Friday, April 29, 2011

Guest Blog: A Rascal's Delight

For today's Friday Guest Blogger series, our friend Kenny has written a great review on Rascals Deli in Blue Ash.  Kenny went to Cincinnati State for Culinary School and UC for food chemistry, so he is what we would consider a pro.  Hope you enjoy and we can't wait to try this place!  Thanks Kenny!
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On a Saturday in March I woke up hung over on a friend’s couch to the sun cutting across the room (what a novel concept).  As I struggled to open my eyes and realize where I was, I caught a glimpse of Cincinnati Magazine on the coffee table.  I grabbed it and habitually flipped to the dining section of the magazine.  I discovered a picture of the most heavenly looking burger I had ever seen.  I instantly knew what I was going to do that afternoon.  I was headed to Rascals New York Deli in Blue Ash to get the Rascals’ Dagwood burger.

As I walked into the crowded restaurant I was a little taken back because it had an industrial and unwelcoming feel to it.  Cheap metal chairs accompanied by small square tables crammed a foot apart from each other.  I remember thinking, “this is way too close for comfort today.”  Then the motif of the restaurant hit me and a comforting memory came back to me.  This place reminds me of the time when I ate at a deli in New York City!  It all makes sense now, duh.  After this thought, I was taking in all the great old pictures of New York’s skyline on the walls when a friendly voice snapped me out of my bubble.  A gentleman named Gary said hello and escorted us to our table menus in his hand.

After gazing at the myriad of choices Rascals has to offer, one quickly realizes this is a Jewish deli.  This excited me even more because I have never eaten the cuisine.  My next thought was Matzoh Ball soup.  Rascals offer two kinds:  Chicken Noodle and Matzoh Ball and Chaya’s Matzoh Ball soups.  The difference was in the second version, the matzoh ball is filled with chicken and love.  I could not argue with love so I settled on it to complement my burger.  As I continued through the menu I found another enticing treat, pierogies.  I thought to myself, why not?  I’ll be a fat kid today.  My game plan was complete.  I was ordering Chaya’s Matzoh Ball soup with extra love, pierogies and the Rascals’ Dagwood.  The cure for any hang over if you ask me!

After placing the order, food came in a timely manner.  That was impressive because it was busy.  The bowl of soup came first.  It was not what I expected at all.  I anticipated small matzoh balls that would fit nicely on a spoon.  Instead, it was one huge matzoh ball the size of a softball engulfing the bowl.  It was very aromatic, savory and tender.  You could tell it was marinated in chicken broth for quite some time.  There was one down side, the dough was a little dense in my opinion.  I knew instantly I could not finish it.  The matzoh ball sat in my belly like a brick, too much love for this boy.  I highly recommend trying it if you have never had it because it was a fun experience.

On deck were the pierogies.  For those of you who do not know what it is, a pierogi is traditionally Polish specialty.  They are half-moon shape noodle dumplings filled with savory or sweet mixtures.  Rascals offers them cooked two ways, boiled or sautéed with your filling choice of potato, cheese and onion.  They are accompanied with the following items:  sour cream, cottage cheese, and diced tomatoes.   I ordered them with all of the above and they were sautéed.  I wanted some texture out of the pierogi.  They were fantastic.  Each item enhanced the pierogies  perfectly.  Which shocked me because I was really skeptical about the cottage cheese.  It was successful because of the creaminess of the cottage cheese combined with the acidity of the tomatoes and the savory flavor of the onions.  It was like a party in my mouth.     

            

I made quick work of the pierogies and was eagerly awaiting the reason for the trip, Rascals’ Dagwood.  A Dagwood sandwich is named after Dagwood Bumstead, a character in the “Blondie” comic strip, this extremely thick sandwich is piled high with a variety of meats, cheeses, condiments and lettuce.  Rascals NY Deli does not disappoint.  It is chopped sirloin topped with grilled pastrami, creamy cole slaw, cheddar and swiss cheese, potato latke (traditionally served at Hanukkah, it is a pancake made from grated potatoes mixed with eggs, onion and matzo meal then deep fried), lettuce, tomato and onion on a Kaiser roll.  It is stacked so high they serve it with a knife stabbed through the top to keep it together.  This bad boy rings in at $14.95 but it is worth every penny.  The worst thing about this sandwich was trying to politely eat it.  A problem I quickly discarded as I tuned out everything around me to devour my hangover helper. 



