We had a great vacation last week, starting things off in Boston to watch my dad finally fulfill his dream of running in the Boston Marathon. The weather was super hot so he wasn’t able to run as fast as he normally would, but he still had a blast on the course and we all had a great time trying to find him among the large crowd.
Bib 16398
Plus the race was on his 56th birthday, so even more reason to celebrate.
Happy Birthday Dad
After a brief stay in Boston, we all packed up and headed south to Negril, Jamaica to celebrate my brothers 30th birthday.
Happy Birthday Tim
We stayed at the all-inclusive ClubHotel Riu Negril, where we were able to enjoy their pools as well as the beach and warm ocean waters, often with rum drinks in hand. The hardest decision to make each day was which of the restaurants to have our meals. While most of the trip was very relaxing, a few of us did take a kayak trip around Bloody Bay and I threw in a run on the beach one evening for good measure. Both stops of our trip were great celebrations.
We attended the Cincinnati Zoo’s Tunes & Blooms last night. This event featured the Comet Bluegrass All-Stars and Magnolia Mountain. It’s a very family friendly event and Trey loved dancing around with all the other kids. This was our first time at Tunes & Blooms but definitely not the last. I think I’ll pack some food for us next time to go along with the beer for sale. Consider joining us in 2 weeks on April 26 for The Turkeys and Jake Speed & The Freddies.
This Easter was filled with Easter Egg hunts. They had one after mass at St. Francis Seraph, but Trey was much more interested in the four huge dogs than he was in collecting eggs. Then he slept through the hunt at my in-laws house, though when he did wake up we hid some eggs for him to find.
When we headed to my grandparents house after dinner, we found that my two youngest cousins had hid more eggs for Trey to find.
It seems that nearly every year there is a new game I see being played on the west side of Cincinnati. This past Sunday I headed to my in-laws house for an Easter party and while there I discovered KanJam. Like many other backyard games this one features teams of two standing on opposites sides from each other. A Frisbee is thrown from one player toward the can on the opposite side where their teammate can attempt to deflect it to hit the side of the can or even into the can itself.
Points are scored in the following way: 1 point for a disc that is deflected into the side of the can. 2 points for a direct hit on the outside of the can, without a teammate deflection. 3 points for a disc that is deflect inside the can. And an automatic victory for a disc thrown through the slot in the front of the can, without a deflection. Those are the basic rules of the game, though there is a more lengthy rule list.
Sets are available online for $40, or as my brother-in-law did, you can easily make your own using two garbage cans for less than $30. I lost my first and only game of KanJam, but I hope to play again in the future.
This past Friday night my wife and I decided to try Baba India, which we have driven past many times. The restaurant sits in a former fast food space as you can easily tell by the covered up drive thru window on one side of the building. It is actually a pretty large space inside with plenty of seating around a central buffet area. Unfortunately the buffet is only offered during lunch, as is typical with Indian restaurants. There is also a small patio outside, which I have never actually seen in use. Maybe that will change with the warming weather.
Outside Baba India
Inside Baba India
My wife, fifteen month old son, and I were given our choice of tables upon entry. Immediately we were served glasses of water while we looked over the menu. After about five minutes time our server stopped by to take our order. Dining with a young child can be adventurous so we quickly placed our drink and dinner orders. As I was trying to observe the no meat on Friday during lent rule, I went with the Aloo Choley – chick peas and potatoes prepared North Indian style.
Aloo Choley
This was my first experience with Aloo Choley, as I typically order a chicken based dish when eating Indian food, but I must say that it was pretty tasty. I ordered a 5 on the 1-6 spice scale, which turned out to be really hot. I was still able to eat the entire dish, but I wondered if I would have preferred the level 4. Along with the large bowl of shared rice, it was definitely a full meal. I’m not sure I would order it again, as I’ve had other Indian dishes that I like better, but it was a good substitute for my meatless day.
Chicken Tikka Saag
My wife went with the Chicken Tikka Saag – boneless marinated chicken cooked with spinach, cream and tomato sauce. I only had small bites of the spinach and sauce, but from what I could tell this dish was excellent! My wife definitely enjoyed it as well, though the level 3 on the spice scale came out spicier than she had anticipated. It was too spicy for our young son, who actually enjoys some spice in his food.
