Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Review: Bella Luna

Not long ago, I purchased a coupon through YoDeal toward Bella Luna on Eastern Ave.  Sounds familiar since I just recently blogged about Terry's Turf Club which is right next door, but just a coincidence.  My husband and I decided to go on a random Thursday night that I didn't feel like cooking.  My husband never cooks, so it's always up to me, but this night I didn't feel like it at all.  Sooo, we decided to try Bella Luna.

We had been to Bella Luna once before, but it was about three years ago, and I didn't remember a whole lot about it.  I had heard many mixed reviews about the restaurant through friends and other reviews I've read online.  I did remember that they had won some awards at the Taste of Cincinnati this year, which after Googling it, I recalled they were The Best Damn Dish for their prime rib cannelloni and Best Seafood Entree for their Lobster Ravioli.  I remember having tried the ravioli at the Taste and thinking it was just okay...but I don't think it's fair to judge at a festival setting.  (We wanted to try the cannelloni at the Taste, but was sold out when we got there).

Well, Ross and I went in with no expectations.  We arrived around 6:00 or so.  The hostess initially asked us if we had a reservation, which we didn't, and she stated that we would either have a 30 minute wait or have to sit in the bar area.  We were a bit hesitant about sitting in the bar area and stated that we would maybe just grab a drink a wait, and then the hostess suddenly said there was a table open.  She led us into the dining room which had rows of booths along the walls with tables down the center.  I have to state that there were hardly any tables occupied.  I would have understood if maybe people had shown up throughout our dinner and taken the tables, but they didn't.  I just found it odd that the hostess would tell us there was going to be a 30 minute wait when there were PLENTY of tables open.  This is just a pet peeve of mine.

We were warmly greeted by our server who told us about the nightly specials and also informed us that bottles of wine were half off this night.  This got us excited, until I showed her my coupon and she said that we could either use the coupon OR take half off a bottle of wine.  Another pet peeve of mine.  I DID pay for the coupon, and I just feel like the restaurant should honor it as money/gift certificate.  BUT, that aside, we still ordered a bottle of wine with intentions of using our coupon ( I wasn't sure I would want to come back yet at this point).  I have to also just say, I thought the prices of wine were a bit high.  I am not a professional wine connoisseur, but I just felt like there could have been more selection in prices.  The wine we ended up getting was just okay.

We perused the menus for awhile asking the server what she suggested and giving some of her favorite items. She highly recommended the prime rib cannelloni as an appetizer, which contemplated getting for about 10 minutes, but we opted not to.  We thought we were getting plenty of food since entrees came with bread and a salad.

The entrees are served with a house salad which is a spring mix lettuce with tomatoes, mozzarella, and a house dressing.  I wasn't impressed with this salad at all.  It felt like the lettuce came from a bag without any other prep.  I recently just had a discussion with my mom about how the lettuce really makes a salad, and this just did not measure up.
The bread that was served with the meal was really good.  It was a bit different from other breads I have had before in the fact that it reminded me of cornbread on the inside with how it was a bit crumbly, and soft.  It was served with  balsamic vinegar and oil for dipping, which I liked.

It took me awhile to decide what to get (what else is new) but I finally decided to get the smoked chicken ravioli with mushrooms and a mushroom type sauce which was topped with shaved parmesan. (I'm sorry, I really don't remember everything that was in this).
I thought this was fantastic!  I really loved it.  It was unlike any other ravioli dish I had before.  The filling was warm and flavorful and I loved the sauce that came with it; it was just rich enough without being too decadent.   Ross tried mine and he also agreed that it was great.  He typically will never admit that he liked mine more than his, but this one he did.

Ross went with the baked manicotti which is stuffed with ricotta covered in marinara.  We both thought this was just okay.  It really didn't seem that special to me at all, it was something that I could have made at home--but I did think the sauce was a nice.  It was a bit sweet with small chunks of tomato and not something I could make at home :)

So my opinion of Bella Luna is pretty mixed.  I thought my dish was fantastic and I would definitely go back to order that again.  However everything else was pretty disappointing.  The salad was nothing to write home about, the bread was good but not necessarily memorable, and Ross' dish was pretty much just a standard manicotti dish.  I felt like the service was good--again nothing special.  I noticed that the owner went around to many of the tables and asked how their meals were going, which is nice.  Overall, I just felt like most of it was over-priced.  Both our dishes were around $20 and the bottle of wine was around $34.  I just feel like paying that much for Italian should really stand out.  So, will I go back?  Possibly!  But, probably not in a hurry any time soon.

