Well...I do love their chili.

A few days ago I was starving and it was late and I was driving by Steak & Shake in Oakley- thus I went. I'm not a big "chain" person any more but I love their chili and was starving...

Funny story about my history with S&S. As a kid - I went to S&S every year for my birthday. How ghetto is that? We didn't have one where I lived and I thought it was fun. Ah - I was so sheltered!

I do love their damn chili - it's not Cincinnati chili but it's amazing! It's thick and chunky and meaty and beany and I just love it! I don't think it's very healthy for you - which is too bad. At Wendy's, the chili is among the healthiest menu items...not so at S&S. It does taste great though and is among my favorite chili's ever.

They have these new "Shooters" sandwiches that are basically sliders. I got the A1 Thick & Hearty Shooters. They sucked! Whoever was cooking basically dumped salt all over them - I couldn't even eat them! They were salt sliders! (and I like salt - but this was even too much for me)

BF got the original double cheeseburger and fries...he ate it so I'm guessing it wasn't a salt burger.

I love their skinny fries...ala Zips.

I also got a junior-sized chocolate shake - it was really good too! So I'd go back for shakes for sure!

What's my favorite $5 lunch downtown?

What's my favorite $5 lunch? There's Subway, Quiznos, etc... - they all have $5 lunches right now. But what's my favorite????

I LOVE ROLY POLY!!!!!

Right now - all large wraps are only $5!

I discovered RP when I was working on Buttermilk Pike - my coworkers and I started becoming regulars at the Erlanger location. Jeff the manager was a great guy and quickly new all of our orders. Then I changed jobs and went downtown... I thought I wouldn't get my fabulous RP anymore! But woohoo - there's an RP downtown!!!! (There are only those 2 now.)

They have hundreds of wraps - I'd like to one day try each of them - just go down the list. The other thing to note - they are very Weight Watchers friendly! There are many soups and wraps that are healthy and low in points. The vegetable soup is only 1 point I think! Many of the wraps are 4-6 points for 1/2.

On this day, Russ got the Cider House Melt:

#61 Cider House Melt LOWER FAT SELECTION
Smoked Turkey, Baked Ham, Reduced Fat Cheese, Fresh Spinach, Mushrooms, Onions, Grilled Golden Brown with a Side of Fat Free Apple Ranch Dressing on a Whole Wheat Tortilla

It looked good but I usually skip the turkey sandwiches. Also - always ask for the whole wheat tortilla - it's MUCH healthier than the regular!

I have a big list of favorites...one of them is the Chicken Popper:

#53 Chicken Popper LOWER FAT SELECTION
Sliced Chicken Breast, Light Cream Cheese, Onion, Tomato, Sliced Jalapenos, Fat Free Ranch Dressing, Grilled Golden Brown with a Side of Salsa

I tend to get it without jalapenos - I can't take too many of them. I also always get the WW tortilla as I mentioned. The salsa is great too - no fat!

Other choices I love: Chicken or Steak Fajita, Hickory Chicken (with BBQ), Buffalo Slim, Philly Melt and the Texas Tuna Melt (not a healthy one).

The mushroom soup is also amazing! They don't get it too often - but when they do - I get it!

So I hope this has been a good guide to Roly Poly. It's right next door to Ingredients - which always has a HUGE line - so next time you go and don't want to stand in that line - head about 10 steps to the left and you'll be at Roly Poly!!!

Should I make a habit out of Habits?

Stopped into Habits recently and realized I hadn't reviewed it! It's a great little spot on the main drag in Oakley. We actually meant to go to OPG but they weren't open yet so we popped across the street for sustenance!

Very cute spot - right on the corner across from 20th Century!

The BF got a cheeseburger - I tried to talk him into the Ostrich burger - but he just wouldn't branch out that far! Yes - they have Ostrich on the menu. Dude - I'm so trying it next time!

He was happy with the cheeseburger - it's nothing out of the ordinary - but it was solid.

