I recently became a BzzAgent  and was invited to my first campaign. As part of the campaign I received a coupon for a free package of MorningStar Farms veggie burgers that I would in turn evaluate. I took my coupon to my local Kroger store and searched high and low for the MorningStar Farms products. I could not find them in the meat alternative section of the store. Fortunately a kind employee showed me to their location hidden next to the waffles in the normal freezer section of the store. I found the spicy black bean burgers that I wanted and was on my way.

Packaging

Last night I decided to give the burgers a try. Try to check this out by buying the same one day to experience what I said about it. The box comes with 4 burgers inside with 2 in each of the plastic wrappers. Even though it was much too cold to fire up the grill outside, we are fortunate to have an inside grill to use to prepare the burgers. I also had some wheat buns that I added to the grill as well. And I finished each patty with a slice of cheddar cheese for the last couple minutes of grilling.

Grilling

Once everything was done cooking I assembled the burgers and added a fresh piece of green leaf lettuce as well as some ketchup and mustard.

Complete

Overall I was fairly happy with the results. I don’t think the burgers are as tasty as some I’ve had in area restaurants, or the ones we’ve made before from scratch, but they weren’t bad in any way. I was actually hoping for a little more spiciness than what I tasted. The patties are full of beans and corn, so you know they are healthier than a meat burger. I received a few additional coupons as part of the campaign and I do think I will buy a few more boxes to see if there is something else that we might like better.

Outside Sugar n’ Spice

Over the weekend I wanted to try somewhere new for breakfast and immediately thought of Sugar n’ Spice, the bright pink diner on Reading Road just up the street from Xavier. We arrived just after 9am Saturday to find a completely full restaurant and a few people waiting in line for a table. Fortunately the turnover was really quick and we had a seat in one of the booths directly across from the bar counter seating within ten minutes.

Inside Sugar n’ Spice

The inside of Sugar n’ Spice is not very large, but the seating is really packed in. There is even a half booth with seating on just one side of the half sized table. The walls are painted bright and feature cartoon characters and breakfast items. There is a huge collection of rubber ducks too. Needless to say, my son was easily amused throughout our brief stay.

Biscuits n’ Chunky Sausage Gravy

For breakfast I ordered the biscuits n’ chunky sausage gravy, which is only available on Saturday and Sunday ($4.50). The biscuits didn’t appear to be homemade, but the sausage gravy definitely was. There were plenty of large chunks of sausage in the creamy and peppery gravy. It wasn’t the best biscuits and gravy I’ve had, but not the worst either. I also ordered a side of goetta ($2.50) that was cooked perfectly.

BYO Omelette

My wife built her own omelette (starting at $5.25, vegetables and cheeses are $.50 each, meats are $2.25 and up). This was the largest omelette I have ever seen! She really loved her creation and said it was one of the better omelets she has had. It comes served with a toasted  English  muffin as well.

Blueberry Wispy Thin Pancakes

We ordered a half stack of blueberry wispy thin pancakes for our son ($3.50). He must have really loved these thin pancakes as he easily ate half of his plate, quite an accomplishment for our just turned two-year old. I stole a couple of bites of these  famous  cakes and really enjoyed their light and thin texture and was  surprised  to find them even a little crisp around the edges. Normally I prefer thicker pancakes, but the flavor in these was very nice.

Our service was very quick and  efficient. The way most of the seating is around a central service area really allows for the servers to do their jobs without fear of running into customers. The food was good and I think we will definitely return again sometime in the future.

Awhile back I posted that our Jetta had finally crossed the 100,000 mile mark. It was at that time that I was alerted to a piece of maintenance that we had neglected to have done, replacing the timing belt. I believe it is recommended to be replaced at 60-100k, so we were well overdue.

After talking it over with my dad, it was decided that replacing the belt was more work than we wanted to take on ourselves (with him doing the work and me mostly supervising). So I made a few calls to area service shops and even a dealership to get quotes. A couple of places, the dealership included, gave me a roughly $750 to $800 quote for the work (replacing belt and tensioner along with water pump, serpentine belt, and replacing the coolant). The last place I called, Dubwerx, wanted to see the car before providing a quote.

So I drove the car down to them a couple of Fridays ago for them to take a look at it. After an hour or so inspection I was given their price for the same replacement service the other guys offered, but their price was only $670. Since they work only on Volkswagen and Audi cars, I guess they are able to perform the job quicker than others and do it at a lower cost. My decision was made immediately and I scheduled an appointment to have the replacement done.

We dropped the car off to them last Wednesday evening so they would have it first thing Thursday morning. About 4pm on Thursday I got a call from the service director telling me that it would be done and ready for pickup before their 5:30 closing. I asked if I could leave it again overnight and pick it up on Friday morning, which was not an issue. The car was running great (just as it was) after picking it up the next day. I experienced wonderful service at Dubwerx and I will not hesitate to take my car back to them in the future.

