shameless plug: queen city underground tour

this weekend, whether or not you opt to venture to the taste of cincinnati, take some time to check out the queen city underground tour just a few blocks up. brought to you by the same guys who established the newport gangster tour, this new tour includes an expedition deep under the streets of OTR.

cost is $15, with all proceeds benefitting global service learning. tours meet at mica.

lavomatic

being way behind the times, i finally made it to lavomatic for a late lunch/early dinner with some girlfriends. the patio was relaxing and lovely for a leisurely meal.

it took me some time to decide what to order as everything sounded appealing. i finally settled on the double decker with turkey, guyere cheese, and aioli.the bread was fantastic. it was crusty without being difficult to bite or chew and had a slight honey flavor. the greens were fairly fresh. the rest of the sandwich, however, was a disappointment. the turkey was nothing special (said on the menu it was smoked, but i wasn't tasting it) and the aioli was more like mediocre mayonnaise. and the cheese - cheese should make everything taste better, but the edges of my guyere were translucent and hard, like it had been left out of the fridge too long. it was kind of sweaty, too. overall, i guess it was fine, although i don't know if i would have been more discriminating if i wasn't starving.

dessert was better. several options caught my eye (i'm totally a sugar whore), but the pineapple upside down cake won the sweet tooth battle. great balance of sweetness and crispy edged cake. it can't be seen in the photo, but paired with the cake and ice cream was an apple compote-like sidecar, which i didn't understand and didn't feel added anything to the dish.

for a restaurant offering such a cool, hip image, the experience was merely ordinary. what was particularly telling for me was the lack of attention to detail. not only was my cheese questionable and sandwich sloppily made, the lime wedge in my water seemed to be left from the previous night's bar stock and could not be coaxed to release juice. is it so much to ask for a fresh lime?

morton's wine tasting

we attended a wine tasting at Morton's as a preview of the "evening with charles krug" benefit occurring later this month. the wine tasting on april 21st benefits the make a wish foundation. i recognize a wine tasting is not the optimal place for a pregnant woman, but i couldn't pass up the invitation and the chance to hobnob with fellow bloggers wine me, dine me, 5chw4r7z and don't call me mrs, the hoperatives, and my wine education (the last two, interestingly, are blocked by the VA net nanny).

The four of us attended (krissy, me - beth, eric and brian). krissy was able to enjoy the food and unfortunately only sniff the wine. neither krissy and i have been writing much (who are we kidding - i'm not the biggest writer here to begin with!) and thought that this even sounded like fun and a good way to get back into the swing of things.

the thing about writing this post that i struggle with is that i'm not overly informed on wine. i know good wine and i know bad wine. rather, i know what i like and i don't like. i'm not always able to find the flavors/smells unless someone is pointing them out to me. as someone who has been known to enjoy some pretty low class chilled wines on a summer evening, i agree with beth. i just know what i like, and if i happen to like it paired with a twinkie, who cares?

the first course was was a mini crab cake, endive with blue cheese, and tuna tartare with tomato and avocado. (shown below). i have to say i'm not a huge seafood person -- what that means is that i'm willing to try anything once or twice but don't really prefer it (and rarely order it in a restaurant). i enjoyed the crabcake and the tuna tartare. i probably wouldn't have even known that i was eating tuna if i hadn't been told. i never knew this about beth, but apparently she doesn't like cucumber because it was left on her plate. i only ate the crabcake, which was fine, but had kind of a funny texture for a crab cake. probably due to the fact i am used to eating cheap crab cakes with lots of breadcrumbs and fillers rather than lots of crab. i could take or leave the cucumber, but to be completely honest, it was left because i wasn't exactly sure how to eat it (and not embarass myself) with the cucmber. so i left it.

it was paired with the sauvignon blac (napa valley). it was described with apple and grapefruit aroma. i noticed it once it was pointed out to me. i really enjoyed this wine because it was very smooth and fresh tasting. i'm looking at eric's tasting notes and his say "yummy". it is recommended that it be paired with fish. it smelled REALLY good. it tasted really good too.

the second course was a mixed field greens topped with grilled colossal shrimp and paired with the chardonnay (carneros) i thought the salad was delicious. the shrimp wasn't rubbery like so often found in landlocked cincinnati. brian commented that the apples were the best part. consequently, that was the only part he ate. i tried the shrimp, thought it was ok and passed the rest to eric who really enjoyed it. i think its funny that brian liked the apples because i didn't think he ate fruits and vegetables (he doesn't really).....i could eat that salad every night and be very very happy. the wine was also good. i recall them describing it as buttery and thinking that was a good description. although i don't know much about white wines i enjoyed both of them very much.


