Saturday, June 29, 2019

Local Post

Our 85th Review
Official Review #85


3923 Eastern Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45226
          513.371.5858
UPDATE AS OF 02.23.2023   We went on a Friday for Lunch, I had a Coupon I purchased for $27 to get $40 in Food here, We ordered the Plain 1/4 Pound Burger with lettuce, tomato, onion & pickles on a Brioche Bun for $13.75 it was the cheapest burger on the menu, we order a large Pizza for $15.75  with Pepperoni $3 extra & Banana Peppers $2 more, so $20.75 for a pizza, it was good, but we like Dominoes & we thought it was much better than Local Posts Pizza and for the price we could have nearly ordered 3 at Dominoes for the same price, just outrageous for Pizza, & only good at best.                      The Burger was good, but just plain good nothing special & Not a top 10 Burger as it was upon our last visit in 2019, & 1/4 pound instead of at least half a pound, the burger was so small on the bun it reminded me of Mcdonald's tiny piece of meat on their crappy burgers, LOL!     We also ordered Cheesesticks, 6 for $9.50 maybe the best we've ever had anywhere, but that was the only good thing here we would recommend, total $43.20 & we drank water, but $40 came off on the Coupon, I will never eat here again  & I can't recommend anything but the Cheese sticks, I am moving them out of the top 10 down to around the 30 or lower spot on the list. Many better burgers all over the area.
This was our 1st visit to the Local Post, I had not heard of them before and had not seen them in any best burger lists in Cincinnati, I saw them advertising on Groupon Coupons, so I bought one and we tried it out today around 5:30 PM on Friday 06/29/2019

I looked they may have taken an old building and renovated it into a beautiful sports bar, it has a downstairs seating area with at least 1 Pool table, we ate upstairs and did not go down, it's much bigger on the inside than it looks outside, parking is mostly on Eastern Ave. during extremely busy times, a parking spot might be hard to come by, it was already getting crowded, the place looked very clean and updated, the waitress was a lovely young girl that was extremely nice & Friendly & helpful, she brought us refills on our water which came in some different glass wine bottles, a nice touch, but it was warm inside and we could have used some ice as the water got warm fast, the waitress really was awesome, she came back many times asking how everything was & if we needed anything, solid waitress, she did a great job.
We started out with the Cheese Curds: Wisconsin cheddar curds, local beer batter and fried golden. served with sriracha aioli,    $8
we just returned a couple of weeks ago from a vacation in Madison, Wisconsin and tried Cheese Curds at several places while there, including the #1 rated location in Madison, known for their cheese products and curds, these curds at Local post we would both have to agree were every bit as good as the #1 place in Madison, so before i get to the burger review, I would definitely recommend going here for the Cheese Curds, they were absolutely Awesome
Now for the Burger review.
I ordered the   East End Burger: American cheese, bacon, red onion, shredded lettuce, tomato & garlic aioli. delivered on challah with a fried pickle topper.     $14
The East End Burger was just fantastic, the flavor of the beef was delicious, I knew from the 1st bite it was definitely to 10 and maybe top 5 on our best burger list, I always tear off a piece of the meat to taste it with nothing else on it and it was very flavorful, I always order my burgers Medium-well when asked, this one they did not ask and came what appeared to be very well done, it had what I call, blackened seared edges, and again it was delish, after the 1st bite into the whole burger I knew it was one of the best I've ever had, the fried pickle on top was excellent, so I can also now recommend the Fried Pickles as an appetizer, the bacon was nice and crispy and tasty, red onion & lettuce and tomato were fresh and good, the garlic aoili also added to the flavor, the bun did not fall apart which for me is a key to a good burger, it was tasty and added to the flavor, the 2 patties added up to a very thick burger, and covered the entire bun, with just a bit sticking out, the meat appeared to be hand-made and not frozen patties out of a box, My Wife also agreed it was one excellent burger, she like it so much we switched burgers as she liked it better than the one she ordered, which we will review here next., it was also a big burger, you better be hungry, you can get it with chips or upgrade to fries for $2, or a House Salad for $5 more, we did both, she got a salad with ranch and I got fries with mine, the fries as compared to others, were just ok, I could eat them, but would not order them again, I would get the salad and or stick with the chips, the salad was big, fresh and very good, and so was the ranch dressing, just some plain old hand cut fries would be better.
Now for my Wife's burger, she ordered the  Royale With Cheese:  two 1/4 lb. patties, american cheese, pickles, onion, lettuce, and posty sauce delivered on 16 bricks focaccia   $14

