Spoon & Cellar

I should have known better. In a restaurant world where most establishments located inside hotels have names akin to “Candles” or “Sparks”, I had high hopes for Spoon & Cellar, located inside the new Holiday Inn on the corner of Broadway and Seventh Streets. I don’t place a lot of credence in Yelp reviews, but the first few for Spoon and Cellar were glowing. Upon reflection, they may have been written by the employees themselves. I will give credit where credit is due, though. I have never seen a Holiday Inn as nice as this one. The restaurant within, upon first examination also looks great, albeit a bit homogenous.

After parking in the extremely convenient attached garage, we sat down at the bar while we waited for our friends to arrive on an icy Friday night in the Queen City a few weeks after the restaurant opened. Luckily, I don’t suffer from epilepsy or any other similar affliction, because one entire bank of recessed lights in the bar area incessantly flickered, to the point of distraction. I don’t normally feel like I have the right to ask a restaurant to change its lighting scheme, but this time I had no choice but to ask the manager to turn off these particular lights.

While sitting at the bar, we did enjoy the Spinach and Artichoke dip, served with delicious salty lavash crisps. The mojitos were another story though. Per my convesation with one of the bartenders on duty, he was of the opinion that mojitos should be served with approximately as much sugar as a large glass of southern sweet tea. He was wrong. A mojito should be lightly sweet, slightly effervescent and crisp. When we asked him to make the next round less sweet, inexplicably they arrived at out table more syrupy than the first round.

When the last of our friends arrived, we were seated initially at a table much too small for six people, even though the restaurant was mostly empty. We asked to be moved to a more comfortable location and after some confusion about which server was going to be lucky enough to incur our wrath for the next few hours, we were graced with the presence of Frank, a very attentive and honest young man.

I say honest because Frank was extremely forthcoming in his lack of knowledge about the menu. We ordered the Charcuterie and Artisan Cheese board as a starter and when I asked Frank what each of the pâtés were and what one of the cheeses on the board was, Frank said, “I’m gonna be real honest, I don’t know what pâté is.” That’s definitely an excusable offense, but as server, I felt like he should have retreated to the kitchen to find the answers to my questions, rather than just letting me know that he had no idea.

As far as the rest of the meal, none of the six of us ordered anything that would entice us back to Spoon and Cellar. My filet was good, but in a city with standout filets at every Jeff Ruby restaurant, Otto’s or Alfio’s, it certainly didn’t approach the level that would lure me back and I think all five of my friends felt exactly the same, which is too bad. Spoon and Cellar’s streetside location and upscale decor really gave them a chance to rise above typical hotel restaurant.

 

Coming Up Next: dscf1017

Wild Eggs

As much as I love chicken wings and beer or cabernet and steak, my favorite meal of the day has always been breakfast (or as I become older and gayer, brunch). When my brother and I were kids, we looked forward to breakfast for dinner almost as much as the customary Friday night pizza at the Dixon Road Pizza Hut in Kokomo before the Wildkats home football or basketball game. Needless to say, it isn’t much of a stretch to state that I always anxiously anticipate the opening of a new breakfast or brunch joint, especially one as close to my hood as Wild Eggs.

Wild Eggs is a Louisville-based small chain of breakfast and lunch restaurants with a little bit of a Kentucky spin on the menu. For example, the Kelsey KY Brown is Wild Eggs’ take on the ubiquitous Kentucky Hot Brown, one of the most repulsive dishes to ever grace a tabletop. (I must state the following disclaimer: while I have lived in Greater Cincinnati for over 20 years, I have never developed a taste for some of the signature regional dishes, i.e. Cincinnati style chili, goetta, or Greater’s Ice Cream.) Luckily for the marketing department, most of the dishes on the menu sound much better than the Kelsey KY Brown. I did say sound though, because in my limited experience, Wild Eggs has a very long way to go to compete with local legends like The Echo and Sugar N’ Spice, not to mention comparable chains such as First Watch.

