Newsletter: New management at well-known restaurant 🍽 & several roundups for foodies

In the meantime, if you have any recommendations for the best places to eat in the Upper Peninsula, email me here.

It’s hard to believe BJ’s Restaurant & Brewpub has been opened near The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek for over seven years. On Sunday night, my fiancé and I ate there. We ended up splitting boneless wings with BJ’s Peppered BBQ sauce, a Bacon-Guacamole Deluxe Burger with fries and a Triple Chocolate Pizookie.

Credit: Natalie Jones

Credit: Natalie Jones

I am a big fan of their boneless wings! I love the breading and sweet, but spicy sauce, plus I think you get a lot for $14.45.

Speaking of wings, the Miami Valley Restaurant Association’s Kickin’ Chicken Wing Fest is 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday at the Fraze Pavilion.

Last year, Nick’s Restaurant in Xenia won the People’s Choice Award for Best Damn Wing. This was the restaurant’s 11th time winning this award. Nick’s Restaurant will be back Saturday along with several other fan favorites.

Owners of Oregon District restaurant take over management of Treasure Island

Chef Dana and Katherine Downs, the owners of Roost Modern Italian in Dayton’s Oregon District, have taken over day-to-day management of the Treasure Island Supper Club in Moraine, according to a press release.

Lunch and dinner services will remain as currently scheduled, but Chef Dana said there will be slight menu modifications to ensure the efficiency and success of the restaurant.

Treasure Island Supper Club has been a staple, a classic and local gathering place for residents of Moraine, Kettering, Oakwood, Miamisburg, West Carrollton, and beyond, since 1961.

Along with Chef Dana and Katherine Downs taking over management, Cindy Murray will be the new general manager and Nate Young will be the new executive chef, the release said.

Treasure Island Supper Club, located at 4250 Chief Woods Lane, is taking a 4th of July break and will reopen at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Cafe 19 opens second location in West Milton

Credit: Facebook Photo

Credit: Facebook Photo

Cafe 19 has opened their doors at 7 S. Miami St. in West Milton.

The West Milton spot is a traditional coffee house without a full kitchen or drive-thru. Customers can expect their Englewood coffee menu with coffee flights, locally made pastries and bagels and the ability to order ahead. This location will have more seating compared to the Englewood location.

The coffee shop plans to be open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. A grand opening ceremony will be planned after the 4th of July holiday week.

Cafe 19′s original coffee shop is located at 19 E. National Road in Englewood.

Graeter’s Ice Cream celebrates summer with bonus flavors

Credit: Natalie Jones

Credit: Natalie Jones

Last month, Graeter’s Ice Cream introduced Hot Honey Crunch as its second bonus flavor of the summer. My fiancé and I went to the Beavercreek location and it was still available!

Hot Honey Crunch is made with crunchy honeycomb and sweet icing pieces combined with a little heat. At first it’s sweet from the honey ice cream base, but the aftertaste has a hotness to it that you wouldn’t expect.

My fiancé enjoyed it, but admitted he wished he would have chosen a more classic flavor like Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip. I stuck with my personal favorite, Double Chocolate Chip.

Hot Honey Crunch is part of the ice cream shop’s five new bonus flavors released this year. In May, Graeter’s Ice Cream released Dough’licious, a caramel brownie batter ice cream loaded with peanut butter dough, cookie dough and brownie pieces. Last week, the shop released Lemon Meringue Pie, a lemon marshmallow ice cream made with tart lemon candies and crunchy pie crust pieces.

Each bonus flavor is considered a “limited lime only” flavor, and once the flavor is gone it is retired for the year.

Ann Heller’s favorite recipes: Mexican Grilled 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 including “The Best of It’s Simple!’’

Last week, I shared a recipe for Salsa Pico de Gallo that is used in this recipe for Mexican Grilled Chicken. In Heller’s cookbook, she says fresh chilies are essential for the salsa served with this recipe because the chicken itself is not highly seasoned.

Ingredients:

Directions: Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and pour over chicken; cover and marinate in the refrigerator for three hours, turning once.

Bring to room temperature; remove from marinade and grill over hot coals, turning for 35 to 40 minutes. Cook dark meat another five minutes. Serve with Salsa Pico de Gallo and warm tortillas. Makes four servings.

Quick Bites:

🍽 Yellow Springs restaurant expands hours: The Winds Cafe is expanding its hours by adding lunch noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and a bar menu between 3 and 4 p.m. before dinner begins.

🍷 Centerville restaurant wins award for wine program: Wine Spectator, the world’s leading authority on wine, has unveiled the winners of the 2023 Restaurant Awards, and Carvers Steaks & Chops in Centerville made the list.

🥂 Five Rivers Metroparks to offers Thursday Happy Hour: During happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. at RiverScape MetroPark select drinks will be half off. Click here for more information.

Best of Dayton:

Nominations for our Best of Dayton contest ended on Friday. Right now, we’re working on choosing the finalists based on the number of nominations to get ready for voting on Monday, July 24. Voting will run through Friday, Aug. 11. Winners will be announced on Friday, Sept. 15.

This is our eighth year of celebrating the best, brightest and most important things in the area. This year we have 152 contests in nine categories: Around Town, Auto, Beauty & Wellness, Food, Dining & Drinking, Health & Medical, Home Improvement, Professional Services, Recreation and Retail.

» WHAT TO KNOW: How to get involved in this year’s contest

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.

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.