Cincinnati Magazine - August 2022 Edition

I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H M O N A D E R M AT O L O G Y

Seeing Spots A Q&A na r. Mo with D own on Br Spots

Mona S. Foad, MD, is a board-certified Dermatologist and owner of Mona Dermatology in Kenwood.

www.monadermatology.com

I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H M O N A D E R M AT O L O G Y

“...the easiest and best way to prevent brown spots is to be ‘sun smart.’ ” W

S E R U M P H O T O G R A P H B Y TAT YA N A R O W/ S T O C K . A D O B E .C O M

hat are brown spots & how do they form?

There are different types of “brown spots” on our skin, all created by pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. UV exposure, most commonly from the sun or tanning beds, can cause our melanocytes to produce a pigment called melanin in an effort to protect our skin from the UV damage. This is what creates a tan—it’s our skin’s way of trying to shield itself. With repeated UV exposure, melanin clumps into higher concentration and produces those pesky “sun spots” that we start seeing as we get older. In addition, many people suffer from melasma, which can be aggravated by hormones and UV rays.

How can we prevent brown spots?

I like to think of brown spots as icebergs that form in the ocean of our skin. Over time, the icebergs start floating to the top where we start to see them. The sun's UV rays produce more pigment icebergs and cause them to rise to the surface more quickly.

For this reason, the easiest and best way to prevent brown spots is to be “sun smart.” Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen, avoid the middle of the day sun between 10am-2pm, wear a broad brimmed hat, and consider wearing UPF clothing.

I recommend sunscreens with

zinc oxide and titanium dioxide: some of my favorites are made

by Elta MD, Colorescience, SkinMedica, and Alastin. Don’t forget to reapply every 2-3 hours!

You should also add a good topical antioxidant on a daily basis to prevent free radical damage from UV, pollution, infrared, and blue light. The Lumivive System by SkinMedica is one of my favorites because the day serum protects your skin from environmental damage, while the night serum repairs that damage. CE Feurlic, Phloretin CF, and Silymarin by SkinCeuticals and Vitamin C+E by SkinMedica are other fan-favorites.

How can we treat brown spots after they form?

First, see a dermatologist to make sure that your brown spots are just normal sun damage and not skin cancer. I recommend a yearly skin exam and doing monthly self-exams using the ABCDEs as your guide—early detection is the key.

To treat your sun spots, talk to your dermatologist about what approach is right for you. More superficial brown spots may be addressed with fading creams, skin brighteners, or a series of chemical peels. No down time treatments such as broad band light, often called BBL or IPL, can also help to even out your skin tone.

Occasionally, the “pigment ice-

bergs” I mentioned earlier are too deep and dark, and we need to turn to different options such as Fraxel, Co2, or Picosecond lasers.

Are there any products that you recommend?

If you suffer from brown spot formation, I highly recommend a pigment brightener like Lytera by SkinMedica. Unlike hydroquinone (which I recommend people cycle on and off of) Lytera is safe to use year round and helps prevent and decrease brown spot formation.

You mentioned skin cancers.

What should we look for if we are concerned about a mole or melanoma?

I look for the ABCDE’s when I look at moles.

A: Asymmetry—Moles should be symmetric if cut in half.

B: Border—Moles should have round or oval borders, not be irregular shapes.

C: Color—Moles should be uniform in color and should not be darker than your other moles.

D: Diameter—We usually recommend moles be smaller than a pencil eraser.

D: Different—Look for the “ugly duckling mole” that is different than your other moles.

E: Evolving—A mole that is changing can also be a concern.

A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 1

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36

INTO THE WOODS Pack up the car—or the RV—and hit the road. It’s time to rediscover the joy of camping.

WHEN WAR HITS HOME

P. 50

The Sister City Partnership started sending aid to Cincinnati’s friends in Kharkiv as soon as Russia invaded Ukraine. Now they wait, worry, and work to maintain as much connection as possible.

BY JOHN STOWELL

WIN, LOSE, DRAW

P. 54

Ohio Republican lawmakers submitted unconstitutional election maps five different times in order to run out the clock on fair redistricting, and they prevailed. A second primary on August 2 will now cost taxpayers $20 million.

BY JIM DeBROSSE

FA M I LY P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y J U D I K E T T E L E R / L E A F P H O T O G R A P H B Y J E R E M Y K R A M E R

A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 5

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ON OUR SITE

22

FOOD NEWS

12 / LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

FRONTLINES 15 / DISPATCH

Cult movies at the Esquire

16 / SPEAK EASY

128 / CINCY OBSCURA

Donna Harris of the Overthe-Rhine Museum

The Burnet Woods slide

16 / EVENTS Germania Oktoberfest turns 50

18 / STYLE COUNSEL Jamahal C. Boyd has an eye for accessories

30

20 / HOMEGROWN How Bird Etiquette came to be

22 / REAL ESTATE A rebuilt log cabin in Kentucky

24 / DR. KNOW Your QC questions answered

COLUMNS

26 / LIVING IN CIN Jay reads the paper (for CABVI)

BY LAUREN FISHER

DINE

116 / OFF THE MENU Local incubator kitchens feed our food scene

118 / HOT PLATE Tortilleria Garcia, College Hill

118 / TABLESIDE

CITY NEWS

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

Kathy Turner of Cook’s Best

119 / TAKE 5 Boozy slushies

120 / LUNCHBOX Café Alma, Pleasant Ridge

122 / DINING GUIDE Greater Cincinnati restaurants: A selective list

HOME + LIFE

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

BY J AY G I L B E R T

30 / PERSON OF INTEREST Pam Kravetz colors our world

BY LISA MURTHA

ON THE COVER photograph by JEREMY KRAMER models courtesy HEYMAN TALENT SPORTS

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I

CONTRIBUTORS

JUDI KETTELER

IT OCCURRED TO ME AS WE WERE PUT TING THE AUGUST ISSUE TOGETHER THAT it encapsulates troubling thoughts I’ve been having in these weird times. With all of the human suffering we’re witnessing and maybe experiencing firsthand—the pandemic, mass shootings, war, climate catastrophes—how are we to live our daily lives? Is it fair, right, or moral to focus on our jobs, mortgages, swim clubs, and birthday parties when millions (or billions) of less-fortunate people struggle to survive to tomorrow?

This month’s guide to camping, “Into the Woods” (page 36), is a perfect summertime ode to appreciating our amazing outdoor world. You’ll find details on glamping, campfire cooking, camping with kids, nearby weekend getaways, and gear recommendations. If you’re looking for an escape from the daily grind, camping could be your ticket out.

That section is followed by John Stowell’s “When War Hits Home” (page 50), about the invasion of Ukraine and the CincinnatiKharkiv Sister Cities Partnership’s efforts to get aid to friends in the war zone. He Zooms with two brave residents who have stayed behind to deliver goods and good cheer to their friends and neighbors. Both of them had visited Cincinnati in the good old days after Kharkiv became our sister city in 1989.

So here we are, celebrating our ability to go camping while speaking with people in the midst of war. The Kharkiv story is followed by an analysis of how Republican officials highjacked Ohio’s election redistricting process (page 54), representative of another war—a political one—raging in this country.

I poked around the internet to see what I could find about how to best live our lives while acknowledging (and trying to do something about) suffering in the world. Two very different websites—the Sisters of Charity and Tiny Buddha—offered similar approaches: Letting or making ourselves suffer in solidarity with people truly suffering will not help those in need. Celebrating joy has a ripple effect on those in our orbit, which can have an untold positive impact on others. Control what you can control. Good enough is usually good enough.

J O H N F OX

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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ILLUSTR ATIO N BY L A R S LEE TA RU

Contributing writer Judi Ketteler spent the 1980s camping around the country with her family in a blue and white Chevrolet van and wrote about it in “A Cinderella (Camping) Story” (page 36). If she had to pick a favorite spot, it would be Washington, D.C.—thanks to both Shenandoah National Park and the city. As for where that Chevy is now?

“My dad sold it to buy another van sometime in the late ’90s!”

JAY GILBERT Having worked in radio for 50-plus years, contributing writer Jay Gilbert recognizes the power of voices.

In this month’s Living in Cin (page 26), Gilbert recounts his experience as a long-term reading volunteer at the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Gilbert won’t be a reader for much longer, but he’ll always remember how it felt to breathe life into other people’s words. “That’s kind of what the job description was,” he says.

SASHA MASLOV For Sasha Maslov, a UkrainianAmerican photographer, his work is not just an art form—it’s a responsibility. For “When War Hits Home” (page 50), Maslov, who’s been to Ukraine six times this year, photographed scenes of devastation in Cincinnati’s sister city of Kharkiv.

“As the media cycle moves on, people forget about the brutality of war,” Maslov says. “I don’t think it’s possible to understand unless you experience it.”

