Joe's Diner

Man oh man! Joe's Diner!


I'm the one who writes most of our posts, but Dan's the one who knows *everything* about what's going on. He said that Joe's Diner was reopening (uh I didn't know it existed, much less than it closed), and that they were having a "soft opening" before their formal launch on August 12th. This meant that their menu wasn't completely ready (sounds like they'll have a ton of milkshake flavors at launch, for instance), but I saw no reason to wait.


This is absolutely my kind of place! I've always been a *huge* proponent of the greasy spoon, and this manages to be... how to word it?... a clean-but-greasy spoon. It felt retro without feeling inauthentic, the waitstaff was awesome and friendly, the food was delish. I hope this becomes a regular place for us, especially as it will be open until something like 4am!


Here's my burger on a kaiser roll, with sweet potato fries. Yeah, I'm not always muy adventurous, but I know what I like. My brother Bradley always tries the burger first, no matter where he goes-- he thinks if they can't nail a burger, he doesn't have much faith in the rest of their menu. Based on that premise, Joe's passes for me. And the milkshake? Scrumptious. Can't wait for more flavors, though!


Joe's Diner website (as of posting, "Coming Soon"): http://www.joesdineronsycamore.com/

Senate

Despite the fact that I can literally see Senate from my window, I know I'm the last blogger to visit. Dan and I kept putting it off, waiting for an occasion that was worthy of a $10 hotdog-- those come few and far between!

Then my friend Jessica popped into town, all the way from Orlando, Florida. It was a sweltering day out, so we didn't want to walk too far, but we did want to take her somewhere unique. Senate was a perfect solution. Finally!


Unfortunately, the sweltering weather didn't stop at Senate's door. It was disgustingly hot inside, and they tried to sit us at a table directly in front of their full window. All three of us were immediately sweating, so they were able to cram us into a smaller but less sunny table.

Even there, however, it was uncomfortably hot. I'm sure the giant oven and mass of body heat were not helping the situation, but it was a little miserable. And on top of that, Senate serves gourmet street food... in other words, hot hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, etc. Caliente.


We all enjoyed our hotdogs immensely (though I wish we'd taken them home or something). I had the "One Night in Bangkok," which had peanut sauce and picked radish on it (above). Dan had the "Trailer Park," which he liked despite not being much of a cole slaw eater. Jessica had the "Chicago" with truffle fries, and seemed to really love it.


Jessica was surprised that a place like Senate exists in Over-the-Rhine-- that's a reaction we're used to getting (and we both had, once upon a time). She loved walking downstairs from our apartment into this cute, upscale little bar. She definitely lamented the heat, but seemed to think the trip was worth it.


One last complaint: we tried to partially pay with a Gateway Quarter giftcard, but Senate doesn't take the cards "yet." Uhh. There aren't *that* many places in the Gateway Quarter, so it's frustrating when one restaurant within the area doesn't take it. Plus, what is this "yet" business? Senate has been open all summer. Too much to ask that they comply, instead of making my card a little more useless?

Senate website: http://senatepub.com/
Senate on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cincinnati-OH/SENATE-Restaurant/134193393637

Via Vite

Via Vite: one of the restaurants that I've walked by just about every day for five years, and I think I've maybe eaten there once, for lunch?

Dan and my dinner experience was delightful. Honestly it wasn't really the food that stood out to me-- it was very good, but I expected very good-- but our service was exceptional. We showed up pretty early, having come directly from work on our walk home, and our waiter (Steven?) had only just learned the menu. He was friendly and engaging, made recommendations and talked me into a pretty delicious zucchini pizza. I think that he amped up the experience quite a bit.

Dinner itself was fantastico. I went simple-- sweet potato gnocchi and the aforementioned zucchini pizza for dessert-- and it was all great. My only regret is that I didn't request outdoor seating... Via Vita has a great little balcony and it was a beautiful night out, but we just plopped down there the hostess told us to.


Via Vite website: http://viaviterestaurant.com/

Melt

I've certainly been hearing about Melt for a dog's age, but never found a chance to make it out until we met my friend-boss Jeff and his wife Rachel for some pre-ballet dinner.


The ambiance at Melt is comfortable right off the bat. Dan and Rachel amused themselves with magnetic poetry while we were waiting for our food. None of the tables, chairs or dinnerware matched, which is absolutely my style. There were cupcakes from Take the Cake, ice cream from Jeni's, and a whole slew of menu options that I can't wait to take on.


I had an asparagus flatbread because Rachel recommended it-- great choice! Dan had a chicken sandwich and liked it. Ooh, I can't forget to mention my side dish... mm, those potatoes were kickin'. The picture here looks pretty bland but I promise you... delicious.


Melt's website: http://www.meltcincy.com/
Melt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/meltnorthside

Sky Galley, Lunken Airport

Personally, I'm amazed that I've gone this long without talking about Lunken Airport. Lunken is probably in my top 5 favorite spots in Cincinnati, especially if we're talking in terms of local history.


