MidiCi:

We were very excited when it was announced that MidiCi was coming to Cincinnati, but also a little apprehensive. At that time (last year at the end of March), David couldn’t eat much of anything, and especially not pizza. It was a real bummer, because David is very particular about his pizza, and MidiCi’s wood-fired ovens can make pizza one of the best ways.

But, we were hopeful that by the time David was well and able to eat cheese, regular bread and tomatoes and salt again, the restaurant would be open for business - and that's what happened! Lucky us. MidiCi has been open since mid-December.

We checked out the place with our good friends Bob and Erin Marie a little after they opened.

I am particularly thrilled about one appetizer - the burrata with melon and prosciutto. Three of my favorite things, all on one plate. There’s a reason this appetizer is one of the most popular. It combines some really nice flavor profiles for a light, shareable appetizer. Unless you are dining with me, then you got to get your own.

I like a 'lotta burrata

The meatball appetizer is a little heavier and we’d advocate splitting it, especially if you are also ordering a pizza. Seasoned well, with tender meatballs, crunchy bread and a nice vibrant sauce, you can’t go wrong here.

 

The drink menu is a good balance, there's a bit of something for everyone, I have ordered a drink twice now called “A Moment in the Sun” made with limoncello, vodka and lemon juice with a sugar rim. David appreciates the lighter options like an Aperol spritz. 

 

Which brings us to the pizza. We ordered three pizzas between all of us, The Margherita, The Meats and The Hawaiian. All had excellent crust and structure, the only thing we’d love to see more of is a little more browning on the mozzarella. 

Spoiler alert: It's good 'za

The interior of the restaurant has been decorated with care, including an indoor fire pit, a tree and lots of little details that will keep your eyes entertained while you wait for your meal to arrive over a cocktail or spritz.

It's the little things - look,..purse hooks

It can be a little confusing to order if you visit for the first time, but just head towards the cash registers in the middle and let them walk you through it. Some of the staff were still getting trained up while we were there, so be patient - it’s worth the wait.

Bar at the Palm Court:

Happy hour at the Bar at the Palm Court is a pretty nifty secret downtown. You don’t hear much about the Bar, located at the Hilton in Carew tower.

Orchids at the Palm Court is the main restaurant, followed by the Grille—which is a little more casual. As far as bars go, though, it doesn’t get much classier. Softly lit with incredibly high ceilings,the 1930’s art deco in Carew tower is very interesting and impressive to look at. An entire wall of mirrors also conceals a door to the kitchen. The staff are constantly appearing and disappearing in to it.

Happy hour runs Monday to Friday, 4-7, with gin and vodka based cocktails ½ price. (Which means $5), and select appetizers ½ off as well. The appetizers featured include the Hummus (normally $8, HH $4.); Spicy sriracha wings ($12, HH $6.); 3 Mini burgers ($8, HH $4) and a few others.

We tried several cocktails as well, including Orchid’s Orange, made with Hangar One mandarin blossom vodka. Hanger One seems to be the bars go-to vodka, and David and I approve. I still am puzzled by Morton’s decision to make their $12 martinis with Smirnoff vodka.

As far as the beer list goes, it’s not spectacular, but it’s not depressingly sparse either. A lot of domestics, a few imports. The standouts on the list include Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Warsteiner, Guinness and Christian Moerlein.

I ordered the mini burgers (very tasty) and the wings, which were more sweet than spicy but still delicious. David went with the tuna tartare ($11). He really liked it. We also got the hummus and a side of fries to share. And yes, we had leftovers.

little tartare sailboat

I like the space that the bar is in. If I stopped by after work for happy hour, I could get two cocktails, mini burgers and be out of there for under $20, including tip. And if I recall the strength of the cocktails correctly, you probably wouldn’t want more than two. They make them strong.

Oriental Wok:

David has been trying to get me to Oriental Wok on the first floor of the Regency in Hyde Park for some time now. I always was kind of lukewarm on the idea, until he showed me two things. First, their appetizers, and second, their cocktail list.

Oriental Wok is a local chain, having several locations; and is run by a very nice family. It’s also pretty swanky inside. David and I entered and were seated in a nice cozy corner.