Despite my adventures the previous night, I truly enjoyed my time and food at Rascals NY Deli.  They have so much to offer and they prepare food the right way.  I do not have a rating scale but I give the place the highest complement a restaurant can have:  a return visit to eat more food.  I am leaning towards the brisket!  Who wants to go?

~Kenny

Rascal's NY Deli on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Denver Edition

My husband and I were lucky enough to take a recent trip to Denver, CO to visit our friends Grant and Abbey who have been living there for about two years now. Upon my request to stay with Grant, he was immediately excited to take me to some of his favorite restaurants in Denver…of course, I was game! I should begin by saying that this was my first trip to Denver and loved it! It’s a great town that has many restaurants, shops and bars within walking distance of many apartments and houses. The other thing that I noticed about Denver that is different from Cincinnati, was how big breakfast/brunch is here, which I loved!  I don’t often eat breakfast at home, but I love going to breakfast on the weekends. 

Our first morning there, Grant and Abbey took us to their weekly brunch spot called the Hornet.  The first thing I heard about this place was $2 mimosas and $2 bloody mary bar. I have tried many times to love bloody marys, but I haven't been able to yet.  I didn't end up getting one here, but I did try my husband's and have to say, it was the best I have had.  Just look at these pictures to see how fun this was :




Everything on the menu sounded awesome. I went with the omelette which had asparagus, feta, and a couple more things that I can’t remember, but it was excellent!  The potatoes were just okay, a little too crunchy for me and I would like more potato.  The fruit was delicious as well.  I was glad to see there wasn't any honeydew....I feel like a lot of fruit cups have too much honeydew and I don't care for that.  My husband went with Grant’s favorite the Dixie Chicken, which I also tried, and it was really good! Can't go wrong with fried chicken and gravy.  



That night, after a couple drinks around town and a visit to Red Rocks, we stopped at one of their favorite pizza places: Wyman’s. This place offers thin crust and Chicago style pizza, which I usually am indifferent to. I started with a salad which was fine….but the pizza was awesome!! This was sooo good!  The crust was almost like a corn bread, which sounds weird, but it was good.  The pizza is very filling though.  After that salad I was full from one piece (I think the beer had something to do with that too).  We finished off our meal with a game of Taboo.  We loved that Wymans had a wall of board games, so we had a blast munching on our food and playing the game.



When Grant told me about this place, I couldn’t wait to try it.  He said this restaurant makes their own biscuits and tops it with basically anything you can imagine.  Sounded fantastic! The restaurant was very modern, as many of the places are in Denver. It had a bar in the center and was very busy.  We sat in the back and looked over the menu.  Once again, everything sounded great.  There were biscuits topped with gravy, eggs, and cheese, “French toast” biscuits topped with a fresh compote of the day, and a shrimp and grits biscuit, just to name a few.  I wanted to try it all!  However, I decided to do a “build your own” with scrambled egg, cheese, ham, and gravy….very healthy.  :)




This was soooo good!  I loved it!  This place was so fun, different, and affordable!  I should note that I had ordered a side of their homemade pickles because I love pickles, but our waitress forgot to bring them.  It was okay though, I was stuffed from this delicious biscuit!  I really wish we had a place like this here in Cincy!

 I love Italian food.  So when Abbey and Grant suggested a place called Shells and Sauce, of course I wanted to try it.  We went there wanting to sit on their covered upper patio; however, it was not open that evening.  So, we sat outside on their front patio.  It was a bit chilly out that night, but our wine quickly warmed us up. They served warm bread with a fantastic balsamic dipping sauce.  This was sooo good, I probably could have just eaten this. Grant ate almost an entire loaf by himself before we ordered. 


Grant and I each started with a spinach salad topped with red onion, mushrooms, and gorgonzola, and Abbey and my husband had the Caesar. These were both very good salads. 


