Favorite "Uniquely Dayton-ish" food? (Cincinnati, Green: co-op, hotel, house)

[CarpathianPeasant]

Originally Posted by Natural510

I have to agree with Peter. The best I can hope for in the Dayton area is something which is close to the better food I have had in other cities. And, FWIW, all that food which IS unique to Cincinnati is disgusting.

Desperate might be a better description.

[RDriesenUD]

I'll take your word for it, but I doubt they make it the same. As for Dayton having no good places to eat, well, that is your opinion. I have been a lot of places and Dayton does just fine compared to others. I know some like to complain, just to complain, and that is what is going on here, so I am done with this.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by Natural510

I have to agree with Peter. The best I can hope for in the Dayton area is something which is close to the better food I have had in other cities. And, FWIW, all that food which IS unique to Cincinnati is disgusting.

I dunno. I LOVE Cincinnati Chili. It was started by Greek immigrants. You just have to know where to go. Places like Skyline can be nasty.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by RDriesenUD

I'll take your word for it, but I doubt they make it the same. As for Dayton having no good places to eat, well, that is your opinion. I have been a lot of places and Dayton does just fine compared to others. I know some like to complain, just to complain, and that is what is going on here, so I am done with this.

Dayton does have a few nice places. Olive is one of the very few I can think of that would survive in nearby foodie cities like Louisville or even Cincinnati. But it is a drop in the bucket compared to metros half its size like Charleston, SC or even Knoxville TN. Places that are not too much larger, places like Louisville and Nashville, blow it out of the water in the food category. It is like the difference between Chicago and Cincinnati.

[CarpathianPeasant]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Dayton does have a few nice places. Olive is one of the very few I can think of that would survive in nearby foodie cities like Louisville or even Cincinnati. But it is a drop in the bucket compared to metros half its size like Charleston, SC or even Knoxville TN. Places that are not too much larger, places like Louisville and Nashville, blow it out of the water in the food category. It is like the difference between Chicago and Cincinnati.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_it_play_in_Peoria%3F Uhh.... Dayton.

[Ohiogirl81]

Other than the pizza and Mike Sell's chips when they were made with 100 percent peanut oil, I can't think of much.

IMO, the most unusual restaurant - to the region, anyway - in Dayton has got to be Amber Rose. Eastern European food is more common in Cleveland or Toledo, but southern Ohio is pretty much an Eastern European food desert (the Iron Skillet in Newtown also comes to mind). I know the menu has expanded over the years to include more German foods, but there are menu items at Amber Rose you just can't find anywhere else except in Grandma's xxxxski's kitchen.

Originally Posted by Dayton Sux

Gyros used to be a Chicago thing...it became big in Chicago in the 1970s. And now you see that here too.

I had my first gyro, in Dayton of all places. in ... 1977.

As for Dayton being behind national trends, as another posted asserted, the area had locally owned Mexican (not Taco Bell or Chi-Chi's) and Vietnamese restaurants long before they became popular nationwide, just two off the top of my head.

One thing that Dayton adopted from "back east" is the philly cheese-steak. Penn Station is a Cincy chain, but there were independent cheese steak places here before PS....

Now the submarine sandwhich fad has hit, and we have two chains from back east in the area...Dibellas (Rochester), and Jersey Mikes (really from NJ!)...maybe more.

And Milano's preceded them all, 45-ish years ago.

Originally Posted by SWOH

They do have square cut pizza all over the country but what makes Dayton style unique is the thin cracker-like crust, salt and cornmeal on the bottom, and heavy topping load on top.

For me, Dayton-style pizza has to have green olives on it. I dunno what it is about green olives when I'm at Marion's or Cassano's, but I gotta have 'em.

It's near impossible to find goetta on a menu in Dayton, much less trying to find it even farther away!

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Originally Posted by Natural510

And, FWIW, all that food which IS unique to Cincinnati is disgusting.

LOL ... but ... Cincinnati chili ... *whimper*

[Dayton Sux]

IMO, the most unusual restaurant - to the region, anyway - in Dayton has got
to be Amber Rose. Eastern European food is more common in Cleveland or Toledo,
but southern Ohio is pretty much an Eastern European food desert (the Iron
Skillet in Newtown also comes to mind).

Well, thank you for that recommendation on the Iron Skillet!

@@

...which brings to mind cabbage rolls. A word about cabbage rolls. This seems to be one item that is a bit out-there vs the usual land-of-the-bland. Here there is some sort of association with the Hungarian community, though I know these are "gawumpki" (phonetic spelling) and as a basic home-cooking staple in the Polish part of Chicago I grew up in. I think the Germans also do cabbage rolls.

But anyway, that you can find this as restaurant food in Dayton is a bit "special". The Amber Rose was mentioned, but they can also be found at Angies Firehouse up in Belmont, and Falbs in Old North Dayton (they are seasonal..winter fare...at Falbs, on Friday nights...might need to verify that). The portion sizes at both of these are huge so you get a good deal.

[CarpathianPeasant]

Originally Posted by Dayton Sux

Well, thank you for that recommendation on the Iron Skillet!

@@

...which brings to mind cabbage rolls. A word about cabbage rolls. This seems to be one item that is a bit out-there vs the usual land-of-the-bland. Here there is some sort of association with the Hungarian community, though I know these are "gawumpki" (phonetic spelling) and as a basic home-cooking staple in the Polish part of Chicago I grew up in. I think the Germans also do cabbage rolls.

But anyway, that you can find this as restaurant food in Dayton is a bit "special". The Amber Rose was mentioned, but they can also be found at Angies Firehouse up in Belmont, and Falbs in Old North Dayton (they are seasonal..winter fare...at Falbs, on Friday nights...might need to verify that). The portion sizes at both of these are huge so you get a good deal.

The ingredients tend to be different according to nationality. The principle is rather general. Go far enough south in Europe and you have people using grape leaves (and lamb). And, there doesn't seem to be a single recipe for cabbage rolls online that isn't doused in tomato sauce. A few tomato bits for color is okay, but cooked in tomato juice? Do direct me to someone who knows what they are talking about.

[Dayton Sux]

Tomato sauce is how I recall it. I also see in my "Appalachian Home Cooking" cookbook has it as a regional recipe for the southern Appalachians...so briars like it too!

And, I forgot to add there is a good source for cabbage rolls over at the 5th Street market...these two sisters sell them hot or frozen (and have a great baked goods section too....love their oatmeal cookies!)

[Dayton Sux]

I should add that when it comes to Daytonesque foodways....two types of food or food places seem to be more popular that usual here.

Breakfast and Pancake Places.....seems to be a bigger deal here than elsewhere....the layer of local mom & pop spots for breakfast and such, that specialize in it.....We all know about the Golden Nugget, but I like Miss Molly in Farmersville and Abners @ 3rd and Findaly....but there is also Blue Berry in Belmont, My Favorite Muffin, etc. This sort of bleeds over into "bakery", and some of these do breakfast-y baked goods pretty well, too. One of the very best national breakfast restaurant chains has a store in the area...Original Pancake House....indicating to me they knew there was a market here for good hearty breakfasts!

Donut Shops....(which sort of overlap with the above). Seems to be a lot of this in the area, and a lot of partisanship for certain places over others. Quality is actually rather high, high enough to see a local place ...Bills in Centerville...get national attention for their donuts. You also have two of the better chains in the area...Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons.