Christopher’s vast menu offers something for everyone, including soups, sandwiches, pastas, fish, grilled entrees and vegetarian dishes.  It is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 to 9 for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Several of their ingredients are natural or organic and the best part is all the food is homemade. 

Popular items on their menu include lasagna, the salmon fillet dinner, spaghetti, pot roast stew and vegetarian chili.  Their ever-changing menu also offers monthly specials.  The cabbage rolls, a favorite of many patrons, are offered as a special every Monday evening.  They are so popular they sell out most nights. 

Not feeling very hungry?  Not a problem. Christopher’s also offers an “On the Lighter Side” menu that features a select few items from their regular menu but half the size.  Some include smaller portions of lasagna, pot roast stew, chicken and noodles, spaghetti, and a ground beef hamburger.

The chicken and noodles is my personal favorite meal.  The dish includes hearty chunks of chicken mixed with carrots, celery and thick homemade noodles coated in a heavy broth served over mashed potatoes. 

Their most famous dessert item on the menu may be the carrot cake.  Considered to be the restaurant’s “specialty,” for only $3.25 you receive a huge slice of moist cake filled with finely shredded carrots and topped with mouth-watering cream cheese icing.  If you aren’t in the mood for carrot cake, they have numerous selections of delectable desserts including brownies, pies, cheesecake, sundaes and cobblers.  

The atmosphere at Christopher’s has a cozy and homey feel.  The restaurant is fairly small but features live plants, beautiful artwork from local artists, and even mismatched chairs at the tables to make customers feel more at home and laid-back. The restaurant does not serve alcohol, making it a great place for families to dine.  The restaurant provides a children’s menu with crayons to occupy the kids.  Some kid-friendly entrees include grilled cheese, spaghetti, a chef salad and chicken fingers.

The staff is very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the menu.  They go out of their way to make sure the customers are satisfied with their meal. 

Next time you’re out and about, it is definitely worth a stop to eat at this locally owned restaurant.

To see Christopher’s menu, click HERE.

Many people disagree on who has the best coffee, so I journeyed to some of the local shops to determine who has the best coffee.

Starbucks, Saxby’s, Boston Stoker, Caribou Coffee and Central Perc European Café have established themselves in the Dayton area and compete daily for customers and ratings. Each of these shops receives its own special blend of coffee by mail so that customers know they’ll get the same fine brew each time they visit. I went to each of these shops and purchased their small house coffee with cream and sugar, then compared taste, price and store atmosphere.

Saxby’s

My first stop was Saxby’s, located at 4425 Feedwire Road in Centerville. I walked in and was immediately impressed with the store’s layout. Customers were reading, chatting to one another, surfing the web, and most importantly, drinking coffee. The store also had a variety of pastries that looked delicious.

I purchased my coffee for $1.75 and sat down at one of the comfortable couches in the lobby area. I took my first sip and was surprised: the coffee was much better than I had heard. It was strong, but sweet at the same time. It also had a very unique taste, unlike any coffee I had had from a shop before.

“I like Saxby’s. The taste is great and I love to go with my mom to enjoy mother-daughter time,” says sophomore Marie Zimmerman. “I don’t get the house coffee; I get a caramel macchiato, just a sweet drink to start off the day.”

Caribou Coffee

My second destination of the day was the Caribou Coffee at 5839 Far Hills Ave., just south of Kettering. I entered the shop and was impressed by the cleanliness and the wonderful smell of fresh-brewed coffee. Although the shop didn’t have many people in it, the customers looked happy; most of them were reading and some were listening to music.

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I ordered my coffee for $1.79 and I got it right away due to the excellent service. I took my first sip of Caribou Coffee and I was stunned. The taste was outstanding. It was the sweet delicious treat that I had been searching for. I had no idea why I had never tried it before.

Some people aren’t fans, though. “I think it’s too sweet. I like my coffee strong and with a bitter after-taste,” said senior Tyler Cornett. “I’m just not a fan.”

Boston Stoker

My third destination was Boston Stoker. After a long day of searching for coffee, I didn’t have the gas money to go all the way downtown to the shop in Dayton. Instead, I went to the Boston Stoker inside the Dorothy Lane Market at 2710 Far Hills Ave., in Oakwood. I walked inside and the shop was very small, almost like a Boston Stoker kiosk. There were no places to sit, so when I ordered my coffee, I drank it standing up while my mother got groceries.

I wasn’t a huge fan; the coffee was cold, extremely bitter and pretty expensive. I got an 8-ounce cup and it was $1.99.

“I love Boston Stoker. I love bitter coffee. It’s just good stuff,” said Cornett.

Some people don’t like the bitterness as much as Cornett. “I’m not a fan. I like sweet coffee, almost like a desert,” said Oakwood sophomore Joel Thompson. “The coffee is just too bitter for me. I have always drank sweet coffee because my mom is like that. It’s just the way I was raised, I guess.”

