50 West Brewing Company – 04/27/2013 *****

50 West Brewing Company is Cincinnati’s newest craft beer brewery, located east of Mariemont on US Route 50. The atmosphere at 50 West is very laid back. You’ll immediately feel relaxed and welcome as soon as you walk through the door. The wait staff is friendly and knowledgeable. The decor is very English Pub with low ceilings, exposed beams, and dark wood. In the back there’s a cozy sunken dining room with a large wood burning fireplace. With cult classic movies like “Easy Rider” and “Smokey and the Bandit” playing on the flat screen near the bar, and Peter Frampton vinyl spinning on the turntable supplying the tunes, you know you’re in for something special.

There’s a shuffleboard table around the corner for some friendly competitive matches.

Outside in the beer garden are firepits and a small stage for live music. There’s already a summer concert series lined up. The first Friday of the month will feature a musical roadtrip across route 50 with live bands, unique food, and special beer releases. The series ends in September with “Fifty Fest”.

All their beer is brewed on site.

They don’t do any bottling, but you can fill up a growler to take home. Be sure to wear your patriotic boxers when coming in for a fill up!

They have a wide selection of beer varieties from Belgian Ales, IPAs, Brown Ales, Stouts, and seasonal specials. The full beer menu is displayed on chalkboards on the wall. We tried the Coast to Coast IPA, Alternate Route brown ale, and the Coffee Please stout. All were exceptional.  The beers are served in appropriate 50 West branded glassware – either a Pint glass, Tulip Glass, or Pilsner depending on the style of brew.

The food menu is far from traditional Pub fare. Dishes are served Tapas style and you’re encouraged to order several to share. A delicious pub mix of glazed pretzels and wasabi, or sweet Servatii soft pretzels with spicy mustard are complementary while they last. It just keeps getting better!

The Gyro with house beef and lamb topped with tomato, onion, and house tzatziki sauce.

The Smoked Salmon Guacamole with house made spent grain tortilla chips.

The Quinoa Salad with roasted garlic and pepita with asparagus, wild mushrooms, and topped with a poached egg.

The Bruschetta – baguette rubbed with garlic and topped with a puree of fresh peas, house ricotta, and mint.

The Turkey Wings. We could have done without these, as they’re quite large and difficult to eat without making a mess. They’re very spicy buffalo style and don’t really bring anything new to the table you can’t get somewhere else. Doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the dishes.

The C.A.B – A cheddar, apple, and bacon slider.

They also have a few special desserts that aren’t on the menu. First we tried the Waffle with granny smith apples and bourbon infused syrup topped with whipped cream. Excellent!

Next was the Coffee Please Ice Cream float with vanilla bean ice cream and just a hint of bourbon. This was off the charts amazing!

50 West gets a solid 5 out of 5 stars for their fantastic beer brewed on site, relaxed and fun atmosphere, great pub food and entertainment options.
The wait staff may have been a bit understaffed and the kitchen took a while to get dishes out, but that is easily remedied. The brewmaster came out to the dining room on several occasions to check how we were doing, which was great.
All in all, 50 West is really on point and we will certainly be back soon!

http://fiftywestbrew.com/

Zula @ Washington Park – 4/19/2013

Zula Restaurant & Wine Bar is located across from Washington Park in the Over The Rhine arts district.  The decor is modern with inspiring local artwork displayed throughout the restaurant.  They specialize in eclectic tapas dishes, seafood, and Mussels.  The wine and craft beer selections are extensive.  Finding the perfect pairing is not a problem at Zula!

For starters we ordered the Eggplant “Fries” with confectioner sugar and spicy-sour dipping sauce.  They sliced the eggplant into fingerlings and lightly fried them to a crisp.  Wow, this is one of the most creative and delicious eggplant preparations we’ve experienced.  The fries are great alone, or if you want to spice them up the dipping sauce is ultra hot.

Next up is the Bulgarian Feta Flatbread with purple onions, roasted tomatoes, kalmata olives, and fresh oregano.  This could be enjoyed as a meal by itself as it’s about the size of a medium artesian pizza.  The flatbread is toasted in a wood fired pizza oven in Zula’s open kitchen.

Finally to round out the starters we have R-seared Scottish Salmon with avocado, scallions, and citrus-basil vinaigrette.  The salmon is just slightly seared to give it a crispy outer shell and warm it through.  It melts in your mouth, so good.

For the main course we ordered two pots of Mussels.  The first preparation is French Classic Mariniere with white wine shallots, parsley, and garlic.  The second is Funghi with seasonal mushrooms, apple wood smoked bacon, garlic, and cream.  Both pots were savory and steamed just right, hot throughout without being overcooked or chewy.  There’s plenty in each pot and could easily be shared between a party of two or three.  We had to take some home!

On to dessert!  We ordered up a Chocolate Walnut Kahlua Brownie with caramel gelato and a Lemon Verbena & Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with dried fruit compote.  The Brownie was surprisingly mild and not overly sweet.  Just the right balance between soft, sweet, and crunchy.  The Panna Cotta was out of this world.  Possibly one of the best after dinner desserts we’ve ever had.  It’s almost like a firm gelato, but different.  It was ever so slightly sweet with a thin crunchy marzipan cake beneath.  So good!

