Awesome Food, Drinks at Thai One On At Mayberry

Just a quick post to note that Chef Josh Campbell of Mayberry did it again this past Wednesday night, putting together a terrific dinner of Thai food.

My friend and I sat with Julie and Terry. Julie will have pictures and a more thorough review up sometime soon, no doubt. Through the meal, Julie would say intelligent things like, "The herbaceous quality of the dish gives it a subtlety that's exquisite." I, on the other hand, would occasionally take a break from shoveling forkful after forkful of delicious food into my mouth, gasp for air, and grunt, "Food good. Me like."

By now, everyone knows that I love Josh and Mayberry. The guy can just flat out cook. But Wednesday night was my first encounter with Molly Wellmann, and that deserves a few words.

She'd prepared four drinks for the Thai-themed dinner. The one I chose--perhaps the least adventurous option--was a Thai iced tea. It was prepared with Thai tea, coconut milk, and Kraken rum. (I managed to avoid saying it during dinner, but I'll say it now: Release the Kraken!) It was a terrific drink, with just the right balance of liquor. I'd not had Kraken rum before, and it was an excellent choice for the iced tea.

Julie and Terry already knew Molly, so she came over near the end of the meal to chat. Molly was not at all what I'd expected. Having heard about (but not having met) Molly and knowing how "in" she is right now, I'd imagined her as one of those people who is so cool or hip as to be aloof. Nothing could be further from the truth. She was warm, engaging, and disarmingly charming. And I found out what the difference between a "bartender" and a "mixologist" is. It's not simply that a mixologist makes awesome drinks (although Molly certainly does!). It's the depth of the mixologist's knowledge of her craft. At one point, Terry asked Molly about absinthe. Molly took off on an extended riff about the history of liquor, distillation, and wormwood. Molly speaks about drink-mixing with the knowledge and passion that I can only hope I display when I talk about the law.

I've got to catch up with Molly when she's tending bar some day to try her Manhattan. Or anything else she'd care to mix up, for that matter.

All in all, an extremely successful event for Mayberry. If you're not following the World Food Bar on Facebook (and thus learning about their planned special evenings), you're a fool.

New Lunch Menu at Mayberry

I've meant to post this for the past several days, but haven't had a chance.

Last Monday, Chef Josh Campbell (see my previous panegyric) unveiled Mayberry's new lunch menu. I knew the new menu was coming, and viewed this with not a little trepidation. You see, I don't subscribe to the notion that change is generally good. In fact, when I find a restaurant I like, there's usually two or three (or sometimes just one!) item that I'll order on a regular basis. At Mayberry, that had been the tuna melt and the chicken Caesar salad, both of which are casualties of the change to a spring/summer menu.

So what's on the new menu? Replacing my chicken Caesar, there's a spinach salad with berries (that can be ordered with chicken). If you like a spinach salad, this is a good one! There's also a hot dog. That was an interesting experience for me. I've not yet been to the Senate because of its $9.00 hot dog. (Yes, the same reason that everyone goes is the very same reason that I stay away.) I'm generally of the opinion that the only reason to pay more than a couple bucks for a hot dog is that it's accompanied by a baseball game. Nonetheless, I tried Josh's $7.00 hot dog.

And....it was great. It's a quarter-pound dog that comes with apple-bacon-fennel slaw. I don't like cole slaw, and particularly don't like letting it ruin a good hot dog, so I wasn't sure I was up for this. But this slaw is nothing like cole slaw. No cabbage--that's replaced by the fennel, which is perfectly balanced by the apple and bacon flavors. Had you set a bowl of the slaw in front of me, I'm pretty sure I could have eaten it for lunch.

There are other items, too, most of which I've forgotten since I waited too long to post. A very good sandwich with apricot mustard. A new pasta salad that I thought was quite good (though my friend thought it was a tad over-dressed.) And some of the old favorites, like the burger and the "Sloppy Josh" (which a friend describes as having a crack-like addictive property), remain on the menu, as do the tater tot casserole and the mac-and-cheese.

So if you haven't been to Mayberry in a bit, definitely check out the new menu!

