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Stacker Subs & Grub Now Open

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Local beer guru Mike Schwartz has been incredibly successful as the operator of Belmont Party Supply on Smithville.  His love of beer, homebrewing and sharing his knowledge with others turned into a second business next door, BrewTensils.   When Grandma Virgis Pie Shop moved out of her space at the end of the strip mall, Mike started storing his wine making supplies into that spot.  After about a year and a half, Mike’s wife Donna put her foot down and said that he needed to start paying rent or find a tenant that would.  Which lead to the idea for a sub shop.

Partnering with Mike’s cousin Doug Magoch, a 25 year veteran of the restaurant business from

Chef & Manager Doug Magoch

Bob Evans and New Carlisle’s Studebaker’s Country Restaurant, the plans began this past winter.  A concept that would include Mike’s homemade marinara, freshly made sausage, options for vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free customers and a deep commitment to the community, and hence Stackers Subs & Grub is now open.

As I attended the sneak peek event this past Saturday, Doug was busy on the grill, training his new staff of 8 and Mike shared with me that the shop was decorated in blue and red, the colors of the local high schools.  He went on to share his excitement about plans to start a high school student of the month program that would feature local youth who excelled in academics and community service.

Ellie and Mike Schwartz on opening day

The first sandwich served up off the grill at Stackers was the Rockin’ Reuben– Corn beef, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing & Swiss cheese on marble rye.  It was served up to Mike’s mom, who couldn’t have beamed any more as she wished her son good luck on the new venture, while sporting a t-shirt promoting Mike’s beer business.

The Byron Bomb

The menu features over 20 choices of subs, wrap’s and paninis, with the option for all to be served up as a salad for the same price, which ranges from about $6 to $9 dollars.  An array of appetizers including cheese sticks, pretzels, fried pickle chips and veggies are also on the menu.  Kid’s can order up The Mini, served on a slider roll with their choice of ham, roast beef or turkey, chips and a soda for $4.99.  I sampled The Byron Bomb– a grilled chicken breast with a honey chipotle sauce with grilled onions & habanero jack cheese on an Italian roll and it had a great tangy flavor and was served up with housemade chips that could easily become addictive.  Adding a sweet treat to the menu- Deep Fried Oreo’s- dipped in a sweet batter, fried and then sprinkled with powdered sugar!

As a grand opening special this week, all soda’s (Pepsi products) will be just $1.  The shop is carryout and you can phone ahead to place your order, and the register system will que it up in the kitchen based on your desired pick up time.  Schwartz shared that a mobile app for ordering is in the works.  Stackers Subs & Grub is open daily at 2615 Smithville Road at 11am and will close at 10pm Sun- Thurs and at midnight Fri & Sat.

 

 

 

Fifth Street Brewpub Taps its 250th Member in Only 10 Days!

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Fifth Street Brewpub’s membership drive is off to a blazing start. Ohio’s first cooperatively owned brewpub, which will open in the historic inner east district of downtown Dayton, signed its first member via its website  on June 26th and its 250th less than two weeks later. The community-minded, volunteer group that founded the brewpub has created a co-op business model that offers one share per person for $100 each. All owners, including the founders, own an equal share of the brewpub.

“Two hundred member-owners in 10 days with minimal promotion shows that beer lovers like the co-op concept and the idea of owning their own brewpub,” said Maureen Barry, Membership Director, Fifth Street Brewpub. “This is an idea that is sweeping the nation. Based on this pace of 20 new members per day, we have upgraded our goal to 500 members by July 31.”

All member-owners that join by July 31 are considered “Charter Members” and receive perks including 20-ounce pours for the price of a 16-ounce beer. In addition, their membership card will say Charter Member and they will have their names memorialized on the walls of the pub.

The 200th member of Fifth Street Brewpub is Erin Flanagan, an associate professor in the Department of English Language and Literatures at Wright State University. “I grew up in the 1980s watching the television show Cheers. Owning this neighborhood bar is like a dream come true,” said Flanagan, who recruited four other member-owners including her sister and brother-in-law who live in California. Flanagan and her sister, Kelly Hansen, also purchased a gift membership for their father, Ken Flanagan who lives in Winter, Wisconsin.

Gift memberships have been very popular and the Fifth Street Brewpub Board of Directors expects that to continue. Brian Young, Founding Board Member says, “Everyone has a friend or family member that loves beer. Buy a membership for them as a gift and since we are one of only four co-op brewpubs in the country, there’s a very good chance it will be the most unique gift they have ever received.”

The July charter membership drive includes two beer socials and marketing via Facebook, Twitter and the Fifth Street website. Buy personal or gift memberships at www.FifthStreet.coop. You may either download an application to mail with a check, or use PayPal to buy a membership online. You can also purchase a membership in person by attending a beer social July 14 from 3-5 pm or July 21 from 6-8 pm at 1600 East Fifth Street, Dayton.

To compliment the membership drive, Fifth Street Brewpub also has an investor’s initiative, with investment levels as low as $1000. Higher levels of $3000 and $5000 are available and bring other benefits, including naming your own beer at the $5000 plus level.

Fifth Street Co-op was formed in June by a group of community-minded beer lovers to open the Fifth Street Brewpub in the St. Anne’s Hill historic district of Dayton to beautify the neighborhood, provide jobs and create a friendly restaurant and pub. Become a member-owner now or learn more at www.FifthStreet.coop.

Food Adventure to Benjamin’s the Burger Master

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The namesake of Benjamin’s the Burger Master

Who is the master of making burgers and other things in Dayton?  The answer is Benjamin’s the Burger Master on North Main Street in Dayton.  This unique restaurant is in old building that used to be a “Red Barn” in the 1970’s.  The menu not only has burgers, but they have some Southern, soul food offerings.  The Big Ragu loves to stop in for lunch and it is worth fighting the busy crowd for a taste of some good home cooking.

Skillet Cornbread

The burgers are nice and juicy and never frozen.  They are hand pressed, made to order, and the meat melts in your mouth.  However, many people are finding out that Benjamin’s the Burger Master offers incredible southern cooking that is just as good, if not better than their burgers!   Want authentic  soul food?  They have perfectly cooked Southern fried chicken and skillet cornbread.  Other sides like fried okra, white beans and collared greens put the exclamation point on a great lunch or dinner.

Southern Fried Chicken Dinner, 2 sides and cornbread

The homemade menu does not stop there.  Benjamin’s the Burger Master offers a Fried Fish Platter every Friday.   They also sell BBQ Beef Ribs everyday by the rack or by the bone, in either sweet, spicy, or smoky sauce.  How is that for Southern cooking?  The meals are very reasonably priced, which keeps us coming back for more.

Benjamin’s the Burger Master is another Dayton Food Adventure opportunity, that cannot be missed.  Eateries like this is why our blog exists.  We love informing foodies about locally owned places, that they may not know about.   Get to Benjamin’s the Burger Master for some good grub on North Main Street.  Now you know, they have mastered more than the burger!

Please leave a comment below if you have been to Benjamin’s the Burger Master !

Food Adventures has a Facebook page here, so “like” us !!

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Saluting Dayton’s 2011-12 Theater Season

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Dwandra Nickole (l) and Marva M.B. Williams in Gem of the Ocean

Excellent premieres, impressive resurgences and a superb anniversary heightened Dayton’s commendable 2011-12 theater season.

First and foremost, the Human Race Theatre Company turned 25 with an absolutely marvelous season of diverse local premieres that will surely be remembered as one of its best. In fact, elements of “Caroline, or Change” (which I saw three times) and “Red” clearly surpassed its Broadway counterparts.  Also, an insightful August Wilson Symposium accented the splendid run of “Gem of the Ocean,” and the very promising “Band Geeks!” was a charming, touching finale. Human Race resident artist Scott Stoney also experienced one of his most productive seasons in recent memory as an actor (“Gem of the Ocean,” “Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical,” Wright State’s “Death of a Salesman”) and director (“Caroline, or Change,” Sinclair’s “The Laramie Project”). Moreover in the professional realm, the Victoria Theatre Association struck box office gold ($4.5 million) with the terrific return of “Wicked” featuring the vocally sublime Christine Dwyer’s Broadway-caliber Elphaba. The technically reconceived “Les Miserables,” feel-good “Jersey Boys” and thrillingly acrobatic “Traces” were additional standouts.

