Zula

Cincinnati’s Washington Park got a huge makeover last year and now businesses are popping up all around it.  One of those businesses is Zula Restaurant and Wine Bar.  My family came in town for my birthday and we decided to give it at try.

Zula-Specials-MenuI started with a glass of wine while I looked over the menu.

Wine-at-ZulaWe started with Marcona almonds.

Marcona-AlmondsThe almonds were mild with a hint of sweetness.  They paired nicely with my wine.

We decided to order a couple of dishes for the table and share them.  I love doing this because then I get to try some of everything!  We ordered one of the special flatbreads of the evening: Caramelized Vidalia Onion.

Caramelized-Vadilia-Onioin-FlatbreadThe flatbread had danish blue and mozzarella cheeses, walnuts, and a balsamic reduction.  Yum!  I really liked the dough.  It was light and chewy.  The blue cheese was tart and delicious with crunchy walnuts.

Zula has a mussel bar section on their menu with lots of tempting steaming pots of mussels.

Mussels-at-Zula

We had the Thai mussels with coconut milk, fish sauce, lemon grass, ginger, tum-yum broth, and Thai basil.

Thai-Mussels-at-ZulaWe also had the New Orleans mussels with a gumbo sauce, shrimp, and andouille sausage.

New-Orleans-MusselsI really liked the contrast between the two mussel pots. The Thai mussels were sweet with hints of citrus and while the New Orleans mussels were obviously spicy with a little kick.

We also had a side of hand cut fries with our mussels.

Hand-Cut-FriesI didn’t really have many fries because the mussels were so good!

Dessert is a must have at Zula.  I loved both dishes!  We had the chocolate walnut kaluha brownie with caramel gelato.

Chocolate-Walnut-Kaluha-BrownieThe brownie was super chocolaty and I loved the rasphberry sauce on the side.  We also ordered a ricotta cake with berries.

Ricotta-cakeIt was sweet, light, and a perfect way to end the meal.

I definitely am going back to Zula.  There were so many things on the menu I still want to try!  I recommend trying the flatbreads, mussels, and desserts!

How do you like your mussels?

I like my mussels spicy!

 

 

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