~Kate

Food: 4 (mine)  2 (everything else)
Service: 3
Overall Experience: 3

Bella Luna on Urbanspoon

Monday, November 28, 2011

Review: Terry's Turf Club

There are many blog posts and reviews I have read that debate what the best burger in Cincinnati is.  If you follow any of this at all, you would know that many people feel that Terry's Turf Club on Eastern Ave is number one in their books.  It was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on Food Network a couple months ago and almost always tops lists of bets burgers.  I don't know if I am going to be able to say whether or not I think it is the BEST burger in the city, but it would definitely be in my top 5.  (Don't ask what my favorite is becuase I change my mind a lot!)

Last Friday, my friends Kelly and Dan suggested we go to Terry's which sounded great to me.  I hadn't been there in about a year and was in the mood for a good burger.

If you haven't been to Terry's before, it is located on Eastern Ave. near Bella Luna.  You cannot miss this place driving down the road because of the huge amounts of neon lights that adorn the exterior of the building with other various signs, statues, and wooden people.  This place definitely stands out.  There isn't a parking lot, but there is parking along the street that is available. I was a bit hesitant about going to Terry's on a Friday night because it is normally very crowded; however, we actually got sat right away! We were really excited about that because we got the last available table.  One thing to note: Terry's won't seat you until your entire party is there, so don't try to send someone earlier, they won't seat you.  We noticed a lot of people that were waiting came in to get a beer and then waited outside.

The interior of Terry's is just like the outside.  It is a small diner full of florescent neon lights, a jukebox, black and white checkered floors, and a bar along the back wall.  The jukebox wasn't on consistently, but it gets pretty noisy inside.  This is a great place to go for a fun night with friends, not a romantic dinner for two.  There were families, groups of friends, all ages.  Another time I had gone, there was actually a band playing, which I found a bit annoying.  The place is too small and it took up some of the available tables, which there aren't many anyways, so I don't really get why they have bands sometimes.

Now, on to the food.  Terry's is known for their burgers, but they do offer other selections as well, such as chicken or fish sandwiches, pork loin, and chili (menu here).  Ross and I decided to share the chili, a burger and fries.  The burgers are HUGE and an order of fries is plenty for two people, possibly even three, so I think we made a good decision to share these items.

The chili is made with filet mignon and pork tenderloin--so delicious!  There were large pieces of each of the meat along with just enough spice.  I thought this was the perfect amount of heat, I like spicy food too, and thought this was just right. Overall, I really liked this chili.  Was it the best I've ever had? No. But I had never had it with filet mignon or pork tenderloin and thought it was great.

If you haven't been to Terry's, I should note that there is a base price for burgers, then you can add various toppings, other cheeses and specialty sauces for an additional price.  I had been here two other times before, and had gotten the red pepper, goat cheese sauce one time (it was just okay), and the burgundy wine with wild mushrooms and truffles (very good).  This night, Ross and I decided to try a different sauce.  We got the rosemary, garlic, curry sauce, caramalized onions on the side, swiss cheese, and ordered it medium.  Ross sliced into the burger to cut in half and it looked like it was cooked to a perfect medium.  This burger is huge though, like I said.  I was a bit intimidated by the size.  The tomato was a thick tomato also, that I ended up having to take off because it kept sliding off.  I took a bite and immediately could taste the sweetness of the curry and thought the sauce was great!  The burger was very juicy and I liked the bun as well, it was toasted but still soft.  My biggest complaint about this burger was how messy it is.  It was pretty difficult to eat actually.  I don't mind messy food, but I didn't want to even put it down because it was so hard to pick back up and eat.

I like the fries pretty well overall.  They are handcut and thick fries.  I wish there would have been a bit of a seasoning on them though, they didn't taste as if they had really been seasoned, which I personally like.  But overall, I really liked these fries.

