Bravo Cafe

Our 7th Review

Official Review #7

Bravo Cafe

121 Main Street, Augusta, Kentucky 41002

(606) 756-2727


This Business has closed permanently and 

has no plans to re-open.

 Bravo Cafe is Located in the middle of Downtown Augusta, Kentucky, an old Historical town about 50 mins or so from downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, on the Ohio River.

It's a very nice place to eat & enjoy conversation with friends, they also have a nice live band on some nights, & nice outdoor seating in back.

I of course had the Plain Burger $4.95  it came with chips, a good pickle, a slice of melon & grape, we also ordered the special of the day, BBQ Pork, it came with Chips, Cole Slaw & Melon, a Grape & a Pickle.

The only thing I did not like to start things out, was, they did not ask how I wanted my Burger cooked, it came well done, which I've learned over the years, that takes a bunch of the flavor out of the meat, so now I go with Medium to Medium Well, but I think places should ask you how you want your Burger, or Steak cooked, anyway, the meat was still very good, well done, & looked Hand-Made, so I imagine, I would rate it much higher, if it had been cooked to order, & was able to hold more flavor in, but still a good solid piece of meat.

The Bun was Very Good, a nice solid Toasted Bun, not like a few places we have gone recently, where the Buns fall apart as you eat, a good Bun, really helps out a Good Burger.

The BBQ Pork was very good, also came with a nice Toasted Bun, and the Cole Slaw, we all agree, was one of the Best Slaw's we've ever had, we will definitely have to try to get the recipe on a return visit for our own use at home, it was good.

The Service was good & nice an friendly, it was nice to sit outside & enjoy the Beautiful day out.

Final Thoughts: One of the better Burgers we've had, we will definitely return & I will get everything on my Burger with a Cheese & at least Medium Well or Medium, & definitely will get a side order of the Delicious Cole Slaw, & then we will also try out another item we have not had on the Menu.

Final Rating: 7.5* (Try it out-above Average/Good to Very Good)

Cole Slaw: 9.5*

Next Tasty Review: Not sure yet, still debating on the Location! 

 

Mel's Classic Diner

Our 6th Review

Official Review #6 & 2nd Out of Town/Trip Review

Mel's Classic Diner

119 Wears Valley Road, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863

(865) 429-2184

Mel's Classic Diner is Located just off the Parkway in the Middle of Pigeon Forge, we did not intend for this to be a Burger tasting review, I had read a lot of their Tripadvisor reviews, & their Breakfast, got a lot of good ones, & Lunch & Dinner were mixed, so we decided to try it out one morning for Breakfast.

Below I have posted my Tripadvisor review of Mel's a couple day's after eating there, but 1st I will give my Burger review as everyone else had Breakfast but me, & I ordered the Beach Boy Burger, SERVED WITH LETTUCE, TOMATO, ONION, PICKLE & YOUR CHOICE OF CHIPS, FRIES OR PASTA SALAD. CHOICE OF CHEESE: AMERICAN, SWISS OR CHEDDAR.

I got it with Fries & Swiss Cheese.

From the very 1st Bite the Bun began to fall apart, telling me, it was just a very cheap generic bun, & it looked & tasted like it, the Meat also from the 1st bite, just was not good, after a few bites, I cleared the burger of all the Lettuce & other items, I even tried to scrape off all the cheese, so I could get a better taste of just the meat on the bun, it was awful, obviously not Hand-Made, & definitely frozen from a box, so who knows what kind of meat it actually is, they may at one time in the past have made their name on good Burgers by Hand-Making them, but not anymore, they've raised the prices & lowered the Beef quality & hope that Customers dress up their Burgers with so many items like Lettuce, Tomato & Mayo & such that you can't get the real taste of the lower quality beef, I always strive to finish any meal I pay for, but this one, I could not do, the Bun fell completely apart & the Meat was just of such low quality & Taste, I was done, before finishing it, one of the worst ever Burgers anywhere, & 2 days later we found our Best ever Burger in the same area at Joshua's On The River & just a few Minutes away a day earlier had a much better Burger at the Happy Day's Diner on the Parkway, that we will review later, so go to either of these Places, for a Burger, if you have to go to Mel's, don't get the Burger.

 This is my Tripadvisor Review done while on the visit to the area.

