Cincinnati Magazine - June 2024 Edition

Filler: Fact or Fiction

Filler is a popular injectable cosmetic treatment for adding or restoring volume in the lips, cheeks, under eyes, jawline, and more. Board-certified dermatologists, Dr. Mona Foad and Dr. Alexandra Bowles, share the truth behind what you may have heard about filler and whether or not it’s fact or fiction.

Dr. Mona S. Foad

One syringe of filler will be enough to treat multiple areas on the face.

FICTION

Believe it or not, a syringe of filler usually only contains 1 ml of product. In comparison, a ketchup packet contains over 8 ml. For this reason, one syringe of filler does not go that far, especially when trying to restore lost volume in multiple areas of the face such as the cheeks, temples, lips, and more. How many syringes do most people get? That depends on how many areas you want to treat and how much volume loss you may have. If you are nervous and only want to do one syringe, I recommend choosing one area on your face, like your lips for example, to get the best result.

Fillers replace lost volume that happens as we age.

FACT We naturally lose volume in the

face as we age. We lose bone, muscle, and collagen at the same time as our fat pads flatten and shift downward, all of which can cause jowling and a more sunken or hollow look. Fillers can be a great way to immediately treat areas where volume has diminished and to restore a more youthful version of ourselves.

Most fillers are made up of products that are naturally occurring in your skin.

FACT Hyaluronic acid is produced by our bodies and can be found in areas such as our eyes, joints, and skin. Most dermal fillers are made up of hyaluronic acid, such as Juvederm Collection, RHA Collection, Restylane, and Belatero. Hyaluronic acid fillers are a great option because they have a very low risk of allergic reactions, due to their natural occurrence in the body. The other benefit of hyaluronic acid fillers is that they are dissolvable, so the treatment can be reversed if necessary. Radiesse, another popular filler, is made of calcium hydroxyapatite, another naturally occurring substance

in our skin.

It is unsafe or risky.

IT DEPENDS Although most filler treatments are safe, with few side effects, complications are possible with any medical procedure, and filler is no different. There are many blood vessels and arteries in the face, and if the filler is injected into these areas, serious complications can arise. However, choosing the right provider is the best and most important step you can take to reduce this risk and ensure you have a safe and effective treatment. Ensure that the office you are visiting has a physician on staff who is board-certified in a related field, such as a Dermatologist or Plastic Surgeon. You also want to ensure that the individual provider who you are seeing has extensive experience and training in not just the treatment, but also on how to handle any complication. At Mona Dermatology, all of our providers hold advanced degrees (such as MDs, DOs, PAs, NPs) and train for a minimum of six months prior to seeing patients. It is also important to ask your provider

Dr. Alexandra Bowles

about these potential risks at your first visit and understand how they will handle a complication in the unlikely event that it does occur. Lip filler will look unnatural.

FICTION Filler injections are highly customizable, and as a result can vary depending on the provider’s technique as well as the patient’s natural lips. Often, individuals you may see with obvious over-filled lips have had multiple syringes placed in the same area over a short period of time. A well-trained provider who is skilled at giving naturallooking results can enhance the shape of your lips in a way that still fits your facial anatomy. We discuss patient expectations and proportions before each procedure to ensure that both myself and the patient are on the same page with regards to shape, volume, and overall look. Additionally, as we age, we begin to lose volume in our face such as the mid face and lips. Filler treatments is a great way to maintain the youthful volume in these areas and continue to age gracefully.

Filler can correct facial imbalances

FACT Dermal filler treatments are a great way to correct asymmetry and balance facial features. Popular treatment areas for balancing the facial proportions include temples, cheeks, chin, jawline, and lips. It is very important to see a provider who can do a full facial assessment and provide you with a treatment plan that addresses all areas of your facial anatomy. It is always beneficial to see before and after photos of past full-face treatments your provider has given. Providing volume in proper areas can result in a beautiful refreshed result that still looks very natural.

It goes away quickly or stays for a long time.

IT DEPENDS Hyaluronic acid–based dermal fillers, such as Juvederm or RHA, last 6–18 months. The speed at which filler is metabolized in the body varies between patients and also depends on the area treated and type of filler used. For example, filler around the mouth may not last as long as filler in the cheeks due to the properties of the filler and constant movement of the mouth. As a result, it is possible some people may notice their filler results disappearing more quickly while others may feel their filler sticks around for a long time.

It will make me look frozen.

FICTION A common misconception! Fillers add volume to treatment areas, such as the lips, cheeks, or undereye. A filler treatment will not give the appearance of looking “frozen.” Botox on the other hand, is a neurotoxin which temporarily paralyzes or softens muscle movements to relax wrinkles over time. It is possible that someone could get too much Botox, stopping their muscle movement entirely, which can lead to this frozen look. A well-trained provider utilizes techniques that ensure your muscle movement is appropriately reduced while still maintaining a natural look.

It’s expensive.

IT DEPENDS Depending on the office where you are being treated, a syringe of filler can range from $600 to $1,000. If you are treating one area, such as your lips, it is possible to only need one syringe, leaving your final cost of treatment under $1,000. When you are treating multiple areas, or have a large amount of volume loss that you wish to replace, it is possible you may need a larger number of syringes. If you are considering a filler treatment and are curious about the cost, it is best to have a consultation so your provider can provide you with a personalized treatment plan and estimate costs before beginning.

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SUMMER NIGHTS

Check out these 64 fabulous options for creating a fun summer evening experience, from outdoor dining and night hikes to concerts and movies under the stars.

LEANING INTO A COMMON LOVE OF JAZZ P. 46

A group of local true believers keeps the beat of America’s original art form, improvising and riffing to grow audiences and support musicians.

BY CEDRIC ROSE

WHY JUNETEENTH MATTERS P. 50

These local leaders helped turn a Civil War–era remembrance day into a community-wide Queen City celebration for all.

BY CARRIE BLACKMORE

PHOTOGRAPH

DEVYN GLISTA

FRONTLINES

10 /

17 / DISPATCH

A NKY church turned comedy club celebrates its first anniversary

18 / SPEAK EASY

Kora Sline takes the crown as the first-ever Mx. Cincinnati Pride

18 / ART

Hip-hop commemorates 50 years at the Cincinnati Art Museum

20 / INTERSECTION

The shops and boutiques of Lebanon

22 / STOREFRONT

Old-fashioned gaming at Pinball Garage in Hamilton

24 / REAL ESTATE

A historic OTR row house gets a colorful renovation

26 / DR. KNOW Your QC questions answered

COLUMNS

30 / LIVING IN CIN

Over a century ago, a phenomenally phony doctor conned Cincinnati BY JAY GILBERT

96 / OBSCURA

Ducks live out their golden days at the Longbottom Bird Ranch BY CLAIRE LEFTON

DINE

76 / OFF THE MENU

Private barrel programs

79 / SNACK TIME

Gourmet Pop Tarts at Taste of Belgium

80 / HOT PLATE

The Green Line Kitchen & Cocktails, Ft. Thomas

80 / TABLESIDE

Bay Horse Café owner

Kyle Smith

82 / PANTRY

Daruma, downtown

84 / DINING GUIDE

Greater Cincinnati restaurants: A selective list

ON THE COVER photograph by JEREMY KRAMER

Decoding our civic DNA, from history to politics to personalities.

Tracking what’s new in local real estate, artisans, and storefronts.

TTHERE ARE CERTAIN SOUNDS I ASSOCIATE WITH SUMMER NIGHTS: THE INCESSANT white noise of crickets, of course, but also exploding fireworks, kids squealing in the neighbor’s yard, crowd noise or music spilling out of a far-off stadium, the rev of a car roaring down an unseen street. How about the summer smells like charcoal grills, fresh-cut grass, or a nighttime rainstorm rolling in? And nothing tastes like summer more than soft-serve ice cream and a chunk of watermelon (preferably not at the same time).

We aren’t able to capture those three senses in a print magazine, unfortunately, so we celebrate the season this month (“Summer Nights,” page 34) with the tools at our disposal: images and words. I especially love the opening spread photograph of the couple watching the river and the world float by—I can imagine the sounds of the river lapping the shore, maybe the riverboat tooting its horn or the Reds crowd cheering, and crickets chirping nearby. Sometimes you just need a warm evening, a blanket, and stars in the sky to make everything feel right.

Then again, sometimes you need a detailed itinerary to get the kids out of the house or to wrangle your friends into meeting up. This issue offers a ton of suggestions for the planners among us—from outdoor movies, concerts, and Hamlet performances to new attractions at the American Sign Museum, the Cincinnati Open, and Kings Island. Maybe it’s time to finally do one of those ghost tours or try your hand at pickleball. It’s definitely time to give Summerfair, Juneteenth Festival, and Riverfest another visit.

I’ve heard that sound and smell are particularly good at bonding with emotional information in your brain to form strong memories, but the reality is that our best memories combine all of the senses. My all-time favorite summer spot is the beach, with the sound and smell of the ocean, the feel of the sand, the salty taste on everything, and the amazing sights.

Maybe one of these years we’ll add a scratch-n-sniff swatch to our summer issue. Or somehow insert a sound doohickey so when you open a page in the summer section you hear crickets. So many crickets.

JOHN FOX EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

CONTRIBUTORS

EMMA BALCOM

Emma Balcom moved to Cincinnati five years ago to study journalism at UC and recently joined Cincinnati Magazine as associate editor. She contributed to the “Summer Nights” section (page 34), which she calls an exciting opportunity “because this is only my second summer getting to explore the city free from pandemic restrictions.” Balcom edits the Frontlines section in each issue and manages the magazine’s interns and fact-checking process.

STEF HADIWIDJAJA

Besides serving as a Cincinnati Magazine art director, Stef Hadiwidjaja does freelance graphic design and content creation. She relocated to Cincinnati four months ago from New York City and has lived and worked in four states over the past 12 years. “Cincinnati is an excellent city for creatives like myself,” she says. “The city offers fun activities and places to explore, and I especially love the beautiful public murals.”

ASA FEATHERSTONE, IV

Asa Featherstone, IV is a freelance photographer who creates images and films about the beauty and nuance of daily Black life, and in this issue he documented several local leaders who developed Cincinnati’s Juneteenth celebrations (page 50). “Lydia Morgan laid the groundwork for much of the work I aim to do in this city,” he says, “and Raven Fulton and Trudy Gaba are full of swagger and energy.”

When physicians need answers—from determining the most effective cancer therapies to providing clear diagnoses—they turn to the specialists of the UC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. These world-class researchers, teachers and clinicians work behind the scenes, applying the latest scientific methods and diagnostic tools to solve the most complex medical challenges. It’s where precision medicine, sophisticated therapies, and rapid discoveries meet. And it’s indispensable medicine, right here in Cincinnati.

Left to right: Jiang Wang, MD, PhD; Divya Sharma, MD; Sean Davidson, PhD; Kelsey Dillehay-McKillip, PhD; and Benjamin Hinrichs, MD, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Are you or someone you care about experiencing feelings of , , or ? Are you just not feeling like yourself? Lindner Center of HOPE understands how the symptoms of mental illness can make you feel. We can help. Our transformative continuum of care is designed to meet you where you are and promote long-lasting healing.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF John Fox

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DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL OPERATIONS

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Aiesha D. Little

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Emma Balcom

DIGITAL EDITOR

Claire Lefton

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Brianna Connock

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jim DeBrosse, Jay Gilbert, Lisa Murtha, Laurie Pike, John Stowell, Linda Vaccariello, Jenny Wohlfarth, J. Kevin Wolfe

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ART DIRECTOR Stef Hadiwidjaja

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SHOPPING IN LEBANON P. 20

COMMUNE WITH COMEDY

Commonwealth Sanctuary brings laughs and a sense of community to Northern Kentucky.

MACKENZIE MANLEY

THE SACRED AND PROFANE COexist at Commonwealth Sanctuary, a renovated church turned comedy club in Dayton, Kentucky, celebrating its fi rst anniversary on July 14. The club’s origin dates back to a fateful dog walk, when owners Jacoba Wells and Nathan Kroeger—programming director and artistic director, respectively—noticed a “For Sale” sign. The pair moved to Northern Kentucky in 2019 and bought the property in April 2020, looking to make an investment in the community.

They sat on the building for a couple of years and, in the meantime, befriended Shawn Braley, who was hosting a monthly comedy showcase at Dayton’s now-closed venue The Garage. Once those shows halted, the three had the idea to turn the church into a permanent comedy club, which finally opened last summer.

Braley, now Commonwealth’s creative director, says that Dayton is growing, and the trio is trying to be a part of that development while remaining inclusive and affordable. “We’re connected to all the other business owners here,” he says. “Any time a headliner CONTINUED ON P. 18

MX. CINCY PRIDE P. 18

comes through and we take them to one of the restaurants, I just feel like I’m Ray Liotta in Goodfellas walking through the kitchen. We’re fi nding a strong community of people trying to do something in this town. And then, within the comedy community, we’ve been strongly embraced as a unique space where they can try things a little more, go out on a ledge, and not have to always be perfect.”

That ethos is captured in weekly Comedy Labs, a Sunday evening openmic night when newcomers, veterans, and everyone in between can try out new material. The venue also hosts other events, including movie nights, pop-up vintage markets, and concerts.

Commonwealth has attracted regional and national names alike in its first year. Upcoming dates include NYC-based Jay Jurden on June 7 and 8; Michael Ian Black of Wet Hot American Summer and ’90s sketch comedy show The State on June 14; and Hari Kondabolu, creator of The Problem with Apu, on June 21 and 22.

Show attendees can get food via Kate’s Catering, another Dayton business. Each table is set up for silent ordering, an idea that came from visiting other comedy clubs, including The Comedy Attic in Bloomington, Indiana, and Planet of the Tapes in Louisville.

As they’ve learned about their audience and space, the club owners have tweaked the layout to encourage intimacy and resounding infectious laughter. “We’ve heard from a lot of comedians who have performed here that, even with 20 people in this room, on stage it feels like 100 people laughing just because of the way the sound reverberates in here,” says Kroeger. “This building feels theater-like, but it’s intimate at the same time. Those are two hard things to get together.”

Laugh It Up Commonwealth Sanctuary is at 522 Fifth Ave., Dayton, Kentucky, commonwealth sanctuary.com

According to Kroeger and Wells, the original building on their lot was built in 1855 as the Methodist Church of Dayton. It fell into disrepair, leading to construction of the current building in 1914. “All of the stained glass is dedicated to parishioners here, but their family members are still alive in our community,” says Wells. “People come in and they’re like, Oh, that was my great grandma.”

Besides being a stand-up comedian Braley was also a pastor at one time, an experience he’s used as source material. “Now I’m the creative director of a comedy club that meets in a church,” he says. “It feels like I inverted my life, but essentially I’m still creating programming that’s helping people experience something transcendent and building community.”

As they approach the first anniversary, Kroeger says the three owners have heard from early-career comedians that they feel they’ve found a footing at Commonwealth. “When we opened up, they tried us out and told us, Oh, this feels really good. They want to hang out here, and they do, which is really, really lovely.”

HIP-HOP’S GOLDEN BIRTHDAY

More than 50 contributors celebrate half a century of hip-hop at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s exhibition, The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century. Explore the genre’s influence in art, fashion, and music. cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/exhibitions

KORA SLINE IS MX. CINCINNATI PRIDE

Kora Sline (a play on “chorus line”), a teacher turned performer, wig stylist, and costume designer, won the first ever Mx. Cincinnati Pride Pageant in March, and is set on using her platform to advocate for her found family in Cincinnati.

Your pageant costume was themed after a warrior. Talk about the story behind that. I wanted to incorporate my love of fantasy and video games to insert my own personality into it. I wanted to do a soldier-warrior-type character because, as drag queens, we’re the most visible members of our community and a lot of times are on the frontlines fighting for rights within our community. I sewed everything, I made all the armor. I had help from some of my chosen family as well. It was a big group effort which is what pride means to me—working together as a community to help accomplish goals.

Is that costume representative of a fighter inside of you? Absolutely. I aspire to fight for and help people within our community and around the states and the world. To help people, especially those who are the parts of our community that are

underrepresented. [The pageant] being a nonbinary title makes me want to work with more people that identify as nonbinary and help them in any way I can to get their story across. I’ve always wanted to work more within the community, and I’ve never really known where my avenue was to get into there. I’ve done things with [local charities] here and there, but working with Pride, I’m hoping to get my feet on the ground and to work with people.

Does being a visible face for the community put pressure on you as a newly public figure, or is that a responsibility you enjoy? It’s a lot of responsibility. But coming from my background in education, that kind of just becomes second nature to me. I want to use my platform to show that we’re not dangerous and we’re not people you should be afraid of for any reason. We’re just normal people trying to live our life and entertain people at the same time. You’ve been entertained by drag your entire life, you’ve just not realized it. —EMMA BALCOM

READ A LONGER INTERVIEW WITH KORA AT CINCINNATIMAGAZINE. COM

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STAY GOLDEN

THE HISTORIC GOLDEN LAMB RESTAURANT ANCHORS LEBANON’S BROADWAY STREET, BRIMMING WITH STROLLABLE BOUTIQUES AND ANTIQUE SHOPS.

—GARIN PIRNIA

1. OH SUZANNA

Many new boutiques have popped up in downtown Lebanon, but Oh Suzanna remains a stalwart. Since 1986, the woman-owned shop has offered high-end jewelry, like Swarovski crystal necklaces, and trendy women’s apparel. It also sells seasonal merchandise. Come here and treat yourself to luxury.

16 S. Broadway St., (513) 932-8246, ohsu zannashop.com

2. BLUME HOME

Blume Home sells

vintage and handmade home items and also operates a store in Loveland. Peruse the shelves filled with tea towels, succulents, candles, pop-culture cards and stickers (hey, Taylor Swift!), decorative pillows, wine glasses, and jewelry— basically everything one needs to feel comfortable at home. And if you feel inspired, gift your favorite person a Joe Burrow–themed candle. 9 S. Broadway St., (513) 934-7629, facebook.com/ blumeshophome

3. SHADY DAME

One of Lebanon’s shops shows its oddball side. The couple who owns Shady Dame named it after “shady” dame Lola Montez, an Irish countess who immigrated to the U.S. and became known for her “spider dance.”

The New Age/metaphysical store offers Tarot cards, crystals, incense, chimes, fair trade products, and more “normal” inventory like ’80s-themed T-shirts, silk skirts, and purses. It’s a vibe to behold. 12 S. Broadway, (513) 378-8960, shadydame.com

4. BROADWAY ANTIQUE

MALL

Lebanon has an array of antique shops, including the large Broadway Antique Mall. Browse here to find vintage toys, kitchenware, jewelry, quilts, dolls, Tiffany lamps, furniture, and musical instruments. Occasionally it hosts sales, which means it’s probably a good time to buy that Blue Danube casserole dish or creepy looking doll. 15 S. Broadway, (513) 932-1410

5. GREEN COUNTRY MARKET

Green Country Market bills itself as “a modern general store of sorts.” Located next to Lot No. 1 Coffee—drink coffee while shopping your heart out—the Green Country sells artisanal food, bath- and kitchenware, candles, aprons, pantry supplies, seasonal gifts, and inspirational wall signs, because we all need reminders that we got this. 21 E. Main

St., (513) 228-2000, facebook.com/ GreenCountryMarket

6. MULBERRY ST. BOOKS

More than ever, books are important. The women-owned Mulberry St. Books—nestled in Mulberry Plaza, off Broadway—sells secondhand books, including kids’ books and Shakespeare. Take time to browse the shelves while drinking coffee in this cozy shop. The upstairs doubles as an event space, hosting book clubs and Altered Books, a craft class. (513) 934-7934, 46 E. Mulberry St., facebook. com/MulberryStBooks

Since 1995, Sonya Staffan has gone by the moniker The Jam and Jelly Lady. Her storefront sells jams and preserves, including strawberry rhubarb and peach pecan whiskey jams, made from locally grown fruit. She teaches canning boot camp classes in which customers learn how to can their own food. 20 S. Broadway St., (513) 932-8246, jamandjellylady.com

It’s true! Lebanon, Ohio, is named after the Middle Eastern country. As the story goes, in 1802, early settlers thought the trees in the town looked like something they’d seen in Lebanon. That’s why Lebanon, Ohio, is called “Cedar City.” Ohio is a far cry from the other Lebanon, but it was quaint enough for Olympia Dukakis and Nicollette Sheridan to film the 2013 film The Christmas Spirit throughout town.

GAME TIME

PINBALL GARAGE IS A FAMILY-FRIENDLY ARCADE IN DOWNTOWN HAMILTON.

—JACLYN YOUHANA GARVER

A pinball arcade has a particular kind of sound. There are the mechanical dings and bells of any arcade, lilting up when a player does something good—you’ve defeated the bad guy! And there’s the downtrodden lilt when a player does something not-so-good—oops, you died.

But pinball has special sounds, an extra thwap thwap of flippers keeping a ball in play, the hollow scratch as a ball rolls down the playfield, the dings as the pop bumpers kick the ball away.

Pinball Garage, located in the old Goodyear Tire store in Hamilton, opened in June 2020, in the heart of the pandemic. Its original open date? March 2020, the week everything shut down, says owner Brad Baker.

Prior to opening the arcade, Baker owned VPcabs, which manufactured virtual pinball machines. He took the company on Shark Tank in 2016 and partnered with entrepreneur Daymond John. Things were going great, but COVID wiped out that business, in part because VPcabs couldn’t get at the computer parts it needed during shutdowns to make the machines.

But Pinball Garage was already in the works, so Baker redirected his focus there.

What sets Pinball Garage apart from other pinball arcades—and Baker estimates players can find six to 10 pinball joints within an hour of downtown Cincinnati—is its atmosphere: It’s family friendly.

Yes, there’s a bar and a full menu with a from-scratch kitchen. But the arcade is also great for parents and kids. The party room has been rented for everything from birthdays to baby and bridal showers.

“Anyone can come and find something to enjoy,” Baker says.

Pinball Garage has about 50 pinball machines, plus a collection of other games. Its most popular machines right now are Toy Story 4 and Stranger Things Baker’s all-time favorite, though, is Medieval Madness from the ’90s, which features the voice of Tina Fey when she was a member of Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe.

“Almost all pinball

is made in Chicago. It’s the mecca of pinball,” Baker says. “Williams [the company that made Medieval Madness] would find those voice actors really cheap to do voices for all the pinball machines. She happened to be one of the princesses.”

Yes, Fey’s voice is another excellent Pinball Garage sound, but Baker’s No. 1 favorite noise? Whenever someone swipes their card to play, the machine sounds the pulse of a light saber.

PINBALL GARAGE, 13 N. THIRD ST., HAMILTON, (513) 805-7367, PINBALL-GARAGE.SQUARE.SITE

GOOD TO KNOW Brad Baker’s two tips to immediately improve your pinball game: 1) Don’t mash both flippers at the same time. 2) Aim the ball at the flashing lights.

TINY ROW HOUSE, BIG RENOVATION

AN 1845 ROW HOUSE IN OVER-THE-RHINE HOLDS ON TO ITS HISTORY WITH A MODERN TWIST. —CLAIRE LEFTON

MARGY WALLER, THE PROPERTY OWNER AND LEAD RENOVATOR OF THIS two-bedroom, one-bath, teal-painted beauty, wanted to recreate the home’s original look from the inside out. “The historic front door was recreated to resemble more historic doors on other Magnolia Street rowhouses,” she says. “The paint color was painstakingly chosen and after 10 coats of various blues, we think it’s right.”

Picking the paint color wasn’t the only part of the renovation process that was long and involved. “When I bought the house in 2013, it had been empty for a few years and had some water damage,” says Waller. “We spent a year working with a contractor specializing in historic renovations [8K Construction] and a group of local artists.”

The team committed to a few rules during the project. First, and most important, save the history. During the process, everyone

would reuse or salvage materials, or work with local artisans and makers to rebuild what could not be saved. Failing that, the team pledged to find American makers and buy local as much as possible. And, of course, no IKEA.

Almost anything in the house that is not from the original 1840s building has been custom made. Much of the wood is either original or salvaged from other buildings in Over-the-Rhine that were built between the 1840s and 1860s. Tile art, featured in the kitchen and bathroom, was commissioned from Rick Wolf of Wolf Custom Tile & Design. The bathroom features a quilted mosaic made of salvaged tile and recycled glass. Even more impressive is the whimsical kitchen backsplash, which is an 1842 map of the city with places like Findlay Market, Music Hall, and Fountain Square highlighted with special colorful tiles.

QDr. Know is Jay Gilbert, radio personality and advertising prankster. Submit your questions about the city’s peculiarities at drknow@cincinnati magazine.com

ing reviews. Yes, rave reviews of a hollow concrete rectangle in a field surrounded by absolutely nothing. It’s as if the thing were an upscale restaurant or hotel. “A mustsee!” “Totally life-changing!” “ It’s been in the family for generations!” One detects a hint of sarcasm.

Although The Pit looks much like an architecture student’s Brutalism capstone project, it is actually a stormwater control structure designed to collect overflow from Newport’s Woodlawn Creek underneath. Chris Cole, director of enterprise communications at Sanitation District 1, does not recommend it as a tourist attraction. He does credit it with slowing down buildups and overflows from the creek during heavy storms. Without The Pit, severe spring rains would indeed be “totally life-changing” for many Newport residents. We strongly discourage planning any vacations there.

Your recent answer about The Cupboard made me remember another local head shop from the hippie era. It was called The Blew Mind, and it lasted only a brief time on Short Vine. Or maybe it was on McMillan. I don’t remember much about it (ha ha). What’s the story of that place? —COMFORTABLY DUMB

In Newport along Waterworks Road, there’s a wide and tall concrete rectangle in the middle of a field. It’s open on top. On the hillside below it is an open concrete chute. Together they resemble an oversized two-level miniature golf challenge. I’m sure it all has a purpose, but what? —OUTSIDE THE BOX

DEAR BOX:

You have opened a box of worms. Much, much stranger than the concrete structure itself is its portrayal online. The Doctor urges readers to search Google Maps for “The Pit, Newport, KY.” It not only features photographs of the box described above but also has several glow-

DEAR DUMB:

Oh, wow. This is an extremely tiny blip of Cincinnati history within the extremely large purple haze of collective memory. It’s like trying to find a needle in a, y’know, like, a big box of needles. Oh, wow.

The Doctor has dug up only a few seeds about The Blew Mind at East McMillan and Vine streets (not The Blown Mind, which was in Mt. Adams). A police bust happened there in 1969, but no charges were filed. The proprietor guessed he’d been arrested as an act of revenge, because the cop suspected him of dropping sugar into his parked car’s gas tank the previous night (a sugar cube?). The Blew Mind also appears in a 1970 newspaper notice of delinquent taxes and its owner in arrears on

alimony in 1973.

Brevity, busted, and bankrupt: All the boxes have been checked to qualify as a Cincinnati head shop. The Cupboard’s longevity was the exception, unlike The Open Occult, Shaker Plane, On-U, Positively 4th Street, All-Together, Trivets, Straight A-Head, Jo-Ro-Gen, The Eye Opener, and their brethren. Oh, wow. I buried Paul.

At the Court Street Plaza across from the downtown Kroger, right behind the large mural, there’s a huge fenced-in box. It’s obviously electrical but looks like a series of gym lockers. You’d assume it’s for powering stuff at the plaza, but it was there long before the plaza happened. What’s it for?

—DON’T FENCE ME OUT

DEAR FENCE:

Yet another question about a large, mysterious rectangular structure. You can almost hear the theme from 2001, A Space Odyssey. This box, unlike Newport’s remotely isolated Pit described above, has comfortable seating at Court Street Plaza and the Kroger next door, so one would think this would be the box getting rave reviews on Google Maps. Life is mysterious.

The Court Street Plaza Gym Lockers are not gym lockers, nor do they have anything to do with Court Street Plaza. You are looking at an electrical substation for the Cincinnati Connector—our fleet of streetcars. The miles of overhead cables that provide power to the streetcars get their electricity from this array of high-voltage closets, and those Danger, High Voltage signs are not kidding around. Keep your distance.

Court Street Plaza’s facility is one of five substations throughout the downtown area; there are no prizes for pointing out the others. Together, they allow Cincinnati’s free streetcars to reliably and smoothly block your next left turn.

FROM PROMISE TO REALITY:

The Game-Changing Scholarship at Miami

University

WWhen Ande Durojaiye joined Miami University in August 2021 as the dean and vice president for the regional campuses, he shared a vision of making a college education possible for all. One hurdle identified as preventing many individuals from attending college is the location or proximity of a college or university. This was deemed a non-issue for Southwest Ohio and Butler County, as Miami University has two regional campuses, Hamilton and Middletown, and a learning center in West Chester.

“All individuals in our community should have access to opportunities,” Durojaiye said. “The Miami Hamilton Promise makes sure that cost isn’t a barrier for our community members interested in attending college.”

With location and proximity already taken care of, the next task was making sure the community was aware of the campus locations and the available programs. New partnerships were formed with area schools such as Butler Tech, Middletown, Hamilton, and Winton Woods high schools. The Early College

Academy at Miami University Regionals — which graduated its first class this Spring — is committed to increasing opportunities for students to earn a degree, gain a career, and enjoy all the benefits of a college education. Utilizing the statewide College Credit Plus program, students can graduate high school

while earning a Miami University associate’s degree at no cost.

Miami Regionals continues to seek out opportunities such as the Early College Academy, the expanding Work+ program, partnerships with Cincinnati State, the Moon Shot for Equity partnership, and the Advanced Manufacturing and Inno-

vation Workforce Hub partnership with Butler Tech.

The next hurdle facing potential students and families is finances.

Durojaiye, along with President Crawford, met with city, state, and county leaders to research ways to make a college education more affordable. In a groundbreaking collaboration earlier this year, the City of Hamilton, Miami University Regionals, and the Hamilton Community Foundation proudly announced the establishment of the Miami Hamilton Promise Scholarship. This innovative program is designed to provide free tuition for 2-year and 4-year degrees at Miami Regionals to Pell Grant-eligible students attending Hamilton High School, Stephen T. Badin High School, or Butler Tech from Hamilton City School District and residing in the city of Hamilton.

“This is a game changer,” Durojaiye said. “As we continue to grow, thrive, and bring industry to Hamilton, we will have an educated, talented workforce to move forward.”

The Hamilton Community Foundation has demonstrated its support of this initiative by generously committing $663,000 over five years to make the Miami Hamilton Promise a reality. This transformative initiative aims to eliminate financial barriers,

reduce student loan debt, and create a pathway for increased retention and graduation rates among eligible students.

Durojaiye emphasized, “The Hamilton Promise is more than just scholarship dollars. It’s an investment in providing opportunities that will, in turn, lead to a talented workforce, economic development, and business growth. The impact of the Hamilton Promise will strengthen our community today and well into the future.”

Key highlights of the Miami Hamilton Promise:

Tuition-free 2-year and 4-year degrees for Pell Grant-eligible students

Open to Miami University Regionals students from Hamilton High School, Stephen T. Badin High School, or Butler Tech from Hamilton City School District and residing in the city of Hamilton Renewable for up to eight consecutive semesters

Required cumulative high school GPA of 2.5+

For consideration, students apply for admission to Miami Regionals (with required ma-

terials) and complete the FAFSA application

Made possible through the generosity of scholarship donors Miami Regionals commits to supporting the retention and graduation of Miami Hamilton Promise students

“The Miami Hamilton Promise represents a significant step forward in our collective effort to open doors to higher education for the youth of our community,” said John Guidugli, president and CEO of the Hamilton Community Foundation. “Together, we’re laying the groundwork for a future where every student in Hamilton has the opportunity to pursue their dreams. This partnership is a testament to our shared vision of a brighter, more inclusive future for all our residents.”

For a full list of eligibility requirements and program details about the Miami Hamilton Promise, please visit MiamiOH.edu/Regionals/HamiltonPromise. The first recipients of the Hamilton Promise will begin classes in fall 2024. Miami Regionals has been meeting with city officials and the Middletown Community Foundation to potentially launch a similar program in Middletown in the fall of 2025.

LIVING IN CIN

BY JAY GILBERT

The Phraud Phenom

AMONG CINCINNATI’S OLD-TIME MEDICAL CHARLATANS, MAX KRAUS WAS THE WORST BEST.

