Another restaurant that my parents visit frequently, but have yet to take me to, is  Shooters Sports Grill. My wife and I headed that way on Friday evening for dinner. We arrived to find the parking lot completely full so my wife ran in to see if tables were available or not. She quickly came back out and said that we would only have to wait a few minutes for a table. She grabbed our five month old son out of the car, and I drove over to a neighboring parking lot to find an available spot. I guess everyone in the restaurant brought separate cars since there wasn’t that many people inside but not a single spot available in the fairly large lot.

After a few minutes waiting near the bar we were guided to a table in the back of the restaurant near the giant garage doors and video games. On nice nights the garage doors open to let the fresh air in. Unfortunately our night was filled with thunderstorms so the doors remained shut throughout our visit. Our waitress quickly took our drink orders and returned quickly with our draft beer selections. I was delighted that Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA was on tap despite the fairly standard domestic draft list.

For dinner I decided on the hot pepper turkey sandwich – seasoned pepper turkey grilled with pepper Jack cheese, green onion,  zesty sauce and mayo on toasted  sourdough. I added a cup of  broccoli bacon salad to the side for $2. My wife went with the Baja BBQ chicken pizza – sweet BBQ grilled chicken with mozzarella cheese.

Hot Pepper Turkey Sandwich

The hot pepper turkey sandwich was good and quite a bit spicier than it looked. I don’t recall the green onion on the sandwich as the description indicates, but it seems a little out-of-place anyway. I was sold on the broccoli bacon salad from the moment our server began to describe it as a  mayonnaise  based salad with the addition  of shredded cheese. I was not disappointed one bit. It was a delicious side that I would definitely order again. I think my biggest complaint would be the price. The sandwich was little more than a turkey melt, and at $7.99 you would expect that to include fries or a side dish, but it does not at Shooters. Fries would cost $1.29 more making the platter over $9 and I don’t think it is worth that much.

Baja BBQ Chicken Pizza

The pizza was overall pretty average. Again for $14 for a 12 inch pie I would expect it to be loaded with a variety of toppings not just chicken, cheese, and BBQ sauce. Also it seemed that the crust was overloaded with salt. My wife was first to make this comment. I didn’t notice it when I started eating the pizza but by the time I reached the crusty edge I was hit with the same salty taste in my mouth. We had a good recommendation about the pizza, but I’m afraid I would much rather drive down the hill into old town Loveland and get the much more delicious pizza from The Works.

Eat your heart out downtowners! We in Mason now have our own food truck, Bones’ Burgers (website should be live later today). Earlier this week I noticed coupons in the break room for free fries to go along with grass fed beef burgers, gourmet grilled cheeses, and sustainable produce. This sounded much more like something I would find in Denver, rather than the location of a former football stadium and hall of fame. Today I ventured over to the nearby parking lot to sample the food for myself.

Bones' Burgers Truck

First I glanced through the burger menu to see if there were any  vegetarian  offerings, there was one but the owner quickly pointed out to me that the patty is not made in house. I’m not a fan of the frozen veggie burgers, but I do like some  hand-made black bean burgers or similar. So I moved on to the grilled cheese menu, which was slightly overwhelming at first. There were a wide variety of cheeses to choose from and I knew I wanted something rather than boring old cheddar.

Again the owner was to the rescue and guided me toward a triple creme brie cheese on wheat bread with blueberry jam and apple slices. I also was able to redeem my coupon for a side of sweet potato fries with some special seasoning on them. While the food was cooking I chatted with the owner about how the new business is going and the environmental impact of opening such a business. I was happy to hear that as the summer goes on he is going to use even more locally grown produce and plans to hand make veggie patties by next summer.

Triple Creme Brie Grilled Cheese

Once the food was finished cooking, I took it in a bag back to my desk at work. I must admit that the grilled cheese sandwich turned out very well. The sweetness from the fruits complimented the creaminess of the cheese perfectly. It may not have looked like much of a sandwich at first glance, but it really filled me up. The sweet potato fries were also perfectly fried and the seasoning smelled wonderful. I used very little ketchup on the fries, which is a compliment to their deliciousness.

All of these local, sustainable, organic ingredients come at a cost and I hope that is something that the conservative Cincinnati population can realize. You get what you pay for. So you can either have a typical fast food meal from the McDonald’s down the road. Or you can have a freshly prepared sandwich that utilized the best ingredients at a higher cost. It’s obvious how I feel about these issues, but I hope that others can realize this and help this business succeed and hopefully we can see others like it soon.

I had a really busy work day today, and for that matter yesterday too. Fortunately I’ve started running before I login for the day, since it is much to hot outside for lunch time runs. As a bonus, I can stay focused on days like today without stopping for lunch. This new routine was in effect for both today and yesterday. My legs are little sore this afternoon so tomorrow will  be a relaxing day off, at least in the running world. Who knows what tomorrow brings as far as my job goes.

For the first time since February I recently rented a movie. Two weekends ago we were staying out at my parents house, and after an afternoon party we found ourselves with no plans. We polled the party attendees to find a movie to rent, but very few were actually mentioned. I guess we haven’t missed much in the world of movies over the last six months or so.