HUMAN RACE THEATRE COMPANY Caroline or Change

"Caroline, or Change" - Human Race Theatre Company

Elsewhere, the Dayton Playhouse, responsible for a sweltering FutureFest that led to the elimination of its fall musical, firmly recovered with the tried and true “Scrooge” and a pair of Rodgers and Hammerstein winners (“A Grand Night for Singing,” “The Sound of Music”). Playhouse South delivered its most pleasantly surprising artistic success in years with “Children of Eden.” Encore Theater Company wonderfully revealed the jubilance, heartbreak and loss of innocence within “Spring Awakening.” Zoot Theatre Company produced a little-seen yet mesmerizing adaptation of “The Pearl” that deserves a return engagement. The Dayton Theatre Guild, particularly attempting musical theater for the first time in ages thanks to the regional premiere of “The Story of My Life,” produced a dynamic “Lost in Yonkers” and a luminously engaging “Souvenir.” (Beginning July 5, “Souvenir” returns with the Guild cast at Brookville Community Theatre. Don’t miss it!).

At the collegiate level, Wright State pulled out the stops with an exceptionally infectious “Hairspray” (which I saw three times), but “Death of a Salesman” was an unforgettably gripping showcase. Also, Sinclair supplied a consistent, wonderfully ensemble-driven slate, and the University of Dayton grew stronger with “Eleemosynary” and “Urinetown: The Musical.”

On Saturday, August 11 at Sinclair Community College’s Ponitz Center, Dayton’s theater community will gather for the ninth annual DayTony Awards, honoring the achievements of designers, performers and productions across the area as voted on by participating theaters. The event will be held in conjunction with the 11th annual Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame induction celebrating scenic designer Bruce Brown.
In the meanwhile, assessing the 60 shows I saw this season, here are my choices for the most outstanding artists and productions.


BEST PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTION OF A PLAY
“Gem of the Ocean,” Human Race Theatre Company

Honorable Mentions:
“God of Carnage,” Human Race Theatre
“Red,” Human Race Theatre
“Wishful Drinking,” Victoria Theatre Association

BEST PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
“Caroline, or Change,” Human Race Theatre

Honorable Mentions:
“The Color Purple,” Springfield Arts Council
“Jersey Boys,” Victoria Theatre Association
“Les Miserables,” Victoria Theatre Association
“Wicked,” Victoria Theatre Association

BEST COMMUNITY THEATER PRODUCTION OF A PLAY
“Lost in Yonkers,” Dayton Theatre Guild

Honorable Mentions:
“Going to St. Ives,” Dayton Theatre Guild
“The Oldest Profession,” Dayton Theatre Guild
“The Pearl,” Zoot Theatre Company
“Wittenberg,” Dayton Theatre Guild

BEST COMMUNITY THEATER PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
“Spring Awakening,” Encore Theater Company

Honorable Mentions:
“A Grand Night for Singing,” Dayton Playhouse
“Children of Eden,” Playhouse South
“The Sound of Music,” Dayton Playhouse
“The Story of My Life,” Dayton Theatre Guild

BEST COLLEGIATE PRODUCTION OF A PLAY
“Death of a Salesman,” Wright State University

Honorable Mentions:
“Almost, Maine,” Sinclair Community College
“The Crucible,” Sinclair Community College
“Eleemosynary,” University of Dayton
“The Laramie Project,” Sinclair Community College

BEST COLLEGIATE PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
“Hairspray,” Wright State University

Honorable Mentions:
“Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage,” Wright State
“The Phantom of the Opera,” Wright State
“Rent,” Wright State
“Urinetown: The Musical,” University of Dayton

BEST NEW WORK
“Band Geeks!,” Human Race Theatre

Honorable Mentions:
“The Haven,” Dayton Playhouse FutureFest
“Love Makes the World Go ‘Round,” Human Race Theatre
“Play it Cool,” Human Race Theatre
“Pump Up the Volume,” Encore Theater Company

BEST SPECIAL THEATRICAL EVENT
“Souvenir,” Dayton Theatre Guild

Honorable Mentions:
“‘Master Harold’…and the Boys,” Dayton Playhouse
“The Wizard of Oz,” Muse Machine
“Tonight: The Songs of West Side Story & More,” Muse Machine
“Traces,” Victoria Theatre Association

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Scott Stoney as Willy Loman, “Death of a Salesman”

Honorable Mentions:
Jonathan Berry as Citizen Barlow, “Gem of the Ocean”
Franklin Johnson as Sam, “‘Master Harold’…and the Boys”
Tim Lile as Michael, “God of Carnage”
Michael Kenwood Lippert as Mark Rothko, “Red”

BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Renee‘ Franck-Reed as Florence Foster Jenkins, “Souvenir”

Honorable Mentions:
Cassandra Engber as Blanche DuBois, “A Streetcar Named Desire” (Xenia Area Community Theater)
Jennifer Johansen as Veronica, “God of Carnage”
Dwandra Nickole as Aunt Ester Tyler, “Gem of the Ocean”
Kate Smith as Jackie Cochran, “Jinxed” (Dayton Playhouse FutureFest)

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Drew Helton as Edna Turnblad, “Hairspray”

Honorable Mentions:
Mykal Kilgore as Elliott Goodman, “Band Geeks!”
J. Mark McVey as Jean Valjean, “Les Miserables”
David Shough as Captain Georg von Trapp, “The Sound of Music”
Ray Zupp as Melchior Gabor, “Spring Awakening”

BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Christine Dwyer as Elphaba, “Wicked”

Honorable Mentions:
Deb Colvin-Tener as Mary, “Play it Cool”
Beth Conley as Tracy Turnblad, “Hairspray”
Tanesha Gary as Caroline Thibodeaux, “Caroline, or Change”
Ashley Ware as Celie, “The Color Purple”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Will Allan as Ken, “Red”

Honorable Mentions:
Kevin Brown as Eli, “Gem of the Ocean”
Alan Bomar Jones as Solly Two Kings, “Gem of the Ocean”
Charles Larkowski as Cosme’ McMoon, “Souvenir”
Patrick Ross as Biff Loman, “Death of a Salesman”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Barbara Jorgensen as Grandma Kurnitz, “Lost in Yonkers”

Honorable Mentions:
Kes-lina Luoma as Mary Warren, “The Crucible”
Lee Merrill as Linda Loman, “Death of a Salesman”
Marcia Nowick as Ursula, “The Oldest Profession”
Marva M.B. Williams as Black Mary, “Gem of the Ocean”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Drew Bowen as Moritz Stiefel, “Spring Awakening”

Honorable Mentions:
Bobby Mitchum as Snake/Cain/Japeth, “Children of Eden”
Chris Shea as Adult Man, “Spring Awakening”
Zachary Jordan Steele as Will, “Play it Cool”
Christopher Timson as Igor, “Young Frankenstein” (Victoria Theatre Association)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Taprena Augustine as Dotty Moffett, “Caroline, or Change”

Honorable Mentions:
Samantha Helmstetter as herself, “Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage”
Natalie Houliston as Adult Woman, “Spring Awakening”
Kate Hunt as Penelope Pennywise, “Urinetown: The Musical”
Katie Klaus as Laura Jane Kirk, “Band Geeks!”

