I made my first stop in for a sandwich at Carl’s Deli just a couple of days after moving into my new neighborhood. My wife had asked me to pick up some sandwiches on my way home, but I couldn’t find any good options along my route. Fortunately Carl’s is just up the street from our new house, so we took a walk to the shop to try it out.

Menu Boards

Chalkboards hang above the counter with over 30 different sandwich choices, and if that isn’t enough you can create your own. There were a couple of other customers ahead of my wife and I, which allowed us time to work our way through the extensive menu. Two employees constantly worked behind the counter assembling sandwiches as quick as they could. When it was our turn to order I went with the #15 –  chicken salad &  Swiss  on rye with lettuce, tomato and honey mustard – $6.50. My wife decided on the #6 –  â€œJoanie’s” hot crab & artichoke salad on a toasted croissant – $7.75.

Chicken Salad & Swiss On Rye

The chicken salad used on my sandwich was fairly standard but still very tasty. The sweetness mixed perfectly with the spicier than normal honey mustard. Also the rye bread was good, but once I saw my wife’s croissant I wished that I had ordered that instead. The croissant was  flaky  and buttery just as you would expect.  My wife was really happy with her crab and artichoke salad sandwich and one of the girls behind the counter commented that it was her favorite as well. Though I didn’t have any of it, based on these two recommendations I would say it is worth a try.

Hot Crab & Artichoke Salad

Carl’s deli has a handful of tables on the inside and even a few on the  sidewalk  out front. In addition to the wide variety of sandwiches they also have a large selection of sides, drinks, and other grocery items. They also have beer and wine available for sale, though we didn’t partake during this visit. Even if  Carl’s wasn’t the closest eatery to my new house, I would definitely return in the near future. I’m so happy to have a great place for a quick bite so close to home.

Inside Carl's Deli

Our first meal out in our new neighborhood came quickly. We started unpacking boxes in our new house three Fridays ago, and the next day we made our way to Arthur’s in Hyde Park Square. Friends of ours stopped by that afternoon for a tour of our place, one of whom was on her way back to Denver after a few month stint in Australia. After showing them around we made the quick walk up to the square for lunch. This was my first time heading into Arthur’s but I quickly realized that this could be a popular spot for my wife and I. They have a solid beer list and a wide variety of sandwiches and salads to satisfy us for many visits.

Chicken Salad Croissant

On this visit I went with the chicken salad  croissant, a  blend of white meat chicken, sliced water chestnuts, celery, snow peas, a touch of curry, and mayonnaise on a butter croissant with lettuce and tomato. I also upgraded my side to sweet potato fries  with their curry ketchup. I was very happy with my choice and could easily eat this sandwich again. The croissant was very good and quite large. The chicken salad was great. I loved the touch of crunchiness from the various vegetables and the curry in the mix was a wonderful addition. The fries were good and the ketchup was a nice touch, though I would have liked even more of it.

Chicken Salad Closeup

Arthur’s specializes in burgers and a couple of people at our table verified their claim to a solid burger. My wife ordered the turkey burger “Santa Fe” style with  freshly made roasted poblano relish and topped with pepper jack cheese, seasoned tortilla strips, sliced red onion, and chipotle mayonnaise. A friend of ours had the Arthur’s burger and was also happy with his selection. I will definitely try the spicy black bean burger on a future visit, which I’m sure will be soon.

Before moving away from the  west-side  of town and into our own house, we joined my wife’s family for dinner at a popular restaurant in the area, Nick & Tom’s. We actually bought Groupons in early May expecting to use them quickly but ended up using them on our last week of staying with her family. My wife and I arrived with our infant son to find our group already at the table. Shortly upon our arrival a server was by to take our drink orders and then soon after they delivered some appetizers they had ordered before our arrival.

Inside Nick & Tom’s

The first item I sampled was a slice of the Primavera pizza appetizer. This is a homemade ranch dressing topped with red and green peppers, tomato, broccoli,  mushrooms, jack cheese, and chicken. I wasn’t expecting much from it just by judging the  appearance  but it was actually really good. The pizza was definitely big enough for a full meal, likely with some leftovers to take home. We also had a combo platter with potato skins, chicken tenders, and onion petals. The onion petals were good, but the chicken tenders were pretty standard.  I did not get to try a potato skin.

