In hindsight, I'm really disappointed that I didn't take an outcome picture of one of the first recipes I've created in a while.  Rest assured, they didn't look all that spectacular - just your average looking corn muffins.  I let a few of the mini ones cool and tasted them while they were still warm, and was immediately disappointed that there was no heat, that I'd used far too little pepper.  Then, oh snap!  There it was.  Just a few seconds after I'd imbibed it, that little bit of warmth snuck right up, and it was perfect.  I will say it was a tiny bit of smoky heat to finish, not even too much for my 18 month old son to handle.  If you like a higher level of sass, seed and mince one additional chile for the recipe.  I took this one to a cookout, so I erred on the side of caution and went with just what regular folks would enjoy.  I had to wash and reuse muffin tins between batches, and this still only took me an hour, start to finish.  Makes about 4 dozen minis.


2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
3 eggs, beaten
1 stick butter/margarine, softened
8 oz creamed corn
1/3 C milk
1/3 C shredded asadero cheese
1 whole chipotle pepper, seeded and minced
1 tbsp adobo sauce from the can of peppers
1/4 C diced yellow onion, sauteed

Mix all of this together and spoon into greased muffin tins.  Mini muffins will take about 15 minutes at 350, while larger muffin or popover tins will take 20 minutes or so.  if you decide to do this in a cast-iron or loaf style, I'd give it at least 45 minutes.

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.

Howdy, my little lunchboxes!  A lot of people have been wondering if mommin' has me on hiatus from FvF, but not for another couple months.  The lack of posts has little to do with my parasite, and everything to do with err'day life and work.  I know, I know - it's hard to believe that this website doesn't have me wiping with dollar bills, but food samples an adoring fans still don't pay the mortgage - although I heartily appreciate both.  So, since there's a LOT to catch you up on and little time to do it, here's a recap and some upcoming fun stuffs.

• Are the tomatoes from your own garden so good that you're disappointed when eating one in a restaurant?  Peter and Laurie at Figlio totally understand, so they're letting you bring in your OWN tomato this week to be used in their Caprese Salad.  "Bring Your Tomato to Figlio Week" started yesterday and runs through this Saturday, August 27. 

• BEERS!  Not only is Dayton AleFest this weekend at Carillon Park, but it will also cap off Dayton Beer Week.  from their press release:                                                                                     "AleFest will be held from 2 to 6 pm on Saturday, August 27 at Carillon Historical Park.  Featuring an expanded selection of draft and cask ales, AleFest offers attendees a selection of over 300 different beers from over 140 different breweries. Many of the exact details for this year's event are still being finalized, but tickets are currently available at finer dining and food and beverage locations throughout the greater Dayton region for the advance price of $35 ($40 at the door).  As in the past, tickets get you entry to the event, a sampling guide, 20 craft beer samples and a commemorative sampling glass.                                                                      Dayton Beer Week, held August 19 - 26.  Dayton Beer Week officially kicks off with the "Beer Pride Parade" in the Oregon District on Sunday, August 21 and continues throughout the week with a series of unique events, tastings and dinners held at various locations throughout the greater Dayton region." 

• Peeled Snacks will be doing some serious sampling of their dried fruit offerings at Costco stores across the nation tomorrow, 8/24.  The one in Dayton isn't open yet, but Columbus and Cleveland could get up on this.  I've always like dried fruit, but I was a little skeptical when I saw "Organic" and "no sugar added" on the freebies they sent me.  However, the stuff is delicious.  Will have a full-on product review coming your way soonly. 

• Speaking of free food, I'll be giving away more freebies from McDonald's. You can call me a sell-out all you want, but I like giving people prizes, and the local indies aren't exactly chomping at the bit to give out coupons.  Hopefully, this one will go over better than the last, since it's a sandwich offering and not a salad.  I won't boast its low calorie content, because that will probably turn you all right off of it just like the salad.  Look out for another Facebook contest soon.  Unlike the last contest loot, I promise to get these prizes out in a timely fashion! 

• I know you guy are probably all, "What the hell, Vizz?  You didn't post ANYthing during Restaurant week!"  Yeah, it's because I'm busy. Or lazy.  You decide.  Either way, we only had the time to go to McCormick & Schmick's, which was good, but not stellar.  Expect my review of that soon, along with the much-anticipated thoughts on Company 7 BBQ in Englewood*.                                         *According to Dre, always up to no good.

