Super Cookie Bros.

Is this not the coolest cookie you’ve ever seen. No question mark needed there, it was really a statement. I found this random pic floating around on the web. I think I need to get more familiar with an oven after this discovery.

 

Ballpark Village?

Apparently Ballpark Village is still a go to some degree. I can’t believe so little is being said about this project in the media.

City finishes plans for $230M Ballpark Village
Dayton Business Journal – by Jacob Dirr, DBJ Staff Reporter

The Ballpark Village development is a step closer to becoming a reality. Dayton city officials have completed their plans for the potential $230 million project and have submitted them to one of the developers for approval, city commissioner Nan Whaley said this week.

The Ballpark Village project would be the largest development in the history of the city. Many believe the retail, office and residential development would help revitalize downtown Dayton. But the project still has not received any official go ahead.

The project has two developers, Cincinnati-based Bear Creek Capital and California-based Mandalay Entertainment. Ken Stickney, Mandalay Sports Entertainment managing director, said that Mandalay is still committed to the village. “Out of respect for the city of Dayton, we are not giving specifics. From our standpoint nothing is changed,” Stickney said. “Our message is stay the course.” Mandalay is owner of the Dayton Dragons minor league baseball team. Bear Creek officials deferred comment to the city of Dayton officials.

Tom Biedenharn, spokesman for the city of Dayton, said that the city manager’s office is not ready to discuss the development. Speculation has swirled around the development since an imposed Thanksgiving deadline yielded no news from the city. While the city has remained largely mum, Stickney confirmed that city manager Rashad Young visited his office in Los Angeles in December. “I’m not sure how to characterize the meeting,” Stickney said. “We had a nice sit down.”

Whaley said the commission was told it would see plans for the mixed-use development by the end of January, but that has not happened. Others involved in the Ballpark Village project have received mixed messages from the city as to its current state. Alan Pippenger, president of Requarth Lumber, said that plans call for the city to buy his Monument Avenue building and tear it down in the first phase of development. His building was initially set for the third phase of the project. “The uncertainty has been difficult and it has made planning very difficult. We are looking forward to getting it resolved one way or the other,” Pippenger said. He said advance notice will be needed as it will take about six to eight months to relocate his company. If his building is included in the first phase of development, the project could take half a year to get underway once the city buys his building and helps relocate the business. “I think the project has been changing as (city officials) worked through some different options,” Pippenger said. He said that his company and the city are still negotiating about the fate of the building.

DMM Forum

Ol’ Bill Pote of Dayton Most Metro just started up a Dayton forum. It’s in the same format as Urban Ohio so it’ll be familiar to many of you. I set up a little pole over there for people to vote on their favorite finer dining spot. I know, I know, it’s crappy that you have to sign up to take it but once you do you’ll never have to log in again. Good luck with the forum, Bill—I’ll keep coming back and doing my bit to contribute.

Old Saint George Is a’Burnin’

Friday night at about 7:30 Erin’s sister knocked on the door holding a pair of binoculars in her hand. “A church in Clifton is burning down!” We have a wide view of the downtown basin area so I ran to the window and looked toward UC. Both steeples were thick with red and yellow flames. I’m not sure why but it seemed really shocking. Buildings burn down every day in every city across the planet. Actually seeing it happen is a lot more stunning. The towers eventually tumbled over and fell. It was live on TV at the same time. It was mentioned that the interior of the building hadn’t been damaged much. I wonder how both towers could catch fire if nothing was burning from below. Arson! Conspiracy! No, I doubt it. But it is odd how that could happen. Old St. George was built in 1873 and designed by famous Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford. Luckily it’ll be saved.

South Park Tavern < Cornerstone Bar & Grille

I went on down to South Park Tavern, where the 2nd Pizza Factory location used to be, Friday night with a few friends. Immediately you notice the warm feel inside that matches the bright orange exterior. It was a nice scene—locals laughing, walking around, chatting and making new friends. We realized we needed to seat ourselves after about 20 seconds and made our way for a booth near the bar. After about 5 minutes of no one approaching us to see if we needed anything Drew and I went up to the bar to get drinks. The barman almost intentionally asked everyone else if they needed anything before coming to us. Regulars favoritism? I tried to get a Blue Moon and gin and tonic but apparently their liquor license doesn’t cover hard stuff. I’ve never heard of that but no big deal though. We waited about 10–15 minutes, drank our beer and left. No one once asked if we wanted to order anything. Am I totally in the dark as to the process they use for getting a bite to eat or is the service really that horrendous? People were eating dinner right and left so I feel really confused about the whole thing. I really want to go back. I feel like it has potential and could be a great spot to hang out. Some places just have the right feel and I’m willing to give them another chance after a total bomb. I think I may have seen David Esrati there but I’m not totally sure it was him. Was it you? And more importantly how did you manage to catch the attention of the wait staff?!

We felt a little dejected as we left but were still willing to try our luck at another place we hadn’t been before. We drove a few blocks west to (Jimmie’s) Cornerstone Bar & Grille on Brown Street. We had a much better experience. Our waiter (his name was either Nick or Tony) was attentive and had a killer attitude. Drew made history and actually bought an appetizer. Believe me, this sort of thing just doesn’t happen. He’d heard that the Paisano Pasta Chips were the house specialty, the stuff legends were made of, and figured what the heck, he wasn’t driving. They had an asiago cream sauce and were awesome! I’m not big on sausage but that was easy enough to move aside. I got the Philly as it is only fitting for someone with my name to do so. It was quite nice. Nothing will ever compare to Penn Station so don’t set yourself up for a let down. It was definitely a decent bit better than one I had at McGillicutty’s (what kind of crazy name is that) the week before. There’s still a few independents left on Brown Street and Cornerstone is definitely one that’s worth making a trip to. Next up: Wafu! You may have to double-dog dare me though.