FOOD & DRINK

FOOD

& DRINK

Pampas’ main dining room

PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

A Taste of Argentina in O’Bryonville

Housed in the former Eighth & English space, Argentine gastropub Pampas serves a rustic, gaucho-inspired menu in a beautifully decorated dining room

REVIEW BY PAMA MITCHELL

Iexperienced a jumble of emotions when I noticed the “now open” signage on a familiar brick building along Madison Road in O’Bryonville: happiness and relief that the space had been revitalized, mixed with trepidation that yet another set of hopeful restaurateurs was taking a chance on a location that I’d come to think of as the place where good restaurants go to die.

Extreme as that may sound, the address — 2038 Madison Road — has proven untenable for at least two pretty wonderful establishments: Enoteca Emilia and Eighth & English. Will this new venture, Pampas, described as an Argentine gastropub and owned by Ignite Entertainment, find a formula for success that has eluded others?

It could be helpful that the new owners have purchased the building instead of leasing it and have created a fascinating space with so much to look at on the walls, counters, stairways and cubby holes. They’ve also acquired the property next door that has gone through a few restaurant iterations of its own.

Another hopeful factor is experience in the Cincinnati restaurant market. Among other local dining and drinking establishments, Ignite Entertainment is the parent company of downtown’s Butcher and Barrel and Over-theRhine’s Che — both with menus that emphasize traditional, meat-oriented Argentine cuisine — and now Pampas, which brings this style of cooking to a slightly more suburban neighborhood.

There are distinctions among the three Ignite restaurants that go beyond location, though. Che is the most casual, focusing on a variety of empanadas. The more upscale Butcher and Barrel features grilled meats in a style called parrillada, which mixes several

FROM PAGE 25

different meats in one serving.

Pampas, the newest restaurant, draws on Ignite Entertainment owner Juan Imeroni’s interactions with farmers and gauchos — those whom we might call cowboys — during the summers he spent at his grandfather’s home in the grass and farmlands, or pampas, of Argentina. Here the food is more rustic.

Pampas has a short menu, with three appetizers (plus a charcuterie option), two salads, four entrees and a soup. Because Argentine food tends to be meat-oriented, vegetarians will find very few options here. You can at least avoid red meat at Pampas, if you are so inclined, but then you’d miss what the cuisine — and this restaurant — does best.

While you decide, you might want to enjoy one of the seven house cocktails. El Gaucho Del Camino ($14) starts with rye whiskey and mixes it with ancho chile liqueur, lime and simple syrup. The Blackberry Kentucky Mule ($12) — bourbon, ginger beer, blackberry simple and fresh lime served over crushed ice — was so delicious that my friend ordered them all through the meal and said he would come back again just for that drink. Other cocktails based on gin, Aperol, wine or vodka should please the non-whiskey drinker.

I’ve dined at Pampas twice and for the most part passed on the appetizers. But I did try — and like — Provoleta ($10), an uncomplicated dish of baked provolone cheese seasoned with fennel and chile. If you ask (we did), the team will bring toast crisps to go with the melty cheese. Another popular app, according to our server, is Pampas Fritas ($14), house fries all gussied up with smoked cheese curds, lamb gravy and chimichurri. There are mussels ($14) with bacon, anchovies and cream along with grilled bread; worth a try on a subsequent visit, I thought.

Both salads ($10 each) sounded appealing: pear and arugula or spinach and beets. They had terrific lists of additional ingredients, from crispy ham with whipped goat cheese and spiced pecans on the arugula to smoked grapes and grilled onions in the spinach salad.

Because there are only four items listed as main courses, you would expect each of them to be carefully assembled and represent the best the kitchen has to offer. But in our experience, just two lived up to that expectation. One of the hits was a burger, listed as Hamburguesa Wagyu ($18), crafted from high-end wagyu beef and enhanced by bacon, grilled onion, provolone and smoked garlic. It had a charcoal-grilled flavor that was quite appealing.

