The Featured Articles

Taco Loco: The Best Tasting Cinco de Mayo You Will Ever Have

May 2, 2013 By Dayton937 4 Comments

Beef Shoulder Taco, Squeeze that lime on it

Food Adventures Crew knows there are only a couple of truly authentic Mexican Restaurants in the Miami Valley, and we have found a favorite. It is a humble place called Taco Loco located at 5392 Burkhardt Road. It is clean, it is cheap, it is authentic. But most of all, it has some of the most delicious Mexican food we have ever eaten. We have some close friends from Mexico, and upon their recommendation we stopped in. The experts were right, every trip to Taco Loco is a new Food Adventure.

Why the name Taco Loco? The owners, a mom and pop duo from Mexico, had to renovate before they could open. They were fixing the old vacant building, putting in many hours painting, putting down flooring etc. The long days caused them to sometimes sleep in their van in the parking lot overnight, since they lived in Cincinnati. When a neighboring resident visited the construction she told the owners, “You are working too hard, and sleeping in your van, what are you CRAZY?” Since ‘Loco’ means crazy in Spanish, they decided the name fit.

Here’s the Skinny:
1) This place is very authentic, so don’t expect the typical queso sauces, cheese and tomatoes like you see on some Tex-Mex dishes at other Mexican restaurants.
2) The prices are low, so you can explore many types of food and have your own Food Adventure.
3) The staff is friendly, the place is a hole in the wall, the dining area is small, and the environment is clean.
4) You know the food is good, when most of the patrons in the dining area are people from Mexico.
5) Not only is the food delicious, but they have a variety of rare, non-alcoholic drinks made from scratch using fresh herbs and other ingredients.
6) Locally owned by Lola and her husband Octavio. It’s a true mom and pop establishment!

The Chicken Torta – Big and Delicious

Must Eats:

Horchata: Start off your meal with one of these milky beverage specialties. It literally tastes like rice pudding in a glass. We were blown away by the taste of this unique drink.

The Beef Shoulder Taco – Tasty meat on a corn tortilla. These are authentic style tacos, like they eat in Mexico City. We will tell you it is one on the best tacos on the planet. Ingredients are cilantro, onion and meat choice. No cheese, but you may order ‘Tacos Locos’ which means add tomatoes and sour cream.

The Chicken Torta – A sandwich that would give any sub shop a run for its money. Diced grilled chicken, and the perfect complimentary toppings on homemade telera (Mexican sandwich bread). An incredibly filling sandwich for $5 and one of The Big Ragu’s favorites.

Whole Fish – Do you want to kick it authentic old school? Then try this whole, fried tilapia on for size. You have to deal with a little bit of bones and the fish staring at you, but the taste is worth it. At the price of $7.50 this is a steal.

The Food Adventures Crew have eaten so many menu items in our trips to Taco Loco, that some deserve an honorable mention:

Whole Fish – Food Adventure on a Plate

The Large Quesadilla’s are fantastic. Filled with rice, beans, cheese and your choice of meat, this giant menu item will dwarf your plate.

Carne Asada, a skirt steak dish, is a specialty here. If authentic means anything, we noticed that besides us, a lot of Latinos were eating this dish too.
Have you eaten Sopes before? Sopes are made with a circular foundation fried masa dough (ground hominy) topped with refried beans, lettuce, and crumbled cheese. We think of it as an authentic taste version of a tostada. Ragu loves this unique menu item. Taco Loco serves similar menu items called Huaraches which are bigger, oval versions of Sopes. We love them as well, especially the thick base, which almost tastes like potato dough.

The Burritos are delicious. They come wrapped in foil and are so big, we can usually only eat half of them.

Want authentic fajitas? The steak ones here are fantastic, and the flavor of the grilled green peppers make the dish.

The Tamales were good too. Filled with shredded pork and topped with crumbled cheese, they are one of the few items covered with a queso sauce.

Enchiladas Verdes – Fresh Ingredients, Freshly made

A filling meal is the Enchiladas Verdes, stuffed with green chiles and your choice of meat, and covered in lettuce and avocado.

Besides our favorite Horchata, other specialty drinks include a “Tamarindo”, which is made with tamarind fruit. When Lola brought the fruit out to show us, we made a mustache with it. Yeah, that’s us. We take our own pictures, too.
We also drank a “Jamaica” drink (pronounced hamica). This beverage was a tea made with fresh hibiscus flowers, some of which Lola showed us as well. We told you this was a great place for a Food Adventure.

For dessert, we suggest the creamy, homemade Flan. For those of you not familiar with flan, think of an upside down, firmer version of creme brulee. Lola made us proud with this dessert!

Finally, we have to mention the complimentary table salsas. Served in two squirt bottles, one is a mild Verdes Salsa made with tomatillos. The other is a red chile salsa, made with chili peppers. Careful, the red one has a kick! Both of these salsas are made in house, and kick up any menu item. Experiment to your taste with a dash or a squirt on the free basket of extra thick corn tortilla chips.

With Cinco De Mayo coming up, it is good timing for you to try some really authentic Mexican fare at Taco Loco. Not many people know about this little secret, but now you know the scoop. Celebrate with good food and cheap prices. If you do not check out Taco Loco soon, then you my friend, are CRAZY !

Give us your take on TACO LOCO by commenting below. Make sure you browse through the photo album for some AMAZING food photos from this little known secret.

“Like” Food Adventures on Facebook by clicking HERE !

[flagallery gid=36 name=Gallery]

13th Annual Soup Dressed Up Benefit

April 29, 2013 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Stivers School for the Arts, located at 1313 E. Fifth Street, will host the 13th annual “Soup Dressed Up” fund-raising event, from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, May 3rd.

Student and staff at Stivers have created hundreds of bowls for you to choose from, each one unique and artistically prepared. Each guest may choose a handmade ceramic bowl and fill it with soup, bread and dessert generously donated from local restaurants, like Lucky’s CoCo’s, Elsa’s, Christopher’s Roost, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, EarthFare, Big Sky Bread, and Dorothy Lane Market.

Enjoy dinner, music by Gathering Mercury, bid in a silent auction, take a studio tour, and check out wheel throwing demonstrations and award-winning student artwork in the Fifth Street Gallery (located within the school).

5K Derby Day Dash to Benefit Life Essentials

April 29, 2013 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

Life Essentials helps people who slip through gaps of community services. Through a dedicated network of volunteers they provide over 25,000 hours of service each year to people in the greater Dayton area. Their services and programs help seniors and individuals living with mental illness. They aim to decrease isolation by providing participants with volunteer caregivers, guardians and help with small home projects.

This Sat, May 4th you’ll have a chance to to participate in their annual Derby Day Dash. This annual 5K Run and Walk involves every age group including fun runs for the little ones like the tot trot for 3-5 year olds, the Gallop for 9-10 year olds. All kids receive a medal and the top 3 each get a trophy. Teams are welcome too, with prizes for Best Name and Largest Team.

The professionally designed course starts and ends at Island Park and snakes along the Great Miami River. Once everyone has finished the race, prizes are awarded for participants in various age categories, farthest distance traveled, and best hat! More than $2,000 in merchandise and gift certificates are awarded at the race. Check in begins at 8am the race starts at 9am. You can register online at www.active.com.

Newest Pop-Up Shops Announced Downtown

April 25, 2013 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Two new businesses will open downtown on Friday, May 10, as part of the fourth phase of the Pop-Up Project.

Peace Pilates will offer small group and private Pilates classes in their new studio space. Owner Vanessa Corrigan has been teaching Pilates for 12 years, including private lessons out of her home loft and is looking forward to starting a storefront. Workouts are custom created based on clients’ needs and goals. Peace Pilates will be located at 27 S. St. Clair St. in the St. Clair Lofts.

Green Baby’s philosophy

Green Baby will offer environmentally friendly products for the family, including cloth diapering, baby carriers, and products for holistic approaches to health and healing. The store also plans to host classes and community events. Green Baby will be an advocate for local businesses and producers, as 100% of their products are made in the U.S., many being developed in the Dayton area. Green Baby will be located at 31 S. St. Clair St. in the St. Clair Lofts.

