Andrew Zimmern Salutes Taste of Cincinnati All Winter Long

Andrew Zimmern is an Emmy and four-time James Beard Award winning TV personality, chef, writer, teacher and social justice advocate. He is a founding member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, fighting to save restaurants affected by Covid-19.

In February 2020, Andrew returned to television with What’s Eating America, which premiered on MSNBC, and in 2021, he will premiere Family Dinner on Chip & Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network.

Food Network's Michael Symon salutes Taste of Cincinnati All Winter Long

With your support, Taste of Cincinnati® All Winter Long is helping to stimulate and sustain the City’s restaurant economy and retain jobs in the service industry through the cold, early months of 2021.

All participating eateries and pubs are offering Taste of Cincinnati® All Winter Long specials. These promotions include discounts on food, gift cards and more! 

272 Cincinnati restaurants and bars are making use of funds of distributed by Taste of Cincinnati® All Winter Long. Full-service restaurants received $17,000 each, Bars and limited service were given grants of $8,500. The City of Cincinnati generously funded this $4 million program in partnership with the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Foundation. 

The Emery Review with Fox 19's Frank Marzullo & Rob Williams

By Shae Combs

Unique to Mariemont. As Unique as Mariemont.

The Emery brings a one-of-a-kind urban dining experience to the heart of this charming historic neighborhood. The menu has something for everyone. From seafood to steak and a pub menu with a delicious burger.

Fox 19 anchor’s Frank Marzullo and Rob Williams dive into the menu and gives their review of The Emery.

Sweet Harmony with local favorites Rhinegeist and Maverick

By Shae Combs

Local favorites Rhinegeist and Maverick have teamed up for a special Valentine's Day tasting. The pair have collaborated on a virtual version of Rhinegeist's yearly "Sweet Harmony" Valentine's Day event.

The $40 single ticket will include a specialty Rhinegeist glass, a tasting card and pen, four Rhinegeist beers and four Maverick chocolates, chosen to compliment one another. The $60 couple's ticket will include two tasting glasses, two tasting cards and pens, four Rhinegeist beers and eight Maverick chocolates. A zoom link will also be provided for guests to listen to Chris Shields, Rhinegiest's Director of Education and Paul Picton, owner of Maverick Chocolates, talk about the pairings. A limited number of tickets are still available and can be purchased here.

Rhinegeist will also host socially distant, in-person Sweet Harmony events on both Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. These tickets are $60 per person and include valet parking, a glass of champagne, an on-site photographer to capture your crew, a private table and a four-course dessert and beer pairing set to live music.

12.5 million pizzas will be sold today – and local restaurants knead the dough

The Super Bowl is today, followed by Tuesday’s National Pizza Day and Valentine’s Day on the 14th. It’s estimated that 12.5 million pizzas will be sold today, alone - and nearly one-in-ten of us thinks pizza makes for a perfect Valentine’s Day. That means you’re going to enjoy more slices, this week, than Roger Federer.

Taste of Cincinnati All Winter Long, a marketing initiative to help sustain restaurants and bars struggling through the cold and socially distanced early months of 2021, is celebrating pizza all week (and all winter long). You can help support local restaurants by dining-in, carrying-out, driving-thru and ordering delivery of these great pizza offers, A to Z:

•  Adriatico's Pizza - Buy one personal pizza, get one of equal/lesser value FREE (Dine-in only)

• Catch-a-Fire Pizza - 20% off gift cards of $60 or more

• Chameleon Pizza - Monday night special - $4 off all pizza pies

• Dead Low Brewing - $5 eight-inch cheese pizza

• Fireside Pizza - Gift cards 15% off

• Jim and Jack’s on the River – Buy any extra-large pizza, get a FREE order of garlic bread sticks with dipping sauce

• Mac's Pizza Pub - Purchase a $50 gift card, receive an additional $10 gift card

• O Pie O - 20% off $25, $50, and $100 gift cards

• Red Rose Jems - Buy any size pizza and get a 10-inch, one topping pizza FREE

• Rusconi Pizza Kitchen - 20% bonus added to every e-gift card sold

• Wildfire Pizza Kitchen – Any large specialty pizza, cheese bread and two slices of cheesecake for $25

• Zablong Peculiar Pizza – Get a special Cadillac Ranch pizza with rchicken, bacon, ranch sauce, cheese blend and black pepper for $9.