Look at this gorgeous little municipal airport. This used the be The Airport, folks. ("When the original 1000-acre (4 km²) airfield was dedicated in 1925, it was the largest municipal airfield in the world." --Wikipedia)


Dan and I were actually there to visit Sky Galley as neither of us had been there before, despite all my Lunken lovin'. I only found out about Sky Galley when I took a charter flight out of Lunken-- I asked the pilot's wife for a history lesson, and she was telling me about how Sky Galley used to make all the food that would be served in-flight. Boxes of fried chicken, if I remember correctly. ("Sky Galley Restaurant has been in nearly continuous operation for decades, and is so named because the first meals served on a commercial airliner [American Airlines] were prepared here." --Wikipedia again)

Now Sky Galley is a restaurant where you can watch the planes fly in and out of Lunken. The menu is great-- bar food and then some, nothing too challenging but a great selection of familiar comfort foods-- and when we were in there, the place was EMPTY. (It was a Thursday night.) The weather was gorgeous and it was the perfect way to spend an evening.


Lunken has been open every time I've randomly popped in for a visit. It is, after all, a functioning airport. There is so much fabulous art deco detail throughout the entire building... it just kills me, no matter how many times I visit.


Aaaaaah the art deco I love it so muuuuuuch...


Lunken's website: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/transeng/pages/-7207-/

Arnold's Bar and Grill

My friends and I finished up our day-tour of Cincinnati at Arnold's. I'd been here once before, with some of Dan's friends. I kind of fell in love that night.

I wanted to bring my friends here for two reasons: 1) it's a great piece of Cincinnati history, what with being the Queen City's oldest bar, and 2) I'd heard they had a great beer list. My friends tried a few different beers throughout the night and seemed happy with their selections.

Most of the table ordered burgers-- it was just that kind of night, I guess. I for one loved mine, and devoured it rather too quickly.

This bar will definitely be one of my Cincinnati staples. I'm telling you, you can't beat that indoor/outdoor patio they have-- I'm anxious to see it come spring/summer when they open it up and host live music. I feel like I could spend hours there, easily.

Arnold's website: http://www.arnoldsbarandgrill.com/

Chi-nnati's

Chicago style pizza is something people seem to either love or hate, and for the lovers you have to drive to Chicago to get the real thing.

Until now...

Chi-nnati's, aside from having one of the most confusing and annoying names to say and type, is a deep dish lover's dream.

I was turned onto this by a friend whose recommendation included a request that he be buried with one of their pizzas, and I have to agree with him. In fact, I would like to be buried IN one of their pizzas.

We opted to do carryout and grabbed a simple cheese pizza - then wandered over to the bookstore while we waited the 45 minutes it takes to bake one of these beauties. Definitely call ahead if you're doing carry out and be ready to break out Catan on your iPhone to pass some time if you're dining in.

What you get is a massively thick slab of a pizza with the cheese in the middle and the sauce on the top. The pizza is great, the crust is great, the food coma is great - and the fact that all this can now be had without a drive to Chicago is awesome. We have plans to go back and eat-in, perhaps a part two post will follow that.

Chi-nnati's website

Gordo's Pub & Grill

I've recently talked about Terry's Turf Club and Zip's, but my friend Evan (@nth_degree) insisted that the Cincinnati burger was actually in Norwood, at a place called Gordo's.

First off, I'd like to mention how awesome it was to meet up with Evan, Sara and co. I only know Evan through Twitter-- except for a quick hello during the fateful architecture tour that ended with Dan and I buying a condo-- and spending a little time together at this charming bar was worth the trip on its own.

And then there was the burger. I copied Evan and ordered the Gordo's Burger, which came slathered in bacon, mushrooms, boursin cheese and more. (I'm typically a lettuce and tomato kind of girl, but I'm trying to grow up a bit.) Mm, so delicious! It was a different burger experience for me, but it was definitely one I'd repeat.

So! Who's going back with us? And/or where is the next stop in the Burger Tour?

Gordo's Pub & Grill website: http://www.gordospub.com/

Green Dog Café

Oh the deliciousness!!


Back story: Dan has slept for about 4 hours out of the past 40 or so. There were some big issues at the data center where he works, and he's been workin' 'round the clock.

On my way home, I told him I was going to pick him up and take him to dinner. Because he had no capacity to do things like "choose" or "think," I surprised him by driving to a cafe we'd passed a hundred times and always mentioned that we would visit.


I am so glad that we did. I LOVED Green Dog Cafe! Green Dog was created by the same pair who made Brown Dog (where I've also never been), but it's GREEN Dog because of the ecological focus. The cafe itself is eco-friendly in a multitude of ways, and all of their food is organic and created with locally-grown foods. They even have a separate brochure that lists where they get each ingredient.