The 2 patties on this was thicker than on my Burger, and also very tasty, but we both preferred the thinner patties, but that's not taking anything away from these, they tasted very good, the Focaccia bun was good, but we both also preferred the Challah bun on the other one, we switched burgers she like the East End Burger so well, I liked both but also preferred the East end.
overall a very good burger, I only rank 1 Burger per location, as I take the best one from each place, but i would rank this one outside the top 10 on our list, would I order it again, no, 2 reasons, the East End Burger is that much better and just did not care as much for the Focaccia bun, a good Brioche would be nice for this one.

Final Thoughts: Awesome Cheese Curds, very good Fried Pickle on the burger, and overall the East End Burger makes it to #5  on our list, we will return, & I definitely recommend the East End Burger, and Curds, overall it's a wonderful place to go, a bit loud, hard to hear inside, but very nice place, you can watch some sports & have a beer and a burger and appetizers.
Final Rating:   9.4* (Exceptional-Must try it!)  Just above Zola Pub & just below Willies Sports Cafe, not a lot of difference in the, all are awesome.

Next Tasty Review:   The Tipsy Cow from our Madison Wisconsin Trip.
 East End Burger

 East End Burger half eaten! LOL!< Awesome!
Fantastic Cheese Curds!
 

Salad!


Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Tumbleweed #2

Our 84th Review
Official Review #84


511 Marketsquare Drive Maysville, Kentucky 41056
606.759.8876

UPDATE!

We've made 2 visits since our original 2 trips a while back, The Burger SLiders are still excellent, but the Regular Full-Sized Burger, for whatever reason still not good, but much better than before, but it's still not even top 25 on our list, they claim it has real Angus Beef, if true why does it not taste Better, Very good Veggies, & Fries, Chicken is also very good, service is mostly very good also.
It's been a few years since we tried this Steakhouse out and I had the Smoked Cheddar Bacon Burger:  served with Lettuce, Tomato, Onion & Pickle, & either Waffle or Regular Fries, at that time it just was not a good burger at all, garnering the lowest rating ever on our list, how they managed that with what they claimed at the time to be an All Angus Beef burger, I will never know.
On this trip, I ordered the  Angus Sliders  $9.99   Four juicy Angus beef mini-burgers. Served with cheese and pickle.

They were very good, 10x better than the Full-sized Burger I had ordered years earlier, maybe things have changed, I might have to re-visit soon to update that original review, these pretty good-sized for sliders and thick and juicy, they had very good flavor, definitely had some spices, the 4 of them filled me completely with fries which were also good, the buns had a good taste that added to the flavor, and the cheese pickle was fresh and tasted good, overall a very solid and very good slider, I would order these anytime, service was good and friendly, a bit slow as they were crowded and seemed like forever waiting on the order to come and the waitress could have come back at least 1 more time in between to re-fill us.
My Wife ordered Steak, baked potato, and salad, she loves their steaks, and said her entire meal was excellent, she will definitely be back as this was her Birthday Dinner for 2018.

Final Thoughts: My Wife enjoyed her steak, & loves coming here for, the Steak, so if you do have to eat here, & pay for their overpriced food, get a steak, but not the crappy full-sized burgers, which I will update that review soon, but definitely order the Steak & or Sliders anytime.

Final Rating:   7.9* (Try it -abv Avg/Gd to VG)  They tie with Towne & Country bowling lanes & their Sliders on our list, also the 2 best siders we've had.

Next Tasty Review:   Still reviewing our choices.