The opening of Green Baby and Peace Pilates builds on the success of the Pop-Up Project’s first three phases, launched in November 2011, May 2012, and September 2012. Two of the initial three businesses in the pilot are still thriving: Beaute Box, 116 W. Fifth St., and Peace on Fifth, 508 E. Fifth St. American π, 37 S. St. Clair St, and Sew Dayton, 16 Brown St., are both still open from the second and third phases of the project.

Activated Spaces’ Pop-Up Project, which has helped fill 10,285 square feet of first floor retail space during its four phases, is led by volunteers from the young professional organizations Generation Dayton and UpDayton. The project is a strategic effort to fill vacant street-level space and spur interest in opening a business downtown that’s part of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan, a strategic blueprint for the future of downtown.

“The Pop-Up Shops have helped enliven downtown while building on growing momentum for the center city,” said Tom Razauskas, who owns the building housing Beaute Box. “It has been refreshing to work with volunteers and business owners who really believe in downtown and are excited about its future.”

“The Pop-Up Project provides a low-risk, low-cost, flexible way to showcase local businesses while adding vibrancy to downtown,” said Shanon Potts, a past chair of Generation Dayton and Activated Spaces volunteer. “The long-term goal of the project is to convert temporary leases into traditional leases, while establishing downtown as a regional destination for shopping for one-of-a-kind items and retail services.”

“This project also supports local, creative entrepreneurs as they take a risk and test out their business concepts while bringing renewed life to downtown storefronts,” said Scott Murphy, past chair of UpDayton and Activated Spaces volunteer. “Visitors who support these pop-up shops will help to spur a more permanent retail environment in our downtown ― the next step in downtown revitalization.”

Visit www.activatedspaces.org or e-mail [email protected] for more information about Activated Spaces.

Dayton Restaurants – Closed But Not Forgotten!

April 24, 2013 By Dayton937 88 Comments

Do you have any favorite food places that went out of business, and you still miss them to this day ? Yeah, we do too. This week, lifelong Daytonian, the Big Ragu, takes a trip down memory lane and talk about some restaurants we still mourn to this day. Eateries that used to shine in the Dayton area, which are now gone but not forgotten. Please join us in this of recollection of past Food Adventures. Feel free to add some places of your own, by commenting below.

Here is our list of restaurants that we wish had never closed. Our “Lost Food Gems of Dayton”

JED’S STEAK AND RIBS – Remember their salad bar? Sure it had croutons that tasted like crayons, but their steak burger and ‘make your own sundae bar’ were great childhood memories and huge innovations at the time. There were many Jed’s around the Dayton area, one was located on 725 in Centerville and is now a Goodwill store. We cannot find any photos or trace of this place online, can you?

SHUCKIN’ SHACK – One of our all-time favorite places was on North Main St. in Dayton. They would bring steamed clams out in golf ball baskets. At the raw bar you could sit and eat raw oysters and clams, and throw your shells into a trough. Who could forget their massive peel and eat shrimp, or fried smelts? This was the only place in Dayton that made you fell like you were in a wharf type restaurant in Florida.

THE PEERLESS MILL– The Miamisburg Restaurant with the old fashioned, old school menu. Inside it was like a mixture of Thanksgiving and Christmas everyday. We recall the incredible decor and churning wheel waterfall. This restaurant was warm and inviting, with a trickling water wheel in the lobby. The food was fantastic, and the service was always exceptional. It was a great place for family celebrations.

KEENG WHA – This Chinese restaurant used to be on the corner of Woodman and Dorothy Lane. They served Ragu’s favorite Chinese dish of all time: “Princess Prawns.” A popular place in the 80’s until the chef left, and it was all downhill until it closed in the mid 90’s.

BILL KNAPPS – The kids meal was filled with animal names like the “tiger” or the “elephant.” The best au gratin potatoes ever were served here in a tiny crock pot with browned cheese on top. Ragu loved the clam strips dinner and their signature chocolate cake. On Tuesdays is was a full meal deal where every entree came with salad, soup and dessert. INSANE ! There was a Bill Knapps on 48 near Loop Rd. in Centerville, one by the Dayton Mall, and another near what is now The Greene.

GIRVE’S BROWN DERBY– As kids, we felt like kings in this place. They had the largest salad bar in town and you could even order a kiddie cocktail. Ragu loved the kids menu fish dinner. Adults seemed to love the “Gus’ Steak” which came out with a wooden stake saying medium, or rare with on onion ring on top. There was a bar inside and even lobster tail dinners flowed freely. We felt the Brown Derby “jumped the shark” when it moved from Bigger Rd to the 725 location by the Dayton Mall. Big mistake, we really miss this food gem.

Woody’s Grocery Store in West Carrollton

WOODY’S GROCERY – We might say the bakery and seafood department was the best part of this West Carrollton icon. Also, we loved the deli with shaved Corned Beef and Swiss on hard rolls with poppy seeds on top. We remember a cashier named Don Baker who had hair like Elvis that never changed for years. Noone could forget the plaid dresses and bonnets worn by some of the female workers.

ELDER BEERMAN RESTAURANT – Who doesn’t love a place where you could get breakfast with Santa and the Easter bunny? Located upstairs in the Centerville store on State Route 48, our memories are also of the Friday night buffet. This was a place where the waitresses were “real” waitresses and they had the same staff for decades.

BURGER CHEF- To this day, we crave the Big Chef sandwich and their “works” bar where you could load up your burger with toppings! Remember that their regular hamburgers were stuffed into clear wrapping pouches and the steam marks would be on the plastic wrap? Bring back Burger Chef !!

CHICKEN LOUIE’S – A 24 hour chicken wing place? What a great idea ! This was a fixture on North Main Street in Dayton for over 40 years. Ragu would risk life and limb by ordering through the bullet proof glass at dusk. The related “Lou’s Broaster Hut on 3^rd st had a special place in our heart.

RAX ROAST BEEF – We loved the salad bar, which hilariously offered nacho cheese next to the pudding. The menu had a star, the “BBC” (the beef bacon and cheddar) which proves the theory that bacon makes everything better. But Rax lovers know that the cheese sauce made those sandwiches. We frequented the 725 store that is now a Tim Horton’s

ROCKY ROCOCO’S PIZZA– Chunks of roma tomatoes on their pizzas, made for a unique tasting pizza that was full of flavor.

JOE BISSETT’S GRUB STEAK– The killer menu item was the Princess Steak and a salad with blue cheese crumbles on top. We also rocked the “kiddie cocktail” on North Main St, Dayton. You may recall our article on the closing of The Grub steak HERE.

Lums – where hot dogs ruled

COZYMEL’S – Great place for happy hours with margaritas swirling in machines above the bars. You got lots of food at a great price here. This sorely missed place was located on 725 near McEwen Rd. in Centerville and became a Smokey Bones which is also now closed.

FARRELL’S – Across from Tri-County Mall in Northern Cincinnati, this place had a ‘sundae on a stretcher.’ The staff would sing happy birthday to customers on kazoos.

LUM’S – An obscure town favorite. They had hot dogs cooked in beer. Lum’s was located where Marion’s Pizza is now, in Town and Country shopping center.

PEASANT STOCK – Who could forget the ‘Peasant salad.’ Ragu loved the atmosphere at the restaurant in the Town and Country Shopping Center. Chef David Glynn served some great food out of this establishment.

We miss Thirsty Dog Brewery!

THIRSTY DOG – A great microbrewery restaurant on the corner of Alex Bell Rd and 48 in Centerville that served homemade chips in dog bowls. Ragu loved the Raspberry Light Beer, and the burgers and fish dinners were fantastic too.

HUNAN GOURMET – A long gone gem that was on 48 near Whipp Rd. We loved this place, especially their dry braised shrimp and sizzling rice soup. Some of their entrees were second to none. The building was razed about 8 years ago to build a coffee shop.

NOBLE ROMAN’S – We miss the real Noble Roman’s, not the stuff they are serving at the ‘new Noble Romans’ restaurants. The old restaurants were completely different. We miss the hand tossed pizza in the window, monster pizza, sicililan pizza and the hand rolled breadsticks with nacho cheese.