I ended up ordering one of the specials, which was a bison stuffed ravioli with mushrooms, onions, spinach, cheese…I don’t remember everything, but I know that this was one of my favorite Italian dishes I have ever had!  It had a wine sauce that was light enough for this dish and all the components were a nice touch, including the pine nuts.  I loved this!

Abby got a penne pasta dish that was really good as well. 
My husband and Grant got the chicken parmesan.  This was the biggest piece of chicken I have ever seen for chicken parm.  AND it was good!! I liked this as well; but it wasn’t nearly as good as mine J

All in all, Denver was amazing and the food was definitely as equally fantastic as the views.  If you ever find yourself visiting this area, take into consideration some of these places.  They were all fun, different, and affordable!  I can’t wait to visit again and have some more brunch, Italian, and chicken! Special thanks to Abbey and Grant for a great trip!
~Kate

Monday, April 25, 2011

Review: York Street Café

I recently went to dinner with Kate and her sister Kelley at York Street Café in Newport, Kentucky – a few blocks from the Levee. I’d never been there before, but Kate has always raved how much she likes it and wanted me to try it so we went one Tuesday evening.
We found out some great news upon arrival…on Tuesday and Wednesday you can get a bottle of their house wine for $1 with the purchase of two entrees! That’s like music to my ears!! However, Kate had a Groupon to use so we weren’t able to combine the two deals, but I would definitely go back just to take advantage of that!
The décor at York Street Café is very interesting and eclectic. There are walls covered with tacky signs, unique artifacts, shelves of old books, toys, even a collection of Pez dispensers. Your eyes don’t know where to look because there’s so much to take in.
We were greeted by a host, or at least we think he was a host. He seemed a little bit confused and like he didn’t belong there. But we got to our seats and were glad that he was just the host and not our server….wrong! Turns out, he was also our waiter! He wasn’t mean or rude or anything, but he didn’t crack a smile and he seemed very confused a lot of the time – like he didn’t know what he was doing. We actually overheard another table asking him if he really worked there, and he had to defend himself. It was one of the oddest service experiences I’ve had, but we made it into a joke and definitely didn’t let it spoil our girls-night-out dinner!   
For starters, the menu has a few smaller appetizers as well as what they call “conversation boards”. These are larger and more involved platters, such as an Italian sampler and a Mediterranean Board. We decided to start with one of the conversation boards – the Swiss fondue, which is only available during the week because it’s a somewhat complicated process and takes about 20 minutes (but well worth it!). The server first brings out a fondue pot, pours in the garlic, amaretto and chardonnay and ignites the sterno underneath it to heat it up. Once that was warm, he came back to the table and added the cheese. He instructed us to periodically stir the cheese and to wait 5-10 minutes to allow the cheese to properly melt. At that time, he also brought out a tray of grapes, apples, orange slices and assorted breads. This part was a little torturous because we were all starving but had to wait for the cheese to melt.


After about 4 minutes we all gave in and started eating! It was so delicious and we all loved how interactive and fun it was. I would highly recommend it! On a side note, Kelley has been to York Street before and would also highly recommend the Brie en Croute from the conversation board menu. She obsessed about it multiple times throughout dinner! J
For our entrees, Kate and I decided to share the Chicken Cherry Salad and the Mediterranean pasta with shrimp. Both were excellent choices! If you can’t tell by our other reviews, we’re both big fans of sharing. There are always so many things on restaurant menus that I want to try, so I love the idea of sharing two entrees so you get to try more than one thing!  
The salad came with dried cherries, mixed greens, Dijon vinaigrette, feta cheese and sunflower seeds. The Dijon dressing was definitely the star of the dish. It was excellent! Unfortunately, the chicken wasn’t that great. It was a little hard and rubbery and tasted like it was frozen and microwaved right before going on our salad. Minus the chicken, the rest of the salad was pretty good.

