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Eats: Staff Picks Best Comprehensive Asian Menu: Feeling like Asian food but can't decide between Thai, Japanese and Chinese? At Arloi Dee, you'll find everything from Moo Goo Gai Pan to Tekka Maki to Thai Chili Sauce Crab - along with plenty of curry, fried rice and vegetarian options. (And if you like to watch TV while you eat, looming over the dining room is probably the largest TV screen outside of a sports bar!) 4920 Socialville Foster Road, Mason, 513-229-3997. Best Comprehensive Thai Option: Hop off I-71 at Smith/Edwards, and you'll find yourself in the midst of an interesting coincidence. Some would say that three petite Thai restaurants within a mile of each other would constitute a saturation of the market, but why complain? Lemongrass, Wild Ginger and Asiana make this exit a one-stop shop for all the green curry, coconut soup and jasmine tea you could want - times three.
Best
Refill: Kaldi's Best Traditional Southeast Asian: Feeling like Asian food but tired of General Tso's chicken? Take a walk on the wild side at Chopstick's for down-home Vietnamese favorites like Rare Beef Tendon, Tripe Rice Noodle Soup and Charbroiled Pork Chop with Shrimp Paste. 7735 Cox Lane, West Chester, 513-777-0804. Best Place for a Quick Bite: At Edibles-N-Such, located on the first floor of the Catholic Health Partners building just north of downtown, Gail and company serve delicious made-while-you-wait sandwiches, soups and hot meals that will have you coming back for more. But don't ask for the recipe for her oatmeal cookies. She's not talking. 615 Elsinore Place, Mount Adams, 513-381-8390. Best Vibe: You can't beat the casual yet earnest service and surroundings at Slims. They're a perfect complement to the simple, expertly prepared food that rolls out of the open kitchen. All together it creates an experience that makes you want to dwell and linger. 4046 Hamilton Ave., Northside, 513-681-6500. First Place We're Going When the Weather Gets Warmer: There's simply nothing finer on a warm summer evening than a slice of meatloaf from Potluck along with a beer from Northside Tavern next door. 4163 Hamilton Ave., Northside, 513-542-2444. Best Looking Restaurant Dining Room: Spare and modern with an art deco flare, the White Room at One certainly sets the tone for a classy evening. It's the perfect complement to the ambitious menu and well-chosen, fairly priced wine list. 202 W. Main St., Mason, 513-336-0042. Best View While Dining: Eat at one of the sidewalk tables facing the river at Mitchell's Fish Market for one of the best views of downtown imaginable. Plus the fish is fresh and expertly prepared. A great stop following a visit to the Newport Aquarium. Newport on the Levee, Newport, 859-291-7454.
Best Dining Experience: Boca Best Place to Impress a Date: If your date doesn't float away on Barresi's extraordinary Italian food like Osso Buco and Zabaglione and candlelight, the table crumber will surely do the trick. 4111 Webster Ave., Deer Park, 513-793-2540. Best Kid-Friendly and Fun Restaurant: For parents who want to avoid filling their kids' bellies with fries and burgers, Kona Bistro offers healthier choices like peanut butter & jelly on wheat bread with sliced green apple and sautéed tofu served with a baked sweet potato. The best part? You don't have to fill your belly with fries or burgers either. Try the coconut-crusted tilapia instead. 3012 Madison Road, Oakley, 513-842-KONA. Best Thai Soup: Delight Thai Café offers an excellent coconut milk and chicken soup called Tom Kah Gai. Tender pieces of white meat chicken and mushrooms float in a coconut milk broth flavored with lemon grass, lime leaves and galangal, a ginger-like herb. Light, refreshing and savory, it's truly a memorable soup. 11928 Montgomery Road, Symmes Twp., 513-677-6175. Best Lentil Soup: Mirage Mediterranean Restaurant's version is simply excellent; smooth, well-cooked lentils abound in a wonderfully rich broth that's cut by a subtle hint of acidity. And their salad of diced tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley is also terrific. 11379 Montgomery Road, Symmes Twp., 513-469-0089. Best Savory Soup: Sometimes it just hits the spot. Café de Paris' Harira, a Moroccan soup traditionally used to break the fast every night of Ramadan, is a religious experience. Smooth, spicy and homemade with tender loving care. 17 Garfield Place, Downtown, 513-651-1919. Best Hangover Remedy: The Soup of the Seven Seas at Taqueria Mercado, served on Saturdays and Sundays only. This steaming bowl of garlicky broth is chock full of shrimp, calamari and mussels with a squeeze of lime and chopped cilantro on top. Welcome back to life. 6507 Dixie Hwy., Fairfield, 513-942-4943 Best Itsy Bitsy Bites: The yummy, creative food at Latitudes includes Buffalo-Style Tiger Shrimp, which take the contrast of spicy Buffalo sauce and creamy bleu cheese and kick it up a notch on the sophistication scale. There are also awesome grilled asparagus with delectable truffle butter, handmade ravioli stuffed with pumpkin and goat cheese topped with crispy bits of sage. 18 Main St., Milford, 513-831-9888.
