Food, shelter, and clothing. These are some of our basic necessities. I have been in positions where I was not always sure where my next meal was coming from and now I don’t have to worry about those things. Still, I remember what a scary and humbling experience it was to need help from others. Growing up, my mom was a single mother that received no help from my father. She was on Food Stamps, which are now called SNAP. She didn’t get a whole lot of money because she worked full time, but what she did get she used every penny to feed me and my brother. Today, the same program that helped make sure I wouldn’t go hungry is being threatened and it makes me worry about all of the kids that are going hungry now and the hundreds and thousands of kids that will be joining them if cuts to SNAP go into effect.

Known as SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was created to help people in their time of need. SNAP is in danger because of something known as the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill provides legislation for funding to the SNAP program and for the SNAP education program. Severe cuts to SNAP are on the table. Regardless of what you think of public assistance, nearly 50% of the recipients of SNAP are children. These children will go hungry and they did not ask to be born into a world that would deprive them of one of their basic necessities. Millions of children and families will suffer if cuts to SNAP are put into effect.

This is sad for a number of reasons, but when you consider that we live in a country that is one of the wealthiest in the world, you realize that children starving should not be a major issue that we need to worry about. Sadly, when people turn a blind eye, it becomes a very real problem.

As one of the wealthiest nations in the world, we cannot afford to let our children go hungry. Ensuring our children have enough to eat must be a priority for our nation.

You can learn more about the Farm Bill at the No Kid Hungry website.

By now I am sure you’re wondering how you can help. The best answer to that is to learn all you can about the Farm Bill and to let Congress know that you stand with the kids of this country and do not want to see any of them go hungry! Visit the No Kid Hungry website and contact Congress to show your support today!

Technorati Tags: Share Our Strength, No Kid Hungry, SNAP, Food Stamps, Childhood Hunger, Congress, Farm Bill

Note: Since we only eat in the Dayton area, the below experience is highlighting the last two trips we have had to the Ruby Tuesday’s in Dayton, Ohio.

The Ambiance:
Ruby Tuesday’s provides a typical bar and grill experience. The restaurant has a large bar where patrons can sit, if they so choose, but there are also booths and tables to choose from. The lighting is on the darker side, as you would expect from a bar atmosphere, but the mood lighting is nothing to complain about. RT’s attempts to show their slightly upscale nature by using white tablecloths and cloth napkins on each table. All in all, the ambiance is one of the most static things about Ruby Tuesday’s and it is generally a pleasing experience.

The Food:
The biggest problem that I see with the food at Ruby Tuesday is that it either done extremely well or incredibly unappealing. Unfortunately, most of the offerings sound great so you just never know what you’re going to end up with until you try it.

When you order most dinners you get a side and the garden bar or you can opt out of the bar and get two sides. The first time we visited most of us got the garden bar. It is literally a bare bones salad bar. There are two types of lettuce, salad toppings, a few pasta salad options, and dressing. They offer it in endless portions, but it tends to be something that people only hit once. After all, unless you’re planning to only eat salad, you probably won’t re-visit a straight salad bar twice. When we visited the second time I opted out of the Garden bar because I felt it wasn’t worth the side.

One thing Ruby Tuesday’s offers that is amazing (though it sadly is not counted as a side) is their broccoli cheese soup. This soup is fabulous. It’s a flavorful broccoli and cheese broth that has chunks of broccoli and is finished with some cheddar cheese on top. The thick breaded onion rings are offered as a side and they are definitely pleasing. If you are quirky like me and you eat your onion rings with tartar sauce (does that make you quirky?) you will be greeted with a freshmade tartar sauce. I found the sauce to be acceptable, though I prefer mine better. I don’t fault them for this though because I generally do.

Ruby Tuesday is known for their ribs and they do not disappoint for the most part. I found them to be flavorful, fall-off-the-bone worthy, and they were trimmed so they were not at all fatty. The sauce was tangy without being too acidic or spicy and the rub that appeared to spice it before saucing added a good flavor to it.

As far as steak went, the Petite Sirloin was fairly seasoned and relatively free of fatty areas. It was not the best steak I have had, but it stands up to most sirloins that I have had at bar and grill restaurants in the past. The most important thing to me is that it would be cooked to my liking and it was a little doner than I prefer rare to be, but it was still acceptable so I ate it with little complaint.

On the first trip Louisiana Fried Shrimp accompanied the steak. The shrimp was marvelous. It was crunchy with a nice seasoned crust and firm, well-cooked shrimp. Though I was told it was pretty spicy, I found it to be seasoned well with mild forms of heat, but not truly spicy at all. That being said, if you ignore the connotations that all Louisiana labeled items should fry your mouth, then this shrimp is amazing and you should certainly give it a try.

The second trip D ordered the steak with the Lobster Mac and Cheese. I was the most disappointed with the Lobster Mac. The cheese sauce was bland and lacked any type of real seasoning or flavor beyond the obvious taste of cheese. Even then, the cheese taste was rather tame (and I love cheese). It was too heavy and rather thick, as well. This only served to weigh down the dish and made me want something lighter. The most disappointing part of this dish was that the lobster was chewy and overcooked. I can only assume that the lobster was prepared and then added to the macaroni and cheese before it was baked, which added to the cooking time and essentially overcooked it. D had a few bites and was displeased with it and I did the same. It’s not something we would order again and we certainly would not recommend it.

