PRidgeFlyer

Senate Restaurant has new pics up on their Facebook page and the interious looks pretty sweet. It sounds like they have completed construction on the interior so the opening can be too far off now.

Wheeling is not a "college town". A college town, as most people understand the term, is a small to midsized city that is home to - and takes its indentity from - a large university that is located there. The university is the focal point of the city and a large percentage of the businesses there are oriented towards the university's population. WJU has a very small enrollment and it does not have a large footprint on the city. Most residents in Wheeling identify more with WVU located 79 miles away than they do with WJU. Morgantown on the otherhand is the definition of a college town.

Anyone know what's going in the old Betta's spot in Mt Lookout square? I drove by last night and I think there was a sign in the window that I belive said Pera, but I could read anything else.

ZZ's Pizza in Walnut Hills also has a FB page and has been posting pictures of their progress. They look like they will be re-opening in the near future. I never got to try if before it closed down, can anyone tell me what sytle of pizza they made?

I was there last night. The interior and the courtyard are both very well done. The whole place is not very big though so I think big crowds would ruin the experience.

Of course you are correct about that. It just gets to me when it's residents of my community being the buffoons. That being said - and getting back on the point of this thread - if you blindfolded any of those clowns that make all the ridiculous OTR comments and dropped them off in the middle of the Q, they would not even be able to tell you what city they were in spite of "knowing" everything about the area and the people that live there.

Amen! As much as I believe in freedom of speech the overwhelming about of racism and ignorance spewed about on the Enquirer's online comments section almost makes me wish they would shut that feature off. It's embarassing to think that someone outside of the region reading a story on there must think the majority of Cincinnatians feel that way with how those idiots cheer each other on.

I've been to Cuba Cafe twice for lunch and enjoyed it. The owner and his sister both are extremely friendly and more than willing to explain everything that they have to customers. I think their their prices are pretty reasonable and their cuban sandwich and beans & rice are good. The only drawback is that their space is in the lobby of a building so it limits the menu, but they do have a pretty sizeable seating area. I'll be in Miami this weekend and even though Cuba Cafe wouldn't stand up to the places down there, considering your other options for Cuban cusine in Northern KY and the surrounding areas...I'm glad to have it :-D

I think it's victim of NOTL. I loved that place when it was downtown on 4th & Race - good & random. I do not think the owner wanted to leave downtown; the lease was yanked by the building's owner.

Speaking of Chalk. There was an article in CinWeekly, maybe early June, about their Sunday brunch and it sounded pretty good. We tried going on Sunday and it was closed. Anyone know if they're not going to be doing brunch anymore? The bright spot was that we ended up going across the street to Keystone and they had the "Inn the Wood" potato crisp which was killer!

I had no idea that old IGA building used to be a Kroger. I really wish is still housed the Ridge Market, that place was fantastic.

Alright, now that the name is public does anyone in the know want to spill some details? I think the Gastropub concept is going to be a great fit for the area.

Not much info, but they do have a website already http://www.thesenaterestaurant.com/

Taking the pizza discussion from NYC to the midwest...I ate at Chi-natti's Pizza last weekend, it's the new Chicago style pizza place in old Jalapeno's building near Kenwood mall. Let me preface this by saying I don't love chicago style deep dish pizza, but every once in a while when I'm there and I go to Lou Malnati's or Geno's East it's a treat. So I will save you 30 minutes and $20; their Chicago deep dish pizza was the worst I've had. It has a dry and flavorless cornmeal crust and the pizza itself was hardly thicker than a Papa John's slice. Mio's deep dish is significantly better if you need to get a Chicago style pizza fix in Cincinnati. Aside from the deep dish disaster, the restaurant and bar area were very nice and their thin crust pizzas actually looked pretty good. They also have Chicago Dogs and Italian Beef which I will go back to try.

I need to try Aponte's. I have heard good things about it, but I'm never in that part of town. I agree 100% about Flying Pizza in Dayton. That is good stuff!