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CULT CLUB

A niche Clifton record shop meets cute with its arthouse cinema neighbor, and magic happens. L A U R I E P I K E

I L L U S T R AT I O N BY JA M E S YA M A S A K I / P H O TO G R A P H BY S CO T T G R I E S S EL /S TO C K . A D O B E .CO M

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IG, LOUD, AND WITH OTHER PEOPLE,” SAYS JUSTIN WIESE.

“That’s the way movies should be seen.” The scruffyhaired 36-year-old, who works in a print and graphics agency by day, will drive an hour or more to see an old film on the big screen. Maybe he’s seen it before, and maybe it’s streaming on a platform he subscribes to. No matter. It isn’t just the motion picture he’s after, it’s the experience.

“I don’t know that I would have reacted as strongly to kung fu movies if I hadn’t been surrounded by 50 people as excited about it as I was,” says Wiese. “And comedies? Ever try streaming one at home by yourself? Miserable!”

Having said that, Wiese owns thousands of movies for home viewing with his goth-chic wife, Heather, who shares his passion for “physical media.” A room of their Spring Grove Village bungalow brims with vinyl records, cassette tapes, books, zines, and a celluloid trove on DVD, VHS, Betamax, LaserDisc, and Bluray. Wiese is such a weird-flick aficionado that in 2019 he was tapped by Torn Light Records, the niche shop known for its eclectic music offerings, to create a movie section CONTINUED ON P. 16 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 1 5

DISPATCH

EVENTS

AUTHENTIC OKTOBERFEST AT 50

The Germania Society can be forgiven for COVID math: The area’s longest-running Oktoberfest, launched in 1971, celebrates 50 years this month. The group offers eating, drinking, and dancing on its Colerain Township grounds August 26–28. Prost! germaniasociety.com 1 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M A U G U S T 2 0 2 2

SPEAK EASY

A MUSEUM OF AND FOR OVER-THE-RHINE X Over-the-Rhine is one of the largest and most intact 19th century neighborhoods in the country, characterized by charming Italianate buildings and a complicated history of housing Germanic, African American, Appalachian, and other marginalized groups over the years. The Over-the-Rhine Museum is working to tell the neighborhood’s full story in a new permanent space near Findlay Market, says Director of Museum Administration Donna Harris, thanks in part to a recent National Endowment for the Humanities grant.

What is the Over-theRhine Museum? Based on the interpretive model of New York City’s Tenement Museum, we’ll use apartments, tours, exhibits, educational programs, and events to immerse visitors in OTR’s history. Our two-building complex includes a single-family house built in the 1860s and a four-story tenement from the 1870s. Each will tell the story of a specific moment in time from 1860 to 2008.

How does the museum fit OTR’s recent renaissance? In the midst of this change, we were worried the stories of

OTR were being lost as longtime residents were pushed out, buildings were torn down or altered, and our rich, multi-layered history was being replaced with romanticized retellings of a distant 19th-century past. The Over-theRhine Museum wants to fill in the gaps—the missing narratives of women, the poor, African Americans, Appalachians, and other marginalized groups.

The museum will celebrate OTR’s diversity through the stories of real people who lived here.

What’s next? We’re restoring the museum’s first-floor storefront exterior as it would have looked when the Kabakoff family ran a dry goods store there in the 1930s, as well as using funding to conduct archival research, form a Community Planning Committee, and convene a panel of experts to create a 10-year interpretive plan. It all depends on funding, but we hope to have the first floor completed within the next two years. As that’s happening, we will continue to offer walking tours, lectures, and events.

—SARAH McCOSHAM READ A LONGER INTERVIEW WITH DONNA AT CIN CINNATIMAGAZINE.COM

PH OTO G R A PHS BY J O N ATH A N W I LLI S

IMAGE COURTESY (SPEAKEASY) DONNA HARRIS / ICONS BY JESSICA DUNHAM

in the Clifton emporium. “We of being enveloped in dark theater and envisioned a corner of our store transported to a strange new world—all to look like the video stores we visited while feasting on the Esquire’s famously as kids,” says Torn Light co-owner Alex delicious popcorn.

York. “Justin was the only choice to put “Torn Light Records Presents...” debuted three years ago with Repo Man, the it together.”

Moonlighting as a film curator allows 1984 low-budget sci-fi black comedy Wiese to expose fellow movie nerds and that’s now a punk classic. The pandemic a new generation of college students to put the series on hold, but it regained esoteric gems such as Liquid Sky (a 1982 its footing this year and now screens new wave sci-fi tale) and El Topo (a 1970 the final Wednesday of each month. “acid Western”). He organized the new The August feature is The Visitor, a late and used films for sale into categories ’70s film starring Shelly Winters, Glenn Ford, and John Huston that like drama, arthouse, cult, “takes all the best elements exploitation, horror, sci-fi, of The Birds, The Omen, Close music, and documentaries.

Encounters of the Third Kind, “What’s missing from both and The Exorcist,” says Wiese. the experience of streaming films and the fare at cineplexes “The first time I saw it in a The Big Picture is context and curation,” says theater, the crowd lost their The Esquire Theatre minds.”

Wiese. “It helps to know, for screens The Visitor at instance, that The Harder They Torn Light is now help7:30 p.m. August 31.

Come was the first feature film ing the Esquire realize longesquiretheatre.com made in Jamaica and that it held ambitions of enhancing went on to popularize reggae in the U.S.” movie screenings with ancillary events, Shortly after Wiese’s movie section such as music performances, themed debuted at Torn Light, the nearby Esdiscussions, and appearances by acquire Theatre approached him about a tors and directors. To wit: Torn Light programming partnership in which he’d will launch its first film festival at the select cult feature films to screen once a Esquire September 29–30 and October month. The timing was auspicious, says 1, which Wiese is calling the Ohio PsyWiese, because new technology is takchotronic Film Festival. ing “crusty old films and making them York says his shop’s focus on nonlook like they did decades ago when they mainstream films will continue to grow, came out,” and there’s a bumper crop thanks to Wiese and the Esquire connection. “With the Marvel-ification and right now of obscure and foreign films Disney-ification of movies and theaters, from distributors like Criterion and it’s crucial to combat it at any chance Kino Lorber. It’s a boon for pandemicweary audiences who miss that commupossible,” he says. “I want Justin to go nal joy, fear, laughter, shock, and cringe wild.”

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STYLE STYLE COUNSEL COUNSEL

Jamahal C. Boyd OCCUPATION: Chief Executive Officer, The Crossroads Center STYLE: Polished and professional You’re CEO at The Crossroads Center and on the boards of directors for multiple organizations. Where does this passion stem from? The passion stems from serving and being a servant.

My grandfather was a church pastor for 31 years. He passed away when I was 5, but he exposed me to a servant and service role. His impact on people and how people migrated to him sowed that seed that’s in me now to help, serve, and be impactful not only in my own life but in the lives of others. You’re an experienced professional in multiple areas, and your attire shows that. How does your style affect what you do day in and dy out?

My outfits are my business card. Coming from humble beginnings where you have two pairs of jeans and one shirt you wash every day to have for the next day, you understand that your presentation says a lot about your representation. The style, the dress, and your attire are your brand.

It’s what you represent and attract. When putting together an ensemble, what do you care about most? The starting point for me is accessories. I always build around the shoe or watch or if I’m wearing gold or silver. I’m big on pocket squares and cufflinks. I’ll spend more money on those items than the actual outfit. I’m a thrifter, so I’m less inclined to spend money on name brands because I can create an outfit for less than $30. But it all starts with accessories. What’s your favorite pair of cufflinks so far? One of my favorite pairs are these bulldogs, which I’ve had for probably 15 to 20 years. When I found them, I was at a point in my career where I needed to be more aggressive.

Whenever I would go into a meeting or an area where I felt like I needed to be more aggressive, those were my go-to cufflinks.

—HEATHER SPINKS

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JEREMY KRAMER

PROMOTION

15 MINUTES

GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT

Cincinnati Magazine and the Madeira Chamber of Commerce kicked off summer with the 13th annual Girls’ Night Out event.

Hundreds came out to enjoy a beautiful evening of camaraderie, good food, and shopping throughout downtown Madeira.

Before setting off on their shopping adventures, guests were treated to iced coffee, sugar hand scrubs, French pastries, and delicious savory bread bites.

HUGE THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: The BMW Store, Dr. Teal’s, Tide Cleaners, La Brea Bakery, and Sibcy Cline

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RUBRIC TK HOMEGROWN

BIRD NERDS

A MAKESHIFT BIRD FEEDER AND A PLAN TO STAVE OFF ZOOM FATIGUE SPAWNED A LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS. — L A U R E N F I S H E R

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NATHAN HENDRICKS WAS STUCK AT HIS DESK.

Like so many others exiled from the office during the pandemic, the graphic designer found himself glued to a dizzying loop of video calls and work-from-home distractions. At least he’d had the foresight to set up his workspace in front of a window so he could look out over his patio and the surrounding woods of College Hill.

But you can only look at the same trees for so long. So as a self-described “sanity move” to combat Zoom fatigue, Hendricks bolted a pole to a bird feeder, stuck it to a Christmas tree stand, and set the contraption up on his patio. “It was janky,” he admits, “but effective.”