On our second trip, when D ordered the steak and Lobster Mac, I decided to go with the Chicken Bella. Chicken Bella is described as chicken breast served with mushrooms (hence the name) and artichokes in a cream sauce. Sounds divine, doesn’t it? I thought so, but what I ended up with was less than thrilling. The cream sauce lacked any flavor and was far to thin. It didn’t coat the food at all and the flavor was so bland that if it did make it onto the chicken, it added no flavor at all. The mushrooms were good and the artichokes were cooked fine, though they were more of a simple topping as opposed to the main part of a dish. So, what you have is a plain chicken breast that lacks loads of flavor, a wonderfully pleasing, but not plentiful enough, topping for the chicken, and a sauce that would have been as successful as if they had put water on the plate. In a word…Bummer.

To put this last trip into perspective, D and I had a fair amount of food left, but opted out of take home boxes, knowing full well we would not eat these left overs.

The Drinks:
When I was a server, I learned quite a bit about bartending. In fact, I used to charge the other waitresses to make their drinks because mine always got them better tips (that and I always knew how to make things when they didn’t). One thing that I always go by when it comes to tending bar is that an amazing drink has excellent flavor, but does not have a heavy taste of liquor. Unless you’re drinking a shot, you should not have to feel the burn that comes with many alcohols. Ruby Tuesday passes in this regard on some drinks and fails on others. All in all, each drink we tried had amazing flavor, but one of them tasted so much like alcohol it ruined the fruity flavor of the drink.

With that in mind, we highly recommend the Ruby Relaxer, which had a number of alcohols in it, but it tasted magnificently tropical. On the other hand, we recommend skipping the Frozen Sunset Strawberry Daiquiri, which offers diced strawberries and good traditional flavors, but sadly reaks of alcohol.

The Service:
On our first visit to Ruby Tuesday’s we had excellent service. We were very happy with our server and even went out of our way to inform the management that our server was amazing. She was quick with refills, didn’t come to check on us at the wrong time (I can’t ask for anything, if my mouth is full!), and made sure we were never waiting for anything that we needed. The only thing she forgot was the Cheddar Biscuits, and honestly, Red Lobster does them far better so it wasn’t a big loss.

The second visit produced service that was a huge letdown. After having a drink, I asked for a Coke and it took eight to ten minutes before I received it. I am pretty sure that I saw the neighboring tables server more than we saw our own. He did not ask us if we wanted the Shrimp Fondue (this was supposed to net us a free order, but I didn’t want it so I didn’t press) and when he came to ask if we wanted boxes, with about half the food left on our plate, he didn’t ask if anything was wrong with it when we said no. He also wasn’t incredibly familiar with the menu and rather than checking had to come back to inform of us about things after we ordered to see if we still wanted things. It was definitely not the best service. I have had worse, but I haven’t had much worse in this town. There has only been one other time where I received worse service and that was in the Downtown Dayton Uno’s (that’s for another review).

So, what it comes down to is that Ruby Tuesday’s does have some redeemable qualities. However, I recommend being familiar with what you’re ordering because what sounds good and what tastes good is two different things. For us, I don’t know that we will be back to Ruby Tuesday’s again. There are so many good restaurants in Dayton that I hate to spend my hard earned money on a crap shoot and to me, that’s what Ruby Tuesdays is these days.

Technorati Tags: Ruby Tuesdays, Food, Restaurant Review, Bar and Grill, Sirloin, Lobster Mac and Cheese, Ruby Relaxer, Service, Louisiana Fried Shrimp, Fondue, Poor Service

We arrived earlier than our group, but a table wasn’t ready so we went to sit at the bar and wait. Franco came up to me immediately and was very friendly. He offered me a drink and I ordered a Bloody Mary. I received a tall glass filled to the brim with a delicious concoction that had plenty of liquor though it was made so that you could not taste it (perfect for someone like me). I have to confess though, as good as the drink was, the huge olives that he added to the drink were better. He could have given me the entire jar and I would have happily munched while waiting for my table.

After about an hour wait we were sat down at our table and were able to put in our drink orders. I was on Bloody Mary number two, but D ordered a Fuzzy Navel at my insistence (he always listens to me when I tell him what to drink…I just know). Not surprisingly his drink was fabulous. It also came in a tall glass and it tasted of peaches all the way down. For an appetizer we picked (or rather, D picked) the Fried Ravioli.

Occasionally we switch off on appetizer choices because he might want something more than me. This was the case on this visit to Franco’s. I wouldn’t say I abhor ricotta cheese, but I don’t love it. It’s not a real melty cheese so when you put it in some things I feel like you just end up with this mealy, unappealing, not too flavorful cheese taste. So, I wasn’t looking forward to these. However, despite the ricotta, these ravioli were delicious. They were lightly fried on the outside and filled with luscious, melted cheese on the inside. The dipping sauce was a mildly flavorful, but obviously homemade tomato sauce. For a reasonably priced appetizer I would have no problem ordering these again.

For dinner we went in different directions. I had Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola and Fettucini in olive oil with portabella mushrooms. D had Manicotti in meat sauce. Mine came with a simple salad with a little red onion and tomato. His came with a cup of soup. The salad was a standard salad. Everything was fresh, crisp, and had a delicious, yet simple Ranch dressing to accompany it. D’s soup must have been to his liking, because the only complaint he could muster was that he wished it would have been bigger. He had the Pasta E Fagioli, though plans to have Minestrone on our next trip to Franco’s.

