I’ve never enjoyed grocery shopping but Jungle Jim’s might be the store to convert me.
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food adventure
Dishcrawl ~ Taco Crawl on Pedal Wagons
My second experience with Dishcrawl Cincinnati was such a fun food tour experience.
Our transportation for the evening was a pedal wagon. Our food theme was a taco crawl. Experience + Mexican food = Beautiful!
Our restuarants were a little farther apart than my last Dishcrawl tour which is why we were using the Pedal Wagons for transportation.
The pedal wagon does have a motor so you really don’t have to pedal that hard and pedaling is really pretty optional. You just need to pay attention to when the driver tells you to stop pedaling.
Our first stop was Mynt Martini located at Fountain Square where we tried Avocado Taco, Lobster Taco, Jerk chicken taco, Jerk beef taco. The avocado and jerk chicken taco were my favorite.
Our next stop was Taqueria Mercado where we had the authentic taste of Mexico with a Carna Asada Taco, Seasoned chicken taco, Carnitas (Pork) taco all served with Pico and fresh Lemon (lime). They were incredible!!!! They had lots of cilantro and were very flavorful. There were also a few options for hot sauces too. The hotter the better!
So now our taco count is 7 tacos! 7 Tacos and we still have 5 more to go!
We might have needed to go a few more miles to work up more of an appetite for our next destination.
Our next stop was Arnold’s which has 150+ years of history.
I absolutely loved the sitting area for our tacos at this stop. The open air patio at Arnold’s was set between buildings with live music and twinkling lights. This was a place that I have been wanting to check out that I had heard about for a long time.
At Arnold’s we tried the Blackened Tilapia Taco, Seasoned beef taco, and Seasoned Chicken taco. We were pretty full but still managed to try a few bites of each taco. I really enjoyed the blackened tilapia taco there.
Our final stop of the evening was Bakersfield. Our family had just visited Bakersfield for the first time a few weeks prior and loved it.
At Bakersfield we tried the Fish taco (Crispy mahi, Tabasco lime sauce, citrus slaw) and the Short rib Taco, (braised short rib, queso fresco, crema, pickled onions, cilantro radish)
I took a bite of each taco and then boxed up the rest. 12 TACOS is A LOT of Food!!!!
I think the unofficial name of the tour should be the “Hurt so Good Tour!” The food was fantastic and I really enjoyed another Dishcrawl experience where we got to experience new flavors and venues in our city.
You can find out more about Dishcrawl from their website.
Disclosure: I was given complimentary tickets for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
Dishcrawl ~ Cincinnati ~ Progressive Dinner Review
Have you heard of Dishcrawl before?
It combines all of the things I love….eating out, an excuse not to cook dinner, exploring foods at multiple restaurants and meeting new people.
I joined my friend Heather from The Food Hussy on a progressive dinner style food adventure downtown with Dishcrawl Cincinnati.
You start by meeting Chef Michael at a prearranged destination and then sign waivers and receive a name tag. You don’t know where you are going to eat until right before you are on your way there which is what makes the experience a fun food adventure.
Ironically, it started raining right as we were meeting but we were lucky that we didn’t have too far to travel. The size of the group can vary from around 25-40+ people. The food is already prearranged so that you don’t have to over think what you are going to eat and you can just relax and enjoy your food and company.
Our first destination was Fusian, that is the Chipotle style concept of sushi.
When you visit Fusian, you get to create your ideal sushi roll and watch it being made in front of you.
We tried the Seaweed and Soy wrap (salmon with sweet chili) (steak with wasabi mayo) and (chicken with sweet soy.)
Our second destination was Jimmy G’s.
This restaurant was underground. I would never have known to check this place out.
We tried seasoned pork skewers on seasoned rice.
Apricot Bacon & Pork Tummy Tuck (confit pork belly, apple wood bacon, Harissa & Marcona Almonds, toasts)
Chocolate Raspberry Mouse
Our weather cleared up as we made our way to our final destination.
Our third restaurant was The Blue Wisp.
