During the month of March, we reflect on the contributions women have made both in history and today. We asked a few members of our team to share a woman in their life who inspires them and why.
My mother inspires me. She was one of three women in her medical school class in Cairo, Egypt. She always believed in herself and never gave up on what she wanted in a time when it was more difficult for women to succeed. She started as a pathologist and then after she had me and my two brothers, she did a second residency in internal medicine to switch specialties. Even with the demands of being a doctor, she was still there as a mother every day, and also found a way to take care of her family including my quadriplegic uncle who lived with us, my grandparents, and all our extended family.
—Dr. Mona Foad, Owner & Founder
The woman who inspires me the most is my best friend Alyssa. Alyssa and I met during our freshman year of college after joining the same sorority. From the beginning, I was struck by her kindness and her fearlessness when it comes to trying new things or even failing. She’s always striving to become the best version of herself and encourages those around her to do the same. Her friendship has truly made me a better person, and I can’t thank her enough for inspiring me every day to strive for more.
—Lauren Kirby, RN, Nursing Team
A woman who inspires me is my grandma Diane. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve looked up to her. She was always so strong and confident, so sure of herself. I never once saw her back down from any challenges she faced, and she was so unapologetically herself. I aspire to be that strong and confident in my own life, and whenever I need guidance I think of her.
—Kiley Steiner, Patient Care Coordinator
The woman who inspires me is my Nana, Lucile S. Costello. In 1967, she founded Cincinnati Area Senior Services (CASS) and was the executive director for 21 years. Her mission was to support older adults so they could live independently and maintain their dignity. She dedicated her life to helping the elderly. She was recognized locally and nationally for her accomplishments. She was awarded a YWCA Career Woman of Achievement Award and December 21, 1987, was declared Lucile S. Costello Day in Cincinnati.
—Shannon Clark, Billing Manager
My sister, Ariana, constantly inspires me with her unwavering dedication to both her career and her compassion for others. As a chief juvenile prosecutor, she tirelessly fights for the justice and protection of children while maintaining a deep empathy for those she serves. She is someone I have looked up to my entire life and inspires those around her to be better. What truly sets her apart, though, is her unwavering support and the way she always shows up for me, no matter what.
—Dr. Alexandra Bowles, Medical & Cosmetic Provider
I am inspired by each and every one of the women on our team. Across our group of 45 smart, strong, and beautiful ladies there are so many stories of resilience and ambition: women who are working moms, single moms, going back to school for another degree, pursuing passion projects, volunteering in our community, and so much more. It is an honor to work alongside them and know their stories.
—Casey Burleigh, Director of Marketing
Queen City culinary dignitaries dish on everything from being nominated for James Beard Awards to running restaurants with your spouse to skirting traditions.
LA SOUPE TO THE RESCUE! P. 52
A newly expanded kitchen and food storage facility in Walnut Hills keeps the organization’s chefs busy and its food relief recipients satisfied.
BY DAMIAN DOTTERWEICH PHOTOGRAPHS BY HATSUE
OUT OF THE BOX P. 60
Visual art curator Sso-Rha Kang finds beauty in banality, rituals, and aluminum boxes.
BY MICHELE DAY
Style, Value & Quality
SINCE 1941...
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Whether you’re in your 30s and furnishing your first home, or a seasoned professional furnishing your masterpiece, Best Furniture Gallery has something for everyone. From the moment you walk through our doors you’ll feel right at home, and you can rest assured that we feature only the quality home furnishings and accessories that we’d want for our own home.
We look forward to welcoming you to our 18,000 square-foot showroom where our dedicated team will work hard to ensure nothing but the best possible experience. In the meantime, we invite you visit us online at BestFurnitureGallery.com. We look forward to meeting you in person.
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16 / CONTRIBUTORS
16 / LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
FRONTLINES
19 / DISPATCH
Skip the traffic on the Anderson Ferry
20 / SPEAK EASY
Cincinnati’s Sausage Queen
20 / POP LIFE
Art and identity at the CAC
22 / NARRATIVES
Randy Freking’s Opening Day Eve party
24 / STYLE COUNSEL
Jackson Klug’s American rock and roll
26 / NECESSITIES
A roundup of books with local ties
27 / REAL ESTATE
A private home in Indian Hill
28 / DR. KNOW
Your QC questions answered
COLUMNS
30 / WELCOME TO MIDDLEHOOD
Emily Dickinson inspires hope BY
JUDI KETTELER
112 / OBSCURA
600 camels at 21c BY CLAIRE
LEFTON
DINE
98 / REVISIT
Bake’s Place, downtown
98 / TABLESIDE
Bryan and Alex Lierer of Lierer’s Market in Northside
100 / TAKEOUT HERO
Milkman, Over-the-Rhine
101 / DINING GUIDE
Greater Cincinnati restaurants: A selective list
ON THE COVER illustration by NATHAN FOX
Extra servings of our outstanding dining coverage.
Decoding our civic DNA, from history to politics to personalities.
HOME + LIFE
Tracking what’s new in local real estate, artisans, and storefronts.
SPORTS
Early season coverage of the Reds and FC Cincinnati
CITY NEWS
FOOD NEWS
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Women Who Move Cincinnati
Cincinnati Magazine puts the spotlight on influential women who are making their mark in business, finance, healthcare, and philanthropy.
PAGE 77
Cincinnati Home
Peek inside two fabulous area properties and get info on design/build trends from local experts.
FROM LEFT: MATT HARRIS, ANNA KOHLEM, JOHN GOULD, AND JANIE SHAFFER
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I
I JOINED THE MAGAZINE IN AUGUST 2017 WHILE WE WERE WRAPPING UP THE October issue. (Yes, that’s our crazy publishing schedule.) The issue celebrated Cincinnati Magazine’s50th anniversary with highlights from across the years, a “What does it all mean?” essay, and an interview with Jerry Springer, who graced the cover once again (for the final time).
One of the few people who approached Springer’s frequency as Cincinnati Magazine cover model was Jean-Robert de Cavel. After that issue hit, I saw him at an anniversary event we hosted at the downtown public library to display blow-ups of our all-time favorite covers. He posed for photos in front of large images showing him in his white chef’s coat, eyes twinkling, hair flowing.
I asked Jean-Robert if he minded being the face of Cincinnati’s dining scene and appearing in so many magazine stories, and I can still picture his shrug and open-palm flick of the wrist. Why not?, I recall him saying, if that coverage got people interested in trying new dishes and new restaurants. He told me it was important for Cincinnati Magazine to feature the local food scene on our covers and in our pages with reviews, rankings, and beautiful photography and to make dining out feel exciting and fun. I couldn’t take credit for the magazine’s work up until that point, of course, but I promised him we’d uphold our high standards going forward.
This month’s “Chefs Chefs Chefs!” (page 36) is another twist on our annual Best Restaurants issue. Usually we rank our top 10 restaurants or favorite new places in March, but this time we’ve brought local chefs together to discuss their lives: Running the business with your spouse, navigating sudden attention and success, anchoring neighborhood business districts, upholding family legacies, and Jean-Robert’s lasting impact on our food scene. Chef/owner David Falk (Boca, Sotto, Nada) says, “I still wake up every day and can’t believe that he’s not here.”
Thankfully, dozens of Cincinnati chefs carry on JR’s joie de vivre in white coats, twinkling eyes, and flowing (or no) hair. And we’re proud to join them on their journeys.
JOHN FOX EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CONTRIBUTORS
MILDRED FALLEN
In a play on Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, freelance writer Mildred Fallen captured a chat between two James Beard-nominated chefs for “Chefs Chefs Chefs!” (page 36). “It was an amazing opportunity to learn why they are so passionate about what they do,” Fallen says of Jeffery Harris and Elaine Ukimpang-Bentz, who discussed everything from their contributions to Cincinnati’s culinary scene to which dishes represent them best. What would represent Fallen? “Stewed greens with smoked turkey.”
Michele Day, a former arts reporter and NKU professor,was familiar with curator Sso-Rha Kang (“Out of the Box,” page 60) through the university. Having attended exhibitions for her job, Day found she was always more interested in the artists than the art. That changed after meeting Kang. “What impressed me about Sso-Rha was how deeply she explored everything,” says Day. “I don’t think people understand art all the time, and she helped me to understand.”
HATSUE
Freelance photographer HATSUE captures the importance of community-driven initiatives through her vibrant, high-flash photography. For “La Soupe to the Rescue!” (page 52), she turns her lens on a nonprofit combating food waste and hunger. “Their mission is so important, but also so replicable. It’s relieving to see people enjoying their work when the work is solely for helping others.” As for the food, one dish left a lasting impression: cream of fennel soup. “So unbelievably good,” she says.
MICHELE DAY
ILLUSTRATION BY LARS LEETARU
A
Dining Experience Like No Other
Steps from the Cincinnati Riverfront, Coppins at Hotel Covington blends classic style with modern flair. From signature cocktails and a seasonal menu to its spacious dining area and lounge, Coppin’s is a must-try. Whether you’re enjoying the atrium, outdoor patio, or bar, every meal is a memorable experience. Reserve your table today.
STAYING AFLOAT
When nearby bridges are in need of repairs, the Anderson Ferry offers alternative means to avoid the traffic. LEYLA SHOOKOHE
CINCINNATI ISN’T THE ONLY WATERBOUND CITY IN THE COUNTRY to have a ferry—Seattle has one, and Chicago, too. But for Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky residents, the Anderson Ferry is truly one of a kind.
The only such transportation to exist in the Greater Cincinnati region, the privately-owned Anderson Ferry shuttles passengers, vehicles, and more, rain or shine, 364 days a year (they’re closed on Christmas Day) across the Ohio River. Whether they want to bypass excessive bridge traffic, expedite the journey to CVG Airport, or head to work, the ferry is vital for its passengers.
“This is just in the right spot,” says Chris Hess, one of three owner-operators of the Anderson Ferry. Boats travel between a dock 10 miles west of downtown Cincinnati and another in Hebron, Kentucky. Hess works alongside Justin and Stephanie Anderson, both children of the previous owner, Paul Anderson.
The Big Mac Bridge fire in November took the heavily trafficked commuter bridge out of commission for some time, before reopening with fewer lanes while repairs continued. While not drastic by any means, both Hess and Stephanie Anderson CONTINUED ON P. 20
said ferry rides experienced a bit of a surge in the following months.
Recent construction on the I-275 Lawrenceburg Bridge around the river bend has led to a slight uptick as well. In the past, closer to home, when the Brent Spence Bridge was closed after an accident in 2020, the ferry extended its hours to accommodate an estimated 1,000 cars per day.
But the majority of the ferry’s daily traffic consists of the same repeat passengers. The owners estimate about 500 cars per day take the ferry throughout the week and 250 cars per day on weekends. A single ferry can make about four round trips in an hour.
“We’ll run two boats in the morning from 7 to 9,” says Hess. “It’s usually about quarter to 7 until about 8:30, we stay pretty busy. Then we’ll run both boats again in the afternoon. We start at 3, and work until 6:30 with the second boat, just to get through rush hour.”
According to Melissa McVay, senior city planner with the Cincinnati Department of Transportation & Engineering, the city has never considered offering a public ferry service.
The same goes for the state of Ohio. “There was a time many years ago when the Grant Bridge was built [in Portsmouth], they did a ferry service for people because the bridge was closed,” says Kathleen Fuller, public information officer for District 8 of the Ohio Department of Transportation. “[There haven’t been] any talks of public ferry service across the Ohio River.”
Skip the Traffic You can get 10 rides across the river for $40.
A new boat, the Helen Lorraine, was recently added to Anderson Ferry’s fleet, bringing the total to four. A full large ferry can carry 15 cars; the smaller ones can accommodate four to 10.
ALL HAIL QUEEN DEB
Six years ago, Deborah Stevens didn’t know what Bockfest was. Now, she’s the reigning Sausage Queen of the citywide celebration. As she prepares to pass the crown at this year’s 33rd annual event March 7–9, she sits down to dissect her 2024 win, the new community she’s found, and the importance of letting your inner diva shine.
high-energy, everyone was really amped up and excited.
There are only five such ferries that cross the Ohio River. The next closest is in Augusta, Kentucky, but unlike the Anderson Ferry, it is owned and operated by the city itself. In fact, the Anderson Ferry is the only ferry still privately owned, and it’s here to stay; in 1982, the Anderson Ferry landed on the National Historic Register, protecting it from any further development. It’s likely to remain competition-free in the immediate Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky vicinity as well.
Daily commuters aren’t the only ones riding across the Ohio—the ferry has welcomed everything from motorcycle rally participants to antique car shows to an annual Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony held by a local American Legion. With all the business the Anderson Ferry has consistently brought in over more than 200 years, it’s reasonable to wonder: Have they ever thought about expanding?
“I don’t think that would be in the cards,” says Anderson. “There’s something uniquely successful about being here. I’m just pleased we can help people here, but I don’t know if it would function nearly as well anywhere else.”
IDENTITY THROUGH ART
On March 18, concertnova presents Memory Box: Featuring Sarah Hennies at the CAC, using contemporary classical chamber music and immersive installations created by local musicians and artists to explore stories of LGBTQ+ identity. concertnova.com
How long have you been involved with Bockfest? Not being from Cincinnati, I wasn’t super familiar with Bockfest—I started going in 2019. I heard about Sausage Queen two days before it was happening in 2023. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I had a blast. Last year, I competed in the prelim, was crowned Princess there, and then went on to do the final and won Sausage Queen.
Walk me through what the competition was like for you. I’m not very crafty, but I have a friend who is, and she helped me create these sausages that hung in links like wings underneath my arms. The final is at Rhinegeist; they set up a huge stage, and I think there were 1,200 people in there. It was crazy, very
I love the concept of the “diva” of it all, of letting that shine. How are you a diva in your everyday life? I can be very dramatic—I have a theater degree, so I think that kind of lends itself that way. Recently, a friend rented a private room at Tokyo Kitty for her birthday, and she’s a big fan of Wicked. She’s like, “We have to do ‘Defying Gravity.’” It got to the point where I climbed up on top of the seats in the private room because we’re committing to the bit. I commit to the bit, that’s how I’m the diva.
Is there a sort of sisterhood that comes with being a Queen? 100 percent yes, the “Sausage Family,” as we call it. That includes not just Queens but people who have been crowned Princesses. We have a Facebook group where we all communicate. It’s a community of really creative and supportive people that I would never know if I hadn’t jumped out of my comfort zone and tried this two years ago.
— EMMA BALCOM
READ A LONGER INTERVIEW WITH DEBORAH AT CINCINNATIMAGAZINE. COM
SPEAK EASY
HOME RUN!
The Frekings’ Opening Day Eve party celebrates the Reds while giving back to the community.
or 13 years running, Randy and Sue Freking have welcomed Cincinnatians to celebrate the upcoming Reds season at their annual Opening Day Eve party. What was once a bash for friends and family is now a community-wide jamboree; at $49 a ticket, hundreds (including former and current Reds players) come to the Moerlein Lager House’s event lawn for food and drinks, auctions, a raffl e, music, and a fi reworks show.
The party pays for itself these days with the help of generous donors and big-name sponsors, including Rob Pettit, CTI Clinical Trials, and WhatIfSports.com. The Frekings don’t see a penny of it, either—all proceeds from ticket sales go to the Reds Community Fund for children’s education. Last year, Randy says the party raised about $56,000, putting the 13-year total at nearly $500,000. By 2030, he hopes to have raised $1 million for the cause. “There’s really an emphasis on leadership, teamwork, and work ethic,” he says. “Those kinds of efforts will benefi t the community in the long term.”
This year, the Opening Day Eve party’s theme is “Hustle in Peace,” honoring the life and legacy of late Reds legend Pete Rose. Partygoers should also look for Randy and nephew Grant Freking’s new book , The Big Red Machine’s Last Hurrah . The two share the story of the Reds’ exclusion from the 1981 playoffs and explore what they believe should have happened instead: a lawsuit to prevent the injustice, and the greatest World Series never played.
—EMMA BALCOM
Photography by Jenny Walters
Jackson Klug
OCCUPATION: Vintage clothing curator
STYLE: Classic American with a rock and roll twist
How did you get involved in vintage curation and selling? I started thrifting because I didn’t have much money to be spending on clothes back in high school. I would run into the same people at flea markets or thrift stores or estate sales, and I picked up that they were looking for specific things. It opened my eyes to this whole market for secondhand clothing that I didn’t even know existed. I started selling clothes on my own, at my house. Then I started selling to other stores, and then eventually to Rad OTR. Have you always had a pretty strong sense of style? I can remember being influenced by movies and TV shows I was watching as a kid, wanting to dress like [those characters]. When you’re rifling through secondhand stores, what are you looking for? I mainly look for unique things. Or how worn something is. Is it still wearable? Does it need to be repaired? What’s the cultural significance of the item? Is it something people will feel a huge level of nostalgia for? What do you mean by feeling nostalgia? One of the coolest things about what I do is that no matter what I find, if something doesn’t mean anything to me, it could mean the world to the next person. Whether it shows a movie or TV show on a T-shirt or is a band tee, you can really find these random things that people are just overjoyed to see again. What are the staples of a classic American, rock and roll wardrobe? Dark, worn denim. A lot of boots, whether that’s motorcycle boots or even hiking boots. And jackets, like Carhartt and denim jackets. Layers, like flannels or collegiate hoodies. What’s your favorite item in your closet? A black wool ’80s Navy deck jacket. It’s got embroidering on the back of all the different places that that specific ship went.
—EMMA BALCOM
COUNSEL
FLIP THE PAGE
TAKE A READ OF SOME OF THESE RECENTLY RELEASED BOOKS BY AUTHORS WITH LOCAL TIES. —EMMA BALCOM
1 AMERICAN TEENAGER, BY
NICO LANG
Queer journalist Nico Lang meets with the families of transgender and nonbinary teens across the U.S., documenting the highs and lows of their everyday lives and their varied experiences growing up trans in America today.
7 FUNNY STORY, BY EMILY HENRY
8 MET THE END, BY
HOLLY BRIANS RAGUSA
An all-encompassing, true-crime memoir that details the life and untimely death of John Powell, the first known victim of serial killer Donald Harvey, told from the perspective of Powell’s daughter, Holly Brians Ragusa.
2 CATCH YOU LATER, BY
JESSICA STRAWSER
Best friends Lark and Mikki work dead-end jobs at an Ohio interstate travel stop, watching life pass them by—until Mikki impulsively agrees to be a customer’s plusone to a destination beach wedding, never to be heard from again. Eight years later, Lark recognizes the same driver passing through town, and reignites the search.
3 SHE WHO KNOWS, BY NNEDI OKORAFOR
In a prequel to Who Fears Death, 13-year-old Najeeba is shocked to discover that she is experiencing a Call to walk the salt roads—something that’s historically only been observed in males. On her journey to follow the Call, she explores newfound freedom, breaks social traditions, and discovers magical abilities in herself.
When Daphne’s fiancé, Peter, breaks up with her to pursue a relationship with his childhood best friend, Petra, she finds herself with nowhere to go. Forced to leave her home, Daphne is in need of a new roommate, landing her at the door of Petra’s ex-boyfriend, Miles, and finds herself falling in love with her exfiancé’s new fiancée’s ex.
6 SHOW DON’T TELL, BY
CURTIS SITTENFIELD
A collection of short stories exploring common life experiences: marriage, friendship, fame, creativity, and ambition, including a story revisiting the main character, Lee Fiora, from Curtis Sittenfeld’s 2005 novel Prep.
4 THE QUEER ADVANTAGE, BY ANDREW GELWICKS
Celebrity fashion stylist Andrew Gelwicks features intimate and personal conversations with successful LGBTQ+ icons—including Troye Sivan, Boy George, and Margaret Cho—revealing how their sexuality served as an advantage to their careers.
5 THEN, AGAIN, BY JACLYN YOUHANA GARVER
A woman in one of the most difficult moments of her life faces an impossible decision—her husband has been in a coma for a year, and she can’t bear the thought of saying goodbye. Yet, the reappearance of her first love has brought light back to a life that’s become defined by grief and loss.
INTO THE WOODS
THIS PRIVATE INDIAN HILL HOME BOASTS IMPRESSIVE TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE AND COMFORTABLE MODERN UPDATES. —AMY KNUEVEN BROWNLEE
BBLUE CUT LANE IS AN UNASSUMING CUL-DE-SAC AROUND THE CORNER from Indian Hill’s main north-south artery of Given Road; it contains just five properties. This two-story home, a customized 1978 build with a split personality, is one of them. The construction style is “transitional,” which means it’s inspired by traditional design elements while also containing telltale modern updates. The result is familiar and cohesive yet fresh and approachable. Indeed, the white brick construction at the end of the wide brick driveway reads old-school Indian Hill, while inside, the open floor plan, eccentric color palettes, natural materials, and vaulted ceiling/skylight combos are more current.