Filet Mignon Francos

The Filet Mignon, while somewhat expensive was worth every single penny that D paid for it. This steak was perfectly rare (most restaurants make even the rare steak a little more done than I would like) and it melted in my mouth. With the gorgonzola cheese on top it offered this luxurious salty, cheesy, heavenly mix of meat and cheese. It was so juicy and so delicious that steak sauce was not required (and I love steak sauce). In this case, I felt the sauce would have taken away from the meat so I did not use it and I never felt anything missing by its absence. D cannot normally eat steak when he is in his wheelchair, but I gave him a bite and it literally melted in his mouth. He seemed a little sad he didn’t try and order it for himself.

The pasta was perfectly cooked and had nice flavor from the olive oil. The mushrooms were absolutely divine, as well. Though I didn’t try it, (I’m kicking myself now) I think the best bite would have been a mushroom with the steak and cheese. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Manicotti Francos

D’s Manicotti was just what I would expected it would be once we got to this point in the meal. The sauce had meat in it, though it was very subtle. The tomato based sauce was the star of the show. It was full-bodied and stood up to the cheesy manicotti quite well. It tasted like there might have been some wine cooked into the sauce, but either way it was clearly made in-house. The two tubes of pasta were filled with a ricotta mixture and baked until the cheese was melted and the dish was hot. You couldn’t ask for more in a simple, classic pasta dish.

When it came time to have dessert, we actually ordered some! This is surprising because usually we will say we’re going to get dessert and we never make it. I think that we figured the rest of the meal had been so amazing that we couldn’t ignore the possibility of dessert. We pondered a couple options of gelato and chose peach. With that we ordered a slice of the peanut butter pie (featured in the image at the top). The gelato was flavorful and made for an amazing palette cleanser. It had a strong peach flavor, was smooth like gelato should be, and was the perfect end to a perfect meal.

I say the gelato was the end, because after taking a taste of the rich and decadent peanut butter pie we decided to wait until the very end for the gelato. The peanut butter pie was more like a peanut butter cup pie, in my opinion. When I think peanut butter pie I tend to think of the smooth, almost peanut butter silk varieties of pie. This was a thin slice with a graham cracker crust, a layer of chocolate, some peanut butter and then covered in more chocolate with crumbled bits of peanuts and peanut butter cups over top. Some whipped cream was also added to cut a smidge of the richness. While this was good, it is probably something we would not order again. Next time I am rooting for the tiramisu. Since I share my dessert with D, I suppose I will have to convince him that’s what we need to try next.

If you’re looking for a good, upscale dining experience in Dayton and you find yourself on the edge of the Oregon District, you owe it to yourself to give Franco’s a try. Franco was a delight to his customers, the food was fantastic and the atmosphere was perfect for casual or romantic dining. We will definitely be back.

Technorati Tags: Francos Italian Ristorante, Manicotti, Restaurant Review, Food, Peanut Butter Pie, Gelato, Filet Mignon, Review, Food, Fried Ravioli

Now before we get to the recipe, I am going to show you the cast of characters for the sauce and discuss wings. You can buy with the entire wing or the separated wing parts (the drummies and the sections). I prefer all drummies if I can find them, but definitely choose to buy the separated wings over separating them myself.

I know some people that make them altogether. I don’t recommend that because you end up with that wing tip that you cannot eat so it’s just a pointless feature on the plate. If you live in the Dayton area you can usually find some excellent wings at Dorothy Lane. Other options include EarthFare or in a pinch some commercial chains carry Tyson All Natural wings, which aren’t too bad.

Onto the sauce:

The sauce ingredients are pretty straight forward.

Sauce Ingredients:
Squeeze Garlic (Recommended: Spice World)
Hot Sauce (Recommended: Frank’s Red Hot)
Butter (Recommended: I Can’t Believe It’s Not…)
Cracked Black Pepper

Directions:
Melt a 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. With the butter, mix roughly a half a bottle of Hot Sauce (more or less depending on taste). Add in 1-2 TBSP Cracked Black and 1-2 healthy squirt of the garlic. Mix up and set aside.

You end up with something that looks like this:

For the wing prep, I do things two ways. I fry the wings first in a good canola or peanut oil to get them crispy. After they have fried, I drop them in the sauce for a few minutes, lift them into a baking dish, drop the rest of the sauce over them, and finish them in the oven. They come out incredibly crispy, moist, colorful, and amazingly delicious. I made the sauce because I love mild wings and I love garlic wings. This gives you the vinegar-y bite from the hot sauce with the strong sharp flavor of a good garlic wing. You can eat them without sauce, as I do not find them too hot, though they are always better with some fresh bleu cheese dip (recipe to follow).

Before frying the wings I just dust them with some simple salt, pepper, and garlic powder before putting them in the hot oil.

Based on the size of your pan (I use a large Marcus Sammuelson pan that is to die for) you can cook anywhere from 4-8 wings at a time. I try not to do more than that because the fuller your pan, the lower your oil temperature will get. As this affects the grease factor in the wings, I would rather cook less and have them taste better. Leave them in for about 20-25 minutes until they begin gaining a light brown color and begin to have that crunchy, crispy skin on them.

