Diving Through Dayton

Who is Charlie?

2010-01-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

Charlie's Imports is the best deli in Dayton. Let's break this down with bullets.

There are freezers full of drink options for you to get what you want. There is no venti option at Charie's. If you want a bigger drink, you just grab the larger can or bottle. You can even get a Yoo-Hoo, assuming your mother is okay with that.

Similarly, you can also get your choice of chips and other sandwich friends. Pringles, Doritos, weird cookies? They are all there.

The best way to order is to get your drink so that you can drink it while you decide what to order. Then order your sandwich. Finally, pick out your sandwich friends while you wait for the awesome food to arrive.

The sandwiches are brilliantly conceived. They utilize baked ham, Bavarian ham, Capicolla ham, steak, turkey, honey roast turkey, mesquite smoked turkey, lamb, corn beef, and roast beef. That is every color in the meat rainbow! (I'm wearing a feed bag and sitting in the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow.) This is the sandwich recipe for the Hatch: Honey roast turkey, provo-lone cheese, egg slices, tomato, lettuce with Dijon honey mustard. All of that is on a Kaiser or onion roll. You will not see that innovation at Subway. Yeah, that's right, I called out Jared AND Michael Phelps.

The sandwiches are executed as well as they are planned. They use good quality ingredients.

I don't have a favorite sandwich. There are 27 sandwiches and probably 3 different ways (more or less) to do each sandwich so therefore there are 1,486, 380 possible sandwiches to chose from. I absolutely do have a favorite soup, the Chicken Spaetzle. Actually, that is the only soup
that I've had but it is an instant favorite with me. It should be renamed Grandma's Chicken Spaetzle.

As you go to the dining area, you pass by other "imports" of some food items, beer and liqueur. It is an odd collection but it adds to the charm.
There are more groceries in the seating area and some German magazines
that look old. It makes a great environment because it makes it . . .
Charlie's.

The prices are the best in town. Many people think that the best thing about Charlie's is the prices but that is not fair to the food. They are great but it is not cheap food.

Finally, this quirky little dive has a web site, http://www.charliesdeli-catering.com/, that has everything that a prospective customer would need to place an order. Every local restaurant needs a web site that makes it a breeze for your customers to order carry-out lunches. Actually, there are a lot of things about Charlie's that other Dayton restaurants should copy.

A Buffet of Choices!

2009-12-28T17:01:00.000-08:00

For the past several years, A Coworker and I have been trying various Indian restaurants around Dayton. The stated goal was to find the "Indian Wah-Fu". Unfortunately, that never happened. Fortunately, every meal was enjoyable.

I'm not qualified to speak about the authenticity. I have been to enough Indian restaurants to know what I liked and what was unique. Obviously, you should consider this the definitive review of Indian restaurants in Dayton. You're wrong. This is the definitive review of these restaurants' buffets. Fortunately for you, these buffets have been EXHAUSTIVELY investigated.

Amar India- (2751 Miamisburg Centerville Road) and Jeet India Restaurant (2632 Colonel Glenn Highway). For many years, when people consider Indian restaurants in Dayton, these were the restaurant that people thought of as the place to eat. They are solid restaurants. The food is always good and it has earned its reputation for quality.

Kohinoor Palace Fine Indian Cuisine (39 Springboro Pike) Kohinoor is okay. Some of the items were good and some were bad. Considering it splits the difference between Amar and Namaste, it is easy to never go back again.

Namaste India‎ (9632 Springboro Pike) Namaste is the only restaurant on this list that does not have a buffet. It has a huge menu. You order and then they bring you the food; yet, it is not fast food (you sit there for a while actually). The food is really good and it is a great spot to grab a lunch.

Maharaja of Dayton‎ (3464 New Germany Trebein Road). This one is mine and A Coworker's favorite. The buffet is big enough and all of the options are fantastic. The really great part about is that they have a thermos of Chai tea as a part of the buffet. Some may feel that is inconsequential in a review. SCREW YOU! Chai included in the buffet is absolutely essential for getting that 5th star.

There are plenty of Indian food restaurants in the region now. It is nice to see a whole restaurant cuisine come into town. I hope, and believe, that we have enough customers to support this cuisine. Other cuisines that I would like to order up Caribbean (especially a good Cuban restaurant), Kosher and more deli's. Most of all, I want more buffet's.

Political Endorsment

2009-09-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today, I would like to offer my unsolicited endorsement for Dayton Mayor to the guy who owns Thai 9. Anyone who can make a Thai restaurant the most well known restaurant in Dayton has all of the qualities of a good mayor.

