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You can grab any number of Busken’s sweet treats at any one of the bakery’s 10 locations around Cincinnati. It’s sort of a do-it-all bakery that makes cookies, donuts, and cakes, none of which has a famous or nationally renowned recipe. Because of that, it might be hard for a non-Cincinnatian to understand the popularity of the place, but truly it is an iconic brand of the Queen City. Many a local, myself included, has at least one good childhood memory of getting a Busken cookie or donut. For me, Busken will always have sentimental value, but I think there’s more than memories to be found here.

The bakery specializes in cookies, donuts, and cakes of varying kinds, many of which are themed based on the nearest holiday or can be custom-ordered to an event. The cookies are my favorites; the basic iced cookies are made soft and sweet, from the simple, year-round “smiley” cookie to the Christmas cookies, Shamrock cookies, and even cookies for the Super Bowl. The dough is soft but thick; it’s got a strong flavor of nutmeg and vanilla. The taste of these cookies is very memorable, to be sure.

The cake is much more light; it’s got a straightforward sweetness that dominates the palette, and the cakes are always generous on the icing, which again is a plus, I think. The basic vanilla has a very plain and statightforward flavor, the chocolate cake is very strong, too, and it accomplishes that chocolatey taste even without that typical boost of chocolate chunks of icing that some places rely on.

The service is great. Time and again, year after year and across several of the locations in Cincinnati, this might be one of the businesses I know best about how the service is managed over the long term. It’s always great. The people have always been nice, and it speaks well to a place that really has always appreciated its customer base and the people of Cincinnati who have loved it over the decades.

The Buskin Bakery chain is very much a Cincinnati business, and it’s one of my favorites in town to be sure. There’s a lot of things to like, and a lot of treats to try, but one way or another if you’ve got a sweet tooth in the Queen City, this bakery should be near the top of your list.

Recommendations

• I love the cookies, so I say go for them before anything else. 
• The donuts are also good, and I don’t mind suggesting the danish, as well.
• The bakeries have very generous hours with the exception of Sundays, so make sure you know the hours before you get there.

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Chop Suey Carry Out is another option for Chinese food in the Kettering area. While there are plenty of options within a very close area, this one seems to be the one that caters mostly to carry-out customers. It does have space to dine in, but nobody seems to be doing that. While the convenience factor is impossible to ignore, and the speed with which they get the food out is insane. But in the end I just didn’t taste anything that I liked.

 So, the food is always boxed, which is a good thing, and it’s portioned nicely, with small and large options. It’s convenient, and there will always be a market for that. I went in and ordered carryout, and even without calling in advance, and at a busy time of the day, they still got me two orders in under 10 minutes. It’s a quick operation, that’s for sure.

I can’t say I really found anything especially good, worth a special trip though. I looked around online beforehand to see what people like, and the only thing acclaimed is the General Tso’s chicken. Of course it’s good, it’s fried chicken in sugary sauce. I tried some of the other options, and just nothing stood out. The dumplings are good and crispy, but the filling inside isn’t great, and there’s very little of it relative to the fried wanton wrapper you get. Also, it’s served with watered-down sweet and sour sauce. The Kung pao chicken is fine, the sauce is nice and most of the vegetables were cooked through. The overall dish lacks something. Maybe it needs a larger variety of vegetables, maybe it needs some seasoning.

I’ve also seen and heard that the service is a frequent complaint. I will say that it’s not the friendly kind of Midwest you might be used to, but I don’t think it’s rude. The language barrier is particularly difficult here, and I think that gives people a negative perception. I would say the people are more focused on being fast and getting things done as quickly as possible. Maybe they could smile say “thank you” more often, but they do seem to be trying to show their appreciation for customers. I don’t think the people are explicitly mean.

What ultimately sinks the place to me is that, other than the speed, there’s just nothing about it that makes me want to pick them out of the many other choices in this crowded market. Some places in the area have buffets for cheaper, and other places in the area deliver, so I have a hard time thinking of what makes this one win out, unless I’m feeling impatient. And if you’re about to say their General Tso’s is good, then tell me just what about it makes it different from the other places in town.

Today I ran the 2013 Flying Pig Half Marathon in Cincinnati, one year after my first half marathon was a success. And I ran faster this time! Thirteen miles is no small task, but I’m glad to say I’ve done it three times now. No easy task to be sure, and I definitely look forward to another race next year. It was a really great experience, and it absolutely blew me away how Queen City really got behind the 34,000 of us who got into the event, from the signs to the volunteers and the many, many pig ears and pig tails all along the race. It was my first run in Cincinnati, and may I say that course was absolutely breathtaking. I will be back next year for another round with the ‘Pig.