Our group of 4, again Brandy did not make this trip, have eaten out at many places in Gatlinburg & Pidgeon Forge on this trip & many other trips here, this is the 1st bad review, that I've had to write, we stopped in Monday morning, today for Breakfast around 930am, it was packed, but plenty of waitresses, so they were not overworked, after ordering from what seemed to be our nice waitress, I had a coupon, that's in all the coupon books for %15 off our check, I had forgot to tell her, so as she passed by I stopped her & told her I have the coupon, she said take it with me to the counter when I pay, as she walked away, my step daughter, said, the waitress rolled her eyes about me informing her of my coupon, our food arrived, brought by another waitress, on 2 of our orders, the bacon was not done at all, we sent both back by another waitress, because ours seemed to be avoiding our table, she did not seem happy at all either, that we had bothered her about our bacon, I'm not saying the waitresses didnt treat people well, they were honey this & sweety that to us after that and to other tables, but they just did not react well to our bacon problem & my coupon, 1 person had the Country Ham breakfast, it was very good he said, another had, French toast, also very good, she got hash browns and put ketchup on it, she said can you taste this, the ketchup on my hashbrowns, tastes funny, I don't know if it's the browns or the ketchup, I tasted it & the ketchup had an awful funny taste, they opened the ketchup bottle & we all agreed, the ketchup smelled as if it were old, & gone bad, it ruined her hashbrowns, but we didnt complain, did not want to bother our waitress again, my wife got scrambled eggs, bacon, we both agreed her eggs were plain as could be, we ate at the Applebarn the other day & it was 10x better for the same price, with a nicer setting & nicer waitresses, instead of packed into a small booth, I had the cheese burger & fries, I love burgers, & try as many out as I can when I travel & at home, this was one of the worst burgers ever, it was not hand made, it came for sure from a frozen pack of burgers, & cheap ones at that, even with lettuce, mayo, tomatoe & cheese & pickles, it was awful, the bun fell to pieces as I ate it, so a cheap bun obviously, my fries, were about as plain as they could be, again, seemed like cheap fries from a vendor, we ate lunch at the Happy Days diner on the parkway the other day & it was one of the best burgers & fries i Have had anywhere, & others had an awesome philly cheesesteak there, so my meal was terrible, left a bad after taste when done, if you want Diner food,Please find the Happy Days diner, it's so much better food, 2 in our party did have good food, our overall trip was terrible & we will never return, & the prices are just as high as the Apple Barn, which has 10x the view, 10x the atmosphere, great service, served on finer dishware & much, more room, all for around the same price, so for Mels, way overpriced, stay away!

Final Thoughts: Awful Burger, Waitresses are nice to everyone, unless you present them with a Problem or bother them too much, Breakfast was good, except for the outdated, old Ketchup in the bottle on the table, but definitely overpriced, go to the AppleBarn/Applewood for a better Breakfast, service & Atmosphere for near same Price, small place & too crowded in the tiny booths, Burger looked great, but we will visit Happy Day's Diner which is close by from now, they are 10x better, well probably a lot better than 10x, LOL!.

Final Rating: 1.0* (Don't Bother/Awful)  

Next Tasty Review:  Bravo Cafe, in Augusta, Kentucky - Bravo is not Permanently Closed & out of business, there is a new business now in the same spot.

Zola Pub & Grill

Our 5th Review

Official Review #5

Zola Pub & Grill

626 Main Street Covington, Kentucky 41011

(859)261-7510

This Place is  Beautiful Pub & Grill, Located in Mainstrasse, in Covington, this place has an excellent Decor, everyone really enjoyed sitting & talking during our entire visit, it's a great place to go & meet friends or family for a Drink & Good Food.

We started out with Appetizers, as usual, as we also love to try them out & find the best around.

1. Cheese Sticks - $5.95

2. Chicken Fingers - $6.25

3. Vegetarian Spring Rolls - $7.95

All of the Appetizers were excellent, I would recommend trying any of them, we all agreed on this, & can't wait for another visit here to try out different Appetizers, as they have several.

They have 9 Different Burgers to choose from, here is what each of us ordered, & yes we always enjoy trying out each other's food.

1.  The Classic - Topped with your choice of cheese: American, pepper jack, provolone, swiss, or cheddar. $6.50

2.  The Zola Burger - Our flagship burger is loaded with bacon, grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms, capicola ham, and American cheese, I ordered this one, as I love Ham on my Burger's since growing up on the Roy Roger's Double R Bar Burger. $7.95

3.  Zola Patty Melt - Grilled onions, swiss cheese, 1000island dressing on grilled rye bread. $6.95 My Wife loves these kinds of Burgers.

4.  The Black & Bleau - Covered in blackened seasoning & topped with our delicious, homemade bleu cheese dressing. $6.95

These are the 4 Burgers all 5 of us ordered, Brandy had the Classic Burger,  all Burgers come with Fries & Cole Slaw, & their burgers are made with ½ pound choice Black Angus beef and served with Mayo, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, and Pickle.

All of our Burgers, were made to order, & definitely Hand-Made & Formed, not out of a box.

Everyone loved their Burgers, they will big & Juicy & on a solid Toasted Kaiser Bun, again, this bun is not going to fall apart, I loved mine with the Ham Bacon & all the extras, it had a great taste to it, I also tried out some of the Classic with no Cheese & this is another Burger than can

definitely stand on it's own without all the extras, another great Burger that if you just want to know what a great one tastes like with nothing on it, but a bun, this is another excellent choice to try it with, my Wife loved the Patty Melt, & The others enjoyed the Black & Bleau, I loved Bleu Cheese & it tasted wonderful on the Burger.

This is a Big Burger, with Very good Fries & Slaw, & we all agree both were very good, this meal will fill you up, but I left wanting another Burger for later, it was so good, so I ordered one for the road, to eat at home, so far, 4 out our 5 reviews have brought us such an excellent Burger as this one, all have been awesome & all are so close in taste, it's just a few differences in each, that most people would give them slightly different ratings, but all must agree that this Burger & 3 of the others we have reviewed are top Quality & the very best you can get anywhere.

The Service was very good & Friendly, again, it's a great place to meet friends & family for Food & Drink anytime.

On Wednesdays you can order a Burger with up to 5 Toppings for $6, I will definitely be going back for this special.

Final Thoughts: One of the Very Best Burgers you will find anywhere in the Cincinnati & N. Ky. area, or anywhere for that fact, it's Big, Tasty & hits the spot, & makes you leave wanting more or another to take home as I did, go here, try it out & you won't regret it.

Final Rating: 9.5* (Exceptional)

Next Tasty Review: Mel's Classic Diner, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, another one from our recent Trip to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville area.

Toot's

Our 4th Review

Official Review #4

Toot's

12191 Montgomery Road, Loveland, Ohio 45140

(513)697-9100

The Toot's restaurant in Deerfield Township has unexpectedly closed.

The restaurant, which is located at 12191 Montgomery Road, closed this week. The Toot's website said it was closed "due to health issues with the owners."

"It’s been a pleasure to be a part of this growing community and we’d like to thank all of our loyal customers for your continued support over the last 22 years," the statement on the site reads.

According to the website, the location has been in operation for 22 years.

Efforts to contact the owner or a representative from the corporate office in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, were unsuccessful.

Toot's has 5 Cincinnati area & Kentucky Locations, I consider them a Family oriented, Sports Restaurant, they have a ton of Tv's & games for the kids, balloons & a Large Menu, in my opinion, they offer too many different items to be able to justice to them all & Make them all the best they can, they need to cut down the number of items & concentrate on improving the rest.

We all started with the Following Items.

1. Fried Pickles $4.99 for a Large

2. Potato Skins $5.21

Both Appetizers were Fairly Good, not the best, not near the best, but ok enough for the price.

We all ordered the Classic Half-Pound Burger, $7.57 a couple got it with Bacon & Cheese, I got mine Plain, again Medium-Well for me & everyone else has their own Favorite way of having it cooked.
I also ordered the Catfish Basket, $8.78 as I love Fried Catfish & just like my Burgers, will try it out anywhere I go, a couple of the Ladies in our group, ordered the Fried Chicken Tenders Basket, $8.84 to give them a try also.
The Burgers came on a decent Toasted Bun, it did not fall apart while eating, also with Shredded Lettuce, which I love on my Burgers from the ones I grew up enjoying at the little Drive-in Restaurant in Jackson, Ky. when I was little and use to visit my Grand Parents there.
Also with Tomato, Onion & Pickle.
This was the 1st Burger in our 4 reviews to date, that did not seem to be Hand-Made, it definitely came from a box, they could have a much better Burger if they made them fresh Hand-Made.
Everyone did like their Burgers, but far from the Best any of us has ever had, & far from our 1st 3 reviews.
But it was good, service was good & the place was packed, plenty for kids to do, & there were lots of kids, so along with all the Tv's, it's definitely not a quiet meal, so plan on it being very noisy.

The Burger by itself with no Cheese, Condiments, Lettuce or anything, really can't stand on it's own, it's not bad, but to be even a decent tasting Burger, I had to load it up with my Lettuce, Tomato, Onion & Pickle & mayo after a few bites, if a Burger can't stand on its own on the Bun & taste good, then it's not in the top of anyone's list, especially our's.

The Fried Catfish Basket, was actually Pretty good, the Catfish was better than the Burger, & everyone tried the Fried Chicken Fingers & all agree they were pretty good & better than the Burgers.

I would not come again for the Burgers, but would return for the Catfish & Chicken Fingers, the Fries also were average, nothing special.