Next, they are dropped in the sauce and then put on the pan to bake.

Bake the wings at 350 for 15 minutes. This gives the earlier batches a nice warm-up and it gives the sauce a good chance to soak into the wings.

With the wings goes Bleu Cheese Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
Mayo (Recommended: Hellman’s)
Sour Cream (Recommended: Something Organic/All Natural)
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Directions:
In a bowl mix together two cups sour cream, 3/4 cup mayo, a pinch of salt, 1-2 TBSPs both black pepper and garlic and mix together until well incorporated. Add as much Blue Cheese as is necessary to get to your desired cheesy-ness. I usually go with 1/2-1 Cup of fine crumbles with a few bigger chunks in there. If you find it is too thick for your liking you can always add a small splash of milk to thin it up, but for wings, I like it chunky.

Complete directions are listed below! I hope you enjoy and you come back to let me know how they turned out for you

Buffalo Garlic Wings

Sauce Ingredients:
Squeeze Garlic (Recommended: Spice World)
Hot Sauce (Recommended: Frank’s Red Hot)
Butter (Recommended: I Can’t Believe It’s Not…)
Cracked Black Pepper

Directions:
Melt a 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. With the butter, mix roughly a half a bottle of Hot Sauce (more or less depending on taste). Add in 1-2 TBSP Cracked Black and 1-2 healthy squirt of the garlic. Mix up and set aside.

Wing Cooking/Prep:
Before frying the wings I just dust them with some simple salt, pepper, and garlic powder before putting them in the hot oil.

Based on the size of your pan (I use a large Marcus Sammuelson pan that is to die for) you can cook anywhere from 4-8 wings at a time. The fuller your pan, the lower your oil temperature will get. As this affects the grease factor in the wings, I would rather cook less and have them taste better. Leave them in for about 20-25 minutes until they begin gaining a light brown color and begin to have that crunchy, crispy skin on them.

Next, they are dropped in the sauce and then put on the pan to bake.

Bake the wings at 350 for 15 minutes. This gives the earlier batches a nice warm-up and it gives the sauce a good chance to soak into the wings.

Bleu Cheese Dip Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Mayo (Recommended: Hellman’s)
2 Cups Sour Cream (Recommended: Something Organic/All Natural)
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Cup (to taste) Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Directions:
In a bowl mix together two cups sour cream, 3/4 cup mayo, a pinch of salt, 1-2 TBSPs both black pepper and garlic and mix together until well incorporated. Add as much Bleu Cheese as is necessary to get to your desired cheesy-ness. I usually go with 1/2-1 Cup of fine crumbles with a few bigger chunks in there. If you find it is too thick for your liking you can always add a small splash of milk to thin it up, but for wings, I like it chunky.

EAT!

Technorati Tags: Recipes, Food, Wings, Buffalo Garlic, Fried Wings, Bleu Cheese Dip, Baked, Mayo, Sour Cream, Dorothy Lane

Ingredients:

Nacho Chips (You can make your own with tortillas or buy a brand you like)
Cheddar Cheese (I use melted cheese and shredded for texture and extra cheesiness)
Black Olives
Ground Beef (Taco-fied)
Diced Tomatoes
Re-fried or Black Beans
Taco Sauce
Salsa
Sour Cream

Optionals:
Lettuce
Rice
Guacamole

Directions:

You can opt for either taco seasoning or making your own, but for this recipe we are going to assume you’ve already made your taco meat. Make sure all of your items are ready to go and assembly will be a breeze. All you do is layer the chips on the plate and assemble. My chosen assembly goes something like this:

Chips
Melted Cheese all around the chips
Beans topped with meat in the center
Sour Cream
Taco Sauce
Shredded Cheese
Tomatoes
Black Olives
Salsa

EAT!

So, now that I’ve shown you mine, why don’t you tell me what you put on yours!

Technorati Tags: Food, Recipes, Nachos, Meat, Beans, Sour Cream, Taco Sauce, Dinner, Appetizer, Snack

It’s sad and it has to stop.

So when we moved into our new apartment (more on that move later) we decided to make some other changes, too. Some of the changes were little things. You know, things like no frivolous spending. We also eliminated the majority of dyes from our diet (for our son’s sake) and high fructose corn syrup. We also attempt to eat mainly organic or all natural (nothing we don’t recognize on the label). When we made this change I decided to make smoothies at home because frankly, most of the places that sell them offer syrup and ice as opposed to fresh fruit and they cost an arm and a leg. Making them at home helps me stick to at least two of our new life changes.

We’ve been making smoothies as often as possible. Usually we start off the day with one. Of course, by that I mean that everyone gets a nice, big, frothy glass but me. I have to remember to make more next time! We play with the flavors occasionally, but generally stick to fresh fruit.

While we stick to fresh fruit there are some staple ingredients used in every single smoothie. Those ingredients include:

Ice
Lemonade (Preferably something organic or Simply Lemonade)
A small scoop of Banana Pudding

You could use orange juice or another juice (depending on the flavor you’re going for), but I love the tartness that the lemonade adds. The banana pudding, which got me some strange looks when I told Dominick what was in it, adds a little velvety smoothness to it. I add about two to three handfuls of small ice chunks (we get small bags of ice at the grocery store), though I would say you could use about six ice cubes from a tray.

