Wednesday, June 18, 2008

3 non-westsiders walk into price hill chili...

my friend suzanne is interning this month at bernen's pharmacy on the westside. bernen's window displays featuring pink panther stuffed animals demonstrating the use of convalescent supplies are a westside landmark. i am interning at hart pharmacy, a couple blocks down. in between is mecca, price hill chili. suzanne has never been to phc. that needed to be rectified. after work monday night; suzanne, pete, and riley (all non-native westsiders) met up with brian and i at phc. the first thing i had to point out was all the news articles posted about dick cheney's visit. riley foolishly believes there are more democrats on the westside than eastside. he is going to do research to prove this point. i don't know what he'll find. i can say from personal experience growing up on the westside, if you knew a declared democrat or a protestant, it was like knowing bill cosby.

price hill has quite an extensive complex that has expanded over the years. it now includes the golden fleece lounge, original steam table and dining counter, and a party room, plus all the seating in between. sam, the owner, is usually hanging out by the bar. a popcorn machine in the lounge provides a snack while enjoying beer and waiting for food. the menu also is extensive and encompasses chili, greek salad, salmon, and goetta, to name a few. mac and cheese is available fridays after 4pm, and the noteworthy beef barley soup is only available tuesdays. oh yeah, and they only take cash.

first, we needed a few beers. brian enjoyed a cincinnati favorite, hudy delight. pete sampled some not quite pale ale by magic hat, but switched to hudy delight soon after. phc always provides good food at great prices. i would have to say my favorite thing on the menu is the greek bread appetizer (in background of photo), although sometimes it gets to be pretty salty. i enjoyed a deviation from my normal glt (goetta, lettuce, and tomato) with the landmark - steak hoagy with bacon and cheese.
the double deckers are very generous.


everyone enjoyed their meals. riley is below, trying the pasta with greek sausage and feta. the best treat of all, bernen's surprised us by covering our tab. thanks!!

some people (yes, native westsiders) claim phc does not deserve all the hype. ok, it's not gourmet. it's a neighborhood place with friendly staff, free-flowing beer, and straightforward food. the perfect westside establishment.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice review.

Being from Price Hill I think PHC is a great place but I've never understood the hype. They don't accept credit cards which although might let them keep their prices down makes me think they are stuck in a previous century (not "the" previous century). Lots of much smaller bars and restaurants accept credit cards without a problem.

I used to dislike the Crows Nest at West 8th/Nebraska but later grew to like it... especially their beer prices and selection. It's nothing elaborate but it's around $2.75 for a glass of seasonal Sam Adams or Guinness. No place I'm aware of can beat those prices. Their fish sandwich is hit or miss, although they claim it's the best in the city. I'd have to award that to the Alabama Fish Bar on Liberty (minus the sandwich part...or just supply your own bread).

k said...

i will have to check out the crow's nest...i've always kind of feared it. rumors about rowdy elder boys abound, which makes any good girl stear clear.

also, thanks for the suggestion about the alabama fish bar - that's another one on the list.