A new craft beer bar has opened up near my house in East Walnut Hills. The Growler House  name makes the location sound like a grab and go place, but the inside is setup well for visitors to leisurely enjoy several rounds. On my visit during Cincinnati Beer Week, more than half of the 30 taps were dedicated to local beer, which I’m hoping is a trend that continues. Beers are served by the pint (or snifter) as well as in a 5 oz “bencher” for easy flight tastings. Obviously growler fills are also available plus wine by the glass  too.

Growler House Bar

The inside is very spacious, though only a dozen or so stools are available. Snacks can be bought at the bar and a TV in the corner will likely have your favorite game on. Packaged beer options are also available for purchase and again a solid lineup of locals was available during my visit. During the week they open at 3 (closed on Mondays) and on the weekend it’s noon. From what the bartender says, the closing time is a little flexible based on the crowd.

Gomez Salsa is a taco window in Over-the-Rhine directly next to Half Cut. The real beauty is that the food can be delivered to your inside Half Cut while  enjoying their sixteen craft beer choices. You can also wait on the sidewalk for your order, but wouldn’t you rather be out of the elements and enjoying a nice beer?

Turtle Shell

The most popular thing to order from Gomez is the “turtle shell”, which they call a hybrid burrito ($8). Think of it similar to the Taco Bell’s crunchwrap, with a hard tostado shell inside a  soft burrito sized tortilla. The inside is stuffed with rice, beans, sour cream, lettuce, salsa, cheese, and your choice of meats  or sautéed veggies. It’s a quick and delicious meal to enjoy on the go or with a few pints.

For Christmas my brother got Kim and I a membership to Enjoy the Arts.  Enjoy the Arts gives anyone aged 35 or younger free tickets, ongoing discounts, exclusive invitations, and insider information to enjoy Cincinnati’s world-class arts scene for an entire year. I’m not sure why I never heard of this before my brother joined, it seems like something that nearly all my friends should have taken advantage of. If there is anyone that isn’t too close to the age cutoff I urge you to join right away.

Over the weekend we all went to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Gustav Holst’s  The Planets. Though this performance is over, there are plenty of other CSO performances throughout the year that you can see for free after joining Enjoy the Arts. I’m looking forward to  heading to the Ensemble Theatre, Shakespeare Company, and Playhouse in the Park, just to name a few.

I recently competed in Frisch’s Big Boy’s Lenten Recipe Competition. Each competitor was tasked with creating a delicious meatless recipe using Frisch’s tartar sauce. The sauce is already featured in many recipes on their website, so coming up with a unique item was a bit of a challenge. Eventually I settled on making fried green tomatoes from scratch and featuring these on a grilled cheese with plenty of Frisch’s tartar sauce.

Finished Product

This was my first time making fried green tomatoes, but the process is actually very simple. And we all know how easy making a grilled cheese sandwich is, so overall this shouldn’t take too much to prepare. And the results were really good!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 large green tomato, sliced 1/4 inch thick (4 slices)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 slices sourdough bread
• 4 slices pepperjack cheese
• 4 tablespoons Frisch’s tartar sauce

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Place the flour, eggs, and cornmeal in 3 separate bowls.
3. Press both sides of the tomato slices first in the flour, then in the eggs (letting any excess drip off), and finally in the cornmeal.
4. Cook the tomato slices until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
5. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.
6. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and place it over medium heat.
7. Spread butter onto 1 side of each slice of bread.
8. Place 2 of the slices butter side down in the skillet.
9. Stack 1 slice of pepperjack cheese, 1 tablespoon of Frisch’s tartar sauce, 2 slices of green tomato, another tablespoon of Frisch’s tartar sauce, and finally another slice of pepperjack cheese onto each piece of bread in the skillet.
10. Top with the remaining slices of bread with the butter on the outside.
11. Cook until the bottom is golden.
12. Flip the sandwiches and cook until golden brown on the other side.

Recently my wife and I finally made it to the Incline Public House. I never would have thought it would have taken us two years to visit, especially with my family’s frequent travel to the west side of town. We arrived just after opening (11 AM) on a late Saturday morning.

Inside

A few other tables were occupied but we were able to request a table near the windows overlooking the city. The restaurant continued to fill as our meal progressed and before long half of the tables were occupied before noon. It was a very dreary day, but the view was still nice. The patio has to be amazing on a warm and clear day.

Patio and View

We quickly decided to split the spicy pickle fries as an appetizer ($7).  The pickles are made in-house from a family recipe and are outstanding. Slices of the unfried pickle are served with sandwiches, but the fried variety are worth ordering. They are so soft that they nearly melt in your mouth. Easily some of the best fried pickles I have ever had.

Spicy Pickle Fries

For lunch I had the pulled pork sandwich with fries ($11). The sandwich was massive and the pork was piled high. Served on top of the meat was BBQ sauce, pickled apple slaw, cheddar, and onion straws. Overall the sandwich was good, but I could have used more of the sauce, which was hardly noticeable at first.

