Welcome to our weekly Dayton Food & Dining Newsletter! If you have been reading these from the beginning, you probably know by now I have a huge love for Mexican food. Ellen Baldridge of Fairborn encouraged me to check out La Base Mexican Restaurant on North Broad Street in Fairborn. The restaurant is owned and operated by two cousins who are striving to create a welcoming and lively atmosphere. Customers I spoke to at the restaurant praised them for their culinary talent and an atmosphere that makes guests feel like family. Customer favorites include the fresh guacamole that is made tableside as well as fajitas and street tacos. I had the quesa birria street tacos and they were great! One of the owners told me drinking an apple soda was a must with street tacos. I had never had a Sidral Mundet apple soda before and he was right! It was the perfect sweet drink after getting a little spice from the tacos. Am I the only one who wasn’t familiar with apple soda? Click here to read more about the restaurant.
Lov’s Whiskey Barrel Saloon to open second location Lov’s Whiskey Barrel Saloon is preparing to open its second location in the former space of Angie’s Firehouse Tavern in Dayton’s Belmont neighborhood on Friday, June 16 at 11 a.m., according to a post on the establishment’s Facebook page. Owners DeLov and Shawn Ledbetter previously told me people can expect “the same great food with a touch of Nashville.” Hours of operation will be 11 a.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, the post stated. Angie’s Firehouse Tavern closed its doors Jan. 17 at 703 Watervliet Ave. Former owner Patrick Reed was ready to move on after 13 years in the restaurant industry. For decades the neighborhood-friendly restaurant has been a spot where generations of families gathered for a home-cooked meal.
Dayton area’s newest brewery now open Sugarcreek Brewing Company, the first privately-owned brewery in the city of Bellbrook, has opened its doors in the heart of downtown. The brewery officially opened Friday, June 9. Julie Bean, a Bellbrook native, opened the brewery with her husband, Jeff, who had been homebrewing for many years. The brewery is located at 26 E. Franklin St. in the historical Sugarcreek Township House. The 4,400-square-foot space features a tap room with 10 taps and seating for up to 100 guests. Two of their most popular beers on tap over the weekend were the Golden Eagle Ale, a golden ale, and The Rookie, a blonde ale. The Rookie is named after Julie’s brother, Tony Ernst, who held several football and basketball records at Bellbrook High School and the University of Dayton. The brewery is open 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday for the month of June.
Dayton restaurant reopens, 2 temporarily closed South Park Tavern, located at 1301 Wayne Ave. in Dayton, is reopening today at 5 p.m., according to a post on the tavern’s Facebook page. The tavern has been closed since January for a remodel after their pipes froze. With the reopening, South Park Tavern has announced a new set of temporary hours. The tavern will be open Wednesday through Monday. Plans are to operate 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. to midnight (or later) on weekends. There will be open mic on Wednesdays and live music on the weekends. Once they are fully staffed, the tavern said they have plans to open for lunch. This announcement comes after two Dayton restaurants announced they were temporarily closed last week. The Brunch Club, located at 601 S. Main St., is closed due to staffing issues, and Tank’s Bar & Grill, located at 2033 Wayne Ave., is closed as it transitions to new ownership. The Brunch Club is expected to reopen on June 20, according to owner Jim Vari. Tank’s Bar & Grill has not announced an expected reopen date.
Ann Heller’s favorite recipes: Lemon Roast Chicken Ann Heller’s career at the Dayton Daily News spanned three decades where she wrote about food and restaurants. She also published two cookbooks. Former Dayton Daily News reporter Mark Fisher, who wrote about food and dining, identified this recipe for Lemon Roast Chicken as one of her favorite recipes. - 1 chicken, about 2½ to 3 pounds
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 whole lemons
Directions: Wash the chicken, drain and dry it with paper towels. Remove any loose fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, inside and out, rubbing it in. Wash and dry the lemons and soften by rolling them on the counter. Poke each lemon at least 20 times with a skewer, ice pick or toothpick. Put the lemons inside the chicken, close the opening with toothpicks or sleeves and loosely tie the legs together. Put in a roasting pan, breast down and put in the upper third of an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Do not add any fat. After 15 minutes, turn chicken breast up and roast another 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the heat to 400 degrees and cook chicken an additional 20 minutes. (If using a larger bird, you may want to roast the bird an additional 5 minutes or so – cut into the thigh at the joint and make sure the juices run clear yellow.) Serve the chicken with all the lemony juices in the roasting pan. They make a delicious sauce. Makes four servings.
🌮 New Mexican restaurant coming to Waynesville: Mami Fina’s, located at 10 N. Main St. Suite A, is hoping to hold a soft opening next week with a grand opening to be determined. Read more about the restaurant here. 🍰 Popular Miamisburg bakery reopens at new location: Amy Cakes is now open at 79 S. Main St. next to Bennett’s Publical. The bakery is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. 🍴 Soul Food Sunday returns to Gem City Market in Dayton: Every Sunday customers can expect comfort food favorites like oxtail, smothered chicken, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, cornbread and much more. 😋 The Taste rescheduled at the Fraze in Kettering: The festival featuring samples from a variety of culinary talents in the Dayton area has been rescheduled for Sunday, July 30 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. after it was postponed over the weekend due to weather.
It’s time again to pick the Best of Dayton! Nominations kick off Monday, June 19 and run through Friday, June 30. This is our eighth year of celebrating the best, brightest and most important things in the area. This year we will have 152 contests in nine categories: Around Town, Auto, Beauty & Wellness, Food, Dining & Drinking, Health & Medical, Home Improvement, Professional Services, Recreation and Retail. You will have the opportunity to submit any people or businesses you’d like, followed by a voting period after a list of finalists is selected in each category. The number of nominations a person or business receives will heavily determine the list of finalists. To learn more about the contest and how you can get involved, click here.
Thank you so much for reading my weekly newsletter! If you see a new restaurant opening or are wondering when an establishment is expected to open up, feel free to email me here, and I’ll check it out. Also, remember to follow Dayton Daily News on Facebook or search our Food & Dining section for the latest stories. I’ll have continuous updates on my Facebook or Twitter pages. | 
