There are a lot of great restaurants in the Greater Cincinnati area – a fact we should be thankful for.  Many great places most of you already know, including chains like Dewey’s and local places like Montgomery Inn.  Below are a few local (non-chain) eateries most of you have overlooked, and which all of you should take the time to check out.

Pit-To-Plate
The best barbecue (and sides) in Cincinnati, served southern style (your choice of sauces served on the side).  Try the  pork ribs, wings, or pulled pork to start.  Also try Barbecue Review.

8021 Hamilton Ave.
Mt. Healthy, Ohio 45231 USA
513-931-9100
http://www.pittoplatebbq.com/

Camp Washington Chili
Why go to Skyline or Gold Star and eat canned chili? Go here and taste how fresh makes all the difference.  And, if you don’t like Cincinnati chili, they have great sandwiches as well. Many a soul have been heard to rave over Camp Washington – but that don’t like Skyline. Also try Blue Ash Chili.

3005 Colerain Ave
Cincinnati, Ohio 45225 USA
513-541-0061
http://www.campwashingtonchili.com

Lemon Grass
Best Thai in town.  If you love Chinese, give this a try – the dishes are familiar, with unique spices and flavor notes. Also try Sukhothai Thai Cuisine.

2666 Madison Rd
Cincinnati, Ohio 45208 USA
513-321-2882

Betta’s Italian Oven
Best Italian in Cincinnati. Wood fired pizza and great pasta – all home made fresh. Also try Ferarri’s Little Italy.

3764 Montgomery Rd
Norwood, Ohio 45212 USA
513-631-6836

Floyd’s
Mediterranean/Greek. Also try Andy’s and Taz.

127 Calhoun St
Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 USA
513-221-2434

Last Thursday I and a friend decided to go down to Party Source in Belvue after work to check out a weekly event Party Source has been putting on.  Thursday nights are Burgers and Brews.  They cook up hamburgers with a special sauce and pare them with a brewer.  I had heard from many that Party Source puts on some awesome cooking class, Schlafly was the brewer (friends rave about them) and they do have one of the best selections of beer in the area – so for $15 it was off to have some fun.

• Brown Ale Cask (special delivery for the event)
• Kolsch – 4.8%
• Biere de Garde – 7.0%
• American Pale Ale (APA) – 5.9%
• Export IPA – 8%

The Brown Ale was very interesting, but needed to age another six months.  The Kolsch and APA were both good, but nothing special.  To be honest, the more of these variaties I try, the more none of them stand out.  The Export IPA was also good, but nothing to write home about.  The Biere de Garde was very good indeed, but not the best of it’s class.

Now, please don’t take my words as too harsh towards Schlafly – five brews from a very deep line-up is not a good sampling.  Not to mention three of the five were entry level beers.  I did buy a sampler pack before leaving to give Schlafly’s line-up a deeper interogation.

Before you begin thinking that a five beers and a burger for $15 is a great deal – the brews were served in plastic solo cups (2-3 oz.) – not in a glass (a big beer no-no).

The burger?  We were served one mediumish burger (served with chips) that was slightly overcooked and on the cool side.  Not bad, not good.  The BBQ sauce they concocted was very interesting.  It took an hour from the time the first burger was served (to the group of thirty or so) till we received ours (we were in the back).

How about the location – outside on their patio in great weather!  But alas their patio is right next to a major road.  The fair aroma of beer was replaced with car, truck and bus exhaust.

Not all was bust, a great two-piece acoustic band played background music at a perfect volume (I hate it when the music is overly loud making talk with your table mates impossible) – at least when not overpowered by the trucks and buses.  The Party Source hosts were friendly and the experts from Schlafly were friendly, knowledgeable and talkative.  Party Source also provided a 5% discount on anything we purchased that night.

Please don’t completely write off Party Source because of this review, as I said I have heard great things about thier cooking classes and the beer selection is great – including many brews you can’t get in Ohio.

Last Friday I had the pleasure of joining my fellow beer lovers for an extraordinary event at Jungle Jim’s.  Stone Brewery from San Diego, California was nice enough to literally bring from their cellar the last cases of some vintage brews they had been allowing to age.  On the table were twelve great beers to sample.

• Russian Imperial Stout 2006 – 10.8%
• Russian Imperial Stout 2007 – 10.8%
• Russian Imperial Stout 2008 – 10.5%
• 12th Anniversary – 9.8%
• 11th Anniversary – 8.7%
• Sublimely Self Righteous – 8.7%
• Cali Belgique – 6.9%
• Double Bastard Ale 2006 – 10.0%
• Double Bastard Ale 2007 – 10.0%
• Old Guardian 2007 (barley wine) – 11.26%
• Old Guardian 2008 (barley wine) – 11.26%
• Old Guardian 2009 (barley wine) – 11.3%

I could keep this really short by just saying every single one was fantastic, but I assume you want a few more details.  First, you will notice that they are all high in alcohol – although we each only had a sample (as opposed to a complete pint) the tasting group were all a little tipsy by the end of the night.

Not all beers will age well, but this tasting proves that Stone beers do.  Beers that would normally be hoppy mellow (in a good way) through the years with a wonderful melding of flavors.  The first beer we tasted was a the 2006 Russian Imperial Stout turned out to be one of the best beers I have ever had – mellow, sweet, rich and awesome.  Go buy a bottle of this years and stuff it in your basement for a few years – you will not be disappointed.  The 2007 was a little more hoppy (but still excellent), with the 2009 noticably hoppier – the extra year made all the difference.

The anniversary offerings, as well as the self Rightious were some of my least favorite, as they were all very hoppy – with the 12th having a bitter coffee taste.  Keep in mind these are the least favorite from an excellent collection – these just had too much compitition.

The Cali Belgique was the most interesting – a Belgian IPA woudl be the easiest way to describe it.  Although I am not so much for the hops, the combination of Belgian yeast within an IPA was genious.  My kind of IPA.

We finished with a double of the Double Bastard and then a trio of Old Guardian barley wines.  The Double Bastard is a darn good ale to start with, but let it age a few years and you have a perfect blending yielding one of the best ale’s anywhere.  But… they were topped by the barley wine.  I have never been a big fan of Old Guardian (although barley wines are a personal favorite) – as it was always far to bitter for a barley.  But the 2007 really surprised me.  What a difference a few years aging can make, taking the Old Guardian from a decent brew to a nearly perfect barley wine.   If you like barley wine, go out and grab some of this years and let it age three to five years.

Thanks to Jungle Jims for arranging and hosting, and to Stone for bringing out some rare beers.

PS, see you all next month at Jungle Jim’s Spring Beerfest – over 50 brewers have allready committed – get your tickets now.