Home Authors Posts by J. Kevin Wolfe

J. Kevin Wolfe

118 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

Chung Ching

No Sushi. No Pad Thai. What a relief. It seems you walk into any Asian restaurant and they all have a little Chinese, a little Thai, an attempt at sushi, a little whatever. Not Chung Ching.

Ali Baba

This is where you’ll find the best falafel in town. I guess that needs a disclaimer. The falafel standards aren’t high in this burg. They’re usually mushy or burnt. And that middle ground of crispy outside and tender inside seems to escape most Mediterranean restaurants.

Dixie Chili

It’s nice to walk into a chili place that doesn’t reek of the trappings of corporate brand designers and interior decorators. Instead, Dixie Chili just smells like chili. Though the interiors have been redone in recent decades, photos of the original 1929 location still have a prominent place on the walls.

Shop Talk: Bonnie Lynn Bakery and Restaurant

It’s best we not tell all those executives in Blue Ash that Bonnie Lynn Bakery and Restaurant is here. If they knew that after getting reamed in a meeting they could take solace in a bowl of grandma-like vegetable soup in the restaurant or get a caramel long john served up with a grandma-like smile in the bakery, Cornell Road would be backed up for miles.

Thai Taste

This sushi craze will end. I mean, there will come a day when we suddenly wake up and each shout “Holy crap, I’ve been eating raw dead sea-things wrapped in stinky seaweed!” But until that day, we have Thai Taste.

Café de Vine

You know where that really old, big white building is down on Fourth? I’m not sure which bank it’s named after this week, but behind it, across the alley, is this annex building. Down in the basement of the annex, through the alley entrance, is where you’ll find Café de Vine.

Dinastia Latina

Around these parts, it seems a Mexican restaurant opens up every week. And our Gringo expectations are pretty stereotypical: a mariachi MP3 playing, a dirt-wall color scheme, margaritas as big as your head, and food served on plates that are “muy hot senõr.” There’s nothing wrong with this. Just don’t kid yourself that it’s authentic. At Dinastia Latina the menu currently has items like fajitas, which are actually an American dish. But you can also get a cow’s tongue taco.

The Neighbors

As little neighborhood restaurants close left and right, it’s nice to see a place deciding it’s a good time to finally start serving food. The Neighbors has been a friendly little west side local bar for years. They now add a short-order menu to give you something tasty to wash down. As bar menus go, this isn’t an obligatory one. For most sandwiches, you can choose either a burger or a chicken breast. The Opa’ gets Greek spices, feta, black olives, and Greek dressing

Goodies Barbecue

Before barbecue became trendy and people had a clue there was a difference between Memphis, St. Louis, and Texas, Cincinnati had its own style of barbecue. Places like Ike’s and Ruby’s used old Southern recipes, grilled their ribs on a charcoal pit and northernized the sauce for a little extra sweetness. And they always had the best peach cobbler around. I remember standing in line at Ike’s when they’d yell “Cobbler’s up!” and—well, don’t get me started. Not like the big chains today, with their $20,000 industrial smokers and an ambiance manufactured to look like somebody’s garage.

Kinneret Café

You think the Health District is strict? Imagine having rabbis show up every other day to inspect your lettuce. As a restaurant with the strictest kosher certification, it’s happening at the Kinneret Café. The strictness has led to a curiosity shop of a menu: No meat, but you can get tilapia with Moroccan couscous and mixed vegetables. Or an avocado and egg sandwich. Or shawarma made with seitan.

NEWSLETTERS

27,794FansLike
37,775FollowersFollow
42,131FollowersFollow