Niki in Dayton's Profile
Roost - Dayton OH
Roost, on 5th St near Wayne, in the Oregon district, describes itself as modern Italian. We stopped in last night and sat outside on the patio. Decent fairly priced wine list; ordered a Kermit Lynch Corbieres rose for $26. Crusty warm rolls and olive oil with garlic and balsamic were good. The antipasti specials included mussels with white wine, swiss chard, garlic chips, and a deep-fried soft shell crab on greans with aioli. We ordered both, and when the mussels were served, thought "oh no" because they didn't smell fresh. I tried one, and the taste of ammonia was evident, so we politely asked our server to please remove the bowl. This was the only glitch of the evening, though.
The softshell crab was fresh and well cooked, and we happily devoured it. Three of us shared the pasta carbonara and the veggie pasta special, cappellini with trumpet mushrooms and found both very good (and I'm VERY picky about pasta, legacy of an Italian momma). We also shared two desserts, the sorbet served in fruit (lemon, and wonderful), and a special with vanilla gelato, cherries, and whipped cream.
Service was excellent, the space was nice, especially on a beautiful night. We'll be back!
Dayton OH - Jimmie's Ladder 11
We went again for lunch on Saturday, I had the Ruben, he had the brat - both were good, although the brat is a patty, not a link, on pretzel bread with cheese of your choice (he had cheddar). The hand-cut fries are good, too, but the onion rings are not our style (they are thick, with lots of breading, and we prefer thin rings with light breading). This time we went upstairs, and that's where the board games and other Cornerstone memorabilia are located.
my New Orleans trip report (late March 2012)
Last time we were in town, we had lunch at Coquette and sat next to Jesse Eisenburg. The service was as professional as ever; the staff never missed a step. It was a friend's birthday, and we asked the server to take a pic of us toasting her so we could text it, and at that moment, Jesse leaned forward to talk to his friend , so he's in the pic too! The food was wonderful, as always; DH ordered shrimp and grits after ogling Jesse's plate.
Dayton - Pho Mi Vietnamese Restaurant
Had lunch today at Pho Mi. We had a fresh spring roll, and shared a bahn mi and a bowl of chicken sate soup. The spring roll was ok; a bit too thick and not enough herbs for my taste. The chicken sate soup was pretty good and served with a plate of sprouts, ciliantro, thai basil, and jalapenos, but I thought the broth was a bit one-dimensional compared to the broth at either Linhs (on Airway) or Little Saigon (on Woodman Dr). The bahn mi was pretty good, served warm, and with liver pate. My only complaint about the sandwich is that the pickled veggies were too sweet for my taste. All-in-all, it's fine and if it was close to my house, I'd probably go back, but both Linh's and Little Saigon are closer and IMO, better. Although we didn't indulge, noticed that beer was very reasonably priced (I think $2 for Tsing-Tao; didn't see Singh Ha).
Nawlins Trip Advice
I think Casamentos opens at 11:00 or 11:30, and shortly thereafter is a good time to avoid lines. One strategy is to stip in Ms Mae's (the bar next door to Casamentos); get your drink in a go cup and you can check out the line and time it as you'd like.
Nawlins Trip Advice
Casamentos for raw oysters and fried crab claws. The oyster loaf (fried oysters on white bread) is also great. They fry in lard, mmmmm!
Late Night Great Food in the French Quarter
I'm not familiar with Daisy Duke, but Coops and Camilia Grill are more dives. I like the food at Coops (not so much Camilia Grill which is basically dinner food), but it's not a "clean place", it's a dive.
Places in the CBD/Warehouse
For cocktails, stop into Bar Uncommon, in the Pere Marquette hotel on Camp (next to MiLa). Chris McMillin, the bartender there, is truly a master and it's an experience not to be missed. Put yourself in his hands and drink whatever he decides to make you.
Reims on a Monday
Thanks; I saw a few kess-than-favorable reviews on other sites so was a bit concerned.
Reims on a Monday
Any recommendations for dinner? We will be staying near the city centre, but have access to transportation. We'd like somewhere suitable to treat a local couple to a nice meal; they have been kind enough to offer to show us both Reims and Epernay. No idea of their food preferences. Sorry this is so vague, but I'd appreciate any suggestions.
