My good buddy Hump was in town and we wanted to take his friend, a Gem City newb, to a "very Dayton" lunch.  I don't mean the very best of what Dayton has to offer as far as dining, I mean more like what would be featured on Dayton's episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  An institution, if you will.  With me in Moraine and them in Centerville, a few places I thought of were a bit too far to drive for lunch, so we settled on The Golden Nugget.  I lovelovelove the Nug, and had only managed to make it there once since they've rebuilt.
I absolutely adore seeing the same faces waiting tables as the ones I saw 13 years ago, the first time I set foot in this place.  For a lot of restaurants, the lack of change - be it menu, employees, or ambiance - can be a death sentence...but not at the Golden Nugget.  There's always (let me repeat - ALWAYS) a line,  but it moves quickly, so don't be discouraged.

We were seated in less than 10 minutes and had our drink orders taken. Our waitress was, in typical Nug fashion, attentive, super friendly, and not shy to give us a hard time. It's not every day that you can find a menu with a grilled cheese with bacon and tomato, so I went balls out and ordered a sandwich (which I rarely to never do) with cole slaw.  My buddies opted for the fried fish sandwich and the grilled BBQ chicken club, respectively.

After just enough tie to chat and catch up, our food came out within about 15 minutes.  The fish sandwich was giant...

But my tricked out grilled cheese?  Well, just look at all this damn bacon.

Oh, and y'all know I'm picky about slaw - but no worries here. It was a solid, traditional dairy-based slaw, and near perfect.  I didn't pick up the check, but my guestimate is less than $20 for all three of us.  Service was aces and the food was great. Not surprisingly for a trusty old stand-by, 5 out of 5 sporks!

Let me preface this by saying - and you may want to sit down - but, prior to this, I'd never eaten Indian food before. I used to be a real nervous Nelly about trying new things, but once I got past that - I just never got around to trying it.  So, I really haven't a clue how authentic (or not) this recipe is.  But, aside from a few spices I needed to pick up, it was something I already had all the ingredients for and seemed easy enough. Here's what you'll need: 

2 Tbsp olive oil 

1 cup diced onion 

1 1/2 tsp cumin powder 

1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 

2 tsp coriander powder 

1 tsp turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp ground cloves 

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp to 

1/2 Tbsp red pepper flakes (or more, to taste)

2 tsp minced fresh ginger 

2 tsp minced garlic 

2 Tbsp tomato paste 

1 can petite diced tomatoes 

3 chicken breasts, 

2 chicken breasts, diced (raw)

Mr. FvF and I have been trying to eat fairly healthy at lunch and dinner to combat all the other carb-o-riffic holiday treats that are finding their way into our faces. Last week, I was craving Italian - specifically, something swimming in a rich bolognese. Other than piling on pasta, there aren't tons of options. Then, I came across a South Beach dieter's blog with a recipe that used zucchini and squash as vessels for fillings, the same way I do my stuffed shells. Then I slapped myself for not thinking of that on my own. I started to choke myself, then I remembered that I'm not Rob Schneider. Even I was skeptical, and I was almost sure the husband wouldn't dig this, but it turned out surprisingly kick ass. Here's what you'll need:

After a very long day of stimulating the economy on Friday, I wanted to grab a quick dinner with the mister before going Krogering.  Ever since hearing about the opening of a new Puerto Rican restaurant, Antojitos Criollos, right down the street, I'd been itching to try it.  That spot across from the Eastown Shopping Center has sat vacant for at least 5 years, formerly housing the Mexican restaurant El Rincon.  


This tiny strip mall sits so close to the road that parking is a little strange. Easy enough to get into, but difficult to back out of if there's traffic on Linden.  We scored the one empty spot in front of the cleaners, but I couldn't figure out why the lot was full when the cleaners, the smoke shop and the restaurant were practically empty.  That is, until we entered the restaurant to find what I can only assume are the employees' friends and/or family taking up two huge tables in the front. We walked past them and seated ourselves, since no one else was doing it.  A girl who barely spoke took out drink order and gave us menus.  The menu was only 2-3 pages, and very limited.  The longest list was appetizers, and even most of those were just smaller versions of entrées.  The only thing I noticed that looked appealing was the empanadillas, but I turned my nose up pretty quickly at the $12 price tag.  The entrées consist of mofongo (mashed plantains w/garlic) and a choice of meat, which I think there were five of.  And that's IT.  No pollo fricasse, no pasteles, nothing. Again, most of the price points over $10, which really surprised me.  I'm known to be a bit of a penny pincher, but I know where to expect higher price points.  I can see paying $12 for an appetizer at El Meson, or even The Green Plaintain, but not a dive like this.  I don't say dive in a bad sense, either - I love dives.  I was hoping for a little hole-in-the-wall with great food and reasonable prices.  


