Keystone Bar & Grill

This place is RIGHT by my work. I am getting tired of eating crappy food for lunch when at work so I made 2 coworkers come here with me. This location has been SO many things over the 9 years I've worked in Covington it's hard to remember... I saw that this place changed hands and became Keystone and wondered how it was.

Our server was very nice and attentive. I always had a drink and he brought us everything we needed.

I had a Caesar Salad above. It was quite good, the dressing was a little bland but what saved it was some obviously house made croutons. Very tasty. They don't carry anchovies, that would have made it excellent.



2 coworkers ordered the chicken tenders. These were huge. Imagine 3 tenders which are easily halves of a chicken breast. They told me they were incredibly moist and tender.



Here you see the Lovin' Spoonful Mac and Cheese. I enjoy their take on naming foods after bands. I would have skipped this band. You'd agree if you knew what it meant. That's not butter on top, it's mozarella cheese. Anyways...



Here we have the Fleetwood Mac -- Mac and Cheese. Regular mac with pesto and tomato. I took a bite of this and it was delicious.



I had the Pink Floyd Mac and Cheese. Regular mac with caramelized onion and bacon. Very tasty!




The most interesting thing besides the fact they have a whole menu of quesidillas and macaroni and cheese is that they have 1/2 price days for each. Mac is Monday and Tuesday is quesidillas.

Someone must have been listening to one of my dreams for a gourmet macaroni and cheese restaurant. I am going to keep this in our work lunch rotation.

Virgil's Cafe

We went here on a whim. I never go to Bellevue. Not for any reason. I just have no reason to go there. So we went here upon good recommendations. First, you have to go between 2 buildings in the alley to enter. Whatever. Second our server was funny. Sometimes that's great. Sometimes not. Today it was not. Ayways.

Here's our bread. Simple rosemary ciabatta bread. Very tasty. Look at them down there, like little starchy pillows... yes I love bread.



Here was my Caesar Salad w/ anchovy. I found it to be pretty tasty, anchovy can save almost any salad lacking seasoning. Their caesar dressing was not super impressive but the whole salad worked.



Don't like Caesar? Here's Ann's fennel salad. She enjoyed it very much. Look at it, it looks pretty!



Here we have Shrimp Creole. Ann thought it was very good and flavorful. I almost got this but am happy I got what I ordered.



I got the last trout of the day. It was pan fried with a sweet potato, onion and crimini mushroom hash with dill cream. I found it to be very tasty. I love trout so I would eat it in almost any preparation.



We had ordered the jalapeno cheddar hush puppies as a side, they were forgotten and came out (burned) at the end of our order. BURNED.Obviously, look at them. We were assured this is how they are served. I couldn't identify cheddar OR jalapeno anywhere. Whatever, they were $4.




Here we have this strawberry cake, or torte or something. I was told immediately how amazing it was. Whatever. It tasted like white cake with a BUTTERcream icing. BUTTERY. Read: Too Much Buttercream icing. And the strawberry filling was not identifiable at first bite.
Sad. . I was looking forward to a strawberry cake revelation. That's basically what I was told.



The food at this place (aside from the cake and hush puppies) was really delicious. The part that is disappointing is the service. There was an extremely loud waiter in a bolo tie. Seriously. Our server was nice enough but every other person we encountered was so boastful about the establishment it really turned me off. I enjoy a restaurant with quiet pride about their service and menu. If everyone would have just shut up, this would have been superb!

Bouquet

Since Jean-Robert At Pigall's closed we have been struggling to find somewhere to go every month for a relaxing and inspiring lunch or dinner. We were originally going to go to Boca, however we just weren't up to it. I switched our reservation to Bouquet not expecting much.

I don't know why I didn't expect much. This is going to sound douchey, but I don't care. When you have eaten somewhere like JR@P you become accustomed to expecting things and when you can't find them anymore it's very sad. Is this a eulogy of JR@P? No, this is my utter surprise at a little place called Bouquet.

When you walk it you are greeted to white tablecloths (so simply elegant) and an obviously french looking decor and atmosphere. Our server seated us by the front of the restaurant by the bar. I noted they had a nice selection of bottled beer, I saw some labels I've never seen before.

Here's our table setting with our little bowl of bread. There was french bread and poppy seeded. The butter was a honey rosemary blend. Very tasty with the saltiness of french bread.




We decided on this bottle of wine. I love these Shiraz blends. $30! Very affordable wine choices, and their wine list is extensive. I also inquired into their uncork fee. They are very reasonable at $10 so don't be afraid to bring your own!



Here you have the small cheese plate $8. I was told everything that was on here but I cannot recall everything. The very bottom left is a pistachio concoction which was very delicious. Above that is a cherry flavored cheese. It was semi-soft and very tasty. In the spoon is a watermelon-apple relish very tasty. Next to the spoon is my favorite cheese it was I think a cheddar. I cannot remember what the corner right is and the above right is a smoked gouda. Top right is a fig jam. This plate was very delicious and filling! Our server told me that the large plate $12 was double the size. Very tasty!!