Pulled Pork Sandwich

My wife had the BBQ pineapple pizza with prosciutto, pineapple salsa, smoked gouda, cheddar, and BBQ sauce ($11). Their pizzas are made to order and cooked in a wood oven. The pizza was cooked perfectly with just the right amount of char. The toppings were plentiful and the flavor was delicious.

BBQ Pineapple Pizza

Our food was great, the service was excellent. We will definitely be back to the Include Public House and I hope it is during warmer weather so we can enjoy the beautiful patio and view.

The owners of the  New Orléans To Go food truck now have a brick and mortar location to go along with the truck. They recently opened up just after the first of the year in a spot on Madison Road in East Walnut Hills, next door to the Growler House.

Inside

Inside the spacious dining room are more than a dozen tables along with a handful of seats at the bar and some high top tables nearby. The walls are covered in New Orléans memorabilia and there is a small window into the kitchen area.

Bar

For those that have had the pleasure of visiting the truck in the past, you will be happy to find many of those staples along with an expanded menu. The menu is constantly evolving and the daily offerings are often posted on their Facebook page and on chalk boards inside. Also the hours aren’t set in stone so be sure to call ahead or check their social media accounts.

Chicken Po’ Boy

I ordered the chicken po’ boy ($10 with a bag of chips) with a side of fries ($3 up-charge). When asked about the spicy honey sauce, your answer should always be, “Yes!” I had the sauce served on both my sandwich and the fries and it was amazing. There was so much meat on the sandwich that it was extremely difficult to eat, but that is definitely a good thing. My  meal cost more than I usually like to spend for lunch, but everything was prepared fresh to order and I was completely filled at the end. I will definitely be back for more.

Last night we wrapped up the best season  in the Fountains Square Broomball League for the Little Kings. Our 5-1-1 record was the first winning record in club history and we finished in 3rd place overall.

Winning Team

The playoffs were different this year, with every team making it into the playoffs and simply playing the team with the next closest record. There were no rounds and every team played just one extra game. I think had we not lost our first game of the season we could have had our chance at the league championship.

Award Ceremony

Word on the street is that some of us  may join forces in the Washington Park Kickball League this summer, so be on the lookout for that.

The latest mega playground to open in the Cincinnati area is inside Blue Ash’s Summit Park. My kids are big fans of this playground after my mom had taken them a few times, and I recently had the chance to check it out with them over the weekend.

Ropes Course

On our way there our four-year-old made sure to grab an extra cardboard box to slide down the mound next to the slides. Once we arrived I realized that this is definitely the thing to do at the park. Even if you forget a cardboard box, there were plenty around and truthfully you can pretty easily slide down the hill without the help of cardboard. I may actually know from experience.

Play Mound

The other thing that my son enjoyed the most was the four person seesaw. You just don’t see these at playgrounds as much as you used to. This one is really awesome and is plenty big enough for adults to ride, provided you have enough weight on the other side to balance out.

Seesaw

Summit Park has recently earned awards  and I can agree that the playground is really awesome. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for the former airport site.

Over the weekend I drove up to Columbus with a couple of friends to meet another friend who currently lives in the state capital. The primary destination  of the trip was to attend the Columbus Blue Jackets game versus the St. Louis Blues. Growing up playing hockey, I’m happy to have a NHL team somewhat nearby, but I don’t make it to nearly enough games.

Nationwide Arena

Rather than making the two-hour drive north, most professional hockey I watch is provided by the Cincinnati Cyclones. But really there is no comparison. Aside from the obvious difference in talent, Nationwide Arena blows US Bank Arena away. Even the view from some of the highest seats at Nationwide are great.

Games at Intermission

There is a lot to do around the arena during intermissions too. My friends and I challenged some of the local kids to a game of table hockey and ended up losing badly. It was as if my friends and I were the Blues and these local kids were the Blue Jackets, though our score wasn’t nearly as embarrassing as the real Blues 7-1 loss to the Blue Jackets this night.

High School Hall of Hockey

Connected to Nationwide Arena is the OhioHealth Ice Haus, the practice facility for the Blue Jackets. This rink also serves as the home ice for many of the high school teams in the area. In fact there was a game going on during the Blue Jackets game, and we could watch a little of the action from the concourse of Nationwide. Next season I may try to make a weekend trip to catch my alma mater  play a road game as the Ice Haus along with another Blue Jackets game.

I’ve written about Dream Dinners before, and my family continues to enjoy these easy to make meals at least two or three times a week. My wife and I started using Dream Dinners when our oldest child was born, and now that there are two kids in the house these meals have really become a part of our weekly routine.

Ingredients

Recently I was asked by the owners of my local Dream Dinners location if I knew any other bloggers in the area that I could put them in touch with. What eventually happened was a tasting session that I was invited to along with some of my suggestions and some other bloggers that they had found on their own.

Dinner Is Served

During our session we all prepared three meals of our choice  following the standard Dream Dinners process. Basically this means that you  assemble  a variety of pre-cut, fresh ingredients into the provided plastic bags. Take  these bags home and put them in your  own freezers. When it is time to eat, you simply defrost and cook the pre-assembled meals following the provided directions. It couldn’t be any easier.