Bloody Mary

The Quest For Dayton’s Best Bloody Mary Continues!

January 26, 2025 By Dayton937

The very first Bloody Mary Showdown was held in 2014 at the old Montgomery County Fairgrounds. The winning cocktail was created by MacKenzie Manley and it was called Mack’s BBQ Burger Mary- a smokey, hearty, beefed up BBQ bloody mary with a spicy sriracha salted rim and garnished with a sweet lil smokey wrapped in a caramelized bacon slice. This win was big for Mackenzie, as it was a great way to get the word out about her bar, Mack’s Tavern, that opened several weeks later.

Bartenders from the first Bloody Mary Showdown in 2014

The next year MacKenzie tied with Scott Conrad, from The Vue Ultralounge. In year 3 Scott took the undisputed top prize. Since then Conrad has gone on to launch a commercial business selling his award winning RADS Bloody Mary Mix.

In 2019 bartender Jenn Elsass from TJ Chumps in Miamisburg took home top prize thanks to an impressive garnish that included a large shrimp, a deviled egg and a shot of beer back.

For the last two years Loose Ends Brewing Company has walked away with the $500 first prize and bragging rights. Their award winning Bloody Mary was garnished with a celery stock, olive, lime wedge, pickled green bean, Chef Adrian’s house brined pickle, and a bacon salt rim. They’ll be back this year to go for the 3peat!

The quest for Dayton’s Best Bloody Mary is back again for the 9th edition on Sunday, Feb 2nd at Top of the Market from noon – 2pm. Produced by Planned2Give, co-founder Lisa Grigsby says, ” I love this event that highlights the creativity of our local bartenders and you’ll experience the range of flavors, spices and garnishes that make each bloody mary special.” Competing bars/restaurants include: Blind Bob’s, Entropy Brewing Company, Fifth Street Brewpub, Lily’s Dayton, Little Fish Dayton Station, Loose Ends Brewing, Meridien Uptown, Mudlick Tap House, Sparky’s Lounge, SushiNero, Table 33, The Oregon Express, Trolley Stop. Scott Conrad will be back as a special guest, showcasing his award winning RAD’s Bloody Mary Mix.

Want to judge the entries? Your opinion counts, participants will get one vote for Dayton’s Best Bloody Mary as well as a vote for best garnish and best table decor. There are two options to purchase your judging credential:

VIP Tickets: Include a buffet breakfast and an exclusive VIP hour from 11:00 AM and 12 Bloody Mary sampling tickets and judging credentials for $75.

General Admission: Includes 8 Bloody Mary sampling tickets and judging credentials for $35. Doors open for GA at noon, and the event concludes at 2:00 PM.

Purchase your advance tickets here. General admission tickets (if available) will be$40 at the door.

Dayton’s Best Bloody Mary Has Been Decided

February 4, 2024 By Lisa Grigsby

Today at Top of the Market over 300 people came together to taste and judge the Bloody Mary’s put up by local bars and restaurants! This event was first started by Planned2Give at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in 2017. For the 8th edition of this event the cocktails were quite varied. Some were spicy, some were bold, some were even good for you, as they were chocked full of juiced vegetables.

We welcomed back Mack’s Tavern, which was the winner of our very first showdown. Her cocktail placed 3rd. Also back was Scott Conrad, who tied for the win the 2nd year with Mack’s.

Scott then when on to win the 3rd year. He has since launched and markets Rad’s Bloody Mary Mix at the retail level so was there for tastings, not competition.

Meridien Uptown, one of Centerville’s newest businesses won the Best Garnish award and placed 2nd in the Best Bloody Competition.

And for the 2nd year in a row L oose Ends Brewing Companywalked away with best booth decor and Dayton’s Best Bloody Mary, which came with a $500 cash prize and bragging rights for another year!

The crew from Loose Ends dedicated their win to Kent Loose, the owner of Loose Ends Brewery who passed away this past October. They said he really loved Bloody Mary’s and pushed for them to enter last year.

8th Annual Bloody Mary Showdown – The Quest for Dayton’s Best Bloody Mary

January 28, 2024 By Lisa Grigsby

Bartenders from Dayton’s bars and restaurants will compete, bringing their own bloody mary mix and garnishes to the table. Guests will have a chance to sample the different cocktails and then vote for their favorite.

At the very first Showdown, held in MacKenzie Manley took the title. She described her winning cocktail as Mack’s BBQ Burger Mary- a smokey, hearty, beefed up BBQ bloody mary that has a spicy sriracha salted rim and garnished with a sweet lil smokey wrapped in yummy caramelized bacon slice.

In 2019 bartender Jenn Elsass from TJ Chumps in Miamisburg took home top prize thanks to an impressive garnish that included a large shrimp, a deviled egg and a shot of beer back.

In 2020 the winning cocktail was “Papi’s Sassy Bloody Mary” by Vicki Wedworth of Papi Joe’s Tennessee Pepper Sauce Company.

Then that pesky pandemic hit and we took a couple years off. We came back strong in 2023 with Loose Ends Brewing Company walking away the winner!

The event takes place this year from noon – 2pm on Sun, Feb 4th at Top of the Market on Webster Street. There are two options to purchase your judging credential:

There are two options to purchase your judging credential:

VIP Tickets: Include a buffet breakfast of eggs, bacon & sausage, and toast and an exclusive VIP hour from 11:00 AM and 12 Bloody Mary sampling tickets and judging credentials for $75.

General Admission: Includes 8 Bloody Mary sampling tickets and judging credentials for $30. Doors open for GA at noon, and the event concludes at 2:00 PM.

Purchase your tickets here.

Guests will also vote for the best garnish and best table decor. Best Bloody Mary walks with bragging rights and a $500 cash prize!

Bartenders- think your Bloody Mary has what it takes? PROVE IT!

