Bringing The Stove To Buckeye Grove!

We are getting close to college football kickoff!  Are you excited?  I am too.  The season of tailgating is once again upon us!  Speaking of tailgating, remember last year when I had posted on my Facebook page that I was working on a new cookbook?  Well, the time has come to announce that the new tailgating book is...

The Ohio State University Cookbook!!

Co-written with my sister, this book is my second, and her first, in the line of university themed tailgating cookbooks from Gibbs Smith Publishing.  It is due out on August 1st.  We were super jazzed about getting to do this particular book, because my sister and I are Buckeyes at heart no matter where we live or what we do on our journey of life!  

Julie is an OSU alum with a master's degree in education from Ohio State.  She currently lives in Ohio with her husband and daughters.  I received my master's in professional writing from the University of Oklahoma, and authored Gibbs Smith's OU themed cookbook last year.  However, I was born and raised in Ohio and once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye!

Saw this on a shirt from Donkey Tees.  If you want the shirt, go here.

I will be flying back home for a short time to visit family as well as do a couple of signing events to help promote The Ohio State University Cookbook.  Here is a brief list of upcoming events, but keep checking back on the Upcoming Events Page for the most up to date info:

• Amos Memorial Public Library

          Tuesday, August 13th @ 6:30pm

          230 E. North St.

          Sidney, Ohio

          -In the Art Gallery

Both events will feature samples of some of the recipes from the cookbook, and Julie and I will both be there to sign.  So, stop on by and see us if you are in the area.  We look forward to seeing you!

Gooooo Bucks!

FANCY & FLOP: Ohio Food Excursion, Pt. 2

I believe that there are 3 types of dining experiences: Good, Bad, and Okay.  Now, there are varying degrees of these 3 types, of course, but we all know the sort-of overall feeling we have about our experiences, even if we don't have time to logically sort out what we liked or didn't like about them.  Generally for me, there are a few Good, and a few Bad, and a whole lot of grey area I'm neither impressed or disappointed by.  Some greys (or Okays) are better than others.  Generally, I don't have any desire to go on and on about Okays, it's not until the Okay slips more into Good or Bad, that I will start thinking about how my experience was/is.  So, I WILL write about Okays, but only if it is on the edge of Good or Bad.

Which brings me to the second part of my Ohio Food Excursion segment: "Fancy & Flop."  I'm a firm believer in getting the crummy out of the way, to make room for the good stuff.  On that note, I'm going to talk about my experience at a restaurant in Tipp City, Ohio called Harrison's.

One of the biggest problems that I have with this restaurant isn't really the food, or service, it's the environment -- it's just plain confusing.  Is it an elegant business casual dinner place, or a sports bar?

The servers were dressed in very nice attire, the menu is what you would expect from a more upscale restaurant, and there is a sign posted at the front of the house that says "Proper Attire is Required."  However, when I went (dressed in business casual ware) it was Wing Night Tuesday and the place was packed with people wearing cut-off jeans, ball caps, and flip-flops, and that is not an exaggeration.  Another time I went, a few years ago on a Friday night, the clientele was less casual, but there was a live band playing, which made it very difficult to have any sort of conversation with table-mates.  Anyhow, we're talking about the most recent excursion on Wing Tuesday.  I thought it best to start off with a drink.

That's my strawberry daiquiri, doesn't it look good?  Yeah, that's what I thought, then I took a few sips of it and was very disappointed.  It's like they didn't even try.  Like they opened up the jug o' strawberry mix, put some Reddi-Whip on top, then remembered they forgot the rum and splashed a little in it as a gesture.  I wasn't looking to be knocked off my feet, but some rum flavor would have been nice.  Other people at my table (my awesome family) didn't seem to have any issues with their beer or wine, just me with my "fancy" mixed drink.  

Most everyone in my party started off with the salads that came with their dinner, but my mom got the soup du jour, Tortilla Soup and it was soooo good!  I however, tried their applesauce option which was also quite good.  It is chunked apples topped with cinnamon-- simple, not too filling, and tasty.  My step-dad ordered some impromptu wings because we kept watching them fly by our table (Ha!  I said "fly" and "wings" totally didn't mean to be punny, it just happened).  I didn't get a pic of them though because they were gone before I could open my camera...yes, they were amazingly good!  But, I didn't come here for wings and beer, I came for a good steak.  Here's what we all ordered:

                       My New York Strip w/Onion Strings                                                NY Strip with Cheese Grits

                     Corn Dusted Walleye w/ Herb Butter                                                            City Mac & Cheese

          "Blackout" Gourmet Burger (Blue cheese on pretzle bun)                                Cheese Burger and Fries

 The steak was not as good as I was hoping it would be.  It had little to no seasoning on it, and no real flavor to speak of.  It's like they rely solely on the french fried shoestring onions on top for any kind of seasoning.  However, I did taste the City Mac & Cheese and it was really good!  I never had Cheese Grits before, and I was skeptical, but they were actually kind of addicting, and grandma let me know I had stolen enough from her plate by stabbing me with her fork.  No, that didn't really happen...this time.  Anyway, the thing Harrison's had that was cooked and seasoned perfectly was the made-to-order house potato chips.  Perfect!