Zula gets a solid 4 out of 5 stars for their amazingly flavor filled small plates, excellent wine and beer selections, and a clean modern decor.  With more than three times the seating of most locations in OTR there shouldn’t be much trouble getting a table, but they do take reservations via Open Table -  a big plus.  The prices are a bit on the high side when compared with other area restaurants.  The restrooms while clean and tidy are shared with other businesses in the building so they’re completely disconnected in terms of Zula’s atmosphere.  Having private restrooms at this level of establishment should be a given.

http://zulabistro.com/

Cooper’s Hawk Winery @ Easton Town Center – 02/23/2013

Cooper’s Hawk, based out of Chicago, recently opened a new winery and restaurant at Easton Town Center in Columbus, OH and will be breaking ground soon somewhere in the Kenwood suburb of Cincinnati.  They’ve introduced a new concept in dining by creating a signature menu with a selection of dishes designed to pair perfectly with their own privately made Cooper’s Hawk wines.  You won’t find any other brands on their wine list, as they serve the Cooper’s Hawk label exclusively.  With a modern mix of stone, hardwood, glass, and steel the restaurant is quite large with soaring three story ceilings and multiple levels.

The wine is definitely the focus at Cooper’s Hawk. Every dish on the menu is paired with a “Bin” number which corresponds to a recommended selection on the wine list. This makes it easy to pick a complimentary wine to go with your meal. If you want to sample several different wines there are multiple flight options available, or you can create your own flight of four wines.

Their Cooper’s Hawk Red is served straight from the barrel in a specially designed table side decanter. Cool!

Their menu options are vast whether you’re there for lunch, dinner, or late night tapas. There are gluten free, low calorie, carryout, and group catering menu options. For lunch we started off with their award winning Asian BBQ Pork Belly Nachos. The recipe took nearly three months for them to perfect, and it was worth every minute. The slow cooked pork belly melts in your mouth, mmmm.

Their Blue Cheese and Crispy Onion Cheeseburger is a chef specialty that is overloaded with flavor. You better love blue cheese if you order this burger!

The Baby Green salad with their house raspberry dressing came topped with blackened salmon.

If that’s not enough, dig into their Ice Cream Cookie sandwich dessert.

Cooper’s Hawk also has a Wine Club that offers one or two bottles of wine per month, a monthly tasting session for two, dining points toward gift cards, free dinners during your birthday month, and access to invitation only Cooper’s Hawk wine events. Every month features a newly released wine. You can choose to take home this wine or any of their other wines as your monthly choice.

Cooper’s Hawk gets 4 out of 5 stars for their innovative approach to Wine & Dine. Can’t wait for the Cincinnati location to open up in the fall of 2013.

coopershawkwinery.com

Taste Of Belgium on Vine – 2/17/2013

Taste of Belgium waffles are like none other in town. Dense, crispy, sweet, and delicious. Enjoyable on their own but even better as the foundation for a scrumptious brunch. The waffle station is one of our favorite stops at the Cincinnati Zoo’s annual fall Zoo Brew event. Sam Adams beer and Belgium waffles, what more can you ask for!

Taste of Belgium has been a resident of Findlay market for some time and has recently started expanding their footprint in Cincy. In October of 2011 they opened their Bistro location at the corner of Vine and 12th st. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and of course their waffles are on the menu all day long. A full service bar is open late into the night with a variety of beer, wine, spirits and hot espresso.

To turn up the heat on this bitter cold Sunday morning we ordered up a Waffle’n Chicken which comes with the famous Belgium waffle topped with Ohio maple syrup and a huge piece of chicken fried chicken topped with Tabasco sauce. Whew, that’s some spicy chicken! Next up is their Burger & Frites, topped with goat cheese, caramelized shallots and apples, and thick applewood smoked bacon on a house made bun. Winner-winner-chicken-din…err, breakfast!

The bistro serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday, and was recently voted best brunch in town by Metromix. Get there early to get a seat because it gets crowded FAST! Taste of Belgium gets an easy 5 out of 5 stars and adds another +1 to the OTR Gateway Quarter.

http://authenticwaffle.com/

Palomino on Fountain Square – 02/15/2013

Palomino is located in the Macy’s building downtown overlooking Fountain Square.  Considered an Urban Italian restaurant serving a variety of Mediterranean inspired dishes.  We went there for a post Valentine’s day seafood dinner.  There are several seafood selections on their regular menu and we were hoping the daily specials would offer a few more (being a Friday during Lent).  We weren’t disappointed and they offered three more fish and seafood plates.   The atmosphere is elegant and sophisticated and the wait staff are attentive and informative about the dishes.  The views of Fountain Square and the street scape below are entertaining if you’re a people watcher and manage to score a front row table by the windows.

We started off with an appetizer of Brick Oven Roasted Mussels with spicy rosemary butter and crispy garlic bread.  The mussels were perfectly roasted, tender without being chewy, and the spicy dipping sauce was a perfect compliment without being overpowering.  There were plenty of mussels for two to share.