The smoothie pictured above is strawberry banana. To the above listed ingredients I added two fresh bananas, a half-cup (about four) of fresh strawberries cut up, and a nice dollop of frozen strawberries with juice that I let thaw in the fridge. The result after a good blending is a thick, icy and fabulous smoothie that is actually pretty healthy. It’s a way to get fresh fruit into the entire family.

We’ve also switched things up by using peaches and blueberries or whatever fresh/frozen fruit combinations we have sitting around.

How do you take your smoothies? Share your favorite smoothie recipe in the comment section or let us know when your try our recipe!

Ashtyn’s Delicious Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

Recipe Ingredients

Ice (2-3 handfuls chunked ice or 5-6 cubes)
Simply Lemonade (a couple of splashes depending on how thick you want things)
Fresh Strawberries (about 1/2 cup)
Frozen Strawberries in Juice (about 1/2 cup, plus or minus to taste)
Fresh Bananas (2)
Banana Pudding (1-2 Spoonfuls) – Optional

Just pop everything into the blender and that’s it. You end up with 2-3 delicious smoothies!

Technorati Tags: Smoothie, Recipe, Fresh Fruit, Bananas, Strawberries, Frozen, Organic, All Natural, Ingredients, Money Saver

The menu at EO Burgers is simple yet sophisticated. Focusing on fresh, quality ingredients you can choose from a selection of burgers (or grilled chicken breast), hand cut onion rings, and an array of French fry choices. They also offer some salad options, Coke products, hand spun Custard shakes and desserts, a kids menu with grilled cheese and chicken tenders and a bar for the adults. Robert opted for the chicken tender and fries meal, Dominick and I split a Mushroom Swiss Kobe burger and we got two orders of fries; the garlic and the herb rubbed.

As a foodie I knew I was going Kobe beef the minute I saw it on the menu. Not all of the EO burgers are made with Kobe beef. The majority are made with USDA Prime Beef. However, if you request a specific burger in Kobe beef instead they will make the change for a small additional charge. Once you order your food, you are handed a number card that sits on the table so that someone can deliver your food. While waiting you can get a pop at the self-serve drink station, if you ordered one (they receive massive points for carrying Mello Yello!), and you can grab any sauce you might need for your burger or fries.

They offer a nice selection including BBQ, Ketchup, Cholula mayonnaise, and Chipotle mayonnaise. When grabbing some Ketchup I also picked up some Cholula mayo, as well. I admit I had no idea what it was (later I discovered Cholula is a brand of hot sauce, so it’s pretty much hot sauce and mayo). It is a super flavorful, slightly spicy mayo that works great on the burgers and doesn’t taste too bad with the fries, either!

EO Burgers offers outside seating, as well as inside and the restaurant is large enough to accommodate a fair amount of people. When we came in it was on the quieter side, but as we were leaving a line was forming to order. We waited about five to ten minutes for our food, which is more than fair when everything is being freshly made.

The Kobe burger was dripping with juices and was cooked perfectly. It wasn’t too done and it looked like the kind of burger that you would eat as it was just taken off the grill. Robert’s chicken tenders were hand breaded, crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. The fries were both crispy and delicious, though I preferred the Herb Rubbed of the two. I liked the garlic, as well, but felt the herb fries packed a bigger flavor punch, which I loved.

I would have loved to try their frozen custard, but that will have to be on another day. Even splitting one of EO’s huge burgers made it impossible to even think of the possibility of dessert. We had a great meal and would highly recommend that you give them a visit next time you’re at The Greene. We will definitely be back, although next time we might have to pretend we’re French and opt for the dessert first just to make sure we have room!

Technorati Tags: The Greene, EO, Extraordinary Burgers, Local Food, Burgers, Kobe Beef, Restaurant Review, Foodie, Dayton Ohio

We called recently and Dominick talked with her for a minute and then was handed over to someone that was going to take our order. We ordered a selection of things, hoping for the best, and with full intentions of reviewing everything in our order. What we didn’t expect was being told that the order was on the house when it came time to offer payment information. After ordering we were told it would take about 30 minutes and our pizza would be on our doorstep.

It took about 45 minutes to get here, though that was no fault of the Pizza Dive. I actually like to blame that one on Wright State University campus living. You see, if caller ID picks up our home phone number and a person calls it back they are routed to a general WSU phone number and not our specific home phone. So, when the driver showed up with our food and was unable to get in the hallway (it is locked and you need buzzed in) he called the number he had and it didn’t work. He called it several times, actually. Finally, he found someone to let him in and ended up knocking on our door. I blame the lateness on us because we forgot to mention the callbox in the hallway and apparently he didn’t see it. Needless to say, our food showed up this time and it smelled heavenly when it got here.

Like I originally stated we ordered a little bit of everything. One reason for that is because it’s the quickest way to give us a full idea of the worth of the restaurant. Another reason is we have three people here that all have incredibly different tastes at any given moment. So, we ordered a medium pepperoni pizza, a calzone, a ham deli sandwich, mozzarella cheese sticks, pretzel bites with cheese dip, and a couple cannoli for dessert.

