Existential Eating #8

If you have any suggestions or ideas for future Existential Eating strips, please email or comment below.  Sadly, our current collective imagination will run dry.  If its related to food, it can be the topic of an Existential Eating comic strip.  Just share your idea and Ramsey will do his best to draw it up (probably, someday).

Dinner Out @ Ichiban

We actually haven't been to too many sushi places in Cincinnati yet. I'm still learning about it, and Sarah is still recovering from a bad experience years ago (more on that below). But, Ichiban has emerged as a favorite for its mix of tasty food, chill atmosphere, and (probably most importantly) the half-price price tag. Epiventures' post captured things quite well a few months back (and has some great photos), but here's our take.

The Food: They have other options on the menu, but with 1/2 off of all the sushi (with the exception of the boat and other samplers/platters), we've made bee lines for the rolls and nigiri. As I mentioned above, I am still in the learning stage - I've probably had sushi 30-40 times, but too many of those have been a single (often unimaginative) roll as an appetizer. One of the real joys of this amazing deal is that you can let loose and try a number of things without feeling like your eating your bank account instead of fish.

On this most recent visit, we sampled tuna and salmon nigiri sushi, crunch, spicy tuna, and shrimp tempura rolls, and two specialty rolls - the Honey Bee and J.T.B. The more I eat sushi, the more I find that I am adapting the "less is more" mantra. My favorite thing of all was probably the salmon nigiri sushi. So simple, but the texture and flavor of the fish are so clean, it makes me sad I wasn't hip to sushi yet when I was a bear viewing/fishing guide in Alaska one summer long ago. Best salmon in the world, right out of the water.

The spicy tuna has a nice kick and the shrimp tempura is a nice standard. I'm coming around to eel, and the added texture brought by the tempura crunch on the crunch roll was appreciated. Both specialty rolls were great too. The Honey Bee is a beautiful creation that packs a handful of flavors - I particularly enjoyed the pieces with avocado rolled on the outside. My favorite specialty roll so far is the J.T.B. though - it is tempura fried and has a spicy mayo on top - there are so many things going on in your mouth, all of them good. Our friend Kate said it was simply "f*cking divine."

On a previous visit we tried the specialty Cajun Roll, and it was one of the only things I wouldn't recommend so far (too smoky, not enough cayenne or garlic or salt). Friends of ours ordered the scallop nigiri sushi and thought it tasted a bit musty. They mentioned this was a "canary in the coal mine" at a sushi place and I can see what they mean. It's a delicate animal that is only really fresh for a short amount of time. Hopefully that was just a fluke.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I tried the sea urchin. Ruth Reichl talks about trying it in one of her books, which got me interested. I don't know what I expected exactly, but from looking at it, I thought it would have some a grainy texture of some sort. Turns out, its a liquid explosion with virtually no form at all. It is definitely weird, but kind of good. I can't decide.

The Ingredients: No mention of any local, organic, or sustainable ingredients. I want to do some more research on sustainable sushi. Mark Bittman's new blog (which has been great so far, by the way) had a link to this site, and there is a book I think I might buy there. I'd like to learn more about how I should feel about eating tuna or salmon and what questions I should ask. As with all the restaurants in town, it would be great if Ichiban would share their sources with their customers. Particularly for a genre of food where provenance is so important, it would be great if they'd pay attention to where their edamame or pork or chicken on the menu come from too.

The Story, Setting, & Service: I told a bit of my story as a sushi newbie above. Sarah's story is a bit more dramatic. She had gotten into sushi big time after she'd been traveling in Mexico one summer and got tired of all the beans and rice. After a weekend trip, she ordered some Domino's pizza (Mexico style) and she - and all of her friends - got extremely sick. Somehow, the association of all the sushi she'd been eating and that dreadful chain pizza got intertwined in her senses, and couldn't eat sushi for years. Fast forward a handful or ten years, and Sarah's happily enjoying sushi again.