To enter, click here. There is a $25 entrance fee and we will provide you with Vodka, sample cups, ice and a covered table. You bring your own bloody mary mix and any special garnishes you’d like. Winning bartender walks with bragging rights and $500 cash.

Bloody Mary Showdown Returns!

January 1, 2023 By Dayton937

Last held in 2020, the pandemic prevented this annual event from happening for 2 years, but on Sunday, February 5th the competition for Dayton’s Best Bloody Mary resumes in 2023! Produced by Planned2Give, co-founder Jeff Jackson shared, “we are so please to be able to bring this event back, it’s a fun easy way to raise funds for a local nonprofit each year.”

In 2019 bartender Jenn Elsass from TJ Chumps in Miamisburg took home top prize thanks to an impressive garnish that included a large shrimp, a deviled egg and a shot of beer back.

In 2020 the winning cocktail was “Papi’s Sassy Bloody Mary” by Vicki Wedworth of Papi Joe’s Tennessee Pepper Sauce Company.

The event takes place this year from noon – 2pm on Sun, Feb 5th at Top of the Market on Webster Street. There are two options to purchase your judging credential:

VIP Tickets: Include a buffet breakfast of eggs, bacon & sausage, and toast and an exclusive VIP hour from at 11am and 12 Bloody Mary sampling tickets and judging credentials for $75

General Admission: Includes 8 Bloody Mary sampling tickets and judging credentials for $30. Doors open for GA at noon and event concludes at 2pm.

Guests will also vote for best garnish and best table decor. Best Bloody Mary walks with bragging rights and a $500 cash prize!

Purchase your tickets here.

Bartenders- think your Bloody Mary has what it takes? PROVE IT!

The charity beneficiary for this event is The Castle– a safe haven for adults with with mental disorders in Centerville. Their representative will be on hand to share information about their program and host a fundraising auction as well.

Firebirds Starts Brunch Service This Weekend

March 1, 2022 By Lisa Grigsby

This Charlotte, NC based chain is now serving up brunch on Saturday & Sunday from 11am – 2pm at the Austin Landing location. According to the manager, this Saturday will be their first brunch service and they are excited to be offering this new menu features a Steak & Egg Bowl, Shrimp & Grits and an Avocado Toast Salad as well as $6 brunch cocktails. Reservations are accepted and can be made online.

Here’s the Brunch Menu:

Steak & Egg Bowl* – $19.95

Wood grilled tenderloin and poached egg served with roasted potatoes, mushrooms and tomatoes with a creamy horseradish sauce

Grilled Salmon Benedict* – $18.95

Wood grilled salmon served on toasted focaccia with sautéed spinach, topped with poached egg and lobster fondue, served with roasted breakfast potatoes

Brunch Burger* – $15.25

Wood grilled burger with sharp cheddar, applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, fried egg and bacon jam, with choice of side

Avocado Toast Salad* – $15.25

Toasted brioche with smashed avocados and a salad of spring mix, ripe tomatoes, pickled red onions, cucumber, feta cheese in a cilantro lime vinaigrette

Bacon & Egg Brioche – $13.50

Toasted brioche with tangy cilantro mayo, spring mix, tomato, avocado, applewood-smoked bacon and fried eggs, with choice of side

Shrimp & Grits – $17.95

Shrimp served over stone-ground cheddar grits with andouille sausage and finished with Cajun gravy

BRUNCH COCKTAILS

Mimosa – $6

Bloody Mary – $6

Paloma Mimosa – $9

El Jimador Blanco Tquila, fresh squeezed grapefruit and lime juices topped with rose prosecco and a salted rim

The Hail Mary – $10

Absolute Pepper Vodka with housemade bloody Mary mix and a top-shelf garnish featuring candied bacon

Lemonade Sparkler – $9

Alex’s Lemonade and vodka topped with La Marca prosecco

Skrewed Up Iced Coffee – $9

Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, cinnamon elixir, coffee and milk

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill

Austin Landing
3500 Rigby Road,
Miamisburg, OH 45342

(937) 865-9355

Sunday- Thursday 11am – 10pm

Friday & Saturday 11am – 11pm

Greater Dayton Guide To Brunch

March 31, 2019 By Lisa Grigsby

In 1895 a British writer, Guy Beringer, wrote “Brunch: A Plea” in Hunter’s Weekly. He wanted people to gather for a late breakfast on Sundays not necessarily for the food but for the experience:

By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday-night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well. Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.

We have to agree with him! Sunday brunch is becoming a more popular meal in restaurants then every before. Data from Google Trends show that search interest in brunch has been rising steadily since 2004 with the most popular searches coming around Easter and Mother’s Day. According to that same research, brunch tends to be more popular with younger urban dwellers.

Brunch also gets credit for popularizing day drinking. The creation of the Bloody Mary and Mimosa are attributed to the social events of the 1920’s during Prohibition, when those who still had access to alcohol often mixed it with juice to hide the fact that it hadn’t been aged for long. Nothing say brunch better that bottomless mimosa’s.