THIS MAGAZINE PUBLISHES ITS ANNUAL TOP DOCTORS ISSUE IN JANUARY. OUR EDITORS tell me it’s usually the year’s best-seller, which is why I’m going to do them a favor and unpack this story now, in June—a nice, safe six months away.

The Very Bottom Doctor of Cincinnati—he scraped the bottom and then dug even deeper—began “serving” our community in 1909. He had been running his con in other towns and then upped his game by employing the word that made him famous: phenomenal. Phenomenal Kraus! Definitely a name with more punch than dull, ordinary Max Kraus—and punch was what he wanted.

The marketing stunt worked, too, as that name would later appear in Cincinnati’s many newspapers almost every day. Read all about it! The blind can see, the lame can walk! Phe-

nomenal Kraus introduces his revolutionary Electrogenics! Suffering patients wept with gratitude after their diseases were instantly cured onstage. The glows and sparks from amazing electrical devices closed the sale. Devices such as—I’m not making these up—the Kraus Obsono-Radio Magnetic Force Solenoid, the Kraus Diagraphoscope, the Spygmomanometer, and the Paro Radio Trans Luminant! Let’s call it electro-shtick therapy.

Worshipful stories about Phenomenal Kraus ran nonstop in the papers. We should note that Dr. Kraus was simultaneously purchasing dozens of enormous ads in the same papers, so perhaps the uniformly fawning reports may have been less than journalistically objective. Maybe it was also just a coincidence that his visit duplicated many earlier stays in other cities: the same carpetbombing of newspaper ads, the same “reports” that matched almost word for word.

PHENOMENAL KRAUS HAD SOME HIStory in Cincinnati. Back in 1895, when he was just Max, he came here and married a girl from Mt. Auburn named Reta Daley. Max was already calling himself a “physician” then, but his new persona wasn’t complete. Researching his next decade in the news, I couldn’t find any stories about him getting arrested.

The fully formed Phenomenal Kraus would die of embarrassment if he weren’t arrested. It was essential to his image that he declare victimhood at the hands of Big Doctor—those fat-cat medical associations that feared his revolutionary inventions. Kraus was put in handcuffs almost everywhere he went, and he loved it. Reta, both wife and accomplice, stood by him. She excelled at luring a crowd by performing songs and comedy sketches during the free entertainment that preceded her husband’s medical song and dance.

Kraus achieved his first media martyrdom in July 1904, getting busted in Michigan for practicing medicine without a license. While he hadn’t yet perfected the doctor’s bag of bullshit that would make him infamous throughout nine states, his legal strategy was solid from the start: Always have one or more real licensed physicians by your side. It is they who perform the actual treatments, your honor, while I merely diagnose patients with my wondrous electrical devices. I

therefore require no medical license.

This defense worked. At worst, Kraus might have to pay court costs and promise to never come back. Despite dozens of arrests, he rarely spent more than one night in jail. His real crimes—skipping out on massive bills, bilking gullible suckers, and probably

into the street. Does your doctor do that?

Phenomenal Kraus tore through cities in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and more. The troupe performed vaudeville, and the doctor performed miracles—that’s why America called these things “medicine shows.” After five years of rolling through the Mid-

EVENTUALLY PHENOMENAL KRAUS COULD AFFORD TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF TO A TOWN BY JUST RIDING IN AND TOSSING MONEY OUT INTO THE STREET. DOES YOUR DOCTOR DO THAT?

killing some of them with his X-rays and worthless potions—went unpunished as he and Reta vanished to the next targeted town.

Soon after the 1904 acquittal came his official name change to Phenomenal Kraus, and the show shifted into high gear. Eventually he could afford to introduce himself to a town by just riding in and tossing money out

west, Phenomenal and Reta were at the top of their game, and in 1909 they decided to bring their scam to her hometown.

THEY ARRIVED IN CINCINNATI IN MIDautumn. The Reds had just finished the season in fourth place. Local boy William Howard Taft was in first place: President of

the United States.

On October 24, Phenomenal Kraus launched his operation, which by now was flawless. First, throw money at all the local newspapers a few days before the first show and make sure they understand that the ad dollars will instantly stop if any complaints get printed. Second, stage free music and comedy that attracts crowds, who will then gasp at your amazing medical prowess. Third, promise long-term miracles from your various bottles and boxes of medicines, for sale right over there, folks! Fourth, declare your sudden arrest to be proof that those so-called medical experts—the real crooks!—want to keep ordinary people from knowing the truth about your revolutionary methods.

Cincinnati police arrested Phenomenal Kraus a few days before Christmas. He issued his standard defiant statement and continued the shows while delaying his court case. But then something went wrong. Reta was seen running up Elm Street

screaming for help and jumped into someone’s car; Kraus drove up and accused Reta of making off with his money; a chase ensued, and Reta escaped. At this point I advise you to strap yourself in, because the story now splatters into numerous droplets of total insanity.

Reta runs off to Kansas City and files for divorce. It is granted, but an hour later the judge realizes Reta hasn’t lived there long enough and revokes it. Back in Cincinnati, two Kraus doctors have their licenses revoked. Kraus disappears. He later reappears with Reta, apparently reconciled, running their usual scam in Streator, Illinois.

Kraus then slinks to nearby Joliet and marries Violet, a young girl from his music troupe (possibly too young). She has a son exactly eight months later. Kraus abandons them. Destitute Violet gives her baby to a Cleveland couple and, when in court trying to get him back, is refused because she’s overdressed. She later wins custody. Phenomenal Kraus, meanwhile, seems to

have peaked in Cincinnati; the Streator show fades quickly, and then nothing. The whereabouts of Just Plain Max Kraus Again are spotty from here on.

In Los Angeles, Kraus is arrested for stalking a young woman. He’s declared legally insane and sent to an asylum, with all expenses covered by his brother. Sorry, have I forgotten to mention Max’s brother? I hope you’re still strapped in. Abe Kraus is a different kind of phenomenal—so wealthy that the San Francisco Stock Exchange closes in his honor when he dies. Many mourners gather at the funeral, silently hoping to get a piece of Abe’s formidable estate, but then his wife arrives. They all exclaim,“Wait, Abe had a wife?”

The marriage apparently has been a secret for 38 years, and Lucy Kraus has the paperwork to prove it. At the reading of Abe’s will (insert lyric from that Taylor Swift song here), the formerly Phenomenal Max Kraus—who might have been released from the asylum but, what the hell, maybe

he escaped—shows up and demands a phenomenal piece of Abe’s pie. He is physically ejected from the proceedings.

You may now unstrap. A few months later, the death certificate for Max Julius Kraus listed his occupation as “X-Ray demonstrator.” Considering that he stood onstage next to that thing for decades, it’s no surprise that cancer killed him. Reta became a beauty consultant in San Francisco, selling cosmetics and conducting beauty counseling based on her (fabricated) background as assistant to a famous cosmetologist.

One final thing: Remember Violet and her son, whom Klaus abandoned? While researching this story, I unexpectedly connected with the son’s granddaughter. She had done some DNA research and is pretty sure Klaus did not father that son. It looks like Violet snagged a moneyed husband by working her own con job on the great and magnificent Phenomenal Kraus. You just can’t trust some people.

LIFE’S BETTEROUTDOORS

SUMMER

We found 64 fabulous options for creating a fun summer evening experience—no sunglasses or sunscreen required.

NIGHTS

The Soundtrack of Your Summer

From neighborhood parks to sports stadiums, find the right concert to fit your mood. —BILL THOMPSON

STADIUM TOURS

Kenny Chesney at TQL 6/29 The country superstar was “Born” to sing about beaches and beer.

Foo Fighters / Pretenders at GABP 7/25 Josh Freese replaces the late Taylor Hawkins on FF drums.

Luke Combs at Paycor 8/2 & 3 The current king of country reintroduced Tracy Chapman (“Fast Car”) to younger audiences.

Green Day / Smashing Pumpkins at GABP 8/22 Pop-punk legends play classic albums Dookie and American Idiot.

WOMEN IN FRONT

Sarah McLachlan / Feist at PNC Pavilion 6/14 The Lilith Fair founder celebrates the 30th anniversary of her breakout album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.

Janet Jackson / Nelly at Riverbend 6/22 The “All for You” singer reprises her amazing 2023 tour.

Alanis Morissette / Joan Jett at River-bend 7/24 Where were you when Jagged Little Pill was released 29 years ago? Or “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” 14 years before that?

Heart / Cheap Trick at Heritage Bank Arena 8/13

Sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson reconciled last year and return to the stage this summer.

BOY BANDS

New Kids on the Block at Riverbend 6/21 The original crew tours with a new album, Still Kids, which is sure to strike a chord with Blockheads.

Boyz II Men at Hard Rock Casino 6/22 Halfway through their fourth decade,

three of the original four Boyz still make girls swoon.

New Edition at Cincinnati Music Festival 7/27 The original six members, including Bobby Brown, are back.

FESTIVALS

Jason Aldean / Keith Urban / Sam Hunt at VOA Park 8/8–11 30-plus acts star in the second Voices of America Country Fest in

West Chester.

East Nash Grass / Zach Top / Daniel Donato at RiversEdge 9/5–7

Talented bluegrass and country players follow in Hamilton’s Whimmydiddle Festival tradition of Billy Strings and Tyler Childers.

Willie Nelson / Bob Dylan / John Mellencamp at Riverbend 9/11

The 90-year-old is

bringing along his 80something and 70something friends on the Outlaw Music Fest tour.

FREE SHOWS

Fountain Square

Tuesdays: Jazz, Wednesdays: Blues, Thursdays: Salsa, Fridays: Indie Rock, Saturdays: Various (from Naked Karate Girls to 2nd Wind)

Washington Park Mondays: Jazz, Wednesdays: Reggae, Thursdays: Roots, Fridays: R&B Flow

Smale Riverfront Park

Thursdays: Rockin’ the Roebling (Noah Wotherspoon, The Menus); Saturdays: Music at the Esplanade (Tracy Walker, Positive Vibe Band)

Blue Ash Nature Park

Tuesdays: Various (Cincinnati Brass Band, Daniel Bennett & The Dirty Shirleys)

BLUEGRASS KNIGHT LIFE

KNIGHT RIDERS

—AIESHA D. LITTLE

Located in the rolling hills of Henry County, the Highland Renaissance Festival is smaller than its Ohio counterpart but no less fun. This year’s themed weekends from June 1 to July 21 include steampunk, romance, and Scottish king Robert the Bruce’s birthday. kyrenfaire.com

The Ohio Renaissance Festival made improvements to its Warren County grounds in recent years, leading to even more attendees wanting a piece of the medieval action. Highlights include fullarmored/full-contact jousting, falconry, and spirits tastings Aug. 31–Oct. 27. renfestival. com

GATHER AND GAME

If you prefer your medieval fantasies in game form, head over to Woodburn Games in East Walnut Hills for the weekly Magic: The Gathering session. This popular fantasy card game lets you battle other multiple players as powerful wizards. $5 entry fee. woodburngames.com

THE ULTIMATE QUEEN CITY IS HAUNTED TOUR

Take to the streets of Over-the-Rhine with American Legacy Tours and explore the iconic neighborhood’s frightening past through ghost stories and other unexplained events. Two hours, $39. americanlegacytours.com

CINCINNATI GHOSTS

This chilling tour spins spooky stories of Washington Park’s tiny skeletons, the former Taft’s Ale House’s resident ghosts, and Symphony Hotel and Restaurant’s dark secrets. One hour, $25 (adults), $16 (under 13). cincin natighosts.com

CINCINNATI BOOZE AND BOOS TOUR

Visit the city’s most haunted drinking establishments and pair tales of ghosts with liquid courage as you take on the night. Must be 21 or older. Two and a half hours, $29.95 (alcohol can be purchased at each bar). nightlyspirits.com

EAT, DRINK, BE MERRY

Move your evening meals or nightcaps to the patio at these amazing al fresco spots. —RODNEY WILSON

THE STANDARD

This Covington filling-station-turnedersatz-dive serves up chef-driven bar fare (goetta reuben, chicken parm grinder) and fun drink selections (Marge’s Bourbon Slush) from its spot under the railroad bridge. And the partially covered patio areas are vibey as hell, with colorful furniture, automotive decor, and even chandelier lighting. 434 Main St., Covington, thestandardcov.com

AMADOR CUBAN RESTAURANT

Newport on the Levee is back, baby! Fresh signs of life are emerging, including the Cuban eatery and rum bar Amador. Try some of Amador’s signature cocktails and small plates or go all in on tropical dishes like grilled mahi-mahi on the 2,500-square-foot patio with a killer view of downtown Cincinnati. 1 Levee Way, Newport, amadorcuban.com

HIGHGRAIN BREWING

While we’re excited for HighGrain’s new Brentwood Bowl location, the original taproom and kitchen will always hold a special place in our hearts for its inventive food, primo craft brews, and vibrant outdoor area. Order a hop sauce burger and IPA and grab a table on the lawn for some summertime fun. 6860 Plainfield Rd., Silverton, highgrainbrewing.com

INCLINE PUBLIC HOUSE

Check out the unrivaled views of the urban core from its vista atop the legendary incline hill, where the 1,400-square-foot deck is a truly special spot to take in downtown, the Ohio River, and more. Enjoy scratch-made sandwiches, pizzas, and salads with a craft brew or bourbon cocktail at this West Side staple. 2601 W. Eighth St., Price Hill, inclinepublichouse.com

OPAL

There’s a lot to love about Opal, which brings open-fire cooking to the area with the only Grillworks Grill within a two-hour radius of the Queen City. But the rooftop dining is at the top of the list, offering a 365-degree view of downtown and Northern Kentucky from its perch at the peak of the Republic Bank building. 535 Madison Ave., Covington, opalrooftop.com

RUTH’S

PARKSIDE CAFÉ

David Tape’s Northside hotspot turned 10 last year and recently navigated the retirement of longtime manager Mar y Kroner. As things change, though, the quality at Ruth’s stays the same for this spacious oasis in the bustling urban neighborhood, the perfect place to enjoy dinner on the patio under twinkling string lights and colorful umbrellas. 1550 Blue Rock St., Northside, ruthscafe.com

SACRED BEAST

Outdoor dining was the saving grace of Sacred Beast during the height of pandemic restrictions, when the city first shut down 15th Street for streatery dining. Grab a picnic table and enjoy house specials like fried mortadella, chicken schnitzel, or matzah ball soup. 1437 Vine St., Over-theRhine, sacredbeastdiner.com

TAHONA TAQUERIA+TEQUILA BAR

Tahona has two locations, in Blue Ash and Loveland, but if you’re near Summit Park you should secure a table on the patio and enjoy the reimagined former Blue Ash Airport. Tacos and California cuisine are the name of the game here (definitely try the torta hongos), and a flight of three housemade margaritas in the open air makes for the perfect summer evening. 1100 Summit Place, Blue Ash, tahonakitchen.com

THE ROOFTOP AT 21C

The hotel’s hip rooftop takes an “elevated” approach to open-air dining, with new Peruvian-inspired menu items from recently named Executive Chef Kam Losonsky, a Cincinnati native. And the high-altitude view only gets better with inspired cocktails like the Nazca Limes, a blend of blanco tequila, orange liqueur, agave, and lime. 609 Walnut St., downtown, 21c museumhotels.com/cincinnati/therooftop21c

WOODBURN BREWING

When March First acquired Walnut Hills’s Woodburn Brewing in 2020, the new owners made a handful of crucial changes, including installing a kitchen and expanding the drink menu. What they didn’t change, though, is the outdoor patio, an urban oasis perfect for enjoying a beer or cocktail, noshing on some pizza, and meeting friends for a game of cornhole. 2800 Woodburn Ave., Walnut Hills, woodburnbrewing.com

The Outdoors After Dark

FULL MOON WALKS AT THE CINCINNATI NATURE CENTER

Enjoy the Cincinnati Nature Center in (ahem) a whole new light during one of its Full Moon Walks, which offer a unique opportunity to explore the Milford land during “off” hours and utilize level upland trails to ensure safety. Hikes typically start at or after 8 p.m.; $7 for members, $13 for nonmembers; pre-registration is required. cincynature.org