BREAKTHROUGH MALE PERFORMANCE
Ian DeVine as Link Larkin, “Hairspray”

Honorable Mentions:
Joel Daniel as Arty, “Lost in Yonkers”
Chris Hahn as John Proctor, “The Crucible”
Jared Mola as Hamlet, “Wittenberg”
Philip Stock as Jay, “Lost in Yonkers”

BREAKTHROUGH FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Yvette Williams as Emmie Thibodeaux, “Caroline, or Change”

Honorable Mentions:
Amy Diederich as Bella, “Lost in Yonkers”
Tametha Divvleeon as Tituba, “The Crucible”
Lisa Glover as Wendla Bergman, “Spring Awakening”
Katie Kerry as Roxie Hart, “Chicago” (Beavercreek Community Theatre)

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Mark Clayton Southers, “Gem of the Ocean”

Honorable Mentions:
Greg Hellems, “Death of a Salesman”
Richard E. Hess, “Red”
Sharon Leahy, “The Pearl”
Scott Stoney, “The Laramie Project”

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Joe Deer, “Hairspray”

Honorable Mentions:
Scott Hunt, “Rent”
Gina Kleesattel, “Urinetown: The Musical”
JJ Parkey, “Spring Awakening”
Scott Stoney, “Caroline, or Change”

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Teressa Wylie McWilliams, “Hairspray”

Honorable Mentions:
Lula Elzy, “The Wizard of Oz”
Greg Hellems, “Band Geeks!”
Annette Looper, “Chicago” (Beavercreek Community Theatre)
Nikki Wetter, “Spring Awakening”

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
Dick Block, “Gem of the Ocean”

Honorable Mentions:
David A. Centers, “God of Carnage”
Don David, “Death of a Salesman”
Mark Halpin, “Red”
Terry Stump, “The Crucible”

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Pam Knauert-Lavarnway, “Hairspray”

Honorable Mentions:
Don David, “The Phantom of the Opera”
Dan Gray, “Caroline, or Change”
Matt Kinley, “Les Miserables”
Robin Wagner, “Young Frankenstein” (Victoria Theatre Association)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Colleen Alexis Metzger, “Gem of the Ocean”

Honorable Mentions:
Kathleen Hotmer, “The Crucible”
Mary Beth McLaughlin, “Death of a Salesman”
Linda Sellers, “Wittenberg”
Shirley Wasser, “The Pearl”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Lisa Loen, “The Phantom of the Opera”

Honorable Mentions:
Costume Department/Costumer Janet Denman, “Hairspray”
Kristine Kearney, “Caroline, or Change”
Linda Sellers and Kim Kroll, “Chicago” (Beavercreek Community Theatre)
Molly Walz, “Spring Awakening”

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
John Rensel, “Gem of the Ocean”

Honorable Mentions:
Andy Balmert, “The Pearl”
Nicholas Crumbley, “Death of a Salesman”
Gina Neurer, “The Crucible”
John Rensel, “Red”

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Nicholas Crumbley, “The Phantom of the Opera”

Honorable Mentions:
Matthew P. Benjamin, “Hairspray”
Matthew P. Benjamin, “Rent”
Nicholas Crumbley, “Spring Awakening”
John Rensel, “Caroline, or Change”

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Rich Dionne, “Gem of the Ocean”

Honorable Mentions:
Matthew J. Evans and Kyle Himsworth, “Eleemosynary”
Jon Lamb, “The Pearl”
Bob Mills and Fran Pesch, “Lost in Yonkers”
K.L. Storer, “Souvenir”

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
James Dunlap, “The Phantom of the Opera”

Honorable Mentions:
Nathan D. Dean, “Caroline, or Change”
James Dunlap, “Hairspray”
Mick Potter, “Les Miserables”
David Sherman, “The Wizard of Oz”

BEST VIDEO/PROJECTION DESIGN OF A PLAY
Patti Celek and Gion Defrancesco, “The Laramie Project”

Honorable Mentions:
Jake Pinholster and Daniel Brodie, “Wishful Drinking”
Tessa Trozzolillo, Alvoro Leite and Alfred C. Taylor, “Eleemosynary”

BEST VIDEO/PROJECTION DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Fifty-Nine Productions, “Les Miserables”

Honorable Mentions:
Michael Clark, “Jersey Boys”
Nicholas Crumbley, “Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage”
Jackson Gallagher, “Pump Up the Volume”
David Sherman, “The Wizard of Oz”

BEST ORCHESTRA
“Hairspray,” Musical director: Rick Church

Honorable Mentions:
“A Grand Night for Singing,” Musical director: Ron Kindell
“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” Musical director: Thomas Kushmaul, Jr. (Clark State Community College)
“The Phantom of the Opera,” Musical director: Ryan Heinrich
“Wicked,” Musical director: Adam Souza

BEST PROPERTIES
Heather Powell, “Red”

Honorable Mentions:
John Lavarnway, “Hairspray”
John Lavarnway and Kim Townsend, “The Phantom of the Opera”
Heather Powell, “God of Carnage”
Terry Stump, “The Crucible”

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Stephen Brooker, Chris Jahnke and Stephen Metcalfe’s new and additional orchestrations for “Les Miserables”
Musical director Susan Carlock’s piano accompaniment for “Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage”
Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider’s acrobatic choreography for “Traces”
Cirque du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour” (Nutter Center)
Tristan Cupp’s mask design for “The Pearl”
Musical director Brad Ellis’ piano accompaniment and portrayal of Henry in “Love Makes the World Go ‘Round”
Robin Farinet’s costumes for the role of Florence Foster Jenkins in “Souvenir”
Carrie Fisher as herself in “Wishful Drinking”
Julian Fleisher’s original music for “Almost, Maine” (Sinclair)
Margaret Foley as Auditioner #10 in “The Auditioners”/Nebraska or Bust!: A Theater Benefit (Stivers School for the Arts)
Rick Good’s original music for “The Pearl”
Terry K. Hitt, Patrick Hayes, Wendi Michael and Jacqui Theobald’s illustrations for “Drawing Room” (Dayton Playhouse FutureFest)
Ashanti J’Aria, Kimberly Shay Hamby and Shawn Storms as the Radio in “Caroline, or Change”
Sharon Leahy’s choreography for “The Pearl”
Eugene Lee’s Tony-winning scenic design, Susan Hilferty’s Tony-winning costumes and Kenneth Posner’s Tony-nominated lighting design for “Wicked”
Natalie Sanders’ vocals as Eve/Mama in “Children of Eden”
Musical director Scot Woolley’s piano accompaniment for “Play it Cool”

Activated Spaces Seeking Entrepreneurs to Open Pop-up Shops this Fall

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Customers receiving haircuts at Vintage Barbershop, one of the three Pop-up Shops that opened in May 2012.

Activated Spaces, an initiative to fill downtown storefronts, is accepting applications for temporary retail and service businesses to open downtown this fall as part of the third phase of its Pop-up Project. The project matches business owners and entrepreneurs with downtown property owners who have first-floor storefront space available for occupancy.

Interested retailers should fill out an application, which can be downloaded at www.activatedspaces.org, and email it to Sherri Wierzba at [email protected]. The application deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, July 20. Tenants will be selected Aug. 6, and retailers must be ready to open no later than Friday, Sept. 14, in time for the fall Urban Nights.  

Lease lengths will range from three to six months. The spaces will have varying lease rates, but will be leased below market value. Activated Spaces volunteers will connect retailers with commercial property owners, help make the space move-in ready, and promote the business during such events as First Friday and Urban Nights. Selected businesses will negotiate leasing terms directly with the selected property owner, but flexibility for the tenant is a priority.

Activated Spaces volunteers hope to build on the success of the Pop-Up Project’s pilot and second phases. Two of the three businesses in the pilot phase ― Beaute Box, 116 W. Fifth St., and Peace on Fifth, 519 E. Fifth St. ― transitioned their temporary leases into traditional long-term ones. Also going strong are the three businesses that opened May 11 as part of the second phase of the Pop-Up Project: American Pi, 37 S. St. Clair St.; Arin, 27 S. St. Clair St.; and Vintage Barbershop, 110 W. Fifth St.

Guests browse the selection of jewelry at Pop-up Shop ARIN.

Commercial property owners interested in offering space to interested Pop-Up Shop owners should contact Sherri Wierzba at 937-224-1518. Participating property owners will be listed on the Activated Spaces website. Once a match is made, a limited amount of money is available to be distributed at the discretion of the Activated Spaces team for such purposes as offsetting utility costs, making cosmetic improvements to the space or other necessities for making the space operational.

Activated Spaces, a volunteer-led initiative spearheaded by young professional organizations Generation Dayton and updayton, has three main goals:

• reactivate and beautify vacant storefronts with creative displays

• encourage entrepreneurs, artists and community groups to occupy space for short- and long- term uses

• showcase downtown properties and increase interest and investment in available space

Activated Spaces is part of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan, a strategic blueprint for the future of downtown. Those interested in volunteering with Activated Spaces should e-mail [email protected].