We’ve put together a list of Sunday brunches in Dayton. This list does not include the wonderful places that serve breakfast everyday like The Brunch Club, Butter Cafe, Tanks, Legacy Pancake House, First Watch, The Waffle House, The Blueberry Cafe, and Golden Nugget, but concentrates on eateries that have a special Sunday menu of eggs Benedict, french toast and a Bloody Mary or two:


	Ele Cake Co Bistro & Wine Bar Brunch A little gem of a place tucked in Austin Landing, skip the line at Another Broken Egg and walk around the corner for a great meal. Sunday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	Bonefish Grill Brunch Offering 4 different eggs benedict choices and an awesome espresso martini Sunday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	Yankee Trace Golf Club Buffet Brunch One of the only buffets around, handles large parties well. Salmon en croûte,Carved Ham, Beef or Turkey, shrimp cocktail, as well as all your breakfast favorites. Reservations suggested. Sunday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
	Meadowlark Sunday Brunch Be prepared to wait at this popular spot, great flavors and interesting menu make it worth the wait! The Huevos rancheros rock! Sunday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	Lock 27 Brewing – downtown only The restaurant’s new brunch menu is called “The Hangover Brunch.” Bonuts-biscuit donuts rolled in cinnamon and sugar then served with a lemon marscapone, biscuit sandwiches, breakfast tacos and more Saturday & Sunday 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
	Mudlick Tap House All your breakfast favorites including entrees like Chicken and Waffles, Crab Hash, Cheese Grits and a Bloody Mary & Mimosa Bar Brunch Sat & Sun starting at 11am
	Brio Tuscan Grille Brunch A limited menu, but what they make tastes great. You can also choose from their lunch menu. They pour a great Prosecco Mimosa. Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	Basil’s on Market Buffet includes all your breakfast favorites, including made to order waffles as well as some heartier lunch dishes. Buffet Brunch 10am – 3pm
	Lily’s Bistro Brunch Perhaps the best meal they serve and if weather permits, request to sit on the back patio for a truly relaxing experience. Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	Blind Bob’s Tavern Bunch It’s not fancy, but surprisingly good! Blind Bob’s Tavern Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	Cobblestone Café, Home Interiors & Gifts Chef-made Sunday Brunch A charming atmosphere, a constantly changing menu and great shopping make a trip to this Waynesville eatery worth the drive. Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM
	Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar Sonoma Sunday Brunch A great place to splurge when someone else is picking up the meal. Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	The Dublin Pub Sunday Carvery & Brunch Many choices on the buffet, a great bloody mary bar and a few menu choices, if buffets not your thing. Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	Lucky’s Taproom and Eatery Brunch Inexpensive, wide variety and vegan friendly. Sunday 10:00 AM – 02:00 PM
	The Winds Cafe and Bakery Brunch An upscale brunch with incredible home made baked goods in a casual atmosphere. Sunday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	Bravo Cucina Italiano Brunch Omelettes and multiple Benedict dishes, hash and eggs and a berries-and-cream French toast, with brunch offered both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
	Wheat Penny Over & Bar With a menu offering sweet potato hash, eggs in hell, a breakfast gondola and Daytonomiyaki, we think you’ll love early day dining here. Saturday 10:00 am -2 pm, Sunday 1o:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Have a favorite brunch spot we missed? Please tell us about it in the comments below.

Who Makes Daytons Best Bloody Mary?

January 19, 2019 By Dayton Most Metro

The Bloody Mary Showdown coming up Sunday, January 27th at the Mandalay Banquet Center, is a competition amongst area bartenders seeking to find Dayton’s features Chicago’s Bloody Mary. Guest will get to sample the bloodies from the competitors and vote on their favorite, crowning Dayton’s best Bloody Mary. The competition is sponsored by Svedka Vodka, which will be provide to all the contestants, the mix and the garnish will be where each bartender can differentiate themselves.

Scott Conrad, retired Champion

In the first showdown, Mack from Mack’s Tavern was crowned champion, the next year there was a tie between Mack and Scott Conrad from The Vue.

Last year Scott Conrad reigned supreme and this year Scott has retired from competition to promote and distribute his RADS award winning mix, but will still be on sight sampling his Bloody Mary.
That leaves the field wide open in for bartenders eager to showcase their coveted concoctions to claim the crown
in this 4th year of competition. Besides bragging rights, the winner walks with $500. Prizes are also awarded for best Garnish and best table decor.

Participants for the 2019 Showdown are:

Aaron and Victoria	Archer’s Tavern
Aimee Plesa	Bargo’s Grill and Tap
Gina	Brixx Ice Company
Shaun Craig	Calypso Grill and Smokehouse
Dan Mahoney	Dewberry 1850
Mary Van Kirk	Fifth Street Brewpub
Nick Brandell & Brad Hull	Jimmie’s Ladder 11
Nik Hunt	Meadowlark Restaurant
Shawn Pence	Miami Valley Gaming
Tara Goffe	Milanos
Charlynda Scales	Mutt’s Sauce LLC
Vicki Wedworth	Papi Joe’s Tennessee Pepper Sauce Company
Jenna Reinhard	The Barrel in Springboro
Jenn Elsass	TJ Chumps
Brook Paxson	Troll Pub
Mary Grahm	Trolley Stop
Brittany Nicely	Tuty’s Bar & Grill
Drew Mains	Wheat Pennny

Tickets for the Showdown are available online and proceeds of the Bloody Showdown help a different nonprofit each year. In previous years the event has benefitted ARC Ohio (now Equitas) the Greater Dayton LGBT Center, The First Tee of the Miami Valley and for 2019 FilmDayton will be the beneficiary.

proceeds benefit FilmDayton

VIP Tickets $50
Include a buffet breakfast, entry at 11am and 12 tastes

General Admission Ticket $25
include entry and 8 tasting tickets

Designated Driver $5
This ticket gives you entry into the event but does NOT include drinks.

The Votes Are In For Dayton’s Best Bloody Mary!

January 14, 2018 By Lisa Grigsby

With almost 500 in people in attendance at today’s 3rd Annual Svedka Bloody Mary Showdown, the votes were counted and for the 2nd year is a row The Vue Ultra Lounge‘s Scott Conrad came out on top. Conrad walks away with $300 cash and bragging rights for another year.

And yes, many of you may know that the doors closed on the South Dayton nightclub on December 31st, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get the winning Bloody Mary. Conrad is in the process of working with a bottling company and will be distributing his RAD’S mix commercially very soon!

