I’ve chronicled my adventures with homebrewing before, and I am ready to get back into it after taking more than a year off! Over the last year I’ve accumulated all sorts of new equipment to help with the brewing process. My family also got me a brewing kit from Listermann to really get me motivated.

This past Saturday I brewed a batch of American IPA using my new ten gallon “turkey fryer” setup. I thought for sure it would be impossible to boil over with this setup but I almost did the unthinkable. Luckily I was able to throttle down the burner and barely avoid disaster.

Outdoor Brewery

I also used my new wort chiller for the first time, and I must say that this should be at the top of every new homebrewer’s list. I was able to cool 5 gallons of boiling water to 70 degrees in twenty minutes or so. I don’t know for sure how long it took as my digital thermometer ended up breaking or at least in need of a re-calibration.

Overall it was a successful and fun day of brewing and the beer is now busy fermenting in the closet. Next up, besides brewing more regularly, would be to create a fermentation chamber out of an extra chest freezer.

To kick of March Madness last Thursday I met up with a group at the recently opened Milano’s Atlantic City Submarines in West Chester. Half of our group had already dined at Milano’s before, but this was my first time at any of their now four locations centered mostly in Dayton. I walked in to find an overly stuffed restaurant and bar with a ton of TV’s all tuned into the basketball action. Despite the crowd we experienced amazing service and food orders all surprisingly quick.

Baked Ham Grinder

I enjoyed a half baked ham grinder ($6.59) with a side of Milano’s potatoes ($1.49). Lay’s chips are normally served on the side but I was easily convinced to try the thick potato wedges that reminded me a lot of those from Lee’s Chicken  but tasted even better. The grinder was an interesting mix of ham, cheddar cheese, onions,  crushed red peppers, Hellmann’s  mayonnaise, and pizza sauce. I didn’t taste the mayonnaise and the sauce was a little light for my taste, but it was still a pretty good sandwich.

As Queen City Drink’s just wrote, the beer selection offers “plenty of good beer to keep you happy for days.” Their thirty taps allow for some solid representation from the local guys as well as some harder to find national brands. Good food and a great selection of beer means that I will likely be back to Milano’s in the future, especially if they open another location closer to home, like our server for the afternoon briefly mentioned.

I am now an employee of Imagine Communications. I did not start work with a new company. This is just the latest in a whirlwind of company names I have worked under in the last ten years. I started with Optimal Solutions, Inc. (OSi) back in January 2004 as their twelfth employee. In April 2006 our company was sold to the massive  Harris Corporation. In May 2012 Harris decided to sell the division that OSi was a part of, as well as another project that I was spending some time on. Our division would be bought by the Gores Group and renamed to Harris Broadcast. A new CEO for Harris Broadcast was hired last year and yesterday he announced that Harris Broadcast was splitting into two new companies, Imagine Communications and GatesAir. It’s  been a wild ride!

A couple of months ago a new artisan bread baker opened in Hyde Park Square, Breadsmith. This is really close to the spot where Blue Oven operates during the summer months, attracting large crowds as part of the Hyde Park Farmers Market. The demand is certainly there for a brick and mortar shop to be successful and with a great product I think it will.

Outside

Each loaf from Breadsmith is made from scratch daily using only the finest ingredients and then hearth baked. Any bread that does not sell that day is then  donated to local food banks and soup kitchens. Bread is available in loaves and rolls, which are a good way to sample a variety of flavors. The first bread I tried was the rosemary garlic ciabatta, and I was in love immediately. I also sampled a very good sourdough as well as honey wheat.

The staff at Breadsmith took the time to profile each of the breads available that day and make suggestions along the way. I also learned that pizza dough, hamburger and hot dog buns, as well as a variety of sweets are all available. Daily breads like whole wheat, rustic italian, and french peasant range from $3.95 to $5.25 per loaf. The bread is made without preservatives and should stay fresh for a few days or it can be frozen. I’m glad to have such a great shop located so close to home.

This past Saturday night my wife and I found ourselves on the west side of town for an event starting in the early evening. We originally intended to finally try the Incline Public House late in the afternoon, but we ended up very short on time so we dropped into Chandler’s Restaurant instead, which happened to be very near our evening destination.

Outside

Chandler’s is a family style restaurant located along Cleves Warsaw Pike at the intersection with Ebenezer Road. My wife and I, both in our early thirties, were easily the youngest there.  It seemed that most of the other tables in the place were occupied by regulars as they were often greeted by name by the restaurant staff. However our service was great and they made us feel like they truly appreciated our patronage.

Ham and Turkey Club

I ordered the ham and turkey club sandwich on grilled sourdough with fries. The sandwich was served dry but came with a packet of mayonnaise that I gladly emptied on top. It arrived steaming hot and came topped with bacon and sliced tomato. While it was fairly standard club, I did enjoy the sandwich quite a bit.

Pineapple Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Sandwich

My wife had the pineapple teriyaki grilled chicken sandwich with fries as well. She is a sucker for pineapple teriyaki anything. The pineapple topping was obviously straight from a can, but she enjoyed this sandwich nonetheless. Again, it was a pretty standard sandwich but it was well prepared and tasted good. That is exactly what you should expect at Chandler’s, good food for a great price with speedy and friendly service.

