Try these Cincinnati summer staples
Summer homework's usually a drag, but I have an assignment that you might look forward to. I've compiled a list of some of the best tastes and dining experiences of a Cincinnati summer. Check off the ones you've done, try out the new ones and check them off, too. The essay when school starts is optional.
Here are few that I think many of us would agree on. There are a few tastes a Cincinnati summer ought to include:
• A double-dip black raspberry chip cone, a nectar soda or whatever your absolutely favorite thing at Graeter's is.
• A hot dog, a mett or brat or smoked sausage at Great American Ballpark. Sauerkraut, mustard, onions and peppers – however you like it.
• The blue ice cream (sometimes known as Smurf flavor) at King's Island.
• A trip to Putz's, The Cone or Zip Dip for soft-serve.
Here are some more that maybe haven't made it to must-do status, but will absolutely improve your summer:
• Corn. Tomatoes. Green beans. Peaches if we're lucky – bought from a farmers market or roadside stand and served as simply as possible.
• A lobster dinner from the Inland Seafood Fest – always a bargain.
• Hanging out at the River Bar and Grille at Kreimer's Bierhaus in Cleves on Friday or Saturday evening. It's behind and below the restaurant, with a deck right on the Great Miami River.
• A lobster roll from The Anchor OTR, best eaten at one of the tables with a view of Washington Park. You could imagine the sea breeze and splash of waves.
• Avril's on Court Street has a grill set up on the sidewalk most days of the year, but of course summer is the best time to stop and order one of their many homemade sausages, from metts and brats and dogs to Italian, Polish and Greek.
• Mock turtle soup isn't a specially summery thing, but it's the famous feature at the St. Rita Festival, which takes place July 10-12.
• Salads and iced tea on a patio for lunch. I have a special love for the terrace at the Cincinnati Art Museum Cafe, which overlooks the cool serenity of the courtyard. they have light foods like a lobster wrap and several salads for cool summer lunches.
• At dinner, summer food on a restaurant deck or a patio with friends, with iced cocktails as the sun sets and the evening cools off. The Rookwood in Mount Adams fits this bill (deviled eggs, burgers, grilled eggplant with zucchini pappardelle), so does the Incline Public House in Price Hill (salade Nicoise, grilled flatiron steak), with a gorgeous view thrown in.
• A short road trip with a food destination. Did you know there's an Indonesian restaurant in Greensburg, Indiana? (Mayasara Indonesian Grill) Have you ever been to the classic Parkette Drive-In in Lexington? Or The Spot in Sidney, Ohio, a classic hamburger restaurant across the street from an amazing Louis-Sullivan designed bank?
• Food ordered through a window. A foot-long coney dog from a soft-serve stand, a turtle burrito from Gomez Salsa on 12th Street, or Venezuelan arepas through the window at Arrechissimo in Silverton. Standing on the sidewalk to eat it.
• Iced coffee, whether it's cold brew or a chilled pour-over. If you're addicted to sweet frappuccinos from your local coffee shop, ask for an iced Americano with whole milk and see what you think. Rich but less fussy and sweet.
• Seasonal summer dishes from your favorite farm-to-table restaurants. You can't just go to places like NuVo, Nectar, Metropole, Maribelle's or Salazar once and say you've tried them. Summertime brings new local ingredients and inspiration for the chefs to work with, and dishes inspired by the season.
• Salads to go. A freshly made salad from Fresh Table at Findlay Market really rounds out a picnic. There are those who swear by the pasta salad at Bridgetown Finer Meats.
• A Peanut Buster Parfait from Dairy Queen. I was never able to talk my parents into buying me one of these when I was a kid. Now that I'm an adult, I could get one anytime I want, which is about once a summer. I love this combination of soft-serve, hot fudge and so many peanuts. (Depending on which high school kid makes it.)
• Greek chicken and baklava at the Panegyri Festival June 26-28 at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox church.