We also need to share that The Vue tied last year with Mack’s Tavern, who won the very first Showdown. MacKenzie was unable to make this event at the last minute due to staffing challenges. Her main cook and mom had back surgery, and she was a few staffers down, and on top of it, Mack’s is home to some fiercely loyal Pittsburgh Steelers fans and the game was scheduled for 1pm. Based on the outcome, we bet MacKenzie would have rather been at the Showdown!

Rick & Marci of Mr. Boro’s Tavern

Coming in second were newcomers Marci & Rick from Mr. Boro’s Tavern in Springboro with their HAIL MARY PEPPERED PIGSKIN! They describe it as delicious blend of bloody mary mix with citrus & seasonings, our home made horseradish sauce and our house made peppered bacon.

In third place, also new to the competition Papi’s Sassy Bloody Mary Mix a Rich in fresh Tennessee tomato flavor combined with award winning Papi Joe’s Tennessee Pepper Sauce for just the right kick of spice! Papi’s sells their bottled sauce at the 2nd Street Market.

Other awards went to Miami Valley Gaming for Best Table Decor and for the 2nd year in a row Mudlick Tap House takes home the Best Garnish- bringing their build your own Bloody Mary Bar to the competition.

But the true winner of the day was The First Tee Greater Miami Valley, who will walk a way with a major donation from Planned2Give, for being the charity beneficiary for this years event.First Tee is a youth development organization introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to young people. The sport is a perfect platform for helping young people develop character because just like in life, players experience the highs and lows of the game. Jeff Jackson, co-owner and co-producer of the event shares, “it’s a great casual event that everyone really seems to enjoy and it allows us to give back to a different organization each year. We were thrilled that the event more than doubled the attendance this year and we’re already tweaking and adding ideas for next year.”

The other competitors in today’s event included:
Trolley Stop, Old Scratch Pizza, Fifth Street Brewpub, Jimmie’s Ladder 11, Brixx Ice Company,
Corner Kitchen, The Highland Stag, Whiskey Barrel, Scene 75, Cold Water Cafe and Newcom’s Tavern.
Scratch Event Catering was on hand with a brunch buffet, as well.

Who Makes Dayton’s Best Bloody Mary?

January 4, 2018 By Lisa Grigsby

The Bloody Mary is a common “Hair of the dog” drink, reputed to cure hangovers with its combination of a heavy vegetable base (to settle the stomach), salt (to replenish lost electrolytes) and alcohol (to relieve head and body aches). Most medical advice suggests that the alcohol only numbs the discomfort: only rest, water, and electrolyte replacement can cure a hangover. Nonetheless, Bloody Mary enthusiasts enjoy some relief from the numbing effects of the alcohol, and based on the number of local restaurants that are featuring bloody mary bars we know Dayton loves a good bloody mary!

Some like them with spicy, some prefer them on the peppery side and even others judge them by the garnish.

Not sure what you prefer? Attend the 3rd annual Bloody Mary Showdown on Sunday, January 14th and you can select from over 16 local bartenders mixing up their best concoction for you to sample. All bartender will be provided with ice, cups and Svedka Vodka, what they provide for the mixer and the garnish is up to them. Over the years some of the entry’s in this event have rimmed their glasses with celery salt, topped with with mini burgers, and even made with beer instead of vodka. Some folks prefer lemons to the traditional lime, others swear a Slim Jim should be a stirrer in the drink. That’s what makes this event so fun, says Planned2Give co-owner Jeff Jackson, “we always look forward to see the creativity the bartenders bring to this event, from the ingredients in their mix to the garnishes, even how they decorate their booth.”

The bartender that is voted the people’s choice by the crowd will walk away with $300 and bragging rights. Prizes will also be awarded for best garnish and best presentation, as well.

Taking place at the Coliseum at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, a $25 general admission ticket will get you up to 8 five ounce tastes from 11:30am – 2pm and one vote for the best breakfast cocktail. Pony up a little more cash for a VIP Ticket and you’ll get early entry at 11am, 12 tasting tickets, two votes for your favorite bloody and a free visit to the breakfast bar set up by Scratch Events for $40. According to Chef/Owner Matt Hayden, the breakfast bar will have eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, some breakfast burrito’s and more. General admission ticket holders will be able to purchase food at the event and additional tasting tickets as well. Tickets can be purchased online.

The restaurants scheduled to compete this year include:

Brixx
Cold Water Cafe
Corner Kitchen
Fifth Street Brewpub
Highland Stag
Jimmie’s Ladder 11
Mack’s Tavern
Mr. Boro’s Tavern
Miami Valley Gaming
Mudlick Tap House
Newcom’s Tavern
Old Scratch Pizza
Scene 75
The Vue
Trolley Stop
Whiskey Barrel

Mackenzie Manley from Mack’s Tavern won the first competition, last year Mack’s Tavern tied with Scott Conrad from The Vue. Both will be back this year to try to reclaim the title, but it’s all up to the guests. While The Vue just closed this past weekend, Scott says he’s bottling his mix and you’ll soon see it available in stores near you.

The charity beneficiary for the Bloody Mary Showdown for 2017 is The First Tee Greater Miami Valley. Their mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. Serving youth in Butler, Montgomery and Warren counties, their chapter reached more than 12,500 young people in 2016 at 9 program locations and over 34 The First Tee National School Program & DRIVE locations. They will be on hand with information on how you can get involved and you may even get to try your hand at a little putting at the event.

Booze at Breakfast- Where to Brunch!

September 24, 2017 By Lisa Grigsby

Attention, this is your brunch captain speaking. Buckle up, things could get boozy. Yep, we’re sharing some of the best joints in town that don’t look at you funny when you order a cocktail before noon. Heck many of these places encourage it with their bloody mary bars and mimosa options. Over the next few weeks we’ll highlight some of our favorites, so check these out and stay tuned for more!

