Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Lisa Grigsby

Olive An Urban Dive Sets Opening!

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If you’ve been following the saga of Olive, An Urban Dive,  which owner Kimberly Collett has bloggesd about honestly and openly on facebook,  has finally set an opening date.  And while that date is about 6 months later than predicted, Collett has used that time to create a legion of fans  (close to 1100 at last look) and supporters that have never even tasted their food.  Pretty amazing use of facebook, huh?  And credit Collett with another brilliant business move- she put tickets on sale for a week of preview dinners a couple of months ago and sold out every ticket for a then undetermined date.

local over import, labor over convenience and service over everything else.

And now after building and rebuilding, fighting one zoning issue after another, Dive into Olive week has been set for the last week of June for those who hold those sold out tickets.  The general public will get their first chance to dine at the new eatery for lunch the week of July 5th. The former Wympee diner will seat 30 or so inside and has added a patio in the back for another 15.  Menu’s will include vegan and gluten-free items and their facebook has promised Olive will have nary a can in the kitchen.  They’ve spent the spring sourcing local foods and and making friends, and now we wish them the best of luck as they start feeding all the friends they’ve cultivated!

Tapas Tuesday At Hawthorn Grill

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It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already since Chef/owner Candace Rinke opened the doors of the  Hawthorn Grill on  Stroop Road in Kettering.  Being a restaurateur has been her dream since she won a blue ribbon on the county fair for “Best Drcorated Cake.” She’s come a long way since then, but her flair for decoration is still evident in her plate presentations at the eatery.  During this first year, she’s been trying and adjusting the menu and hours to be responsive to what her guests want.  They currently serve dinner Tues- Thurs from 5-9pm and Fr & Sat from 5-10pm.  On  Friday you can enjoy lunch from 11:30am – 2pm.

This Tuesday will be the debut of Tapas Tuesday at the Grill.   Here’s a sneak peak at the menu:

Traditional Garlic Shrimp
Sautéed Shrimp (3) with Garlic, Parsley and Sherry, 6

Pork Lollipops
Homemade Sausage Kebobs (3) Glazed with Apricot Rosemary Mustard Sauce, 5

Baked Chicken & Comté
Homemade Chicken Confit & Imported Comté Cheese Baked to Golden Brown, Served with Toast Points, 6

Crispy Artichoke Hearts
Hand-Battered Artichoke Hearts (4) served with Skordalia, 5

Marinated Olives
Kalamata and Green Olives Marinated in Garlic, Rosemary & Fennel, Pepperoncini Peppers, 5

And to wash it all down try some homemade Raspberry-Peach Sangria-Red Wine with Hints of Citrus, Peach Slices and Raspberries, Served Over Ice with a Splash of Soda.

If Tapas isn’t your thing, you may want to visit Hawthorn Grill on Thursday, which is all-you-can-eat rib night, served with baked beans and slaw for $16.99

Lion King’s The Ticket To A $20.11 3 Course Meal

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Coco’s Bistro is tempting theater goers to visit  their restaurant for a fantastic pre-show 3 course meal deal.  From June 14 to July 10 they will be offering a Lion King 3 course meal for $20.11.

Start with a house or Caesar salad, then choose from one of their Entree specials:

Beef Filet Skewers
Char-grilled beef filet skewers with BBQ spice, melted bleu cheese, drizzled with a Worcestershire syrup and cabernet reduction and tobacco onions, served with a chived potato cake

Creole Chicken
Cajun grilled chicken breast topped with andouille sausage, sautéed onions, diced tomatoes and melted Monterrey Jack on a bed of roasted tomatillo Spanish rice and finished with a scallion crème fraiche

Crab Crowned Tilapia
Oven-baked Tilapia topped with lump blue crab stuffing, served with sour cream and chive mashed and finished with our zesty scampi butter

Vegan Stir Fry
Variety of stir fried seasonal vegetables and roasted cashews tossed in a spicy orange glaze, served over ginger scallion rice and drizzled with a soy lime syrup. Choice of protein optional.

Finish with a selection of Mousse of the day.

Special wine pairings will be available for $5 a glass.