Primavera Pizza

For my meal I went with the Black and Blue Pasta, which I will talk about more later. Each of the pastas is served with a cup of soup or house salad. There were at least five different soups to choose from and they all actually sounded good to me. I went with my servers suggestion of the buffalo chicken soup. He promised that it would be spicy and it definitely was. The nice thing about the spice is that there was some flavor to go along with it. I’m not sure what else went into the broth but it was tasty. I would easily recommend this soup, or any of the soups really, as they all looked good.

Buffalo Chicken Soup

The black and blue pasta was a combination of blackened chicken breast,  fettuccine, sundried tomatoes, scallions (which I don’t remember), mushrooms, and blue cheese. I really like all the flavors of this dish on their own, but when they were put together I felt the blue cheese really dominated the dish. I was hoping for more spiciness from the blackened chicken but it was only slightly there. I found that if I mixed it all together a little better that the spice came through better than before, but still not as much as I had hoped.

Black And Blue Pasta

My wife went with the chicken chili, which is a special recipe of chili seasonings and tomatoes, simmered for hours, with chicken instead of beef. It was served with onion and cheese on top and looked a lot like a bowl of Skyline Chili. This actually makes sense as Nick and Tom are members of the  Lambrinides family, the founders of Skyline. Not only did this chili look like it was from Skyline it actually tasted like it too, in a very good way. They also serve beef chili in a bowl as well as three, four, and five ways. The five way here adds onion and jalapeno. The “ultimate  way” includes onion, jalapeno, and black beans. I would love to go back and try one of these items after sampling the chili in the bowl.

Chicken Chili

Overall this was a much better dining experience than I had at other  west-side  restaurants such as Cabana on the River and Price Hill Chili. I hope to return sometime in the future.

If there is one thing that Cincinnatians love as much as their chili, it would have to be soft serve ice cream. Each neighborhood seems to have at least one free-standing ice cream stand called either a creamy whip, whippy dip, or something similar. Two weeks ago I found myself at Putz’s Creamy Whip, one of the most famous of all the local shops. The business started way back in 1938, and though they have moved locations a few times, the current location has been in service for around sixty years.

Est. 1938

According to their website’s history page, the construction of I-74 in the early 70’s nearly forced them out of the current location as the highway was supposed to come within three feet of their back door. The owner’s were able to convince the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration to move the highway nine feet back to save the location. Later, in 1987, the street the store was on was renamed to Putz Place. So this ice cream stand is legendary for many reasons.

Open For Business

Following the lead of my wife’s family, I ordered a medium size Krunch Cone with vanilla and chocolate swirl ice cream. Krunch was a combination of sprinkles and some sort of crunchy bits similar to what you would find in the  chocolate  of a Nestlé  Crunch. Now there is a good idea, I wonder if I could get them to dip this into chocolate after covering it with krunch. Even without the chocolate coating this ice cream hit the spot.

Krunch Cone

Last weekend my wife and I stopped at Findlay Market, my first time through Ohio’s oldest continuously operated public market. We arrived around 11 in the morning and walked through a mostly deserted market, which I think is a rarity here. We bought some turkey from Silverglades and some sausages from Kroeger & Sons, but the real winner from our shopping was the waffle I had from Taste of Belgium.

Liège Waffle

I ordered the waffle topped with strawberries and whipped cream, but the sweet waffle doesn’t need to be topped with anything. The waffle is a  Liège waffle, named after a city in Belgium where it was invented. This style of waffle uses a special sugar in the dough that  caramelizes  on the outside when baked. The flavor of the waffle from Taste of Belgium is very close to that from The Liege Waffle Factory that was available in our grocers freezer in Denver. Having a freshly made waffle of this style was  glorious  and I will definitely be back for more.

Before this past weekend I dined at Allyn’s Cafe one time before, but as it was years ago I don’t remember much about the visit. My wife and I headed to Allyn’s for diner after a busy day spent mostly in the surrounding area. She actually noticed the restaurant much earlier in the day and commented that we should try it again. I knew that Allyn’s had a good beer selection and that was exactly what I was looking for to help unwind.

