While my wife and I  enjoy exploring new restaurants, our preschool aged kids are not so happy with the idea, so a midweek date night has become a monthly occurrence. Next up is Son of a Preacher Man, a relatively new southern style restaurant in O’Bryonville quickly becoming known for their fried chicken.

Outside

While the outside of the restaurant is nothing special, the inside is a well done mix of part church artifacts and southern style decor. The limited menu of mostly chicken based dishes can be found hanging from hymn boards near the ceiling.

Inside

It was a quick decision for myself and I immediately placed an order of the Sunday’s Best fried chicken supper, 2 piece fried chicken (breast and leg) along with a biscuit and choice of side ($10.89). The chicken is fried fresh and the spice blend on it is outstanding. The chicken itself was cooked perfectly and was delicious. For my side I chose Carolina collard greens with bacon, pork shank, and sweet onion, which were equally as impressive. The smoky pork flavor was  very nice and the greens were not overcooked.

2 Piece Chicken

My wife had a harder time deciding but eventually settled on the Nashville Hot fried chicken biscuit sandwich with a side of pork n’ beans ($9.29). Again the chicken was excellent, and normally I’m a sucker for hot sauce on the chicken, but I think this is better on its own.  The pork n’ beans were good, but not as great as the greens. There were nice chunks of pork, but the side was a little too soupy.

Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwich

I almost forgot to mention the biscuits, which are very good. A bottle of honey was offered to add to the biscuits, which I gladly enjoyed. It’s hard not to draw comparisons to The Eagle, which doesn’t have any biscuits by the way. The spicy hot honey at The Eagle is wonderful, but as far as the chicken goes, I prefer Son of a Preacher Man.

Recently my wife and I celebrated our anniversary with a trip to Salazar Restaurant & Bar. This Over-the-Rhine spot has been on my list of places to try for some time and we finally found time to get there without the kids.

Inside

The inside of the space is pretty small, with no more than ten tables available, none of which were available upon our arrival. We put our name on the list and grabbed a couple of drinks at the bar. The  Jalisco Spice ($11), blanco tequila mixed with lime juice, agave, chili simple syrup, on the rocks and topped with Royal Jamaican ginger beer and a Peychaud’s bitters float, was a spicy yet refreshing drink.

Farm Greens Salad

For starters I went with the farm greens salad with carrot-coconut milk vinaigrette, salted cashews, peas, and pickled cucumber ($10). The portion was plenty for two to split and it was packed with fresh ingredients. Overall a solid starter  and I thought the dressing was top-notch.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

My wife ordered the heirloom tomato salad with burrata, cucumber, pickled sweet onions, tomato focaccia, and petite lettuces ($11). This was a much smaller serving size and not really enough to share. However what was there was incredibly fresh and delicious.

Amish Chicken

For dinner I had the Amish chicken breast with braised kale, smoked chicken sausage, garbanzo beans, peas, and preserved cherries ($23). The chicken was cooked to perfection but I felt it could have used some extra seasoning. The rest of the dish was also fairly bland aside from the chicken sausage and cherries, which I could have used a lot more of.

Barley “Risotto”

The real surprise of the night was the barley “risotto” with tomatoes, fennel, rainbow Swiss chard, and Pecorino Romano ($19). The serving size was large and the sauce was exquisite! I didn’t taste much fennel, which was not very upsetting to me, but the chard was plentiful. A true vegetarian delight.

For the most part we had a good dining experience at Salazar, though I do wish I enjoyed the chicken more than I did. I would definitely go back for more of the risotto, though the prices are a little more than we typically like to spent. Salazar will be reserved for special occasions, and with so many competing restaurants we haven’t been to, it will be hard to justify a return trip in the near future.

My family and I all met up with my brother, his girlfriend, and my parents for a birthday celebration in West Chester. My brother and his girlfriend are regulars at Troy’s Cafe and recommended that we all give it a try.

Outside

I had never heard of Troy’s before and it would be easy to drive right past their West Chester location at the corner of a plain strip mall. There is a small patio out front, but none of the tables were large enough for our group of eight. Fortunately it wasn’t too crowded inside and one of the employees gladly pulled two tables together for us.

Inside

We started with a couple of small plates to share around the table. My favorite were the spring rolls ($6.45 for 2) filled with grilled chicken, Queen City chorizo sausage, and aged Wisconsin cheddar. Sweet chili sauce was served on the side, but the rolls didn’t really need to be dipped. The flavor from the cheddar and chorizo was outstanding!

Spring Rolls

For dinner I had the chicken pretzel sandwich ($9.95) topped with sweet smokey BBQ sauce, apricot chutney, goat cheese, and field greens. The chicken was drenched in sauce, making it pretty messy to eat, but the mess was worth. The flavor combination was like nothing I’ve had before with the creamy goat cheese, smokey BBQ, and sweet apricot all mixing together in each bite.