Just show your ticket or stub for that evenings show to be eligible for these specials.  We highly recommend making reservations early to take advantage of this dining deal.  Call 228-2626 and tell them DaytonDining sent you!

You Drink, They Eat!

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“Hope is the belief that, in spite of present conditions, happiness and good things are soon to come.”

The Wine Loft at the Greene has figured out how to serve up wine and hope at the same time.  As part of a unique new program that donates a percentage of sales with their monthly wine features, the more folks that sample the featured monthly flight of wine, the more money will be donated to The Hope Foundation of Greater Dayton.  The organization helps people with the pitfalls of life. By addressing these problems, they are helping to support the idea that tomorrow can be better than today, which is the essence of hope.

The biggest program the foundation runs is their mobile food pantry. Every week, their truck is packed with food packages for 700 families in need. They then travel to various host sites in Montgomery and Greene counties to deliver directly to  clients.  They provide two bags of groceries and a few lbs. of meat (9 meals) to those in need. They distribute more than FIFTEEN TONS of food EVERY MONTH.

Try a flight of the Lofts featured wines for June  for $16 and $1/flight with be donated  to  The Hope Foundation.  Here are this months features:

Bricco del Sole Moscato d’Asti

100% Moscato. The 6,000 case production is divided into 5 or 6 bottling periods to preserve natural freshness. Slow natural fermentation for 1 month in temperature controlled stainless steel.

Bishop’s Peak Pinot Noir

The 2009 Bishop’s Peak Pinot Noir offers aromas of strawberry, raspberry and hints of anise. Red fruit flavors are predominant with cherry notes and a long silky finish.

Domaine la Guintrandy Cotes du Rhone

70% Grenache, 20% olds Carignan and 10% Syrah

Joel Gott Cabernet

The 2008 Joel Gott 815 California Cabernet Sauvignon is ripe with blueberry, cherry soda, and dark cherry. The aromas burst with violet, vanilla, cedar, chocolate and cinnamon. Soft ripe tannins result in a balanced and long velvety finish.

Melville Chardonnay

This rich, creamy Chardonnay has fine acidity, while a touch of neutral oak adds a background of buttered toast. But the fruit stars, brimming with papayas, mangos, Meyer lemons, limes and pineapples. The finish is filled with honey, and yet is brisk and dry.

You can also visit The Wine Loft for lunch Friday- Sunday and 10% of your food bill will also be donated to The Hope Foundation.  Check out the lunch menu here.

Bring Your own Bucket Special at Bullwinkle’s

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I found this on Bullwinkle’s facebook page and wanted to share it with you all:

Many years ago, Bullwinkle’s used to have Beer-in-a-Bucket. But due to the unwillingness of those patrons of many moons ago, the buckets would “mysteriously” disappear from Bullwinkle’s until there were no more buckets for beer. One evening, a group of employees from the old Mound plant came down to enjoy a few buckets of beer. Sadly, no buckets were left. But these great drinkers had a brilliant mind with them and he said, “Well I want a bucket of beer. Point me to the nearest hardware store and I’ll get a bucket for myself and you can fill it up!” Given directions, our great man trudged off and returned victoriously with bucket in hand! “Ha-zah!” he was saluted by his co-workers. From that night on, this same man brought his bucket back to Bullwinkle’s so we could fill up that bucket with beer. Sadly, this great thinking man recently passed away, and his story was told to the Moose one night, during a break in trivia, about his ingenuity in bringing his own bucket. Thus, a new drink special and was launched and now is your chance to have some fun with us!

Bullwinkle’s is introducing BRING YOUR OWN BUCKET specials at Bullwinkle’s Top Hat Bistro! This isn’t just one night a week, it’s EVERY NIGHT! Yes, it’s your chance to have fun and get creative with this little dandy of drinking fun! The drink prices when you bring your own bucket are the following (ice is free of course):

  • Domestic Beers are $10 per bucket (or $2 a bottle)
  • Imports Beers are $15 per bucket (or $3 a bottle)

Fellow lovers of the barley and hops, this is also a chance for you to get creative with this new drink special! Yes, we’re encouraging you to start making this bucket of yours a continuously changing work of art. Customize it with stickers, paint it, if you loved doing macaroni art back in elementary school now’s your chance to do more! Decorate it as you see fit (please keep your bucket tasteful though, we do have families with kids who come here) but have a great time making your bucket your own. Are you an entrepreneurial type person? Create and design buckets for your family and friends!