Anyway, we all eventually decided on No Strings Attached. I’m a sucker for a good romantic comedy and this did not disappoint. The movie was full of great laughs and just enough of a love story to keep it making sense to the viewers. True there isn’t really any surprise as to how the “no strings attached” relationship was going to end. However, both Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher provide a believable story that was worth the $1 rental price from Redbox.

Sunday Kim and I participated in Morgan’s Little Miami Triathlon.  The race is comprised of a 6 mile canoe, 5.5 mile run, and an 18 mile bike race in that order, though the measurements all were shorter according to my GPS watch.  I suppose that is better than the actual distances being longer. I really didn’t have a goal for the race other than finishing, but the night before I decided it would be good to finish under 3 hours, and I almost did it. My finishing time was  3:04:19.

Obviously Kim and I performed the canoeing segment together, completing 5.27 miles in 1 hour, 1 minutes, and 36 seconds. That’s over 5 mph, which is faster than I thought! It wasn’t easy and our arms were definitely tired by the end of it, but overall it went pretty smoothly and we didn’t tip. I carried our running shoes in a backpack and we changed into them once we finished and stopped to use the restroom. My watch timed this as a 4 minute stop, which is something that perhaps I could improve if I do it again.

Once we had our running shoes on, I dropped our sandals to my mother who was waiting for us at the drop. I also noticed a place to drop a bag, which would be taken back to the start area. Kim and I decided to run at our own paces. For me, the run was nice except for the last hill. In the morning we dropped our bikes in a staging area and then walked down a mud filled trail to the river to start the race. At the end of the 5.32 mile run, we had to run up this same trail, which was really exhausting. I thought my pace was under 9 minute miles, but the last hill probably killed that and I finished with 9:09 minute mile pace: 48 minutes, 44 seconds.

For the biking segment I borrowed a road bike that my dad has been using for his own triathlon training. It worked out really well for me, but after I finished I realized I probably could have pushed just a little bit harder. I completed the 17.62 miles in 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 15 seconds, or 15.5 mph. Again, my grand total time with all stops included was  3:04:19. Kim finished at  3:35:08, which was a great accomplishment for her. The run alone was the longest she had run since before she was pregnant with Trey. Our combined time was  6:39:27, which put us exactly in the middle of the male/female division. We had a great time and would definitely consider participating again.

Saturday evening I headed to Flipdaddy’s Burgers & Beers with my wife, son, and my parents. I had read about the restaurant before we moved back to Cincinnati and thought that it was definitely a place we had to try, something that seemed like it belonged in Denver. First of all the beer list is really good and they have a large list of specialty burgers that can also be served with a chicken breast or turkey burger.

Draught Beer List

I like how the beer list has a hop scale, along with alcohol content, and a great description of each. I didn’t notice it at first, but they are also listed from darkest to lightest, as the color scale on the far right indicates, though not that color really indicates much. I enjoy that Bud Light is listed with 0 hop content. My first choice of the night was from the secret stash, a Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale, which I really liked. Other choices included Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster and an offering from Unibroue from  Quebec.

As I mentioned, the menu pretty much consists of a wide variety of specialty burgers, so many that it took us awhile to make our decisions on what to have. Eventually I decided on The Oktoberfest Burger (substituting chicken) with  horseradish cheddar cheese, grilled onions, sauerkraut, pickles, and bacon Dijon mayo served on a pretzel bun. My wife ordered  The Chuck Norris (also with chicken) which adds a  secret spicy signature sauce, green chile and jalapeño compote, and pepperjack cheese. My mom ordered the special burger, which I can’t recall what it was, which my dad went with the  Asian Fusion Burger with  teriyaki sauce, grilled pineapple, red and yellow peppers and lettuce.

The Oktoberfest Burger

My sandwich was  extremely  messy and hard to eat, but quite good.  I think the combination of all of the sauces really weakens the already falling apart pretzel bun. I was expecting a ton of flavor from the variety of toppings, but was let down a little. My wife and I decided to split our sandwiches, and I much  preferred  her Chuck Norris sandwich. The spices from it really stood out compared to the Oktoberfest. My parents were both very happy with their choice, and I think I might try the Asian Fusion the next time.

The Chuck Norris

All sandwiches are served with fries, but for an extra dollar you can substitute roasted asparagus, sweet potato fries, or onion rings. An extra two dollars allows you to bring in grilled macaroni and cheese or a Babydaddy side salad. I went with the grilled macaroni and cheese, which was excellent! I believe it is prepared by adding grated cheese to both sides of a pile of mac and cheese while grilling it on a griddle. The standard fries were fine, and the sweet potato fries my mom had were very good, especially when dipped in a sweet  Carmel-like sauce.

Our service, though young, was all very accurate and speedy. Their knowledge of the beer offerings clearly isn’t very high, but the menu is more than enough to help guide customers in selecting. There was a steady line of patrons coming and going throughout our entire stay, and I noticed that a few people told the hostess that they had a reservation. Clearly Flipdaddy’s has been able to stay very busy and I can now see why. Though the food wasn’t outstanding, it was good enough that I will definitely be back for more.