Chicken Pretzel Sandwich

My wife had the veggie panini ($8.95), which was filled with so many fresh vegetables including Portobello mushroom, zucchini, squash, tomato, and spinach. It was topped with basil mayonnaise and Muenster cheese between sour dough bread. I didn’t get to try a bite, but I’m told it was also very good. Both sandwiches were served with cafe chips on the side.

Veggie Panini

My brother has tasted a majority of the menu and says that it is all excellent. And from what we tried during our first visit to Troy’s Cafe I would have to agree with him. I would definitely return for me, especially the Cuban panini that looked amazing.

My parents live in Loveland and are regular patron’s of the various restaurants in their cute little downtown area. We joined them on a summer afternoon for lunch on the patio at Julian’s Deli. The spacious patio overlooks the bike trail and is a great place to relax over a drink and some food after a bike ride.

Sauerkraut Ball

We were all very hungry upon our arrival so we quickly decided to split an order of sauerkraut balls ($6 for 4). Unfortunately our server forgot to put the order in until our lunch was being delivered, but she quickly brought out an order and didn’t charge us for it. These meatball sized rolls of sauerkraut, pork sausage, and cream cheese are delicious and didn’t really need any of the dressing  that was provided on the side.

Cobb Club and Broccoli Salad

For lunch I thoroughly enjoyed the cobb club ($9.59) with turkey, bacon, cheddar, bleu cheese dressing on a grilled baguette with lettuce and tomato. The sandwich was large and more than enough for me for lunch. I opted to substitute broccoli for the included chips for an extra $2. In hindsight, though this was a tasty addition, I ordered more than I needed for lunch and should have just stuck with the chips.

Kid’s Grilled Cheese

With such a large menu there is something for everyone at Julian’s, including the little ones. My son enjoyed the panini press grilled cheese ($4.99), which also included chips. Overall the food at Julian’s Deli is very good, however the prices are a little high for a deli style restaurant. Alcohol is available as well, including a couple of draft options. Inside seating is also available, though trust me the patio is where it’s at.

On our way up to Salida for the weekend, a few friends and I stopped at the Sit N Bull Saloon in Indian Hills, Colorado for lunch. This dive bar is located just off of  U.S. Route 285 just past the Morrison area. Entry to the building is  through the covered outdoor area, which is not a smoke free spot. The inside area is really just the bar, so it’s probably not the best restaurant  to take the kids.

Outside

Our group decided to sit outside. Fortunately the Thursday afternoon lunch crowd was not large and there weren’t too many smokers around. The back of the outside area overlooks a man-made waterfall area, which provides soothing sounds throughout the space. There is a dart board and what looks like an area for bands to setup.

Inside

Our group started with a couple of orders of mozzarella sticks, which appeared to be cooked from a frozen bag as is often done. They arrived hot and were served with large bowls of marinara, which actually looked to be homemade. The waitress actually said that a lot of the food is made from scratch, which surprised me as I was expecting standard ready to cook bar food.

BLT & Onion Rings

For lunch I had the BLT sandwich with onion rings. Again the onion rings did not appear to be of the frozen variety, which was a nice touch. The BLT was served on your choice of bread, of which there were many. I went with sourdough and thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich. The bacon was cooked perfectly and the toppings were fresh and tasty. Sit N Bull provides a great lunch or dinner stop when in the foothills of Denver.

The Cuban Pete food truck has been around Cincinnati since April 2014. Their brick and mortar shop opened in April of this year in the spot formerly occupied by the first Tom+Chee restaurant. I haven’t had a chance to see the restaurant transformation yet, but I finally got a chance to give their Cuban sandwich a try at a local event.

Food Truck

The El Cubano sandwich features ham, slow roasted pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, mayo, and mustard ($8 for the full). All of their sandwiches are served on dense authentic Cuban bread. Let me tell you that this was easily one of the best sandwiches I’ve had out of a food truck, and likely one of the best Cuban sandwiches in the area.

El Cubano

The Cuban Pete menu  also features the Cincy Cuban, with goetta instead of pork, and the Bar B Q Ban with the traditional Cuban meets along with cheddar, coleslaw, and barbecue sauce. Both of those sound equally amazing to me. There are also a variety of salads and standard sandwiches along with Cuban inspired sides like plantains and corn. I can’t wait to try out more of their menu in the future.

Late summer of last year I first wrote about Braxton Brewing Company, which opened March 27 of this year. I finally made the trek down to Covington on a recent work day after my internet connection at home cut out for the afternoon.