To encourage creativity and uniqueness, Bullwinkles is  going to be holding  “Beautiful and Best Designed Bucket of the Week” on Thursday nights! Put your bucket up against the best the Dayton area has to offer and if you win, you’ll win a free bucket of beer for the night, on us. They’ll have judges there to decide which bucket is the best and if you win, you’re set for that round, or even a few rounds!

This special starts now, so stop by your local hardware store and pick up a good bucket that’ll easily hold 5 bottles of beer! Have fun and be creative! We’ll see you at Bullwinkle’s!

(just don’t forget your bucket)

Seafood Lovers Wine Tasting

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From the docked boat that greets you at the entrance, to the indoor waterfall surrounded by palm trees  and beach inspired decor, a trip to The Dock in Enon can sure make you feel like you’re at the beach. Join them on Thurs, June 9th as they present a wine tasting featuring 7 wines and an apetizer buffet buffet  and that  seaside feeling will be reinforced by the seafood pairing matched with wines presented by Allied Wines Manager Amy Tierney.  The menu includes:

Reception:  Rodney Strong  Charlottes Home Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma

Wine:   Garnet Pinot Noir, Sonoma
Paired with:  Individual Beef Wellingtons

Wine:  Beringer Alluvium Blanc, Napa Valley
Paired with:  Chilled Island Shrimp Kabobs

Wine: Layer Cake Chardonnay ,California
Paired with:  Seared Ahi Tuna on Toast Points

Wine:  Simply Naked Pinot Grigio, California
Paired with:  Fried Soft Shelled Blue Crab on Toast

Wine:  Colores Del Sol Malbec, Argentinal
Paired with:  Crab Stuffed Mushrooms with Lobster Sauce

Wine:  Menage A Trois White Blend, Californial

Paired with:  Homemade Cheesecake with Apple-Walnut Chutney

To make reservations to attend the tastings for $37.99 per person, call  The Dock at 937- 864-5011.

That Crêpe Place opens at The Greene

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“Fresh, Authentic, Hand-held
Savory and Sweet Crepes
made Right in Front of Your Eyes!”

Celebrating it’s soft opening today, That Crêpe Place is “an original concept and the first of many, I hope,” laughs owner Rodney Long as I spoke with him by phone this morning.  Long, originally from Philly owned a BBQ restaurant and spent 15 years in marketing for Proctor & Gamble before taking the leap into crepes.

Long describes crepes as the perfect ubiquitous food, similar to a wrap, it’s versatile and can be filled with savory or sweet and perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert.  Their menu leads you through savory choices like the Pesto Shrimp crepe with a pesto aioli and the Mediterranean featuring Chicken Breast, Feta Cheese, Sweet Grilled Piquillo Peppers, Fresh Baby Spinach, with Balsamic Glaze; Sweet Crepes like the  Tahitian – a Vanilla Buttered Crepe sprinkled with Cinnamon and Powdered Sugar, and Sweet & Fruity options  like the Funky Monkey with Bananas, Chocolate Chips, with Creamy Peanut Butter or the Strawberry Cheesecake  made with Fresh Strawberries topped with Homemade Vanilla Cream Sauce.  Also on the menu are a couple of salad options and kids sandwiches.

Long suggested that a grand opening will be planned in a few weeks, once they’ve worked all the kinks out. He  thinks  his crepes are perfect for the casual outdoor shopping environment at The Greene, and thinks guests will enjoy watching a ladle full of batter poured on a crêpe griddle, spun into a circle, flipped and filled with your fresh ingredients will make his concept a big hit.  He says that “crepes are a perfect portable feast and can’t wait for everyone to try them.”  Be sure and check out the reward club, as each purchase will help earn you free food.

That Crêpe Place will share a patio with Cold Stone Creamery and is located at 4474 Glengarry Drive in Beavercreek, diagonally across from the movie theater.

