Dayton food editor’s picks: Natalie Jones’ most mouth-watering dining articles

Jollity is located at 127 E. Third St. in Dayton (PHOTO COURTESY: COLE CARPENTER).

Jollity is located at 127 E. Third St. in Dayton (PHOTO COURTESY: COLE CARPENTER).

What’s harder than being a food and dining writer for the Dayton Daily News? Being her editor.

Okay, not really ... Natalie Jones is out there every day visiting Miami Valley restaurants and businesses to bring us all the information on what’s opening, closing, offering new dishes and changing up the menus. I’m just behind the computer ready to read and publish it.

In the past 2-3 months, Natalie has been producing a lot of content around new places to try and what the local chefs are making. Here are those that stood out ... you can practically smell the food photos.

Greek Street

Natalie reports Greek Street in Centerville offers local craft beer, Greek beer, single pour wines and half bottles or full bottles of Greek wine. The signature cocktail is the Santorini Sunrise featuring fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, blood orange vodka, campari, simple syrup and mint. Take a look one of the photos Natalie shot while visiting this eatery:

Greek Street is located at 101 E. Alex Bell Road Suite 186 in Centerville. NATALIE JONES/STAFF

Credit: Natalie Jones

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Credit: Natalie Jones

Click here to read more about Greek Street, which is located at 101 E. Alex Bell Road Suite 186 in the Cross Pointe Shopping Center.

Tokyo Grill & Sushi Buffet

This is an all-you-can-eat sushi bar and hibachi grill in Beavercreek near the main entrance of The Mall at Fairfield Commons. From Natalie’s story: Customers start by choosing ingredients such as vegetables and meats to build their own hibachi bowl. While the chef cooks the dish, customers may get items from the sushi bar and hot bar. The sushi bar includes many different types of rolls including a fried spicy salmon roll, fried chicken roll, California roll, spicy tuna roll, dragon roll and avocado roll. The hot bar includes spring rolls, crab rangoon and other fried foods, in addition to gyoza, honey chicken, General Tso chicken, BBQ beef, stuffed mushrooms and much more.

Here’s a photo that made me need to check this place out:

Tokyo Grill & Sushi Buffet, an all-you-can-eat sushi bar and hibachi grill, is open in Beavercreek near the main entrance of The Mall at Fairfield Commons. NATALIE JONES/STAFF

Credit: Natalie Jones

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Credit: Natalie Jones

Natalie has a cool job, plain and simple. Another Tokyo Grill photo:

Tokyo Grill & Sushi Buffet, an all-you-can-eat sushi bar and hibachi grill, is open in Beavercreek near the main entrance of The Mall at Fairfield Commons. NATALIE JONES/STAFF

Credit: Natalie Jones

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Credit: Natalie Jones

You can read more about this place here.

Hello Thai

Also located in Beavercreek, Hello Thai is operated by Suwapat “Sue” Whitted, the owner of Thai Kitchen in Miami Twp. and Thai Table in Washington Twp., along with her sushi chef, Saard “Art” Sabsombat. It has a family-friendly, casual atmosphere with a full bar.

In her article, Natalie made four food recommendations for diners at Hello Thai. Check that out here.

ajc.com

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The photo shows The Shimmy Crispy Roll, which features shrimp tempura, cream cheese, avocado, carrot, masago and scallion topped with spicy mayo and eel sauce.

Smales Pretzel Bakery

Natalie went to Smales Pretzel Bakery on Valentine’s Day, when the business is super busy making heart-shaped pretzels. She joined them in making some (there’s a video on the Dayton Daily News TikTok page). It is located at 210 Xenia Ave. in Dayton.

It would not be Valentine's Day without heart shaped pretzels from Smales Pretzel Bakery, in Dayton. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

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Natlie’s article says the pretzels go into a 1960s oven that turns in a circle. After eight minutes, they are done. Read more here.

Tom & Dot’s Gelato Shop

Here’s my problem: I. Love. Gelato. So when Natalie submitted this story for publication, I knew I was in trouble. But it wasn’t what I thought: Tom & Dot’s Gelato Shop is now serving lunch, selling sandwiches and daily soups. And that’s what is revealed in Natalie’s photo:

Tom & Dot’s Gelato Shop in downtown Miamisburg has added lunch service 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday featuring sandwiches and daily soups. NATALIE JONES/STAFF

Credit: Natalie Jones

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Credit: Natalie Jones

The Miamisburg eatery is family-run and it has six sandwiches on the menu. It also features a large variety of rotating gelato and sorbetto flavors sourced from Villa Dolce, a company based out of Italy with a headquarters in Arizona. Read more.

Jollity

Natalie reports that Jollity, located in Dayton’s Fire Blocks District, revamped its menu at the beginning of 2024, bringing it back to the restaurant’s original intention of offering small, sharable plates. Chef Zackary Weiner, who owns the restaurant with chef Brendon Miller, said that was always the intention.

The menu features three sections with eight to 10 vegetable plates, five to seven meat plates and five to seven fish plates. Portions are smaller than what was previously offered, but this change is reflective in the price.

Jollity is located at 127 E. Third St. in Dayton (PHOTO COURTESY: COLE CARPENTER).

Credit: Cole Carpenter

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Credit: Cole Carpenter

Jollity is located at 127 E. Third St. in Dayton. Click here to read more about it.

Tastemakers: Dayton Daily News dining

Natalie has been behind the scenes in the kitchens of local restaurants, talking with chefs and learning what they do. Check out some of her latest “Tastemakers” features:

Butter Cafe owner shares recipe for Irish Farmer’s Omelette

Dayton’s Salt Block Biscuit Company owner has small town roots

Lily’s Dayton executive chef’s deviled eggs are tested by other chefs

Val’s Bakery grows in Dayton: ‘I’ve always wanted to be downtown’


Contact us

If you are a chef or food business owner who wants Natalie to consider writing about your business, email her at natalie.jones@coxinc.com.

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