With Lil FvF and four jobs between my husband and I, we don't get out for many nice meals these days.  when Mr. FvF's Aunt and Uncle were in town recently, they passed through Dayton to have dinner with us and my folks.  They're well-traveled folks, and surely not easily impressed - so it seemed like a great excuse to check out Meadowlark's new (I know, they've been there for a while - but like I said, I don't get out much!) digs in Kettering, which was a halfway point for all of us.  The new joint is at least triple the size of the old location, and suits them so much more.  The decor is warm and unique, with plenty of tables and a great bar area.  The highlights were definitely the seasonal cocktails with spring fruits (the Bourbon and Berries was to die for) and the cheese plate that they brought out to finish the meal, even though it wasn't on the menu.

I know most people who give a damn about great food in Dayton are already hip to how great Meadowlark is, but if you're not - go there soon.  For a market like Dayton, we are really lucky to have a gem like this right in our own back yard - especially tucked away in the suburbs. If that wasn't a strong enough statement,  I'll just leave you with a few photos to make you salivate.

I'd found myself eyeballing Culp's menu on a number of occasions, when trying to find a lunch spot to meet a business partner about halfway between Dryden Road and Wilmington Pike.  Natural direction usually leads me to linger around oakwood, but there aren't a ton of great lunch options there.  The first time she talked me into trying Cooper's Deli, despite my argument that a nearly $20 rueben has no place in a market like Dayton.  It was decent, but not $20 sandwich good, that's for sure.  Apparently, the eaters agreed with me by refusing to pay those prices for meat and bread, and Cooper's closed after less than one year in business.

Anyhow, Culp's Cafe has a nifty and rich history behind it, which I'll let you read on Dayton History's website.  Their menu is pretty expansive for such a small place, which isn't always a good thing.  I'd had my eyes on their chicken salad (vanilla choice, I know - but I love a good chicken salad sandwich, and never eat it at home because only the Lil one and I enjoy it) - but ended up going a different route. We had a late lunch and they were down to their last few pieces of quiche, so I opted for the ham & cheese quiche with a side salad.  I certainly wasn't expecting such a mammoth slice, and never expect spring mix, oranges, pecans and housemade vinaigrette when I hear "side salad."  It was far and away the best piece of quiche I've ever had.  The custard was perfectly fluffy with a spot-on crust that still flaked apart, even on the bottom.  The fillings were strong enough in flavor, but didn't overwhelm the eggs.

My buddy Tim from YouIndie and I fumbled our way through Cincinnati traffic (note to self: never complain about Dayton's again) on an unseasonably warm and sunny Thursday afternoon last month to see the Afghan Whigs.  Since this is basically my Metallica/Beatles/fillinsuperfanboyanswer here band, the meal needed to live up to the rest of the evening.  We had a few recommendations, but everyone had mentioned Senate in OTR.  They refer to themselves as "Pushers of beer, wine and gourmet street food," and are also known to sell some pretty fancified hot dogs.
Everyone watches their funds these days, but I've been pinching pennies since the day I got my hands on a nickel.  I loaned my sister a dollar once and tried to charge her interest on it, and told me 2nd grade teacher that I "wanted to be a loan shark when  grew up," based on my mom's commentary about the aforementioned loan.  So, a $10 hot dog seemed a little steep to me - but I figured there had to be something to it if people keep paying the $10 for them.
 Pretty much street parking only, but my pilot TimDogg scored a sweet spot right in front of their door.  In warmer weather, it's a very open air eatery, and aesthetically every bit of on-trend.  Small and bustling, but the service is top-notch.  The host told me it would be about 20 minutes (which is still less than what I expected), but it was really less than 5.  Every employee is clean cut and sharp-dressed, which goes a long way with me.  Especially when every single one of them is as handsome as the day is long.  Our server was knowledgeable about the drink and food menu, and had plenty of recommendations to help me make up my mind between all of the offerings.  I opted for a seasonal pumpkin cocktail and the Trailer Park dog, and my bro-date and I would split the truffle fries. If you're dying to know what a Trailer Park dog is comprised of and are too lazy to look at the website, it's an all beef dog wrapped in bacon with American cheese, creamy claw and crushed BBQ Grippos on a brioche bun.  Are you salivating yet?  Because I AM.   