While looking over the menu I enjoyed a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. The menu is a mix of mostly  Mexican  and  Cajun  choices with a few other “thangs” thrown in. I was in the mood for Mexican food, so I quickly decided on the chimichanga with chicken. Once that decision was made, my wife and I agreed that she should order something from the Cajun side so we could share both meals. Eventually we settled on the chicken and sausage  jambalaya. This was served with a house dinner salad and we wisely chose the  creamy  jalapeno, which turned out to be  delicious!

House Dinner Salad

As far as the entrees go, I was really happy with our choices. First the chimichanga was served with tasty sides of  vegetarian  black beans,  Mexican  rice, and refried beans. Though the sides weren’t large, I appreciated having a variety of good tasting items that were much better than the Don Pablo’s sides that I recently had. The chimichanga itself wasn’t as fried as I’ve had in other restaurants, but still good.  It was filled with plenty of pulled chicken and there was a nice sauce occupying the bottom of the entire plate.  I did not use the included salsa at all.

Chicken Chimichanga

After eating my half of the chimichanga plate, my wife and I switched platters. The chicken and sausage jambalaya was equally as good as the chimichanga. The spicy mix of shredded chicken and sliced sausage was mixed with rice and served in a wide rimmed bowl. Also served on the side of this dish was a large slice of corn bread, which we also liked. The serving sizes were large and we could not finish either plate. Our service was great, constantly refilling all the water we were using to put out the fire in our mouths. The restaurant itself was a little dark, but for dinner that isn’t a problem. If you are there during lunch, I would request the outdoor patio to take advantage of the bright summer days.

Chicken And Sausage Jambalaya

The Green Dog Cafe reminds me of a variety of restaurants in our old home of Denver, Colorado. The menu  features “local pastured poultry, organic sustainable fish, antibiotic free pork and other fresh foods that appeal to all tastes, including vegans, vegetarians and those who don’t tolerate wheat and dairy.” This is not something that I could have found in Cincinnati when I last lived here in 2003, at least not easily, but I’m glad to see that this has changed.

Front Of Menu

My wife and I stumbled across this restaurant while heading toward the neighboring Greenorama Home Show. We both actually read about the restaurant recently, but didn’t pay much attention to where it was located. When we pulled into the parking lot to find an ATM, we spotted the restaurant and immediately headed for the front door. One glance at the menu and I knew that I was ordering the Green Dog BLT with  roasted turkey. My wife went with the Green Dog Burger made of garbanzos, mushrooms, and herbs. Each of these came with one side. I chose the kimchee while my wife had the green salad.

Green Dog BLT

My sandwich was gigantic! It was filled with plenty of thick cut roasted turkey to go along with the bacon, arugula, and tomato. Other reviews I have read  stated that there is too much bread on the sandwich, but I felt that the ratio was pretty close to perfect, though I must admit that my sandwich does look much better than the picture in the other review. I would definitely order this sandwich again. And the kimchee was a really good mix of pickled vegetables that were spiced up a bit.

Green Dog Burger

My wife was also very happy with her veggie burger. I had a small bite of it and I was impressed with the taste of the patty. One disappointing thing was that the online menu says it should be served with red onion and tomato jam, but I don’t recall that being true. I would definitely like to try this jam on a future visit. The green salad was pretty typical mix of field greens that I would skip.

I would easily recommend trying this restaurant and I’m sure we will be back in the future. Another review that I read from back in 2009 was not that positive either, but I think some changes have been made to the Green Dog Cafe and it is worth a revisit if you have been there before. I hope that it continues to improve on our favorable first visit.

Rather than spending this past weekend on the  east-side  of town with my parents (who are actually on vacation) we spent the last week of our homelessness at my  in-laws  house. After work Friday my wife and I decided to head out for dinner and settled on Cabana on the River. When she first mentioned it I thought that I had been to this restaurant before, but I was confusing it with Fore and Aft, a floating restaurant on the Ohio River that actually sank a few years back. I wasn’t a fan of my dining experience there, so I was glad to realize that I would be trying something new.

My Wife and Son

Cabana on the River sits adjacent to where Fore and Aft once stood. However, the Cabana is not actually on the river, it just overlooks it. We arrived before six and were able to get a table on the outside deck right away. The popular west-side restaurant became increasingly crowded throughout our visit. The views of the river are pretty nice and the weather was nearly perfect outside.

