Dayton Food & Dining | Saying goodbye t o a downtown favorite as new restaurants open 🍽

Hey Dayton!

Welcome to our weekly Dayton Food & Dining Newsletter! Over the weekend my husband and I finally celebrated our elopement with family and friends. We had a fiesta-themed party at the Greene County Fairgrounds with food catered by Los Mariachis in Xenia and the best part, made-to-order mini donuts from Tweedles.

Credit: Natalie Jones

Tweedles has been serving mini donuts to the tristate area since 2011. I first tried them at the Beavercreek Popcorn Festival and was automatically hooked. I really enjoyed the s’mores donuts, but my favorite are the cinnamon sugar. There’s just something about having a freshly-made, cinnamon sugar donut that makes you feel all warm and cozy on the inside.

Moe’s Southwest Grill to open Friday in Dayton region

Credit: Facebook Photo

The wait is over! Moe’s Southwest Grill is returning to the Dayton region with its newest location opening in Washington Twp. at 10 a.m. on Friday. To celebrate the opening, the first 50 customers in line will receive free burritos or bowls for a year.

Moe’s Southwest Grill previously had locations near the University of Dayton and the Fairfield Commons Mall, but those closed around 2010.

The fast-casual restaurant franchise serves southwestern food, including a variety of menu items from burritos and quesadillas to nachos and stacks. I have never had Moe’s Southwest Grill, so I am excited for them to open!

Moe’s Southwest Grill, located at 990 Miamisburg Centerville Road, Suite B, next to McAlister’s Deli, is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant offers dine-in, pickup and delivery.

Downtown Dayton bakery to close this month

Credit: Facebook Photo

Twist Cupcakery has announced it will close its doors after nearly nine years in downtown Dayton. The bakery’s last day will be Saturday, Oct. 14.

Owner Kate Rivers, a former engineer, opened Twist Cupcakery in 2015. She had a longtime interest in baking but began baking more after preparing a dessert buffet for her oldest daughter’s first birthday. Her hobby grew into a licensed home bakery and then a brick-and-mortar through Activated Spaces’ Pop-Up Project.

As her lease is coming to an end, Rivers said it was time for her to move on to the next part of her personal journey. She’s not ready to share what’s next, but plans to get back into her first love, which is engineering.

Twist Cupcakery is located at 25 S. St. Clair St. The bakery will continue regular business hours, which are 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

Owner of Jay’s Seafood continues father’s legacy after 47 years

Credit: Submitted Photo

Jay’s Seafood, located at 225 E. Sixth St. in Dayton, took home first place in Best Restaurant in the Oregon District and Best Seafood in our 2023 Best of Dayton contest.

Amy Haverstick, the owner of the restaurant, is continuing her father’s legacy 47 years after the restaurant’s start. Her father, Jay Haverstick, opened the restaurant in 1976 and operated it until he passed away in 2009.

Jay’s is located in a former corn and grist mill that sat empty for several years before Jay and his family turned it into a restaurant.

When you walk into Jay’s, you will notice several nods to history throughout the building including flooring from the 1850s, light fixtures from the early 1900s, tables and chairs from the 1970s, railing from the Old Xenia Hotel after the tornado in 1978 and a bar that was once located at the Pony House Restaurant from 1882 to 1967.

Jay’s is considered fine dining, but Haverstick said they are very casual too. Customer favorites include the Spiced Bourbon Salmon and Greek-Style Swordfish. Other popular entrees and appetizers include the Alaskan King Crab Legs, Twin Lobster Tails, Half Pound Kobe Burger, Calamari Strips and Scallops Andre.

Haverstick recently hired Chef Paul Bard who is working to create new dishes with different types of seafood. His work is displayed in weekly and monthly specials.

» READ MORE: Best of Dayton 2023 winners in food, dining and drinking

Ann Heller’s favorite recipes: Warm Chocolate Tarts

Ann Heller’s career at the Dayton Daily News writing about food and restaurants spanned three decades. She also published two cookbooks including “The Best of It’s Simple!’’

“If it’s true that one great recipe makes a cookbook, then Ronald Johnson’s “Company Fare” is a winner. That’s because Johnson has a recipe for a make-ahead, have-on-hand, freezer-to-oven, triple-chocolate dessert that’s sinfully rich and positively sensuous,” Heller wrote. “He calls the recipe, attributed to the defunct restaurant Rakal in New York, “a chocolate tart” but it really isn’t. Baked in individual dishes, it is cakelike at the edges with a warm, puddinglike chocolate center.”

Ingredients:

Directions: Lightly butter six 1-cup soufflé dishes or oven-proof custard cups. Melt both chocolates with butter in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Add sugar and stir until it dissolves. Scrape into the bowl of a mixer. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer for 7 to 8 minutes until it thickens to a mousse like consistency. Divide among the dishes, cover with foil and freeze at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove foil and bake the tarts 11 to 13 minutes. Watch closely at end of baking time. First edges set, then the center shows moist and shiny, then just a minute after that they are cooked. Don’t overbake. Cool 10 minutes, then invert onto dessert plates. Makes 6 servings.

NOTE: The desserts do not rise.

Quick Bites:

🥔 Spring Valley Potato Festival returns this weekend: The festival runs 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Festivalgoers can expect potato soup, loaded potatoes, potato candy and much more.

🐔 Washington Twp. Chick-fil-A reopens: The Chick-fil-A restaurant at 1482 Miamisburg-Centerville Road reopened yesterday after being closed for renovations for about six months.

🍪 Crumbl Cookies to open new location in Dayton region: Eric and Kendra Stringham, who own Crumbl Cookies locations in Beavercreek and Huber Heights, are slated to open the new location at 4457 Feedwire Road in Centerville on Jan. 12. Click here to read more.

Tell Us:

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.

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