The cocktail was perfect and distinct, and funky in the same way that grass-fed beef is the very first time you taste it.  The dog was not only only the best actual frank I've ever tasted, but the best all-together hot dog and probably in my top ten stateside food experiences, period.  $10 seems negligible once you taste it, because I'd gladly pay $20 for one right now.

I'm really glad our server recommended the truffle fries over the duck fat fries, because I really don't see how anything could have been better than these little sticks of heaven.  I've find most fries not to be worth the calories contained, so I'm not a big fry eater.  I'd rather skip'em and go whole hog on an entree or dessert.  But these?  These I could eat everyday, and probably die at a very young age or coronary heart disease.  If clouds were made of fresh butter, then somehow made slightly crispy on the outside, that's what these truffle fries taste like.  They're the unicorn of the french fry world.
                                               
You all know I rarely give 5 out of 5 sporks - but Senate really won me over.  For the quality you're getting, the price is perfectly reasonable and the service was unparalleled.  I've tried to think about any way one could improve upon the food, but the only answer is "MORE OF THAT."

Thanks to the generosity of a family friend, we were able to take our first (almost) full-on family getaway a few weeks ago.  I've been dreaming of a beach since we got back from our honeymoon, but a coastal trip just wasn't practical. So instead, we headed to the Gatlinburg area to a cozy, baller Lincoln log mansion that this generous friend let us borrow.  Mr. FvF and I had tooled around Gatlinburg proper for our babymoon vacation.  We had a good time, but this time we were in the market for something more secluded. Nana and Papa FvF came along and helped with the little guy so we could do some relaxing.  We had all agreed to share the cooking, but go out to dinner one night while we were there.  I'd heard quite a bit about Applewood Farms, so I made an executive decision that our one dinner would be there.  It seemed family friendly, and had a simple, down home style menu that I knew would please everyone's palate.

We were greeted & seated very quickly, and they had no problem accommodating the little guy.  They start everyone off with a basket of fried apple fritters and apple butter, as well as their housemade Apple Julep.  If you're thinking of donuts on the fritters, you're a bit off base.  They're more like a sweet hush puppy, and they're great.  The apple butter, which my southern mother approved of, was delicious.  The Apple Julep was sans booze - a mix of a few different juices, and not memorable.

The entrees, on the other hand - were very memorable.  Pictured below, from top to bottom are the Mister's Fried Catfish, Nana's Chicken Sampler (fried chicken, pot pie, and chicken & dumplings), and my Chicken Florentine.  I sampled everyone's food, and it was all rich without feeling shamefully heavy or greasy.  Pa FvF had the meatloaf, but he was into it faster than I could snap a photo. It was very tender and tasty with a nice baste, even though I don't care for meatloaf that's not my own.   The fish was wonderfully batter-fried and and super tender and flaky.  According to Mr. FvF, some of the best fried fish he's ever had.
My Chicken Florentine was a massive, pounded-thin chicken breast, stuffed with fresh spinach, Swiss cheese and sugar cured ham, topped with an alfredo cream sauce.  As rich as the dish was, it still tasted amazingly fresh.  Kudos to using grilled chicken and not breaded or fried - it would just be too much in this dish.
 We were all quite hungry from a day on the road, but the portions were so huge that we were all lucky to even make a dent in our plates.  Everyone left with half of their meal (plus extra fritters) to eat for lunch the next day.

You all know how assy I can be about BBQ, having found very little to write home about either here in Ohio, or in our travels.  On our recent trips to Kentucky and Tennessee, I wasn't even interested in trying out an of the local barbecue joints, because it seemed it was always a disappointment. Dry brisket, fake smoke flavor, and shitty sides.