We made the mistake of ordering the large goodie basket of pretzel bites with cheese. I say mistake because instead of a large, we really should have ordered a small. There were at least 30 (if not more) pretzel bites in this large order. We ended up eating as many as we could (including some the next day), but eventually we ran out of the cheese sauce and the rest had to be tossed out because we just couldn’t eat any more. We all enjoyed the pretzel bites, we just will make sure to order the smaller size next time around. Dominick enjoyed them quite a bit and mentioned they reminded him of New York style pretzels. He had to remove some of the salt more for health reasons than anything, but he loved the cheese and the pretzels. Everyone else enjoyed them just as much.

I think our least favorite option we ordered, or at least mine, was the mozzarella cheese sticks. The cheese sticks appeared to be hand-breaded, which I like. The problem I had was that they were not very crispy. At first I thought that this had to do with the time it took until we were able to enjoy them, but I soon realized that was probably not the case. The breading was not that dark golden color that often comes from just the right amount of frying. These just didn’t hit the mark I am afraid, but everything else was good enough for us to ignore the flaw of one appetizer.

Robert had the Ham deli sandwich with mayo, mustard, cheese, lettuce and onion. The sandwich was placed on a freshly baked bakery style sub bun. While I did not eat any of it, I can say it was filled with meat and the other items he requested and it looked delicious. Robert ate the whole thing and genuinely seemed to enjoy it. He has already said that he’s be willing to order another sandwich again, so that says it all. I don’t normally order sandwiches from any place that specializes in pizza, but these looked delicious enough deli-wise to make me consider one if I wasn’t ordering to fill a pizza craving.

After looking at the menu, I immediately went for the calzone. Back in Michigan they called them stromboli and I absolutely loved them. Since moving to Dayton I have only found one place that stood up to what I used to eat and sadly that place no longer seems to be open. So, I ordered a calzone in hopes to find a new place to fill my unwavering obsession with these things.

The calzone comes sliced in two large pieces filled with three toppings of your choosing. Marinara sauce is available on the side and comes in the box for convenient dipping. The toppings in my calzone included pepperoni, mushrooms, and green olives. All ingredients were present in abundance, including the cheese. The marinara sauce coated the crispy crust and worked perfectly together to prove to me that I just found my Dayton calzone joint! I couldn’t have enjoyed this more if I tried. I loved the garlic butter spread over the calzone, the crisp crust, and everything inside. It all worked so well it’s hard to describe it in words. Needless to say, I can’t wait to have another one!

Next came the pizza. Dominick, having been the only one that has been to New York City, felt it was his obligation to try the pizza and see how it stacked up to the real thing (something it claims to do). Beavercreek Pizza Dive offers New York style pizza, or as Dominick puts it, “the closest thing to New York that Dayton has to offer.” The pizza is thin crust with large slices. Dominick always likes extra sauce on his pizza, but he didn’t mention he needed more on this pizza. He loved the garlic butter coating the crust and how well each element on the pizza worked together. I snuck a piece, too, and I have to say, it has been some of the tastiest pizza in Dayton that I have encountered.

The final tasty treat that we encountered was the homemade cannoli. We decided to get two cannoli, not only to end the meal on a sweet note, but because we’ve never had them and wanted to give them a shot. I highly recommend giving them a shot. The cream filling is sweet, but not too sweet. It’s piped into a cookie-like crust that was firm and sweet. It was the perfect after dinner finisher. It was big enough to satisfy and small enough to ensure that you don’t over indulge. Best of all, it tasted great.

While our initial impression of Beavercreek Pizza Dive was less than favorable, now that we’ve had a chance to taste the food they have to offer and we’ve realized who the real owners are, we have to recommend that you give them a shot. If you’re looking for something filled with flavor and similar to New York style, Beavercreek Pizza Dive will be right up your alley.

Technorati Tags: Food Review, Restaurant Review, Beavercreek Pizza Dive, New York Style Pizza, Cannoli, Calzone, Pepperoni, Mozzarella Cheese Sticks, Pretzel Bites

Upon entering the parking lot, on a Saturday afternoon, we noticed that it was fairly busy. We had to wait five to ten minutes for a table, though I honestly wasn’t surprised as we did have eight people in our party. With that many people in attendance I often expect to have to wait for at least a few minutes. Luckily, this gave us a few minutes to look around. Friday’s does have a somewhat commercial feel to it. Decorated to the hilt, Friday’s is a cross between a family restaurant and a sporty bar/grille. The posters and art on the wall is subtle enough to blend in and serve as a background layer, but noticeable enough to catch your eye should it be roaming. All in all, the look is pleasing enough to make someone comfortable in choosing this as a family spot. Despite the fact that it was as busy as it was, Friday’s was also remarkably clean. I noticed more than one person touching up the floor and cleaning tables to allow for new customers to get a table immediately once the previous ones had left.

Once we were seated, our waitress came and took our drink orders. My mother (a devout Coke drinker) was pleased to find that TGI Friday’s serves Coke products. I was flabbergasted and yet completely excited when I found that also meant that they had Mello Yellow (something I can rarely ever find in my hometown). With three adults, a teenager, and four kids eating on the kids menu we were able to sample a diverse amount of food. An appetizer of Friday’s famous Green Bean fries went over famously with everyone that tried them. The kids (some were willing to give them a shot, while others passed) found them to be decent, but not as good as potato French fries.

