Food on my mind

Places where I am currently eating and loving (in no particular order):

1. Pho Lang Thang - okay I lied, this is my current #1. I think about their banh mi and goi cuon to an almost criminal degree. I love the Findlay Market location and friendly, casual atmosphere. You better use that Maggi sauce!

2. Senate - Currently one of the most fun places to eat in Cincinnati. I usually get the my wife's salad and either the lobster blt or one of the various hot dogs. Here is the move on a busy night: put your name in and then head down to the Lackman for some beverages. They will call your cell when the table is ready.

3. Wicked Wich - Are you downtown and want a dank sandwich? Go to Wicked Wich on Sycamore.

4. Rascal's - I know, I know, who wants to drive all the way out to Blue Ash? Well if you want the best Jewish deli food in Cincinnati, this is a must. Pastrami, corned beef, whitefish salad, matzo ball soup - all good stuff.

5. Boca - still one of Cincinnati's best restaurants. I am always impressed.

6. Nicola's - I couldn't mention Boca without mentioning Nicola's. You can occasionally find me here on Monday's bolognese night (one of the best deals in the city). Future home of my birthday dinner next week.

7. Mirabelle's - the food is pretty good but the atmosphere and patio (weather permitting) keep me coming back.

8. Rookwood - This Mt. Adams institution that has changed names and owners too many times in the past decade for comfort, has been putting out some really solid food recently. As a Mt. Adams resident, this is my go-to option for reasonably priced food in a cool atmosphere when I am getting tired of Mt. Adams Bar and Grill.

9. Mt. Adams Bar and Grill - Oh MABG, i could never really get tired of you. I eat here all the time.

10. Precinct - I just love the Precinct. The steak is consistently great and the atmosphere is wonderfully old school.

11. Zizi's Pizza - so close to Mt. Adams and definitely better than any pizza one can find on the hill.


Special mentions for old favs I haven't been to in awhile:
Otto's, Ando, JoAn, Pomidori's

Places I still need to try:
La Poste, Bombay Braziere, The Summit, Painted Fish

Library Hero

There once was a boy at Chase Law School,
Who puttered around at the libs as a rule.
Get a snack here,
Read daily beast there,
He really is a procrastinating fool.

Final Stretch

In anticipation of entering law school this fall, I started working with my employer last winter to develop an exit plan. We settled on May 5th as my last day - I wanted to take the summer off to travel and that date worked based on pending projects, and when it would make the most sense to train someone new. So, today marks the first day of my last full week of work at the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. The job, which I began full time in September 2008, has been a fantastic experience. I have truly developed as a professional and learned much from my fabulous colleagues. I remain humbled by their passion and I look forward to a lifelong connection to the organization as a community member and future lay-leader.

My travel plans are coming together. Philly in mid-May for the bro's graduation from Penn and San Diego/L.A. for Memorial Day weekend and early June with Michelle. I'm also hoping to trek East Asia or Europe with the brother for 3 or 4 weeks. Other accomplishments that need accomplishing include: settling on a law school and, if that law school happens to be in Chicago (which looks likely), then I need to find an apartment.

Twitter

Since I comment on Twitter much more often than post on this blog, I thought that incorporating my Twitter feed would be a nice way to prevent this blog from becoming stale.

Probably a fruitless endeavor but we shall see. On a side note, I had dinner at Vout last night and I broke my no-meat streak with a few bites off of the charcuterie board and a piece of John's pork belly. I think the exception was worth it and I will continue to limit myself to occasional indulgences when I trust the source.

re: Pescatarianism

Still going strong!

Last night I instinctively reached for a pass-around hors d'oeuvre, but I hesitated and asked what it contained. When I was informed that there was beef, I passed.

Jill just sent me a copy of Eating Animals - http://www.eatinganimals.com/ - this does not bode well for my triumphant return to carnivorousness.

I am telling myself that once I establish personal guidelines for meat consumption (source, quality, etc.) then it will once again be part of my diet.

Attempt #2

Okay, so my previous attempt to prevent this blog from becoming an orphan was followed by almost 4 months of inactivity. That is lame and I apologize.

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of all things meat. The words "charcuterie board" on a menu make me salivate immediately. However, I recently came to a conclusion that my overindulgence has reached a breaking point and my body is telling me that I need to reform. And thus I have undertaken a new personal challenge: I am temporarily going pescatarian (meaning fish and seafood are okay, but no poultry, beef, pork or game). I am very proud to announce that I have successfully held to my mission since lunch on Monday! After a delicious Reds Opening Day grill session with Lumen (which included flank steak and apple spiced sausages), I had my meat-hiatus epiphany. Who knows how my body will react to such a drastic change in diet. It honestly was rare that I would go a full day without some kind of meat, so I think all but the most fervent carnivores would agree that this is a good idea.

Fighting the inevitability of an orphan blog

I do not want to abandon my blog, and therefore I am making a post. If I actually start posting content, then I might promote my blog and get some readership. I am sitting at Coffee Emporium right now in Hyde Park, enjoying my stay-cation and working on my law school applications. This is my attempt to reinvigorate my creative juices and refocus my effort to write a brilliant personal statement. Right now I am a little stuck but I think that writing about my situation will be helpful. Lumen and Sam are sitting here as well, working on various projects themselves. It is nice having Sam in town for the holidays. He has not been in Cincinnati very often in the past few years - living in various Arabic-speaking countries and now grad school in Cali.

Later this evening, some of us are going to see Avatar at the IMAX. I am personally hyping up this in my own mind to be a truly incredible experience.