Katherine Mann: An Artistic Conversation

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Katherine MannKatherine Tzu-Lan Mann is a Washington, DC – based painter who works primarily on paper. She received her BA from Brown University and MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art.  She is the recipient of a Fulbright grant to Taiwan, the AIR Gallery Fellowship program in Brooklyn, NY, and the So-Hamiltonian Fellowship in Washington, DC.  She has participated as an artist in residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Salzburg Kunstlerhauss, Triangle Workshop and Anderson Ranch Art Center residencies, and will take part in the Bemis Center residency program later this year.  Mann is currently an instructor at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Blue Sky Project is a summer experience that empowers professional artists from around the world and local youth to collaborate and build community through the creation of ambitious works of contemporary art and performance.  Katherine Mann participated in the Blue Sky Project in 2009 and is now one of six returning resident artist who have come back to the program for the summer of 2012.  I had the opportunity to sit down with Katherine and discuss her work and experiences.

Philip Titlebaum:  What was it that initially drew you to Blue Sky Project?

Katherine Mann:  I heard about Blue Sky Project when I was in grad school.  I think I just found it on a listing online and I liked the idea of doing something in the community.  Before that I had done a couple community projects but didn’t think of myself as a community oriented artist.  I mostly kind of just stuck to myself in the studio.  Working by yourself in the studio can be really great and your work changes as you take risks on your own but my work has always been about introducing incongruous elements into a larger environment and it seemed like the perfect way to do that was by using other people to help me make the work. Introducing high school students into the work sounded like a really interesting challenge and it was.  It was great.

PT:  Could you briefly discuss your 2009 Blue Sky experience?

KM:  I came there with one project idea, which was to make a large painting essentially.  We finished that and we had all this extra time on our hands.  The idea of the painting project was that I’m interested in pattern and abstraction so I sent all these kids out into the community and we built our own patterns and abstractions from sketching and looking at patterns of leaves and bricks and whatever else was out there in the wide world and then brought all those together and placed them into a larger painting that ended up being twenty-five feet long using a lot of print making.  In the end that piece looked very much like my work but it had all these other voices in it.  They all kind of came together and it was a really strong painting.  But since we had this extra time, we began looking at the space we were supposed to exhibit in and they had this big pit in the middle of the building.  Since my process has always incorporated pouring; I’ll begin paintings by pouring inks and water and allowing them to dry and then building on top of that and using that sort of as a skeleton of a larger abstract painting, so it seemed like I should do this on a really grand scale. This pit was about sixty by thirty feet in diameter so why not make something that large and have the kids work together with me to make something that felt truly immersive.  That initial idea then got grabbed onto by a bunch of the other artists especially Rodney [Veal], the choreographer and dancer and it turned into all of these other projects.

Katherine MannPT: Can you speak a little bit about the projects that came out of that?

KM: The pit projects began with two collaborative dance and painting performances, where the process of pouring paint into this giant architectural space became performative, with dancers in the same space and the act of pouring paint becoming choreographed.  We poured gallons and gallons of paint into that pit, then allowed it to dry and painted on top of that.  We ended up with a huge wall and floor drawing, but one in which the process of pouring and dancing was integral.

PT:  What effect did that experience have on you as an artist?

KM: I think it made my work stronger.  It made me understand that my work doesn’t have to only be painting; I can expand into other mediums and it’ll still be my work.  It also allowed me to understand that when you’re working with a bunch of other people somebody’s going to make a move that I don’t personally like and that I’ll cringe at but eventually all of that can come together.  Since my work is so much about systems anyway, there ought to be some parts of the painting that make me cringe.  Everything shouldn’t work seamlessly.  I’m not interested in a seamless painting, I’m interested in a fragmented painting that has elements of poetry and lyricism but then other jarring elements as well.  Working with other people really did that, especially going out of my comfort zone and working with other artists including sound, dance, choreography, and installation.

PT:  How has this year been different?

KM:  It’s more solitary, I’m not working with the kids but I am still working with the same dancer, with Rodney.  Everything that I said about 2009 is still true this year, I just have more time on my own.  It’s more like other traditional residencies that artists are used to in which you have a lot of solitary alone time; the time and the space to make work, which is in and of itself a gift, plus the risk taking ability that Blue Sky has.  The only thing that’s missing is the kids, which is too bad, but they’ll be back.

PT:  Can you speak a little about what to expect at your upcoming exhibition on June 27?

KM:  They’ll get to see the installation that I’m creating for Rodney to dance in; the beginning of a collaboration that I’ll be doing with Rodney and Shaw Pong [Liu]; so a painter, a chorographer/dancer, and a sound artist, beginning with me.  I’m creating this environment that the dancers and sound will become a part of.  We’ll see the beginnings of that environment.  I’ll install a twenty-five or thirty foot cut paper installation that will be hanging in the space.  Essentially what people will see is the work that I’ve done in June.

PT:  Is there anything you’d like to leave people with?

KM:  I’m really happy with the work that I’ve done over the last couple weeks.  Even what I was saying before about taking risks and moving into new mediums in 2009, when I was here with Blue Sky, I’ve still always thought of myself very much as a painter and a two-dimensional thinker, so this new piece that will be exhibited on June 27 is going to be my first foray into real three-dimensionality.  I’m working with a lot of cut, filigreed paper that’s kind of folded in on itself and hung so that it sways and moves in a three-dimensional manner.  That’s something that people should check out.

“New Works by Katherine Mann” is an exhibition that is free and open to the public. It will take place on Wednesday, June 27 from 5:00 – 8:00 PM at 8 North Main Street, Dayton, Ohio. The work also comprises 1/3rd of a collaboration with choreographer Rodney Veal and sound artist Shaw Pong Liu, which will be performed August 10 & 11 at 8 North Main Street, Dayton, Ohio. “New Works by Katherine Mann” can be seen by appointment through August 1 by calling Blue Sky Project @ 937.732.5123.

(Submitted by Philip Titlebaum, an intern with Blue Sky Project)

Cityfolk Festival: Where You Make The Music Happen

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When Ohio’s #1 Multi-Cultural festival sets up shop June 29-July 1, at RiverScape MetroPark 700+ volunteers will be helping make it go and your donation at the entrance and onsite will be a key piece. While festivals continue to materialize throughout the summer months, this one, begun as the three year run of National Folk Festival in 1996, remains unique and completely dependent on community participation. The festival will take place between 6 and 11 pm on Friday, and 1-11 pm on Saturday and Sunday. The City of Dayton fireworks, the region’s largest, will cap the event on Sunday night at 10 p.m.

The festival will feature music from across America and around the world on this year’s Main Stage, located in the MetroParks Pavilion. Among the Main Stage artists featured will be bluegrass star Rhonda Vincent, the newly formed Royal Southern Brotherhood featuring Devon Allman, Cyril Neville and Mike Zito and a Sunday showcase for Dayton’s own Shoefly. A spacious dance floor situated at 1st and Patterson Streets will feature wild bhangra funk from Red Baraat, African and Caribbean sounds from Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca and Louisiana’s queens of Cajun and country, Bonsoir Catin.

Culture Builds Community (CBC) has become a centerpiece of Cityfolk’s year round effort and the CBC Family Funway, located at the intersection of St. Clair and Monument streets, will be brimming with activities that reflect the spirit of this initiative. Photo portraits of kids, ready to be framed with K12 Gallery artists, passport stations for each of five Latino countries and an interactive story stage with Zoo Beezoo Beezoo Story Works. The whole family can enjoy the group mosaic project with K12 Gallery, African, Bhangra and Bollywood dance classes and performances by Stiver’s Dancers and the The People’s Music.