The Fried Mozzarella managed to please the children that wouldn’t go near the Green Bean Fries. As for me, I went with the French Onion Soup. While LaRosa’s still has the title of Best French Onion Soup in Dayton (at least, so far), Friday’s comes in a close second. The thick croutons and the melted cheese made the soup. The broth, while good, was really what couldn’t measure up when compared to LaRosa’s. While it offered a deep, rich flavor, the strong bodied taste of wine was not present. Often that is what makes French Onion soup so good and it was slightly lacking here. That being said, I did enjoy it and wouldn’t hesitate to order it again. It just would not lead me to Friday’s if I were having a French Onion soup craving.

For dinner the kids mainly stuck with kids meals such as chicken tenders and mac and cheese. B was the exception to this rule, when he decided to have ribs. He’s a big rib fan, so I was excited to see how much he liked these ribs. Meanwhile, Monsieur Spaghetti Salad went for the safe item (at least for him), a Chicken Caesar Salad, my mom opted for the California Club (sans Avocado), and I chose the Parmesan Crusted Chicken from the Right Portion, Right Price Menu.

Looking through the menu, I found plenty of options that I would have enjoyed. It was actually my mom that I was worried about. Though she won’t really admit it, she tends to be rather picky. Our family comes from a line of good cooks and she often finds that restaurants do not live up to the quality of food she expects. A meal like her normally fail safe dinner of fish and onion rings often need to be cooked crispier or ordered special to suit her needs. Even then she often will comment that we should have made something at home and saved our money. I am happy to report that she not only finished off her California Club, she did not make any disparaging remarks and she did not exclaim that we should have had dinner at home. I can’t remember the last time she had something nice to say about a restaurant other than Red Lobster (her favorite spot to eat), so this was a refreshing visit to say the least.

The Parmesan Crusted Chicken is coated in Friday’s delicious Caesar dressing before adding the layer of Parmesan. From there the dish is cooked and accompanied with a fresh tomato mozzarella salad and three cheese tortellini in a spinach alfredo sauce. This amazingly, flavorful meal is perfect for someone looking for a meal that will fill you up without packing on the calories. The chicken had a crisp “skin” (the breading obviously being parmesan cheese, not actual skin) and the Caesar dressing was the absolute perfect binder. While I am not positive, I am sure that this would be a pretty good choice for someone doing low carb, with exception to the pasta side, of course.

The other big hit at the table appeared to be the ribs. B loved his ribs. In fact, he loved them so much that when the waitress returned to see how everyone was doing and if she could get anyone anything else B’s reply was…”More Ribs!” Although I got him the kids dinner, I think that if I would have opted for the entire rack of ribs he would have tried to eat them all. In fact, I have a confession to make. B wasn’t going to leave without getting some more ribs, so I told him that we were going to head out to the rib shack, because they offered all you can eat ribs. The waitress asked me if this was a real place. Obviously, it isn’t, but it did help me to get him to the car. If there was such a place, I would be happy to take him to it because I am sure he would eat my money’s worth.

Since we didn’t opt for alcoholic drinks this trip (too many kids to enjoy such pleasures) and we couldn’t fit in dessert after our meals, we’ve decided to visit again soon in order to offer our thoughts on the classic concoctions both behind the bar and for those with a sweet tooth. Make sure to come back soon and see our follow up review!

Technorati Tags: Fridays, TGI Fridays, Restaurant Review, Beavercreek Ohio, Sports Bar, Family Restaurant, Ribs, Parmesan Chicken, Coke

Unfortunately, our buzzer went off before our table was actually ready. We stood there for an additional 15 minutes waiting for our table. In that time we realized the chaotic nature of The Cheesecake Factory. The restaurant is quite big, which is to be expected. However, there were two girls handing out the buzzers and four or five hosts/hostesses seating people. This would be fine, but the system seems to be nothing more than a printed paper on a spindle. An available host/hostess grabs the paper, calls the name out for the many waiting patrons, and then takes them to be seated. If there is no paper they stand and attempt to make themselves busy, but it seems more often than not everyone is just waiting for an available table. At least, that seemed to be the case on Friday night.

While the decor is trendy, I also felt it was set up to be economical rather than comfortable. Between a small walkway are two sets of seating areas; one side has a never-ending booth with sets of one or two chairs on the opposite side of the tables and the other set has small, two-person booths. On the other side of these tables is another setup just like it. There are other areas with larger tables, but this is the main bulk of the eating area. You are essentially sitting as close to your dining neighbor (the next table) without sitting on their laps, as possible. The servers get so close to your table while caring for the tables next to yours that I constantly looked up thinking I was being spoken to when really it was a neighboring table. As The Cheesecake Factory can accommodate hundreds of patrons at a time you should expect it to be incredibly noisy. I wouldn’t recommend bringing children (especially small ones) due to the over-packed nature of the seating arrangements (you might end up feeling like a sardine), although I did see some brave, or selfish (depending on your view) parents with small kids on their laps while eating.

In an effort to create a scrumptious birthday dinner and to get a feel for all that The Cheesecake Factory had to offer we ordered a complete meal with appetizers, entree, and dessert. Without going into the complete thoughts of our meal, I will begin to say that we found some major inconsistencies. The appetizers were amazing, but the entrees were not spectacular. The cheesecake was good, but not something befitting of a restaurant that received their name because of that lone signature item. We found The Cheesecake Factory to be a veritable mixed bag of good and bad. However, when you’re paying top dollar for a meal you want to be wowed not teased and let down in the end.

