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Old 05-28-2014, 05:56 PM
 
Location: Cincinnati, OH
148 posts, read 212,037 times
Reputation: 67

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Quote:
Originally Posted by shoenberg3 View Post
... Chinese: ... Indian: ...Thai: ...Japanese: ...Korean: ...Mexican: ...Pizza: ... BBQ: ..., soul-food: ...Vietnamese: ...
Excellent roundup.

To All- I really do appreciate the info. each of you is providing. Even if urbinspoon did have a big_pic/roundup section (which it doesn't), I'd still want to hear the opinions from this forum.
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Old 05-28-2014, 08:41 PM
 
Location: Mason, OH
9,259 posts, read 16,700,854 times
Reputation: 1954
To me, when you find a carryout restaurant you enjoy, stick with it.

When I want Chinese in Mason, I go to New China downtown. It is a little hole-in-the-wall dump but delivers what I want in Chinese food - Americanized.

Some foods I don't even care to try. In all my trips to Japan, I rarely had any food I could stomach, with the exception of the horribly expensive Kobe beef, and even that was way too fatty. So why would I look for Japanese here, especially that raw fish sushi stuff? I do remember one dinner of large black snails which had been deep fried. With a bottle of Jack Daniels they went down pretty good.

The best food I had in Japan was when they took me to a Korean hibachi grill place. Don't know exactly what they grilled, but it was tasty, although difficult to identify except for the veggies. Cabbage and more cabbage, I didn't know so many varieties of cabbage existed.

We now have 3 Mexican places in Mason itself. I have been to 2 of them recently and was pleased. The highest rated one is on Kings Mills Rd over near Kings Island. Haven't been there since they changed ownership. Must give it a try. I will admit a hankering for Mexican food.

We have a recent Bar/Grill establishment on Kings Mills Rd in the same strip plaza as Kroger at the opposite end. It goes by the name Old Bag of Nails, and I believe is out of Columbus. They have good fish & chips, and I sometimes just want some breaded and deep fried cod along with some chips.

For years we liked Frisch's fish sandwich with a quirk we also wanted a bowl of their chili. Yes a quirk, fish and chili. So now we find ourselves alternating between Frisch's and Old Bag of Nails.

But our favorite carryout has to be Blue Ash Chili and their ham&beef doubledecker. The best value meal I know of around here. We typically only eat half of the sandwich and put the 2nd half away for lunch the next day. A great ROI.
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Old 05-28-2014, 10:57 PM
 
465 posts, read 654,931 times
Reputation: 281
Quote:
Originally Posted by shoenberg3 View Post
That's interesting. I had the pho at Cilantro and found it watered-down and thin (with a slightly off-taste broth too). On the other hand, Thai Express always seems to be above-average, whether it be pad thai or stir-fry meats -- generous and fresh chunks of meat/veggies with good spice.
Okay, now I see the likely sources of our disagreement as I rarely eat pho (Cilantro's is actually close to an authentic and typically bland Vietnamese breakfast dish you get in private residences there) and I even more rarely eat Pad Thai, because first, it's a bit like the macaroni and cheese of Thai food, and while it's a comforting common food, it's not usually my first choice on a menu, and second, the American version outside of Thai Town in LA rarely has the rich and intense seafood flavors I crave in the dish. Instead you get an overcooked, greasy, spicy peanut dish that doesn't bare much resemblance to what I'm looking for. When I get it, I want more fish sauce, shrimp or egg and less peanut sauce than what Thai Express makes. Their curries are also bit too sweet and coconut/pineapple based for me. They are a good value, however.

Why I like Cilantro is that they have a very good pork shoulder Banh Mi, I believe it's one of the better sandwiches you can get in Cincinnati at that price, actually, and their Bun (noodle bowls) are also good. If I do order a broth dish there, I order the Hu Tieu, it's more flavorful than their Pho. So it actually seems we're mostly in agreement on Cilantro's Pho being less than stellar, and in disagreement based on the Pad Thai at Thai Express, but that seems due to the difference in opinion of what we're looking for in the dish.
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Old 05-29-2014, 12:08 PM
 
Location: Mason, OH
9,259 posts, read 16,700,854 times
Reputation: 1954
You guys discussion of Thai this Thai that. Interesting, but not one I will participate in, as I have never stepped into a Thai restaurant and don't intend to. But that is one of the great things about the US, you can probably find some food you want regardless of where it comes from. Some people will like it. But give me a good old American double-burger deluxe and I am happy.

