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Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Belmont

Theft of Unicorn from Belmont Light Display

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Earlier this month we shared some photo’s of the Unicorn House, and annual lights display in the Belmont neighborhood of Dayton, on Martel Drive off Patterson and Smithville. Many of you shared comments about your delight in seeing this display. Chris and Natasha Croft started decorating their yard in 2018 and the lighting display has grown each year.

Sadly, the magic of this twinkling unicorns met with some destruction when someone chose to rip one of the unicorns from their yard a little after midnight a couple nights ago. The Croft family posted this on their facebook about the theft: “Unfortunately, the little unicorn that they stole, (Marshmallow) is what the kids had named it, was discontinued in 2021. We work very hard to add a little sparkle to the season, but we cannot promise the display will continue in years to come. It is disheartening for anyone to have something stolen, but particularly something that we love sharing so much.”

They’ve posted a Go Fund Me page stating “we wonder if the time, money, and energy is worth bringing with us into 2024. This is why we are asking our community to offer a few dollars for the display to keep going. It’s not a surprise that Christmas lights have a short shelf life, requiring all new strands each season; or that the unicorns require repair (and replacement if possible) as early as the summer months.

Your support could help insure that we make 2024 shine just as bright, and maybe, just maybe, give us the means to track down a new Marshmallow. We aren’t expecting much, as even a dollar goes a long way when it comes to magic of the holiday spirit.”
If you’ve enjoyed the magic of these twinkling lights, donate a couple of bucks so we can enjoy this display in years to come.  We did!

Belmont Days Returns to Dayton

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On June 29, 2019, the Belmont Business Association (BBA) and the Belmont Eastmont Hearthstone Community Council (BEHCC) will once again host Belmont Days. This is an opportunity for their communities, and the city of Dayton, to come and experience all of the growth that has occurred in these districts over the last several years. The event will be from 11 AM to 6 PM, primarily on Watervliet Drive between Fauver Avenue and Mundale Avenue. There will be live music, food, shopping at local businesses, and an opportunity to visit all of the stores in the main business district of Belmont.

It has been twenty years since Belmont hosted this popular event. As the area of Belmont expands and improves, the community wants to invite all of their Dayton neighbors to see and experience the people and businesses that have built up these sections of the Gem City. Stores will be open for shopping while vendors on the street showcase the small businesses that have been built in the community. To kick off the festivities, Belmont Gym has designed a unique obstacle course to challenge the fitness of those that sign up. Music will be playing in the streets, while local businesses will offer everything one can imagine.

Belmont Eastmont Hearthstone Community Council has worked to build and promote these districts of Dayton since the mid-1970s. They work with the citizens of these communities to promote growth, both economically and socially.

Belmont Grows Together with a Party in the Park

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The Mural Machine’s Wayne Avenue Mural

After a great response from their South Park community mural along Wayne Avenue, The Mural Machine will be working with the Belmont Eastmont Hearthstone Community Council for a Mural Painting Party in the Park at Nordale Park in Belmont on Sunday, August 13.

“It was so exciting to see their murals being painted all over Dayton,” said Kim Petro, member of the Belmont Eastmont Hearthstone Community Council. “We’d already been talking with Etch and Tiffany about doing a mural on the pavilion at Nordale Park and we’re even more excited to have them come to Belmont now!”

More than just a day of community mural painting, the Mural Painting Party in the Park will feature sports tournaments, local artisan vendors, door prizes, a 50/50 raffles, and popular local food trucks.

“Doing a mural in the park, we wanted to make the day into a party for the whole community,” said Reggie Swickard, board member of the Belmont Eastmont Hearthstone Community Council. “In addition to the mural painting we’re going to have vendors, sports tournaments, food trucks will be on hand, door prizes, raffles and a whole lot more!

The Mural Machine and Volunteers working hard on the Wayne Avenue Mural

Belmont is an amazing neighborhood and we want to take a day to celebrate that while beautifying one of our great parks!”