The Mediterranean pasta was a great choice! This was penne pasta topped with artichokes, feta, diced tomatoes and shrimp (choice of shrimp, chicken or salmon) and tossed in olive oil, garlic and spices (you could definitely taste oregano). I’m definitely glad we chose the shrimp as our protein since we learned from our salad that their chicken isn’t the greatest! The dish was a little heavy on the oil, but overall we both really enjoyed it and were satisfied with our choices.


Kelley chose the Fresh Catch. We saw someone at a table nearby eating this, and it looked sooo good so Kelley decided to order it. The filet of sole was encrusted with spinach and artichokes and topped with a Marsala beurre blanc sauce. It came with sides of rice and broccoli. Kate and I both tried Kelley’s fish, and it tasted just as good as it looked. The sauce was creamy and decadent, but maybe a little too rich. The sides were nothing special – just plain steamed (I think) broccoli and rice. Pretty bland…except when paired with the beurre blanc they were much, much better! J 


Overall, we enjoyed our experience at York Street Café. The service was a little weird, but the food and atmosphere made up for it and it gave us something to laugh about. We didn’t have to wait for a table, but if you did, there’s a cute little store called the Mercantile that’s connected to the restaurant and would be great to browse through while you wait! Enjoy!
~Kris
Food: 3.5
Service: 2
Overall: 3


York St. Cafe on Urbanspoon

Friday, April 22, 2011

Guest Blog, Recipe: Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad

This Friday, my sister Kelley is offering a new recipe she tried out for lunch one day.  It sounds delicious, and I can't wait to give this a try!  Thanks Kel!

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Whenever I’m looking to try something new at home, I go to http://www.allrecipes.com/.  If you’re not familiar with the site, check it out.  There are tons of ideas with reviews, and you can even save your favorites to your own recipe box.  Also, after you sign up, you will receive Daily Dish e-mails to give you ideas without even having to think about it!

This week I was looking for a new idea for lunch and wanted something on the healthier side.  My sister, Kate, and I are always looking for new lunch ideas because the same old sandwich/salad options get so boring!  I had a ton of chicken in the freezer, so I decided to go that route.  Upon my search I found a recipe for Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad.  The description said, “A refreshing light pasta with a delicious Asian flare.”  What’s not to like?  So I began reading the reviews, there were over 545 for this one dish, and almost every review was a 5-star rating.  Not to mention the total prep and cook time was just 30 minutes.  I was sold.

The original recipe is as follows:

-       ¼ cup sesame seeds
-       1 (16 ounce) package of bow tie pasta
-       ½ cup vegetable oil
-       1/3 cup light soy sauce
-       1/3 cup rice vinegar
-       1 teaspoon sesame oil
-       3 tablespoons white sugar
-       ½ teaspoon ground ginger
-       ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
-       3 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast
-       1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
-       1/3 cup chopped green onion

Directions
1.    Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2.    Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta, and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl.
3.    In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.
4.    Pour sesame dressing over pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken, cilantro, and green onions.
Now the list of ingredients may look a bit daunting at first, so I’m providing pictures of some of the most uncommon items.  You can find them all in the Asian section of the grocery store, so it’s rather simple actually to find them.  You can also buy the sesame seeds pre-roasted so that you can completely skip step number one.


Like I mentioned before, I wanted to make something healthy, so I made some tweaks to the original recipe.  Instead of bow tie pasta, I used 3 packages of uncooked Ramen noodles.  I broke it up into medium pieces.  I wanted a less carbohydrate meal and also thought that the uncooked Ramen would add a nice crunchy texture to the dish.  This route also cut out a step in the directions and saved even more time.  In addition, I used extra virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oil and added frozen peas and carrots to the mix.  I did this to make the meal more well-rounded.  I’m also not a huge cilantro fan, so I minced it and added it to the dressing rather than adding it chopped to the final dish.  After mixing it all together, I let it sit overnight to marinate together.


The dressing was fantastic.  Because the ingredients for the dressing are so standard, I can use it for other meals to give it that “Asian flare.”  I might use a tiny bit less soy sauce, but that’s a matter of taste.  I was also glad that I added the vegetables because the flavors all worked well together and gave the meal more oomph.  Next time I might try some water chestnuts or edamame.  I’m even thinking it might be good to add some chopped peanuts.  What I like most about this dish is that you can tweak it to your liking, and you can’t screw it up!  Add whatever you like! 