MARK PI’s CHINA GATE – The fried rice was addicting at this restaurant that was located upstairs in Town and Country shopping center. A great atmosphere for special get togethers, the decor on the glass is still there today, even though they closed in the 80’s.

Sambo’s was like a weird, kids version of Denny’s

ARTHUR TREACHER’S FISH & CHIPS – It was fried fish, so Ragu could live here. The Jersey Mikes on 48 in Centerville is where one of the Arthur Treacher’s used to be. We hear that some of these still exist in other states. Dear Fast Food Gods, Bring them back to Dayton ASAP, and don’t forget the vinegar.

SAMBO’S – They featured pancakes served with boysenberry syrup. This place was located at 48 near Loop Rd in Centerville until it closed in the early 80’s. It was known for their cheap prices and controversial menu caricatures. It was a weird, kid version of Denny’s on LSD. But you couldn’t deny, they had great breakfast food.

FOUR’S COMPANY – After the Arthur Treacher’s closed on 48 near Whipp Rd in Centerville, this short lived place served up giant beer battered onion rings. They were so full of beer you almost got buzzed by eating a few.

Dominic’s – A Dayton Original like us

TOTENKO – This place on the corner of 725 and 741 near the Dayton Mall was like a 70′s verison of PF Changs. We learned to use chopsticks here while wearing “toughskin” pants. A great restaurant until it closed because a food critic found roaches on her plate (TRUE STORY). That critic was Ann Heller, writing one of her first reviews for the Dayton Daily News/Journal Herald. This place turned into a Chi Chi’s which has since gone out of business too.

D’AMICO and MANZAS – An Italian eatery that was a mom and pop establishment. Incredible spaghetti dishes highlighted a top notch pasta menu. This spot is now Savona Restaurant.

DOMINIC’S – The iconic location on South Main Street in Dayton whose manicotti was incredible. The real attraction here was the house salad dressing with so much garlic flavor that you breathed fire for 2 days afterward. Ask any Daytonian who was around in the 70’s/80’s, they knew the only place to go where strong garlic breath was excused.

GROUND ROUND– Throw your peanut shells on the floor. Ragu loved their all you can eat Friday night fish fry. Remember the scale at the Wilmington Pike site where the cost of a kid’s dinner was a penny for each pound they weighed?

BAJA FRESH – Do you still crave their fish tacos like we do? The now defunct Dorothy Lane and Kettering Blvd location claimed to not have refrigerators, because they served everything fresh. We were sad to see this short-lived restaurant go.

PHIL AND JERRY’S FOOD-A-RAMA – Legendary Centerville grocery that had annual anniversary parties where a hot dog and a coke were around 20 cents. In business for over 30 years, they had a great seafood section.

Matchbook from Westward Ho on Brown Street

JOE’S IS A FISH HOUSE – This seafood spot on Loop Rd and State Rt 48 offered a one of a kind Sunday brunch that would knock your socks off. It featured smelts and steamed mussels. The restaurant was only open a couple of years, but it made an impact on us in the early 80’s.

WESTWARD HO – South Main Street cafeteria style restaurant that had drink glasses as big as your head. The food was good, the patrons were old, yet this was still a hoppin’ place. We used to visit the magic store across the street called the “Magic Hat,” after eating.

PO’ FOLKS – Fried food all over the menu, made this one of Ragu’s faves. The fried clams and fried okra were so good. The one we frequented was on the corner of Wilmington Pike and Dorothy Lane.

D’Lites – The first ‘Healthy Fast Food’

FAZIO’S GOLDMAN ONTARIO’s DISCOUNT FOOD STORES – This was the best place to shop with bellbottom pants in the 70’s for groceries. Good deals and wide collars were the norm at this place!

D’LITES- The first place ever to offer healthy fast food! We weren’t sure how healthy it was, but Ragu loved their burgers and smoothies at the location of 48 and Whipp Rd. Another short lived place, that we feel had great food.

CHMIELS GROCERY STORE – Now a Big Lots store in Centerville, this place had some incredible pastries. Their bakery was almost as good as Woody’s.

Kettering Village Inn – closed but not forgotten

KETTERING VILLAGE INN – A mom and pop Italian eatery known for no frills and good food. This spot is now an “OinkadoodleMoo” restaurant on the corner of Stroop Rd and 48 . KVI had great pizza and pasta dishes. This one is really missed.

ANTONIO’s – An Italian restaurant once owned by the DiPasquale Family. When Villanova’s Basketball team would come to town in the 1980’s, legendary coach Rollie Massimino would always eat here. They had incredible ravioli dishes. Their marinara sauce was out of this world. Sweeney’s Seafood House is now located where Antonio’s operated.

KING COLE RESTAURANT – One of the most elegant dining places in Dayton at the bottom of the Kettering Tower. Known for gourmet steaks and seafood, this was a hot spot in the 70’s and 80’s.

What places do you still think about? Casa Lupita? Charley’s Crab? Tequila Willie’s? Let us know any and all of them by commenting below! Check out the photo album below for even more restaurants that are “Closed but Not Forgotten.”

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

What restaurants do you miss? WHO DID WE LEAVE OUT? Please comment below !

[flagallery gid=35 name=Gallery]

Another Food Truck Hits the Dayton Streets

April 24, 2013 By Lisa Grigsby 3 Comments

Dayton’s newest food truck will hit the street this Thursday serving “the perfect combination of the familiar and the offbeat.” Ringo’s North Star Mobile Eatery will feature favorites like gourmet burgers, quesadillas, and pizza, as well as unique and unusual items like apple-cranberry brie fritters and deep fried asparagus. Their menu will change daily, and co-owner Joy Ring, who describes herself as chief helper to her proprietor husband Dave, explains,
“the feeling that we’re going for with the truck is that of being on a road trip and discovering some cool little place along the way that you remember forever. Our menu will vary, but we’ll always have pizza by the slice from our stone-hearth oven, and will most often feature a “road trip burger” based on various cities we’ve enjoyed visiting, like the Albuquerque burger topped with green chiles, or the Minneapolis “Juicy Lucy” with cheese nestled inside the burger.

Henry David Thoreau Quesidilla

Because we’re also avid readers, we have a line of literary quesadillas (there’s the offbeat part) like the Henry David Thoreau with mushrooms, leeks, and goat cheese, or the Larry McMurtry with chicken, cheddar jack cheese, and “Texas caviar” salsa featuring black-eyed peas, multi-colored peppers, onions, and cilantro. Our goal is that each experience will be a new adventure, like finding a new favorite place while traveling that becomes the highlight of your trip – that special combination of comfort and discovery, a little vacation in the middle of even the most ordinary of days.”

The intend to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner on the street, at your workplace, at private parties and festivals, too. If you’d like to request the truck for an event feel free to give them a call or text at 937.474.4944 and be sure tot follow them at twitter.com/ringosnorthstar for menu and locations updates.

Here’s where you can catch them this week:

Brie fritters stuffed with apple and cranberry

Thursday, April 25, 11-1:30: Our Dayton metro area debut!

Bing Design
126 Center College St.
Yellow Springs, Ohio

Saturday, April 27 5-10 pm: Great local food, great local beer!

The Dayton Beer Company
912 E. Dorothy Lane
Kettering, Ohio

And, yes—they accept credit and debit cards!

We Care Arts Celebrates 30 Years

April 22, 2013 By Tiffany Shaw-Diaz Leave a Comment

Thirty years is a remarkable amount of time. In a culture where TV shows are cancelled almost as soon as they begin, and businesses rise and fall with the latest trend, commanding longevity in an ever-changing world means you know how to leverage good fortune, anticipate change, and strategize for the future.

Celebrating their 30-year anniversary, We Care Arts, a Kettering non-profit that teaches art to people with disabilities, has succeeding in doing just that, and their place in the artistic and special needs communities continues to blossom.

“What we do here is very important to a lot of people,” explained Shari Hignite, the program coordinator for We Care Arts. “Without us, many of our clients have nowhere else to go. Many of them have tried other agencies or methods to help them, but they have not had any success. Art is a powerful tool, and our programs help them in ways that nothing else will.”

