Izzy's:

Though it has been around the corner for the last two years we’ve lived in our apartment, I’ve never set foot in Izzy’s. David would bring the option up, and I would immediately use my marriage veto powers.

To understand why, I have to explain about a job I had in my late teen years at a nursing home. A Jewish nursing home. And not just any Jewish nursing home, an Orthodox one.

I worked in the dietary department, and my duties consisted of assembling trays of food, bringing the carts filled with trays to the assorted dining rooms, retrieving the carts once the meal was over, and working with the other staff in washing all the dirty dishes in the industrial washing machines.

The home took the Orthodox part of their jobs very seriously. We kept full kosher, with two sets of dishes and entirely separate kitchens and dishwashers. We had a Rabbi on standby in case a meat fork went through the dairy dishwasher and unkoshered the whole thing. And don’t even get me started on cleaning the kitchens for Passover. Ever been tasked with cleaning an industrial oven with a toothbrush and razorblades? I have.

It was an interesting peek into another religion’s customs, and not a bad place for a college kid to work. My fellow staff were nice, and the management was extremely tolerant of my hair color, which at that point in my life, was pink and blue.

But it was the cow tongue that eventually got to me.

In additional to keeping kosher, we also served a lot of traditional food. Cow tongue day was the worst for me, with entire trays of half and whole tongues swimming in sauce waiting to be plated. I could see the taste buds, I explained to David.

Once I left the home for a more grown up job, I decided I never wanted to see another gefilte fish or matzo ball again.

I’ve grown a lot since college, and though my hair still isn’t its natural color, I’d probably be a lot less bothered by the cow tongue nowadays. Looking over Izzy’s menu of sandwiches, I realized that continuing to avoid an entire restaurant just because of a job in my past was pretty silly.

David and I have since tried 6 of Izzy’s menu items, including the tasty potato pancake served with every sandwich.

I chose to construct my own sandwich of three meats ($7.70) with pastrami, corned beef, and roast beef. I thought the corned and roast beef were good, but my favorite was by far the flavorful pastrami.

David chose to get the variety plate, choosing egg salad, chopped liver, potato salad and cole slaw. ($7.95)

While we were at Izzy’s I saw that for a limited time, Izzy’s is featuring the goetta Reuben ($7.95), which I decided I absolutely had to order. A little embarrassed to order a ton of sandwiches for the two of us, and since I also wanted to try their salami, we returned the next day.

We chose the salami combo ($7.70), the goetta Reuben, and the Mex' sandwich (6.95).

Corned beef, sweet yellow onion, jalapeno peppers, melted swiss and chipotle sauce

Salami, cream cheese, pesto, red onion and tomato

My favorite sandwiches that we ordered were the goetta Reuben and the 3 meat sandwich. I appreciated the simplicity of the three meats (especially the pastrami), and the flavors of the goetta Reuben, and I’ll be going back to get another before they stop making it.

David loved the salami combo—he particularly liked how the salami was broiled before it was put on the sandwich. Also, he says, “I’m a sucker for anything with cream cheese on it.”

I definitely feel silly for waiting so long to visit. David and I both agree we like the variety of sandwiches; you can order traditional deli sandwiches or one of their specialties, which have varied and creative ingredients.

It’s easy to forget that Izzy’s is a Cincinnati restaurant, much like Skyline, LaRosa's, or Graeter’s. For some reason it doesn’t seem to get as much press—though it definitely should. I know I am definitely happy to have pastrami within a block's reach.

It's a Miracle (berry)!

David and I opened the little blister packet of pills and each removed one small, pink dot from the pack. Nodding to each other, we each placed one on our tongues and let them dissolve as instructed.

"Do you think it's working?" I asked.
"Only one way to find out." David replied.

So we turned to the drinks sitting in front of us, and our trip began.

Now, I know what you may be thinking. But before you go all D.A.R.E. on us, the tablets we were trying are very, very legal. Made from the extract of the Synsepalum dulcificum berry from West Africa, these tablets have a temporary, fascinating effect. We tried the actual berries at a friend's, and the effect was so interesting, we wanted to see if the tablets would work in a similar way.

One order from thinkgeek later, and we had a miracle berry tablets. The whole schtick is this: the berry changes your sense of taste so that sour things taste sweet by way of a glycoprotein molecule it contains. Unsweetened, tangy Greek yogurt tastes like cool whip, out of season strawberries taste like they were rolled in sugar, lemons taste like lemonade. Lime juice and tequila taste almost cloyingly sweet, and normally undrinkable cranberry juice tastes like it's had a cup of sugar added to it. Rumor has it that wine will taste like vinegar under the berry’s effects, but the Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and rose that we tried all tasted extremely sweet and drinkable, like a Riesling or ice wine.

Though they don't work for everyone, one tablet will last about 1 hour. David and I decided to have our own little “flavor tripping” party, and created a menu the would highlight the effects of the berries.

For the drinks, we stuck with tequila and fresh squeezed lime, and cranberry juice (the kind in the organic section with no added sugar) and vodka. Pre berry, the drinks were intolerably sour. Post berry, the effect was amazing. Sweet and drinkable.

