Krohn Conservatory

My personal favorite part of showing my friends around Cincinnati was swinging by Krohn Conservatory. We've written about Krohn before, when Dan and I took a nighttime tour-- Dan had never seen the Conservatory by daylight! And we had a *beautiful* day to experience it.






Also being shown off here: the new lens Dan picked up for our camera. Mmph, loving it. Perfect day, perfect subject (look at those blooms!), kickin' camera, and awesome awesome friends.

Krohn Conservatory: http://www.cincinnatiparks.com/krohn-conservatory/index.shtml

Arnold's Bar and Grill

My friends and I finished up our day-tour of Cincinnati at Arnold's. I'd been here once before, with some of Dan's friends. I kind of fell in love that night.

I wanted to bring my friends here for two reasons: 1) it's a great piece of Cincinnati history, what with being the Queen City's oldest bar, and 2) I'd heard they had a great beer list. My friends tried a few different beers throughout the night and seemed happy with their selections.

Most of the table ordered burgers-- it was just that kind of night, I guess. I for one loved mine, and devoured it rather too quickly.

This bar will definitely be one of my Cincinnati staples. I'm telling you, you can't beat that indoor/outdoor patio they have-- I'm anxious to see it come spring/summer when they open it up and host live music. I feel like I could spend hours there, easily.

Arnold's website: http://www.arnoldsbarandgrill.com/

Carew Tower, Observation Deck

We had some friends come into town last weekend, and we wanted to give them a taste of Cincinnati life. Here are a few shots from our trip up to the observation deck of Carew Tower (mostly taken by Dan).





I was explaining how the new "Tiara Tower" was going to steal Carew's title as the tallest building in Cincinnati. My friends agreed it will be a shame to lose that honor just because of a big piece of steel. But eh, whaddya gonna do.

Parker Flats

What better way to welcome someone back to Cincinnati than with a grill-out at the Schwartzes'?


I'd never been to Parker Flats before. I FELT like I'd been there because of Schwartz's photos, but being up there is different. A very cool apartment with a deck to die for-- though as I told them the other night, I wouldn't love having a view of my own office. A girl needs her space.


Thank you two for having us over!

Laszlo's Iron Skillet

Bradley and I were looking for a good lunch after church on Sunday... which proved harder than it sounds. Everything in Newtown, Mariemont and Anderson seemed to either be closed or a chain. After a desperate drive around the area, we saw an "OPEN FOR BREAKFAST" banner hanging at the Iron Skillet.

My friend Jennifer is nuts about the Iron Skillet. Despite living out in Eastgate for most of my life, I never made it down 32 to Newtown to visit this Hungarian restaurant. When Bradley and I walked in in Sunday, the waitress was *floored* that our first visit was for breakfast, not dinner. (She repeated this a few times, actually. Floored.)


There are (at least) three things that make me a serious black sheep in Cincinnati: 1) I don't like beer, 2) I don't like pig things (even bacon), and 3) I don't like breakfast. I am slowly trying to change all of those, though, and decided to order the Florentine omelet with hash browns. Oh... my gawd. So, so happy I did. That omelet was delicious. I usually don't care for eggs, I usually avoid ham. Maybe my taste buds are changing? The ham was subtle, the spinach was in perfect proportion, the Swiss cheese was perfection. Hm, maybe I was just starving or something.


The waitress made me promise I'd come back for dinner some time, and I look forward to it. (Jennifer, what should I order?)

Iron Skillet's website: http://www.laszlosironskillet.com/

SXSW, MG/GM

I just spent a week in Austin, TX for South by Southwest, then immediately jumped in the car for a business trip to Michigan. So! If I've been a little slack on comments lately, forgive me-- all the updates for the past TWO AND A HALF WEEKS have been post-dated.


I wanted to share a quick note about an event that is happening on the coming Friday (March 26). There's an art opening at Museum Gallery/Gallery Museum, which I hadn't heard of until they contacted me. Check out the bit on "Carousel Kids" (you'll need to click "Exhibitions" and scroll down, boo).