What's the best thing you personally can make with white sliced sandwich bread?
Thanks, Hill J! This is literally the only use I have for white sandwich bread, but every now and then I buy a loaf just to make it. IIRC, David's original recipe called for rolling the shrimp toasts into cylinders, but that seemed a bit too fussy (and labor intensive), so I started just folding over into triangles. And I agree with RelishPDX that frying unsealed shrimp toasts leads to lots of particulate matter left in the oil. Relish, I did get the recipe from his Taste show; I miss David on TV!
What's the best thing you personally can make with white sliced sandwich bread?
Shrimp toast ala David Rosengarten. I've modified his recipe to make it simpler. I just remove the crust, roll out each piece of bread, spread half of each piece with raw shrimp mixture (shrimp, garlic, ginger, green onions, a bit of soy sauce, a bit of sirracha, all processed in a food processor), then fold in half to make a triangle, seal edges with a bit of beaten egg, then dip edge in sesame seeds and fry until golden. Delish!
Dayton OH - Jimmie's Ladder 11
Addendum - my husband reminded me we haven't yet been upstairs at Ladder 11, so it's possible the board games are on the ceiling up there. I'll check the next time we visit!
Dayton OH - Jimmie's Ladder 11
I don't think there's much, if anything, from the Cornerstone. The ceiling above my head was wood, re-used from the fire station and beautiful...
Dayton OH - Jimmie's Ladder 11
I read a lot of negative review on active dayton and yelp, as well, but lots of folks must like it--I tried to go with a friend during her lunch hour on a Weds a few weeks ago, but the parking lot was full and the line was out the door. I'll be interested to hear what you think once you go.
Dayton OH - Jimmie's Ladder 11
Once upon a time, Jimmie's Cornerstone was a divey bar and grill with suprisingly decent food located on the corner of Warren and Wyoming next to Miami Valley Hospital. MVH continues to expand and bought the property and Jimmie relocated to the old fire house catty-corner from the Cornerstone. We made our first (but not last) visit there for a late lunch on Saturday.
The old fire station, circa 1892, was one of the last to use horse-pulled fire fighting equipment. The restaurant is really beautiful, with innovative re-purposing of much of the original . I wasn't thrilled with the big screens everywhere, but Dayton is a sports town, and they'll appeal to many. This is a much different space than the old Cornerstone, and is much more a restaurant than a bar.
We only shared appetizers this time, but will try more of the fairly extensive menu next time. We had the calamari (fried correctly and tender, served with a nicely spicy remoulade), the house-made BBQ pork rinds, and the Creole cheesecake. I thought the pork rinds were great and ate 6 of them, a personal record as I don't usually like pork rinds and rarely eat more than one. DH liked them, but thought they were too heavily sprinkled with the spice mixture. The Creole cheesecake, a savory concoction with shrimp, andouille sausage, and several types of cheese, was spicy and wonderful. We almost licked the plate; it was that good!
Anyone else been? What did you like or not like? We intend to take a friend back soon for dinner so would like to hear other's experiences.
Best Places without Reservation During Jazz Fest
Most times, yes, but if it's a weekend and jazz fest....who knows??
Best Desserts in New Orleans?
We didn't try enough stuff there, but the chocolate almond croissant was heavenly. The French King Cake was very good; the olive bread was great. Everything looked wonderful. I haven't made it to Brocatos yet, but swear I will the next visit! The problem (and joy) with NOLA is there are too many great places to eat and never enough time...
Best Desserts in New Orleans?
Hey, texas, have you been to La Boulangerie bakery on Magazine? We found the pastry there to be scrumptious!
Favorite NV Champagne?
Something else to consider is Gruet's Blanc de Noir, usually available for about $15 or so. It's our house sparkler, and is made in New Mexico by the Gruet family from Champagne. The Gruet Sauvage, made from all Chardonnay grapes, is also very nice, but it's not readily available in my market (Dayton OH) .
Best Desserts in New Orleans?