For the first course, we made a granita with lemon juice, without adding the sugar that is traditional to a granita. This dish is super easy to prepare and pretty hands off.

Step 1. Buy or squeeze lemon juice.
Step 2. Pour into shallow dish.
Step 3: Freeze for about an hour.
Step 4. Take a fork and break up the ice, then put back in the freezer.
Step 5. Continue to break up the ice until you have a product about the consistency of shaved ice. You're done!

For the main course, we decided on buffalo chicken lettuce wraps with homemade Gorgonzola cheese dressing.

Frank wasn't kidding around. This stuff is H to the O to the T

We also tried some Greek yogurt and strawberries, which tasted fantastic. We recommend trying this for dessert, as we noticed the fatty yogurt made the effects wear off a little faster.

After about two hours of the berry’s effects, David and I found that we were a little fatigued with all the sweetness, and ready for things to go back to normal. Our fantastic flavor adventure had come to an end, and I promptly started digging around in the fridge for a nice, high IBU IPA.

SmoQ:

Barbecue and I have history. I’m not a Cincinnati native--I hail from Jackson,TN, and spent the pre Cincinnati years of my youth in Dallas, Texas, and Memphis, TN. Family visits are not complete without a visit to the local Pig N’ Whistle, and my grandparents have very emphatic opinions about dry rub vs. wet style slabs of ribs.

Maybe it’s for that reason I’ve never been enthusiastic about Cincinnati style chili. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, it’s just not in my DNA like barbecue. You can keep your cheese coney, but do not come between me and my pulled pork sandwich.

Because of this, I knew it wasn’t a case of if we’d be headed up to SmoQ, but when. I first read about the newest addition to Cincinnati’s barbecue restaurant scene at the end of January on Polly’s blog. I bookmarked it for David and told him I’d like to go soon. In the last few weeks, we’ve heard nothing but great things about the restaurant (Julie called it a “trifecta of awesomeness”) and I knew we couldn’t delay any further.

No more waiting. We had to go to SmoQ, I told David. I wanted barbecue, and I wanted it RFN*.

We finally made it on Saturday for lunch with David’s dad, Derek. Knowing that we’d probably leave stuffed, we skipped appetizers and went straight for the entrees. Derek opted for a lighter lunch, ordering the smoQ-house salad, substituting brisket for the pulled pork. ($7.49) The brisket was excellent, smoked and flavorful, sliced against the grain to ensure tenderness.

David and I tried to coordinate our sides and dishes to try the maximum amount of food at SmoQ, but there is still plenty on the menu that we’re interested in, especially the chicken.

I chose the half and half ribs combo, featuring a generous half slab of baby back ribs and St. Louis Ribs ($21.99). For my sides, I picked the sweet potato brulee and baked beans.

St. Louis Style Rib

Sweet potato brulee

baked beans

David ordered the Uncle Jerry’s shrimp and cheddar grits ($16.99) with macaroni and cheese. Our server recommended the collard greens, so he also got those.

Grits with shrimp, andouille, onion, tomato, bell pepper and garlic in a jalapeño cream sauce

The baby backs had a nice pull to them and a delicious, sticky glaze, though I was partial to the tender St. Louis style ribs and their dry rub. I happily dug into my sweet potato brulee, which was more of a dessert than a side, and my baked beans, which were tangier than I expected and also had a little bit of pulled pork in them. We tried a little cup of the pulled pork as well (also delicious), and I’ll probably get ribs and pulled pork next time.

David liked the collard greens, as well as the macaroni and cheese, though I ended up swiping his and finishing most of it off. I’m a sucker for the crunchy topping and casserole style mac. I don’t think David minded, he was too busy oohing and ahing over his shrimp and grits. Presented beautifully, the stone ground cheddar grits were creamy and delicious. David talked about them all the way home.

Are we going to be back to SmoQ? Heck yes, we will. And soon!

Our server must have been psychic, because she brought out diet pepsi in a carafe for quick refills. Derek goes through diet soda faster than anyone I've ever seen.

*Right freaking now.

For someone special:

David has long since learned that I have a very strong sense of whimsy. It’s not a bad thing, but it does take some getting used to. It’s responsible for many things in our lives, from our fantastic whirlwind of a wedding to the picnic table that resides in our dining room.

Our relationship is nicely balanced between the fanciful and the logical. And though David may sometimes point out the flaws in my often elaborate and sudden plans, he also knows that I have an even stronger sense of determination to see my whimsical masterpieces to fruition. Which meant when I woke up on Sunday morning wanting to make chocolate covered strawberries with edible gold garnish for a Valentine’s day treat, he voiced no objections.

I braved the snarled traffic mess that is Rookwood commons and visited Sur Le Table to get my edible gold leaf, but I imagine you can also order it off the internet. It comes, as expected, with a hefty price tag, but a little goes a long way and it’s a fun and impressive way to fancypants up a dessert.

Happy Valentine's Day, David; I love you!