Burger Challenge #28

Doris and Sonny's Homelike Restaurant Miamitown, OH

I'm not even really sure what to say here. Mediocre and "better than McDonald's" are all I can muster. The option of getting a burger on a biscuit was so tempting that I couldn't resist. You should. It was not a good idea. Also, paying $20 + for 2 burgers, 2 fries and 2 cokes was not worth this. You had to pay extra for everything, including pickles and onions, which I think is bad customer service for a place that wants to be known for awesome burgers. Get the pie, instead.

This is the sixth trip of our burger challenge; to eat at all 40 places on Cincinnati Magazine's list of the best burgers in town and Doris and Sonny's Homelike Restaurant was number 28 on the list, hence the title of this post.

Here is what we've had so far:
# 7 Oakley Pub and Grill
#9 Keystone Bar and Grill
#25 Chalk Food + Wine
#26 Five Guys
#35 Gordo's Cafe

To see the photos from our hamburger Ohio trip, where we checked out the 6 best burgers in the state, according to George Motz, click here.

To see the photos of our Hamburger Honeymoon, click here.

Burger Challenge # 25

Chalk Food + Wine Covington, KY

Image above via Metromix

even though the image above it teeny-tiny, it's the only one I could find that wasn't from someone else's blog!

Burger #25 on the Cincinnati Magazine list of best burgers in the tri-state is the bison burger from Chalk Food and Wine. Now, here is where things are misleading. The list in the magazine points out the number on the list for the restaurant, it's name, it's location, and the recommended burger on the list. Also, the price of said burger. The bison burger that was tasted by the writers of this article was $11.75 and it wasn't the most expensive one they tried. Imagine our surprise when we got there to find out that the burger was actually $17. And it wasn't bison, it was black angus. The reason behind this is the fact that Chalk only uses local, in-season ingrediants for everything they serve. Bison must be out of season and black angus must cost more.

We both took our parents. My Mom and I shared the Fig and Caramelized Onion tart, above, which was garnished with pickled bing cherries and whipped, vanilla, mascarpone cheese. It was heavenly. I would have been content to leave it at that.

Ryan and his Mom shared this Houtz cheese from a local farm. It was served with diced dragon fruit (I think. I didn't ask what it was, but it had to be something local, right?) and bread. They loved it. The bread was good by itself, too.

And here she is. She was monserous, served with swiss chard and duck fat fries and almost impossible to finish. If she'd been served with the magazine peeps were in, I'm sure she'd have ranked higher than #25.

I ordered "medium" done, which is what I always get. My Mom made me get things well done when I was younger to prevent food poisoning, so I never liked burgers when I was little, if you can believe that. Since I've grown up and can order things myself, I've discovered otherwise.
They butcher everything in house at Chalk, and don't waste anything. Here is the Black Angus New York Strip that Ryan ordered, probably from the same cow.

Now, if you want the same things you see above, hurry, because I'm sure the menu is going to change any minute!

Not pictured: they only serve local, craft beers!

This is the fifth trip of our burger challenge; to eat at all 40 places on Cincinnati Magazine's list of the best burgers in town and Chalk was number 25 on the list, hence the title of this post.

Here is what we've had so far:
# 7 Oakley Pub and Grill
#9 Keystone Bar and Grill
#26 Five Guys
#35 Gordo's Cafe

To see the photos from our hamburger Ohio trip, where we checked out the 6 best burgers in the state, according to George Motz, click here.

To see the photos of our Hamburger Honeymoon, click here.

Mystery Silly Band

Any guesses? This belongs to my niece and she has no idea what it is!

Burger Challenge #9

Keystone Bar and Grill Covington, KY

Image via Metromix

Two of the top ten in one weekend? Yes, please. After not having a heart attack on Saturday at Oakley Pub and Grill, we took advantage of my full weekend off of work. We wanted to take Ryan's Mom out for dinner, and although she insisted on treating us, we wanted to experience Keystone. A friend of mine worked here for a hot minute and recommended the food, and not just because she was working there. She was right. Good stuff. The attraction is the quesadillas and the macaroni and cheese, of which, there are about 10 kinds each and are half price on respective happy hour days.

We couldn't resist the Pink Floyd Mac n Cheese, which was laced with Bacon and Caramelized Onions. Good stuff. I don't think the bacon and onions were baked with it, though. As a matter of fact, I don't think this was baked Mac' at all. I think it was all prepared on the stove, given mix-ins to order, then cheated under a broiler. Whatev. It would be impractical to make them all ahead of time anyway.

Ryan and his Mom got patty melts. Burgers on marble rye. They both raved about them. All of us had Saratoga chips with house-made BBQ sauce.

Mine involved gorgonzola, artichokes and sundried toms. Mrs. Flannery (the original) can't wait to go back. We were glad we picked a place she liked.

Bonus: Bell's Two Hearted Ale on tap.

This is the fourth installment of our burger challenge; to eat at all 40 places on Cincinnati Magazine's list of the best burgers in town and Keystone Bar and Grill was number 9 on the list, hence the title of this post.

Yesterday was #7 Oakley Pub and Grill
Last week, we tried (again) #26 Five Guys
#35 Gordo's Cafe was first.

To see the photos from our hamburger Ohio trip, where we checked out the 6 best burgers in the state, according to George Motz, click here.

To see the photos of our Hamburger Honeymoon, click here.

