Last night we walked up to Ault Park for the last Summer Dance Series night. Soul Pocket was supplying the music, and they appeared to be a huge crowd favorite with tons of people up and dancing the night away.

The highlight of the night for me was finally getting to sample more food from Bones’ Burger truck. Bones used to park his truck in a parking lot close to my work, but decided to move on from that location after poor sales. It’s been over a year since I’ve had any food from Bones, and I was glad to finally see the truck again.

Since I last saw the truck, veggie and turkey burgers have added in addition to the beef and grilled cheese sandwiches. I decided to try one of the veggie burgers, which come directly from the Veg Head in Loveland, OH. I ordered it topped with cheddar and all the fixings. This was definitely in the top five veggie burgers I’ve had. The primarily black bean based burger was fairly firm and full of flavor.

Veg Head Veggie Burger

My wife had the turkey burger and she ranked it as one of the top turkey burgers she’s had. So the quality of food from Bones is definitely still high. It seems that business has been good since moving on from the first location. Bones is a super friendly guy and I wish him continued success. I hope it doesn’t take me as long to find him and the truck again.

Over the weekend I finally made it to Nada. Saturday was my brother’s girlfriend’s birthday, so we all met up on Sunday for lunch.

Outside Nada

Actually I should say brunch, as that is what is served during Sunday morning and afternoon at Nada. They have a special brunch menu that is only available at this time. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of brunch. I don’t like eggs, and that seems to be what the majority of brunch items tend to be.

Salsa And  Guacamole

Fortunately their guacamole is still available during brunch, so we started with a bowl of it ($7). Their version of guac is very good, and the chips are equally great. We were also given a couple bowls of ancho chile salsa, which are listed as $2 on the menu, but perhaps they are thrown in when ordering the guacamole? I don’t recall anyone actually ordering them, but maybe we were charged for them anyway. The salsa isn’t very chunky, but it packs a decent spice punch. If I had to pick one, I would stick with the guacamole.

Bloody Maria

Another bonus to their brunch menu is a special area for drinks, in addition to the regular drink menu. I decided to try the bloody Maria – house made mix, el Jimador tequila, and Cholula ($7). As similar as this was to a traditional bloody Mary, the tequila added an interesting citrus flavor to the drink. I think I actually would now prefer this version to the standard bloody Mary.

Mexican Mac ‘n Cheese

My brother, a Nada regular, also decided that I needed to try the Mexican mac ‘n cheese – fresh cheeses, jalapeño, and roasted poblano ($6). This appetizer was extremely creamy, and had the right amount of spice to compliment the cheese flavors. It doesn’t share as well as the guacamole for a large party, but we managed to have enough for the six people at our table to sample a bit.

Grilled Chicken Tacos

For brunch lunch I went with the grilled chicken tacos – marinated chicken, black bean purée, pico de gallo, chihuahua cheese, and guacamole ($11).  I wasn’t sure how many tacos I was getting for the price, and when only two arrived I have to admit I was disappointed. While it is true that they came packed with meat, I still feel that the cost is a bit high. With that said the flavor is really good, the chicken is moist and tasty, and you can’t argue with more of their guac.

Pork Green Chili Burrito

Others at the table had the pork green chili burrito ($12), the fish tacos ($12), and the crispy pork belly tacos ($11). I guess at 11:30 only my wife was interested in eating brunch. Her pork green chili burrito combined an egg and potato filled burrito with braised pork in a green chili sauce. The fish tacos are South African hake which is fried “baja style” and served with guacamole, pico de gallo, and fresh cabbage. My brother did have a fried egg added to his crispy pork belly tacos, to sort of brunch up the dish.

Fish Tacos

Overall, I would say the food was very good, but I felt the price was a little high. I’ve always heard that Nada served great food, but it is more of a place to see and be seen. I would tend to agree that the food and it’s presentation are very trendy, not that it’s a bad thing. I would definitely go back for more, but I think I’ll stick to lunch or dinner on future visits.

This is the last of my reviews from our recent vacation near Myrtle Beach, SC. One of my wife’s cousins celebrated a 21st birthday toward the end of our trip. And to celebrate we had a large family dinner at the Dead Dog Saloon in the nearby town of Murrells Inlet. I didn’t think it would be easy to find dinner seating for a party of sixteen, but my wife called ahead and the staff at Dead Dog was more than  accommodating.

Wall Of Honor

During our short wait while they made sure our table was ready, I spotted the Wall of Honor, where customers can bring framed photos of their deceased pets to hang on the wall. I also found out that the restaurant had just reopened earlier in the year after a major fire had destroyed much of the structure. The new building is very large and has plenty of seating, both indoors and out, for parties of any size.

