Dayton937

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

Food Adventures

Food Adventures Heads South of Dayton to Kyojin Sushi Buffet

By Leave a Comment

The Raw Sushi Buffet Bar – click to enlarge

Sushi, one of your Food Adventurer’s favorite foods.  Let’s get this straight up front, not all sushi is raw.  There are many types of cooked sushi that involve shrimp and crab for example.  But, we crave it all, specialty rolls, sashimi, hand rolls, nigiri, you name it.   So you can imagine our delight the first time we heard about a sushi buffet south of Dayton off of I-71 near Cincinnati.  We know, this is DaytonMostMetro.com, but once in very blue moon, we spread our wings and have to tell our fellow foodies about a special place outside the Dayton area.  This is one of those times.

The place is called Kyojin and it is a truly unique place.  They have sushi, lots of it, probably 40 different kinds of rolls on their buffet, and for dinner they add more items including sashimi, raw scallop, flying fish roe, and giant clam sushi.  Please check out our picture album below and you will see the vast variety of items.  When we first tried this restaurant, we ate so much, we had to go directly to IKEA to walk it off.  So here is a tip, if you go .. pace yourself!

The Dinner Buffet Includes Seared Ahi Tuna, and Tuna Sashimi

The restaurant is setup with 5 buffet bars and a dessert cabinet and ice cream freezer.  The 5 buffet bars are a sushi roll bar, a raw sushi bar, a Chinese food bar, a shrimp/mussel appetizer bar and a salad/fruit bar.  There is even an area for edamame(soybeans), tofu, and a wasabi and ginger area.  In the evenings, the dinner menu includes a hibachi option as well as skewered duck, squid and shrimp offerings on the side hibachi area.  We also love the steamed mussels and peel and eat shrimp available,and we have never seen a raw calamari nigiri offered anywhere else.  Other items of interest include raw calamari rolls, and the dinner treats of flying fish roe, raw scallop rolls and seared ahi tuna sashimi.

Kyojin is truly a dream for the seafood and sushi lover, and the prices are not bad either.  For lunch the price is $9.95 and dinner is $16.95.  But here is a tip, on their website kyojinohio.com you can show them the online coupon on your phone and get $1 off each lunch and $2 off each dinner purchased.  We think it is a good value.  Is it the best sushi we have ever had? No, but it is pretty decent.  It is actual sushi chefs preparing good food.   It is not comparable to the Chinese buffets that offer the side sushi.  This place is much better than that.

Kyojin offers the normal soft drinks, and they offer $5 specialty cocktails.  Kyojin is one of our guilty pleasures, especially for the Big Ragu, as some like the traditional sushi bars and their offerings.  We challenge the “sushi snobs” to try this place and let us know what you think.  But Kyojin is a great place for a sushi novice to finally try a lot of different types of sushi, cooked, or raw and see what they like, without having to order an entire roll.  They even have some vegetarian rolls and seaweed salad with pasta for you non meat eaters.  We even saw a sushi roll with chicken!

Our most recent trip to Kyojin was a challenge, while Ragu was challenged by  Shawn to a sushi eating contest.   Shawn stopped in his 40 something piece to go get some Chinese food, while Big Ragu matched his football number by eating 71 pieces of sushi.  It was our comic relief for the day watching the “sushi eat off.”

There is something for everyone at this place.  The Big Ragu’s favorite items on the buffet are raw salmon on rice, the kani (crab nigiri) and the raw tuna roll.  We enjoyed the shrimp tempura roll, the Cincinnati roll, and coconut shrimp on the Chinese food bar.

Big Ragu called his plate “Mount Va-sushi-us”

Do you love sushi?  Have you ever tried it? Sushi pro or sushi rookie, Kyojin is worth the trip.  Take a drive south on I-71 and the Fields Ertel exit, and Kyojin is just a minute away.  It is an incredible deal to get all the good sushi you can eat.  Check it out, you will be glad you gave it a chance.  All you can eat sushi, that’s how we “roll.”

Become an “Official” fan of Food Adventures by clicking here and visiting their page on Facebook !

Have you been to Kyojin?  What did you think?  Please comment below.

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Kyojin/]

Kyojin Japanese Buffet
12140 Royal Point Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45249
P: 513-683-2628
kyojinohio.com

Food Adventures Spice Things Up at Amar India

By 1 Comment

Indian food.. some people love it,  some people cringe, others have never had it.  Being Food Adventurers means we try and experience many culinary things in life, some out of our comfort zone.  Enter Amar India, one of the fancier Indian restaurants in Dayton, located across from the Dayton Mall.

The Big Ragu and Crew have developed a taste for Indian food over the years, and for us it started with Amar India.  If you have never tried Indian cuisine, let us recommend this restaurant for your American pallet.

A great way to experience some Indian food and see what you like, is to go to their buffet lunch, where you can sample a number of dishes (usually appetizers and chicken and vegetarian entrees).  The buffet lunches are fairly cheap and again it is a great way to get a variety of items.  Dinner at Amar India is ordered off the menu only.  Amar India’s menu is fairly extensive, but to sort it out, the dishes are basically four types: vegetarian, chicken, lamb, and fish.  Each dish may be ordered on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the spiciest.

Our latest visit to Amar India started with our incredibly friendly and passionate waiter, Regendier.  He welcomed us and recommended a few menu items and was happy to be a part of our Food Adventure article and photos.  In our conversations with him, he shared his love for food, Indian culture, and Pro-Wrestling.  After some fun conversation, your humble F decided to order.