Whatever decade you associate this home with, you’ll enjoy its 6,200 square feet of living space, spread generously over three bedrooms (one of which has been converted into an oversized walk-in closet). “Comfort” is the key word here, with a spacious entryway, multiple fireplaces,
tiled sunroom, full finished basement, and a whopping five full bathrooms (plus one half). There are multiple common rooms— living, family, dining, breakfast, and “flexible” rec rooms—and closets and built-in shelving throughout. A broad bay window in the living room overlooks the private tree-shaded drive. And the kitchen features attractive lava stone countertops (an extremely durable enameled volcanic rock) and a large island fitted with a gas range and wine fridge. The well-furnished kitchen checks out:
The seller is none other than Martin Wade, former CEO of Rookwood Pottery. He and his then-wife, Marilyn Scripps Wade, added a number of those famous decorative tiles to the home.
Just a few steps out back, the heated in-ground lap pool is surrounded by substantial patio stones. It abuts what is perhaps the property’s most impressive feature: a detached three-car garage with a second-story guest suite, complete with homey living space and “treehouse” views of the surrounding woods.
QI
was captivated as a kid by Johnny Bench’s storybook wedding exactly 50 years ago. I liked the Fifth Third Bank commercials he made with Vickie, but I can’t find them online or anywhere. Was Vickie purged? Has a tiny bit of history been covered up?
—VICKIE BENCHED
DEAR BENCHED:
Our world has seen many attempts to hide uncomfortable histories: the FBI files of the JFK assassination, the Nixon Watergate tapes, and Fifth Third Bank’s commercials with Johnny and Vickie Bench. The Doctor is proud to expose this shocking 50-year coverup. Make no mistake, these commercials were not “lost.” They were
Dr. Know is Jay Gilbert, radio personality and advertising prankster. Submit your questions about the city’s peculiarities at drknow@cincinnati magazine.com
knifed. Johnny was already cranking out Fifth Third Bank endorsements in 1975 when he and Vickie had their whirlwind romance—a mere 55 days from when they met to when they wed. They started doing ads together and then created more spots to coincide with the 1976 Reds season. But just before Opening Day came Johnny and Vickie’s whirlwind breakup—a mere 55 weeks from when they wed to when they separated.
All evidence of Vickie was frantically cut out of every commercial. Her side of the story also disappeared, as the divorce agreement kept both parties from talking publicly about their marriage. Johnny had to pay Vickie a cash settlement as well as some alimony. They each had to return various gifts. And this one belongs to the lawyers.
I became used to looking at TikTok for the news, but the app’s recent interruption made me re-think things. Whatever TikTok’s ultimate fate, I now want to depend on other sources for news, especially at the local level. What are your recommendations for Cincinnati’s best news sources? —TIKT OFF
DEAR TIKT:
Many of our readers are probably aghast that you ever depended on TikTok for reliable information of any kind. We all hope that the taste from your Tide Pods has subsided by now. As for your question, the Doctor fears that, however he answers, he himself will show up on the news wearing tar and feathers. People have, shall we say, strong opinions in this regard.
What counts as “news” is personal. Some look at the websites/apps of Cincinnati’s television stations for things like updates on the jury selection of accused pedophiles. Others use apps like Citizen to monitor crime reports and 911 calls—they even upload their own videos of events they’ve witnessed.
For dry stuff like government events, social issues, etc., we still recommend
legacy media: our local daily newspaper, NPR affiliates, and yes, radio and TV stations. And don’t forget that your free public library card gets you into a deep website with access to many otherwise-paywalled news publications. Whether or not TikTok stays long-term, we beg you: Please do not consume questionable news feeds! Or Tide Pods.
I recently bought an old Cincinnati house, and my deed mentions the “Gest Standard.” I know what that means because your column explained it back in November 2016. But you didn’t say exactly when Joseph Gest’s infamous error was discovered. Was he still alive? Was he skinned alive?
—HE GEST WRONG
DEAR WRONG:
For those unaware: Joseph Gest was a highly respected surveyor who mapped out large portions of Cincinnati in the early 1800s. But he screwed up—really, really screwed up. Properties were mis-measured by only a few inches, but that added up to Cincinnati’s size being off by five acres! After Gest’s folly was discovered, nobody wanted to re-survey hundreds of properties, so they just added “Gest Standard” to the measurements on deeds like yours. Do not trust those numbers when widening your driveway.
The Doctor has searched widely to determine precisely when local officials became aware of Gest’s massive blunder. One would think such a monumental fustercluck would have found its way to a newspaper, a City Council meeting, or a fi ring squad, but there’s nothing.
The earliest mention of a “Gest Standard” we could find was from 1877, but Joseph Gest had died in 1863. He also had seen a Cincinnati street named in his honor in 1851. It therefore appears that our screwed-up surveyor escaped any comeuppance. Perhaps an angry coroner squeezed him into a miniature coffin?
DIAMOND
WELCOME TO MIDDLEHOOD
BY JUDI KETTELER
In Search of Feathers
EMILY DICKINSON CAN STILL TEACH THE MODERN WORLD ABOUT HOPE.
EEMILY DICKINSON AND I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A THING. IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT A SHY GIRL would find a kindred spirit in the recluse poet from Amherst, Massachusetts. A woman the world neither understood nor appreciated while she was alive, who wrote constantly, scribbling down lines and joining words together in unexpected ways to help make sense of life.
It’s fair to say Emily had me at, “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” circa eighth grade. There was the wit and inside joke of, “Are you – Nobody – too? / Then there’s a pair of us!” The reframing of nobody-ness as rebellious, “How dreary – to be – Somebody!” Being a happy nobody when everyone around you was desperate to be a yappy somebody? That’s golden material for a 13-year-old.
The poem was also darn catchy. I could hum it as I did my gymnastics beam routine, the meter of it sparking my poses and leaps just right. I think it was the first poem I memorized
by choice.
Memorizing pieces of content came easy to me. Being raised Catholic, I had so many of those damn creeds to learn. But Emily was different. She was for me
These days, it’s her poem about hope that I find myself repeating. Do you know it? “Hope is the thing with feathers,” it starts. It compares hope to a small bird that keeps singing despite gale-force winds.
I’m not giving away too much of a plot other characters also own by disclosing that last year was difficult for my family. It was a year of chaos as I tried to cobble together a support system for a teen battling something most people don’t understand. It’s fair to say that 2024 brought me to my knees, in all the ways: as a parent, a voter, a writer, a participant in this Byzantine healthcare system.
So many evenings, I’d be deadheading salvia or playing with the cat or straightening my Little Free Library, looking like a perfectly normal human being. But inside I was a twisted knot of a person. I’d stand in my pretty yard with my pretty flower beds, my Read Banned Books flag flapping, my tiny fairy garden twinkling. I’d smile at the neighbors walking their dogs or pushing their prams and think, I am barely making it. Can you tell? I had no feathers. Gills maybe, because I was trying to breathe underwater.
The year ended in a spectacularly bad way. I put away the holiday decorations the day after Christmas, mumbling to the tree as I yanked ornaments off, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, asshole.” It felt good to be resentful of every happy person on Facebook with their matching family pajamas and cozy celebrations. I swam angry laps at the Blue Ash YMCA and wrote in my journal and decided that things could only get better.
When I forced myself to make my vision board on the first day of 2025—it’s become a tradition for my teen daughter and I to go thrifting and then make vision boards together on New Year’s Day—I chose HOPE as the theme. I mean, MISERY would have been a little scary to see momma making, and JOY would have been an unsustainable lie.
HOPE was doable, though. I could almost hear Emily’s little bird singing. She
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was so small—a finch or a wren—and the mean, dumb world was knocking her about. But she stayed perched in the soul, singing the tune without words, never stopping.
If hope was a thing with feathers, I needed to find mine in the storm.
THE FIRST EMILY DICKINSON POEM
I remember reading was, “She sweeps with
cause kids don’t get poetry, despite what every well-meaning language arts teacher thinks. Even the precocious ones need a lot of clues.
Oh, a sunset! , I thought, feeling like I was in on the literary device. Like the poem was for me. The words were so pretty. Amber thread. Duds of emerald. And the verb sweeping. What child doesn’t want to sweep
mantic poet ever). Walt Whitman, with his crazy beard and beautiful narcissism, was obviously a highlight, especially after the movie Dead Poets Society came out. His refusal to use capital letters made e.e. cummings so weird. The Beat Poets were sexy, but annoying.
By high school, the poems I found myself liking best were the ones about something, like struggle and injustice (“Mother to Son,” by Langston Hughes) or depression and patriarchy (basically anything by Sylvia Plath). I’d copy down my favorites on colorful stationery. “Lady Lazarus” is probably still in a box somewhere, along with my old diaries.
many-colored Brooms,” in my language arts textbook from fourth or fifth grade. I can still see the poem on the page, the picture of a cotton candy sky beside it, with its streaky red and purple clouds. The picture helped me understand the poem. Be-
across the sky and fly into the sunset?
I can’t remember most of the other poems we studied in school, other than many were dreary, about war and death (Thomas Hardy) or full of overwrought sentiments that had little to do with my life (every Ro-
In my mind, the best poetry revealed angst. Because I was all angst. Emily Dickinson suddenly didn’t seem so angsty. At 16 and 17, I found “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” to be almost childish. Sing-songy. I was a girl listening to Bob Dylan, after all. What were poems about sunsets held beside “Masters of War?”
DURING HOLIDAY BREAK MY FRESHMAN year at NKU, I headed to the mall on Christmas Eve. I can’t be certain if it was the Florence Mall or the Crestview Hills Mall, but it doesn’t matter. It was 1992 at a mall in Northern Kentucky, and I was a lonely girl living at home in Ft. Wright. The Bell Jar was either on my bookshelf or soon to be there, and I was writing a lot of poetry. Some of it OK, most of it mediocre.
I was browsing in one of those old mall bookstores, either B. Dalton or Waldenbooks. The song “Same Old Lang Syne” was playing. You can imagine this scene. The mall. The nostalgic Christmas song. Me, in my grunge attire.
Now, picture me holding Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson , a thick hardback with a glossy cover that featured an illustration of a bouquet of pink and yellow roses. Was I specifically looking at poetry? Was it randomly in a sale bin? I don’t know the reason I picked up the book. I only remember flipping through its pages, brows-
ing the various sections titled things like Love and Nature and Time and Eternity, and thinking something along the lines of, “Oh, it’s you again.”
Did Dan Fogelberg singing about a chance meeting of old lovers set the tone? Obviously. I can’t hear the song without remembering standing in that mall bookstore, the big questions of life weighing heavily on me, immersed right back in Emily’s world—with her wild dashes.
No one poem stood out to me that day. By that point, I’d already had a favorite poem established: Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things.” (It’s yet to be usurped.) It was the body of Emily Dickinson’s work that jolted me. How she just kept writing. Poem after poem. That well of creativity. Refusing to stop.
I don’t remember anything else about the mall trip. Did I go to any other stores? Did I have an Orange Julius?
What I know is that I still have the book,
and it’s been well-read and well-dog-eared over the last 30 years. The cover is yellowing. Cheap paper, I’m sure. I pull it out every so often and flip through it. It’s far easier to Google a poem, but sometimes I want to see poetry on the page, how I might have seen it at 19 or 23 or 30, before everything was one tap away.
Still, it’s fun to think about all the metaphors Emily could use for hope if she were alive today. If hope wasn’t the thing with feathers, what might it be?
Hope is text messages with your kid, when they’re telling you real things line by line. Hope is the click of a seatbelt when you pull into the frenzy of the world. Hope is the three solid blue lights on your WiFi router, which means you can Google the answer to every piece of darkness in your soul.
Our modern world offers up hope in ways Emily Dickinson never could have imagined. In the end, though, I’ll go with the feathers.
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David Jackman ( from left), Mitch Arens, and Danny Combs at Findlay Market on February 4.
CHEFS
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Read longer versions of these chef conversations at cincinnati magazine.com
For our annual Best Restaurants issue, we went to the source: The people who make the magic happen.
In this series of conversations with Queen City culinary dignitaries, they dish on everything from being nominated for James Beard Awards to running restaurants with your spouse to skirting traditions. Pull up a chair and listen in.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY CATHERINE VIOX
’TIL DEATH (BY CHOCOLATE) DO US PART
College sweethearts turned business partners work on love and restaurants. —CARRIE
BLACKMORE
Both Paul Weckman and Emily Wolff and Anthony Sitek and Haley Nutter-Sitek met as freshmen in college. Now, the power couples own and operate restaurant groups on either side of the river. They discussed the joys—and frustrations—of running multiple restaurants with a spouse.
WOLFF: We opened Otto’s at 22. Paul was in the kitchen. I was front of the house, able to sell art off the walls. It was a very scrappy intro to the culinary world.
Paul Weckman and Emily Wolff at Momma’s on Main on January 22.
WECKMAN: We had twins on the way, and at 22 we decided to take a leap. That youthful energy and ignorance was fantastic. It really carried us through the beginning.
NUTTER-SITEK: I actually had no intention of going to culinary school. I wanted to go to the University of Alabama. My goal was to marry a cowboy, but I was recruited to play tennis at Johnson & Wales. [Anthony] played soccer. We actually became friends first—we ended up being in the same culinary labs together. Very quickly I realized I wasn’t cut out to be in the back of the house. I liked interacting with people more.
SITEK: Haley’s from here, I’m from New Jersey. I’m Sicilian and Polish. I graduated about six months early and moved to Chicago. I grew up in New York. People were saying hi to me on the street when I was used to getting a finger. I was like, Oh, this could be great. People are nice. Who knew? But then I think it was the second February we were there. That negative-40-degree wind chill. I was like, what are we doing? My mentor was going to Miami and he’s like, Do you want to go? So we ended up be-
ing in Miami for about three years. It was a cool place to live, but not friendly for kids.
NUTTER-SITEK: Not financially friendly either.
SITEK: We got to talking and that’s how we opened Crown Republic. And we’ve done a
restaurant a year since.
WOLFF: At first, we opened our restaurant and lived upstairs for seven years. We fell in love with our community. We can walk to all our restaurants. I can walk my kids to school. It’s a quality-of-life thing for us. I don’t want to be in a car, sitting in traffic. Time is so precious. Most of our team works in our community and can walk to work, too.
Anthony Sitek and Haley Nutter-Sitek in the kitchen at Losanti on January 16.
NUTTER-SITEK: When you’re in a place where people live, you create regulars. We want to create a place with a small-town feel, in a sense that we knew everyone’s name, we knew their story. Losanti is a 10-minute walk away, and those regulars come to support us. But we live over by Kings Island. I don’t mind the drive because it’s a calmbefore-the-storm coming in.
WECKMAN: There are many days where I wish I had a 20-minute drive. The other side of our coin is they can ping me and I’m a hundred yards away at home.
NUTTER-SITEK: I mean, the pinging never stops.
WECKMAN: Everything is challenging about owning restaurants, right? Essentially, you have to watch everything. Margins are so thin. But if you love it, you love it. If you’re the type of person…
NUTTER-SITEK: That’s a glutton for punishment?
WECKMAN: If your mind is stimulated by the challenge of doing that puzzle every day and really pushing a team of people and pushing against odds, then sign up.
WOLFF: And, from a front of the house perspective, are you willing to listen to public
comments every day? As a perfectionist, it’s really hard. I mean thousands of people come through our doors, in your doors, and trying to make the masses happy is really hard.
SITEK: Over the last two years, we’ve tried to make time to date each other again.
“We had twins on the way, and at 22 we decided to take a leap. That youthful energy and ignorance was fantastic. ” —PAUL WECKMAN
NUTTER-SITEK: Focus on the partnership outside of the business. Nice, babe, look at you.
WOLFF: That’s funny because before this I was like, Babe, we need a date night. We need to get to some of their spots and be able to talk about it. And then I was like, “That’s just going to be our 2025 goal.” For us, Paul and I have wanted to have a retreat, something that is just ours. A reset spot. It’s been one year. We found a piece of property. I don’t know what’s going to happen with it, but I feel like it’s going to be a great tool for future success.
AND THE WINNER IS…
Navigating—and appreciating—being in the spotlight. —MILDRED
FALLEN
Jeffery Harris of Nolia and Elaine Uykimpang Bentz of Café Mochiko bring distinctive culinary perspectives to Cincinnati’s dining scene, which has gotten them nominated for James Beard Awards several times over. The pair explains how the recognition boosted their businesses—and brought other rewards.
UYKIMPANG BENTZ: It was a huge shock for me. I didn’t even know we would be considered, but it was awesome. It was nice to hear from other chefs and hear congratulations from your peers.
HARRIS: I thought people were playing a joke on me! I called my wife and said, “A lot of people [are] texting me congratulations. What’s going on?” She was like, “Holy shit! You’ve been nominated for a James Beard!” I couldn’t focus on work at all. I didn’t know
Elaine Uykimpang Bentz and Jeffery Harris at Knowledge Bar on January 22.
how to contain what just happened.
UYKIMPANG BENTZ: It was a big surprise when it first happened, but it’s been great for business. People approach you with a more critical eye, which is not always fun, but it opens up the doors to so many other people trying you for the first time and then hopefully becoming regulars.
HARRIS: Yeah, for me, it was more like a jolt, basically. We went from being super calm and normal and then insanely busy. And we don’t have standing room here, so to have people standing in your restaurant waiting to be seated was something different, something new.
UYKIMPANG BENTZ: Yeah, it was pretty immediate. It’s a lot to handle at first, but it’s a nice boost during those slow periods of the year, so I’m grateful for it.
HARRIS: Especially after the first time we were nominated, I don’t think we saw a slow season at all. Right now, everything’s balancing out. We have a normal night—like, 50 people—and we’ll be like, Yes!
UYKIMPANG BENTZ: I mean, that’s a really great feeling that people would travel to see you. Sometimes we would get that sort of thing from when we do pop-ups with other restaurants, but it’s so nice to get that sort of feedback from people and then to hear what they think of the meal after. Pretty amazing, too.
HARRIS: It was weird the first time it happened. We had a lady from Manhattan who was traveling here, and she got the news from social media. She was trying to look up places to eat in Cincinnati, and she came straight from the plane—here—like, she had a suitcase and ate here…. She said, “I’ll be back next week with my husband.” Just taking it with a grain of salt, I said, “Oh, thank you.” She came back, like, the next week with her husband, and they came three nights straight. We had people from Detroit and South Carolina who met here on their first date. They came back, and they were engaged a year later. That type of stuff means a lot.
CMFRT SKRS
What do local chefs eat when they’re off the clock? —AIESHA D. LITTLE
“Skyline, of course. On the rarer occasions we get to really cook for ourselves, Mapo tofu, Chinese hand-pulled noodles, pierogies, or our homemade red sauce pasta with piles of garlic bread.”
—MATT OWENS Companion
“Pasta”
—MARK KNIGHT Wayfarer Tavern
“Turkey chili with Cheez-Its”
—LELAND CUMMINGS Occam Dining
“Stovetop popcorn with a gluttonous amount of butter”
—JORDAN BRAUNINGER Le Bar à Boeuf
“Sandwiches. They are easy and quick to make, but also because they are so versatile. Almost anything can be put between two pieces of bread.”
—JOSE SALAZAR
Mita’s/Safi/Salazar
“Branzino over a mushroom risotto”
—MINDY LIVENGOOD Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the Ages participant (2022)
“Nkrakra, a light soup in Ashanti culture, a flavorful and mildly spicy tomato-based broth infused with spices like ginger. This soup reminds me of growing up in Ghana with my extended family, where fufu and light soup were made and enjoyed communally.”
—GABI ODEBODE, Afromeals
BY ANDREW DOENCH
PHOTOGRAPH
WON’T YOU BE OUR NEIGHBOR?
Both The Aperture and Kiki found homes where they can put down roots. —M. LEIGH HOOD
Kiki and The Aperture bring fresh dining concepts to evolving neighborhoods, and Hideki Harada and Jordan AnthonyBrown discuss how they’ve adapted to their communities.
ANTHONY-BROWN: Were you born in Cincinnati?
HARADA: Raised here.
ANTHONY-BROWN: It’s funny because Kiki is in the neighborhood I grew up in.
HARADA: That’s right, yeah.
ANTHONY-BROWN: The barber shop I used to go to is right down the street. What’s it like? You wouldn’t normally put an emerging concept like that there.
HARADA: I was taking a tour of College Hill years prior to leaving Kaze. My friend bought me lunch and I walked around. After that, my partnership went a different direction, and I took the tour again, and I thought, Let’s start the conversation. I realized College Hill is a very tight-knit community. And the neighborhood definitely supports the businesses there.