PERSEID METEOR SHOWER AT STONELICK PARK

With a prime location that’s far from the city’s light pollution, Stonelick State Park in Clermont County is the place for stargazing. While the Perseids on August 12 are on everyone’s radar, astronomers set up a variety of telescopes on Saturday evenings for viewing the wonders of the sky. facebook.com/StonelickStar gazers

GREAT PARKS OF HAMILTON COUNTY

Each summer, the county parks invite everyone to “find their wild” and enjoy nature at night, from stargazing at Woodland Mound to camping at Lake Isabella or Miami Whitewater. All you need to enjoy the great outdoors is a sense of adventure and a $10 motor vehicle pass. greatparks. org/discovery/find-your-wild

FIREFLIES

While Cincinnati might not have the synchronous fireflies you’ll see in places like the Smokies, there are many places to enjoy a sparkling sunset show here. Stanbery Park is a lush oasis of thick, verdant foliage in Mt. Washington that transforms into a twinkling fantasy come nightfall. Check the Cincinnati Parks calendar for Firefly Night Hikes, or lace up your hiking shoes and visit on your own. cincinnati-oh.gov/cincyparks

MOVIES UNDER THE STARS

STARLITE DRIVE-IN

The area’s last remaining first-run drive-in theater has doublefeature screenings six nights a week starting at dusk, with single “retro” films on Mondays. Buy tickets and popcorn ahead of time online. Adults 12 and over $10, seniors $8, children $6. 2255 State Rt. 125, Amelia, starliteohio.com

FREE MOVIES IN PARKS

Ziegler Park (Over-the-Rhine) has movies every Wednesday at 9 p.m. on the great lawn from May 29 to September 25. zieglerpark. org

Summit Park (Blue Ash) opens its movie series with Wonka June 6 and closes with Barbie July 25. Shows start at dusk. blueash summit park.com

NIGHTLIGHT 513

The adults-only movie series is held June 6 and 28; July 18; August 1, 15, and 30; and September 6 at Covington Plaza (the foot of Madison Avenue) with food trucks, bar drinks, and pre-film DJ. Early entry tickets (7 p.m.) are $14.99, general admission is $10.99; movies start at dusk. nightlight513.com

TWILIGHT TOURS AT SPRING GROVE CEMETERY

One of the city’s most hauntingly beautiful places, Spring Grove offers twilight walking tours once a month through September. Tours are free, but register online—and be quick!—because they fill up fast. springgrove.org/events

TWILIGHT CANOE & DINNER FOR TWO

Join Morgan’s Outdoor Adventures for a guided three-mile canoe trip down the Little Miami River that ends with dinner for two at Valley Vineyards. The cost is $140 per couple and includes canoe rental, guided float, shuttles, a “grill-your-own-dinner” at Valley Vineyards, and live music. morganscanoe.com

BB RIVERBOATS DINNER CRUISES

There’s nothing like watching the sun set below our glorious cityscape while cruising down the mighty Ohio River in a vintage paddlewheeler. BB Riverboats has long been the leader in this type of adventure, and its dinner cruises are bucket-list worthy. bbriverboats.com

CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY

Our world-renowned observatory offers stargazing opportunities for beginners, families, and experts; curiosity is the only prerequisite. From romantic “Late Night Date Nights” to familyfriendly “Astronomy Evenings,” an array of programming brings the far-away cosmos marvelously and magically within reach. cincinnatiobservatory.org

Keep the Arts in Your Heart

LIVERPOOL MEMORIES

Cincinnati Opera’s mainstage season concludes with the world premiere opera staging of Liverpool Oratorio, a semi-autobiographical work by Paul McCartney inspired by his early life. Shows are July 18, 20, 21, and 27 at Music Hall. cincinnatiopera.org

POP GOES THE SUMMER

Whether you enjoy the classics or like a little Sousa in your step, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s summer lineup has something for everyone, from free performances in local parks to the Cincinnati Pops’ annual July 4 celebration at Riverbend. cincinnati symphony.org

TO BE…IN THE PARK

Bring a lawn chair and pack a picnic for a 90-minute version of courtesy of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. The free shows will be presented at more than 30 area parks from July 12 to September 1. cincyshakes.com/on-stage/hamlet

SUMMER TIGHTS

Enjoy Shakespeare and the Symphony in local parks or Paul McCartney’s opera at Music Hall. —SARAH McCOSHAM

Enjoy Some Words With Friends

A NOVEL BOOK SIGNING

Ashley Poston, bestselling author and favorite of BookTok, visits Joseph-Beth Booksellers at 7 p.m. June 25 to sign and discuss her newest work, A Novel Love Story, in which a literature professor finds herself in a fictional town. josephbeth.com/event

THE LIBRARIAN DID IT

Head to the scene of the crime at the Oakley library branch for Monday Night Mysteries every first Monday of the month at 6:45 p.m. The book club is the perfect place for amateur sleuths and gumshoes to dig into a shared love of mystery novels. chpl. org/locations/oa

WILL WRITE FOR BEER

Enjoy the pastoral oasis of Fibonacci Brewing Company in Mt. Healthy for writer’s night every third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Wordsmiths of all levels are encouraged to create, share their work, and enjoy a pint of craft beer on the farm. fibbrew.com

Make this summer your very own page-turner. —CLAIRE LEFTON

FANS

The Cincinnati Open remains open for business. —JOHN FOX

STAYING PUT

Mason, Warren County, and Ohio officials struck a deal with Beemok Capital to keep the tournament here for another 25 years, after the company considered moving it to Charlotte. The August 11–19 event has been rebranded as the Cincinnati Open, the name it first carried in 1899.

FACILITY UPGRADES

Beemok is investing $260 million over two years to improve the Lindner Family Tennis Center fan experience. Fans this summer will find 12,000 new seats at Center Court and additional hospitality suites and practice courts.

VOLUNTEERS MAKE IT ALL GO

The Cincinnati Open will utilize more than 1,300 volunteers. Eleven different committees still are looking for help to scan tickets, assist in hospitality suites, usher inside the stadiums, and drive players and VIPs. No prior tournament experience is required.

Highlights of the Sign Museum’s expansion this summer. —STEVEN ROSEN

THE ANNEX’S ARRIVAL

You’ll feel like you’re on a long nighttime walk through Times Square once the American Sign Museum opens its annex to the public July 13 & 14, doubling the size of the museum and the number of signs on display. The expansion will create areas for events, special exhibitions, a classroom, and meeting space with a movie screen.

A YES-TELL MOTEL

The annex features a double-faced neon sign from the Stag Motel in Beaver, Utah, exuding the rustic, woodsy outdoors feel that vacationers coming west wanted in the 1950s. Its “chasing lights” appear to float down toward the tip of an arrow.

WALL OF FAME

The vividly colorful Wards Soft Bun Sliced Bread sign was painted onto the lapped wooden siding of a three-story Chicago building in the 1930s and uncovered in 2022 when workers removed aluminum siding. Museum founder Tod Swormstedt and a crew painstakingly removed it board by board and reassembled the wall in the new annex.

WRITES

SUMMER LIGHTS

HOW THE FESTIVALS STACK UP

BE A SPORT

Break a sweat by playing, watching, or both. —CLAIRE LEFTON

PICKLE PARTY

Aces Pickleball and Kitchen at Factory 52 in Norwood hosts Friday Night Mega Open Play for athletes of all skill and experience levels, with food, drinks, and a soundtrack provided by DJ Diamond. acespickle ball.com/pickleball

FIREWORKS FRIDAYS BANG

Grab your City Connect jersey and head to Great American Ball Park for one of the Reds’ Friday night home games through September 20, which conclude with a stunning display from hometown Rozzi Fireworks. mlb.com/ reds/tickets

MESSI MANIA

PT. 2

Soccer superstar

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF return to TQL Stadium on July 6 for a 7:30 p.m. regular season matchup. Expect fútbol fans to flock to town to see the legend in person. fccincinnati. com/tickets

SOAR WITH SNOOPY

The park’s newest coaster, Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers, reaches heights of almost 74 feet at 36 miles per hour—and even races backwards!

AT EASE, CAMPER

The new coaster is part of the Planet Snoopy expansion called Camp Snoopy, which also features Beagle Scout Acres, a shaded and grassy area for children to play and parents to relax and take a breather.

KI GETS CULTURED

This summer’s Grand Carnivale parties right into the night July 20–August 4 with food, music, and games inspired by cultures around the world. The celebration kicks off with a parade and block party.

KI adds to Planet Snoopy and the annual Carnivale. —EMMA BALCOM

Leaning into a COMMON LOVE OF JAZZ

A group of local true believers keeps the beat of America’s original art form, improvising and riffing to grow audiences and support musicians.

By Cedric Rose

By Lynn bremner

Illustration

It’s a sultry

summer evening in Eden Park’s Seasongood Pavilion.

Jazz fans fill tree-shaded benches, picnic blankets, and lawn chairs. Piano, bass, and drums trade phrases and solos on stage in an intricate language of ghost notes and glissandos. A musician raises her saxophone and blows. Heads bob across the audience. Some get up to dance.

They’re enjoying It’s Commonly Jazz, Cincinnati’s longest-running free summer jazz series, which celebrates its 40th year this summer. The event brings national and regional talent to Eden Park on Thursday evenings in August and hosts acts at Findlay Market for Final Fridays from June through October.

The annual congregation of jazz aficionados is the work of Carolyn Wallace, whose hip, asymmetrical glasses shimmer as she walks into Fifth Third’s downtown headquarters. It’s an appropriate place to meet for a conversation about It’s Commonly Jazz, because the bank has been a key supporter of the series through thick and thin, she says. These days, Wallace’s catering company, The Perfect Brew, is in demand by event planners seeking healthy, sustainable food, but back in the 1980s she was general manager of Swifton Commons shopping center in Bond Hill.

“Other malls had sidewalk sales,” she recalls. “We really had sidewalk sales. So we decided to start having music in the courtyard.” Initially she brought in other musical genres: R&B, reggae, even a barbershop quartet, but jazz won out by popular demand. “People came and brought their lawn chairs and sat in the courtyard and listened to music,” says Wallace. “Then, at 8 o’clock, the lights would come up and people would go shop.”

The music series grew into more than just a promotion. She realized these concerts filled a need, especially among middle-aged Black men. “There were these guys who came together for these Thursday night events,” she says. “They would sit on the back row, and they had a whole thing. And that fueled me. They wanted to hear real jazz, so we went after the roots of the music and it became a rite of summer for some folks, as well as a community builder.”

Wallace grew up listening to jazz. She did her homework tuning in to Jazz with O.T. on WNOP, the tiny AM station that broadcast from its floating Ohio River studio dubbed “the jazz ark.” With her first paycheck, she bought a Yusef Lateef record. Payday always meant a new LP after that.

Cincinnati’s vibrant jazz scene inspired her. One night Wallace was listening to William Menefield at Walnut Hill’s long-running The Greenwich jazz club. His father, musician Bruce Menefield, helped her produce the music series early on. He’d even called his son on stage to perform at the young age of 12.

“I was listening to William play, and I wanted a national piano player to come in for the series but he was going to cost a lot of money,” Wallace says. “I was thinking, Why do you want to spend that kind of money when you’ve got William here? Why not promote local artists?” She consciously cultivated the series to shine a light on local

SWEET SOUND OF SUCCESS Area musicians William Menefield (top) and the Eddie Love Jazzmen (above) are regular performers at It’s Commonly Jazz in Eden Park, founded by Carolyn Wallace (opposite page, right, with Annette Love).

talent and pay them properly, which created opportunities for local players to open for nationally touring names—stars like McCoy Tyner, Eddie Harris, the Marsalis brothers, Hank Crawford, Cindy Blackman Santana, Clark Terry, Tia Fuller, and Gregory Porter.

It’s Commonly Jazz has connected jazz lovers to America’s original art form and to one another for 40 years, but the music itself has been connecting Americans and the world for longer. Drummer Art Gore started playing jazz while a student at Taft High School, and his professional career spans important transitional periods from bebop to post- and hard-bop through the avant-garde and into the electric era. He had long tenures at both The Greenwich and Blue Wisp Jazz Club, anchoring house rhythm sections at the now-defunct spaces, and often performs at It’s Commonly Jazz.

“Jazz is really not that old. We’re not even 150 years into it,” says Gore. “Think about the distance it’s covered in such a short period of time.”

It’s Commonly Jazz is co-presented bylocal advocacy nonprofit Jazz Alive, whose president, Laura Gentry, “has her hand on the pulse of who’s out there,” says Wallace. “Laura travels, goes to Chicago for the Jazz Fest, and seeks out artists.” The organization was founded by musicians Gordon Brisker, Joseph Gaudio, and Donald Carr, who were graduates of the University of Cincinnati’s CCM program, and jazz bassist Jim Anderson.

Jazz Alive supports live performances, radio broadcasts, and jazz education. One of its most recent initiatives, We Create Jazz, boosts mentorship of young women in music. The theme of last year’s It’s Commonly Jazz series was “Women in Jazz,” and it fea-

tured the We Create Jazz Ensemble, a group of female musicians sponsored by Jazz Alive. They killed. It started to rain during their set, and not a person moved.

An accountant by trade, Gentry has been booking and promoting jazz in Dayton and Cincinnati for 25 years. She knew she was onto something when, after her first show, people came up to her in line at the Kroger deli and asked, Aren’t you the lady who put on the show at The Greenwich? When are you going to do it again? She became talent coordinator for It’s Commonly Jazz in 2000 and was one of the decision-makers who moved the series from Swifton Commons, then known as Jordan Crossing, to Eden Park in 2008. “There were some negative connotations in taking it out of a Black neighborhood,” says Gentry.

She felt pressure to curate a lineup that people didn’t want to miss that first summer in Eden Park, and she featured Tia Fuller, Randy Villars, Thelma Massey, Ron Jones Organ Quartet, and the Mike Wade Quintet with Ralph Peterson. The series has been going strong at Seasongood ever since. Like Wallace, Gentry grew up listening to jazz and says she gets a sense of achievement and joy from building jazz audiences. “Jazz is so important to history and culture that it needs to be given equal consideration as our symphony, ballet, opera, or theater scene,” she says.

Like most major cities, Cincinnati once housed a wide array of jazz clubs. The music connected Americans everywhere as touring bands brought hip music to whistle-stop towns.

Ron Enyard, whose trio anchored jazz nights at Kaldi’s on Main for eight years, grew up in Indiana. “Jazz was the people’s music when I was a kid,” he says.

× COntinued on page 66

Why Junet

THESE LOCAL LEADERS HELPED TURN A CIVIL WAR–ERA REMEMBRANCE DAY INTO A COMMUNITY-WIDE CELEBRATION FOR ALL.

BY CARRIE BLACKMORE

LYDIA MORGAN CAME HOME TO CINCINNATI

from a trip to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1986, and couldn’t wait to call her friends. While away, she’d happened upon her first Juneteenth celebration in a city park and was floored.

“It felt like a family reunion,” Morgan recalls. “Everybody was talking and laughing with each other, and there were Native Americans, Caucasians, and African

WADE IN THE WATER

A participatory dance along the Ohio River acknowledges the significance of water to the 400-plus-year trek into and beyond enslavement. June 9, 2–4 p.m., Smale Riverfront Park, downtown. juneteenthcincinnati.org

Americans for sure. We came home, and I was calling all these people, telling them about celebrating the end of slavery. I thought, Surely, they don’t know.”

And 38 years ago, only a few people knew about Juneteenth, particularly her friends from the South. Some told her they’d celebrated as kids. Some traveled to their hometowns each year to gather with family. Others commemorated the day privately in their homes. “And you never told anybody?” Morgan recalls saying. “But this is so important.”

Morgan, a teacher in Blue Ash, knew that not all enslaved persons taken to the U.S. from Africa by European settlers were immediately set free when president Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. But she didn’t know much about June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and ordered the final quarter million enslaved people in the U.S. be freed, almost two and a half years after emancipation went into effect.

