Gem City Diners and Dives: Olive

I am very proud to call Dayton, Ohio my home.  Having lived in the greater Dayton area well over half of my life, I have come to appreciate all of the things, both good and bad, that make Dayton what it is.  This is a special city and although considered fly over country for some, Dayton has proudly earned its place on the map.  After all, this is the birthplace of aviation, the home of the Wright Brothers and center court for the NCAA First Four.

Although Dayton has seen a decline over the last decade, better days are ahead.  One only need peak into the city's soul to see the proof and what better way to peak, than through its local home grown restaurants.  Dayton is known as the Gem City and although you may be half way around the world, I hope you will join me and my good friend/neighbor Bryan as we eat our way through town.  Welcome to Gem City Diners & Dives.

Olive, an urban dive

Bryan and I hatched this "eating plan" a couple weeks ago and our timing worked out great, seeing Bean was still in town and quite game to have lunch with the guys.  As our luck tends to be, our first planned spot, which was a dive in the truest since of the word, happened to be closed for "renovation".  For just one day.  Our day.  As we rolled into the lot, we thought we had missed the lunch rush.  Instead, we had actually missed lunch.  On to Plan B.

After a quick regroup, we pointed ourselves towards Olive, "an urban dive".  Although we are calling this series Diners & Dives as an homage to the TV show, in reality we plan on hitting just about anything local.  A more apt name is probably Diners, Dives & Really Nice Places.  The dives name is a gimmick and true to form, Olive is using it for the exact same reason.  Olive, although solidly urban, is far from a "dive", but when you consider this fabulous little restaurant actually occupies a 1940's (?) era diner, it all becomes a little clearer.

I've heard about Olive from several friends and everything I've heard has been great.  It takes vision to look at the rugged exterior of an old Wympee's burger shack and envision a fresh, local bistro.

When Bryan, Bean and I walked through the door, I felt like doing a reality check.  The inside is nothing like the outside, which is sad.  Unless you are using Yelp, Urbanspoon or are local, you are bound to pass by without a second look.  Of course, if the inside was like the outside and attracted everybody, we might not have gotten a table.  Perhaps it's not that sad Olive is hiding under an alter ego.

Olive is small.  Maybe only 15 table tops inside and some seating outside.  We arrived after the lunch hour and when we were asked about a reservation, we figured they must do a really good lunch business.  Although we had no reservation, the lunch rush was winding down and we were promptly led to a high top table.

The interior was warm and inviting.  The staff was constantly smiling.  Everyone was incredibly nice.  As we perused the menus, we mentioned it was our first time.  We were told that everything was fresh and local and when they were out of prep, it might take longer as they would have to chop more.  Fine by us!

The lunch menu was pretty big.  After a fairly good read, we all made our choices and then sat back to take everything in.

If there were traces of the former Wympee, they were fairly well eradicated.  We especially liked the Chimay bottles turned lamps and the timber ripped counter just off our table.

Although we expected a little bit of a wait, our food came fast.

Bean, was quite proud to showcase his signature tuscan grilled cheese.  It included balsamic marinated mozzarella, tomatoes, pesto and pancetta on ciabatta.

Bean was even more excited to talk about the pesto smeared between the roll and cheese.  His enthusiasm brought a tear to my eye.

Bryan had the ahi tuna, white bean and onion salad.

He, too, thoroughly enjoyed it.  Especially the chicken noodle soup.

I opted for the special, which was a salad with pulled chicken, honey glazed walnuts, feta and pancetta tossed in a citrus avocado greek dressing.  Just the name alone hit several of my pleasure spots.  No easy feat when the word "steak" isn't included.

The name, let alone the salad, were outstanding…especially those walnuts.

Everything from the plating of the food to the horizontal placing of the silverware led us to believe that Olive was a cut different from the rest.  Judging by the slow slide of people cashing out and getting on with their day, I say the short time Olive has been opened has already net them a close following.

Olive does not sell on alcohol on premises, but they are BYOB.  Bryan and I thought that was pretty damn cool.  We would much rather pick up a great beer we really, really like for dinner, at our own price, versus settling for what's available. I have a feeling we will be back for dinner to see exactly how that works out.

As we walked out and headed back to the car, I asked both Bryan and Bean for their opinions on lunch.  Bean was too preoccupied telling me about his sandwich to elaborate on anything further.  It was quite obvious he liked it.  A lot.  Bryan told me enjoyed all of the flavors.  He thought the bold broth of the chicken soup was quite memorable and the layers of the tuna salad just came together.  Overall, he loved the great atmosphere, too.

I would completely agree.  For all of my friends telling me to visit Olive, I just wish I had done it sooner.  Olive is the kind of place that sets food in Dayton apart from everywhere else.  Sometimes you just have to be brave enough to look a little deeper to find it.  Old diners can truly hide amazing dives.

Olive, an urban dive
416 E Third St
Dayton, OH 45402

937-222-DIVE (3483)