ANTHONY-BROWN: Yeah, it’s a lot of people who’ve lived there for a long time. There’s kind of a pride in that neighborhood. And geographically, it’s isolated. It’s hard to get to.
HARADA: I am very appreciative of guests who come in from Kentucky or up north.
ANTHONY-BROWN: Well, it’s intentional. If you’re going to go there, you’re going there.
Hideki Harada in College Hill on January 25.
HARADA: It’s a destination, yeah.
ANTHONY-BROWN: It’s worthy of it. There aren’t a lot of places like it. I can’t think of any that are homegrown like that, especially that have that type of concept.
HARADA: I think that’s what a lot of the community is hungry for. Something
different. We’re trying to provide a unique experience that is still familiar for the locals but gets foodies excited. And that’s a tough balance.
ANTHONY-BROWN: It really is because you need both. If you’re going to be in a neighborhood, you need to respect the neighborhood and be loyal to it, but also have an experience that people want to come for. One of the things about Kiki that I think is great is you’ve managed to do that at a good price point. The product you use is not cheap, and keeping that balance is pretty impressive because it keeps both sides satisfied.
HARADA: Same question: Why Walnut Hills?
ANTHONY-BROWN: I left Cincinnati when I was 18, went to college and grad school, and followed my friends to New York. My
dad died in a car accident, and that was when I realized I wasn’t happy. I went back to cooking full-time. Coming back here was interesting. The sleepy town I thought Cincinnati was when I left was really getting some legs. A friend pointed me toward Walnut Hills.
HARADA: And you start your roots a little bit, right? We’re seeing some growth. Our roots are deeper. It’s creating more for the community rather than just being a destination point. That’s what my goal, and hopefully College Hill’s goal, is—to create more of a neighborhood.
“We’re trying to provide a unique experience that is still familiar for the locals but gets foodies excited. And that’s a tough balance.”
—HIDEKI
HARADA
on January 25.
Jordan AnthonyBrown in Walnut Hills
WONG BURGESS: I love your creativity.
WE ARE FAMILY
Female restauranteurs talk legacy in the restaurant biz. —GARIN PIRNIA
More than a decade ago, Susanna Wong Burgess, co-owner of Oriental Wok, went on Young Buck Deli co-owner Caitlin Young’s radio show, and the two have been friends ever since. In fact, their families—including Susanna’s sister, Angela Wong Miller, and Caitlin’s sister, Kelly Trush—would have the occasional Sunday dinner together at Young’s parents’ house. Here, the duo chats about family and longevity.
YOUNG: Oh, that’s so nice! What I admire the most in you is you’re so in your bubble. You just exemplify hope. I feel like you gave me permission to incorporate my family in every element and let them be great at what they are good at.
WONG BURGESS: My family incorporated themselves only because my dad was like, “Susanna, get behind the bar. You’re going to be barback tonight.” I’m like, “Dad, I’m 12.” And he’s like, “I don’t care. You’re doing this.” You start to panic but then you realize I’ve got no choice. I’m doing this.
YOUNG: When I told my parents I wanted to go to culinary school, they did not want me to. I spent all four years of high school convincing them to let me.
WONG BURGESS: For me, it was really just a matter of doing what
my dad told me not to do. I figured that out now because if I tell my kids to do something, they’re bound to go the opposite direction. He was like, “Under no circumstances should you go in the restaurant business.”
Caitlin
Young (left) and Susanna Wong Burgess at Oriental Wok on January 21.
YOUNG: It’s so funny that he told you that, too.
WONG BURGESS: We squabble and have disagreements because he’s 85 and I’m not. The man founded the business with my mom with their own hands. Nobody gave them any money. Nobody gave them anything. It’s incredibly important to me to be respectful of that.
YOUNG: I feel like when you meet somebody in the restaurant business or in the kitchen, you get them in a way that you know things will be OK. No matter if the shit hits the fan, we’ll pivot, we’ll figure it out and keep it going.
Wong Burgess’s father, Dr. Wong, comes over and she asks him if he thought he’d be in business for so long.
DR. WONG: Anytime you open a business, you want [it] to be longer. But you don’t know how long. You just work hard. Try to keep going, going, going, going.
WONG BURGESS: There’s no fancy plan, right?
DR. WONG: No fancy plan. When she grew up, she took over. It’s all yours.
“When you meet somebody in the restaurant business or in the kitchen, you get them in a way that you know things will be OK.” —CAITLIN YOUNG
SPIE SPIE, BA
We surveyed local chefs and they told us these spices were the most underrated. —AIESHA D. LITTLE
“Salt. There is nothing that ruins a potentially great dish at a nice restaurant more than when it comes out underseasoned.”
—MATT OWENS Companion
“Acid. Next to salt, I think it’s the most important seasoning, and often gets overlooked.”
—JOSE SALAZAR Mita’s/Salazar/Safi
“Nutmeg. Great in cream sauces or vegetables.”
—MARK KNIGHT Wayfarer Tavern
“Citrus. Lemons and limes are great, but there’s a whole world of citrus out there. Grapefruit, blood oranges, yuzu, bergamot, and calamansi all bring unique flavors.”
—LELAND CUMMINGS Occam Dining
BREAKING BOUNDARIES
Innovating
on the edge of tradition, and what authenticity really means.
—RODNEY WILSON
David Jackman (Wildweed), Danny Combs (Colette), and Mitch Arens (Carmelo’s) discuss how tradition inspires them to push beyond normal expectations.
COMBS: When we were opening and I told people that we were going to do something in the world of French food, the question was, What is French food? I didn’t want it to just be labeled French because to me, there’s French Canadian. There’s Lyonnaise. There’s Southern France. Inside of Paris, there are a million different interpretations of French food. In Southern France, the Spanish influence. In the last several years, the Japanese influence in Paris was everywhere, and it was delicious. So we wanted to leave it open to where we could do whatever. But then, traditional stuff is great, too, and that’s important to teach your team. There’s a foundation to teach and to learn, which allows you to move forward.
JACKMAN: Traditions have influenced what we do. I grew up in French kitchens my whole life. I’m French Canadian, so there’s that element of French culture in my own community. I worked in French bistros in Toronto, in Vancouver, I ran a number of Italian restaurants. But my whole career, it was, How do I find the experience that I want that I would be able to reference as someone in North America?
When we started building this project, I intentionally decided to deracinate myself from tradition but always understand it. Sometimes it was, I’m going to respect it and do something alongside it, and sometimes,
I’m going to be a little antithetical to it. I’m going to take it as kind of a challenge to be like, yeah, there’s this one way, but if I do it this way, it’ll also work. So, why pasta? I mean, who doesn’t love pasta? Also, it’s a good canvas to use local ingredients in a way where we can keep our dollars in our community and support farmers. It’s comforting and delicious and malleable enough to take on any ingredients that someone was growing.
ARENS: For me, it’s that comfort. No one in my family ever worked in the industry. For birthdays, special occasions, graduations, holidays, we cooked at the house. So that comfort side of food is always what I’ve
David Jackman ( from left), Mitch Arens, and Danny Combs at Findlay Market on February 4.
been drawn to, being a host and entertaining people.
One of the biggest things that Billy [Grise, Carmelo’s co-owner] and I have been trying to do is get out in the dining room and talk to people. We have some people like, “Oh, I love Italian food,” “I just went to Italy,” or “I’m from Italy,” or “I have Italian culture.” There are a lot of authentic restaurants in Cincinnati, and we were very mindful to not be an authentic Italian restaurant.
JACKMAN: Authenticity is a snapshot of another time and another place. It’s so subjective depending on whose experience that was, and where they traveled, and what
“I think the only responsibility I feel to tradition is to recognize it. Whether you’re going to throw it away or whether you’re gonna honor it—recognizing it is the only responsibility I feel.”
—DAVID JACKMAN
restaurant they walked into. A large part of what we do is we sell genuineness instead of authenticity. We sell genuineness of the time and place we’re in right now, and we
try to celebrate that. A lot of the restaurants that have been opened as authentic are really an expression of what someone saw five or 10 years previously in another country. If you revisited that place, their traditions may have shifted.
I think the only responsibility I feel to tradition is to recognize it. Whether you’re going to throw it away or whether you’re gonna honor it—recognizing it is the only responsibility I feel.
COMBS: The shaved carrot salad—OK, it’s just shaved carrots and vinaigrette. It’s not exotic at all, but it’s going to be the most difficult thing to do because it’s so simple. We had a guest in several weeks ago from Paris, and she came up, tears in her eyes, and was like, “I had this at school lunches. I cannot believe you guys do this.” It’s fun to find those things that aren’t on the surface, but still are traditional to a lot of people.
ARENS: That’s the moment you live for, that nostalgia. Somebody has a bite or a smell of your food and it brings them back to something or pulls up an awesome memory. There’s nothing better than that experience.
JACKMAN: For me, traditional is technique versus ingredients and recipes. I’ll always respect traditional technique. Everything we do is rooted in technique. So as cuisine grows and develops—especially within a city that has certain culinary traditions, a lot of them borrowed from other places—technique is really where you do need respect.
In late January, Jordan Anthony-Brown of The Aperture and David Jackman of Wildweed were nominated in the “Emerging Chef” and the “Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)” categories, respectively, of the 2025 James Beard Awards. Winners will be announced on April 2 and celebrated at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in June.
KICKIN’ IT OLD SCHOOL
Nostalgia and
a passion
for process keep creativity sharp. —M. LEIGH HOOD
Brian Young of Young Buck Deli and Brad Bernstein of Carlo & Johnny intimately understand the balance needed between business and artistry, and they’ve watched the scales tip to either side over the past few years.
YOUNG: I’m kind of jealous of people who grew up in restaurants.
BERNSTEIN: My family always had restaurants, so I’m a third-generation restauranteur. My grandparents had some really successful operations, and I grew up in the kitchens. I always tell people my first cooking experience was making cinnamon toast with my grandmother at Mike Fink and passing it out. I think I fell in love with the experience of handing somebody a piece of toast, something that was good, and seeing the gratification from it. It gets stuck in your blood.
YOUNG: I was always inspired by, like, oldschool, tradesmen-style stuff. That’s how I got into butchering because I got into sort of idolizing old-school butcher shops. I definitely romanticized the trade of it. The sort of journeyman aspect of you learn by doing, and the more you do the better you get.
BERNSTEIN: I think in this profession, you have to be romantic in some sort of fashion.
YOUNG: That’s true.
BERNSTEIN: You really have to love and be passionate about what you do. Butchery’s a lot of fun, but it’s tedious in its own right. It takes a lot of time and patience. The idea of charcuterie is something cool: something that you do nine months earlier and then you’re enjoying it that much later.
YOUNG: It’s a fun exercise to think about. If it’s spring and I’m doing a coppa that I know I’m going to serve around Thanksgiving, when everyone else is thinking about baby peas and fresh vegetables, you have to put yourself in the headspace of warm spices and dried fruit. I guess I like the planning part of it.
BERNSTEIN: I don’t know if I have an affinity for vintage stuff, but I maybe feel like things back then were better, simple. As a
chef, getting down to that basic, kind of primitive form of cooking is real exciting. I always liked the concept of showcasing your ingredients, having the produce out.
YOUNG: If we could just go back and reconnect to that part of our city pride or neighborhood pride. Like, you go to the same butcher twice a week for 30 years. Maybe I’m too romantic about it because I always think people are going to care about it as much as I do.
Brad Bernstein (right) and Brian Young at Young Buck on February 4.
KNIES OT
Brian Young shows us some of his antique butchery tools.
—AIESHA D. LITTLE
The Young Buck Deli co-owner has been collecting antique butcher’s tools for around 15 years.“If there’s a romantic part about owning giant implements of death, it's a craftsman made this and passed it on to someone who made their living holding it,” he says. “I get to be a steward of that legacy.” He has 25 items in his collection, including these high-carbon steel Foster Bros tools, which are more than 100 years old.
BONING KNIFE
“The most commonly used is the boning knife and the skinner. You can do a lot with just these two.”
SKINNER
“It’s what it sounds like.”
SPLITTER
“Literally for splitting beef or a very large hog.”
Young says he’s gotten several of his tools from Chris Weist at Cincy Sharp. “He’s not responsible for my bad habit, but he’s a major contributor.”
BREAKING KNIFE
“That’s for cutting through big pieces like a tomahawk rib eye.”
BULLNOSE KNIFE
“The bullnose is just for swinging. You kind of use it like a hammer.”
OUI, CHEF
Jean-Robert de Cavel’s long-lasting impact on our dining scene. —CARRIE BLACKMORE
David Falk ( left) and Bridget and Jeremy Lieb at French Crust Café on January 17.
Jean-Robert de Cavel, the Frenchman who took Cincinnati by storm. He arrived in the Queen City in 1993 to become chef de cuisine at Maisonette and over the course of two-plus decades, opened a plethora of restaurants, working his way into Cincinnati’s heart. Even after his death in 2022, his restaurants Le Bar à Boeuf and French Crust Café live on. Chefs David Falk and Bridget and Jeremy Lieb sat down to talk about de Cavel’s influence on their lives, the city, and our dining culture today.
FALK [CHEF/OWNER, BOCA, SOTTO, AND NADA]: I met Jeremy and Bridget at the Maisonette in 1996. When did you start, Bridget? In ’92?
BRIDGET LIEB [CHEF/CO-OWNER, SACRED BEAST]: 1994. When I was 17, I started in garde manger during our crazy Christmas lunches. I will never forget my very first day. I had to ask which one was the artichoke and which one was the asparagus.
JEREMY LIEB [CHEF/CO-OWNER, SACRED BEAST]: I started in 1992 with [former head chef] Georges Haidon. I felt pretty lucky that I got to see the old crew. And then how it changed, how it evolved.
FALK: I always said Jean-Robert was kind of somewhere between a father and an older brother to me. Maybe more of an older brother, because he could be as passionately pissed at me as he could passionately cheer me on.
Three Ps pop into my mind. Passion: the guy was insanely passionate in every way. Pioneering: I don’t think he gets enough credit for how much he pioneered dining in Cincinnati. He was the tip of the spear. And people: he just loved people.
His greatest strength was that he would do anything for anybody. And it was also his weakness in the sense that I don’t think he ever said no to anybody. Just an absolute Energizer Bunny, a French Energizer Bunny. I look back at those years [as] some of the best years in my life.
B. LIEB: Absolutely. Also, even though he was a mentor and we’re all saying he was so nice, he wasn’t afraid to tell you exactly what you were doing wrong. Even to me, the little girl in the kitchen. I was a kid, but he wasn’t afraid to do that to me because he knew he was sending me to New York, and I had to be ready to take on a kitchen in New York.
J. LIEB: Let’s face it, Maisonette had been on top for a long time, but it was old. I mean, all the plates were garnished with the same garnish. The food was delicious. I’m not mocking it or anything, but when JR came and what he did, every plate was different, it had his own identity. It was like, Wow
FALK: That’s what I mean, pioneering. You see how dining in Cincinnati is right now, think of how much he pioneered that.
B. LIEB: It took him a while to warm up Cincinnati.
FALK: Oh, for sure. I mean, that’s amazing, right? It took him a while to warm up, but there’s never been anybody who was such an ambassador. Not just for dining; he became this personality that was larger than life for the city as a whole.
B. LIEB: When we worked at Maisonette, The Enquirer did an article on him. Somebody followed him around for a day, and they described him walking into the kitchen like Kramer from Seinfeld.
FALK: His life cycle started as this pioneering chef, but then it grew into something so much bigger to where he was this ambassador and bright light radiating out of this little town that he started off hating but grew to love and call home.
B. LIEB: I was going through a box of stuff last night; I noticed I have a lot of letters from him. For my 18th birthday, he gave me a copy of Larousse Gastronomique and he wrote a note inside. Every single one he wrote to “my little sister in the kitchen.”
J. LIEB: He was my first true inspiration in cooking.
B. LIEB: I started knowing nothing and he really took that chance on me to mold me into something that would be a good base for going to culinary school, for moving to New York. During all those times, he was so proud. He was so proud of not just me, but all of us.
FALK: I know plenty of people who have passed away. But there’s nobody in my life that I still wake up every day and can’t believe that he’s not here. Everything about him seemed immortal. I can hear him now. Busting our chops.
—AIESHA D. LITTLE
La SOUPE RESCUE! TO THE
A newly expanded kitchen and food storage facility in Walnut Hills keeps the organization’s chefs busy and its food relief recipients satisfied.
La Soupe
illions of Americans, many of them children, face hunger challenges daily, and yet nearly 40 percent of all food produced in the U.S. is wasted— and most of that winds up in landfills. It’s a conundrum that has vexed hungerrelief organizations for decades.
Walnut Hills–based nonprofit La Soupe is bridging the gap by rescuing surplus ingredients from grocery stores, wholesalers, farms, and restaurants and transforming them into delicious, chef-prepared soups and meals to feed folks facing food insecurity.
BULKING UP
Thanks to its small-but-mighty fleet of refrigerated box trucks and vans and a recently expanded 6,000-square-foot basement storage area with a massive walk-in refrigerator and freezer, La Soupe can accept bulk food donations—especially perishable fruits and vegetables—that many other hunger relief organizations have to turn away.
DANIELLE BROWNLOW
JARED BECKMAN
HELP BY THE TRUCKLOAD
Nearly every day, La Soupe staffers and volunteers make the rounds to pick up food donations at grocery stores, wholesalers, and farms. La Soupe distributes what’s immediately usable to a number of its 160-plus partner organizations (food pantries, schools/youth organizations, etc.) across the region and uses the rest as ingredients in its commissary kitchen.
JACK WILSON
JEFF SHELDON
MICHAEL WOOD
NOT PERFECT, BUT PERFECTLY USEFUL
Fruits and vegetables that are bruised or blemished and fresh meats nearing the end of their shelf life or otherwise rejected by the commercial food industry are peeled, chopped, sliced, and diced for use in La Soupe’s gourmet recipes. Red Curry Fish Chowder or Loaded Nacho Soupe, anyone? Filling hungry stomachs while diverting food from landfills? That’s a recipe for success for the community and the planet.
NEVER TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN
Hundreds of volunteers spend thousands of hours (more than 16,000 collectively in 2024) working alongside La Soupe’s professional chefs to turn surplus ingredients into soups, salads, sandwiches, and nutritionally balanced meals. Prepared foods make hunger relief efforts easier for charity partners and mealtime easier for people who lack access to kitchen equipment, have mental or physical disabilities, or are in crisis.
EDDIE WOLFE
CRAWFORD
TAKING STOCK, THEN MAKING STOCK
Because fresh ingredient donations vary seasonally, every day is like a TV cooking show “ingredient challenge” for La Soupe chefs, and they relish the opportunity to get their creative juices flowing. Figuring out the right flavor combinations and crafting delectable dishes out of what’s readily available is no small feat, especially at such a large scale. La Soupe also has a “Bucket Brigade” program that delivers add-in ingredients to local restaurants, where chefs combine them with on-hand surplus food to make soups.
KRINA DESAI
JAY
OPEN TO ALL
La Soupe operates a small retail store at its Walnut Hills facility (915 E. McMillan St.) to sell frozen soups and meals as well as fresh grab-and-go items to the general public. While it generates only a small amount of revenue to reinvest in programs, the shop serves as a great conduit for community awareness and engagement. It’s open Monday through Friday and offers a fresh menu changing daily to maximize the use of recently donated ingredients.
TAKING INSPIRATION ON THE ROAD
La Soupe was founded in 2014 by professional chef Suzy DeYoung, who read a heartbreaking Facebook post from a teacher at Oyler School in Lower Price Hill about students going hungry on the weekends and used her restaurant’s kitchen to make meals for them. Now La Soupe’s 42 staffers are expanding their impact beyond Cincinnati, helping organizations in several other Ohio cities (Columbus, Dayton, Athens, Cleveland) and beyond (Indianapolis, Denver, Baton Rouge) replicate elements of its “Rescue, Transform, Share” model into local hunger relief.
AMIR BEGIC
VISUAL ART CURATOR
OUT OF THE BOX
FINDS
BEAUTY IN BANALITY, RITUALS, AND ALUMINUM BOXES.
SSO-RHA KANG PHOTOGRAPHED ON JANUARY 30, 2025 AT THE CARNEGIE.
Alight snow blows outside her office window on this Friday in December, just five days before Christmas. But Sso-Rha Kang doesn’t even glance at the wintry scene. Her gaze fixates on the printouts of color-coded floor plans and copies of about 20 images arranged in neat rows on her desk.
The papers mentally transport her down the hall to the first floor gallery of The Carnegie in Covington, where she’s methodically constructing a new world. She calls it Notations on Ritual.
