Put to the Test
A look back at 10 years of serious eating and drinking
BY CRAIG BIDA

Every spring for the past decade, CityBeat's team of food writers and food fans has fanned out to conduct taste tests of everything from cheesesteaks to breakfast joints to Bloody Marys. The results of these eat-and-drink-fest tests have appeared in each Best of Cincinnati issue.

This year, to celebrate the issue's 10th anniversary, we've looked back at a decade's worth of taste tests to see how our recommendations have stood stand the test of time.

1997: Best cheesesteaks, microbrews
For our very first Best of Cincinnati taste test, two Philadelphia natives on CityBeat's staff were determined to find the cheesesteak sub that most reminded them of home. It was not an easy task, as the pair determined specific criteria for an authentic Philly steak: Thinly sliced, chopped steak must be grilled along with onions, only provolone cheese must be used and there's got to be grease - lots of it.

The winner back in 1997: PENN STATION STEAK & SUB (multiple locations). Judging from the artery-clogging cheesesteak I devoured there last week, Penn Station is still the best place to turn for a meaty, greasy, oniony sub that would do Philadelphia proud.

Runners-up included JERSEY MIKE'S (multiple locations), GREAT STEAK & FRY CO. (multiple locations) and the now-defunct SUPERSTEAK USA PHILADELPHIA CHEESESTEAKS.

The 1997 Best of Cincinnati issue also evaluated local microbrews. Assessing the burgeoning local brewing scene, CityBeat wrote:
"Seems like every time we turn around these days, somebody is opening a brewpub."

How times change. Now every time you turn around, it seems like a brewpub is closing. Of the seven brewpubs cited in '97 - BarrelHouse Brewery and Main Street Brewery in Over-the-Rhine, BrewWorks in Covington, The Holy Grail Brewery in Corryville, Oldenburg Brewery in Fort Mitchell, downtown's Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery and Watson Bros. Brewhouse in Blue Ash - there's not much left. The only brewhouse still around and actually making beer on the premises is ROCK BOTTOM (100 Fountain Square), a great chain restaurant out of Denver .

At press time, Watson Bros. wasn't brewing because it had lost its liquor license but remains open as a restaurant. BarrelHouse beer is still available, though the well-loved pub closed. Holy Grail is back open and doing well but not brewing its own beer.

Not all the news is bad for brewpub fans, though. A noteworthy addition to the scene is Newport's Hofbrauhaus (200 E. Third St., Newport), which opened in 2003 and this year won the readers' pick for Best Brewpub for the first time.

1998: Best wraps
In 1998, our tasters went after another short-lived trend: Wraps. The winner, THATSA WRAP (358 Ludlow Ave., Clifton), lasted less than a year before closing.

As went Thatsa Wrap, so went the nation. Wrap places across the country became passé as quickly as they'd become popular. Their demise was hastened when everyone from mom-and-pop sandwich places to chain restaurants like Wendy's, TGI Friday's and Taco Bell started adding wraps to their menus.

Thatsa Wrap's former location was taken over in 1999 by HABAÑERO, a locally-owned joint that offers burritos with more pizzazz and unusual ingredients than the chains.

2000: Best Irish bars
There was no taste test in 1999. Our reviewers must have been saving up for the 2000 taste test, which ranked the area's best Irish bars, pubs and restaurants.

The winner for Best Overall Irish Bar, judged by a team of Irish and honorary Irish imbibers, was HAP'S IRISH PUB (3510 Erie Ave., Hyde Park). Open since 1975, cozy little Hap's has a vitality and authenticity that put most Irish-themed bars to shame. I wager that Hap's hasn't changed a whit since the 2000 taste test, which is exactly the way it should be.

Runners-up included THE DUBLINER in Pleasant Ridge, which closed in January bu t has recently re-opened under new ownership; R.P. MCMURPHY'S IRISH PUB in Hyde Park; CROWLEY'S in Mount Adams; and JACK QUINN'S in Covington.

2001: Best Skyline location
When 2001 rolled around, it was time for the Great Chili Adventure. With SKYLINE CHILI a perennial favorite among CityBeat readers (winning Best Chili/Chain this year for the 10th consecutive time), we hooked up with two local Skyline fanatics to identify the best Skyline restaurant.

These fans were starting a project to catalog the differences that set one Skyline Chili outlet apart from the rest (I told you they were fanatics). Reviewers subjectively evaluated outlets based on a range of criteria including taste, presentation and temperature, restaurant decoration, cleanliness and service. The winner was Skyline's Fourth & Sycamore location (254 E. Fourth St., Downtown), which beat out others mostly because they served beer. A close second was the original Skyline in Price Hill, which closed four years ago.

