Newsletter: Pancakes and waffles and sharable plates, oh my! 🍴

If you haven’t tried Huey Magoo’s Chicken Tenders, it’s a must! Last week I tried it for the first time and I loved it! I would say it falls into my top three favorite fast-casual chicken restaurants, which includes Bojangles and Lee’s. I will admit it kicked out Popeyes.

I had the three piece hand-breaded chicken tenders, crinkle-cut fries and Texas Toast with a side of Magoo’s dip and sweet heat sauce. The sweet heat sauce really brings the heat, so I do not think I would get my tenders sauced, but a side of it works perfect.

Huey Magoo’s is located at 9196 N. Main St. in Englewood and 6230 Far Hills Ave. in Centerville.

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Blue Berry Cafe has big plans

The Blue Berry Cafe, known as a Bellbrook staple, is opening a second location in the former space of the Golden Nugget Pancake House at 2932 S. Dixie Drive in Kettering, according to a press release from Winsupply Inc., the property owner.

The restaurant is expected to open in the coming months, the release said.

This news comes a day after the Blue Berry Cafe announced in a Facebook post that they are closing their doors at 72 Bellbrook Plaza after business on Friday, Jan. 19.

The restaurant’s long-term lease ended Dec. 31 and they need to vacate the space by Jan. 31, the post said.

The Blue Berry Cafe also has plans to move to 129 W. Franklin St. in downtown Bellbrook across from Dots Market. In April 2023, Andary said they were relocating in order to ensure a better experience for their staff and customers.

“We’re excited to maintain our presence in Bellbrook while embarking on this new journey in Kettering,” said Kelley Andary and Ray Jean, owners of the Blue Berry Cafe.

In the meantime, the Blue Berry Cafe is expanding its hours at their current location to 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.

Taste of Belgium to open second location in Dayton region

Credit: Natalie Jones

Credit: Natalie Jones

Taste of Belgium is coming soon to the former location of Bar Louie next to Park Grille & Bar at Austin Landing in Miami Twp.

Founder and CEO Jean-François Flechet said they hope to open the Austin Landing bistro within the next 60 days.

The Cincinnati-based restaurant is best known for its waffles and brunch, but they also have a dinner menu, specialty cocktails and an extensive beer list.

In June 2023, Taste of Belgium expanded to the Dayton region with its first location at The Greene in Beavercreek.

The new Austin Landing bistro will be about 20 percent larger than the bistro at The Greene with seating inside for 140 people and an 80-seat patio, Flechet said.

Downtown Dayton restaurant changes up menu to offer shareable plates

Credit: Cole Carpenter

Credit: Cole Carpenter

Jollity, located in Dayton’s Fire Blocks District, is relaunching its menu today and bringing it back to the restaurant’s original intention of offering small, sharable plates.

During the pandemic, people were not sharing food, so the owners decided to offer large, entree-style dishes.

The new menu will feature three sections with eight to 10 vegetable plates, five to seven meat plates and five to seven fish plates. Portions will be smaller than what was previously offered, but this change is reflective in the price, said chef Zackary Weiner, who owns the restaurant with chef Brendon Miller.

“Our mission has always been to get people to try as many things as possible and I think that’s a little harder if the price point is a little higher,” Weiner said.

With the new menu, he encourages guests to order three to five plates to share.

The restaurant, located at 127 E. Third St., is open 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Koji Burger lunch service takes place 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Quick Bites:

🧋 Bubble Tea Shop coming to The Greene: Yumi Boba Tea is planning to open a third location at The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek in spring 2024.

🍔 Burger King reopens in Beavercreek: After nearly six months, the Burger King restaurant at 4380 Indian Ripple Road across from The Greene Town Center has reopened under a new franchisee. The restaurant had temporarily closed its doors in July for roof repairs.

🍸 New downtown Dayton lounge to open this weekend: The Reserve on Third, a new lounge at 452 E. Third St., is holding a grand opening on Saturday. Click here to read more.

Ann Heller’s favorite recipes: African Nut Soup

Ann Heller’s career at the Dayton Daily News writing about food and restaurants spanned three decades. She also published two cookbooks including “The Best of It’s Simple!’’

“I’ve had enough bad peanut soups so I didn’t order it when The Winds restaurant in Yellow Springs put it on the menu, under the name African groundnut soup. Fortunately, someone at my table did,” Heller wrote. “This soup, created by owner M.K. Smith, is in a league by itself. Despite the name, it had accents of the Orient. It’s a rich soup that should be served as a first course.”

Ingredients:

Directions: In a 2-quart saucepan, heat the butter and sesame oil over a low flame. Add the garlic, ginger root, green onion and cook, stirring over low heat for 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the mushrooms. Sauté for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle the flour over. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan, for 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in the simmering stock.

Place the peanut butter in a bowl and whisk in the heated half and half, first making a paste and adding the liquid gradually. Pour the mixture into the saucepan of soup. Stir well and season with soy sauce and fresh ground pepper.

If using canned chicken stock, taste the soup before seasoning with soy sauce as tinned broth may be very salty. If using salted peanut butter, reduce soy sauce seasoning. Makes six servings.

Note: Heating the half and half makes it easier to incorporate with the peanut butter.

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.

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