Look at Me Shirts

Today I stumbled upon lookatmeshirts.com, which means I am probably very slow and very late to the game, but nonetheless, I fell in love instantly and purchased 3 shirts! Hilarious graphic tees, many of which are Cincinnati-specific.

My favorite (which I did order) pictured here.

What I did not know was is that the company is part owned by Josh Sneed, a local comedian who frequents down at the Funny Bone. I frequent the Bone and he's a funny cat.

On a related note, I did have Skyline for lunch today. Boyfriend always finds it ironic that I always get a side salad with my 3-way, but ya gotta have something healthy to counter that pile of tasty greasy whatever-it-is-ness.

Restaurant Review: Nada

So Nada harps itself as a contemporary Mexican restaurant in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. Yay for neat new restaurants in the heart of Cincy, but this one is what I'd call so-so.

The food was good, but not amazing. Nothing I'd crave again later. I had the tinga poblano, which is basically a chicken-chorizo stew with a tomato base and served with a side of rice. It was slightly spicy in a good way with a consistency reminiscent of a red curry. Even more so, it was $13. It was a good portion, but nothing memorable. My counterpart got the pork green chile, which he swears by. I tried a bite, and it was tasty. Heavy on the green chile flavor with chunks of perfectly braised pork.

For appetizers, we got the chips and guac. Now, seriously, I thought that the $1.50 for a scoop of guac at Chipotle was a bit much. Here, it was $7 for a basket of chips and guac that was comparable to Chipotle's self-proclaimed "silky, sexy guacamole". And the chips... oy. I think they were triple-fried and marinated in a tub of sea salt overnight. They were super crunchy, but super greasy and absurdly salt-tastic.

The atmosphere was pretty sweet, with a neat staircase to the top floor of tables (although we sat on the first floor). They also have outside seating. They were quite busy for a Tuesday lunch, with a very different mix of people. I expected all corporate downtowners on their lunch breaks, but that didn't seem to be the case: Old, young, corporate and just casual diners. But seriously, girls-who-work-at-Nada, for a Tuesday lunch, did you have to dress like you were going to a club on Saturday? Seriously?

The bottom line was: I just don't get it. Maybe it's just not my style.

Restaurant Review: The Levee Perk Cafe

What a delightful little hole-in-the wall: The Levee Perk Cafe! Their web presence leaves a little something to be desired, but the goods are well... good!

It's your standard sammy shop, with tasty sammies, wraps, and salads, but perhaps the most unique thing on the menu is the topped pretzels. Quite intrigued, as I didn't quite "get it", I had to get one. I didn't know if I should expect a pretzel sandwich, a microwaveable big soft pretzel covered in stuff, or what...

Well the results were divine: I ordered the veggie pretzel, which a large, tasty homemade (large!) soft pretzel. It had a thin layer of marinara sauce and two slices of melted mozzarella, and then it was heaped with fresh sauteed veggies, like green and yellow squash, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, etc. My only quasi-complaint was that there was almost TOO much squash on it, but that's an easily resolvable problem (I just pushed some off!). It was like a mini-veggie pizza with a super amazing tasty crust. Get this: only $4.50!!

A co-worker invested in the chicken cordon bleu pretzel, which was covered in chunks of chicken and cheese. Also looked quite scrumptious.

The price mislead me, as I assumed that it would then be relatively small so I got a side. They have a very unique list of down-homey sides, like the german potato salad, which I had. Many times, German potato salad is too vinegary, but theirs was a delightful balance of sweet + sour.

The place is small (~10/15 tables in a standard deli-sized space). The staff friendly (lots of grandmas behind the counter making the food, and our waiter was this large, young, nice looking football player -- bull in a china shop for sure. Someone's nephew was home from college for the summer looking for some extra bucks, so it seems.). Oh and we grabbed tasty cookies on the way out - super soft choco chip with a little Hershey kiss throw in the middle. Nom!