So, my overall opinion: I think Terry's has unique burgers that are juicy and flavorful, but messy.  The chili was pretty good, I would probably order that again.  I don't love the atmosphere in here though . I don't mind a dive, in fact, I typically like them a lot.  But this place is just SO noisy and the brightness actually is a bit much for me.  The service was good.  Pretty standard overall, our waiter was very nice and polite.  He was prompt and didn't hound us like some servers can do. I've noticed that a lot of reviews that I have read complain about the price.  I agree that some things are over-priced, like the chili was $6.50 for a cup.  The burger ended up being $10.25 with the sauce, which I don't think is terrible considering it is big enough to feed two people and the ingredients were very good.  So, if you haven't been, give Terry's a try and let us know what you think!
~Kate

Food: 4
Service: 3
Overall Experience: 3.5

Terry's Turf Club on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Review: Kyoto

It's really hard for me to try new sushi places because I love the 3 I typically go to: Dancing Wasabi, Green Papaya, and Asiana.  However, I really have been wanting to branch out more and try some new places.  I recently read on Metromix Dining Guide 2011 Reader's Picks of various favorite places in 11 different categories.  In the category of "sushi" Kyoto was ranked in the top 5, so I thought about trying something new this past Saturday evening.  Ross and I were in the mood for sushi but nothing especially fancy or expensive.  From the website, Kyoto seemed like a good choice.

Kyoto is located on Montgomery road in between Union Centre and Fields Ertel.  It is in a little shopping center, but there is a sign in front that was easy to spot.  Walking in, I immediately noticed that it was a little restaurant but very busy.  It was a Saturday night around 5:45 or 6:00, so we weren't sure if there was going to be a wait or not.  There wasn't a wait, but almost every table was seated. The decor is pretty simple Japanese influence with an aquarium, one TV showing Japanese shows, and the sushi bar.  We were seated near the window which was nice, but COLD.  We both wanted to leave our coats on, but I hate eating with my coat on :)

The menu was pretty much just sushi, sashimi, salad and soups.  So, if you have someone who is looking for a different type of Thai/Japanese dish, I don't think they will find it here. We decided to order some edamame and 4 rolls: the Spicy Red Snapper Crunchy Roll, Manhatten Roll, Fusion Roll, and Kyoto Roll.  Before our edamame came out, they brought us a small salad and cup of soup that we didn't realize they brought to every table.  The soup was a simple broth soup with tofu and I think basil?  Not quite sure, they didn't tell us what it was.  This was fine, not a whole lot of flavor, and really just tasted like vegetable broth.  The salad was pretty bland as well.  We could have done without both the soup and the salad.  It was just iceberg lettuce with a peanut/sesame dressing.  There was way too much dressing on the lettuce and neither of us finished this salad.

Next our edamame came.  This was pretty standard.  There were a few pods that I felt were a bit soggier than I traditionally like, so overall it was fine.  I like it from other places better.

Lastly, our sushi rolls came!  These all looked great.  It is served with the traditional wasabi and ginger on the side.  We are used to getting the pink-colored ginger, this was white, which is no difference.  All the rolls were very good!  I liked them all!  My favorite was the Manhatten roll (which really wasn't very different from the Fusion Roll), but it was tempura, tuna, salmon, crab, avocado and spicy mayo.  The fusion roll was basically the same (I guess we didn't read the descriptions that closely because it was the same except it had yellowtail instead of crab).  These were both great rolls!  I liked that they were a bit warm on the outside and crunchy from the tempura.  I liked the simplicity of the Spicy Red Snapper Crunchy Roll.  It had just enough kick to it but the red snapper was tender with a mild delicate flavor.  The Kyoto roll was both of our least favorites, but I still liked it.  It was more refreshing because of the various vegetables.  It had shrimp, tuna, salmon, yellowtail, avocado, cucumber, and masago.  The vegetables in this roll really stood out and were a nice change to the other two tempura rolls.
(The picture from left to right: Spicy Red Snapper Crunchy Roll, Manhatten Roll, Kyoto Roll, Fusion Roll)

One of the best things about Kyoto was the price.  All the rolls we got were between $6.25 and $8.95, very reasonable!  The whole menu was similar in price.  There were a few rolls that were in the $10 range, but there is a huge selection under $10.  As for the service, it was fine.  I actually was getting a bit annoyed because there were about 4 servers in the restaurant who would all come up to us about every 3 or 4 minutes asking if we were ready to order.  I think that might just be the pace of the restaurant.  This definitely is a place that people seem to come in and out pretty quickly, so I'm sure they were just being efficient, but that gets on my nerves.