Back the Food Truck Up.... (Bumped and Updated)

Over at Wine Me, Dine Me, Julie posts a press release issued by the operators of the food trucks that have recently sprouted up in Cincinnati. Apparently, the trucker-chefs are concerned that City Council is going to act to regulate the trucks. In their defense, Tom Acito, who owns Cafe de Wheels, says, "Our goal of being a mobile restaurant isn’t to steal business from local restaurants in the Over-the-Rhine and downtown areas. Rather, we hope to situate ourselves in areas where we will not directly compete with independent restaurant owners."

As far as I can tell, the trucker-chefs' concerns are fueled by John Curp's comment to Polly Campbell that "it's safe to say that the city is looking into the issue to see if there's need for additional regulations."

I'm not certain that Acito is really serious about not competing with local restaurants. Cafe de Wheels' typical lunchtime spot is on Walnut just off of Court Street. Assuming the truck stays there, it will definitely compete with Avril-Bleh's sidewalk grill, which is set to re-open April 5.

But more importantly, the trucks' primary competitors are not restaurants. After all, if you own a restaurant and find yourself at a competitive disadvantage to a guy who cooks his food in a UPS truck, it may be time to find a new profession. Instead, the trucks are really competing with sidewalk vendors.

The vendors are, of course, regulated by the city. And the trucker-chefs don't want to be. My question: is that fair? Sidewalk vendors run a pretty low-margin business. They are licensed by the City, and their location is subject to City approval. (In fact, the City has recently adopted a lottery through which street vendors' locations will be determined. This was first mentioned last year in a Jane Prendergast blog post. The HamCo Common Pleas Court recently issued a temporary restraining order delaying implementation of the new system. If I can find the complaint, I'll write a post on this issue.)

I know that the food trucks are the current darlings of the "cool kids" in the blogosphere. I like them (the trucks), too. (You haven't really lived until you've had Cafe de Wheels' grilled cheese and pulled pork sandwich.) But I wonder: why is it fair that the food trucks operate outside the rules that everyone else has to play by? Will a licensing fee and some rules about their location really put them out of business? Or would those things just put them on a level playing field with their competitors?

Finally, can anyone speak with certainty as to what Council committee would tackle this issue? I assume it's the Livable Communities Committee, chaired by Roxanne Qualls, but I'm not sure under the 2010 committee structure.

UPDATE (3/25/2010): Polly Campbell has this blog post on the topic, in which she quotes Tom Acito as saying that he and fellow trucker-chefs aren't presently petitioning the city. I'm not sure why he sent Julie a press release heralding the formation of his not-yet-formed group, then.

Some Downtown Food Blurbs

My blogging has been a bit sporadic lately, as my day job has been keeping me quite busy. The cancellation of a jury trial set for today leaves me a bit of time, though, and I wanted to quickly blog three items.

1. Mayberry's Beer and Cheese Tasting
You may remember that a few weeks ago, I mentioned that Mayberry was having a beer and cheese tasting. It was, frankly, a terrific event. For $20 bucks, you got five beers and five cheeses, which were served on two different cheese plates. The first plate held mozzarella, goat cheese, and camembert. Those were joined by a candied fig (mmm!) and whiskey-infused strawberries. The second plate yielded gorgonzola and a three-year old cheddar, accompanied by dried cranberries and truffled honey. (Yes, I said truffled honey. Amazing!) I hadn't ever thought of pairing beers with cheese, but Mayberry clearly had. It's fully a week later, and I still want some more gorgonzola. Of the five beers, there was one I'd had before, and the other four were revelations (delicious revelations).

So it's official: I have a man-crush on Josh Campbell, Mayberry's chef. If I ever When* I get married, I'm going to insist he cater the reception. If you're not a fan of the World Food Bar Restaurant Group on Facebook (and thus receiving updates on upcoming events), you're a fool.

2. Mr. Sushi is Open!!!
Whoopie! (Typed without sarcasm.) We have sushi downtown! Mr. Sushi opened in the 580 building, on 6th Street next to the defunct Oceanaire. I went for lunch today (I thought I might be the first to blog on the restaurant, but Polly Campbell, who actually knows something about food, beat me to it.) My friend and I ordered take-out (we had fooled ourselves into believing we'd eat at our desks and actually work this afternoon). The sushi rolls run between five and seven dollars. I had a tuna roll, a salmon roll, and another one whose name I forget--basically a spicy tuna roll with lettuce leaf. (Yes, a lot for lunch, but I was worried a partner back at the office might try to swipe some.) They were all quite good and the restaurant was quite busy, even by 11:30.