The curator for Northern Kentucky’s only multidisciplinary arts venue points to one of the plans. The boxes represent Carnegie galleries, she explains, and today she’s focused on configuring the first floor’s sprawling gallery. But the plans also include layouts for five smaller spaces on the second level. Pocket galleries, she calls them.
Kang’s world will extend across all six spaces during the first art exhibition of The Carnegie’s 2025 season, opening March 14. She’s learned not to work on pieces of the world in isolation; she needs to see everything at once to create a cohesive environment.
She gestures to the plans’ colored lines, indicating possible
places where eight artists will live in her new world. Her goal is to find them all homes where their paintings, photos, sculptures, and installations can converse with nearby art as well as with exhibition viewers.
Kang, who turns 33 this month, usually works this virtual world-building exercise on her computer, cutting and pasting the colored lines without visual aids. She generates new plans as she goes. The variations are many. (Her last show went through more than 60 iterations before she felt everything was right.) “I can just see it in my head,” she says.
She’s following her usual routine today, but she’s printed the floor plans, along with artwork images, to help me visualize her process. She sweeps her hand across the papers. “This is me working through it,” she says. “I will do this until I know it’s done.”
Kang’s curatorial world-building process is slow, deliberate, thoughtful. You might even describe it as boring. She wouldn’t mind. She sees significance in the seemingly ordinary, productivity in the act of pondering.
She wrote once, “Banal scenes become sites of consideration, which elevate fleeting moments of the everyday to loaded sentimental encounters.” The words were part of the exhibition description for her first solo curatorial project, Sentiments of Here. Since then, she’s built a career exploring the layers beneath banality.
SSO-RHA KANG BEGAN HER ROLE AS CURATOR FOR THE Carnegie in fall 2023. The exhibition schedule for 2024 had already been set; she spent her first year primarily carrying out someone else’s vision.
Notations on Ritual will be her Carnegie introduction of sorts—a showcase for her ideas, her aesthetic preferences, and her perspective on the organization’s future. But it’s far from her debut in the regional arts community.
She’s curated about 20 shows at a dozen galleries since her first
AN ARTIST'S BEST FRIEND Sso-Rha Kang is focused on matching her exhibition artists to The Carnegie’s quirky, rotunda (left gallery (below and previous spread). Her Notations on Ritual show replaces the art that was on display through February, which included work by William Eggleston (left); Rose Marie Cromwell (previous spread); and John Chae, Amy Pleasant, and Cromwell (below).
S so-Rha Kang’s curatorial worldbuilding process is slow, deliberate, thoughtful. You might even describe it as boring. She wouldn’t mind.
co-curator credit in 2017. Her start came at Meyers Gallery, part of the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. Kang worked in UC’s galleries while earning her master’s degrees in art history and continued as exhibitions coordinator for a year and a half following graduation. She’s since put together shows for Wave Pool, Pearlman Gallery, Third Space Gallery, the Contemporary Arts Center, and the Weston Art Gallery, among other institutions. She taught at UC, the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and Northern Kentucky University, where she curated exhibitions and organized events as the director of galleries and outreach from 2021 to 2023.
Kang earned national exposure as a co-consultant for the state of Ohio in the exhibition New Worlds: Women to Watch, which opened last summer at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. A related touring exhibition of Ohiobased arts appeared at six venues across the state in 2023 and 2024.
At the Carnegie, she’s jumping into the shoes of Matt Distel, who served as exhibitions director for a decade before his promotion to executive director in 2023. “I have so much respect for what he’s done,” she says. The jump sometimes seems like a big leap for her.
But those who have witnessed Kang’s world-building in action describe the new role as a natural next step for someone who’s earned a reputation for highly researched, carefully crafted exhibits that engage audiences and capture the essence of artists’ intent.
“It’s been such a joy to see her become the badass that she is,” says Stephanie SadreOrafai.
The UC anthropology professor was in her first day of teaching at the university in 2010 when Kang, a freshman, walked into her Anthropology of Media class. “That spark and promise and curiosity have always been there,” recalls Sadre-Orafai, who became a mentor. “The way she thinks about the gallery space is very poetic and very anthropologic.”
Independent writer and curator Maria Seda-Reeder, former exhibitions director at Wave Pool Gallery, also met Kang while teaching at UC. She remembers a smart student and a profoundly outside-of-the-box thinker and had a hunch Kang would make an excellent curator. The job requires a particular demeanor that errs on the side of working with the visions of artists, she says. “Sso-Rha had that in spades.”
In 2019, Seda-Reeder recommended Kang apply for Wave Pool’s curatorial residency. The position led to Kang’s solo curation of Sentiments of Here, which grew out of her master’s thesis, “The Mood of Nothing: Depictions of Extraordinary Banality.” Kang laughs at the memory. “That’s a very long title,” she says. “Very ‘art history’ heavy.”
Kang hoped that exploring her thesis topic in physical form would resolve some of the unfinished feelings she had about her academic research paper. Maybe it would
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CINCINNATI HOME
Indoor Outdoor Living
A KENTUCKY HOME PERFECT FOR ENTERTAINING.
803 Squire Hill Dr. is a traditional, yet elegant, Crescent Springs home, just behind Crescent Springs Park. Although it was constructed in 1975, the home was completely transformed in the last seven years by owners Dan and Carina Sullivan. It now features a series of modern updates, including interior renovations and the construction of a new outdoor entertainment space.
THE HOME’S BACKYARD, WHERE THE SULLIVANS commissioned the construction of a magnificent outdoor entertainment space. The covered area is perfect for hosting backyard cookouts with friends and family—its “kitchen” includes a built-in gas grill, Big Green Egg smoker, and ample counter space. Guests can chat in the sizable lounge area, no matter the weather—a wood-burning fireplace is sure to keep everyone cozy and warm—or work on their short game on the backyard putting green (not pictured).
Continued on page 80
THE HOME’S GRAND, TWO-STORY entryway is resplendent with a sweeping staircase and glossy, blackand-white checkerboard marble flooring. While there are no overhead windows into the impressive foyer, a colossal chandelier (original to the home) lights up the space—the Sullivans believe it was too impressive to even consider replacing.
FOUR OF THE HOME’S FIVE BEDROOMS COME WITH their own full, private bathrooms, all renovated within the last seven years. The primary bath is the star of the show, boasting a sizable walk-in shower, impressive tub, and a double sink with an abundance of cabinetry and vanity space.
THE SULLIVANS IMPLEMENTED COLORFUL WALLPAPER throughout some rooms of the home, including in the laundry room, rear entrance, and two of the six total bathrooms. The fun patterns add a playful touch to the otherwise stately home.
THE DREAMY FIRST-FLOOR FAMILY ROOM includes a homey gas fireplace and fabulous 14-foot ceilings with windows from floor to ceiling, flooding the room with natural light and gorgeous views of the surrounding woods and sky. Complete with its own mini bar, the room is the perfect place to wind down at the end of a long day, drink in hand. The front room’s moody hues and tasteful coffered ceiling make it an elegant entertaining space as well—also with access to billiards.
THE 4,690-SQUARE-FOOT HOME SITS ON A 1.62acre waterside lot, its rear face abutting a private pond. The first-floor primary bedroom holds the title for best waterfront views—an entire wall of multi-paned windows allows you to watch the seasons go by from the comfort of your bed.
THE HOME’S BASEMENT WAS RECENTLY FINISHED to include a fifth bedroom, family room, and exercise room—perfect for giving overnight guests
THE KITCHEN UNDERWENT A THOROUGH REMODEL in 2023 thanks to independent contractor Steve Arnsberger. The space is now a chef’s dream, complete with custom cabinetry, high-end BlueStar appliances, and sleek quartz countertops. The center island provides ample space for cooking prep or casual dining, and an electric fireplace makes a perfect spot for cozying up with morning coffee or nighttime tea.
The Boardwalk Residences
Amy Kennedy, Director of Residential Sales, Ovation, introduces you to a mixeduse, walkable community that has it all.
ATERFRONT URBAN LIVING WITH A view—this is what’s hot in today’s real estate market. Modern buyers are looking for more than just a home; they want convenience, community, and connectivity seamlessly integrated into their lifestyle. They prioritize access—to people, top-tier dining, entertainment, cultural experiences, and nature—without sacrificing serenity. They want it all.
This demand for live-work-play-stay environments has driven the rise of walkable, mixed-use developments that blend urban energy with natural beauty. Luxury is no longer just about high-end finishes; it’s about location, accessibility, and a seamless living experience.
At Ovation in Northern Kentucky, The Boardwalk Residences redefine modern waterfront living. Situated directly on the riverfront with unparalleled downtown Cincinnati skyline views, these luxury condominiums offer an exclusive retreat with immediate access to entertainment, dining, and outdoor spaces. Residents
enjoy the tranquility of a private enclave while being steps from a dynamic urban scene, providing the best of both worlds.
Designed to maximize breathtaking views, each home features expansive riverfront balconies with translucent glass handrails, creating an uninterrupted indoor-outdoor connection. Private, direct elevator access from a secure, reserved parking garage ensures both convenience and peace of mind.
Beyond aesthetics, today’s buyers demand smart home technology, maintenance-free living, and seamless accessibility. The Boardwalk Residences deliver on all fronts, offering a thoughtfully curated experience for the modern homeowner.
As consumer preferences continue to evolve, one thing remains clear: Real estate is no longer just about where you live—it’s about how you live. For those seeking the ultimate waterfront urban lifestyle, The Boardwalk Residences at Ovation offers an unmatched opportunity.
Living in the Future
A MINIMALISTIC MT. ADAMS HOME OFFERS LUXURIOUS LIVING.
1059 Celestial St. is a futuristic modern home, its design focused on curves, infinite shapes, and waves. Aside from its sleek, minimalist aesthetic, it also prioritizes functionality, embracing technological advancement in everything from its lighting choices to high-grade appliances to solar panels. The home was constructed by architect Jose Garcia, who incorporates seven elements into all of his “futuristic modern” designs: line, shape, form, value, color, texture, and space.
THE EXTERIOR OF THE HOME IS CUBIC IN SHAPE and uses reclaimed Douglas Fir and Tennessee Sandstone to create a simplistic, yet futuristic look. Similar elements are used in the construction materials throughout the rest of the home—warm natural wood and cross-section wood ceramics create a minimal, yet comfortable environment.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS FARR
GARCIA SOUGHT TO BRING NATURE INTO DESIGN BY UTILIZING ELEMENTS like glass walls to close the gap between the home and its environment. An expansive wall of windows offers stunning, 180-degree views of downtown from sunrise to sunset. An atrium in the center of the home is accessible from the front entryway, made with imported, German-designed glass walls and complete with a live tree growing toward the sky.
1059 CELESTIAL ST. IS A PERFECT SPACE FOR CINCINNATI’S ELITE ATHLETES.
There’s no need to drive to the gym or run the steep hills of Mt. Adams—the home comes with a fully equipped and automated fitness room, also with gorgeous views of the outdoors.
THE KITCHEN IS BUILT WITH EASE IN MIND, featuring high-end appliances, twin dishwashers, and a wine cooler. Morning or evening, the space is flooded with natural light by yet more surrounding walls of windows.
MODERN, LUXURIOUS AMENITIES ABOUND throughout the home. Automated shades and bedside lighting controls in the primary bedroom suite make it easy to brighten up the room without even lifting your head from your pillow.
ENTERTAINING AT 1059 Celestial St. is made easy. Ample living space spreads across three floors, all of which boast their own outdoor patio, and a fully equipped rooftop terrace includes a gas fireplace, room for seating and gathering, and gorgeous panoramic views of the city.
Market Trends
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE MARKET RIGHT NOW?
The Cincinnati real estate market is seeing a surge in demand for move-inready homes. With interest rates fluctuating, buyers are more cautious with their purchases, favoring well-priced homes with clear value. Renovations focused on kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoor spaces are driving higher returns. We’re also seeing an increase in first-time homebuyers as more millennials enter the market.
Local homeowners and home buyers want to know what’s ahead for 2025. Eva Kavanagh, Vice President of Marketing for Sibcy Cline, provides a preview.
LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT ARE THE TRENDS FOR 2025?
In 2025, sustainability and energy-efficient homes will be a top priority. Buyers are looking for properties with features like solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, and smart home technology. Walkable neighborhoods and mixed-use developments will continue to attract attention, as people value convenience and community. For investors, the rental market in Cincinnati is expected to remain strong, especially in popular areas like Over-theRhine and Oakley.
Since
1890
WHAT SHOULD POTENTIAL BUYERS AND SELLERS KEEP IN MIND?
It’s a competitive real estate market right now, and preparation in buying or selling makes all the difference. Homes that are properly staged, priced right, and marketed effectively are selling faster and for top dollar. Buyers should know that getting pre-approved and working with an experienced agent can make their offer stand out in multiple-offer situations. Sellers should be aware that small updates can yield big returns, especially in a city like Cincinnati where curb appeal matters.
Hot for 2025
CCORDING TO JOEL POULIN, GENERAL Manager of Ray St. Clair Roofing, there are more choices than ever before in exterior color palettes for roofing, gutters, siding, and trim. “Savvy consumers are looking for quality products backed by long-standing companies,” he says, emphasizing that professional installation is as crucial as the quality of the products.
“As a third generation family-owned business, we’ve been providing trusted and professional installations for more than 70 years now.”
Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati members are seeing a strong demand for technologically-advanced smart homes. “People want the ability to control entertainment, climate, and lighting systems via their phones,” says Carmen Hickerson, the association’s
Local experts weigh in on what’s new and most popular in the home improvement industry.
executive director. She also notes the need for customized storage and work spaces, something Closets by Design is positioned to bring to life. “Custom closets are no longer just about storage; they’re an extension of one’s personal style and can significantly enhance daily routines,” says Closets by Design President LV Semona. There’s also interest in outdoor entertaining spaces, including lighting, landscaping, and outdoor kitchens and fireplaces.
That lines up with what Gustin Construction President Gus McKinley hears from his customers. “Pools, sport courts, and outdoor entertaining areas are popular,” he says. That includes pickleball courts that can be used for basketball, volleyball, or badminton.
In the transition between indoor and outdoor living, windows and doors make
EVERYTHING FOR YOUR NEXT
all the difference. Nathan Madden, GM of Trade and Commercial Sales at Pella Windows, explains that large-format windows and doors with thin frames are increasingly popular with consumers. “Floor-toceiling doors and windows with expansive glass open up the space, making it feel bigger,” he says. Pella’s hidden screens even allow 44 percent more natural light into your home when the windows are closed than a traditional screen.
In terms of where to shop for home improvement needs, Menards offers a wide array of products for both interior and exterior projects, from lumber and roofing to appliances and garden supplies.
A family-owned Midwestern company known for treating customers like family, Menards is known as the “low price leader,” with the slogan “SAVE BIG MONEY.”
OUT OF THE BOX
work better as an exhibition than it did as a piece of writing, she thought.
She considers how to explain the concept of a show that began with the idea of nothingness. “It was the sense that some of the art I was drawn to was very reductive and banal,” she says. But in reality, those same pieces could seem beautiful and striking. “I was thinking of the paradox. I was thinking about how we feel about art. How something makes you feel something.”
She stops mid-thought. “I can feel this getting wordy and heady,” she says, and she doesn’t want that.
Gestures of Slowness, with a theme of time and stillness. Kang’s show description references “seemingly uneventful, empty, and silent spaces.” Ironically, its summer 2020 run coincided with COVID’s emergence, when empty public spaces became the norm.
The pandemic deprived the show of the attention it deserved, Distel says. But Kang’s curatorial style left an impression that he’d remember when The Carnegie began searching for his replacement a few years later.
Kang became director of galleries and outreach at Northern Kentucky University in 2021. She credits an encounter with a renowned but misunderstood piece of banal artwork as one reason for accepting the job.
She noticed an aluminum box sculpture sitting on a grassy patch in the center of campus as she walked to her interview. She recognized it as the work of minimalist Donald Judd and began to ask about its presence at NKU. The university’s art department leaders had little information.
The university commissioned Judd
“I THOUGHT MY WAVE POOL SHOW IN 2020 WOULD BE A ONE-AND-DONE EXPERIENCE,” SAYS KANG. “I’M A VERY PRIVATE PERSON. CURATING IS VERY PUBLIC. IT SCARED ME.”
But after some encouragement, Kang digs a little deeper. The Wave Pool show applied her perspective on banality to qualities of the Midwest, she says, noting the region can seem plain. “I think about corn fields,” she says. “My high school was flanked by them.”
While at Wave Pool, Kang frequently interacted with curators from around the world, and many of them questioned why she chose to live in Cincinnati—perhaps judging the city based on the region’s stereotypical reputation. She hoped the exhibition could reveal the underlying richness of the place she calls home.
Sentiments ran in January and February 2020.“I thought it would be a one-and-done experience,” she says, remembering how terrified she felt then. “I’m a very private person. Curating is very public. It scared me.”
Distel saw the show and invited her to guest curate an exhibit at The Carnegie,
to create the piece in 1977. As minimalist artwork often does, it sparked a mix of criticism, interest, and confusion. Over the years, though, the significance of the sculpture students call The Box had largely been forgotten, Kang discovered. Several faculty and staff shared rumors that Judd had disowned the work, exposing a mystery she determined to solve.
Rachael Banks, a photography professor and member of the gallery director search committee, remembers the response to Kang’s fascination with The Box. “She was so excited, and everybody else was like, I don’t get it,” says Banks, who notes the responses didn’t deter Kang. She pursued and won a grant to visit Marfa, Texas, home of the Judd Foundation, where she pored through Judd’s archives and interviewed experts. She learned the artist had never disowned the sculpture. “It is very much still his,” she says.
When time allows, Kang hopes to publish her findings about a dispute that’s likely the source of the disownment rumors, but her research efforts have already had an impact on campus. Banks, at least, now takes notice of the sculpture she’d passed without thought for eight years before Kang researched its history. “Sso-Rha looks at things beyond what you see at the surface and really extracts that deeper meaning,” she says. And once you have that insight, she says, you can’t look at something the same way again.
Banks says she now thinks of Kang whenever she passes The Box. She even contemplates the significance of its place in the art landscape.
KANG BECAME KNOWN AT NKU FOR EXperimenting with offbeat events intended to make art more inviting and accessible for students. She invited the multimedia arts group Froghole to give outdoor performances and collaborated with the campus literary club to host a combination open mic night, photo exhibit, concert, and poetry reading in the gallery.
On a more personal level, Kang organized Here and There: Navigating the Cultural In-Between, which featured 15 ceramic artists with Korean heritage and explored how they negotiate bicultural identities. The show received international acclaim and was featured in an issue of Korean Ceramic Monthly. It was the first time Kang, who was born in South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. at age 5, had connected curatorial work with her cultural identity so directly. She remembers the event as an amazing experience and discovered wideranging connections with the artists.
“I feel like [there] was a fear that people were going to try to pigeonhole me as a Korean curator,” she says, emphasizing that she’s never felt boxed in by Cincinnati’s arts community. But she sees a larger issue, rooted in systemic racism, that can limit opportunities for nonwhite artists.
She wrestled with the issue again last fall when she took on Memory Fields, an exhibition showcasing the works of artists of Eastern Asian descent. This time she decided to address the topic less directly by purposefully not including the artists’ cultural identities in promotional mate-
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rials. “When you contextualize a show about identity, people often arrive with an expectation that it’s supposed to look a certain way,” she says, noting they often assume the work is tied to immigration and/or trauma.
Kang appreciates artists who use their work to address such important topics, but she wanted to give these artists freedom to tackle the “memory” theme more broadly. She also hoped to make the artists’ messages more relatable to people of all backgrounds. “Doing that was weirdly subversive,” she says. “I think it was sadly subversive.”
Weston Art Gallery Director Michael Goodson, who hosted the show, believes the layered approach worked well. “It really was a tool to open the viewer up and not create a polarized experience,” he says.
Emily Hanako Momohara, head of the photography track and interim chair of studio arts at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, recommended Kang as the curator for Memory Fields and later participated as an artist in the show. She describes Kang’s relationships with artists as unique. “I don’t think a lot of curators go to that level of really trying to understand your work and its relationships to other works,” she says. “Sso-Rha literally goes piece by piece, figuring out how they go together contextually. She’s just an incredible curator.”
FOR THIS NEW CARNEGIE EXHIBIT, Kang invited artists to broadly explore themes of ritual “from objects that we hold with reverence to superstitions that dictate behavior or systems that maintain or subvert expectations.” If you ask her about inspirations for the theme, she says she sees connections to “rituals” in almost every aspect of her life.
