Restaurant Review: Sammy's Gourmet Burgers & Beers in Blue Ash

Awhile back I had purchased a $20 Cincinnati Daily Deal to Sammy's Gourmet Burgers & Beers and just recently I had the pleasure of dining there using my deal. If you love trying new restaurants, I strongly suggest signing up for emails from sites like Groupon, LivingSocial, and local sites offering deals in your area. It's a great way to try new restaurants you normally wouldn't, for half the price! I do it often, ok maybe a little too much. But it's always worth it.

The perfect opportunity arose to go to Sammy's in Blue Ash because I had to pick up PJ from work and it's very close to Sammy's. We stopped by on a Saturday afternoon and it was packed with a large boisterous crowd, I think a St. Ursula group. We were concerned because it seemed so busy and the space was so small, and we were close to leaving, especially when we saw a "no coupons on Saturday" sign on the door. But someone from the large crowd told us not to worry, that they were leaving... good timing. Then one of the employees (possibly the manager, he appeared very busy and to be the person "in charge") told us we could use our deal cuz it was more like a gift certificate than a coupon. So we hung out, waited for them to clean up the area and make space for us. We waited like 10 minutes or so and were thinking about leaving but figured we might as well stay cuz we'd have to come back anyway and we were already here.

Finally, we were seated in one of their booths. We didn't like how there was one entrance/exit (from what we could see). It just didn't seem like much space to stand while waiting for the table. We were happy to finally be seated. Once we were seated at our booth, we noticed that it was blocking an exit to the patio area. PJ instantly commented... he didn't like that the exit was blocked and viewed it as a fire hazard. I personally didn't care too much about our table blocking an exit, as long as no one could come in, opening a door and whacking us with it! Sammy's definitely has a bar feel, with several booths and tables for dining. It is a small space, like a bar, with large tvs all around for some sports watching.

We were worried the burgers wouldn't be "gourmet" really. We were wrong. I'm so glad we waited it out... it was here that I experienced one of the best burgers I've had in Cincy. PJ still thinks the Kobe Beef burger from The Polo Grille was the best he's had, but this was a close 2nd for him. This may be my fave. It was so tender and juicy.... such a thick patty, loaded with toppings. PJ ordered the Sammy's Burger, with comes with Sammy's sauce, fried egg (Yes, please!!), lettuce, tomato, bacon and mozzarella cheese ($9.95). 

Man, sometimes I get some great burger shots. Look at that fried egg, that crisp bacon, that melted oozing cheese, toasted bun, and that plump juicy patty. Go on, look!

I ordered the Guacamole Burger, which comes with chipotle mayo, guac, lettuce, tomato, bacon, and Mexican melting cheese ($9.50). Oh, hi, I love you.

I lifted the bun so you could see the goods. You're welcome.

Look at that guac piled on top. Plus bacon? And cheese? And juicy hand-made patty? Sold! A toasted bun, bacon, and a fresh plump patty are all necessities when it comes to defining the perfect burger. These burgers had it all.

Our burgers came with fries... they were pretty good, but not amazing. They kind of reminded me of the taste of a cheese curd... minus the cheese. You know that fried batter taste of a cheese curd? That's what it reminded me of... which I do like... but next time I'd like to try some of the appetizer fries since they come with toppings.

When (yes WHEN) we go back, I'll try the Shrimp Burger (mango-mayo + pepper jack? I'll take it!), Catfish Burger, Chorizo Burger, Mushroom Burger, and their special Sammy's Burger. And we'll definitely be trying their apps... Jalapeno Bites served with a cilantro ranchero sauce, their Garlic Fries which are beer-battered and covered in garlic and parm cheese, their Fiesta Fries also beer-battered and covered in Mexican melting cheese, guac and salsa, and their Jalapeno Bottle Caps (slices). 


They're also all about the gourmet hot dog. Hot dogs sometimes freak me out, so I don't eat them much. But I'd be willing to try one from here cuz the toppings are fun. They've also got a kid's menu for your little ones. Basically they've got something for everyone... gourmet burgers, sandwiches, apps, salads, soups, wraps, hot dogs... ok that's about it. But it's more than enough. Their burgers are really why you need to come here. They're what's up.