It wasn’t long before he was sketching the birds that showed up on his makeshift feeder, using wood, fabrics, and objects from around the house to add his own twist.

His first creation was a cardinal, which he dressed up in a red knit sweater, using plaid 2 0 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M A U G U S T 2 0 2 2

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fabric for its wings and tail.

Over time, the bird sketches got more complicated—even common sparrows have intricate color and texture combinations, Hendricks says—but he was hooked. Watch the birds for long enough, and you’ll see their personalities emerge. “Cardinals are cranky introverts,” he says. “Chickadees are industrious and in a hurry. Song sparrows are chill and friendly. They’re all different, but they hang out together on a feeder and mostly get along and mind their manners— like they’re adhering to a bird etiquette.”

That theory stuck. Today, Hendricks and his wife, Jean, are the team behind Bird Etiquette, a digital storefront selling madeto-order clothing and home goods. Within the couple’s online store, you’ll find evJOIN THE FLOCK 1: Swatches of a tufted erything from statitmouse tionery and coast2: Chickadee tote bag 3: Stemless tumblers in carers to baseball caps, dinal, chickadee, and wren shower curtains, and throw pillows. The stemless wine tumblers and tote bags are fan favorites, and the business recently partnered with a Lithuanian startup to put hand-painted Bird Etiquette designs on candles.

Along the way, Hendricks says, Jean caught the bird bug. Armed with a camera and an old zoom lens, she captures photos of local birds and posts them to Instagram, where Bird Etiquette has discovered an enthusiastic audience of “bird nerds.” She’s cataloged an impressive 119 different species so far. “The whole bird thing started out as my thing,” Hendricks says. “Now it’s something we can do together.”

BIRDETIQUET TE .COM P H OPTHOOGTROAGPRHASPBHYS JBOYNDAET VHYANN GWLIILSLTIAS

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REAL ESTATE

RIVERSIDE PARADISE ANGIE SMITH ISN’T QUITE SURE HOW OR WHY THE LOG CABIN GOT FROM

Williamstown, Kentucky, to her riverfront property. She’s still trying to piece together its history, from its construction in 1842 to where it is today, sitting hillside on the banks of the Ohio River, just 11 miles outside Union.

What she does know is that it’s quiet in the summer, gorgeous in the snow, and it makes a hell of a rental property. “It’s beautiful—summer, winter, fall,” she says. “I just love the water. It’s peaceful.”

Smith, who works as a medical assistant by day, was newly single when her mother saw an advertisement for the cabin—on cable television, of all places. “I always knew I wanted a log cabin,” she says. “So we came out and looked at it. And I bought it right then.”

Her dream was to turn the historic cabin into a bed and breakfast (although she wasn’t particularly keen on the whole breakfast part). So she got to work, renovating almost exclusively on the weekends 2 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M A U G U S T 2 0 2 2

with the help of her children and daughter-in-law to restore and refresh the cabin, which had been used as a summer home after it was disassembled and moved from Williamstown around 40 years ago. In May, she opened it up as an Airbnb, billing the cabin as an “unplugged” getaway for families and couples.

Today, it’s a blend of contemporary farmhouse and irreplaceable rustic charm, with original log cabin walls that bleed into a more modern extension of the original home, where a kitchen, full bathroom (complete with a clawfoot tub), and loft bedroom await.

The cabin is a haven in the winter, with a working wood stove ready for those cold Kentucky nights, but it’s in the warmer weather that it truly shines. From the front porch, you can easily spend a summer day lounging in a rocking chair alongside Smokey and Bandit (the property’s unofficial feline welcome party), enjoying the silence and watching the Ohio River snaking lazily along.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY AMANDA SMITH

HISTORY STAYS ALIVE AND WELL AT THIS CABIN ON THE BANKS OF THE OHIO RIVER. — L A U R E N F I S H E R

Photography by Jay Whorton

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Dr. Know is Jay Gilbert, weekday afternoon deejay on 92.5 FM The Fox. Submit your questions about the city’s peculiarities at drknow@cincinnati magazine.com

DR. KNOW

ley—or so it seemed. The city had renamed it Layton Alley back in 1908, but mapmakers seemed to have missed the memo. They showed it as Lawrence Alley for decades, which is why your research stalled. But it got screwed up even more.

In 1947, for reasons unknown, the city of Cincinnati shoved all the addresses along Marquis Street over to Layton Alley.

You didn’t “lose” Uncle Arthur; he never moved. He and all of his neighbors suddenly had their back doors designated as front doors. Did the city reimburse residents for new landscaping? Or maybe paid for rotating each property? We’ll never know, because the entire area was later obliterated by Interstate 71, possibly to hide any embarrassment.

Q+ A

When the “Capitoline wolf” statue in Eden Park was stolen in June, my older brother said it wasn’t the first time the statue has been attacked. He can’t remember the details, but he says about 10 years ago it was “dressed up in embarrassing clothing.” Do you know what that’s supposed to mean?

—WHEREVER I MAY ROME DEAR WHEREVER:

I am stalled researching my family history. According to old Cincinnati directories, my great uncle moved in 1947 from Marquis Street in Walnut Hills to Layton Alley. But I can’t find a Layton Alley on any map, old or new. Where did my Uncle Arthur go? I’ve lost him. Help!

—CRYING UNCLE

DEAR CRYING:

The Doctor, proudly flexing his six-pack of research muscle, found Layton Alley and your Uncle Arthur. Solving this mystery, however, uncovered something even more mysterious. Follow along: In 1936, Uncle Arthur’s front door was on Marquis Street in Walnut Hills. Outside his back door ran a slimmer street called Lawrence Al-

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First, some history: Romulus and Remus were the original Property Brothers—the mythical founders of ancient Rome. A bronze statue there depicting them as babies suckling a wolf goes back centuries. In 1931, Italian dictator Mussolini bestowed a replica of the statue to us, an American city named for a Roman leader (Cincinnatus). And it was here our troubles began.

Italy delivered the wrong statue, only 30 inches long; kind of like that Stonehenge scene in the movie This Is Spinal Tap. This error was quickly corrected. Later, the fact that Mussolini’s best friend was Adolf Hitler became, um, triggering, and park officials had to hide the statue for a while.

In the 1950s, some Cincinnatians briefly expressed discomfort with the babies’ exposed pee-pees, but we got over that.

The statue’s most recent humiliation ILLUSTR ATIO N S BY L A R S LEE TA RU

was in 2011, when the babies suddenly sported colorful little booties and their mom wore a hat and knitted scarf. A group called Bombshells had left their “non-destructive graffiti” on the statue as part of their yarnbombing. This is the source of your brother’s memory. At this writing the bronze wolf has not been found, but the thief was undoubtedly a Cincinnatian—he or she didn’t touch the twins or their pee-pees.

Park Place, the condo next door to the Taft Museum of Art, has a pedestrian ramp running from Butler Street in the back to Pike Street in front. Halfway up is a lone park bench, with no transit nearby. The only view is of the wall on Columbia Parkway’s ramp.

The bench has no reason to exist.

Who put it there and why?

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—SIT AND WONDER DEAR SIT:

The Doctor, as noted above, prides himself on his formidable Indiana Jones–like powers of solving the most stubbornly hard-to-crack and monumentally trivial mysteries. The more pointless the quest, the more pointed becomes the Doctor’s focus.

Your question may qualify as the winner for Outstanding Triviality 2022, but it’s only fair that we wait until the end of the year.

All this is prelude, as readers may have guessed, to the fact that your submission must be added to our extremely short list of Frustratingly Unanswered Inquiries. After visiting the park bench in question, after sitting upon it and confirming its lonely placement of seemingly little practical or aesthetic function, the Doctor set out to discover its parentage and purpose. Park Place denies all connection to the bench; they almost demanded a DNA test, as if trying to escape child support. Various departments of the city of Cincinnati were about as responsive as you would expect. The quest continues, but we’ll probably see that bronze wolf recovered first.

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LIVING IN CIN

BY JAY GILBERT

Why Jay Can’t Read CINCINNATI HEARD ME READING FOR YEARS. NOW MY VOICE HAS BEEN SILENCED.

IT’S MONDAY MORNING, AND TODAY I’M PATTY ANDREWS. I AM THE LAST LIVING MEMBER of the Andrews Sisters, who were The Beatles of the 1940s (or the BTS of the 1940s for those who hate everything boomer). When we dominated American popular music during World War II, my sisters and I did shows for thousands of soldiers everywhere we could safely go, and we also visited them in hospitals. It’s those heart-rending hospital visits I’m talking about on this Monday morning, because it’s Memorial Day and I’m asking you to honor these remaining heroes while there’s still time.