It links to her bicultural KoreanAmerican upbringing and athletic team experience at Mason High School. Since immigrating to this country as a child, she’s learned ritualistic practices from both cultures—the different ways they celebrate holidays, the levels of formality in the languages—and she navigates between them as needed. “It’s something that can happen very organically,” she says. “If I’m with a group of Korean peo-
ple, even my mannerisms can change.”
In high school, her world centered on the tennis court. She played on Mason’s varsity team all four years, serving as captain her senior year. She was small but competitive. “I really didn’t like to lose, so I played to the very last point,” she says.
Kang dropped tennis after she was accepted into UC. But Notations on Ritual has rekindled memories of the customs of sport. She recalls the way she bounced the ball before the serve. Everyone has a different rhythm, she says, and it’s almost meditative in a way. She brings it back to her world today. “It’s kind of similar to how I think about certain artists or painters, how they get into a certain meditative zone,” she says. “I think they call it a flow state.”
She even connects the theme to more whimsical aspects of her everyday life, like her tendency to follow expressions of hope and good fortune with the pronouncement “Knock on wood!” and a tap on the nearest thing resembling maple, oak, hickory, or cherry. She did this so often during the installation of Memory Fields that it became an inside joke.
“I know it’s ridiculous and makes no sense,” she says. “But it makes me feel better.” To not do it seems like tempting fate. She shrugs. “Why risk it?” Some might call it a superstitious habit, but Kang sees a ritualistic practice.
The layers of Notations on Ritual also apply to the other word in the show’s title. Notations reflect the musical aspects of rituals, and the artists will explore the repetition and tempo of their studio practices. Behind the scenes, Kang also thinks about musical compositions when designing her worlds: notes on a score, rhythm and sound, and empty spaces between the notes. The spaces are as important as the notes themselves, she says. She likes empty space and intentionally leaves certain walls open in her exhibitions. “I find the fewer works there are the more time people tend to spend with them,” she says. “It offers people time to make connections.”
ON THIS WINTRY DECEMBER DAY, THE rhythm and flow of Notations on Ritual play out in her head as Kang reworks her
floor plans yet again. To the casual eye, the plans reveal little beyond the permanent fixtures of the iconic Carnegie building, which opened in 1904 as home to the Covington Public Library. The structure, funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, is recognized for its Beaux-Arts architecture and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. It’s not the typical art gallery space—you can still see the circulation desk’s imprint on the first level floor.
An unnamed circle in the center of the first floor gallery box designates an enormous dome-topped rotunda overlook. A ladder-like diagram near the Scott Street entrance indicates the building’s dual staircases leading to a circular balcony and the pocket galleries above. Such architectural features pose challenges for curators accustomed to planning shows against a backdrop of long white walls, but Kang appreciates the quirky layout. She describes the space as “beautiful, ornate, and detailed.” She pauses, her serious expression sliding into a grin. The Carnegie, she says, gives artists and curators a lot of room to play.
Notations on Ritual will feature eight artists playing with media and styles ranging from Hannah Parrett’s relief carvings whittled in foam and wood to Aubrey Theobald’s interactive installation incorporating a collection of sounds. In two weeks of maneuvering digital boxes, Kang has generated 10 floor plan variations.
In the latest iteration, six yellow lines signify Brett Davis’s photo transparencies, which will activate the first floor’s massive windows, creating a stained-glass effect in bright reds, yellows, blues, and greens. Kang thinks they’ll contrast nicely with Rachael Banks’s series of black-and-white images from cameras placed along a deer trail in her Newport backyard. A black line marks the spot for the deer pictures for now, but their final location remains uncertain.
A squiggly blue blob in the corner of the first floor gallery represents the possible home of a wooden table custom-built in the shape of a mulberry for showcasing a collection of Erika NJ
Allen’s porcelain fruits. The blob location, too, may change. Kang isn’t sure the 4-by-8-foot table can hold its own in the almost 3,000-square-foot space beneath the massive rotunda.
“It’s a beast of a gallery,” she says with a note of awe during a tour of the physical space. She looks across the gallery and shakes her head. “It’s really big.” If the mulberry table looks overwhelmed, Kang says she’ll probably move it upstairs. But that would introduce a new note in her visual score and possibly disrupt the entire composition.
Through the floor plans, Kang tries to catch and resolve problems long before the installation phase begins. She acknowledges a fear of failing and worries that something will go wrong. “It’s a group show, and I’m kind of the connection point with everyone,” she says. “I want to make sure I’m finding the right balance. My job is to make sure it’s a cohesive, full composition.” In her ideal world, nothing would be left unresolved. But she knows that reality, like most things in life, is complex.
Kang’s show description for Notations on Ritual reads, in part, “Rituals are a form of world building with the ability to create atmospheres and conjure moods, which can produce tremendous affect that can range from paranoia, fear, comfort, safety, and joy.” The essay highlights the rituals reflected in the artists’ work—ecological concerns in Ceirra Evans’s depiction of river baptisms, Calista Lyon’s research on the behavior of clouds, and depictions of care and community in Dianna Settles’s paintings.
The description intentionally avoids mention of Kang’s personal connections to the ritual theme. While her words may also capture the emotions and rhythms of her curatorial process, she prefers to keep those connections beneath the surface. The exhibit, she says, should focus on the artists.
Kang finds comfort in the artists when she’s caught in the grasp of her own ritualistic paranoia and fear. Their work, she thinks, is good. She just needs to give it space to breathe and look its best. And, of course, it wouldn’t hurt to knock on wood.
Impact 100 is a catalyst for change through the power of women’s collective giving. We fuel missions that uplift, educate, and empower. Over $7 million has been granted to amplify the reach of local organizations that day. When women come together, extraordinary things happen.
BACK TO BAKE’S P. 98
D NE
GROCER IN NORTHSIDE P. 98 DINER-STYLE BURGERS IN OTR P.
NUG IT OUT
The tofu “nugs” (a.k.a. nuggets) at Milkman are 100 percent vegan, and so crispy that even meat eaters will be fooled.
The Place to Be
AFTER BEING FORCED TO SHUT DOWN ITS SPOT IN THE MERCANTILE CENTER DUE TO redevelopment back in 2022, Bake’s Place landed comfortably in the Queen City Square building on Fourth Street, bringing its lunchtime vibes to office workers on the east side of downtown. The bright, airy space feels like a modern take on an old-school diner, a nice break from cube farm life. And since everything on the menu is made to order, you’ll need somewhere to sit for the long-ish wait.
The specials rotate quite often (when you see them on the menu, be sure to catch the ghost chicken sandwich—blackened chicken with ghost pepper cheese, fried jalapeños, and chipotle ranch—or the Bake’s 4-Way, the eatery’s take on the city’s obsession with chili, spaghetti, cheese, and onions), but some seem to hold their spots on the list in perpetuity. For instance, the shrimp po’boy. Doused in a remoulade and accompanied by chopped lettuce, pickles, and tomato, the tender crustaceans are nestled in a toasted roll, a great on-the-go option for those with little time to spare between meetings. The menu is also full of deli sandwiches, soups, and wraps, like the Wisconsin turkey melt and the twice-baked potato soup.
If you’re downtown early enough, grab something from the breakfast menu. It has all of the meat, eggs, and cheese you’d expect from a neighborhood diner. —AIESHA D. LITTLE
THE OWNERS OF LIERER’S Market create a testament to lowwaste living in Northside.
What inspired you to do this? Bryan: We wanted a grocery that we wanted to shop at: more sustainable, revolved around the theme of refills. And a hub for education, too. People can come here without judgment and learn how to live more sustainably.
Is it a challenge to serve customers who just want to come in and get a few things they need for dinner versus the ones actively embracing sustainability? Alex: We do have some people who come in off the street and are just kind of hoping for quick and convenient. But we’ve actually been surprised how many people are seeking us out and seeking the opportunity for refill over things in plastic.
What’s your advice for a new customer who finds this a little overwhelming? Alex: Just small steps. Something that you can change and continue to sustain. Maybe you can’t get all of your pantry items from us, but there are things that you get regularly that you’re able to refill. Like rolled oats, for example, is a really popular one. But then also just simple things. Taking a reusable mug to the coffee shop. Or if you’re somebody who takes your meal to work, reusable utensils. Small little things like that can have a big impact over time. Bryan: Once people start, they do want to do more.
– JASON COHEN
Bake’s Place, 301 E. Fourth St., downtown, (513) 620-0200
Our lavish four-night dinner series returns to a new venue, and a new format: themed dining evenings, culminating in Friday’s exclusive Grand Savor Experience.
Limited tickets available.
CINCINNATIMAGAZINE.COM/SAVOR
Burger Heaven
This diner offers oldschool classics and newschool favorites.
MILKMAN PLAYS THE CLASSICS. THE black-and-white aesthetic oozes pure vintage vibes, and the menu showcases updated fare that’s loyal to old diner spirit, like the chili cheese dog. It’s fun to tailor something to your unique tastes, though. The “Make Your Own Damn Burger” option lists everything Milkman has available, and it’s up to you how things stack up.
Even if you bury it in toppings, the burger holds its own. Seared-in flavor keeps the meat rich and juicy. Frilly edges escape the bun, and while it isn’t quite thick cut, it’s substantial where it counts. Premium toppings like bacon are well worth the upcharge. If you want to get creative, make a Cincinnati-style chili burger. The house chili tastes like home, and it’s great on fries, too.
Two sauces rise above the rest: the special sauce and the garlic herb mayo. The mayo tastes like spring, and its bright blend marries diverse ingredients, like the spice and fat in the Spicy Burger. The special sauce is pure magic. Does the pep come from cream of tartar? Maybe. Will we ever learn its secrets? Unlikely. Despite the emphasis on red meat, Milkman has a coop’s worth of chicken sandwiches and nuggets. The tofu nuggets (breaded and deep-fried tofu blocks) have a crisp, savory breading that contrasts with the fluffy bean curd. Don’t forget to save room for the boozy milkshakes. They’re everything your inner child needs to kick off the weekend. —M. LEIGH HOOD
CINCINNATI MAGAZINE’S dining guide is compiled by our editors as a service to our readers. The magazine accepts no advertising or other consideration in exchange for a restaurant listing. The editors may add or delete restaurants based on their judgment. Because of space limitations, all
of the guide’s restaurants may not be included. Many restaurants have changing seasonal menus; dishes listed here are examples of the type of cuisine available and may not be on the menu when you visit.
To update listings, e-mail: cmletters@cincinnati magazine.com
AMERICAN
BOOMTOWN BISCUITS & WHISKEY
Boomtown leans hard into the Gold Rush theme: prospector-style overall aprons on servers, bluegrass tunes humming, and rustic decor details. And the dense grub isn’t for the faint of heart. Arrive with an empty belly, ready for a carbo load. The biscuits are all they’re cracked up to be, and the gravy’s not playing around, either. Sample biscuits and gravy styles with a gravy flight. Or try The Yukon, an anytime breakfast sandwich, featuring fried chicken on par with the best the city has to offer. By the end of the meal, you’ll feel a little out of place without your own denim getup. 9039 U.S. Route 42, Suite H, Union, (859) 384-5910, boomtownbiscuitsandwhiskey. com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Wed–Sat. Breakfast and lunch Sun. MCC. $
BROWN DOG CAFÉ
If you haven’t had a plate of Shawn McCoy’s design set in front of you, it’s about time. Many of the menu’s dishes show his knack for the plate as a palette. A trio of duck breast, lamb chop, and demi haute chocolate boar is a standout. The eye for detail and contrasts of colors and textures belongs to someone who cares for food.
1000 Summit Place, Blue Ash, (513) 794-1610, thebrowndogcafe.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat, brunch Sat. MCC, DS. $$$
COZY’S CAFÉ & PUB
On a visit to England, Jan Collins discovered the “cozy” atmosphere of London restaurants built in historic houses. She brought that warm, comfortable feeling back to the United States wirh Cozy’s. Though the atmosphere in the restaurant is reminiscent of Collins’s London travels, the food remains proudly American. The produce in virtually every dish is fresh, seasonal, and flavorful. The braised short rib stands out with its cheesy grits and haystack onions along with a portion of tender meat. And when it comes down to the classics, from the biscuits that open the meal to the carrot cake at the end, Cozy’s does it right. 6440 Cincinnati Dayton Rd., Liberty Twp.,
BOY, OH, BOY
Daniel Souder, owner of Walnut Hills wine shop Iris Read, plans to open a restaurant, butcher shop, and deli in Columbia Township later this summer. Danny Boy, which will be located at 6898 Murray Ave. in Mariemont, will also have a full-service bar and retail space on the second floor.
KEY: No checks unless specified.
AE American Express, DC Diners Club
DS Discover, MC MasterCard, V Visa MCC Major credit cards: AE, MC, V
$ = Under $15
$$ = Up to $30
$$$ = Up to $49 $$$$ = $50 and up
= Named a Best Restaurant March 2023. Top 10
= Named a Best New Restaurant March 2024.
(513) 644-9365, cozyscafeandpub.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC, DS. $$$
EMBERS
The menu here is built for celebration: poshly priced steak and sushi selections are meant to suit every special occasion. Appetizers are both classic (shrimp cocktail) and Asian-inspired (shrimp tempura); fashionable ingredients are name-checked (micro-greens and truffles); a prominent sushi section (nigiri, sashimi, and rolls) precedes a list of archetypal salads; Kobe beef on sushi rolls sidles up to steaks of prime; non-steak entrées (Chilean sea bass or Dover sole with haricots verts and almondine) make for high-style alternative selections. Talk about a party.
Back in the streetcar days, this roughly 100-yearold roadhouse was at the end of the Dixie Highway line, where the cars turned around to head north. The place was called the Dixie Tea Room then, and they served ice cream. The fried chicken came along in the 1930s, and they’re still dishing it up today. Families and regulars alike pile in on Mondays and Tuesdays for the fried chicken special. While the juicy (never greasy) chicken with its lightly seasoned, crisp coating is the star, the side dishes—homemade biscuits, coleslaw, green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy—will make you ask for seconds. Call ahead no matter what night you choose: There’s bound to be a crowd. Not in the mood for chicken? Choose from steaks, seafood, sandwiches, and comfort food options that include meatloaf and a Kentucky Hot Brown. Or just try the onion rings. You’ll wonder where onions that big come from.
2500 Dixie Highway, Ft. Mitchell, (859) 3313767, greyhoundtavern.com. Lunch and dinner seven days, brunch Sun. MCC, DS. $$
MR. GENE’S DOGHOUSE
Cumminsville is home to arguably the best hot chili cheese mett and chocolate malt in Greater Cincinnati. A family-owned business that began as a simple hot dog stand more than 50 years ago, Mr. Gene’s still attracts lines of loyal customers at its
windows. Can’t stand the heat? Order the mild chili cheese mett—more flavor, fewer BTUs. And if you still haven’t embraced Cincinnati-style coneys, try the Chicago-style hot dog with pickles, onions, relish, mustard, tomato, sport peppers, and celery salt; a pork sandwich; or wings (a sign proclaims “So hot they make the devil sweat”). Although the chocolate malt is the biggest seller, we love the $4.75 pineapple shake, made with real pineapple. 3703 Beekman St., South Cumminsville, (513) 541-7636, mrgenesdoghouse.com. Open Feb–Oct for lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MC, V. $
Top
10 IVORY HOUSE
The menu here generally doesn’t reinvent dishes or introduce outlandish flavors, but simply pays attention to enough little things to make the results unusually good. All steaks are premium and hand-selected, the star player being the Japanese A5 Wagyu. The Ultimate Surf & Turf is a date night favorite with a 34-ounce Angus Tomahawk, four shrimp, four scallops,and two lobster tails. Bluefin tuna steak is complemented by cilantro lime rice, a vegetable medley, chimichurri, and a soy ginger vinaigrette. Confit duck leg, an Ivory House specialty, is served with parsnip mash, confit beets, and berry gastrique. The cocktails are ones you’ve probably seen before, but everything—from the Death Valley Farm Old Fashioned to the Best West Lemon Drop—has an extra dash of liveliness from a house-made element, like the rosemary syrup.
In Northstar’s first outpost beyond the Greater Columbus area, the space itself reflects the ethos of the food: warm and comfortable, but still modern and fresh. The dinner and cocktail menus are fab, as is the large bar. But breakfast is worth waking up early for. Take the mushroom frittata, made with meaty mushrooms, caramelized sweet onions, and Gruyère. The portions are no joke—that frittata comes with breakfast potatoes and arugula—yet it doesn’t feel gluttonous or excessive. In large part that’s due to the freshness (e.g., the sausage made in-house daily) and the abundance of healthy options. One of our favorites: the shooting star juice, a balanced blend of carrot, ginger,
orange, and lemon.
7610 Sloan Way, Liberty Township, (513) 759-0033, thenorthstarcafe.com. Breakfast and dinner seven days, lunch Mon–Fri, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC. No cash. $
QUATMAN CAFÉ
The quintessential neighborhood dive, Quatman’s sits in the shadow of the Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center, serving up a classic bar burger. Look elsewhere if you like your burger with exotic toppings: This half-pound of grilled beef is served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle. Sometimes cheese. The no-frills theme is straightforward and appealing. A menu of standard sandwich fare and smooth mock turtle soup; beer on tap or soda in cans (no wine or liquor); and plenty of kitsch is served daily. Peppered with regulars, families, and political discussions, Quatman’s is far from fancy, but it’s fun, fast, and delicious.
2434 Quatman Ave., Norwood, (513) 731-4370; 224 W. Main St., Mason, (513) 229-0222, quatmancafe.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS, MCC. $
RON’S ROOST
Ron’s stakes its reputation on its fried chicken, serving roughly 10,000 pieces weekly. It takes a few minutes, since each batch is made to order. Ron’s also serves chicken 18 other ways, including chicken livers in gravy. It’s all about the chicken here, but the menu is five solid pages of other stuff good enough to be called specialties: Oktoberfest sauerbraten, Black Angus cheeseburgers, fried whitefish on rye, hot bacon slaw, lemon meringue pie (homemade, of course), and the best Saratoga chips this side of Saratoga. 3853 Race Rd., Bridgetown, (513) 574-0222, ronsroost. net. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$
THE SCHOOLHOUSE RESTAURANT
An old flag stands in one corner and pictures of Abe Lincoln and the first George W. hang on the wall of this Civil War–era schoolhouse. The daily menu of familiar Midwestern comfort fare is written in letter-perfect cursive on the original chalkboard. Once you order from a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to your high school lunch lady, the elevated lazy Susan in the center of the table begins to fill up with individual bowls and baskets of cornbread, slaw, salad, mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and vegetables. The deal here is quantity. More mashed potatoes with your fried chicken? More cornbread with your baked ham? You don’t even have to raise your hand.
You no longer need an event to celebrate with a fish fry. At Candice Holloway’s restaurant, Soul Secrets, fried chicken and fish are always on the menu. Servers wearing T-shirts that read “my ancestors sent me” introduce guests to a trim menu full of the best soul food. You can’t go wrong with the fried fish platters. The whiting is good, but the catfish is divine. The cornmeal breading is so perfectly seasoned you won’t need salt, and the light crunch it adds doesn’t hide the star of the show. So soft it’s nearly fluffy, the catfish melts in your mouth. Each catfish platter delivers two enormous pieces of fish along with two sides and a cornbread muffin that may be the best in Cincinnati. This is the kind of meal you take home with you—not just in your heart but in a box—because chances are low you’ll conquer all the fish and sides in one go.
This Paddock Hills diner, with other locations in Over-theRhine and Blue Ash, has been dishing up wispy-thin pancakes and football-sized omelettes to Cincinnatians since FDR was signing new deals. Breakfast and lunch offerings mix old-hat classics like steak and eggs, corned beef hash, and basic burgers with funky iterations that draw on ethnic
ingredients such as chorizo and tzatziki. Get here early if you don’t want to stand in line.
4381 Reading Rd., Paddock Hills, (513) 242-3521; 1203 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 762-0390; 10275 Summit Pkwy., Blue Ash, (513) 447-6453, eatsugarnspice. com. Breakfast and lunch seven days. MCC. $
TANO BISTRO
This Loveland bistro is comfortable, with reasonably priced food and amenable service. The menu is tidy—25 or so dishes divided between appetizers, salads, and entrées, plus two or three specials—its flavor profile partially influenced by growing up in a third-generation Italian family. Most of Tano Bistro’s main courses lean toward the comfortable side of American. For instance, Chef/Owner Gaetano Williams serves a stuffed salmon and an allegiance pork chop. The sprout & snout appetizer is also worth a trip to Loveland, combining balsamic-drizzled Brussels sprouts with sliced pork belly.
