DAYTON EATS: Five things to be excited about right now in the world of drinks and dining in Dayton

Major restaurant openings, menu changes and more continue to roll in. Here are some highlights:

1) The Foundry at the AC Hotel is open for business

The sixth-floor rooftop restaurant and patio is being helmed by Executive Chef David Belknap who also serves as an executive chef at AC Hotel Columbus Dublin running the Spanish inspired VASO.

Belknap comes with some serious culinary chops with the highlight working under Chef Thomas Keller and his three-star Michelin-starred PerSe. He worked for Keller for two years before opening his own restaurant, L&W Oyster Co., on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan He returned to his native Columbus to raise a family.

The gastropub features dishes cooked in a wood fire oven. The menu includes six different wood fired pizzas, but it’s the other dishes that are the stars of the show.

• Ingot crab cakes ($18) made with blue crab, sweet corn, pickled fresno, saffron aioli

• Garlic prawns ($18) made with pickled shaishitos, sourdough, smoked paprika

• Smoked duck salad ($24) made with smoked and grilled duck breast, house greens, walnuts, raspberries and duck cracklings

• Brussels Caesar salad ($15)

• Porcini mushroom salmon ($34) made with Faroe Island salmon, crispy polenta, broccolini and port wine butter

• Crispy house-glazed smoked pork belly ($32) with red beans and rice, sweet plantain, avocado

Even the desserts sound fantastic. bananas foster creme brulee ($8). dark chocolate terrine ($8), Irish coffee tiramisu ($9), apple tart tatin for two ($12) and sticky toffee cake pops for the table ($4 per person).

The restaurant at 124 Madison St., Dayton is open Monday through Thursday 4-11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 4 p.m.-midnight with the kitchen closing at 10 p.m.

Visit https://thefoundryrooftop.com to learn more.

2) Est! Est!! Est!!! sets its opening day and menu

The Italian eatery that is slated to be an anchor at The Arcade has announced July 13 as its opening date.

According to the restaurants website, “our name comes from the story of a German Bishop who sent his servant ahead to taste the wines along his route of travel, leaving messages on the walls of inns and taverns to tell his master whether he should drink the wine or avoid it. ‘Est’ (it is) meant the wine was good, while ‘Non est’ (it isn’t) told the Bishop to move on. It is clear that the servant saw considerable virtue in the wines of Montefiascone, as indicated by his Est! Est! Est!!! scrawled on the wall.”

The menu features a variety of pastas including gnocchi saporiti ($17) with cherry tomatoes, garlic, pesto, stracciatella, white wine sauce, fettuccini alfredo ($17), seafood linguine squid ink pasta ($27) with clams, mussels, shrimps, calamari, broccoli crema and chive oil, pesto risotto ($21) with butter poached shrimp, confit tomato, toasted almonds, sweet peas, lemon zest ($21), classic or vegan bolognese ($18), lobster ravioli ($23) and carbonara ($19) with an egg yolk sauce and pecorino romano ($19).

Signature dishes include a saltimbocca marsala ($30) with veal cutlets, sauteed spinach, polenta, prosciutto and marsala sauce, Pollo Alla Diavola ($23) a spiced brine half chicken with herbed potato puree, broccolini and garlic in a Calabrian pepper sauce ($23), a braised short rib ($35), chicken parmesan ($24) and pan seared salmon and shrimp ($27).

There’s also a special brunch menu with a variety of special dishes including egg benedict ($16) with the choice of bacon or smoked salmon, French toast ($15), breakfast croissant or panini ($15), avocado toast ($15), an Italian breakfast ( $17) with eggs, sausage or bacon, breakfast potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms and multigrain toast or a brunch tagliere spread ($25) with meats, cheeses, fruit, spiced honey and bread.

Lunch will be served Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. followed by a “Tapas Hour” from 2-5 p.m. Dinner will be served Monday through Thursday from 5-9 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Brunch will be served Sundays from noon-4 p.m.

