A couple of Saturdays ago, I took Trey to the Newport Aquarium with my parents. I’ve been to the aquarium before but it has been a number of years since my last visit. I don’t recall ever seeing the Rainforest exhibit, which appears to have been opened on May 24, 2004. So I’m guessing that my last visit was in 2003. Since then they have also added the Frog Bog along with a 14 foot, 800 pound alligator named Mighty Mike.

Throughout the 70 exhibits and 14 galleries, there are plenty of opportunities for interaction. There was no stopping Trey in the hands on tanks where he could pet horseshoe crabs, starfish, or even small sharks. There is also a play area with tubes and slides in the previously mentioned Frog Bog.

The real stars of the aquarium are the five seamless acrylic tunnels through some of the larger tanks, as well as a huge viewing window in the theater where you can sit and watch sharks for as long as you’d like. Also the penguin exhibit is always a huge hit with both kids and adults.

The aquarium continues to be a great place to spend a few hours, especially during one of those rainy days of spring.

On our third attempt to grab some food at ZZ’s Pizza my wife and I were finally successful. Just a couple of weeks ago, we found out the hard way that they don’t open until 3pm on Sunday’s. And on another visit, the tiny restaurant was a little too crowded for our already overwhelmed one year old son. If there is one problem with ZZ’s it is definitely the size and layout of the restaurant space. The bar counter is useless except for the servers who  occasionally  use it to pour drinks. And nearly every table inside is a  high-top, which can be troubling for any young children.

Inside ZZ's Pizza

Fortunately that is where all of my complaints will end. Our service was excellent and the food was very good. We were using a Groupon that provided 2 side salads of our choice as well as any signature 12″ pizza on the menu. I chose the wedge salad –  iceberg  lettuce wedge with sliced Roma tomatoes, crispy bacon, house  Parmesan  dressing, and topped with gorgonzola cheese. (Normally $4.50). It was delicious! I’ve had salads like this in other restaurants before, but this has to be my favorite of the bunch.

Wedge Salad

My wife decided to have the Caesar salad –  crisp romaine lettuce tossed with Caesar dressing and topped with Parmesan cheese and croutons ($3.50). I only had one bite of her salad but again it was good. I think I have to give the edge to the wedge, but since they are pretty different it all depends on your mood.

Caesar Salad

We had a tough time choosing between all the different signature pizzas, but eventually settled on the Primavara –  artichoke hearts, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, olives & pizza sauce with provolone & mozzarella cheese on whole wheat crust ($16 for 12″). This gourmet style pizza was topped with plenty of very fresh ingredients. The whole wheat crust was thinner than I was expecting it to be, but it’s flavor was great. The sauce was savory with just a bit of spice to it. I really enjoyed the pizza.

Primavara Pizza

It will be hard for us to visit this current restaurant space often with our son, but hopefully I can get carry out in the future or we can make it a date night destination. The food is definitely worthy of a return visit.

I haven’t always liked mushrooms, so I’m somewhat new to cooking with them. I realized I had some leftover cremini mushrooms last night, and with little else to go with them, I found a fairly basic recipe for them (minus the port).

Start Of Cooking

Since we didn’t have any port lying around, and I didn’t want to open any bottles of dry red wine, I just used a little pinot grigio that was already opened. The results were pretty tasty! Though I would like to try this again with a wine of the red variety.

Finished Product

Interesting times may be ahead. On Tuesday it was announced that the division of Harris that I work for (Broadcast Communications Division) is now for sale. According to the press release, “the business is no longer aligned with the company’s long-term strategy.” The interesting thing for me is the current project that I work on is very closely tied to another division of the company. I’m not sure how this announcement will affect our project, but I would have to think that regardless of what happens someone has to be interested in the potential of what we are working on. I guess only time will tell.