In 2012 alone, We Care Arts served about 900 clients across four counties in more than a dozen creative fields including woodworking, painting, knitting, sewing, and jewelry making. These are awe-inspiring statistics, considering how they modestly began in a closet attached to the Rose E. Miller Recreation Center’s wood shop to accommodate two clients (one of which was taught by We Care Arts’ executive director, Terry Schalnat).

Flash forward three decades. We Care Arts experienced a rapid-fire expansion that included adding a gift shop, changing locations, and developing nearly two dozen outreach programs to aid as many demographics as possible. And they are still expanding. “We’ve been at our Wilmington Pike location for nine years, and it’s amazing how we are already busting at the seams,” said Brenda Thieman, We Care Arts’ bookkeeper.

During We Care Arts’ 30 years, the staff has witnessed radical transformations–mentally, emotionally, and spiritually–in many of their clients from their newfound sense of pride and self-worth.

“We have had so many people come through our doors broken, in mind and spirit,” mentioned Hignite. “They come to us at their lowest low; at the beginning of the rebuilding process. We provide them with advice, encouragement, and the tools to start moving upward. Many of our clients have gone on to college, gotten jobs, started families, mended fences, left their abusers, and improved their lives.”

Considering the outpouring of inspirational stories, it’s no wonder that We Care Arts is celebrated by the citizens of Dayton.

“I think if we can continue to provide the community with a safe place for people, then we have met our goals,” offered Hignite. “What we do here is very important to so many individuals, yet it is really simple. We are kind. We are supportive, encouraging, loving, and caring. It is amazing what people can do when given the right tools and a little encouragement.”

Hignite mentioned that We Care Arts has several new programs in the works. They currently teach one class at each school they serve, but they have been asked to do more, in addition to piloting initiatives at other schools. They are also thinking about creating more programs for nursing homes.

To supply their massive reach, We Care Arts is always in need of donations, both monetary and in-kind, and they also rely upon the dedication of sundry volunteers who help in-class, serve on committees, man the gift shop, and organize fundraisers in tandem to a variety of other duties. But one of the best ways to contribute to this organization takes very little time.

“What I hope for the most is that more people become aware of us and visit our gift shop,” mentioned Hignite. “When people purchase something made by our clients, it lifts them more than anything else. It is a validation that they are worth something.”

The gift shop certainly has something for everyone and every budget, offering paintings, comic books, household items, coffee mugs, baby blankets, cards, painted wine glasses, and more. They also strive to offer a wide array of seasonal items, especially for Mother’s Day and Christmas, which are some of their busiest times in-store.

In talking with the We Care Arts’ staff, their passion for their vocation is evident, and it is certainly one of the driving forces behind We Care Arts’ success.

“This is the first job I have ever had that I love getting up to go to,” exclaimed Thieman. “Even when I have a bad day, I can take a minute to just visit with a client, and my spirits are lifted.”

Echoing the comments of Thieman, Bruce Rill, a tenured instructor at We Care Arts, offered these parting words:

“Art has great value in the lives of all human beings, no matter where they are in life,” he explained. “We are blessed to use our gifts, all the while learning from others.”

We Care Arts will have their Garden Party fundraiser on Saturday, May 4th. For more information about their programs and upcoming events, visit www.wecarearts.org or call 252-3937. We Care Arts is located at 3035 Wilmington Pike, Kettering, OH, 45429. Their gift shop is open Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Local Food Movement To Benefit From Community Kitchen

April 19, 2013 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

First logo of Miami Valley Grown

There has been a local food movement in Dayton for years. In June 2007, Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley asked OSU Extension to lead an initiative to help connect local food growers and producers with local buyers. I was brought into this group as a part of my work with the local restaurant association. Meeting at the 2nd Street Market, our group eventually grew to about 25 or so members, including local farmers, bee keepers, educators, city and county workers, teachers and students who all were united in the belief that educating our community as to the benefits of buying locally produced foods and goods, would breed success for area growers, consumers, the economy and the environment.

Evolved MVG logo

The group eventually became Miami Valley Grown, with a mission to to connect local growers with local buyers. We held seminars and workshops and a mass-media campaign to expand awareness of the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption, local foods, urban gardening and related topics. We even hosted a local food week, where restaurants featured meals highlighting ingredients from Miami Valley producers. As we worked with the local farmers, community groups and budding food businesses, we kept coming across a need for a facility that would allow farmers to reap profits from value-added food processing and consumers to have a facility to learn how to stretch the use of local products through the season by learning canning techniques.

Community kitchens offer specialty food processors, farmers, and caterers a relatively inexpensive place to license food processing activities. Kitchen clients are charged only for the time that they use the facility. They benefit from the technical knowledge of others using the kitchen, particularly those with extensive food processing, marketing, and business experience. These kitchens can also support the local economy. “Community kitchens have been built to boost local job creation, diversify the local economy, and transfer ideas and technology from universities or companies,” says researcher Kaelyn Stiles, who works with the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems in Wisconsin.

Our group took field trips to the Center for Innovative Food in Toledo and the ACEnet facility in Athens, successful models for developing local food systems and business incubation—both with shared use kitchens and impressive track records.

We knew that a community kitchen could thrive in the Dayton region, but a facility of our own continued to elude us. We explored local sites and were even generously offered a restaurant space from an Ohio chain, but could never figure out the financial blueprint to support and sustain such an endeavor. While our volunteer group was passionate, we lacked the bandwidth, the leadership and the experience to take the idea further. We became inactive, yet the movement never really died.

After all this time, I still get a call or email every month asking if I know of a kitchen for rent, be it local entrepreneurs, girl scout groups or caterers. And now I have some great news to tell them. Tonia and Joe Fish have established Synergy Incubators, a non-profit food business incubator with a shared food processing facility supported by programs to encourage the successful growth of food businesses. It will include an urban educational farm component for area schools and Dayton residents of all ages.

I couldn’t be more thrilled. Meanwhile Tonia and Joe are being swept up in a wave of grass roots support that, as always, makes me proud to be a part of this community. The momentum behind Synergy Kitchen feels like a high speed train, according to Tonia, with all the pieces falling quickly into place. It will soon be ready to help launch successful food businesses, educate the populace and make our region a destination for innovative and ethnic food and dining experiences.

Those of us who’ve been long-time studious advocates for a healthier Miami Valley know that Synergy Incubators will have a positive economic impact as well as a personal one. Producers will have higher incomes as demand rises. More producers will shift production or join the marketplace. Transportation costs will be lowered. Consumers will gain knowledge of healthy eating which can help lower disease and obesity rates. It looks like we’re set to become a healthier, happier community.

To keep up with the progress of Synergy Incubators, please like their Facebook Page.

Record Store Day 2013: A Guide To Celebrate The Music Holiday

April 18, 2013 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Remember your first experience visiting a local record store shop. Remember that day. The mystifying styles of music blasting through the speakers placed all around the building. The abundant rows of compact discs alphabetically placed by band name and genre. The sections of vinyl records that contain music from all generations. The smells of hundreds of incents in clear glass jars waiting to be fired up. Remember the individuals that were always in the shops. You had the clusters of people standing around flipping thru the vinyl records, with a focused look on their faces. They have been given a special assignment-find the albums that will be just perfect. You see another group of people standing around, conversing about music. The windows of the structure are splashed with flyers of upcoming shows around town and promotional posters of an upcoming album.

Good memories, huh?! Now remember how comfortable you were hanging at a record store. You met people that have equivalent thoughts about music as you. You came across individuals that vowed to change your views on artists that were on the fence in your mind. You had spirited debates with the patrons, knowing that you were going to be enlightened with someone’s thoughts and beliefs. You didn’t demean them. You just enjoyed having the discussion. You meet people that recreate experiences of attending a show that they recently attended. You listen how that show was either good or bad, who they went with, etc. The storyteller talks about the moments throughout the show that made them have moments of emotion-either good or bad. You become comfortable being around these people. You become friends. Better than that-you become family.

On April 20^th people will migrant to their local shops to celebrate what is consider to many to be Christmas-Record Store Day. Record Store Day started in 2007, and it has become a day to celebrate independently owned record stores and music. Bands and artists will perform during the course of the day, while special vinyls, CDs, and various promotional products are sold exclusively for this day. Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April every year. We here in Dayton and the people in Yellow Springs are lucky enough to have magnificent events going on throughout the day and evening that will give each and every music lover no reason but to fasten themselves in for a day of fun and enjoyment with others.