Vegetable Pakora is served with 3 tasty sauces

We started out with an appetizer, ood AdventurersVegetable Pakora.  For all intents and purposes it is a vegetable fritter or hushpuppy.  The Big Ragu was ecstatic because the item was deep fried.  We explored the accompanying sauces.  This appetizer was served with a tray with 3 cups of sauces.  The sauces were a green mint sauce, a spicy chunky sauce, and a sweet bbq-like sauce.  We thought the mint sauce was the best.

Then we saw a sight for sore eyes.  Our waiter was bringing out an order of our favorite side item, Garlic Nan Bread.  Amar India offers different types of Nan bread, which are homemade pita breads with different flavored ingredients cooked right into the bread.  We cannot stress enough, that an order of Garlic Nan bread is a MUST.  When coming to Amar India, we can’t function without it.

The Garlic Nan Bread Appetizer is Addicting

We have always had a love for an Indian dish called Saag Paneer.  It is a funny sounding dish, with a big taste.  It is fresh homemade cheese cubes cooked in spinach & light cream.  It was a perfect storm of spice and flavor.

The Big Ragu ordered Fish Masala.  This dish is marinated fish,  pan fried with tomatoes, curry and cream.  Ragu ordered spice level 4 and was sweating the whole meal.  The dishes are all served in oval metal bowls that look small, but the food is filling.  They serve the meals with a white rice that has some Indian flavor.  We were both stuffed after dinner.

Top to Bottom: Fish Masala, White Rice, Saag Paneer

Our check arrived with a candy treat, small little fennel pellets.  They taste like licorice, or as Ragu said “mini good-n-plenty.”  We asked our waiter if he would take a photo with us after the dinner.  He told us his heritage was Punjabi, and he primped his moustache before the picture by curling it with his hands.  He smiled, flexed and helped us cap off a great night with a few laughs.

Whether you have acquired a taste for Indian food or not, you really need to give Amar India a chance.  The dinners are reasonable at $13-$16 on average for the unique dining experience.  If you have not been there, it will be an experience your tastebuds won’t soon forget.

Love these “Dayton Foodies?”  Then become an OFFICIAL FAN of FOOD ADVENTURES by going to our FACEBOOK and clicking LIKE.

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Amar India/]

Food Adventures Devours the 2011 Dayton Oktobertfest

By Leave a Comment

Spaten Munich beer and Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest were on draft

This past weekend, we experienced one of their favorite Food Adventures to date. Daytonmostmetro.com generously provided us with tickets to the preview party at the 40th Oktoberfest which is held at the Dayton Art Institute.  Although we have both been to the festival many times in the past, this would be the first time going to the preview party.

On this Food Adventure, we decided to take separate vehicles and that was a big mistake!  It wasn’t too easy to find a parking space, so The Big Ragu who is always “fashionably late,” this time proved no different.

While Hungry Jax was waiting in the long entrance line, a frantic Ragu was searching for a parking space while developing a little case of road rage.  We were both pretty amazed at how many people attended the pre-party and had no idea that it would be this packed.  Nonetheless, feeling like VIP’s we developed our game plan and a night of ethnic gluttony started to ensue.

Bratwurst from Schmidt’s restaurant booth – Incredible !

The festival is pretty much a bunch of food booths from different companies and 2 tents of craft goods.  Yeah, we skipped the arts and crafts.  Jax headed over to the Schmidt’s Sausage Haus booth while the Big Ragu shimmied over the beer line.

Schmidt’s is located in the German Village in Columbus, Ohio and was featured on Man v. Food.  Hungry Jax ordered a bratwurst with sauerkraut and added on spicy brown mustard and horseradish.  The first bite was absolutely amazing and this was a sign of good things to come.  The beer booth had some general choices, but we decided to go for the Leinenkugel Oktoberfest and the Spaten Munich beers.  After the Big Ragu got the beer, he decided to go hit the food line.  Ragu really showed that he was in the Oktoberfest spirit by showing up with a German treat … wait, a Gyro from the Greek Orthodox Church booth!  Well, at least the gyro was good because he devoured it in about 2 bites.  At this time we were both very happy Food Adventurers, but that was about to change.

The Dreaded Limburger Sandwich

We headed to the next food stall and the sign read…..Limburger Cheese Sandwich.  Neither one of us has ever tried Limburger Cheese, so we decided to take one for the team and ordered one up.  The Big Ragu’s dad had eaten Limburger Cheese as a kid in New York, so we decided to call him up and see what we had in store for us.  Ragu Sr. found it pretty amusing that we were going to indulge in this thing and basically told us….good luck!  We decided to punish the Big Ragu for buying a gyro by making him take half of this sandwich.  We have both eaten to pretty questionable things in our lifetime, but this by far was the worst thing that we have tried.  We have a rule with Food Adventures….you must finish the whole thing.  The Big Ragu was the smart one here when teared up on the final bite, got teary eyed and spit the sandwich out in the trash can. We hope to never see another Limburger Cheese Sandwich again.

After we grabbed more beers, we headed over to Don LeDoux’s Cajun Restaurant booth and decided to go with the Crawfish Etoufee.  It was served on a bed of rice and was incredibly tasty with lots of crawfish in it!  The employees and owners were very friendly.  We definitely have to head up to Troy, Ohio and try this place out!  While the crew was talking to the Don LeDoux employees, Ragu suddenly showed up with a Weinerschnitzel sandwich that he bought at the booth next door.  He had to get the limburger taste out of his mouth.  We also visited briefly with the Kosmic Kettlecorn booth who had some tasty popcorn, and showed us how the process worked.