Best
Refill: Honey Best Place to See Your Future Dinner, Still on the Hoof: At Stehlin's Meat Market, Mondays are cattle and Tuesdays are hogs. The public is welcome to come along and watch the Stehlin brothers slaughter livestock. 10134 Colerain Ave., Colerain Twp., 513-385-3164. Best Place to See Your Future Grilled Trout, Still Swimming Around: Perhaps the best aquarium in town, Jungle Jim's allows the kids to get a dose of marine life and allows you to get a fresh piece of fish at the same time. Everyone's happy! 5440 Dixie Hwy., Fairfield, 513-674-6000. Best Turkish Tabouli: Loaded with parsley and good-quality olive oil, the tabouli (cracked wheat salad, prepared in the Turkish manner) at Café Istanbul is more than just an innocuous side dish; it demands your attention and your fork. Newport on the Levee, Newport, 859-581-1777. Best Appetizer Cake: Honey's Proven¨al plate offers a fried zucchini cake with hummus, olives, red peppers and eggplant. It's an excellent idea to order two and just call it dinner. 4034 Hamilton Ave., Northside, 513-541-4300. Best Duck Appetizer: Hidden amongst a traditional American menu of seafood and steaks, The Celestial's Duck Tamale is a sublime little ethnic dish that doesn't pull any punches. Served in a corn husk with a guacamole side, the tamale leads the appetizer pack in flavor. 1071 Celestial St., Mount Adams, 513-241-4455. Best Fancy Happy Hour: You could go to New York or Paris for fine dining, but it's just as satisfying (and pretty affordable) to stop by Pho Paris for a happy hour of half-price appetizers with drinks. What could be more posh? 3235 Madison Road, Oakley, 513-871-1234. Best Healthy Diet in a Hurry: Melt is carryout with a conscience - health-conscious that is. The owner makes everything fresh and uses wholesome ingredients such as all natural deli meat, seitan and tofu. 4165 Hamilton Ave., Northside, 513-681-6385. Best Place for Carnivores: Sebastian's is the only place in town that offers an order of meat as a side dish. Also offering gyros, a Greek sausage sandwich and Greek hot dogs, this West Side family-owned Greek eatery knows how to keep its carnivores happy. 5209 Glenway Ave., Price Hill, 513-471-2100. Best Noodle Dish: Crazy Noodles at Arloi Dee, which delivers an outstanding version of this classic Thai dish (also known as Drunken Noodles). Chewy wide rice noodles and chicken with mushrooms, sweet basil and jalapeno chunks in a succulent and fiery sauce make for a truly fantastic dish. 4920 Socialville Foster Road, Mason, 513-229-3997. Best Beef Brisket: Pit to Plate's authentic, Texas hickory-smoked, slow-cooked barbecue resonates with tenderness and flavor. Their brisket will rival anything you can find in the Tristate. Make sure to try some candied yams and cinnamon apples too. 1527 Compton Road, Mount Healthy, 513-931-9100. Best Pepper Dish: Mirage might not look like much - it's a plain-looking joint in a strip mall - but they know how to do Mediterranean. Try their roasted pepper appetizer made of red peppers, salt, onions, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and parsley. Cooked down to the consistency of a thick paste, it's rich, spicy and alluring, conjuring up visions of far-off, exotic lands. 11379 Montgomery Road, Montgomery, 513-469-0089. Best Organic Salmon: Orchids' Slowly Baked Organic Irish Salmon over a Lime Mascarpone Risotto with Snow Pea Salad and Hazelnuts was one of our most memorable Cincinnati dishes of the past year. The fish was incredibly fresh, delicately flavored and had a soft, velvety texture from being doused with sake, white miso, white truffle oil, then baked at a low temperature. Once out of the oven it was brushed with honey and lime juice and finished with salt and white pepper. Sound like a lot of work? Worth every bite. Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, 35 W. Fifth St., Downtown, 513-421-9100. Best New Jersey Style Pizza: Having recently arrived from the Garden State, I had a hard time getting used to what passes for pizza from the various chains around town. But at Aponte's Pizzeria and Family Restaurant, Tony makes a pie that reminds me of home. And no wonder - it turns out he made pizzas in the early '80s at the very place in N.J. where my family got takeout when I was growing up. Small world, huh? 753 Reading Road, Mason, 513-336-7400. Best Selection of Eastern European Specialties: If you know the difference between Kindzmarauli (a semi-sweet Georgian red wine) and Kashkaval (a semi-firm Bulgarian cheese with a salty, sharp flavor), then Marina's International Deli is the place for you. Their comprehensive selection of Eastern European food and wines rivals anything this side of the Berlin Wall. 11426 Montgomery Road, Symmes Twp., 513-469-6100. Best Veggie Buffet: A vegetarian lunch buffet to make any veggie's heart go pitter-patter. Udipi's south Indian cuisine includes delicacies like Malai Kofta, cashews, almonds and cheese in a tomato-based gravy and or the Chana Batura, a puffy bread served with chickpea curry. And try the batura bread - like something from Willy Wonka's magic oven, it's a giant round puff of bread that looks like it might float off your plate. 7633 Reading Road, Roselawn, 513-821-2021. Best Place to Fill the Belly and See the Belly: At Phoenicia Mediterranean Bar and Grill, you'll discover a wide selection of Jordanian, Greek and Lebanese cuisine, including vegetarian fare. The experience is even more authentic on Friday and Saturday nights with live bellydancing. Two shows a night adds to the taste of their wonderful Lamb shish-kababs and a nice wine selection. 10780 Montgomery Road, Montgomery, 513-489-7995. Best Goat Tacos: Sure, La Mexicana in Newport is the only place to find goat tacos, but why quibble? They're good, they're cheap and when you add a Tecate they seriously redefine the fast food lunch. 642 Monmouth St., Newport, 859-291-3520. Best Unexpected Specialty: O'Bryon's Irish Pub has the best Reuben sandwich this side of Izzy's. Go figure. 1998 Madison Road, O'Bryonville, 513-321-5525. Best Recovery: The Chart House, famous for its city view and seafood, has gone through some changes since it first opened in 1996. It was purchased by new owners in 2002 and went through a significant remodel, reopening in the boon of all the Newport/Bellevue development on the river. They still serve most of the items on its first menu - the New England Clam Chowder and lobster bisque laced with sherry are highly recommended. 405 Riverboat Row, Newport/Bellevue, 859-261-0300. Best Menu Variety: With a mixture of all-day breakfast menu, deli sandwiches, burgers and Thai, everyone is sure to find something pleasing at Rise and Shine. The cinnamon pancakes and Thai stir fries are highly recommended. Not at once, of course. 130 E. Sixth St., Downtown, 513-421-3308. Best Free Accessories: Buy a Crave Case at White Castle and then recycle it for your next job interview. It's the one thing that turns a mediocre candidate into a must-have. MBA from Harvard? I think you mean "MBA from Schmarvard." Multiple locations. Best Place to Go Home Smelling Like Your Food: After visiting Korean Riverside Restaurant, you'll smell like smoke and kim-chee for the next few days and your eyes will smart for a few hours after getting home because of the smoke - but it's a worthwhile trade-off. If your friends don't like the smell, maybe they're not your friends. 512 Madison Ave., Covington, 859-291-1484. Best Place to Get a Slice of Carrot Cake, a Bottomless Cup of Coffee and a Good Dose of Crazy Person: Sitwell's serves simply the most atmospheric coffee in town. Now it's smoke-free but still, thankfully, not crazy-person free. It's like dinner theater. 324 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, 513-281-7487. Best Chocolate Cupcake: Take the Cake makes outstanding cakes, brownies and cookies, but their incredibly moist and rich chocolate cupcakes trump everything else. They're a decadent treat even before the icing goes on. 1437 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-241-2772. Best Banana Cream Pie: Donna's Diner serves a pie that really does taste like homemade. Freshly cut bananas are topped with a yummy custard and blanketed with homemade whipped cream. 