The reception is on Friday, from 6-10 or 11pm (depending on which page you're on, oy). Tickets are free if you print them before the show. I'm going to try to stop by, because I've never even heard of this gallery (1218 Sycamore Street).

P.S. Dear MG/GM, let's talk about your site's UX some time.

Chez Nora

I expected this blog to shake up my social life a bit, but it has also done wonders for lunch routine. I've been hunting down excuses to visit new-to-me locales around downtown Cincinnati like nobody's business.

My coworker Jeff and I go to lunch fairly often, and we had an afternoon with enough time to take a quick drive across the bridge to Covington. I'd done Riverside, I'd done Cock 'n' Bull, but I'd never gotten to step into Chez Nora.


I had one of the lunch specials, the broccoli and spinach quiche. *Mm.* The first thing I said to Jeff made him look at me like I had two heads: "It doesn't taste microwaved." Almost every quiche I've ever had has *clearly* been taken out of a freezer and nuked for a minute or so. This one, not so much. Cheesy with perfect crust. Très bien.


Jeff, however, had a different lunch special: the "BBQ Cheddar Meatloaf." Uhhhh. Despite how much I loved my quiche, I ended up seriously wishing I'd had the meatloaf. He cut me off a piece: awesome. It was served as a sandwich and definitely worth the $7.

I expected our meal to be pricey, but we got out for under $20 for the two of us. (Ordering lunch specials helped.) I've heard I need to visit this place at night and maybe check out the rooftop deck, but I can at least say that it's a great lunch option in close proximity to Cincinnati.

Le site de Chez Nora: http://www.cheznora.com/

Busken Bakery

The difference between Busken and every other bakery that I'm aware of: Busken's open for 24 hours.

Okay, so I'm sure plenty of bakeries are open all night, to stock the stores they provide for. And yes, it's only the main Busken HQ that's open around the clock. BUT, when it's super late (or early?) and you have a sweet tooth, this Busken branch is like a beacon from heaven.

Frosting shots?! Okay, not my speed, but fantastic nonetheless. I'm a traditional Busken cookie girl myself-- I'm not sure what they put into those things, but I'm assuming any larger dose would be illegal.


Dan went for the doughnuts-- one glazed, one maple. I thought he was going into cardiac arrest when he started eating them.

Ooh, I almost forgot about the tea cookies! I bought a small bag for a gathering. Well received, as usual. Wish I was chewing on a few right now, tell ya the truth...

Busken's website: http://www.busken.com/

20th Century Cincinnati

This post is a wee bit dated, as the 20th Century Cincinnati show happened weeks ago, but these pictures are too good to just skip. I was in color heaven.








The show wasn't really what I was expecting-- less like an exhibition, more like a fairly expensive and specific thrift store. I loved it though, especially the Charley Harper area. Worth the $7 each for an hour's worth of eye candy and egg-shaped chairs lined with fur.

See our full photo set here (yes, there are more): http://www.flickr.com/photos/rrrrred/sets/72157623450898525/
20th Century Cincinnati's website: http://www.20thcenturycincinnati.com/

Anonymous comments disabled

I imagine it was only a matter of time.

I am all for discourse on the blog-- you are welcome to disagree with me, and you can actually push me pretty far before I'll do something as drastic as deleting a comment.

But I'm not going to tolerate people slandering one another in the comments of my blog. I've disabled anonymous comments for this reason. I *love* comments and never want to deter any conversation, but I won't have my blog used to insult my friends.

One spoiled apple and whatnot...

John A. Roebling Bridge repair

I think the John A. Roebling Bridge is probably one of the most important landmarks in Cincinnati, and there's definitely not another bridge that is more iconic in terms of our local history than this bridge.

I'm lucky enough that my office in Covington actually sits next to this bridge and I get to look out over it on a daily basis. This killer view has gotten a LOT more interesting in the past few weeks as workers have begun preparing the bridge for a much needed cleaning and coat of paint. I took the camera and went wandering around early last week and snapped a few pictures. I plan on taking more pictures as work progresses.

For the full Flickr set click here. As things progress I'll add photos and post some updates here.