My mother’s birthday was just a few days ago and we decided to get a group together for dinner this past Friday. A reservation for 13 was made at smoQ, a  barbecue  restaurant out in Springdale near my brother’s house.

Outside smoQ

The second I stepped out of the car I was greeted by wonderful smoky smells. The parking lot is very large but was still nearly full upon our 6:30 arrival time. The inside of smoQ is also quite large with a few open rooms, a  separated  bar along one side of the building, and even one private room that could seat around a dozen people.

Inside smoQ

Our server greeted our table within minutes of our arrival. Later she came by with complimentary cornbread muffins. These are very light and fluffy and resemble cake more than the traditional southern cornbread. With that said, I still enjoyed one of the muffins while looking over the menu.

Corn Muffin

Our table ordered three appetizers to share, buffa-q wings ($6.99), fried green tomatoes ($6.99), and fried ribs ($7.99). Their wings are smoked, covered in sauce, and then grilled. The sauce isn’t overly spicy and compliments the smokey grilled flavor very well. I really enjoyed these. The fried green tomatoes are a seasonal item, and are flash fried in a cornmeal  batter.   I also enjoyed these very much. I didn’t sample the fried ribs, but from what others are the table said they are also worth ordering. These are  dry rubbed ribs, lightly breaded, and flash fried.

Buffa-Q Wings

For dinner I decided on the fried chicken ($14.99 with 2 sides). This is no ordinary fried chicken though. It’s half a chicken,  molasses brined and smoked just like their barbecued chicken, but then it is lightly dusted in seasoned flour and fried. The results are really good with a crisp fried outside but with plenty of smoke flavor in the meat. I choose cheddar and bacon grits as well as Memphis mustard slaw for my sides. Both were really good.

Fried Chicken

My wife ordered the pulled pork plate ($14.99 with 2 sides). The serving of pulled pork is massive and could easily be shared. We ended up taking at least half of it home. The meat itself was good, not my favorite in the city, but still a solid choice. It was overall very moist and full of a nice smoke flavor. There wasn’t much crisp on the ends though, which I missed. There are three sauces on the table, Kansas City sweet, Memphis mild, and Carolina hot. I thought all the sauces lacked a little something, but was pleasantly surprised by the secret “Burnin Peter” sauce that our server brought from the back and suggested we try. My wife had macaroni and cheese along with sweet potato and pecan brûlée. Again these were very good sides and keeping with the theme they were served in really large portions.

Pulled Pork Plate

Overall I was very happy with the food and service from smoQ. I didn’t hear any  complaints  from our large group who ordered everything from salads to chicken and dumplings and even buffalo meatloaf. I would definitely go back for more food and likely would try the chicken and waffle next.

I moved to Kansas City immediately after college and one of the first things I had to eat out there was a sub from Mr. Goodcents. I ate there fairly regularly during my three years in that city, and always enjoyed their fresh sliced meat and crisp toppings.  Think of it as a similar concept to Jersey Mike’s, but with a wider variety of options.

A couple of weekends ago I found myself out in the neighborhood of IKEA and needed to find a place for lunch. My wife searched on her phone for something nearby and the second she said Goodcents Deli Fresh Subs, I knew we had to go there. It seems that they are going through a little  re-branding, and the Mr. at the front of the name is no more. However once I stepped inside the restaurant it was just as I remembered from back in KC.

Goodcents Deli Fresh Subs offers a variety of cold and toasted subs, as well as a couple of soups and even pastas. I don’t think I’ve ever had the pasta, but it is nice that there are options to be had. On this visit I went with the California turkey club on wheat with sliced turkey, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, and ranch dressing. Everything tasted very fresh and I really enjoyed the sandwich.

California Turkey Club

The franchise  owner stopped by a couple of times to see how we liked our lunch. I asked him about the re-branding and he said it was done to emphasize the freshness of their food and to help put them in a better place to compete with places such as Subway. He asked how I knew about the old name and said that I must be from Kansas City. Turns out a relative of his owned the  franchise  that we visited most often while living in KC. Small world!

If you recall I attended last year’s  inaugural  5B: Believers in Better Beer, Bites and Blogging Conference and came back with essentially nothing but positive things to say. I concluded that if it were held again that I would definitely attend again. I’m happy to report that they are holding the conference again this year and as of today I am officially registered to be there!

For only a $60 registration fee I will receive admission to all sessions of the conference, plus a  Regular Admission  ticket for the Friday night session of the 2013 Cincy Winter Beerfest ($45 Value) and a  Connoisseur ticket  ($75 Value) for the Saturday night session. The Connoisseur ticket grants early entry into the Beerfest, access into the Connoisseur Reception Area (which will include appetizer bites from twelve local chef driven restaurants, rare beer list, private restrooms) and a special Connoisseurs only entrance area.