Latino Ohio will showcase a vast range of artists, highlighting Mexican mural traditions, music and paper cut art, Puerto Rican mask making, Latino food traditions and much more. Latino Ohio is curated by Juan Dies, leader of the Grammy-nominated Mexican band Sones de Mexico, who will be performing throughout the festival site over the course of the weekend. The exhibit will include a workshop stage that offers a chance for festival attendees to learn about the artists, the traditions they represent and their methods. Latino Ohio hours will be 1-7 pm on Saturday and 1-6 pm on Sunday

Room With A View tickets are available for festivalgoers who are looking for prime seating near the Main Stage, easy access to beverages, a parking pass and other amenities.

An international beer garden will be located on Dragon’s plaza and delicious food will be on sale throughout the festival site.

To register as a volunteer, see a complete schedule and full listing of performing and Latino Ohio artists, directions, a map and other information visit cityfolk.org.

Photo Credit: Andy Snow

 

Brixx Ice Company’s Menu is a Grand Slam

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Brixx Ice Company is much more than “that place across from the Dragon’s Stadium.”   Locals may be aware of their good beer tap selections and drink deals before the baseball games.  What most Dayton foodies don’t know, is that this place has a strong menu.  Brixx’s owner Chris Bhai keeps striding to bring fantastic food selections to go along with his restaurant’s fantastic patio view.  A self taught chef, Chris brings his spicy spin to traditional favorites, and hits a few home runs of his own with innovative menu items.    These meal selections are being gobbled up by hungry patrons and with summer in full swing, this eatery gets quite crowded.

Homemade, Hand Rolled Philly Cheese Steak Egg Rolls

 

The Big Ragu, Chef House and Hungry Jax enjoyed a peaceful, sunny, Saturday afternoon recently on Brixx’s patio.  We sampled some Summer Shandy and the  newly acquired Third Shift Brewing Company draft choices.  Also sipped, was the new Angry Orchard Hard Cider by Sam Adam’s breweries.  As we enjoyed the day we ordered an appetizer that has become one of Brixx’s calling cards, gourmet egg rolls.  Egg rolls??  Yes, egg rolls.  Brixx hand wraps these homemade beauties in forms of interesting twists such as cheese steak egg rolls and vegetable curry egg rolls.  We went for the cheese steak egg rolls, which blew us away.   Served fresh and piping hot, the cheese and steak inside melted in your mouth.  They even served a side of cheese queso for dipping and it was pure cheese steak utopia.

” Mom !!! The Meatloaf !! “

Our special moment was interrupted by the owner and server telling us that we have to try the Kobe Meatloaf sandwich.  Meatloaf ??? Yes, meatloaf.  We took the leap of faith, and also decided to try another unique dish, Chicken Korma.  Chicken Korma is Brixx’s spin on an Indian dish and was inspired by the owner’s  father.  Both dishes were very tasty.   The incredible meatloaf sandwich has a glaze sauce that is sweet and spicy and it made the dish even more superb.  It tasted like an incredible burger.  We are hooked!

The Chicken Korma was a colorful and tasty dish.  It is thinly sliced chicken breast tossed in a curry masala.   The colorful dinner also includes corn, green beans and onions over a bed of rice.  It is flavorful with the perfect amount of heat.  It was also served with a few small pieces of naan bread.

Other Food Adventure favorites include Fire Bites (deep fried jalapeno slices), and of course the “Build your Own Brixx Burger.”   Hungry Jax  also enjoys the Chicago Beef Sandwich, homemade waffle fries and the breaded mushrooms.

A fantastic Indian dish called Chicken Korma

Brixx Ice Company has live music on Friday and Saturday evenings and some pretty good drink specials.   Who doesn’t love a great deal?  They have a pretty extensive cocktail menu, and of course one of the best patio dining areas in town.  Now you know, location is not Brixx’s only strength.  The owner has presented a new take on familiar menu items, and hit them out of the park!  Slide into Brixx Ice Company, a true Dayton original and check it out yourself.

Have you had a chance to visit Brixx’s Ice Company ?  Please leave your input below !

Click here to visit FOOD ADVENTURES  on FACEBOOK and “Like” us to become an official fan !!

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Sweeney’s Seafood House: Ocean Paradise!

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Grilled Blue Marlin

Sweeney’s Seafood House is revamping some things, while keeping old menu favorites.   Food Adventures spoke with one of the managing partners, Lisa Long, and learned Sweeney’s will be redecorating and even changing serving plates in the near future to keep up with the times.   Located in the heart of Centerville at the intersection of State Routes 725 and 48, Sweeney’s is one of the jewels of the Gem City.

Hungry Jax, Chef House and The Big Ragu absolutely love this dining spot for many reasons.  Hungry Jax enjoys their flounder and other fresh fish dinners which are baked, deep fried, grilled or broiled.  Fresh seafood in Dayton, Ohio?  You bet!  The new kitchen chef is bringing in whole fresh fish, which he then carves into fillets for a fresher tasting product.  Chef House is also excited to try some of the daily specials such as the recently featured grilled blue marlin and homemade soups like lobster bisque.  The Big Ragu can also be found sampling the handful of unique draft beers like Bell’s Oberon Ale which are rotated regularly.

The Best Raw Oysters in America

The Big Ragu prefers to sit in Sweeney’s bar area for some appetizers and the before mentioned draft beers.  The Big Ragu says the best raw oysters he has ever had in his life are the “Raw Chokers” at Sweeney’s Seafood House.  Ragu has had oysters at Emeril’s restaurant.   Ragu has eaten oysters from Rhode Island to Florida and high scale places in Vegas, but these are the best.  These gigantic Chesapeake Oysters are served over ice, on the half shell for $2.49 each, and worth the price for an incredible treat.  The Big Ragu also recommends that you try their fried calamari.  It is hand cut into strips and hand breaded.  The calamari is some of the best you will ever eat and sometimes so large that you could mistake a piece for a chicken strip!  The bartenders Doug and Sam are fantastic and very attentive.   Some little known trivia is that the bar at Sweeney’s and the connected cabinets were purchased from the old Tequila Willie’s restaurant that was near the Dayton Mall.

Located in Centerville

There is definitely a buzz of energy in this place over the new owners with a fresh attitude.  The Big Ragu is excited to see what the new chef will be offering in the coming months.   We were also happy to learn that many of the favorite menu items will remain unchanged.  Sweeney’s remains an inviting place, with friendly service.  For the feel of a New England Seafood House right here in Dayton, give Sweeney’s a try.  Take our tips, or explore the menu as part of your own Food Adventure!

BREAKING NEWS!! Extended Hours !!  Sweeney’s will now be open every night of the week.  Restaurant hours will be 4pm – close Monday-Saturday and Sundays 11:30am – close.  The dinner menu each day will be accompanied by special features throughout the week.

You can check out Sweeney’s entire menu here, but it won’t have their daily specials which are too fresh to print!

Please become an official fan of FOOD ADVENTURES with THE BIG RAGU and CREW on FACEBOOK by clicking here and “liking” our page.
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PLEASE COMMENT BELOW AND TELL US YOUR THOUGHTS ON SWEENEY’S SEAFOOD HOUSE!!!

 

 

Meet Culp’s Cafe’s Chef Jose

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Chef Jose Calzada is originally from Chicago.  He graduated with a culinary degree from Kendall College and spent a lot of his early years in the kitchen at Italian and French eateries. He took over as Executive Chef  at Culp’s Café at Carillon Park last year. The historic restaurant was originally opened in 1902 by Charlotte Gilbert Culp, a young widow with six children, began baking and selling bread, cakes and rolls by having her children go door to door in their West Third Street neighborhood. Soon they had a stand at the South Main Street market with the “Culp’s Cake” being a best seller. Her eldest son, Howard Gilbert Culp, leased space in the Arcade, and expanded the business selling poultry, eggs, cheese, and dill pickles at three lunch counters where downtown workers could purchase a complete lunch for 35 cents!

 

In the 1930s, the Culps opened a cafeteria in the Arcade across from Keith Theater. The cafeteria specialized in home-

Chef Jose and his wife Carol

cooked food and was famous for its pies and pastries. Dayton’s population boomed in the 1940s and Culp’s cafeteria served as many as 5,000 customers a day. Culp’s was the first restaurant in Dayton to have air conditioning and the first electric Hammond organ in the area.  As the downtown area changed due to the development of suburbs and the popularity of television, the Culp family reluctantly sold the business in 1960.