Like I said in the beginning, I don't normally comment about Okay dining experiences, so what am I saying here?  I'm saying that even though the food wasn't terrible or awesome, the theme confusion and lack of identity of the restaurant really got my attention, for Good and Bad.  If you are looking for an upscale dining venue, a sports bar, gastropub, place to hang with your buddies, or a romantic rendezvous (although I totally don't recommend this last one AT ALL!), you may want to seek those places out elsewhere, where you KNOW that's what you are looking for and are going to get.  However, if you can't make up your mind or want a little bit of all of the above, this is definitely your stop.  All-in-all, for me it was too all over the place - at sixes and sevens. 

Now for the good stuff!  Also in Tipp City (and diagonally located across the street from Harrison's) is a fantastic place called Coldwater Cafe.  This place held such a great experience for me that we waited 40 minutes, with a lunch reservation, and I'm still giving this a glowing review!  Owned and run by a mother/son team Betty Peachey and Nick Hoover, this is the place to go if you want a full-blown example of my perfect dining Trifecta: Food, Service, and Atmosphere.  Nick is also the executive chef and you can absolutely tell that he loves what he creates, just by how good is tastes and the presentation  of the food when it gets to your table.

Even the bathroom was fancy!  I mean, how many places can you find a tower of toilet paper next to the toilet.  Pretty, and convenient!  I'm totally doing this in my bathroom from now on.  Accept I don't have that kind of room, to I may just slap a roll on the back of the tank and call it good.  What do you think?

Okay, that's the first bathroom review I've ever done...well, that I've ever written and sent out into the interwebs - you're welcome.  Now, down to business.  The business of drinks!

I had the Coldwater Cosmopolitan, and my aunt had the Pineapple Upside Down Martini (in the background).  Both were perfect!  One is all you really need, I'm just sayin'.  Again, while my party got salads for the most part, I decided to try a cup of the Duchess Potato Soup.  My other aunt (the one who took us all here) got the soup du jour, which was a mushroom/beef stock soup, but I can't remember the name of it.  As much as I liked the potato soup, I couldn't get enough of the mushroom soup, it was amazing! (Wish I would have gotten a pic, sorry).  And now, for the entrées.  

Gourmet Grilled Cheese & freshly cooked Kettle Chips

                  Marinated Grilled Chicken Salad               Grilled Portabella on Swirled Rye

                                Grilled Salmon Salad                          Chicken Pecan Salad Sandwich

Crappy pictures?  Yeah, I know.  Guess who took them?  Yup, it was me.  I know that my pics don't do these dishes justice, but the lighting was dim and the flash was working when it felt like it.  I seriously need a profesional photographer to follow me around while I eat.  Don't worry, I'm writing that down on a Post-It.  I can't say enough about the food here.  There was not a single complaint, even in the slightest, about any of these plates, not one!  And believe me, that's a record for my family.

Nick is so awesome, he even makes grilled cheese sandwiches feel like proper fancy food.  But for me, he outdoes himself on the dessert menu.  The waitress even brought us an actual dessert menu.  We couldn't decide what to get as individuals, so we just decided to order almost every dessert on the menu and try them all out, (I know, best idea ever!).  Hmm, somehow my sister's strawberry sorbet didn't get snapped, I just realized that.

                                          Creme Brulee                                      Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

                                Hot Fudge Pecan Ball                        English Tea Cake w/ Warm Butter Sauce

I had a cup of coffee with my desserts, and even that was good quality coffee.  I was so satisfied when I left there --- Trifecta Maximus!  And that was just lunch, I can't imagine what they can do for dinner.  There are some truths that I've discovered through my cooking and dining experiences, here are just a couple:

1)  The smaller the menu, the more quality and attention will go into the food.

2) "Cooking is like music; when properly conducted, a symphony results."

This quote was painted on the wall at Coldwater Cafe.  It is a string of words that I take as truth, and after my experience at this restaurant, I can tell you that the staff, chef, and owners feel the same way.

FUN & TASTY: Ohio Food Excursion, Pt. 1

Well, after yelling at my camera and shaking out the pics, I realized that I had a lot more reviewing of Ohio restaurants to do than I initially thought.  So, I've decided to make this a 2-parter, due to the large quantities of photos that I'd like to share.  I decided to do a "Fun & Tasty" theme for the first part, and save "Fancy & Flop" for the next one.  So today I'm going to recount my excursion by talking about some of my favorite eats from my home state.