Meeting the local legend, Voltzy at his Oktoberfest booth

The next item that we tried was the highlight of the Oktoberfest for us….we finally tried a Voltzy burger!  This is by far, the best hamburger that we have tried so far…..you can definitely taste the freshness.  Voltzy came out and doused our burgers out with three different sauces, which put a sparkle in the Big Ragu’s eye.  One taste of these things and you will be hooked!  And the sauces give it some sweet heat!  The burgers were amazingly fresh, and Voltzy said the meat is never frozen.

We will both admit that before we met Voltzy, we were very intimidated by his reputation for being a hard A$$, but he was a great guy, with a good sense of humor, who we had a lot of fun with.  We are looking forward to a future food adventure at his restaurant!

At this point we were both pretty stuffed and we decided to do what anyone else would…..get another beer!  The Spaten was incredible and we couldn’t get enough of it.  Ragu also loved the Wisconsin brewed Leinenkugel Oktoberfest beer, but Jax stuck with the German Spaten Beer.  While waiting in the beer line, the Cream Puff Pastry at Schmidt’s Sausage Haus caught our eye.  While the Big Ragu loves his fried food, and Jax has a weakness for sweets.  The cream puff pastry was a gift send down from the Confectionary Gods and we loved every morsel of it.

Schmidt’s Restaurant has perfected the Cream Puff

This Food Adventure was a blast.  Our leiderhosen are a bit tighter after the food we consumed at this festival.  Sure, we ended up with a few drops of beer, sauce, and powdered sugar on our shirts, which housed our full stomachs, but it was all in a night’s work.  So we say, to honor Oktoberfest, Lisa, Bill and the crew at DAYTONMOSTMETRO.com who got us VIP tickets to this event, we say “Danke schön!”

Are you on FACEBOOK? Then become an OFFICIAL fan of FOOD ADVENTURES by clicking HERE and choose “LIKE” on our FACEBOOK page.

Did you go to Oktoberfest? What did you think about the food and beer selection
?

Please post a comment below!

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Oktoberfest/]

Food Adventures Crosses Paths with the Hamburger Wagon

By 2 Comments

In the past few years, we have noticed an influx of restaurants in Dayton claiming to sell “gourmet” hamburgers.   Many of these places allow you to add fried eggs, avocados, and even fried pickles to your burger for an additional cost.  We have enjoyed Food Adventures while pigging out of these places of course, but The Big Ragu and Crew are simple creatures, who like their burgers made simple.  If you are like us and want a great “old school” style hamburger, you need to head down to the Hamburger Wagon in downtown Miamisburg, Ohio.  The little white cart with the red awning is an institution in Miamisburg that has been serving up hamburgers since Dayton’s Great Flood almost a hundred years ago.

It all started in 1913, when a tremendous flood devastated the city, leaving many houses  and lives destroyed.  Thousands of people ended up living in tent cities.   Hot food was pretty sparse and this led Sherman “Cocky” Porter to dig out his families recipe for hamburgers and pass them out to flood victims.  The people loved the burgers so much, Porter decided to sell them on Saturdays in a little “Hamburger Wagon.”  They have been serving burgers ever since.

Smashing the deep fried burgers, and laying out the buns

Our endless journey for special dining places, led us to the “Burg” to enjoy some of Porter’s incredible hamburgers.  When Food Adventures arrived at the Hamburger Wagon, we were pretty happy to see only two people ahead of us in line.   If you have ever gone to the Hamburger Wagon on a weekend, there is usually a continuous line of people waiting to indulge in these wonderful hamburgers.  We decided to look over the menu and that literally took about 2 seconds. The menu has only four items on it: a single, a double, potato chips, and pop.   We didn’t dare ask for cheese because the sign states “No stinkin’ cheese or sloppy sauces”.  Hungry Jax was bummed about the no cheese rule while a sauce loving Ragu had to come to terms with the fact that he can’t destroy this hamburger with his usual arsenal of sauces.  We decided to comfort each other and go on with the Food Adventure.  We each ordered three burgers, a bag of chips, and soda.  We stood back and watched the magic happen.

Bun, burger, onion, pickle, pepper.. it’s that simple

Each little burger is thrown in a deep cast iron pan of hot grease and cooked up until it is nice and crispy.  Just imagine how large the Big Ragu’s eyes got when he saw the hamburgers go in the old fashioned deep fryer!  Once the burgers are done cooking, they are thrown on a bun, topped with a pickle slice, onion, and a dash of pepper.  The burgers are then tossed into a paper sack and placed in our bratwurst looking fingers.  No wraps, just a napkin or two.  Maybe the lack of post cooking packaging is the way that the Hamburger Wagon shows they care about the environment.

The dining room choices are about as plentiful as the menu: you can either sit in your car or enjoy a nice cozy park bench.  It was a beautiful day out and we decided to sprawl out on the park bench and enjoy the weather and the burgers.  We absolutely loved the fact that we didn’t have to waste precious gorging time removing the piping hot burgers from any wrappers.   We were amazed just how good these hamburgers tasted.  We are considering starting a petition to rename the city Miamisburger.  We don’t exactly know what the recipe is, but we were told it’s a combination of hamburger, sausage, and corn flakes.  Whatever the recipe is, it’s absolutely amazing!  One of the most appealing things about the burgers is the “crunch factor.”  They are already crunchy from being deep fried and when you add the pickles and onions, the sandwich is taken to a whole new level.  Trust us when we say that these are some of the tastiest and most unique burgers that you will try.