View From Outdoor Deck

Our large party was seated on the uncovered outdoor deck, with sweeping views of Murrells Inlet. Some of the staff  apologized  saying that it was going to be pretty hot outside, but we were actually pretty comfortable overall. The sun was setting behind their large restaurant, so it provided some early evening shade.

Hush Puppies

While we looked over the menu and enjoyed some of their signature drinks, a few baskets of hush puppies with sweet honey butter were  delivered  to our table. These were delicious and our table quickly ate every last one. The menu has a wide variety of seafood options, Murrells Inlet is the seafood capital of South Carolina  after all, along with a handful of sandwiches, steaks, and fish tacos.

Heavenly Inlet Trio

My wife and her mother decided to split the heavenly inlet trio – grilled crab cake, shrimp & scallops ($25.95). Each of their meals comes with a choice of side and they selected the vegetable of the day, a combination of zucchini and squash. I only had a small bite of the crab cake, but I can agree with their  consensus  that this was a really good crab cake, and was their favorite of the trio.

Blackened Chicken Alfredo

I’m not much of a seafood fan, so I went with the blackened chicken alfredo ($15.95) which is again served with a choice of side. I went with the cheesy grits and they were very good. The blackened chicken had a good amount of seasoning on it, and a large amount of it was placed on top of the linguini pasta. It was a good dish. Not as good as something you’d find in a more  Cajun  inspired restaurant, but better than other similar dishes I’ve had.

Alaskan Snow Crab

Others in our group ordered the Alaskan Snow Crab ($18.95 for 1lb) which is served with corn and red potatoes, the Cajun shrimp Alfredo ($18.95), and a variety of other dishes. Everything I heard from our party was a favorable review of the restaurant.

Cajun Shrimp Alfredo

I would easily go back for more food from Dead Dog Saloon, and maybe try to stick around for some of the live music they have on the covered deck.

While on vacation near Myrtle Beach, SC my wife and I took advantage of traveling with her family to escape without our year and a half old son for a nice dinner. We haven’t had much success with babysitters back home, so this date night was long overdue. We were staying between Garden City and Surfside Beach, and decided to ride a couple of bikes up to Surfside to see what we could find. The only requirement was that there had to be non-fried fish on the menu for my wife. After a couple of strikeouts with beachfront restaurants, we headed inland a bit to Valentino’s II.

Bread And Garlic Butter

This menu at this Italian restaurant easily pleased both of us. I’m not a big fan of seafood, but I do love Italian food and they offered most of the classic dishes. In addition there is a large selection of seafood even a couple of steaks to round out the menu. All dinners come with a house salad and homemade warm bread with signature garlic butter. While I found the bread and butter to be fairly common and what you would expect, the house salad was large and fresh. Their  vinaigrette  dressing was incredible, easily one of the best I’ve ever had. It had an added tartness to it that I’ve never experienced before.

House Salad

All dinners are prepared fresh and cooked to order, but we didn’t experience a terribly long wait between our salad and main courses. During the downtime my wife sipped on a glass of sangria, while I enjoyed a cold draft beer. I should have went with wine after seeing the typical beer offerings, but I wasn’t in the mood. My wife on the other hand loved the white sangria, which was made with pinot grigio.

White Sangria

For dinner I went with the chicken parmigiana (16.95), which also came with a choice of pasta on the side, my choice was penne. The serving size was very large, two breaded chicken breasts served on top of the penne with tons of marinara and plenty of cheese to go with it. I was very happy with dish and somehow managed to eat nearly every last bite. I could have easily taken some home with me for lunch the next day, but we were on bikes and didn’t want to deal with that potential mess.

Chicken Parmigiana

My wife ordered one of the daily specials – the grouper  Florentine  ($23.95). Again this was served with a choice of pasta (she decided on angel hair) and rather than adding marinara to it just decided to have more of the Florentine sauce served with it. Again the piece of meat was large and though I didn’t have a bite of the dish, I’m told it too was very good.

Grouper Florentine

Our service was very attentive and extra friendly. I would easily return for dinner in the future. Note that the restaurant is not open for lunch and hours are 4-10pm every day. Even though we didn’t bring our son, they are kid friendly, so perhaps we will bring him along if we are ever back in the area. I think it would be hard to find a better Italian restaurant in south Myrtle Beach.

After driving overnight from Cincinnati our group of sixteen needed a breakfast stop before entering Myrtle Beach. We stumbled upon Mr. Waffles in Conway, a half hour or so outside of our destination. The restaurant doesn’t look that great on the outside and we nearly decided to head elsewhere, but with a group this large we figured we better take our seats rather than risk running into a wait at another restaurant.