When I walked into the recently opened Oakley location, situated in the parking lot of the Oakley Kroger Marketplace, for a moment I thought that perhaps construction hadn’t quite wrapped up yet. Or at the very least, the decorator was still on the premises. Lo and behold, I was wrong. If I were to sum up the appearance in one word, I would say chintzy. I totally understand budgetary constraints, but the bigger problem might be the lack of a cohesive theme. I can’t completely put my finger on it, but the oddly placed counter seating with 1950’s style barstools stood out like a sore thumb against the 1980’s color palette. I can forgive an ugly restaurant though if the food is good. It isn’t.

I ordered the “Zax I am Fried Eggs and” which was a basic eggs, potatoes and meat breakfast. You can’t screw that up, right? Wrong. There is no way that the self-proclaimed skillet potatoes came out of a skillet. They were soggy, as if they had either been frozen or perhaps baked, not to mention that they were utterly tasteless. The eggs themselves were fine, but the sausage patty was so rubbery that I could have stretched it like a rubber band. Was it perhaps turkey sausage, which might explain the rubbery texture? I don’t know, but that wasn’t what I ordered. The meal was served with an interesting “Everything” muffin that I did enjoy quite a bit, although I thought that the savory flavor might be better suited to a meal other than breakfast.

Sometimes great service can make up for a lackluster meal, but this wasn’t one of those occasions. My actual server was a very attentive young lady, almost too attentive. I felt like she specifically timed her frequent visits to my table with my every bite, but the bigger problem was someone who appeared to be in a managerial position. When he stopped by my table to check on my dining experience, I kid you not, he leaned over and came within about a foot of my face when he interrogated me. (He didn’t interrogate me, but I was afraid that he might be headed in that direction.) Close talkers make me nervous when I know them. When I don’t, they make me want to run for the hills, which was fine in this instance, because I was more than ready to leave.

Wild Eggs will probably be successful, if not solely because of their high traffic location. That being said, there are so many better places to have a great breakfast (most of them within about a mile of Wild Eggs) that I am fairly certain that I won’t be back. Don’t waste your time either.

Coming Up Next:dscf1004

Coming Soon: The Return of What’s in Bill’s Mouth

As some of you may know, I decided to take a hiatus from my blogging duties about nine months ago. Several reasons factored into my decision, not the least being a degree of burnout. Since then, I have recharged my culinary batteries and I am ready to hit the ground running again.

In the meantime, all four of the establishments in the photo above have disappeared from the Cincinnati restaurant and bar scene, a remarkably low 10% failure rate among the establishments that I reviewed. So many more have opened in their places and I am excited to share my opinions and experiences with anyone who will listen. If there is anything of which I have an abundance, it is opinions.

Watch for my next blog in the upcoming days. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Coming Up Next: dscf1025

Senate

Wieners on Vine. That’s what one of my good friends likes to call Senate, but talk about an oversimplification. When Senate opened in 2010, the very idea of gourmet hot dogs, not to mention locating a restaurant on Vine Street in Over the Rhine, seemed preposterous. Almost six years later, Chef Daniel Wright’s flagship restaurant (the others are Abigail Street, Pontiac and the forthcoming Blue Ash location of Senate) has received not only local, but national acclaim, setting the bar very high for the Over the Rhine food scene and all of the restaurants that have since followed in the footsteps of Senate.

Senate of course has a great bar, with not only a fine selection of wines and local beers, as well as incredible craft cocktails, but I don’t feel like I am missing out if I don’t have a drink when I go to Senate. The food is so much different than not only anyplace else in Cincinnati, but also any restaurant I have ever dined at, period.