According to Google, “Izzy’s  is a  Cincinnati  tradition, serving the World’s Greatest Reubens and one heck of a Potato Pancake.” My wife is a big fan of theirs, and I have to admit that I’ve only recently started eating at Izzy’s. I guess since I’ve never really eaten red meat, corned beef was never a big draw for me. Fortunately I’ve discovered there are a few items on the Izzy’s menu not involving beef that are worth a try.

My wife and I stumbled upon their newest locations in Madisonville over the weekend. Our son was sound asleep in the car, so we were looking for something we could easily pick-up and eat while running errands. Fortunately this location is equipped with a drive-thru window. It does take a little time to prepare your order, compared to other drive-thrus, but the food is worth the wait.

The Suzzy

My wife and I decided to split sandwiches. First up is The Suzzy –  Izzy’s oven roasted turkey breast topped with a special recipe of cranberry orange relish, cream cheese and lettuce on a toasted sourdough roll served with a potato pancake ($7.89). There was a large slab of cream cheese in between layers of turkey, so don’t think you are being too healthy when ordering this sandwich. However the taste was great, and I really liked the sourdough roll that it was served on.

Turkey Reuben

Our other sandwich is a favorite of ours, the Turkey  Reuben  –  Izzy’s oven roasted turkey breast topped with sweet-n-sour cole slaw, melted imported Swiss cheese, and a smear of Izzy’s special dressing on our own rye roll also served with a potato pancake ($7.99). If you enjoy turkey  Reubens, you will definitely love this sandwich. The roll is a little thicker than traditional rye bread, but it is packed full of tasty ingredients. The potato pancakes are also very good, though I could have used a little ketchup for mine. Each sandwich is also served with dill pickle chips on the side.

I got a new grill from my family for Christmas and I’ve just started using it frequently. My brother and his girlfriend got me some grilling accessories for my birthday, including a pizza grilling kit. Friday evening was the perfect night for grilling in the backyard. So  I heated up the grill to 400 degrees with my new pizza stone already in place. I then prepared a homemade pizza using this wonderful homemade sauce  that I’ve been using for years. I topped the pizza with mushroom, green pepper, and onion. It cooked for about 20 minutes and the results were delicious!

Friday afternoon my wife and I ventured out of the house for a walk with our son. On our way to the grocery store we both realized that we should also get something for lunch while we were out. I was thinking of just picking up something quick and taking it back home, but she convinced me to give the Hitching Post a try. It was an interesting suggested from her, as she grew up serving fried chicken at the Proud Rooster and has no desire for it anymore. I other the other hand love the  occasional  fried chicken so I easily gave in.

Inside The Hitching Post

The inside of the Hitching Post was actually a little more modern than I was expecting. I expected the decor to match the aging clientele. On our visit the seating area was more than half full and a number of the visitors appeared to be regulars. Most people seemed to be ordering the “World’s Best Fried Chicken” so I decided to join them and ordered a two piece basket with mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade cole slaw and a roll ($7.25).

Two Piece Fried Chicken Basket

The breast of chicken was so large that the sides do not fit in the basket and are served on a separate plate. Each piece of chicken is fried to order and is served hot. The chicken in my order was perfectly cooked and tasted great. The mashed potatoes and gravy were fairly standard, but the coleslaw was excellent. It is a very creamy and traditional, but the flavor was perfect. Next time I might sub out the mashed potatoes for fries or even the potato cakes.

Seasonal Turkey Sandwich

My wife ordered a grilled turkey sandwich from their seasonal menu, but I can’t find the name of it online. I wish I would have taken note of the unique ingredient combination as it was a really good sandwich. The menu also features burgers, double-decker sandwiches, and a few other sandwich choices. I think that we will likely return again in the future. I’ve heard that they also have a great breakfast. If we can successfully walk past The Echo  without stopping some morning, I’d like to give it a try.

Last night was the last Tunes and Blooms at the zoo for the year. It featured the The Turkeys along with Jake Speed & The Freddies. I’ve seen The Turkeys numerous times, though my show database indicates otherwise. Some of the band members are friends of friends. They always put on a great show, and last night was no exception.