Click on the incredible hamburger for a closer view

The next time that you are near Miamisburg, we highly recommend checking out the iconic Hamburger Wagon.  If you have been to the wagon, then we “spoke” too soon (groan).  The food is one of a kind, and you won’t go bankrupt while feeding your family. A single burger, bag of chips, and can of pop each cost $1.10 and a double burger rings up at $2.20.  We like this place so much we were sizing up how to roll the wagon away with us.  Maybe they would at least let us ride around in it for a while for a real Food Adventure.

Sometimes, good things can come out of a tragedy.  Due to an event like the 1913 flood, your grateful foodies The Food Adventure Crew, are able to enjoy these little hamburgers, with the big taste, today.

Have you been to the Hamburger Wagon?  If so, what are your thoughts on this legendary eatery in Miamisburg?

Visit FOOD ADVENTURES on FACEBOOK by clicking here! “Like” us to become an official fan !

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Hamburger Wagon/]

Food Adventures visit the legendary Hasty Tasty Pancake House

By 5 Comments

Remember back in the day when waitresses used to be “real” waitresses?  When you had a server that made waitressing her career and was a staple at the restaurant for decades?  Well this type of throwback place still exists in Dayton, it is called the Hasty Tasty Pancake House.  This place also reminds us of the good old days because we ordered a ton of food, and the price was still cheap.

Betty, our waitress, has worked at Hasty Tasty since 1974

“Bunny’s Hasty Tasty Pancake House” has been in business for 59 years.  Located on Linden Ave in Dayton, memorabilia still hangs on the wall from the early days of this restaurant.  The atmosphere felt like 1973, and the booth furniture looks of the same era.  No longer open 24 hours, this establishment has seating of all booths with faux leather that surprisingly did not stick to Ragu’s chubby thighs.

Being lifelong Dayton area residents, it is mind boggling that we had never been to the Hasty Tasty Pancake house before.   Oh, the shame!   We have driven past the neon sign out front a bunch of times.   So we made up for it by going not once, but twice, in a month.  A double Food Adventure!

Our first visit was for the gluttonous reasons (big surprise, huh..).  Hasty Tasty has a Friday night special.  They have an All You Can Eat Fish Fry with 2 sides, for the astounding price of $7.25.  We saw this ad in a paper and it finally convinced us to go try it out.  And guess what, the fish is terrific!  We were blown away by the amount and the taste of the food.  Not what we expected for $7.25.  The cole slaw was great and they served butter pads with the dinner rolls. When is the last time you have seen butter served in pads?  We loved the side of mac n cheese, and Ragu even ordered a side of shrimp for only 99 cents!

Friday Nights: All U Can Eat Fish for $7.25

But the food was only half the story, as we met a wonderful waitress named Betty.  Betty is an older woman and has been working at the  Hasty Tasty Pancake House for 38 years.  She was a delightful server and her personality and advice reminded us of the time “when waitresses were waitresses.”  She brought out our fish fry plates gleefully, and told us about the rich history of this legendary Dayton diner.

After pictures with the staff and the fish, a completely stuffed Food Adventure Crew, wobbled out of the place on that fateful Friday night, vowing to return for breakfast sometime soon.

After we had a few weeks to digest our meals, we again snuck in for a Saturday morning breakfast at Hasty Tasty.  We were eager to see if our first trip was a fluke.

Our waitress this time was a little younger, but had worked for Hasty Tasty Pancake House for almost 2 decades.   We ordered a pecan waffle with eggs.  The Big Ragu wanted a country fried steak, but Ragu had his eye on pancakes.  This after all is a “pancake house.”  Ragu did the only diplomatic thing.  He ordered the country fried steak, and a side of pancakes.  Additional pancake add ons are only $1.60, so it had to be done.   Our waitress raised an eyebrow when Ragu ordered the pancakes and looked around.  The tone was set.

Our Incredible Breakfast Spread

We waited for our breakfast and observed our surroundings.  It was 9am and the place was packed with interesting clientele from all walks of life.  There were businessmen types, families, bikers, college kids, senior citizens, you name it.  There are many regulars here, and they refer to the place as simply “Bunny’s.”  We noticed some interesting hairstyles and dress, which only made the already throwback atmosphere that much more real.  And then it happened.  Our waitress came over with this huge tray full of plates.  She smiled and gave us eggs and Waffle.  She also plopped down Ragu’s Pancakes, Country Fried Steak, Hashbrowns and Bacon.  She then lowered a mammoth plate of biscuits and gravy.  We said to the waitress “Do other people eat more than this?”  She said “Oh gosh yes, this is nothing, a skinny waitress here could out eat anyone in this restaurant.”  We suddenly felt more at ease.   We then  saw a small crane lower another large tray of food to the couple sitting next to us.  Foodies! Ahhh we were among our peeps!  Our table was completely strewn with food and drinks, and the cost was about 20 bucks total.

Let us tell you, the food was PHENOMENAL! It was the best waffle we had ever eaten, and Ragu said they were the best pancakes he has ever had.