Zombie Dogs and The Drunken Waffle will be serving food all day long and local artisan vendors are encouraged to submit applications at https://daytonfun.wufoo.com/forms/zu3q7110dk837z/.

Basketball, kickball and disc golf tournaments will be announced in advance, in addition to other details, all at www.facebook.com/BelmontEastmontHearthstoneCommunityCouncil/.

“Belmont is affordable and friendly. Not only is it close to a number of great businesses and recreation areas in Dayton, it’s home to quite a few of them,” Petro said. “We’re putting the spotlight on all of that. It’s going to be an awesome event!”

The first raised beds of the Nordale Community Garden

Money raised will be used to offset mural costs in addition to help fund the growing community garden in the park.

A park clean-up will be held on Aug 12th in preparation for the Mural Painting Party in the Park. Volunteers are needed and you can contact Reggie Swickard at footfocus14@gmail.com for more details.

This is a free event that is open to anyone of any age! For more information check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BelmontEastmontHearthstoneCommunityCouncil/

Dive Bar Thursday – Patterson Pub

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Dive Bar Thursday Patterson Pub

Welcome to the Patterson Pub!

When I moved to the Dayton area in the late 1990’s, one of the first places I frequented for an adult beverage was Taggart’s Pub. It was close to my apartment and had a friendly atmosphere with inexpensive beer. Perfect for someone in a new city just out of school! As a bonus it was also a Browns bar, adding that little touch of home. Every Sunday, I would head over with other masochistic fans of Cleveland football and watch our team struggle, enjoying complimentary food far more than the football games. We were happy the team had returned to Cleveland, but it was painful to watch. In 2014, the owner of Taggart’s Pub announced he was going to move to a larger venue. Unfortunately for Dayton, that new space never materialized. Even as they were leaving their seventeen-year home, they announced there was going to be a new owner taking over the space. After an incredibly short closure, the Patterson Pub opened up and has been going strong ever since.

If you have not been to Patterson Pub (970 Patterson Rd Dayton, OH 45419) in a while, you need to come and visit. Other than the ownership, little has changed in this Belmont area staple. There are two main areas to the pub: the spacious front room and the much more intimate back bar. The front room holds three large televisions and all the dart boards you could want. Six steel tip and three plastic tip board are there for the throwing, with multiple dart leagues through the week and the occasional tournament. The back bar is just that. It is the place where the magic happens. There is plenty of room to belly up and watch television or play some digital golf while enjoying a beer or cocktail. They have held on to their Irish roots as a pub. Their reverence for a good Irish whiskey and all things green, white, and orange still shines. Along with the orange of the Irish flag, they are still proudly (or, after last season, not as proudly) displaying the orange and brown of the Cleveland Browns. Whiskey and football are two of their great loves. Yes, they still are a Browns bar and show their games on Sundays in the main room. Other games are shown in the back bar area, for reasons that will become clear.

Dive Bar Thursday beer and liquor

So much to offer a thirsty patron.

They offer beers for every palate, from $5 Miller High Life pitchers (when they have it on tap) to a nitro tap to infuse extra smoothness into a beer. While some craft options, like Rhinegheist’s Truth, are always on tap, they bring in a variety of other selections that rotate through the seasons. If that is not enough, there are bottles and cans that expand on the tap offering. They even have a variety of specials through the week, including happy hour pricing from 3 to 7 PM daily. That pricing includes cocktails as well. And yes, they do have a cocktail menu to order from. As with the beers, it changes with the seasons but always has at least one Irish whiskey cocktail on the menu. Their liquor selection is continuing to grow, with plans to add some local Belle of Dayton gin and expand their selection of whiskeys. They do offer the normal bar foods like pizza, nachos, pretzels, and pepperoni and cheese breadsticks known as Bosco sticks. You can bring your own food as well, and their neighbors at Corleone’s Pizza are willing to deliver right to the bar.