Giuliano – A New Era of Anticoli’s Dining

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The Anticoli family has a long tradition of restaurants in the Dayton region.  Their first restaurant, Rendezvous, opened  downtown on Fifth Street in 1931. In 1951 they moved out to Saleem Avenue with Anticoli’s and in 2000 moved what became Caffé Anticoli  to Main Street in the Clayton area.  Son Michael went north and opened La Piazza in 1992 in Troy.

In 2011 the family moved south, and renovated a space in downtown Miamisburg.  The new restaurant starts a new era for the Anticoli’s, with Giuliano, named after the family’s ancestral hometown located near Rome, Italy.  The restaurant had a soft opening in April and this week has been set to celebrate the official Grand Opening.  A ribbon cutting is set for June 1st at 4pm and guests that visit during this week will receive a VIP card, good for 20% off every Sunday through Thursday until October 1st, 2011.

Giuliano will be open seven days a week, serving dinner Monday through Saturday and opening at noon on Sunday’s, when kids 10 and under will eat free, while mom and dad can enjoy 20% of wines by the glass.  Monday night will feature a pasta buffet, and Wednesday will be 35 cent wing night. Happy hour specials on food and drinks will run 4-6pm.
You may dine in the bar area, dining room or even book a private room for your party.  Entrees range from $12.95 to $22.95, pizza’s are $12.95 to $15.95.

Giuliano’s, An Anticoli Tavern
67 South Main Street
Miamisburg, OH 45342
937.859.3000

This Weeks Beer Tasting Bonanza

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It’s long been known that Dayton offers an array of wine tastings that rival towns twice our size, but in the last few months our local taverns have really been stepping up the craft brews they offer.

Here’s a quick round up so you can taste your way across town- be sure to click on the link for more detailed information on each event.

Tues
5-7pm Abita Beer Tasting at Rue Dumaine

Wed
7pm – Mike Scwartz from Belmont Party Supply hosts the monthly Trolley Tasting
9 beers and munchies just $20- arrive early this sells out!

5pm – Archer’s Tavern taps a new craft beer each Wed night

Thurs
6:30pm  Goose Island Beer Dinner at Dorothy Lane Springboro

7pm  Dogfish Head’s Hellbound On My Ale Tapping at Spinoza’s

7pm La Tappe Isid’or Tapping at Chappy’s

Fri

5-7pm Arrow Wine Centerville‘s Weekly Beer Tasting
There will be more posted as the week goes on, so be sure and check back.  Did you know you can choose the Dayton On Tap header under DatyonDining and you’ll get a weekly listing of beer tastings around town that’s constantly being updated located on the right column!  And if you know of a place that serves up some great beers, add it below in the comments!  Cheers!

Saturday Beer Brunch

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Spinoza’s Pizza & Salads will present “Founder’s Cerise Cherry Fermented Ale” four days before the rest of the world!   In an exclusive agreement with Founder’s Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, MI), Spinoza’s will tap a keg of this unique seasonal brew at 10am this Saturday, May 28th, as part of their bi-monthly beer brunch events featuring hearth-baked breakfast pizzas.  The official release date of Founder’s Cerise is June 1st, so make plans for Spinoza’s Beer Brunch tomorrow morning and be among the first to taste this year’s batch.    Special musical guests Michael Teckenbrock & Brian Cashwell will be playing during this special event, which takes place this Sat, May 28th from 11am – 1pm.  Spinoza’s is located on the 2nd floor of the Mall at Fairfield Commons in the Sear’s wing.

Roadtrip Down To Taste of Cincinnati

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Every Memorial Day weekend in downtown Cincinnati 6 blocks turn into an amazing food feast.   Started in 1979, it is now the nation’s longest running culinary arts festival. Featuring more than 45 restaurants serving up delicious and delectable menu items it’s worth the drive down 75.  Head south and exit at  the Fifth Street exit, and you’ll practically run into the event.  Plenty of parking lots line the streets, just be prepared to pay about $5 to park.