 The pork was okay - just okay.  they sprinkle some kind of "proprietary seasoning" over top of it that perhaps is supposed to make me think it's been dry-rubbed.  All it makes me think is, "I wonder if Longhorn is pissed that Rippy's stole their patented Prairie Dust?"  Our friend had also raved about the sauce, which I tried in spite of my better judgement.  We've been over this, eaters - good barbecue does not. Need. Sauce. I'm willing to try and give a sauce kudos to complimenting the meat when warranted, but this was not one of those times.  It had a decent spice to it, but was a vinegary disaster.  The Mister didn't care for his baked beans because they had big chunks of onions mixed in. That doesn't mean they were bad, just not for him.  Fries were decent, but likely of the frozen persuasion.
My onion rings were mighty tasty, but didn't make up for the sub-par pulled pork, or the diabetes-inducing sugar-laden cole slaw.  I'm a big fan of a sweet, dairy based slaw, but this bordered on unrecognizable. Plus it was hot inside and out, and I don't think the slaw had been well refrigerated.  Regardless of where it's from - if the slaw's not cold, I ain't the kind of gal to eat it.

Service is to Rippy's what a pleasant experience is to your local bargain theater.  They're not mutually exclusive.  The water glasses were mostly left empty and our server never asked if we wanted refills on our cocktails.  Our buddy had asked us to bring him back a bottle of their  barf amazing sauce, which we asked for twice and never got.

I've been busy pushing maximum density lately, which has left me with a whirlwind of Gem City restaurant news to catch up on. First off, a ton of new eateries are opening.

I ordered the Taste of Woody's (heh heh), which includes spare ribs, BBQ pork loin, beef smoked turkey, broasted BBQ chicken, and of course, two sides. Oh, and Texas toast. I wanted cole slaw and onion rings as my sides, and they didn't even up-charge me for the rings. Score. I actually wanted to order a different sampler, but they were out of brisket. This was fairly late in the dinner hours for this sort of place, so I wasn't too miffed about it, since they had plenty of variety in their combo platters.

Wendy's Pick Two: Their new deluxe salads are totally legit, and now you can opt for a smaller salad and pair it with one of their value menu items for just $4.99. Today for lunch I had the chili and BLT chicken cobb salad and it kept me full until well into dinner-cooking time.

On the way home from the honeymoon, Mr. FvF and I decided to grab dinner in the Charlotte Airport since we had such a long layover before heading back to the Gem. We'd spotted a BBQ place when we caught our connecting flight on the way to Cancun earlier in the week, so we already knew what we'd be having.

It's a good thing I filled up on snacks that I bought at the airport during our flight, because this was pretty disappointing. I ordered the pulled pork, and the Mister had the brisket, each with two sides, a fried pickle and cornbread.

The fried pickle and broccoli cheese casserole were the highlights of my meal. The pork was not only over-sauced, but the sauce was a Carolina-style red that was overwhelming with vinegar. My cole slaw had a shitload of raw onions in it and was bland aside from that. The cornbread was stale and dry. I tried a bite of Mr. FvF's brisket, which was also drenched in the same sauce and registered around "meh" on the taste-o-meter.

The service aspect is pretty much null & void, since it's a food court atmosphere - they just ask what you want and ring it up.

Mr. FvF and I stayed at the Barcelo Maya Palace for our honeymoon, and were super excited to try all of the different restaurants throughout the Barcelo property. The first night we ate at the buffet, which was surprisingly vast and delicious. For the rest of the week, we made reservations at the fancy-pants restaurants. Tuesday night we checked out the Brazillian steakhouse, a gluten-free/low-carb lover's dream.

For those of you who have never had the pleasure of going to a churrascaria, it's ALL about the meat. The first course typically consists of a tapas bar - cured meats, salads, small seafood, cheeses and breads. The main course is a selection of meat that have been fire-roasted, and come to your table still on the rotisserie, to be carved. Rodizio's meat selection consists of seven - yes, SEVEN meats. Green chorizo, chicken, turkey, veal, sirloin, ribeye, and pork loin. I didn't manage to get photos of everything, because they were bringing it to the table faster than we could put it away.

