on the table for the biscuits that arrive at your table before the rest of your meal.

My wife typically orders one of four different egg based items:

• Eggs Jennifer –  Thomas’ english muffin, spinach, tomato, avocado, poached eggs and hollandaise. Served with grits or potatoes. $10.20
• Eggs New Orleans – fried eggplant slices with creole sauce, poached eggs and hollandaise. Served with grits or potatoes and a biscuit. $8.95
• Hank’s Eggs – potatoes, onions, peppers, cheddar cheese and three eggs, scrambled together and topped with avocado and tomato. Served with a buttermilk biscuit. $9.20
• Farmer’s Eggs – potatoes, onions, peppers, cheddar cheese, sausage and three eggs all scrambled together. Served with a buttermilk biscuit. $9.20

Downtown on Dwellable

Sunday we attended the last Second Sunday on Main for this year. The event is advertised often at the end of mass and we finally had the opportunity to check it out this past weekend. Their website advertises that it is a hip, eclectic neighborhood event, and this was very true. There were tons of hip clothes, furnishings, and crafts on display from various eclectic vendors from the Over-the-Rhine chamber of commerce.

Also on hand we a few different food vendors, a stage with a few different bands playing throughout the afternoon, and even a beer booth. Though we didn’t buy anything during our stroll through the event, Kim did find some ideas for an upcoming baby shower. We also sampled food from a couple of the food vendors, full reviews to come soon. Overall it was a nice afternoon spent downtown. Plus Kim and Trey’s photo made it in the photo gallery on Metromix  (photo 15).

If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time you know that I enjoy Mexican food. More recently my wife and I have been on a quest for a solid Mexican restaurant close to our new home in Hyde Park. While this wouldn’t fall in the nearby category, La Mexicana in Newport does fall into the solid Mexican restaurant category.

Complimentary Chips and Salsa

La Mexicana was recommended to us by multiple people and we finally found the time to give it a try a couple of weekends ago. We arrived at the unassuming and plainly decorated restaurant just before noon on a Sunday. Immediately chips and salsa were delivered to our table and I noticed a sign across the room stating that the first round was free but any refills would cost us. The chips were fairly standard, but the salsa was delicious! It was refreshing to have a spicy green tomatillo salsa instead of the typical bland red.

Mexican Coke

Whenever I find Mexican Coke on the menu I almost always have to order one. I don’t often drink soft drinks but I make an exception for the sweet taste of Coke make with real cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. Yum!

Torta

For lunch my wife decided to really mix it up and ordered the Mexican sandwich known as a torta. Similar to most items on the menu, you have your choice of twenty, yes twenty, different meat and  vegetarian  fillings. She went with the pollo, grilled chicken marinated in adobo sauce. The torta is served with lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, and  mayonnaise. The sandwich looked so good upon its arrival that I agreed to split halves with her. It tasted just as delicious as it looks and sounds. I was pleasantly surprised by this and would definitely consider ordering it again.

Flag Burrito

I decided to try the flag burrito after a recommendation from a friend. She was right on with this recommendation as the burrito was excellent. I also ordered it stuffed with grilled marinated chicken. Also inside were plenty of rice, beans, lettuce, and tomatoes. It was then covered in both red and green sauces and a few streaks of sour cream. It was a gigantic burrito but we managed to eat every last bit. My wife and I both preferred the green sauce, but both were good. I know at the beginning of the review I said La Mexicana was a solid choice, but it went beyond that is already my favorite Mexican restaurant in the city.

My brother recommended McAlister’s Deli to me as a good spot for a quick sandwich. There was actually a location relatively close to our old house in Denver, but I had never heard of it before. Anyway a couple of Saturday’s ago my wife and I found ourselves within a couple of miles of their Mason location and we decided to stop in for lunch.

Outside McAlister's Deli

The location of the deli is in the epitome of the northeastern Cincinnati suburban sprawl, but I won’t hold it against them. Upon entering the front doors we walked down the center of the restaurant to the ordering counter at the back. An employee asked how many in the party and then pointed at the table where we should sit and pointed out the number on the table. We stepped up to a cashier, gave him our number, and then ordered from the rather large menu.

Spicy Southwest Chicken Griller

My wife went with the spicy southwest chicken griller ($6.99), featuring sliced grilled chicken breast topped with guacamole, fire-roasted corn & poblano pepper relish, pepper jack cheese and chipotle ranch  on a ciabatta roll. This sandwich is put on a panini press before being served. I stole a couple of bites and it was good, definitely spicy, but full of lots of different flavors. The price included a choice of side, and she went with the fruit.

Southwest Turkey Melt

I went with the southwest turkey melt ($7.29) with a side of potato salad. This sandwich is layered with smoked turkey, applewood smoked bacon, pepper jack cheese, spicy guacamole and chipotle ranch, then topped with lettuce and tomato on a baguette. I didn’t realize the similarities between what we ordered until the food had arrived, but I was definitely able to taste their similarities. I guess we are kind of predictable with our ordering. This sandwich was also good. The baguette was softer than I was expecting. Most times baguettes from delis are crunchy on the outside, but not this one.