There are other items on the menu, but the real reason to eat at Senate is the hot dogs. They all have catchy names like The Trailer Trash, The Una Noche con Nick Lachey and my personal favorite, The Lindsay Lohan, an all beef dog with goat cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, arugula, and balsamic vinegar. Just listing the ingredients doesn’t really do it justice, but the Lindsay Lohan is a great combo of meaty, cheesy and salty goodness with the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the tang of the balsamic thrown in for good measure. All of the dogs are served on a small cutting board with a fork and knife and there is no way to accomplish eating them without the utensils (unless you have giant hands and are wearing a big-boy bib.) But before you get to your hot dog of choice, no meal at Senate would be complete without an order of poutine. Perhaps I have waxed poetic about Senate’s poutine before, comparing it to dishes at Incline Public House, Pontiac and Tela, but Senate is the original as far as Cincinnati is concerned. French fries topped with cheese curds, braised shortrib and brown gravy is a variation on a common French Canadian dish, served even at McDonald’s in Canada. While I will admit that at first poutine did not sound like an appealing combination of ingredients, it won me over immediately. If you do try it and inexplicably it is not your thing, try the truffle fries or the duck fat fries. If you are lucky enough to eat at Senate on Friday, go for the delicious bacon fat fries (served only on the ubiquitous Bacon Fat Fridays.)

If you have saved even one square millimeter in your tummy, the Warm Pretzel Beignets with Caramel Mascarpone are heavenly. Salty and sweet is my dessert of choice and these particular beignets hit the spot. For the uninitiated, in the United States beignets are a common deep fried French Creole pastry, often served with bananas and powdered sugar, akin in some respects to a doughnut. But better. Way better.

Senate is closed on Sunday and Monday, so make your plans to devour some poutine on any day Tuesday through Saturday. The service is always great, so feel free to set your expectations high. Prep yourself for a wait as well, but 1215 Wine Bar & Coffee Lab is right across the street to keep you occupied in the mean time.

 

Sugar n’ Spice

I could miss every meal all week long, but I never miss brunch and there is no place that I have been eating brunch longer than Sugar n’ Spice. Sugar n’ Spice opened an unbelievable 75 years ago on Reading Road in Bond Hill just south of the current location of the Norwood Lateral (OH 562). In those years, ownership has only changed hands 5 times. The previous owner nearly ran the beloved diner into the ground, but current owner Steve Frankel understood the elements that made Sugar n’ Spice great and very quickly returned the restaurant to its former glory.

Now, when I say glory, don’t get any fancy ideas. Sugar n’ Spice is a diner, a diner in Bond Hill no less. No one would describe Bond Hill as an aspirational neighborhood, that’s for sure, but that is also part of what makes Sugar n’ Spice great. What many people don’t know is that Bond Hill and neighboring Roselawn were once affluent, predominantly Jewish areas of town. Many of these families who moved out following illegal real estate practices and unrest in the 1960’s and 1970’s still return for breakfast at Sugar n’ Spice. They join hungover students from nearby Xavier University, Sunday crowds from Avondale’s African American churches and the always present gay brunch mafia (of which I am a proud member) to make Sugar n’ Spice a real life melting pot. On any given morning, I have seen television anchors, city council members, prominent clergy and business executives seated at the counter next to the families from all walks of life who enjoy breakfast at Sugar n’ Spice on a regular basis. And no matter where you live, the trip to Sugar n’ Spice is worth the drive.

I hear that Sugar n’ Spice has a great lunch menu, but I wouldn’t know. In the 22 years I have been eating at Sugar n’ Spice I have never felt the need to venture far from the breakfast menu. (The kitchen closes at 2:30 so there is no dinner service at all.) The highlight are the “Wispy Thin” Pancakes. Much as they sound, they are thin, with an almost crispy edge as well as a bit of an allspice or cinnamon kick. I can’t completely place the taste, which is part of the mystique I’m sure. In addition to the standard plain variety, you can also order blueberry, banana or chocolate chip Wispy Thin Pancakes too. The batter for the waffles also has the same mysterious (and delicious kick). If you are a fan of omelettes, Sugar n’ Spice might just be heaven for you. Enormous is the only word that accurately describes their size, but describing their taste is another matter entirely. I could tell you how mine tastes (delicious, fluffy, etc.) but chances are that yours will taste nothing like mine. There is a myriad of options, including the old stand by’s of sausage, ham and bacon, in addition to less common options such as chorizo, kosher salami, goetta, gyro meat, and corned beef (and others) not to mention eight different cheeses and twelve different vegetable choices. If you like potatoes with your brunch, and who doesn’t, you will have to decide between home fries, hash browns, french fries and cottage fries (think Chick-Fil-A waffle fries, but without the evangelical bitter aftertaste).