PIZZA PI - BY THE NUMBERS

• $46.24 billion – Total U.S. pizza industry sales for the period of Oct. 2019-Sep. 2020

• 350 – the number of pizza slices sold in the U.S. every second

• 98 – the percentage of people who say they like pizza

• 10 – the percentage of people who like to have a glass of wine with their pizza

• 4 – the percentage of women who would rather eat pizza than have a significant other

Sources – NationalToday.com, Pizza Magazine, Food Safety News.

Whip up and dip up Frisch's Bad Boy for your big game party

By: Rich Walburg

Due to social distancing, this year’s Super Bowl party may be just you and your 24” Vizio.

Want to make things a little spicier?

We checked* and the Governor is allowing you to have Frisch’s Bad Boy over to watch the game. No need to worry, Bad Boy won’t reverse roundhouse the drywall, light M-88s, or put your Wilson Phillips CD in the microwave.

Ready to party like it’s 2022?

Here’s what you need from the Kroger:

• One 16 ounce jar of Frisch’s Spicy Tartar Sauce, available at Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants and Kroger stores

• One pound ground beef cooked and drained. You can substitute one package of “Beefy Crumbles” thawed. Beefy Crumbles would be a good name for your cat.

• One pound Velveeta Pepper Jack Cheese

• Eight ounces shredded lettuce

• One diced tomato, fresh

• 20 pickle chips, chopped

• One bag scoop friendly chips (or bread)

Here’s what you do with the stuff from the Kroger:

Step One

Place cubed Velveeta Pepper Jack Cheese in microwave-safe bowl and add cooked ground beef. Microwave on Defrost (50% power) for 4-5 minutes until the cheese is melted. 

Step Two

Mix well and pour into a 9” x13” or 9” x 9” microwave-safe pan and spread out to all edges. Microwave pan for another minute or until bubbly (the cheese, not you).

Step Two

Remove from microwave and top with Frisch’s Spicy Tartar Sauce, edge to edge. 

Step Three

Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomato and pickles.

Step Four

Enjoy Immediately with scoop-friendly chips or bread.

*No, we didn’t.

Spice up Date Night with a Jeff Ruby Meal Kit, like I did

By: Shae Combs

My husband and I started doing quarantine date-nights when Covid hit, but now that we're eleven months in, things have gotten a bit... monotonous. We decided to spice things up by trying one of the Jeff Ruby meal kits and attempting to recreate the iconic Jeff Ruby's experience in our home.

The ordering and pickup process couldn't be simpler. When you visit their website, you get to choose pick up or delivery (we chose pickup) and the location (we picked The Precinct because it's closest to us). After that, you pick a date and time that works for you.

Finally, you choose the meal kit you are interested in. They have a few different meal kit options, but we picked the Dinner For Two (because it's a date night, duh!). This kit includes the following:

• (2) 8 oz Angus Filet Mignon

• Half Pound of Alaskan King Crab

• Asparagus

• 2 oz of Steakhouse seasoning (The BEST steak seasoning out there)

• Sixteen Bricks Sourdough and Truffle Butter

• Choice of Chocolate Cake or Butter Pie (Chocolate cake ALL DAY)

When we unpacked our meal kit, everything was separated and easily identifiable and it included cooking directions for each item.

My husband took point on the steaks, asparagus and crab. He patted the steaks dry with paper towels and seasoned them really well with the included steakhouse seasoning. These steaks were extremely thick, so they needed about eight minutes per side on the grill for a perfect medium-rare.

Normally when we visit a Jeff Ruby's steakhouse, we enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail, so we decided to make ourselves a Manhattan while the steaks sizzled away on the grill outside. During this time, we also set the table, lit some candles and heated up the bread in the oven. During the steaks' last few minutes cooking, we added the asparagus and then the crab legs to the grill alongside them. And that was it! After the steaks rested for a couple minutes we plated everything up and dug in.