3. Abby Girl Sweets is Downtown.
Josh may be the subject of my man-crush, but I've got a full-on infatuation with whoever Abby Girl is. Her cupcakes are divine.

Abby Girl Sweets is on 5th next to the Havana Martini Club. The flavor of the week is tangerine. I ordered one, worried it could be too sweet, but it was perfect. I can also report that the chocolate, the carrot cake, and the "neapolitan" (strawberry cupcakes with half vanilla, half chocolate frosting) are all delightful. (For anyone who knows I'm supposed to be dieting: of course, I wouldn't have tried these myself. I must have heard about how good they are from others. Yeah, that's the ticket.)

* Edited for the sake of my patient though long suffering parents (who just marked their 40th anniversary!), whose hopes for grandchildren have dwindled so low they're buying a puppy.

Beer, Cheese, and Movieoke

All right, not all in one place. But all in one night. There's some fun things going on next week downtown. Usually, I'm not cool enough to know about stuff like this until after it happens, but thanks to the magic of Facebook, I'm (sort of) in the know for a change.

On Wednesday, January 27 from 7 to 9 in the evening, Chef Josh Campbell of Mayberry (on Vine Street next to Hamburger Mary's--it's a creation of the World Food Bar Restaurant Group) will host a beer- and cheese-tasting event. Seating is limited to just 20 people (well, 18, since I've already made my own reservations!), so call now to reserve your spot. It sounds like a fun evening. (I can't imagine anything other than a great time when you combine beer, cheese, and Josh's culinary talents!)

On the same night, beginning at 8:00, the Below Zero Lounge will host a "movieoke" night. The concept, as I understand it, is similar to karaoke. You get together with a friend or two, and the video to a movie is played while your group lip-syncs the lines (which are provided). When experienced with copious amounts of alcohol, I suspect this is a fun time, too!

Jean-Ro v. Wade

Sorry. I just couldn't resist getting to use the title.

As first reported by Polly Campbell, Jean Robert de Cavel has filed suit against his former business partner, Martin Wade. (The defendants are actually several limited liability corporations, each of which operated a separate de Cavel/Wade restaurant.)

De Cavel is represented by Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease. I believe that Wade is represented by Taft, Stettinius & Hollister. The case, filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas court, has been transferred to the recently-created commercial docket.

Jean-Robert seeks an injunction prohibiting Wade from taking any action (including public statements) seeking to use a non-compete agreement to keep Jean-Robert from opening his new restaurant. It appears from the filings that Jean-Robert agrees that there was a non-compete agreement, but that it has expired. According to his attorneys, the non-compete was in force while Jean-Robert was providing services as a manager to Wade's restaurant group and for one year following the termination of those services. They claim that Wade restructured the group in September 2008 and removed de Cavel as a manager at that time. Wade, of course, has publicly claimed that the non-compete is in force for one year after de Cavel leaves the partnership, which he hasn't done yet.

The language from the non-compete agreement quoted in de Cavel's brief seems to support the chef's legal interpretation. It's not entirely clear the facts are with him though; at least as I read the court documents, there may be an argument that he remained the manager of Pigall's until it closed at the end of February 2008. His attorneys must be planning to argue that "services as a manager" refers to managing the entire group, not just one restaurant in the group. I don't know whether that argument is sustainable. I also don't know whether, apart from the non-compete, de Cavel would have a fiduciary obligation not to compete with an entity in which he is a partner. (For the sake of my own culinary delight, though, I hope that de Cavel's attorneys have the upper hand in both arguments.)

A couple of interesting tidbits from the motion for injunctive relief:

• Jean-Robert says that Wade only began rattling the non-compete sabre when Jean-Robert refused to transfer his 20% interest in the restaurants (and--perhaps most importantly--a liquor license) to the Relish Group.
• In his letter to de Cavel informing him of the then-impending closure of Pigall's, Wade claims to have lost money every year Pigall's was open. Wade wrote, "Fine dining as you know and love, no longer is a profitable business."
• Jean-Robert testifies (via affidavit) that the reason he delayed the opening of his new restaurant at Seventh and Vine is the uncertainty created by Wade's litigation threats. This seems to contradict what Jean-Robert reportedly told Polly Campbell about the delayed opening.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Downtown Restaurant Happenings (Mayberry's, Roma Trattoria, and Busken's)

None of these items seemed substantial enough for a full post, but each is interesting enough to be included in a round-up.

