the other cincinnati ice cream

it seems like cincinnati food bloggers spend a lot of type debating graeter's vs. aglamesis. hardly mentioned is that other cincinnati ice cream, udf.

started in norwood, ohio in 1940 by the eminent carl, sr. (you know who i mean), udfs can be found on street corners throughout the city. when i was a kid, i thought it would be awesome to work at udf because i loved ice cream and i thought gas smelled good.

i can's say much about aglamesis, but yes, homemade brand ice cream is less rich and creamy than graeter's. graeter's is a long, languid summer and homemade is a crisp, autumn friday afternoon. it doesn't have enormous candy bar sized chips. instead, it is peppered with splinters of chocolate that dissolve in the mouth and fill every bite with chocolately goodness. graeter's is for sundays and special occasions. homemade is for everyday after dinner.

plus, udf makes one of my all-time favorite ice cream flavors: cherry cordial. it's sweet, it's pink. ben and jerry's cherry garcia is no where near as enjoyable. i think it is because i grew up on homemade brand cherry cordial and a wealth of memories come along with it. birthdays when i got to pick the ice cream. my sister and i with kool-aid stained mouths, catching lightening bugs in my grandparents' backyard. watching star trek with my dad. homemade brand was there for it all.

yeah, this is what i had for breakfast today. i'm an adult. i can do what i want.

late breaking news

this was in my pharmacy newsletter this morning:

Caloric restriction may prevent disease, increase life span, researchers say.In a front-page story, the New York Times (7/10, A1, Wade) reports that, according to research published in the journal Science, "people could...fend off the usual diseases of old age and considerably extend their life span by following a special diet." The approach, "known as caloric restriction," contains "all the normal healthy ingredients, but" with "30 percent fewer calories than usual." Past research has shown that "mice kept on such a diet from birth" may "live up to 40 percent longer than comparison mice fed normally." To investigate whether the same would "be true in people," researchers began "two studies of rhesus monkeys" over "20 years ago."

The Wall Street Journal (7/10, Winstein) reports that findings from one of those studies "appear to validate" the "technique...as a way to live longer," providing "new impetus to researchers and companies" that "are searching for a drug to mimic the beneficial effects of a meager diet in humans without the feeling of near-starvation." The study "began in 1989 with 30 rhesus monkeys and added 46 more in 1994." Researchers restricted "half the monkeys' diets, reducing their calories by 30 percent, when the monkeys were fully grown, or about 10 years old."

The Los Angeles Times (7/10, Kaplan) reports, "Over the course of the study, the monkeys that ate the regular diet were three times more likely to die of an age-related disease than their counterparts on caloric restriction." These results were "welcomed by scientists who study the biological mechanisms of aging and longevity." Susan Robergs, of the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, noted that "it adds to the evidence piling up that caloric restriction...is a healthy way to stay alive and healthy longer."

But, Dr. David Finkelstein, of the National Institute on Aging, noted that "what we would really like is not so much that people should live longer, but that people should live healthier," the AP (7/10) reports.

maury's tiny cove

maury's tiny cove was once voted by citybeat to be the restaurant you'd be most likely to find a member of the rat pack. it's easy to picture frank, late night, lounging in a vinyl booth under the low, red ceiling, a martini and a steak on the table.

maury's recently has come under new management, but all the things i've loved about it haven't changed. crackers and butter are still brought to every table, along with a bowl of generously sliced dill pickles. the cow with a martini is still out front, welcoming patrons to relax in the dark, wood paneled ambiance within.

we started out the meal with some cheesesticks. they were pretty typical.all the entrees are named after cincinnati teams - the bobcat, the bengal, the bearcat. i had the filet mignon and shrimp, with a side of garlic mushrooms. the steak was pretty decent, juicy and mellow, although their definition of medium is a bit more pink than mine. the shrimp were ok, nothing special.if i remember correctly, brian ordered the cavalier, the 12oz new york strip. his was also very pink.the desserts are homemade, and mine, a chocolate pie with candied orange peel, was a combination i totally would not expect from a westside establishment. it was delicious.brian had the basic chocolate cake.i'm glad this old westside favorite has survived through the years, and i'm looking forward to giving their happy hour a test run.

