Each week CityBeat staffers and dining writers tell you what they ate this weekend. We’re not always proud — or trendy — but we definitely spend at least some money on food.
Ilene Ross: I ate out quite a bit this weekend due to the fact that my newly engaged daughter was in town for some wedding planning. On Friday we spent the day trying on wedding gowns, which left us feeling quite peckish, so we treated ourselves to afternoon tea at The BonBonerie. I find the $25 per person a bit high for the amount of food you get, but for a special occasion, you can’t beat the pomp and circumstance of tiny scones, macarons and finger sandwiches. *Note: You must make reservations for afternoon tea. Saturday found us in OTR looking at reception venues, so we popped into Park + Vine for their annual Customer Appreciation Day. I had the tofu and roasted vegetable sandwich with a side of macaroni and cheese. Now I know P+V is a vegan restaurant and it’s not “real” dairy cheese, but as an omnivore, I can honestly say that it’s one of my very favorite renditions of the mac and cheese. On Sunday night I tried new-to-me Brij Mohan Indian Sweets & Restaurant out in Sharonville with a group of friends. I had the Navratan Korma (fresh assorted vegetables and dried fruits cooked in creamy gravy), onion naan and a mango lassi (a yogurt smoothie). This place is super authentic and incredibly popular. There was a long line of people waiting to get in before they even opened for business. We were told that everything is made from scratch and in-house. Brij Mohan is wallet-friendly and super-casual, right down to the paper plates, but don’t let the dinnerware stop you from enjoying the incredible food. Said my dining companion Danny Korman (of Park+Vine), “The paper plates I don’t get, but the food I do.”
Kristen Franke: My Valentine and I spent Saturday morning at Findlay Market searching for wine-and-cheese-night goodies. We picked up three cheeses — St. Andre triple cream, Spanish manchego and creamy smoked gouda — and some freshly-sliced proscuitto from Gibbs Cheese, country French bread from Blue Oven, Castellare Chianti from the Market Wines and a package of dates from Madison’s. Later, the dates were stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with bacon to complete our little V-day spread.
Maija Zummo: My friends and I had a girls night at Pontiac in Over-the-Rhine on Friday. Two of the four of us got there at 5:30 p.m. and there was no wait, which was great. However the other half of the group was late (which some portion of us always is), and they won’t seat you until your whole party is there, so we sat at the bar and had some drinks until they showed up. The drinks at Pontiac are awesome. There’s a whole menu of Tiki drinks, all served in tall Tiki cups. Note: If you steal a Tiki cup, they will charge you $75. I had the Bahama-Lana ($13) at the bar, which tasted like bananas and coconut and was full of rum, Domaine de Canton ginger liquor and bourbon cider. It was pretty sweet but I felt great after drinking it; vacation-style relaxed. My friend had a glass of chardonnay and the bartender was really nice and warned her about the kinda steep price ($10-$12 for a glass). She didn’t mind.
In terms of food, I can’t say much. I don’t eat meat so I just had an assortment of sides. (Food reviewer Michael Taylor has more to say about the meat here.) Mostly I just wanted more Tiki drinks, so we ordered a bowl of Rumspringa Punch ($30). The mix of rum, ginger, champagne, pineapple and some more stuff came in a giant Tiki bowl with four straws and a flaming volcano in the middle (on fire because of the 151 puddle in there). Also fantastic. We finished it and then split another one. Turns out I love rum served in thematic cups. Also, I had to pee pretty bad because of all the Tiki drinking, and on the way to the bathroom I saw CityBeat dining writer Kristen Franke. Adorable.
Jesse Fox: I went to Tacocracy and got their vegan chorizo taco and their shroom taco (substitute avocado for cheese) and a black margarita. The shroom taco is always my go-to there and I still prefer it over the vegan chorizo, but it’s awesome to see more vegan options on menus around town. The black margarita was good and not too sweet and syrupy, like some inexpensive margaritas tend to be.
This article appears in Feb 11-17, 2015.