Morgan and her husband Noel thought Cincinnati should celebrate this part of history, too, and organized the first Juneteenth Festival in a park near their home in Kennedy Heights in 1988. Their 37th annual event, now held in Eden Park, returns this month with music, food, historic reenactors, a supervised children’s area with a

37TH ANNUAL JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL

A free event with two stages of live music, shopping, art, food, and supervised children’s area. June 15, noon–9 p.m., Mirror Lake, Eden Park, Walnut Hills/Mt. Adams, juneteenthcincinnati.org

FIFTH ANNUAL JUNETEENTH BLOCK PARTY

A free event that showcases freedom and the evolution of Black culture while welcoming inclusivity. Features music, food, and more. June 15, 4–11 p.m., The Banks, downtown, paloozanoire.com

THE MENTOR LYDIA MORGAN, PHOTOGRAPHED ON APRIL 30, 2024 AT THE KENNEDY HEIGHTS ARTS CENTER.

“It was a moment of education because we learned a lot of things there we weren’t learning in school.”

petting zoo, and much more.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021 and, apart from the event in Eden Park, there are other ways to join the celebration this year. They include the Juneteenth Block Party at The Banks; the Juneteenth Parade, starting in the West End and ending at City Hall; a special day planned at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center; and ceremonies raising the Juneteenth flag at government buildings.

The Cincinnatians who organize these various celebrations all come to Juneteenth from different perspectives and for different reasons. They say there’s no one specific way to mark the holiday—they just hope you will, because there’s something for everyone of all ages.

“This isn’t just a Black thing,” says Morgan. “This is American history. We want to see everyone there.”

CRYSTAL KENDRICK

WAS BORN IN CINCINNATI and has lived her entire adult life here, but she jokes that she can’t answer “the high school question” because she was raised in Philadelphia, where she first celebrated Juneteenth. “It fell during summer break, so we were off school,” she says. “My neighborhood always had large parades and events. I remember eating red foods. It was a moment of education because we learned a lot of things there we weren’t learning in school.”

For example, on the first anniversary of Jubilee Day, or Emancipation Day, as Juneteenth was first called, freedmen and freedwomen celebrated with red foods like strawberries, red beans and rice, and barbecue. Red is a symbol of strength, spirituality, life,

THIRD ANNUAL JUNETEENTH PARADE

Features youth bands and dance groups as well as local businesses and organizations. Starts at Court and Linn streets in the West End and marches to the Black Lives Matter mural in front of City Hall, downtown. June

JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL FATHER’S DAY CONCERT

Features a variety of inspirational spiritual music and praise dancing. June 16, 2–6 p.m., Seasongood Pavilion, Eden Park, Walnut Hills/Mt. Adams, juneteenthcincinnati.org

JUNETEENTH JUBILEE

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center hosts a free festival complete with live music, food trucks, a community market, and a march to the Ohio River. June 19, 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m., 50 E. Freedom Way, downtown, freedomcenter.org

CHAMPIONS OF DIVERSITY

METRO

WHY ARE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IMPORTANT TO YOUR ORGANIZATION? Metro believes that diverse businesses are the cornerstone of our community. Our ridership is diverse, our employees are diverse, and our community is diverse. Just as we serve the public by connecting them to jobs, healthcare, and other necessities, we hope to connect businesses in the same way. When small and diverse businesses succeed, they create jobs and generate revenue, perpetuating this cycle of success. The effect of purchasing from these businesses extends beyond dollars and contracts; it contributes to economic growth. In business terms our bottom line is this: We are supporting the community that has supported us.

WHAT SETS YOUR ORGANIZATION APART IN TERMS OF ITS DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION EFFORTS? Our focus on leveling the playing field in contracting is an investment in our community. We know that buying locally and supporting small and diverse businesses contributes to their potential to grow and succeed. We make a concerted effort to level the playing field so that small and diverse businesses have the same opportunities to succeed as established businesses would on every contracting opportunity. We are committed to supporting businesses not only through contracting, but through technical assistance. In short, we focus on the future of these businesses so they can be around a long time.

WHAT ARE YOUR DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION SUCCESS STORIES? In 2023, we spent $8.6 million with small and diverse businesses, an 11,000% increase from 2019! In just the first quarter of this year, we’ve awarded over $5.5 million in contracts to small and diverse businesses. One contract has $4.6 million in subcontracts with DBE businesses for our upcoming Bus Rapid Transit project. We held a successful vendor fair in December of last year. Multiple local companies attended to network with other local entities about business opportunities. We awarded a free bus wrap to one of the attendees, Evolution Creative Solutions, a local woman-owned business. We have also scheduled training for the next three quarters that cover the topics of proposal writing, cost estimating, and bonding. We will be holding other networking events again this year, including an ice cream social in September and our vendor fair in December. Finally, we were recently named “Transit System of the Year” for our DBE Program by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

“I’m

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proud of Metro’s spending with small and diverse businesses, and I encourage everyone to watch for future contracting opportunities as we continue to Reinvent Metro to connect people to jobs, drive economic growth, and improve quality of life for everyone.”

—DARRYL HALEY, METRO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND GENERAL MANAGER

Metro

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AMAZON AIR HUB

At Amazon, representation is critical in accomplishing its DEI goals, and diverse leaders attract and retain diverse talent. For Jess Stewart, Amazon Air Hub’s first female Director of Operations, building an inclusive team is among the most important work she has done to date. To develop diverse leaders, Amazon Air Hub is increasing the representation of female employees at all company levels, doubling down on its yearly DEI goals, and creating initiatives to help all individuals work better together. Jess is also elevating underrepresented voices by championing Women at Air and supporting 13 employee affinity groups that offer community-building and mentorship. To date, more than 130,000 employees in over 2,000 chapters around the world—including thousands of local Amazonians who come together in Greater Cincinnati—celebrate inclusivity at the company and advocate for gender diversity, equal opportunities, expanded representation, and disability solutions for all people to thrive within and outside Amazon.

We appreciate that our 1.5 million team members reflect the world’s diversity. In our global fulfillment centers and offices, we foster a workplace culture of safety, inclusion, and respect. Across Amazon, we have adopted a more holistic approach in our end-to-end talent strategies, and our teams leverage their collective expertise to advance DEI through technology.

CINCINNATI STATE

WHY ARE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IMPORTANT TO YOUR ORGANIZATION? Cincinnati State has one of the most diverse student populations in our region. The result is a wonderful mix of different ages, ethnicities, countries of origin, and even types of schooling, including homeschooled students and veterans with knowledge gained through their service. We honor diversity and the richness it adds to the student experience, not only in our classrooms. This attention to inclusiveness is a great plus for our community and its employers. Our co-op students and graduates are instrumental in creating a diverse and highly skilled regional workforce—in engineering, health care, advanced manufacturing, business, aviation maintenance, information technology, culinary, and other essential industries. Many students also go on to earn further degrees at universities. The possibilities for students at Cincinnati State, like our student body itself, are diverse and without limits.

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FIFTH THIRD BANK

WHY ARE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IMPORTANT TO YOUR ORGANIZATION? At Fifth Third, we are intentional about inclusion. The sum of our individual strengths is what powers us forward— together as ONE. This unified strength is grounded in the passion of each employee. We want employees to feel connected to their colleagues, leadership, customers, a strong supplier base, and communities as we endeavor to make a difference in the lives of others. Building and sustaining our culture is important, and it takes the commitment of everyone. A sense of belonging is essential in serving our customers, delivering peak performance, building an engaging workplace, and supporting a vibrant community.

UB GREENSFELDER

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) are cornerstone values at UB Greensfelder, a Mansfield Certified law firm. We believe a diverse workforce is critical to our success, and we thoughtfully cultivate an environment that celebrates diversity in all its forms. Our leaders champion new ideas and ways of thinking and understand that a diverse and welcoming culture creates a workplace where attorneys and staff grow and flourish. The firm’s DEIB Committee is led by Chief Diversity Officer and Partner Alvin E. Mathews, Jr.; Carmen White, Director of Diversity Initiatives and Civic Engagement; and Counsel Yvette R. Simpson, Director of Culture and Belonging. We believe our commitment to DEIB enhances our ability to serve our clients and strive to make a positive impact in the world as well. We do this through our commitment to DEIB, social justice, charitable giving, community involvement, and pro bono service.

Greensfelder LLP 312 Walnut St., Suite 1400, Cincinnati, OH 45202-4029, (513) 698-5000, www.ubglaw.com

Cincinnati Magazine Event

Girls’ Night Out A

A Night to Shop in Madeira

By Cedric Rose

What makes it work, despite musicians’ wildly varying approaches, is how it thoroughly celebrates both the individual and group collaboration, he says.

Before urban redevelopment around the construction of I-75 sliced it up, the West End was the center of Black music in Cincinnati. The neighborhood was home to the Cosmopolitan School of Music, probably the first Black-owned music conservatory in the U.S., founded in 1921 by ragtime composer Artie Matthews and his wife. Black students studied there before CCM desegregated its admissions.

WHAT MAKES

The Blind Lemon, and Mahogany Hall. And The Greenwich was a jazz epicenter in Walnut Hills starting in the late 1950s, experiencing a renaissance in the 1980s until ceasing live shows in 2019. Pianist Ed Moss, who died in 2016, had a slew of clubs: Mahogany Hall, The Golden Triangle, Emanon, and Mozart’s. His final club, Schwartz’s Point, now run by his daughter Zarleen, continues to host jazz on the northern edge of Over-the-Rhine.

The Blue Wisp opened in O’Byronville in 1973 and became an important jazz community cog both locally and nationally. Following owner Paul Wisby’s death, the club went through several iterations in various downtown locations under the leadership of his wife, Marjean. It became home base for the eponymous Blue Wisp Big Band, driven by swing drummer Jon Von Ohlen, who’d played with Woody Herman and Stan Kenton.

Marjean died in 2006, and musician Eddie Felson and others tried to keep the leg-

JAZZ WORK, DESPITE

MUSICIANS’

WILDLY VARYING APPROACHES, IS HOW IT THOROUGHLY CELEBRATES BOTH THE INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP COLLABORATION.

Jazz and blues thrived in West End nightclubs, the biggest of which was the Cotton Club in the Sterling Hotel. All the greats played there—Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller—and it was one of Cincinnati’s few integrated nightclubs at the time. The bigger hotels were off-limits, Cissie Hill wrote in a Cincinnati Enquirer reminiscence of the Cotton Club era: “Duke Ellington could bring his band to the Gibson or Sinton Hotels, but he couldn’t stay in them.”

Other popular clubs included Babe Baker’s in Avondale, where John Coltrane and Lester Young played. There was The Cabana Lounge, The Top Shelf, and Vernon Manor Hotel. Downtown jazz could be found in The Whisper Room, The Living Room, and The Playboy Club. Northern Kentucky had The Copa and, until recently, Dee Felice Café. Mt. Adams was a bohemian enclave with its own jazz scene at Captain David’s,

endary club going in yet another location, but it wasn’t easy. “All pure jazz clubs are held together by gossamer thread,” wrote Rick Kennedy in a 2007 Cincinnati Magazine story about the plight of the Blue Wisp following her death. The club finally shuttered for good in 2014.

DON’T EQUATE THE DEMISE OF jazz clubs here, though, for a decline in the art form. Recording technology extended jazz’s reach into American minds, hearts, and homes, including Gennett Records in Richmond, Indiana, which has been called the cradle of recorded jazz. Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, The New Orleans Rhythm Kings, Bix Beiderbecke, and Hoagy Carmichael all recorded there. The company cranked out records by the millions.

After Cincinnati-born Mamie Smith recorded “Crazy Blues” for Okeh Records

in 1920, the record industry was never the same. Jazz music took the country by storm, hooking Black and white consumers alike.

Jazz drummer Gore came up “in the middle of everything,” he says. He was born after bebop emerged, “when Miles Davis and Charlie Parker were doing their thing.” He had maternal uncles who were musicians, and he started playing jazz at 16. “I got my start playing professionally in maybe the 10th grade,” he says, recalling his music teacher at Taft High School, trumpet player Oscar Gamby, who once played in Count Basie’s band.

Gore went on to play with a variety of musicians, including Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lonnie Liston Smith, George Benson, Pharoah Sanders, Bobby Watson, Freddie Hubbard, Hank Marr, J.J. Johnson, Hank Crawford, James Moody, Ahmad Jamal, Herbie Hancock, Larry Young, and Woody Shaw. As a touring musician, he witnessed jazz’s ability to reach people.

“A lot of jazz music, there was a message in it about peace,” he says. “When we traveled around, we weren’t rock stars, but people would be waiting for us to come to their city. The people who understood the music and got the message loved it, and they were waiting for it. And I thought I was doing something good because the Vietnam War was going on and there was a lot of negative stuff, just like today.”

Trumpeter, composer, and band leader Mike Wade performs often at It’s Commonly Jazz and on stages throughout the region. He came to the Midwest from his native Washington, D.C., to study music at Central State University, and later arrived in Cincinnati to pursue a master’s degree in classical trumpet at CCM.

Wade has played and recorded with heavyweights across the musical spectrum, from David “Fathead” Newman, Javon Jackson, Herb Jeffries, Teddy Pendergrass, and Experience Unlimited to Earth Wind and Fire and Bootsy Collins. He served as band director at Withrow High School for 25 years, leaving in 2020.

Wade remembers It’s Commonly Jazz as literally a family reunion at Swifton Commons. “Families that were trying to get together started realizing that most of them would go to this shopping center for the

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jazz,” he says.

The music’s roots, Wade says, go back to Africa. “It echoes with the drum and the church and the fields, you know? The church, because there’s this religious aspect of it. The drum connects jazz with dance, because that’s part of African music. It’s all related.”

Back in the day, says Wade, “you would learn jazz in the neighborhood, on the streets, and in the clubs from other musicians.” As fewer clubs featured jazz, partly because rock and roll took over, schools kept it alive. Jazz education emerged in the 1960s and ’70s in colleges and universities.

CCM Music Professor Emeritus and pianist Phil DeGreg thinks young musicians will always be interested in jazz “because it’s a challenging music. I haven’t seen any decline of interest in young people. What changes is the venues available to play it. And the aesthetic itself has changed over time.”

DeGreg led the house trio at the Blue Wisp and followed pianist Steve Schmidt in the house band, playing with Gore and bassist Bob Bodley. His CCM connection made the club an important developmental stage for students in CCM’s jazz studies program.

Many of DeGreg’s students have gone on to become music teachers and professional musicians as well. “It’s all part of people trying to put together a living and still get to play their music,” he says. “It’s certainly not motivated by money, because the burn to play jazz music is completely from within.”

The nonprofit model for funding jazz performances is more and more common, DeGreg says. The Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, with whom he plays, is a nonprofit, as is the biggest jazz club in town these days, Caffe Vivace. “Jazz as a historic art form needs that kind of support,” he says.

CAFFE VIVACE IS THE BRAINCHILD of Brent Gallaher and Vanessa Keeton, saxophonists who met through a shared love of Joe Henderson’s music and eventually married. Gallaher credits his wife’s subsequent success as a software engineer with enabling them to run the Walnut

Hills club, which launched as a coffeehouse-by-day-jazz-club-by-night in 2018. He books performers around 290 nights a year, averaging five or six shows a week.

Gallaher has played in Cincinnati since 1988, touring with the Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller orchestras and appearing with the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops orchestras as well as with the Blue Wisp Big Band, which he’s given a home at Caffe Vivace. He played his first It’s Commonly Jazz show at Jordan Crossing in 1998. “Beyond the music, there were so many people who were there just to see other people and hang out,” he says. “It was like a picnic, a party.”

Playing at the outdoor shows and clubs all over town, Gallaher says he never felt like an outsider in Cincinnati, “because if you could play, people gave you love. Everybody loved and respected jazz.”

He believes jazz uplifts the soul and brings people together, an important benefit in the current world of divisive media and politics. And jazz is best heard in an intimate setting, he says. Vivace’s high-ceiling Italianate space is cozy, though limited seating makes profitability a challenge. That’s where the nonprofit side of the operation, Jazz Vivace, comes into play, raising funds to bring top-tier national and international acts to town. That enabled Caffe Vivace to pay musicians through the pandemic lockdown.

Gallaher consistently pulls 10-hour days, he says, but “when 7 o’clock rolls around and the house is packed and people are digging it, all of the hassles of running a business fade away.” The dream, he says, “is seeing the art created in the moment. People need to be around jazz when it’s created right in front of them.”

