"Ohio" news and stories

For many a college student, pizza for breakfast isn't exactly a new thing: grab a cold slice of last night's leftover pepperoni from the pizza box that's still on the coffee table and you've got breakfast on the run.

But the new Domino's in Dayton, Ohio, is going where no other Domino's has gone before -- it's introduced a breakfast pizza that actually looks like breakfast.

According to Nation's Restaurant News, the Dayton Domino's takes an ordinary pizza crust and tops it with eggs and cheese. The morning pie costs $7.99, which includes three toppings. The store suggests such crossover combinations as ham and bacon; sausage, onions and jalapeños; or onion, green pepper and mushroom.

Heard of sauerkraut balls? Unless you're from Ohio, probably not.

Born in the Cleveland area -- it's said they were invented in Akron, Ohio -- they're a beloved dish in the Buckeye State.

Sauerkraut, cooked ground pork, diced onions, bread crumbs, cream cheese and an egg are rolled into balls that about the size of meatballs. They are then fried and served as a snack or first course, even bar or picnic food.

McGarvey's in Vermilion, Ohio, used to be the place to order sauerkraut balls. Sadly, it closed in 1989, capping off several decades of preparing sauerkraut balls. An Examiner.com reporter, however, was able to wrestle the recipe out of Shelley Solomon Prueter, the daughter of McGarvey's owner Eddie Solomon.

Whip some up in your kitchen -- you might be surprised at how well these simple-to-make snacks are received.

A weekly look at the draft selections in beer-friendly bars across the country.

Dublin isn't just the capital and largest city of Ireland. A number of Dublins exist right here in the United States. One of the largest is Dublin, Ohio, a growing suburb outside of Columbus. It also boasts one of the best places to grab a craft beer, Matt the Miller's Tavern.

Since opening in October of 2008, Matt the Miller's has prided itself on offering great food, wine and beer, and Dublin has reacted enthusiastically. Even more so than owner Craig Barnum expected. "[Craft beer] is huge these days. If I could do it over again, I would have put in more draft lines."

Barnum tries to keep the average drinker content by keeping five standard choices on tap, leaving just 9 spots to venture into the craft world. They had their system custom-made in Italy with a beautiful backlit display, otherwise he'd consider expanding to 21 or even 28 taps. Barnum helps make up for the paucity of lines with a strong bottle selection as well. He knows that having the better beer selection gives him the edge.

Read on about Matt the Miller's Tavern and its recent draft list after the jump...

Porkopolis: Cincinnati nabbed its first nickname in the 1830s, when the city was America's hog-processing center and rogue herds of pigs were said to wander the streets. Indeed, the ready availability of animal fat was the reason two new arrivals from the British Isles, candlemaker William Procter and soapmaker James Gamble, were persuaded to found their world-spanning partnership in 1837 (the tallow was crucial in making both products).

Almost 200 years later, P&G is still thriving, but the swine are long gone. Chicago took home the bacon by the 1860s, when its hulking meat industry eclipsed Cinti's. But one idiosyncratic legacy does linger from its high-hog heyday: the local delicacy of goetta (that's GET-her).

"It's not really very pretty – it's kind of ugly actually and it is sort of a peasant dish," shrugs local food blogger Cole Imperi. Imperi co-runs the local chapter of tastecasting.com, the social networking riff on restaurant reviewing that's recently emerged. "Goetta's origins were with the pork industry: it's made of ground meat, usually pork shoulder or a cut of meat that's not desirable, with either pinhead or steel-cut oats that kind of makes a cake. You use equal parts meat and oats and add bay leaves, salt, pepper and rosemary into it, then bake. Then you cut off a slice and fry it up in a skillet."

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars (and occasionally hot dog palaces) across the country.

Regular readers know this column typically focuses on well-regarded beer bars, but for Columbus, Ohio, things got a little dirty ... Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace, that is.

What makes a glorified hot dog stand worthy of What's On Tap recognition? A great beer selection, of course. Working with only eight draft lines, house manager Jeni Van Hemert ensures Dirty Frank's has a broad selection of American craft brews.

"We're a hot dog joint, but we have insanely good beers on tap," says Van Hemert, describing the Palace's general concept. "We want to be an affordable option," she continues. "We have beers that cost twice as much as the hot dogs but then we also have $1.50 beers." For that reason, one of her taps is always reserved for a cheap domestic like Pabst Blue Ribbon or Miller Lite.

For the remaining seven lines, though, taste is the focus. "I like a very flavorful, heavy beer," she explains, discussing how she chooses what to stock. From her experience bartending and homebrewing, Van Hemert believes she can be a positive force in educating the public. "I've gotten used to having really awesome beers around."