the third course was single cut filet mignon, chive mashed potatoes, and roasted tomatoes stuffed with spinach and shiitake mushrooms. it was paired with cabernet sauvignon. i could have taken a bath in the sauce accompanying the filet. i wanted to lick my plate. the tomato i could done without. it was flat and the spinach overpowering. as for the mashed potatoes, i'm pretty easy to please when it comes to starch, but i prefer a creamier, less pasty version of mashed potatoes. at home i add milk and butter until the starchy dryness is extinct. i liked the potatoes. i agree about the tomatoes. i had high expectations for the tomatoes. the wine was WONDERFUL. i'm pretty sure i drank mine and krissy's. it should be noted that i'm going to try and buy some of this for home. oh yeah, this is the wine i succumbed to and sipped because it smelled so perfect. actually sipped twice, once wasn't enough. i don't usually like reds, cabs in particular, but yum!

the fourth course was was a cheese and fruit plate with goat cheese, gouda, gorgonzola and jersey cow milk cheese. it was paired with a port wine. please note: MOST AMAZING GOAT CHEESE EVER! i abandoned pretext and was eating it with a spoon. i love cheese. i could eat it all day. i haven't had a lot of port wine. when i have, it was with chocolate. i didn't have the same experience with the port and cheese as i did the chocolate (and port) in the past. it may be that i wasn't supposed too.....i would like to learn more about port wines. brian basically took the port as a shot. he really doesn't care for red wines of any sort, and was just trying to swallow quickly as to avoid appearing rude and ungrateful for the wine.

since this was a sampling of what is to come i would have to say anyone who partipates in the funraiser will eat good food, drink good wine and enjoy socialzing with the staff at morton's. all staff were very welcoming. plus participants get to hang out with peter mondavi, jr, and harass him with questions about enology and viticulture. the evening includes bidding on an exclusive 27-liter bottle of charles krug, vintage select 2006 cabernet sauvignon. i really don't know how anyone can be expected to pour from a bottle that large, but it's not something i have to worry about. the last bottle of this magnitude was auctioned off for $27,000, clearly out of my price range.

post graduation celebration: morton's

you may not realize this, but there are not a lot of restaurants open late-night (after 10pm) downtown on a tuesday. since i wasn't really feeling up to bootsy's after sweating in a polyester graduation gown for 4 hours, the fam and i headed up to morton's for their $5 bar bites.

i didn't get photos of everything; there were a lot of little plates floating around the table. but here are some highlights.

bleu cheese fries. the fries were just fine by themselves, but the bleu cheese takes the decadence up a notch. well-played.

bleu cheese and bacon can murder any healthy aspect of a salad. this twist on a classic wedge salad was cool and satisfying. the lettuce was very crisp and fresh. the crunch contrasted nicely with the gooey bleu cheese. i kind of wanted to lick the plate.

mini-food never gets old. so cute, so tiny. it's like you've eaten nothing at all, especially not a cheeseburger. i actually liked these more than the petit filet mignon sandwiches, which i felt had too high of a bun to meat ratio. the depressing part of the whole evening was that even though brian's and my food was a mere $15, our bill was over $50. the culprit? you guessed it. $13.50 champagne cocktails (fabulous, by the way) and a $5.50 miller lite. alcohol will get you every time.

a night out downtown

very unfortunately we are losing our good friends jenn and mark to the great state of wisconsin (really, guys? what's there besides cheese and the packers? oh, ok, i guess mark's family, but whatever). what an excellent excuse for a dinner downtown with no-holds-barred drinking. the location? nada.

caipirinhas and mojitos all around

the caipirinhas are fabulous. ok, i don't have any basis for comparison, but i like them an awful lot, especially the passion fruit. and i just feel hip drinking them in such a swanky, happenin' place like nada.

my spanish lesson for the evening was that "dos equis" means "2 x's", not "2 horses". i began to wonder what the 2 x's are for. porn rating? did the original brewer have 2 ex-wives? no. the beer was originally named siglo xx, to celebrate the dawning of the 20th century. the name was changed after the turn of the century.