After the Taste of Cincinnati on Sunday, Kim took me on a little tour of her new office building, the Great American Tower. I snapped a couple of photos along the way and am happy to share them with you. See also: the view of Great American Ball Park from the windows near her cubicle, […]

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My in-laws sure are a  fun-loving  bunch. Just take a look at how we spent part of our afternoon Monday.

Yes, that is a 100 foot long slip ‘n slide.  Apparently  someone thought this thick plastic was better suited for plunging down the hill than for a vapor barrier in the upcoming drywall project at Uncle Joe’s cabin. Now that I’m a father I thought that I better sit out from the sliding, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying watching others fly down the hill and into the lake below.

I spent a few hours down at the Taste of Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.  Started in 1979, it is now the nation’s longest running culinary arts festival. This is a welcome change from the disappointing times I always had at the Taste of Colorado, which always felt a little more like a carnival to me. Sure the Taste of Cincinnati has it’s fair share of carnival rides, but the real attraction here is the food.

The first thing I sampled was a pulled pork sandwich from Pit to Plate BBQ. I really enjoyed this sandwich, and especially liked the mustard based Gold Rush sauce. I may have to make this my next place to get my BBQ fix in Cincinnati, which City BBQ has filled so far.

Pit To Plate - Pulled Pork

Next up I sampled some fried dill pickle chips from Laszlo’s Iron Skillet. These were good, though I would have liked a side of sauce for dipping.

Laszlo's - Fried Dill Pickle Chips

Before I comment on the additional food items, it is also worth noting some of the drink choices available. I enjoyed beers from both Great Lakes Brewing and the local Rivertown Brewing, which was nice. The also had a variety of other  alcoholic  and non-alcoholic drinks available.

Kim Enjoying Bourbon Slush

After the pickle chips, I found a planned stop that I wanted to try, the falafel sandwich from Taz Restaurant. Though not as outstanding as I wanted it to be, it was full of good flavor and a great deal. The falafel was slices and not whole balls that I have grown to love. Regardless I will definitely have to try this restaurant in more detail in the future.

Taz Restaurant - Falafel Sandwich

From there I sampled a delicious  Grilled Adobo Chicken Taco from Habanero that my brother bought. I recall visiting this place while studying at the nearby University, so I’m glad to see that it is still in business. I also had bites of his duck fat fries from The Bistro that were also very tasty.

My final dish of the day was the  Buffalo Springfield Mac & Cheese from Keystone Bar & Grill. This is a mix of buffalo chicken and crumbled blue cheese that was delicious. It was a little more dry than I had expected, but that is probably due to the mass production and storage for an event like this.

Keystone - Buffalo Springfield Mac & Cheese

Overall I had a wonderful tasting experience down at the Taste of Cincinnati and I now have a variety of restaurants to add to my list for dining options in the future.

In addition to The Works in downtown Loveland, we are also frequent visitors of Paxton’s Grill. As mentioned in my review of The Works, my parents visit both of these restaurants close to weekly, and we have joined them on a number of  occasions. This past Friday happened to be one of those occasions, and we were joined by another couple who are longtime family friends.

Despite the very small dining space, the wait for a table for six wasn’t more than half a beer. I think that’s how I should start measuring my wait times, by how many drinks I enjoyed while waiting. Speaking of drinks, Paxton’s has a really good craft beer selection. That was my one complaint about The Works, but I’m happy to say that I am much more satisfied with drinks at Paxton’s.

It is hard not to compare these two restaurants. They basically share the same parking lot. Also they are the only affordable/casual dining restaurants in downtown Loveland. I would love to combine the food from The Works with the drinks from Paxton’s into one perfect restaurant, but they are both worthy of their own visits as is. Continue reading for my full review of our latest meal from Paxton’s.

Chicken Philly Panini

On our most recent visit, my wife and I decided to share meals. I ordered the chicken  Philly  Panini with onion rings and she ordered the goetta sandwich with waffle fries. For those of you not from Cincinnati, goetta is another regional specialty of German origin. It is primarily a breakfast sausage but has seen wider uses for other meals throughout the day.  It is primarily composed of ground pork shoulder and steel-cut or chopped oats.

The chicken Philly Panini was filled with grilled chicken, onions, peppers, mushrooms, teriyaki sauce and loads of provolone cheese. I was very happy with this choice, as was my wife. The onion rings are also thick cut and quite delicious. The goetta sandwich was served with grilled onions and melted swiss and toasted rye bread. We often aren’t the most  adventurous  meat eaters, but we decided to give this one a try. Overall it was good, though perhaps a little out of comfort zone. We resulted to adding some ketchup to it to make it more pleasing for our tastes.

Goetta Sandwich

As mentioned earlier, Paxton’s is definitely worthy of a visit. The beer selection alone is a great reason to stop in for a seat at the bar. And though I prefer the pizza from a nearby restaurant, the food from Paxton’s is good and varied enough for repeat visits. I’m sure we will be back soon.