Outside Mr. Waffles

Once inside we were greeted by our server, Gloria, who also happens to be one of the owners of the restaurant. The other owner is her husband James who works the kitchen. This truly is one of those small diners where the owners do all the work, something that is hard to find today. Gloria actually called her daughter and son-in-law to stop by and help out with our large group.

Inside Mr. Waffles

The breakfast menu is very lengthy and super cheap! I went with the single waffle combo which came with a choice of meat and potato for under $5. The single waffle is actually two waffles (the second is hidden underneath in my photo), and they were pretty tasty. This is not gourmet food by any stretch, but it is a very affordable and tasty breakfast food. Gloria was very friendly and  accommodating. I wouldn’t hesitate to stop here again on future trips to Myrtle Beach. My only complaint would be the number of smokers in the restaurant, but that is something you run into in tiny diners such as this one.

Waffle Combo

I have a few reviews to post from our most recent trip to Myrtle Beach, but before I get to those I want to share an excellent breakfast I had on another trip near Pittsburgh a few weekends ago. Some friends and I were staying at the Marriott near the Pittsburgh airport and decided to venture out for some local flavor one morning. The restaurant of choice was Eggs N’at, a funny named little diner not too far from where we were staying.

Eggs N’at

We arrived in two cars to find a mostly full parking lot, as well as a really full diner, both good signs of what was to come. The space is not very large, with just a dozen or so tables, along with a counter. We put our name on the list for a table for eight and waited outside the front door. When it was our turn we were told that we would have to split up as they can’t  accommodate  that many people together. Half of our group sat at the bar counter and my half found a table in the corner.

Looking Toward The Counter

One glance at the menu and I knew what I was getting,  Sausage Gravy and Biscuits ($6.95 for the whole / $3.95 half). I’m a sucker for this breakfast treat, especially when it is all homemade. The sausage gravy from Eggs N’at was great! Not too peppery, lots of butter flavor, and a good amount of sausage. The biscuits were sliced in half and toasted for an added crunch. I was very impressed and would easily go back for more when in the area again. I think all of my friends were pleasantly satisfied as well.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Sandwich Counter

After my last day of jury duty service, I stopped in to Silverglades on 8th for lunch. The deli sits on the corner of 8th and Sycamore. They have another location in Findley Market but I don’t think the lunch sandwiches and salads are offered there. It is a little confusing when walking into the location on 8th. A made to order salad bar is off to the left side, while the sandwich ordering counter is to the right. In the middle is the cash register used for all purchases.

Salad Counter

It wasn’t all that crowded, but it was after 1pm on a weekday. I walked over to the sandwich counter and didn’t make it past the first item on their menu before knowing exactly what I wanted. The Renaissance sandwich features Silverglades signature walnut grape chicken salad with lettuce, tomato, and onion on a croissant ($5.99). A bag of “dirty” chips and a fountain drink can be added for $1.75 more, which I gladly took advantage of.

The Renaissance

The sandwich was prepared within a few minutes time and came with a massive dill pickle spear. After paying for my selections I filled my cup with fresh brewed tea and found a seat near the salad counter. After the first bite I knew that I was going to love this sandwich. The chicken salad is ground up very finely, but you can definitely taste the grape and walnut flavors even if their textures are missing. I’m always a fan of chicken salad on a croissant, and this croissant was one of the tops I’ve had. All of the toppings were fresh and the pickle was good too. I’m not downtown for lunch often, but if I were this sandwich would definitely be in my regular rotation.

A couple of weekends ago I took the family out to Mason to meet an old friend for lunch. After a quick online search we settled on the Lucky Dog Grille. Once we finally found the restaurant that is slightly hidden behind the gas station on the corner, we nearly decided to go somewhere else. The outside of the strip mall location appeared dark and there were only a couple of cars in the parking lot. However we decided to stick it out and see what they had to offer.

I was shocked upon entering the restaurant that is much larger and brighter on the inside than what the outside leads you to believe. There is a fairly large bar area as well as a massive dining room area filled with tables that can easily be pulled together to fit the largest of groups. As the parking lot indicated, there were only a few other customers inside. After waiting a few minutes to be greeted, I approached the bar to ask if we should just seat ourselves, and then found a table near the windows.

Before we could take our seats, one of the servers on the floor grabbed some menus for us and offered to get a high chair for our little one. The menu is a tad overwhelming and has everything from wings to salads, sandwiches, build your own burgers, and even steak or tilapia. They also have a nice selection of 24 different beers on tap.