Omega Music is located in the Oregon District off 5^th Street in Dayton, and the company has become a staple of the Record Store Day festivities. Starting at 9am, consumers can come to the establishment and sink their teeth into great deals and exclusives. If you bring a canned food item, all used merchandise will be 15% off. Harvest Mobile Cuisine, one of the up and coming food trucks that provides specialty comfort foods prepared with locally grown products, will be in front of the store all day. Starting at noon, there will be some tremendous local music played live. Good English, Giant Steps, Goodbye, King Elk, Wheels, The New Old Fashioned, The Story Changes, The Seedy Seeds, My Latex Brain will perform, with a special performance from Buffalo Killers starting at 4:20.

Record Gallery is just steps away from Omega Music, located at 16 Brown Street across from Thai 9. This establishment gives the patrons that visit them an intimate atmosphere, with vinyl littered all over. There isn’t a space in the store that you won’t walk into that doesn’t have a large collection of vinyl. For the die hards, Record Gallery is a place to check out for your music needs. On Saturday, the shop will be participating in the glorious day with great specials. $1.00 records and 45s will be 50% off, along with all 2011 record stock being 50% off. The Record Gallery also has books CDs, DVDs, and most will be reduced to 20% off.

Music lovers that want to take a break from the live music and want to grab a beer don’t have to go far. Blind Bob’s Bar, along with Ghettoblaster Magazine editor & co-publisher, David C. Obenour will be hosting music trivia, starting at 4. Blind Bob’s is one of the perfect establishments to come at the Oregon District. The vintage wooden floors, along with the exposed brick walls give the tavern some of the great American characteristics that the area some of the charm that you come to expect. The owners, Bob and Lisa Mendenhall, have given the townspeople a gem to come to when they want to see fantastic live music, and have great beer on a nightly basis. Each round of the music trivia will give the winner prizes, plus a grand prize of the Golden 7” and two tickets to this year’s Nelsonville Music Festival, which the lineup includes Wilco, and Cat Power. The festival always brings great indie rock, and this year shouldn’t be any different.

To close up the day, just walk right over to one of the best movie theaters in the United States, The Neon. The Neon is located right on East Fifth Street. The theatre showcases of the great independently produced movies, locally and nationally. Starting at 10:15, The Neon will be playing the music documentary I Need That Record! The documentary, directed by Brendan Toller, examines the reasoning of 3000 independent record stores closing across the U.S. in the past decade. I Need That Record! dives into record labels, media consolidation, radio, and the digital age blowing up causing these shops to close. The movie also shows the way that these places are making a comeback. Toller explores how the impact of record stores through the eyes of the employees and the consumers. The stories of the employees watching their dream job coming to an end is gut wrenching. However, there is some positivity that comes from the sadness. It’s an excellent documentary that should be viewed by people that love record stores. The viewing of the movie is free, and is first come, first serve. Don’t miss this showing as it will be a great way to cap the day.

For the folks that will not be able to make it into the festivities in the Oregon District, make sure you visit the small, unique town of Yellow Springs. The town has some of the best shops that you go and check out. Go and grab a slice of pie over at Haha Pizza or Bentinos Pizza. Also, go grab some music over at Toxic BeautyRecords, located on 220 Xenia Ave. The good folks at this record shop will be in the mix celebrating the day by giving discounts on their music. Also, they will be having two ticket contests, where the winners will a pair of seats to go see either Alabama Shakes at one show, Grizzley Bear and The xx at another show.

Record Store Day is a day to embrace those deep connections that we have with the local shop. If you haven’t been to a record store as of late, April 20^th is the day to do it. Rekindle those fond memories of the days when you went to grab the latest music to come out. Revisit friendships that you created when you spend hours and hours at the shop, just standing around and talking about music. Also while you are at the record shop, buy some local music. Support the local scene. Overall, come and celebrate music in all its beauty, and come support the places that continue to give Dayton the title as one of the best that everyone calls ‘home’.

Cityfolk Musicians to Perform at ArtStreet’s 1World Celebration

April 18, 2013 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Celebrate the intercultural experience of 1World Celebration, the University of Dayton ArtStreet’s spring festival coming up this Friday, April 19, from 7-11pm. Complete with food, fashion, and music from around the world, the celebration will kick off with a unifying intercultural walk through the University of Dayton’s student neighborhood and end with a stunning release of Thai paper lanterns into the Dayton sky.
The festival will feature collaborative musical performances, produced in partnership with Cityfolk, combining the sounds of Michael Bashaw and Puzzle of Light (jazz/world music), Son del Caribe (salsa), Seefari (reggae), and Michael Kotur (blues).

Michael Bashaw is the charismatic front man for Puzzle of Light, a Dayton local band comprised of musicians as varied as they are talented. With musical backgrounds ranging from rock to folk, this band strives to produce an easy to listen to sound that spans cultures and emanates peace and harmony. Acclaimed across the Midwest and the winner of a People’s Choice Award for best local jazz band, Puzzle of Light’s music has been described as “…a melting pot which mixes jazz, world, and folk music in a perpetual movement of invention and transformation.”-Gerard Nicollet for Ecouter Voir Dossier

Son del Caribe is a lively Cincinnati Latin music ensemble that is sure to keep you moving. Cited by many as the top salsa band in Ohio, their pan-Caribbean and pan-American sound includes not only salsa music but other forms of Latin dance music as well. Group leader Jaime Morales is an assistant professor of music at Miami University, a classical music composer, and a top salsa musician from Puerto Rico. Son del Caribe not only performs regularly at Latin dance clubs, but has also performed in Cincinnati’s Salsa Festival and Salsa on the Square.

Seefari is a nationally renown reggae performer from Dayton hailed as “Miami Valley’s own Bob Marley” by WYSO. This passionate veteran of the stage leads a Bob Marley tribute band whose most recent album has won three AMMA awards and reached the top of the charts for reggae music. With a reputation of being a crowd pleasing performer, Seefari puts on unique performances which have been described by audience members as energetic and fun for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Dayton musician Michael Kotur adds to the mix with his experimental style blues music, a sound that draws from jazz, country, and world music. With over twenty years of experience in performing, the talented Michael Kotur has developed a distinct, sometimes called “unusual,” style of guitar playing. His diverse style is sure to capture the attention of any audience member.

The 1World Celebration will be held on Friday, April 19, at 7:00 p.m. at the ArtStreet Amphitheatre located on the University of Dayton’s campus. This event is free and open to the public.
For more information about ArtStreet events at the University of Dayton, visit http://www.udayton.edu/artstreet .

Submitted by Lauren Glass, a senior at the University of Dayton who is studying journalism. Currently working as a social media assistant for ArtStreet, she enjoys music, writing, and photography.

The Big Ragu Recaps 16 Catholic Fish Frys!

April 18, 2013 By Dayton937 2 Comments

The Big Ragu never does anything half baked (or fried in this instance). We take Food Adventures to the extreme and set the trends. Again, we bring you something original that you won’t see anywhere else, a recap of every fish fry we could find in the Miami Valley. Now, the Lenten season is over, and they last fryer has been turned off. You know the drill, all-you-can-eat fish dinners, beer, condiment tables, silent auctions, raffle tickets and casino games. So which ones rocked our gills off? Answer: They all have their appeal, and special draw, but four of them really stood out.

Ladies and Gentlemen, here are the “Sweet Sixteen,” our recap of the Dayton’s 2013 Catholic Fish Frys:

Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Favorite Fish Fry

Food Adventures jumps at any chance to support Dayton causes, and with Big Ragu being Catholic, we bought tickets to every fish fry in town. We will list our favorites aka the “FANTASTIC FOUR FISH FRYS”, then list the others in random order and what makes each fish fry special.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR FISH FRYS:

1) OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY–22 Notre Dame Ave.

