On Graeter the Greatest

Yes – my bowl!

Do you like chocolate? Do you like chocolate chips in your ice cream? How would you react if you found a piece of solid chocolate in your ice cream that easily covers the center of your palm?

Welcome to Graeter’s – an ice cream treasure in Cincinnati – and a worthy participant in my Chocolate and Wine Week.

Cincinnatians smile at the mere mention of Graeter’s. When out-of-town friends visit, a trip to this tasty treat is mandatory. Convention attendees discover our local jewel at Fountain Square as they stroll the streets of city center.

Graeter’s is about ice cream. Sure, they also produce candy and baked good, but their ice cream is truly one of our area’s golden nuggets.

Louis Graeter started the business in 1870. Because he died in a 1919 accident, Regina (his wife) is the one who led the business’s growth throughout the Cincinnati area. Today, the fourth generation of the family leads a distribution system reaching 4,000 grocery stores in 41 states.

Ingredients and technique are the secrets to producing this creamy, gastronomic delight. Graeter’s blend fresh cream and egg custard together in a chilled French Pot Process. Meanwhile, a large paddle prevents air from mixing into the delight in order to deliver a smooth, rich taste of creamy treasure. Oddly enough, each copper pot only produces 2 gallons of frozen bliss at a time.

Although Graeter’s offers many flavors (flavors here with pictures), including seasonal treats, the chip flavors are the favorites in our house because of the possibility of chunks of chocolate. My wife favors black raspberry chocolate chip. We share appreciation for peanut butter chocolate chip. For me, it’s mint chocolate chip – especially after eating Skyline Chili!

Oh my my – time is running out and I haven’t even mentioned the delicious sodas and scrumptious sundaes! (menu here for description of sundaes)

For those now desiring this rich, creamy taste of high-caloric Nirvana, go to their website, and locate the Find Graeter’s tool on the right, which only needs your zip code. Others can order online because they ship. To Sylvia in Paradise, tell your son and check your zip code for your time in the US.

For the record, it’s not cheap, but it is that the best and “the way ice cream is supposed to be.” Consider a pint for an evening of Graeter’s and a movie at home.

Enjoy the videos, and a few more resources below. Meanwhile, my mouth is watering, so I’m off to a Graeter’s location nearest to me. Meanwhile, fess up – who is going to look for it?

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Resources
New York Times
Forbes
A Philadelphia blogger
The Ice Cream Informant
Chicago Bites
Graeter’s on The View
CBS Early Show

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On Ohio: The Musical

Most realize that Ohio is pivotal in the upcoming election. This post earlier in the week provided information that you don’t hear on the news. Because I realize my readers have a variety of interesting and musical preferences, and in the spirit of the election season, A Frank Angle Productions present Ohio: The Musical – a historical journey through music.

Enjoy … hope you found some gems! Alright, which fit your interests today?

1700s: Banks of the Ohio (First recorded 1927, eventually a Monroe Brothers hit (Olivia Newton John, 1972)

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1854: Down by the Ohio (OSU Marching Band version)

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Date unknown, but it fits here: Rollin’ Down the Ohio

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1918: Beautiful Ohio

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1965: Hang on Sloopy by Ohio’s own The McCoys, thus the state’s Official Rock Song

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1970: Ohio about a sad day in our history by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young

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1978: Theme to WKRP in Cincinnati (with scenes of my city)

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1983: My Town by Michael Stanley Band

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1986: Cuyahoga by R.E.M

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1995: Youngstown by Bruce Springsteen

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1996: Drew Carey Show’s Theme Song – Cleveland Rocks by Ian Hunter

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2003: Ohio by Over the Rhine

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On Scoop Ohio

Although the final debate is in progress during the publishing of this post, I decided to make it a clean sweep – thus I did not watch. Nonetheless, this post is about the information that you don’t hear.

As anyone tracking the U.S. presidential campaign knows, Ohio is one of the key battleground states. As the country 17th state and our 18 electoral votes, we (unfortunately) lead the country in campaign ads. Nonetheless, with all the campaign reports from Ohio, this post is about information you may not know.

Visiting Ohio is visiting the world: Amsterdam, Athens, Baltic, Berlin, Cadiz, Calcutta, Dresden, Dublin, Dunkirk, Geneva, Genoa, Holland, Lebanon, Lima, Lisbon, Milan, London, Macedonia, Moscow, Ontario, Poland, Seville, Sidney, Toledo, Venice, and Versailles

Visiting Ohio is visiting the UK: Dover, East Liverpool, Glouster, Guernsey, Kent, London, Oxford, and Sheffield

Visiting Ohio is visiting biblical sites: Bethel, Bethesda, Damascus, Delphos, Goshen, Pisgah, and Shiloh

Visiting Ohio is visiting the USA: Albany, Baltimore, Buffalo, Fresno, Louisville, Nevada, Oregon, Reno, Syracuse, Washington, and Wyoming