I’m proud to be Patty Andrews for a few minutes, but there are other Mondays when I can’t stand being certain people. It doesn’t matter; I proceed anyway. I’ve been movie stars, doctors, plumbers, and senators, and maybe I’ve even been you. Was it you who com2 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M A U G U S T 2 0 2 2

plained about a neglected playground in Cheviot? Did you thank the stranger who helped change a tire in Oakley? Maybe you were the beyond-stupid idiot who made no sense in your rambling screed supporting— or condemning—guns. I’ve passionately expressed garbled nonsense on all sides of every issue, sounding like I meant every word.

I’m a volunteer at the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI), and every Monday morning I call a special phone number, punch a few buttons, and recite that day’s Cincinnati Enquirer Opinion Page out loud. Every tight-assed staff editorial, syndicated columnist, and impassioned letter to the editor. I speak as the writers would, ignoring how I personally feel about the opinions they/you express.

This can be difficult, but sometimes, like when I get to be Patty Andrews, it’s an honor.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JEREMY KRAMER

LIVING IN CIN EVERY DAY AN ARMY OF US RECITE NEWSpapers, magazines, and more, helping vision-impaired Cincinnatians stay informed and entertained. We read into a vast voicemail system that includes ads, TV/movie schedules, comics, etc. Cincinnati was one of the first cities to launch Personalized Talking Print (PTP) in 1995.

Today, the internet lets CABVI offer many additional reading services on several convenient platforms.

My volunteering started before PTP, or even the world wide web, in the Stone Age of 1989. The process then was like doing laundry with a washboard. On my reading days I’d drive downtown to CABVI’s radio studio in the basement of the Masonic Temple, where helpers had already scissored up copies of the morning paper into dozens of individual clips. Pairs of readers then agreed who would read what. “OK, I’ll do this one, then you do that one. No, wait, you got to read Garfield last week, it’s my turn.”

The radio station, now at CABVI’s headquarters on Gilbert Avenue, airs readings day and night (and much more efficiently), along with PTP on the phone and an array of website podcasts. And then there’s the traditional way of doing this service that never gets old: Regular visits to people’s homes to read them their bills, medical and insurance correspondence, whatever. Those inperson volunteers deserve medals.

Sadly, things have changed for me and my job. I’m embarrassed to report that my story is entirely in the past tense, because I’ve been laid off. That’s right, I am an unpaid volunteer who was fired. The Gannett Company—owner of The Enquirer, USA Today, and hundreds of other papers—decreed in June that all local Opinion pages would henceforth appear just a few days each week, and Mondays got the ax. I now have no page to turn to, nothing to read, nobody to be.

All things change, but nothing in media has changed more sadly than newspapers.

The Cincinnati Post died in 2007, and The

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2 8 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M A U G U S T 2 0 2 2

Enquirer seems to be inching toward hospice. Back on Memorial Day 1999 when I was Patty Andrews, that day’s Enquirer had 64 large pages, two of them filled with editorials, columnists, and letters. This year’s Memorial Day Enquirer had 24 pages, all of them physically smaller with larger margins and text. No editorials, letters, or columnists. Opinion pages now consist of mostly unpaid local contributors and letters, except on Sundays, when a few syndicated writers also appear.

I once wrote to a national columnist I often voiced: Leonard Pitts, who still syndicates from The Miami Herald. I told him of my Cincinnati PTP work and that my Mondays often included his columns. I wanted Pitts to know that out of all the material I read week in and week out, his writing was invariably the easiest to speak. He wrote back with thanks and noted that his early career included writing for radio—specifically, Casey Kasem’s American Top 40.

I guess my inner ear had sensed something.

WHEN YOU DO THIS READING JOB FOR more than 1,600 Mondays, you repeat certain rituals. Holidays, for instance. A 1968 law moved a few federal holidays to the Monday nearest their actual date, so I’ve had to slog through countless Enquirer blatherings about Presidents Day, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day, etc. Harddate holidays like Christmas sometimes land on Mondays, so I’ve done them all. The Patty Andrews Memorial Day article sticks in my memory because it was truly moving and not just the usual holiday treacle. You can read it at tinyurl.com/ycks5yfp.

Letters to the Editor pretty much stayed the same during the years I read them. Opinions jumped all over the place.

Unfortunately, so did the ability to express a coherent thought. Some letters were well-written and persuasive, even shaking a few of my own certainties. Other times, I silently looked through a letter twice, sighed (What the hell is this person saying? Are these sentences even sentences?)

and then did what I could. My sympathies to every editor who’s had to sift through that mountain of crap.

I should confess, by the way, that I occasionally wrote my own letters to the paper and tried to time my submissions so I might get published on a Monday. It would have made me sound so very cool: Here’s the next letter, and it’s from, well, how about that, it’s from me. Never worked.

There was one small, sad way Letters to the Editor did change. Going back to at least the 1940s, each published letter in The Enquirer used to include the writer’s home address—not a huge community signifier, but not an insignificant one either. Since June 8, 1992, however, Enquirer letters have shown only a writer’s neighborhood. The change was before the advent of Twitter mobs, but we can still guess why it happened.

I liked the reading gig. When I started and was asked if I preferred a part of the paper to read, I chose the Op-Ed page because it had more expressive writing than

other sections. It lined up well with what I already did professionally, and I never got tired of doing it. Nobody at PTP is sure how many volunteers from the 1995 launch are still reading their original assignment, so I’ll claim that I’m the last one, with no evidence. I’ll soon have a new assignment, with no reduction in pay (guaranteed!). I’m glad to do whatever they need next. In time I’ll grow to love it, I’m sure, but as they say you never forget your first.

In case you’re wondering, CABVI’s phone and podcast recordings regularly include articles from Cincinnati Magazine.

That reading job is normally done by other volunteers, but I’ve indulgently gotten permission to voice this one article when it’s published. Of course, you don’t have to go listen to it, because you’ve already read these words. Because you can. But if you want to help those who can’t, please call the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired at (513) 221-8558.

They’ll be happy to hear your voice.

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PERSON OF INTEREST LISA MURTHA

Over the Top

PAM KRAVETZ SPREADS JOY WITH HER COLORFUL WORKS OF ART.

AS CINCINNATIANS GO, MULTIMEDIA ARTIST Pam Kravetz is something of an anomaly.

Most often photographed emerging from a sea of colorful pom-poms (in a bathtub, on a hat, or on her clothes), she’s also one of Cincinnati’s most enthusiastic supporters of local nonprofits and arts and cultural organizations.

When I catch up with her on a Friday night in May, in fact, she’s emceeing an event for Visionaries and Voices (V+V).

It’s impossible not to notice her attire: colorful sequined knee-high boots, a fuchsia tutu, and a giant silk floral arrangement-slash-headpiece. Art is life for Kravetz, and apparel is no exception to that rule.

More evident by the minute, though, is Kravetz’s dedication to a worthy cause.

Each year, she helps raise money for V+V by hosting Double Vision, an auction of artworks created by visual artists with disabilities who participated in V+V classes and programs.

When four of the program’s artists come on stage to speak, Kravetz ducks out for a wardrobe change including a new top hat made from a roll of Bounty paper towels with print art the artists helped design.

Later, when another of the organization’s 3 0 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M A U G U S T 2 0 2 2

PH OTO G R A PH BY D E V Y N G LI S TA

PERSON OF INTEREST artists, Diamond Snowden, joins her on stage to co-emcee, Kravetz is welcoming, supportive, and more than happy to take a back seat so he can shine instead.

The Cincinnati Enquirer called her an “icon” and named her a Woman of the Year in 2017. Former Mayor John Cranley made it official on her 60th birthday last year, when—during a roughly 250-person surprise party at Washington Park—he proclaimed May 21, 2021, Pam Kravetz Day. Later, then-candidate Aftab Pureval jokingly introduced her as “the next Mayor of Cincinnati,” a job she promptly turned down (“If I could be Mayor of Fun, I’d totally do that,” she notes).

She works in multiple media: fabric, marionettes, clay, wood, paint, and more.

What makes Kravetz unique is that she

when her father remarried, but her birth mother, an English teacher, died of ovarian cancer when she was 8 years old. Kravetz was also one of the few Jewish students in the Indian Hill school district when she attended in the 1960s and ’70s, and schoolwork in general did not come naturally to her. Basically, says Kravetz, “I never fit in.”

Instead of feeling sorry for herself, though, “I learned at an early age I need to embrace not fitting in or be really unhappy.” Being sent to the principal’s office for wearing go-go boots in kindergarten?

Check. Illustrating book reports instead of writing them? Check. Making up her own routine as a member of the Indian Hill High School flag corps because she couldn’t remember the rest of the team’s

FOR YEARS NOW, PAM KRAVETZ HAS UNOFFICIALY ASSUMED THE ROLE OF GREATER CINCINNATI’S ARTS AMBASSADOR— OVER-THE-TOP OUTFITS, BIG HEART, AND ALL. and her work—a nearly indescribable concoction of color, joy, sparkle, deep thoughts, performance, soft sculpture, and visual delight—are nearly synonymous. For years now, in fact, Kravetz has unofficially assumed the role of greater Cincinnati’s arts ambassador—over-thetop outfits, big heart, and all.