The remarkable consistency in the staff (I try to sit in Patty’s section, just like I have for the past 15 years) probably contributes to the also remarkably consistent food. Sugar n’ Spice is not one of those restaurants that you will leave saying, “That was just OK this time.” It is always great. Restaurants don’t stick around for 75 years if they are just so-so.

ZBGB, Americano Burger Bar, & Bru Burger

I was so looking forward to January being a great month for burger lovers in the Queen City. Three new dedicated burger spots have opened in the past six weeks or so and I was absolutely certain that at least one (or maybe even two of them, considering their pedigrees) would hit the proverbial ball out of the park. Perhaps I shouldn’t have set my sights so high.

I was most looking forward to ZBGB on the corner of Race Street and West Fifteenth Street directly across from Taft’s Ale House. ZBGB is run by the same owner as Zula Restaurant and Wine Bar, just one block away. Zula has never disappointed so I was (perhaps wrongly) assuming the same experience at ZBGB. Let me just state right off the bat that there was nothing glaringly wrong with our meal or our dining experience at ZBGB. In fact, the server was great, very friendly and knowledgeable without being overbearing. The cocktails were delicious as well. Some of my friends had beer, but I sampled a great bourbon, honey and lemon concoction whose name escapes me. (Their website is not up and running yet, so I wasn’t able to reference that as a fall back.) We all shared a delicious Carbonara Mac and Cheese and each of us ordered (or shared) various burgers. It was cooked exactly as I ordered and delivered to the table promptly. Everyone seemed to enjoy their food as much as I did. Perhaps because I was enjoying the company of my dinner companions, I didn’t pay much attention to the pricing on the menu. My bad. I don’t usually get too caught up in pricing at a restaurant if I really enjoy it but this time was different. Among the two of us, we had three cocktails, an appetizer and two burgers (that came with fries). I’m not sure what I was expecting, but most certainly not almost $100. I am of the opinion that restaurants come in all price points, and when a lower priced one ticks all the boxes, that is a bonus. But conversely, if a higher priced restaurant doesn’t or can’t justify the price, its over for me. Am I saying that I will never go back to ZBGB? No, but I probably won’t suggest it to a group of friends again any time soon.

Americano Burger Bar in the 84.51 building on Race Street across from Macy’s comes from the owners of Fountain Square’s Via Vite, a restaurant that I find to be one of the most wildly inconsistent in the city. Almost always great for a party or four or less, Via Vite seems to stumble badly with large groups. Assuming the same from Americano, I stopped by on a Tuesday evening with only one other person about two weeks after they opened, hoping to give them a fair shake at getting it right and they still couldn’t do it. Let me first start by saying that if you call yourself a burger restaurant (and your name isn’t Johnny Rockets or Steak ‘N Shake) you had better have more options for cooking your burgers than “pink” or “no pink”. Not cooking to temperature for a restaurant in this setting and location is inexcusable. I might overlook that, but after waiting 45 minutes for a so-so burger that was delivered “no pink” even after I ordered it “pink”, I was in no mood for an average burger. I can wait for an eternity if a restaurant is busy, but I have no patience for a staff that is standing around twiddling its collective thumbs. We also ordered a non-alcoholic root beer float that was served with either spoiled or freezer burned frozen custard. I would like to think that I could come up with a better adjective to describe it, but the word “gross” just seems appropriate. Luckily I had ordered a soft pretzel with beer cheese or I would have starved to death waiting for my burger. (OK, so I am being a touch dramatic.) I didn’t order a cocktail, but the bar looked cool and there were several large games like shuffleboard the I might enjoy playing if I were two or three drinks into an evening out with friends. Americano is open late every night so maybe the bar will be their saving grace. The burgers certainly won’t.