Also, I happened to snap a pic at just the right moment, catching the server at the table next to us serving up dessert coffees of FIRE.
So, you thought we'd be done eating after seven plates of meat? Well, you'd be wrong. All aboard the gluttony train - wooo-wooo! We're never done when there's dessert to be had. I ordered the flan, but Mr. FvF made the better decision and got chocolate mouse.

We decided to have a date night Saturday and finish off Restaurant Week with one of the two-for specials. We thought about Bahn Mai, but would rather go when we can order anything on the menu. Thought about Beef O'Brady's, but that wasn't exactly a place I was dying to try. We finally settled on Hickory River BBQ, what with Mr. FvF missing the Texas BBQ he'd grown so accustomed to. The deal was two large brisket dinners (each with cornbread, a cobbler and two sides) and soft drinks for $20.10.

The mister chose the ranch beans and mac & cheese as his side, and I chose the cole slaw and cottage cheese with mine. For dessert, he had a blackberry cobbler and I picked peach for myself.

The ordering style is cafeteria style, like a lot of BBQ joints. you order at the counter, pick your sides and whatnots as you go down the line, and pay at the register at the end. Normally, their large brisket dinners with the same sides are only $9.50, so we were basically just getting the cobblers and soft drinks for free. That said, this was a hell of a lot of food for just over twenty bucks.

Bad first impression. We were "greeted" by someone who wouldn't know their menu if it bit her in the ass. She was clueless about the RW special (which was listed nowhere within the restaurant that we could see), and none too happy about answering questions. After only my second question, "Do you make your own slaw?" she sighed, rolled her eyes and yelled to the line cook, "Do we make our own slaw?!" That guy was the friendliest during our whole visit, letting me know it was not dairy based, but made with a sweet vinaigarette and was with a try. We passed through the line and got to the register. When someone walked up and opened the drawer, I greeted her with a friendly "hello," to which I wasn't even met with so much as a glance. Strike two.

A slightly friendlier gal rang us up, and was reminded by another not-so-friendly staffer that we needed to pick out two cobblers because it was included in our special. I tried to thank her for reminding us, but was again met with silence.

I ordered my brisket with sauce on the side, because - as I've noted before - good barbecue should be able to stand on its own. I noticed the brisket had a good bark on it, but not much of a smoke ring to speak of. Anxious to see if the line cook was right, I dug into the slaw first. Spot on! I normally don't care for vinegar-based slaws, but this one was tops. It was much sweeter than City BBQ's. Such a sweetness that the dressing almost mimicked the house dressing from Old Hickory - which I believe I've mentioned, I'd bathe in.

I started into the brisket next. It was so dry without sauce that I couldn't finish it without a mouth full of soda. That's simply a sign of overcooking. I had a little piece of fat hanging off the side, covered in bark, so I tried that. It had been cooked so long that even the FAT wasn't overly moist. It was just okay with the sauce - but I'm not looking for "just okay" when it comes to brisket. Mr. FvF's ranch beans were pretty tasty, and the mac & cheese was very similar to Stouffer's (which isn't a bad thing). Once I opened up my cornbread, I noticed that dryness must have been a theme I wasn't privvy to, considering it was bone dry and at least one day old. Very rarely can you see a photograph of something and tell that it's stale or dry, but I think this pic gives a fairly accurate representation.

That, I figured, was fine, because now I could save my gluten-fail for the cobbler. Yet another lost cause. The crust didn't seem fresh or at all flavorful, and the filling was comprised of that gelatinous goop that you can buy by the can at Kroger and HARD peaches. Of all fruits to be hard - really, a peach?! I might give a little wiggle room for someone serving an apple pie or cobbler with firm fruit, but not a damn peach. They're soft by nature. I'm not even sure where in nature one could find a peach this firm.

Overall, the food was "meh" and the service was dreadful. We definitely won't be back.

After waiting several weeks with baited breath and a hankerin' for ribs that even North Carolina couldn't satisfy, Smokin' Aces finally opened for business today. Naturally, I have better things to do on a Friday night than cook dinner, so the mister and I headed there to let them do the cooking.