Overall, I would go back!  I liked Kyoto, and might add it to my list of sushi places. It isn't in my top 3--I just love those other three that I mentioned, but with the prices, convenience, and quality of sushi, I would make it back again.
~Kate

Food: 3.5
Service: 2.5
Overall Experience: 3

Kyoto on Urbanspoon

Monday, November 21, 2011

Recipe: Brussel Sprouts, Apples and Bacon

Brussel sprouts have always been a bit intimidating to me. Sounds silly, but my mom doesn't like them and therefore never cooked them for us, so I had no one to show me how to make them. Recently, thanks to my brother's girlfriend, I've gotten over my fear of brussel sprouts. And thank goodness...because they are soooo good!! The following recipe is one of my favorites. I found it on Pinterest (if you aren't aware of this website already, you better catch up. It's amazing!). Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
3-4 slices of bacon, chopped
4 pints brussel sprouts
1 apple, cored and diced
S&P
3 tsp red wine vinegar

The original recipe says to start by cooking the bacon in the oven on 425 degrees. I used microwavable bacon, so I didn't do this step. I have to confess that I actually used Morningstar bacon for this recipe. I'm obviously not a vegetarian, but I like the Morningstar products and I eat the bacon for breakfast sometimes so it's what I had on hand. Real bacon would be better (of couse), but it was still excellent with the faux bacon.

To prep the brussel sprouts, you peel off the first couple of leaves and cut the bottoms off. For this particular dish, I halved them as well, but that's not always necessary.

Once they're prepped and ready to go, I like to cook them in boiling water for about 5 minutes. The recipe doesn't mention this step, but I like to do this so they soften a little before I roast them. Once you remove them from the boiling water, toss them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them in the oven at about 450 degrees. I put them on a foil-lined sheet pan to make clean up a little easier.


They'll roast for about 10-15 minutes until they just barely start to brown. Then add your diced apples and put them back in the oven to continue roasting for another 10 minutes or until they brussel sprouts are browned and the apples are softened. Once you remove them from the oven, toss them immediately in the red wine vinegar and salt (if it needs more) and serve!!!


Delicious!!!!
 ~Kris

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Recipe: Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya

I recently tried a new recipe that is not too difficult (if you don't mind a little chopping), tastes delish and is not too bad for you!! It was originally published in Cooking Light magazine. The recipe makes quite a large batch, especially if you're cooking for one, so I had plenty of leftovers for lunches, dinners, etc.

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups andouille sausage, sliced
3 cups finely chopped red bell peppers
3 cups finely chopped yellow onion (I omitted this due to my hatred for onions)
2 cups finely chopped celery
2 bay leaves
2 1/2 cups chopped boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (I used a whole tsp of crushed red pepper flakes because I love them) 
3 garlic cloves, minced 
1/2 cup tomato puree 
2 3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth  

Start by heating the oil over medium-high heat in a large dutch-oven and add the sausage. I used chicken andouille sausage that was pre-cooked, so I only left it in the oil for a few minutes to brown it a little. Next add the celery, red peppers, onions and bay leaves. It should look like this (except I used a big pot, not a dutch oven):


Once the vegetables have browned and start to squeak (about 14 minutes), add chicken and next 8 ingredients (through garlic). Cook another 4 minutes, stirring occassionally. Add the tomato puree and cook for about 2 minutes. Next, add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. At this point, the recipe says to add 1 1/2 cups of basmati rice. I was trying to avoid a lot of carbs, so I skipped this step. I did serve it over brown rice the first night I made it. When I ate the leftovers, I ate it more like soup without the rice and it was just as good, if not better. 


After this step is complete, cover the dish, reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Then you can DIG IN!! Don't forget to discard the bay leaves before serving!

Yum yum!!! Enjoy!

~Kris

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Recipe: Burrito Bowl Minus the Rice

Okay, I have to first apologize for the name of this recipe because I really didn't know what to call it.  I was inspired by Chipotle's burrito bowls, but didn't use rice, so thought the name was the best description I could come up with!  My husband is pretty obsessed with Chipotle--he always gets the burritos though, and I don't care for those as much, so I thought I'd throw together something like the burrito bowls.

These ingredients can be altered or added to according to your liking, but I'll share what I used.  I'm not going to put measurements because that is really up to you as well:

Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce
black beans, rinsed and drained
corn (frozen, canned, or fresh)
red pepper
red onion
red wine vinegar
hot salsa
mild salsa
sour cream
chicken (I bought some pre-cooked chicken that was cilantro-lime seasoned from Trader Joe's)
mozzarella cheese

1. First I made a little corn salsa real quick of my own.  I mixed some frozen corn that I had thawed and rinsed with about half a red pepper, and about 1/4th of a red onion with some cumin, salt, and red wine vinegar.  I let that set and chill while I got the rest of the ingredients together.