Burger Challenge #7

Oakley Pub & Grill
image via Metromix
This was the Italian Sausage Stuffed Portabella Mushroom. Delicious? Yes, especially with the 2 creamy sauces surrounding it. Worth $7? Hell no.
This was Ryan's burger and I made him get it. I think it was called, "the banana Jack" or something, because it has banana peppers and pepper jack cheese. It was delicious. He also opted for the slaw on the side, instead of fried. Good for him. The slaw was pretty good, too. It had nuts in it.
This was my burger, the Soul Burger and the one that the article recommends. It's covered in Jerk Spices and cheese and bacon. The meat tastes like it probably has a super high fat content in both burgers, which made them ultra drippy, but that was O.K. because the buns were the best burger buns we've ever had. They socked up every drip. This was truly a great burger. I'd highly recommend this place and we can't wait to go back. Also, as a plus, they have 22 oz PBRs on tap for $3!

This is the third installment of our burger challenge; to eat at all 40 places on Cincinnati Magazine's list of the best burgers in town and Oakley Pub and Grill was number 7 on the list, hence the title of this post.

Last week, we tried (again) #26 Five Guys
#35 Gordo's Cafe was first.

To see the photos from our hamburger Ohio trip, where we checked out the 6 best burgers in the state, according to George Motz, click here.

To see the photos of our Hamburger Honeymoon, click here.

Thrift store magic!

I had the whole weekend off of work, which is EXTREMELY rare and I planned on spending it yard-sale-ing via www.yardsaletreasuremap.com but not only was it raining on Saturday, but the site was down and I couldn't get directions. Boo. But, Ryan and I went to a burger joint, which you'll hear about tomorrow, and it happened to be next to a swanky Goodwill in a posh neighborhood. I had stuff to drop off anyway.



a brand-new-in-the-box-never-been-opened punch needle kit! Wee-hoo! Should I do it now or save it for Winter?

Simpsons trivia. It's really hard!

A cheese plate! I can't wait to have a party!

An avocado shaped guacamole dish! Still can't wait for that party! There is one coming up here in October, but I don't think I can last that long!

It's actually waaaay bigger than it looks.
And a knick knack house. I've been looking for something for a long time to hold my burgeoning collection of salt and pepper shakers and the few little things crowding my other 3 knick knack shelves.

Sew I says...

Some sewing love

The Album Sea Sew by Lisa Hannigan. A very cute album cover with very good songs inside. I checked it out from the library on a whim, just based on the cover and was not disappointed.

Compliments of israbox

Here is the Sea Song from this album. Enjoy.


Speaking of sewing, I need to learn to do so. Mr. Pie bought me a sewing machine for my birthday a few years ago. The bobbin loader is really tricky, and that's what's honestly been keeping me from using it more. Any help out there? It's a Singer Esteem.And here is what I saw the other day that inspired this post in the first place:Reason # 4353453 why I love Clifton, my hood.

Vacation all I ever wanted...

St. Augustine, FL. The oldest city in America!



Jimmy Buffest was fired from this place before he was famous.


The Basillica. I've got a soft spot.




One of the best burgers ever. Prince of Wales.


Gourmet popsicles. Ryan had avocado cream and I had peach-chipotle.


Guiness face.

Our historic-walking-tour-pub-crawl group. They were great.

St. Augustine is really humid.

The Taberna was on authentic Sangria house.

The camera was cold from being in the car.

The oldest school in America.

I had a dream that I worked at a place called "Der Pretzel Haus," in Pottsdam, Germany, and it turns out there was one in St. Augustine!

Burger Challenge # 26

There are very few chain burger joints on the list. Two, I think, and they certainly aren't the usual highway stops. Despite being a chain, we just love Five Guys Burgers and Fries. A regular burger comes with 2 patties. You pay a little less for just one patty. You pay a little extra for cheese or bacon. Every other topping is free, and there are about 15 of them. You could even get all of them if you wanted. The fries are plain, or cajun, and if you go with 2 people, just order the smaller of the 2 sizes. It's plenty.This is the second installment of our burger challenge; to eat at all 40 places on Cincinnati Magazine's list of the best burgers in town and Five Guys was number 26 on the list, hence the title of this post.

#35 Gordo's Cafe was first.

To see the photos from our hamburger Ohio trip, where we checked out the 6 best burgers in the state, according to George Motz, click here.

To see the photos of our Hamburger Honeymoon, click here.

Burger Challenge # 35

Ok, First stop Gordo's Pub and Grill, Norwood, OH

The Cincinnati Magazine article says, "This modest pub serves an immodestly sized, bulbous burger stacked with roasted poblano chiles, sauteed mushrooms, onions, smoked bacon, garlicky Boursin cheese, and mayonnaise. It's a good burger that would have been a great burger had the medium rare we ordered not been served well done."

Huh

Well, we decided to try it anyway.
This was mushroomy app.
My burger was the Jean-Robert. If you're from Cincinnati, you know who that is. It had grape compote on top, aka, grape jam. Ryan had something with bacon, I don't even remember what. It was pretty good. I'd recommend the place, but wouldn't call it the best burger. hmmm. I kinda feel bad about saying that.


This is our first attempt at eating all 40 burgers that Cincinnati Magazine recommends.

If you would like to see the pictures from our Six Best Burgers in Ohio trip, they are here.

To see our Hamburger honeymoon photos, see here.

Burger Challenge

Mr. Pie and I love burgers. We love them so much, that many of you know that we based our honeymoon on finding the best burgers in the south of these united states. We've seen everything, from ones made of Kobe to fois gras to emu, tofu, mushrooms, chickpeas..etc. We love it all, too.This is the Ghetto Burger from Ann's Snack Bar in Atlanta, GA

Well, recently, Cincinnati Magazine put out a list in one of their issues of the 40 Best Burgers in Cincinnati.

We'll take that challenge.

Unfortunately, I can't link you to the article to see the list, but I copied it from the issue at the library.

Get ready, get the tums. Here we come.

Perfect Brownie Pan

Makes perfect brownies! The only catch is that you have to use an ass-load of cooking spray on the dividers and then it's a bitch to clean. You also have to push down really hard if you put nuts in your batter. Oh, well.