And by the way, we are not ignoring the many breakfast joints in town that serve up a great eggs and pancakes, there are lots of great options like Golden Nugget, Hasty Tasty, The Brunch Club, George’s Family Restaurant, just to name a few. But this just isn’t that list.

Another Broken Egg
Austin Landing 3450 Rigby Road Miamisburg, OH 45342
Open daily at 7am
6 Mimosa Flavors & 4 Bloody Mary’s on the Menu- and you can order by the pitcher!

A few brunch menu highlights:

Hey Lucy!™ Omelette – Filled with avocado, breakfast chorizo, sautéed onions, green chilies and topped with Cheddar Jack cheese. Served with country potatoes or grits, salsa and sour cream and an English muffin.

Cinnamon Roll French Toast – Thick-sliced cinnamon roll battered, grilled golden and topped with cream cheese icing, Foster sauce, mixed berries and whipped cream. Served with two eggs any style and your choice of meat.

Salmon Power Bowl – Fresh spinach, quinoa, avocado, black beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and pickled red onions with local honey jalapeño vinaigrette and topped with Southwestern-seasoned salmon

Basil’s on Market

Dayton: 312 N. Patterson Blvd. Dayton, Ohio
Sunday Buffet Brunch 10am – 3pm

Troy: 18 N. Market Street Troy, OH 45373
Sunday buffet brunch 10:30am- 2pm

$17.95 per person
Chef Todd Uhlir’s inventive and creative menu offers diners the opportunity to experience a modern spin on favorite dishes utilizing the best local products. Buffet includes all your breakfast favorites, including made to order waffles as well as some heartier lunch dishes.

Dublin Pub
300 Wayne Ave, Dayton, OH 45410
Sunday Carvery & Brunch served 10am – 3pm
$17.95, $7.99 for kids 5- 12, under 5 free

Buffet includes: Farm Fresh Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Home Fries, Fresh Fruit, Biscuits, House Made Sausage Gravy, Made To Order Omelettes, Carving Station With Assorted Entrees, Salads, Side Items And Desserts.

You also have the option to order off the regular menu if the buffet isn’t for you.

The Meadowlark
2094 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd, Dayton, Ohio 45459 937.434.4750
Sunday 10am – 3pm

A few brunch highlights:

Shrimp and Grits 14.95
Sauteed gulf shrimp with butter, garlic, mushrooms, chopped tomato, scallions, spices and lemon on a mound of steaming cheddar grits with toast. The way we fix it makes Southerners weep!

Huevos Rancheros 13.95
Fresh corn tortillas covered in cheese are broiled and topped with two poached eggs and a vibrant, fragrant tomatillo-green chile sauce. Served with creamy, smoky pinto beans and hand-grated hash browns.

Buttermilk-Soaked Oat Pancakes 10.95
Tender, flavorful pancakes made with brown sugar, whole wheat, and oats soaked overnight in buttermilk are much lighter than you’d expect and absolutely delicious. Three big brown beauties are piled on your plate and served with organic maple syrup and butter.

Japanese Sesame Omelette w/Bulldog Sauce & Vegetable Fried Rice 13.95
Jasmine rice stir-fried with ginger, basil, and lots of fresh vegetables, mounded steaming onto a plate and topped with a thin, rolled omelette flavored with sesame oil and whole herb leaves. Drizzled with Japanese Bulldog sauce (a great bottled sauce made from fruit and vegetables; we call it the Japanese A-1).

Mudlick Tap House
135 E. 2nd Street, Dayton OH 45402
Brunch Sat & Sun starting at 11am
Bloody Mary Bar

Trolley Stop
530 East 5th Street Dayton, OH 45402
Brunch Sat & Sun 11am
Bloody Mary Bar

A few brunch menu highlights:

French Farmer’s Breakfast– Grilled asparagus, sauteed mushrooms, baguette toast and 2 fried farm eggs

Pancake Cinnamon Snackers– Fluffy pancake fritters, tossed in cinnamon and sugar and served with syrup for dip’n

Juevos Ranchero Nachos– Corn tortilla chips mounded with chorizo or avocado, enchilada sauce, black beans, jalapeno, diced tomatoes & onions and 2 fried eggs served with house-made salsa

The Golf Club At Yankee Trace
10000 Yankee St, Centerville, OH 45458 | 937-438-4653
Buffet Brunch Sun 10am – 2pm
$19.95 adults, $9.95 Children 6 – 12, 5 and under are FREE

Reservations for casual dining are accepted

but not required.

Brunch Menu Features:

Fresh Pastries and Homemade Desserts | Freshly Made Belgian Waffles
Omelets Made to Order| Freshly Scrambled Eggs
Home Fried Potatoes | Bacon | Plump Sausage Links
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Salmon en croûte | Carved Ham, Beef or Turkey
Variety of Salads

Blind Bob’s
430 E 5th St, Dayton, OH 45402
Sun 11am – 3pm

Serving up great breakfast sammie’s, tropical oatmeal, orange french toast, and Bob’s Benedicts Saturday and Sunday 11am – 3pm Brunch entrees run $6-9 and can be complimented with a Bloody Mary or Bloody Maria. Outdoor dining is available on the patio

The Winds Cafe
215 Xenia Ave, Yellow Springs 937.767.1144
Sun 10AM – 3PM

A few highlights from their brunch menu:

Morning Walk in Glen Helen – Ahh, there’s nothing like a morning walk in the  Glen, especially on a beautifully lazy Sunday morning.  This dish was inspired by one such morning that  produced a Leo-sized appetite. Creamy Weisenberger  grits, my latest Kentucky discovery, are enriched  with fresh summer corn and topped with two  poached eggs, sauteed domestic shrimp and a  drizzle of piquant salsa verde…then, time for a nap.