I mixed the dressing and bacon right into the salad before serving, just like they do with the real Freddy Salad. You really can't go wrong with Sixteen Bricks bread and the truffle butter was a nice addition.

My husband cooked the steaks perfectly and the seasoning made it taste like a real Jeff Ruby's steak. We did miss that crispy char on the outside that the steakhouses do so well, but other than that it was amazing.

The asparagus was good and the crab was delicious. A few words of caution with the crab - we could've left it on the grill a few more minute to heat up because the pieces were so big. We are lucky enough to have crab crackers at our house already, but if you don't, you might find it difficult to get them open.

Finally, the chocolate cake was perfection. The slice they gave us was so big that we only ate half and saved the rest for the next night.

All-in-all we very much enjoyed our meal kit and would absolutely recommend it. The experience isn't quite like being in an actual Jeff Ruby's restaurant, but we put a little effort in and it was a fun date night in our home.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, this would be a fabulous way to have a romantic night in, while still supporting a local business! You can preorder your Valentine’s Day meal kits now for pick up at The Precinct or Carol & Johnny February 12, 13 and 14.

Hot 'n Spicy to Dry Rub Seasoning - It's Cincinnati Wing Week

Wings from Lucious Q

Wings from Revolution Rotisserie

By: Stephanie Denzel

Photography by: Shae Combs

The week has come for the inaugural Cincinnati Wing Week. From January 25 - 31, 2021, you can enjoy six wings for $5 from some of Cincinnati’s most popular wing joints.

With more than 60 participating restaurants, there are plenty of wings to be eaten this week. Check out the participating restaurants at cincywingweek.com.

Jeff Ruby is Now Shipping His World-Renowned Steaks Everywhere in the U.S.

Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse is partnering with CincyFavorites.com to ship its highly-acclaimed steaks and seasoning anywhere in the country. The collaboration sees Jeff Ruby’s joining other Cincinnati-based icons like Graeter's and Montgomery Inn on the CincyFavorites platform.

Available kits and packages include Jeff Ruby's Signature Filet Mignon, U.S.D.A. Prime New York Strips & Boneless Ribeye Steaks. Additionally, they are offering an exclusive Jeff Ruby’s curated selection of hard-to-find U.S.D.A. Prime Dry-Aged Porterhouse and the Bone-In Ribeye known as The Cowboy Steak. Several of the kits will also include Jeff Ruby's Mac & Cheese (the same dish FoodNetwork named its Most Magnificent Side) and decadent Butter Pie.

"When CincyFavorites approached us about adding Jeff Ruby’s steaks and seasoning to their offerings, we knew immediately this would be a terrific opportunity," said Britney Ruby Miller, CEO of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment. "We get requests every day from loyal friends and guests asking to ship our steaks and seasoning all over the country. We now have a cost-effective and efficient way to do that. The team at CincyFavorites is great to work with and we're excited to offer nationwide shipping with their help."

Ordering is easy through the “Ship Our Steaks” link at JeffRuby.com - or through CincyFavorites.com. All orders are fulfilled and shipped next business day via UPS Ground, UPS Second Day Air or UPS Next Day Air. All Jeff Ruby’s items are carefully packed in custom, environmentally friendly coolers with sufficient dry ice to keep items frozen for several days.

Whip Up Frisch’s Big Boy Dip at Your big game Party

Frisch’s Big Boy Dip is the new scoopable favorite for your Big Game party. Fans of Kansas City or San Francisco can agree on our local favorite, Frisch’s Big Boy.

Here’s your easy recipe to whip up and dip up Frisch’s Big Boy Dip-

1   (9.7 ounce) jar of Frisch’s Tartar Sauce,
     available at Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants and Kroger stores

1   pound ground beef cooked and drained
     (can substitute one package of “Beefy Crumbles” thawed)

1   pound Velveeta Cheese

8   ounces shredded lettuce

1   diced tomato, fresh

20 pickle chips, chopped

1   bag scoop friendly chips (or bread)

1    9” x13” or 9” x 9” microwave-safe pan

Step One: Place cubed Velveeta in microwave-safe bowl and add cooked ground beef. Microwave on Defrost (50% power) for 4-5 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Step Two: Mix well and pour into a 9” x13” or 9” x 9” microwave-safe pan and spread out to all edges. Microwave pan for another 1 minute or until bubbly.