Here's the Anitpasto. There are peppers, pappadews and homemade pickles in center bottom. Warm olives in top right bowl. Top left bowl is a stone ground mustard. There was serrano ham, capicolla, and sausage. I sampled the sausage and it was delicious. The homemade pickles were very spicy! $10



Here we have my flank steak. This was delicious. It was super tender and the potato/chorizo hash was so delicious and delicate it was not overpowering as you sometimes hear about chorizo. The avocado was super fresh and a great addition to the steak flavor. Buttery avocado and basil espresso flavored steak. Mmmm....
It's a shame I didn't take a photo of the steak knife they gave me. It looked antique with a straight cutting edge with a bee on it. It looked at first glance like a switchblade.



This was a really big piece of Halibut. I had a bite and it was pretty tender and light. The caper aioli in the spoon was pretty good, in spite of my hatred of capers.The corn/bok choy medley smelled great.



We declined dessert in favor of gelato at Europa. This dinner was very surprising. I found effortless perfection in each thing that we tasted. Our server was very attentive and knowledgeable from the menu, to the wine to their suppliers. I like that. I will be back I'm sure to try their other specials.

Pizza, taco trucks coming downtown

Pizza, taco trucks coming downtown

Dancing Wasabi

 I had heard that this was a good sushi place. I was impressed that they're open after 2am on the weekends (open till 4am). I decided to go here after a long period of driving around. I was going to go to Taco Casa however the staff was rude so I left without ordering. Glad that I did, otherwise I wouldn't have ended up here.

Here you see my rolls. I got a Snow Roll (middle), Hot Mama Roll (bottom) and Red Fire Roll (very top). They were very tasty. I was very impressed with the Red Fire Roll. Very flavorful. I do LOVE tempura flake, spiciness and TUNA! They don't have a HUGE selection, but I wasn't disappointed. They have the standards and some pretty amazing specialties.



The place kind of reminded me of a miniature Hofbrauhaus that serves sushi. Several long communal tables and then the sushi bar. They made good use of the space to serve a lot of people all day (remember 4am?). The main reason I went is for their anniversary special. 5pm - 2am weekdays their sushi is half price!!!!! Say what? For reals.. Those 3 rolls (which are huge, aren't they?) were only $18!!!


If you're hesitant about the Mt. Lookout area (hipsters and such, I know) the parking situation was not awesome, but I found somewhere with some patience right near DW. Give it a shot, if only for the half price sale!

Asiana

If you're driving near Rookwood Commons go near the old Norka Futon to this cozy little spot. It doesn't look like much from the street but what's inside is some tasty sushi!


Here you have the inside. Very cozy.


I ordered the Spider Roll (personal favorite), Tanzana Roll, and the Spicy Shrimp.They were all pretty tasty. Was this the best sushi I have ever had? No. But it was cheap and very good. Service was excellent.

Becky's Mini-Restaurant Week

I found a new Indian place in Montgomey near Market Place Ln. More details soon.

Kanak India

Too stuffed

After work we had a great dinner with some out of towners @ Cheddar's. I had the chicken fried steak and it was easily over a foot long. Good god how do they expect you to eat all of that? It was only 8.99!

1st review of Cheddar's

Cincinnati Chocolate Festival

What more needs to be said?

10/24/10


Cincinnati Chocolate Festival Website

Cincinnati Chocolate Festival Facebook

Los Angeles - Here I come!

I have a work trip scheduled for late August in Anaheim. Any suggestions on where to eat???

Rincon Mexicano

First off - let me just say that this is my favorite Mexican restaurant ever... I have loved it since I was a kid. Right next to the Eastgate dollar cinema sits Rincon Mexicano. It has a very authentic exterior (as much as it can for being next to a budget cinema). Inside there is jewelry and pottery for sale.


Here we have a half frozen / half on the rocks margarita. These are soooooo good! They are so chock full of booze you don't even know how drunk you're getting!



Free and fresh chips and salsa. The chips come out hot and the salsa is very fresh. Nothing fancy, not super spicy. Just good and fresh.




Here we have my food. I got the Combo Dinner # 1 = 2 tacos, 1 chile relleno, one tostada and one enchilada. I'm going to go on the record and say that monterey jack cheese is my favorite.



Here we have Pat's dinner - The Carnitas Dinner. Don't be discouraged at the sparseness. Pat orders no lettuce or pico or guacamole. All come standard to build your little pork tacos... MMMM.. pork.




I always leave here happy and full. I love bringing people here who've never been. I remember taking a field trip to here when I was in school. Something about how restaurants worked. All I know is I got free food that day. Big impression left.