Bru Burger, an Indianapolis based chain that also operates Stone Creek in Montgomery and Moerlein Lager House at the Banks, opened in a portion of the cursed location on the corner of Sixth Street and Walnut Street that formerly housed El Coyote and Cadillac Ranch about a month ago. I am rarely a big fan of chain restaurants, but this one has potential. My visit here was far from perfect, mostly due to subpar service, but my burger was good enough for me to make another visit. I ordered the Garlic Three Cheese Burger, topped with Swiss, American and Mozzarella cheeses and Truffle Aioli. Mine came out on the first attempt just as I ordered it, but the people I was dining with were not so fortunate. If fact, one of their burgers was not cooked to the correct temperature (well done, not difficult to do) and dressed as he ordered it until the third try. Our experience was sullied by the improperly cooked burgers and the less than attentive service, but upon later reflection I feel like I will probably go back in a month or so. My gut feeling tells me that the service kinks will have had a chance to work themselves out by then, and the bottom line is, my burger was pretty good.

 

 

Sundry & Vice, Pearl’s, and The Littlefield

2015 was a fantastic year for new bars in Cincinnati. In addition to one of my favorites, Myrtle’s Punch House in Walnut Hills, three more great bars of note opened their doors last year. They all have a slightly different character that is reflective of their respective neighborhoods, but each of them has earned a place as one of my go-to hot spots.

The Littlefield, on Spring Grove Avenue in Northside, has the most “neighborhood” feel of these three bars. They specialize in bourbon, including bourbon inspired desserts, such as Bourbon Flourless Chocolate Cake and Bourbon Pecan Pie, as well as scrumptious Chocolate Chip Cookies made with ginger, molasses and bacon. In addition to the bourbon and the delectable desserts, The Littlefield also features rotating taps of the obligatory local brews as well as a great selection of board games to pass the time. If the weather cooperates, there is a patio that is perfect for people watching, outfitted with picnic tables and umbrellas. And if Northside is great for anything, it is great for people watching.

Pearl’s, on Eastern Avenue in Columbia Tusculum, right around the corner from The Precinct and next door to Tostado’s, oozes east side attitude. (As an eastsider at heart, I can’t decide if that is a good thing or not.) The rehabbed row house is a smaller venue, but when weather permits, the large patio sports heaters and flat screen tv’s and accommodates quite a few patrons. There is also a private room upstairs that is available by reservation. Pearl’s is always packed so be prepared for a standing room only crowd unless you arrive early enough to snag a spot at the bar or one of the precious few tables. Pearl’s is not so much about the cocktails, which are good, but more about being seen at the hippest place to go. Of these three bars, this is the one at which you are most likely to find an out of control bachelorette party. You get the picture, right?

And speaking of hip, they don’t come any cooler than Sundry and Vice. On the corner of Republic and 13th Street in Over the Rhine, the turn of the century apothecary vibe plays well with the historic architecture in the rapidly revitalizing neighborhood. And while the cocktails are on the pricier end of the spectrum, they are always fantastic. Think jumbo square ice cubes and fresh takes on classic drinks. The Night Cure, a bourbon drink with lemon, honey and grapefruit oil gets me every time. Can you get a beer at Sundry and Vice? Sure you can, but why would you with drinks of this caliber? While I don’t usually like to play favorites, Sundry and Vice is always at the top of my list. If you are in the neighborhood and can’t get a table at Sundry and Vice, walk just a block north on Republic to Low Spark, or a couple of blocks north on Vine to the bar at Kaze. Both bars are cool spots as well with great drinks. Low Spark has a 1970’s vibe and Kaze has a cool Japanese feel. Sundry and Vice is the pinnacle, but Low Spark or Kaze won’t let you down either.

Tela bar + kitchen

One of my best friends is afraid to go to Over the Rhine, so much so that we call her “West Chester”. (For those of you not from the Queen City, West Chester might be akin to Fishers in Indianapolis or New Albany in Columbus).  Tela bar + kitchen, on the corner of Springfield Pike and Chestnut Street in Wyoming solves all of West Chester’s culinary problems. For all intents and purposes, Tela IS Over the Rhine for the consumer who is either afraid or unwilling to go to Over the Rhine. I don’t mean this description in a derogatory manner, quite the opposite in fact. Tela manages to recreate the urban vibe of restaurants such as The Eagle or Senate in the bucloic suburban setting of Wyoming. Do all  of the stars align like they do at the aforementioned hot spots? That is another question entirely.