This one was the grand daddy of them all and our favorite fish fry. For the past 52 years they have held fish frys, making this probably the oldest one in Dayton, This church holds fish frys from Sept – February before the Lenten season. The staff is wonderful and our friend Amy even took us on a tour of the church. A friendly cook named Joseph makes all of the delicous, homemade desserts himself. We know because we tried them all. This church has a heavy influence of Polish, Lithuainian, Hungarian, and German parishioners. These events have a loyal following of regulars like our pal Ron who drove all the way from Wilmington, Ohio to attend. The Monte Carlo was fun and food was great. We especially like the fact that the draft beer is unlimited in the 12 dollar price, along with fresh sausages, Icelandic cod. In our book, this fish fry is Dayton’s best.

Holy Trinity, Great Hospitality and Delicious Food

2) HOLY TRINITY CHURCH – 272 Bainbridge St.

This was a fish fry where everyone seemed to know each other. The crowd was small, but friendly and tight knit. The food was absolutely amazing. The cod was cooked to perfection and hand cut on site. One of the attractions is they use the Old Focke’s Meats recipe for Waldorf sausages. We enjoyed the old church located near the Oregon District, downtown. One unique part of this event is that this church offered an alcohol free family fish fry from 4pm-5:30pm for kids, then had the adult party after. Three beer tickets are given with paid admission. The atmosphere, great food and hospitality makes this one of the best fish frys in the Miami Valley.

Vic Woeste, 87 year old icon of St Mary’s Church

3) ST MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH: 310 Allen St.
Here we find the best story told at a fish fry. We sat near 87 year old Vic Woeste, an icon of the St Mary’s community who has been dealing casino games at the fish frys for the past 36 years. His entire family is involved in the church down to 3 generations. He told us he remembered a fish fry in 1960 where funds were used to buy the nuns a Ford Fairlane car who lived in the convent across the street. Oh the memories! Vic is looking forward to his 70th class reunion at Chaminade this year. He said it will be held in a telephone booth, since not many classmates are left. Vic also said he was baptized and married at St Mary’s. He recalls Father Ken Henz telling parishoners decades ago that he hatches, matches and dispatches loyal parishoners. Vic was a great man to talk to, indeed. This church group is so charitable that even the volunteers buy tickets as they enter. to help raise money for the boiler fund, beers were sold for 25cents and an extra 1 dollar donation got you a dessert. Again this event saw over 3 generations working the fish fry and over 300lbs of fish cooked and eaten.

4) CORPUS CHRISTI CHURCH – 527 Forest Ave.

The Corpus Christi Fryers Charitable Organization

This event was another fantastic fish fry for $15. It included all you want food and draft beer, we like those rules. The crowd was very friendly and it was obvious that many in attendance were close friends. This fish fry offered a healthy alternative of baked fish, along with the fried fish choices. The bustling atmosphere included 3 different dining areas. This particular fish fry has been going on for 25 years. The event is partially run by the “Corpus Christi Fryers.” They are a charitable group that donates time, manpower and money into running this event to help the church’s cause. The fish fry workers could not have been nicer, and the food was terrific. It was great to see a diverse group from all walks of life coming together for a good cause.

St Peter’s offered Onion Rings and Hot Dogs on their Saturday night Fish Fry

Here are the rest in random order, and what we loved about each Fish Fry!
ST PETER’S CHURCH – 6161 Chambersburg Rd

This event was $15 at door, and was packed. The line wrapped around the gym, but the wait was worth it. The food was delicious and the offerings were not only beer battered codfish, but onion rings, chicken wings, and huge hot dogs. What was even more amazing, is that one or two women seemed to be stocking the whole table for the hundreds of hungry people. The casino area featured unique games such as horse races. We also loved the fact that they offered Yuengling Black and Tan Beer. This was a fun and well attended event. Tip: come early and avoid the huge crowds.

The decor at St Charles’ Fish Fry was Beautiful

ST CHARLES BORROMEO – One of the area fish fry’s run by the Hecht family volunteers. The fish was hot and fresh. highlights included the fantastic Saint Patty’s day decor theme. Some people really put some hard work into those decorations. Along with the tasty fish, a few beer tickets were included in the $15 price. Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy beer was available on tap. This fish fry also offered a “pre-event” that was family friendly and where kids were allowed to attend until 6pm. The eating area was offered in the school cafeteria while the casino games were in the gym.

Cold Beer at the Carrol Fish Fry

CARROLL HIGH SCHOOL – Located at 4524 Linden Ave

This event was $16 to attend and included 5 beer tickets. The unique thing about this fish fry was the sheer choices of fish. They offered 3 kinds of fish. Choices were regular fried, Cajun fried, or baked fish. There were no fries in sight at this fish fry. Instead menu items included baked beans, cole slaw and potato salad. There was a huge choice of desserts at this event. A couple of long tables were filled with homemade pies, cakes, brownies and more. This event was steady and the environment was immaculately clean.

ST LUKE’S CHURCH – 1440 N. Fairfield Rd.

This fish fry was entirely kid friendly. The cost was 9 dollars for adults and $3.50 for children. No alcohol was served. The event was run by the Knights of Columbus a charity organization that benefits local families. The fish that was fried was cod from local distributor Foremost Seafood. There was also no gambling at this event. It was obvious that this fish fry was more about the family experience. They actually hold two fish frys, one in February and on in March. It should also be mentioned that the Ladies Auxillary made all of the desserts which were fantastic!

CHAMINADE JULIENNE HIGH SCHOOL – 505 S. Ludlow St.

Holy Angels Fish Fry Volunteers

This fish fry held at the High School, had a pretty good attendance. The fish was great and there were huge sheet cakes and brownies as well. We even saw one of the cooks bring out some nice cupcake pastries. Although a fairly new fish fry, this one is run with efficiency.

HOLY ANGELS CHURCH – 1322 Brown Street
This fish fry is in its 12th year. The volunteers Matt, Ruth, Denise, Leila were very friendly and greeted the crowds with a smile. Prices were 15 bucks at door and included soft drinks and all the beer you wanted as well. Get there early for this event, because parking is limited and you may get stuck parking across the other side of State route 48. Delicious haddock was the fried fish served to the hungry visitors. We really loved the fact that the beer was unlimited, and we didn’t have to fool around with drink tickets.

ST ALBERT THE GREAT – 104 W. Dorothy Lane

Three Generations of the Hecht/Sierschula Family helping work the St Albert Fish Fry !

This event was $15 advance or $20 at door. They served some tasty, fried Icelandic cod. Like other fish frys, they had a carryout option for 9 bucks. This event had a ton of volunteers, mostly we saw in kitchen. We saw the raw fish being thawed, cut, dredged then deep fried by the Hecht Family, who runs a few of the area fish frys. In fact we saw that there were at least 3 generations of the family at the event. this event, casino earnings and raffle money all benefited the athletics. It helps to buy uniforms and keep students cost to participate as low as possible. We were told that for 40 years this event has been held and many run by the Hecht family. Attendance price included 5 beer tickets.

ST ANTHONY’S CHURCH– 830 Bowen St.

The church was celebrating it’s 100th year anniversary in 2013. The fish fry has not been around more than a decade or 2, but the place was packed. The entrance showed off a silent auction area and the casino games. Lines formed to get the fish and the cafeteria served as the eating place. The fish was so fresh and hot, that you had to let your plate cool. the staff was working hard and feeding the hungry event attendees. It was obvious that the workers took pride in this event and made it a fun and friendly atmosphere.

ST HENRY’S CHURCH– 6696 N. Springboro Pike

Event was held in the “Father Stretch Center.” The cost at the door was 15 bucks. The head priest Father Tom was greeting the attendees in the dining area. The fish served was large pieces of fried Haddock. The volunteers were friendly and the fish was light and flaky. Some of the better fried fish around was served here. The event also featured a large silent auction area.

INCARNATION PARRISH– 55 Williamsburg Ln.

Mounds of Fish Ready for Breading at the Alter Fish Fry

This event gets packed. The crowds are big, so get there early. Like many fish frys they offer a carryout option, but with no discount. There was a large silent auction area, and many signs hung in the gymnasium featuring sponsors of the fish fry. Admission was 15 dollars and the fish served was fried Icelandic cod. Again, we saw some familiar faces of the Hecht family preparing the food for the masses. There is also a large choice of casino games at this well attended Parrish.

