The Salted Lemon

Hey Becky-

Where the hell did the summer go- September already? What have you been up to? Like all good foodies, I've been earmarking time based on what I've eaten. Trip to Seattle? Nah, it was all about that crab omelet that I ate at Pike's Place Market and the Senegalese food in the family owned restaurant. More to come on that later- I'll spend the next few days trying to catch you up on my food adventures, and I hope to hear about yours too!

Starting with today... Taste of Blue Ash is our favorite local food festival. Blue Ash is a small suburb with a few thousand residents that looks like the Pleasantville movie set- streetlights, brick sidewalks, manicured street signs, and a propensity to compete with downtown's festivals by holding their own. Small restaurants offer $3-$5 portions, and with ~20 vendors it's enough variety to be entertaining without being completely overwhelming. Granted, the restaurants aren't the most popular by chain or by locavore standards, but a few dishes stood out: Cajun scallops on field greens with vinaigrette from La Petit France. Simple, well executed (the scallops were firm yet tender with a crispy glaze), and healthy (unheard of during a street fair). Parker's Blue Ash Grill always comes to the party with a firecracker stick- a tortilla stuffed with shrimp, sausage, and onions then rolled/deep fried and dunked in a cheesy tomato sauce. It's almost cheating because of the deep frying- but something about the spicy sausage setting off the crispy shell doused in cheesy, creamy goodness puts all pessimism to rest. And hell, everyone was walking around with one, sweating bullets no less (it was hot this afternoon)! There was a pork taco stand, though it didn't hold a candle to our local taco truck, Senor Roy's. I know, a taco truck in Cincinnati! Who would have thought that this was a cool enough city to merit a food truck?! Ach, so much to catch up on!