Chicken Taco Salad
Grilled white meat chicken with refried beans, tomatoes, black olives, onions, sour cream and cheddar cheese on a bed of crisp lettuce.
Try it with our homemade ranch or taco dressing. 7.50

I decided to be "healthy" (not really) and get the chicken taco salad. The chicken is a bit dry... The taco dressing is sour cream and salsa mixed together - that's good! Other than that - it was just okay. I think I'll ditch "healthy" for ostrich next time...

Did someone say BBQ?!

Last Tuesday after kickball I was so excited - a friend from high school Facebooked me and said he was in town for a couple of days! He lives in Chicago and I haven't seen him in 4+ years!

He knew he was going to be dining with the Food Hussy so I had to be sure and take him someplace good! (no pressure!) We were next to Eastgate Mall so I let him choose between Ban Thai and City BBQ. I pretty much knew - I was dealing with a big Iowa guy - he wasn't going to choose Thai! We headed to the Anderson Township location. They also have locations throughout Ohio.

You go up to the counter and order - the food is prepared fast food style and you take it to your table. On the table is a nice array of sauces - I stuck with the Sweet City sauce - it tends to be my favorite type.

They had a special on the whole rack of ribs which two of our party got. It looked pretty good and both guys cleaned their plates! I knew I couldn't handle that!

My bf and I decided to get pulled pork sandwiches and sides. The macaroni & cheese wasn't good...it felt like it had sat around all day and had no flavor and the noodles were complete mush. The beans were okay. The beans were fine...the cornbread was fine...none of it was shockingly good but it wasn't too bad. I was pretty disappointed in the mac & cheese. The sandwich and pork was good - as was the sauce.

And yes - finally a photo of the Food Hussy and her buddy Darwynn!

Overall - City BBQ was fine. It's no Montgomery Inn but I don't even like that very much. I think I need to try some of the BBQ carts around the city.

Any recommendations?

20 Brix - but is it worth the bones?

A coworker recommended 20 Brix to me a while back and I finally had the chance to check it out. 20 Brix is on the main drag in Old Milford.

Very cute setting...

Nice sized wine shop...

They also have a nice gift selection - a bit odd in a restaurant but it's a "shop" kind of neighborhood.

Baby Arugula Salad
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Grilled Lemon, Shaved Parmesian
7

Scott got this salad - he wasn't that excited about it. It really was PLAIN!

The "Nice" Salad
Grilled Potato Bread, Haricot Verts, Kalamata Olives, Tomato, Baby Lettuce, French Feta Vinaigrette

This was delicious! So much flavor and lots of good stuff! I am not a huge feta fan but I loved this!

Scott got a pizza (obviously) - I think it was a bacon & basil pesto? I'm pretty sure it was a special or it's at least not on the online menu. It was really really great! The crust was crispy yet flavorful and the toppings were perfect. I had one piece and wished I had eaten 3 more!

Local Tomato and Smoky Pepper Soup
Old Bay Crostine, Lump Crab Meat, Rouille
7

This was AMAZING! I decided to go for salad and soup - and let me tell you this soup rocked the house. I'm not much on tomato soup but WOW this was delicious! The addition of the pepper helped. And then - check out that pile of crab!!!!! It was delicious...and you'll see some saucy stuff - just added to it. It was fantastic! Great pairing with the salad as well.

Overall 20 Brix was a delightful choice - the food was excellent. The patio outside was perfect and the staff was very knowledgeable. They even told me when my car was about to get towed!

If you're in Milford I would DEFINITELY recommend 20 Brix!

Rima's Diner - as good as I remember?

At my former job, my coworkers and I would go to Rima's about once/week. In a sea of fast food options - Rima's was one of the few sit down spots on Buttermilk Pike. They've now expanded and built one in downtown Covington.

I had a little reunion lunch with a couple of the guys from the old job and we decided to head back to Rima's. We'd had many a laugh and quite a bit of good food too! How about today? It's off Buttermilk Pike next to McDonalds, Arby's, Subway and Burger King - i.e. fast food hell!

They are big fans of Elvis...the King is everywhere!

I ordered the chicken pot pie - it was the daily special. It looked perfect! I'm typically a two-crust girl (crust on the bottom and the top) - I'm actually a pretty big fan of the 59 cent ones at Aldi...but this is homemade and obviously far better.