About a year ago, a business acquaintance of mine left his post at a prominent local company to start up a BBQ joint with his wife and her family in Englewood.  It would be called Company 7 BBQ, after the majority of family starting this venture, who are all fire and EMS workers.  I kept in touch for a while and kept promising to make it up there to try it, and letting loose that I had a secret life as a food blogger.  Life has a way with making things slip your mind, so come this summer, I still hadn't made it to Englewood to try Company 7.  One night that cooking at home sounded too labor intensive, we headed north to check it out, based on the recent recommendation of a friend.

I was hoping to see my friend, but I figured since he was one of the head honchos, it'd be tough to catch him on the floor. Wrong!  We hadn't been seated for two minutes before he popped behind the bar and started filling drinks.  Come to find out later, the guy who brought our food out and chatted Mr. FvF about Texas BBQ was another owner, his father-in-law.  You can tell that the presence of owners and management keeps this place running pretty smoothly.  They had live bands on one side, a room full of full bellies on the other, apparently a buffet in the back, a full bar and still a little room to grow.  I'm not familiar with the area, so I'm not sure what this place used to be, but the size of it certainly surprised me (insert "that's what she said" joke).

Perusing the menu and the table-toppers presented some info I was happy to see.  Something along the lines of "When we run out of a meat - that's it. We won't have any more until the next day, because we smoke it for 18 hours."  After deciding that neither of us wanted to pick just one meat, we both got a two-meat combo, which comes with two sides and a cheese muffin. I chose pulled pork and brisket, and the Mister got pulled pork and smoked sausage.  We also threw in a last minute order of smoked chicken wings, for little other reason than the price was right.  I don't normally care for wings at all, but...
I obviously had no problems polishing half of this order off.  They were super crispy, likely smoked then maybe flash fried - and not too greasy. They come naked, because C7 already has six of their signature sauces on the table (no sugar added and painfully hot sauces also made in-house are available for the asking). I didn't use the sauce on my wings, but tried them all via finger-lickin' method (very scientific) before our entrees arrived.  Chief Smokey and Lieutenant Tangy were definitely the front runners for me, though they were all pretty good.  I was hoping I wouldn't even need the sauces, though. You know the rules.  Good BBQ doesn't need sauce. 


He's really the expert here, so I'll defer to him for comment.  From the desk of Mr. FvF:
It's really good - very sweet & spicy.  Close to Kruez's, but not the same as Black's.

The pulled pork was probably some of the best I've had in a restaurant.

So, there's a new deal website akin to Groupon and LivingSocial called Seize the Deal.  The first email offer I got from them after signing up was for a joint called Amici's Place in Kettering on Dorothy Lane, where the old Barbie's Bistro used to be.  I didn't even know there was a new restaurant there, but apparently Seize the Deal made a bold move and offered the $20 for $10 gift certificate just as the place was opening.  Clever, because nothing will hurry me into a new eatery like a nearly-free meal.

It was a bit too hot to dine al fresco, but they do have a nice patio.  I'm actually already looking forward to next summer when I'm not making another human and can enjoy one of their signature Limoncellos on that sunny deck. We sat inside, where the tables are seemingly far fewer than outside.  I think there were maybe three or four tables and bar seating, which would accommodate half a dozen comfortably.  It's small in stature, but big on everything else important, as we soon found out.

