Taste of Belgium (in the Freedom Center)

Holy smokes!

On the hunt for something new, I suggested we hit Taste of Belgium for lunch. I've had crêpes and the like from Taste of Belgium in Findlay Market, but in January they opened a new branch inside the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, right on the river.

What a fantastic call that turned out to be.

When we first walked in, we were a little turned around-- you can take your order to go (as many of the construction workers for the Banks have been doing), but the restaurant is actually full-service. We were kindly led to a table and talked through the menu.

So much sounded great, but I decided on the "waffle sandwich" (exactly what you'd imagine) with turkey, and my coworker had the shrimp and grits waffle. He didn't take much convincing.

You have to understand that a Taste of Belgium waffle is unlike any other waffle you've ever had. It's sweet but not saccharine, and thoroughly delicious. Slap some turkey in there and it's lunch, apparently.

My coworker loved his shrimp and grits, and was actually just as impressed with the side salad served with it. The lemon poppyseed dressing was apparently a great complement to his lunch.

This location is a little odd because they aren't fully situated yet-- there were four laminated menus, three salt shakers and a handful of ketchup packets to share among the patrons-- but they're working toward a remodel and other upgrades (flatware?). I think they're doing exactly the right thing: getting the food right first. There's time to keep moving toward perfect so long as you keep cranking out freaking delicious lunches like these!

One other small weird thing: they seemed caught off-guard when a group of 40 Mennonites paraded in after a tour of the Freedom Center. As a museum café, I'd think you'd be expecting these kinds of onslaughts! The waitstaff handled it quickly and politely, so no harm done, but I hope they're able to scale in the way they'll need to when this Taste of Belgium location picks up the popularity it deserves.

Taste of Belgium's website: http://authenticwaffle.com/
Freedom Center's website: http://www.freedomcenter.org/
This location on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/taste-of-belgium-cincinnati-2

Views from a Commute, part 2

Hi Mike!

When parading around with my camera, Mike made the mistake of leaving the door to Mica 12/v propped open. :) (He permitted me to take a photo, fear not.) I love this guy, and I love walking by his and his wife's gorgeous shop in OTR!

Do I need to tell you how anxious I am for more of this photo-friendly weather?

Views from a Commute, part 1

Remember when the weather was startlingly gorgeous? Lasted about 15 minutes? Well, I managed to grab the camera during that infinitesimal window and snap a few pictures of my walk around OTR.

Look for a few more tomorrow, to tide us over until the sun pops out for a bit longer.

Flying Pig #14: Bethesda North

An awesome reader named Don sent us a new pig photo with full deets. This piggy, "A Fly in the Ointment," sits out front of the Bethesda North Hospital in Montgomery. The artist is Sarah Thompson.

Don writes his own awesome blog about Cincinnati, which I hope you're following: Queen City Tour!

Bockfest 2011

This weekend was Bockfest in OTR, a yearly event that celebrates the brewing heritage of OTR and (hopefully) the beginnings of Spring. From the sounds of it the celebration of the brewing heritage was in full swing, but the weather wasn't so kind.

We had a rather jam packed weekend so we didn't make it to much of Bockfest, however we did make it for the parade and managed to take a few shots on my phone (wasn't about to drag our DSLR out in the pouring rain).

Greater Cincinnati Independent Restaurants Week

...Well that's a mouthful. (Food pun?)

I have never attended Restaurant Week. Something has always come up! This year, I've made three reservations through Open Table, for eateries that I'm embarrassed to say I've not visited:
Daveed's (menu)
View (menu)
Vito's Cafe (menu)

If you're not familiar, these local gems create prix fixe menus ($26.11) for three course meals. A great steal and an opportunity to try some of the best restaurants in Cincinnati. Which ones are you hitting up this year?

Restaurant Week website: http://www.eatlocalcincy.com/

Guestblog: Reds Spring Training

It's been too long since Cincinnati Re-adventure has posted a guest blog, especially by our very own sports writer (and my brother) Bradley Garwood!

Originally uploaded by Better Off Red

This snap of warm weather has already made me forget about football. Or, maybe it was the atrocious Bengals season. Either way, it's time to phase out the black and orange for the red and white. And while I realize we're not done with hockey or soccer yet, it's time to start looking forward to the Reds recapturing of the National League Central.

Practice, practice, practice.

But I don't want to write about anything realistic, not today. Sports can be all about managing personalities, injuries and upsets. But I'd like to give the readers (and myself) just a few more days to bask in the glory of Spring Training. Trust me, it's hard to see the blessing in disguises that is a competitive roster now, but come the post-season, it'll be worth it.

Yeah, I said post-season.

And it's no secret that the Reds roster is very competitive. But that's what I wanted to talk a little bit about, what our Cincinnati Reds might look like this year. The pitching rotation has Cincinnati fans excited to watch, as a close battle for what's believed to be the only free space available will tighten. With Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez and Bronson Arroyo as near sure-things, Mike Leake, Homer Bailey and Travis Wood will all put their best feet forward.

Aroldis Chapman, Originally uploaded by Reds.com

And it's hard to speculate who will make the cut, because if last year's performances indicate anything: it's that all of these pitchers have what it takes to be regular starters. And then we open the bullpen up to look at players like Bill Bray, Francisco Cordero, Nick Masset, Aroldis Chapman, and the towering giant that is Logan Ondrusek. And while they're all believed to have earned a starting spot, some names like Daniel Ray Herrera, Sam LeCure and new signee Dontrelle Willis pop up to take a shot at remaining space.

"competition breeds excellence"

Depth at catcher with Ramón Hernández, Ryan Hanigan and veteran Corky Miller (a personal favorite of mine) leave nothing to be desired. Some great batteries are going to come out of 2011. Hanigan especially, with his improved batting skills makes him a great asset.

I don't even have to add the heavy artillery we have in Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, the energy in Johnny Gomes and Drew Stubbs or the skill in Brandon Phillips and Scott Rolen to get you excited for how good this team is. We have a great manager in Dusty Baker, an amazing general manager in Walt Jocketty, and to top it off a fantastic stadium to take it all in. This might just be the year we have a home field advantage.

And finally, Paul Janish steps into the role of starter. I can't imaging anyone disagreeing with how hard he's worked, or how much he deserves the spot. Fielder Chris Heisey too, both have really proven that despite the fact you might not have a starting spot, you can still prove yourself as a valuable part of a team.

And if that's the attitude the whole team can carry into '11, then we'll make the playoffs with a much bigger bang than we did last year. God damn, it's a good year to be a Reds fan.