AT HOME, KRAVETZ IS CASUAL—FOR HER— in black leggings and tutu, a T-shirt and jean jacket, with her hair in pigtails. Her kitchen includes all the standard fare, plus six neatly stacked boxes of clay, several small sculptures drying on the counter, and a retro pink kiddie kitchen off to one side. (“When I saw it I had to have it,” she says of the thrift-shop find.) Her family portrait in the next room, made by a friend, is a sculpture composed of five Ken- and Barbie-type dolls hanging on a wall with each person’s name painted above, in script.

But for all the fun and joy surrounding Kravetz’s world and work today, she had some challenges growing up. She was graced with a loving second mother

choreography? Double check. Luckily, she notes, “my family was incredibly supportive my whole life and I was 100 percent saved by teachers along the way.” They and she alike also realized fairly early on that “art was something I was good at,” says Kravetz.

That advocacy and encouragement, plus a scholarship she won in a high school ceramics competition, helped Kravetz land at the University of Cincinnati, where she studied art and embraced an eclectic array of activities. Not only did she join a sorority, get nominated for “prom or homecoming queen” (she can’t remember which), and serve as the Bearcat mascot for two years, she also won beer chugging contests and fell asleep at least once on the art model’s couch.

She had begun mastering the concept of “fitting in” socially, but in the art world…not so much. While her ’70s art peers were embracing all things deep and dark, Kravetz found herself splashing a pop of pink into almost all her work. It was a sign of things to come.

After graduation, she’d hoped to show

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and sell her work, but “somehow [art dealers] didn’t find me at my parents’ house in Kenwood,” she notes with a smile. So, like many artists, she spent years—13 to be exact— waiting tables at Barleycorn’s.

When friends worried because she’d all but given up on making art, they convinced her to volunteer as a docent for the CAC. It was there, notes Kravetz, that “I fell in love with teaching and learning. I was good at it, and I wasn’t good at a whole lot of other things.”

That volunteer gig led a then-30-yearold Kravetz to put away her “punk-rockphase” attire and apply instead for a fulltime art teaching job with the Southwest Local School District. Though she’d never driven that far west of I-275 before, teaching there was an instant fit. “They let me be me. My paperwork was late, my room was a mess, but I loved teaching and the kids loved me,” says Kravetz, who also spent summers as an ArtWorks project manager.

Over the course of a 30-year career, she gave birth to a son (Max was born in 1994); was named Teacher of the Year (twice) and a Martha Holden Jennings Scholar; helped throw or emcee countless parties and fund-raisers (like the one for V+V); and—in a story worthy of a Hallmark movie—met and married engineer Craig Davis (after reading an article about her, he found a way to be introduced). But for much of that time, her art still took a backseat to her career.

“I always thought art had to change the world,” says Kravetz. But at a Miami University CraftSummer class, she recalls instructor Suzanne Fisher (a local painter and muralist) telling her: “You can be funny, joyful, and happy—that’s a worldview we need to hear.” Armed with that affirmation, Kravetz’s career took off.

The main challenge moving forward, she says, was “re-training [myself] to not be a grownup.”

Until that point, she’d solely been a ceramic artist. But after Fisher’s pep talk, and another CraftSummer class in quilting by artist Susie Shie, Kravetz set out to make one new piece of art per year in different media.

Soon she was entering contests and hosting small shows and her collection

included, among many other things , hand-sewn quilts with written messages, marionettes (which she’d learned to craft on a $5,000 Fund for Teachers study grant in Prague), and soft sculptures, some handmade, some repurposed—all in Kravetz’s signature rainbow of colors. To date, she has shown her work locally at all the arts heavyhitters in town: the Contemporary Arts Center, the Cincinnati Art Museum, 21c Museum Hotel, the Weston Art Gallery, and BLINK (she was also artistic director for the first BLINK parade), among others.

As time went by, Kravetz learned that “collaboration is more fun” than sitting alone in a studio making art, and that “my art doesn’t come to life until people interact with it.” She also began to understand that she’s as much a storyteller as she is an artist. “And the story,” she says, “dictates the medium.”

Those realizations have led to some unique partnerships, like the Bombshells—a group of knitters and crocheters who wear blonde wigs and secretly cover everything from city buses to trees and statues in fiber art (never mind that Kravetz is the only one who can’t knit or crochet; she’s the self-appointed “mastermind”).

She’s also included work from her Harrison High School students in almost every exhibit she’s had to date, she says. “They’ve made a million, gazillion pom poms for me,” as well as dozens of clay pieces and multiple “headdresses.”

One of the more impactful projects she worked on, says Kravetz, was the installation of 200 pieces of her work at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, a place she credits with saving her son’s life. “He had open-heart surgery [there] at six months old,” says Kravetz, “so every piece had an anatomically correct heart in it—my own little ‘Easter egg.’ ” AFTER NEARLY THREE DECADES OF teaching, Kravetz retired from Harrison High School in June 2021 but continues producing prolific amounts of art.

Despite the fun colors and effervescent

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energy behind her work, “I don’t let you out without learning something,” says Kravetz. Case in point: her current multimedia exhibit at the CAC, I Think My Uncle Gershun Was a Golem, which runs through August 28 and tackles the subject of anti-Semitism and her Jewish heritage.

As with much of Kravetz’s work, this project was a friends-and-family affair—named for a deceased uncle and with sound recorded by her son, Max, plus multiple pieces, including a handhooked rug and a Kravetz-made marionette of Queen Esther that viewers can operate via a turn-wheel, created or brought to life by Davis. As always, though, Kravetz was the master designer and artist-in-chief for the vast number of pieces in the show. Also true to Kravetz-form, the exhibit includes some repurposed items from previous shows, including a giant white bunnylike sculpture from BLINK that her mother and friends helped transform by creating hand-sewn, beaded eyes. (Her assistants are “paid entirely in bourbon,” jokes Kravetz.)

There’s always some hesitation Kravetz feels before releasing a big project to the world, she notes one month before the show’s opening. “That’s what people don’t understand about an artist. You’re putting your heart and soul on a wall.”

But given the warm reception her work has received citywide for years, Kravetz is likely worried for nothing.

Besides, once one project is out in the world, she eagerly embraces the next one. And the next.

The morning after the V+V fundraiser, Kravetz was busy overseeing a “street painting” event on Pleasant Street in Over-the-Rhine; she painted colorful templates—flowers, fruit, feathers and more—on the pavement and people came later to help fill them in with more paint. Looking at the pictures of smiling kids, young adults and parents holding red Solo cups of liquid color, it becomes clear once again that Pam Kravetz’s life and work are about bringing people together—“Art,” she notes, “as the great connector.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

JEREMY KRAMER

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r—or a c e h t p u Pack d hit n a — V R e th ime t s ’ t I . d a the ro the r e v o c s i d e to r ping. m a c f o y o j

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A CIND E RE L L A ( CAMPIN G) STO R Y How our family of nine saw the country from an old pop-up camper.

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n the summer of 1978, a volunteer pumpkin began growing in our Ft. Wright backyard, slowly transforming from a tiny thing with green stripes to a fat orange gourd we picked in September. My dad put it in the garage and started saying,“I think this pumpkin is going to turn into a van.”

I was sure Cinderella magic had happened when a blue and white Chevy van (below right) appeared in the driveway the next January. But it was refinancing, not a fairy godmother, that allowed my parents to buy the vehicle that would change our lives. It gave us both space— two huge bench seats!—and the means to tow the old pop-up camper my aunt was getting rid of.

Vacations were rarely part of the budget for our family of nine, but it seems we had found a loophole. We would become campers.

We took a test run in the fall of 1979 to General Butler State Park. Even though my two adult brothers didn’t go, there still weren’t enough beds. The solution was to put the youngest—4-yearold me—in a lounge chair, squeezed right in front of the door. It was one of those old-school chairs, with thick green and white webbing and sliding arms that easily pinched you.

If I was suspicious of this terrible idea, I don’t remember. But I do know that when we returned to General Butler the next summer, we had a tent for the overflow and more gear, including a Coleman stove and lantern, plastic camp dishes, and camp stools. We also knew to bring toilet paper, soap, and flip-flops for the bath house.

We hiked in the morning, swam in the lake in the afternoon, and had a campfire at night under a sky crawling

BY JUDI KETTELER

JOIN THE RV RE VO LU T IO N

Tips for finding the right vehicle for your family’s big adventure. — S A M R O S E N S T I E L Recreational vehicle sales soared during the pandemic, and that inclination continues to grow. A November survey from the RV Industry Association reports 72 million Americans plan to take a trip in a motorhome this year. Ready to grab the keys, but unsure how to start your buying journey?

Pamela Kay of the Family Motor Coach Association shares some tips for prospective buyers.

