Green Dog Café giveaway UPDATE

On Tuesday, I announced a contest for a Green Dog Cafe gift card. With 21 comments (whaaat!) I am now closing the contest and calling it one hell of a success.

We will announce the winner on Tuesday, at which time I will (hopefully) have a $21 gift card to pop in the mail for the lucky dog that we randomly choose!

Green Dog Café giveaway

Yesterday I mentioned that I really enjoyed Green Dog Cafe, and I am committed to supporting places like Green Dog whenever I can. I love their mission to use locally-grown ingredients and ecologically sensitive practices.

Also their food is delish, so.

I'm going to give away a gift card, and here's my twist: the more comments I get, the more the gift card will be worth. If I can get 5 "votes," I'll buy a $5 gift card. 10 votes, $10. I saw you guys crawl out of the woodwork on Jennifer's awesome guest post, so I know you're out there.

All you need to do it leave a comment on this post, mentioning any local restaurant that you love. I don't care if you duplicate someone else. Each individual who "votes" will bump up the gift card, for a max of $25. (I'm not made of money, people. Green Dog is not sponsoring this, I just love you that much.) I'll have someone besides myself choose a winner, and I'll let you know in a week who will take home the $x gift card!

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/

Sugar Cupcakery

I managed to snap a few more pictures of Sugar Cupcakery (though I apologize that they are still pretty low-quality):





I really enjoyed Sugar. Their cupcakes are all organic-- they are smaller than at Abby Girl, and a bit higher priced ($3.25 each), but I thought they tasted better. The frosting in particular is of a delicious consistency-- I am picky about my icing, and this was decadent.

The other thing that Sugar does well is social media! Abby Girl has no UrbanSpoon page (yet), Sugar has responded to me on Twitter, AND when I checked in on FourSquare I won a free cupcake! Gotta love that stuff.

If there was a downside, it was that I didn't get much of a variety-- because Sugar is only open until 7pm and it's out in Milford, we pulled up right as they were closing. We took home a chocolate chai, a vanilla, and a banana-- all were DELICIOUS, but I've heard talk of other flavors that I'm dying to try. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get out to Milford any sooner than closing!

Sugar Cupcakery website: http://sugarcupcakery.com/
Sugar Cupcakery on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sugarcupcakery

Abby Girl Sweets Cupcakery

I've been in a cupcakey mood lately, and I've hit up both Abby Girl Sweets and Sugar Cupcakery (reviewed tomorrow). First, a couple (bad) iPhone pictures:



I actually didn't EAT any of the cupcakes from Abby Girl-- I bought them for coworkers. I purchased a Neapolitan (strawberry cake, vanilla and chocolate frosting), a double chocolate and a peanut butter cup. They were all well-received, but I heard the best things about the strawberry cake in the Neapolitan!

I do like the family focus at Abby Girl. You can read their story on their homepage, but Abby Girl is the granddaughter in the family. It's a sweet story and a welcome addition to the downtown scene.

Abby Girl Sweets Cupcakery website: http://www.abbygirlsweets.com/

Guestblog: In Defense of the Suburbs

Jennifer Reed, friend of mine and author of the blog Guerrilla Wordfare, had an idea in need of a home, and I'm thrilled to post her guestblog here. If you have any comments, please leave them here or drop Jennifer a line [guerillawordfare at gmail]!

Like many in the tri-state area, I live in a suburb and commute to Downtown Cincinnati to work. Like others who choose this lifestyle, I often feel blame from people so rabid about renewal and revival they associate anyone who lives beyond the city limits with economic failure and business closures.

I live in the Eastgate area, and I have my reasons. Sure, my house looks like the stereotypical suburbanite abode, with its white fences and a wreath on the door. But I'm also near family, own a home I could never afford if it were only one county over and enjoy an admittedly quieter everyday life than I would if I lived in the city.

That being said, I love being Downtown and work on Main Street. I spend my money on independent dining establishments and in local shops. I frequent Findlay Market and our fine museums and am often present to cheer on our Bengals and Reds. I've paid my fair share of parking fees, given to the homeless and tweet about the latest and greatest events on Fountain Square.

Why, then, do I read so many blog posts, news stories and message board comments that angrily assume that my zip code determines my love for or loathing of Cincinnati? If I'm to believe everything I read online, I'm a scared suburbanite and a silly sheep. I cross the streets to avoid other races. I am blind to the small business owner's plight and the beauty of Porkopolis. Oh, please.

Why do so many people feel the need to bash where I live? Most responses to my answer when asked are to the effect of "Why the hell do you live all the way out there?" Or worse, people are surprised by my love of museums and festivals and by my knowledge of local history when they discover I'm not a city dweller.

My answer to these jeers is this: I live all the way out here because I like it. I frequent Downtown because I like it too. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Are Downtown residents somehow more justified in their shopping habits or more culturally advanced than someone who lives mere minutes away? I'd venture to say that many frequent Cincinnati establishments for the same reason I patronize family businesses in the suburbs: primarily because they're convenient. Secondarily, because it feels good to support a local business. Am I the only one to admit that love of convenience in the city is often given the veil of doing good?

That's not to say there aren't a great deal of folks out there who are fighting a good fight to revitalize Cincinnati neighborhoods. I know you're out there. For every person who shops at a chain store, there's another who passes five to get to a local joint. There are people opening businesses, renovating old buildings and putting folks to work.

And it's also not to say that the suburbs don't, in part, deserve the bad rap. After all, any exit ramp in the 'burbs will lead you straight to strip malls and big box stores. But I also enjoy a nearby Ohio State Park, several nature preserves, drives in the country and excursions to Amish bakeries and barn sales.

What's my point? Don't judge a local by their distance from the city center. And I love you, Cincinnati. It's just that sometimes, I'm not feeling the love back.

Greenup Café

I've been begging Dan to take me back to Greenup since we first started dating. I fell in love with the place about a year ago (maybe more!) when I first visited with some coworkers. But tucked over in Covington as it is, it's not the most convenient place for us to swing by.

However, we had a perfect opportunity a few weeks ago... on the day that Dan and I put a bid on our condo, I needed to take him back to Covington to finish his work day. We had time to grab lunch together, so I just started shouting "Greenup! Greenup! Greenup!" until he acquiesced.

I was let down, though. The building itself is still the kitschy, pretty café that I fell in love with, but the menu didn't match up for me. I suppose I was hoping to find something light and delicious like the avocado croissant that I'd ordered way back when, but nothing really fit the bill. I ended up with a grilled cheese and tomato soup... no classing-up, no really unique twist, and some greens on the side. The soup was different from your traditional tomato soup, but not enough to save my lackluster choice.

Dan ordered breakfast and can't remember much about it. That should say something, I suppose.

I am not the most adventurous eater, but when I go somewhere like Greenup I hope to slightly widen my horizons. Yes, maybe I should have ordered something with an obscure meat or unfamiliar cheese or foreign pronunciation... but I didn't, and I don't think my experience was interesting enough to chant "Greenup!" in Dan's ear again any time soon.