Lets start out with the best part of Tela, the decor. Concrete floors, Edison bulb lighting, exposed brick walls, exposed heating and cooling ducts, and the obligatory glass garage door substituting for front windows very nearly complete a perfect picture of an urban restaurant in 2016. The French bistro style steel chairs are a comfortable as well as stylish compliment to the rest of the design elements. A generous portion of the square footage is dedicated to the bar area, appointed not only with comfortable stools, but a few mid-century style couches and upholstered chairs as well. It is a great place to have a cocktail on the way home from work or to relax while you are waiting for a table. Although community style tables still seem to be all the rage (much to my disdain), Tela only has one. I will admit that it was very convenient for the large party with which I dined on a recent visit though.

Beyond the decor is when the problems start to creep in. Although the staff is quite hospitable, the food is where things have a tendency to go wrong. I have been to Tela four or five times with the quality of food varying wildly. Sometimes I leave feeling like I have eaten the best meal I have had in ages and other times I feel like I could care less if I ever come back. When the food is great, it really hits the mark. The Multi-Beast, a burger with a beef patty and a thin chorizo patty topped with a bacon jam and whipped goat cheese, is incredible when it is done well. Last week, it was lukewarm and dry. The poutine has an interesting beer mustard component that is definitely polarizing. I loved it the first time I went, but last time it was so overpowering that I couldn’t enjoy the poutine at all, not to mention an almost complete absence of the pork belly listed on the menu. The pretzel nugs are served with the same beer mustard as well as a roasted garlic carmel sauce.

While some of the menu choices are definitely outside of the box, there is absolutely an audience for them. What I am questioning is whether Tela can harness the creativity into a consistent presentation of quality. That will be the determining factor of whether Tela will be successful in the long term.

Bakersfield

Everybody knows that Bakersfield is the coolest restaurant in Cincinnati, right? Never fear, if you were out of the loop, now you know.

There is no way that I can write this review without clearly stating upfront that Bakersfield is my favorite casual restaurant in Cincinnati. Now that that little tidbit is out of the way, I can get to the business of why it is consistently among my favorite places to have a drink and eat some tacos. As what I would consider one of the tentpole restaurants along the Vine Street corridor, along with Senate and A Tavola, Bakersfield is consistently one of the most popular restaurants in the city, with good reason. The food is delicious (and remarkably consistent), the drinks are incredibly fresh (especially the house made margaritas, no Chi Chi’s margarita mix going on here folks) and the service is among the best I have ever experienced in an independent casual restaurant.

Bakersfield is the brainchild of the Lanni Brothers of the Thunderdome Restaurant Group, the company that brought us not only Bakersfield, but also The Eagle, Kruegers, Currito and the forthcoming Maplewood Kitchen, a breakfast and lunch spot in the 84.51 Building. There are multiple locations of Bakersfield and The Eagle, including Indianapolis and Columbus as well as locations as far flung as Charlotte and Nashville, but the Over the Rhine location is the original. It is a small space, so you might be wise to dine with a small group. I have eaten there with as many as 10, but the wait becomes prohibitive most times. For that matter, Bakersfield is one of the most in-demand restaurants that I have ever been to that doesn’t take reservations, so either be prepared to wait or eat at an off-peak time. No matter though, you can easily belly up to the bar and enjoy one of the freshest margaritas that will ever pass through your lips. There is none of the bitter sour aftertaste that often accompanies a chain restaurant margarita or even a standard neighborhood Mexican restaurant. All of the drink ingredients are super fresh and even if you aren’t into booze, try a Mexican Coca Cola. It always reminds me of when Coke came in glass bottles and was made with real sugar. (I’m sure I’m dating myself here!) There are only four or five beers on draft, but really, why are you ordering a beer when you have the opportunity for a Bakerfield margarita?

