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.

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 was recently sent a couple of boxes of the new Fiber One Meal Bars thanks to BzzAgent. These bars pack 10 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber while reducing sugar down to only 6-9 grams depending on the flavor variety. I received the chocolate peanut butter bars, a classic combo of roasted peanuts plus creamy peanut butter and chocolate flavored chips, as well as the strawberry Greek yogurt bars, roasted almonds are complemented by strawberry flavored fruit pieces and a Greek yogurt coating.

I have an almond allergy so my wife got to enjoy the strawberry Greek yogurt bars, and that she did. I think she went through the 5 pack in a matter of days. I think she really enjoyed the flavor of the bars and appreciated the high protein and fiber content.

Chocolate Peanut Butter

The chocolate peanut butter bars were all mine. I tend not to snack throughout the day, so I still have one or two of these left, but I did use them as a breakfast substitute a couple of times. The flavor was good, not as good as the chocolate chip and peanut crunch Clif bars that I love, but was more than acceptable. The peanut taste is a lot stronger than the chocolate, and I was surprised to find so few chocolate chips in the actual bar when compared to the picture on the box.

When I ate the bar for breakfast my stomach stayed full for just a couple of hours, so I think these are better suited to those  who need a filling snack halfway through the day. If that is you, the Fiber One Meal Bar will  curb cravings and give you the protein and fiber needed.

A week ago I had a rare lunch time excursion out for lunch. It was my brother-in-law’s birthday and he wanted to go to one of his favorite restaurants, Foley’s Irish Pub in Reading. It is located in the heart of the Reading Bridal District, something I had no idea existed until my visit to Foley’s. The area was a nice surprise that I may have to explore more in the future.

Outside

Foley’s looks like one of those bar and grills that has occupied the same building for many years. I have no idea if that is true or not, but it does look like it closed briefly in 2009 for a renovation and with new owners. The inside of the pub is decorated with loads of sports memorabilia and feels like a great neighborhood bar and grill with friendly staff and typical bar food offerings.

Foley’s Club

We started with an order of Mile High Nachos ($8.25), that was more than enough for our table of ten. I ordered Foley’s Club with the included side of chips ($7.99). Fries and onion rings are available for an additional charge. The club was piled high with thick cuts of turkey and ham along with both American and Swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. Mayonnaise came on the side, which is nice for the health conscious. The double-decker sandwich was tasty and filling.

Others in the group seemed to enjoy the massive cod sandwiches, burgers, various wraps, and wings. Fairly standard bar food is offered at Foley’s Irish Pub and not what you may expect at a more typical Irish pub, however everything that I sampled was good. Just don’t expect to find any bangers or corned beef.

My wife and I were in need of a quick bite to eat this past Friday evening. We were originally thinking of having an appetizer at one of our usual spots near Fountain Square, but after finding somewhat large crowds we decided to stop at Al-Amir Cafe instead. My wife had tried Al-Amir a week or two ago and had positive things to say.

Counter

I was honestly a little skeptical after stepping into a tiny and somewhat dingy restaurant. However my wife reassured me and insisted that I try the chicken shawarma wrap that she had earlier ($4.99). On this visit she went with the falafel wrap (also $4.99). After placing our orders at the counter my wife took a seat at one of only a few tables while I waited at the counter.

Inside

I was able to see into the kitchen from the ordering counter and watched as the cook scooped the falafel and placed each ball into the fryer. He also put a couple of pieces of marinated chicken breast on the grill for my wrap. I always like to see food prepared to order. I’m sure this could add some wait time during the lunch rush, but our food was ready in less than ten minutes.

Falafel Wrap

Each of the wraps was topped with onion, lettuce, tomato, and garlic sauce. We added a side of fries ($.99) which were also fried to order and plenty for the two of us to share. I think I liked the falafel wrap slightly better than the chicken shawarma, but both were really good. The last few bites were pretty messy but totally worth it.  Don’t let the appearance of Al-Amir deter you from giving their delicious Mediterranean food a try. You are also likely to leave smelling like the food you just ate, but that is also totally worth it.

I spent a good chunk of this past weekend down at the Duke Energy Convention Center for this year’s Cincy Winter Beerfest. Many of the things I’ve said in the past years are still very true, this biggest of which is to attend Friday night’s session rather than the much more crowded Saturday session. Saturday was easily twice as crowded as Friday, if not more. I think the snowy weather on Friday may have deterred some last-minute attendees from making the trip.

Friday Night VIP Crowd

My wife and I opted for the Connoisseur ticket for Friday night, which provides access to the Connoisseur Reception Area with appetizer bites from a dozen local restaurants each paired with a rare or super premium beer. My family was down on the main floor for the VIP hour, so we pretty much went straight down to join them for that time. However that caused us to miss out on a couple of the food and beer pairings upstairs, as those seem to go pretty quickly. Next time I will plan to take full advantage of the Connoisseur area by skipping dinner before and spending the first hour or so upstairs.