Back in May, I interviewed the owners and manager of the new Xenia eatery and got all of the scoop on the upcoming menu. Chef Andrew Englar impressed me with his menu plans and talked a good game about his know-how when it came to the grill - so I was really hoping he'd deliver.

The owners let me know that they had some issues opening because of, well - let's just say typical contractor issues. So, they had to ixnay the private tasting they'd planned and decided to open up shop today. They were itching to open, so the signage and decor is still a bit lacking, but in due time they'll have the place rockin' & rollin' as far as looks. And guess what? When I want ribs, I'm not looking for ambiance, I'm looking for good ribs.

They're a bit short on wait staff because everyone seems to think Xenia is out in the sticks, when really, Smokin' Aces is only about 11 miles from the woodman entrance on 35. It still didn't take them longer than 30 seconds to let us know we could sit where ever we'd like. Our server greeted us quickly, then one of the owners (Kate) came over to say hello and take our beverage order. They won't have their liquor license until Monday, but big props for having Coke Zero!

We were so famished that we opted for a full order of hog wings to start off with. You can get a half order, but really - why would you do that when they look like this?

I'd been really anxious to try these since it was a piece of pig I'd never tried before. They looked a bit different than I'd pictured in my head, but they were LEGIT. Mr. FvF barely took the first bite of his and said "These are amazing!" I replied, "You barely even had it in your mouth yet," which of course, yielded a "that's what she said." But honest to hog, they were amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if on my next visit, I ordered them as my entree. They were perfectly juicy with hardly an ounce of solid fat on them. They didn't really require any sauce, but they came with the house-made red sauce and mustard sauce. Both sauces had great flavor, but we both loved the gold sauce enough to bathe in it. (Okay, maybe that was just me.)

As for the entree, we played our usual hand - ordered the biggest ting on the menu and split it - the BBQ sampler. This was a half-slab of ribs and pulled pork served over johnny cakes with two sides. I picked the onion straws, and Mr. got the parmesan-garlic potatoes. The food came out quickly, but not so quickly that it made you suspicious of how long it had been sitting under a heat lamp.
You could actually pick up the scent of smoke coming off of the food. Knowing Chef Drew uses only real smoke, that small is enough to make you fist-fight someone over the plate. First, let's discuss the sides so I can blow my wad later talking about the meat. My onion straws were more than plentiful - I actually wasn't able to finish them. Somewhere between onion rings and haystack onions, they were sweet and crispy, but not greasy at all. The Mister's potatoes (which I forgot to snap a photo of) were top notch - scalloped-style with a few crispy edges and amazing flavor.

Now, my pretties, let's talk about meat. I consider myself pretty finicky about BBQ because my old man does such a fantastic job of it. It needs to have the right amount of fat, right amount of bark, real smoke flavor, and need not require sauce. Any place else in the Miami Valley serving BBQ have officially had their asses handed to them. Chef Drew did more than just talk a good game - this dude has perfected the technique. The pulled pork was ideal - the perfect ratio of meat, moisture and bark, and it paired perfectly with the house gold sauce. The ribs were cooked absolutely perfectly. It is so, so easy to overcook ribs, and to over-flavor them with both sauce and rub. These weren't sauced and had a killer dry-rub on them that made them easy to handle. The one end-all trait of good slab of ribs is when they don't need anything extra, and these didn't. I think I dipped into the gold sauce once or twice just to see if it matched up well (which it did), but they were so good that I didn't want to mask the flavor with it. Beautiful smoke ring, magically crispy bark - this is the stuff a carnivore's dreams are made of.

I really can't say enough wonderful things about this place. They're still getting their feet wet as far as operations go - but keep in mind, this is their first venture as proprietors in the restaurant biz. The floor was about half-full today on our visit, but I don't think those empty tables will last long if they're consistently serving food this delicious.

Friday night, Mr. FvF and I finally got to get away and have a nice dinner alone, which meant we got to pick the spot. Since we'd driven there, we could hop in the car and head out of the hotel territory, where there were plenty of other dining options. I'd read a lot on Urban Spoon about Mac's Speed Shop BBQ and wanted to check it out. Luckily, it was just under two miles from the Westin.

Mac's has a nice ambiance, similar to Tank's or Fricker's, for those of you familiar with those two Dayton joints. It's billed as a biker hangout, but not a biker bar, per se. The decorum matched right up with their namesake - from light fixtures made from old wheel stock to an entire bike suspended from the ceiling, and you'll find everything from a Ducati to custom choppers in the front parking lot.