So looks like we've gotta go back a couple more times at least! What, with all those burgers and apps we've gotta try. We will definitely be back, since we both agree that these were indeed gourmet, high-quality burgers. I just wish I could have finished off my gigantic burger. I didn't wanna waste one delicious bite. But it was just too dang big! (that's what she said).

I've read some mixed reviews about the place, many claiming their burgers aren't really "gourmet" or anything special. Well apparently we went on a good day because the burgers were seriously impressive and memorable. On my quest for the best burger in Cincy, Sammy's currently tops my list. I haven't been to Terry's Turf Club yet so that could change. But for now, Sammy should take pride in being at the top :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

Happy Belated Halloween... and Owl-O-Ween Cookies!

Happy belated Halloween to you all! Did you dress up in costume or go to any parties? We had our annual Halloween party at work... I dressed up as a Quarter Back and wore my Vick jersey (that's my last name too btw), and blew up a photo of a quarter and pasted it to my back... get it? Quarter back? I thought it was pretty clever, though I didn't win. That's ok, I won 2 years ago  :)

I really wanted to post these cookies the day before Halloween, or on Halloween, but it just didn't happen. I was mucho busy! So here they are, a day late. But make them next year, k?  And really you could still make them now, minus the Halloween vibe, by switching out the candy corn for a different candy that will work as a nose, and regular oreos as eyes instead of the orange ones. Then you've got yourself some good old, regular owl cookies. Either way, they're adorable.

And equally delicious. I thought these cookies would be all about the cuteness, and less about the taste. But I was wrong, because they tasted like sugary heaven. But please be warned, these cookies are capable of inducing sugar comas. 

I didn't want to have to buy almond joy drops, so I worked with what I already had in the pantry. Yay for pre-stocked Halloween candy. So for the eyes, I used brown reeses pieces on some of the cookies, and milk duds on others. I preferred the reeses pieces because the milk duds were pretty large, and weren't as round as I wanted. I also used store-bought peanut butter cookies instead of sugar cookies, because both were right there in front of my face and I just can't pass up a peanut butter cookie. Ever.

Oh, and I just had to copy borrow the creative idea to perch my owls on tree limbs, like Stephanie did. Hey, when I see a fantastic idea, I must roll with it. Her tree shot looks much better than mine, but that's ok. This isn't a contest :)

Owl-O-Ween Cookies

adapted from Cookin' Cowgirl

• Store-bought peanut butter cookies
• Chocolate whipped frosting
• Halloween oreo cookies
• Reeses pieces (brown ones)
• Candy corn

Frost the flat side of the cookie with frosting. Twist oreos apart and place the back side down, cream side up for the large part of the eyes. For the small part of the eyes, put a dab of frosting on the back of a brown reeses pieces, and place in desired spot. Cut the remaining oreo in half and use for eyebrows. Last, put a candy corn where you want the nose. 

Printable Recipe

These are so fun to make! Definitely kid-friendly. Not only are they adorable and delicious, but they are also so easy! No cooking required, unless you prefer to make your own homemade sugar cookie or peanut butter cookie base. Not I... I chose to make this recipe because it required no cooking! Plus it was just too dang cute to pass up, and I just love owls.

And this isn't even what I brought to our Halloween lunch party. I'll have to share that recipe with you soon and very soon....

Hope you all had a very scary Owl-O-Ween :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

*Note: The oreos are small enough to fit on a standard-sized store-bought sugar or peanut butter cookie. No need to search around for gigantic base cookies. I was worried about the oreos fitting on my cookies, but they fit fine.

Linking up here.

A Fall Craft - Mini Pumpkin Wreath

This blog aint just about food. Today I'm bringing you a Halloween craft idea! I know... you guys didn't know I could be crafty, did you? It's cool, neither did I!! 