204 W. Loveland Ave., Loveland, (513) 683-8266; 150 Riverfront Plaza, Hamilton, (513) 795-8654, foodbytano. com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat, dinner Sun & Mon. MCC. $$$
TRIO
Trio is nothing if not a crowd-pleaser. Whether you’re in the mood for a California-style pizza or filet mignon (with a baked potato and compound herb butter), the menu is broad enough to offer something for everyone. It may lack a cohesive point of view, but with the number of regulars who come in seven nights a week, variety is Trio’s ace in the hole. A simple Margherita pizza with Roma tomatoes, basil, Parmesan, and mozzarella delivered a fine balance of crunchy crust, soft cheese, and sweet roasted tomatoes. Paired with a glass of pinot noir, it made a perfect light meal. The service is friendly enough for a casual neighborhood joint but comes with white tablecloth attentiveness and knowledge. Combine that with the consistency in the kitchen, and Trio is a safe bet.
Wildflower Café is not the sort of place that tries to wow anyone with feats of inventiveness. Its formula is simple but satisfying: lots of mostly local meat and produce, a menu that continuously changes with available ingredients, a nice selection of wine and beer, and well-made, homey food. The small, focused menu has a classic American quality (salads, steaks, burgers) with enough surprises to keep things interesting. Many of the dishes are designed with open spaces to be filled with whatever is available in the kitchen that day, an advantage of an unfussy style. You don’t go to Wildflower expecting a certain kind of perfection; you accept that your favorite dish from last time might be made differently tonight, or no longer available. Like the farmhouse that Wildflower occupies, the imperfections are part of the charm.
207 E. Main St., Mason, (513) 492-7514, wildflowermason.com. Dinner Mon–Fri. MCC. $$$
BARBECUE
BEE’S BARBEQUE
You’ll want to get to Bee’s early if you want to avoid the line of friendly regulars. The restaurant’s smoker churns out a variety of meats—including brisket, pulled pork, ribs, turkey breast, and two kinds of sausage—so it’s easy to see why they keep coming back. If you enjoy the spicy grease that oozes out of a good chorizo, you’ll love the Cincinnati Hot Link, which tastes like the delicious love child of a chorizo and a hot mett. Word to the wise: Bee’s opens at 11 a.m. and closes when they run out of meat. Understandably, this doesn’t take long.
Elias Leisring started building his pulled pork reputation under canopies at Findlay Market and Fountain Square
in 2011. Leisring’s proper little ’cue shack along the river serves up ribs that are speaking-in-tongues good, some of the zazziest jalapeño cheese grits north of the MasonDixon line, and browned mashed potatoes that would make any short-order cook diner-proud. The small no-frills restaurant—packed cheek-by-jowl most nights—feels like it’s been there a lifetime, with customers dropping vinyl on the turntable, dogs romping in the side yard, and picnic tables crowded with diners. The hooch is bring-your-own, and the barbecue is bona fide.
3313 Riverside Dr., East End, (513) 533-1957; 133 West Elder St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 533-1957, ext. 2, elisbarbeque.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $
WALT’S HITCHING POST
A Northern Kentucky institution returns. Roughly 750 pounds of ribs per week are pit-fired in a small building in front of the restaurant, with a smaller dedicated smoker out back for brisket and chicken. Walt’s ribs begin with several hours in the smokehouse and then are quick-seared at the time of service. This hybrid method takes advantage of the leaner nature of the baby-back ribs they prefer to use. Each rib had a just-right tooth to it where soft flesh peeled away from the bone. One hidden treasure: Walt’s homemade tomato and garlic dressing. Slightly thicker than a vinaigrette yet unwilling to overwhelm a plate of greens, the two key elements play well together.
3300 Madison Pke., Ft. Wright, (859) 360-2222, waltshitchingpost.com. Dinner seven days. MCC. $$
CAJUN/ CARIBBEAN
BREWRIVER CREOLE
More than 800 miles from New Orleans, this may be as close as you can get to the real deal here in your own backyard. The menu fully leans into Chef Michael Shields’s penchant for cuisine from the Crescent City. His six years of training under NOLA’s own Emeril Lagasse comes through in a scratch kitchen menu that spans a range of the city’s classics. The enormous shrimp and oyster po’boys—the former protein fried in a light and crispy beer batter and the latter in a hearty cornmeal breading—are served on fluffy French bread loaves and dressed with lightly spicy rémoulades. The jambalaya packs all the heat of a late summer day in the French Quarter without masking a hint of its satisfying flavors. Paired with a Sazerac and nightly live jazz, you may just feel tempted to start a second line.
4632 Eastern Ave., Linwood, (513) 861-2484, brewrivercreolekitchen.com. Dinner Tues–Sun, brunch and lunch Sat & Sun. MCC. $
SWAMPWATER GRILL
At first blush, this place is a dive where homesick Cajuns can find a good pile of jambalaya. But thoughtful details like draft Abita Root Beer and char-grilled Gulf Coast oysters on the half shell signal its ambition. Bayou standards like jambalaya, gumbo, and fried seafood also make an appearance. But the extensive menu also features amped-up pubstyle items for those who may be squeamish about crawfish tails (which can be added to just about anything on the menu). You’ll also find a roundup of oyster, shrimp, catfish, and alligator po’boys, as well as a selection of hardwoodsmoked meats.
3742 Kellogg Ave., East End, (513) 834-7067, swampwatergrill.com. Lunch and dinner Wed–Sun, brunch Sat & Sun. V, MC, DS, AMEX. $$
KNOTTY PINE ON THE BAYOU
The Pine serves some of the best Louisiana home-style food you’ll find this far north of New Orleans. Taste the fried catfish filets with their peppery crust, or the garlic sauteed shrimp with smoky greens on the side, and you’ll understand why it’s called soul food. Between March and June, it’s crawfish season. Get them boiled and heaped high on a platter or in a superb crawfish etouffee. But the rockin’ gumbo—a thick, murky brew of andouille sausage, chicken, and vegetables—serves the best roundhouse punch all year round. As soon as you inhale the bouquet and take that first bite, you realize why Cajun-style food is considered a high art form and a serious pleasure. And you’ll start planning
A sense of energetic fun defines this tiny Chinese spot with a robust beer list. The glossy paper menu depicts Master Chef Rich Chu as a “Kung Food” master fighting the evil fast-food villain with dishes like “fly rice,” “Brocco-Lee,” and “Big Bird’s Nest.” Freshness rules. Potstickers, dumplings, and wontons are hand shaped. The Dragon’s Breath wontons will invade your dreams. Seasoned ground pork, onion, and cilantro meatballs are wrapped in egg dough, wok simmered, and topped with thick, spicy red pepper sauce and fresh cilantro. Noodles are clearly Chef Chu’s specialty, with zonxon (a tangle of thin noodles, finely chopped pork, and mushrooms cloaked in spicy dark sauce and crowned with peanuts and cilantro) and Matt Chu’s Special (shaved rice noodles, fried chicken, and seasonal vegetables in gingery white sauce) topping the menu’s flavor charts. 521 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 261-6121, kungfood. online. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Sat. MCC. $
GREAT TANG
Although the (24-page!) menu features classic dishes in every style, the specialty at Great Tang is the refined coastal cuisine of Zhejiang. If you like spice, you can get still the Sichuanese and Hunanese classics. One dish will hint at the surprises in store for people who are mainly used to Chinese takeout: the lovely Xian cold noodle. The dish is exquisitely layered: the creamy and nutty undertone of sesame paste, mixed with notes of tang and spice, topped with the bright pop of cilantro. The combination of textures is also delightful, with crunches of cucumber and sprouted mung and the softness of the flat noodles. And that tofu! It was wonderfully meaty, with dense layers, substantial and satisfying as a counterpart to the noodles. Be as brave as you are in the mood to be. Ask for some suggestions and prepare to be astonished.
7340 Kingsgate Way, West Chester, (513) 847-6097, greattangohio.com. Lunch and dinner Wed–Mon, dim sum Sat & Sun. MCC, DS. $$
ORIENTAL WOK
When Mike and Helen Wong opened Oriental Wok in 1977, the couple wanted to recreate the glamor and refinement of the Hong Kong-Cantonese cuisine they knew. Today, locals and expats alike enjoy authentic Chinese and Chinese-American dishes in dining rooms reminiscent of Beijing. Beyond the elephant tusk entryway and fish ponds and fountains is the warmth and hospitality of the Wong family, service on par with the finest establishments, and very, very good food. Best are the fresh fish: salmon, grouper and sea bass steamed, grilled or fried in a wok, needing little more than the gingergreen onion sauce that accompanies them. Oriental Wok is the tri-state’s longest-running family-owned Chinese restaurant for a reason.
317 Buttermilk Pke., Ft. Mitchell, (859) 331-3000; 2444 Madison Rd., Hyde Park, (513) 871-6888, orientalwok. com. Lunch Mon–Fri (Ft. Mitchell; buffet Sun 11–2:30), lunch Tues–Sat (Hyde Park), dinner Mon–Sat (Ft. Mitchell) dinner Tues–Sun (Hyde Park). MCC. $$
THE PACIFIC KITCHEN
The monster of a menu can be dizzying. Ease in with some top-notch Korean Wings. These slightly bubbly, shatter-crisp wings are painted with a thin gochujang chili sauce (a foil to the fat). It takes 24 hours to prep the Cantonese duck, between a honey-vinegar brine to dry the skin, a marinade of star anise, bean paste, and soy within the re-sealed cavity, and the crispy convection oven finish. Dolsot bibimbap had plenty of crispy rice at the bottom of the stone bowl, and the accompanying banchan were soothing yet flavorful. Even dishes like a Malaysian goat stew resonated with rich, original flavors. 8300 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, (513) 898-1833, thepacific.kitchen. Lunch and dinner Mon & Wed–Sun, dim sum lunch Sat & Sun. MCC. $$
SICHUAN BISTRO
Like many Chinese restaurants that cater to both main-
stream American and Chinese palates, this strip mall gem uses two menus. The real story here is found in dishes of pungent multi-layered flavors that set your mouth ablaze with fermented peppers and fresh chilies and then just as quickly cool it down with the devilish, numbing sensation of hua jiao, Sichuan pepper. Its numbing effect is subtle at first: appetizers of cold sliced beef and tripe, as well as slices of pork belly with a profusion of minced garlic, lean toward the hot and sweet; mapo tofu freckled with tiny fermented black beans and scallions, and pork with pickled red peppers and strips of ginger root, progress from sweet to pungent to hot to salty—in that order. Alternated with cooling dishes—nibbles of rice, a verdant mound of baby bok choy stir-fried with a shovelful of garlic, refreshing spinach wilted in ginger sauce, a simply sensational tea-smoked duck—the effect is momentarily tempered.
7888 S. Mason Montgomery Rd., Mason, (513) 770-3123, sichuanbistro.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$
UNCLE YIP’S
Long before sushi somehow un-disgusted itself to the Western World, China had houses of dim sum. Uncle Yip’s valiantly upholds that tradition in Evendale. This is a traditional dim sum house with all manner of exotic dumplings, including shark fin or beef tripe with ginger and onion. As for the seafood part of the restaurant’s full name, Uncle Yip has most everything the sea has to offer, from lobster to mussels. The menu has more than 160 items, so you’ll find a range of favorites, from moo goo gai pan to rock salt frog legs.
10736 Reading Rd., Evendale, (513) 733-8484, uncleyips.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, discount for cash. $$
ECLECTIC
ABIGAIL STREET
Top 10
Most people who’ve eaten at Abigail Street have favorite dishes that they order every visit: the Moroccan spiced broccoli, for example, or the mussels charmoula, with its perfect balance of saffron, creaminess, and tomatoey acidity. Many of the new items on the menu have the same perfected feeling as these classics. Working within a loose framework of Middle Eastern and North African flavors, Abigail Street has never fallen into a routine that would sap its energy. Offerings like the lamb belly skewer with tzatziki and pickled shallots feel just as accomplished as old favorites like the falafel, beautifully moist and crumbly with a bright parsley interior. The restaurant is always watching for what works and what will truly satisfy, ready to sacrifice the superficially interesting in favor of the essential.
Alcove lives up to its name, the embodiment of a green oasis at the corner of Vine and 14th streets. A lot of care goes into the space’s bright, floral design—it features more than 300 square feet of plant-covered “living walls,” which are pruned by their creator, Urban Blooms, on a weekly basis. Equal care and attention goes into Alcove’s seasonal farm-to-table menu. It’s an uncomplicated affair featuring exceptional-but-approachable dishes. As one might expect from a restaurant where plants cover most of the walls, vegetables are done very well here. The simple, clean pear and quark salad stands out, as do the stuffed mushrooms. Like the produce, much of the meat is sourced from local and regional farms (for instance, the “Denver Cut” of steak—a lean cut, taken from the shoulder—comes from Sakura Farms in nearby Westerville, Ohio). Among other local vendors, Rich Life Farms, Urban Stead Cheese, and Eli Settler (a.k.a. “Eli the Farmer”) all contribute to Alcove’s menu. This is a restaurant that takes sustainability seriously, and sustainability has a funny way of going hand-in-hand with quality. 1410 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 371-5700, madtree. com/locations/alcove-bar-restaurant. Brunch Fri–Sun, dinner seven days. MCC. $$
THE APERTURE
After several pandemic-related setbacks, Chef/
Owner Jordan Anthony-Brown opened his Mediterraneaninspired restaurant in Walnut Hills’s historic Paramount Square Building. And it was worth the wait. The restaurant’s seasonal menu draws on flavors from across the Mediterranean with subtle touches, such as its wood-fired pita, elevated with za’atar seasoning and olive oil. The sublime charred carrots are served with Middle Eastern spice blends like dukkah and ras el hanout as well as mint and crumbles of lamb merguez sausage. Brined, poached, and cooked over coals, the carrots themselves eat like a tender smoked sausage. It’s a dish that perfectly encapsulates The Aperture’s commitment to serving substantial versions of traditionally lighter fare. For a restaurant so serious about food—and exceptional wines—it’s refreshing to see it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The original cocktails have offbeat names like #lemon and I’m Her, and the catchy playlist is heavy on old-school hip-hop. At heart, The Aperture is a neighborhood restaurant, albeit one that’s bound to bring people in from all over.
900 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, (513) 872-1970, theaperturecinci.com. Dinner Wed–Sat. MCC. $$
ATWOOD OYSTER HOUSE
While Atwood has done an excellent job of working closely with coastal purveyors to curate a focused but eclectic selection of oysters, the rest of its menu consists of southern coastal cuisine prepared with rigorous French technique. The wild-caught fish is as fresh and deliberately sourced as the eponymous oysters and grilled shrimp with Calabrian chili and arugula. The modern, clean-lined space, adorned with busts and oil paintings (curated with the help of neighborhood artist Alex Frank) matches the elegant food. It’s stately without being stuffy; somehow both timeless and hip. Like everything else at Atwood, it’s the result of a delicate, highly successful balancing act.
With its grand staircase, chandelier, and floorto-ceiling draperies, Boca has an atmosphere of grandeur and refinement. There is a sense of drama not only in the decor but in everything it serves. In some dishes, there is a painterly sense of contrast and surprise, like the maple tuile served with the maple mascarpone cheesecake. In others, there is a dramatic suspense, like the whole egg yolk quivering in the center of the beef tartare waiting to be broken. While staying mostly grounded in the fundamentals of Italian and French cuisine, Boca has an air of international sophistication that sets its food apart. The hamachi crudo, an old standby on the menu, takes Japanese flavors and gives them new dimensions with grapefruit suprêmes and slivers of shishito pepper. This is food of extraordinary creativity and flair.
114 E. Sixth St., downtown, (513) 542-2022, bocacincinnati.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS. $$$
Top 10 BOUQUET RESTAURANT
Normally diners aren’t pleased when a restaurant runs out of something. At Bouquet, though, surprise changes to the menu are simply a sign of integrity. The restaurant is serious about using seasonal ingredients, and if the figs have run out or there is no more chicken from a local farm, so be it. The flavors at Bouquet are about doing justice to what’s available. Preparations are unfussy, complexity coming from within the vegetables and proteins themselves. A spring salad—wonderfully fresh and vibrant, so you know the strawberries included have just come off a nearby vine—is dressed with candy-striped beets, jerk-seasoned pepitas and whipped goat cheese. This determination to make something delicious out of what’s on hand, to embrace limitations, gives the food at Bouquet a rustic, soulful quality.
519 Main St., Covington, (859) 491-7777, bouquetbistro. com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DS. $$
CHÉ
This spot draws on authentic Argentine recipes, including the empanadas. Choose from a dozen different crispy, perfectly cinched dough pockets, with fillings ranging from traditional (a mixture of cumin-spiced beef, hard-boiled egg, and olives) to experimental (mushrooms, feta, green onion, and mozzarella). There are also six different dipping
sauces to choose from, but you need not stray from the house chimichurri.
What makes Crown Republic special isn’t its handful of outstanding dishes. It’s the place’s sheer consistency. No single dish is absolutely mindblowing or completely original, but when almost everything that comes out is genuinely tasty, the service is always friendly and attentive, and (stop the presses!) the bill is quite a bit less than you expected, you sit up and pay attention. The crab and avocado toast, served on toasted bread with lime juice and slivers of pickled Fresno chiles, is a prime example of what makes Crown Republic tick. The cocktails are equally unfussy and good, like the Tequila Honey Bee, made with tequila reposado, honey thyme syrup, lemon, bitters, and mezcal rinse, which adds a smoky kick.
720 Sycamore St., downtown, (513) 246-4272, crownrepublicgastropub.com. Lunch and dinner Wed–Sun. Brunch Sat & Sun. V, MC, DS, AMEX. $$
FIVE ON VINE
The fifth venture from Anthony Sitek and wife Haley Nutter-Sitek’s Crown Restaurant Group, Five on Vine achieves excite-
ment through comfort food with meticulous attention to detail: the meat is butchered in-house, the bread and pasta are made from scratch, and the bacon is house-cured. House-butchered beef and house-made pasta come together beautifully in the pappardelle stroganoff, served with chunks of short rib that are as tender as the noodles themselves. Thick, cleanly acidic fried green tomatoes make an appearance, as does a bountiful cioppino, a tomato-based seafood stew created by Italian American fisherman in San Francisco. Some of the dishes are pulled straight from Sitek’s own childhood, in New Jersey. “Gracie’s Meatballs,” named in honor of his grandmother, use her unique blend of raisins and pine nuts. A love letter to the longbeloved dishes, the menu is an extended rebuttal against the tired argument that American food is bland and boring.
This Milford restaurant playfully elevates diner classics. Breakfast is available all day so if you’re looking to greet the morning with decadence, try the Madame Rangoon, a thick slab of brioche toast smothered in crab whipped cream cheese and eggs. Sandwiches also get an inventive twist here. The “Governor Tso’s chicken”—a crispy, gluten-free fried chicken breast glazed with a General Tso’s–inspired sauce, topped with apricot slaw and served on a toasted brioche bun—is a gigantic, happy mess of a sandwich, but the sweet glaze faintly evokes the namesake “General” while letting the sublimely fried chicken lead the charge. Order a side of bowling alley fries and ask for the red dip. (You’ll thank us later.)
231 Main St., Milford, (513) 239-8298, governordiner.com. Breakfast, lunch, and
Named after the historic trolley line that used to run between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, this restaurant combines quality American food with charm and history. Meals feel like homemade Sunday dinners, and with a menu bursting with steaks, seafood, and pasta, there’s something to make everyone’s weekend. The half-roasted chicken appears exactly as promised, with a breast, wing, thigh, and drumstick cooked as one large piece. Sweet, tender vegetables contrast perfectly with the rich, salty au jus, and cheesy grits elevate bites of chicken or carrot with savory spices and texture. On the cocktails side, even the designated driver has options beyond iced tea. Nonalcoholic choices range from beer and wine to original mocktails, like the Strawberry Ginger (strawberry puree, fresh strawberries, fresh basil, and ginger beer).
425 N. Ft. Thomas Ave., Ft. Thomas, (859) 757-4580, greenlinerestaurant.com. Dinner Tues-Sat, brunch Sun. MCC. $$
MAPLEWOOD KITCHEN
At Maplewood, you order at the counter, then find a table, and a server will deliver what you’ve selected. There’s no cohesive menu, rather, it takes its cue from all corners of the globe. Chilaquiles, shakshuka, and guajillo and Mediterranean bowls are all represented, along with the satisfying Maplewood hash with goetta and local mushrooms. Breakfast is available all day so try the light lemon ricotta pancakes or the avocado toast.