So, let's get down to business - the food! The service was fast AND friendly - two things that aren't typically mutually exclusive. The know how to cater to their kind of crowd, staffing a good handful of young, good looking girls wearing little but booty-cutters, black tank tops and tattoos. Our server was on it and got our drink order right after we were seated and had it to the table in just enough time for us to have decided what we wanted. We ordered the "Little bit of everything," which was around $20 and came with pulled pork, ribs, brisket and smoked turkey. Basically, they had five meats to choose from, and we picked everything but beer can chicken. The food came out a LOT faster than we had expected, but you'll never hear me complain about that.

None of the meat was heavily sauced, which is exactly the way I like it. They has their own, house-made sauces available on the table. There was the standard red, then the more mustard/vinegar style gold sauce. Strangely enough, they were both very thin, much more like a mop sauce than an actual, textbook BBQ sauce - but I'd be lying if I said they weren't both very good and accompanied their cooking style really well. Unfortunately, I was a little bummed when it came to the taste factor. Now, let's keep in mind: a.) we're in North Carolina, largely considered one of the greatest BBQ states in the US; b.) we're a bit off the beaten path, at a non-chain variety eatery; and c.) this place was voted Charlotte's best barbecue by the state's own BBQ Association (why don't we have one of those, by the way?).

I don't want to give the impression that it wasn't good, but by my standards, BBQ in North Carolina should be a lot better. The meat could have been more tender, and I detected little to no smoke flavor in anything. The pulled pork was a bit dry for my taste. I got a couple good pieces of bark, but not one single piece with a nice juicy bit of fat on it. Seems like it may have been all pork loin, and I think you almost have to add shoulder to the mix to get the right amount of moisture in there.

The sides were good, but not for me. I ordered cole slaw (of course), but I didn't like the style. Not enough mayo, too much vinegar - but this may just be NC's style of slaw. Mr. FvF really liked his baked beans, but they tasted like a well-doctored version of canned to me. I could be very, very wrong there, and if the cook or owner ever read this - please correct me if I am. Don't take it that badly, though - there's nothing wrong with canned baked beans.

But, the service made up for what little the food lacked, and they did a pretty killer job with dessert. We weren't completely stuffed and were craving something sweet, but I'm not easily sold on standard dessert fare. However, our adorable waitress did a good job selling us on how great they were. We ordered the apple bread pudding, which came with vanilla ice cream, both components drizzled in warm caramel. Top notch! Bread pudding isn't hard to totally screw up, but it's hard to get it dead on. This wasn't as good as Christopher's, maybe on par with the Bourbon bread pudding at Parmisano's at the Dayton Marriott (and they've won awards for theirs, too).
Our bill for the giant sampler (which came with two sides and toast), one whiskey, one beer and one dessert came to around $34. Not shabby at all, especially considering the price gouging that was going on elsewhere near uptown.

Yesterday an acquaintance of mine posted on Facebook that he was helping open a BBQ joint and needed some wait staff. Ever the gumshoe, I started shooting emails back and forth with him and arranged to meet up with both him and the owners today to get the scoop on the location, opening date, and most importantly - the menu.

My buddy Jason Ledbetter met sous chef Andrew Engler several years ago working at Moraine Country Club. Angler eventually moved on to the Downtown Cafe in Xenia, but recently decided it was time to venture out on his own. When Enlger and his girlfriend Kate Pasquinelli decided to make the investment and open a new restaurant, Jason was the first person he called to help get Smokin' Aces on its feet.

I met the three of them in their new location in downtown Xenia, just around the corner from Downtown Cafe where Angler most recently cheffed it up. Smokin' Aces is located in the former L.A. Sports bar space, which before that housed Noble Roman's Pizza, and apparently a handful of other retailers and eateries.

I always get to the important questions first, so YES - they do have a liquor license. They will be serving beer, wine and cocktails until 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and will give themselves a day of respite on Sundays. The proprietors were quick to let me know, though, that this wasn't just a bar that serves food - they'd prefer people think of it as the opposite - a great, family-friendly restaurant that happens to serve drinks. Based on the next hour we spent talking about food - that's no joke.