I'd already perused the menu online, but once Mr. FvF got to check it out, we decided to get two 8" pizzas - since we never agree about what to get on a pie.  The small pizzas are $9 for a specialty and $7 for a build-your-own with three toppings.  The front house manager came and greeted us first, asking if this was our first time in, explaining their special bevvies and asking if we had any questions - then another nice fella came to take our order as he brought our drinks.  The Mister picked the Buffalo Chicken sans onions, and I opted for the Chicken Pesto, adding bacon (duh).  I also asked for one of their craft root beers, which was almost red in color and super tasty.
The food came out quite a bit faster than expected, considering the craft that goes into making a pizza like this, and looked absolutely amazing - not to mention massive.  When I think 8 inches in my mind - well, I won't tell you what that really brings to mind - but in terms of pizza, I was certainly thinking more along the lines of one of those crappy Pizza Hut personal pans.
If this pizza was only 8", I'll lick my own elbow.  There were eight solid slices, and I could barely finish three.  I seriously considered continuing to eat and just making myself ill with it, and I almost had to stage an intervention with Mr. FvF when he was eyeballing his sixth slice.  All of the ingredients were super fresh - the kind of fresh that you can actually taste.  Crispy bacon, bright tomatoes and long stretches of cheese.  Also, not the kind of fresh that gets skimped on just because they advertise fresh and locally grown ingredients that happen to cost more.  There was no shortage of toppings on these whatsoever.
The Mister's Buffalo Chicken Pizza didn't look like much, but was pretty killer, even to a gal who doesn't like hot sauce.  Heavy on the cheese (including bleu) with a sassy kick and super tender chicken.
The star of the pizzas at Amici's, though, is the crust.  Think along the lines of Dewey's, but then imagine if Dewey's had their asses handed to them by someone else.  Bubbled and raised perfectly, but not too thick or chewy.

As we boxed up our extra slices and paid our bill, the owner came over and asked how we liked everything.  I commended him on the excellent staff and food, and in an uncommon turn of events, actually told him I was a food blogger and would be giving his new venture a rave review. I don't think I've ever done that, but it was very thoughtful for him to come chat with his customers, and I feel that certain compliments deserve better than anonymous internet delivery.

So, stellar service and top-notch food - must be expensive, right?  Couldn't be further from the truth.  The price points are so spot on, that I'm hoping and praying they'll bring the kind of crowd Amici's need to stay put.  I've dined at nearly every eatery that's graced that spot in the last 8 years, and they were all overpriced and unimpressive.  I think the steepest thing on their spanking-new menu is a family spaghetti dinner for around $17.  They deliver, you can get carry-out, they have a great looking sandwich and salad menu, and they even have breakfast!  Still not enough for you?  They also host a farmer's market in the adjacent lot on Saturday mornings.

After several months of duds in the Gem City, I'm super pumped to give Amici's Place

 It always throws me off that at such a swank-feeling restaurant, almost every other diner you see is dressed like they got a surprise invite to dinner after a day or working in the yard.  I'd already eyeballed the menu, so my heart was set on the stuffed chicken medallions with chorizo, poblanos and queso blanco.  With all those great ingredients, it would be tough to make it taste bad - but they really knock it out of the park on this one.  The chicken was tender and juicy, stuffed with spicy goodness, coated in (I'm guessing) panko, and somehow not the slightest bit greasy.  I'm not normally a big fan of this style of cooking beans, but even they were aces, with little bits of bacon stewed in with them and a nice smoky flavor.  I had to force myself stop eating them in order to avoid ruining our romantic evening with a fart symphony.  I was also a big fan of the Skinny Margarita on their drink menu, consisting of just lime juice and tequila, with a touch of Splenda.  I love margaritas as much as the next gal, but I have two problems with them: Mexico totally spoiled me on good ones, and they're a real waste of calories when using a mix and/or triple sec.
 Mr. FvF had the Fajita Chimichanga, because one entree name isn't good enough for him, and he really likes saying "chimichanga."  I had a bite of that, and his papas. They were both good, but he agreed we'd probably both be ordering the chicken medallions next time.
The service was as close to perfect as you can get.  Our server was friendly, attentive and easy on the eyes.  It seems that Abuelo's doesn't hire ugly people, which is alright by me.  I always find it easier to digest a meal when Gollum isn't staring me down asking if I want dessert.  The price points were so right on, too.  I'm a big stickler for the dollars charged not matching the amount or quality of the food served, and it felt like we were robbing these people. My dish was around $14, while Mr's was just under $9, and copious amount of fresh, paper-thin chips with salsa for free.

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!