Cabana Views

While waiting for one of my wife’s cousins to join us, we decided to split an order of  baked spicy cabana bread,  French bread baked with bleu cheese, hot ham, hard salami, bacon, onions, banana peppers, jalapeños, and topped with provolone cheese. A cup of marinara sauce is provided on the side for dipping. At $8.95 it was one of the priciest appetizers on the list, but was a good amount of food for the two of us. All of the  toppings  are finely chopped and blanketed in cheese. I didn’t detect any bleu cheese while eating, but I did enjoy it.

Baked Spicy Cabana Bread

For dinner I decided to try the chicken salad sandwich. Unfortunately for me, I was not all that happy with this selection. The chicken salad was really generic in taste and overloaded with  mayonnaise. The sandwich cost $7.95 and was served with a bag of potato chips. My wife had the grilled chicken breast with  summer vegetable kabob with seasoned rice for $10.95. The chicken had a great grill flavor and the vegetables were pretty tasty as well. Once again it seems to be a tad on the expensive side, especially when served with plastic silverware and paper plates.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

My wife’s cousin had the  CAB Burger, which was gigantic! (Sorry I didn’t get a picture) CAB stands for the  Certified Angus Beef that the burger is made from.  Again it was served with a bag of potato chips for $9.95. I’m not a burger eater, but that also seemed a little on the high end of the price scale. Perhaps the cost is due to the riverside location. With that said, it must balance out right for most people since the restaurant is large and the tables were full. Perhaps there just isn’t much else to eat on this side of town.

I found my way to Price Hill Chili for lunch this afternoon after being forced out of my temporary home office due to Time Warner’s failure to keep the Internet connection alive, but that is a conversation for another day. I have wanted to visit this  Cincinnati  institution on the west side of town for a number of weeks but my wife and I had failed to find the time to do so. I know that I have been inside the restaurant or the connected Golden Fleece Lounge many years ago, but I don’t think I have ever had anything to eat.

Outside Price Hill Chili

The restaurant and lounge sit on the busy Glenway Avenue and have been in this same location since they opened the doors in 1962. I entered the restaurant through the original front door, and the first thing you see is the steam table and grill, making it feel like you are using the back door. Since most people likely enter from the rear of the building, which connects to the parking lot, this room does now feel like the kitchen area. I took a seat at the dining counter adjacent to the kitchen area so I could watch the two cooks and the various waitresses as they came and went.

Steam Table And Grill

After taking an order for another guy at the counter, a waitress came by for a drink order and handed me a menu. I glanced over it, although I already knew that I was coming here to try the 4 way. The menu is filled with traditional diner fare including a wide variety of breakfast foods. I noticed right away that most people were either ordering sandwiches or breakfast, especially omelets despite it being nearly 1pm. It also appeared that many of the customers were regulars since many were known by name and didn’t need a menu to decide what they were having.

Price Hill Chili 4 Way

After placing my 4 way order, it arrived in front of me very quickly. Immediately I realized that this was going to be quite a bit different from the Skyline Chili that I am used to. First of all this chili isn’t as sweet as Skyline’s. Though this chili would still be classified as Cincinnati style, the spices are much more subtle. I did detect a little cinnamon but none of the chocolate tones that I have grown to love. Price Hill Chili is also meatier than Skyline’s, so more on par with what Gold Star offers, from what I can remember.

With all of that said I must admit that I much prefer Skyline’s brand of chili. This wasn’t a bad chili but as I said before I have really grown to love the in your face spices from Skyline. If I were to go back to Price Hill Chili I would likely try something on the menu other than their chili, as it appeared most of the other customers were doing. Perhaps they too have already decided they like Skyline better. However Price Hill Chili must be doing something right, as their customers are very local and an open parking spot was hard to come by on my Thursday afternoon visit.

My mom has an outline from a friend to create a delicious chicken taco dip. I took the outline she had and prepared this dish for a party we attended on Saturday.

• can white chicken (could probably substitute shredded chicken breasts)
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• 16 ounce jar of salsa (I used Jack’s Special salsa from  Garden Fresh Gourmet, my latest obsession)

To prepare the dip, simply mix all ingredients in a bowl and then fill your favorite baking pan with the mix. Heat in the oven at 350 degrees for about a half hour. Serve with tortilla chips.  My mom also puts a can of slices black olives on top of her dip before baking, but I skipped that step. The results were delicious and I think this can safely be added as a staple for parties to go along with buffalo chicken dip, skyline dip, etc.