The spirit of this family-operated restaurant lives on at Carillon Historical Park with Chef José Calzada managing Culp’s Café 7 days a week and working daily with his wife Carol. Starting June 2nd Culp’s Cafewill be serving up breakfast, Sat – Mon from 7:30am-3:00pm. They are also open for lunch Tues- Fri 11am – 3pm.  Culp’s is located at 1000 Carillon Blvd, at Carillon Park.

DaytonDining wants to treat one of our readers to a FREE breakfast at Culp’s Cafe.  Just leave a comment below telling us why you’d like to have breakfast at Culp’s and a random winner will be drawn on Friday from the commenters.

And now Chef Jose answers DaytonDining’s 10 questions:

 What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?

I love to cook with fresh herbs, like Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary and  especially Basil – I love the taste and the smell of it. Using fresh herbs brings out a better flavor on soups, meats and sauces.

What ingredient do you dread?

I really dread working with kale I don’t like the taste and the smell. If I had to use it I would only use it as a garnish.  No offense to kale lovers.

What’s your favorite dish to make? 

I love to make soups, a nice chicken noodle soup or corn chowder on a cold day or a chilled avocado soup with fresh crab meat on a  hot summer day .  10 or 15 years  ago I would have said pates or terrines . When I first started cooking I used to love making duck liver pate and vegetable or meat  terrines.

What’s your favorite pig out food?

I love cheeseburgers, here in Dayton I like to go to Smashburger. My favorite place to go for a burger is Illinois Bar and Grill in Chicago , their one pound burgers are the best I have ever had.

What restaurant, other then your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley?

My wife and I love to go to Tony’s Italian Kitchen on North Main Street in Englewood, it is a very small neighborhood  restaurant with great food, but most of all authentic. We have tried everything on the menu and we are always satisfied.

What’s your best advice for home chefs?

Have fun doing what you love!  Like one of my chef instructors would always say  “It is not rocket science, just have fun and enjoy it!”

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?

I wouldn’t know were to start there are a lot of people to choose from like by brother who passed away 12 years ago, my mentors Chef John Hogan and Chef Mike Greagson. There are also my chef instructors, my collies, my favorite athletes and actors and actresses . It would be very hard to just pick 4 guests.

Who do you look up in the industry and why?

I look up to a lot of people in this industry, from a chef I have had the pleasure to know like, Priscilla Satkof, who has been one of the top female chefs in Chicago for over 15 years, Michel Coatrieux who is a chef instructor for over 25 years,  Georges “Kiki” Cuisance who has been in the restaurant business for over 35 years and still doing a great job. To the celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Emeril Lagasse who have educated  many people about food.

 What do you do in the Miami Valley on a day off ?

In my day off I like to spend as much time with my family as I can,  in this business you don’t have many days off.  So we go to the movies, out to dinner or just to the park.

Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or other interesting story.

The best time I had ever had in the kitchen was when we cooked a dinner for Julia Child  and a group of friends. I was working at Kiki’s Bistro as a sous chef  at the time. The chef and I prepared a 5 course dinner for them with the main entrée of Roasted Squab ( that’s what she order in advance). After the dinner the waiter came to the kitchen and said that she wanted to meet the chefs who prepared  the wonderful meal. That was one of the best feelings I ever had as a chef  – cooking and meeting  someone I idolized growing up, and a person I watched on TV.  It was an experience I will never forget.

 

Kabuki: Colorful Plates, IncredibleTastes

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Sushi is probably one of the most beautiful foods that you will ever eat.  Whether cooked or raw, nothing beats the taste of freshly made sushi.  Chef House, Hungry Jax, The Big Ragu know two types of people, those who love Kabuki Korean & Japanese Restaurant in Centerville, and those who have not been there.  In a small, stand alone building on 848 S. Main St, Kabuki offers up Korean and Japanese specialties with an extensive and inventive menu.  They make great fresh food, and they do it right.

The Rock n Roll Sushi Roll, beautiful and delicious

Jax loves to indulge in the “Rock n Roll” sushi roll.  This colorful display consists of flying fish roe, shrimp tempura, crab, & cream cheese deep fried then topped with three kinds of sauce.  Definitely one of the most flamboyant and tasty dishes you will ever have.  Chef House enjoys the “Boston Roll.”  This is a simple sushi roll combining the tastes of cooked shrimp, lettuce, avocado and cucumber with Japanese mayo sauce.

The Spider Roll at Kabuki Korean and Japanese Restaurant

The Big Ragu would recommend you try the “Spider Roll”, which is made with Soft Shell Crab for an extremely delicate and a rare tasty treat.  Is fresh raw sushi your gig?  If so the Big Ragu would recommend the salmon, tuna or any sashimi listed on their menu.

This restaurant serves miso soup or spicy noodle soup with entrees and sushi dinners.

Kabuki has much more than just sushi or soup. They offer a Japanese Dinner menu with Teriyaki dishes and many more entrees.  Kabuki also features a Korean Menu with noodle specialties and other dinners like Hue Dup Bop.   Sounds like a Hanson song, but instead it is mixed raw fish and vegetables over steamed rice served with Korean sweet & spicy sauce.

The common denominator of the menu items is that they are fresh, tasty, and presented well on your plate.  Every time we have been to Kabuki, the servers were friendly and attentive.  Check out this family owned restaurant for a romantic date, or a fun culinary experience.   It may be a small place in size, but Kabuki delivers big on flavor.  We cannot think of a better place for a true  FOOD ADVENTURE!

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Have  you been  to Kabuki?  Please  share your opinions below !!

 

Dayton Beer Company Now Open!

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John from Centerville was the first guy in line today at 4:30pm for the opening of The Dayton Beer Company.  He says he’s a  craft beer fan, who used to brew in the 90’s and has passed his passion on to his daughter who now brews in Knoxville. He says he’s never had a bad beer yet and upon sampling his first brew at the new Kettering Brewery he proclaims the Broken Trolley Blonde Ale as “wonderful.”

Kevin trying out the sampler

Kevin Kreig of Centerville is also a big fan of craft beers and he started his experience off with a flight of beer, which is four 4oz samples for $5.  Pints run $4 and growlers are $17 with refills available for just $13.  On it’s opening day, the intimate tasting room was at capacity with about 40 folks standing inside and a line out the door, with a few groups enjoying their beers on the small patio.

John from Miami Township says he’s “not a chemist or a brewer, but I know what I like and I’m proud to support an Alter grad.  Peter Hilgeman, the 25 year old Daytonian who founded The Dayton Beer Company says he’s always been interested in beer, but working at The Party Source in Covington, KY  during his college days at University of Cincinnati really peaked his interest. “I really wanted to restore the brewing tradition,” Dayton once had.  He spent five months traveling through Europe educating his pallet before returning home to create great tasting beers.

Jon, Dan & Mike enjoying opening day

In naming his beers, Pete pays homage to Dayton history with brews like Patterson Pale Ale,  Hawthorn Hill Hefeweizen and the Inventors IPA, which was a favorite of Kettering resident Dan, who is just happy to support a Dayton Brewery for the first time in 62 years!

Mike, who’s vising from Durham, North Carolina truly enjoyed the Rising River Porter, and was surprised at it’s lightness, but proclaimed it “perfect for summer.”  Coming tomorrow a Stout and a Smoked Ale will be added to the menu.  Speaking of menu, according to a price list on the table chips, soda’s,  Red Bull, bottled water, pretzels and beer nuts will be available, but on opening day it was all hands on deck to just get the beers out.

If you plan on frequenting the brew pub, you might be interested in joining the Flying High Club.  Basic membership is $20 and offers 50 cents off tastings, pints and 6 packs as well as a 10th free option and mailings.   The intermediate level adds a DBC Pint Glass, t-shirt and 2 koozie’s and everything from the basic package.  For you big rollers out there, you’ll think nothing of dropping $125 which lets you sport a DBC Polo shirt, 2 DBC Pint Glasses, 2 koozies and the basic benefits, too.

The Dayton Beer Company is located at 912 E. Dorothy Lane and will be open Wed – Saturday 5-10pm.

