Emm's Profile
TJ's chocolate croissants
They're a holiday morning treat at my house, too. If I didn't limit myself, I'd probably eat them twice a week. At least.
White Castle
Thanks for bringing back a great memory! I was living in Lexington in the early 1980s when the first White Castle in the area opened (on New Circle Rd. near Russell Cave). A co-worker and I made about a 10-mile round trip on our lunch hour, fought our way through the crowds, bought a huge sack, returned and LOCKED OURSELVES in an office while we worked our way through about 10 White Castles apiece. It was heaven on earth. :)
Are Whole Foods roasted chickens always so terrible?
Another vote for Sam's Club. Those chickens are substantial and what I'd call a VERY good value--I doubt if you could save very much by cooking one yourself.I've never had one that was over or undercooked.
Leaving Butter Out at Room Temp?
I've kept butter in a covered dish on the counter for years, and I've never gotten sick. I can recall once or twice when a small amount at the end of the stick did go rancid after a long period of time.There's no way you'd eat that by mistake unless you were in a coma. And even if you did, I'm not sure it'd make you ill
Italian in Cincinnati
Trio has dependably good food and service, but it's pricy and not particularly Italian.
Italian in Cincinnati
My husband considers Barresi's the best restaurant of any kind in the Cincinnati area. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it's absolutely wonderful.
Sonic 1/4 pound footlong chili cheesedog
I had one just last week, can't give it quite the glowing review zammdogg did, but it's fine for what it is. Plenty of chili topping. I'm not a big fan of the CheezWhiz type cheese, given that most chili dogs in my part of the country come with a big handful of finely shredded cheddar.
Aldi Trader Joe Connection?
Don't get me wrong: there are some items I won't buy at Aldi. But if it was your first trip there, I'm not sure how you would judge the quality of a lot of the merchandise. Yes, they sell brands you haven't heard of, but some of them are comparable to well known brands. I was uncomfortable trying them, so I made a point to just try one or two things each trip. Usually I was happy with my purchase.
I don't buy milk at Aldi, nor do I usually buy their frest meat. A frozen whole chicken I tried definitely seemed over-brined. I don't think their plain frozen vegetables have added fat or more salt than any other brand, though. Produce quality can be hit or miss--it's easy to decide whether to buy it or not.
TJ's produce in my area is way more pricy than at the large chain groceries, but of comparable quality. I wouldn't consider shopping there for produce.
Kosher in Cincinnati??
Their choices are probably somewhat limited, but perhaps other readers will be able to review Marx and Kinneret. At any rate, here's a handy list, including bakeries, etc.
http://www.nhs-cba.org/jewishcinci.htm
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Kinneret Cafe
8316 Plainfield Rd Ste 2, Cincinnati, OH 45236
Why do foodies like the McD's Filet o' Fish?
I used to love them, but now they're so tiny and pricy they're not worth the effort. For readers who have the Rally's chain in your area, their fish sandwich is everything the McDonald's filet used to be and more. And right now they're running a 2 for $3 special.
Why does Trader Joe's pasta taste sweet? [moved from General Chowhounding board]
And did the meat appear to have been thoroughly boiled before being mixed with the sauce?
Work lunch at Olive Garden - HELP!!
The suggestion was to order it, not necessarily to eat it. Nobody's going to notice whether you actually eat or not.
Cincinnati - Strip Center Chinese Yeas and Nays
Not necessarily boring. Sometimes you just want familiar comfort food, which is really why I posed the question. Try the orange beef from Dillonvale if you're over that way.
Cincinnati - Strip Center Chinese Yeas and Nays
Thanks! I'm in the neighborhood sometimes; any particular dish you recommend?
Cincinnati - Strip Center Chinese Yeas and Nays
After a disappointing experience at my favorite area Chinese-American sit-down restaurant yesterday, I'm interested in searching a little harder for hidden gems in area shopping centers. Peking Garden in Dillonvale is pretty much the gold standard as far as I'm concerned. Although I recently tried the restaurant in the shopping center on Winton Rd. adjacent to the Reagan Highway and thought the food was a pretty good value given the extremely cheap prices. I'd also give a qualified okay to the one in White Oak Shopping Center on Cheviot Rd.
Trader Joe's - "prepared" foods
I like the gorgonzola gnocchi, the gzoyas, and the chicken/lime burgers. Far and away the best thing they sell, IMO, is the frozen chocolate croissants.