Which type of RV is right for me? There are many kinds, but two main categories are self-contained motorized

RVs (or motorhomes) and towable RVs, which require a vehicle with the necessary weight ratings for towing. As with any big purchase, Kay says you’ll need to do your homework before choosing the vehicle type and floor plan that works best for your family. Consider how often you’ll use the RV and where you’re likely to stay.

Should I buy new or used?

An RV is a depreciating asset, so like other automobiles, it loses value as soon as you drive it off the lot. “That hasn’t necessarily been the case recently,

with stars. At last, we weren’t just a large family, but a family at-large. It was the start of everything wonderful that camping would become: Wet bathing suits drying on the line; the smell of canvas and outdoor cooking; games with my sisters on the drive, our dad yelling at us to stop giggling, while my mom spread maps on her lap, charting our course. It was being with the people I loved most in the world, in situations that were not like the ordinary, in places where there was everything to discover.

We towed that pop-up with the temperamental crank all over the state of Kentucky, from Natural Bridge to Lake Barkley. We went farther afield, too, going to places like Myrtle Beach and Washington, D.C., where we camped at beautiful Shenandoah National Park.

One year, we went all the way to Cor-

though, because demand for RVs has increased the prices preowned vehicles command,” Kay says, adding that it’s possible to find used RVs for any budget.

pus Christi, Texas, to visit my cousins. We camped in their driveway for a few days—what a sight that must have been!—before setting up on the beach at South Padre Island.

Eventually, my sisters outgrew camping, getting jobs or getting married. Soon my brother was too cool to go. By the late 1980s, it was just me, sometimes bringing a friend. We went to gorgeous places like Niagara Falls in New York, Acadia National Park in Maine, and McLain State Park in Northern Michigan, where I swam in freezing Lake Superior. Then I grew out of it, too, because while a camper can take you anywhere, time only moves in one direction.

But I’ll never forget that piece of pumpkin magic that dropped into our lives one summer and opened up the world.

What about rentals? Kay says dipping your toes in with a rental can help you figure out if the RV life is for you and what type might suit your needs.

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TIP #1

save money on gear REI (a national chain) in Norwood offers special members-only discounts on everything from tents to hiking boots. The best part?

Lifetime membership is only a one-time $30 fee, so it practically pays for itself.

F A M I LY P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y J U D I K E T T E L E R / I L L U S T R A T I O N B Y C A R L I E B U R T O N

PL AN T HE P E RFECT C A MPING TRIP

4 PACK YOUR TOOLS Fire starters: Particularly if it has just

Does sleeping under the stars and roughing it a bit sound sort of fun?

Follow this guide and you’ll have what you need for a great first camping trip. All we ask is that you bring an open mind. Camping usually serves up some curveballs but can be so worth the effort. — C A R R I E B L A C K M O R E S M I T H

rained. Dryer lint and old newspaper work great. Fritos, as a matter of fact, serve as good fire starters, or you can buy fire starter logs. Don’t forget matches or a lighter. Pocket knife/ multitool: You’d be surprised how many times you’ll reach for it. Practice opening it and always be careful handling a sharp blade. Lantern: It’s nice to illuminate a part of camp or take it into the tent. Batteries: For whatever battery-operated things you’re bringing.

1 MAKE A BASIC PL AN Let’s start easy. Choose a site that’s close to home. There are many stateand county-run parks in our region. If you want fewer people camping around you, go during the week. Pick your dates and make a reservation.

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GRAB T HE ESSEN TIALS Remember, we need three things to survive. Water: Campgrounds normally provide potable water, but if you decide to go to a dispersed or backcountry site, you may need to carry in enough or bring a water filter. Food: Stores like REI in Norwood and Benchmark in Blue Ash sell prepackaged camping meals that only require adding water and heating over the fire or grill. Bring along some trail mix, fruit, beef jerky, etc., and you’ll eat just fine. Shelter: If you don’t own a tent, borrow one for your first trip. Bring a sleeping bag or bedding and a pillow. Unless you want to sleep on the hard ground, you’ll want to bring a sleeping pad, blow-up mattress or cot.

3 PREPARE FOR T HE UNEXPEC T ED Don’t forget a flashlight or headlamp, bug spray, whatever you need to cook your food, a cooler, and some sort of chair. Watch the weather. A tarp and some rope make a quick shelter and a rain jacket or poncho will protect you.

Bring clothes for colder weather than you might expect and wear close-toed, comfortable shoes.

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STOCK UP ON CREAT URE COMFORT S Spoil yourself a little. Bring a bar of your favorite chocolate or another favorite snack. Pack that book you’ve been reading, a deck of cards, a journal, or sketch book.

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LEAVE A GOOD IMPRESSION Always follow Leave No Trace principles, which include disposing of all waste properly, leaving what you find, respecting wildlife, and minimizing your campfire impacts.

Never leave a fire unattended! Buy and use local firewood. For more information, visit leavenotrace.org.

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S UIT U P

Experts from Milford camping outfit Roads Rivers and Trails dish on the best gear for your summer campout.

—LAUREN FISHER 1. Rab Solar Eco 4 sleeping bag, regular $195 2. Coleman OneSource 1000 Lumen Flashlight $79.99 3. Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 lantern $69.95 4. Benchmade Bugout 535 knife $160 5. 3 Moms Organics TickWise 8 oz. $16.99 6. Yeti dry goods basket (comes with cooler) 7. Helinox Chair Zero in Gray $129.95 8. Nomadix Festival Blanket in Stripes Retro $69.95 9. Eno DoubleNest Hammock in Navy/Seafoam $74.95 10. MiiR Camp Cup 12 oz. in Honey Yellow $24.95 11. Stasher Snack Bag in Raspberry $9.99 12. Stasher Sandwich Bag in Teal and Green $12.99 13. Rab Tensor 15 backpack in Storm Green $60 14. Kelty Tallboy 4 tent $149.95 15. Jetboil 10" Fry Pan $44.95 16. Salewa W Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX in Duck Green/Rhododendron $199.95 17. Yeti Tundra 65 in Navy $325

GOURMET GONE WILD

the number of tools you’ll need on the trail or in your cabin, but it also helps prevent temperaturesensitive ingredients f ro m s p o i l i n g e n route. You’ll still need a cooler, of course, but vacuum-sealing and pre-cooking do a lot for food safety on a camping trip.

BY M. LEIGH HOOD The second key is equipment. Banou don’t need to be an expert ish the thought of awkward tripods and to cook more than hot dogs and dangling cauldrons. To make gourmetmarshmallows over an open inspired cuisine over a fire, you only need the basics. A cast iron pan delivers fire—and you probably need much less versatility with the durability you need gear than you may imagine. Although to cook right on the coals, and although he’s an expert, Jared Bennett, executive chef at Royce (opening later this year), has it isn’t the lightest thing to carry, it’s beginner-friendly recipes and advice for worth the weight if you plan to make hikers and campers looking for more than camp for a couple of days. You’ll also trail mix after a long day of adventuring. need long, fire-proof tongs (no rubberOne of Bennett’s go-to recipes is cast ized grips that could melt) for cooking iron pork steak, cooked over an open directly on the coals, along with fireresistant pot-holders. Cast iron gets hot. flame. “I like to cook pork this way for With the work done in advance, the trips,” he says. “The pork is so tender hardest part of dinner time should be that a knife is not needed to slice into [it]. You can also shred the pork if that’s building the fire.

“After a day of hiking, it’s great to more your style.”

The first key to Bennett’s recipe is have these in the cooler or fridge to pull prep, and it’s best done long before you out and cook for a quick dinner,” Benleave home. Not only does this limit nett says.

Master the art of the campfire cooking with these tips.

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CA ST IR O N PORK ST E A KS Ingredients • 1–2 portions of sous vide pork shoulder (recipe on cincinnatimagazine.com) • 2 garlic cloves • 1 sprig rosemary • 1 sprig thyme • 3 Tbsp. butter • 1 cast iron skillet

Directions 1. Place your cast iron skillet on the campfire coals. Wait for the pan to reach mediumhigh heat.

2. Place your pork shoulder steak on the skillet and sear on one side until a dark, golden-brown crust forms.

Adjust skillet on the fire if needed.

3. Flip the steak and add garlic, rosemary, and thyme, basting pork with butter.

4. Cook until golden brown.

C A MP W I T H O UT A T R AC E

Don’t be the campsite litterbug.

Follow the six principles of Leave No Trace for a more sustainable future—and a cleaner campground.

B Y J A C LY N Y O U H A N A G A R V E R Eric Grothaus can rattle off a list of the detritus he’s found when he camps. Some of it is ubiquitous. Some of it is just plain weird.

“We’ve found car parts,” he says. “A couple weeks ago, we found someone’s retainer. Then, more commonly, Natty Lite cans. Fireball seems to be popular with people who like to litter.”

Grothaus, of Loveland, is an avid camper, favoring spots like Red River Gorge, and hikes near Nisbet Park, where people are decidedly not good at leaving no trace.