Another weird story from the Enquirer

So this makes my childhood of drinking off brand soft drinks cooler?? I think so...

Fizz goes out of Kroger cola caper

Ban Thai

I was really bummed to not like this place. I remember as a kid when we would go to Eastgate for groceries seeing Ban Thai and wondering what kind of food they served there. I figured as an adult that if it could still be open then it's not so bad, right?

Well it's not horrible, but it's not great either. I've been having Becky's Sushi Adventures lately. For the most part they're great! But now I know Eastgate is not known for having great sushi for a reason.



I ordered the Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup which you can see above. What is that bobbing in the broth you might ask? Well that is a hand full of raw halved button mushrooms in the bowl then there were 4 decent sized butterflied shrimp. That is all. No tofu, no egg, no bamboo shoot. I try Hot and Sour soup whenever I go to an Asian restaurant that serves it. This one was the weirdest. It looks like literally they threw a hand full of mushrooms at the bowl. The broth was okay, given there was nothing else in the bowl I can't make any excuses for it. I did like that there was cilantro in it, not enough to help. It was too vinegary and too sugary. Sad... because hot and sour soup is one of my favorites. NO amount of hot pepper oil could save it. I tried.



Here we have my rolls.

The Volcano is the long one on the top of the photo. This thing was weird. The whole thing was deep fried - almost always a bad sign. For something called Volcano it certainly wasn't spicy, in spite of the large stripe of mayo on top of it. I am really getting tired of sushi that is only given the name spicy because of their lame mayo. Try some peppers, gentlemen!

The Spicy Salmon is the one on the bottom right. This one was the saving grace out of the 3. It tasted like spicy salmon should. It was cool and spicy and delish. There were even toasted sesame seeds as a garnish on top of the roll.

The Spider is the one on the bottom left. Very awkward to eat. They each fell apart in my chopsticks. They were also greasy. They didn't properly blot the crab after they deep fried it. I accept that with a Spider roll the chef always makes the end pieces extra difficult to eat. It's kind of the price for ordering such a delicious roll. But this one fell apart completely before I could even try to put it in my mouth. So sad.

My server? Well he never even refilled my water glass. The last time I saw him was when he dropped my check and it was too late by then. 

Will I go back? No. I really should have went to Senate instead. Live and learn.

Headline from Cincinnati Enquirer: Peanut butter truck crashes, snarls northbound I-75

Peanut butter truck crashes, snarls northbound I-75

I know I shouldn't laugh at a car accident, but come on! It's like something from a movie. Jars and jars of peanut butter, littering the streets!

Asian Food Fest!

No this is not what I call dinner at my house... It is this Saturday though. Who's with me???? It's right near my house also, so it won't be a long distance that Pat has to roll me back to the house..

Asian Food Fest

Cock & Bull (Covington)

I heard from several people that this place was great so I tried it on a LONG lunch at work.




Here's the Bull's Long Late Nighter. This thing looked gross but I was assured that it was great. It's ham, turkey, bacon and cheese deep fried in a tortilla.



I got the light version of their fish and chips. This was possibly the best fish and chips I'd ever had. It was flaky and crumbly. The fries were crisp and hot. I did not care for the service at this location I think if I go back I will try the Sharonville location.

Europa

I was sooooo excited about this place! GELATO! Their refrigeration has been on the fritz so the 2nd time in 1 week that I went here they had some gelato. Here is the strawberry below. I ate half of it already.





Here's the Muffaletta Calabrese - one of my favorite sandwiches, salami, capicola, olive mix, pepperoni, mozzarella.  Really tasty!





Here we have the Panino de Chevre - goat cheese (YES!), red onion, walnut and lettuce. SO good.  If you put goat cheese on an old shoe I'd probably take a bite!

I got their beet salad and pasta salad as sides, delicious!



Here is the enormous chocolate cake that they serve. That is a large clamshell box that would barely close!

They have a beautiful area outside to eat or their small tea room dining room right off the side of the deli. I can't wait to go back to try their coffee selections.

Richard's Pizza

I do not know how we ended up in Hamilton for dinner but whatever. We ended up at Richard's and it was a pleasant surprise.



Anyplace that has it's own cup is all right with me.



Here you see the dining room. Pretty traditional and retro.



Pics of the menu...











Breadsticks with cheese. These were amazing! I hate breadsticks usually. They're usually so bland.  These were obviously fresh and the garlic dipping sauce was awesome.



Here we have cheese fries. They were awesome! Crispy fries with cheese and bacon.



Pat ordered the pizza with pepperoni and sausage. The dough was great and crisp, very cheesy. It tasted homemade.

I also had their steak sandwich but it did not photograph. Typical steak hoagie, fresh onion, pickles, mushrooms and their homemade sauce.


This place is awesome!