The Turkeys

The Turkeys From Side Stage

In between acts we took a quick trip over to see the new  Bactrian camel baby boy who was born this past Monday, the first at the zoo in nearly 30 years. Though he was just lounging around most of the time, we did see him stand up and take a quick drink from mom.

Baby Camel And Mom

Jake Speed & The Freddies closed out the night. It was my first time seeing this bluegrass style band, but surely not the last. They put on an entertaining show full of very  dance-able  music. I’ll be on the lookout for future shows of theirs.

Jake Speed & The Freddies

While in Boston a couple of weekends ago, my family and I had dinner at Gennaro’s 5 North Square the night before the Boston Marathon. Having heard that restaurant wait times during the marathon weekend were often very lengthy, I made reservations weeks in advance on OpenTable. We arrived to find our table for seven set and ready for us.

Oil And Cheese

While looking through the dinner menu, and deciding on a bottle of wine, some fresh bread was dropped on the table along with some oil and cheese for dipping. There were two different types of bread in the basket, one of which was almost cake like and quickly became the favorite of our table.

Masciarelli Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

My wife quickly recognized a bottle of wine on the list that she has grown to love, Masciarelli Montepulciano D’Abruzzo,  so we ordered a bottle of it for the table. Everyone liked it well enough to order another bottle of it before dinner was even served.

North Square

Our table overlooked the very nice North Square. After placing our order, members of my family took turns playing with my one year old son out in the square. The room that our table was in downstairs wasn’t large at all, only holding a few tables, but I’m told the upstairs can seat up to 65 for dinner. There is only one restroom on the main floor, which is next to the very tiny bar area.

Chicken Parmigiana

For dinner I ordered the Chicken Parmigiana ($22), which featured a huge double breast of breaded chicken on top of house made  fettuccine  noodles and plenty of Marisa’s marinara. This dish was very well prepared and I enjoyed eating every last bite of it.

Manicotti Italo - Americani

I also had some of my wife’s Manicotti Italo – Americani  ($20) with ricotta, spinach, and nutmeg. Rather than the bolognese ragu that comes with it, she opted for the diavolo sauce. Unfortunately the diavolo sauce didn’t really add as much spice as I was hoping.  Furthermore the ends of the manicotti were overcooked. With that said, the ricotta filling was delicious.

Others in our group had the linguine & scampi, the rigatoni with Sunday gravy, the lasagna, and a seafood special. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their dishes, though my mother who ordered the lasagna was disappointed that there was no meat in it. I had a few bites of the lasagna and I thought it was some of the best I’ve ever had.

Marion's Piazza

Before flying out of Dayton to Boston a couple of Sunday’s ago, my wife and I spent the night near the airport to make the early wakeup call easy for us and for our one year old son. For dinner that night I had only one thing in mind, Marion’s Piazza. Since trying Cassano’s earlier this year, it has been on my radar for any trip up north.

Inside Marion's Dayton Mall Location

Marion’s does not deliver, but fortunately there was a location within a few minutes drive our hotel for the night. The inside of the restaurant was much larger than I expected, especially compared to the Cassano’s location I visited. There is a large counter at the back of the room where orders are placed and where phone ahead orders can be picked up, as I did on this visit. Beware that the restaurant is cash only.

Marion's Dining Area

My wife and I decided to just order one large Marion’s Super Cheese – pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions and green peppers topped with a mound of cheese ($17.50 for 13″). The order was ready in ten of fifteen minutes, and it was still hot when I brought it back into our hotel room.

Dayton Patented

Once I opened the pizza box I knew that we were in for a treat. The amount of toppings covering the pizza was more than anything I had ever seen before. The thin crust pizza was sliced just as I expected into many tiny pieces. Each piece was perfectly crispy and there was a fair amount of cornstarch on the bottom. The sauce didn’t stand out very much, allowing the fresh ingredients and 100% real cheese to really shine through. I really enjoyed this pizza.

Marion's Super Cheese