Step Two: Remove from microwave and top with Frisch’s Tartar Sauce, edge to edge.

Step Three: Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomato and pickles.

Step Four: Serve Immediately with scoop-friendly chips or bread. Your guests just gotta have their Frisch’s Big Boy.

###

About Frisch’s Big Boy

Founded in 1939, the Frisch’s family consists of more than 100 units, comprised of company-owned and franchise partner locations, across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. For more information, visit Frischs.com.

Order a Steak Burrow at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, Inspired by Heisman Trophy-Winning Quarterback Joe Burrow

Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in Cincinnati has introduced the Steak Burrow, a 16-ounce blackened prime ribeye served with creole crawfish sauce. The new menu item, inspired by Heisman Trophy and national championship winning quarterback Joe Burrow of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers, will debut Jan. 18. Mr. Burrow is expected by many experts to be the No. 1 pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in April’s NFL draft.

During his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, Mr. Burrow spoke about poverty, food insecurity and the Athens County Food Pantry in his hometown of Athens, Ohio. Following his compelling words, the Food Pantry received donations of over a half million dollars in one week. That’s more than six times the pantry’s annual budget.

“I was inspired by Joe’s words and that led to Steak Burrow being added to the menu at my downtown Cincinnati steakhouse,” said Jeff Ruby, owner and founder of Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment. “Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse will donate $9 (Mr. Burrow’s uniform number) from the sale of each steak to the Athens County Food Pantry.”

Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse, 700 Walnut Street in Downtown Cincinnati, is high-energy upscale dining at its finest, delivering award-winning steaks, seafood and service. It is a favorite of athletes, celebrities and special-occasion diners.

About Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment

Simply put, The Jeff Ruby Experience is about excellence. It is captured in the quality of the food, the energy and elegance of the atmosphere, the impeccability of service and the overall dining experience. When you dine with us, you are our guest and we do everything possible to treat you to a show unlike any other. While each of our restaurants has a unique background and story to tell, there is a common thread that runs through everything we do- a commitment to perfection that is The Jeff Ruby Experience.

About the Athens County Food Pantry

The Athens County Food Pantry is dedicated to providing supplemental and emergency food aid to eligible residents of Athens County, Ohio who find themselves in need. They have been serving the citizens of Athens County since 1980 delivering aid in the form of direct food disbursements. They are an all-volunteer non-profit organization, and their dedicated team works to ensure that food is always available for those in need. The ACFP depends entirely upon the support of the local community, through individual and group donations, churches, business partners, fundraisers, grants, and United Appeal for Athens County.

Busken Brothers released from Prank Probation to continue #PieWars2018 with Frisch’s

Video by Madison Schmidt

After a five-year hiatus, #PieWars2018 is back in a friendly rivalry between Frisch’s and Busken Bakery to claim the top spot for pumpkin pie on our holiday plates.

Watch the Busken Bros escape from Prank Probation.

Pie Wars between Frisch’s and Busken’s Bakery returns

Video by Madison Schmidt

Saturday is National Dessert Day and Pie Wars is back! 

This friendly rivalry (#PieWars2018) between Frisch’s and Busken’s Bakery is the “war we all win!”

These two hometown companies are going round for round as we lead up to the holidays.

Watch out for clever and devious antics from Big Boy and the Busken Bros. this fall. Frisch’s made the first attack by placing a billboard above the Busken’s Hyde Park store.

Households may be divided like a slice of pie as they choose their preferred pie along the way.

Which beloved Cincinnati food icon will capture the biggest slice of the city’s dessert appetite this fall?

Whose crust is a must?

Whose filling is most thrilling?

Frisch’s brings back Coke

This week, Frisch’s announced that Coca Cola products will return to restaurants by September. Frisch’s CEO Jason Vaughn shared the announcement with colleagues from the Frisch’s corporate office on Monday.