How friendly is this bar? Very. They are friendly to the service industry, with Monday night being their Service Industry Night. On a slow night for most bars, they offer special pricing for all of the other hard-working bartenders in the Dayton area. They are also still very friendly to Browns fans. They have continued the tradition of the Browns Club for the diehards that have suffered through over two dozen quarterbacks and one minor logo change.

Patterson Pub Cocktail Specials

Cocktail and beer specials! Just waiting to be enjoyed…

The games are shown on the televisions in the main room along with food, cooked by one of the patrons, for members of the club. For a small fee, you get a t-shirt, a lanyard with an ID card, a magnet with the schedule, and a host of other specials and benefits. If you have a group of fans that want a table for the season, there is a way to buy that as well. Not only that, but any patron who comes in for those Sundays can imbibe a special house made Bloody Mary. Not just the Browns fan. The spacious front room is also available for other events as well, with a small deposit.

Many of the traditions that made Taggart’s Pub a beloved staple in the community have been carried over to the Patterson Pub. The staff is as friendly as I remember and the atmosphere is just as comfortable. They are making their own inroads into the community, embracing their neighborhood and offering a friendly barstool and pint to anyone who stops there.

The Patterson Pub, located at 970 Patterson Rd Dayton, OH 45419, is open 3 PM to 2:30 AM daily. You can call them at (937) 296-9476 and follow them on their Facebook page for more information about events and specials at the pub!

The Greatest Potato Salad in the World *** Win 2 lbs & Cabbage Rolls ***

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John Mott with his great potato salad

Third Generation Owner John Mott with his Famous Belmont Catering Potato Salad

Are you aware that the greatest potato salad in the world is in Dayton, Ohio? The Big Ragu knows…

YES, it is true!  But many Daytonians already knew that Belmont Catering is the potato salad mecca of the Midwest.  If you are like us, their potato salad has been a special treat at your family functions and holidays for decades.

We will have many foaming at the mouth for this giveaway:

****Comment on the story below and one winner will be chosen at random.  The prize is 2 pounds of Belmont Catering’s famous potato salad and 6 of their cabbage rolls !!

 

HERE’S THE SKINNY:

— Belmont Catering has been providing the best potato salad you have ever eaten for over 35 years.  It is a Food Adventure in a container….

— Family owned for 3 generations, today’s owner John Mott still sticks to the basics that made the company a success.

— Located on 730 Watervliet Rd. near the intersection of Smithville, you may sometimes see a line out the door. 

— The potato salad is such a cult classic that former Dayton residents have it shipped overnight all over the USA.  One person even overnighted a huge cooler of the stuff to Manhattan in New York City and paid $100 in shipping!  Who does that, unless it is the best potato salad in the world.

Freshly peeled by hand

On busy weekends, Belmont Catering Hand Peels 2,000lbs of Potatoes. Yep, a TON of Potatoes

— Belmont Catering goes through about 500 pounds of potatoes a week, and on holiday weekends they go through 1,500 – 2,000 pounds of potatoes.  Yes, that is a ton of potatoes.   The staff told us that 50 pounds of potatoes makes about 65 pounds of Potato Salad.

— Our biggest tip is CALL AHEAD.  It is best to call in your order 1 or 2 days ahead of time.  If you just stop in, it will be rare for you to find what you need because everything is usually sold out since items are made to order.  You can thank the Food Adventures Crew later for this advice.

 

MUST EATS:  

— THE POTATO SALAD:  OBVIOUSLY .. at $4.25 a pound, there are lines out the door for this stuff.  but why is it so good?  Is it the pimentos?  The Mustard? The Mayonnaise? NOOOO !

Here is the secret to the world’s best potato salad:

1) The potatoes are peeled, rinsed, then SHREDDED like hash browns.  This gives a distinct, one-of-a-kind texture and no hard chunks.