From an outside perspective, I brought my friend some for lunch to get a second opinion.  She loved it.  She said that not all of the Ramen was still crunchy but that it didn’t matter.  She loved all of the flavors together.  She said the dressing definitely had that Asian taste to it, which she enjoyed.  I thought she might lick the Tupperware clean!

So all-in-all, this dish was very successful!  I will definitely make it again, and I would even make this to bring to a cookout or family dinner.

Til next time!
~Kelley

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Review: Dilly Cafe

The Dilly Café, located in the heart of Mariemont, was on my mind on a recent Saturday. I had been there one time before, but that was about two years ago but remembered really enjoying it.  Dilly Cafe also has a wine shop connected next to it with a large variety of wines.  My husband and I went around 6:00 and sat in the bar area.  We decided on a bottle of wine that we ended up thinking was just okay. 


We were pretty hungry so we ordered the jerk scallops as an appetizer.  We were expecting these to have a bit more flavor, but they were perfectly cooked.  They were served on a polenta cake with roasted tomatoes.  These were pretty good overall. 


We asked the server what he suggested from the menu and he recommended the meatloaf and homestyle pork ribs; these both sounded delicious.  I normally love meatloaf, but I decided to try something different and go with pork ribs and my husband got the meatloaf.

These pork ribs were delicious!  They were served with mashed potatoes and green beans which were both very great as well.  They had a barbecue-mustard sauce on top that was unique and added a great spicy flavor to the ribs. I liked that there was plenty of sauce but not too much to overpower the entire dish.  The ribs were very tender and juicy. 

I tried the meatloaf and thought it was great as well.  It had a wild-mushroom demi-glace and was also served with mashed potatoes and a mix of vegetables.  The demi-glace had a nice sweetness that was perfect with the meatloaf.  These vegetables were a mix of red and yellow peppers and zucchini that were great.  My  husband liked this as well. 

We decided to stick around Dilly Café for a bit longer because a blue grass band started that was really good and fun to listen to.  We noticed that it got a lot busier in the restaurant and many people were waiting.  We looked over their beer menu as well.  It had many choices and there was a wide range of beers on tap. 

We really enjoyed Dilly Café.  Our server was attentive and gave lots of good suggestions and descriptions.  He was friendly and gave a couple laughs.  It is a perfect place to go for dinner on a weekend night, especially if there is a band.  Their entrees range from $9-24 and they also have a lot of sandwiches and salads.  Their menu is pretty diverse and what we had was delicious.  There is outdoor seating when it is warm. This would also be fun to go with a group of friends but you might need reservations for a weekend night!
~Kate

Food: 4
Service: 4
Overall Experience: 4

Dilly Café on Urbanspoon

Friday, April 15, 2011

Guest Blog: forkheartknife

As part of our Friday Guest Blogger Series, Kris' sister-in-law Jen will be telling us all about her awesome experience at forkheartknife! I've never been there, but after reading this I definitely want to try it! Thanks, Jen!!
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I am very excited to be a part of the famous “Girls who Grub” food blog.  As a long time food lover myself, I truly enjoy reading about new restaurants and different types of foods that I may want to try.  That is the main reason that I was so excited to try a small restaurant in Over the Rhine called forkheartknife.  This restaurant has an amazing back story-I encourage you to read it here .  Basically, one of the owners decided to start cooking for her sister when she became ill with cancer.  Her sister ended up passing away, and she then decided that she didn’t want to waste any more time of her life doing anything she didn’t love; so she decided with a friend to open this small, 4 table restaurant in Over the Rhine.  When I say small, I mean walk-through the kitchen to use the restroom small! (Which was also surprisingly small).  A good friend of mine, Jess, has been several times so she was the perfect person to ask for my first time, and we also invited our good friend Katie along.
We planned to meet at 10 which is when they are supposed to open.  Jess got there 5 minutes early, which was a good thing because the tables were already full and we were put on the list.  When you are put on the list, they take your cell phone number and encourage you to hit up some of the local shops and bars in OTR and will call you when they have a table ready for you.  Since we were in for a wait we decided to walk down the street to a bar called MOTR to have a drink.  They also serve brunch so if you are in the area and don’t feel like waiting, this is another place that you could try. 