slider topped with tiny mexican flag

tacos

fantastically delicious sopes

tinga poblana

all the food was incredible, especially the short rib sopes. the meat was so tender and flavorful. no stringiness! nada is a satisfying experience every time i visit. their desserts are also quite wonderful. brian and i shared the chocolate cake topped with bananas foster gelato (mmm...) and jenn and mark had the churros.

warm chocolate cake

looks like bacon, but, nope, those are churros

as we meandered around fountain square after dinner, our nostrils caught the ripe and rich scent of horse manure.i have lived in cincinnati my whole life and never taken a carriage ride through downtown. and you know what? it's fun. our driver, fred, was sporting wrangler jeans and was a wealth of information about the buildings in downtown. his carriage softy played a soundtrack of louis armstrong and we cruised through the city pulled by oreo, the aptly named horse (if i'm not mistaken, that's caballo in spanish. look how much i've learned!).

oreo and jenn make up, shortly after he blew snot all over her arm

the boathouse

i literally have no idea why the montgomery inn at the boathouse is so popular. we were there friday before our final playhouse performance of the season, and it was a veritable who's who in cincinnati - oscar robertson, the hamilton county coroner (don't ask, brian recognized him), the real housewives of indian hill, and us.

everytime i go to the boathouse i expect to have a gastronomical epiphany, and i will suddenly understand the spellbinding capabilities of the montgomery inn barbeque sauce. but alas, this most recent excursion did not lead to enlightenment.

we arrived promptly for our 6pm reservations, but unfortunately jenny and john had babysitter issues and were running late. at the boathouse, no one is seated until the entire party arrives. this left brian and i hanging out at the bar, people watching. the boathouse does provide an excellent opportunity for sociological study while sipping a $3 happy hour martini (the lemon one. not very good. reminiscent of pledge.).

we were finally settled at an awesome table right by the window, which john commented would be a great view if it wasn't the ohio river we were seeing. our server was really wonderful and very personable. the crostini appetizer arrived promptly at our table.this was actually my favorite part of the meal. the bread was crisp, the bleu cheese a nice blend with the other cheeses. a nice, light start to the meal.

i decided to jump in and order the smokehouse trio of sandwiches. while not montgomery inn's famous ribs, the tiny sandwiches could give me an idea of the inn's flavors without requiring a bib. mac and cheese on the side, of course.i ate the pulled pork. it was ok. the sauce was a little sweet, but what i expected. the brisket i ate half of; it just wasn't as tender as i would like and if it had any smokey flavor, it was totally obscured by the sauce.finally, the chicken. i only had one bite of it and that was enough. while the sauce on the pork was tolerable, on the chicken it was unbearably sweet. that sandwich was quicly transferred to brian's plate, as was the rest of the mac and cheese. the mac and cheese was just ok and i couldn't see any reason to continue eating it.

brian thought he had died and gone to heaven when he saw this dessert on the menu. he was still talking about it the next day.the strawberry shortcake was decent. the shortcake was a little hard, but the strawberries were fresh.

overall, i felt the same as i always have after a meal at montgomery inn, the champions of mediocrity. so, can anyone please explain to me the attraction of the boathouse? i feel like i'm missing something.

boycotting pill prom

i would like to share a little known fact. being in pharmacy school is exactly like being in high school. there is girl drama, there are people sleeping with each other's steadies, there are the plastics, and there is a formal. affectionately known to the student body as "pill prom", this event features music and an open bar. a dangerous combination. i heard that this year, the first year students all got drunk and were puking in the bathroom sinks. gross.

that is why a discriminating group of us decided to boycott and enjoy our own night out. we hit up palomino for dinner and twist for drinks. we had a great time. much better than being around sink-puking bubblegummers. i'm too old for that shit.

dinner at palomino really consisted of a barrage of cocktails and appetizers. the smoked pork belly pictured below was terribly delicious. surrounded by lamb sausage, fingerling potatoes, caramelized fennel, and mustard aïoli, the whole thing was perfectly harmonious. two thumbs up.