I like to bring to light that I run because I feel like too few foodies really talk about what they do to stay healthy. Not to be preachy, because of course I’m just here to review food, but I like to make it clear that for all of the food I eat, write, and photograph, I also put a lot of time and effort into making sure I’m doing something productive to stay active as well; sort of keeps things in balance. On the site I try to keep things all about the food, but there’s a lot more to it in life, any food writer, and any chef will tell you that. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a great many of the other Ohio food writers at one event or another over the past year, and the passion behind what they do is palpable. There’s a lot more behind what they do, too, and it’s great to be involved with such a great crowd!

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Crazy Mango is a really neat concept. Founded by Julie and Bob Silva, the Dayton Restaurateurs who formerly ran Bahn Mai Thai Cafe in Washington Township, this restaurant opened just a few weeks ago at The Greene in Beavercreek, serving west Dayton. The bar serves sort of an Americana of a few different kinds of cuisine, including a few memories from their former business, but the uniting thing is that it takes a lot of the classic bar foods and classes them up big time. The experience and finesse of this restaurant’s experienced founders really shines through in the food you’ll try.Click to view slideshow.

The menu is topped with some bar favorites, pizzas, burgers and wings. The chicken chunks are excellent, they’re served with a zingy sweet-and-spicy sauce with a very slight hint of mint, and a little bit of lime to top everything off. It’s delightful. The signature Italian-style pizza, the “Classic Italian,” is topped with pepperoni and Italian sausage. A white pizza, it’s very filling and savory. The crust is good, though I wish the ratio of cheese to crust was a little more even. I’ll also suggest you get some water with it; without the tomato sauce it’ll leave you  a little thirsty. There’s a “Crazy Mango Pie” which is a little more exotic and might also be worth a try.

I was also very preferential to the coconut shrimp, which are these extra-large jumbo morsels, breaded in coconut shreds and served with a sweet chili sauce, it’s the perfect kind of appetizer if you’re really hungry. It’s a little bit sweet-on-sweet, and could use something salty or spicy to really tie the whole thing together, but personally I didn’t mind this. Also recommended are the Thai Mango, the Mango Salad and the Mango Margherita…there’s definitely a theme.

The people are nice, and I found the service to be very professional. The restaurant seems to have seen more busy nights as it has picked up steam, but the food seems to come in a relatively timely manner, and the wait staff I encountered seemed trained and prepared to handle the influx. Of course I would be remiss not to mention the outstanding porch and how highly I suggest you sit out there on a warm night for a drink. All told, it’s a shame I never got to try Bahn Mai Thai, but this place is definitely a solid yes to revisit.

Recommendations

•  If you want to know what to try first, I suggest the wings.
  
• The cocktails and drinks are different and interesting enough that you really ought to try one.
• Just so you know, there’s a porch for warm nights.

With the great folks from K99.1 FM, Dayton Business Journal, Food vs. Face, WHIO-TV and others, I got a personal lesson in grilling and brews from Smashburger founder Tom Ryan and Great Lakes brewmaster Luke Purcell.

The partnership brings together some of the best sandwiches and beers, among them:

• Classic Smashburger + Dortmunder Gold Lager
• Mushroom Swiss Burger + Eliot Ness Amber Lager
• BBQ, Bacon and Cheddar Burger + Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
• Buckeye Burger + Burning River Pale Ale
• Spicy Vegetable Black Bean Burger + Commodore Perry IPA
• Classic Smash chicken + Dortmunder Gold Lager
• Avocado Club chicken + Eliot Ness Amber Lager

That was just the start of the night, though. I’ve long acclaimed my love for Smashburger (yes, they had less than half the number of restaurants they do now when I posted my first review) but I learned my way around a Smashburger kitchen from the inventor himself.

I always knew there was a secret to the Smashburger, but it’s amazing the simplicity of how the burger is made. I’ve tried a few times to replicate the thing, but it’s amazing how tricky the thing is to make. Ryan doesn’t make a secret of his Smashburger recipe, but it’s clear the tastiness of the burger lies in the third-pound chopped (not ground) Angus beef meatball that is “smashed” onto a hot grill so the outer sear locks in the juices until you bite into the finished product. I also tried (and failed) at the key burger flipping technique that keeps the caramelized shell on the top of the burger. I never was very good at flipping things, anyway!

Smashburger’s been on fire for taking American dining in a new direction with the “fast casual” concept, and it’s clear the genius behind the concept is genuine. I hear Smashburger is to partner with Moerlein Lager House in the Cincinnati market. If that’s the case, nothing will stop me from being there when the doors open!