Central Perc European Café

My next stop was Central Perc European Café, and I didn’t have far to travel since it was just down the street at 2315 Far Hills Ave.This shop is more of a hole-in-the-wall shop because it isn’t a chain like the rest of the coffee places. I walked in and it was completely empty. Only one employee worked at the store, but I still got my coffee. I wasn’t impressed with the $1.99 I paid for an 8-ounce cup. The coffee tasted like it had been sitting in the pot all day, and it wasn’t hot. It also didn’t have a very good taste. It was very bland, possibly even stale. I left Central Perc feeling bitter without any “perk.”

Starbucks

My final destination was Starbucks: the worldwide coffee chain, the McDonald’s of coffee. The shop at2424 Far Hills Ave. is almost across the street from Central Perc.  It was crowded when I walked in, which didn’t really surprise me, knowing how popular the chain is. Finally, I reached the front of the line after waiting about five minutes, and I ordered my coffee for $1.75. Starbucks was tied in the competition for lowest price with Saxby’s.

The employees were very nice and gave me what I ordered quickly. Once I had my coffee, I sat down and took a sip and finally realized why Starbucks was so popular. The coffee was outstanding. It was freshly brewed, had great taste and was exactly what I wanted. The taste was sweet, almost like candy. Yet it had the bitterness that coffee should have.

“Starbucks is heaven in a cup,” says Thompson. “It’s easily the best coffee shop in America.”

After my experience as a judge for the coffee shop competition, I needed to be peeled off the wall from all of the caffeine. I understand everyone has a different taste for coffee, but my taste buds love Starbucks.

Doubleday’s gets its pizzas at a cool pizzeria next door called Monster Pizza. These pies have terrifying yet tasty names such as Cheesezilla (cheese pizza) and Tell Tale Heart (a pizza with artichoke hearts). They offer 16 types altogether with sizes ranging from personal to large. Prices go from $6 up to $18.49, depending on the size and toppings.

Doubleday’s prices are worth it when you see the portions they give you. This is not one of those trendy restaurants where they give you a plate with a spoonful of food on it. The most expensive item on the menu is the $19.99 New York Strip Steak (12 oz.), which includes one side and your choice of soup or a salad. If you still have room after that, they offer some awesome desserts. One in particular, the delicious Monster Cookie Sundae, is one of my favorites. You can choose either a chocolate chip cookie or a brownie that serves as the platform for vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. If fudge isn’t your thing, they also have a Snicker doodle option. Cinnamon ice cream, caramel, and extra cinnamon top that type of cookie. All of these warm and scrumptious treats come with whipped cream on top.

As for the atmosphere, it has a sporty feel to it. Televisions display sports and news programs and sporty knick-knacks fill the walls. You should definitely check out this restaurant next time your family is wondering where to go for a delicious meal.

Between the diversity of the food, the exquisite quality of the food and how extremely unique the concept is, BD’s Mongolian Grill, located at The Greene in Beavercreek, will keep you coming back time after time.

BD’s is sort of a buffet, meaning you get to go up to a long line of deliciousness and get whatever food you want. The buffet features three stations — one each for noodles and meat, vegetables and the ever-important sauces, and at this point the food is raw. You can put whatever you want into one bowl all for the same price. Then you approach the cooking station, where they stir-fry your meal in about a minute.

To help become more prepared for this experience, I’ve put together an outline of what I usually do at BD’s.

When I arrive, the waiter will ask if I’ve been here before, and then I become grossly upset that he doesn’t recognize me.

I walk up, grab a bowl and my mouth begins to water. At the first station, I begin by putting noodles in my bowl that make it appear to be full, but believe me, this is an optical illusion, there’s plenty of room.

Then, while still at the first station, I add meat (typically chicken, some type of steak, and whatever adventurous third type I want) to my bowl. The more the merrier when it comes to meat in this case. By the time I get done with this stage, I should have a mountain of meat on top of my bowl.

Next, the tricky part: vegetables. To balance out the meal, vegetables are a necessity, but putting them on top of everything is tough. So between finding a crevice to put broccoli in or just dumping everything on and seeing what sticks, the vegetables stage takes the most time. In addition to the broccoli, baby corn, carrots and potatoes are among my favorites.

Then, I take the black cup and fill it with my favorite sauce until it is overflowing. I typically get Kung Pao and load it up in a cup. All of the effort I have expended is worth it. Also, an adventurous choice is to include jalapenos for an extra kick.

The last thing I do is walk to the chefs, who begin to cook my food in front of me … I repeat, MAKE MY FOOD IN FRONT OF ME. They stir-fry it right there, while you watch in awe as they joke around, pull off cool tricks and prepare your meal to perfection.

People try to say that it isn’t a good value, but for just an extra $3, you can have as many bowls as you want and even some to take home. (But, if you go there enough, you probably know that one bowl should last you about three days.)

Once you have tasted the amazing sizzle of BD’s, you’ll go back time after time and curse every other restaurant on the planet.

This restaurant is great for any Saturday night date, a night out with friends or even a quiet night alone. BD’s Mongolian Grill is as close to perfection as perfection gets.