315 Greenup St., Covington, 859-581-5444. Best Reason to Quit Your Diet: Put down your diet book and calorie calculator for just one night. Biagio Bistro's chocolate-covered mini cream puff tower might equal 30 extra hours on the treadmill, but it's worth it! 308 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, 513-861-4777. Best Diet, What Diet?: Kiss your Atkins, South Beach or whatever the latest diet trend is goodbye when it comes to desserts at the Cobblestone Café - specifically the lunch spot's signature butterscotch oatmeal cookie. It's the perfect finale for the family-owned eatery's homemade Apple Waldorf: sweet, but a sweet you won't feel bad about. Oatmeal's good for you, remember? 654 Highland Ave., Fort Thomas, 859-781-3000. Best Hello Kitty: Not much the type for overly cheery barristas in the a.m. or the added pressure of a blue million decisions all for one cup of java, we enjoy the morning jolt from Kitty's Coffee in the Mercantile Arcade. Serving teas and fair-trade coffees in chic red cups, it's the cat's meow. 120 E. Fourth St., Downtown, 513-721-2233. Best Dessert to Share with a Date: When you think of Beluga, chances are you think of tasty (and pricey) sushi. Combine pan-Asian fare with a trendy, pretty crowd and décor reminiscent of a Miami Beach hotspot and, well, you get the picture. But have you tried dessert? Forget the model-wanna-be fashionistas - their Sweet Mango With Sticky Rice is the sexiest thing going on there. The cool, sweet juiciness of the fresh mango perfectly balances the warm, dense coconut-glazed rice, making for a slippery, sticky experience. Exotic, unfussy and heavenly. 3520 Edwards Road, Hyde Park, 513-533-4444. Best Chocolate Covered Cherries: Dayton-based Esther Price has a single stronghold locally, in Silverton. While there are lots of places to buy chocolate in Cincinnati, their famous chocolate-covered cherries are out of this world. They still use the eponymous Esther's original recipe: select cherries that are wrapped in fresh butter cream, coated with light or dark chocolate and crowned with a swirl. 7501 Montgomery Road, Silverton, 513-791-1833. Best Turkish Coffee: Top off your hummus, shish kofta and moussaka at Mejana with a tiny copper pot of sweet Turkish coffee, and you won't have to worry about getting that after-lunch nappy feeling. 25 W. Sixth St., Downtown, 513-333-0660. Best Place for a Goetta Sandwich Eaten Under Police Guard at 4 a.m.: At Camp Washington Chili, just don't make eye contact with anyone and don't make any sudden moves. Is ketchup that important? Slow and easy, OK? Hopple and Colerain Aves., Camp Washington, 513-541-0061. Best Lemon Poppyseed Scone: If you like scones, head to the Bonbonerie for the best in town. Their lemon poppyseed ones are light, crumbly and very lemony. I usually end up eating most of them on the way home. 2030 Madison Road, O'Bryonville, 513-321-3399. Best Sweetness from Trees: Clough Valley Maple Syrup is a small family-run sugar house tucked away in a corner of Anderson Township that makes high-quality syrup that will dazzle your pancakes. I took home a bottle of syrup still warm from being made and slurped it by the spoonful. 5531 Clough Pike, Anderson Twp., 513-265-2130. Best Reason to Make a Dental Appointment: There aren't many good reasons to let someone stick their hands in your mouth, but Take the Cake's key lime squares, with their tart sugary topping and buttery crust, make the trip to the dentist worth it. 1437 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-241-2772. Best Place to Get a Cavity: Aglamesis is one of Cincinnati's sweetest spots, featuring 25 different flavors of ice cream and homemade chocolate crafted on-site. Antiquated decor makes for a tasty trip down memory lane. Madison Road, Oakley, 513-531-5196. Best Way to Exact Revenge on Your Dentist: Go to lunch at Ambar India and then visit your dentist a few hours later - but don't floss! He'll be sorry. 350 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, 513-281-7000. |
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