Happy Wednesday.
I hope you had a good weekend. It was another unseasonably hot one. Though as I sit here writing this on a Monday afternoon, the weather has finally cooled a bit. I managed to make it to one night of Oktoberfest, but spent most of the weekend at home watching football. Speaking of, it's strange to finally have a Bengals defense you can trust, isn't it? I kept waiting for it to fall apart, but then it didn't. Who Dey?
It wasn't just the Bengals who kicked things off with a good start on Sunday. Nolia Kitchen chef/owner Jeff Harris gave a preview of his soon-to-open Pendleton po'boy shop, Jimmie Lou's, in Pendleton. Sadly, I missed it, but this Instagram video made it look promising, with customers lined up down the block for Harris's
abbreviated menu of New Orleans shrimp po'boys, red beans and rice, bread pudding and his "pig mac," which I imagine is an optimized version of the McDonald's favorite made with a pork burger, instead of beef.
Back in August, Harris told me me that, despite Nolia's popularity, many of his customers have begged him to bring back the Jimmie Lou's concept, which he briefly ran out of Oakley Kitchen food hall. For anyone craving the authentic po'boys made with New Orleans' famous Leidenheimer bread and other Louisiana signature dishes such as Jambalaya, fried chicken and etouffee, Harris said Jimmy Lou's official opening is just around the corner.
How I got schooled
I paid my first visit to the Schoolhouse Restaurant, in Symmes Township/Camp Dennison, this weekend. I made the mistake of going alone, not realizing the amount of food you get at this family-style spot, even if you're a family of one.
First came the salad with the sweet French dressing (damn, that's good) along with what seemed like a half pound of coleslaw. Then came the meatloaf with sides of mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, sweet cornbread and a small pitcher of chicken gravy.
This is the kind of dinner you get at your grandma's house ... in the best way possible. I'm going back as soon as possible, but next time I'm bringing some friends.
Happy hour: Italian style
Finally, if you're looking for an early night out, Carmelo's, in Covington, recently introduced a new happy hour menu available from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. The new menu features a $7 house red, house white, pilsner or the New Jersey iced tea. Up until a moment ago, I'd never heard of that last one, but it's a combo of rum, tequila, vodka, fernet and amaro with Angostura and orange bitters. Maybe hold off on that one if you're looking to keep the night going afterward. Foodwise there's $10 chicken meatballs and fried artichokes and $8 fried olives and mozzarella sticks.
Unfortunately, the 101-layer lasagna (pictured) is not on the happy hour menu. It's just a suggestion in case you decide to stick around for dinner.
Well that's it for this week. Thanks for reading.
Keith
Keith Pandolfi covers food and dining for The Enquirer/Cincinnati.com. Click here for his most recent articles, and follow his latest dining adventures on Instagram @keithpandolfi or via the At the Table newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: I finally went to the Schoolhouse Restaurant. I'm going back ASAP