ALTER HIGH SCHOOL – 940 E. David Rd.

This fish fry draws the biggest crowds of all the area fish frys. Sometimes the line can be an hour wait. Our tip, get there early and plan on making an evening of it. The casino games are crowded, but there are many to choose from. There is even a high limit gambling area! Admission is 15 bucks and comes with 3 beer tickets. they have amped up the event recently by offering some craft beers for sale. This event usually has a huge silent auction, and you may even see current NY Jets Center Nick Mangold among the attendees. Again the Hecht family is responsible for the fish here, so you know you can expect big pieces of freshly cooked fish.

ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI -6245 Wilmington Pike

This was a very organized fish fry put on dozens of volunteers from the church. We liked the fact that they had baked fish as a choice as well as the typical fried fish. The dining area was crowded, so get to this one early. This was simply a beautiful church with a fun atmosphere at the fish fry.

Baked and Fried Fish at the St Francis Fish Fry

NOW YOU KNOW !

Only here, can you see the most comprehensive fish fry summary of the Miami Valley known to man. FOOD ADVENTURES has given you some pointers on what to expect in 2014 Dayton area fish frys because they ate it all! Make sure that you scroll through the photo album below featuring every single fish fry. FYI, unfortunately some of the church websites do not have the greatest information about the fish frys. For that reason, make sure you stay tuned to DaytonMostMetro.com and Dayton Dining for all the dates and times of future fish frys. The bottom line here is that each Lenten season, Daytonians should take advantage of the great events and support some local churches. The fish frys are friendly and welcome all denominations of faith. It is about fun times and good causes. Now that the all-you-can eat fish frys have ended, it is time for us to “scale” back and swim on to the next Food Adventure !

DID YOU ATTEND SOME AREA FISH FRYS? WHICH ONE WAS YOUR FAVORITE? DID WE MISS ANY ? PLEASE COMMENT BELOW !

For more Food Adventures, “like” us on Facebook by clicking HERE !

[flagallery gid=34 name=Gallery]

2013 UpDayton Summit: Step Up to the Challenge

April 16, 2013 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Hundreds of Dayton’s young talent will join together as community advocates to improve and strengthen the Dayton region during UpDayton’s 2013 Summit. This year’s event takes place on Friday, April 19th at the Dayton Art Institute from 2:00-6:00 PM.

For the past five years, UpDayton has hosted this high-energy event, bringing together young professionals and students to engage in discussions addressing viable and creative solutions to regional problems.

At this year’s Summit, attendees will have the option to take on one of three “challenges” that focuses on key issues in Dayton: the “Livability Challenge,” “Campus Challenge,” and “Entrepreneurship Challenge.” The solutions to these Challenges, which will evolve out of the creative process at the Summit, aim to build the region’s vibrancy, catalyze off-campus student involvement, and encourage local entrepreneurs. These Challenge teams will then embark on a year-long journey to implement their vision with the ultimate goal of spurring economic growth by attracting and retaining young talent.

“The format of this year’s Summit will look a bit differently than it has in the past,” explained Laura Estandia, executive director of UpDayton. “We are really trying to foster the creation of meaningful, sustainable projects that will specifically address some of the issues that we believe UpDayton can impact.”

In addition to a adopting a new structure to facilitate the creative process, UpDayton is presenting a keynote speaker, Mayor John Fetterman. Fetterman is a pioneer in the field of rust-belt revitalization after becoming the mayor of Braddock, PA. Despite the town being economically ravaged by a collapse in the steel industry, he mobilized a revitalization effort that has helped create a safer, more creative Braddock. His ideas on urban renewal and economic development are at the forefront for community building. Fetterman will speak on leadership and community development.

“We are so honored that Mayor Fetterman is our keynote speaker at this Summit. I think his perspective will be pertinent and inspirational to all the Summit attendees,” said Estandia.

Tickets to the Summit are $15 and $5 for students. Attendees are encouraged to ask their employers to sponsor their tickets to the Summit. Tickets can be purchased through the UpDayton website at http://updayton.com/summit. Best of all, the Summit will be followed by an after-party, at Therapy Cafe offering networking opportunities, food, drink, and the chance to earn a free gifts from local businesses!

Sponsors for this event include SOCHE, CareSource, Vectren, Dayton City Paper, Dayton Business Journal, CreativeFuse, DaytonMostMetro, Pepsico, Dayton Development Coalition, RTA, Brixx Ice Company, the University of Dayton, Wright State University, Strayer University, Five Rivers MetroParks, The Business of Ohio, Essex Electric Company, and 91.3 WYSO.

EarthFest 2013 @ Garden Station Community Garden & Art Park

April 15, 2013 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

This Saturday will mark the largest public Earth Day event in Dayton’s history with over 25 free workshops and 30 organizations participating.
EarthFest grew out of last year’s Sunday Market at Garden Station. The participating urban farmers collaborated to buy seeds together and grew extra plants for a plant sale. With 23 workshops under their belt from last season, Garden Station organizers had a base to expand on for EarthFest.

“The whole purpose of the event is to provide basic, easy to use, hands on information to help our residents “Go a Shade Greener” says Garden Station founder, Lisa Helm, “That will make us all more self sufficient and consequently our region more resilient and reduce our carbon footprint. ALSO it can help our residents connect with local organizations to help them on their ongoing quest to become more sustainable and connect our organizations to each other for future collaborations and sharing of resources.”

EarthFest will host over 25 free workshops on a variety of topics including multiple aspects of gardening, beekeeping, composting, backyard chickens, juicing, solar panels, natural building, home brewing, whole food cooking, fermented foods, recycling, crafts for kids and more!

In addition, more than 30 organizations are participating by teaching, providing information tables or sponsoring the event including The Montgomery County Commissioners, Square One Salon, Montgomery County Solid Waste District, 5th Street Brew Pub Co-op, Three Rivers and Stone’s Throw Food Co-ops, and more.

Cityfolk is participating by programming local music for the event including Armando Garcia, The Odyssey, The Good Time Accordion Band, The Corndrinkers, Seefari and the Stivers Jazz Combo. For the whole list of participants checkhttp://www.GoAShadeGreener.org

Also happening at EarthFest is the international event, The Great Cloth Diaper Change at 11:00 am, serving to promote more eco-friendly cloth diapers over disposables, as well as The Really Really Free Market.
The Greater Dayton Urban Farmers will have fresh local produce available as well as Fedco Certified Organic seeds and Non- GMO and Non-Monsanto owned varieties of vegetable bedding plants for sale.
New visitors to Garden Station will find there’s a lot more than just EarthFest to see, including 600′ of murals, sculptures, new mosaics, a greenhouse made of pop bottles, and a straw bale shed with a glass bottle wall and green roof.

Garden Station is on the NE corner of 4th Street and Wayne Avenue in downtown Dayton, a block from the Oregon District. EarthFest will run from 10am – 6pm, April 20. In case of inclement weather EarthFest will be at the Yellow Cab building across the street.

For more information about volunteering at Garden Station and other events, please visithttp://www.facebook.com/GardenStation or email [email protected].

36 Local Artists Create Keith Haring Inspired Art To Benefit ARC Ohio

April 12, 2013 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

Local artist and promoter Matt Freeman is known for his inventive, unusual events. And this time he’s using that creativity to inspire local artists to apply their talents to design a piece of artwork to pay homage to 80’s Pop artist Keith Haring. Throughout his career, Haring devoted much of his time to public works, which often carried social messages. He produced more than 50 public artworks between 1982 and 1989, in dozens of cities around the world, many of which were created for charities, hospitals, children’s day care centers and orphanages. The now famous Crack is Wack mural of 1986 has become a landmark along New York’s FDR Drive.

By expressing universal concepts of birth, death, love, sex and war, using a primacy of line and directness of message, Haring was able to attract a wide audience and assure the accessibility and staying power of his imagery, which has become a universally recognized visual language of the 20th century. Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. Haring enlisted his imagery during the last years of his life to speak about his own illness and generate activism and awareness about AIDS. He died of AIDS related complications at the age of 31 on February 16, 1990.