Corn Cakes – These savory cakes are studded with fresh corn and chopped herbs and drizzled with cheddar gravy. They  are the epitome of a great summer brunch. Served with scrambled eggs and grilled summer vegetables.

Artichoke and Summer Herb Frittata– Let’s just pretend it’s Sunday morning in Florence. A few  eggs are beaten with shredded Parmesan and a handful  of snipped herbs. You pour the mixture over olive oil  stewed artichokes, slip it into the oven as you quickly  toss ripe farmer tomatoes with fresh lemon and olive  oil. You pull the frittata from the oven, spoon on the  tomatoes, and sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs.  As you pour the coffee, your love looks up over the  newspaper and smiles.

Lily’s Bistro

329 E 5th St, Dayton, OH 45402
Sunday brunch 11am – 3pm

Known for their New Orleans inspired Beignets, breakfast burritos, waffles, disco fries or their Hangover Cure- a big bowl of potatoes, scrambled eggs, onions, peppers, cheddar cheese, and mushroom gravy served with toast, you can enjoy brunch Saturday and Sunday from 11am-3pm. Entrees range from $10 -13

Five For Drinking: Bloody Mary Edition

January 11, 2017 By Brian Petro

The simple, savory, Bloody Mary. What spices would you add?

The Bloody Mary is THE brunch cocktail. There can be an argument for the mimosa, but it lacks the vibrancy a Bloody Mary offers. The vodka and tomato juice are essentially blank canvases for the spices the bartender chooses to add. When concocted during Prohibition, it was a half and half blend of vodka and tomato juice. The tomato juice was a gift from American bartenders fleeing to practice their craft; the vodka was provided by Russians fleeing an unstable country. They met in Paris, and the rest is history. Eventually the mixture was spiced up. The story goes that a Russian businessman had no interest in the plain tomato juice that was common in the drink and requested it get spiced up. Ever since that day, the Bloody Mary (or Red Snapper, as it was known for a brief period) was a mixture of spicy tomato juice and vodka.

After that, the sky became the limit for what you could do with a Bloody Mary. How to you utilize the savory and sweet characteristics of the tomato? Do you bring the strong heat, or are you looking for something that is a little more balanced for a meal? Does the cocktail even matter at all; are you shooting for some crazy garnish? When you start from a spicy tomato juice as a base, you really can go anywhere with it, as these five variants prove:

Bloody Maria

1.5 oz. tequila (I enjoy reposado in mine)
2 oz. tomato juice
2 oz. orange juice
.5 oz. lime juice
.25 tsp. chilé powder
2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Glass: Tall
Ice: Cubed
Garnish: Sliced jalapeno pepper

Pour all of the ingredients into a mixing tin over ice. Shake well for 20 – 30 seconds, then strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Garnish with the jalapeno and serve.

Some Bloody Maria’s call for just substituting out the vodka with tequila and calling it a day. This one reaches into the Mexican tradition of drinking sangrita (“little blood”) with tequila. Sangrita is made with a mix of fruit juices, traditionally pomegranate, orange, and lime, and served as a compliment to the peppery tequila. This recipe blends it all into one glass in a much more American way. The chilés provide the heat, this time in powder form.

Bloody Caesar

So. Many. Spices.

1.5 oz. vodka
3 oz. tomato juice
1.5 oz. clam juice (yes, really)
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
4 dashes Tabasco sauce
.25 oz. lemon juice
Pinch of pepper

Glass: Tall
Ice: Cubed
Garnish: Celery stalk

Pour all of the ingredients into a mixing tin over ice. Shake well for 20 – 30 seconds, then strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Garnish with the jalapeno and serve.

More popular in Canada than in the United States, the Bloody Caesar adds some clam juice for additional richness. Taking out the salt is needed because that juice will add enough to the cocktail. You can simplify the recipe by using 4 oz. of Clamato juice as a base.

Bloody Bull

1.5 oz. vodka
3 oz. tomato juice
2 oz. beef bouillon
.5 oz. lemon juice
3 dashes of Tabasco sauce
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Pinch of celery salt
Pinch of pepper

Glass: Tall
Ice: Cubed
Garnish: Celery Stick

Pour all of the ingredients into a mixing tin over ice. Shake well for 20 – 30 seconds, then strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Garnish with the jalapeno and serve.

Before bacon was a flavor in everything, there was beef bouillon to add meaty goodness. That richness we were discussing with the clam juice is achievable with beef bouillon.

Crosby Gaige’s Cocktail Guide and Ladies Companion, asserting that vodka is the spirit of choice.

Red Snapper

1.5 oz. gin (Belle of Dayton makes a dandy one.)
4 oz. tomato juice
.5 oz. lemon juice
3 dashes of Tabasco sauce
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Pinch of celery salt
Pinch of pepper

Glass: Tall
Ice: Cubed
Garnish: Celery Stick

Pour all of the ingredients into a mixing tin over ice. Shake well for 20 – 30 seconds, then strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Garnish with the celery stick and serve.

The charm of this cocktail is the savory nature of the tomato juice. Why not add even more flavor by using gin? We are in a Golden Age of Gin. Distillers are taking liberties with the herbs that make up its flavor profile, providing a wide selection for cocktails.

Michelada

4 oz. Mexican lager (any lager will work)
3 oz. tomato juice
1 oz. clam juice
.5 oz. lime juice
3 dashes of Tabasco sauce
2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Maggi seasoning (soy is an acceptable substitute)
.25 tsp. chili powder (plus more for garnish)

Glass: Pint
Ice: None
Garnish: Lime Wedge and chili powder

Run the lime wedge around the rim of a pint glass. Pour chili powder on a plate. Roll the wet rim of the glass in the chili powder, tapping the glass after to remove the excess. Pour all of the ingredients, except for the lager, into a mixing tin. Shake well for 20 – 30 seconds. Fill the pint glass halfway with the Mexican lager, then strain the contents of the tin into the glass. Stir a few times gently, then serve.