As far as the Ichiban setting goes, it has a smooth decor with plush, sunken booths and tables that have the appearance that you'll be sitting on the ground but you're really not. The cool, colorful artwork and round, crisp edges of the furnishings matched the down tempo beats on the stereo. We're told it's almost exactly the same as Aqua before it. On a Friday night they had a live band with a stand up bass, electronic xylophone, and saxophone. We sat down at a little after 9pm and the place was getting more and more full until we left at 11:30 or so.

The service was nice and attentive. You probably shouldn't go if you're in a hurry with a large group (but where is that not the case?), we got some edamame to tide us over after we'd been waiting a while. I guess with 1/2 price sushi a lot of sushi gets ordered, so even with 3 chefs working they get a bit backed up.

Finally, after we ate we walked down to see Nectar's new back patio (and it was rhubarb night), which is cute, and will be a nice spot for upcoming brunches to be sure.

I'm excited about sushi, and thanks to Ichiban for getting me there! I feel like I am just starting to really taste the ingredients fully. For the first way too many times I ate sushi I doused everything in soy, wasabi, and ginger (I still love all three) and was having a hard time getting over things being raw. Here's to many more upcoming opportunities to learn!

Tasty Links #10

1)  Grist's Tom Philpott on the need for infrastructure.  And a host of others on the same topic.
2)  Cincinnati Locavore on whether or not the person at the farmers market grew that.  I really encourage folks to read this and be prepared to ask questions at the markets.  We've had to go to market managers before, and I think its an important thing to ensure the quality for everyone (especially the other farmers!).
3) Sarah and I have really been enjoying making ice cream.  Mint julep is one good option.

And now you're video...



(I'd like to grow some mushrooms someday soon)

Lunch Out @ Senor Roy's Taco Patrol

Senor Roy's Taco Patrol is one of the handful of food trucks to hit the Cincinnati scene in the past several months.  I needed a quick lunch option, and remembered they usually post up for lunch at the corner of Main and Central Parkway - only a few blocks from my office.  I'm glad I tried it, but doubt I'll be going back.  It was quite disappointing.

The Food:  I ordered 3 tacos, one of each of the meats they offer - Grilled Chicken, Grilled Flank Steak, and Al Pastor.  I told them I wanted corn tortillas and then encouraged them to put any toppings they wanted to make them as good as possible.  I told them I like it pretty darn spicy, but not like I need to drink a gallon of milk spicy.

When I opened the styrofoam container when I got back to the office, the first thing I noticed was that I got flour tortillas - I guess that's the default.  But, the tacos looked large and colorful, so I was hopeful.  It went downhill from there.  All three meats are listed on the menu as being marinated or rubbed with something, but all three were almost flavorless.  Maybe I got a batch that had been missed or something.  There was a  sweet and smoky mango salsa they put on a couple of the tacos that was pretty good, but for so many ingredients all 3 tacos were severely lacking in flavor.

The Ingredients:  They don't mention anything about local, organic, or sustainable ingredients.  Who knows, maybe they'll come around some day.  I hope so, it's a great concept, and it simply should not be that hard (or expensive) to increase the amount of seasoning and spices they're using to greatly improve the product.

The Story, Setting, & Service:  Two guys were operating the truck when I got there, and they were both very nice.  They seemed happy that I'd let them pick the ingredients.  The service was fast too, so I wasn't made to wait around, which was good.

After eating, I did a quick search to see what others had been saying about this taco truck.  From the looks of it, get in mah belly's experience wasn't any better than mine.  Who knows, they're new, maybe they'll improve with time.

Existential Eating #7

If you have any suggestions or ideas for future Existential Eating strips, please email or comment below.  Sadly, our current collective imagination will run dry.  If its related to food, it can be the topic of an Existential Eating comic strip.  Just share your idea and Ramsey will do his best to draw it up (probably, someday).

Dinner Out @ Mayberry

My friend Tony and I were looking for a place to eat, and while I'd happily been to Mayberry for dinner on the weekend, I had heard good things about the lunch menu too.  We ended up switching from a lunch to a dinner get together, but turns out that during the week they're open til 7pm with the same menu all day.  This'll be a quick post because I was much more focused on catching up with Tony than I was on the food (I know, quite a faux pas).