He doesn’t use that phrasing by accident: Grothaus is referencing Leave No Trace, a set of national guidelines put out by the eponymous organization, whose mission is “to ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet.”

The website further breaks down each guideline, which are available at lnt.org, and the rules are basic: • Plan ahead and prepare.

• Travel and camp on durable surfaces.

• Dispose of waste properly.

• Leave what you find.

• Minimize campfire impacts.

• Respect wildlife.

• Be considerate of other visitors.

Leave No Trace is important because, simply, these are wild spaces.

“I go to nature, [and] I don’t want to see these things when I go there,” Grothaus says. “You just don’t want to leave

a solid mark that is a scar on the landscape for your recreational activity.”

Campers should think about their camping philosophy: “If you keep the mindset that you’re there to be immersed in nature versus being outside and dragging as many comforts with you, it puts you in the mindset not to leave so much of mark behind.”

Instead of a 12-pack of Natural Light, for example, Grothaus suggests a flask.

“I suspect people TIP #2 doing that are not [camping to] escape into nature but to esMake reservations in adcape from society,” vance and consider visiting he says. “It seems like during the week to avoid the biggest crowds. Most they’d be the same campsites in the tri-state will thing, but it’s a differaccept reservations months ent mindset.” in advance!

beat the crowds

RECIPE ILLUSTRATION BY CARLIE BURTON

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CAMP I N G WIT H KI D S 1 0 1

Planning an enjoyable camping trip with kids in tow is possible.

It just takes a little prep work and an open mind.

W

hen I first started packing for a camping trip with four sons under age 7 (below), to leave for 48 hours total, it took five days. There were meals to plan, multiple changes of clothes and contingencies for each based on weather, and four sets of rain boots, creeking sandals, various sizes of diapers, and endless other items. It felt like work upon work, just to work some more at the campsite.

Then, I watched as I finally landed in a lawn chair a few hours after setting up our camper—the oldest started teaching the toddler how to ride a bike with his legs sticking out, just because. My iPad-obsessed 5-year-old started catching and examining bugs with his microscope. It all became worth it.

From there, five years later, the packing process has been streamlined down to a simple process and the benefits far

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BY ALEXANDRA FROST outweigh the workload. We’ve learned a few lessons along the way, but each camping trip comes with a few more.

Here’s what parents need to know before they embark on a camping adventure with their kids.

Figure out what you need, then double it.

At home, on an average weekend, my kids would go through a gallon of milk, two full changes of clothes, and probably lose a baseball in the gutter. Something about moving everything to the great outdoors makes for thirstier, messier, more forgetful kids. Now, I’m literally packing double what I used to think they’d need. Then, when the 1-yearold who hasn’t yet figured out walking wants to crawl around the campsite in any conditions, I just change him, throw the muddy stuff in a bag for washing

later, and move on. This means that a two-day trip necessitates four pairs of pants, four shorts, four socks, times four kids. Some major laundry happens when we’re back.

Prepare for the big questions.

Trail walks and starry nights bring out the inspiration for kids as much as they do for adults. Get ready for the big conversations to happen—“How do peoplemoms lay eggs?”—as we pass a bird’s nest near the camp store. “Why don’t stars fall to the ground?” during campfires and smores. And the most classic to date,

TIP #3

securee you secur yourr oasis If you’re camping at a site without potable water, the rule of thumb is to pack two gallons of water per person per day of camping. Don’t feel like lugging around plastic jugs? There are plenty of options out there for easy water purification.

“Why can’t we just live in the camper forever?” will all keep any parent on their toes between grilling burgers and bandaging skinned knees. But those conversations are a product of the different environment, and offer a welcome opportunity for connecting with and learning about nature.

Involve them in the workload.

Camping is no easy feat, and part of the learning happens when tent-camping kids realize they have to walk a quarter-mile to wash a dish, or to actually build a fire even if it just rained. Our first inclination was to do the work for them so they could have an enjoyable time, but it became quickly obvious that not only is that unsustainable, but that the best lessons are in sometimes tedious or job-like tasks, such as taking care of your campsite, as you’d take care of the Earth.

Asking kids questions like, “Well, what should we pack for our hike in the woods?” inspires their creativity and involves them in the process, and that buyin creates serious interest in the activity.

It also makes it totally not my fault when they brought the wrong mid-hike snack .

Stay close and don’t be above Friday takeout.

When you finish up a long Friday workday just to begin packing up to camp for only two days, some things have to fall below the line. So, to make quick camping trips sustainable, we’ve developed two rules—stay within a two-hour radius for two-day trips, and Friday takeout. Yes, that means on Friday we roll into a new campground with our favorite Thai food or a pile of Chick-fil-A nuggets rather than trying to watch four kids in a new setting, get the camper set up, and make bunk beds with hungry kids.

These hacks make parenting and camping much more enjoyable, and hopefully are becoming traditions our kids will want to continue well into their teens, and maybe with their own kids one day.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY (FROM LEFT) ALEXANDRA FROST / LAURA JONES / JEREMY KRAMER / GRACE SAUNDERS

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1. The RV Oasis: When it comes to local RV camping, it

2. The Fisherman’s Paradise: The lake is the main at-

doesn’t get much better than Winton Woods. The park, located just 20 miles north of downtown, features 25 back-in sites and 12 pull-through sites with full water, sewer, and electric hookup for a maximum-comfort experience. Once you’ve staked your claim at the campground, head out for an actionpacked weekend at the Adventure Outpost, which offers everything from water sports and archery to outdoor skills classes. 10245 Winton Rd., Greenhills

traction at Stonelick State Park, a Clermont County mainstay located just a few miles outside Goshen. Families go for the 500-foot public beach and campgrounds, but local anglers know it’s just as good a spot for fishing. Largemouth bass, catfish, and bullheads are just a few of the catches reported at the park, which allows fishing both by boat and on the pier.

895 Lake Dr., Pleasant Plain

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C I NC I N N ATI 4

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3. Best Family Fun: Whether you’re looking to introduce the kids to camping or searching for a fun-filled weekend a short drive away from the city, Big Bone Lick State Historic Site is one of Northern Kentucky’s best-kept secrets. Start your day with a walk around the lake and cool off at the museum, which features an outdoor diorama depicting models of some of the park’s prehistoric inhabitants. Don’t forget to pay a visit to the bison herd to get up close and personal with the largest of all North American land mammals. 3380 Beaver Rd., Union

4. Perfect for First Timers: Accessible, comfortable, and in easy reach of the eastern suburbs, East Fork State Park is a great option for anyone looking to dip their toes into camping. Amenities at the campground—including showers, drinking water, and flushable toilets—are plentiful, and there’s more than enough to keep you busy. Go for a swim at the lake’s 1,200-foot beach, rent a boat, and take advantage of the park’s miles and miles of hiking trails. That wasn’t so bad, was it? 3294 Elklick Rd., Bethel

HI T THE R OA D

Got a free weekend? Then you’ve got time to plan a camping trip to one of these favorite local spots.

—LAUREN FISHER

5. For the Cabin Camper: Get ready to drive, but

5

know that the destination is well worth the journey.

Cincinnatians flock to Hocking Hills State Park for a reason—because when it comes to cabin camping within a 150-mile radius, there’s really no other option that can measure up. You’ll find hundreds of rentals available online, ranging from the primitive to the absurdly luxurious. But book fast—these cabins book quickly when fall colors begin their approach. 19852 State Rt. 664, Logan

6. The Primitive Camper: Less than two hours

outside town, just east of West Union, Shawnee State Forest is one of only a handful of sites in Ohio to allow primitive camping. With 8,000 acres of designated wilderness area to explore, you’ll find that peace and quiet abound in “Ohio’s Little Smokies.”

Just make sure you secure a permit through the state’s Department of Natural Resources before you set out. 4404 State Rt. 125, West Portsmouth

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6 TIP #4

pitch at a clearing Accidents happen, even on days with good weather.

When it comes to pitching your tent, it’s always wise to pick a spot out in the open instead of beneath trees.

Unexpected high winds, lightning strikes, and falling branches can spell disaster for you and your crew.

GLAMP - O UT

How to make “roughing it” a little less rough. B Y

A

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quick Instagram search for #glamping will reveal why “glamorous camping” has become such a buzzy trend in recent years.

Sun-drenched vistas. Dreamy sleeping nooks. Cozy campfires. And so many string lights. Who wouldn’t want such a lovely alternative to the sweaty sleepingbag experiences of our camping youth?

“The glamping movement has gotten huge, especially since COVID,” says Kelly Emilianowicz, co-owner of The Pop-Up BnB, a Cincinnati-based, fullservice glamping company that hosts experiences from Texas to Maine.

When she and her husband launched their business in 2017, they were among just a few such companies in the country. Now, she estimates, there are roughly 10 nationwide. “COVID kept everybody home and not going on vacations. That’s when we started backyard setups,” she adds.

So, what exactly qualifies as glamping? Let’s start with aesthetics. A quintessential “glamp-out” often takes place in a spacious, boho-chic canvas tent with pitched ceilings and sturdy sides.