After a round of drinks we got the call that our table was ready!  We were seated with another couple which made things kind of intimate.  Like I said, the place only has 4 tables so you take what you can get.  The menu changes each week and is displayed on a big sheet of butcher paper on the wall.  There were so many delicious and enticing items on the menu that we had trouble deciding.  We easily decided that we were not allowed to order the same things and that we would share everything that we had.  Katie decided on the blueberry almond coffee cake and the honey greek yogurt with nuts and berries.  These were both fabulous options.  I tend to shy away from coffee cake because it tends to be dry and overly sugary.  This was neither-the cake was dense and moist and the tartness of the blueberries helped to balance out the sweet almond topping.  The yogurt was one of my favorite things.  It had strawberries and a mixture of about ten different types of nuts on top of the sweet and smooth yogurt.  Katie was very pleased with her selections, as were well!


Jessica chose the cornbread and chicken chorizo.  Katie was not overly enthusiastic about getting this dish because she doesn’t like cornbread-she changed her mind.  This thick piece of cornbread was mixed with peppers, cheese and chicken chorizo which gave it just the slightest kick.  It literally melted in your mouth.  It came with a simple salad on the side with a homemade dressing.  To be honest, I was least interested in the salad so most of the salad went in the to-go box.
I had a lot of trouble deciding between the pizza strata which was something I had never had before, and the breakfast burrito.  Both sounded great but I asked Sierra (who is the waitress, hostess, cashier, and sometimes bus girl) and she said that I had to get the strata.  I was glad that I did!  It is made mostly from egg but you would never know because it took on an almost doughy consistency.  It was filled with cheese and tomatoes and if I closed my eyes I could have sworn I was eating a piece of pizza.  I really enjoyed it and the strata also came with a salad but I didn’t touch much of it! 
As a side we also got a plate of red potatoes.  I honestly don’t remember what all went into these potatoes but they were really good, and half of them went into the to-go box as well.  All in all we got 2 entrees, the yogurt, coffee cake, potatoes and two coffees and our bill was $32.  I did not think that was bad for stuffing three girls for brunch! 
Overall, I enjoyed my experience at forkheartknife.  It was a cozy, intimate atmosphere that was different from most of the places that I eat.  They served interesting and heart felt food and you can taste the love they put in everything they do.  I like their story-having been affected by cancer in my life I appreciate their willingness to take a risk and do what they love.  Now for the bad news-they’re closing up shop.  They have decided not to renew their lease because they have gotten too big for their little space!  So, if you want to try it out you better act fast.  They are open for Thursday dinner and Saturday and Sunday brunch.  They will have more seating outside when it is warm and they also do carryout.  If you do decide to go, take your own beer and take cash! 
Food: 4
Service:4
Overall:4

Forkheartknife on Urbanspoon

Monday, April 11, 2011

Review: Bonefish Grill

I’m sure many of you have been to Bonefish Grill. It is a chain that is located in Hyde Park, West Chester, and Crescent Springs around here.  If you haven’t been there, it’s pretty solid choice for seafood.  I have been many times and have always been pleased!

I recently went with my husband on a Saturday evening.  The ambiance is a modern, busy restaurant without being too loud.  There is a large waiting area inside and outside, which if you don’t have a reservation or go before or after peak hours, there is likely a wait on weekends.  We waited maybe 5 minutes.

Every time I have gone to Bonefish, they have a few specials; typically 2-3 entrees, an appetizer, and drink specials as well.  They also have happy hour 4-6:30 with great deals and $5 drinks daily.  We also order the Bang Bang Shrimp as an appetizer when we go (every Wednesday they have it for $5 all day FYI!) Many people love this dish, and I am in agreement.  It is a crispy shrimp tossed in a spicy, creamy sauce served atop some lettuce.  These are awesome! Pretty much everyone I know, except for my sister, love these!  Even if you don’t love shrimp, these are worth a try.