 

We have found the morning mecca, Hasty Tasty is thy name.  Everything was terrific, we are still talking about how good it was.  The bottom line is it that this place is an old, nostalgic greasy spoon, with some incredible food.  No gimmicks, no trinkets for sale, just good meals.  It was a rewarding experience and a perfect example of why we do these FOOD ADVENTURES, because you never know what you will find.  It is no mystery why this diner has been around for 59 years.  If you visit Bunny’s Hasty Tasty Pancake House, we promise, you will walk out full and your wallet will still be semi-full too!

Please visit FOOD ADVENTURES on FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE !

What are your thoughts on Bunny’s Hasty Tasty Pancake House?  Comment Below !

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Hasty Tasty/]

Food Adventures Gears up for the 2011 Festival Season

By 2 Comments

Let’s face it, summer is over.   Many are bummed over the fact that the outdoor dining patios are closing, and they have no more days left at the pool.  Ragu is no longer laying out topless, scaring young kids. But the end of summer also brings some good news: Fall Festival Season is upon us !!

We absolutely love festivals, and the fall is our favorite time as the big dogs of the fest world make their appearance.  Two of our favorite festivals, The Greek Fest and The Italian Festival kick off the fall season.

Why are they on the same weekend? We do not know why.  Do the organizers understand the misery they put us through and the nightmare of scheduling our Food Adventure weekend?  Why won’t one of these old cultures move their festival a week later?   We may start a petition to put it on the November ballot, so we can spread out our campaign of gluttony.

First up is our study of the Greek Festival (www.daytongreekfestival.com), which is held at the Greek Orthodox Church next to the Dayton Art Institute.  This huge festival recently started charging a $2 admission fee.  Let us give you a bit of wisdom, GO DURING THE DAY, unless you want to experience the madhouse crowd and sheer pandemonium of trying to find a parking space near this festival.

Trigonas, Greek beer, and Gyros

Sure you can visit the arts & craft area or admire the dancers or a statue.  We prefer, however, to admire the gyros, greek beer, and those little golden honey puffs.  Oh, did we mention the baklava and trigonas in the building area kick  Mt Olymp-ass?  The food is reasonably priced, with most items around $3-$6.  Another highlight is a tour of the Greek church, one of the more spectacular churches in this area.  Oh yea, NO FOOD in the church.  This festival offers a huge variety of Greek food, but for you less adventurous souls, there are Greek french fries, and Domino’s pizza’s “Greek slices.”  Ragu says go for the good stuff, like a lamb shank dinner.  You only get it once a year.

If you are the artsy type, then you may enjoy the Greek Band at night, and the traditional Greek dancing.  These dancers jump over napkins, and are better than our best erotic dance moves.  We love the Greeks, we are huge Telly Savalas fans from way back in the day.

On the other side of town is our other favorite festival, The Italian Fall Festa (www.italianfallfesta.com), held at Bella Villa Hall on County Line Road, not far from

Wine Booth at Dayton’s Italian Festival

the Greene.  Ragu has to come here, he is Italian for goodness sake.  Again, may we plead that you go there during the day, unless you like a brisk walk from the nearby armory, or enjoy walking blocks of streets lined with cars.  As you enter the fest, you may be greeted by the sound of Italian music from the live stage.

The outside grounds of the festival features such fare as Cavatelli, Italian sausages, sub-par pizza, calzones and soups.  However, some of our favorite items are found inside the hall building and not outside on the grounds.  Inside, the hall offers nightly dinners.  Friday is Baked Pasta night, and Saturday is stuffed shells night, while Sunday is spaghetti and meatballs.  You may even find Ragu working a meatball sub booth outside, or the beer and wine booth inside the hall.  Ragu has also been threatening to enter the spaghetti eating contest, held at 3pm on Sunday.

We love, and we mean love the cannoli at this fest.  In fact, you are guaranteed to gain 5 pounds by just walking into the pastry area.  We love gelato because of this festival,  the tasty treat.

A Perfect Cannoli

The pastries are homemade, but unfortunately a lot of the other outside area food is not.   So if you choose to eat outside, be sure to let the vino flow and the food may taste a bit better.  And while you are outside, try your hand at bocce ball, where you can reserve a court for a small fee.

So this upcoming weekend, with a gleam in our eye and food stains on our shirts, we say thank you Dayton, for another year of Festival Food Adventures.

What is your favorite food at these festivals? What are your experiences?  Please comment below!

Visit FOOD ADVENTURES  on Facebook by clicking here and “like” our page to become and official fan.

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Greek Italian Fest/]

Food Adventures takes on “Little Saigon” Restaurant

By Leave a Comment

Ragu with Nga, owner of Little Saigon Restaurant

When most people think of Vietnam, they think of war, Nixon, and hippies.  FOOD ADVENTURES, however, immediately think of food.   In 1980, a few years after Communism took over Vietnam, Little Saigon’s owner fled to the United States.   She jumped into a crowded boat with 85 other people and sailed for 12 days with little food or water until arriving in a free area of the Philippines and eventually to America.  Her name is Nga, pronounced “na,” and she is running the family owned restaurant that her sister started 19 years ago.   We are blessed to have her fine cooking in the Dayton area.

Recently, Little Saigon did some interior design changes.  No longer haunted by the scary restrooms, we now enjoy the newly remodeled restaurant atmosphere.  The outside appearance of the restaurant, at 1718 Woodman Drive in Kettering, leaves a lot to be desired, but the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” applies here.