Garlic Nan
We also split a side of garlic nan, which was so large half of it was hanging off of the plate. It was easily more than enough for two to split and the flavor was very good. Our only other Indian experience in Cincinnati has been at Shaan, and I think these two restaurants are very close. I do recall being a little more excited about the food at Shaan, but that could have easily been true had I ordered something different at Baba India. It is definitely worth another visit for me to find out.
Yesterday was a big day in Cincinnati, Opening Day! Though I didn’t make the game or the parade, I did head downtown after work to soak in the great vibe of the city. After a few hours hanging out with friends I realized that I definitely want to take the entire day off next year, take Trey down the parade, and then head in for the game. I’m sure I can convince my buddy Kenny to come along.
I’ve been listening to Of Monsters and Men’s album My Head is an Animal since late last year. The album was released in the band’s native Iceland in September of last year, but it was just released in the U.S. this past Tuesday, April 3. It is currently on iTunes for the very low price of $6.99. I would highly recommend picking up a copy. This is easily my favorite album I’ve listened to so far this year. You can listen to their hit single “Little Talks” in the official music video below, or in an acoustic live version even further down.
Over the weekend I took my first ever trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. Kim, Trey, and I left early Saturday morning to meet up with some friends who had already camped the night before. Since this was Trey’s first time camping we decided that we should only do one night and see […]
While out in Steamboat a couple of weeks ago, our group headed out for dinner to celebrate a birthday and to see more of the town. One of the first places we passed while walking around was the Tugboat Grill & Pub. Once I entered the inside of the ‘boat I immediately remembered stopping here on a previous visit to Steamboat years ago. After telling those in our group that I had been here before, it seemed that everyone in the room overheard me and told me that they get that a lot.
It seems that during non-peak ski season, the Tugboat is likely filled with a good number of local regulars that help to keep it in business, which it has been doing since 1972. The inside of the wooden structure is full of animal trophies as well as lots of other memorabilia. That was what I remembered most from our past visit. What I should have remembered was there incredible drink prices during happy hour, even offered on a couple of craft selections. They also had a couple of half price appetizers. We had the Chili Verde – green chili, pork, and some other secret things – which was really good!
Chicken Burrito
For dinner I selected the chicken burrito ($11.99) – shredded seasoned chicken, melted Colby and cheddar cheese rolled in a chipotle flour tortilla, topped with pork chili verde. Served with a side of Spanish rice, black beans, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and guacamole. First off this was a huge plate of food! Even with my wife helping me out, we still had plenty of leftovers. In addition to the large size, the dish was big on flavor too.
Soup
Others in the group had burgers, soups, and other various sandwiches. Everyone seemed to be happy with their dinner selections and I think nearly every plate was completely finished. Our service was excellent and I would definitely not hesitate to return for a third visit.
On our way into Steamboat Springs for vacation last week, we decided to stop for some Mexican food at Tequila’s, which is in the historic downtown area. Nearly everyone in the group opted for one of their house margaritas that come served in a pint glass. With that much tequila to start our trip, we knew we were in for a good one. I’m told that their margaritas are made with just tequila, lime juice, and agave natural sweetener. I do recall them being pretty tasty and not overly sweet.
Inside Tequila’s
We were given a few complimentary baskets of chips for our rather large table, along with a traditional red salsa as well as a non-traditional cabbage based salsa. I will admit that I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the cabbage salsa at first, but after trying it on top of a warm chip I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a little like coleslaw but not very creamy and much more bold in flavor.
Cabbage Salsa
For lunch I ordered chicken enchiladas with salsa verde. This plate was served with refried beans and rice. I’ll start with the beans, which didn’t appear to be from a can, but I really didn’t enjoy them that much. It seems that they weren’t very fresh and when the plate was warmed in the oven they got crunchy around the edges. The rice was alright too, but not worth the extra money. If I were to order again I would have went à la carte, as the enchiladas were surprisingly good! I also had a bit of my wife’s chile relleno, which was great too, even though they prepared it with beef when she requested vegetarian. Nearly everyone in the group licked their plates clean, so Tequila’s is definitely worthy of a visit.
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