Mayberry's: Earlier this week, Mayberry's opened on Vine Street between Ninth and Court, in the space formerly occupied by Tom's Pot Pies. It's run by the same folks who own the Whole Food Market at Findlay Market. I stopped in for lunch on Tuesday and had (to go) a chicken Caesar salad and macaroni and cheese, both of which were quite good. A friend had the tuna melt and the tater tot casserole. He indicated the tuna melt was very good, but the tater tot casserole might just be an excuse to carbo-load (not that I ever need such an excuse). I'll note that I could smell the pot roast when I was there; it smelled great, but I was in the mood for something lighter. I'll definitely be back, as it's directly on my courthouse-to-office route.

Roma Trattoria: The big fight regarding the remodeling of the Metropole and its conversion to a luxury hotel will center on the relocation of its more than 200 residential tenants. But the sale of the Metropole will also force the relocation of two commercial tenants, Roma Trattoria and the Subway Lounge. I've never been to the Subway Lounge. Roma Trattoria is a great restaurant that will no doubt be hurt by taking away its Aronoff-friendly location. There are a couple spaces nearby that might be suitable: the space formerly occupied by Arloi Dee (on Seventh) and the space formerly occupied by the Maisonette come to mind.

Busken's: Finally, the Busken Bakery at Ninth and Plum (across the street from City Hall) will be moving in early December. It will take over a space on Seventh between Walnut and Main that was formerly occupied by Mythos (and, for those whose memories go back that far, occupied by Sushi Ray's before that). That seems like a sensible move to me, as the Ninth and Plum location always seemed to be a bit outside of the hustle and bustle of downtown (and thus lacking in foot traffic). No word yet on where the mayor and council members will get their doughnuts after the move, though.

Mullane's to Reopen

I'm sorry to interrupt election blogging, but this news seemed too good not to pass along. (It's actually relatively old news, but I'm just learning of it, and haven't seen any of the usual suspects mention it yet, either.)

It appears that Mullane's is going to reopen. Mullane's was a small, eclectic spot on Race Street near Garfield that closed in 2002. It'll be in a different space, but will still be called Mullane's Parkside Cafe.

You can check out the "Friends of Mullane's" website here, and become a Facebook friend of Mullane's here.

Mullane's was such a great place. I remember ending a date there with dessert. (Given that I'm still single, the relationship clearly didn't take off, but I'm not blaming Mullane's.) I think a lot of downtown and OTR residents are excited about the restaurant's return.

Relish Leaves A Bad Taste In My Mouth

Martin Wade of the Relish Group is apparently threatening to sue Jean Robert de Cavel to prevent him from opening a restaurant in the space formerly occupied by Buddhakhan. Wade claims that the chef signed some sort of non-compete agreement when the partnership dissolved. (Hat tip: Polly Campbell's blog, which I'm having difficulty linking to right now.)

Given Jean Robert's popularity in this area, this seems like a terrible PR move. Did Wade really think it was a good idea to make public that he would do everything he could to prevent a viable business from opening in a vacant space in the center of downtown? And does he really think people will support his effort to keep Jean Robert--who adopted this city as his own even after he and his wife had every reason to return to their native land--from continuing to be a culinary presence here?

What's more, non-compete agreements are notoriously difficult to enforce. The courts don't like them. Who wants to strip someone of his or her livelihood? I'm sure Jean Robert will have no difficulty finding able counsel to represent his interests should Wade decide to sue. I can think of plenty of attorneys with expertise in that field who would be willing--quite literally--to work for food. (As long as it's Jean Robert's.)

Jean-Robert's Table To Open By Year's End

Foodies all around Cincinnati have been seen literally dancing for joy at news that Jean-Robert de Cavel is opening a new restaurant in downtown Cincinnati. The location is at the former Buddakhan on the 700 block of Vine St. I hope for something a little more downscale than Pigall's, more everyday or at least a couple times a month. I'm not a foodie, so I'll leave the discussion to others with more knowledge.

Cold Turkey Closed

Cold Turkey, which I had previously raved about, has closed, seemingly for good.

Two friends and I were on our way there for lunch, and were greeted at the door by a "closed" sign and a rather dejected-looking owner. Apparently, the restaurant isn't closing because of lack of business, but instead because of a dispute with the building's owner. Cold Turkey's owner was obviously disappointed, particularly since business--including their catering business--had been doing quite well.