I have always been a big BBQ Review fan. When I lived in Hyde Park I think I ate there at least once a weekend. Their brisket and mac & cheese are fantastic. My wife used to lived down the street from City BBQ in Columbus and I remember it being better there than when I have eaten at the ones in Hyde Park & Milford. I can't get on-board the Montgomery Inn train though. Their ribs are good, but not great and I don't care for their bbq sauce. When I go there now I usually get the pork chops. Montgomery Inn falls in the same category as Larosas and Graters - people that grew up in Cincinnati love them and most of the people that are not originally from here don't get what all the hype is about. With the exception of LaRosa's - which I actually find to be repulsive - I don't think those places are bad, they just wouldn't be my first choice. I can always tell when people at work have ordered LaRosa's for lunch because the office smells like feet when it gets here.

my guess is Slot 15 will be a sushi restaurant from the people that brought you beluga I heard the Beluga people had a spot near Oceanaire in the 580 building picked out, but Oceanaire has a non-compete that makes it very difficult for other restaurants to open there; particularly ones serving a lot of fish. Supposedly Iron Chef, which I think has a location in WC, will be opening another location somewhere in that area though.

It should have said "from a 1998 UD grad" and I no longer wish to remain anonymous :-D

I checked out Booty's last night and the place was absolutely packed. The interior is very cool and there is a large circular outside of the dinning area. Did not try any of the food, but I will be back for that. The downstairs is not open yet, but the guy working the door told me that when it is done it will have Bootsy memorabilia on display and an souvenir stand - like Hard Rock Cafes I am guessing. Definitely a great addition to downtown

The last time I talked to Doug back in July, I think he said he - like other builders I have talked to - was not starting going to start any new residential project unless it was pre-sold. There are over 20 properties currently on the market just on Boal, Milton, & Mulberry streets. Not a good time to add to the inventory.

Anything other than a dollar store or check cashing place beats an abandoned K Mart. I just saw on the Neyer website that the project is called Ridge Pointe and they have renderings for both retail & office space as part of the project. http://www.neyer1.com/building_table.php#central

From the #1 source for Columbia Township development news; the Kansas City Business Journal on 09/26: "...his next move is to scour the market for discounted properties to redevelop. He’ll begin construction early in 2009 on the vacant Kmart property on Ridge Avenue in Columbia Township and spend $20 million converting it to an office complex with retail outlots. This could play into Neyer’s favor because of the large number of vacant buildings in Cincinnati, as long as prices are right, said John Rosenberg, a real estate professor at the University of Cincinnati." http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/othercities/cincinnati/stories/2008/09/29/story9.html?b=1222660800%5E1706966&brthrs=1

The Fatburger in Oakley is open and much to my surprise it tastes just at good sober for lunch as it does at 5:30 AM in Vegas. :drunk:

Hopefully there will be some more movement soon on the abandoned KMart property. I found an agenda online from the August Hamilton County Rural Zoning Commission meeting: DATE OF NEXT MEETING: September 18, 2008 9. SCHEDULED PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. CASE: Columbia 2008-02; Ridgewater Redevelopment PUD REQUEST: Approval of a Planned Unit Development in an existing “F SPI-SC” Light Industrial – Special Public Interest District PURPOSE: To redevelop the vacant K-Mart building into an office building, with major revisions to the structure and allow for the future development of three outlots on the site, with associated parking areas and use of two existing signalized access drives onto Ridge Road APPLICANT: Ridge-K LLC, Vandercar Holdings Inc. (applicant & owner) LOCATION: Columbia Township: 5500 Ridge Avenue, on the east side of Ridge Avenue, north of Highland Avenue (Book 520, Page 270, Parcels 17) TRACT SIZE: Approximately 10.13 acres http://www.hamiltoncountyohio.gov/hcrpc/meetings/2008/RZC/08-08/Agenda.pdf

Tropicana closed because it was losing money. The lawsuit gave Ruby a chance to put his spin on bowing out of an unprofitable venture without having to admit that that one of his restaurants was struggling financially. He was paying a lot of money for that space and wasn't doing steady enough business during the week.