Our server brought out a basket of warm bread with an olive oil dipping sauce.  The bread was warm and soft, so no complaints there. 

I decided to order the grilled salmon and asparagus salad.  This was served with goat cheese, tomatoes, fennel, green beans and a citrus-herb vinaigrette.  This salad was really good!  It had just the right amount of cheese, green beans, and dressing.  The salmon was cooked very nicely .  I would have liked some more tomatoes and the asparagus was a bit undercooked for me.  I like my asparagus a little less crunchy.  All in all, this was great.  I would get it again for sure.   


My husband went with a surf and turf of a crab cake, sirloin steak, veggies and choice of a side.  He chose the garlic mashed potatoes, party because I wanted some.  I tried the crab cake which was very good, one of the best in comparison to some I have had recently.   I didn’t try the steak, but my husband said it was pretty good; maybe not the best sirloin he’s ever had , it was a bit overcooked, but he liked it.  I love the garlic mashed potatoes, they are very good. 


Our server talked up the desserts, and I was tempted, but passed.  I was full!  We each had two drinks and our bill was around $50. 

I would recommend Bonefish for anyone who is a little skeptical of seafood and wants a variety of choices.  I have gotten the specials here in the past, and they have always been good too.  Service has always been good in my opinion as well.  This night our server was great! He had a lot of knowledge and recommendations and was friendly and outgoing.

~Kate

Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Overall Experience: 3.5

Bonefish Grill on Urbanspoon

Friday, April 8, 2011

Guest Blog: Senate

So today we are introducing a new feature we’re going to try out….Friday Guest Blogger Series! When possible, on Fridays we’re going to have our friends and family (let us know if you’re interested!) post about their dining experiences and/or recipes.
Today, my co-worker Beth will be blogging about her recent experience at Senate, which Kate and I absolutely LOOOOVE! Thanks, Beth...
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First off I want to thank Kris and Kate for allowing me to guest blog about my dining experience. What a privilege to write for the Girls Who Grub!
The other night I had the fortunate experience of eating dinner with my good friend Alison at the Senate in Over-the-Rhine. I am a huge fan of this restaurant and have been many times! My favoritism comes from the niche of food they serve (gourmet street food) and the unique restaurant space where you dine (a narrow, cozy space with exposed brick and an open kitchen).
Every day at work, Kris and I read and talk about Senate’s “dog of the day” that they post on their Facebook page. It’s always named after a celebrity, and it always sounds AMAZING! So before meeting Alison at the restaurant, I had already found out that the dog of the day was the William Shatner – spicy falafel dog, chipotle hummus & roasted veggie chips. I knew I wasn’t going to order it (I always get my usual), but thought it sounded good.
Already knowing what I wanted, since I get the same thing every time, I ended up ordering the Poutine for the appetizer. This is by far the most disgustingly delicious mess of French fries, cheese curds, braised short ribs and gravy. Once you have tried this you will crave it for your next visit! Secretly, I think this is why I want to go back all the time.

Special thanks to Alison for the pictures!
After the appetizer, my friend Alison ordered a side of truffle fries and My Wife’s Salad, which consists of arugula, avocado, mozzarella, tomato, basil and balsamic. I didn’t try the salad, but Alison said she loves it because it’s light and fresh, but the mozzarella and avocado are just enough to make it filling as a light dinner. She joked that she always cancels out its healthiness by getting it with truffle fries, even though it’s only the top layer that is good (the ones further down in the glass are always soggy and disappointing).


I decided on my usual, the croque madame, which consist of a beef hot dog, béchamel and black forest ham on a brioche bun with a poached egg. My favorite part of the hot dog is the poached egg. I think anything that has an egg on it is delicious. There is something about the mixture of flavors that makes me want to go back for more.

Overall our dining experience was fantastic, which is no surprise to me. Our server Nathan was very prompt and courteous. I would definitely recommend the Senate if you're looking for a fun downtown experience with a different flair and unique cuisine!
Food: 5                                                                                                                                            
Service: 4                                                                                                                                       
Overall: 4.5

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