NINE GIANT – Pleasant Ridge

Bar Scene

NINE GIANT – Pleasant Ridge

April 28, 2020

PATTY MELT & BOURBON SMASH

Delving deeper into my love for food and the specialty drinks that restaurants provide here in Cincinnati; I decided to hit the internet and do a search for restaurants providing both during the pandemic. I stumbled across a few articles but when I read that Nine Giant offered a four pack of bourbon smash slushes then my choice was made.

THE EXPERIENCE

I had never eaten at Nine Giant before, so I was excited to try a new place. I decided on the Patty Melt (with no bread) because I’m trying to cut carbs right now due to the quarantine making it more comfortable to gain a couple of extra pounds. My date ordered the Heirloom BLT, and we both had decided that we were definitely into trying the Brussel Sprouts as the appetizer. When we arrived, we were able to park immediately out front of the restaurant and we walked in to find what’s considered the “normal” worker in a face mask and gloves. He was vey friendly and asked about our order, it was just a quick second when he said our order wasn’t up yet and he said if we wanted to wait in the car then he’d bring it out, so of course that’s what we did. My date and I waited in the car for about five minutes and then our friendly waiter brought our drinks out which looked insanely yummy! Then after about another five to ten minutes our food arrived, and we drove home.

THE SPECIALTY DRINK

The specialty drink was Nine Giant’s Bourbon Smash, which as I mentioned earlier looked insanely yummy. Nine Giant gives you the opportunity for them to “ice it up” for us and so that is the option that we chose. The slushes came in four separate plastic cups with lids with stickers over the straw holes (I guess to prevent people from drinking them in the car, or spillage, or both) and no straws. Did the stickers stop my date and I cheering for joy when he found an unused Wendy’s straw in his car? NO, no it didn’t! and while waiting on our food we proceeded to taste the drinks….shhh, don’t judge. Let me say first off that I am NOT a bourbon lover, too many Jim Beam and cokes when I was 16 making rounds at the house parties kind of ruined the flavor for me; however in the spirit of trying new things and limited restaurants offering cocktails the Bourbon Smash it was.

The bourbon Slush is made with Four roses bourbon, lemonade, iced tea and orange juice. My first thought was that this drink is going to be very sweet, but I was delighted to find out on the first sip that it wasn’t. Nine Giant provides a really good blend of the mix, and then the bourbon smooths the drink out and tones the sweetness down. At first I was mainly able to taste the sweet blend of the mix, but then when the drink hit the back of my mouth I really was able to taste the bourbon flavor which popped and mixed with the other flavors in my mouth. It was love at first sip and I was certainly excited to get these lovelies back to my house to finish them off.

THE FOOD

Back at the house and my date and I start unpacking our paper bags (which seems to be a weekly ritual now). The food was given to us in cardboard containers which held up well on the car ride home, but did really nothing to keep the food warm. I don’t live very far away from the restaurant so having to heat the food up in the microwave when we got home, wasn’t what I was expecting, but what can you do? First world problems, right!?

I had ordered the Patty Melt with no bread which looked a little disappointing compared to the monster of the BLT that was also ordered, and I immediately regretted my decision to keep my carb limit to a minimum. My Patty Melt was a lonely little meat patty with melted cheese on the top, a tiny amount of grilled onions on the top and the sauce in a disposable ramekin to the side. My date’s BLT was packed with tomato, thick cut crispy bacon, pesto & mayo on thick beautifully toasted Sourdough bread.

I first added the NG sauce to my burger, and as I cut into my 1/4lb angus burger patty, the juices of the well-done burger came flowing out. In my opinion, the burger was cooked wonderfully. The burger itself had a very slight crisp to the outside, and as I bit into the patty the savory taste of the burger paired with the cheese, the tangy creaminess of the NG sauce, along with the sweetness of the caramelized onions was amazing. To make this better, I think Nine Giant could put some more onions on the Patty Melt because the caramelized onions really intensified the other flavors going on.

Now that I have reviewed my lonely little burger patty, I know you are all wanting to know about the brilliant BLT that my date was lucky enough to eat for dinner. As it so happens, he was nice enough to offer up a small bite, and WOW! The pesto on the sandwich was utterly amazing and the thick-cut bacon was cooked to perfection. I’d say more about it, but then it will rob me the opportunity to eat one for myself and share it with you next time.

CONCLUSION

The overall experience with Nine Giant was a positive one; the service was friendly PPE was used. The wait wasn’t too bad, but certainly wasn’t as quick as Mazunte’s was last week. The Bourbon Smash Slushes were by far the best aspect of the restaurant experience, and I will certainly go back for them. The Patty Melt was very good, but not exceptional. This may be because I got the sandwich without the bread, and my lesson has been learned – Date nights are non-diet nights, especially if I’m going to write about it! I can tell you one thing I know for sure though, I’m coming for that BLT because WOW!

Overall Score: 🍸🍸🍸🍸

NINE GIANT – Pleasant Ridge

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