 

 

 

Wine – Its Own Event

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We will be tasting both types. White and red.

Wine is complex. From the selection of which type of wine to the individual brands, even the cost of the wine, all of it can be intimidating if you are trying to expand your knowledge. When you hear people talking about wines, you hear them using words like tannic or dry to talk about how it tastes. Or they will mention it tastes like chocolate, berries, herbs, vanilla, earth (!) or tobacco (!!), and they will say the last two as if that is a POSITIVE thing. They will sniff and swirl and do all manner of odd rituals before they even taste it. After they taste it, there is a fairly good chance they may spit it out! Isn’t that some kind of party foul?

Much like anything else, once you start getting into the subtleties of wine, you will start to see that there is a method to all of the madness. Part of the enjoyment of wine is its layers and complexity while it is washing around in your mouth. All of the swirling and sniffing and staring is done for a reason. So is the spitting.

To start off, pour yourself a glass of either red or white wine. Do not fill the glass all the way (never do that), but just a few ounces to wet the whistle. White wines lean to the sweeter, fruitier side of the flavor spectrum, while reds tend to be more savory or spicy. When you taste the wine, do more observation than judging. Focus on what you are experiencing through your senses, as opposed to what think you should be seeing, smelling or tasting. Everyone has different senses, and that is part of the enjoyment of the wine. You can also ignore the cost of the bottle. Many articles have been written about the correlation of the cost of a bottle of wine to its taste, and the general consensus is that price does not affect the taste of wine. Your belief that it tastes better does. Just kick your mind back and enjoy the journey.

Tilting the glass a bit gives you a better view.

Now that you have the glass, look through the wine that is partially filling it. It is best to do this against something as white as possible, as to not tint the color of the wine with other background colors. Red wines can range in color from brick red to a brilliant ruby. White wines will not have the wide range that reds have, but you may see some pale yellows, greens, or browns in your glass. Tilt the glass away from you to get the full effect, also noticing how the color changes from the center to the edges. While you are peering like an expert at your wine, make note if it is crystal clear, or is it somewhat cloudy. A little duller may mean your wine is just unfiltered, and this is quite fine. If it is murky or cloudy, there may be bigger issues. Wine can evolve in the bottle if not preserved correctly, and over time can turn sour or develop other impurities.

Once you have looked at the stationary wine, swirl the wine around the glass a little to coat the edges. You really want to take some time when you do this. This causes a couple of thing to happen simultaneously. First, it can give you an idea of how thick the wine is by the formation of “legs” on the side of the glass. The legs are drops of wine that are taking their sweet time getting back to the rest of the liquid. The slower they move down, the thicker the wine is going to feel in your mouth. It also throws off some of the alcohol so the deeper scents and flavors of the wine can be released. The combination of oxygen, subtle heat, and movement is enough to release those aromas.

You should take two different sniffs of the wine. The first sniff should be quick, just to get some hints of what is in the glass. It gives your brain some time to place the scents and prepares you for a second, deeper smell. When you smell the wine, it is really important to ignore what other people are saying and focus on what you are experiencing. Does it smell like strawberries? Apricots? Butterscotch? Tobacco? Make mental notes of what your initial reactions. Everyone has different senses of smell, and while you may come up with similar notes as other people, don’t allow their perception influence yours. When you have processed the first sniff, put your nose in the glass for a little deeper exploration. Does it still smell the same? Notice anything new? Again, make note of what you are experiencing. Smell has an influence on what you taste, so it is important to be faithful to your own sense.

Swirling the wine releases aromas and flavors.

Now you can take a sip, but only a sip. The alcohol and basic impressions are going to hit first. You may get a dry sensation in your mouth, which is more common in tannic or acidic red wines. If trying a white wine, it will more often be sweet to dry. If you mouth goes dry and stays dry, that is a tannic wine. If your mouth goes dry and you start to salivate, that is acidic wine. The saliva is trying to counter the acids in the wine. Keep holding the wine in your mouth, and swish it around a little. Like mouthwash, but you want it to flow, not crash. This is where the tongue starts to do the real work. Some people will even take a bit of air in through their mouth, which can help release more flavor. Reds tend to be savory or spicy, offering up pepper, cinnamon, or oak; possibly berry, plum or fig on the fruitier side. Sometimes even chocolate. White wines will offer more honey, butter, and toffee flavors, with their own fruity apple or citrus notes. In no way is that all you could taste. There are plenty of flavors for you to explore. Reds may have a little honey in them, and whites can be a little oaky. You are just going to have to train your palate to tell the difference. NOW you can swallow it or spit it into a bucket. If you are going to taste a great deal of wine, you may need to spit some out. Little sips here and there add up.

The last part of the taste is how long does it linger? Does it hang out pleasantly for a while on your lips and tongue, or is it gone as soon at the wine leaves your mouth? What flavors are left? Was it light and crisp, or weighty and smooth? And did you like it? All of these final questions determine whether you are going to want a full glass or if you are going to find something more to your liking. Again, you ultimately decide which wines you like and do not like! The cost or name on the bottle does not matter if it is something you love.

You are going to need some practice at this. This weekend at Fluers et Vin would be a wonderful time to start your journey, with hundreds of different wines and food offered. If that is too intimidating, you can go to Arrow Wine & Spirits most weekends. They also bring in experts during the week from different wineries to educate you more on wine. Dorothy Lane Market also has wine tastings most weekends. Rumbleseat Wine also has wine available to taste, and a slew of other tastings and live shows. Keep an eye out on our event calendar for other tastings around the Miami Valley, as they are becoming more and more common. And if you know a good wine for other readers to experience, leave it in the comments below, or any of the other comment areas we post to. Cheers!

 

Treasure Island Supper Club: It’s Like a 70’s Food Adventure

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Not a Restaurant, This is a Supper Club

A dimly lit dining room, 1970’s furniture, hustling staff and bustling patrons.  This is not a restaurant, this is a Supper Club.  Treasure Island is everything you could ask for in an old school eatery.  Located in the heart of Moraine, Ohio, it has great service, great food and classic ambiance.  This place is like a scene out of  the movies “Saturday Night Fever” or “Looking for Mr Goodbar.”  When you enter Treasure Island Supper Club, the carpeted lobby has a metal railing staircase that  leads to bathrooms and a party room on the second level.  What other place has that?  But it doesn’t end there, we are just getting started.  As you pass from the lobby into the eating area, you notice a room with lighting so low that you cannot tell if it is noon or midnight.  The bar area is a low seat bar with the bartender working in a “pit” even lower than the bar patrons.  The bar is adjacent to a walkway that leads to the dining room.  The walkway is lined with wooden spindles that were hand carved by the restaurant owner.  In fact his woodwork is throughout the supper club.   We were expecting to hear “bow chicka wow wow” music, but that did not happen.

Baskets of Butter and Lance Crackers at Every Table

 

A hostess greets you near the walkway and puts you on the waiting list, or seats you promptly.   You will be seated in a leather 70’s style booth or some old school table and chairs.    Even the water glasses are old school, and we love it ! On the table in a wicker basket, are various types of Lance crackers and butter packets.  We ate  a lot of melba toasts, crackers and captain’s wafers leaving our table strewn with Lance cracker wrappers.    Our Food Adventure Crew lives for unique places like this.  Our server who waited on us was fantastic.  She was a throwback to the days when waitresses were career waitresses for decades at the same restaurant.   She brought our salads and a basket of poppy seed bread that was still warm, so we put the butter packets to good use.

We were then served a shrimp cocktail appetizer that stayed in theme with the 70’s nostalgia.  The huge shrimp were served in a silver goblet lined with green decorative lettuce.  the shrimp were already partially dipped in the cocktail sauce inside the goblet.  These were some of the largest and best tasting shrimp we have ever eaten.   Make sure you don’t miss out on this old school shrimp cocktail or you will be squirming in your  red leather chair.

The Best Shrimp Cocktail Ever

We saw a customer being served a large corn fritter that looked good, so we decided to order one too… good move.  The homemade, handmade corn fritter is served with maple syrup packets and simply melt in your mouth.  We sat their enjoying the appetizer feeling like we were in an episode of “Starsky and Hutch.”   The fritter was cooked perfectly, nice and moist on the inside and golden brown on the outside.  In the restaurant lighting it looked like a brick of gold from Fort  Knox.