If you are a Cincinnati area blogger of any sort, I encourage you the join in the fun and register now.

This past Friday night I headed to the Taft Theatre to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals  for the fifth time since 2006. I can still remember my first show of theirs at the Wakarusa Music Festival that was so full of energy especially for a hot evening in Kansas. The second time I saw Grace and her band perform was at another music festival, Mile High in 2008. It wasn’t until 2011 that I finally saw a headlining show. However it never seemed to matter if it was a headlining show or not, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals were always ready to deliver a high energy rock and roll show.

Landhorne Slim & the Law

Opening the show this time around was Landhorne Slim and the Law. We arrived after they had already taken the stage for the 45 minute set, but I heard enough of their sound to say though I enjoyed it somewhat, I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it again. That’s not to say that they aren’t entertaining and accomplished musicians, because it seems that they are, but the alternative country style of music is not really what I’m most interested in.

Grace Potter on Keys

Though Grace Potter now plays a lot more guitar than she used to, she started off the night on the keys before launching into the opening track of the night the title track of her latest album  The Lion The Beast The Beat. I’m not very familiar with this latest release but it is pretty clear to me that it is much more rock and roll than the previous release that was a little more on the pop side of things. I particularly liked the track “Runaway” from the latest offering, as well as an easy highlight for me, the always rocking “Ah, Mary” a track off This Is Somewhere, released in 2007.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Other highlights in the main set included a short cover of Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands” as well as Neil Young’s “Down by the River.” I also enjoyed hearing a quieter old track in “Ragged Company,” which was  re-released  with Willie Nelson as a bonus track. The set closing “Stop the Bus” had the sold out crowd singing along and wanting more.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

The encore started with the power ballad and chilling “Apologies” with soaring vocals from Grace. Up next was a solo performance on the guitar of Nothing But the Water (I) which went right into one of my all time favorite songs by the group, “Nothing But the Water (II).” Sure it is an always predictable combination, but there is no way one could be played without the other. This was followed up with their biggest hit from their self titled album from 2010, “Paris (Ooh La La)” which had nearly everyone up on their feet and dancing along. After the final song of the five song encore, “Medicine”, the band had played another 40 minutes on stage after an already lengthy set. What a night!

For Christmas my wife and I received a gift certificate to the very recently opened M Wood Fired Oven  in East Hyde Park. Having concert tickets for Friday night we decided to give M a try before hand. I made a reservation on OpenTable for 6pm and upon our arrival found an approximately half filled restaurant. The inside of the space is decorated in a rustic style and was much larger than I was expecting it to be.

We were immediately seated at a table adjacent to the front door. Fortunately the weather was unseasonably warm during our visit, as the front door was constantly opening throughout our visit, which would be an issue in colder weather. Plus the door doesn’t seem to close on its own, which is something that should be fixed right away. Many of the people entering the restaurant didn’t have a reservation and must have been given a lengthy wait time as I didn’t see many of them stick around and wait for a table.

Anyway, our server appeared at our table within a minute or two of sitting down to take our drink orders. The draft beer list was not on the menu, but our server was able to quickly run through the options even with a very brief description of each. After dropping off our drinks a handful of minutes later, she ran through the menu with us explaining that nearly everything is meant for sharing.

We ordered one item from each of the flora, gratin, and pizza sections, skipping the small plates and primal section that is filled with four different chef’s choice cuts of meat that vary each evening. We had requested that the salad come out first, followed by the gratin and pizza. After ten minutes or so our pizza and gratin were dropped off at our table before our salad. It seems that our salad order got lost and when we alerted the food runner a salad was quickly located and dropped off to our table as well. Our server and the manager were both very quick to arrive at our table and offered to remake the pizza and gratin so that it would be ready after we ate our salad. We decline the offer and decided to snack on all the plates together.

Chef’s Fruit Salad

Our salad selection was not on the menu but was described as a pear and walnut salad by our server. All salads are $8 and though they were described as enough to share, we found the serving size to be fairly small.

Local Greens Salad

Fortunately for us, through the  mix-up  with our order another salad was prepared for us and dropped off again by the very kind manager. This was the local greens salad with field greens, romaine, cherries, feta, toasted almonds, and creamy balsamic ($8). Again the portion was not really large enough for the high price. The greens were fresh in both salads, but the flavor combinations of both left a little to be desired. I’ve had similarly topped salads at other restaurants with way more flavor than what was served at M.

Pizza #3

All pizzas are $12 and are plate sized, with enough to share as long as side dishes are ordered. The price of the pizza seems a little more fair than the skimpy salads. Our selection for the night was #3 with  Parmesan  custard, pickled chili, red onions, pistachios, and rosemary. This was a very unique pizza and the flavor combination was interesting and pretty good. There are five other pizzas on the menu, some of which have equally interesting combinations such as onion soubise,  Brussels  sprouts, raisins, and shallots.