Photo by Ernest Clark

The first place I gotta hit when I go home for the summer, is the BK Root Beer Stand in Sidney, Ohio.  It is one of the few authentic Americana drive-ins still left these days, and is strategically placed right behind the community ballfields.  I remember several trips to the "root beer doggie stand" after my dad's softball games when I was a kid.

Photo by Ernest Clark

I love BK because they make their own root beer (and it's AWESOME), they serve it in a thick glass mug, they have hot crinkle-cut fries (which go with hot dogs better than shoestring, in my opinion), and their buns are always soft.  Some people have complained that the hot dogs are too small, I for one am thankful!  I like to be able to take a bite of my food without worrying about pulling a face muscle.  Seriously, LOVE these hot dogs!  Here's some BK math for ya...

   += 

Above photos taken (and food contained therein, consumed) by Ernest Clark

The delicious looking coney dogs above, are actually known as "Spanish Dogs" and are a local favorite.  Many like to add onions to these.  BK also has amazing shredded chicken sandwiches, pork sandwiches, chips, candy, many other hot dog varieties, and more!  It is only open from March to October and is a must-stop if you happen upon Sidney, Ohio.  Personal tip:  You can get your food and root beer to-go and eat it, picnic style, right across the street inside the magnificent Tawawa Park.

The next summertime stop in Sidney, Ohio is Chilly Jilly's.  There's no real visible signage spouting it's name, but locals all know where it is (downtown) and what it's called.  It too is only open for the warmer months of the year.  The specialty here is, yup you guessed it, ice cream.  This was one of the first places that I ever worked and it was a lot of fast-paced work, but so much fun!  Like the root beer stand, Chilly Jilly's hasn't changed much over the decades, and I like that.  The summertime nostalgia is something I always look forward to.  

This is the menu board, but there are so many more items that you can order, many of which are handwritten on paper and hanging all around the pick-up window.  This place has vanilla, chocolate, and twist soft-serve ice cream, as well as hand-dipped.  They also carry all kinds of Slush Puppie flavors and double-dipped chocolate and butterscotch cones!  But my favorite thing to get at Chilly Jilly's is a Pinwheel: a healthy portion of soft-serve vanilla between two sandwich cookies dippied in chocolate on a stick.  Awesome, right?  Yeah, accept when it melts before you get to eat it :(

No biggie, pop it in the freezer for a few and try again.  Delicious!

My 3rd summer must-have in Ohio is down in Mason, near Cincinnati at Kings Island, my favorite amusement park (north of Florida).  The park is celebrating its 40th birthday this year!  Ok, so you can get LaRosa's Pizza at locations outside of the park gates too (actually all over most of southern Ohio, northern Kentucky, and even some of Indiana), but why not have your pie and ride too?  (However, this is not recommended to do at the same time).  

 Why is it so good?  I don't know!  Maybe it's because they've been using the same family recipe since 1954.  Perhaps it's because they use provolone instead of the same ol' mozzarella cheese that everyone else uses?  Maybe it's Aunt Dena's pizza sauce?  All I know, is that in all the decades I've been going to King's Island, I've never missed having a slice or two of LaRosa's Pizza, and for that I am thankful.

There are at least 3 locations in the park that serve LaRosa's (or as I have simply always called it "Kings Island Pizza").  There are these two stand-alone locations, and then one in the Festhaus in the Germantown section of the park.  Depending on which one you go to, you can get other things as well, such as cheese sticks, pasta, salads, etc.  You can order it by the slice, or a whole pizza pie.  I'm sorry to say, that when I sat down to take a shot of my glorious pizza slice, my camera crapped out on me (*sigh*).  But there are some good pics on the 365 Things To Do In Cincinnati website, if you want to have a look.

And this leads us right into the last Fun & Tasty eatery in Ohio that I'm going to cover today.  Another family pizzeria with franchised locations -- Cassano's.  With its thin parmesan-dusted crusts, sweet sauce, crisp pepperoni, fresh toppings, and layers of stringy cheese, what's not to like?

Another thing I like about this pizza is that it is cut into small squares instead of the usual wedge-shaped slices.  I like different.  There are other pizza places that do this, but not many, and fewer in Shelby County, Ohio.  This is what I grew up with, and what I still go back to, every time.

Appetizers at Cassano's include salads, pastas, and other things, but I don't even know what all else because I always get an order of these garlic rolled breadsticks with cheese, because they are soooo good!  But don't fill up on them, because there's pizza coming!

Here's a pic of the whole pie, so you can see the sweet squares of awesome!

So, that is a rundown of the Fun & Tasty places in Ohio that I like to eat at when I visit.  I recommend giving them all a try.  All photos on this blog are taken by me (you can tell by the poor quality) unless otherwise stated.  I'll be back with part 2 of my Ohio restaurant review, "Fancy & Flop" very soon. 

**I would like to say a special "Thank You" to Ernest Clark at Clark Photographic Services for his help and contribution of photos taken at the BK Root Beer Stand!