Terry's Turf Club

I have been hearing about this little place for a long time, and I just had to opportunity to eat there yesterday. It really is a unique place. The inside is completely lit with neon bar signs. It's no wonder that Guy Fieri wanted to eat there on one of his episodes of Drive-ins, Diners and Dives show.

We decided to go on a Monday night because of crowds that it attracts on a nightly basis. We got there around 6 and it was nearly full. In the summer I definitely wouldn't mind having to wait outside though. They have an extensive beer menu so there is plenty to do while you wait.

Although this place is best known for their amazing burgers, that's not all they sell. They have chicken sandwiches, fish, and filet mignon chili. They even have an appetizer of foie gras, not what I would expect from a burger joint. The bartender mentioned that if you thought the burgers were good, you need to try the chicken, which leads me to believe that they must be pretty good.

I really liked how they had their menu set up. You bought your burger, and it came with everything you would need on a burger. On the other hand, if you wanted to make it a little bit more special, they had a number of different options. Lump crab, shrimp, bacon, and then had some awesome cheeses to choose from. They also offered sauces which were supposed to be great, but they are $2.25 and I didn't want to make my burger any messier than it had to be.

It really is a unique experience, we sat at the bar, so the whole time we were watching out amazing burger being prepared on the flat top, and talking to our charismatic bartender. It was a great experience and we are definitely going back for more!



They give you peanuts, and encourage you to throw the shells on the floor.



My burger had lettuce, tomato, grilled onion, pickles, bacon, and halloumi cheese. The cheese was great on it, it was grilled, and really kept it's shape and had an amazing salty flavor.


Liz had pretty much the same thing, but chose to have banana peppers and chose Brie instead of halloumi. Their fries were really nice and crisp.


It was pretty hard to eat because it was so big, but I'm not complaining:)


Overall I think this is an amazing restaurant. They could easily move to a nicer part of town, where they would have more space. Right now they are more of a hole in the wall that only a select few people know about, which is not true at all. This place has too much character to change, it's perfect.

My only critique is that I would have liked to see a little bit of pink in the center. I am not sure whether they always cook well done, or if our batch just got away from the chef, but it would have been a little juicier.

Restuarant: 5/5
Food: 9/10
Service: 4/5

Ferrari's Little Italy

This is a cute little place in the heart of Madeira. It has a great vibe, and it feels very romantic. We sat right next to their fireplace, and that only added to the ambiance. It is located well off the main road, but is always very busy whenever I visit. Let's get to the food...

The first thing they bring out is bread and dish of some sun dried tomato puree with olive oil dip. The breast is excellent since part of the restaurant is actually a bakery from day to day. The basket came with two different kinds of bread, I can't remember what they were, but they were both good:) I just wish the bread was warmed.




Next came our food, the portions are very large, so don't even attempt to finish it all.

I had a pasta dish that came with alfredo sauce, bacon, spring onions, and peas...or it was supposed to have peas. Unfortunately they forgot to put peas in the dish, and I missed them. The dish needed something to lighten it up like peas would have done. There was so much alfredo on the pasta, it was almost like a soup. I had a hard time eating too much of it because it was so heavy. Overall it was an alright dish, but I would expect to find it more at a restaurant like Olive Garden.


Liz got her favorite dish in the world, eggplant parmesan, and loved it. I am not sure how they prepare their eggplant, but it was nice and crunchy, and very thick. The penne pasta also had a reasonable amount of tomato sauce on it which is always appreciated.



Restaurant: 4/5
Food: 6/10
Service: 5/5

Hello!

Hello Cincinnati!

My name is Brian and I live in this wonderful city. I really enjoy good food and love trying out new restaurants. When I was searching for food blogs in Cincinnati, I found it severely lacking. I decided that it would be fun if I tried to blog about my food adventures. The hardest thing for me, is to remember to take pictures. When the food comes out, the last thing I am thinking about is pulling out the camera and snapping a shot. Hopefully I will remember more than not though:) I will be eating all over Cincinnati, from higher end (I don't have much money thought) to the cheaper side. I am also hoping to have a burger section where I eat at as many burger joints as possible and tell you which is the best.

I hope you enjoy the blog!