Jazzy, when we were at Coquette last week, they told us they are no longer offering the beignets. I was disappointed until I tried their version of Banana's Foster, which was a small slice of carmelized banana bread with what they called confiture du lait (banana rum ice cream, I think). It was wonderful!
Eating Magazine Street
We stayed in an apartment in the Irish Channel on a way-too-short visit to NOLA last week, and ate mostly at places on or near Magazine. We were walking distance to Coquette, and ate there twice--once for lunch, and once for cocktails and appetizers at the bar. As usual, everything was fabulous; standouts included the shrimp and grits and the Bananas Foster.
We brought our bicycles this trip, and needed a minor repair, so went to Mike’s Bike Shop on Magazine. Mike doesn’t open until 10, so I was happy to spot La Boulangerie French bakery close by. We stopped in for a nibble and some coffee; the chocolate almond croissant was heavenly! So good, in fact that we stopped in again on our way out of town and picked up a French King Cake (puff pastry and almond cream) and a loaf of their great olive bread.
We wandered up to Bouligny Tavern one evening and made a meal of appetizers. This wine bar is next door to Lilette, and I think shares the same kitchen; at least the appetizers are those that Lilette serves. The parm marrow toast, frequently lauded on here by Jazzy B, was indeed a treat, but the best thing we had was the duck confit on greens. The squash fritters were also amazing and I was very happy with the by-the-glass wine selection.
We headed to Casamento’s for a dozen raw oysters (plump and wonderful as usual) and an order of the fried crab claws while out bike riding one day; afterwards we saw Café Atchafalaya so stopped in at lunch time, and the place was empty. We shared a crabmeat salad and had a cocktail; the salad was very good but the lunch menu seemed fairly limited (maybe we just weren’t very hungry after the oysters and crab claws, though!). I’d like to go back for brunch sometime since the place seems to get a lot of love from y’all.
We also ate at Parasol’s; we shared the gumbo which was delicious and a basket of fried oysters and sweet potato fries, very good. We ordered a deconstructed roast beef po’boy to go (so it wouldn’t get soggy). We ended up sharing that for breakfast, and the roast beef and gravy proved to be the best we’ve had; I had to restrain myself from licking the container I heated it in!
We never made it to the Quarter or the CBD this trip, and didn’t feel a bit deprived. As always, folks were very friendly and made us feel welcome everywhere we went. Thanks, New Orleans, we’ll be back soon!
healthy dessert recipes?
This time of year, clementines and oranges are in season. I like to toast some slivered almonds and some shredded coconut, and top clementines with that. Peel the clementines but don't separate the sections, then slice them into "pinwheels". Sometimes I marinate the fruit for a little while with St Germain, or with Grand Marnier before topping with the almonds and coconut for an adult version of this dessert.
Looking for the Soul of New Orleans
We had a crawfish poboy from Nola Grocery when I was working at a convention, and absolutely loved it. Also had the boudain balls which were good, but not as good as Cochon Butchers.
Dayton - restaurants that offer wine flights?
I was at Omega Records today and checked out Sidebar - open for business and no signs in the window. So if there was an issue, it's evidently been resolved. Sidebar is also participating in Dayton Restaurant Week this week,
Rue Dumaine slipping? [Centerville (Dayton) Ohio]
Some news about Rue Domaine in Mark Fisher's blog from the Dayton Daily News. They will be moving to the new Austin Landing in 2013, and opening a sister restaurant, Alligator Annie's, which will serve lunch and dinner 7 days a week and be a more casual eatery. Personally, that probably means we'll get there even less, as Austin Landing is farther away, but it will allow them to capitalize on a location closer to Cincinnati.
Dayton - restaurants that offer wine flights?
I think Sidebar, in the Oregon district, offers wine flights. I haven't loved their food, but the bar is great and the wine list is fairly decent.
Rue Dumaine slipping? [Centerville (Dayton) Ohio]
We were there in Dec, for a birthday dinner, and it was great. However, we are far from regulars, only visiting a couple of times a year.
The payola scandal at the Wine Advocate
Brad - is this the same Jay Miller that used to post on Robin Garr's Wine Lover's Discussion board? Just wondering....
Thanks,
Niki