More clam juice. There are versions of this cocktail where it is just the beer and the spices, and no tomato juice. Maggi seasoning is similar to soy, but you may be able to find it in some specialty grocery stores. Lucky Star offers a Mexican lager you can grab in a growler and Trotwood by Warped Wing is always a favorite.

There is a cocktail in there somewhere.

The spices added to most of these cocktails are typical for a Bloody Mary: Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco (or other favorite) hot sauce, salt, pepper, and some citrus. There is a wide variety of other flavors you can add to the mix to cater to your personal tastes. Like the Old Fashioned, every bar has their variation, and every bar’s variation is the best around. For the garnishes, there is nothing fancy here. You can be as simple or complex as you would like. Tradition calls for celery sticks, olives, or a citrus wedge.

Looking for more variations on the theme? This Sunday is the Second Bloody Mary Showdown, where some of the best bartenders in Dayton will attempt to prove that their recipe is the best one in the Miami Valley. Scratch Event Catering will be providing the brunch fare you will be enjoying with the Bloody Mary samples. And you can vote for the best one!

Bartenders will be competing for bragging rights and $300 cash for the winner. Awards will also be given out for best table decor and best garnish. Scheduled to compete are:

Champ Mack’s tavern will be on hand to defend her title!

Lily’s Bistro
Good Time Charlies
Trolley Stop
Whole Foods Market
Mudlick Tap House
Vue Ultra Lounge
Mack’s Tavern
MJ’s on Jefferson
Old Scratch Pizza
Kingspoint Pub
Meadowlark
Jimmie’s Ladder 11
Fifth Street Brewpub
Smart Guy In A Tie Cocktails

The event is produced by Planned2Give, an event planning service that provides support for local non-profits and proceeds from the event will benefit The Greater Dayton LGBT Center. The event takes place at the Coliseum in the Montgomery County Fairgrounds from 11am to 2pm and tickets are $25 in advance, available online or at Mack’s Tavern, The Vue or Lily’s Bistro. Come on out for a bite of brunch and a spicy start to you Sunday!

Seeking The Greatest Bloody Mary in Dayton – The Bloody Mary Showdown

September 22, 2014 By Brian Petro

Humble tomato juice. The blank canvas for a cocktail masterpiece.

There is a reason people love brunch on the weekends. It is a nice, long, leisurely meal with friends and family. All of the best food options are there, from Eggs Benedict to thick burgers, Belgian waffles to savory paninis, every food option you can think of is available. To top it all off, it is perfectly acceptable to have a few cocktails with the meal, either as a way to kick off the day or to shake off the night before. Brunch is not a meal as much as it is an event, and one of the long running stars of brunch is the classic Bloody Mary. It is a hearty cocktail to anchor this event. Much like brunch it is delicious, flexible, and has benefits that go beyond the obvious.

The concept of a hearty, late morning meal started in Britain with hunters and traveled to the United States in the early 20^th century. While Hollywood and New York had a role in popularizing a late morning meal, it was really Chicago where the idea of brunch in the U.S. caught on. Transcontinental flights were not popular yet, making trains the most convenient way to get from coast to coast. Chicago was where you stopped in between on the long journey to refresh and relax for a little while. Movie stars and business men stopped and enjoyed this mid-morning meal. The iconic Pump Room was one of the big players in the early days of the brunch movement, hosting many of the stars of the day. As the new meal built steam over the decades, it became a substitute for Sunday dinner as women entered the workplace. They had to get ready for Monday morning too, and wanted some time on Sunday night to rest. Brunch became a social ritual to replace that dinner.

Finished! A spicy and delicious brunch treat. It looks like it is missing something…

Brunch is a blend of breakfast and lunch, coined by Guy Beringer in Hunter’s Weekly, a short lived hunting magazine. Fruit juice is just good is popular to have with breakfast, and society deems lunch as a fine time to start drinking lighter beverages like wines and beers. If you are going to combine the two meals, why not start combining their drinks! It makes a mimosa or a Bellini a perfect selection for a brunch treat. They add a little bit of fruit juice (or puree) to the traditional wine the British drank with their brunches. Those were well known cocktails in the 1940’s and 50’s, when brunch was becoming better known in society, but not as popular as a new star on the scene: The Bloody Mary. The fruit-juice-and-alcohol combination is there, but the proportions are flipped. That is not just good for a brunch cocktail, it is good for a hungover brunch patron.

Despite any debates, the tomato is a fruit. Tomatoes are an excellent way to fight a hangover as well. When you are hungover, you are dehydrated and hurting for vitamins. You liver is unhappy because it is busy trying to get glucose to the brain, but first it has to get rid of all the toxins you just put in your body. Tomato juice to the rescue! Tomatoes help in the rehydration process, considering they are mainly water. Being hydrated helps the body process what happened after you hit the third bar and thought shots were a good idea. They also add sugar back to the body, helping replenish the glucose stores the liver has been burning through. If you believe a little hair of the dog helps the next day, the low levels of vodka in the drink can will help tame the bite. There is a little something of everything in a Bloody Mary.

There! A proper garnish, demonstrated by O’Davey’s Irish Pub in Wisconsin.

Everyone has the best Bloody Mary. Everyone. At least, that is what they are going to tell you when they ask. The concept behind the cocktail is simple: tomato juice with a kick. The liquor is there to showcase the flavors you are building in some way. The spirit can be able to enhance the flavors you are adding to the juice, or is a blank canvas that gives some punch at the end. In this modern world, the range of what you can do with the tomato juice is boundless. As food culture expands to find new dishes and spices from every corner of the world, they are all ending up as experimental ingredients in a Bloody Mary. A Chicago style hot dog Bloody Mary? Maybe one inspired by the favors of the Mediterranean Ocean? Maybe some other fruits in your Bloody Mary mix? The possibilities are endless. And then there are the garnishes. Everything from a simple celery stick or olives to, well, this. The Bloody Mary is open to interpretation. And that is something to be celebrated.