The music’s living, organic quality is echoed by trombonist, educator, and arts administrator Isidore Rudnick, whose Cincinnati Public Schools afterschool jazz academy is helping train the next generation of jazz musicians. Music teachers recommend students from across the district for the program, and

they receive private lessons and practice weekly as a group.

“When jazz is played live together, that moment will never, ever be totally recreated,” says Rudnick. “Each experience is unique, the perfect combination of individual skill, talent, and personality with group collaboration.”

Growing up in Las Vegas, Rudnick learned what a difference jazz can make in a young person’s life. When his high school jazz band won a local competition, they were sent to the Montreux and North Sea jazz festivals in Europe. “I got to see Ella Fitzgerald sing,” he recalls. “I got to see the Count Basie band play with Clark Terry. I got to see Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea do the dueling piano thing. And that was it for me. Jazz became a part of who I was, and there wasn’t any doubt in my mind that I’d be involved in music going forward.”

Jazz academy students perform at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center and hold an annual spring showcase, the CPS International Jazz Festival, at the Aronoff Center for the Arts downtown. They’ve traveled to Pittsburgh and New York to perform, and last year they traveled to the Sant Andreu International Jazz Festival in Barcelona, Spain. They’re learning that jazz connects people around the globe and for a moment are living the jazz truism that performers find recognition far beyond their home turf—think Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, and Nina Simone. DeGreg has performed in Brazil. Cincinnati native Napoleon Maddox, who founded the jazz/hip-hop ensemble ISWHAT?!, now calls Besançon, France home.

While it’s rare to make a career as a jazz musician, Rudnick says, the music is a great preparation for life. “Students are thinking on their feet,” he says, adding that jazz requires problem-solving skills, communication, and collaboration. And they’re learning to be jazz consumers and audience members, “so they’ll purchase tickets and make donations to It’s Commonly Jazz and find other opportunities to keep this music alive.”

Maintaining the tradition is every jazz educator’s top priority, says Rudnick, because it isn’t just a musical leg-

acy—it’s a social and economic legacy. “Jazz single-handedly gave Americans a huge boost during the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s with big band swing,” he says. “Then bop came along, and OK, it wasn’t as popular, but it created some of the greatest artistic virtuosos of the 20th century.”

Jazz continues to renew itself today. In Cincinnati you can watch that happen at Caff e Vivace, Schwartz’s Point, Memorial Hall and Washington Park (on Mondays), Fountain Square (on Tuesdays), the Symphony Hotel & Restaurant, or The Lounge in Northside, where musicians take the stage and cut their chops with some of the area’s finest talents, including Wade, DeGreg, and Schmidt as well as drummer Tony Franklin, vibraphonist Josh Strange, and bassist Justin Dawson.

What do Wallace and Gentry have in mind for It’s Commonly Jazz’s big 40th birthday this summer? The 2024 theme, Wallace says, is “The Roots of Jazz,” with the concert finale focusing on the next generation of Cincinnati musicians. And she’s working on a book of photos from the past 40 years, asking for pictures taken by audience members so she can see what they’ve seen. “Looking back, I’ve been in tears because I can’t believe all that has happened during those 40 years,” she says. “There have been some major, major players who came to Cincinnati.”

Jazz is constantly developing, Rudnick says, and he believes its future will incorporate technology and entrepreneurship. “You will start seeing more and more of these unique artists like Emmet Cohen,” he says of the Harlembased pianist who performs at Caffe Vivace when he comes through town. His virtual concerts, started during the pandemic, are essentially 21st century all-star versions of the rent parties cashstrapped jazz musicians in New York would throw at the beginning of the last century.

The fortunes of jazz might rise and fall, but you can bet on its supporters to keep pushing. As the great man once sang: It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.

WHY JUNETEENTH MATTERS

and death in West Africa, from which their ancestors had been brutally taken 200 years prior. An estimated 4 million people were enslaved in the U.S. when Lincoln issued his proclamation, each treated like property, with family members sold and often separated to live on different plantations. It was illegal to teach an enslaved person to read or write, and they couldn’t own a house or property. History shows many enslaved people were treated far worse.

Today, Kendrick is the owner of The Voice of Your Customer, a marketing and

the White House.

Kendrick supports a number of partners and creates a lot of content around Juneteenth. “Leading up to it and the day of, I’m thinking, Oh my gosh, am I going to get any sleep?” she says. “Then I think about what Juneteenth means.”

She knows the work is worth it, because the more she learns about slavery and the treatment of African Americans through history the more strongly she feels about putting her efforts into commemorating this part of America’s past and how it connects to the present. “We do a lot of work in our marketing company around health disparities, financial disparities, things of that nature,” says Kendrick.

“I think about some of the things that happened during slavery that still are visible in our society today, and I’m hopeful that others will focus on the meaning of why this day, this time, and this period are so important.”

“THE FACT THAT IT’S BECOME A NATIONAL HOLIDAY IS HEALING FOR THE CHILD IN ME THAT DID NOT KNOW ABOUT JUNETEENTH.

cofounded Paloozanoire, an organization focused on enriching the lives of people of color throughout the Midwest. The group had experience coordinating and hosting events. Why not something for Juneteenth?

“Rico called me up and said, We need to do something spontaneous,” says Paloozanoire Executive Director Raven Fulton. “We put the first event together in 72 hours.” Supporters stepped up big time, Grant says, and their first Juneteenth Block Party drew 1,000 people.

Since then, the Juneteenth Block Party has been held at The Banks between the sports stadiums and has grown quickly. Last year, an estimated 15,000 people came out to dance, eat from food trucks, and visit a variety of booths and activities. The event will be bigger and better this year, Fulton says, and will feature celebrity host Desi Banks— a comedian, actor, and influencer with 8.8 million Instagram followers—as well as a “Homecoming”–themed area with representation from regional universities and Black fraternities and sororities.

consulting fi rm she established in 2007 to help businesses and government agencies better engage with hard-to-reach and underserved populations. In 2016, she launched The Voice of Black Cincinnati, a news and events website, to educate, recognize, and create opportunities for African Americans in the Cincinnati region. “There was an effort to recruit and retain Black talent in Cincinnati and I wanted to support and be a part of that,” she says. “And so we brought all those resources together and created a media company that really doesn’t do news. We do information.”

Kendrick’s lists include Black-owned businesses, job postings, scholarships for minority students, a community calendar, and history stories about individuals such as Cincinnati’s first Black councilman, Frank A.B. Hall, or Marie Williams, known as Madame Selika, who grew up here and became the first Black artist to perform at

RICARDO GRANT FELT HE NEEDED TO make a difference after seeing the viral video of George Floyd’s murder, when a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck as George pleaded I can’t breathe! and cried out for his mother. Three months prior, Louisville police had shot and killed Breonna Taylor during a botched raid on her apartment. And his community was still reeling from COVID-19, which disproportionately impacted African Americans.

“Protesting was a big deal and obviously super beneficial in moving the needle along, but I felt like there was something else we could do as a people,” says Grant, an entrepreneur with several businesses in Over-the-Rhine and downtown, including the Gallery at Gumbo barbershop/art gallery, Cinema social club, and LoVe on Fourth. “What we really wanted to do was just give people a break and an opportunity to connect.”

This was 2020, and Grant had recently

The festival was Fulton’s first experience celebrating Juneteenth, as she wasn’t aware of it growing up in West Chester Township or while attending Kent State University.“In college, I might have heard it mentioned, but nobody sat me down and said, This is when slavery really ended,” she says. “The fact that we’re texting each other Happy Juneteenth! and it’s become a national holiday is healing for the inner child in me that did not know about Juneteenth—now I get to properly celebrate it and know about it as an adult. And our location on Freedom Way on the Ohio River, where enslaved people crossed into freedom? We really are living our ancestors’ wildest dreams.”

Grant, who grew up in Avondale and lives downtown, was an Africana Studies minor in college when he learned about Juneteenth, so he likes to use the Block Party as an opportunity to educate.“We want to dance and eat and have a good time,” he says, “but there is a responsibility to educate the 6- and 7-year-olds and the 12- and 13-year-olds who are there as to exactly what’s going on.”

PATRICE LOGAN WILL ONCE AGAIN LEAD Cincinnati’s Juneteenth Parade out of love. Love for her dear friend, Melinda Brown, who founded the parade, and love for the

WHY JUNETEENTH

city’s young people. Brown, known as Meme, died unexpectedly in late 2022, but Logan and a small but mighty team decided to keep the event going in her honor.“Meme brought us in on the idea of creating something to celebrate the youth in our community and make them more aware of the importance of Juneteenth,” says Logan, a producer with the multimedia production company PowrGurlz Entertainment.

This year, there are roughly 50 entries in the parade, which starts in the West End at 10 a.m. June 16 and winds its way to City Hall. Participants include local youth bands, dance groups, high schools, area businesses, and government representatives and agencies, says Logan, who grew up in Winton Terrace and now lives in Finneytown. She used to celebrate Juneteenth at home with her family, but the parade opens the door to gather with her entire community and highlight young people’s accomplishments and talents. “There are a lot of different things going on now for Juneteenth, and I love

that,” she says. “It’s about connecting and networking.”

Now that Juneteenth has become a federally recognized holiday, there is an opportunity for increased solidarity in Black culture and in wider American culture as well, says Cassandra Jones, an assistant professor in Africana Studies at the University of Cincinnati.

Jones grew up in Maumee, Ohio, and earned a doctorate in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University, but her awareness of Juneteenth didn’t happen until she moved to South Carolina in 2011 for a teaching job at University of South Carolina Upstate. “This was Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Juneteenth was sort of a cultural holiday,” she says. “But it was also a time when the Confederate flag still flew in front of the state capitol.”

Remnants of slavery were all around her in South Carolina. Some of her students’ last names matched the names of the old plantations she passed by in her car (slaves often

were given their owners’ surnames), and the city of Spartanburg erected a plaque commemorating the group of Black youth who orchestrated a Civil Rights sit-in at an allwhite lunch counter in 1960.

“Black American history is American history. It’s not ancillary to American history,” says Jones. “Although, when we think about how education works in America, Black history oftentimes is an elective course that students have to opt into.”

As a Black woman, she’s heartened that Juneteenth has become a federal holiday and appreciates the solidarity it fosters. “These are historical events that we can all take pride in,” says Jones. “It’s a moment of moving past slavery but also not forgetting it, because we still do live with the consequences of that system every day in terms of stereotypes and wave after wave of policies that recreate Black people’s inability to access wealth and education.”

Juneteenth is first and foremost a joyful, momentous occasion, says Woodrow

“Woody” Keown Jr., president of the Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and that’s the thrust of the organization’s fullday event on June 19. But there will also be themes focusing on health equity and economic opportunity. According to the 2022 Health Equity Report for Hamilton County, Black residents have a 31 percent higher mortality rate and 184 percent higher poverty rate than white residents. Between 2010 and 2019, income inequality rose by 1.6 percent. The median income in Black Cincinnati households was $30,850 compared to $71,531 in white households in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Surely we’ve made a lot of progress,” says Keown, “but we also know that there’s a lot of work to be done. And that gives me the inspiration to continue to fight for things like voting rights that are under attack right now.”

The event will be community focused and intergenerational, says Trudy Gaba, the Freedom Center’s social justice cura-

tor. “Juneteenth is a recognition of our ancestors who fought courageously for their freedom,” she says. “It’s a day to recognize that many of us would not be standing here without that courage and that pursuit. It’s a day of immense gratitude for that journey.”

Lydia Morgan grew up 30 miles from the ocean in North Carolina, when there were white beaches and Black beaches, “as if all the water wasn’t out there mingling together.” During the 1980s and 1990s she felt like a lot of progress was being made regarding race relations and equality, but lately it seems that society is backpedaling.

“I didn’t think I would ever have to have ‘the talk’ with my son,” says Morgan. “The one about if you’re stopped by the police you do whatever they tell you, because I can get you out of jail but I can’t get you out of dead. I got that from my father—it’s what he would tell my brothers. But it was kind of sad to have that kind of a talk. Now I think I’ll have to have the talk with my grandchildren.”

DESPITE THIS STARK, EVERYDAY REALity, Juneteenth celebrations offer an annual opportunity to collectively recognize the contributions and enduring spirit of what African Americans have brought to America’s table. “People say to me, Should I really go to Juneteenth?” says Morgan. “And I reply, Are you American? Wait, you don’t even need to be American. You can be anything!”

Grant says the addition of various options to celebrate Juneteenth symbolizes growth, and of course he’d like everyone to make it to his event or the one in Eden Park, but he knows some people will have limitations.

“There are so many who don’t have the financial means to travel to Cincinnati to come and celebrate Juneteenth, but we want to see a Juneteenth Block Party, a Juneteenth Festival, a Juneteenth whatever in every city across the country,” says Grant. “If there’s a neighbor who’s celebrating it, make sure you’re there. What we need is everyone to support it in their own unique way.”

Designed to engage, enlighten and inspire our guests, The Summit Hotel promises a transformative journey from everyday to extraordinary. From thought-provoking works of art to chef-curated dining experiences, we’ll spark your sense of creativity and self discovery at every turn.

VISTA AT LYTLE PARK

(513) 621-4500

Overlooking the newly renovated Lytle Park will take your rooftop dining to the next level. The sky’s the limit when you can sip craft cocktails from the bar and savor culinary offerings from our seasonal menu. Explore Social Hour specials Monday – Thursday, 5pm – 7pm. 311

www.vistaatlytlepark.com

PRIVATE BARREL PROGRAMS

AND GREET

Start your meal off right with assorted meats, cheeses, and accoutrements at The Green Line Kitchen & Cocktails in Ft. Thomas.

P. 76 GOURMET POP TARTS P. 79

COOKING IN FT. THOMAS P. 80 BAR OWNER Q&A P. 80

MEAT

Barrel Proof

Private

barrel programs are changing the way Cincinnati drinks.

—BRANDON WUSKE

GIVEN THAT KENTUCKY FORMS A THIRD of the tri-state, it’s fair to say that bourbon is in our blood. Our long love affair with the smooth, smoky drink seems to have deepened recently, leading to interesting additions to our local drinking scene, especially south of the river. One of the latest bourbon trends to emerge here is the private barrel program, which gives customers a more active role in the selection and bottling processes.

As New Riff Distilling’s head single barrel ambassador, Creola Dickerson’s job is to help buyers select the right barrel of bourbon or rye. “Right,” of course, is subjective, which is why the private barrel experience always involves a trip to the cavernous, chandelier-lit tasting room. Dickerson pulls five barrels from the rickhouse (the space where barrels of bourbon are stored and aged) so prospective buyers can sample a range of flavors. With single-barrel liquors, seemingly small differences—like where the barrel is stored—can create big contrasts in flavor; one barrel might present as smokier, while another lets spicier notes come through. That’s why, in addition to bottles and glasses, Dickerson hands out notebooks for tasting notes.

Each barrel has been aged for at least four years and is ready to be bottled within 30 days after it’s selected. And for those who don’t have around $12,000 to spend on an entire barrel (roughly 216 bottles of bourbon), half and quarter barrels are also available. Whatever quantity one decides to purchase, the experience includes a tour of the facilities and customized bottles, ready for pickup a month later. Up to eight people

PHOTOGRAPH

can attend the tour and tasting, so single barrel selection often becomes a distinctly social process.

Such perks give aficionados a deeper, more personal experience. Bobby Straka, New Riff’s director of marketing, tells me that customers range from individuals to area restaurants like Mita’s, Taglio, and Jeff Ruby’s. Of course, anyone who isn’t quite ready to order bourbon by the crate can always sidle up to the bar at the main distillery in Bellevue and order a glass of smooth, single barrel bourbon.

O.K.I. Bourbon’s barrels are distilled and aged in nearby Lawrenceburg, Indiana, before being sent to Bardstown, Kentucky, for distribution. O.K.I. distributes in seven states: the three referenced in the name (Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana) as well as Illinois, Florida, Texas, and, most recently, Missouri.

The brand has sold more than 400 single barrels since the program’s inception in 2020. Its private barrels are available to individuals and businesses, but the majority of its barrels are sold to bourbon clubs, groups of enthusiasts who pool their money for premium bourbon and bond over glasses of their most recent purchases. O.K.I. usually sends a shipment of three fresh samples to buyers in one of its distribution states. Since these samples go to some of the country’s most zealous bourbon lovers, coowner Chad Brizendine and his team pull a distinct and focused trio of untapped barrels from its Bardstown warehouse. “Some groups are looking for funky and unique barrels while others are looking for highest proof or age,” he notes.