Double decker sandwiches in Cinncinati?
Interestingly, on another discussion board I read there's an argument that started about corned beef sandwiches in Cincinnati. It's gone pretty far afield at this point, but the bottom line is that nobody seemed to have anything to offer in terms of a traditional deli except Izzy's. I agree with the other poster here that Izzy's is nothing to write home about. Back in the day, 40 or 50 years ago, there was a real Izzy and a real deli with real deli food. Now it's just a cardboard chain with food to match.
Aldi
Aldi's prices on pantry staples are on a par with the big-box club stores, but you don't have to buy 20 pounds at once. As another poster said, it's a place to pick up basics, although the stores in my area also always have a selection of "special purchase" name-brand items. I also routinely buy bananas, eggs and some canned products like tomato sauce there. The quality of their cheese and German chocolate bars is good. In the stores in my area I haven't encountered the kids of maintenance problems the OP mentions: the stores are generally clean, well lighted, neat and well maintained.
Aldi is not a substitute for other grocery stores, but you can definitely save money on decent quality items by shopping there consistently.
Who has the best hot wings?
I haven't had them in a long time and don't know if they're still on the menu, but the best wings I ever had at a chain were at Outback.
Italian in Cincinnati
The location isn't terribly convenient, but Vincenzo's is very good:
http://vincenzos.net/
Jungle Jim's international grocery store--worth a visit? And what else should I eat in Cincy?
Yes, hubby and I drive across town to Sleepy Hollow several times a year. Got to love the year-round Christmas lights, competently prepared food and friendly service. I didn't know about the fried chicken. I am so there now.
Jungle Jim's international grocery store--worth a visit? And what else should I eat in Cincy?
I agree it's hard to get out of the Jungle without picking up a cart full of goodies. One area the hubby and I never pass up is the reduced price section back behind the produce department. There's always a ton of still perfectly good produce and baked goods, some of which I pop into the freezer after every visit.
New York-style pizza - Cincinnati area?
I'm glad this thread got revived, because I just had a pretty good East-Coast style pizza at Aponte's. See http://apontespizza.com/ although you shouldn't expect the place itself to be as stylish as the web site: it's pretty basic, although clean.
How does Dairy Queen stay in business?
There's an excellent Dairy Queen in my neighborhood. The owner/operator is almost always on the premises, and she obviously doesn't cut the kids she hires any slack in terms of customer service. She serves only DQ and chili dogs. I think that helps in terms of quality.
ALDI Stores: Quality Products at Deep Discount??
I'd recommend that anyone considering buying produce at Aldi visit multiple locations if they can. One of the two stores near my home routinely has better quality produce than the other. My best score last week was 6 nice sized, sweet navel oranges for .99. Eggs at my location were .79.
Chains That Are EAsy to Love
I've been pretty happy with Longhorn in the past, although when hubby and I went earlier this week after a long absence, we got a server who was way too chatty in an extremely annoying way. I was unhappy that they no longer will cook the chopped steak to anything less than medium. I also order it without the sauce and french fried onion strips they now top it with. The server stopped nattering long enough to repeat the order back to me, so I know he heard me. Nonetheless, it arrived with the toppings. They took it away and made another one which turned out fine. Nonetheless, the manager stopped by and told us that it's their policy to comp any order which is wrong and has to be re-done. Smart. I left feeling happier than I would have otherwise. Hubby's rib eye was probably not of the quality of a fine steak house, but was tasty and cooked to order. Longhorn is decent.
French Macarons - from TRADER JOE'S??!! (moved from L.A. board)
I bought two boxes and was underwhelmed. For one thing, the cookies are tiny and I didn't think for the size they were particularly cheap. One box had several dried out, broken cookies even though the cellophane wrap was intact. (I know TJ's takes returns, but I live too far from the store for that to be feasible.) I thought they tasted okay but would not buy them again.
Sichuan Bistro near Cincinnati, Best Pot Stickers On Earth? ^L^
China Gourmet has some of the worst, overpriced food I've ever encountered, with unfriendly, pretentious service to match. A much better choice in the Hyde Park area is Oriental Wok in the Regency on Madison Rd. at Dana Ave. It's Americanized, but excellent quality, reasonably priced, and the atmosphere is pleasant.