I'm sorry to see Cold Turkey go. It's exactly the kind of restaurant downtown needs. It was priced affordably, but served good enough food to appeal to professionals on lunch. It was also interesting enough between the late hours, the local art on the walls, and the live acoustic music to attract an eclectic clientele.

I hope that Cold Turkey's owners are able to recover enough of their investment to try again downtown soon. I'll certainly do whatever I can to promote a new venture here.

Good Eats: Cold Turkey

Yesterday, I ate for the first time at Cold Turkey. It's on Sixth Street in the space formerly occupied by Frisch's. And it won't be the last time I eat there. The menu is really straightforward (intentionally so): seven-dollar sandwiches and salads; four-dollar soups, and two-dollar sides. I know some will think seven bucks is too much for a sandwich, but try one and then ask yourself: is this worth two dollars more than a foot-long from Subway? The answer is yes, yes, yes, oh-my-gosh yes.

I had their ultimate grilled cheese sandwich. Three kinds of cheese, molasses-cured bacon, lettuce, and tomato--though I had it without the tomato. The molasses-cured bacon? Amazing. They should use it on all of their sandwiches. Or maybe they should use it instead of bread. Or just bring me a big plate of the bacon.

My friend had a different sandwich (I forgot which, but it also came with the bacon, and he concurred in my assessment of its porkiliciousness). He also had a bowl of their turkey noodle soup, which he said was quite good. And the sandwiches came with cajun pretzels, which packed just the right amount of heat.

The restaurant's atmosphere is perfect. To an extent, I think it's filling a void left by the departure of Kaldi's. The walls are filled with the works of local artists, and they (the art) are all for sale. There's also live acoustic music. While we were there, a pianist was performing (I'd assumed it was a recording until we reached the back of the restaurant and saw the piano). The pianist was CCM grad Della Enns, and her performance was quite wonderful.

The service was great, although--apparently to prove that I'm not just getting old, but curmudgeonly as well--I wondered aloud to my friend whether our server's employment was in compliance with child labor laws. (It was a joke--she was wonderful: she knew the menu, was attentive but not overly so, and was very friendly.)

And Cold Turkey's hours are also great: on Friday and Saturday nights, they're open until 6 am (which I believe makes them officially the kitchen open latest downtown). It's too bad I didn't know that a couple weekends ago, or I would have insisted on a pilgrimage following the Cincinnati Imports Debauchery Happy Hour. With a restaurant serving food that good open that late, local Waffle Houses may go out of business.

Next time I'm there, someone remind me to try the brownie. Those looked good, too.

It's Downtown Restaurant Week

I love the idea of exploring Downtown's many varied Restaurants. For the price of $35 you can find some deals at some of the higher-end places. This is a good month to do it, from the perspective of business, where August is generally considered a slow month, where many people travel. I have not made plans of where I would like to go, but I am starting to think about it and would like suggestions on where, likely on Wednesday or Thursday. Anyone have thoughts?

(If you predict how fast it takes for the first snotty anti-city comment, then you may when a special prize.)

Mary's Back In Business; Flo Decides She Needs To Be Closer To Her

Hot off of Facebook: Hamburger Mary's is open, as of 5:00 this evening! If I knew how to post a screen shot of a website I would, but here's a cut-and-paste of what Hamburger Mary's just posted:

HEYYY HONNEYYY, come see me for dinner and COCKtails @ 5pm!! ITS OFFICIAL MARY'S is OPEN THIS EVENING!! XoXo, Mary

They've been teasing us for a week with hints that the reopening was imminent. It's fantastic that it's finally happening. Based on the FB response, I suspect the restaurant may be jam-packed tonight.

And Flo's Plate Full of Soul (which we reviewed last year) has moved: they are now on Vine Street in the storefront previously occupied by Tom's Pot Pies.

Both are awesome additions to Vine Street!

UPDATE: Good grief. Apparently, some of you think it's too much trouble to find Hamburger Mary's Facebook page on your own. So here's a link to it. And here's a link to Hamburger Mary's website. And here's one to her twitter feed. And one to the Business Courier article reporting the reopening. And here a link to Julie's post noting the auspicious occasion (Wine Me Dine Me doesn't display post times, so I'm going to claim to have scooped Julie on this one, regardless of whether that's true.) Here's a link to this post (how existential is that?). And here's a link to Hamburger Helper, which has nothing to do with Hamburger Mary's, but I was running out of stuff to which to link.