Luckily, O.K.I. has a wide range of barrel ages to work with. Most bourbons fall in the six- to seven-year range, but some have been aging in the company’s charred oak barrels for 11 years or more. The bottles (around 200 for an average barrel) get custom labels featuring the buyer’s name and picture. After bottling, the barrels themselves are donated, usually to Braxton Brewing, which recently introduced its own private barrel program. FOR YOUR TASTE BUDS ONLY

CONTINUED ON P. 78

Private barrel programs—like those at O.K.I. Bourbon, New Riff Distilling, and Braxton Brewing—offer a new way to experience spirits and beer.

Braxton has been barrel-aging beers since it opened in 2015. On the first Saturday in December, the brewery hosts a massive block party to celebrate the release of its barrel-aged beers, what Braxton calls “Dark Charge Day.” Such immersive social experiences inspired the development of its private barrel program. “We’ve always been really interested in creating experiences around our products,” says cofounder and CEO Jake Rouse. “Being in Kentucky, we’ve been inspired by the experiential nature of the bourbon industry.”

Naturally, the experience starts with a tasting. Parties of up to eight people head to the Braxton Barrel House in Ft. Mitchell to do a blind taste test of four different beer barrels. Participants rate each beer and reach an ideal flavor profile through consensus. Unlike bourbon, which gets nearly all of its color and flavor from the barrel, barrel-aged beer can benefit from additives (known in the industry as “adjuncts”) like cinnamon, cocoa, coffee, and vanilla. The adjuncts can even be added after the beer has aged, which can take one to three years, opening up countless possibilities for customization and nuance. And yes, you do get to name your beer.

According to Rouse, Braxton “unofficially” introduced its private barrel program in 2021 and it’s been picking up steam each year since. Like all private barrel programs, it’s an investment: Single-barrel purchases range between $2,500 and $4,500 per barrel, and each barrel will yield upwards of 200 pints of the frothy stuff If you have an empty bourbon barrel lying around, Braxton will age your beer in it, as long as the wood is still fresh and wet.

Despite the name, private barrel programs seem especially useful for bringing people together over a mutual affection for some of our region’s most beloved drinks. Which is to say you don’t need an oil tycoon’s wealth to invest in a private barrel of bourbon or beer. Just find a few fellow connoisseurs and schedule a tasting.

POP IT

Get a taste of your youth with Taste of Belgium’s gourmet Pop Tarts. After being discontinued during the pandemic due to supply issues, this take on a childhood classic made its way back onto the bistro’s menu this spring to the delight of sweet-treat connoisseurs across the tri-state. Each pastry features a flaky, buttery dough filled with either fruit or chocolate and topped with icing. Try the berry or lemon for bursts of fruity flavor; if you’re feeling decadent, go with the s’mores for its chocolate center and gooey marshmallow topping (right).

“We may be grownups, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have a love for the things that brought us joy as a child,” says JeanFrançois Flechet, Taste of Belgium’s founder. “These gourmet Pop Tarts were created for the kid in all of us, a way to add a little more fun to every day. So many people told us how much they missed them, we knew we had to bring them back.”

The snack is available daily during breakfast and brunch hours at all eight locations, but once they’re gone, they’re gone so pop in early.

—AIESHA D. LITTLE

Taste of Belgium, athenticwaffle.com

The Next Stop

NAMED AFTER THE HISTORIC TROLLEY LINE THAT USED TO RUN BETWEEN CINCINNATI and Northern Kentucky, The Green Line Kitchen & Cocktails serves up classic American cuisine. Indoor seating pays homage to the trolley, and patio views showcase Ft. Thomas’s small-town charm. 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. If you’re brave, you can attack the bird with your hands, but meat comes off the bone easily with a knife and fork if you prefer to keep your digits clean. 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.

THE FIRST-TIME BAR OWNER brings the Bay Horse Café back to the future.

What’s your vision for the Bay Horse Café drink menu? We’ll have a highend cocktail menu, and I’m going to add a wine program. I want you to come in and have a classy date night at a really cool-looking establishment, but at the same time, if you’re bartending up the street and get off work and want to have a beer, I want you to not feel like you’re breaking the bank.

The Bay Horse is one of the oldest bars in Cincinnati history. What does it feel like owning that legacy? I’m simply the man at the wheel. If she was still around today, [former owner Lori Meeker, who died in 2022] would still be providing the amazing service she was known for. I’m adopting that legacy, and I have giant shoes to fill.

You’re adding a time-travel theme? What’s going on there? I’m a huge time travel nerd, and we’re trying to bring in the Doctor Who fans, the Back to the Future fans—people who are going to appreciate this theme.

This is your first run at bar ownership. What has the experience taught you? You go in thinking you know everything, which is the worst thing you can do. It’s just amazing to hear that there are so many people who have a vested interest in this place. It really eased the burden.

– RODNEY WILSON

The Green Line Kitchen &

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). It’s the sweeter, red-headed cousin of a Dark N Stormy. Ginger beer lays a spicy foundation, tangy strawberries take center stage, and muddled basil rounds things out with a subtle, herbal twist.

—M.LEIGHHOOD

425 N. Ft. Thomas Ave., Ft. Thomas, (859) 757-4580, greenlinerestaurant.com

The Bay Horse Café, 625 Main St., downtown, (513) 975-0335, @thebayhorsecafe on Instagram

Cocktails,

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE

THIS DIMINUTIVE KONBINI IS THE BRAINCHILD OF KIKI AND SEN CHEF/ENTREPRENEUR HIDEKI HARADA. —RODNEY WILSON

Know this before heading into Daruma: The facility is tiny—830 square feet—and the market itself is just barely bigger than a kitchen pantry. A sign on the door limits occupancy to five people. This compact design isn’t by accident. Styled as a konbini—corner grocery stores essential to everyday life in Japan—the minimalist decor is both fun and functional.

Owner Hideki Harada (right, who also runs College Hill’s Kiki and Sen in Findlay Market) knows a thing or two about selling Cincinnatians Japanese food, and he keeps things simple for a reason.

“I went with a minimalist space to be able to keep things looking clean,” he explains. “The size is small as well, which can make things easier to fill and help keep the place looking fuller.”

What it lacks in square footage, Daruma makes up for in stock. The light wood shelves are lined with all manner of staples like Kewpie mayo, mirin, sake, soy sauce, noodles, seaweed, and rice. Shoppers can also pick up a refreshing beverage (alcoholic or non) from one of two coolers, scan and pay with a card, and be back on the street in mere minutes.

“I’m hoping to reach the city dweller who needs some Japanese staples as well as the general busy businessperson who just wants to grab a quick snack,” Harada says.

There’s also a sizable kitchen tucked past a decorative curtain,

where fresh sushi and onigiri (rice balls) are made fresh for shoppers in need of a quick lunch or grab-and-go snack. The store also offers a hot water dispenser for dash-in diners who pick up cup noodles. And, as Daruma gets going, Harada has plans to grow the fresh-made offerings. “We hope to expand the offerings through the warmer

months ahead,” he adds.

With its clean aesthetic and eclectic selection, Daruma’s interior seems miles away from the bustle of Court Street just outside, which, as Harada says, was kind of the idea. “I wanted to share something that was a part of daily life in Japan,” he says.

WRAPPED UP

Check out Daruma’s onigiri (above right), a konbini standard in Japan. The crispy noriwrapped rice balls come with pork belly, pickled plum, tuna mayo, or ham and cheese.

Daruma, 31 E. Court St., downtown, @darumacincy (on Instagram)

Conley Bottom Resort, Monticello

AMERICAN 84

BARBECUE 86

CAJUN/CARIBBEAN 86

CHINESE 86

ECLECTIC 86

FRENCH 90

INDIAN 91

ITALIAN 91

JAPANESE 92

KOREAN 92

MEDITERRANEAN 92 MEXICAN 92

94

94 THAI 94 VIETNAMESE 94

AMERICAN

THE BIRCH

On any given evening, guests nibble at roasted red pepper hummus served with crudités and pita bread while sipping slightly spumante glasses of white squirrel, the specialty house cocktail. And while the dinner menu reads strictly casual at first glance—soups, salads, sandwiches, and sharing plates—the preparation and quality are anything but. A broccoli cheddar kale salad with cheddar cheese, red onion, broccoli, sunflower kernels, and a garlic parmesan dressing, surpassed many versions of the bistro classic. And both the Brussels sprouts and roasted potato sides refused to play merely supporting roles. Both were sensational studies in the balance of sweet, spicy, and acidic flavors.

702 Indian Hill Rd., Terrace Park, (513) 8315678, thebirchtp.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DS. $

BRONTË BISTRO

You might think this is a lunch-only spot where you can nosh on a chicken salad sandwich after browsing next door at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. But this Norwood eatery feels welcoming after work, too. The dinner menu features entrées beyond the rotating soup and quiche roster that’s popular at noon. Mac and cheese? Check. Quesadillas and other starters? Yep. An assortment of burgers? Present, including a grilled portobello option. Casual food rules the day but the surprise is Brontë Bistro’s lineup of adult beverages, which elevates the place above a basic bookstore coffeeshop. The regular drinks menu includes such mainstays as cosmopolitans and sidecars.

2692 Madison Rd., Norwood, (513) 396-8970, josephbeth.com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days. 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 grilled lamb T-bone, sirloin, and prawns in scampi butter is a standout. The eye for

DINING GUIDE

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

detail and contrasts of colors and textures belongs to someone who cares for food.

1000 Summit Place, Blue Ash, (513) 794-1610, browndogcafe.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat, brunch Sat. MCC, DS. $$

WEST SIDE PRIDE

Urbana Café is heading to the west side. The coffee shop fave began construction on its latest location at 3114 Warsaw Ave. in Price Hill this spring. Daniel Noguera, Urbana’s founder and president, says the spot has an expected opening date of late summer or early fall. urbanacafe.com

COPPIN’S

With wine on tap and a local beer list, Coppin’s is an ideal place to meet for drinks. In addition to plenty of Kentucky bourbon, much of the produce, meat, and cheese comes from local growers and producers. House-cured meat and cheese from Kenny’s Farmhouse and cheese from Urban Stead populate the “Artisan Cheese and Charcuterie Board,” which dresses up the main attractions with honey, Dijon mustard, house pickles, and Sixteen Bricks purple barley bread. The filet mignon with confit fingerling potatoes, bacon and gorgonzola cream, root house aquaponics cress, green apple, and cabernet rosemary salt is a must-have. Or try the Faroe Island salmon with wheatberries, charred bok choy, cranberries, walnuts chive purée, and tamarind vinaigrette.

638 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 9056600, hotelcovington.com/dining/coppins. Breakfast seven days, lunch Mon–Fri, and dinner seven days. MCC. $$

GREYHOUND TAVERN

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. $$

Top10

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. The Wagyu is served in cheeseburger form, but the exceptional tomme from Urban Stead gives it that extra something. The cocktails are things you’ve probably seen before, but everything—from the Death Valley Old Fashioned to the Queen City’s Bees Knees—had an extra dash of liveliness from a house-made element, like a rhubarb honey syrup or the raspberry shrub. Even when an ingredient seems out of left field, like the burnt grapefruit hot sauce on the Hamachi, it never tastes as unusual as it sounds. The hot sauce is just a hint of sweet citrusy spice that melts into the grits—a softly intriguing element rather than a slap in the face. 2998 Harrison Ave., Westwood, (513) 3890175, ivoryhousecincy.com. Dinner Tues–Sat, brunch Sun. MCC. $$$

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. 8031 Glendale-Milford Rd., Camp Dennison, (513) 831-5753, theschoolhousecincinnati.com. Lunch Thurs–Fri, dinner Thurs–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

SOUL SECRETS

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

Château Tüken Orchard & Winery

Tuken’s Orchard and Château Tüken Winery produce hand crafted wines sourced from fruit grown on site. Fifteen varieties of naturally fermented wines are available for complimentary tasting and purchase, and can be enjoyed on the covered porch or wine loft. Seasonal u-pick fruit in the 20-acre orchard provides a grand experience for all ages. Find us on Facebook at tukensorchard&farmmarket.

We are also featured in Hidden Gems of America 2023 published by Parentesi Quadra available on Amazon.

15725 Eaton Pike West Alexandria, OH 45381

937-687-3848 www.tukensfarmmarket.com

Harmony Hill Vineyards & Estate Winery

Harmony Hill Vineyards & Estate Winery is southwest Ohio’s premier winery/entertainment destination. We are a small boutique winery nestled in the quiet village of Bethel, just miles from the historic Ohio River Valley. Harmony Hill features a picturesque country setting

Wildlife Habitat farm. Our unique underground wine cave is one of only ten similarly built structures in the United States. The Hill features musical entertainment daily.

2534 Swings Corner Point Isabel Road Bethel, Ohio 45106 (513) 734-3548

HarmonyHillFarm@aol.com https://www.HHWines.com

Our Kitchen Window Winery & Home Goods

Located in historic, creative downtown Urbana, we are one of Ohio’s newest and smallest wineries offering a variety for every palette. We we have found on our travels as well as locally made goods. Stop in for a tasting, a glass, or a bottle and browse our assortment of kitchen and bath items.

He makes wine. She makes soap. They have a shop.

223 North Main Street Urbana, Ohio 43078

(937) 653-7627 ourkitchenwindow22@gmail.com

Hanover Winery

Hanover Winery & Vineyard is located in SW Ohio between Hamilton and Oxford. We are just far enough to feel like you’ve gone somewhere! Internationally recognized wines, 26+ varieties with something for everyone. Enjoy our tasting room and our beautiful property in a rural setting. In addition to wine, we offer a variety of beer and bourbon, pair from our outdoor brick oven. Live music and events all year. We look forward to serving you!

2165 Morman Rd. Hamilton, Ohio 45013 (513) 863-3119

info@hanoverwinery.com https://www.hanoverwinery.com/

Laurentia Vineyard & Winery

Laurentia Vineyard and Winery is located within the Grand River Valley. Laurentia’s award-winning wines may be perfectly paired from our expansive menu which includes a variety of boards, shared and large plates, and entertainment, picturesque vineyards, grounds, and an array of seating that includes two indoor levels and two outdoor patios.

4599 S. Madison Rd Madison, Ohio 44057 (440) 296-9175

info@laurentiawinery.com https://laurentiawinery.com/

Rosabella Winery

Rosabella produces a variety of award-winning

Their food menu includes a selection of delicious appetizers, sandwiches, pizzas, and desserts including their popular cheesecake wine slushies, & sangrias they offer. Kick back and relax while enjoying live weekend music indoors or on their dog-friendly outdoor patios. Open year-round. Check website for hours.

3951 State Route 307 Austinburg, Ohio 44010 (440) 275-5218

info@rosabellawinery.com https://www.rosabellawinery.com/

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.

1434 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 721-7685, soulsecretscincy.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $

SUGAR N’ SPICE

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. $

THE WILDFLOWER CAFÉ

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.

5910 Chandler St., Madisonville, (513) 561-2337; 1403 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 721-2337, beesbarbecue. com. Lunch and dinner Wed–Sat. MCC. $

ELI’S BBQ

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. $

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 your return trip. 6302 Licking Pke., Cold Spring, (859) 781-2200, theknottypineonthebayou.com. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

CHINESE

AMERASIA

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. $

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 ginger-green 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 mainstream 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. $$

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

Posh Picnic

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 wood-grilled lamb, with apricot, harissa, and pickled Persian cucumbers, 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.

1214 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 421-4040, abigailstreet.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

THE APERTURE

After several pandemic-related setbacks, Chef/ Owner Jordan Anthony-Brown opened his Mediterranean-inspired 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, like cultured butter and a smoky za’atar seasoning. 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, a soft, nutty, perfectly blackened grouper perched atop a creamy parsnip pureée. 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; it somehow feels both timeless and hip. Like everything else at Atwood, it’s the result of a delicate, highly successful balancing act.

1220 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 246-4256, atwoodoysterhouse.com. Dinner Wed–Sun. MCC. $$

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. Chefowner Stephen Williams 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.