Stroll down 5th street and you’ll be able to taste treats that range from curry chicken to baklava, strudel to strawberry shortcake.  Most tastes run $2-5 and there are plenty of beer, wine, soda and water booths mixed in among the food vendors. Click here for menu.

To accompany all the mouth-watering menu items available on the streets of downtown Cincinnati, this year’s festival will also offer beer and wine taste-ings on Fountain Square. Beer taste-ing will be on Saturday and Sunday from 4 – 5 pm, and wine taste-ing on Saturday and Sunday from 6 – 7 pm. Guests can grab a seat in prime Fountain Square location with a great view of the stage and sip away to wash down the fare they’ve sampled. The cost is $15 per person, or 2 people for $25, which includes a souvenir wine glass or beer pint.

Speaking of stages, there are 6 scattered throughout the taste, featuring various entertainment throughout the festival, including rock, blues, country and even some standup comedy during the evening. Click here for entertainment lineup.

Taste of Cincinnati runs Fri & Sat noon – midnight and Mon noon til 9pm.

Happy “Nouveau Rosé” Day!

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The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer, and it’s time for some light, warm-weather wines.  The flavors of rosé wines tends to be more subtle versions of their red wine varietal counterparts. The fruit expectations lean towards strawberry, cherry, and raspberry with some citrus and watermelon presenting on a regular basis.  Rosés are perfect for spring and summer, as they are served chilled and can be a refreshing accompaniment to a variety of warm weather fare. Rosé wines also top the charts for food-friendly versatility. So, if you are opting for “surf ‘n turf” rest assured that a rosé can handle both the seafood and the steak in one fell sip. It’s also a great picnic wine, as it tends to have both a lighter body and more delicate flavors on the palate, presenting a great wine partner for a ham, chicken or roast beef sandwich, along with a fruit, potato or egg salad and can even handle a variety of chips and dips. Rosés are also the perfect guest for a backyard barbecue, tackling hamburgers, hot dogs and even French fries and ketchup with ease.

Arrow Wine (Centerville & Far Hills Location) will be celebrating Noveau Rosé’s all day today (Thurs, May 25th) with tasting at both stores.

Here are a couple of quick tips in searching for a rosé:

  1. Drink a recent vintage – you don’t want an aged rosé.
  2. If you see “NV” on a bottle, it stands for “non-vintage,” meaning that there’s a mix of grapes from different vintage years.
  3. Many great rosé’s are available for $12- $15 a bottle.

Buckeye Vodka Martini’s Anyone?

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Whenever  I hear talk about martini’s  Sean Connery’s voice pops into my head in his most quoted  James Bond line “shaken not stirred.” And while mixologists worldwide will continue to debate debate shaken versus stirred, gin versus vodka, I’d much rather just drink a martini. Archer’s Tavern (9496 Dayton Lebanaon Pike in Centerville) will give us all a chance to sip on a cocktail as they debut 8 new Buckeye Vodka Martini’s this Tuesday night.  From 6-8pm you are invited to join Buckeye CEO Jim Finke for a tasting of flavored martini’s for $3 each.  Or if you prefer your vodka with tonic, those will be just $2.50.  Since it’s April debut this Dayton distilled vodka has been making quite a splash across the state.  If you haven’t already tried it, this will be a great chance to do your own taste test.

But back to the Shaken Vs. Stirred Debate.

  • Shake your Vodka Martini
    Why: For a vodka martini to be good it needs to be cold. Very Cold! Therefore, shaking a vodka martini makes it colder.
  • Stir your Gin martini:
    A gin, or traditional, martini benefits by being smooth and one can enjoy the delicate flavors of the individual gin.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT
From the the British Medical Journal (on-line edition)

“Shaken martinis may enhance the antioxidant effects of alcohol, making them healthier than the stirred variety!”

Dayton’s Premier Wine & Gourmet Food Festival is Sunday!

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Fleurs et Vin is an  afternoon party  in the park,  celebrating wine and fabulous food served up by the area’s best independent restaurants. A Dayton tradition for over 20 years, Vail Miller Sr of Heidelberg Distributing and Mike Frank of Arrow Wine started this event to bring wine out of the wine cellars and to make it fun and accessible to all.  Now one of the most anticipated and talked about wine events, the festival will serve over 340 wines this year.  For those who prefer beer, spend time in the Belgian Beer Garden, enjoying  beers from Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Leffe as well as a namesake beer from Goose Island- Fleur!  The party begins promptly at 1pm and serving will cease at 4pm.  Of course all guests must be 21 or over and yes, they do check ID’s!

