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)

culinary tourism

midwest living this month lists the midwest's top five food towns. they are, as listed:
1)madison, wisconsin
2) traverse city, michigan
3) ann arbor, michigan
4) bloomington, indiana (this i totally agree with; you can get any kind of food there, except kosher)
5) des moines, iowa

the magazine then goes on to list 60 other restaurants/eateries "worth the trip". not one is in cincinnati, but there are 3 in dayton. what the hell?

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.