2.  I chopped the Romaine thin, rinsed the black beans, and heated up some chicken in the microwave.  This chicken was great to use.  It is pre-packaged from Trader Joe's and you choose as much as you need and heat up for about a minute then slice it up.  There are a variety of flavors as well.

3. Last, just mix everything together! I layered my black beans, then corn salsa, chicken lettuce and I added a bit of hot salsa and mild salsa.  (I also got the hot salsa from Trader Joe's which was great, and the mild salsa from Kroger).  I topped it off with some cheese and sour cream, mixed it up and enjoyed!

I thought this was great!  I had plenty of left-over ingredients to make the salad again for lunch later that week.  You could add cilantro, rice, turkey, a different cheese, or any other ingredients you might have in your pantry.  You could serve it with tortilla chips if you want some crunch or even crumble some up and throw it in the bowl.  This is a great meal that is fast and easy! Enjoy!
~Kate

Monday, November 14, 2011

Special Holiday Cocktail at Morton's the Steakhouse

We recently received a great email from Morton's the Steakhouse giving information about a new holiday cocktail they are featuring and thought it'd be a great addition to our blog!  It is called Sparkling Cinnamon Apple and started November 1st and will be available until New Year's Eve.  They shared the recipe and a picture for everyone to enjoy.  It is $14, so I am guessing this is a phenomenal cocktail!  I hope to make it there some time this holiday season to try out this festive drink!

Cocktail
4 oz. Lunetta Proseco (a wine)
2 oz. Lindemans Pomme (Green Apple) Lambic
1/2 oz. Monin Honey Syrup
2 oz. Hand Shaken Whipped Cream


They even shared the ingredients for the homemade whipped cream :)
(makes 6 toppings)

4 oz. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. sugar
1 dash vanilla
Pour all ingredients into a shaker and shake vigorously 25 times. Spoon 2 spoonfuls on top of cocktail and refrigerate leftovers.

(This was created by Morton's Vice President Wine & Spirits, Tylor Field and Mixologist and Certified Sommelier, Sara Fasolino)

So a thank you again at Morton's for sharing their Special Holiday Cocktail!  Enjoy!!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Review: Enoteca Emilia

I would like to start off by apologizing for my lack of posting lately! I have lots of good excuses though - my computer is broken, I lost my camera cords, I haven't tried any new restaurants lately (until this one I'm reviewing now), etc. But no more excuses!

Recently, I've been hearing buzz about the new Italian restaurant in O'Bryonville - Enoteca Emilia. I'm a sucker for Italian food and new restaurants, so my friend Lauren and I decided to try it out a couple weeks ago. I'd heard mixed reviews from a few people who liked it and some who didn't, so I was curious to see what side I'd be on. Luckily, I was on the positive end of the spectrum! I thought it was great!

When we arrived, we were seated in a high-top bar table near the front window. I liked that we had a window seat, but I wasn't crazy about the high-top table. The chairs were incredibly uncomfortable; Lauren and I both fidgeted in our seats for several minutes trying to find a comfortable position. Also, we saw two people slip and fall off their bar stools. The bottoms are realllly slippery! So if you go....be careful!

We started off with the Pane e Formaggio (cheesy bread). This was a loaf of delicious bread, sliced and stuffed with lots and lots of garlic, fontina cheese (one of my favorites), and a great mix of Italian spices. This was absolutely delicious! The outside was crunchy and crispy with all the toppings, and the inside was soft and warm. I would highly recommend this....but only if you're not on a diet. ;)


Next, we got our entrees. I ordered the Bucatini, which is a thick, spaghetti-like pasta that has a teeny tiny hole through the center. The bucatini came with guanciale (Italian bacon), frisee, in a white wine, garlicky sauce. This dish was amazing but very, very rich. I couldn't finish it all because it was so rich. I'm not complaining because it was excellent, but it would have been better to split. 


My friend Lauren ordered the mushroom ravioli, which was also very delicious.It was stuffed with mushrooms and then topped with a mushroom sauce. Lauren was nice enough to share with me, and I loved this dish too.


The next time you're in the mood for Italian, I would definitely recommend Enoteca Emilia. Good service, good food and a fun location!