Earth & Ocean Restaurant Group recently opened another location of its signature eatery E+O Kitchen in Loveland. The new spot joins its locations at The Banks and in Hyde Park, which opened in 2021 and 2015, respectively. eokitchen.com
MELT REVIVAL
In this Northside sandwich joint, the restaurant’s name pretty much dictates what you should get. Diners have their choice of sandwiches, including the vegetarian cheesesteak—seitan (a meat substitute) topped with roasted onions, peppers, and provolone—and The Gobbler, turkey burger served with curried aioli, red cabbage slaw, pickled red onions, and arugula. For those who require meat in their meals, try the verde chicken flatbread: juicy pieces of chicken intermingle with pesto, zucchini, and provolone. Not sure you’ll want a whole sandwich? Try a half-sandwich with a half-salad or half-soup order—a popular selection with the lunch crowd.
4100 Hamilton Ave., Northside, (513) 818-8951, meltrevival.com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Tues—Sat, brunch Sun. MCC. $
METROPOLE
Metropole has been remarkably stable since it opened in 2012. Even when chefs have left, the organization has promoted from within, kept popular dishes on the menu, and maintained a certain vibe, a balance between sophistication and rusticity. Its vegetarian fare contains many of its most inventive and delightful creations. The seared salmon is served with miso wild rice, asparagus, pickled bok choy, and sesame seeds. The blistered shishitos, served with burrata and preserved lemon, encapsulates Metropole at its best: fun and whimsical, but rooted in careful execution of deep and satisfying flavors.
It’s fitting that Chef/Owner Jose Salazar named this restaurant after his grandmother, because there is something deeply homey about the food at Mita’s. With a focus on Spanish and Latin-American tapas, it always feels, in the best possible way, like elevated home cooking. Its sophistication is modestly concealed. The flavors are
bold and direct, whether the spicy freshness of the ceviche de camarones with passionfruit leche de tigre or the intensely bright sourness of the pozole verde. The tacos de barriga de cerdo, which come in pairs, are made with fried pork belly, citrus gastrique, habanero slaw, and huitalacoche mayo, and are served on house-made corn tortillas. But what mainly comes through is the warm-hearted affection a grandmother might have put into a meal for a beloved grandson. It’s the kind of big hug everyone needs from time to time.
To remind local diners that they were here before those young dog-toting punks with their exposed brick and crafty ales in Over-the-Rhine, Nicholson’s branded themselves Cincinnati’s “first and finest gastropub,” and revamped the menu to include plenty of snacks and small plates for grazing, and not-quite-brawny, straightforward sandwiches and main dishes. Try the Faroe Island salmon, a bowl of cock-aleekie soup, or check out the shepherd’s or BBQ bacon-style burgers or the turkey reuben with Russian dressing. And the bar’s clubby intimacy makes it easy to belly up and enjoy the impressive collection of single malts or a Scottish ale.
Chef/Owner Jeffery Harris, a New Orleans native, prepares the cuisine of his beloved city with sophistication and flair, drawing on all the influences that have contributed to the cuisine of the Big Easy—from West African to French to Japanese to Haitian. The menu changes seasonally, with almost a complete overhaul each time. If classic New Orleans dishes do show up on the menu, they’re likely to get delightfully unexpected touches. The smoked chicken, for example, comes with peach Alabama barbecue
sauce, greens, mirliton, and charred peach. It’s exquisitely prepared food served in a funky, laid-back atmosphere.
Quarter Bistro has multiple personalities: one part clubby neighborhood joint, one part dinner and a movie with a dash of lusty romance. The Bistro Burger, a half-pound of black Angus beef, is seasoned but not overly so, with a sturdy-but-not-too-chewy bun. The 18-hour short ribs are the star, and reason enough to skip the movie next door. Braised into a flavor bomb of meat candy, it’s served with pappardelle pasta, roasted vegetables, and onion straws. With the no-lip service, The Quarter Bistro could be well on the way to making middle age look sexy.
The spiritual successor of Mullane’s Parkside Café, Ruth’s brings back the vegetable-forward menu with a few concessions to contemporary tastes. Dinner options now include steaks and heavier entrées. But the stir-fries, beans and rice, pasta, and the traditional option to add a protein to an entrée (tofu, tempeh, chicken, or local chorizo) for an upcharge are all old standards. While dishes are generally hearty, they are rarely too rich, leaving room to freely consider dessert. There is a small selection of baked goods, including a gooey butter cake, homemade fruit pies, and Madisono’s Gelato. 1550 Blue Rock St., Northside, (513) 542-7884, ruthscafe.com. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Mon–Sat. MCC. $$
SENATE
Ever since it began dishing out its lo-fi eats, Chef Dan Wright’s gastropub has been operating at a velocity few can match. From the howl and growl of supremely badass hot dogs to the palate-rattling poutine, Senate has led the charge in changing the local conventional wisdom
about what makes a great restaurant. Consumption of mussels charmoula means either ordering additional grilled bread to soak up every drop of the herby, saffronlaced broth or drinking the remainder straight from the bowl and perfectly crisped and seasoned truffle fries inspire countless return visits.
1100 Summit Place Dr., Blue Ash, (513) 769-0099, senateblueash.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MC, V, DS. $
TASTE OF BELGIUM
Jean-François Flechet’s waffle empire grew from a back counter of Madison’s grocery at Findlay Market to multiple full-service sit-down spots. There’s more on the menu than the authentic Belgian treat, though it would be a crime to miss the chicken and waffles: a dense, yeasty waffle topped with a succulent buttermilk fried chicken breast, Frank’s hot sauce, and maple syrup. There are also frites, of course, and Brussels sprouts—served with pancetta and sherry vinaigrette—plus a gem of a Bolognese. And let’s not forget the beer. Six rotating taps offer some of the best the Belgians brew, not to mention those made in town.
1135 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 396-5800, and other locations, authenticwaffle.com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Tues–Sun, breakfast and lunch Mon, brunch Sun. MCC, DS. $$
20 BRIX
This restaurant mixes Mediterranean influences with homespun choices, and he comes up with some marvelous food.
Lamb meatballs with melted onions and romesco sauce are sweet and peppery, and their simplicity partners well with a lush Zinfandel. The excellent wine list, arranged by flavor profiles within the varietals, features dozens of varieties by the glass in five-ounce or two-ounce pours, which makes it easy to try several.
101 Main St., Milford, (513) 831-2749, 20brix.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS, DC. $$
TERANGA
West African cuisine consists of mostly simple, home-style dishes of stews and grilled lamb with just enough of the exotic to offer a glimpse of another culture. Be prepared for a few stimulating sights and flavors that warm from within. An entire grilled tilapia—head and all—in a peppery citrus marinade and served on plantains with a side of Dijoncoated cooked onions is interesting enough to pique foodie interest without overwhelming the moderate eater. Stews of lamb or chicken with vegetables and rice are a milder bet, and Moroccan-style couscous with vegetables and mustard sauce accompanies most items. The dining room atmosphere is extremely modest with most of the action coming from the constant stream of carryout orders.
Yuca is in The Fairfield’s former space, retaining much of the same modern, airy, and inviting café vibes with a neighborhood feel, but boasting a menu certainly worth a commute. In the mood for a hearty breakfast? Indulge in the Fat Zach, a heaping corn gordita packed to the brim with chicken, chorizo, and scrambled egg, served with avocado, pineapple pico, and sweet and spicy potatoes. There’s a full drink menu ranging from coffee to Bloody Marys—or a selection of margaritas and palomas if you’re looking to stick around. 700 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue, (859) 360-0110, yucabycedar.com. Breakfast and lunch Tues–Sun. MCC. $$
FRENCH
CHEZ RENÉE FRENCH BISTROT
Based on American stereotypes of French food—that it’s elaborate, elitist, and expensive—one might expect Chez Renée to fall on the chichi side. Instead, it’s elegant in an everyday way, operating on the principle that it is better to excel at simplicity than to badly execute something complicated. The formula is not complex: Simple ingredients, generally fresh and from nearby, prepared without much fuss. Warmed brie is served with thyme, almonds, fruit, and bread, and the chicken risotto is served with creamy mushrooms. This is solid, tasty food, both approachable and well-executed. It’s well on its way to becoming, as a good bistrot should be, a neighborhood institution. 233 Main St., Milford, (513) 428-0454, chezreneefrenchbistrot.com. Lunch Fri & Sat, dinner Wed–Sat. MCC. $$
COLETTE
At his new “mostly French” restaurant Colette, which occupies the former Zula space across from Washington Park, Chef Danny Combs has built a more laid-back home for his focused, pristine cooking. While there is classic bistro fare, like steak frites, on the concentrated menu, there are also less familiar but equally classic French dishes, like Brandade de Morue (a silky emulsion of whipped salt cod served with rustic bread) and the savory puff pastry known as Vol-au-Vent. One can turn to the extensive drink menu (also “mostly French”) to find a wine or cocktail to go with any dish on offer. Like Zula, Colette would function just fine as a wine and cocktail bar, though we can’t imagine coming to a place this good and not eating something.
Located in the old Globe Furniture building at the corner of Elm and Elder Streets, this Jean-Robert de Cavel creation offers French fare in the heart of Over-the-Rhine. Swing by for lunch and have a quiche Lorraine (French Crust’s quiches are unrivaled in our humble opinion) and an avocado and shrimp salad, or opt for a more hearty entree—like cassoulet—for dinner. If you’re an early bird, a Croque Monsieur (with a sunny side-up egg) is a great way to start the day. You’ll also find the much-loved French Lunch Tray, a throwback from the Jean-Robert’s Table days. Served on a cafeteria tray, the four-course meal of the bistro’s favorites changes every week and is only available at the bar for the low-for-fine-dining price of $19.
1801 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 455-3720, frenchcrustcafe.com. Breakfast and lunch Wed–Sun, dinner Thurs–Sat. MCC. $$
Top 10 LE BAR A BOEUF
If it’s been a couple of years since you’ve been to Le Bar a Boeuf—the late Jean-Robert de Cavel’s fun-yet-refined French bistro located on the first floor of the Edgecliff Private Residences in East Walnut Hills—it may be time for a revisit. The formerly burger-centric menu now approaches the full repertoire of bistro classics. The menu reads like a greatest hits list of bistro fare, with escargot, beef tartare, duck leg confit, steak frites, and French onion soup all making appearances. As France’s influence on American fine dining has waned, it’s refreshing to see a restaurant committed to not only preserving the French classics but reinvigorating them.
2200 Victory Pkwy., East Walnut Hills, (513) 751-2333, lebarboeuf.com. Dinner Wed–Sat. MCC. $$
LUCA BISTRO
Luca Bistro opened in October 2022, but it feels
like it has been around for decades. The unabashedly French restaurant, with its French posters, bright red outer paneling, and chalkboard menu proclaiming its specials to passersby, fits into its Mt. Adams environs so perfectly that it’s hard to imagine Hatch Street without it. That, combined with warm service, timeless French fare, and relaxed joie de vivre makes this a true neighborhood establishment. Chef Frederic Maniet grew up in the south of France and has done an excellent job transporting his native cuisine to a quiet corner of Cincinnati. These are the dishes that culinary Francophiles often crave, prepared in a straightforward, time-honored way. The Bouchées à la Reine, a buttery, flaky puff pastry filled with chicken, mushrooms, peas, Gruyèere cheese, and béchamel sauce, is so warm and comforting it makes chicken pot pie seem aloof by comparison. It’s a warm, gentle reminder that French food can be convivial and affordable.
Muthu Kumar Muthiah serves traditional southern Indian and Indo-Chinese vegetarian cuisine, but with a sizable Orthodox Jewish community nearby, Muthiah saw an opportunity: If he was going to cook vegetarian, why not also make it kosher? Muthiah prepares every item—from the addictively crunchy gobhi Manchurian, a spicy Chinese cauliflower dish, to the lemon pickle, tamarind, and mint sauces—entirely from scratch under the careful eye of Rabbi Michoel Stern. Always 80 percent vegan, the daily lunch buffet is 100 percent animal-product-free on Wednesdays. Tuck into a warm and savory channa masala (spiced
chickpeas) or malai kofta (vegetable dumplings in tomato sauce) from the curry menu. Or tear into a crispy, two-foot diameter dosa (chickpea flour crepe) stuffed with spiced onions and potatoes.
Order at the counter the way you might at a fast food joint, except the shakes come in mango and there’s no supersizing your mint lassi. The saag, full of cream in most northern Indian restaurants, is as intensely flavored as collard greens in the Deep South—real Punjabi soul food. Tarka dal is spectacular here, the black lentils smoky from charred tomatoes and onions, and the pani puri, hollow fried shells into which you spoon a peppery cold broth, burst with tart cool crunch. Follow the spice with soothing ras malai, freshly made cheese simmered in thick almond-flavored milk, cooled and sprinkled with crushed pistachios.
In 2011, Jared Wayne opened A Tavola Pizza with two friends just as OTR was blowing up. A Ferrara pizza oven was ordered from Italy; Wayne, a skilled woodworker, built custom tables; and the menu was fleshed in with trendy crowd-pleasers like charcuterie and craft cocktails. Fast-forward a decade. The OTR outpost is closed but the second location is still going strong in the ’burbs: A Tavola Madeira capitalizes on the menu from the Vine Street lo-
cation, including the fresh and zesty artichoke pizza on a Neapolitan crust; gooey mozzarellafilled arancini, or risotto fritters; and the zucchini mozzarella. Wash down your small plates with a glass of crisp and grassy Sannio falanghina or an ice-cold Rhinegeist. They’re definitely going to need a bigger parking lot.
Al-Posto is an upscale southern Italian spot that reflects the same commitment to quality ingredients and delicate preparation that made its predecessor Dear such a gem. Appetizers include classic sharables like marinated olives (prepared with orange zest, rosemary, and Calabrian chile), burrata with grilled focaccia, and coppa (a cured pork served with preserved peppers and almonds), but it’s the pasta (which can be ordered as an entrée or a first course) that’s not to be missed. We recommend the Cacio e Pepe, a seemingly simple dish comprised of bucatini (similar to spaghetti, but thicker), black pepper, and a sharp pecorino Toscano. Since you’re probably wondering, “Al-Posto” roughly translates to “at the spot.” Located in the middle of Hyde Park Square, this eatery seems poised to become the culinary focal point of the neighborhood.
2710 Erie Ave., Hyde Park, (513) 321-2710, alposto.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DC, DS. $$
FORNO
Cristian Pietoso’s second restaurant has all the bones of an upscale eatery, but the menu is infused with enough Italian soul to make nonna proud. In most instances, raving about a side of creamed corn wouldn’t bode well for the rest of the menu. Here, that side dish—kernels swimming in a pool of truffle-laced heavy cream that demands sopping up—is evidence that each component is purpose-driven. The red wine–braised honeycomb tripe, which carries a warning label (“Don’t be scared!”), and the tagliatelle Bolognese with traditional beef and veal sauce are examples of the elevated, adventurous comfort food that Pietoso strives for.
3514 Erie Ave., East Hyde Park, (513) 818-8720, fornoosteriabar.com. Dinner Mon–Sat, brunch Sun. MCC. $$
Top10 NICOLA’S
Chef/Restaurateur Cristian Pietoso carries on the legacy of his father, Nicola, as the elder Pietoso’s Over-the-Rhine eatery celebrated 25 years in business in 2021. You can still get the old Italian classics, and they’ll be as good as ever, but the rest of the menu has blossomed into a freewheeling tour of modern American cuisine. Any establishment paying this level of attention to detail—from the aged balsamic and lavender honey on the Italian cheese board to the staff ’s wine knowledge—is going to put out special meals. Rarely have humble insalate been so intricately delicious, between the non-traditional summer gazpacho, filled with crab, zucchini, peaches, and squash, or the balance of the tangy, salty, and citrusy Siciliana salad. Order an old favorite, by all means, but make sure you try something new, too.
Billed as “Italian comfort food,” this sister restaurant to 20 Brix offers the classics (like lasagna and chicken carbonara) plus hoagies and meatball sliders, an impressive wine list, seasonal martinis, and a decadent signature appetizer—garlic knots, doughy buns smothered in olive oil and garlic. Best of all, Barraco’s pizza sauce, which is composed of roasted tomatoes and basil, is so garden-fresh that one can’t help but wonder: If this is real pizza, what have we been eating all these years?
111 Main St., Milford, (513) 965-0100; 14 N. Grand Ave. Ft Thomas, (859) 957-4082, padrinoitalian.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$
PEPP & DOLORES
As with all of Thunderdome’s restaurants, you get a sense that they want to deliver a meal that satisfies many different kinds of people. The prices are reasonable, with pasta entrées about $15. The dishes are familiar in their flavors, but everything feels balanced, modulated, and gradually perfected. There is lovely variety: the limone pasta is zippy with lemon and chili flakes, and just the right mixture of tart and creamy; the deep meaty flavors on the mushroom toast are balanced with a nice acidity; and the heat in dishes like the eggplant involtini is just enough to wake up the sauce without overwhelming the flavor. The menu has a wealth of excellent vegetarian and pastaalternative options.
Besides offering the old-world flavors of Italy, Pri-
SO SWEET
Healthy fast-casual chain Sweetgreen will open its first Greater Cincinnati location before the end of the year. The restaurant—which specializes in salads and grain bowls made from scratch— will be in the Liberty Center development in Liberty Township. sweetgreen.com
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mavista also serves up a specialty no other restaurant can match: a bird’s eye view of Cincinnati from the west side. The kitchen is equally comfortable with northern and southern regional specialties: a Venetian carpaccio of paper-thin raw beef sparked by fruity olive oil; house-made fresh mozzarella stuffed with pesto and mushrooms; or artichoke hearts with snails and mushrooms in a creamy Gorgonzola sauce from Lombardy. Among the classics, nothing is more restorative than the pasta e fagioli, a hearty soup of cannellini, ditali pasta, and bacon. Most of the pastas are cooked just a degree more mellow than al dente so that they soak up the fragrant tomato basil or satiny cream sauces. The fork-tender osso buco Milanese, with its marrow-filled center bone and salty-sweet brown sauce (marinara and lemon juice), is simply superb. Desserts present further problems; you’ll be hard-pressed to decide between the house-made tiramisu or bread pudding with caramel sauce, marsala-soaked raisins, and cream.
810 Matson Pl., Price Hill, (513) 251-6467, pvista.com. Dinner Wed–Sun. MCC, DC, DS. $$
Top 10 SOTTO
There are certain books and movies that you can read or watch over and over. Eating at Sotto is a similar experience: familiar, but so profound and satisfying that there is no reason to ever stop. Unlike other restaurants, where the techniques are often elaborate and unfamiliar, the magic at Sotto happens right in front of you, using ordinary elements and methods. When you taste the results, though, you realize that some mysterious transmutation has taken place. The woodfired branzino with zucchini, matched with the warm, smoky taste of the Calabrian pepper, offers a flavor that you could go on eating forever. From the texture of the chicken liver mousse to the citrusy lemon aioli on the tartare di fassone, most of the food has some added element of soulfulness.
118 E. Sixth St., downtown, (513) 822-5154, sottocincinnati.com. Dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$
SUBITO
Focusing on Northern Italian cuisine, Subito carves out its own worthwhile place in the landscape. Most of the items on the menu—from pizza to various pastas—will be familiar, but there are delightful surprises, like the lion’s mane lumache. This citrusy dish is served on lumache pasta and cooked with scallions, garlic, shallots, chili, brodo, and pecorino. Everything at Subito is done with intelligence and a light touch.
311 Pike St., downtown, (513) 579-3860, thelytleparkhotel.com/dining/subito. Breakfast and lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Mon–Sat, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC, DS. $$
VIA VITE
Via Vite serves up crowd-pleasing entrées, including the Pietoso family Bolognese, over penne, right on Fountain Square. (Add in a golf-ball-sized veal meatball heavy with lemon zest, and it’s an over-the-top comforting main dish.) The same applies to the risotto, where a few small touches add sophistication. Carnaroli rice results in a glossier, starchier dish. A puree of asparagus turns the risotto an eye-popping green, and the poached lobster garnish creates a nice back-and-forth between vegetal and briny flavors. Braised lamb shank over polenta is comforting workhorse, and the flavorful Faroe Island salmon with roasted carrot puree, caramelized Brussel sprouts, and truffled brown butter balsamic vinaigrette.
You don’t go just anywhere to dine on uni sashimi (sea
urchin) or tanshio (thinly sliced charcoal-grilled beef tongue). Don’t miss the creamy béchamel sauce cooked in the panko breaded and fried croquettes, or the buttery amberjack collar marinated in a Japanese citrus infused soy sauce and grilled over charcoal. Noodles are also well represented, with udon, soba, or ramen options available. And don’t forget to ask about the specials; owners Ken and Keiko Ando always have something new, be it kamo negi maki (grilled duck breast stuffed with organic green onions) or a chocolate crepe and matcha parfait, delicacies that you’ll be hard-pressed to find in anywhere else. The only thing you won’t find here is sake, or any other alcohol. Bring your own, or stick to the nutty and outright addicting barley tea.