PortaBeer

Saturday I decided to volunteer my time to working the festival in exchange for free beer. I ran into some friends while checking in at the volunteer booth and they told me that they had been assigned to the ticketing area. I agreed to join them and soon found out that this could be one of the best kept secrets of the fest. Our job was to unwrap the sample glasses, fill them with the tasting tickets, and then hand them out as people entered the gates. However before that even started we were able to go around and sample beer from any of the open vendors for an hour or so.

Me And Penny Lane

A half hour before the gates opened we had to report to our position and get ready. It was actually somewhat tiring work and a lot of time on my feet, but it only lasted for a couple of hours. The gates opened to VIP ticket holders at 6:30 and then at 7:30 for everyone else. By 8:00 or 8:30 most people were already through the door. So at this time most of us were able to leave the post and offer to help the volunteers that were pouring beer.

From there I found a couple of booths that I wanted to sample and offered to help out. I spent the majority of my time at Oskar Blues and at Fifty West. A brewery rep from Oskar Blues gave me a couple of koozies for helping them out and I was allowed to get behind the wheel of Fifty West’s Penny Lane after assisting them (and drinking my fair share of Ghost of Imogene). I had just as good of a time volunteering for the fest as I did attending and I will be sure to offer my services again in the future. Long live beerfest!

Today kicks off the third annual Cincinnati Beer Week. There are so many events this year that everyone should be able to find something that interests them. I’m hoping to hit up the  Lagunitas Official Cincinnati Release  event at Market Wines tonight after Broomball. Lagunitas has been distributing in all other corners of Ohio except for Cincinnati. But that all changes today and the California based brewery will be appearing in all of your favorite better beer locations.

Why is that kids traditionally despise Brussels sprouts? I don’t think I even tried them until a few years ago, but I have been on a major kick and will add them to my Green B.E.A.N. delivery any time they are available.

Oven Roasted

My favorite way to prepare them is very simply to roast them in the oven with a little salt and pepper. If you need an exact recipe to follow, try this one. I followed it the first time but have since made small modifications and even tried other seasoning, though it seems that salt and pepper are enough.

With Chicken And Potatoes

I haven’t had any luck getting our three-year-old to give them a try, but I hope to make sure he doesn’t wait as long as I did to discover these tasty little veggies.

Bell’s Hopslam is a  remarkably drinkable rendition of the Double India Pale Ale style that has a pretty serious cult like following. Each winter when it is released in January it disappears from shelves as quickly as it came into the store. People have stalked delivery trucks just to be sure they could get their hands on some. Though with so many stores utilizing social media now, it is no longer necessary to do so.

Cases O’ Hopslam

Just look at what  O’Bryan’s Wine  got delivered last Monday. Roughly twenty cases. It disappeared before the day was over though. I personally bought an entire case.  I believe that most stores in Ohio are now out of Hopslam. However Kentucky didn’t release theirs until this week, and I’ve heard that the Party Source still has some available.

2014 vs 2013

I set aside a couple of bottles from last year’s release in my continuously growing beer cellar. Normally an IPA is something that you want to drink as soon as possible, as hop profiles fade quickly with age. With that said I had read some somewhat positive reviews of cellar aged Hopslam. Personally in my taste taste I much preferred the fresh variety, though my wife (not much of a hop head) preferred the aged. I let her have my second bottle out of the cellar. For a much more descriptive comparison, check out what the Brew Professor had to think in a similar taste test.

The latest restaurant to open in Over-the-Rhine’s Gateway Quarter on Vine Street is The Eagle Food & Beer Hall. This latest venture is owned by the same folks who brought us Bakersfield OTR  and Currito, both of which I have enjoyed. The Eagle has received a lot of praise since opening, and needless to say it was just a matter of time before I tried it myself.

Fried 1/4 Chicken

The Eagle specializes in fried chicken and the rest of the menu is a pretty simple offering of a few sandwiches and various southern style sides (but no biscuits). I ordered 1/4 chicken white meat ($5) which comes served with a side dish of spicy hot honey. The 1/4 chicken is the perfect serving size for one, with most of the food coming from the large natural, free range, Amish chicken breasts. The chicken was perfectly cooked and delicious. The spicy hot honey was a lot hotter than I expected. I made the mistake of dipping my first few bites deep in the honey, which then overpowered the chicken flavor. I recommend to use the provided spoon to drizzle the honey on top of the chicken before eating.

Side Of Fries

I also ordered a side of fries with aioli ($3). The serving size is large and easily could be split between two. The fries were a fried shoestring style and perfectly seasoned with herbs. The aioli was a fine accompaniment to the nearly bottomless bucket of fries. Others in our group had the fried chicken sandwich, which looked amazing, and the grilled cheese. I will definitely try a sandwich on a future visit. I’m told they do have high  chairs and a somewhat kid friendly menu, so perhaps I’ll take the whole family down there for lunch sometime soon. And I will return to The Eagle soon, the food was awesome and the prices are very affordable.