But, I do use the words "abomination" and "shit hole" in a bad sense.  Once the waitress begrudgingly took our order and brought out our canned drinks (which loyal readers know I think is total bullshit), we waited thirty minutes without  a word as to why our food was taking so long. To boot, during that entire thirty minutes, we couldn't hold a conversation because of the ruckus being brought by the two full tables of loiterers in the front, playing cards and yelling like they learned their inside voices in a sawmill.  


When another guy gave my husband the "Are you going to be the one to ditch this place first, or are we?" look, we knew it was time to GTFO.  We would have just left a few bucks on the table for our drinks and split, but we didn't have any cash.  When we finally caught our server again and waited for her to get off her cell phone, we told her we had an emergency and needed to leave, but could pay for our beverages on a card. She didn't look the least bit bothered by losing one of their TWO paying customers, and said "Don't worry about it," and walked away.  


I can't give them a rating since we didn't even eat there, but I can tell you we won't be giving them a second chance.  
     

Next up, the Steak & Egg Burrito. Not too shabby. Mr. FvF loved this one. I thought it was pretty okay, considering the thought of "steak" from Taco Bell probably comes from the same place as the Mongolian Beef at New China. It did have a nice smoky sauce, though.

I never thought the day would come that my husband tired of Ticket's Pub and their delicious, carnivorous Greek Hot Plate. We've been known to make several excuses and maybe even get unnecessary hair cuts, just so we could say, "Might as well grab a bite at Ticket's. It'll be too late to cook once we get home." While I still have a Pavlovian response to the words "Greek Hot Plate," the magic seems to have faded for him. I suggested the usual post-haircut dinner there and he suggested trying something new instead.

I've been busy pushing maximum density lately, which has left me with a whirlwind of Gem City restaurant news to catch up on. First off, a ton of new eateries are opening.

With a massive hangover in tow, we decided to check out Angie's Firehouse Tavern last weekend. I'd been meaning to try it since it re-opened in Belmont a while back, but it just became one of those things we never got around to.

Corn pudding is one of the greatest and most comforting Southern side dishes to ever grace a table. If you're hard up for sides, or tired of the ol' green bean casserole, toss this amazing dish into your Thanksgiving lineup next week. This particular recipe is adapted from Alton Brown's recipe. Basically, I just removed the (based on the end product, unnecessary) bread, and some of the fresh herbs (rosemary and thyme) because I didn't have them.
Here's what you'll need (serves 4-6):

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
2 tbsp butter
1 14 oz can creamed corn
1 C heavy cream
2 eggs
1/2 C Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 C shredded colby jack cheese
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350°. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, saute onions and herbs in butter until the onions are translucent. In a large bowl, mix the onions with all the other ingredients and stir. Pour into a greased casserole dish, greased muffin tins, or ramekins. Bake the casserole for about 45 minutes or until golden and set. If you're using ramekins or muffin tins, start with 20 minutes and keep checking them until they're soft-set and golden brown on top.

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you Food vs Face will no longer be working with Man-B-Que. As hurt as I am over the ordeal, and as much as I'd like to take this opportunity to verbally spank them in front of all of their friends on the information super highway, I will not. I'll only say that they are a young and fledgling organization with a lot to learn about how to conduct affairs, and the pitfalls of doing business with friends. I wish them the best in their future endeavors, and hopefully the Man-B-Que tradition can still carry on here in Dayton, without my help.

Anytime I get an inkling of something new Mr. FvF discovers that he likes, I try to find a way I can create a meal around it. I can't remember how, but he realized he liked Asian-style sesame, dressing - so I figured I could make a spinach salad of it. But, just any regular spinach salad wouldn't do. Unlike lettuce, green leafies like cabbage and spinach are sometimes even better when they wilt under a bit of heat, so I thought I might try putting a chicken stir fry on top of a bed of it.

I love my friends SO much that I'll let them make me go to the same shitty place more than once. I like to think that placed in a similar situation, they would do the same for me. I've never decided to go to The Greene, Dayton's fancy outdoor walk-around mall, on my own. Aside from trekking out there to meet one of my favorite authors, my visits have always been at at least somewhat at another person's request or invite.