After stuffing ourselves with crackers, bread, butter, salad and appetizers, our main entrees arrived.  One of us had ordered the baked halibut dinner.  It was served old school style with dunking butter!  It also came with a baked potato, decorative parsley, and large sides of butter and sour cream.  Again 70’s additude toward cholesterol and fat!  The fish was firm yet fluffy and  absolutely delicious.  The baked potato was perfectly cooked as well.  The Big Ragu’s entree was the seafood platter.  How old school is the name of  that dish?  The dinner was served with frog legs, fried shrimp, crab cakes, fried scallops, and fried oysters.  The dinner was very rich, but tasted incredible.  It was served with a side of hash browns that didn’t disappoint.  After finishing  our meal, we thanked our waitress and  the assertive busboys.

Perfectly Baked Halibut

 

As we walked out of the restaurant we joked about coming back for a picture outside the restaurant dressed in 7o’s Afro wig, terrycloth shorts, and pulled up white socks with stripes.  It was  another successful Food Adventure!     Our visit here was fantastic, truly enjoy Treasure Island Supper Club and had one of our better Food Adventures here.  If you have not been here to try the great food you are missing out on a taste bud experience!  It is a fun place to dine with some of the tables hollowed out with golf or Vegas decor behind tabletop glass.   The Big Ragu and Crew highly recommend that you visit Treasure Island because they do things right, and have not changed their successful formula.     The simplicity of good food and good service is timeless, no matter what the decade.   If you visit this supper club and you see a couple of guys with cheesy 70’s mustaches, or Dirk Diggler haircuts, it just may be your Food Adventures Crew and the Big Ragu, incognito!

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Have you been to Treasure Island Supper Club?  If  so, did you get your 70’s groove on at this phenomenal spot?  Please leave your comments below !

Treasure Island’s menus for  lunch and dinner may be viewed  by clicking HERE.

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Volunteers at The Heart Of Cityfolk Festival

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On June 29 – July 1, The Cityfolk Festival, returns to RiverScape MetroPark. It takes thousands of hours of volunteer time to pull together the three-day celebration of music, dance, culture and the City of Dayton Fireworks. Volunteer leadership has already worked months to get the festival ready from a production standpoint. Organizers are now looking to sign up volunteers for three- or four-hour shifts during the festival as well as during set-up and tear-down. People interested in helping out can visit the Cityfolk website or call (937) 223-3655, ext. 4006.  The performance schedule will be available in late May, if you want to schedule your volunteer shifts around your favorite performers.

Many volunteers have such a good time that they return year after year. Elvita Harris has been volunteering with her now-grown children for almost a decade.  “Volunteering is part of community service,” she said. “It gives us a sense of belonging and giving back. Plus, they’re exposed to different cultures, different foods – they’re broadening their horizons.”

Volunteer opportunities for the festival range from helping the Green Team encourage festival patrons to recycle, to serving soda and beer, to selling t-shirts and CDs, to helping monitor stage areas for handicap accessibility. A full list of positions is listed at www.cityfolk.org.

Long-time volunteer Judy McCormick  says, “The Cityfolk Festival is one event where our city truly comes together. And it simply doesn’t happen without volunteer participation. You can have fun, meet old friends, make new ones and play a part in what is a one-of-a-kind celebration for our community.”

Pedals 4 Pancakes: How bicycle commuting can change your life

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Join Five Rivers MetroParks for the annual Bike to Work Day Pancake Breakfast, 6-9 a.m. Friday, May 18, at RiverScape MetroPark. Details at www.metroparks.org/biketowork

Who’s got two thumbs and can help save the world while saving some dough and burning calories? This girl! And that guy, and that girl, and that girl, and especially that polydactyl guy. That’s right, anyone can accomplish this earth-friendly laundry list simply by biking to work. Celebrate your two-wheeled liberation on Friday, May 18, with a free pancake breakfast at RiverScape MetroPark, compliments of your outdoorsy pals at Five Rivers MetroParks.

Since gaining status as a bronze-level bike-friendly berg, Dayton’s cycling population has grown. New initiatives include the City of Dayton’s program that will place 100 new bike racks in strategic downtown locations. Following in the footsteps of other cities that have proven the “if-you-build-it-they-will-come” strategy is effective, the bike racks should provide ample parking to some of downtown’s coolest spots. Bonus—no more circling the block like a parking space vulture or endless see-sawing as you attempt to squeeze your four-door sedan into a parallel spot that could barely accommodate the recently vacated Geo Metro.

Besides ample parking right next to your destination, swapping your car for the bike has myriad benefits. Let’s talk economics. Let’s say you fill your 14-gallon tank once every two weeks. If gas prices were to stay at a reasonable $3.50 per gallon (maybe there’s no turmoil in the Middle East because everyone went on vacation?), you spend about $1,274 a year on gas. Reduce that cost by putting your foot to the pedal instead of the pedal to the metal. Studies show us that 25 percent of all trips are made within a mile of the home, 40 percent of all trips are within 2 miles of the home, and 50 percent of the working population commutes 5 miles or less to work—yet 82 percent of these trips made that are 5 miles or less are made by motor vehicle!

Photo by Elzora.com Photography

What if you used a bike for those short trips? Even if you start small—one trip 2 miles away or less once a week for a year—you can still save some money. In my beautiful hypothetical world where gas prices hover at $3.50, you could save about $50 a year! If this doesn’t seem like a lot of money to you, please send all your extra cash my way because I’d love an extra $50 a year. I’d stop in the middle of the street to pick up a quarter!

If the wallet surplus isn’t enough motivation, how about the health aspect? Steady cycling burns approximately 300 calories per hour. If you cycle for 30 minutes every day you would burn 11 pounds of fat in a year. (This solves the mystery of how those bike commuters pack away thousands of flapjacks at our bike to work event every year and manage to avoid stretching out their spandex.) Bad knees you say? Pish posh! The Mayo Clinic suggests adding exercise like cycling to increase your mobility if you suffer from arthritis or other types of joint pain. Any way you slice it, using your bike is beneficial.

What? Being rich and fit don’t rank high on your personal goals? What if I told you cycling could make the world a better place? Recent studies reveal big payouts for bike-friendly cities. Researchers reviewed the effects of using a bike instead of a car in 11 different cities around the upper Midwest. Combining data on air quality, medical costs, mortality rates, car accidents and physical fitness, the research team discovered that if residents of the sample cities used bikes for just half of their short trips (less than 5 miles), they’d create a net societal health benefit of $3.5 billion annually from reduced air pollution, and net $3.8 billion in health care savings from those Midwest denizens being so trim.

Find a bikeway near you: www.metroparks.org/cycling

Of course because this is a Five Rivers MetroParks initiative, there is another ecological angle here. Those who drive 5 miles to work daily produce roughly 1860 pounds of greenhouse gases (CO2) into the atmosphere each year. It would take 133 fully matured trees per year to absorb those yearly emissions. Think about that for a second. Imagine planting 133 trees for your car alone. Now think about how many of your fellow commuters you see each day. We need another 133 trees to off-set the carbon from all those vehicles, and unless we’re willing to grow trees on a Cambrian-era level, we’re going to have to find ways to reduce our pollution.

If you think you have what it takes to start bike commuting but you’re not confident enough in your skills to make it to this Friday’s pancake breakfast, try taking the bike commuting class from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 23. This program will include bike terminology, commuting equipment and trip and bike preparation. You’ll also get an overview of traffic laws, potential hazards, safe-riding skills and proper route planning.

Use the bike instead of the car. Start small—commute one short trip once a week and see how you like it. Uneasy about traffic rules? Check out the monthly Courteous Mass rides. This group-led ride will orient you to the rules of the road (Rule #1: Bikes are recognized as “vehicles” in the eyes of the law, so not only is it your right to ride on the road, it’s your legal obligation) in a safe environment. The group meets around 5:30 p.m. at Fifth Third Field on the first Friday of each month. Get in gear for your health, your finances and the environment!