Having a summer lunch with my nephew, we wanted to check out somewhere kinda funky – he appreciates different food!  In the new Summit Park in Blue Ash (a Cincinnati suburb) Senate opened a new spot.  Now my nephew had been to the downtown OTR location, but this was my first time at either location.  The new store is a beautiful spot with tons of seating, indoor and out.  There’s tables, bar seats, banquets and a private room for meetings.  It’s open, bright and looks out onto the new park so it was a perfect setting for sports talk and mowing down some serious food!

Senate is known for their gourmet hot dog combinations, but the menu has a wonderful selection of salads, shareable plates and sandwiches.  There’s also a great beer, wine and craft cocktail menu, but we settled on a few sodas while we looked over the ridiculous combinations.  My nephew ordered the Korean – an all-beef hot dog on brioche bun covered with homemade kimchi, short rib, pickled cucumbers and sesame seeds.  The thing was huge and looked amazing!  He devoured it and I honestly don’t know where he put it all!

I settled on the Trailer Park – all-beef hot dog on brioche bun with bacon, american cheese, cole slaw and crushed Grippos BBQ potato chips (btw, they’re the best EVER!).  The flavor and texture combination was amazing, although you need to unhinge your jaws to get your mouth around it all!  Now, there’s a few selections of sides, including duck fat fries.  We figured it was a “guys lunch” though so we went a little nuts and split the poutine.  Duck fat fries are smothered in cheese curds, braised short rib and gravy.  They could just lay that plate on the table and drop the mic – they were the richest, potato-iest, gooiest pile of heaven you’ll ever eat.  We couldn’t even finish them and we both wanted to cry.

Great service, perfect execution and a beautiful new store made this a really great afternoon with my buddy.  I highly recommend checking out any of their locations, but Blue Ash is a tough location to beat for atmosphere.  We are already planning our next trip for lunch or to dig into the Sunday brunch menu.  Stop by and have a pint and a dog, you’ll be hooked!  Find out more by visiting senatepub.com.  Dig in!