The Food:  As has been well documented, "The Burger" is crazy big.  Tony said it was just a bit spicy - enough to be a reminder of the flavor.  Also, he said there was some yummy seasoning on the meat to go with the egg, onion marmalade, and bacon.  I got the Sloppy Josh - a slow-cooked, shredded beef sandwich with rosemary, creamy coleslaw, and spicy mustard.  It was tasty, although next time I think I'll ask for some hot sauce to give it a bit more of a kick.

Both meals came with salad greens and a creamy house dressing.  For $7-8, these are solid portion sizes with great ingredients - definitely notable in the "best bang for the buck" category.

The Ingredients:  The only note about local, organic, or sustainable ingredients was that the beef for the hamburger is local.  By the time we were done eating, they were about to close up shop, so I didn't hang around to ask about the ingredients.  Yet another reason to go back.  Josh, the chef, was easy to talk to and I'm sure he'll be happy to share what he knows.  Of course, the more ingredient sources that are provided on the menu the better, so noting the local meat is a start.

The Story, Setting, & Service:  When we came in at 5:30, we were the only people there.  Josh came out and talked with us a bit and asked if we were bloggers when I asked about taking photos.  We got into a conversation about chefs being frustrated with bloggers, and he said people could dance on the tables if they paid as much as they did at Alinea.  I mentioned we're going to Chicago and San Fran this summer and looking for some foodie opportunities, and he gave some recommendations for places in Napa Valley.

Mayberry's interior is small - 27 seats I believe - and they don't take reservations.  So if you want in on a Friday or Saturday you should plan to persevere or come early.  They've got some great local art on the walls, and coupled with the chalkboard menu the whole experience is close-knit and homey and decidedly comfortable.

In somewhat unrelated news, we ran into Laura and David from Cincinnati Nomerati on the street during our post-meal walk.  Twitter came up in conversation, and I decided to make at least a small jump in - check out the new Amateur Foodies profile and follow us if you'd like.  It will almost certainly be primarily just another spot to promote the blog, as well as to follow what is happening around town.  But who knows, maybe I'll get into it.

We'll have to do a longer, more substantial, post about Mayberry's weekend dinner one of these days.  It definitely warrants another trip back sooner rather than later. Check out a few more photos below...

Tour: Cincinnati CAM Asia Supermarket

I found out about the Cincinnati CAM Asia Supermarket a while back while searching for some Yamasa Usukuchi soy sauce while I was excitedly perusing my new Momofuku cookbook.  Turns out they actually didn't have it, but in the process, we stumbled upon a Cincinnati gem.  Findlay Market has Ottugi (around the corner) and Saigon Market (on location), but CAM has 5 times as many options and is definitely worth the drive up to Evendale.

The Location: CAM is at the corner of Reading Road and Glendale Milford Road - you can take I-75 to exit 14 or I-71 to exit 15 and be there in a snap.  It's in a strip mall and is about the size of a typical small supermarket.  UPDATE: The phone number is 513.733.1828.

The Goods:  If you're looking for something for a Korean, Japanese, Chinese, or Thai dish - they probably have it.  We've only been there a couple of times now, and there's so much that is unfamiliar that I can't really say much more about their selection until we dig more into home cooking in all these cuisines.

We've been excited to find great frozen dumplings (which you simply can't make for as cheaply as you can buy them there), steamed buns (for the Momofuku pork buns we love), chile paste options, kim chi, and ramen - lots and lots of ramen choices.  If you haven't eaten ramen since college, you should definitely get yourself some Shin Ramyun Gourmet Spicy (David Chang's fav) and load on some bamboo shoots, nori, fish cake slices, scallions, and pork belly and have yourself a soul-warming meal.

Sarah and I will definitely be heading up to CAM consistently.  In fact, now we even keep a CAM list to go with our lists for Findlay/Farmers Market, TJ's, and Kroger's (sometimes there's a Jungle Jim's list, but we don't make it out there very often).  Check out the slideshow below for more...