You see, the first time I went to the Greene, something weird, embarrassing, and life-alteringly shitty happened there. I'm not going to go into detail, but let's just say I think of it as my personal Vietnam. So naturally, I don't like the place too much. Besides, although I love commerce, places like this exemplify my hate part of our love/hate relationship. The food options are really not much more impressive than your regular indoor mall eating options, they're just far more overpriced. They all have $10+ appetizers and outdoor patios and verandas, and if you're a smoker, everyone looks at you like you're eating a live baby. It's all your standard fare of Brios and P.F. Chang's, occasionally a chain restaurant masquerading as an independent, but their decor and prices aren't fooling anyone. Then of course, there are your Fleming's and McCormick and Schmick's, where you don't even know if you're ordering up, because there aren't always prices on the menu. Oh, then there's this nest of turds called The Pub. Not to be confused with Dayton's original and independent Dublin Pub, which happens to have delicious food, stellar service and a staff who know a it's a dick move to review an Irish pub based on ordering the fucking filet. They have steak on the menu at Denny's, too - but that doesn't mean you should order it and base your opinion of their food as a whole on an item that's clearly not within their realm of expertise - but, I digress.

Back to my original point that one of my best gals craves the curry fries at The Pub. I'd never had them, or even seen them - but I assumed they must be worth the trip. This day was all about her, and I made sure to eat a decent lunch so that I wouldn't order much there. I ordered the Cheese Bollocks, large balls of mozzarella, beer battered and deep fried.

Of course I want to say they were terrible, but they really weren't. The batter was on the bland side, but it's still beer batter, filled with melty cheese. Gin got the fries and their soup of the day, corn chowder, which she just said "tasted weird."

A while back, Mr. FvF and I stopped into Bob Evan's for lunch and he went on all day about how great the chicken and noodles were. I'd had it before, and it was no match for my mom's chicken and noodles, so I realized I was going to have to whip up a batch soon for him to realize Bob's wasn't all that. This will feed a small army, is fairly inexpensive and WAY easy. Here's what you'll need:

Danger, danger - high voltage! By voltage, I mean cholesterol. For the most part, I try to cook healthier meals here at Chez FvF. But, once in a while I see something so sinful that I simply must recreate it here at home. Enter: Dorito Dogs. While not nearly the arterial Hoover Dam that BBDs are, these still aren't anywhere near good for you. But, your husband and kids will treat you like you've just cured cancer for at least 6 hours after serving them. Well, my husband is always that nice and we have no children to please, so why do I still make shit like this? Because I can. As the great Roseanne Rosannadanna once explained, "It's always something. If food doesn't kill me, I'll get hit by a bus!"

A few weekends ago, before the great plague fell upon our house, Mr. FvF and I decided to take a trip out to Wasserstrom Restaurant Supply. I'd always wanted to go, and now had an excuse because I needed some pro gear for my Swedish Chef costume. Long story short, the trip was a bust - they didn't have what I needed and everything was ridiculously pricey. Clockwise from top to center:

Another installment of Breakfast for Dinner! It's also great for brunch, or of course - just regular breakfast. This is one of Mr. FvF's absolute favorites, mostly because it's heavy on the bread and the epitome of comfort food. It's also great with some veggies in it, like onions, peppers or broccoli, but greens in breakfast food doesn't fly at my house. The awesome part is, it's stuff mostly things that you'll always have in the fridge. Here's what you'll need.

I ordered the Taste of Woody's (heh heh), which includes spare ribs, BBQ pork loin, beef smoked turkey, broasted BBQ chicken, and of course, two sides. Oh, and Texas toast. I wanted cole slaw and onion rings as my sides, and they didn't even up-charge me for the rings. Score. I actually wanted to order a different sampler, but they were out of brisket. This was fairly late in the dinner hours for this sort of place, so I wasn't too miffed about it, since they had plenty of variety in their combo platters.

Wednesday night, I headed to Cincinnati with Tim & KG to see THE Greg Dulli. I rarely talk about my likes outside of food here, but let me make this very clear - Greg Dulli (of Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers & Gutter Twins fame) is the only man besides my husband that I will love until my dying breath. Not the same way, of course. I love the Dulli in a mildly creepy, obsessive way - not an ironing his shirts and dealing with his mother sort of way.

And as much as I wanted to try the Drunken Noodles, I went for the Tamarind Beef.

The portions are huuuuuuuge, considering the price. You could easily order one dish between two people, like most Asian-fare restaurants. I only tried a nibble of the stir fry, since I was trying to avoid the shrimp, but what I had was great. Crisp veggies, light sauce, and beautifully plated.