I was invited to Redondo Taqueria for a tasting of their popular menu items. This was my first visit to the eclectic Mexican restaurant located at Newport on the Levee and I’m grateful that the tasting helped me to know what I will want to order for future visits.
The Newport Southbank Bridge known as the “Purple People Bridge” has now become an area where couples pledge and secure their love for each other forever by “locking up their love” with a lock on the bridge.
BRICKmas is an exhibit for anyone who enjoys creativity and fun. The OKILUG (Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana Lego User’s Group) have put together another incredible display that will amaze audiences young and old.
Carew Tower is a Cincinnati icon. The tower was built in 1930 and is the 2nd tallest building in Cincinnati. Carew Tower boasts an art deco design and incredible view of the city from the observation deck.
I recently attended a media preview night for the unveiling of two special gifts to the Newport Aquarium. Scuba Santa delivered two rare white American Alligators named Snowball and Snowflake to make the Water Wonderland experience even better.
The Shillito elves are back and they are at Newport on the Levee for a new generation to enjoy. The elves were part of the Shillito’s Department store display that was a Cincinnati holiday favorite from 1955 to the early 1980’s. The display originally started in the windows and then was moved inside to get more traffic inside the store.
The Santa’s workshop offers three different areas for visitors to view. We started in the area with the lego train display.
I think watching the 80’s/90’s tv show “Circus of the Stars” planted the seed in my mind that anyone could try being a circus star. So I tried trapeze with friends…..
………and then we tried trapeze as a family.
So then the logic was that if your family is a circus already …might as well learn a few skills to impress the neighbors.
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.