Visiting Ohio for its many new places: New Athens, New Boston, New Breman, New Carlisle, New Concord, New Lebanon, New Lexington, New London, New Madison, New Metamora, New Miami, New Middletown, New Paris, New Philadelphia, New Richmond, New Springfield, New Straitsville, New Vienna, New Washington, and New Waterford; then toss in Newark, Newburgh Heights, Newcomerstown, Newport, Newton Falls, and Newtown

Visiting Ohio to climb the mountain towns of Mt. Carmel, Mt. Gilead, Mt. Healthy, Mt. Orab, Mt. Repose, Mt. Sterling, and Mt. Vernon (of which many are flat)

Visiting Ohio for people names: Amanda, Amelia, Ashley, Beverly, Bevis, Bryan, Clyde, Dayton, Felicity, Franklin, Geneva, Harrison, Heath, Hiram, Jackson, Kent, Logan, Lucas, Mack, Marion, Mason, Perry, Randolph, Ross, Quincy, Shelby, Sidney, Spencer, Troy, Warren, Wayne, and Willard

Visiting Ohio with a pronouncing guide

• Berlin (BURR lin)
• Lancaster (LAN ca ster)
• Lebanon (LEB bun un)
• Lima (LIE muh)
• Milan (MY lund)
• Moscow (MOSS cow)
• Rio Grande (RYE o grand)
• Russia (RUE she)
• Toledo (toe LEE doe)
• Versailles (Vur SALES)
• Wooster (WUH ster)
• I let you try “Gnadenhutten”

Visiting Ohio to visit colorful towns starting with Blue, Red, White, Green, Black, Brown, Yellow, and Orange

I have been to Coolville, but never to Hicksville

I am from a county named after a man with the first name Return

Upper Sandusky is south and west of Sandusky

Some guys fall so in love they forget if they Dayton people from Eaton, or … I’ll let you figure out the rest

For more past posts about Ohio, click here or click Ohio under Category in the sidebar

Enjoy the song and slide show. (Although I see several visual mistakes)

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On the River

My sister-in-law was in town last weekend, and Friday was a beautiful day – so we took BB Riverboats‘ 2-hour sightseeing cruise on the Ohio River. Because my wife and I also had a similar trip in the summer, thought I would combine the images into a cruise on the Ohio River for everyone.

Because many other blogs are doing fall walks, let’s take a river cruise.  So, sit back and enjoy the sights … and if you like, join Guapo for a beer on the top deck.

Here, the Ohio River separates Ohio and Kentucky. Interestingly, Kentucky owns the river. Given this is a metropolitan area, numerous (I think 7) bridges exist.


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Not as prominent as the gold domes we saw in Russia, Cincinnatians are proud of the Roebling Suspension Bridge – the bridge serving as Mr. Roebling’s prototype for the famed Brooklyn Bridge.

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Ready for the Halloween season – It’s the USS Nightmare serving as the haunted boat on the Kentucky side!

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I grew up in a small town along the Ohio River, and river barges are a common sight – but this is a small one.

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After reversing course in order to return to the dock, I like this view of Mt. Adams with a peek of downtown.

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Downtown Cincinnati with the Serpentine Wall and one of the string of parks along the waterfront. This wall is the best seat for the Labor Day fireworks extravaganza known as Riverfest. Hey Guapo, 30 minutes of fireworks shot from the river choreographed to music … the waterfall from a bridge is my favorite.

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On this particular summer night, we returned to the dock to find our beloved Cincinnati Reds playing.

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Hope you enjoyed the cruise.

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On Pyramid Hill

I know – “Pyramid Hill” serves as a reminder to sing Blueberry Hill; thus, others are now fretting the appearance of Putin on the Ritz. Relax – not on this day because this post is about a local treasure that we recently discovered – meaning it was new to us.

Until last week, I never heard of Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park in Hamilton (a small city northwest of Cincinnati). A friend called and invited us to go with them to an art fair located on the park’s grounds, and then a few days later, I saw a post by a Cincinnati blogger about her visit. So, I went from not knowing about its existence to two mentions in a matter of days!

Remarkably, Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park is on private property while serving as an outdoor museum, thus it has an admission charge. Given 265 acres, sculptures, nature trails, and more – I imagine we’ll return. Plus, we’ve we have heard that they have a wonderful display of Christmas lights. Besides, we have more to see.

You asked for pics – and here they are – and from a nonphotographer.

The owner’s house

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The Gates by John Hokes

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Citizen by Walter Driesbach

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Extent by Clement Meadmore

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A wooden creation: Tory’s Comet by Harry Gordon

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An interesting tree house

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Adam’s First Breath by Sam McKinney

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This one caught our attention from a distance

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To our surprise, there’s something on the other side

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It’s Romeo (with a knife) and Juliet (with a vile) in Wherefore Art Thou by Sam McKinney (Thanks Sherry for permission to use this image)

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FYIs

• See Sherry’s (Travel Spirit) blog post for more pictures
• A video done by the park owner
• For more information, visit the Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park website

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