Overall I wouldn’t go out of my way for lunch at McAlister’s but it will do just fine if in the neighborhood.

A couple of days ago, Sporting News released their Best Sports Cities  rankings, “which look at the 12 months from summer 2010 to summer 2011, are based on point values assigned to various categories, including but not limited to, won-lost records, postseason appearances, applicable power ratings, number of teams and attendance.” Cincinnati was placed in the top 25, which is a pretty respectable showing in my opinion. We sit just behind Denver (+Boulder) and have two fewer professional teams from the four major professional leagues than they do. With the Reds season finished, we are now relying on the Bengals to keep us happy, and so far they have mixed results doing so. The victory over the Bills this past weekend was a nice step though. And the Bearcats of the University of Cincinnati continued their winning ways over long time rivals Miami University.

My fantasy football teams continue to win and went undefeated again this past week! I am now in 1st of 10, 2nd of 12, 3rd of 12, and 1st of 4 in my division (and still the only undefeated team left in the league). I also retained first place in both the professional and college pick’em games. However I fell back one spot to 12th place in the salary cap game. Maybe I should just sell my entire team and start over.

A couple of Friday’s ago my wife and I were staying in for the night and decided to order pizza from Mio’s Pizzeria. It had been many years since I had last had pizza from Mio’s but once our stuffed pizza arrived I immediately remembered it. To go along with our stuffed pizza we had a coupon for a free original crust pizza and we also added an order of breadsticks. We actually wanted the cheese covered breadsticks but the regular ones were delivered  instead.

Breadsticks

Speaking of delivery, our driver had a cool little handheld credit card machine to process our order. It was nice not having to give our credit card number over the phone for once. But back to the breadsticks. They were very average in taste and though there were six of them, I don’t think it was worth the $4.99 price tag. I would skip these in the future.

Windy City Classic Stuffed Pizza

On to the star of the night, the Windy City Classic stuffed pizza with  Italian sausage, onion, green peppers, and three cheeses. The 13″ large pizza isn’t cheap ($22.99) but it is well worth the cost. Plus the slices of pizza are so large that just two of them is a complete meal. Everything about this pizza was excellent! The mix of cheese was tasty and the sauce was exquisite! Even the crust, which can often be overlooked on a pizza, had a great taste making each slice enjoyable until the last bite. My only complaint was that the toppings on the inside seemed a bit scarce.

Original Crust Pizza

I skipped over the original crust in favor of the stuffed for my first couple of slices, but I did manage to stuff down one slice of this pizza before calling it quits. This 12″ medium pizza would have cost  $10.19 without the coupon. Overall this pizza was pretty good, but in my opinion it couldn’t compare to the stuffed. Maybe if I hadn’t had the stuffed pizza first I would have felt differently about this one, but in my opinion it is worth the extra money to get the stuffed and skip the original. It’s delicious!

While in Colorado this past weekend we took advantage of the changing seasons to enjoy a pretty drive and some great hiking weather. We drove the rental car out of Denver west on I-70 to  Georgetown. In Georgetown we headed south to go up and over Guanella Pass. When we reached US-285 we headed further west to go over Kenosha Pass before heading back north in Como over Boreas Pass and into Breckenridge. The drive was filled with lots of great mountain views and plenty of aspen trees in their wonderful fall golden color.

From there we headed south on CO-9 to the Blue River area for some hiking. I found this trail description and figured it would be a great afternoon hike. Carrying Trey on my back definitely made the hike harder than it should have been, but I think he really enjoyed it. And it wasn’t really bad, it just took longer than I was thinking that it would. The link above says that this is the best hike in Summit County, and though I don’t know if I would go that far, it was still worthy of an afternoon adventure.

Georgetown on Dwellable

Kim, Trey, and I spent some time in and around Denver this past weekend. The big event of our trip was the 30th annual Great American Beer Festival. This was my 5th time attending the festival and 2nd time at the Saturday afternoon American Homebrewers Association  members only session. Overall we had a fantastic time full of mostly delicious and hard to find beers. We met up with a friend of mine and his recent fiancé who had also spent time at the Thursday evening session. It’s now my goal to attend the Thursday session sometime in the future. This is the first session of the weekend, so all the beers are fully stocked and available.  Occasionally  on Saturday we found some of the beers we wanted to try were already gone.

Like Father, Like Son

In total there were 466 breweries in the festival hall, 2,375 different beers, and 49,000 attendees over four sessions. And even with all of those large numbers the festival still seems to be run so smoothly. I guess experience does pay off. Similar to last year the hot styles on display were sours, which I really enjoyed this year. It seems that as the popularity of these styles grow the quality of the beers produced increases as well. But the  American-Style India Pale Ale category is still the most  popular  of all categories with 176 different entries. I wish I could say that I tried them all, but there is always next year.