Final Thoughts: To date, it's 4th out of 4 on our list, & not in our top 10 of all-time, but we are only rating our locations now, as we go to them to eat, not on the past, not a bad Burger, but more Average than anything, at best a couple in our group agreed it was just a tad above Avg., it's an ok Burger, you probably won't feel like you wasted your money eating here, but I would recommend other items on the Menu 1st.

Final Rating: 6.0* (Average)

Next Tasty Review: Zola Pub & Grill, in Covington, Kentucky

Corner Cafe

Our 3rd Review

Official Review #3

Corner Cafe

                          214 Hamilton Ave, Augusta, Kentucky 41002-1144

            606.756.3219

The Old owner passed away at least 2 years or so ago, and the new owner apparently has changed everything, the older ladies that did the cooking are no longer there, he also does not seem to be purchasing his Beef from the same seller, & I heard their old Grill in the Kitchen possibly caught fire and they had to get a new one, these were all keys to the previous owner having the such a Highly Rated Burger, upon my last 3 visits, their Burger definitely has changed and not for the better, it's gone from a Great Burger & the best in the area, down to just a good, Plain Burger, it's much thicker, but taste wise not as good, so I am lowering it's ranking on this list and lowering its overall rating.

Corner Cafe is Located in Augusta, Kentucky, a Beautiful scenic little town about 50 mins or so from Cincinnati, Ohio, along the Ohio River, you can take the AA Hwy. to route 19, or turn onto route 8 down by the River up in Cold Springs & drive a real scenic route, or take route 52 in Ohio, all the way down to the Augusta Ferry & for $5 to cross, you come & go 2 different way's home & 2 separate beautiful scenic routes.

It's located over by the Large Manufacturing plant in town, Clopay, by the railroad tracks, my 1st visit here, nearly 4 years ago, my Wife told me, it's not much to look at, so don't let that fool you, it's the best food in town & the whole area, & she was right, 1st appearance, the looks would fool you into thinking it's not a great place to eat, as it's located in an old building, but it's clean, & nice people work it & own & run it.

They have a Bar & a Pool table, we usually sit at a table for 4 or 6 right next to the bar, it's friendly people, and they have 2 small Tv's to keep you busy.

Now for the Food, The Burger, One of us gets the Bacon Double Cheeseburger, I like the Plain Hamburger, my Wife likes the Hunter Melt, everyone else gets a Plain Burger.

It's a Hand-made, piece of beef, it's a fairly good-sized piece of meat, depends sometimes on who is doing the cooking in the kitchen as to the exact size of the burger overall, but it's always good, just better on some night than others & still the Best Burger in town.

The Meat was very good, the bacon nice & crisp & tasty on my Bacon Burger, each one is a different size, which shows, they make them fresh & Hand-Made themselves, they get the meat Locally, it also comes with a very solid bun, as you know by now if you've read my other reviews, you need a good bun with a good burger, many places the bun fall's apart, but not here, this is a good quality bun.

I would rate it as one of the top 10 Burgers I've ever tried, in the entire area, plain, simple & delicious, and that's the key, nothing fancy, just cooked on an old Grill & the taste is just fantastic, everyone loved their Burger, no complaints all the way around, the Lettuce, Tomato & Onion that some got on their's, was fresh & good & complimented their meal, my Wife, loves the Hunter Melt, she orders it without the sauce on it, it looks like the same Burger Patty as everyone else, but it's made on Sandwich Bread & then cooked on the Grill, therefore, a Patty Melt, she loves it, same good piece of meat that's on the regular Burgers so you can't go wrong with it, the fries that you can order for $1 are very Good.

I will leave out the Prices on the Sandwiches, because they are the best in the area & very well worth it, for the delicious food you get,.

They also have excellent Cheese Sticks, a very Good Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, on a good night, Excellent Bean Soup & Chili, but always good,all at a reasonable price, the only thing I've had & don't care for on the Menu, is the Fish Sandwich, 3 of us have tried it, & didn't like it.

So on your 1st trip here, find a table, sit down & enjoy a great Burger & friendly people, get a Burger & fries, & Cheese Sticks, they have daily Lunch specials for a complete meal, I have yet to try one, but I'm sure it's good, I think they are now also serving breakfast, will have to try that soon.

Final Thoughts: We all agree, this one belongs in the top 10 Best Burgers we've ever had, again, simple & plain, works best. UPDATE: Definitely no longer top 10 Burger, still a fairly good Burger, but nowhere near the same as it use to be.

Final Rating:  6.5*  (Try it-above Avg/Good to VG)

Next Tasty Review: Toot's in Loveland, Ohio - Toot's at this Location has closed as the owners here have had the Business a very long time, I heard they retired without selling it.