pizza worthy of the gods

after reading veggie option's mouth-watering review of newport pizza co, i had to give it a go. (since i started this post before i went on vacation, wine me, dine me and the food hussy have also reviewed it) several of my high school girlfriends have migrated to kentucky, so newport and covington tend to be regular dinner destinations. i don't want to commit to driving all the way down to florence (not to mention my distrust of urban sprawl), and the girls now like to stick to their own side of the river.

the place is pretty tiny and there was one lone server running around doing everything. she did call me "ma'am", but she was very sweet, so i let it slide. a sheryl crow concert was on the flatscreen, which was fine, but there was a malignant droning underneath that once noticed was impossible to ignore. when i asked the server what it was, she said it was "something in the kitchen". hmm.

but the important part of the evening - the food. jessie and i split the zeus. it was so simple (tomatoes, feta and asiago, basil, garlic) and so good. i loved the crust; just the right thickness and crispness. i am also a sucker for any mythological reference. this goes back to my first dog.

zeus, our newfoundland of 15 years. appropriately named in terms of grandeur, although being neutered, not much of a womanizer like his nameseake.

the zeus, extremely tasty pizza pie. appropriate level of grandeur. no comment on the womanizing.

stephanie had the bbq chicken. looked really good, and she seemed to enjoy it.

i think newport pizza co could become a regular stop on the south side of the river.

ode to hudepohl

i have been catching up on my reading, and i saw this post from westender. while the post focuses on olympia and burger beers, at the end is a photo including hudy delight with the caption "just walk away". i must protest. while hudy delight does approximate the runoff from the bengals' locker room, generations of cincinnatians have chosen to include hudy in their gatherings, much like decrepit uncle milt.

to prove my point, here is a picture of my grandparents sometime in the 1950s.

notice anything?that's right, my grandparents are happily drunk out of their minds on hudepohl. what a great testament to the drinkability of hudy and the frivolity that ensues.

one week in greece: a pictorial

brian and i had an absolutely beautiful time in greece last week. below are some of the tidbits we tried.

first actual, for real greek gyro in athens. note the french fries on the sandwich. also made with beef off a stick, not shaved veal/lamb.

greek salad in delphi

moussaka

on santorini, the best tzatziki ever. ever. (at naoussa restaurant)

eggplant dip with pita

tomato keftedhes. meh.

saganaki

kataifi. favorite greek dessert.

breakfast at our hotel. not real orange juice - more like tang.

wine tasting at canava roussos wines, the oldest winery on santorini.

sunset and sweets. the pistachio ball had some kind of delicious marzipan-like filling.

far from the madding crowd

sunday morning. brian and i drive aimlessly, looking for a breakfast apart from the church-goer mobbed bob evans. we happen upon the round table in cleves and enter. the marquee over the door promises apple pie and breakfast anytime. there are three lone men sitting at three individual tables. one is wearing a shirt reading "fbi: female body inspector". while clean, it is obvious close to a million cigarettes have been smoked at the tables over the years it took the varnish to build up and drip down the wood-paneled walls.

a congenial waitress with way too much eyeshadow for a sunday morning takes our order. brian's omelet and fat freddy burger are delivered to the table. he pronounces satisfaction. the fat freddy is reminiscent of a big boy, the omelet large. to me, the eggs look a bit dry. my mushroom swiss burger (a 3.5/6 on the burger scale) has rubbery mushrooms, but the fatty gravy and melted gooey cheese do a good job of disguising them.

alas, there is no apple pie as promised, but i do dig into some amazing 5-layer chocolate cake. the slice has roughly the same dimensions as my head. it is moist and superb. the cake is not made on site, but purchased from jetro (which sounds like something astro would say).



we had all this for a total of $21.24. would we go back? half of us would (not me, in case you couldn't guess).


sorry, no pictures. brian took some on his phone, but somehow we can't get them transferred to the computer.