We tried Spinach artichoke spread with flat bread toast points, Broiled Cod on Seasoned Mashed Potatoes with sauce chevron.
We also experienced their Taste of Cincinnati award winning bread pudding with carmel sauce.
There is live music at The Blue Wisp 7 nights a week.
I had been to Fusian before, our family loves sushi and really enjoyed our previous visits there. I have liked everything I have tried there and will definitely be back.
Jimmy G’s was a restaurant that I probably would have not checked out without the knowledge of Dishcrawl. Their pork belly with bacon and apricot was a flavorful combination that I have never tried before, that was delicious. Their chocolate mouse dessert was a hit too.
The Blue Wisp was a restaurant that we had been to years ago and I had been wanting to check it out again for a while. I loved their food. Everything we ate there was something that I would definitely order again.
I really enjoyed my first Dishcrawl experience and look forward to trying more Dishcrawls in the future. Dishcrawl is a great way to try new foods at new places with new friends.
Here are a few things that you should know before you go.
Come hungry. – You will eat a lot of food.
You pay for your drinks at each location. Check out what the drink specials are at each location.
Ask questions. – This will help you mingle with your fellow food adventurers.
If you have dietary restrictions make sure you make Chef Michael aware of them ahead of time.
You can learn more about Dishcrawl Cincinnati from their website. There are different tours all over the city and you can also customize tours if you have a large group.
Disclosure: I was given a complimentary tour for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
Smashburger Burger and Beer Pairings Menu
I got the opportunity to join some other bloggers to hear more about Smashburger’s new burger and beer pairings menu from Founder, Tom Ryan. I had heard great things before our visit and I was so excited to see what the buzz was about.
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Tom + Chee = ♥
One of the items on my list this year was to eat at a “Man vs. Food Nation” restaurant. We love when we get the chance to sample a restaurant featured on the Food Network. I saw the “Man vs. Food Nation- Cincinnati edition” episode featuring “Tom + Chee” and knew I had to check it out for myself the next time we were in town.
What could be better than a place dedicated to taking a twist on everyone’s favorite comfort food, grilled cheese?
Tom + Chee is the place for all things grilled and greasy in a good way. You can couple your sandwich with a dipper of soup to dunk your sandwich in and you are in complete bliss. Actually, the bliss comes from trying one of the grilled donut desserts.
There are A LOT of creative combinations listed on the menu board to try from. They also have different daily creatively named and combos of sandwich choices. Your bread options are white, wheat, rye, sourdough, or glazed donut. You also have 9 different types of cheeses to chose from.
I decided on the “Man vs. Food” choice of the “Armagoetta.” The “Armagoetta” uses goetta, which is a breakfast sausage popular in the Cincinnati area that blends pork shoulder, steel-cut oats, and spices. (One piece of dark rye toast + one piece of sourdough+ goetta + pepper jack cheese + hot peppers + fried onions + sweet hot mustard )
It was everything I hoped it would be. I love spicy food and this was the perfect choice.
My husband got the “Bacon and Blue” ( Bacon + Blue cheese + mozzarella + Sourdough) with a tomato soup dipper.
My oldest son got the BLT + Chee minus the tomato ( Bacon + Lettuce + Cheddar + White)
My other son ordered the Mac and Chee sandwich.
We could not leave without trying a dessert, stuffed grilled donut. The hardest part was picking out which one off the menu….so I chose two. We split two grilled donuts between 7 people so that each of us got to try a taste of each one. First, the “Blueberry Bleu” ( blueberries compote + mozzarella + bleu cheese + was with blueberries and was featured on “Man vs. Food Nation” and the second one combined Andes thin mints and strawberries.
Both grilled donuts were AMAZING! This is definitely a place to visit in moderation. If you are really disciplined, you could order a salad ……..but why would you do that?
The food is reasonably priced and offers self serve fountain drinks. No waiter, just get your food order number to place on your table.
If you want to try some grilled chee amazingness – check out Tom + Chee. They currently have three locations in the Cincinnati/ Northern KY metro area. Be on the look for their upcoming expansion to a few new cities too.