The Pickled Pig in Walnut Hills is one of my favorite recent finds. The small deli specializes in smoked meats and fermented/pickled sides. Orders are placed at the counter and the menu focuses on sandwiches and deli-style salads.

Inside

For lunch, I decided to try the smoked turkey sandwich ($12) topped with sauerkraut, tomme (a French/Swiss cheese), and Russian dressing on sourdough rye, a sort of turkey Reuben. I really enjoyed this sandwich with its piled high delightfully smoky turkey. The bread was also outstanding!

Smoked Turkey Sandwich

On the side, I had their Korean carrots (a $3 add-on to the sandwich), a sweet and sour pickled delight. They also have potato salad, beet & apple salad, chicken salad, egg salad, hummus, and more.

Korean Carrots

If the Pickled Pig were closer to my house it would definitely be in my weekly rotation for lunch. But even so, I will have to remember to stop in again for more delicious food.

The Truck

Urban Vistro is a chef-driven food truck from Vitor Abreu. He runs Vitor’s Bistro in West Harrison, Indiana, and also this food truck that I stumbled upon one day. The menu for the day was large, especially for a food truck, and featured tacos, quesadillas, burgers, grilled cheese, and sandwiches.

Menu Boards

I had the chicken tacos which featured braised chicken, roasted corn and tomato pico, and lime sour cream (2 tacos for $9). The tortillas were filled with plenty of chicken and toppings and the taste was great. We went back for hush puppies later in the day, and my daughter still talks about how good those were. I wouldn’t hesitate to hit up this food truck in the future and will have to remember Vitor’s Bistro if I’m ever out in West Harrison.

Chicken Tacos

Happy New Year! Below is the list of cities that I visited in 2022 with at least one night spent in each place.

• Cincinnati, Ohio *
• Denver, Colorado
• Dillon, Colorado
• Copper Mountain, Colorado
• Aurora, Colorado
• Dublin, Ohio
• Williamstown, Kentucky *
• Elizabeth City, North Carolina
• Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
• Norfolk, Virginia
• Santa Claus, Indiana
• LaFollette, Tennessee
• Hilliard, Ohio
• West Chester, Ohio
• Logan, Ohio
• Boyne Falls, Michigan
• Traverse City, Michigan

* Those cities marked with an asterisk were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

See also: 2021 |  2020 |  2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |  2015 |  2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

It took me too long to write this review. Our neighborhood has a newer carryout pizza joint and it is incredible. St. Francis Apizza is a family-owned and operated artisan pizza shop. They were formerly named Parlor Pizza Project when it first opened in early 2021.

Sausage & Jalapeno

First of all their crust is outstanding! It is light, airy, and cooked to a nice crisp. Their housemade fennel sausage is really good and pairs well with jalapenos, onion, or olives.

Pepperoni & Banana Peppers

Another outstanding topping is the local oyster mushrooms. The New Richmond Signature pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pecorino romano, grana padano, extra virgin olive oil, mushrooms, red onion, and local fresh basil to finish is a favorite of my entire family.

Mushroom & Onion

All pizzas are served 16″ with 8 slices. They do offer half-and-half pizzas if you would like to try a couple of varieties.

My family and I were out in Middletown for a soccer tournament. We needed a quick and early lunch and found Bourbon’s Kitchen nearby the fields. We were seated right away and ordered a couple of beers from the decent beer list. They also have over 130 whiskeys and a long cocktail list.

Inside

For lunch, I had the Grippo’s sandwich with hand-breaded chicken. This was topped with muenster cheese, fancy sauce, creamy coleslaw, crushed Grippo’s chips, and smoked bacon ($15.50). Sweet potato waffle fries are a $4 addition but are well worth it. This sandwich is typically served as a steak burger, but chicken can be subbed or an impossible burger. This was delicious and the spicy from the Grippo’s chips really stood out.

Grippo’s Chicken

My wife had the Baja fish tacos with crispy haddock, fire-roasted black beans, and corn, house-pickled purple cabbage, salsa verde, ancho chile crema, and cilantro ($14). She seemed really happy with her choice, though the fries were an interesting side choice.

Baja Fish Tacos

Our kids enjoyed the cheeseburgers and fries from the kids’ menu ($7.99). Overall this was a really good lunch and we will be back if ever in the area again.

Bandito, a casual and quick Mexican restaurant, has been open for nearly a year now. My family and I have visited a number of times, and we will continue to do so. Parking can be tight at times, and the restaurant can also be busy, but we have found for lunch tables are nearly almost always readily available.

Outside

Orders are placed at a counter and then later picked up from a nearby window. A large bar occupies a good portion of the opposite side of the space and features a good selection of draft beer, craft cocktails, and wine.