Twisted Chicken Philly

I ordered the twisted chicken  Philly served with onion petals ($8.49). The sandwich was large and tasted good. I could have used a little sauce on it, perhaps the Teriyaki that is served on another Philly would have helped. The onion petals were great and the spicy  dipping  sauce that came with it was a nice touch.

BBQ Chicken Flatbread

As she so often does, my wife managed to order something that I cannot find on the online menu. However I do remember that it was a BBQ chicken flatbread. I don’t recall how much it cost but I think it was fairly cheap, and it better have been based on the size of the pizza. I had a couple bites and  fortunately  the taste made up for what it lacked in size. I don’t recall there being any unique toppings on it, but the toppings that were there were well plentiful.

Looking back on it now, I think I should have ordered some of their specialty big dog grilled wings, and I would definitely do that on a future visit. I don’t think Lucky Dog is worth a special trip to Mason. However if you are in the area you could do a lot worse.

Since it’s opening nearly a year ago, the Taste of Belgium Bistro  has been on my radar. I tried their waffle last July and fell in love. Unfortunately I never made it down to check out the bistro until this past Saturday. We arrived just before 6pm and grabbed one of the last available tables directly next to the baker’s kitchen, complete with a 15 foot table that is available for large groups and special events.

Bakery And Baker’s Table

Our server was quick to provide water for our table as well as a plastic cup for our young son. We inquired about draft beer and she smoothly ran through the special draft list of American Belgian style ales and answered any questions we had about them. The normal draft list is full of great Belgian offerings too.

Summer Couscous

Prior to our visit, I had read good reviews of the food, especially the waffle ‘n chicken. I nearly had everyone at the table trying the dish. Since I had my wife convinced, I decided to try something else and went with the summer couscous, a recently added seasonal item to the menu. It combines their  Israeli couscous with red onions, celery, basil, and lemon with roasted chicken served on top (I think around $14). Honestly, there wasn’t a lot of meat on the dish, but what was there was tender and juicy. It also paired well with the flavors in the couscous. However, I don’t think I would order this dish again.

Chicken ‘n Waffle

When my wife ordered the chicken ‘n waffle our server encouraged getting the hot sauce and maple syrup on the side of the chicken ‘n waffle since it was her first time trying it. This dish is as simple as it sounds –  local chicken, Ohio maple syrup, hot sauce, salad ($14) – but the flavor is outstanding! The piece of chicken was quite large and my wife was full after eating half of the plate, leaving plenty for me to eat. I would definitely order this again and next time I’m getting the sauce served on top.

Boulets à la Liégeoise

My mother went with the  Boulets à la Liégeoise –  Belgian meatballs, frites, salad ($14). Though she enjoyed the dish she said that she too preferred the chicken ‘n waffle. My father ordered the  Carbonnades à l’OTR – six hours beer-braised Belgian beef stew ($19). As usual, he was quick to dig in before I could get a picture and was able to clean his plate well ahead of the rest of us. I didn’t hear any complaints, so it must have been good.

Though I enjoyed dinner for the most part, I think my future visits will be for lunch or possibly even Sunday brunch. The chicken n’ waffle is still available all other times, and it costs only $10 with the salad from the dinner plate removed. I would also like to try some of the crepes or baguettes.

On the second day of my jury duty service I met up with my cousin and one of his coworkers for lunch from Turophilia, a quesadilla food truck operating out of a 1967 Airstream trailer. I had seen the trailer before but never when it was open for business. Currently they are open  at 8th and Vine Tues-Fri from 11-2:30pm.

Turophilia Trailer And Menu

The menu changes daily and is written on a whiteboard outside the door to the trailer, which is also where orders are placed. Most quesadillas cost $5 for the small soft taco size and $7 for the larger more traditional quesadilla size. One item that sounded really interesting was the Waylon Jennings, which was served with Eli’s BBQ pulled pork inside. Unfortunately they had already run out earlier in the day. That was no problem as there were plenty of other great looking options.

I’m Not Hungover

I decided to try a small I’m Not Hungover –  turkey, avocado, firehot chips, peppercorn ranch, Dijon mustard, and Monterey Jack ($5). I think the chips were Lay’s Flamin’ Hot potato chips, and though I wasn’t sure what this would taste like inside the quesadilla, the crunch was hardly detectable after cooking so it really just added a nice bit of heat to the mix. I really love turkey and avocado together, and the rest of the ingredients added some interesting flavor combinations. The quesadilla took a little while to prepare, but it was definitely worth it in the end. I can’t wait to try another.