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Dragon City is a neighborhood Chinese food option in the heart of Kettering, and so it can serve much of south Dayton with its delivery and pickup service. There’s about no online presence, but the menu is just about the same as every similar-looking place in town. There’s a definite convenience factor here, in that they deliver, but I don’t suggest the place if you have a choice.

I first tired the house lo mein, and there is a good reason there isn’t a photo here. It’s sort of soggy, the meat is fine but it’s also frozen, as are the vegetables. Not that this is a bad thing, but it’s pretty average. The noodles are cooked well, but the ingredients just don’t produce a good end result. The shrimp was decent, but I didn’t like the beef or the chicken, and the pork was dry. All that said, don’t get the lo mein.

The General Tso’s Chicken was fine, good enough to eat, but nothing especially good about it to where I’d say its worth going back for. The chicken is crispy and the sauce is decent, though it may come from a can. The rice is cooked properly, also. So I think there isn’t a problem of skill, it’s just a problem of unimpressive ingredients creating an unambitious end result.

The food is inexpensive, and they do deliver far and wide, so there will always be a demand for inexpensive and convenient. But don’t go to the place expecting anything special. Unfortunately you won’t find it.

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Another of the many food trucks which have popped up in Dayton over the past few months, Zombie Dogz specializes in some very elaborate hot dog creations. It’s sort of a hard food truck to come by, they appear occasionally on the weekends at local bars and public places, and then you’ll see them at big events. But you give this food truck on try and it will be the kind of place you want to make a special trip to try. It’s the kind of cool, creative and unique fare that’s just a little addicting.

The menu has about 15 different hot dog creations on the menu, of which five to seven are available at any one time. The hot dogs are huge, all-beef types, and a ton more filling than you might have thought, well worth the price. My favorite was the Grande Zombe, which is topped with a spice queso sauce, cilantro, bacon, sour cream, and crushed corn chips. There’s no real food equivalent that I can think of with the end product; kind of like a mashup of a quesadilla and a hot dog. It’s awesome.

Another of my favorites was the “Juan of the Dead,” which is topped with pulled pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. It’s amazing, the pork has a sweetness that complements the saltiness of the pickles perfectly. I got it because it seemed a lot like a Chicago-style hot dog, but the website says it’s supposed to evoke more of a Cuban style sandwich. I think that’s the best part of the food that Zombie Dogz makes; the flavors and the combinations are very original. Some of the hot dogs have a vague resemblance to a more familiar dish, but everything is different; the flavors can only found there. I really hope they come up with something that evokes the Chicago dog, though. On top of that, there is an “Undead” option, which is vegetarian and can be topped with just about anything.

With a really neat concept and some great, friendly people to run it, Zombie Dogz has to be one of my favorites among the new food trucks. I really wish they appeared more often, in fact, it’s a little frustrating that the opportunities to try such great food are so few and far between. But the next time they come through my neck of the woods, I think I’ll make a special trip.

Recommendations

• Zombie Dogz is a pretty rare sight, apparently they’re only active on weekends. Check up on their website or Facebook for a schedule.
• The menu seems to change depending on the day, but a complete list of options is on the website.
• Also, they cater and do special events, if you’re super sold on the place you might be able to invite them to a party.

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Budina Pan Asian Cuisine is a purveyor of just about all kinds of far eastern cuisine including plenty of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese dishes. It’s kind of a funny menu, really, because with all of the different kinds of food to try make it the kind of place where you can go with a big group of people and everyone will find something they like.

The menu really attests to a “little of everything” idea; the most popular dishes, according to the restaurant, are the always-popular Shrimp Pad Thai and the Vietnamese favorite, Pho beef noodle dish. I am always a fan of new pad Thai dishes, and this one is really nice, especially with the shrimp. It looks a lot spicier than it actually is, believe me. In fact, it’s actually a little sweet. I like the stuff, but I recommend it to someone who is new to Thai cuisine as a way to get used to the flavor profiles. There are a lot of other places in Cincinnati that outdo it on Thai food. The Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwich looks delicious, too.

There are a lot of things on the menu that look pretty irresistible. You really might want to give the Vietnamese food a try, especially if you’ve never had it before, since this place has plenty of other things on its menu for cheap. The curry chicken seems to be a pretty popular option too. That said, I don’t suggest the “daily entrée” options because a lot of them are sort of the classic Chinese food options. They’re about the same as anywhere else, and there are more adventurous options here. I don’t suggest the sushi for the same reason, there are a lot of other places that specialize in the stuff, and they do it a lot better.