Outside

Though they are closed Mondays, the brewery opens up at 8 A.M. the rest of the work week and has plenty of space for individuals or small groups to work. They have even launched a coffee program with Carabello to serve hot and cold brewed coffee, as well as beans to go.

Inside

I brought my lunch with me on this visit, but they have also partnered with Four Seasons Catering to offer food delivered to the brewery.  There are whiteboards, projectors, and gigabit  internet, making it easy to spend your entire work day there. Plus they have space to host meetings for groups of 10-60.

Flight of Beer

Before leaving for the day, I treated myself to a flight of four of Braxton’s signature brews, Crank Shaft IPA, Dead Blow Tropical Stout, Trophy Pale Ale, and their small batch Blown Gasket Robust Porter. Of these four I liked the Dead Blow the most, which was like nothing I’ve had before. There is a lot of fruit flavor in the beer from the addition of dates, which mixes well with the roasty base.

I was a very skeptical when I first heard that the owners of the Holy Grail were going to open an Italian restaurant next door to their riverfront location. I’ve never been a fan of the food from the always crowded sports bar, but recently decided to meet my wife  for lunch  at Santo Graal  recently.

Inside From Outside

Just like their neighboring spot, Santo Graal has large garage doors that open up to let the fresh air in during nice weather days. There is also a small patio out front, which is where we sat for lunch. The interior finishes are much nicer than their sports bar, though it is still a casual spot for a meal.

Pizza Salad Combo

The menu is decent sized with a handful of signature pizzas, plenty of pasta options, along with some sandwiches and salads.  My wife and I both ordered the same thing, a slice of pizza along with a side salad and drink ($8). Pizza by the slice is served either as cheese, pepperoni, or the pizza of the day, which happened to be the vegetarian during our visit.

The side salad is a nice combination of lettuce, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, Parmesan Reggiano, and Balsamic Vinaigrette. Their veggie pizza features Portobello, capers, roasted red peppers, tomato, arugula, and roasted garlic. I was pleasantly surprised by the pizza, and while the crust was fairly bland, the fresh toppings and house cheese blend made up for it.

My wife and I have been searching for our go to Mediterranean spot since moving back to Cincinnati a few years ago.  After our first visit to Ali Baby  Mediterranean Grill I think we have found our place. This small restaurant is somewhat hidden in a strip of stores along Red Bank Expressway.

Inside

Orders are placed at the counter and toppings can be requested as plates are put together. The menu is straightforward and features gyro, chicken, steak, or falafel served as either sandwiches in a pita or on a platter. A handful of Mediterranean appetizers are also available. We choose the hummus and pita ($5), which is plenty for four people. The hummus itself was some of the best around.

Hummus

I ordered the chicken gyro platter and topped  it with cucumber salad, baba ghanouj, and tzatziki sauce ($10.50). The serving size is enough for two to share or likely enough to take home for lunch the next day. The chicken was a little dry, which is to be expected as it is not cooked to order, but well seasoned.

Chicken Gyro Platter

The real star of our meal was the falafel platter that my wife ordered ($10). This is the best falafel I’ve had in the city, no doubt. Make sure to try some, even if you just do an appetizer order (6 for $5) but I prefer to make a sandwich with the provided pita and mix the chicken in as well.

Falafel Platter

Ali Baba may not look like much from the outside and the inside could use a little work, but the food is overall very delicious. I imagine we will probably do carry-out next time as our kids don’t typically eat Mediterranean. Though I should note chicken tenders and fries are available for the kids.

When my wife and I lived in Denver a few years back, our favorite BBQ spot was easily Moe’s Original BBQ. Whether it was the location in Vail, the one with bowling and live music in Englewood, or the one in Denver itself, each location was visited multiple times. While on a recent vacation in Gulf Shores, I noticed a Moe’s location not far from our rental house. My wife and I rode our bikes there one afternoon for lunch.

Outside

Moe’s in Orange Beach is not a big spot, though there are some extra tables outside. We found a few open tables upon our arrival, but those quickly filled as time went on. Just with the other locations we’ve been to, orders are placed at the counter and food is quickly delivered to your table.

Inside

If the chalkboard menu on the wall is a bit intimidating, the do have printed menus that are easier to read. But basically it boils down to your choice of smoked pork, sausage, chicken, and turkey served either as a sandwich or on a platter. They also have fried catfish and shrimp, but the real star here is the BBQ.

Pulled Pork & Sides

Just as I did many times before I ordered the pulled pork “bama style” with both BBQ and white sauce, slaw, and pickles ($5.75). I also had a side of baked beans and an amazing cornbread casserole ($1.50 each). The pork is always so tender and full of a great smoke flavor. But what separates Moe’s from other joints are there always amazing southern sides. Do not skip out on the sides, trust me.