Look how big it is! As big as my hand!

Here's a close up of the inside - the crust was perfection! The inside was just thick enough with good sized pieces of juicy chicken as well as carrots and peas. Maybe some brocolli would be nice but this was very very good. I ate every bite!

Rob got the burger as he usually does. It looked pretty good - definitely not a box patty. He was pleased.

CJ got a 1/2 sandwich and soup. Sandwich looked good and he ate it all up. The "soup" is pinto beans - and while it may seem odd for a soup - they're really good and are usually ordered by at least one of us every visit! It also comes with cornbread - and CJ said that seemed to be better (less crumbly) than before! I'm a huge cornbread fan (Hoggy's is my favorite).

I really enjoy Rima's - they really don't have any healthy options and most things are fried - but damn it's good. I have to say though - I got pizza once - I'd avoid that. But really sandwiches and whatever the special is - you can't go wrong. They also have things like pork chops and steak.

So if you're near Buttermilk Pike and don't feel like fast food - head on over and check out Rima's!

"Great" Steak & Potato? Well...not sure I'd call it great.

Sometimes I think - should I really review this crappy fast food I'm about to eat? Well sure - why not?! I mean - you might be standing in the food court some day - looking at Chik-Fil-A, Subway and Great Steak and think - which should I go to?

So this is for you!

The colors are bright and pretty - but no Diet Mt Dew :-(

Here they are cooking up the philly cheese on the big skillet...

Hot fries in a cup - sorry the picture is blurry. They're Penn Station-ish. Pretty good when hot.

Wow - branding galore! 17 bags and cups and wrappers - all for one "value" meal.

I got the traditional Philly Cheesesteak - figured I should get what they're known for. Would it stand up to Penn Station?

Hell no.

It was fine - mediocre - I wouldn't go back. No flavor - no taste - I mean seriously - look at the image above and look at this:

They're not quite the same...

So next time you're standing there - staring at the food court options - head to Chik-Fil-A.

The hub of Mexican food is of course in West Chester!

Headed to Union Center on Friday to chill for some dinner with my friend Jen. We headed past the Ikea turnoff and went to El Rancho Grande.

There's a nice pond out front with a bunch of pretty geese...

It's on the corner of the strip mall across from - but on the same side as - Rafferty's. Pretty easy to find...

Of course you get chips & salsa when you sit - we were lucky enough to get a nice patio high-top. The salsa is good - lots of cilantro - which I like. I would like more salt on the chips...

Jen and I each got vegetarian items. She got a bean burrito with mushrooms, onions, peppers and queso. She was pretty pleased - it's all the same ingredients just in different forms. It did look tasty and I love the queso.

I got the mushroom quesadilla - it was really good. Beans, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, peppers - yeah all the same as Jen got...but again - it was tasty!

We both left happy and full!

I still like Casa Tequila better...but this was pretty darned good!

Rock Bottom - did I hit Rock Bottom by going?

Last week a couple friends and I met for lunch on Fountain Square. It was a beautiful day and we wanted to eat outside but a bit windy so we sort of wanted cover...what are 3 beautiful girls to do?

We decided on Rock Bottom Brewery on the Square. It's got a great patio area that looks out on the Square and yet a roof to block us from the wind.

Katie got the chili - she was very happy with her meal. It did look pretty good - Texas style - not Cincinnati.

Danielle and I each got the Brazilian Turkey Burger (Homemade with latin seasonings, chimichurri, roasted peppers, mushrooms and onions. Topped with cheddar & pickle de gallo.)

Dani got the slaw - she said it sucked. There was no taste and no seasoning.

The burger - well she didn't finish it.

The fries were fine...they're fries.

The turkey burger was horrible. Mine was in 2-3 pieces as you can sort of tell and just tasted bad. There was no turkey - it tasted like breadcrumbs with a minuscule amount of ground turkey. The seasoning was awful. It was pretty much inedible. And the "pickle de gallo" - not good. The whole thing was dry and bad. I would have preferred a bland turkey burger over mish-mosh of bad seasoning.

Luckily - Dani brought us chocolate chip cookies to take back to work! They were fantastic and very welcome after that gross turkey burger!