As has become one of our Cincinnati traditions, we took in the Bockfest parade on Friday evening. We used to watch it from outside Mayberry, but they no longer exist. Instead we found a fish fry taking place outside of Old St. Mary’s in the parking lot and decided to enjoy a few Bock beers and enjoy the parade from there.

Waiting for the Parade

Goat Pulling Keg

Trojan Goat

Keg Walker

Dragon Goat

Rabbit Hash

What Does the Bock Say?

The parade was longer than I remembered it and overall Bockfest had a record year, so I guess that makes sense. Once the near hour-long parade was over we walked up to Bockfest Hall for a couple more beverages and some food. This year the hall was expanded outside with a large tent and a street closure, which was needed as the crowds inside the event center have been and continue to be very large. Fortunately the weather was great and we spent an hour or so outside enjoying the festival site and all that it offers.

The kids are really growing up quickly. And now we have a way to track their progress. Kim’s friend made a growth chart for another friend and gave it to her at a baby shower. Kim liked it so much she took a photo of it and convinced me to help her make one for ourselves.

Work In Progress

We bought the numbers and some paint from Michael’s and got a 1×8 board from Home Depot. I cut the board to size and spray painted it with a color called pistachio. From there I touched up the paint on the numbers, glued them to one side of the board, and added measurement lines on the other side with a paint pen.

On The Wall

After letting it all dry I added the kids measurements from their yearly doctor visits with a thinner paint pen. I put some mounting hardware on the back and hung it up on the wall outside of their bedrooms. I was able to get it all done in just a few hours of work on a recent snowy day and I think it turned out great.

Over the weekend we visited a couple of Mardi Gras events. First up was the Carnival de Levee at Newport on the Levee. Running from 1-6 on Saturday, the event featured aerial acrobatics and a Cajun band. It was billed as a family friendly celebration but my young kids were not impressed and the oldest just wanted to go to Gameworks instead.

Newport Express

After a few minutes watching the performers we all headed outside to enjoy the surprisingly nice weather. We discovered the Newport Express mini, trackless train ride which entertained the kids on a five or ten minute ride around the Newport on the Levee complex for $3.00 each. From there we moved on from Newport on the Levee. We’ve enjoyed other events there, but this was not one of them.

Hey Ladies

We had a little better luck with Sunday’s celebration, Mardi Gras at Findlay Market, unfortunately the weather was not nearly as nice. A tent was setup outside the market with bands playing throughout the event held from 10-4. Free samples of a traditional lowland seafood boil were given out and beer was available from the OTR Biergarten. Many of the booths inside the market had Mardi Gras themed decorations and special food offerings for the day.

Lagniappe at Findlay Market

We stayed for a couple of hours to enjoy some of the music and sample some of the food. Had the weather been better we might have stayed even longer, but the roads were getting icy and a major snow storm was supposed to be coming our way. At least the weather is looking better for Bockfest this weekend!

Saturday afternoon I was looking for somewhere to have lunch with my family and catch a basketball game on TV. I was delighted to walk into Habits Cafe and find not only that the game was on but that the sound was also being played throughout the bar and restaurant areas. Habits has two distinct rooms, one with a large bar dominating one side of the room, tables for various group sizes can be found throughout both.

Inside

I had been inside Habits numerous times before, but I think this might be the first time I’ve tried any of their food. The menu has a solid list of burgers along with a half-dozen salads and nearly a dozen sandwiches, burritos and fish & chips round out a very good-looking list of choices.

Godzilla Style Garden Burger

I went with the Godzilla style garden burger ($8.25) which is topped with pepper jack cheese, spicy onion straws and jalapeño mayo. Burgers are made with meat purchased daily from a local source and include a choice of beer, turkey, ostrich, and garden burgers. Each come with a side and I chose the Cajun fries. The garden burger appeared to be of the frozen variety, which I’m not especially fond of, but the toppings made up for it. It was not overly spicy but had enough of a kick to make it an interesting sandwich.

Texas Style Turkey Burger

My wife had the Texas style turkey burger ($9.00) which adds Swiss and provolone cheese, grilled onions and mushrooms, tomatoes and Worcestershire mayo. I tried a small bite of this sandwich and I definitely recommend the turkey burger over the garden burger for those who avoid red meat. That said I enjoyed the toppings on the Godzilla style better than the Texas style.

No kids menu is offered, but there is a grilled cheese and fries available for ($4.95) which was more food than our three-year-old could eat, even with the help of his little sister. Overall Habits provided good food, a really nice beer selection, and as a bonus the game was on all of their TVs. I will have to keep this in mind for future lunch needs.

I think I have found my music festival destination for this summer! The Nelsonville Music Festival  takes place at  Robbins Crossing historic village on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, less than three hours from Cincinnati. The four-day festival offers multiple stages of music along with  camping on site, kids activities, local art vendors, food, and a beer garden.

The 10th annual festival will feature over 40 bands including The Avett Brothers, The Head and the Heart, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, and Jason Isbell with even more to be announced. Tickets are just $100 for the weekend and children 12 and under are free. Camping is just $20 extra, but we are considering finding an offsite cabin around the nearby Hocking Hills State Park. Anyone want to join us?