2002: Best Pad Thai, Bloody Mary
Who serves the best Thai food in Cincinnati is highly contested among aficionados. In 2002, CityBeat's Best of Cincinnati included a taste test to determine which one served the best Pad Thai (this ubiquitous dish with its balance of sweet and savory was judged a good litmus test for the rest of the menu).

The winner was LEMONGRASS in Hyde Park (666 Madison Road). Worthy runners-up included Madeira's AMARIN and Mount Adams' TEAK THAI CUISINE AND BAR. Today, Lemongrass still serves up an excellent Pad Thai, but Thai options in Cincinnati have multiplied and improved since 2002. Other places to find outstanding Thai food include Arloi Dee (4920 Socialville-Foster Road, Mason) and Delight Thai Café (11928 Montgomery Road, Symmes Twp.).

Also in 2002, our intrepid team of reviewers set out to find the best Bloody Mary in town. They narrowed the field by concentrating on places known for their brunches, Bloody Marys and cocktails in general. Among this elite field, the winner was CITY VIEW TAVERN (403 Oregon St., Mount Adams), which blew the doors off the rest of the competition with a Bloody Mary that was good looking ("so thick you can't see through the glass"), good tasting ("its vodka jolt is balanced by a pulpy tomato taste and tingly aftertaste") and served up in City View's neighborhood-watering-hole setting with a spectacular view.

Notable runners-up included THE GRAND FINALE in Glendale and Scalea's Ristorante in Covington, now closed.

2003: Best gyro
With the Greeks having a major impact on the city's culinary landscape - Cincinnati-style chili is, after all, the brainchild of Greek immigrants - you'd think we could find other great Greek food here, right? That was the premise of the 2003 Best of Cincinnati taste test.

CityBeat fielded a team of experts to locate the city's best gyro sandwich: shaved blend of beef and lamb, tomatoes, onions and tzaziki sauce (cucumbers, garlic, salt, yogurt and sometimes sour cream) served on a flat pita. The undisputed winner was longtime West Side lunch haunt SEBASTIAN'S, (5209 Glenway Ave., Price Hill), whose gyro was warm and fresh, with juicy, spicy meat and excellent tzaziki sauce. Other standouts were CHICAGO GYRO in Clifton Heights and JORDAN VALLEY Downtown.

2004: Best Indian restaurant in Clifton
This Best of Cincinnati issue found CityBeat swinging into the thick of one of the area's most entrenched culinary controversies: Which of Clifton's Indian restaurants is the best? Of the 20 or so Indian restaurants in greater Cincinnati, at least half a dozen are found within a square-mile area around the University of Cincinnati. Each has its partisans and people rarely cross culinary lines: Show me an AMOL loyalist, and I'll bet they've never even been just across the parking lot to visit AMBAR.

The taste test winner by a long shot was MAYURA (3201 Jefferson Ave.), which was highest rated for its food, ambiance and service and viewed as being in a different league altogether versus its Clifton Indian brethren. A big part of what made Mayura special was the fanatical, theatrical, effusive service showered on patrons by owner Kalayan Swami Naidu Sunkara, known as "Swami." A recent Swami-free visit (the restaurant changed hands about seven months ago, and Swami is no longer there) found that Mayura might have, in fact, lost its competitive edge. Without the theatrics and special service, Mayura is now at parity with the rest of the Clifton Indian restaurants.

Runners-up in the 2004 taste test included my personal favorite, Ambar, which edged out Amol by a nose. And since the issue was published, yet another Indian place has opened in the area: Apna Indian Restaurant (341 Ludlow Ave., Clifton). You can never have too much of a good thing, I suppose.

2005: Best breakfast
Last year was the Year of the Breakfast, with CityBeat's tasting panel dragging themselves out of bed to find Cincinnati's best breakfast place. The winner overall was SUGAR 'N SPICE (4381 Reading Road, Bond Hill), which dazzled our reviewers with its real hashed browns, moist, fluffy eggs and buttermilk blueberry pancakes. It was termed "unpretentious, down home and solid" with great service and a homey, welcoming atmosphere.

Close runners-up were MOKKA in Newport and THE COFFEE CAP in Westwood, beating out perennial people's favorite FIRST WATCH (multiple locations), which was the readers' pick this year for the 10th consecutive time.

Next year
Taking a look back over the past decade of Best of Cincinnati taste tests has made me realize something: Taste tests are fun! I think it's because they elevate the ordinary, showcasing multiple interpretations that different people bring to the same thing, whether it be cheesesteaks, beer or breakfast food.
So what will we be tasting in 2007? Come on back for next year's Best of Cincinnati issue to see. Our panel of experts is ready to roll. ©