A Year in Reviews

“Arrechissimo” is Venezuelan slang for “spectacular,” and the restaurant offers a one-page menu of Venezuela’s most beloved signature dishes. Among the “breakfast” items ($3-$6.50), which can be ordered all day, are the arepas: round, lightly fried discs of cornmeal stuffed with a choice of nearly a dozen possible fillings, including shredded beef, chicken, “reina pepiada” (a chicken salad mixture made green from avocado), “perico” (eggs scrambled with onion and tomato), cheese and prosciutto. While many people are familiar with empanadas — fried, crimped turnovers stuffed with meat — Arrechissimo’s are unlike any other. Not quite the size of a calzone, these are enormous versions of the savory treat, nearly a meal in themselves. (Michael Taylor)

Food prices are mid-range, with appetizers and salads from about $6 to $14 for a bowl of mussels or Duck Poutine (a French-Canadian dish with “hand cut fries, duck confit, cheese curds and gravy”). Main courses start at $12 for a beef burger or a quinoa veggie burger and slide upward. For main dishes, I tried the Five-Spiced Duck Breast ($21), another generous portion, served with quinoa and spaghetti squash; my husband had the Airline Chicken Breast ($16) with coconut-mushroom sauce over asparagus spears. The quality of cooking in both entrées was impressive, and everything looked appetizing on the artsy, square plates. The bar serves six local beers on tap at $5 a pint, with a couple dozen more by the bottle, plus a 45-bottle wine list, including 17 available by the glass. Eight “signature cocktails” round out the drinks list. (Pama Mitchell)

Owners Matt Wu, Eric Roeder and Stijn Van Woensel came up with the idea to bring a taste of European street food to Cincinnati. The shop features 24 flavors of gelato and sorbetto daily. As for ingredients, it rotates flavors regularly but maintains staples like caramel and chocolate. You’ll definitely see some unfamiliar gelato flavors, including Earl Grey and white chocolate lavender. The crepes are stuffed with your choice of sweet or savory ingredients. All of the combinations are simple, but very appealing. The Greco has spinach, tomato, goat cheese and a balsamic glaze ($7); and they couldn’t escape a classic crepe loaded with banana and Nutella, deemed the Belgian Breakfast ($5). They’ll also offer a featured crepe, like the Coconut Cream pie ($6) with optional berries or bananas. (Brenna Smith)

The owner of The Elusive Cow, Jim Fisher, delivers a menu that supports the omnivore in us all, including dishes with bison, tofu, fish and, of course, hamburgers. The Elusive Cow has an extensive beer menu with 90 bottles to choose from and six beers on tap. We started our meal off with a half-order of house-made onion rings ($6.95). These onion rings far surpassed the typical vehicles for ketchup. For my main course, I chose the falafel special ($8.95) served with the vegetable of the day, Brussels sprouts. One big, tender pita folded and stuffed with three balls of falafel and crammed with pickles, fresh onions and tomatoes. To top it off, the tzatziki sauce served alongside the sandwich is house-made and dairy free. I’m definitely going back. Mostly, I want a good beer and those great onion rings. (BS)

Before they could start their own local beer empire, Whit Hesser, Blake Horsburgh (a seasoned, Siebel Institute-certified brewer); and Bobby Slattery wanted to make sure their brew was as good as they thought it was. After getting an enthusiastic thumbs-up from several key area beer experts like Jay Ashmore, owner of Dutch’s Larder, the three set out on establishing a name for their fledgling microbrewery and Fifty West (on Route 50) was born. The three soon secured Chef John Tomain, whose beer pairing background helped him design a rotating, seasonal small plate menu that deftly marries Fifty West’s lineup of more than a dozen brews. A six-beer flight is available for only $5 and each beer on the list comes with suggested food pairings. (MT)

Master Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel and pastry chef Jean Philippe Solnom have brought a little bit of France to the Central Business District. The French Crust Café is cozy, seating just 26 people, and serves both breakfast and lunch. The full-service breakfast includes Solnom’s buttery croissants and rich brioche; Swiss granola with Snowville yogurt; puff pastry with local goetta and poached eggs; and eggs Benedict. There are fresh fruit tarts and other pastries, which are served with coffee throughout the day. With an eye toward traditional French fare, the lunch menu includes homemade soups and salads. French Crust offers not one but three selections of quiche: Lorraine, duo of salmon and goat cheese. Hearty “Les Casseroles or Le Creuset” will be most welcome come the colder weather. (Ilene Ross) 

Eating donuts with wild abandon is not something I can do. If I’m going to commit a caloric crime, the reward had better be worth it. At Holtman’s Donuts, it is. The bakery is clean and welcoming, with a good view of smiling bakers behind spotless glass windows and the scent of yeasty, sugary goodness wafting through the air. I tried the seasonal pumpkin cake donut with cream cheese frosting and it went straight into my “Best Bites of 2013” file. This pastry was worth every calorie. (AM)

This pub’s name derives from the actual Cincinnati Incline that existed from the late 1800s-1940s, a trolley system that took people to the apex of a steep rise in Price Hill. The menu features sandwiches, pizza, epicurean appetizers and a slew of craft cocktails and draft beers; and they have a monthly beer series called “Meet the Brewer.” About 95 percent of IPH’s food is handmade, including their dressings and smoked meats. I’d recommend the fish sandwich ($11): large pieces of grilled cod (you can get it fried, too) with a heap of coleslaw sandwiched between a remoulade-smeared rye bun, and a side salad with authentic grated cheddar cheese. Sometimes restaurants with pleasant views have a lot of style without substance, but the food at IPH is as much of a draw as imbibing on a party deck overlooking the city. (GP)