The bridge will officially close on April 7th and will not re-open until sometime in November of this year, however they plan on keeping one sidewalk open for pedestrians, which is good because I plan on walking or biking to work once we move to OTR.

 

For more info about the bridge, it's history and those working to help preserve it check out the Covington-Cincinnati Suspension Bridge Committee website.

Riverside Korean

Am I boring? Because I like everything?


It's not true. I just don't tend to blog about the things I dislike. I don't consider this blog a complete review-- my "re-adventure" is about (re)discovering the beautiful gems in this city. Riverside Korean is definitely one of those gems for me.


It's also one of those places that I will never, ever order anything different. The bi bim bap is my regular-- HOT, in the stone bowl that will burn your hand if you touch it. This is my comfort food on the rare work day that I can make it across the river to Mainstrasse.


It's a small little restaurant, and if you're not the type who's comfortable sitting on the floor, you might want to call ahead to reserve a booth.

Riverside Korean's website: http://www.riversidekoreanrestaurant.com/

Chi-nnati's

Chicago style pizza is something people seem to either love or hate, and for the lovers you have to drive to Chicago to get the real thing.

Until now...

Chi-nnati's, aside from having one of the most confusing and annoying names to say and type, is a deep dish lover's dream.

I was turned onto this by a friend whose recommendation included a request that he be buried with one of their pizzas, and I have to agree with him. In fact, I would like to be buried IN one of their pizzas.

We opted to do carryout and grabbed a simple cheese pizza - then wandered over to the bookstore while we waited the 45 minutes it takes to bake one of these beauties. Definitely call ahead if you're doing carry out and be ready to break out Catan on your iPhone to pass some time if you're dining in.

What you get is a massively thick slab of a pizza with the cheese in the middle and the sauce on the top. The pizza is great, the crust is great, the food coma is great - and the fact that all this can now be had without a drive to Chicago is awesome. We have plans to go back and eat-in, perhaps a part two post will follow that.

Chi-nnati's website

Sci-Fi City

I dragged Dan all the way up to Northgate Mall to see if Nord's was still around. (Okay, we were sort of in the area and trying to kill time, but still.) Years ago, Nord's was *the* place to go for your geekery, especially if you were a college student at Miami and Northgate was pretty close. Alas, Nord's is no mor...ds.


But! Fret not! The owner of Nord's has apparently purchased a space two or three times as large, a bit further down the hallway! Enter the majesty which is... SCI-FI CITY.


Comics: they've gotcha covered. I wouldn't say this is your comics mecca, however-- if you need tons of obscure back issues, go elsewhere. But if you need this week's comics, they'll do ya right.


One of the things that sets Sci-Fi City apart from most of your geekery centers is its video game area! Some kids were going to down on Call of Duty (Xbox 360)... what a freakin' awesome setup, eh?


Mm, full setup for your tabletop gaming needs. I've been a little too shy (me?!) to engage with something of this level, but secretly I'm dying to go to a store like this and throw down in Magic or join my brother in Warhammer. Too infrequently do I find myself in need of a full felt-covered table!


And-- I saved this bit for last-- all the board games (and card games, and RPGs, and whatever) you could ask for. Tons of expansions and games I'd not heard of. There were a few items I'd discovered at Boardwalk Hobby Shop that were missing, but I could play Sci-Fi City's games for the rest of my life and never get tired of them.


Uh, here's Dan with Batman. ANYWAY. Sci-Fi City is definitely what I'd call a "hidden jewel" (except to the hardcore of the hardcore, I'm sure). I'm so glad we popped in to the otherwise-destitute Northgate Mall-- if you can make it up there and you're into video games, RPGs, board games, Magic, comics, WHATEVER, I sincerely recommend you make the trek.

I talked to-- mm, maybe not the proprietor, but at least someone higher up in the food chain at Sci-Fi, and he seemed like my kind of guy. Very amiable and passionate about his store. Say hi if you pop up there.

Sci-Fi City Cincinnati website (there are other branches, but not locally): http://www.sci-fi-city.com/cincinnati.htm
Northgate Mall website: http://www.mynorthgatemall.com/