The service is good, in fact it’s really fast, and that says a lot, since for many of the regulars here, I’m sure convenience is king. The specials are pretty economical too, so there are plenty of ways to get a meal for pretty cheap, especially for lunch. But I primarily suggest it for the convenience and price, the dishes are good but I don’t personally find anything good here that is worth a special trip from out of town.

Recommendations

• The most popular dishes are Thai and Vietnamese, and I would suggest them over the Chinese food or the sushi.
• The restaurant is hard to see from the road, it’s on the southwest corner of a much larger office building with a lot of other stores in front.
• If you want to dine in, the service is very fast.

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While it might be easy to pass by Arcade Seafood without noticing it, the place is actually a longstanding, historic business in the city. Opened in 1944, this seafood shop was established in the once-proud Dayton Arcade downtown. When that spot hit hard times, Arcade Seafood moved from a spot on Ludlow Street to here, a corner on First Street. It’s kind of a neat place in that it’s both a place to buy fresh seafood ingredients, and it’s also a place to go for any number of fried seafood favorites for a dine-in meal.

So there are a ton of options for food, and I should warn you that most of them are fried. It’s hard not to like the seafood, in fact it’s delicious. Nowhere else in walking distance has fried catfish this good. The clam strips are definitely worth a return too. What’s more, it amazes me how fresh the fish tastes, this far away from the ocean it’s hard to find a place with this many kinds of fish that are so fresh. I’m really a fan of the soups, and if you frequent downtown at all then I would definitely suggest you stop in to at least try the lobster bisque, or the clam chowder, or the gumbolaya. Make no mistake, all the food I’ve had here has been really great, and I am absolutely a repeat customer.

It is sort of a frustration in my mind that, with all of these fish on the menu, there aren’t more options for how they’re prepared. They offer grilled chicken sandwiches but the only grilled fish on the menu is salmon? I understand that it can be time consuming to grill fish, but I can say from my standpoint that I would be back more often if there was a bigger variety of items on the menu. I can’t eat something fried every time I come out.

All of that of course applies just to the sit-in part of the restaurant, there are a ton of fresh fish options that you don’t have to buy fried. If you live downtown this is probably a good option to grab some of those things you’ll never find at the supermarket. All in all, Arcade Seafoods is really worth a drop by for any downtown regular; whether you’re up for a ton of fried food or just a simple cup of good seafood, this is your place.

Recommendations

• There are different lunch specials every day, and a lot of them offer a pretty tasty meal for a relatively inexpensive price; lunch for $6 or so. 
• Most of the fish here is fried, so keep that in mind if you’re on some kind of diet.
• Also, there are fresh fish options to take home.

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One of the food trucks which has popped up again with the warming temperatures, McNasty’s actually used to be a restaurant in north Dayton, founded in 1973 and run by Richard “McNasty” Bell. Continuing the tradition of that bricks-and-mortar eatery, McNasty’s Great Food Truck can be found these days around Courthouse Square in downtown Dayton, serving up reubens, brisket and other kinds of quick sandwiches. People of all kinds seem to be used to its presence now, as it’s not uncommon to see a line of people from all walks of life around what seems to be an institution among Dayton food trucks.

The Beef Brisket tops the menu, and I figured I would try it first. The brisket is juicy, though sometimes the fat ends can be substantial so watch out for that. The flavor is great; the brisket has a slightly smoked tinge; it was obvious that the meat was smoked correctly, and it has a great soft bite. It’s topped with a very sweet barbecue sauce and red onions, should you prefer them. There’s an option to top it with cheese, I tried American, and that was a mistake on my part. Maybe one of the other cheeses would be good, or maybe this sandwich is altogether better without.

Among the other items on the menu are grilled turkey, roast beef, the reuben of course, and some other quick lunch items like a French dip and a chicken quesadilla. I don’t have any specific favorite among them, so I imagine whichever sounds most appealing to you at the time will be good, I can’t really pinpoint a “signature” item that is a must-try for first-timers. Everything is in the $6 to $7 range, so have at it.

McNasty himself is very friendly, as is his staff. It’s kind of funny that this business is just a food truck which occasionally pops up downtown, it feels very much like a much beloved neighborhood institution; the staff knows the regulars and just loves the people. I suspect that many who loved McNasty’s when it was a bar in Huber Heights have come back again to enjoy those same favorites, and became dedicated followers. I can now count myself among them.

Recommendations 

• As far as I’ve seen, McNasty’s appears at Courthouse Square in downtown Dayton from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Monday through Friday during warm weather. They might note on Facebook if they show up somewhere else, though.
• I was preferential to the brisket, though I would say there isn’t a “must get” item on the menu, everything is pretty good.
• Supplies on items are limited and they run out of some things later in the day, so make sure you’re fast if you prefer a popular dish.