2) No chunks of eggs in the salad.  This is potato salad, not egg salad.  Eggs may or may be in the recipe, but you won’t see any ….

3)  Cleanliness.  The kitchen is immaculate.  The Montgomery County Health Inspectors have given Belmont Catering the highest marks over their last 19 visits to the kitchen.

4) Third Generation Owner, John Mott is still using his Grandmother’s recipe.  And by the way, her recipe will blow your mom’s potato salad out of the water.  It is reminiscent of the movie “What’s Up tiger Lily” where they hunted down a similar recipe, “a salad so delicious you could pltoz.”

 

Storefront on Watervliet

Storefront on 730 Watervliet Ave., Inside is the World’s Greatest Potato Salad

Oh but that’s not all.   Belmont Catering did not build its business on potato salad alone.

There are more, MUST EATS such as:

— CABBAGE ROLLS:  $6.80 for 6 of them, they are also a cult favorite.

— THE BBQ PULLED PORK: Outstanding flavor, and sold at $6.90 a pound

There are many more items, but these are our top favorites.   You can find a list of pick up items HERE, we cannot stress enough the need to call ahead..

And then there is the CATERING aspect of their business.  If you need an event catered, breakfasts, cookouts, or boxed lunches, these are your go to guys.  They pretty much deliver a Food Adventure to your event.   Belmont Catering has built this business for decades with great food and service.

With Labor Day Weekend right around the corner, now is a perfect time to treat yourself to some of the World’s Best Potato Salad !!

Cabbage Rolls - frozen to go, or made fresh to order

Cabbage Rolls – Frozen or Made Fresh to Order

Get down to Belmont Catering on Watervliet, and pick up a taste of great potato salad, but call ahead!  No cookout, picnic, holiday or family event is complete without it!

 

****Who wants to win some of their great food?  Comment below for your chance to win ! ****

Food Adventures is going to giveaway 2 pounds of their famous potato salad and 6 cabbage rolls to one lucky reader!!

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below on this story, telling us why you want the goods.  One winner will be picked at RANDOM next week.

There is another way you can be a winner in general, like  Food Adventures on Facebook by CLICKING HERE !  Anything else is just a generic copy..

Check out our photo gallery from our visits to Belmont Catering, below.

[flagallery gid=98]

 

A New Full Moon Rises in Dayton

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Photo by MIke Ritchie

Photo by Mike Ritchie

A new shop has opened in Dayton just a few feet away from the tattooed Jesus sign of Truth n Triumph Tattoo. Amanda Hamilton, formerly of Anything Under the Moon, has returned, re-opened and rededicated herself with to helping the wiccan/pagan community and those in need of guidance, counseling, supplies and just a good friend to talk to. Her new homestead is A Full Moon Rising at 603 Watervliet Avenue right off Mundale Avenue in the Belmont Business District.  It’s an artisan retail store with all the best of the handmade, homemade crafts, gifts, goodies and necessities needed for the craft.

90% of Hamilton’s inventory is handcrafted and made with extra special care including soaps, incense, prayer candles, ritual items, smudge fans, smudge sticks, oils and dream-catchers. She also makes her own jewelry from a variety of stones, gems and minerals, and has plans for upcoming classes, workshops, tarot reading, and psychic readings.

Hamilton joined the Pagan community at 16 after spending a year and a half in a Dianic Coven.  She opened Anything Under the Moon on her 18th birthday, becoming one of the best known shops of its kind in town for 24 years. Two months ago, she started a new beginning and vision under the light of the full moon. The shop specializes in candles with color symbology and essential oils with specific purpose. Hamilton’s a believer/follower of the 13 goals of a witch and The Wiccan Rede.

“I’m thrilled to be back in business and looking forward to serving the communities spiritual needs,” says Hamilton.

A Full Moon Rising also features a community bulletin board which local businesses are encouraged to use. Store hours are Monday-Saturday 10-7 and by appointment Sunday. 1-937-252-7000