We also appreciated the dish called El Bife ($32), marinated skirt steak over house fries with a delightfully savory sauce based on mushrooms, chimichurri and housemade steak sauce. El Pollo ($26) featured roasted chunks of dark and white meat chicken with a mélange of vegetables that tended more toward starch than greens; unfortunately, the chicken came out overcooked. (When I mentioned that to the manager, she took the dish off our bill, a nice gesture.)

El Pescado ($26) sounded enticing: salmon over Israeli couscous with olives, piquillo peppers and vermouth beurre blanc. One of my companions ordered this dish each of the two times I was there, and each time it tasted bland.

Pampas has a decent wine list that brings a variety of Argentine wines to diners’ attention, including a couple by the glass. Two or three desserts are available most nights, and the menu descriptions attracted us to try Dulce de Leche Cheesecake as well as Torta de Chocolate Salado.

Given the tribulations that the restaurant industry is experiencing with staffing — both front of house and kitchen — I found the service here to be seamless, with just the right amount of attention and responsiveness to our requests.

Staffers say the restaurant group may be expanding again soon with still another Argentine-Italian concept. In the meantime, Chef Nicholas Hendrix will have his chance to keep the dining room filled at this pleasant and beautifully decorated space.

Pampas Fritas

PHOTO: HAILEY BOLLINGER

Pampas, 2038 Madison Road, O’Bryonville, pampascincinnati.com

THE DISH Bee’s Barbecue Causes a Buzz in Madisonville

BY BRYN DIPPOLD

Walk up to Bee’s Barbecue on Chandler Street in Madisonville, and you won’t have to wonder why it has sold out every day since opening on April 17.

Bee’s outside patio is reminiscent of a classic barbecue joint, with a smoker and picnic tables. Upon entry, you’ll be greeted by bumble-bee-inspired decor. The restaurant’s namesake, Brendan “Bee” Hague, can usually be found in the kitchen.

“They don’t let me in the front of the shop because I’ll just talk to everybody,” Hague says with a laugh. “I gotta stay in the back and slice all the meat.”

Hague grew up in Madisonville, just 10 blocks from where Bee’s Barbecue is now located. As a kid, he would ride his bike to the nearby catering location of the now-closed Barbecue Review and get pulled-pork sandwiches. That experience — and those sandwiches — prompted a lifelong love for barbecue, he says.

Before Bee’s, Hague was a bartender at MadTree Brewing when he started getting the itch to barbecue.

“My now-wife loves hosting,” Hague says. “And we’d have these gettogethers and parties at the house. I started fooling around with smoking meats in big batches and people were like, ‘Man, this is really good.’ ”

In 2017, he obtained the LLC for Bee’s Barbecue, found a smoker trailer and began pop-up barbecue events, including at Oakley Wines and the nowdefunct Dutch’s Larder in Hyde Park.

“They would close their kitchen at 4 p.m. on Sundays,” Hague says of Dutch’s. “The bar would stay open, and typically I’d show up at 5 p.m. and set up and we’d sell barbecue. It got really popular there. By the end of it, there was a line down the street.”

Hague also catered for about two years and saw success.

But, from the beginning, he knew he wanted a brick-and-mortar location.

In 2019, he found the storefront on Chandler Street — previously home to Jojo’s Chicken & Fish, a pizzeria and a candy shop — and has been paying rent on the space ever since.

Hague’s original plan was to open in early 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit that March, closing restaurants, schools and businesses. Hague was unable to do pop-ups as Bee’s Barbecue, so he paid out-of-pocket for his shop all of last year.

But every day since he finally opened, Bee’s has sold out completely. The shop is open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, unless they run out of barbecue earlier.

“The quickest (we sold out) was during the first week, by 1:30 p.m.,” Hague says.

With its “Porkopolis” moniker and litany of pig statues, Cincinnati has its fair share of barbecue places. Alabama Que on Short Vine has mouthwatering turkey tips; Lucius Q has signature sandwiches, meat platters and live music; Eli’s BBQ is a Cincinnati institution with outdoor seating and unique sides; and don’t forget the iconic Montgomery Inn. It can be hard to differentiate yourself as a new barbecue joint, but Hague has a certain mentality that he thinks sets him apart.