Now Germany I liked, not their horrible version of breakfast, but because Hamburg is a port city, gets some good fresh fish, and they actually cook it. I loved the German name for potato dishes - kartoffein. Every little shop along the street had their kartoffein dish, basically some version of scalloped or augratin potatoes. Different sauces, different spices, but all tasty.

I agree, for a supposedly German town Cincinnati has zilch for German food.

I remember being in a hotel bar in Hamburg and asking the bartender what should I order to experience German spirits. He said Nothing. We have some decent wine but I would recommend the French. For spirits I have Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey, English Gin, but not German. We haven't learned how to do that.
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Old 05-29-2014, 12:32 PM
 
465 posts, read 654,931 times
Reputation: 281
I have to say that Mecklenburg Gardens is still pretty decent German food, and they do let you order ahead for carry-out.

EDIT:

I should also mention, however, that they are also on the expensive side, so it's not that there isn't any German food in Cincy, just that there isn't much affordable German food.
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Old 05-29-2014, 01:01 PM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
87 posts, read 165,337 times
Reputation: 174
Indeed, there are some German establishments both north and south of the river. Not only are they unspectacular, they are also quite expensive.
Kinda dying to try Schweinshaxe some day but that costs 24.99 at the Hofbrauhaus at newport!

Just out of curiosity, I checked out the price of the same dish at a german restaurant in Los Altos (one of the most expensive places to live in entire US) near where I used to live in California. It cost 18 dollars which is steep but still less than here, which is a shame considering the probable disparity in retail space price.

Last edited by shoenberg3; 05-29-2014 at 01:13 PM..
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Old 05-29-2014, 01:30 PM
 
465 posts, read 654,931 times
Reputation: 281
Quote:
Originally Posted by shoenberg3 View Post
Indeed, there are some German establishments both north and south of the river. Not only are they unspectacular, they are also quite expensive.
Kinda dying to try Schweinshaxe some day but that costs 24.99 at the Hofbrauhaus at newport!

Just out of curiosity, I checked out the price of the same dish at a german restaurant in Los Altos (one of the most expensive places to live in entire US) near where I used to live in California. It cost 18 dollars which is steep but still less than here, which is a shame considering the probable disparity in retail space price.
Essential ingredients like Lederhosen and polka bands aren't free, you know!
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Old 05-29-2014, 01:32 PM
 
Location: Mason, OH
9,259 posts, read 16,700,854 times
Reputation: 1954
Quote:
Originally Posted by RustBeltOptimist View Post
I have to say that Mecklenburg Gardens is still pretty decent German food, and they do let you order ahead for carry-out.

EDIT:

I should also mention, however, that they are also on the expensive side, so it's not that there isn't any German food in Cincy, just that there isn't much affordable German food.
Quite frankly, being from a German family, I was never all that enthralled with German food. My mother did make a whale of a sauerbraten though. But the rest, all of the wursts she brought home from the butcher along with the kraut never exactly turned me on. Our Friday night meal was usually fried eggs and sauerkraut, who can get excited over that. I consider most of the food ordinary Germans consume to be peasant food. Certainly, all of the varieties of kartoffeln are that. And our Cincinnati favorite goetta is definitely peasant food.
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Old 05-29-2014, 01:40 PM
 
Location: Mason, OH
9,259 posts, read 16,700,854 times
Reputation: 1954
When I visited Germany and they served me cold hard sliced sausage, what I called thuringer for breakfast, a hard sliced cheese, and a roll I couldn't even break, I decided they were in the disabled cuisine catagory. So I won't lament over German cuisine. Probably liked the liver and onions as much as anything. At least liver and onions along with kartoffeln fill you up.
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Old 05-29-2014, 02:03 PM
 
465 posts, read 654,931 times
Reputation: 281
The best German food I've had was at Mader's in Milwaukee. I've only had brief layovers in the old country itself, but I'm a fan of the food typically. I do make it to Oktoberfest once or twice every year.
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