173 posts tagged “cincinnati”
A great tale of friendly rivals.
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Near my house, there are four restaurants.
One is a local place known for it's steaks. In a guide book, it would have four little dollar signs next to it. Best steak I've ever had though. I've been there twice in fourteen years living in this part of town--not an everyday place.
Another place is a local "dive," with an eclectic menu. Decent food--I'll even order the red beans and rice 'cause I like it--but it's more of a sit-down casual place.
A third place I went to once, and can't even think of its name. It wasn't all that great.
Finally, there is a Starbucks. I like this one a lot--they really participate in the community.
However, if I wanted a quick, cheap meal--a "grab a sandwich" sort of thing.
They've been building some new storefronts nearby. Nothing particularly interesting has gone in so far. However, this week, a banner for Bruegger's, a bagel chain, went up. They're quite good, though I have my own biases. While homemade often wins, the convenience of popping over on a whim without involving a vehicle is compelling.
My wife's dance group, Celtic Rhythm Dancers USA, performed at Summerfair a few weeks ago. I just got around to looking at the pictures.
My wife's comment at this photo was, "look at those pointed toes."
I saw on twitter yesterday that the Eurasian Lynx's kittens were peeking out. I thought I would go see if they would make an appearance. Instead, I just got disapproving looks from mama lynx. Can you blame her?
I did see lots of cat tongues, be it a lion or a cheetah.
This weekend, we went to KiteFest. Lots of big, huge kites, including a lizard.
Colleges seem to develop favorite local spots. It definitely seems more common in college towns, but I've seen it next to other major universities. It's not just the bars--it is the restaurant where you grab a sandwich during a late-night cram session.
For students and alumni of Miami University, Bagel and Deli was such a place. I know several Cincinnati-area alumni who make the trek up to to Oxford and stop in. It was known for steaming their bagel sandwiches, and the collection of signs, often student-made, describing various combination, Several fans created Bagel and Deli's where they settled.
Just last week, Gilpin's Bagel and Deli opened on Seventh Street. It was described in some blogs as "loosely modeled on the place in Oxford." While I can't say if any resemblance is intentional or coincidental, I definitely think they have similar DNA. On entering the downtown shop, it has a more professional appearance--none of the student signs and lighter chained to the counter, but clean walls and whiteboard signs. That's OK--I've grown up, and can visit Oxford if I really need that.
Where it counts is the sanwich. To order, you take a paper, and follow a "six step" process, circling the bread, meat, cheese, spread, andy any topings you may want. The bagels appear to be Marx (like Oxford), and they say the cream cheese is make fresh. I tried to reproduce my college favorite, the Alumni Bagel--cream cheese and roast beef.
The bagel is preppared, then steamed. The steaming gives the bagel a moist, chewy feel--much better, in my opinion, to toasting it. I overheard them alluding to a process that uses the steamers to heat/revitalize the cookies.
Overall, I was pleased with my experience. I didn't have high expectations--it was, after all, a bagel sandwich, difficult to do poorly. I also had also checked my nostalgia at the door. What I got was a sandwich that gave me the feel for an old favorite, and captured the parts that made me like it. It will definitely displace Bagel Stop for my downtown bagel business.