~Kris

Food: 4
Service: 4.5 
Overall Experience: 4  

Enoteca Emilia on Urbanspoon

Monday, November 7, 2011

Review: Japp's

I really enjoy going down to Over-the-Rhine and trying out some of the new bars and restaurants that are popping up around the area.  One place that I went to over the summer and recently wanted to try again is Japp's.  This is a lounge on Main St. in the OTR area that has a great selection of specialty drinks, coffee, and bottled craft beers.

The inside of Japp's is really unique looking.  The focal point is an old wooden bar with big, comfy bar stools, and a wall of tables. You could go with a small group, a couple friends, or even by yourself.  It gives me a 1920s, swanky feel with soft music in the background to add to the ambiance.

Japp's was opened by Molly Wellmann who is a master of mixology.  The two times I have been there she has made the most fabulous mixed drinks.  She makes the syrups , fresh made juices, and other fresh ingredients daily.  She was voted best mixologist in Cincinnati in 2010 and her personality is truly warm and inviting.  As soon as we walked in the door, she greeted us with a bright smile and hello.  We recently went on a Thursday night with our friends Anne and Ryan.  It wasn't terribly busy, but the bar seats were almost full and another table was occupied by a group of guys.  The clientele is very diverse at Japp's.  Anne noted that this is a place she could bring friends or her parents and everyone would be comfortable.

I wasn't sure what I was in the mood for, but I knew that if I just told Molly some things I like and don't like she would concoct something delicious.  I told her that I don't really care for lemon, and I pretty much like any liquor.  She was very enthusiastic and said she "knew just what to make me."  The drink came in a cute little glass and appeared small, but it was plenty.  I hope I get this right, but I believe she told me this was a mix of fresh squeezed orange juice, gin, cherry liqueur, absinthe, and orange rind.  Needless to say, this was strong but very good!  It was really unique with a nice hint of citrus.  I believe my drink was $5 or $6.

Anne and Ross went for a special drink Molly had made that day.  It was warm apple cider with bourbon and a fresh made butter pecan syrup.  I tried this and thought it was delicious!  I would go back to have this again on a chilly Fall night.  It was $7 a glass.

Ryan went with a craft beer that he said was good.

If you haven't made it down to Japp's, you definitely go give it a try.  It's a great place to go for a drink before or after dinner, and there are plenty of places to park nearby.  Check out the website and information on Molly to get more details!
~Kate

Drinks: 5
Service: 4.5 (It can take a bit of time for a drink, due to them being specially made, so if you don't want to wait a couple minutes for a drink, you may not like that; it's worth the wait though!)
Overall Experience: 5

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Recipe: Pepper Jack & Bacon Grilled Cheese

This is a recipe that my husband will request from time to time.  I used to make it more often, but hadn't in awhile, so when Ross asked to have it for dinner on a recent night, I thought it was a great idea!

This is a very simple twist on the traditional grilled cheese:

Ingredients:  Serving 2
Bread (pick your favorite, I used wheat this date because I had it on hand, but anything would work)
4 slices of pepper jack cheese
4-6 slices of bacon
1 avocado
1 tomato
1tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. honey
butter

Directions:
First, if you are using real bacon, you would want to cook your bacon.  I just picked up some pre-made turkey bacon, so I just had to pop it in the microwave for a couple seconds.
Slice your tomato into however many slices you would like.  I typically use about 3-4 small slices of tomato per sandwich (I used Roma tomatoes).  Slice your avocado.  Next, mix together the honey and mayo.  Now, it's time to assemble your sandwich!

I butter each side of bread.  Then I spread a bit of the honey/mayo mixture on the other side.  Top with one slice of cheese, two tomatoes, bacon then avocado; then add rest of tomato and other slice of cheese.  Spread a little more of honey/mayo on other piece of bread.  Last, you can grill this in a pan on your stove top like a traditional grilled cheese, use a grill pan and grill it on a grill pan, or use a panini maker if you have one.  I have a panini maker so I used that this time because it's pretty easy.

These turned out pretty great! It's such a great mixture of flavors. I love the sweetness of the honey, the sharpness from the cheese, and the smokiness of the bacon.  Ross didn't like the turkey bacon, yes, I know it's not as good, but it was fast and better for you.  I thought it was fine!  So if you want a change to the typical grilled cheese this is a great sandwich to try!
~Kate