And celebrate it we will! On October 11, join Dayton Most Metro, Lion and Panda, and some of the best bartenders in the city for a Bloody Mary Showdown at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. From 11am to 2pm, our mixologist contestants will be preparing their most unique versions of this brunch staple for you to sample. Brunch itself will be provided by Chef Matt Hayden and Meals from Scratch. The spirited base will be provided by American Harvest vodka, who is sponsoring Masqerage. Proceeds will go to help ARC Ohio and their fight to educate people on HIV, and provide help to those wrestling with it. It is open to everyone to show off their talents in adding the right blend of spices to make the perfectly balanced Bloody Mary. Sleep in a few hours on Saturday, then enjoy a delicious meal with the people that are close to you. Or come in and find a cure for the common hangover. Either way, we look forward to seeing to there!

Bloody Delicious

January 1, 2013 By Brian Petro 1 Comment

There are so many Bloody Marys to discuss, who knows where to begin? Queen Mary I of England first picked up the name during her reign from 1553 to 1558. Her prosecution of the Protestants was brutal, ranging from exile to execution. The rate at which she executed them was extreme, earning her the nickname of Bloody Mary. There is also a game you can play during Halloween (or any sufficiently dark sleepover) where you go into the bathroom and stare into the mirror, chanting the name “Bloody Mary” over and over again to either summon the ghost of the murderous Queen Mary, or a witch of the same name. Summoning the ghost in the mirror will not make her happy, and you have to turn the light on in the room you are playing before she breaks through the mirror and rips your soul to pieces. Or does something considerably worse. January 1, National Bloody Mary Day, on the dawn of a brand new year, does not seem to be the best time to celebrate either of the two previous ladies. The spicy, vodka based cocktail you sip at brunches is a better thing to focus on. It might be your first cocktail of 2013, working hard to cure your hangover.

The history of the Bloody Mary cocktail is as interesting and complex as the drink itself. It was invented in the early 1920’s by a man named Ferdinand “Pete” Petoit at Harry’s American Bar in Paris. He claims to have named it after a woman named Mary, who would spend hours at the bar sadly waiting for a less than stellar, or punctual, boyfriend. Initially, the drink was made with equal parts of vodka and tomato juice, making it a thick and rather bland drink. When Petoit moved the drink with him to America, he began to improve it, adding Worcestershire sauce, Tobasco, celery salt, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and anything else to spice up the tomato juice. The other thing that was changed in America was the liquor. We may think of vodka as a spirit that has always been around, but the United States did not get on the vodka bandwagon until the 1950’s with Smirnoff’s big, “Breathless” push. The base spirit in the 30’s and 40’s became the much easier to find gin, and the name of the cocktail switched over to a Red Snapper. Some theories abound that we delicate Americans could not handle the original name and it was switched for that reason. When the Smirnoff promotion fully hit the United States, the company used the Bloody Mary as one of the cocktails to promote the spirit, it was launched into the American bar scene.

The Bloody Mary is considered by most cocktail historians and scholars as a staple drink, and is included within the pages of every cocktail book published since it was invented. They are so iconic that in 1986 Absolut vodka introduced Absolut Peppar, the first commercially made flavored vodka, specifically for the Bloody Mary craze that was going on at the time. The Bloody Mary may be a cornerstone of many bars, but it is not universally liked. Many cocktails scholars, including David Embury and Gary Regan, are not fans of the drink. Embury went as far as to call it “strictly vile”. The thickness of the drink or the savory flavors tend to turn off as many people to the drink as it attracts. It is also not something popular to drink in the evening; it is too thick to drink many of them at one sitting. But having one at breakfast is very acceptable. In fact, the vitamins and minerals in the tomato juice, along with your eggs, toast, and bacon make a pretty handy hangover cure for everything you DID drink last night. A Virgin Mary, all of the nutrients, none of the alcohol, makes an even better cure.

The recipe…yeah, about that. There is an art to making a Bloody Mary. The main ingredients of vodka and tomato juice are not in question. The spices that go into the cocktail is where the lines get drawn. The inventor himself laid out the spicy ingredients as salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon. Over the years other spices have been introduced or experimented with, like horseradish, sriracha, dill, rice vinegar, mustard, and many others. Ultimately, the goal is to make sure you are balancing out the sweet tomato juice with the spices as not to make either overpowering. Garnishes for the Bloody Mary fall into the same category. Many people associate a celery stick as the garnish, but you can also use a lime wedge or olives to finish off the drink as well.

Bloody Mary (Classic version)

2 oz. vodka (pepper or bacon works well)
5 oz tomato juice
.5 oz lemon juice
4 dashes of hot sauce
2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
A dash of salt
A dash of pepper
Celery salt (optional)

Pour all of the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice. Roll the ingredients back and forth between two separate glasses. Rolling a cocktail mixes all the ingredients gently, so the tomato juice does not get very thin and bubbly, as it would if it was shaken. You can add a dash of celery salt to the top of the cocktail, or rim the glass with the salt.

Tyrannical queens and creepy children’s games aside, the Blood Mary is rich in flavor and history. It is evolving as tastes change as other bartenders get their hands on it. You can get it very well made at most brunch places in the area, or you can make it at home with spices you have there. With the biggest party of the year being on December 31^st, having a classic brunch cocktail/hangover cure celebrated on the first day of the year only makes sense.

Let us know where you are having your Bloody Mary today, and who makes the best ones in Dayton. Happy New Year everyone!