{"id":13591,"date":"2015-02-15T08:04:35","date_gmt":"2015-02-15T14:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/burgersdogspizza.com\/?p=13591"},"modified":"2015-02-15T08:04:35","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T14:04:35","slug":"cincinnati-oh-senate-pub-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/?p=13591","title":{"rendered":"Cincinnati, OH – Senate Pub Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Senate<\/a>
Bar Tables<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Dateline: Cincinnati, Byline: Mike Clark, Texas Bureau Chief)<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\nThis is a story about Cincinnati, Ohio, but there are hot dogs in it. Good ones.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Way back in the 19<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span><\/sup> Century, downtown Cincinnati was bisected east-to-west by the Miami and Erie Canal. Thousands of immigrant Germans took up residence north of the canal, prompting everyone else in the city to nickname the canal after that majestic German river, the Rhine. And the neighborhood where all the Germans lived was called \u201cOver the Rhine.\u201d Today, the locals shorten that to \u201cOTR.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The canal is long gone, filled in and paved over with eight lanes of concrete known as the Central Expressway. OTR itself, full of Italianate architecture, a classic example of a 19<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span><\/sup> Century urban neighborhood, gradually fell into decay. Actually, \u201cdecay\u201d is being polite.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fast forward to the late 20<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span><\/sup> Century, when OTR is declared a national historic landmark, and forward again to the 21<\/span><\/span>st<\/span><\/span><\/sup> Century, when significant resources are marshaled to renovate the blight and recover the neighborhood. As little as five years ago, OTR was a place where genteel folk would not dare set foot; but today, it is Cincinnati\u2019s vibrant new district for the arts, entertainment, recreation, and food. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of the gentrification pioneers in the food category is Senate Pub, self-described as \u201clo-fi pushers of beer, wine & gourmet street food.\u201d Senate took up residence on Vine Street just a block and a half north of the Rhine. Roughly one-third of the menu at Senate is taken up with hot dogs \u2013 or to be more clear, quarter-pound all-beef dogs with eclectic gourmet dressings. Witness:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Trailer Park<\/strong><\/em> — bacon wrapped, american cheese, coleslaw, crushed grippos (local, flavored tater chips); <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Chicago<\/strong><\/em> — tomato, mustard, onion, neon relish, sport peppers, pickle & celery salt; and,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Lindsay Lohan<\/strong><\/em> — goat cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, arugula, balsamic & tons of drama\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026to name a few. If for some reason you\u2019re dogged out, the other two thirds of the menu at Senate are just as eclectic, including their version of the Canadian staple Poutine, and some to-die-for Pretzel Dough Beignets served warm in a brown paper bag (the better to shake the sugar coating), accompanied by a caramel mascarpone (Italian cream cheese) spread so rich it should be illegal. All this combines to make Senate one very popular place.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll see from Senate\u2019s web site that their success has generated a little ego baggage \u2013 Guy Fieri (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) showed up with his camera crew last year, and if you\u2019re willing to shell out $39.99 plus tax, you can have your very own Senate Cookbook \u2013 but a little hard-earned ego does not diminish the quality of the eats even one bit.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Senate occupies a single storefront, so seating is limited to the bar, a single row of tables opposite, and a few more in the back. The wait for a table can sometimes exceed an hour. Go early or go late, or if the place is full, get your name on the list and then go browse some of the boutique shops that continue to spring up in the ancient storefronts Over the Rhine. Senate will call your cell when your table is ready.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And while you\u2019re in OTR, listen for the ghosts of 19<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span><\/sup> Century Germans. They wail mournfully for Senate to start serving Bratwurst & Kraut.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Senate<\/a>
Clockwise from left: The Lindsay Lohan, Truffle Fries, Duck Fat Fries, The Mexico City, The Trailer Park:<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Senate<\/a>
Pretzel Beignets w\/Caramel Marscapone:<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Senate<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Senate Pub Review<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Dateline: Cincinnati, Byline: Mike Clark, Texas Bureau Chief) This is a story about Cincinnati, Ohio, but there are hot dogs in it. Good ones. Way back in the 19th Century, downtown Cincinnati was bisected east-to-west by the Miami and Erie Canal. Thousands of immigrant Germans took up residence north of the canal, prompting everyone else… Continue reading Cincinnati, OH – Senate Pub Review<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,12,15,16,26],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13591"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13591\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}