Living on history

2009-09-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

As I was looking for their web site, I found this anonymous review of Hickory Bar-B-Que (the place on Brown St. that usually has a line at night), "I'm all for old-school, institution-type restaurants like this but I think they should deliver on some level. This Brown St. restaurant has all the trappings... the decor, ultra-guardian over-age staff, and the faux exclusivity of waiting for your table. Even at below average, I tend to give a place like this a break out of respect and/or shear sentimentality but Hickory failed to meet that mark, for me. I guess if you're a retiree that gets really excited about predictable, bland dinner club fare served in a music-less, stale environment this is your huckleberry."

I agree with what is quoted. I went to Hickory Bar-B-Que with a lot of excitement. I usually find good results when a place attracts a crowd. What worried me is that no one that I know had suggested that I try the place. The food was good but it just wasn't as great as it should be.

I don't know enough about why Hickory has stayed in business for so long to make an educated guess so I'm going to just make a guess. I think that for many years that this was the best barbecue in Dayton due to a lack of competition and experience with good barbecue. As barbecue becomes more popular and good barbecue becomes more common, I worry about Hickory's place in the local restaurant scene. I hope that they are inspired to become better.

There are other places in Dayton that seem to be living on legacy. They are places where the owners have not invested capital in the facility and spruces up the menu by adding some "light" food but not really improving the facility, the service or the menu. I think that maintaining great quality can be done over decades. Mama Disalvo's is a good example of that. The litmus test for a restaurant is not whether they can keep people coming for decades; it is whether they can keep new people coming back. That is the difference between a legend and a slow death.

By the way, the best part of Hickory Bar-B-Que is looking through the sidewalk window and seeing the food being cooked. The reason Hickory Bar-B-Que is not better is because you can see the food through the glass, their method of cooking does not produce enough smoke, especially wood smoke.

Breakfast at Abner's

2009-08-20T19:20:00.001-07:00

You'll have to ask who Abner is because I forgot to ask. Sorry.

I forgot to ask because I was too busy eating my breakfast and people watching. The breakfast food was great. I tried the eggs, toast, biscuits & gravy, and fried potatoes. All of them were really good, cheap, and filling enough that I forgot to eat lunch (that NEVER happens).

Abner 's is a classic Dayton diner. They assume that you want coffee, they sell lotto tickets and they have a back room where the food comes out of. I love it all! Abner's does have really good food. Since my bad experience at Wympe's, I had been leery of trying a diner's biscuits and gravy. I am very happy to report that Abner's biscuits and gravy were very good.

There is some good people watching at Abner's. It is on the main road of E. Dayton so it attracts a crowd with a lot of life experiences. I know this because the tatoos were a rich tapestry of . . . something. I think that my guest and I were the only people in there without tats. They were very friendly (like most Daytonians).

One of my favorite things about Abner's is that it is a great place to get away and get work done, especially if an internet connection is not needed. It is not a loud diner, the people pretty much keep to themselves and they don't mind you hanging around.

I recommend Abner's for the people watching, the office like functions but most of all, they serve a really good breakfast. (but you must pay cash for it)

Major Voltzy's Update

2009-08-04T04:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/taste/entries/2009/08/04/new_voltzys_root_beer_stand_op.html

Voltzy has been busy. "The new restaurant is a throwback to the 1950s-era root beer stands and will feature carhop service. Picnic tables also are available for dining al fresco. In the winter, carhop service and dinner hours will phase out and diners will be able to order in a foyer at lunchtime."

I'm most intrigued about the addition of fries and onion rings to the menu. A follow-up visit is in order.

Road Trip!

2009-07-05T19:26:00.001-07:00

. . . because even New Carlisle is a road trip.

The motto for Wot-A-Dog is "A Taste You Can't Get Anywhere Else!". Assuming that the taste is positive, should that not be the motto for every restaurant?

Wot-A-Dog is a drive-in root beer stand that . . . wait for it . . . makes its own root beer. Honestly, I thought that the root beer was okay, but sometimes you just have to give a lot of points for originality. As you can see above, Wot-A-Dog has plenty of originality.

This really is a great place to visit. There are only so many root beer stands around (including the Root Beer Stand in Dayton) and they should be prized before people think that Sonic developed the concept. People think that the benefit of the drive-in is that you don't have to get out of the car. The real beauty is that usually your car seat is more comfortable than a restaurant seat. Plus, there's a novelty to it.

The food was great at Wot-a-dog. I would highly recommend the . . . . Rebel Burger. I was going to have a hot dog that night so I didn't go for the obvious choice because this looked so interesting. The Rebel Burger is "hamburger & sausage patties w/Rebel Sauce, tomato slice, & American cheese." The Rebel Sauce seemed to be some type of Thousand Island dressing. What was especially wonderful was the hamburger patty combined with the sausage patty. Why are we so against combining beef and pig products together? There is a beautiful symmetry in combining two of the HOF meats. The sausage's spiciness was a great complement to the hamburger patty. I'm looking forward to trying this combination at other restaurants and in my own kitchen.

I did try a hot dog and a corn dog. Both were very good. I will definitely get a Foot Long Coney on my next visit. In fact, the menu is very complete. There are 8 different hot dog choices and 8 different burger choices, plus some other choices. There are also 14 different sides.

As I mentioned already, Wot-a-Dog serves its own root beer. It must be popular because you can get it in a one gallon jug so that you can pour it yourself in a frosted mug. The mugs go especially well with the root beer floats that they serve. They also have on the menu a variety of shakes, etc. but they only have vanilla or chocolate ice cream. I think that its funny that a menu will have 5 toppings listed but only two types of ice cream.

Wot-a-Dog closes down for the year on Sept. 15th. It is a great restaurant and a must-stop destination if you are driving through New Carlisle. It definitely is a "taste you can't get anywhere else."

Being Judgmental

2009-06-12T12:32:00.000-07:00

I want to announce to the world that I would like to be a judge in the New Home Questival. 7 Dayton area chefs are doing a competition with mystery ingredients. Their creation will be judged and I think that I should be a judge. I'm a much better judge of food than our local politicians and "community leaders". I'm also better looking and that should be taken into account.

Please let me know if I am selected in the comments below.

The Legend is Found

2009-06-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

I have been hearing about Voltzy's for years and years. I've been dubious about its existence. I just couldn't believe that a restaurant like that could exist in the area people kept telling me about and couldn't be seen. But, the legend was true.

Voltzy's has a lot going for it. 1)The cook makes fantastic burgers. 2)It is a trailer with a wooden shed attached and some picnic tables in front. 3)The owner throws wicked barbs at the customers 4)There is no sign for the place and 5)There are no fries on the menu. Let me address these in reverse order.

5) I love fries. I like thick fries. I like thin fries. I like just about any fries. I respect that Voltzy's does not serve fries because the owner is only focusing on what he does well. That is the sign of a good entrepreneur, focusing on what you do well. Chips are on the menu but order more meat instead.

5a) The menu is dominated with burgers, Philly steak's, sausage, and ham. It's all about meat. If you're distracted with fries, then you can't put a 140 oz. burger on the menu for $33.

4) I have a soft spot for arrogant burger places so any place that is too famous to even have a sign is doing alright. It does make it hard (impossible) to find without a guide but it does bring cache . . .

3) The owner is an ass but you wouldn't want him any other way. He looks to insult every customer that comes in (except children) and even people that call orders ahead of time. What makes it fun is that its unique for the region and the guy is genuinly funny. He makes a fun visit even more memorable.

2) There is no established restaurant. The place has been there for 18 years but they don't have a building. It is a trailer and a few places to sit. I don't think that I would go there in the snow (and it may not even be open) but the outdoor eating is even more awesome when the weather is nice.

1) These are my new favorite burgers. Benjamin's was my top choice for years and now that I did a blog post about it I jinxed them and found something even better. (I hope that this trend continues!) I got a couple of hots which aren't on the menu. They're burgers, grilled onions, maybe some other stuff and some hot sauce to top it off. The burgers are a little smaller than contemporary burgers so order a little extra but they are not as small as a slyder. The meat is fantastic, fresh, and juicy.

Voltzy's is real and it is as good as the legend says. The cheeseburger is $1. The Philly Steak is $3.95. This is one of the few restaurants that I've been to where I'm looking forward to trying, and will track, everything on the menu.

Wympee's-Breakfast Edition!!!

2009-05-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

I've been a long-time fan of Yummy! Burger on 3rd. Street. I have avoided Wympee's, http://tinyurl.com/nfg5wh out of loyalty to Yummy! Burger. Well, I was meeting someone for breakfast at Yummy! Burger and they were closed until 10:00 so betrayal happened. Sometimes when you can't find something . . . you walk across the street . . . . and check out the menu.

Wympee's has been around since 1938 and a nice story about it was in the DDN, http://tinyurl.com/lqka8n a little while back. But, to be honest, Wympee's was disappointing. The decor was lotto tickets, the background noise was The Price is Right, and the menu didn't have anything on it that sounded that appealing.

This being breakfast, I had an omelet and my friend had biscuits and gravy. The omelet was almost burnt and the biscuits and gravy lacked a meat taste and was too salty. I wasn't expecting great but it wasn't even good.

I'll stick with Yummy! Burger. Betrayal doesn't taste good.

BOW to the Master

2009-05-03T18:45:00.001-07:00

I generally respect cockiness. If you're good, you should not hide from it. I have no idea who Benjamin is but he's the Burger Master. Benjamin's The Burger Master is a little place about a mile north of downtown on Main St. It is surprisingly close to downtown, closer than Brown St. restaurants. It is also close to the best burger around.

I describe a Burger Master burger as how I think Wendy's burgers were before it became a chain restaurant. The cook butters the bun with a continuously rolling metal tube that covers itself in melted butter. (Where can I buy one of those?!?!? How awesome would that be for toast or eating mashed potatoes.) I really don't know what else they do because they wouldn't let me work there for a lunch shift.

My standard order is bacon cheeseburger and fried okra. The burgers are very fresh, thin, and only cooked one way. They aren't huge chunks of meat. They don't need to be cut-up. I think it helps in the cooking process that they are so thin. The burgers are a little crispy without being burnt. It all adds up to being a lot of flavor.

I also really enjoy the fried okra there. The coating is crispy but the okra is still juicy. Unfortunately, the french fries are not good at Burger Master. They taste like they've been cooked in the same oil as the chicken.

Yes, Burger Master offers a wide range of menu options besides burgers. They are okay. Go for the burgers.

I'm really curious to know who Benjamin is/was. I've been there plenty of times and I don't think that I've ever seen a man even working there. I would like to imagine that this person doesn't even "work" there. He just walks around knowing that he's created a fantastic meal. If you've created a great meal, go and be cocky!

Bad News

2009-04-17T06:03:00.000-07:00

Terra Cotta Cafe has announced that they will be closing at the end of April. That sucks.

Update: A friend who knows things says that the restaurant has someone who is considering in buying the business but just doing coffee. I hope that this person comes through and keeps the Bad Day Brownies and the awesome root beer.

The Best Cheesesteak and Gyro in Dayton are on the same menu

2009-04-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

Philly Steak House has the best cheesesteaks and gyros in Dayton. I am emphatic about this but I will taste your argument. The restaurant is at 3598 Salem Ave. Dayton, OH 45406. If you're coming from downtown, its on the left past Miami Valley Country Club but before you get to Siebenthaler. The restaurant sign is small and has too much color to be read. Be prepared to pass it. I found the place because I was lost around lunch time.

The place is scary. The first time that I was there, the owner told me that he'd been robbed the weekend before by guys with machine guns. No, this restaurant isn't in Dayton, its in Harrison Township. The kitchen/cash register is now closed off from the rest of the restaurant by very thick plastic.

I'm not telling you this to scare you off. I'm telling you this because it gives my next sentence more credibility. It's all worth it. I've taken a lot of people there since I've discovered it and all of them thanked me profusely for taking them there (and lived!). The food is a taste explosion.

Philly Steak House's cheesesteaks use great meat and are grilled fresh upon order. I know the meat is important because I've had the chicken philly and it was okay. Their cheesesteaks have everything a cheesesteak is supposed to have (except Cheeze Wiz. I don't care about that.) A better food writer than I would know why there are so awesome. I wish that I could replicate it but I can't. I can't replicate that the first bite is fantastic and yet, somehow, the last bite tastes even better than the first bite.

The gyros are just as good. I've always looked forward to the Greek Festival gyros. Now, I can't even eat a Greek Festival gyro. Philly Steak House keeps the lamb on a rotating kebab and they trim it off when you order and put it on the grill. I cannot imagine a more perfectly seasoned piece of meat. Then they put a very yummy, garlicky and brilliant Tzatziki sauce on the gyro. Honestly, I have no idea what the pita tastes like; all what matters is that it holds together for the rest of the goodies.

The hardest part about going to Philly Steak House is what to order. Gyro . . . cheesesteak. Cheesesteak . . . . gyro. There are two things I recommend in this situation. One, bring a good friend (mate?) who will order the other option and let you have a few bites. Two, share an order of chili-cheese fries.

I give the location and ambiance two lunch hours. Its adventurous to get to and I travel past some of my favorite Dayton neighborhoods but the restaurant is a former chain location and is really boring on the inside. The food is five lunch hours.

Just go there.

Update: I am devastated to report that Philly Steak House has served its last order. I talked to the owners and they were closing b/c business was not that good and they wanted to do other things. This is really bad news.

Tony's!!!

2009-03-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

I like to have business meetings at memorable places because it makes the meeting itself more memorable. I took a guy who lives in Cincinnati to Tony's and he was so excited that, the next night, he took his wife and another couple from Mason to Tony's for dinner. What this means is that Tony's is a tourist destination. It's that good.

What makes Tony’s memorable and unique is the menu. Tony's specializes in Fair Food. Among its fried items include pickles, Oreos, Twinkies, and Snickers. They have things that no one else has on their menu including Loaded Spiral Potatoes and Funnel Cake with Cherry Topping (I actually recommend without the Cherry Topping, the cherries are too overpowering). I’m sure that they would fry anything else if you asked. They are very nice there. (SPECIAL INSIGHT: The best way to get to Tony’s is a really long walk.)

Tony's also has pizza, hamburgers, pork tenderloins and other regular food there. They also have salads. (I want to see the person who orders a salad, a diet coke, and a fried Snicker). Those are all good. You can't go and get the specialty desserts if the main food is bad.

Recommended order: Tony's Italian Sausage, Loaded Spiral Potato and Deep Fried Twinkie.

I give the restaurant ambiance three lunch orders. The restaurant is really boring but the family that works there is very generous with portions and offering free samples. The food is four lunch orders. You will have a meal that you will remember for a long time.

Its nice to have choices but its also nice to have a place that specializes in something that no one else is specializing in doing. Go to Tony's but beware of the tourists!

Mama D's

2009-03-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Mama Disalvo's is my vote for the best Italian restaurant in Dayton. I don't know if Mama Disalvo's makes that rank because it is a great Italian restaurant or because of a lack of competition. My theory is that the reputation of Mama Disalvo's and Franco's (and even the late Dominic's) has intimidated a lot of Italian restaurants from starting.

Mama Disalvo's is always a special treat for people to visit. Who doesn't look forward to a trip there? They take a lot of pride in the quality of their food and they are one of the few restaurants in Dayton that (I don't think) does not have Gordon Food boxes in the back. I've been told by long-time Dayton people that the food tastes the same now as it did when the place opened.

The service has always been stellar in my visits. I recently brought a large group of people there for lunch and they gave everyone a free cannoli. FREE CANNOLI!!! Nothing picks up your day like a free pastry. Alright, maybe I should say that nothing picks up my day like a free pastry.

Since its only so much fun to praise a legend, I'm going to pick on something. I currently believe that MamaD's has the best pizza in Dayton. (I know how hugely subjective this is and I know that, not being from Dayton, I don't have an appreciation of some of the Dayton pizza joints but this is where I stand.) I just like their pizza. If you look at their pizza menu, they have a pretty basic set of 10 choices and then some Specialty Pizza: Seafood Pizza, Vegetarian Pizza, B.L.T. Pizza, Philly Steak Pizza and Buffalo Chicken Pizza.

My problem is that the regular topping menu is lacking and I question whether they should exclusively do oven pizzas. How irresistible would a wood fire pizza be from Mama Disalvo's? I would also be interested in seeing some effort from them on a white sauce because they are sooooo good with their cream sauces or even a simpler olive oil based pizza option. Their Specialty Pizzas are kind of crazy (why would a place that does not have a cheese steak on the menu have a Philly Steak pizza?) and I think that they skipped over exciting up their pizza options by going straight into the kitchy phase. I don't even think that they like those specialty pizzas because the menu says that those pizzas are not available on Friday or Saturday. I guess because people don't eat pizza on Friday or Saturday . . . ?

Is it stupid to say how much I like their pizza and then recommend that they change it? Yeah, probably but I just think that it can get better. Mama Disalvo's has been around for most of my life because they know what they are doing better than anyone else in town. I suggest that you visit and you hopefully end up with a free cannoli.

Welcoming Mary Ann & Michael to Dayton (please comment)

2009-03-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

Hello, in the previous thread, Mary Ann & Michael commented, "This is off point, but we are Northeastern foodies about to move to the Dayton area and looking for recommendations for restaurants. We will be doing a pre-move/house-hunting visit next weekend and have Friday night free to explore. Tips/suggestions are welcome. We eat just about anything except broccoli (one of us) and beets (both of us). Thanks for your help. Mary Ann & Michael"

In an effort to attract attention to this comment, I'm replying in a new thread. Everyone, please make your welcoming suggestions.

Mary Ann & Michael,
I'm honored at your ask. In Dayton, we pride ourselves on being very welcoming and I hope that you greatly enjoy living here. Many people, especially people who have moved here, would not seriously consider living anywhere else.

For your first visit, I would recommend visiting the Oregon District. It is an area adjacent to downtown that has a high concentration of awesome restaurants. You can walk around and look at menus to find one that you like. This web site has a lot of restaurant links and addresses for downtown and Oregon District dining. Please especially look at Coco's, one of my favorite restaurants. If you're looking for someplace that is more bar than restaurant, visit Blind Bob's in the Oregon District. Its a great bar with even better food.

For more lists of restaurants around town, our local blogger hangout, http://www.daytonmostmetro.com, has a posting that compiles local food blogs, many have a lot more postings than my own blog does.

Finally, I think Dayton is a great place to eat. We have a wide variety of restaurants and a lot of local offerings for foodies. I am especially proud of how good our bar food is. Blind Bob's, Boscos, Slyder's, Tanks, and Dublin Pub (also in the Oregon District) are all bars that you can get a great meal at. Additionally, coming from the Northeast, I think that you will be pleasantly surprised at our local food prices.

Mary Ann & Michael, please comment if you're looking for a restaurant in a specific area or of a certain type. I want to help as much as possible. Welcome to Dayton!

A seasonal complaint

2009-03-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Restaurant Owner,
March in Ohio means that there are really nice days and some crappy days. If you have a patio, and the day is nice, can you please let me sit on it to eat? It has been a cold winter and I enjoy sunshine and warm temperatures. I do not believe that I'm alone in this desire.

If I can't eat on your patio, I will go to a restaurant that let's me use their patio. I'm not threatening you, I'm just letting you know what I'm going to do.

Respectfully,

The Goat's Stomach

Maybe that's a California thing

2009-03-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

Being an urban pioneer in Dayton, Centerville is a wild and far off place. Therefore, when I was supposed to have a lunch at Meadowlark on Monday, I was surprised to find out that Meadowlark is not open on Mondays and that I did not have a good backup spot ready to go. My lunch companions came up with a restaurant that I had never heard of before, Flavor's Eatery, http://www.flavorseatery.com/.

My lunch companions told me that it’s Dayton's only California style restaurant. I guess that is why it opened up late that morning (rim shot!).

The other annoying thing was that they charge extra for people purchasing with credit cards. I understand a minimum purchase for credit card transactions and I have a self-imposed minimum purchase limit but I do not understand charging extra. Don't people spend less when they hand over cash? To see how strongly they believed in their policy, I asked them to waive the fee since my purchase was over $40 (it was for four people). They were shocked at my request and replied that they get charged by the credit card company $1.19 so they have to pass along the cost. Refrain: "Maybe that's a California thing".

The menu is online http://www.flavorseatery.com/menu.htm and is long. My favorite thing that I had is not on that menu. The vanilla chai latte was giddy-up good. It was big and had freshly made whip cream. I would go out there again just to get a chai there. My Indian-Food Buffet Partner is a huge fan of chai with a shot of chocolate and I really want to try that there.

Did you notice that the online menu does not have prices? Neither does the prices on the menu in the restaurant. I spent $47 on a lunch for four and I have no idea how much anything cost. That's shady. [Refrain]

My order was a turkey hummus wrap. There was a mix-up with one of my companion's orders and I kind of thought that they screwed up mine too. My wrap was filled with veggies and I could not find initially find the hummus and the turkey. I eventually found the turkey but the hummus was not inside. I was looking forward to the hummus but only found my daily allotment of vegetables. [Refrain]

I have done nothing but complain so far so I do not know why I enjoyed myself and would go back.

1. The portions were huge; but, as you can see from my bio, they were not anything that I could not handle.
2. The food was good. My entire table was happy with their lunch orders. I even liked the veggie filled wrap that was not a turkey-hummus wrap.
3. I appreciated the uniqueness of the menu (and I am not talking about the lack of prices). The pizza options are especially different and tempting to try. They have a lot of very healthy options and those are handy to have if you have a vitamin deficiency.

I will give the food 3 lunch hours out of 5 but that is a very tenuous grade that will almost certainly be changed up or down upon a later visit that involves me having a pizza. I will give the atmosphere 2 lunch hours out of 5. I like quirky but they just had some things that were annoying. [Refrain]

The Hot Dog Platform

2009-03-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hot dogs are viewed differently from children to adults. Children put ketchup and mustard on their hot dogs. Adults put mustard and other condiments on their hot dogs. One of the best ways to eat a hot dog is Chicago style. At Chicago Gyro's & Dogs (an awful name), formerly Pug's Dog House (an awesome name), this involves yellow mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions, sport peppers, celery salt and french fries. It turns a hot dog into a meal.

A hot dog is a pretty crappy piece of meat and a hot dog bun is the worst type of bread that you can have. What makes it terrible is that most hot dog vendors boil the hot dog and steam the bun instead of grilling both. The hot dog overcomes this because it is a canvas to do some awesome things.

Consider the rest of Pug's (former but similar to now) Menu:

Pug's Chicago Style Hot Dog: - $2.50
Served with yellow mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions, sport peppers, fries and celery salt.
Chicago Dog without fries: - $2.25
Served with yellow mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions & sport peppers.
Chili Works: - $3.25
Pug's Chicago Style Hot Dog topped with Chili & Cheese.
Slaw Dog: - $2.50
Topped with our homemade creamy coleslaw
Pug's Double Dog: - $3.75
Chicago Style Hot Dog with 2 dogs.
Rachel's Favorite: - $2.75
Chicago Dog with HOT Giardiniera.

Pug's City Dog - $2.50
Served with Tomato slices, yellow mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions, dill pickle spear & celery salt.
Chili Cheese Dog: - $2.75
Mustard & Onion upon request.
Kraut Dog: - $2.50
Served with loads of Sauerkraut Mustard & Onion upon request.
The Fedyk Dog: - $3.25
Served with Chili, Cheese, Mustard, Chopped Onion, Cole slaw & Fries.

My favorite one out of these is The Fedyk Dog (on current menu). It is named after a UD football player, http://www.daytonflyers.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102105aab.html, whose culinary legacy may be more pronounced than his football legacy.

Pug's is my daughter's favorite restaurant in Dayton. She has very sophisticated hot dog tastes for being a youngster. Her favorite hot dog has relish, ketchup, mustard, and french fries. That will be what she orders on her birthday. I can also convince her to try every hot dog on their menu (without sport peppers). The hot dog is great for the food you can put on top of it.

This restaurant has good atmosphere. It is a small shop and you order from the counter. The walls have a lot of posters about UD and their Chicago hot dog vendor. The owners were very, very nice because I think the kids and I got unlimited french fries. We'll give the atmosphere 4 out of 5 lunch hours because of the unlimited french fries.

The food is really quite spectacular. I have not tried their gyros but their hot dogs are always worth the trip. Additionally, their french fries are small, fried, and very salty. They are worth a trip of their own. Though Chicago really needs a chili cheese fries option on the menu, I give the food 4 out of 5 lunch hours.

How to Say Hello

2009-03-03T17:06:00.000-08:00

A restaurant should be able to be classified by how they greet you when you walk through the door. An expensive restaurant will greet you formally. A good restaurant will make you feel welcome. When you walk into East 5th Street Grill & Carryout, they ask you if you want coffee. That's exactly how a diner should welcome its customers.

E. 5th Street Grill is an authentic diner. The walls are filled with garage sale pickups. In the summer time, they leave the door open and the screen door closed. They serve breakfast and lunch all day (including a huge pork tenderloin sandwich that should require two buns). The food is cheap. They even have a cook that is covered in tattoos and a shaved head (I wish I knew his name). They have a bar to sit at. All of their food is cooked on the griddle or fried in oil.

I was eating and trying to think what else the place needs. Only the waitress, a very nice woman, wasn't cast for the role. Their menu also mentions salads but can we all agree to ignore that?

All of that and you'll still remember how they greeted you,"Do you want coffee?"

The Taste of Adventure

2009-02-27T17:33:00.000-08:00

I think Dayton's scariest curiosity, our freak house of horrors, is Wah-Fu, the Chinese restaurant near Miami Valley Hospital and close to UD.

Everything about the restaurant indicates that the place should be shut-down. Wah-Fu's parking lot is rough and includes parking on a side lot that seems sketchy. The building's exterior needs repair. The inside looks like a gutted house with the kitchen in the back. The decor involves heavy doses of fake wood paneling and mismatched furniture. Between finding the place, having the courage to walk-in and surviving the shock of the interior, it is amazed that anyone stays. The prices do not inspire confidence, yet they are inviting. However, it is indisputable that if the place was deadly, it would not have survived for at least 10 years.

Wah-Fu is the best value of any restaurant in Dayton. There is not anything on the menu above $5. I had shrimp and snow peas, an egg roll, and a bowl of won ton soup for $4.85. That is unthinkable. It also helps build the spirit of adventure.

Pricing is an interesting subject in business. It is part of the marketing of a product or service because it affects how people view the product. Wah-Fu puts out a very impressive product at an incredible price. The meal that I ate would have been fairly priced at $8, plus tip. So, the $4.85 becomes part of the restaurant's story. What would the impression of Wah-Fu be if the meals cost $7.50? In one sense, the price is one of its draws. However, at the same time, the prices do not inspire confidence. It would be an interesting exercise in pricing strategy if the owners actually charged $7.50 for the meal that I ate. Of course, if the prices could improve their profit, they could reinvest the profit in fixing some of their other flaws.

I hope that they don't change.

The last time that I went, I went with a group of 12 people. Of the 12, I had been there once, another girl had been there regularly several years ago, and the other 10 had never been there. The luncheon took on the feel of an adventure and that brought us closer together. While people were scared about what was going to come out of the kitchen, they were reassured once the plates of food arrived. To quote a friend of mine without her knowledge, "I'm glad you and XXXX were brave enough to try out Wah-fu. I know I was pleasantly surprised."

Wah-fu is about more than the scary aesthetics and the pricing. It has really good food. It is not my favorite Chinese restaurant in Dayton but I think, in a blind taste test of random people, Wah-Fu would do kick some ass. They do the basics well and bring full flavor to their dishes.

Your final warning about Wah-Fu: They don't take credit cards.

North River Coffee House

2009-02-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

There is a dearth of food choices on Salem Ave. I will go so far as to say that there does not seem to be many local food choices in that part of Dayton. It is a desert of good food options. There may be water there but I sure as hell can't find much.

One solid choice for the past several years has been North River Coffee House, http://www.northrivercoffee.com/. This little diner-coffee shop is owned by Judge Littlejohn and has been managed by a very sweet woman who was doing a great job, according to this frequent customer.

Honestly, North River's food was never spectacular. I just really enjoyed eating there because if the food tastes better in a locally owned restaurant, it tastes even better in a locally owned restaurant in a part of town that does an awful job supporting locally owned restaurants. It does have good coffee, pie, and free wi-fi!

North River Coffee House was the 2007 CityWide Development Corporation Business of the Year. They earned it. It was bringing an entrepreneurial solution to an area that needs more businesses.

I'm frustrated because I fear that they will be on my "RIP, burger" list soon. There was a new woman today behind the counter and the service was poor, there was a slimmed down menu with 1/2 of the lunch options (the menu wasn't expansive in the first place), and I know that they have been doing poorly. They also forgot my pickle.

I just don't understand how that business is not better supported. They have NO competition except a Rally's up the street and downtown (which is almost a mile away). There is enough car traffic, residents and local businesses that they should be thriving. They have ample parking and they have a "Dayton celebrity" owner. Their poor prospects do not make me sad; they make me mad. If you want more businesses like this one, than you have to not only go there, you have to bring people to them. This is people-powered economic development, the best kind!

Don't make your business lunches at an easily found and safe chain restaurant, make it at some place memorable. I just hope that North River Coffee Coffee House survives as an option.

RIP, burger

2009-02-23T14:29:00.001-08:00

This is a blog post that I will be updating periodically for as long as I write on this blog. It is a graveyard for great restaurants that have gone to that great take-out joint in the sky. In all seriousness, these business's failure led to great anguish to a family. This post celebrates and remembers the great food that they served.

Cafe Istanbul-This was the first place that I had Turkish food, which is awesome! It was also the only restaurant at the Greene that I could eat at and, due to its uniqueness, not feel like I was betraying the locally owned restaurants.

Mi Tierra-This was a restaurant in East Dayton. I could never guess what was going to close it down first, the health department or INS. I mean that as a compliment. It had the most authentic Mexican food in Dayton.

Linden Grill-was a nice little diner that was within walking distance from my house. It had good food and good service but it was just so cool to have a diner within walking distance of my house. That's why urban life is better than suburbia.

Terra Cotta Cafe-http://divingthroughdayton.blogspot.com/2009/02/terra-cotta-cafe.html They moved out and left a whole in downtown's restaurant choices.

Philly Steak House- http://divingthroughdayton.blogspot.com/2009/04/best-cheesesteak-and-gyro-in-dayton-are.html. They had the best cheese steaks and gyros in town. I've found gyros that are comparable but I have not had a cheese steak that was in the same ball park.

Tony's- http://divingthroughdayton.blogspot.com/2009/03/tonys.html They were really good!

Wympee's-http://divingthroughdayton.blogspot.com/2009/05/wympees-breakfast-edition.html are they missed?

Bosco's - I never did a post about them but they were one of my favorites. That restaurant should NOT have gone down. It will definitely be missed and I just hope that their sweet potato fry and chipotle sauce recipes will show up somewhere else.

If you want to remember a favorite Dayton restaurant, mention it in the comments.

Terra Cotta Cafe

2009-02-23T13:26:00.001-08:00

What will it take for Terra Cotta Cafe to get recognized and slammed with business? Terra Cotta Cafe is a great sandwich serving coffee shop (or a great coffee serving sandwich shop) on the corner of 5th and Ludlow. It is downtown but not near any major office buildings. It is close to the convention center but not close enough that people who go to only an event at the convention center would know about it. I understand that its 3 blocks from Courthouse Square but this is the problem with downtown Dayton, people are too lazy to walk 3 blocks.

My favorite thing about Terra Cotta Cafe is that I never see anyone there that I know. It makes it very convenient to meet someone in private or going to get some work done without distractions. Terra Cotta is the one place that I don't tell people about . . . but I need it to survive. I no longer have the luxury of a cafe that does okay in the good times.

Terra Cotta has great food. They have innovative panninis and sandwiches. They throw some classic ingredients together in an innovative way and they really like pesto, a favorite ingredient of mine. Today's special was "Pepperjack Turkey Club Melt. This melt has turkey, tomato, bacon, mayo and pepperjack cheese grilled on choice of bread." That is the prototypical Terra Cotta Cafe sandwich. They have a menu full of these kinds of sandwichs.

Terra Cotta also has a full service coffee machine and coffee specials. They really do their coffee specials well. On Friday, they had a coffee special of Large Chocolate Covered Raspberry Mocha. I know that this is a little fancy but break it down, this is coffee with chocolate and raspberries. It is a tried and true recipe for anyone woman or man who is comfortable with society's perception of his masculinity.

My biggest problem with Terra Cotta Cafe is that they don't have a web site. It is inexcusable for a restaurant to be without a web site as we approach 2010. This will be a common lament on Diving Through Dayton.

As my first restaurant posting, I give you my favorite "secret" place because I'm legitimately worried about them going out of business. I'm not happy about this. Please visit them.

Introduction

2009-02-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

This blog is to discuss the best restaurants in the Dayton region with a particular focus on the local dives. Living and working in the city of Dayton, and rarely traveling outside of the Dayton Region for work, allows me to visit a lot of local restaurants. I appreciate finding a dive restaurant that does something well and sharing that restaurant with other people.

Let's be honest, this blog is a narcissistic platform for me to talk about all of the great meals that I eat.