Milano’s Subs and Pizza

It is no secret that I heart sandwiches. This past November Tommy and I traveled to New York and Philadelphia, two sandwich Meccas. When in Philly Tommy’s brother, Afro Cap, took us to Geno’s and Pat’s two competing cheese steak houses in the city. Both of these restaurants use CheezWhiz to make their steaks. I will say they are absolutely the best cheese steaks I have ever eaten. So when local sandwich restaurant Milano’s introduced a cheese steak with ‘Whiz on it instead of the ordinary provolone I was thrilled.

Today was the day I gave the Milano’s version of this classic a whirl. The sandwich is called the big cheesy. It is Milano’s regular cheese steak but smothered in CheezWhiz. Milano’s bread and steak are both very good and on par with Pat’s or Geno’s but I will say that the bread in Dayton tends to be a little more dense and with a thicker crust. The big difference between the two camps is in the toppings. A true cheese steak ala Pat’s or Geno’s is simply steak thinly sliced or chopped, super soft bread, onions, and CheezWhiz. Milano’s makes the mistake of topping their sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and grilled peppers in addition to the onion, steak, and cheese. This is where the sandwich falls short. The veggies get in the way of what makes a cheese steak great-cheese and steak. Next time I will order the big n’ cheesy with out the extra toppings and we will se if it truly measures up to the real deal.

While I love Milano’s and it is a Dayton institution they might need to take a trip to S. 9th St. in Philadelphia to get a little bit of sandwich knowledge! Six out of ten.

www.genosteaks.com/
www.patskingofsteaks.com/
www.milanossubs.com/

Christopher's Restaurant, Kettering Ohio

When you go get the whole Canterbury Chicken Salad and ask for it hot...EPIC!

Thai namtip, West Side Cincinnati

This entry is a little late but two weeks ago Stacie and I traveled to Cincinnati to celebrate Graham’s, my sister Samantha’s boyfriend’s, birthday. My brother Ben and his wife Amy joined us. Graham decided he wanted to go to a Thai restaurant on the west side of Cincinnati called Thai namtip.

Upon arrival we were met with the usual Asian restaurant dining room décor; elephants, bamboo screens, and pictures of the owner’s country. We greeted Graham and Samantha and started to peruse the menu. Standard Thai fare like Pad Thai and Pad See Ew were available in addition to the usual spring rolls, curries, and Thai fried rice. We ordered several appetizers including vegetable spring rolls, dumplings, and fried tofu. All of the appetizers were well done and enjoyed by the table. As far as entrees go I ordered crispy duck with cashews. I enjoyed my dish; it was flavorful and well cooked. The problem I had with it lies in the spice level. Our server explained Thai namtip’s spice scale from one to ten, ten being the hottest and one being mild. I like spicy food but when it becomes so hot that it over powers the rest of the dish I don’t enjoy it. I ordered a level three for my duck. This was way too mild. Ben and Graham ordered their stir-fries at a level seven and upon tasting Ben’s curried beef I could have ordered a seven or above. The great thing about Thai food is the perfect balance between spicy, sweet, fresh, salty, and savory. If one of those things is out of balance, too much or not enough, the dish falls short. The flavors in this dish were good but it was way too mild. As you can see from the pictures the girls all seemed to be happy with their meals although Amy and Stacie had the same criticism of the spiciness that I did. We gave Graham his presents, which he enjoyed, and we decide to cap off our Thai meal with Dairy Queen.

Blizzards, cones, and slushies were had all around. DQ never fails to deliver. The dessert was a nice way to end our visit. Everybody enjoyed spending time together, Graham liked his presents, and we had a good time, even if we were on the west side of Cincinnati. Thai namtip six out of ten, Dairy Queen ten out of ten. PS- “R U MY KID”