Now don't go thinking I'm all sorts of amazing with my crafty skills, cuz I'm not. I actually am one of the least crafty people ever. I want to be crafty. I want to take old junk furniture and turn it into a masterpiece. I want to be able to make my own jewelry and clothes, and sew, and paint drawings, and sell stuff on Etsy. I want to gut my house and re-do it all by myself without calling in a professional. But let's face it, I'm not crafty. I asked for some art supplies two birthdays ago so I could get my art on. Nope, never touched it. It's still in the bag. And yes I've got some old pieces of random furniture that I've purchased throughout the years at numerous yard sales, stashed in the basement, which I vowed to renovate and never did.  I just get intimidated...

But for once, I saw a crafty Halloween idea on Pinterest and knew it was something I could actually start and finish. Sweeeeet! That Pinterest has got me inspired, thinking I can do all sorts of things! I've spent hours pinning different holiday-themed crafts and other house renovating ideas. I have been so inspired to decorate my home with fall and Halloween decorations, that I knew I had to make this wreath made with mini pumpkins from the grocery store.

First you wanna grab a wire hanger from the closet. I molded the wire hanger into a round shape as best I could. Stick each mini pumpkin through the wire... it will go through. I wondered... it does. Mine isn't the best circle, but it'll do. I secured the wire to itself and hung it on our door for guests to see right when they walk up. 

You can purchase the really mini pumpkins from your grocery store in the produce aisle. I got mine at Walmart. They weren't with the other large pumpkins, or even the smaller sized pumpkins that you would still display on your porch. Those are too big for this wreath. I couldn't find the tiny ones at our local outdoor pumpkin stand. Your best bet is to grab the tiny ones from the produce section.

And so there be it. My finished craft project! Isn't this Halloween wreath ultra cute? I think so. And it was super easy too. It better be, cuz that's pretty much the only way I could have completed it.

Go me! :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

 

Rocky Road Fudge {Week 5 of The 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies and Sweets!}

It's Week 5 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas challenge, hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic. Christmas is quickly approaching, people! Have you started shopping? Have you thought about it? I bought one present for PJ last week. And I feel pretty accomplished about it.

Fudge is one of those things that I instantly associate with Christmas time. It's rich, it's high in calories, but it's oh so good. I can never eat too much since it is so rich, but that's probably a good thing for my waist line. I love all kinds of fudge... peanut butter, chocolate, butterscotch, you name it and I'll eat it. I was super geeked to see this 10 minute recipe for making fudge over at my dear friend, Sarah's blog. Since I'm having to make a different treat each week, I've been trying to make easy and quick recipes. This one totally fit the bill.

I had never made fudge before and I was surprised at how simple it really is to whip together. Just melt some chocolate, condensed milk, and salt... throw in some peanuts and marshmallows... stir.... and BAM, you're done! Well, you gotta refrigerate it and allow it to harden of course. Unless you just want to eat the melted chocolate with peanuts and marshmallows thrown in. It wouldn't be fudge, but it definitely would be delicious. But I recommend making this fudge. I loved the crunch from the nuts in contrast to the pillowy marshmallows :)

Rocky Road Fudge

from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

• 3 cups milk chocolate chips
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted peanuts
• 1 and 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Line a 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper or spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. In a saucepan, combine chocolate chips, condensed milk, and salt. Heat on low, stirring constantly. Once smooth and completely melted, add peanuts and marshmallows. Stir again until smooth and peanuts and marshmallows are completely coated. Pour and spread into the baking dish. Refrigerate until firm, and slice when ready to serve.

Printable Recipe

Be sure to check out all the other wonderful Christmas goodies in the blog hop below. You can get your baking list ideas right here!

Linking up to: Tasty Traditions, GCC Recipe Swap, Full Plate Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Turning the Table Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, What's Cooking Thursdays?, Twisted Thursdays, Sweet Treats Thursday, These Chicks Cooked, Making It With Allie, and Tastetastic Thursday.


Peace, and bacon grease!

WWDB? Ben & Jerry's Maple Blondie Ice Cream

Wow, it's been awhile since I've wrote up a WWDB? post. And if you dunno what that is, it stands for WHAT WOULD DESI BUY? When I test a product and love it, I like to share it with you all so you can enjoy it too.