Monday, July 30, 2018

Tickle Pickle

Our 83rd Review
Official Review #83


Tickle Pickle


4176 Hamilton Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio  45223

513.954.4003

UPDATE! Someone from the Tickle Pickle left us a reply about our Comments on their Burgers Possibly not begin real Beef due to their Uniform Shape and about whether or not they have any spices in the Beef, here is most of their reply about it.

We just wanted to clarify that the beef is from Whole Foods in Rookwood and that we do in fact patty them onsite. One of our owners manufactured a press so that the beef can be placed in a cookie sheet and pressed to make each burger the same size (this is why there is a square shape to it). Our beef is also seasoned. We appreciate the feedback from all and will take all comments into consideration. Happy burger eating! 

Thank You Tickle Pickle for clearing this up for us, my reply also back to them was, that it does not change our review any of their Burger,  except for the grill marks on the meat, it's almost tasteless to be real Beef, and it does not help their very poor Bun, get a good Brioche Bun, I bought some cheap ones at Walmart one day that actually was very good,  and try a taste test with some other really good burgers in town and see if you can use what you find out to spice up your Burgers some, otherwise we really can't recommend your Burgers with so many other Excellent ones in town and N. Ky.

We met one of the 3 original Cincinnati Burgerguys here for this burger during Cincinnati Burger week 2018, and he was kind enough to send me his own review on the burger we had for Lunch, his review is next, the review from my Wife & I are just below it, but all 3 of us basically agree on it, thanks again Freddie for this excellent review.

Hi there - It’s Freddie - one of the original Cincinnati Burger Guys. Although I haven’t written a burger review in some time, I know I’m up to this task. After all, I still like a good burger and I regularly write at my blog of eclectic topics, A Frank Angle. https://afrankangle.wordpress.com/

Since the last time we posted, Wolfy moved to Chicago and my good friend Bucky is in a memory care facility. So, when the host here invited me to join him and his wife to celebrate Cincinnati Burger Week, I couldn’t turn that down! Besides, I got to pick the venue!!!

On name alone, Tickle Pickle in Northside has always intrigued me. Another factor was the  Tickle Pickle’s Cincinnati Burger Week offering was a standard burger - not a specialty flavor based on bacon, blue cheese, barbeque, tacos, or another specialty. After all, back in the day, I controlled my variables by standardizing my order as much as possible. Besides, the original Cincinnati Burger Guys based ratings on the burger - not the place. Oh, how I recall Bucky squirming at a few places.

I initially mentally pictured a bar - na baby na - Tickle Pickle is a casual eatery where customers order at the register. I ordered a Bread Zeppelin - a beef burger with lettuce, tomato, onion (nope for me), pickle, and spicy ketchup.

Once the burger arrived, I gave it the Freddie once-over - overall looks ok, a medium thickness at best, and a basic bun. Because a good burger should be primarily about the meat, a Freddie tradition is to pinch off a portion of the pattie. Yum! - a pronounced flavor of the grill (a good thing) but nothing seems to be added to the meat (a negative). I also know Wolfie would say the beef was OK - but not exceptional.

With the first bite, Bucky’s spirit resonated with me to think about the sandwich as a whole. (More on that later.) As previously mentioned, the bun was standard. Nothing special - but it did not dominate the sandwich and it maintained its integrity through the final bite.

Conclusion
Carrying the flavor of the grill made this burger very acceptable. Although the trimmings and bun were basic, they worked well together - but nothing spectacular. I, Freddie, recommend the Bread Zeppelin at the Tickle Pickle - but keep your expectations in check because it won’t knock your socks off. However, it’s still a better burger than Zips (the most overrated burger in the city).

Final Rating - Acceptable, but nothing special.  

Now the Review of the same Burger from my Wife & I.

We came here for Cincinnati Burger week 2018 on a Saturday for Lunch, we had the BREAD ZEPPELIN   $10.00   A Beef burger, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mayo, ketchup, it was a good looking Burger & a pretty good size,  but it was a very plain tasting Patty, no spices detected on it, the only flavor was the burn from the grill, really not much flavor other than that to speak of,  the pattie clearly was square-shaped, giving the appearance that it came frozen from a box & not Hand-made on-site, and it tasted like it, since we did not ask about this, the Jury is out on exactly what or where the Beef is or where it comes from.

