Venice on Vine is Your Metaphorical Cheddar

"Good food for a good cause," that is the motto of Venice on Vine. Like Cincinnati Cooks!, Venice on Vine is an instructional food service operation, a place where people who want to turn their lives around can learn marketable job skills.

It's a cool little place on the corner of 13th and Vine:

nice retro/mod vibe and fresh flowers to boot

I got a Venice pizza years ago when it was in a different location that pretty much nobody knew about. I only found out about it because I met a nun who supervised the operation and she told me about it. I ate the pizza with a friend and we thought the crust was a little weak but we liked the cheese and toppings. I wanted more cheese but I grew up in Pizza Hut's America whereas she recently spent 2 years in Italy and was fine with it.

I was near the current location last week and I stopped in for lunch. I had the steak hoagy with pizza sauce and all the toppings:



They even brushed melted butter on the bun which I have not seen in my other steak hoagy adventures around town. The hoagy was warm and tasty. Next time I might ask for extra cheese and red onion to take it to the WestEnder level. The staff was friendly and provided service with a smile.

Venice is not complicated fru-fru food. They don't have "micro" greens, foams or reductions on triangular plates. They have good food at a good price that hits the spot when that is what you want.

Put it this way: sometimes you want manchego or wensleydale and sometimes you want something less, but not less to the point of brick- or muensterish regret. You want cheddar. Venice on Vine is your metaphorical cheddar.