Two of the salads at Bakersfield, The Johnny and The June, pay homage to a couple of the greatest artists in the history of country music, Johnny and June Carter Cash. I’m not a big salad eater, especially at a restaurant like Bakersfield, but both of these are top notch. I would much prefer to start out with the best guacamole I have ever had, as well as fantastic chips and queso. If you are adventurous, add a bit of chorizo to your queso for a little bit of a spicy kick. The guac is a little chunky, a little spicy, a little garlicky and is finished with a twist of lime. Fantastic. Any other words would be superflous.

But really, aren’t we all going to Bakersfield for the tacos? Don’t expect an oversized Taco Bell Chalupa disaster, these tacos are small street taco sized and two or three will usually suffice if you have already partaken in a few margaritas and chips and guacamole. Its hard to pick a favorite taco, but the Short Rib is so tender that I rarely pass it up. The Pollo Rojo, made with braised chicken is superb as well, and the Huitlacoche, a corn truffle and roasted poblano pepper creation is superb and unique to the palate of most midwesterners such as myself.

If I ever have one complaint about Bakersfield, I would suggest that the host staff dial back the attitude just a little bit. There will come a time when Bakerfield won’t be the cool kid in town and they will wish that they were just a smidgeon nicer to patrons who are waiting for a table. What comes around goes around, or karma, or blah blah blah. You get the picture. That one little gripe won’t keep me away from Bakersfield though.

Best and Worst of 2015

There is no doubt that 2015 was a great time to be a foodie (or even just a hungry person!) in Cincinnati. I thought that before I get to the business of catching up on a few reviews that I have yet to publish from last year as well as reviews for the barrage of new restaurants opening this year that I would do a quick recap of some of the best and worst things that I had in my mouth in 2015.

Best New Restaurant: Lots of good places opened last year in the Queen City, and even a few great ones, but I would be hard pressed to compare any of them to Mita’s. The food and drinks are phenomenal, the service top notch, and the atmosphere beautiful. The Mercer is also great, but a little pricey for my blood. Son of a Preacher Man met all of my expectations, and the building and architecture at Taft’s Ale House are stunning, but all of the elements come together perfectly at Mita’s in a way that should make other restaurants envious.

Worst New Restaurant: Without a doubt the worst place that I ate this year was J Bar Pizzeria in Hyde Park. Apparently I wasn’t the only person who felt that way since they closed in less than a year. Horrible food, dreadful service and apathetic management are clearly a recipe for failure. A top notch location in Hyde Park Square will no longer suffice as the only draw. Deans Hops and Vines in Cheviot was fairly dreadful as well, but not nearly to the degree of J Bar. All of the right elements are there for Dean’s, especially in a part of town where the idea of a good restaurant starts with the word Bob and ends with the word Evans, but I don’t think the ownership or staff cares enough (or maybe doesn’t know how) to make the restaurant a success. Although it is far from new, the crown for the most disgusting restaurant of the year goes to Longworth’s Tavern. Hands down, it was the dirtiest place I went this year (maybe ever) and the food was almost as bad as the halfhearted service.

Best New Bar: This is probably the most difficult category as so many great new bars opened this year, like Nation (also a restaurant) or Tafts’s Ale House (a restaurant as well), but the prize here goes to two great bars, Sundry and Vice and Myrtle’s Punch House. Myrtle’s was brought to us by Molly Wellman and her staff so I knew from the outset that it would be great, but Sundry and Vice was a super cool (albeit pricey) surprise. Both bars cater to a slightly more adult crowd than is typical, so for this 45 year old, they were just what I had in mind.

Still Holding Out Hope: Lachey’s has such a great concept, a sports bar in a neighborhood filled with mostly sit down restaurants and trendy food. While Lachey’s menu has its trendy twists (like the delicious bison burger), most of the items are standard bar fare. When those items are executed properly and the service is on point, Lachey’s can’t go wrong. The problem is, rarely do all of those elements coincide. I have been to Lachey’s more times than I can count and it is still a hit or miss experience. I still believe in home town boys Nick and Drew Lachey and I will be rooting for Lachey’s long term success.