The toppings, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickle were all good and seemed fresh, toppings all tasted good, the mayo, ketchup, everything was fine.

The Bun looked good, but overall a bit hard & dry, no taste in it at all, it definitely needs a better bun, maybe even a brioche.

 We tried the Mac 'n' Cheese and it was excellent 10x better than the burger was, it was the 1st Mac 'n' Cheese I've had with Bowtie Pasta, I definitely  recommend trying it, it was better than most other places I've tried that were known for their Mac 'n' Cheese,  but there are way too many better Burgers in the City to waste time at this location, if your in the area or passing by, run in and get a mac to go, it was a decent overall burger, but that was due to the toppings & cheese mostly, definitely nothing to do with the tasteless, square, with a possibly frozen patty, 

I've read some pretty good reviews on this place, & 1 person told me it was excellent, but there were 3 of us for this review & all 3 pretty much had the same opinion on it.  We Met Freddie here for Lunch, he was one of the original 3 Cincinnati Burger Guys from the early 2000s that ran a Famous blog by the same name, it was very popular & they hit all the best places at that time, it was an excellent blog & I followed them religiously, it was well written & great reviews,  Freddie does an excellent job reviewing Burgers, like us, his heart & tummy and soul, are really into the love of Burgers, but I suggest finding a much better rated & reviewed burger, as there are at least 25 or more potentially better ones in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Parking is a bit difficult at busy times, you have to park on the street, meters on both sides & there is a City lot around the corner & a little bit of free parking on the street near the lot and by the United Dairy Farmer across from the Parking lot.

I've read some pretty decent reviews on the burgers here, how I don't know, I can only guess people are not getting out and trying better ones, or maybe the locals are giving it inflated reviews, who knows for sure, the toppings helped mask, a not so good beef patty.


Final Thoughts: Definitely not a good piece of beef, just barely acceptable, overall it was a decent burger, but with all of the great burgers in Cincinnati & Northern, Kentucky, I would never want to eat this one again, no reason to pay $10 for it, I would rather have a Big boy or something, and again, our guess is it's not real Beef, but if it is, it's a poor selection, it's definitely not hand-made on site.
Go here, get the Mac 'N" cheese & forget about the burgers, they look better than they are, and the toppings mask the plain flavor of the meat.


Final Rating:       6.4* (Avg/Nothing Special


Next Tasty Review:  Not sure yet, stick looking over our suggestions!


                                                                   HOURS:


Monday - Sunday | 11:00am - 10:00pm





Sunday, July 29, 2018

Bubbys Burgers

Our 82nd Review
Official Review #82


603 Forest Ave, Maysville, KY 41056-1411

606.407.3705
 
UPDATE!

We re-visited Buby's in June of 2020
 
We got the big deluxe burger, it was almost $12 very big, but did not taste that good, it seems the sliders are the best burgers here, I definitely do not recommend getting the big burger, the beef is not good. 


They have excellent little burgers, tastes like the old diners I use to see on the roadside as a kid when we use to visit Mamaw & Papaw in Hazard & my Granny in Jackson, Kentucky, a bit similar to a White Castle, but just somewhat, they are their own little burgers, also the Big Cheese is just as good,
they are just plain Great Tasty Burgers & Sliders, buns are tasty as are all of the toppings, fries are very good, we got some Cheese Coney's & a BLT on the 2nd visit, the Coneys are excellent as is the BLT.
This was our 1st visit here, we had seen their Building location on Forest Ave. but had never stopped, this time we saw their Trailer in a parking lot, so we decided to try it out. My Wife ordered their famous sliders with Grippo's chips & I ordered the Big Cheese with fries. Both came with soft buns & tasty toppings.  & the servers are friendly. We'll definitely be back. I had the Coney dogs, which were delicious. My mother-in-law had her first White Lights and fell in love!

We made a 2nd trip this time to The restaurant which is small but cozy, The service was quick & friendly, seemed to be good workers, & it's a very nice decor & clean well maintained establishment, overwhelming smells of good comfort foods. Polite staff, it's a good place to eat, there is also outdoor seating, it gives a nice view over a small park area.