Pickup “Trailer”

My favorite things on the menu include the nachos libre ($12) with a choice of verde chicken or ground beef served on top of a bed of corn chips topped with crema, cheese, pickled jalapenos, pico de gallo, tomatillo sauce, and manzano salsa. We also like the chips and dip sampler where $9 gets you a choice of 3 dips from a list of 8 plus a large platter of chips. As far as the tacos go, I really enjoy the buenes tardes amigo ($4) which combines verde chicken, cotija cheese, pico, and jalapeno cream sauce. The porkopolis ($4) is also a favorite with al pastor pork, green pepper sauce, cilantro, red onion, radish, and pineapple.

Tacos

Our kids enjoy the cheese quesadilla, ground beef taco, or even the hamburger (all $7 with a side). We have had a quick visit in under a half hour or we have spent the better part of an afternoon with multiple families catching up and watching sports on the TVs. We all enjoy Bandito and will keep it in our rotation of restaurants.

Over the last year or so, Dutch’s has reopened under new ownership by the folks who own Red Feather Kitchen. This means elevated food in a revamped casual setting. There are more tables than there used to be under the previous ownership that focused more on carryout. My wife and I stopped in for a date night and sampled various dishes on the menu.

Cheese Board

We started with a wonderful cheese board ($14 for 3 kinds of cheese and accoutrements). The selection of cheeses was a great mix and we really enjoyed this delicious start to the meal.

Truffle Popcorn

My wife spotted others snacking on the truffle popcorn ($6) and had to give it a try. The flavor was definitely unmistakable, and while it’s not my favorite thing, it was at least worth a try.

Smoked Chicken Sandwich

We split the smoke chicken sandwich ($14 with a choice of side dish). This adds pickled jalapeno, white bbq sauce, shredded lettuce, and Dutch’s unique “American” cheese crumbles. This was a big sandwich and was very good. The potato salad on the side was a nice mixture of local red potato, mustard seed, and mayo.

Butternut Squash Bisque

My wife also had to try their butternut squash bisque ($6) which she declared the best she’s had. Overall we had a nice meal and we should be back in the future!

After a week in the Outer Banks, my family and I stayed the night in downtown Norfolk before flying out the following morning. Before heading for the airport to catch our flight, we stopped at the Granby Waffle Shop for a quick breakfast. Orders are placed at the counter (or through an online ordering system) and prepared in the open kitchen behind. It was busy on a Monday morning holiday, but the wait for our food was only about 15 minutes.

Counter

I ordered the Captain Crunch chicken & waffles, which come with oven-baked breaded chicken bites, captain crunch, and powdered sugar ($10.99). I would have preferred the chicken to be deep-fried, but this was still really good. You can order this without the Captain Crunch cereal, but I would not recommend doing so. The crushed cereal adds a nice sweetness to the dish that would be missing otherwise.

Captain Crunch Chicken & Waffles

My kids were happy with their house waffles, but you can also build your own waffles from a wide variety of toppings. There are also more than a dozen specialty savory waffles and a handful of dessert waffles. I really liked this unique concept and would recommend checking it out when in the area.

On our way into the Outer Banks for a week-long vacation, we stopped at the Lost Colony Tavern in Manteo for lunch. We were seated right away at 11:45 on a Sunday and had our choice of indoor or outdoor tables. My wife and I both started with a Nags Head IPA while we looked over the menu. This English-style IPA is not as hoppy as I like my IPAs to be, but it was good enough for a refill later in the meal.

Carolina Barbecue Sandwich

For lunch, I had the Carolina barbecue sandwich with cherry and applewood smoked pulled pork on a potato bun with Carolina-style sauce. This is served with cole slaw and a side of chips (fries) for $15. The meat was well smoked and I wished there were more of it on the sandwich. Plus some extra barbecue sauce would really spice it up a bit. Overall it was pretty good. My wife seemed to really enjoy the Pamlico crab cake sandwich ($21) and I didn’t hear any complaints from my kids’ mini Angus cheeseburgers ($8). Overall it was a solid stop on our way to the beach.

After checking out the nearby OBX Lizard Land in Currituck, NC, my family and I stopped at Pass the Salt Cafe for a late lunch. Despite it being 2 P.M. there was a decent crowd inside, and by the time we left an hour later the dinner rush was already starting.

Raw Bar

We were seated at a table with a cool sea turtle painting on it. My wife and I enjoyed a couple of local brews while looking over the menu.

Table Art

The choice was easy for me, the Pamlico Pimento ($8.50 with a side). This sandwich combines house-made pimento cheese with crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, house dressing, and drizzled with red pepper jelly on a grilled French roll. Wow, this was great! I really loved the sweet and spicy flavor of the jelly, and their pimento cheese is delicious.

Pamlico Pimento

Our entire family was happy with their meal. There isn’t much restaurant competition in the area, but even if there was, Pass the Salt would be at the top of the list.