Cauliflower Gratin

The highlight of my meal was easily the cauliflower gratin with Brussels sprouts, pine nut crust, cream, and spinach ($8). This creamy dish of fresh veggies was delicious and the pine nuts added the right amount of crunch to the tender pieces of cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. They also offer eggplant, mushroom, and potato gratins but I would find it hard to skip out on the cauliflower.

Pear Pie With Jalapeno Gelato

For dessert I was really considering ordering their bourbon spiced apple pie with cheddar gelato, but our server suggested the pear pie with jalapeño gelato instead. I had never had pear pie before, but it was so similar to apple pie that I hardly could tell a difference. The jalapeño gelato had a nice amount of heat to it that really did compliment the spices in the pie. My only complaint was that the pie was cold, and I would have rather it been warmed up.

S’more Cookie With Marshmallow Gelato

My wife went with the s’more cookie, which was served warmed. The middle of the cookie was soft and the  chocolate nearly oozed out of the center, but the edges of the cookie were very crisp and impossible to eat with a spoon. I was expecting this to be a knockout desert but I actually enjoyed the pie better.

Despite the hiccups with our order, the service we received at M was efficient and  accommodating. The prices are a little high on some of the items based on serving size. From my experience I would skip the salads in the future and focus on the pizza and gratins.

For Christmas Kim and I received a slow cooker  from her parents so we are now finally able to prepare these simple meals that seem to be all the rage recently. Monday was our first attempt with it following this recipe for chicken and dumplings. Kim put everything in the pot before leaving for work and set it on low to cook for eight hours. We were using mostly frozen chicken and read that this was the preferred heating method.

Before Dumplings

After work I returned home to find the chicken was cooked and the slow cooker had dropped down to the warm setting. Using a spoon I shredded the chicken to make sure it was done and I thought it would make it easier to eat. I then turned the heat back on to high, as the directions indicated and threw in the 2 cans of refrigerated biscuit dough.

With Dumplings

Unfortunately we would soon realize that it was going to take much longer than the advertised half hour to cook the dough into dumplings. I think our problem was that  the slow cooker had been on the warm setting for hours and it took a considerable amount of time to get it back to the high setting to  adequately  cook the dumplings.

Dinner Is Served

Once it was finished I served it in bowls with a little fresh ground pepper. I was really impressed with how much I liked this meal. Unfortunately it doesn’t really meet the set it and forget it requirement that we typically need, so I’m not sure we will be making this particular recipe again. Unless I decide to do it on a day I’m working from home and can add the biscuits in a couple of hours before serving time.

This past Friday evening I finally found my way over to Fatty Patty’s Pizza to use an expiring Groupon. Along for the ride were my wife and soon to be two-year old son. Fatty Patty’s occupies a corner of the Main and 7th Street intersection on the southern edge of Covington’s  Mainstrasse Village.

Fatty Patty’s Sign

We arrived at 6PM and upon entering the front door found an empty room with a bar counter and no employees in sight. We walked through a hallway to the back room that serves as the dining room and  found just one other table occupied in the small space with less than a dozen tables. As we were getting ready to walk back to the front to ask about seating, we ran into an employee who told us to choose whatever table we liked.

Inside Fatty Patty’s

The employee that we ran into ended up being our server. He greeted us (again) quickly after we took our seats and ran through a list of available drinks, at which time I realized that no alcohol is served. It seems that it would be beneficial for the restaurant to seek out a liquor license and make better use of the front room.

Cheesy Flat Bread

We started our meal with an order of their cheesy flat bread with a side of pizza sauce ($5.99). This was served to us steaming hot! After letting it cool, I dug right into the cheesy goodness. The flat bread was just their pizza dough, so this gave us a good idea of what we were in for with their pizza too. The crust was thick and fluffy and the sauce was good, if not just a tad  under-seasoned.

House Salad

Our Groupon included a house salad, normally $5.99. The salad is plenty big enough for sharing, but I’m afraid it was little more than a mix of lettuce, onion, and tomatoes with a dusting of powdered cheese. The croutons seemed to be  house-made  but tasted only of oil. I would definitely skip the salad.

Supreme Pizza

We choose the medium 14″ supreme pizza for dinner ($14.99). The included toppings were pepperoni, Italian sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, black olives and red onion. The crust around the edges was just like our appetizer, thick and fluffy. However the crust on the rest of the pizza was really thin and hard to separate. The pizza was cooked well and tasted good. Again the sauce didn’t stand out very much, even though it was supposed to be a  chunky red sauce.

Our service for the entire stay was outstanding. I really wanted to love the food too, but overall it was just an alright pizza. I wouldn’t go out-of-the-way for it again.