11255 Reed Hartman Hwy., Blue Ash, (513) 954-0041, andojapaneserestaurant.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DS. $$$
BARU
Baru, the sleek izakaya in the former MidiCi space, prioritizes bar dining, which is meant to be enjoyed alongside its eclectic drinks list. The menu is broken down into drinks, sushi, “small plates,” “plates,” sides, and ishiyaki. Start with clever cocktail offerings, like the Japanese Highball (which uses Japanese whiskey), the Sake-tini, or the sweetly spicy Wasabi Margarita. Baru’s sushi offerings are—like the rest of the menu—fun and funky. The sushi menu is varied but concise, featuring a trio of ahi tuna, spicy tuna, and escolar, as well as a quail egg nigiri. If sushi got the party going, the theatrical ishiyaki kicked it into high gear. The term refers to dishes that diners grill tableside on a hot stone, such as the prime New York strip. For all its convivial buzz, Baru is also a spot where solo diners can enjoy a few peaceful bar-side bites. The Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna from the small plates section brought the same level of freshness and quality as the rest of the menu. Sometimes it pays to dine alone.
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Top 10 KIKI
Kiki started as a pop-up at Northside Yacht Club, then leapt into brick-and-mortar life in College Hill. Your best bet here is to share plates, or simply order too much, starting with the edamame; it comes either salted or tossed in tare, a savory dipping sauce. Add the karaage fried chicken, with the Jordy mayo and the oroshi ponzu, confit chicken on spaghetti and rice that somehow works. And, yes, the ramen, too. The shio features pork belly and tea-marinated soft-boiled egg, but the kimchi subs in tofu and its namesake cabbage for the meat. 5932 Hamilton Ave., College Hill, (513) 541-0381, kikicincinnati.com. Lunch Sun and dinner Wed–Sun. MCC, DS. $
KYOTO
Owner Jason Shi seems to know everybody’s name as he chats up diners, guiding them through the extensive sushi and sashimi menu. Five young sushi chefs work at light speed behind the bar, a choreography backlit by rows of gleaming liquor bottles. Dinner proceeds with glorious chaos as a feisty Carla Tortelli–like server delivers one dish after another—combination of crab, fish, shrimp, scallop, and vegetable tempuras, a volcanic tower of chopped fatty tuna hidden inside overlapping layers of thin avocado slices, crispy chicken katsu with a mayo sauce, and delicate slices of a samurai roll—all between shots of chilled sake. 12082 Montgomery Rd., Symmes Twp., (513) 583-8897, kyotousa.m988.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$
ZUNDO RAMEN & DONBURI
Chef Han Lin’s ramens are a deep and exciting branch of cuisine, capable of subtlety, variation, and depth. The simplicity of the dish’s name hides a world of complexity. Zundo uses the traditional Japanese building blocks of flavor—soy sauce, miso, sake, mirin—to create something freewheeling and time-tested. Bowls of ramen come with a marinated softboiled egg half, roast pork, green onion, and a healthy serving of noodles. Each has a distinct identity, like the milky richness of the tonkotsu, the rich and buttery miso, or the light and faintly sweet shoyu ramen. A transformative add-in is the mayu, or black garlic oil. Dripped on top of one of the subtler broths, it adds a deep, mushroom-y richness, with the hint of burned flavor that makes barbecue so good.
220 W. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 975-0706, zundootr.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$
KOREAN
RIVERSIDE KOREAN
RESTAURANT
Come for the jham bong—a seafood soup with flour noodles in a spicy broth with pork, shrimp, squid, mussels, and vegetables. Revered for its medicinal properties, the dinner-sized soup will leave your eyes glistening and your brow beaded with sweat. It’s a detox for your overindulgence, rejuvenation for when you’re feeling under the weather. Expect crowds on weekends. Expect too, that dozens of them have come for dolsot bibimbap, the hot stone pots filled with layers of rice, vegetables, meat or tofu, egg, and chili paste. Characterized by its electric color and addictive flavors, Riverside Korean’s version is a captivating bowl of heaven.
wood and stone, even the food is unrestrained: rough-cut chunks of charbroiled beef tenderloin, big slices of onion and green pepper turned sweet and wet in the heat, skewers of marinated and charbroiled chicken perched on rice too generous for its plate.
Chef-driven Middle Eastern cuisine leans heavily on Turkish tradition here. The baba ghanoush uses seared eggplant, which adds a pleasant smokiness to the final product. Börek is described as a “Turkish Egg Roll,” wrapping feta and fresh and dried herbs into phyllo dough and frying it lightly to brittle flakiness. The pastry arrives atop a vivid cherry tomato marmalade, which adds a welcome dimension of barely sweet fruitiness. While there is a smooth, simple hummus on the menu, you should go for the classic sucuklu hummus, which is spiked with sujuk, a common beef sausage popular all over the Middle East.
3520 Erie Ave., East Hyde Park, (513) 871-8714, mediterranean-cafe.com. Lunch Mon–Sat, dinner seven days. MCC. $$
FILLO
Fillo (pronounced fee-low), the European bakery turned modern Greek restaurant at the corner of Race and 15th streets in Over-the-Rhine, has a menu composed of mezedes, the small, shareable plates that serve as the binder to a great Greek meal. Take the saganaki, for example. True to Greek tradition, Fillo’s version is served without a tableside flambé. But what the dish lacks in spectacle, it makes up for in spectacular flavor. Other dishes, like the Ntakos Salad, are much less familiar, though no less authentic. The salad (which originated on the Greek island of Crete) starts with a puck-shaped rusk of barley, which gets a good soaking to soften it, and then gets topped with olive oil, vinegar, onions, feta, capers, and kalamata olives. This layering of ingredients and flavors also defines Fillo’s most filling entrée: moussaka. The classic dish appears on several local Mediterranean menus, but for pure comfort, Fillo’s combination of eggplant, potato, tomato-y beef ragu sauce, and béchamel can’t be beat.
No matter how much restraint you go in with, meals at Phoenician Taverna quickly become feasts. There is just too much that’s good, and everything is meant to be shared. With fresh pita bread continuously arriving from the ovens, and a table of quickly multiplying meze (hummus, falafel, muhammara), there is a warmth and depth to the cooking that envelops you. With such traditional cuisine, you may think there isn’t much left to discover beyond simply executed classics prepared according to time-tested methods. But there are always new discoveries as the flavors mingle from plate to plate: the tabbouleh with the hummus, mixed with a touch of harissa, or the smoky baba ghanoush spooned onto falafel. Phoenician Taverna keeps taking these classics a little further.
512 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 291-1484, riversidekoreanrestaurant.com. Lunch Tues–Fri, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$
ANDY’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILLE
In this lively joint with a burnished summer lodge interior of
Steak, eggs, and home fries. Jumbo haddock sandwich with Greek fries. Chocolate chip hotcakes with bacon. Notice something wrong with this menu? Chicken Philly cheese steak sandwich with Olympic onion rings. Yep, it’s obvious: What’s wrong with this menu is that there’s nothing wrong with this menu. Greek feta cheese omelette with a side of ham. It’s been owned by the same family for more than 30 years. Santorini has diner standards, like cheeseburgers, chili five ways, and breakfast anytime, but they also make some Greek pastries in-house, like spanakopita and baklava.
3414 Harrison Ave., Cheviot, (513) 662-8080. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Mon–Sat, breakfast and lunch Sun. Cash. $
SEBASTIAN’S
When the wind is just right, you can smell the meat roasting
from a mile away. Watch the rotating wheels of beef and lamb, and you understand how Greek food has escaped the American tendency to appropriate foreign cuisines. Sebastian’s specializes in gyros, shaved off the stick, wrapped in thick griddle pita with onions and tomatoes, and served with cool tzatziki sauce. Whether you’re having a crisp Greek salad with house-made dressing, triangles of spanakopita, or simply the best walnut and honey baklava this side of the Atlantic, they never miss a beat, turning more covers in the tiny restaurant on one Saturday afternoon than some restaurants do in an entire weekend.
5209 Glenway Ave., Price Hill, (513) 471-2100, sebastiansgyros.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC. DS. $
MEXICAN
EL VALLE VERDE
Guests with dietary issues, high anxiety, and no Spanish may take a pass, but for hardy souls, this taqueria delivers a memorable evening. Seafood dishes are the star here—ceviche tostadas, crisp corn tortillas piled high with pico de gallo, avocado, and lime-tastic bits of white fish, squid, and crab; the oversized goblet of cocktel campechano, with ample poached shrimp crammed into a Clamato-heavy gazpacho; and simmering sopa de marisco came with langoustines, mussels, crab legs, and an entire fish—enough to feed three.
Mazunte runs a culinary full-court press, switching up specials to keep both regulars and staff engaged. Pork tamales arrive swaddled in a banana leaf, the shredded pork filling steeped in a sauce fiery with guajillo and ancho chilies yet foiled by the calming sweetness of raisins. The fried fish tacos are finished with a citrusy red and white cabbage slaw that complements the accompanying mango-habanero salsa. With this level of authentic yet fast-paced execution, a slightly greasy pozole can be easily forgiven. Don’t miss the Mexican Coke, the margaritas, or the non-alcoholic horchata.
5207 Madison Rd., Madisonville, (513) 785-0000, mazuntetacos.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat, brunch Sun. MCC. $
NADA
The brains behind Boca deliver authentic, contemporary, high-quality Mexican fare downtown. You’ll find a concise menu, including tacos, salads and sides, large plates, and desserts. The Pork Al Pastor tacos, zesty with salsa verde and sweet with grilled pineapple, are definite crowd-pleasers. If you’re biased against Brussels sprouts, Nada just might convert you. The crispy sprouts, served with chipotle honey and candied ancho pepitas, are a deliciously intriguing starter.
600 Walnut St., downtown, (513) 721-6232, eatdrinknada.com. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner seven days, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC, DS. $$
TAQUERIA MERCADO
On a Saturday night, Taqueria Mercado is a lively fiesta, with seemingly half of the local Hispanic community guzzling margaritas and cervezas or carrying out sacks of burritos and carnitas tacos—pork tenderized by a long simmer, its edges frizzled and crispy. The Mercado’s strip mall interior, splashed with a large, colorful mural, is equally energetic: the bustling semi-open kitchen; a busy counter that handles a constant stream of take-out orders; a clamorous, convivial chatter in Spanish and English. Try camarones a la plancha, 12 chubby grilled shrimp tangled with grilled onions (be sure to specify if you like your onions well done). The starchiness of the rice absorbs the caramelized onion juice, offset by the crunch of lettuce, buttery slices of avocado, and the cool-hot pico de gallo. A shrimp quesadilla paired with one of the cheap and potent margaritas is worth the drive alone.
6507 Dixie Hwy., Fairfield, (513) 942-4943; 100 E. Eighth St., downtown, (513) 381-0678, tmercadocincy. com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $
SEAFOOD
McCORMICK & SCHMICK’S
The daily rotation here reads like a fisherman’s wish list: lobster tails from Australia and the North Atlantic, ahi tuna from Hawaii, clams from New England. But high-quality ingredients are only half the equation; preparation is the other. Herb-broth sea bass, served with roasted fingerling potatoes, makes the taste buds dance. The spacious digs and attentive waitstaff bring a touch of class to Fountain Square and make it a sophisticated destination. It’s likely to remain a favorite. After all, it’s right in the middle of things.
21 E. Fifth St., downtown, (513) 721-9339, mccormickandschmicks.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DC, DS. $$
ROSEWOOD SUSHI, THAI & SEAFOOD
Chanaka De Lanerolle sold Mt. Adams Fish House back in 2011, and Rosewood Sushi, Thai & Seafood is its reincarnation—and reinvention. Most of the menu includes crowd favorites such as Pad Thai, made with rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, and a choice of protein. The handful of ethnic experiments on the menu—like the Black Tiger Roll, one of the chef’s special sushi rolls, made with shrimp tempura, eel, shiitake mushrooms, and topped with eel sauce—are among its most vibrant offerings.
The stars of the menu are 12 delectable steaks that could sway the vegi-curious to recommit. Not sure which to choose? If you prefer brawny flavor over buttery texture, go for one of the three bone-in rib cuts. Or if it’s that meltin-your-mouth experience that raises your serotonin levels, C&J features several tenderloin cuts, including the premium six-ounce Wagyu filet. There are the usual suspects of raw bar, seafood, pork chops, et al., if you’re interested in nonbeef alternatives.
Filled most nights with local scenesters and power brokers (and those who think they are), everything in this urban steakhouse is generous—from the portions to the expert service. White-jacketed waiters with floor-length aprons deliver two-fisted martinis and mounds of greens dressed in thin vinaigrettes or thick, creamy emulsions. An occasional salmon or sea bass appears, and there’s a small but decent assortment of land fare. But most customers are there for the slabs of beef (dry aged USDA prime). The best of these is Jeff Ruby’s Cowboy, 22 ounces of 70-day dry-aged bone-in rib eye. This is steak tailor-made for movers and shakers.
A bit more upscale than its sister restaurant, Crown Republic Gastropub, Losanti is also more conservative in its offerings. Service is friendly and informal, and though the meal feels like a special occasion, prices and atmosphere are right for, say, a date, rather than a wedding anniversary. The filet mignon, rib eye, and New York strip are cut to order for each table (there are a few available weights for each). The steaks themselves are totally irreproachable, perfectly seasoned, cooked to precisely the right point. Losanti even makes the steakhouse sides a little special. Sweet and smoky caramelized onions are folded into the mashed potatoes, a nice dusting of truffles wakes up the mac and cheese, and the sweet corn is at least freshly cut off the cob and recalls elote
Part of the appeal of the Ruby restaurants is their ability to deliver deep, comfort-food satisfaction. And the steaks. The meat is tender with a rich mineral flavor, and the signature seasoning provides a nice crunch, not to mention blazing heat. The supporting cast is strong—the basket of warm Sixteen Bricks bread with a mushroom truffle butter, the addictive baked macaroni and cheese, the creamy garlic mashed potatoes, the crisp-tender asparagus with roasted garlic and lemon vinaigrette—and dinner ends on a sweet note with a piece of Ruby family recipe cheesecake. Neither cloyingly sweet nor overwhelmingly creamy, it’s a lovely slice of restraint.
He is a captivating presence, Tony Ricci. Best known for his 30 years in fine dining—including the Jeff Ruby empire while managing the venerable Precinct—Ricci has built a life in the hospitality industry. Much of Tony’s menu is right out of a steakhouse playbook: jumbo shrimp and king crab legs from the raw bar; Caprese, Greek, and Caesar salads; sides of creamed spinach, mac-and-cheese, asparagus, and sautéed mushrooms; toppings of roasted garlic or Gorgonzola butters to accompany your center cut of filet mignon. There are boutique touches, though, that make it stand out—a garlic herb aioli with the calamari, steak tartare torch-kissed and topped with a poached egg, a superb rack of lamb rubbed with aromatic sumac and served with mint pesto.
12110 Montgomery Rd., Symmes Township, (513) 6778669, tonysofcincinnati.com. Dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$$
THAI
GREEN PAPAYA
Inside this simple dining room, replete with soothing browns and greens and handsome, dark wood furniture, it takes time to sort through the many curries and chef’s specialties, not to mention the wide variety of sushi on the something-foreveryone menu. Have the staff—friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable—help you. When the food arrives, you’ll need only a deep inhale to know you made the right choice. The Green Papaya sushi rolls are as delicious as they look, with a manic swirl of spicy mayo and bits of crabstick and crispy tempura batter scattered atop the spicy tuna, mango, cream cheese, and shrimp tempura sushi—all rolled in a vivid green soybean wrap.
If it’s noodle dishes and curries you’re after, Sukhothai’s pad kee mao—wide rice noodles stir-fried with basil—is the best around. Served slightly charred, the fresh and dried chillies provide enough heat to momentarily suspend your breath. Pad Thai has the right amount of crunch from peanuts, slivers of green onion, and mung sprouts to contrast with the slippery glass noodles, and a few squeezes of fresh lime juice give it a splendid tartness. The crispy tamarind duck is one of the best house specials, the meat almost spreadably soft under the papery skin and perfectly complemented by the sweet-tart bite of tamarind.
8102 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, (513) 978-0281, sukhothaicincin.com. Lunch Tues-Fri, dinner Tues-Sat. DS, MS, V. $
TEAK THAI
Owner Chanaka De Lanerolle has said that he decided to bring back Teak’s take on Thai food because of the renewed vibrancy in Over-the-Rhine, which he compared to the energy he felt in Mt. Adams during his time there. But for all of the hype around the restaurant’s re-emergence on the scene, it’s probably best to consider it a reimagining
rather than a reopening. While long-time favorites show up on the menu, prepared by many of the same kitchen staff members from Mt. Adams, some adaptations have been made to better meet expectations of modern diners. Letting go of preconceived notions about Teak will serve you well. With a two-sided, standalone sushi menu and a wide variety of main plates ranging from small bites to signature dishes, you have plenty of room to craft your own dining experience.
Classic Thai comfort food on the west side from chef/owner Tussanee Leach, who grew up with galangal on her tongue and sriracha sauce in her veins. Her curries reign: pale yellow sweetened with coconut milk and poured over tender chicken breast and chunks of boiled pineapple; red curry the color of new brick, tasting of earth at first bite, then the sharply verdant Thai basil leaves, followed by a distant heat. Tom Kha Gai soup defines the complex interplay of flavors in Thai food: astringent lemongrass gives way to pepper, then Makrut lime, shot through with the gingery, herbaceous galangal, all yielding to the taunting sweetness of coconut. Even the simple skewers of chicken satay with Thai peanut sauce are rough and honest, dulcified by honey and dirtied up by a smoky grill.
5461 North Bend Rd., Monfort Heights, (513) 481-3360, thainamtip.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MC, V. $
WILD GINGER
The ability to satisfy a deep desire for Vietnamese and Thai fusion cuisine is evident in Wild Ginger’s signature Hee Ma roll—a fortress of seaweed-wrapped rolls filled with shrimp tempura, asparagus, avocado, and topped with red tuna, pulled crab stick, tempura flakes, a bit of masago, scallions, and of course, spicy mayo. It’s tasty, even though the sweet fried floodwall of tempura and spicy mayo overpowered the tuna completely. The spicy pad char entrée was a solid seven out of 10: broccoli, carrots, cabbage, succulent red bell peppers, green beans, and beef, accented with basil and lime leaves in a peppercorn-and-chili brown sauce. 3655 Edwards Rd., Hyde Park, (513) 533-9500, wildgingercincy.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sun. MCC, DS. $$
VIETNAMESE
PHO LANG THANG
Owners Duy and Bao Nguyen and David Le have created a greatest hits playlist of Vietnamese cuisine: elegant, brothy pho made from poultry, beef, or vegan stocks poured over rice noodles and adrift with slices of onions, meats, or vegetables (the vegan pho chay is by far the most flavorful); fresh julienned vegetables, crunchy sprouts, and herbs served over vermicelli rice noodles (again, the vegan version, bun chay, is the standout); and bánh mì. Be sure to end with a cup of Vietnamese coffee, a devilish jolt of dark roast and sweetened condensed milk that should make canned energy drinks obsolete. 1828 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 376-9177, pholangthang.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS, DC. $
DESPITE HOLDING A PROMINENT PLACE IN THE GALLERY, CAMEL COLLECTION AT 21C
Museum Hotel did not start as an art piece. There are approximately 600 camels in the display. “Prior to being a 21c Museum Hotel, the property was an apartment building,” says 21c Museum Manager Michael Hurst. “The collection was started by the former building manager of the Metropole Apartments.” When 21c Museum Hotels founder Steve Wilson bought the building and laid eyes on the collection in the manager’s office, he knew he had to keep it, buying it in full. Even though there are 600 camels on display, they make up just a third of the original set with the other 1,400 in 21c’s art storage in Louisville. Camel Collection requires upkeep like any other art piece, so every six months each object is removed from the case and individually dusted with a special brush. Despite the difficult maintenance, 21c considers the collection an integral part of the hotel’s identity. “You look past them and see the tile floor from 1912,” says Hurst. “So the camels act almost as an entry point to a conceptual timeline of our building’s history.”
—CLAIRE LEFTON
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Feed Your CURIOSITY
EXPLORE THE WIDE VARIETY OF OPPORTUNITIES AT MIAMI UNIVERSITY
Have you ever been interested in following the journey of food from farm to fork? How about applying that knowledge to our economy, environment, or even our culture?
Miami’s Food Systems and Food Studies co-major is just one of many opportunities for our students to build their own path. Designed to complement a primary major, this interdisciplinary program teaches the study of food from every angle including agricultural ecology, nutrition, and environmental studies. Get a taste of inspiration and expand your knowledge of the world around you at Miami.