Can I get you guys anything else? Would you like some fries with that?

Hofbrauhaus Happy Hour

Many thanks to Liz and the gang at Cincinnati Imports for putting together another great event. Last night featured a gathering at Hofbrauhaus over in Newport.

The paparazzi were present, so you can see who was there. (See pictures 14 and 19 for shots of the two dorkiest drunkest studliest bloggers in attendance.)

Yummy Food East and West

By "east" and "west" I'm not actually referring to cuisines, but instead to two restaurants' locations relative to downtown Cincinnati. My parents visited this weekend, and it was the perfect excuse to try a couple of restaurants I'd been meaning to check out. So armed with map and compass, we headed outside the friendly confines of downtown a couple times this weekend.

The East: Saturday night, we had dinner at Cafe Mediterranean in Anderson Township. I'd heard good things about it for some time (and had read Julie's review a few months ago). And the restaurant lived up to the praised it had been paid. We started with appetizers: hummus and stuffed grape leaves (my favorite dish of the Mediterranean), both of which were terrific. I had iskender kabab for dinner. I'd not had (or even heard of) it before; it's lamb and beef, piled high over chunks of pita bread and yogurt, all covered in a simple tomato sauce. It was delectable. For dessert, I had to try the baklava, which might have been the best I've had. It certainly gets my vote for best in Cincinnati. The phyllo incredibly flaky. And I learned something: while the traditional Greek baklava uses honey (I knew that), the Turkish version (which is what's served at Cafe Mediterranean) uses simple syrup, making it just a bit lighter. On top of that, the service was terrific. I'll definitely be back to the AT.

The West: Ever since Taste of Cincinnati, I'd been wanting to get out to Vitor's Bistro. For Sunday brunch this weekend, I finally got my chance. My mom had the corned beef hash, which looked great. My dad had an omelet, equally scrumptious. I chose to be adventurous, opting for the three-course tasting menu Vitor's now offers for breakfast. You tell the server about any allergies or dealbreaking ingredients and what spiciness level you'd like, and the chef serves you based on his whim--although they promise that one of their dishes will be their now-famous french toast. The first course was, for me, the show-stopper (since I knew what to expect with the french toast from Taste). It was a clever variation on Eggs Benedict, served with croquettes instead of an English muffin, capicola ham, and a spicy hollandaise sauce. The second dish was a Mexican omelet: good, but not as awesome as the first dish. When you go, don't be afraid to go high on the spicy-meter. I ordered 8 on a scale of 10, but wasn't at all blown away by the heat level.

Back Home: For those of you worried that I ignored downtown this weekend, don't worry. We ended my parents' stay with a meal at Arnold's. I've been there lots, of course, but they hadn't, so it seemed time to introduce them to Cincinnati's oldest bar. I've always stuck with burgers, though, so following through on the adventure theme, ordered the Hot Brown. Yummy.

No, this was not a heart-healthy week. At least not in the physical sense. But it was in the metaphysical sense!

Great NY Times Article About Cincinnati

I don't know if the writer for the NY Times read my mind or read the minds of all of my friends or was stalking everyone I hang out with, but this travel article highlights what I believe are many of the of the coolest places in Cincinnati. If you want to explain to people living anywhere, including people in the Cincinnati area, why this a vibrant place to live, point them to this article and tell them this is just the tip of the iceberg. If City and Business leaders want to attract people to live or visit Cincinnati, they must promote these facets on par with any other attribute.

Buddakan Closed?

I have not read anything anywhere about this, but after walking by the Buddakan Restaurant this weekend I can only assume that it has closed. There are "Coming Soon" signs on the door, but the front door is padlocked.

Does anyone have any information on this? Online news searches turned up nothing in the local media.

Totally Random Observation

Did anyone else know that in El Paso, Texas, there's a group of bars and clubs known as the "Cincinnati Entertainment District?" Apparently, it's so named because the bars are either on or near Cincinnati Avenue....

Downtown Lunch Spots

Where are the best or most unique Lunch spots in the Downtown/OTR area? I normally don't get a chance to eat lunch during the week Downtown, but I have a week off in early June, so I am planning on going out for lunch often (I'm on vacation after all), but want to try new places. So, what are you suggestions?