When Freeman put the call out to local artists to encourage them to participate in Art Salvo, A 22 Day Silent Art Auction to Benefit ARC Ohio, he originally hoped to get at least 20 participants. Response was overwhelming, and the 30+ pieces of art on display at Clash Consignment Co, located at 521 E. Fifth St. in the Oregon District, show the creativity and talent of many local artists. The exhibit debuts on Fri, April 12th and will continue until Friday, May 3rd, when all of the art will be auctioned off to benefit our local AIDS service organization. Here are just a few highlights of what you’ll see:

Ben Riddlebarger:

DMM: Where did you find inspiration to complete your Keith Haring inspired piece?
Keith was well know because he would take popular iconic ideas or situations and create new ways of looking at them. Well,I have always been a huge comic book dork since before I was born. I remember when I was in gestation and I would combine different particles floating around and mash them together to form different superheroes and make up stories about them, so when the time came to do an inspirational piece inspired by Keith Haring it was only natural for me to do the x-men and their villains. My work usually is painstakingly detailed and it was nice to be able to just create something that was a simpler design and aesthetic, edit myself down to focus on basic shapes and to convey much more detail through just a couple lines and curves.

Kevin Pittman

DMM: How complicated was it to created a piece which combined your unique style with those of Keith Haring’s?
I wouldn’t say anything was complicated in a technical aspect of the work. Haring used a lot of repeated symbolism to express his messages. knowing that its really a matter of employing it… much like communication and how it first began… some people utter some sounds… the other understands it… then repeats it back… All im doin with this is trying to use his symbolism in a way to convey my own thoughts. My personal style doesnt seem work with this project so i abandoned it.

Tracy McElfresh

(Model Leslie Randall, photographed by Shana Ramsey)

DMM: Where did you find inspiration to complete your Keith Haring inspired piece?
Vintage Vogue and Keith Haring inspired fabric and color!

DMM: Do you personally know anyone who has ever been directly affected by HIV / AIDS?
Yes I had a cousin by marriage pass away in “92

How complicated was it to created a piece which combined your unique style with those of Keith Haring’s?
I really enjoyed this project and it came with ease, I’m fortunate.

DMM: How long have you considered yourself an artist?
I have been exploring the art of dress making for 12 years

Liz Dearth

DMM: Where did you find inspiration to complete your Keith Haring inspired piece?
I found a heart graphic he had done and make it and I thought it might be cool as a candle holding piece. The hearts and action lines of all the people let light pass through when a candle is lit within the wall sculpture.

DMM: How complicated was it to created a piece which combined your unique style with those of Keith Haring’s?
I may have failed that part! I make a lot of ceramic lanterns, this was my attempt to make an “interactive” haring piece of art, making “it” into a lantern.

Adam Redding

DMM: How complicated was it to created a piece which combined your unique style with those of Keith Haring’s?
It was somewhat complicated. In the end I felt that using some subtle cues and elements from his work translated well for my piece.

DMM: What Galleries / Venues have you been involved with, or displayed your art?

Rosewood Art Center, Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors.

RökenRõl

DMM: What made RökenRõl want to sponsor this exhibit?
Our mission is to provide the world with creative and authentic lifestyle street wear reflecting our influences, that made us who we are today.
At the heart of RökenRõl comes a recognition of the commonalities within us all, while celebrating our own unique individuality. This is what influenced us to create the RökenRõl brand and share it with those who have these same appreciations.

DMM: Whats next for RokenRol?

The future for RökenRõl looks bright. We are currently in the process of updating our web site and store. RökenRõl is producing limited edition skateboard decks from artists Jeff Richard and Mike Guidone and hand made belt buckles by artists Craig Tirey. We are sponsoring and cross-promoting with bands such as The Gas Light Anthem and Hawthorne Heights, and recently signed an agreement to create back to school products for international markets. Those involved in RökenRõl have a passion for the co-creative process. From conception to the finished product we enjoy seeing our visions take shape.
As you can see here, there are many people that have come together to bring Art Salvo to life. So head out to Clash and bring your wallet to support AIDS Resource Center Ohio. 40% of new HIV infections today are among young people ages 13 – 29. Funds raised will help them continue to offer FREE HIV/AIDS testing and work with our youth about safe sex and getting tested. Visit www.arcohio.org for testing times and locations and encourage a young person to get tested today!

Food Adventures Gets Cheeky With It !!!

April 12, 2013 By Dayton937 1 Comment

Cheeky Meat Pies are at Dayton’s 2nd Street Market

DaytonDining Scoop: Cheeky Meat Pies is going to move from the 2^nd Street Market to the concession areas at RiverScape MetroPark. Their contract was just approved by the board this morning. They’ll be open more days of the week and during festivals, programs and other events.

No details yet on exact hours and menus, but we’ll get that to you soon! In honor of the news, here’s a chance to revisit a Food Adventure with Cheeky Meat Pies!

Here is a little known secret for you fellow Dayton Food Adventurers. It is a place where you can get some authentic Meat Pies like the ones from New Zealand. They are a vendor at Dayton’s 2nd Street Market and the company is called Cheeky Meat Pies. They have some incredible items made from scratch! The owner of the Dayton business is a true “Kiwi,” which is slang for a native New Zealander.

The big attraction is, of course, their meat pies. You hold them and eat them like a sandwich. Each meat pie features a flaky crust, and depending on the type of pie, the fillings vary. We recommend the “Distinguished Darby” or the “Tandoori Chook” pies to fellow Food Adventurers. The Darby is filled ground beef cooked in an onion gravy, mixed with Monterey Jack cheese. It has a melt in your mouth feeling when you taste it. The Tandoori is a chopped chicken breast and potato pie with a slightly spicy Tandoori sauce. Indian flavors are popular “Down Under,” and Cheeky Meat Pies‘ twist on this pie is perfection. They also feature Veggie Pies and Breakfast Pies! Popular combos are served with a side of Roasted Kumura (sweet potato) fries. For a full menu of their meat pie offerings click HERE.

The “Distinguished Darby” Meat Pie

The next time you visit Dayton’s 2nd Street Market, make sure you grab one of these goodies to go. The owner is very friendly, and greeted us with his memorable accent. Don’t miss this “street food” taste of New Zealand, GET CHEEKY WITH IT !

Click HERE to visit our FOOD ADVENTURES page on FACEBOOK and “like” us to become and official fan!

We are not food critics, we are just 3 people that love to emotionally eat our way through Dayton!

Check out our Weekly Article Every Thursday on DaytonMostMetro.com !!

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

Love art. People watch. Buy art.

April 9, 2013 By Dayton937 Leave a Comment

“Think No More” by Amy Deal, Mixed Media on wood 24×24 In her most recent series of work, Amy Deal explores layering typography to create visual texture and pattern. She appreciates typography as an art form that lends itself to affecting imagery and enjoys the balance that can be achieved between visual and verbal designs. Deal is a national award-winning, professional visual communicator living in Oakwood, Ohio. She took a break from fine art to raise a family for the past 18 years, but is now reuniting with her love of painting.

That’s the word on the street about DVAC’s annual gala Art Auction, which will be held April 26th at the Ponitz Center at Sinclair, silent auctions starting at 6:30pm, live auction begins at 8 pm.

For the 19th year, the Dayton Visual Arts Center is calling on members of the community to help celebrate the vibrant art and artists of the Dayton region. Gear up for an evening of exciting silent and live auctions, good friends— new and old— abundant hors d’oeuvres, wines, and lively music by Puzzle of Light. And above all: a night of making a big difference to DVAC’s ability to provide programs and exhibitions that support area artists. Of all the fundraising events in town, DVAC’s Art Auction is the only one that features art and only art. It’s the biggest art buying party of the year and DVAC’s most important fund raiser.

This year, 118 DVAC member artists have generously donated work for the auction. This adds up to a genuine feast for the eyes and soul: paintings, photographs, sculptural pieces, and works in ceramic, glass, metal and mixed media. Simply viewing everything in this exhibition is a treat; but it’s even more fun to bid and win a piece or two to grace the walls of your home or office, give as a gift, or wear with style.

If you haven’t already purchased your tickets to the best art party of the year, call DVAC at 937.224.3822 or visit dvacartauction.com to get in on the excitement. See you there!