the mojitos and lavendar cosmopolitians put in quite a showing at our table. i've had palomino's mojito in the past and was not really crazy about it, but a number of others at the table sang their praises. my personal favorite is the lavendar cosmo. my fingers may get sticky, but i sure do love them.there are not pictures of the other things we enjoyed, including the cambozola cheese plate with garlic (totally not enough cheese) and prosciutto brick oven pizza. several reasons for lack of photos, including, but not limited to, the battery dying on my camera and too many cocktails. everything was good, but i do have to say, i wish palomino offered a more diverse bread selection. they have the foccacia, which is soft and flavorful, and the pizza crisps (which double as pizza crust) which are super thin and kind of flavorless.
for dessert, we shared the bread pudding (divine, the one bite i had) and the chocolate torte. the accompanying strawberries were ridiculously good. brian thought the chocolate torte was "very tasty, rich, good with ice cream". i thought it was ok.
my palomino fortune card was very appropriate. (and slightly out of focus)

where have all the nachos gone?

dear great american ballpark,

i am writing to let you know how much i truly enjoy all you have brought to the cincinnati reds. you offer charming vistas and a scoreboard game involving skyline three-ways.

it sure was super nice of you this year to offer hot dogs for $1. i almost thought about waiting in line, but decided i needed to eat before i chewed my arm off.

i applaud the return of the fantastical onion dispensers and goetta dogs. i am happy you also got a clue and started selling nacho cheese at the same stand with the soft pretzels. my "pretzelzilla" was quite attractive, with slightly sweet dough and not too much salt.

however, i have to ask, what in the hell are you trying to pass off as nachos? pre-packaged quarter-sized chips with a cup of plasticky room temperature cheese? the vacuum sealing must have sucked all the flavor out. the chips looked anemic.

above is what real nachos at the ballgame should look like. and i shouldn't have to tramp around the whole f-ing stadium looking for them. believe it or not, some people actually go to the ballgame to see baseball and would appreciate readily available, edible refreshments. not crap in a shiny wrapper for $6.75. i could smuggle these in and save myself 5 bucks.

thank you for your time and consideration.

what in the hell is rapini?

beth and i went to bootsy's saturday night for a bachelorette party. i will share with you the notes i scribbled to retain the experience despite my alcohol-clouded mind.
what in the hell is rapini? - cousin of broccoli

elderflower mojito

exotic spanish flatbread = pigs in a blanket [direct quote from beth]

c(s?)eviche

duck tacos = fucking amazing [direct quote from amy]

when we turn 50, let's get drunk in private [general consensus]

those were my basic impressions of the big top circus that is bootsy's.
the menu is eclectic, pretentious, unexpected, (beth, add your adjectives, too!) i have to admit when i looked at it online i was thinking to myself, i'm never going to find something that i want since i don't eat seafood (of any variety). oddly when i was there i wasn't having trouble at all in fact had to think about what i wanted to select in stead. ok that's far fewer adjectives than krissy wanted but more my thoughts on the menu.

the delicious and refreshing elderflower mojito. my sister has sworn to me that when she drinks st. germain (the elderflower liqueur), she tastes the mountains. my experience was not quite so transcendental, but it was good. it was good. i sampled. twice in fact. i would drink it but probably wouldn't be my first choicepotatoes espana. glorified french fries, and the "ketchup" (aioli) was excellent. nice texture and spiciness. i believe i heard someone say i plan to lick the bowl once we finish the potatoes since the "ketchup" was so good. again i sampled, i liked. yes, that was me wanting to lick the bowl.

the aforementioned fucking amazing duck tacos. throw cilantro on anything and i'm happy. you think duck and you think taco and you conclude "nah". however that is not true at all. they were wonderful. if i go again i will likely order them.

charcuteria. the meats were good, but the onions (on the bottom, not the ones on the top) were slimy, mushy and not flavorful. not something i would order again.

shrimp seviche with avocado.

sometimes i need simple. hence the ceasar salad (sans anchovies). dressing was good. croutons were really good.

beth's pasta featuring oh-so-tender pork. ok if you go to look for this on the menu you won't find it. the sauce is from one of the seafood dishes. i had asked the server if i could substitute the seafood for chicken (thinking that would be an easy trade) and she suggested getting pork. i figured she knew best so i went along with her suggestion. it was def. a good call. it was, well, very tender, melt in your mouth sort of tender. the combination with the pasta and sauce was a good call much to my surprise.

the service was great. our server was very friendly and down-to-earth. the bathroom was a veritable kaleidoscope. i was glad that it wasn't extremely overpriced as well. when you hear jeff ruby's you think you might be putting out a bit of cash, but all of us left full and not feeling broke either.
bootsy's is definitely the glittery purple suit in cincinnati's closet. whether that's your thing or not is up to you.