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?

cincitalia!

st. catharine reinvented their annual parish festival this year, morphing it into cincitalia. as you may imagine, the festival now carries an italian theme and features "taste of italy" food purveyors, italian dancers, a wine bar, and a healthy dose of dean martin tunes crooning in the background.

yesterday afternoon the crowd was still light when we paid our $1 admission and began walking through harvest home park. brian, of course, went straight for the beer booth (always a huge moneymaker at a catholic festival), and i wandered through the staple festival diversions; split the pot, honey-baked ham chances, etc. the taste of italy alley included noce's (mmm...), pompilio's, gabby's cafe, dolce vita gelato, and larosa's. promised on the schedule were cooking demonstrations by these restaurants, including buddy larosa, but we weren't able to find where the demonstrations were taking place (ok, we didn't look that hard). we grabbed some food and settled ourselves in the tent to enjoy the music, which covered everything from standards by the pete wagner band to opera.

taste of italy booths

the wine bar and la societa fuscaldese femminile selling delicious baked goodies

bruschetta prepared from a recipe in the san antonio church cookbook (which i did not buy but wish i had). satisfying, not overtly garlicky.

red, green, and white cupcakes made by some old italian lady who clearly rocks

we very much relished the efforts of our parish to distinguish itself in the multitude of cookie-cutter parish festivals. hopefully the venture is successful and only continues to expand in coming years.

a new addiction

one saturday morning, about a month ago, a miracle happened. i woke up and didn't want to throw up. which was perfect timing; that evening we were scheduled to go to quatman's (i guess officially named quatman cafe) for brian's birthday.

we've been wanting to hit up quatman's for some time, since the debate still rages about who has the best burger in cincinnati. we love terry's turf club and were anxious to see if quatman's measured up.

the quatman's experience is the polar opposite of terry's. no cramped dining area (although it probably gets pretty tight when all the tables are full), no hour long wait for a table, no bazaar of neon lights (just a miller lite sign and a burger beer pendant lamp over a corner table), no peanut shells on the floor, no foie gras option to top the burger. the only similarities i saw were limited menus and food served up on paper plates.

the first thing brian got excited about was that they have hudy delight AND moerlein on tap. i think that scenario might play heavily into brian's idea of heaven. i was impressed they had caffeine free coke. i'm simple to please. miller lite in a can please. any domestic you would like is available.

now for the main event. we all ordered cheeseburgers (brian ended up ordering a second) and fries. as you can see in the photo, simple presentation with only pickles and onion. bottles of ketchup and mustard are on the table. there is a delicious elegance in the burger's simplicity. i think that's what makes me want to return (and we did, just two weeks later). as much as i like a variety of options sometimes i just need simpe.

i recall that when we wrote about terry's, someone had commented about quatman's no frills burger being superior. i had said at the time i preferred burgers all souped up with sauces and toppings, but now i might be eating my words. cause quatman's burger is damn good, without getting sequins in my eyes.

we've already been back again, when eric's birthday rolled around last weekend. yep and he had two burgers that time. i admit i wanted another, but i'm watching my figure.

terry's is a wild spectacular circus, a bit of the old razzle dazzle, while quatman's is hanging out in the backyard playing cornhole. i've only been to the circus once, but i hang out in backyards almost every weekend. before we wrote this we had exchanged a few emails. it went something like this. i think i am addicted to quatmans. me too. are you free saturday? alright quatmans at 6.

another nice thing about quatmans is that two people can have a pitchers of beer, 2 cans of beer, and 2 burgers and fries and ITS ONLY $25!!!! the norwood paper even has a coupon for $1 off.

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.

food as a weapon?

in chillicothe, i don't have TV. i mean, i have a tv, but no channels. so i've been spending my downtime recently catching up on oscar-nominated films (up in the air, the blindside) and tv-on-dvd. i am fairly obsessed with glee. in fact, i'm embarassed to admit how many times i have watched the dvds. even all the sex and violence in true blood could not divert my attentions from the mesmorizing saccharinity and sly humor which is glee.

my point? since the glee kids are living in the sub-basement of the high school hierarchy, they are frequently accosted with slushie baths.

granted, i have not been in high school for some time, but i don't recall ever being drenched in high fructose corn syrup or smacked in the face with hostess cupcakes. and, as you may well imagine, i was fairly nerdy. i don't even remember a food fight.

maybe it was the omnipotence of catholic educators and the baby jesus that discouraged this behavior. hell, to this day i'm still afraid to deviate from the sidewalk and cut across the grass. maybe it was single sex education. perhaps the barbarianism of boys dictates food be projected into another's face as a warning against those who diverge from the herd. (elder alums, care to weigh in?)

did anyone else experience this phenomenon? and, whether it's throwing eggs or purple slushies, why is food the new scarlet letter?

cod and god 2010

ok, so i have been quite the slacker this year when it has come to the fish fry. getting home late on friday nights from chillicothe has not helped my cause. as easter is rapidly approaching, it seems unlikely i will be able to analyze a large sample size this year. i only have comments to offer on one westside fry: st. martin's.

and, i have only one thing to say about it.

the right amount of grease is a good thing.

the wrong amount leads to two people throwing away their fish fry dinners from st. martin's. the fish was batter dipped and so greasy it soaked through the bread. the fish inside the batter dipping was overcooked and falling apart. brian said the mac and cheese wasn't even good.

the next day we were shopping and i kept wondering what this horrible smell was. finally, it dawned on me that the smell was eminating from brian's jacket, which he had worn while waiting in line 20minutes for our fish the night before. grease odor marinating on a fleece jacket did not improve my opinion of our experience.

sorry, st. martin's, but you disappointed me.

wal-mart wine?

people who pay attention more than me have probably heard this, but i was appalled to learn on my drive to work this morning that wal-mart is producing its own wine with the assistance of ernest and julio gallo. the goal is to produce inexpensive, accessible wine for the masses. price point of $2-$5/bottle.

my initial reaction to this is revulsion. i must ask myself, why? is it my innate loathing for the evil empire of wal-mart? my wonderment at the reasoning behind having to reduce everything to the lowest common denominator? worry that it might actually be palatable?

and what's wrong with them just carrying some two buck chuck?