westside bar crawl by cincinnati imports

all,
please come hang out on my home turf. it's safe and fun. a friend visiting from florida once said it reminded him of key west. honest.

cincinnati imports is hosting the swingin' good time this friday, may 15th.

here's the breakdown (copy and pasted):
Bar 1: Luckey’s Irish Pub (A)
Location: 3722 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211, 513-662-9222
Time: 7:00 pm
Drink specials: $0.50 off all drinks

Bar 2: 2nd Street Saloon (B)
Location: 3703 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211; 513-389-1900
Time: 8:00 pm
Drink specials: $3.25 Jeremiah Weed Lemonade (sweet tea vodka and lemonade), $1.50 16 ounce domestic drafts

Bar 3: Cheviot Sports Tavern (C)
Location: 3613 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211; 513-661-9464
Time: 9:00 pm
Drink specials: $1.50 domestic drafts

Bar 4: Rootie’s (D)
Location: 3609 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211; 513-481-0200
Time: 10:00 pm
Drink specials: TBD

Bar 5: Black Sheep (E)
Location: 3807 North Bend Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45211; 513-481-6300
Time: 11:00 pm
Drink specials: TBD
Food: $2.00 pizza slices and snacks
Band/Music: Less than Zero and DJ

hope to see you!!

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.

habanero

after driving around clifton trying to decide what ethnic taste sensation we should indulge in, my friend jessie and i settled on habanero. neither of us had ever tried it before, so we thought we'd give it a go.

waiting in line, i glanced around and saw the banner broadcasting them as the best burrito in cincinnati, as determined by citysearch. that was promising. they were also cooking up some chicken on the grill and hand slicing it. very nice touch.

i ordered the tofu tango burrito and jessie the chicken quesadilla.

my burrito was stuffed with pinto beans, rice, and fire-roasted corn salsa, sprinkled with the occasional eggplant or tofu. it was spicy, but all i tasted was heat, not flavor. i ended up dumping out the contents and eating them with a fork rather than maintain the burrito wrap.the plate was overflowing with chips, and the chips were quite tasty. however, the salsa was, well, weird. i can't put my finger on the flavor - maybe it was the smoky tomato? it wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't exactly good either.jessie, a self-proclaimed avid quesadilla eater, rated her dish a "c". she said it tasted dry.

our favorite thing? the gucamole, not pictured because it was quickly consumed.

i think i would go back for some chips and guc and to give one of their margaritas a try, but overall it was not a meal i am eager to repeat.

just a pic

as referenced in several posts by krissy, liz and liberal foodie here is a picture of dinner that night.

before there was vegas, there was newport, ky

WARNING: shameless plug!

explore newport's murky past on a historic walking tour. see the casinos, murder sites, and major locations that gave newport a national reputation while hearing true stories of the town's colorful history.

all proceeds from this event will go to support international service trips to central america. this year, the group from lloyd memorial high school in northern kentucky will be traveling to jamaica to work in a school. money raised from this event helps the group purchase supplies and digital equipment for the school.

go here for more information and tickets.

addendum 5/10/09: i've just learned that anyone who attends this walking tour will receive a coupon from the syndicate for a free steak dinner when two or more dine.

what do you feed a foodie?

as related by liberal foodie and get in mah belly, i had the absolute pleasure of hosting them and beth (and our husbands) for dinner last week. of course, i had anxiety about what i should serve. what do you make for people who actually like food, and don't just eat it to survive? i stuck to some tried and true dishes to alleviate the anxiety. sorry, i'm a wuss when i have to make food for other people to eat.

first, i decided to make an easy appetizer: radish-chive "tea sandwiches" (whatever that means)
1/4 cup butter at room temp
3 tbs minced chives, divided
1 tbs toasted sesame seeds (just toss for a few minutes in a hot skillet)
3/4 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 tsp sesame oil
16 1/4-inch-thick baguette slices
10 radishes, thinly sliced

mix butter, 2 tbs chives, sesame seeds, ginger, and oil in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. spread butter mixture over each bread slice. top with radishes, overlapping slightly. sprinkle with remaining chives.

i am a huge fan of pork. it is one of my favorite meats (along with turkey). i feel like you have to love something to be able to prepare it well. so for the main course, i decided on our family's special occasion (puts in appearances on christmas eve and birthdays) pork tenderloin teriyaki.

marinade, per 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin:
4 tbs soy sauce (i used tamari)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp light brown sugar
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp ground ginger

combine it all and marinate the pork for your desired amount of time. i slice the pork pre-marinating and put it all in a ziploc for the day (refrigerated, of course). you can cook the pork under the broiler or on the grill as you see fit. just a few minutes on each side. i don't use a thermometer; i use the juice-is-clear-it-must-be-cooked method.

i also made a greek salad, which i was thinking the whole time i was eating it didn't taste quite right. the next morning, i realized when i opened the refrigerator it was because my dumbass forgot to add the feta. oh well.

all in all, it was a wonderful evening with great food and great conversation. can't wait to do it again.

blast from the past

i must start this post by saying i do not drink pop. maybe once a month. maybe. if i really need a mcdonald's fountain coke or i go to frisch's and get a vanilla coke.
but i had to try throwback pepsi, made with natural sugar instead of the dreaded high fructose corn syrup. my first taste made me think of diet pepsi, only without the super-nasty aftertaste. that diety-taste disappeared, though, with the second taste. i pronounce the throwback pepsi positively delightful. and it tastes pretty good from a can.

since i am more a coke girl than a pepsi girl, i really hope they make throwback coke. i have been told the reason why coke in a glass bottle tastes so much better is because it has cane sugar and not corn syrup. however, i inspected this the other day and found the bottled coke does have high fructose corn syrup. so it's amazing taste remains a mystery.