Our favorite menu item: The Soft Shrimp Roll

Vietnamese food is mostly known for being healthy and for fresh ingredients.  The options at Little Saigon stay true to this philosophy.  The menu stays true to terrific taste as well.  For you vegetarians out there, Little Saigon’s menu has 2 pages filled with vegetarian options.

Your Food Adventurers  love the appetizers at Little Saigon.  We are currently addicted to the simple, yet perfect, soft shrimp roll.  This menu item is pretty much an egg roll with a burrito type sea through wrapper.  Inside the roll are vermicelli noodles, shrimp, pork, lettuce and cilantro.  The soft shrimp rolls are served with an addicting brown peanut sauce that is like a hoisin sauce.  Ragu loves this sauce so much he wanted to order a glass of it to drink.  Our other favorite appetizer is the combo platter for two, which has a lemongrass pork kabobs, spring rolls, butterfly chicken, and shrimp cakes.  We were completely blown away by this plate.

The Combination Appetizer Plate for Two was incredible

Little Saigon’s menu has a page of typical Chinese Food entrees, but we recommend you stick to the other pages of Vietnamese menu items.  One of the attractions at Little Saigon is their “Pho,” or meal sized soups.  These soups may be ordered with various meats,  and most come with vegetables.   You also get to choose the type of noodle you want from the traditional egg noodles and vermicelli noodles, to the more advanced and strange clear rice noodles that are as thick as a pencil.   We love the thick rice noodles, but love the egg noodles as well (thinner like angel hair).  The prices are right too, with many dinner soups ranging from $6.50 to $8.  Great meals, great deals.  We would recommend two special soups.  First, the duck noodle soup.  We were so impressed with the duck meat, that it quickly became a favorite dish.

The Tasty Duck Noodle Soup – Click to Enlarge

The duck was very flavorful, and the egg noodles in the good, clear broth make your taste buds dance.  The bowl of soup is so big that most can not finish it.  The other special to try is the shrimp and pork soup with rice noodles.  It is healthy, flavorful and very filling.

There are also meal sized bowls of noodles with vegetables on the menu that are not soups.  These bowls have bean sprouts and lettuce covered by noodles, then topped with your choice of meat and sauteed onions.  Ragu loves these, especially the lemongrass shrimp with vermicelli.  He indulges on the vegetarian spring rolls over vermicelli as well.

This place is truly a gem.  There are lots of options and the choices encompass over 200 menu items.  Do you want some good, fresh, unique food at one of the rare Vietnamese restaurants in the Dayton area?  Then you have to go on your own Food Adventure to Little Saigon, “Pho”-sure!

Please visit FOOD ADVENTURES  on FACEBOOK by clicking here and “like” our page to become an official fan!

We want to hear from you!  Want to give us your thoughts on Little Saigon?  Please comment below!

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Little Saigon/]

“Where do you think we should go for a Food Adventure?”

By 10 Comments

We need your help.  Do you have a favorite restaurant that we need to visit for a Food Adventure?  If so, please tell us, and post a comment below.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.  We are ready to try some new places !!!

We need your help, please post a comment below!

Please visit Food Adventures on Facebook. Check back every Thursday for a new “Food Adventure” article on DAYTONMOSTMETRO.COM

Food Adventures says: Godfather’s Pizza is the REAL DEAL !!

By Leave a Comment

When Noble Roman’s reopened a few years ago, we rushed over only to be disappointed by a pizza that was NOTHING like the product of the 80’s and breadsticks that were NOTHING like the hand rolled ones we had as kids.  Equally awful, Ragu had tried a Godfather’s Pizza in a gas station in another state. The gas station Godfather’s was more like Speedway Pizza than the Godfather’s of the past.  So needless to say, we were skeptical about the new Godfather’s Pizza. Was it going to be the same taste we remembered from the late 70’s and early 80’s?

The buzz about the Huber Heights Godfather’s Pizza was that it was the real deal.   So Food Adventures grabbed a couple of foodie friends and headed out Brandt Pike to solve the mystery for ourselves.

We entered the restaurant with our entourage of El Jefe and Gene Genie.  The new store works like this, you order first, they give you a number, then you sit down and they bring you your pizza.  Our party of four ordered, we decided to go BIG.  We ordered 2 jumbo deluxe pizza’s.  Hey if we are here, we got to do it right.  First of all, Godfathers is not cheap.  The sizes come in small, medium, large and jumbo.  The large specialty pizzas are $21 and the jumbo ones are $25.  However, the place was very busy, so we knew something was up.

That is not crust, it is a gateway to love

We could hardly stand the anticipation as we waited to try the pizzas.  We saw a packed restaurant of happy customers enjoying what looked like the same Godfather’s pizza we remembered as kids.  Ragu had to order a salad bar to help distract himself from the anticipation.

What followed could not have been better.  They brought out 2 huge, thick pizzas piled with toppings and mounds of melted cheese.  The cheese even had those brown burnt spots we remembered from the old days.  Your Food Adventurers were having a moment.  We kept looking at each other using words like incredible and awesome to describe the taste of the pizza.  Of course, we finished their pie with no leftovers.  El Jefe and Gene Genie on the other hand, had to ask for a to go box.  We left the restaurant humming early 80’s tunes and grateful for the chance to have truly re-lived a childhood food experience.

Exactly how we remembered it ! Click on the picture to enlarge and see for yourself!

A few months later, a Godfather’s opened up on Wilmington Pike near Feedwire Rd in Kettering/Bellbrook.  We had to make sure this was the same legit product and not one of the gas station Godfather’s pizza that resembles a frozen pizza.