Participating
Restaurants:
Amber Rose
Carver’s
Central Perc
Chef Paul’s Catering
Coco’s Bistro
Crocodile Louie’s
Cuvee
De’Lish Cafe
Dewey’s Pizza
El Meson
Fifth St. Wine & Deli
Giovanni’s
Hawthorn Grill
Jay’s Seafood
Jerardi’s Little Store
Mamma DiSalvo’s
Oakwood Club
Pour Haus/Scratch
SideBar
Smokin’ Bar -B-Que
Thai9
The Dock
The Wine Loft

The $60 admission ticket includes all beer, wine and food tastings as well as a souvenir wine glass and 2 souvenir beer glasses  J.t. Fedrick and the Sax Groove will be playing throughout the afternoon and guests will want to spend time perusing the silent auction.  Highlights include a week’s stay at a cabin on Lake Norris, theater & sports  tickets, spa packages, executive car detailing, wine racks, spa services and restaurant gift certificates.  The auction will close at 3pm.

Guests are encouraged to stick around for the 4pm live auction, which is truly a wine lovers delight!  Rare bottles, verticals and Chef’s dinners will be included. Proceeds from the day’s events benefit AIDS Resource Center Ohio and Culture Works.

Here are wine expert Mark Fisher‘s  Fleurs survival tips:

1.  Arrive early. The opening line is long, but event organizers cannot start serving before 1 p.m. because of Ohio laws.

2.  Go slow on the wine consumption — this is a marathon, not a sprint — and if you don’t like a wine, or just want a small sip, use the dump buckets to pour out the wine in your glass and move on. Dumping is not considered rude.

3.  When you’re poured a sample of wine — and there’s a line of folks with empty glasses behind you — for crying out loud, step out of the way!

4.   Even if you don’t intend to buy, stay the final hour for the live auction. It can feature some rather entertaining bidding wars. And you can use the rest.

5.   Leave the stilettos for another occasion when you’re not tromping around in wet grass. And while we’re giving fashion advice, don’t wear white. Doesn’t go well with red wines.

— And the most important survival tip: water is your friend. Bottled water will be available at no extra charge. Drink lots of it.

Win Tickets!

We have a pair  of tickets to give away to our readers – simply fill out the form below by Friday 5/20 at midnight and we’ll draw a random winner on Saturday.  Cheers!

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52 Butter Cafe Meals for $10

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Yes, it really will be possible to have a  lunch or breakfast every week for an entire year for just the cost of a $10 raffle ticket!  Your odds to win might be even better if you buy 3 raffle tickets for $20.  One of the Butter Cafe owners, Sarah,  will be biking from San Francisco to LA in the AIDS/LifeCycle ride June 5 -11th and the proceeds of the raffle will be split between this experience and our local AIDS Resource Center Ohio. The drawing will be held on June 2nd, so hurry in and buy a raffle ticket soon!

The locally owned restaurant, located at 1106 Brown Street opened June 10th of 2010 and has established itself as a well loved spots for locavores.  Their healthy style of cooking is vegetarian and vegan friendly, featuring tofu scrambles and vegan burritos and gluten free toast , yet has also found fans in meat eaters with their free range bacon or turkey sausage.  Their lunch menu offers an array of choices from crab cakes to reuben’s, a to-die-for mac & cheese, several salads and a homemade soup each day.  Their free delivery is a hit with many downtown offices as well as UD students.

Shopping & Cooking Gluten Free

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At the 2nd Street Market this Thursday at 11:30am Chef Joe Fish will share his firsthand knowledge on how to shop and cook the gluten free lifestyle.  He’ll share his shopping tips and opinions on the best products on the market for the gluten intolerant as well as his best recipes.

While the program is put on for free, registration is requested. You can call (937) 228-2088 to register, or register online.