For the dinner entree we chose Asiago-Almond Crusted Scallops with toasted orzo pasta e fagioli, and Fire Roasted Salmon with mashed yukon gold potatoes paired with an Erath Pinot Noir from Oregon.  The scallops were seared and cooked just right, buttery smooth on the inside with the almond crust lending a nice texture.  The salmon didn’t stand out as being exceptional.  Perhaps it could have used blackening vs. the fire roasted preparation.  Though it was filling it wasn’t necessarily satisfying.  The paired Pinot being the highlight of the dish.

There’s a full bar and lounge area if you’re not in the mood for a sit down dinner.  The wine list and beer selection is commendable all be it a bit pricy.  Palomino is actually a chain with several locations throughout the US.  Overall it feels like an overpriced hotel/chain type restaurant with no specific character to connect it with Cincinnati.  Sure it’s nice, and the downtown location is great, but the food could have been better for what they charge.   Overall Palomino gets 3 out of 5 stars.

http://www.palomino.com/

1215 on Vine – 2/8/2013

Since we moved to Cincinnati we’ve been looking for a great coffee cafe, like the one we used to visit during our early dating years.  Someplace you can go on late nights with a great mix of people, an atmosphere that’s cozy but energetic and most importantly serves great java.  We’ve found just that at 1215 Wine Bar and Coffee Lab in Over the Rhine.  Since most of the restaurants in OTR don’t take reservations we often start our night at 1215 while waiting for a table to open up.

We like to order a couple cappuccinos and their meat plate.  You can choose 3 meats from a selection of 5.  This time around we went for the Prosciutto d.Parma, Salami Calabrese, and the Bresaola.  It also comes with bruschetta, honey pecan spread, and a horseradish mustard.  The Prosciutto has a smooth, buttery taste; the Salami a spicy kick; and the Bresaola an earthy cinnamon taste.

Not only is 1215 a great coffee cafe they also have an excellent selection of wine as well as bottled craft beers and a variety of coffee from around the world.  If you want to try some new wines they have a variety of flights that let you sample wines with certain themes.  You get three numbered wines for $12 and have to guess which wine is which from their descriptions.  Flip over the card and see if you guessed right.  The flights rotate seasonally so there’s plenty of opportunity to try something new.  If you’re not much of a coffee or wine drinker you can still get something to take off the edge of winter’s cold, their Mexican Hot Chocolate.  It’s amazing!

Live music usually starts later in the evening.   There’s not many tables and it can fill up quick.  It takes a while to get your check, so plan ahead and don’t be in a rush to get to dinner or a show.  1215 gets an easy 4 out of 5 stars.

https://www.facebook.com/1215WineCoffee

A Tavola on Vine – 2/8/2013

A Tavola is a Bar and Trattoria on Vine st. in Over the Rhine.  The environment is relaxed, casual, and bustling with activity.  The centerpiece of the restaurant is the wood fired pizza oven and open kitchen.  The space is larger than many of the other row house eateries in Over the Rhine, nearly twice as wide which means more tables and less wait time.  You can take a seat at the expansive bar, watch the dough throwers do their magic, grab a table, or sit at a high top near the front windows.  A Tavola translates to “at the table”, and those high tops bring nature’s art straight to your table as solid pieces of oak tree trunk.

Dates, dates, dates….mmm.  We started off with their Dates stuffed with sausage, wrapped in bacon, and topped with house tomato sauce.  Wow, these were probably the best stuffed dates we’ve had anywhere.  The dates were sweet and tender and the sausage had a spicy after kick but not overpowering.

Wood-fired neopolitan pizza is A Tavola’s specialty.  Hand tossed and fresh ingredients you wouldn’t otherwise find in any other pizza joint.  We did a half and half with Fig and Prosciutto with Fontina and Arugula salad on one side and Sausage and Sage with Fontina on the other.  The crumbled spicy sausage again had a spicy after kick to it just like the dates.  An amazing sweet fig jam from the Fig and Prosciutto was used as the base across the whole pizza.  The sweet and salty between the fig and prosciutto was a great combination.  OMG, hands down the best pizza in town.  Every bite was a flavor filled treat.

The dessert menu is limited to salted caramel house made gelato.  You can choose from a weekly special topping or a shot of bourbon or espresso vodka.  We went with the plain gelato to cool down the spicy sausage of the pizza.  Their drink menu is filled with Italian, French, and American wines; local craft bottle and draft beers; and some signature cocktails.  Stop in for reverse happy hour 11pm – 2am.

The restaurants in Over the Rhine’s Gateway Quarter have been serving up some of the best and most original flavor filled menus in town.  A Tavola hits another homerun for OTR.  Their prices are very reasonable and there are several vegetarian pizza selections in addition to the meaty choice we had.  The only downside – if you sit at a high top be prepared to wear your jacket or sit on it, the tiny barstools are barely big enough for one cheek, and leave your purse or shopping bags in the car because there’s nowhere to hang or store them.  A Tavola earns a solid 4 out of 5 stars and we’ll definitely be back for more.

http://www.atavolapizza.com