Again, Godfather’s delivered as promised.  We ordered a small pizza this time, but still received the same great quality.  The small pizza was by no means cheap  at $14, but definitely worth it.  This pizza had anchovies on it and was very tasty.  It was also loaded with toppings like onions, green peppers and mushrooms.  We saw that the Wilmington Pike store had a small dining area and a “To Go” window as well.

Thick pizza – click on this photo to enlarge and see

Are you someone who misses that pizza taste of the early 80’s?  Then your Food Adventurers suggest you change into some terry cloth shorts and rock the 70’s afro to put you in the mood for some throwback Godfather’s Pizza.  Believe Food Adventures when we tell you: “It’s a pizza you can’t refuse!”

Click on this photo to enlarge. It will knock your knee high striped 70’s socks off

Please visit Food Adventures on Facebook. Check back every Thursday for a new “Food Adventure” article on DAYTONMOSTMETRO.COM

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Godfathers Pizza/]

Food Adventures hits a truly AUTHENTIC Mexican Restaurant – Taqueria Mixteca

By 3 Comments

And we mean AUTHENTIC on E. 3rd St

There was a time in our lives when we once considered Taco Bell to be really good Mexican food.  It was during our high school and college years, when money was scarce and our late night cravings were curbed by a ritual “run to the border”.

After college, we started dining at various chain restaurants claiming to serve authentic Mexican cuisine, but they were no more than glorified Taco Bells.  As the Big Ragu’s favorite band Survivor said, “The Search is Over”. We are officially in love with a little restaurant on East Third Street in Dayton called TAQUERIA MIXTECA which means “damn good Mexican food” in Spanish.

Chicken Taco, Ground Beef Taco – note the double corn tortilla

Taqueria Mixteca isn’t a fancy restaurant, it is one of those places that you may shoot a glance at while driving by.  They don’t advertise, they don’t have a fancy dining room — we don’t even know if they have a bathroom! They do however, have a drive-thru.  What the place lacks in character is compensated for by a diverse group of diners, with a great menu to match.  The majority of dishes give you the option of ordering the kind of meat you want, ranging from chicken to tripe.  They have three different homemade sauces and delicious homemade salsa.  There is something for everyone…even you vegetarians out there!

Big Ragu tries the homemade hot sauce

On the day of our visit, the Big Ragu ordered multiple tacos including: Chicken, Chorizo, Beef Tongue, and Ground Beef.  The Food Adventures Crew also decided to try the Pork Quesadilla and Enchiladas.  We agree that these might be the greatest tacos we have ever eaten due to one factor — simplicity.  While other places load on the cheese and sour cream, the only ingredients that you find here are meat, cilantro, onion, and a lime wedge all placed on a double corn tortilla.

Since we are spicy individuals, we decided to try each one of their three homemade sauces and were not disappointed.  One of our favorite moments of this taco trifecta was making the Big Ragu try a Beef Tongue Taco. This was not an easy feat as The Big Ragu is picky about his meat.  He avoids steaks at any cost claiming textural difficulties and is the only Italian we know of who hates meatballs. We might not recommend the Beef Tongue Taco, but it was quite amusing to see the Big Ragu squirm.

Authentic Enchiladas

We didn’t know what to make of the Enchiladas when they brought them out because when we think of Enchiladas, we think of them topped with white cheese sauce.  These were naked as the day we were born and had a red-orange glow. Again, the taste of the enchiladas spoke for themselves.  Authentic, simple and the flavors were unique.
One of the biggest surprises was the pork quesadilla. The flavor was intense and fresh. It was probably our favorite item of the night.

The price for our meal was a great value.  Our bill was only $21, a great price for all of the items we tried.  Taqueria Mixteca was recommended to us by people who are from Mexico, or have spent a lot of time south of the border.

The Pork Quesadilla was our favorite

Sure the El Toro and El Rancho Grandes have their place, but this is the closest thing to AUTHENTIC Mexican that you will find in the Dayton area.

So get over to Taqueria Mixteca… VAMOS !!

Please visit Food Adventures on Facebook. Check back every Thursday for a new “Food Adventure” article on DAYTONMOSTMETRO.COM

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Taqueria Mixteca/]

JET FREEZE for Summer Food Adventures and Treats

By 1 Comment

Serving Customers Since 1957

What does a sweaty Big Ragu do to cool off this summer?  We leave the swim club and get a fix at JET FREEZE!  Located at the corner of Grange Hall and Patterson Rd in Beavercreek, this little known secret has been satisfying customers since 1957.

A favorite of Ragu’s since his childhood and able to quench any sweet tooth, this place has the most INCREDIBLE SOFT SERVE ice cream ever.  Why is the soft serve so delicious?  The answer is fresh milk.  We saw them pouring gallons of Reiter milk into the machine that mixes the 95% fat free treat.

Strawberry Soft Serve

Jet Freeze has chocolate and vanilla soft serve.  They also specialize in strawberry, a flavor that is rare in soft serve circles.  The management told us the strawberry flavoring is specially mixed by employees for that great one of a kind taste.  All flavors of soft serve cones are value priced from $1.20 to $1.80 for the large cone.  In fact, we had a hard time finding a menu item that was priced above 3 dollars.