Reservations can be made on OpenTable. Visit www.estestestdayton.com to learn more.

3) The Winds Cafe expands their hours

I love the Winds Cafe and now there’s more time to love it as well as a new menu that launches on July 11.

The popular Yellow Springs restaurant at 215 Xenia Ave., will now be open for lunch from noon-3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday with a bar menu available from 3-4 p.m. Dinner service will remain the same running 4-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

If the current lunch menu is any indication of what’s to come, there’s a lot to look forward to on July 11. The current lunch menu has grilled fish tacos ($12), Croque Monsieur sandwich ($14), duck stuffed bao buns ($12), shaved asparagus salad ($11), a grilled white cheddar cheese sandwich layered with avocado spread, roasted marinated tomato, cucumber slaw, pickled red onion, micro greens and sunflower seeds ($12), a risotto ($24) with morels, English peas, asparagus and fresh herbs.

Looking forward to seeing what will be on the menu for summer. Visit www.windscafe.com for more information.

4) The owners of Roost take over management of Treasure Island

There was an announcement on Facebook at the end of last week that Chef Dana and Katherine Downs, owners of Roost Modern Italian, will be taking over the day-to-day management of the popular Treasure Island Supper Club.

Cindy Murray of Kettering, the General Manager of the Florentine Restaurant and previously of Old Hickory Bar-B-Q on Brown Street, will take over the reigns as General Manager.

The Facebook post from Roost shared the following: “Lunch and dinner services will remain as currently scheduled,” said Chef Dana, “however being chef-managed, slight menu modifications will be developed by myself and our staff to ensure the efficiency and success of the restaurant.”

Chef Nate Young, long time Executive Chef of the Oakwood Club, will complete the new team as Executive Chef. The change took effect on July 2.

I love Treasure Island and am hoping for great things from this incredible team of restaurant pros. Can’t wait to see this gem continue to shine into the future.

5) Detrick 4-Grain Rye Whiskey “One Day Online Only Pre-release”

Since Belle of Dayton Distillery opened in 2014 it has been racking up recognition and awards for its small batch artisanal spirits.

Add one more to the list — Whiskey Consensus just gave their upcoming Detrick Straight Rye Whiskey Batch 4 release a 9.1 out of 10 for nose, palate, finish, complexity and value. And folks know locally just how good this is.

The distillery’s recent Detrick Single Barrel Bourbon sold out in 60 seconds when it launched on May 1. The only place to try it if you didn’t get lucky enough to get a bottle is at the Van Buren Room at the distillery.

If you love whiskey mark your calendar for July 10 at 10 a.m. when they put their Detrick Straight Rye Whiskey Batch 4 up for sale online at www.BelleofDayton.com.

Pre-prohibition, Detrick Distilling Co. sold double copper distilled rye whiskey in Dayton under Registered Distillery No. 60, 10th Ward. Their founder, Frank Detrick’s motto: “While we live, let’s live.”

Inspired by the ambition of this long-ago spirit, the LaSelle Brothers — Mike, Murphy and Tim —ventured to create whiskey. Drawing naturally filtered, mineral-rich water from the area’s Great Miami Valley aquifer, they mashed in a rare grain bill of traditional rye, white corn, wheat, and malted barley.

The intricate flavor and full-bodied texture was preserved by slow pot distillation and aged in hand-toasted, white oak casks. Nearly a decade in the making and relieving a century of anticipation, Belle of Dayton Distillery proudly brings back Detrick Fine Whiskies, the first rye whiskey made in Dayton since Prohibition.

This is a true “small batch” whiskey, made from just four barrels. It is bottled at 104 proof and carries a retail price of $70 USD.

“The overwhelming support from our Dayton community has made our dream a reality and the fun has just begun,” said Mike to me about this latest release.

I don’t know what you’re doing July 10, but my alarm is already set.

DAYTON EATS runs Sundays in the Life & Arts section of the Dayton Daily News and features the latest on menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes, and food adventures. Contact Contributing Writer Alexis Larsen at alexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com.