This year, we’re asking bakers to bring one dozen of their favorites cookies to our downtown Dayton office at 601 E. Third St.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Here’s what you need to know:
- The person dropping off the cookies (whether that’s the baker or a representative) will need to provide photo identification, and fill out a submission form with the baker’s first and last name, mailing address, phone number and email address.
- Along with the cookies, you must bring a copy of the recipe with exact ingredients and measurements and thorough step-by-step directions on preparation and baking.
- The recipe sheet should include a brief description on how you came across the cookie recipe and what makes it special to you.
- Our staff will taste-test the cookies on Nov. 18 and select a first-, second- and third-place winner.
Planning to drop-off cookies? Fill out this form to let us know and sign up for a reminder text or email.
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Kettering tavern to host chili cook-off
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Mort’s East, a neighborhood tavern located at 2866 S. Dixie Drive in Kettering, is hosting its 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
This year I will be a judge, and I hope to see several of you there!
The first place chili will be picked by me and two other judges. This chili will then be showcased on the tavern’s menu for the next year.
The second place winner will be chosen by the people in attendance and the third will be judges’ pick for most creative.
Those interested in bringing a chili should only use 15 ingredients and must bring a printed copy of their recipe.
READ MORE: Mort’s East offers a full bar with food such as applewood smoked wings
3 new restaurants to open inside W. Social Tap & Table
Credit: Aaron Horn
Credit: Aaron Horn
Three new restaurants are planning to open Dec. 1 inside W. Social Tap & Table — a food hall in Dayton’s Wright Dunbar District.
“We’re recommitted to making this a community gathering spot. We brought them in (and) a lot is going to change,” said Patricia Wafer, who operates the food hall with her son, Devontae Morton. “It was a minor setback for a major comeback.”
Here’s a look at the three new restaurants:
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Shafton Greene, the owner of SOCA, is opening Urban Cheesesteak Co. with his son, Shafton “Wesley” Greene Jr., in the former space of Mz. Jade’s Soul Food.
Customers can expect traditional Philly cheesesteaks served with provolone cheese or Cheese Whiz, as well as other options such as chicken, plant-based beef, oxtail, turkey burnt ends or Korean BBQ.
📍Ella Mae’s Chicken & Chop Soul Food Kitchen
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Formerly known as Ella Mae’s Broaster Hut, Ella Mae’s Chicken & Chop Soul Food Kitchen is moving into the former space of The Lumpia Queen.
The restaurant was previously located in Trotwood at 5519 Salem Ave., next to the Honey Baked Ham Company.
Ella Mae’s will offer the same menu featuring favorites such as broasted chicken, fish and pork chops with sides of macaroni and cheese, collard greens and potato wedges.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Columbus native Kris Henderson is opening a new hibachi concept in the former space of Taco Street Co.
Customers can expect an assortment of rotating appetizers such as dumplings, spring rolls and chicken katsu curry, in addition to build-your-own hibachi featuring a variety of proteins and vegetables.
CLICK HERE to read more about each restaurant.
Quick Bites
🍦 Dixie Dairy Dreem opens second: The ice cream shop is located in the former Dairy Queen at 2056 E. Dorothy Lane in Kettering.
🥧 Frisch’s Big Boy to host pop-up pie sales: The first event is 1-7 p.m. Nov. 24 at 2440 N. Fairfield Road in Beavercreek.
🍗Zaxbys announces expansion in Dayton, Cincinnati: Charles Terry, a former NBA conditioning coach, will own the 10 newly announced locations. READ MORE
New food vendor to open soon at The Silos
Local chef Whitney Kling is opening a new food concept in the next 30 days at The Silos Food Hall & Bar in Dayton.
Fête will feature bowls, salads and sauces, alongside signature new dishes such as pumpkin chickpea curry and enchiladas verdes.
“Our food is for everyone who thinks mealtime should be a celebration of flavors, satisfaction, and ease,” said Kling. “Fête is about making food that brings people together and feels like a party every day.”
Kling is the founder of the former Top Knot Kitchen and is a weekly food columnist for the Dayton Daily News.
READ MORE: Whitney Kling’s journey involves motherhood, starting a business — and so much more
A recipe for herb roasted whole chicken
If you’ve ever spent Thanksgiving wishing you could make anything other than turkey, Kling shares a recipe for a herb roasted whole chicken in her weekly column.
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken, patted dry with a paper towel
- 1 stick butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 shallot, peeled
- 1 tbsp. Kosher salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh sage
- 1/4 cup thyme
- 1/4 cup rosemary
- 1/4 cup parsley
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place your chicken in a casserole dish.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, place the butter, oil, garlic, seasoning, and herbs and blend until a uniform paste forms.
With your hands, rub the butter all throughout the chicken, covering each surface with the mixture.
Put the chicken in the preheated oven and cook for half hour. Turn the temperature up to 400 degrees and finish cooking until internal temperature reads 165 degrees.
Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Note: You can use the butter mixture to coat an assortment of carrots, onions, and potatoes and place those below the chicken to roast with the meat if desired.
Remembering Elder-Beerman’s Swiss Melts
In December 1983, the Dayton Daily News received a request for the recipe of Elder-Beerman’s Swiss Melt Cookies.
More than 40 years later, this news outlet still receives requests for the recipe.
In March 1984, Dayton Daily News Feature Writer Katherine “Kitty” Ullmer went on an investigation to see where these cookies came from and if she could convinced executives to share the recipe.
“The investigation began with a phone call and follow-up trip to the Courthouse Plaza Elder-Beerman department store, one of six Elder-Beerman stores in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas with an Amy’s Cookies outlet. It was to be a tasty assignment,” Ullmer wrote.
“You need only walk through the store’s plaza entrance to catch the aroma of freshly baked cookies in the air. The cookie counters are right inside the door. Down the steps and to the left, opposite men’s trouser. Just follow your nose,” Ullmer said.
On that day, Virginia Steinke, department manager of Amy’s, had arrived by 8 a.m. to take the dough out of the store’s third-floor freezer. By 9:30, when the store opened, the first cookies were out of the oven, cooled and ready to be sold.
“By 9:31 she has already sold her first cookie,” Ullmer wrote.
READ MORE: The story behind Amy’s Cookies and where the name came from
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, feel free to email me here, and I’ll check it out.
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