Kaze’s offers two distinctive spaces — a dining room and a bar with an outdoor patio. The warm sake — Tozai “Living Jewel” — ($14/carafe) was most welcome on the freezing-cold night we were there. It’s not premium sake — they are generally served cold — but it was plenty good. Have cold sake, like the sparkling Kurashizuku ($21/carafe) with an Uni Shooter ($6), sea urchin instead of oyster. Exotic! We tasted the entire menu, and there weren’t any disappointments. My favorites were the pork buns ($8) — crisped pork belly with curly frisee and tart apples on house-made yeast buns — and the short rib sliders ($8) with cucumber pickled kimchi and a rich Korean barbecue sauce. Kaze also offers a big selection of sushi. (Anne Mitchell)

“The best things I ate this year were in a one-block radius on Vine Street; a one-block triangle, really. Point one, for starters, the Omakase (chef’s choice) at Kaze. At most sushi restaurants, when you let the chef choose their favorites, you really can’t go wrong. At Kaze, chef/owner/partner Hideki Harada made the best sushi I’ve ever eaten. Each bite had a little ‘bonus’ that made it over-the-top. 

Point two, the entrée: a bowl of Viet Ramen Soup at Quan Hapa. Slurpy noodle goodness, topped with a crisp wonton and barbecue pork. Takes a long time to eat, so you can enjoy more than one of the excellent beers on tap. And then, dessert: a donut at Holtman’s. When you’ve had just enough beer to show absolutely no good judgment, cross the street — carefully! — and get a mad, crazy good donut. A blueberry or pumpkin cake donut with cream cheese icing, a maple bacon sweet porkgasm — you can’t go wrong. You only live once, and it may not be long, so enjoy it.” — Anne Mitchell

Kitchen 452’s storefront space is very inviting, with exposed brick walls and handcrafted metal pipe-framed shelves. When it came time to plan a menu, Leah Joos and Jen Lile decided to sit down and write a list of everything they love to cook. They both like combinations of sweet and savory tastes, which led to dishes like their pear salad, with sweet bites of pear balanced against savory blue cheese and crunchy walnuts, and their hot ham and Swiss sandwich, with crunchy slices of tart green apples. All the sandwiches are made with Shadeau Bakery breads and all the salads are dressed with homemade vinaigrettes. Lile is the primary baker, and if her lemon shortbread cookies are any indication, she’s talented. (AM)

Main Bite creates delicious, seasonal fare with crafty culinary cocktails to go with each bite of your meal. Owner Margie Potts prepares everything fresh daily and all the sauces and dressings are made in-house. This isn’t a tapas-style restaurant, but Potts shaves down the portion sizes so one dish won’t stuff you. Our “First Bite” was the Shrimp Guac Nachos ($9.95), five blue corn tortilla chips individually dolloped with guacamole and topped with a shrimp. From the “Main Bites” section, we chose the signature crab cakes ($13.95) and blackened tilapia tacos ($12.95). The crab cakes were moist and pan-seared. The tilapia tacos had a great consistency. Along with the cocktails, all the bites tasted fresh and didn’t leave me feeling overindulgent. (BS) 

Mayday, the storied Northside bar, jumped into the restaurant game in October when they hired chef Julz Lucas and added a full menu of gourmand dishes to their stable of Senate-like hot dogs. The most expensive items on the menu are the $12 fancy charcuterie board (cured meats, cheeses, housemade pickles) and cassoulet, a hearty French stew made with meats and veggies. The night I went, they offered a beet soup with rosemary cream swirled on top, a mac-and-cheese burger and a carrot and zucchini hash side. We tried a cup of the soup ($3.50), which was delicious. Mayday has seven hot dogs on their menu and a monthly dog. All their dogs can be made with a vegan wiener for a $1 upcharge or a gourmet dog for $1.50 more. The gastropub upgrade should be a welcome addition for new and old patrons alike. (GP)

Mazunte Taqueria owner Josh Wamsley creates an experience matching those spent as a hungry English professor in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, a place he calls the “unofficial mecca of Mexican cuisine.” Mazunte’s abbreviated but compelling menu is a homage to los antojitos, “little cravings” of street food filling Mexican streets. My tacos (braised chicken, shredded pork and beer-battered fish), while diminutive, packed bold, hearty flavors usually found at more expensive, trendier taquerias. My girlfriend’s chicken enchiladas offered an attractive stacked presentation showcasing the spicy braised chicken. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the Mexican rice — usually an afterthought, this wasn’t at all like the forgettable red stuff served at other Mexican restaurants. Essences of chicken and cilantro electrified our senses. Mazunte honors its ambitious theme of tradition, authenticity and care. (MT)

“A refreshing surprise, Mazunte Taqueria is like a soft kiss of authenticity from Oaxaca, Mexico. Try the memelitas, thick masa tortillas topped with chicken or chorizo, or a steamy bowl of Pozole, one of the most delicious soups in the city.” — Michael Taylor