Oh, and tons of gluten-free and/or vegetarian options. EVERYTHING on the menu looked delicious. I chose the turkey burger with salsa and avocado with wild rice on the side. Dan had a massive hot dog with bacon wrapped around it. (This dish was not vegetarian-friendly, I'm afraid.) We also has an edamame appetizer.



We both loved our food. (Dan said he would have ordered his hot dog without the spicy mustard, had he thought of it. But he was otherwise pleased as punch.)

We also had some Jeni's ice cream, which I'd only had in Columbus before, at their version of Findlay Market (North Market). We had half dark chocolate, half peanut brittle, and they were both PHENOMENAL. Jeni's ice cream is something you simply must try once in your life (more if you're able!) For me, it's the only ice cream that rivals Graeter's-- I like the flavors of Jeni's better, but the textures of Graeter's.

(And for what it's worth, I consider gelato to be in a class of its own.)

In conclusion: PLEASE EAT THERE. There may even be a contest starting tomorrow to help you out with that...

Green Dog Cafe's website: http://greendogcafe.net/
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams' website: http://jenisicecreams.com/

Pompilio's

Pompilio's and I did not get off to a great start.

It might have been the dull, white bread or the salty, too-hot potato soup... but I was not impressed right off the bat. I also think that many of the online reviews hype this place up too much-- it is not, in fact, like stepping back in time to some kind of idyllic Italian experience. It was more like stepping into a second-rate Olive Garden, if you ask me.

And when my meal showed up-- an Italian sampler, pictured at right-- you can see why I wasn't quite sure what I was in for. It felt like they were trying to hide something from me under Mount Marinara.

But my experience turned around as I plowed into the sampler. Underneath the red eruption hid meat ravioli, cheese ravioli, eggplant parmesan, Italian sausage, a meatball and their well-known lasagna. I devoured them all (less the sausage, which Dan ate) and was pleased with all of them. The lasagna was good... the eggplant was best.

I will eat here again. (As often as Dan and I have Italian food, we're bound to repeat restaurants from time to time.) It didn't shock and amaze me, but it filled me up with warmth and carbs and sometimes that's enough.

Pompilio's website: http://www.pompilios.com/

Padrino

Noooo, we didn't undertake Padrino's "$30 Spaghetti & Meatball Challenge." I just thought you should be aware of it-- you know, for the next time you're in the mood for 3lbs+ of food. Hey, if you finish it, it's free!

This was not Dan and my first time to Padrino, but we did end up here again on a bit of a whim. We were celebrating 5 months together (yea!) and wanted something we already knew we liked-- ever been in that kind of mood?

Padrino is good Italian. We rolled in around 7:30 and ended up waiting a solid 40 minutes before getting a table, but the restaurant is comfortable and we were in no real hurry. There was a large reception in their private room, and the entire dining area was full of laughter and the smell of garlic. Good stuff, I tell you.

Dan ordered the lasagna (he just mmm'd at the thought of it, so that's a good sign) and I had the chicken and spinach manicotti (also mmm). Oh, a little heads up: order extra garlic knots. Their little bread garnish that comes with the meals is so addicting and delicious, you're going to want more of them.

The first time we visited Padrino, it was because we were curious about the "old Milford" area. There have been a lot of new businesses and restaurants popping up in this area, so we wanted to broaden our horizons a bit. Padrino was a great choice for pasta nuts like ourselves-- this will definitely be one of our staples, when we find ourselves in that "hungry for something I know I like" moods again.

Padrino's website: http://20brix.com/padrino/
Padrino's menu: http://20brix.com/padrino/menu.html

Olives, Sitwell's

Yesterday was Dan and my 4-monthiversary (aw). To celebrate, we strolled down Ludlow to Olives-- the first place we ate when I would actually say we were dating, not just naively hanging out like goobers.

I'm a big fan of Olives. We've been there for lunch and for dinner multiple times, and I'd only had great experiences. The atmosphere is unassuming, and the prices are great for a nice lunch or casual date. The service is good, the food is fab, and I always end up with leftovers.


Last night I had the special, which was a slab of prime rib, a twice-baked potato and an overly large salad for $13 (no joke). I also indulged in their "southwest corn chowder"-- the entire meal was delish. Dan had the Italian turnover, which is like a flippin' huge calzone. I think he enjoyed it but frankly I was too busy shoving my face into my prime rib.

No dessert, because afterwards we wanted to swing by Sitwell's for hot chocolate. We took our drinks to go, but I'd like to go back and spend some time there. Sitwell's seems really unique and quirky.

One last piece of cuteness for my fellow Cincinnatians... have you run into the "4-way stop" sign before (picture below)? Hysterical! I'm not sure if there are others, but we discovered this one on a side street in Clifton while walking around after dinner.


Happy 4-monthiversary, Dan!



Olives website: http://www.olivesonludlow.com/



Sitwell's website: http://sitwellscoffeehouse.com/