a night out in newport

awhile back, veggie option offered to satiate my curisosity and take me to the crazy fox for some absinthe. last week we were finally able to meet up.

we had dinner at the pepper pod, a classic greasy spoon on monmouth in newport.

unfortunately, the table juke boxes no longer work. we figured, based on the selections, they stopped working sometime in the 80s.

salisbury steak slathered with gravy, mac and cheese, fries - all for $5.50! it was pretty much what one would expect. note the shine on the gravy.on to the crazy fox. it was a pretty low key crowd, but it was a wedensday. veggie said on weekends it can get pretty packed, especially if there's a band.

the crazy fox has a sense of humor about itself

we had a blanche and a verte absinthe, i cannot remember the names. i believe, from what i've read, that it was prepared in the classic french absinthe ritual. basically, a flat, perforated absinthe spoon is laid across the rim of the glass, and a cube of sugar is placed on the perforated area of the spoon. the sugar is used to balance the bitter taste of the wormwood. ice cold water is dripped into the absinthe from a small pitcher. this very slow and gradual addition of the water forms the heart of the absinthe ritual, and is done with or without the sugar.

it is desirable for absinthe to gradually demonstrate increasing turbidity or turn partially translucent as ice water is gradually added to it, known as the louche effect. the louche effect is primarily produced by the herbs anise and fennel, and the precipitation of the herbal essential oils. (reference here)

the louche effect in all its glory

my first glass of absinthe

i have to say, the absinthe smelled much better than it tasted. it smelled subtly of anise, but the actual flavor was much more pronounced. it also became significantly more potent as it warmed to room temperature while veggie and i gabbed about everything from fresh popcorn to traveling abroad. i liked the licorice flavor; it was like jagermeister with the frat boy removed (beth's paraphrasing of my description). definitely more refined and complex than jager, it is still not really something i ever see myself drinking a lot of. i barely had a third of the glass and was beginning to feel warm and tingly. oscar wilde is quoted as saying of absinthe, "after the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. after the second, you see things as they are not. finally, you see things as they really are, which is the most horrible thing in the world.” regrettably, i don't even think i could drink enough to see things as i wish they were.

i did have a fab time hanging out with veggie option, even if absinthe didn't make my list of favorite liquors. maybe next time i'll try it in a cocktail, like the chrysanthemum.

cloudy with a chance of meatballs

did anyone else love this book when they were a kid? such a creative story, and what a fantasy. can you imagine all the food you ate everyday just falling from the sky at the appropriate time?it was absolutely one of my favorites, especially the part where things start to go haywire and it does nothing but rain cream cheese and jelly sandwiches all day (another childhood favorite - cream cheese, strawberry jelly, and bananas on pumpernickel). well, they have made it into a movie, and people, it's 3-D! i saw my first preview for it today, before up (a great 3-4 kleenex pixar endeavor). it looks like they changed the plot a bit, save the food falling from the sky. we'll see. it opens fall this year.

first watch: a brief review

this is pretty much the most boring review ever. first watch - it's good. it's consistent. they bring a huge pot of coffee to the table so there is no wait for refills. why not personally a caffeine addict, i can appreciate that convenience because i am a water drinker and they also bring a pitcher of water.

i always order either the key west crepe or the chicken salad melt. they are reliable. the sourdough toast and breakfast potatoes are good.

i don't feel the need to describe anything there in glowing terms laced with stunning adjectives. the food doesn't deserve it. "good" is the most appropriate descriptor. and unlike some other restaurants mentioned previously (ahem. montgomery inn.), the crowds around first watch on sunday morning (and every other day of the week) are completely justified.

sorry so unimaginative. i don't even have pictures to jazz it up.

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.

tastes like chicken

i am a picky chicken eater. i hardly ever order it out because it is usually 1) dry or 2) full of those little chicken tendrils that are sinew-y and nasty.
but, the silver spring house proclaims to be the chicken joint. it says so right on the sign. and they have been declared "best chicken" by cincinnati magazine. it says so right on the menu. so i decided to give the tender, amish-raised, marinated in citrus juices and spices, grilled to perfection chicken a go. but a chicken dinner with a breast, wing, leg, and thigh is a bit too much chicken for this girl. luckily, there is an ample selection of chicken sandwiches to choose from.

i went with the baja chicken sandwich, which was the famous chicken breast topped with salsa and monterey jack cheese. it was fantastic - juicy, with a lack desecration by sinew. literally cooked to perfection. now that's truth in advertising. the sweet potato fries were also delicious. not too sweet. even the pickles were good. brian got the actual chicken dinner, with a salad (!) and fries. he ate every last bit. of the chicken, at least.mark's heart shaped buffalo chicken sandwich. jenn had the chicken (are we noticing a theme here?) taco salad, which is clearly enormous.also noteworthy were these amazing loaded wedges, yes, that's ranch you see drizzled on there. a cardiovascular surgeon's delight; job security.there were a few cons to our silver spring house experience, however. first, the place was absolutely packed. i guess that's to be expected at the best chicken joint in cincinnati, but it was also very loud. don't go if you actually want to converse with the people you're with. additionally, i guess because they were so busy, jenn had to ask our server three times for a glass of water. which she finally brought when i asked for a fourth time. she never came by to refill either.

next, the following picture speaks for itself.finally, exhibit c is the quesadilla. we chose to order it without chicken (~$13), so basically we paid $8 for a tortilla with melted cheese inside. we thought there would at least be tomatoes or jalapenos or something extra than what we could create in a microwave in 30 seconds. not so much. the salsa was tasty, though.

bottom line: if you've got a hankerin' for some chicken, hit up the silver spring house. just expect that other people had the same idea.

butter art

i just thought this was cute. why can't there be more butter art? (i mean, besides big butter christ on I-75)

break out your blowtorch

i'm on a martha stewart kick, and i like desserts that involve fire. my friend elisa, an accomplished baker, adapted this martha stewart recipe to make a s'mores cake, using a springform pan. (when she sent me the email with the recipe link, she wrote "Ok, so I didn't know that "she" had anything to do with it!")

mountains of marshmellow-y goodness, slightly runny because of the heat

elisa is from minnesota, so no pansy williams-sonoma kitchen torch for her. this is a hardware store version, directly from her dad's garage. besides flaming marshmellow on s'mores cakes, it also comes in handy for soldering pipes.
we each got to toast our own marshmellow to desired browness. mmm....campfire flavor on a plate!