They'll have the standard BBQ fare you'd expect - ribs, pulled pork, chicken and steaks. Some of the side items will include house-made Saratoga chips, cole slaw, and Tabasco onion straws. You're also going to see a few things that aren't common in BBQ joints, or in Dayton at all. Instead of serving wings or chicken chunks (really, once Wendy's gets in on the action, it's no longer inventive to put it on your menu), he's going to do skewered chicken in the style you might find in a Chinese or Thai restaurant, with a few different options of marinades.
Another thing that I've personally never laid eyes on and can't wait to try, are the Hog Wings. They're basically a small section of pork shank, still on the bone, about the size of a chicken leg and very lean, tender meat. From the sounds of it, it's like eating ribs but the effort vs. reward ratio seems a lot better with hog wings. Engler will also be making his own barbecue sauces from scratch, starting with the basics - a sweeter red sauce and a Carolina gold sauce. He said he'll probably be adding a hotter version of the standard sauce if he thinks his customers want to see it. He's also using real smoke, not tossing in some Liquid Smoke, like some other chains whose names we'll omit as to not publicly shame them.

The price points are very reasonable, even for those of you ballin' on a budget. Smokin' Aces will have meal options starting around $5 for a daily special basket, up to about $16 for a giant ribeye steak or a full slab of ribs meal. Since they want to appeal to families, they'll have options for the kiddos, too - things like burgers, chicken tenders and hot dogs. They've got some desserts in mind, too, like the cheesecake-filled won-tons dusted in cinnamon and sugar that Andrew shared with me. Anything that comes as a sandwich will actually be served on pita bread, as opposed to a bun, but you can opt for a bun if you like, or even a tortilla. As for the ribs, Engler prefers not to put a name on them, but they'll all get the secret dry rub, but can also be sauced if you want'em that way. If you're not a big meat eater, or your life is empty -er, I mean if you're vegetarian, they'll have veggie options that will change daily. There's also the house salad, which will be an Iceberg-Romaine blend, topped with tomatoes, bacon, Engler's own signature horseradish dressing, house blend of cheddar, pepper jack and smoked gouda cheeses, and Tabasco onion straws. Diners will also be able to dig into family-style dining, and enjoy Smokin' Aces BBQ anywhere once their catering business gets its legs.

They plan on opening up the first week of June. The owners and operations managers had tentatively set a date of June 1, but are now possibly looking at a more realistic date of June 8 to open up shop. They're located at 40 West Main St (35) in downtown Xenia, just past 5/3 Bank in the Clocktower Shopping Plaza. They're still looking for a few good folks to add to their serving team, too! If you're interested, contact Jason Ledbetter via Facebook.
Considering the lack of good BBQ joints in the Dayton area, and the complete void of them east of town around Xenia, I think Smokin' Aces is going to do Gangbusters business. So, keep your eyes peeled for their grand opening, because you're definitely going to have to brawl with me and Mr. FvF if it comes down to the last empty table.

Let me first dispel the myth that Hickory BBQ on Brown Street near UD and Old Hickory on North Main are related. They're not. I'm sure Hickory BBQ has delicious food, based on the line that frequently goes out their door, but I've never set foot in the place. Old Hickory BBQ on Main, however, is our special occasion dining preference. Mr. FvF had a birthday on Thursday, so I took him there to get his fill of ribs, along with my sister and her fella, and our friends Josh & Carla.

The service was top-notch from the moment we got inside. We were seated at a nice, roomy table, and our waitress, Stacy, took our drink order and went over the specials with everyone. She quickly brought out our drinks and some bread baskets with butter and asked if anyone had questions about the menu. I inquired about the difference between the steak fries and broasted potatoes, because I couldn't remember. Stacy explained it to me, then said they started ordering the broasted potatoes pre-cut since we'd last been in, but that they were actually crispier, and much better - and if I didn't like them, she'd bring me something else. Half the table ordered ribs, the other half ordered steak.