You're about to see alot of posts about ice cream that I would recommend. Yes, we eat alot of ice cream. And yes, we both are somewhat lactose intolerant. Lactaid comes in handy at our house :)

Are you guys fans of Ben & Jerry's ice cream? Me, I think they're pretty durn fun. They make ice cream tasty, of course, as well as super cool and fun. One that I've recently tasted and liked alot was Maple Blondie. If you like maple flavors, you'll love this. It's a maple-flavored ice cream with maple blondie chunks with a maple caramel swirl. How can you pass up maple, blondies, and caramel? Obviously, I couldn't!

And I've gotta try this controversial Schweddy Balls! Anybody had it, or is it banned in your house?

What are your fave ice cream brands and flavors?

P.S. Any ideas on what to call these posts? I originally thought of it as a spin on WWJD/What Would Jesus Do? But now, WWDB makes me feel a bit sacrilegious.  Anyone got a different creative name for these product review and recommendation posts I do?

Note to self: Don't equate myself with Jesus.

Peace, and bacon grease!

Menu Planning - Week of 10/24/11

What's up peeps? How's everyone's Monday going? Mine's decent enough, though my tummy is bothering me a bit. The weekend was fun... Saturday me and my mama went shopping at out to eat at BJ's Restaurant inside the mall. Um, love their beer battered fish that my mama let me try. My open faced pot roast sandwich was pretty good but I'll definitely be back for that fish! Yesterday, I met up with my bestie since we had to reschedule our plans last week, and more shopping and eating... this time at a different mall and we ate at Johnny Rockets. I hadn't been there in literally like 10 or 15 years... I had remembered it being overpriced and the food not so good. But it was pretty good this time. And I was anticipating the price so that didn't bother me either. We will definitely go back. And tonight I'm going out to eat at Bonefish Grill with some grade school friends! That's alot of eating out and spending money. So I'll definitely be fixing some home-cooked meals the rest of the week.

Well, my menu plan for the week is pretty much staying the same as last week. Cuz we didn't really make anything on the menu plan except the Skillet Lasagna which I will eventually post about, and burritos. So I'll be recycling 5 meals from last week. And tonight I'm going out to eat... and I'm sure we'll order something another day this week. So my menu plan is all set for the week by default!

Oh, and one more thing I forgot to add. This just may have been what made the weekend really great. I got accepted into Xavier University's Community Counseling graduate program! Woot woot! Go me :) I start in January. I'm overly excited. And terrified all at the same time! 

Hopefully 4 years outta school won't hinder me too much. Pretty sure I'm not gonna have a life for the next couple of years.

Peace, and bacon grease!

3 hours? Really?

Just wondering. Does it take anyone else 3 hours to write up a post? Or is that just my slow ass? Cuz I fell asleep early last night, hadn't blogged about my recipe or edited my photos for two cooking challenges, and then woke back up at one in the AM and had to have the post scheduled to publish at 8 AM the next day. I HAD to blog that night at 1:00 AM. But no biggie, I thought. It shouldn't take too long. 3 hours later, yes at 4:00 AM, my post was finally complete. But I had to wake up for work at 7 AM!! Screwed.

Now today I'm surviving off of few hours of sleep. I feel like I'm back in high school or college, pulling late nights to finish an assignment at the last minute. But not exactly because I do actually like blogging and editing photos.

But why the heck did it take me 3 hours to write up a post, edit several photos, and do all of the necessary requirements for two cooking challenges??? That's the part I just don't get. And I'm shaking my head at myself. I highly doubt that it takes anyone 3 hours to write up a post.  I'm still confused why it took me that long.

I guess it's the perfectionist in me? 

Or maybe it's the sluggish, technology-challenged, old lady in me?

Probably the latter.

So I'm guessing my old, slow, tired butt will be passed out at 7 o'clock tonight!!

Just wanted to share and make you guys feel better about yourselves. Because at least you aren't the slowest blogger in the world. That award goes to me  :)

That is all.

Peace, and bacon grease!