1342 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine; 2038 Madison Rd., O’Bryonville, (513) 345-8838, checincinnati.com. Lunch Tues–Sun, dinner seven days, brunch Sat & Sun. V, MCC, DC, AMEX. $$

CROWN REPUBLIC GASTROPUB

What makes Crown Republic special isn’t its handful of outstanding dishes. It’s the place’s sheer consistency. No single dish is absolutely mind-blowing 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 excitement 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 long-beloved dishes, the menu is an extended rebuttal against the tired argument that American food is bland and boring.

1324 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 246-4301, fiveonvine.com. Dinner seven days. MCC. $$

THE GOVERNOR

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 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 housemade red dip. (You’ll thank us later.)

231 Main St., Milford, (513) 239-8298, governordiner. com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Mon–Sun. Breakfast and lunch Sun. Brunch seven days. MCC. $

Top 10 MITA’S

It’s fitting that chef 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. In dishes like the alcachofas y hongos, the chef hits every register: the acid of red espelette peppers to balance the earthy ramp-garlic hummus, the crunchy pistachios against the soft sautéed mushrooms and artichoke hearts. 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.

501 Race St., downtown, (513) 421-6482, mitas.co. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC. $$$

NOLIA

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. Take the duck and oyster gumbo. Harris deconstructs the typical stew, building on a base of popcorn rice, instead of the more typical long grain, and a decadent duck fat roux. It’s exquisitely prepared food served in a funky, laid-back atmosphere.

1405 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 384-3597, noliakitchen.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$

OPAL

Opal’s hip-ly minimal menu (many of the dishes have one syllable names like “Duck” or “Fish”) centers around the restaurant’s wood-fired, 88-inch grill. You can taste the grill’s handiwork on the c“Cauliflower” appetizer, which also comes with citrus supremes, fennel pollen (a potent and rather pricey spice), salsa brava (a smoky Mediterranean sauce, not to be confused with the ubiquitous Latin American salsa), feta, and almonds. For the duck, the kiss of flame locks in the juices while a medley of wheatberry hominy, preserved cherry, and cane syrup gastrique (a sort of refined sweet-and-sour sauce made from caramelized sugar and vinegar) add the sweetness that one expects to flavor a good game bird. According to Owner Bill Whitlow, Opal’s menu started small as the team figured out which dishes worked best with its signature grill. The selections, like the restaurant, have continued to grow, so you can expect tweaks and seasonal changes to a menu this committed to fresh meat and produce.

535 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 261-0629, opalrooftop.com. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

SACRED BEAST

Sacred Beast advertises itself as a kind of upscale diner, but the real gems are the oddball dishes that don’t quite fit the diner mold. The menu can be disorienting in its eclecticism: foie gras torchon is next to fries with lobster gravy, and a king salmon is next to a diner breakfast and deviled eggs. Winners are scattered throughout the menu in every category. On the cocktail list, the Covington Iced Tea, a lemon and coffee concoction made with cold brew, San Pellegrino, and vodka is oddly satisfying. The service is good, and there is some flair about the place—including vintage touches, from the facsimile reel-to-reel audio system to the mostly classic cocktails—even within its rather chilly industrial design. In short, go for the unique grub; stay for the elegant, shareable twists on classic snacks.

1437 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 213-2864, sacredbeastdiner.com. Lunch and dinner Wed–Sun. MCC. $$

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. $

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

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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 Dijon-coated 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. 8438 Vine St., Hartwell, (513) 821-1300, terangacinci.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $

YUCA

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 Volau-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.

1400 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 381-1018, coletteotr.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$

FRENCH CRUST

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.

1801 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 455-3720, frenchcrustcafe.com. Breakfast and lunch Wed–Sun, dinner Thurs–Sat. MCC. $$

Top10

LE BAR A BOEUF

If it’s been a couple of years since you’ve been to Le Bar a Boeuf—the late JeanRobert 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. $$

CHEF’S BEST

In the spring, Jose Salazar of Mita’s was named a finalist in the “Best Chef: Great Lakes Region” category in the James Beard Foundation’s 2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards. This month, the winners will be announced during a ceremony on June 10 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. jamesbeard.org/ blog/the-2024-restau rant-and-chef-awardnominees

BORN TO BE ORIGINAL

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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.

934 Hatch St., Mt. Adams, (513) 621-5822, lucabistro. com. Breakfast and lunch Tues–Sun, dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$

INDIAN

AMMA’S KITCHEN

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 Wednes-

days. 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.

7633 Reading Rd., Roselawn, (513) 821-2021, cincinnati. ammaskitchen.com. Lunch buffet Mon–Fri (all vegan on Wed), dinner seven days. MC, V, DS. $

BRIJ

MOHAN

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.

11259 Reading Rd., Sharonville, (513) 769-4549, brijmohancincinnati.com. Lunch Fri–Sun, dinner Tues–Sun. MC, V, DC, AMEX. $

ITALIAN

AL-POSTO

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), baretta 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, al-posto.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. V, DC, MS, AMEX. $$

Top 10 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 candied slice of blood orange on the mascarpone cheesecake to the staff’s wine knowledge—is going to put out special meals. Rarely have humble insalate been so intricately delicious, between the perfectly nested ribbons of beets in the pickled beet salad or the balance of bitterness, funkiness, and creaminess in the endive and Gorgonzola salad. Order an old favorite, by all means, but make sure you try something new, too.

1420 Sycamore St., Pendleton, (513) 721-6200, nicolasotr.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC, DS. $$$

PRIMAVISTA

Besides offering the old-world flavors of Italy, Primavista 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 restor-

ative 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 forktender 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, marsalasoaked 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. Orecchiette with rapini and pork sausage comes in a buttery, lightly starchy broth with a kick of spice that you could go on eating forever. From the texture of the chicken liver mousse to the seasonal fruit sauce on the panna cotta, most of the food has some added element of soulfulness.

118 E. Sixth St., downtown, (513) 977-6886, sottocincinnati.com. Dinner seven days. V, MC, DS, AMEX. $$

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 vegan torta di ceci. At the base of the dish is a light, flaky farinata—a griddled pancake made out of chickpea flour. Topped with pickled red onion, and covered with nectarine and toasted almonds, the whole dish is rounded out with a touch of tangy sweetness from a blackberry balsamic vinaigrette. Everything at Subito is done with intelligence and a light touch.

311 Pike St., downtown, (513) 621-4500, thelytleparkhotel.com/dining/subito. Breakfast and lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Mon–Sat, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC. $$

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 eyepopping 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.

520 Vine St., downtown, (513) 721-8483, viaviterestaurant.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

JAPANESE

ANDO

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 rich and meaty chyu toro (fatty big-eye tuna), or the pucker-inducing umeshiso maki (pickled plum paste and shiso leaf roll). 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 grilled koji or marinated

amberjack smoked salmon crudo, delicacies that you’ll be hard-pressed to find in any of those Hyde Park pan-Asian wannabes. 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. $$$

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. Sushi chef Samson Kim’s 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. We went with the Sakura Wagyu, sourced from Ohio’s own Sakura Farms. 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.

595 Race St., downtown, (513) 246-0150, barusushi. com. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner seven days. MCC. $$$

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, salted or tossed in tare, a savory dipping sauce. Add the karaage fried chicken, with the Jordy mayo and the pepe meshi, 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–Sat. MCC. $

MEI

Mei’s menu is meant to represent traditional Japanese cuisine, appealing to the novice as well as the sushi maven. It is divided into sections that encourage a progressive meal of small dishes: One each for hot and cold appetizers, noodles, sushi and sashimi, special rolls, soups and salads, sushi dinners (with miso soup), and combinations (such as tempura paired with sashimi). Deep-fried soft shell crab comes with ponzu sauce—a dipping sauce made of rice vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, and citrus juice—and the kind of yakitori that you can find on the streets of New York. Bento boxes—lacquered wooden boxes divided into compartments—offer the neophyte a sampling of several small dishes. Mei’s are lovely: deep red and stocked with tempura, cooked salmon, sashimi, stewed vegetables, and a fabulous egg custard with shrimp and gingko nut. Mei’s sushi—nigiri, maki, and handrolls—is exceptionally good with quality cuts of fresh seafood. The staff is knowledgeable, extremely efficient, respectful, and attentive, even when it’s at peak capacity.

8608 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, (513) 891-6880, meijapaneserestaurant.com. Lunch Sat & Sun, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

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 dinnersized 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. 512 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 291-1484, riversidekoreanrestaurant.com. Lunch Tues–Fri, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

MEDITERRANEAN

ANDY’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILLE

In this lively joint with a burnished summer lodge interior of 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. Co-owner Andy Hajjar mans his station at the end of the bar, smoking a hookah pipe that fills the air with the sweet smell of flavored tobacco, while the friendly but hurried staff hustles through.

906 Nassau St., Walnut Hills, (513) 281-9791, andyskabob.com. Lunch Mon–Sat, dinner seven days. MCC. $$

Top 10 PHOENICIAN TAVERNA

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.

7944 Mason Montgomery Rd., Mason, (513) 770-0027, phoeniciantaverna.com. Lunch Tues–Fri, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

SEBASTIAN’S

When the wind is just right, you can smell the meat roasting from a mile away. Watch owner Alex Vassiliou tend to 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. Alex’s wife and daughter run the counter with efficient speed, and 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 (often made by the Mrs.), they never miss a beat, turning more covers in their 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. Cash. $

MEXICAN

HABAÑERO

It’s easy to find a cheap burrito place around a college campus, but you’d be hard-pressed to find one as consistently good as Habañero, with its flavors of Latin America and the Caribbean wrapped up in enormous packages. Fried tilapia, apricot-glazed chicken breast, hand-rubbed spiced flank steak, shredded pork tenderloin, or cinnamon-roasted squash are just some of the ingredients for Habañero’s signature burritos. All salsas are made in-house, from the smoky tomato chipotle to the sweet-sounding mango jalapeño, which is hot enough to spark spontaneous combustion.

358 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, (513) 961-6800, habanerolatin.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DC, DS. $

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

PRESENTING SPONSORS: The Metropolitan Club and MadTree Brewing

SPONSORS: Ovation, La Brea Bakery, Stonefire, FIJI Water, Simply Saline, Saratoga, and McCormick

PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS: Big Jay’s Place, Luca Bistro, The Metropolitan Club, Baru, French Toast Heaven, Front Street Café, Red Feather Kitchen, and Crown Restaurant Group

April 9–12, 2024

The Metropolitan Club → Our Savor dinner series, celebrating the very best of the local dining scene, crossed the river for the first time in April. Each evening started with a beautiful skyline view compliments of The Metropolitan Club. In the kitchen, two chefs each night worked together to prepare multiple course meals with wine pairings. We also celebrated the city’s giving spirit by partnering with four local nonprofits, raising funds for one each night. Thank you to all of our sponsors and partners, who made this dining series a phenomenal success!

WHERE TO EAT NOW

MESA LOCA

Sitting on a corner of Hyde Park Square, it’s easy to see that Mesa Loca has an absolute dream of a location. The pandemic forced a few changes to the seafood-centric menu, but those dishes still on the menu indicate what Mesa Loca could be. The tuna ceviche is nicely balanced: tart, with a little spicy creaminess, and a good crispy tostada. One of Mesa Loca’s appealing qualities is its dramatic flair: The yucca fries come stacked on the plate like a late-stage game of Jenga, and the sour-andspicy rub is quite delicious and striking against the bright starchy white of the fries.

2645 Erie Ave., Hyde Park, (513) 321-6372, mesalocahydepark.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $$

NADA

BEER MOVES

The 48th annual Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is moving to Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove.

“We are excited to move Oktoberfest Zinzinnati to transform the event from a street fair into an even more authentic experience with more tents, more music, [and] more beer,” Mayor Aftab Pureval says.

The beer-soaked Bavarian-style festival takes place from Sept. 19 to 22. oktoberfestzinzin nati.com

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 crowdpleasers. 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 CRUZ

The menu at this four-table mom-and-pop welcomes you to “a little piece of Mexico.” The huaraches (spelled guarachis here), are flat troughs of thick, handmade fried masa dough the approximate shape and size of a shoeprint, mounded with beans and slivers of grilled beef or chili-red nubs of sausage, shredded lettuce, a crumble of queso fresco, and drizzle of cultured cream. Should you have an adventurous side, you can have your huarache topped with slippery tongue, goat meat, shredded chicken, or pork. There are stews, carne asada plates, and sopes—saucers of fried masa much like huaraches, only smaller.

518 Pike St., Covington, (859) 431-3859. Lunch and dinner seven days. Cash. $

SEAFOOD

MCCORMICK & SCHMICK’S

The daily rotation here reads like a fisherman’s wish list: fresh lobsters from the coast of Maine, 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 tends toward fairly conservative takes on classics, like well-seasoned crab cakes and thick, creamy chowder full of seafood. The handful of ethnic experiments on the menu are among its most vibrant offerings, including a Mediterranean fish stew that takes inspiration from the North African coast. Tender, fluff y couscous soaks up a fiery but sweet tomato sauce that showcases chiles and peppercorns, golden raisins, and lovely

firm cashews, and the stew itself is packed with mussels, shrimp, and chunks of fish. 3036 Madison Rd., Oakley, (513) 631-3474, oakleyfishhouse.com. Lunch Fri–Sun, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$$

STEAKS

CARLO & JOHNNY

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 melt-in-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 non-beef alternatives. 9769 Montgomery Rd., Montgomery, (513) 936-8600, jeffruby.com/carlo-johnny. Dinner seven days. MCC. $$$$

JEFF RUBY’S

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, even the willowy model types, inhale slabs of beef (dry aged USDA prime) like they’re dining in a crack house for carnivores. 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.

505 Vine St., downtown, (513) 784-1200, jeffruby.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC. $$$$

Top10 LOSANTI

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 with lime and chile.

1401 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 246-4213, losantiotr.com. Dinner seven days. MCC. $$$

TONY’S

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, macand-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) 677-8669, 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. 2942 Wasson Rd., Oakley, (513) 731-0107, greenpapayacincinnati.com. Lunch Mon–Sat, dinner seven days. MCC. $$

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-theRhine, 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 longtime 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.

1200 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 421-8325, teakotr.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

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.

1828 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 376-9177, pholangthang.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS, DC. $

CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, (ISSN 0746-8 210), June 2024, Volume 57, Number 9. Published monthly ($19.95 for 12 issues annually) at 1818 Race St., Ste. 301, Cincinnati, OH 45202. (513) 421-4300. Copyright © 2024 by Cincinnati Magazine LLC, a subsidiary of Hour Media Group, 5750 New King Dr., Ste. 100, Troy, MI 48098. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or reprinted without permission. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and artwork should be accompanied by SASE for return. The magazine cannot be held responsible for loss. For subscription orders, address changes or renewals, write to CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, 1965 E. Avis Dr., Madison Heights, MI 48071, or call 1-866-660-6247. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send forms 3579 to CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, 1965 E. Avis Dr., Madison Heights, MI 48071. If the Postal Service alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year.

Duck, Duck, Goose

JIMMY LONGBOTTOM (right) is greeted with quacks of recognition as he walks into his sanctuary, Longbottom Bird Ranch, in Monfort Heights. More than 16 species of ducks and some geese and chickens live in this “duck retirement community.” He ended up a rescuer by accident. “Someone reached out to me with some ducklings they got from Tractor Supply and didn’t want anymore,” he says. “Then I started doing a lot of social media content about it and people reached out asking if I’d be interested in taking their duck because they didn’t want it anymore. Every duck you see here, somebody got them as a pet and either dumped them at a local park or pond or called me to surrender them.” Longbottom uses his popularity on social media to help spread the word about the dangers of feed stores selling ducklings. He also brings the birds around town to farmers’ markets, breweries, and even movie theaters. If you want to help support the sanctuary and ducks like James Pond, Launchpad McQuack, and Chance the Quacker, you can donate at longbottom birdranch.com.

—CLAIRE LEFTON

CINCY OBSCURA

DEAR FUTURE REDHAWK,

As you enjoy your summer, know that your adventure is just beginning! With a legacy of academic excellence and a commitment to student success, Miami offers the personalized attention of a small college with the vibrant setting of a major university. At Miami, you’ll experience moments that will truly transform you. See you in the fall!

your adventure