Most everyone also ordered salads, as well. The salad itself isn't that impressive, but I really order it just for the house dressing (a sweet vinaigrette), which I would bathe in. I had went on & on about the steaks, and how they were like "meat butter," because they're so well seasoned and any fat to be found would just melt in your mouth. Needless to say, everyone agreed and was very impressed. For the first time ever, my steak wasn't cooked an absolutely perfect mid-rare, but I dare not send it back. Two reasons - a.) it was still magically delicious even on the heavier side of medium and b.) sending food back at Old Hickory would feel like telling your dad he overcooked your steak after he'd slaved over the grill all day. In fact, I still enjoyed the steak SO much that they won't even lose a half spork for this. To boot, this minor snag was the only problem amongst the six dinners that came to the table. Everyone raved about their food, even the meat snobs and picky eaters.

I was very happy that Stacy had steered me toward the new broasted taters, because they were to DIE for. The closest comparison I can conjure would be the Space Spuds from Woody's (RIP) - but the breading was much crunchier.

Just as I thought we couldn't handle so much as looking at more food, our very perceptive server overheard us mention that it was Mr. FvF's birthday and brought him a piece of turtle cheesecake, on the house. She was also smart enough to know that I'd want some too, and brought two forks. Score!

I'll argue with anyone that these are the best steaks in town. The mister loves their ribs, but I haven't eaten enough ribs in Dayton to dare say they're the best - but they ARE super tasty. Say what you will about fancy joints like Flemings, or equally old Dayton haunts like the Pine Club - but if I want a perfect steak (and don't want to take out a second mortgage to get it), I'll go for Ol' Hick every time.

Michael "Tripod" Palm from the Chicago Western Burbs Man B Que Chapter submitted this recipe to the Man B Que blog late last month and I'd been dying to try it out.
Conclusion: So full of win that I ate it until I made myself sick.

So, mosey on over to Man B Que and check out this ridiculously easy recipe. Food vs. Face only changed one tiny thing. I switched the loin out for pork shoulder (Boston Butt), just because that what I like to cook with. Also, Sweet Baby Ray's is the only molasses-based sauce allowed in Chez FvF, so I highly recommend sticking with it for the recipe, unless you make your own and genuinely think it's better. Although I love mustard-based sauces, it's out of place here. The pork gets a killer sweetness from cooking all day in the root beer, and it just ruins things.
And a word to the wise (which hopefully, you already know if you're reading FvF), never, EVER use Open Pit BBQ sauce unless you love the taste of rancid ketchup.

Mr. FvF and I traveled up to Yellow Springs today to meet the guys at Super-Fly Comics and poke around the little town. We'd thought about having dinner at about every place in town - Trail Tavern, Ha Ha Pizza, Current Cuisine, etc - basically everything except for Williams. They have their menu posted outside so you can peruse as you're walking, and after popping in and out of every store, we ended up back there for dinner. The place was empty, as we were there well before dinner time, and it was spotless. It looks like they also have a party room in the back that you can rent out for events. They have plenty of American fare, but also specialize in Peruvian cuisine. Hard as it was not to sample some of those goodies, we realized we were there on Barbecue Day! The raging carnivore inside me wonders why everyday isn't Barbecue Day.

They have three BBQ specials on Thursdays:
1/2 slab of ribs, fries & slaw for $9.99
1/2 BBQ chicken + same sides for $9.99
Pulled pork sandwich with fries and a pickle for $5.99

I chose the BBQ chicken special and the mister had the pork sandwich. I was starving, but had forgotten to order an appetizer. Luckily, they brought some fresh bread and herbed oil out for us to munch on. Since we both ordered specials, our food came out quickly.

My half chicken was no joke - the thing was huge and cooked very well. Pretty sure they used a bottled sauce, but it wasn't low-quality like the rancid ketchup that Kraft calls Open Pit. I'm guessing maybe something like Sweet Baby Ray's, which is what I normally use at home. The slaw was house-made an absolutely tops. Not overdressed, and big, crunchy veggies. I think the fries may have been of the frozen variety, but I thought they were delicious. Then again, I don't eat french fries often at all, so I needed another opinion. Mr. FvF gave them a 4 out of 5 on the FryClub scale, saying they would be surpassed only by battered or waffle fries. If they were frozen, I need to find out the brand for bribery purposes (looks like I may also want to invest in a waffler and learn to batter french fries).