“We make it fresh every day,” he says. “And we don’t sell yesterday’s barbecue. We won’t do that. We open at 11 a.m., sell it until it’s gone and then get ready for the next day. To me, barbecue has a life and needs to be treated as such.”

For Bee’s Barbecue newbies, Hague recommends the brisket — which is smoked for 12 to 15 hours — as a starting point. Bee’s also offers pulled pork, turkey breast, Cincinnati hot links, ribs and black pepper Lockhart, which consists of coarsely ground Avril-Bleh Meat Market & Deli beef brisket and pork sausage with a black pepper kick; the dish pays homage to Lockhart, the barbecue capital of Texas. All menu items may rotate seasonally.

Bee’s also offers sandwiches, such as brisket, pulled pork, turkey breast and sausage, along with The Bee Sting, which is pulled pork topped with coleslaw, Bar-B-Q Grippo’s and Bee’s hot sauce. Sides include creamy shells and cheese, collard greens, coleslaw and sticky barbecue beans, which include bits of briskets. Bee’s also offers a few desserts, like banana pudding and bourbon peach cobbler.

Hague gets a majority of his ingredients from Findlay Market and AvrilBleh, continuing relationships that he created early on with Bee’s Barbecue.

“We really care about sourcing from local purveyors as best as we can,” Hague says. “I didn’t want to end (the) relationship (with vendors) because we’re busier and it was more convenient to go with someone else. We worked out with Mackie’s down in Findlay Market so that I come down once a week and they come up once a week. I just told them that I didn’t want to break up.”

Much of Hague’s successful partnerships are credited to his personality.

“I take care of my relationships and my friendships,” Hague says. “And I think that’s important.”

As for an end goal, Hague says he hopes to “make it through this week.”

“I want to sustain a really nice quality product,” he says. “I want to be involved with the community that I grew up in. And feed the people that live there. There’s room for growth, but we’re gonna do it at our speed. On our terms.”

Bee’s Barbecue, 5910 Chandler St., Madisonville, beesbarbecue.com

Bee’s sandwiches range from brisket to turkey breast to The Bee Sting: pulled pork topped with coleslaw, Bar-B-Q Grippo’s and hot sauce.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY BEE’S BARBECUE

342 Ludlow Ave Clifton

Restaurant Open Wed-Fri 4PM Sat-Sun 11am

We're back and ready to Roll

7/8 Tiffany 7/9 Kofi Baker's Pyschedelic Trip 7/10 Atlanta Rhythm Section 7/16 Live at the Fillmore 7/17 Sabbath 7/24 Pat Travers Band 8/7 EmiSunshine 8/13 Larry Carlton 8/14 The Classic Rock Experience 8/19 Marc Cohn 8/20 Emmaline 8/21 Average White Band 8/27 Pablo Cruise 8/28 Corky Laing Plays Mountain 9/3 Let's Groove Tonight 9/4 Legendary Wailers 9/9 Booker T Jones 9/10 Kim & Kayla Waters 9/11 David Cook 9/16 Justin Hayward 9/18 Son Volt 9/19 Jordy Searcy 9/24 Frank Marino & Mahagony Rush 9/25 Frank Marino & Mahagony Rush 9/30 Albert Cummings 10/1 Pure Prairie League 10/2 David Sanborn 10/7 New Power Generation 10/8 David Bromberg LudlowGarageCincinnati.com

10/9 10/10 10/13 10/14 10/15 10/16 10/17 10/19 10/21 10/22 10/23 10/27 10/30 11/4 11/12 11/13 11/18 11/19 11/20 11/21 11/26

12/3 12/4 12/9 12/10 12/16 12/17 3/22 3/24

Kashmir Chris Renzema Josh Kelley Brand X Hiroshima Cowboy Junkies Jimmie Vaughan Leonid & Friends Eaglemania A Flock of Seagulls Acoustic Alchemy Yasmin Williams Peabo Bryson Ginger Billy Spyro Gyra Special EFX Edwin McCain Shovels & Ropes Broken Arrow The Weight Band Freekbass Presents: Funksgiving 2021 George Winston Peter White Christmas Hot Tuna - David Grisman Peter Noone Jon McLaughlin Rumors Wishbone Ash Red Hot Chili Pipers