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.

Last month I attended my first Dayton Dragons baseball game. The Dragons are the  Class A  affiliate of the Reds. They play their home games at Fifth Third Field in downtown Dayton, Ohio. The 8,200 seat stadium has great amenities including a craft beer bar and plenty of activities for the kids too.

Seat View

As with every game in their sixteen year existence, this game was a sellout. On July 9, 2011, the Dragons officially set a new record of 815 consecutive sellout games.  The sellout streak is the longest across all professional sports in the U.S. and is still going strong. They are well over 1,000 games at this point. Needless to say, the games are the place to be!

Outfield View

With just a month left in their regular season (15 games), time is quickly running out to attend a game this year. Tickets cost roughly $15-20, making it a great place to take the entire family for a fun night out in Dayton.

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.

A great place to take the kids when on vacation around Gulf Shores is the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. This zoo distinguishes itself from others by offering various animal encounters. You can actually play with baby tigers, though at $50 per person it is a little more than most would likely spend.

Tiger Encounter

The zoo itself is fairly inexpensive, $11 for adults and $8 for kids 3-12. And while it isn’t as large as other zoos I’ve been through, there is enough to easily spend a few hours exploring. There are plenty of big cats, bears, and lots of little critters too.

Baby Macaws

You can definitely get a little closer to many of the animals here at this zoo. We saw some animal shows taking place at various times, and keepers out talking with visitors often.

Caged Family

The lemur encounter was only $10 per person, plus it was free for our two-year-old daughter. My mom was happy to take her inside the cage to pet  these primates and get some pictures. There enjoyed playing the lemurs for a good fifteen minutes before moving on to the next exhibit.

Lemur Encounters

The zoo has been open since 1989 and is open year round and has survived many  hurricanes, several  of which have forced evacuations for most of the animals. During Hurricane Ivan a twelve-foot alligator was lost for a week before being found and relocated back to his caged in pond.

12 Foot Gator

I’m told they are trying to build a new location farther inland and less likely to flood. This facility was announced in 2009 and was supposed to open in 2013 but it has yet to do so. They are now targeting the summer of 2017.

While on vacation in the Gulf Shores area our entire group of two dozen went out to dinner together one time. After a few failed calls the afternoon before, we finally made a reservation at Gilbey’s Seafood & Steak the following evening.

Outside

Upon our arrival we found three large tables were reserved for us at the rear of the restaurant. This was perfect as we had let them know earlier that we did not all need to sit together. But with all the tables in the same area it was almost like we had our own dining room.

Garden Salad

I started with a garden salad ($2.95 addition to an entrée) with spring mix, shaved carrots, tomatoes, and garlic croutons. There wasn’t anything special about the salad, but the ingredients were fresh. I would have paid an extra dollar for the pecan goat cheese salad, had that been an option.

Smothered Chicken

For dinner I went with the only chicken dish on the menu, which featured mushrooms, caramelized onions, BBQ sauce, and white cheddar. This was served on top of sour cream and chive mashed potatoes with a few sautéed green beans ($19). The dish was plentiful  in size featuring two large chicken breasts. The combination of mushroom and BBQ was not something I’ve seen before and it actually worked quite well. Overall a very solid dish.

Gilbey’s  is a great place for a large group meal. Our service was quick especially considering the size of our party. And most of the group seemed happy with their meals.

The closest restaurant to our rented vacation house near Gulf Shores, Alabama was The Flying Harpoon 2. One day during our stay my family and I stopped here for lunch after a bike ride. We arrived right at their 11 A.M. opening time. In fact, a  friendly employee had to unlock the front door to let us in. He took the time to show us around the space and even took us out back to see the alligator and turtles that call the back pond home.

Inside

This employee split his time between taking care of all the patrons at the bar and surrounding dining area, as well as shucking fresh oysters. Though he was busy, he continued to entertain with great stories and facts on the surrounding area.  Top notch service for sure!

Conecuh Smoked Sausage Po’ Boy

Conecuh Smoked Sausage is a local hickory smoked specialty. The Flying Harpoon prepares the sausage as a po’ boy sandwich on New Orléans Leidenheimer French bread, with peppers, onions, and spicy Creole mustard ($7.75). The tasty sausage was mostly mild but the mustard helped kick it up a notch. The peppers and onions were piled high and the bread was perfect.

Shrimp Po’ Boy

My wife had the shrimp po’ boy with corn flour breaded and fried local gulf shrimp, lettuce, and tomato ($9.75). Though I didn’t try this one, it got great reviews and comes highly recommended. We also shared an order of hand cut potato chips ($3.50) that were perfectly cooked and reminded me of chips we would make at home as a kid. Great food and exceptional service make The Flying Harpoon 2 a great place to visit.

After driving through the night to get to Gulf Shores, my family and I stopped for breakfast at Kitty’s Kafe. We arrived around 8:15 A.M. on a Saturday and there was no wait for a table. There were a few tables outside on the patio, but the weather was already heating up so we opted to sit inside. We were seated at a booth next to a large painted wall depicting a farm scene. We later learned that the owners are from our home state of Ohio and the paintings are representative of their family farm.

Inside Kitty’s Kafe

The breakfast menu offers a wide variety of options. Since I don’t eat eggs my options can sometimes be limited for breakfast, but Kitty’s had plenty to offer. I went with the smothered hashbrowns with ham, mushrooms, onion, and peppers all mixed into the potato mix and then covered in cheese. This was awesome and the homemade biscuit was excellent.

Smothered Hashbrowns

Our service was speedy and friendly. All of the food was great. We were off to a great start to our vacation.

A week and a half after returning home from Virginia Beach, my family and I packed our bags again and headed out for Gulf Shores, Alabama. For this trip we would be joined by a couple dozen family  members from my mom’s side. We all stayed in a twelve bedroom house on Orange Beach, part of the Cottages of Romar development.

Sapphire Pool

We had a wonderful community pool with zero depth entry, our own private pool attached to the house, and private beach access to the wonderful white sands of the gulf.  There isn’t much within walking distance, but we were able to take a couple of bike rides to see some sites and grab something to eat. With such a large house and so many activities going on, it was most fun hanging out with family and enjoying the relaxing vacation.

Busch Family

Virginia Beach is experiencing a rising craft beer scene. In addition to visiting Back Bay Brewing, I also visited Home Republic during a recent trip. Home Republic  is restaurant, brewpub, and wine shop all in one. They have a very small brewing system that they are using to put out some interesting beers like their Blue  Berrymore, which is brewed  with twenty pounds of blueberries per barrel.

Young Veterans Brewing Jet Noise

They also feature a variety of craft beer drafts from neighboring breweries and from around the U.S. I was able to try Young Veterans Brewing Jet Noise, a tasty double IPA from the Virginia Beach brewery which  was founded in 2012.

Veggie Burger

The food is made from scratch and the menu features plenty of sandwiches and burgers, along with a small selection of entrées  featuring baby back ribs and crab cakes. My wife tried the quinoa and black bean veggie burger topped with spinach, tomato, and sautéed onions with a side of fries ($13). The addition of quinoa to the patty was unique and something that I’d like to see more of.

Cuban Panini

I went with the Cuban panini featuring roasted pork, Smithfield ham, and Swiss topped with pickles and mustard ($13). For my side I went with the veggies and was given a massive serving of steamed broccoli that was slightly under-cooked for my tastes. The sandwich was quite tasty, especially the ham which I’ve learned is a local specialty. Home Republic is a great place for a quality meal.