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!

Cheesecake Factory feasting

(08:56:14) Wine Bitch: did you get the mac and cheese balls?
(08:56:19) Dine Bitch: no
(08:56:22) Wine Bitch: WTF?
(08:56:28) Dine Bitch: dan ordered the app while i was in the bathroom
(08:56:32) Dine Bitch: he got the potstickers
(08:56:35) Dine Bitch: which were also tasty
(08:56:39) Dine Bitch: but weren't anything amazing
(08:56:40) Wine Bitch: meh
(08:56:51) Wine Bitch: what did you get ro eat?
(08:57:11) Dine Bitch: "wasabi crusted ahi tuna"
(08:57:17) Dine Bitch: which was nummies
(08:57:27) Dine Bitch: i have half of it for lunch today
(08:57:30) Dine Bitch: i might put it on a salad
(08:57:47) Dine Bitch: i just need to figure out a way to heat it up without cooking the fish the rest of the way through cause i still want it rare

The result from last night's Cheesecake Factory dinner...
For a chain, I am consistently impressed with their food. Dan gets the large filet mignon every time we go. Last time we went, for his b-day, it was a few days after Valentine's Day. I must say that I liked the steak he got at CF much better than the fancy schmancy steak he got at The Celestial on V-day! He went the same route at CF last night, and it was tasty.

I opted for the tuna steak. The "wasabi crust" was misleading cause it was more like wasabi mixed with an aoili and dumped on top of my tuna steak. It was good but there was too much so I scraped it all off. The veggies they serve with it are tasty - I wish there woulda been more of them, and there was slightly too much butter in the sauce they put on the veggies. But a bite of everything on the plate together made a very very yummy and light plate.

So now, how to reheat my tuna steak for lunch but still keep it rare...

Review: Balboa's Philly Steaks and Pizza

Food selection:

• Chicken Philly with provo, onion, mushroom
  
• Bag of Baked Lays
  
• Diet Pepsi

Verdict:

• Neat attempt at bring Motown Philly to Cincinnati
• Chicken wasn't anything memorable, potentially slightly overcooked
  
• Nice little grease brick for my tummy
• I was jealous of the colleagues' Traditional Philly (steak, cheez wiz, onions)
• They serve TastyKakes there, which was neat

Return-ability?

• only if I am drunk, for the traditional philly cheesesteak