His pulled pork sandwich was pretty impressive, too. I bogarted one of the giant morsels of pork and it was juicy, very well (but not overly) seasoned and tender. He claims as far as pulled pork sandwiches go, it was aces - but one superior sandwich exists at Tony Roma's. I have a feeling the trump may lie in the dry-rub TR's uses, which I wasn't picking up in the Williams pork.

Our server, whose name I wish I remembered, earned herself a big-ass tip for being incredibly accommodating and sweet. They also scored a little bonus 1/2 point for having not just Coke products, but Diet Coke *and* Coke Zero on the menu. They're desserts looked delicious (especially the Peruvian ones), but after picking apart that chicken, I was in a full-on food trance and couldn't eat another bite. Plus, we'd stopped at Sugar Cubes and picked up some oddball candies to nom once we got home.

5 out of 5 sporks!

As I age, I realize I can't hang like I used to. Last night we had taco night at our friend Billiam's, and three margaritas put me right on my ass. I woke up belly-aching like a kid who'd gotten full access to the cookie jar and overdid it. In my fragile state, I decided that we were breaking our very limited dining out rule and I wanted large quantities of smoked meats. I was hoping to try something I hadn't had before, but a lot of BBQ places are closed on Sundays. Since we were going to be in the Beavercreek area anyway (quick trip to Best Buy to replace the DVD player that had recently started impersonating a toaster oven), I figured we'd go into City Barbecue. I'd had their food at catered events before, but never actually eaten there.

The menu is slightly limited, in that there aren't many combo plate options meant for one person. The meals are basically either rib dinners, or something served in sandwich form (though the menu notes any sandwich can be served without bread). I like a little bit of everything, and the Deluxe City Sampler seemed like the perfect thing for us to split. It comes with half a slab of ribs, 1/2 pound of chicken (your choice which part of the bird-we chose breast and wing), servings of pulled pork & brisket, two cornbread mini-loaves, two slices of Texas toast, and two sides. I asked if they made their own slaw, and the nice fella at the counter replied they did, but it was vinegar based - and offered me a sample. I wanted to like it, but turns out I'm a mayo girl at heart and it just wasn't for me. He then pointed out their seasonal sides and offered to let me try the gumbo when I asked about it. This guy has the patience of a saint, because I didn't like the gumbo either and he showed no signs of being the slightest bit irritated. I finally decided on the corn pudding and insisted I didn't need to try it, because corn pudding is kind of like pizza in the sense that even when it's not the best, it's still pretty good. Mr. FvF picked the hand-cut fries, proving his dedication to Fry Club (don't ask). They don't have table service at City Barbecue, but the counter staff is friendly and accommodating enough that they still garner a big, fat A+.


Normally we both frown on sharing a dish because we're such big eaters. The only other place we'll venture this risk is at Ticket's Pub on the Greek hot plate, and the serving for one is enough, though they do have a hot plate for two on the menu as well. We had barely gotten our drinks (big ups for having Diet Mt. Dew, or anything other s/f option besides Diet Pepsi) and our food was already up, and it filled up an entire tray. I was so carried away with digging in that we'd dismembered a good portion of it before I remembered to snap a photo. So, what you see above is a partially eaten Deluxe Sampler.

Everything was totally aces, and only the ribs and chicken had been very lightly sauced. They have a great variety of sauces on the table, and I sampled a little bit of the Brush Fire, the Original and the mustard-based sauces. More importantly, the sauces were merely a second fiddle to the meat - it didn't NEED sauce, which is the sign of good barbecue. The meat was tender and the smoke flavor was ever-present, but not overwhelming. the brisket was more shredded than sliced, which isn't my preference, but it was still the chippity-chomp, so no complaints here. The sides were excellent (4 out of 5 on the hand-cut fries and 5 out of 5 for the individually baked corn pudding), and the breads were pretty fresh - considering they make them en masse.

We devoured the whole she-bang, but the mister had to finish my cornbread, because if I kept eating, he would have had to write Goodyear on me in Sharpie and roll my fat ass out of there. He was eager to check out Graeter's Ice Cream next door, but we were both so full we couldn't possibly hold any more. Always with the big ideas, I decided to get take-home from Graeter's and we'll dig into that later tonight when the feelings of shame from dinner fade away.

For $20, this was a hell of a deal, and we couldn't have been happier with the food and service.

5 out of 5 sporks!