The place is simple and old school.  They have 70’s style booths in the inside dining room, which is like an enclosed patio.  The outside dining area features decades old stone tables and benches under yellow neon bulbs. Customers look particularly handsome under this lighting.  Make sure you bring cash, because they do not accept credit or debit cards.

Family owned from the start, JET FREEZE has held onto its roots, while continuing to serve tasty treats year after year.  But beware, Jet Freeze is closed during the winter months, so you cannot satisfy your cravings year round.  Let’s get back to the food ….

The Big Ragu is addicted to their PEANUT BUTTER SUNDAE.  The Food Adventurers found out they mix their own peanut butter sauce.  We also tried the Banana Split which was very tasty and filling.  Another treat that Jet Freeze serves are their FLURRIES. This is a take on the Dairy Queen Blizzard, and the soft serve makes this a winner, no matter what your topping.

Peanut Butter Cup Flurry and a Footlong

The menu also includes sandwiches.  Let us recommend the FOOTLONG with or without chili, and check out the BBQ sandwich.   Our suggestion is stick with the mainstays: soft serve or the sundaes.  Be like us, stay cool and  “Jet on over to Jet Freeze.”

Please visit Food Adventures on Facebook. Check back every Thursday for a new “Food Adventure” article on DAYTONMOSTMETRO.COM

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Jet Freeze/]


North China – Best Damn Egg Roll Ever

By 3 Comments

The best egg roll you will ever eat

We cant get enough egg rolls at a little place in Centerville.  This place is called North China. For our first food adventure posting we chose a favorite in our home town.  We are reformed Chinese buffet-ists.  No longer are we blinded by the tacky neon lights that adorn the buffets.  We have found a place that changes all that.

Since 1987, North China has been doing things the right way.. homemade.  They roll their own egg rolls, which have a peanut flavor that is downright addicting.  They press their own wontons, they handmake each crab rangoon.  This is one of Ragu’s Favorite places to eat, and the prices are an incredible value.  Folks, the lunch prices average 6 to 7 dollars and you get soup, wonton and a chicken wing.

Each dining experience at North China is like a family affair. It starts with being greeted by the owners, a friendly staff, and inviting decor.  We always enjoy comparing our bellys to the life sized Buddah statue in the lobby.

The menu has lots of options, traditional choices and not so traditional choices.  Want to be a food adventurer?  Then go for the Korean menu and play roullette (written in Korean, bring your own translator).  This is how we stumbled into the gelatinous sea cucumber, which is one of the most interesting, exotic and strange things we have tasted.

Orange Beef: A Labor of Love

Here is what we do recommend:

First and foremost, you have to try the best damn Egg Roll ever.  The hint of peanut and pork is amazing to even the grumpiest of people.

One of our current faves is Orange Beef, a dish that is made with hand sliced orange rind and bursting with flavor.  Not your bottled sauce here.

The House Noodle Soup is very tasty and is filled with noodles, shrimp, beef and scallops.  Even the Food Adventurers couldn’t finish this meal sized soup big enough for 2.

Ragu’s Fave: Crispy Shrimp

Ragu has been addicted to the Crispy Shrimp dinner since the late 80’s, a fried favorite with a sweet spicy sauce.  Ragu also loves the thinly sliced Mongolian Chicken lunch which is served over a bed of crispy rice noodles (he asks them to make it spicy!).

If you are looking for a great Chinese restaurant, we invite you to check out one of our favorites.  It is a great sit down dining experience.

Chef/Owner “George” is a master craftsman and takes pride in his dishes.   Your humble Food Adventurers say “RUN DONT WOK to NORTH CHINA !”

Check out FOOD ADVENTURES 

on FACEBOOK HERE.   If you’ve got a suggestion of a place we should visit, tell us below in the comments section.

[album: http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/North China/]

Introducing Food Adventures

By 5 Comments

Food…. Dayton Food.

Who better to tackle this topic ?

Welcome to FOOD ADVENTURES!  The place for Dayton Foodies.

After generating some Facebook buzz, we were approached by Daytonmostmetro.com to  join them with a featured food blog. We are very excited over the new partnership, and promise to deliver our take on places to eat in the Dayton area. Our goal is an informative, entertaining blog, with a sense of humor.  Whether casual food, formal dining, street food, or festivals, we will leave no plate unturned.

Look for a new blog post every week on Dayton Most Metro!

Together, your humble Food Adventurers will seek out locally owned restaurants, unique places off the beaten path, and even give our slant on some familiar favorites. Whenever we visit a place, we call it a “Food Adventure.” You can expect pictures of each Food Adventure we embark on. You can expect us hugging waiters, posting nostalgic blogs, and emotionally eating our way through life. We are not food critics, we are just two guys that love to eat!

So get ready Daytonmostmetro.com fans, you are about to go on an adventure…..  

 

The Big Ragu destroying a footlong hot dog

Steve “The Big Ragu” Milano:

A lifelong Dayton resident, his early food influence was started by mom and grandparents’ Italian and German/Scottish cooking.  Ragu’s love of food is only matched by his love of sports, travel, karaoke and just needing to be held.  An attention seeking missile, Ragu’s favorite foods include Seafood, Italian Food, and Chinese/Japanese cuisine.  Other hobbies include overeating occasionally and a slight attraction to deep fried menu items.

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK  —> HERE and “LIKE” us to become an official fan of

FOOD ADVENTURES website – DaytonFoodies.com  We are the one and only, Dayton Foodies.

To send us private messages, email us at:  foodadv@yahoo.com

Check us out on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM