25 New Restaurants in 2012

[foolsgold]

1) HD Beans

2) Maury's Tiny Cove: OK, so this isn't a new restaurant for me, but in the two years since I've been there, they've changed owners and poshed up a bit.  The menu was still the same at its core, but it also featured a number of new pastas and dishes with long and fer-in names.  I didn't bother.  Went straight to the Bobcat (5oz) filet, onion straws, chopped salad with neon pink 1000 Island and some broccoli.  I was a bit nervous since I had heard the new and improved Maury's was not up to par, but the filet was terrific, one of the best I've ever had.

[Rafe]

Good to hear. I fucking love that place. I need to either win the Lottery or do some homework on the subject of successfully stowing away, sharpish.

[dirk]

1) Cincy by the Slice

2) Greek To Me
A nice greek place that opened on Court Street downtown.  There are apparently a few of them in the area, but I had never heard of them.  I had the chicken gyro which was good.  I also had the greek fries, which I liked a lot.  It isn't a blow away place, but how much can you really do with a gyro?

[The Hegemo]

1. Feta & Pita (Hilliard) -- I really wanted to like this. But the food was pretty bland. And with Olive Tree, Mazah, Lavash, et al within easy driving distance, I just can't see making a trip out to this place again. Maybe if I were out on Fishinger already. But otherwise...meh. 4/10

2. Papaya Street Grill (Dublin) -- Another in the string of Chipotle-esque concepts, this one Asian. I had tofu with brown rice and a lemongrass sauce. It was very good, and very reasonably priced. I wish this were near my office so I could go regularly for lunch. 8/10
3. Applebee's (Mansfield) -- Okay, this was not the first time I'd been to an Applebee's, but the first time in at least six years, and the first time as a semi-vegetarian. And I'm lucky I'm just semi- and still eat seafood, because otherwise there'd have been NOTHING on the menu to eat. I got a spinach salad with shrimp (minus the bacon and the bacon dressing). It was pretty meh. 3/10
4. Green Papaya (Oakley, Cincinnati) -- There are so many new Asian restaurants near my parents' house in Cincy. I had lunch with my mother after a dentist appointment, and tried this one. Lunch specials are pretty cheap and good. They had brown rice as an option, which I always appreciate. Red curry tofu. Quite good. Could have had a bit more heat on the medium spice level. 7/10.

[Poolio]

2. Papaya Street Grill (Dublin) -- Another in the string of Chipotle-esque concepts, this one Asian. I had tofu with brown rice and a lemongrass sauce. It was very good, and very reasonably priced. I wish this were near my office so I could go regularly for lunch. 8/10

Where is this? There's a bunch of ethnic "fast" food coming in around Dublin lately. A former Rally's is being replaced by a Greek-Italian quick restaurant..

[The Hegemo]

2. Papaya Street Grill (Dublin) -- Another in the string of Chipotle-esque concepts, this one Asian. I had tofu with brown rice and a lemongrass sauce. It was very good, and very reasonably priced. I wish this were near my office so I could go regularly for lunch. 8/10

Where is this? There's a bunch of ethnic "fast" food coming in around Dublin lately. A former Rally's is being replaced by a Greek-Italian quick restaurant..

It's on 161, just east of where Whole Foods is. It's in the strip mall that has the "Internet Cafe" in it.

[Poolio]

2. Papaya Street Grill (Dublin) -- Another in the string of Chipotle-esque concepts, this one Asian. I had tofu with brown rice and a lemongrass sauce. It was very good, and very reasonably priced. I wish this were near my office so I could go regularly for lunch. 8/10

Where is this? There's a bunch of ethnic "fast" food coming in around Dublin lately. A former Rally's is being replaced by a Greek-Italian quick restaurant..

It's on 161, just east of where Whole Foods is. It's in the strip mall that has the "Internet Cafe" in it.

Ahhh... I'll have to check it out.

[trixi]

1.  Mucky Duck English Pub--Captiva Island, FL
2.  Sebring Diner--Sebring, FL

3.  Taquerio Mercado--Cincinnati, OH

[foolsgold]

1) HD Beans
2) Maury's Tiny Cove

3. The Senate: Manhattans, hot dogs with pot roast and kimchi and fries cooked in duck fat.  Add some marrow as an app.  That worked.

[Poolio]

1. DiBella's - Still the best subs in C-bus.
2. Winking Lizard (Bethel Rd.) - The beer selection alone is worth the trip... the fact that I like the food and the staff know me and are good is just icing on the cake.

3. Papaya Street Grill (Dublin) - Oh my. I'll have to wholeheartedly agree with Heg on this place. I will be returning there often. I had the green curry, spiced to medium, and it was one of the best green curries I've ever had. Now I want to try everything else on the menu. It's well-worth the trip to the obscure strip mall. Oh, and Heg, anytime you want to go again, let me know and I'll meet you.

[MaxieWOXY]

2. Papaya Street Grill (Dublin) -- Another in the string of Chipotle-esque concepts, this one Asian. I had tofu with brown rice and a lemongrass sauce. It was very good, and very reasonably priced. I wish this were near my office so I could go regularly for lunch. 8/10

Where is this? There's a bunch of ethnic "fast" food coming in around Dublin lately. A former Rally's is being replaced by a Greek-Italian quick restaurant..

It's on 161, just east of where Whole Foods is. It's in the strip mall that has the "Internet Cafe" in it.

Ah, I wondered where this was myself, being (I think) pretty up on my Dublin dining choices. That's actually Columbus (well, something other than Dublin at least), which is how I missed it.

[Poolio]

Ah, I wondered where this was myself, being (I think) pretty up on my Dublin dining choices. That's actually Columbus (well, something other than Dublin at least), which is how I missed it.

Yep, it's in the strip mall between Whole Food and Federate Blvd., the one with Internet Cafe.

[Butter]

1. Lark Creek Steak - Westfield Center, San Francisco - 10

This was one of the best meals I have ever had.  A 6 oz. filet mignon with whipped potatoes, mushrooms, and brussels sprouts.  Everything tasted delightful and was cooked to absolute perfection.  Expensive as shit, but I didn't pay for it.

2. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. - Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco - 2

As good as that was, this was almost as bad.  I had the chicken cordon bleu sandwich, which came out barely warm and tasted mediocre at best, and the fries were completely pedestrian.  So, I can only assume that they half-ass non-seafood dishes since their menu is 90% seafood.

3. Las Margaritas - San Francisco - 8

The margaritas were as good as advertised.  The food was good as well, with me getting a chicken taco and 2 chicken enchiladas with rice.  Plus, it's not the most ridiculously expensive place in the world, which is hard to find out there.

4. DiBella's - 725 and Lyons Rd., Centerville - 10

Holy shit, was this good.  Andrea and I split 2 large subs (which are rather large).  She got The Godfather (at Poolio's suggestion), and I got the Cheesesteak.  Alex got a small Meatball sub, while Ethan went with the small Godfather. 

Let's start with the bread.  The bread is fantastic.  We each got "Everything" bread, which has sesame and poppy seeds on it.  They also have Multigrain, Sesame, and Plain.  The large sandwich is on par, size-wise, with the 16" size at Submarine House.  The meat tasted very good, and not at all below grade, which is huge for a sub shop.  At least they are not pussing out, Subway-style and just loading it with crappy veggies and skimping on the meat either.  There is plenty of meat to go around.

The Cheesesteak tasted as good as, if not better than, Milano's.  Maybe not quite to the level of Penn Station (which is my favorite Cheesesteak), but it is up there in taste.  The Godfather may be the best pure sub I've ever had.  Absolutely delicious.  The bread doesn't overwhelm the sandwich, but neither do the meat or veggies or even the mayo or mustard. 

The potato salad was good but not spectacular.  The cookie we split 4 ways afterwards was terrific.  Maybe the best part was, the prices aren't ridiculous.  At Sub House, you are paying 12-13 dollars for a large cheesesteak, and 9-10 dollars for a large "Italian".  Same at Milano's.  But here, those subs were $8.99 each and easily large enough to split 2 ways.  Maybe they tasted so good because Andrea and I were going off the rails of our diet for our once per week "cheat meal" (ignore those delicious San Fran meals from above... business trip = "diet sabbatical").  But we both agreed that a split in half medium Chicken Cheesesteak or Buffalo Chicken sub on Multigrain with a split bag of chips would work well for a quick mid-week dinner that doesn't blow the calorie budget.

There are a number of different subs I would still like to try, and probably won't be getting the Godfather much owing to our diet reducing our red meat consumption... but it is nice to know it is there when I want one!  Which will be often.  It being so close, it will be hard to avoid temptation with that and Five Guys being practically next to each other.

[Poolio]

4. DiBella's - 725 and Lyons Rd., Centerville - 10

Holy shit, was this good.  Andrea and I split 2 large subs (which are rather large).  She got The Godfather (at Poolio's suggestion), and I got the Cheesesteak.  Alex got a small Meatball sub, while Ethan went with the small Godfather. 

Let's start with the bread.  The bread is fantastic.  We each got "Everything" bread, which has sesame and poppy seeds on it.  They also have Multigrain, Sesame, and Plain.  The large sandwich is on par, size-wise, with the 16" size at Submarine House.  The meat tasted very good, and not at all below grade, which is huge for a sub shop.  At least they are not pussing out, Subway-style and just loading it with crappy veggies and skimping on the meat either.  There is plenty of meat to go around.

The Cheesesteak tasted as good as, if not better than, Milano's.  Maybe not quite to the level of Penn Station (which is my favorite Cheesesteak), but it is up there in taste.  The Godfather may be the best pure sub I've ever had.  Absolutely delicious.  The bread doesn't overwhelm the sandwich, but neither do the meat or veggies or even the mayo or mustard. 

I am so glad you guys liked this place. And no, they wouldn't puss out on the meat as they started (and still are) a true deli and meat shop in Rochester. What I often do is get a regular size sub, eat half for dinner and save the other half for lunch the next day... that way I'm not blowing up my diet but can still indulge.

[Poolio]

1. DiBella's - Still the best subs in C-bus.
2. Winking Lizard (Bethel Rd.) - The beer selection alone is worth the trip... the fact that I like the food and the staff know me and are good is just icing on the cake.
3. Papaya Street Grill (Dublin) - Oh my. I'll have to wholeheartedly agree with Heg on this place. I will be returning there often. I had the green curry, spiced to medium, and it was one of the best green curries I've ever had. Now I want to try everything else on the menu. It's well-worth the trip to the obscure strip mall. Oh, and Heg, anytime you want to go again, let me know and I'll meet you.

4. Northstar Cafe (Beechwold) - I've driven by here a million times and have never stopped. I had the Thai burrito which was pretty tasty... although a little light on the Thai flavors. However, the star (for me) was the fresh ginger ale. I could have had 5 more glasses of this stuff, it was like a ginger mojito without the booze. Spicy, sweet, and refreshing.