One of the biggest problems we encountered was the pricing. A Smoothie was roughly $6, which was high, but not entirely bothersome because it was a nice sized glass. Likewise, the Flying Gorilla I ordered (which was an excellent kicked up chocolate banana drunken shake) cost $9, but the size made me less worried about the cost as the one drink lasted my whole meal. The big problem I had with drinks and prices came with Dominick’s Daquiri, which costs $8. The drink tasted fine, but it was in a small Hurricane glass that was maybe 6 ounces. My drink, which only cost a dollar more, was easily double the size of his and contained multiple liquors while his only contained one.

The appetizers were the star of this show. We picked out two and both managed to blow everyone’s minds. We chose the Fried Mac & Cheese and the Buffalo Blasts. The Fried Mac and Cheese comes on an appetizer plate covered in a creamy marinara sauce with four large mac and cheese balls resting in the center. Each one has been crumb coated and fried. There is no grease element to the taste. They are crispy on the outside and filled with perfectly cooked pasta and melted cheese on the inside. The marinara makes the perfect compliment to this simple and delicious spin on one of America’s favorite comfort foods.

The Buffalo Blasts were Dom’s choice, but I have to say I wish I saw them first so I could claim making the decision. The idea is simple. Crispy fried wontons filled with chicken and cheese covered in buffalo sauce. These are served with more hot sauce, blue cheese and we asked for an additional side of ranch. These are exactly what they say they are. You get a blast of spicy flavor which is immediately tempered by the sauce. The kick is felt at the back of your throat, but it’s never too hot. The crispy texture of the wrapper also compliments the soft, gooeyness of the chicken and cheese mixture. We loved these so much I am sure if we ever go back these will be one of the things that definitely end up at our table.

The entrees were where things really began to go South in my opinion. It wasn’t that anything was truly bad, it just was overly basic. Nothing was so impressive that I would want to eat it again. In my specific case, I know I wouldn’t order my entree a second time, which is disappointing to say the least.

When I ordered the Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo our server informed me that it was hot and spicy. In fact, he even checked with me to make sure that it would be okay if it was hot and spicy. Now mind you, I like a little heat, but I am not one to order truly spicy foods. Still, I figured if I can handle New Orleans gumbo, this shouldn’t be a problem. Well, I was definitely right. Sadly, my gumbo wasn’t spicy at all. The only thing relatively flavorful in the gumbo was the Andouille sausage. Everything else fell rather flat. The broth tasted like it had not been salted and it was bland and tasteless. The chicken and shrimp were cooked fine, but they lacked flavor, as well.

I also found it odd that I only found one or two pieces of Okra in the entire dish. In the end, it was just disappointing. I ate some and brought the rest home in hopes that maybe it would get spicier, but it didn’t and it ended up getting tossed out as a result. If this were a reasonably priced dish I would have been upset, but not cared too much. At $17 a plate, I have to say I am pretty not happy with the fact that I spent that much money for nothing.

Dominick opted for the Shepherd’s Pie, which was equally as big but less expensive ($14). The plate looked amazing, with the traditional pie under the large crust of Parmesan Mashed Potatoes. Unfortunately there were a few inconsistencies here, as well. The entire dish lacked a significant amount of gravy. Instead, it seemed rather dry as what gravy was added was not enough to surpass the food that is was meant to cover. The ground beef was actually rather large chunks of ground beef that were not broken up. They were somewhat tough as a result. The vegetables and potatoes all tasted good, but there was nothing in the dish that rang out as amazing. It’s also nothing that could have beaten your average pub, where it would be found for much cheaper on average.

Robert ordered the Four Cheese Pasta with chicken. The dish is comprised of Penne pasta that is covered in Ricotta, Parmesan, Romano, and Mozzarella with Marinara and fresh basil. Chicken is optional. The pasta was dressed in the marinara, enough to be covered without being overdressed. The entire dish then had the cheese mixed in, or at least that is what it looked like. Chunks of chicken were mixed into the mixture. This seemed to go over the best of all three dishes, though Robert hasn’t reached for his leftovers so if he liked the dish initially, it’s possible that it lacks staying power.

We finished up dinner by picking out two flavors of cheesecake and bringing them home. I went for the Tiramisu and Robert opted for the Reeses Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake. The major difference between the two pieces was a huge difference in size. The Tiramisu was your standard restaurant cheesecake slice. On the other hand, the Chocolate Cake cheesecake was large enough to need to lay on its side and be placed in a large box. Both cheesecakes tasted good, with the Reeses being the clear winner as it actually tasted like a peanut butter cup. However, I was expecting mind blowing cheesecake and ended up with the feeling that I could make an equal or better cheesecake in my own kitchen for about the same price and feed 12 friends instead of just myself.

In the end, we paid a lot of money and ended up feeling let down by the entire experience. We’d go back for appetizers, but assuming we go back I am sure we’d be skipping any of the dinner selections and we’d probably just skip the dessert and visit one of the other restaurants in The Greene if we needed to satisfy our sweet tooth.

Technorati Tags: The Greene, The Cheesecake Factory, Restaurant Reviews, Dining, Gumbo, Buffalo Blasts, Fried Macaroni and Cheese, Flying Gorilla, Dinner, Beavercreek Ohio, Food Review, Critic