You definitely leave with a good taste on your pallets with this Burger, if you stay here or visit nearby, you must try out, it's one of the very best Burgers/sliders we have had.

Final Thoughts: Definitely one of the top 2 or 3 Sliders we've ever had anywhere & the bigger burger is solid also definitely recommend eating here when in the area or passing by...

Final Rating:       7.0*(Try it-above Avg/Good to VG)  For the SLIDERS ONLY!
The Big Deluxe Burger I will rate it a 4.0*

Next Tasty Review:  The Tickle Pickle!


                                                                   HOURS:


Mon-Thur 10AM-10PM

Fri -Sat 10AM-2AM


Sun - CLOSED


                                      This is their little Mobile Food Trailer!

The excellent BLT!

Their Delicious Cheese Coneys!






Friday, July 27, 2018

We met with Frank!

During Cincinnati Burger Week 2018, we met with Frank in July 21st, 2018 at the Tickle Pickle, Frank was one of the 3 original Cincinnati Burger guys from their famous blog of the early and mid-2000's.

They had quite a following in the day & I was one of them, I started this blog & kept a piece of their name in our's for the great respect & admiration I had for them & what they were doing back then, & that's reviewing Burgers, something I love & something I've always done but had never thought about doing detailed in-depth reviews on the burgers & places I ate at, then I realized how much I enjoyed reading reviews, especially the ones Frank wrote as he was the Main Blogger in their group, he wrote excellent reviews that were right on point for the many locations they visited, my kids were young then & I would take the whole Family to many of the places they rated highly & I would send them my suggestions for others they should visit, it was a Fantastic blog to follow & it's still up on the web & I will post a link to it.

The Old Cincinnati Burger Guys are no longer together now, Frank told me he does his own blog about other things and that 1 of the other 3 regular members had moved away, to Chicago I think he said, & the 3rd one was hospitalized due to his memory loss due to age I assume.

Here is a link to the Cincinnati Burger Guys Blog that was very popular & active in the early to mid-2000's, & sadly no longer active today, but I keep their Memory alive with our own blog here, the New Cincinnati, Burger guys & gals.
Cincinnatiburgerguys    - It's a great place to read about Burgers from years ago here in the area, many of the places they visited are still in business today & we have reviewed many of them ourselves.

We met Frank at the Tickle Pickle, it was his choice from the many burger spots participating in Cincinnati Burger week, & one we had never tried before, we met him around Lunchtime on the last Saturday of Burger week, it was not too crowded at the Tickle, but was started to get crowded by the time we were finished, Frank texted me & said I would know him by the Hat he was wearing, he wore a Burger Hat, a Hat that looked like a Hamburger, it was the perfect thing for him to have done, we loved it, Frank,,.

I can't remember now how long we talked & then we stood for a while afterward outside talking, all about Burgers, food, reviewing & related things.

My Wife & I just listened to the many stories from their Blogs Glory days, & loved every minute of it, we actually learned a lot & you could tell Frank enjoyed discussing it, especially with new people that were also into Burgers.

Thanks again Frank for the awesome visit & for taking the time to meet with us & review the Tickle Pickle, overall it was not a top 10 Burger on our list or for any list for that matter, but it was a decent one, we would say a Fairly good burger at best, the Patty as Frank remarked appeared to be of a Uniform Shape, more a perfect square which told us all that it was possibly not hand-made on site but came frozen out of a box, so I'm not sure exactly what they make their Patties from or where they get them, but the taste was also extremely plain, except for the burn from the grill, definitely had no spices.

Frank had said he may do his own review of the place & write it up & email it to me, that's why I'm holding off on our main review of this Burger, I will hold off until next Monday & if I don't get a review from him, I will post our full review on the Tickle Pickle, definitely not top 10 & Most likely out of the top 20 as there are too many other excellent Burgers in the area, I've heard good reviews on this place but they did not stand up to the test.

Take care Frank & hope to talk burgers  & food again sometime.

The New Cincinnati Burger Guys & Gals!