We were pleasantly surprised by the beer selection. David settled for a Brooklyn IPA ($4.50). As you can see, both mainstream beers and oriental beers are present, as well as Canadian brewer unibroue and Salvator, a doppelbock.

I knew what I wanted though. The Volcano Hawaii ($13.00), intended for two people, a tropical drink with a flaming garnish. A giant tropical novelty drink? I am all over that. My new iphone can take video, so we have included a short clip of my drink in all of its flaming tropical glory for you. If you turn up the sound, you can hear David giving me instructions on how to take video and my annoyed grumblings.

I chose the right shirt to wear

Ever since Taste of Cincinnati, I’ve been enamored with crab rangoon, so I ordered that. ($7.00) They were very tasty and I ate most of them, only allowing David a few.

I also wanted to try an eggroll. ($2.00) It was well seasoned, with a little garlic and ginger. I liked it a lot.

David’s choice was the volcano chicken, which supposedly was spicy. It had a little kick to it, and plenty of garlic. The chicken was nice and juicy.

The last thing I wanted to try were the lettuce wraps. I loved these, especially the crunchy water chestnuts. ($8.00 for 4)

In the end, I was defeated by the volcano Hawaii.

curses! bested by a large tropical drink

I really like Oriental Wok and I am glad we finally visited. We'll be back for sure, and next time, I'll bring a friend to help with the volcano and share lettuce wraps with. Any takers?

Dave and Busters:

Dave and Busters is our happy place.

You get bonus points if you can spot the microsoft error message

See? Happy place.

When David turned 21, it is where he started his celebration. When I turned 21, I insisted upon being taken there as well. After our wedding, we headed over for a few drinks and to play House of the Dead in our wedding outfits.

So, sometimes I get the craving for lots of fruity, girly drinks and video games and drag David up to tri-county. I was able to lure him up there last Saturday in exchange for a new apple keyboard, purchased with our Christmas Best Buy gift cards, because I'm crafty like that.

On weekdays, they have a pretty decent happy hour, ½ price cocktails and also 1 hr of video game playtime for $10.00. They also have another deal where you can get incremental hours of play time and select entrées for $23.99. That sounded good to us, so David got the double cheeseburger combo.

I started with my favorite drink, the Belaire Pear Martini ($7.09) . It’s delicious and comes with green sugar around the top…usually. Some bartenders put it on and some do not, so if you want sugar, it’s best to mention it beforehand. That way everyone is happy.


yummy yummy yummy

David got a large Bass.($6.19) They have Newcastle, Bass, Blue Moon and a few others on tap. And these big mugs are heavy.



I decided to order the chicken nachos ($6.59). I’ve come to the conclusion that Dave and Busters chicken nachos are superior to all the other nachos I have had, and this is why:



They are not just a pile of nachos with toppings. They are an array of nachos with evenly distributed cheese, chicken, black beans and pickled jalapeños. I really like not having to dig around the nacho pile to get a nice amount of toppings. I can also vouch for their chicken fingers.



Next drink is another favorite, with a bunch of rums in it. It’s called a “walk the plank”. ($7.59)






Dave and Busters also has good fries, and they don’t feel the need to over season them, like Friday’s typically does.



And an over under cherry bomb:



And a mai tai ($6.79):

arrrrr!

David got the banana split, ($5.59)



And I got jealous and wanted something frozen too, so I got a nilla gorilla ($8.09)—pretty much a pina colada.




We wandered around and played video games for a little while. I like to play the lost world every time we visit. We were sad when we played, however, because my gun was not calibrated right and I kept dying. David’s very good at video games, so he could compensate for my problem, but we still didn’t get to the end like we usually do. Also, there was no sound so Velociraptors and Compsagnathus kept creeping up on us.

We then played Gauntlet for a little while. We have our own characters saved, so it’s pretty nice. David’s character is a Wizard and I am a Valkyrie. I somehow am a level 10 guardian and the #2 Valkyrie in the game. I’ve accomplished this pretty much by pushing the “fight” and “turbo” button manically and dying often.

Last up was a racing game. David beat me, and I beat a little kid who was about 10. I then had finished my Nilla Gorilla and had the hiccups (I know, imagine that) so we went home to take a nap before dinner, which was at 11 PM at Beluga. Stay tuned for our fun evening of new friends and nostalgia.