Fork Heart Knife

Fork Heart Knife had their final food sevice on Thursday 5/5.  It was my second trip and I feel lucky to have been able to partake in another one of their delicious meals.  They celebrated Cinco de Mayo and the Mexican fare was amazing.

Tortilla chips with mango salsa to begin (the guac was already gone).

Followed by Mexican street corn; sweet corn on the cob covered in mayonnaise and then rolled in cotija cheese(a crumbly goat cheese) and topped with paprika.  Yum!  Definitely something I will try to replicate.

The main course was fish tacos.  Grilled tilapia in two soft tortilla shells topped with more cotija and a cabbage slaw.  Excellent, although the picture does not do it justice. 

For dessert they served "crack" cookies; sugar cookies made with brown sugar and browned butter.  I failed to get a picture but they were by far some of the best cookies I've had.  They were topped with sugar and seemed to be lightly salted; the sweet/salty/cripsy exterior with the chewy interior was something that cannnot be explained without tasting it yourself.

I've followed ForkHeartKnife's blog for several months now and recipes are freely posted throughout its pages.  The cookie recipe is there...although you will have to hunt for it.  I think it's great that the owners have shared their gift and love of cooking with their community; their eat-in kitchen made such an impression in a very brief period of time.  Looking forward to what the future holds!



Stuffed on Vine

I tried Stuffed on Vine!  Finally!  It seems like I've been waiting for ages but realistically it's only been about 2 months.  T'was everything I dreamed.

We went on a Sunday evening to have the option of the "Sunday meal" in addition to a Big Lene or other menu item.  The restaurant is partially under construction with the main bar area fixed up and the side room still a work in progress.  We had a larger group so we sat in the side room and enjoyed it to ourselves.

Charlena is one of the co-owners and was our server.  She basically wrote the book on hospitality.  After answering our questions, making menu recommendations and sharing information about the building's history she took our order and explained how the whole stuffed burger bit got started.

From the 1930's until the late 1980's the ground floor of 1720 Vine Street was a bar and grill of sorts.  At one point in the early 1990's it was turned into a wine bar...admittedly well before the whole wine bar craze.  Needless to say, it didn't last long.  The building was subsequently owned by someone for a couple years who did nothing with the space and then re-sold and put up for lease. 

Charlena's grandmother was living in an apartment upstairs and that is how she became aware of the vacancy on the ground floor.  They signed the lease even before they knew what they would sell in the space.  The stuffed burger niche was decided and they never looked back. 

All the rehab work was done themselves; including refinishing the original bar.  Behind the bar is a refrigerator displaying a nice selection of canned soda you can purchase with your meal (may I recommend the Vernor's ginger ale).  Menu items are beyond reasonably priced. Check out their Facebook page to get updates on what they're serving for Sunday dinner and hours of operation.

This particular day I went with the Sunday dinner special: Salisbury steak, garlic mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, green beans, macaroni and cheese and a dinner roll for $8.

Several of my friends chose the mushroom Swiss stuffed burger:

And one order of naked wings sprinkled with seasoned salt.

Can't forget the Big Lene (named after CharLENa) and all of its stuffed goodness.  The inside houses a combination of cheese, peppers and mushrooms among others.

Everyone who ordered fries raved about their taste, texture and seasoning.  My first trip to Stuffed on Vine left me satisfied but longing to go back.  Yes, Big Lene, you are on my radar and your side of fries too.

I love the new food experience.  I believe the only way great-tasting food can get better is when you know the food is cooked from someone's heart.  Stuffed on Vine undoubtedly serves food from the heart. 

Bockfest= beer and happy people

Bockfest 2011 kicked off last night and continues through the rest of the weekend.  We had a great time, and it all started with a ride on the hoppin' Bockfest Yellow Bus Shuttle.  Our ride was complete with a bagpipe playing fellow passenger.



Bus runs until 1am Fri/Sat and 7pm Sunday



We hopped on the bus at 13th and Main and then headed to Milton's on Sycamore, down a big scary hill to Bockfest Hall where we unloaded and re-loaded a bus chock full of Bock beer drinking delight.  The next stop on the route took us to our anticipated destination: Grammer's

This was my first-time at Grammer's.  They did it up right for Bockfest and had a packed house in additional to several tents in their outdoor area.  The evening would have been admittedly better sans the non-stop rain, but the bock beer made everything better. 

Hudepohl Bock, Schoenling Bock, Moerlein Emancipator Bock

See how happy:

We ended up staying at Grammer's for the duration of the evening and I found myself engaged in some interesting dialogue about blogging and life in general.

I think I may stop by other Bockfest venues tonight and and hit up the Cafe De Wheels, I hear they have great burgers.  And when it was all said and done I can summarize the evening as follows:

And pretzel necklaces aren't too shabby either:

Go to Bockfest, it's fun!

Shadeau Breads

 While attending a workshop at Higher Branches on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine I noticed this sweet little bakery that sits adjacent.  I paid a visit yesterday and it took me back to 2004 when I spent 5 weeks travelling Europe; frequenting the neighborhood bakeries for their delicious pastries and warm atmosphere.

Shadeau Breads has been baking in OTR for 15 years and does a great business selling to up-scale restaurants in the Cincinnati area as well as to other local patrons.  They also offer soup/sandwich lunch options served daily at their store.

I picked up a 1lb loaf of the multi-grain, delicious!  They also offer a variety of baguette, sandwich loafs and wonderful pastries and focaccia made with fresh ingredients and baked on-site daily.

On my next visit I will be partaking in the pastry followed by the focaccia (see below).  I have a feeling I will become a regular at this wonderful old-world bakery located appropriately in historic OTR.