Decor makes the space feel like home: bistro lighting, side tables, a bench, and maybe even a rug or two. Through The Pop-Up BnB, there are also rentable add-ons to enhance the desired mood.

Corporate event? Rent a movie projector.

Couples’ getaway? Add games. Family adventure? Try the pizza oven.

Now, let’s talk comfort. Mattresses (a.k.a. “airbeds”) are a must for any glamping experience, as are real sheets and beautiful bedding (so long, sleeping bags!). Tent floors are often propped on a platform or, at very least, are more weather-proof than typical nylon tents.

The Pop-Up BnB will also set up and tear down the campsite, and a VIP upgrade grants bona-fide bedframes and memory-foam mattresses.

It should be noted, however, that

while glamping is lovely and totally Instaworthy, it is still…well, camping. It’s still outdoors. There are still bugs and elements and likely a less-than-ideal bathroom situation.“One of the things that is always underestimated [about glamping] is the heat,” Emilianowicz says.

Nevertheless, adding a few glamping elements to your next outdoor overnight might make the great outdoors feel a little greater.

ELIZABETH MILLER WOOD TIP #5

considerr a tec conside techh ba bann Or at least put down the phone for a bit. Remember, you’re out here to get away from the stressors of everyday life. If you really want to rough it for a few nights, bring along a lockbox for electronics.

YOUR [FOOLPROOF] PACKING L IST

Don’t get caught without the basics on your next camping trip.

The Essentials

Tent Sleeping bags Backpack Tarp (for rain, cold, etc.)

Lantern and/or flashlights Extra batteries Camp chair Cooler Multi-tool pocketknife Sun protection (sunscreen, hat, etc.)

Trail map/navigation device (more than just a phone)

Campground Cooking

Firestarter (matches, lighter, etc.)

Camp stove or cooking grate Fuel Frying pan Utensils (for both cooking and eating) Plates and bowls Mugs and cups Bottle/can opener Biodegradable soap Trash and recycling bags Bins to store cooking gear

Hygiene

Travel-size toiletries (bonus points if they’re biodegradable) Toilet Paper No-rinse bathing wipes First aid kit Medications Quick-dry towels

Creature Comforts

Bug repellant Camping pillow Sleeping pad Earplugs Portable coffee/tea maker Hammock Books/reading materials

Clothing

Daytime clothes Night clothes/pajamas Underwear Socks Shoes (hiking and casual) Sunglasses

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REDUCED TO RUBBLE Photographer Sasha Maslov ’s grandmother once lived in this building in the Saltivka neighborhood of Kharkiv.

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When

WAR Hits HOME The Sister City Partnership started sending aid to Cincinnati’s friends in Kharkiv as soon as Russia invaded Ukraine. Now they wait, worry, and work to maintain as much connection as possible.

By John Stowell Photographs by Sasha Maslov

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Polina Tymoshenko has almost grown accustomed to the roar coming out of the north.

Sometimes it sounds like a hungry stomach, she says, or a distant growling rumble like an approaching storm. But too often it’s like tonight.

A cacophony of bone-jarring lethality roused Tymoshenko out of a fitful slumber. She, her husband, and six refugees she’d recently taken in bolted to their safe room as blinding flashes of white flame cancelled out the star-filled sky. They huddled be-

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hind two thick protective walls, unable to do anything but wait and pray.

Fortune would either be with them, or they’d die in their night clothes.

This is life in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Cincinnati’s sister city. I hear about the situation first-hand in a Zoom call in late May with Tymoshenko and Volodymyr Bulba, just hours after the latest shelling. “All our lives here in Kharkiv can be divided before and after February 24,” says Bulba, a college professor with a resonant but soothing voice. “That date is when a new life began.”

February 24 will forever be Ukraine’s Day of Infamy, when Russian soldiers poured over the border in a brutal attempt to subjugate their neighbor and wipe out its emerging democracy. “Oh, yes,” says Tymoshenko. “That day everything fell apart.

We lost our spiritual and our physical balance. Nothing is the same.”

It’s been 20 years since Tymoshenko and Bulba walked the streets of Cincinnati. They visited our neighborhoods and suburbs, spent hours in our schools, admired our architecture, and enjoyed ice cream on Fountain Square. They were among several groups of Kharkivites who have visited the Queen City over the years since the sister city relationship was formed in 1989, and they remember the trip fondly, vividly recalling that their visit came as the United States was dealing with the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. They were here for only three weeks, but the friends here they made remain friends—and they’re now part of The Cause.

Bob Herring had felt the ten-

PHOTOGRAPHS (BULBA) BY OLGA FEDCHENKO / COURTESY POLINA TYMOSHENKO / (BASEBALL) BY BOB HERRING

FRIENDS IN NEED ÅåêßåêêÝðåĊï ïåïðáî ßåðõ ëâ ÍäÝîçåò åï åê ïäÝéÞèáï Þñð äëìá ìáîïåïðï Ýéëêã ðäá àáïðîñßðåëê ÒëèåêÝ Öõéëïäáêçë opposite page, bottom àáèåòáîï äëñïáäëèà åðáéï ìñîßäÝïáà óåðä ÅåêßåêêÝðå àëêÝðåëêï óäåèá Øëèëàõéõî ÄñèÞÝ far left éÝêÝãáï Ýåà òëèñêðááîï Ýêà ïðÝõï åê ðëñßä óåðä äåï ßëêðÝßðï åê ðäá × Õ

sion in the weeks leading up to the invasion. The former principal of Nativity School in Pleasant Ridge has been to Kharkiv five times and currently serves as president of the Cincinnati-Kharkiv Sister Cities Partnership. He has friends there, or he did. Some have fled, while some doggedly remain and help keep the city running. Some, he acknowledges with a shudder, he can’t say.

“I’m still in touch with my friend Tamara,” says Susan Neaman, the organization’s vice president. She speaks with a hesitant cadence that reflects her concern. “She’s still in Kharkiv, and what she says I have great trouble with.”

Tamara, who is in her 70s, sounds like all our grandmothers. Everything is fine. Don’t worry about me. The shops are open. We have food and water and electricity. We are safe. Neaman suspects Tamara, whom she hosted when Tamara visited Cincinnati, is shielding her from the truth.

“We don’t know if our conversations are being monitored, but I do know Tamara lives in a tiny Sovietstyle apartment building in Kharkiv, and I mean tiny,” says Neaman. The Russians have either targeted civilian housing or simply fire off missiles randomly that have hit and destroyed hundreds of apartments.

Neaman wonders if one of those apartment buildings is Tamara’s.

“It’s like you are watching a horror movie,” Tymoshenko says on our Zoom call. “It’s impossible to imagine that all these horrors are happening to your city.” She has a jolly laugh and answers my questions at length through a translator. There’s no question she would be the life of any party, but war has hardened her resolve and exposed a defiant trait

that keeps her focused.

Tymoshenko puts her 20 years of experience as a social worker into practice every day in Kharkiv.

She darts from one bombed-out neighborhood to another delivering medical supplies, helping homeless families resettle or evacuate, and dispensing a sort of psychological triage to hundreds of anguished residents. She says she’ll carry stories of individual tragedies forever. Adding to her burden is constant concern for her son, who enlisted in the Ukrainian Army immediately after the invasion.

O n t h e C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 0 8

HELP KHARKIV REBUILD If you would like to contribute to the relief áĞëîðï ëâ ÅåêßåêêÝðåĊï ïåïðáî ßåðõ ğêà éëîá åêâëîéÝðåëê Ýð ßåêßõ çäÝîçåò ëîã

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 5 3

WIN, LOSE,

DRAW OHIO REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SUBMITTED UNCONSTITUTIONAL ELECTION MAPS FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES IN ORDER TO RUN OUT THE CLOCK ON FAIR REDISTRICTING, AND THEY PREVAILED. A SECOND PRIMARY ON AUGUST 2 WILL NOW COST TAXPAYERS $20 MILLION.

BY JIM DEBROSSE ILLUSTRATION BY DAVIDE BONAZZI 54

HAT IF THEY HELD AN ELECTION AND NO ONE SHOWED UP? THAT MAY BE CLOSE TO THE OUTCOME OF OHIO’S UNPRECEDENTED SECOND PRIMARY ON AUGUST 2, WARNS REPUBLICAN STATE REP. BILL SEITZ, WHOSE SAFELY GERRYMANDERED DISTRICT IN CONSERVATIVE WESTERN HAMILTON COUNTY LOOKS LIKE A GIANT PAC-MAN ABOUT TO DEVOUR ENGLISH WOODS.

IN ADDITION TO THE $20 MILLION IN taxpayer money being spent for the added primary, Seitz wanted another $1 million for vote-by-mail request forms to be sent to all registered voters across the state.

Without it, he told his fellow legislators in early June, voter turnout during one of Ohio’s most popular vacation periods will be pathetic. “My friends, you are looking at a primary in which you will be lucky to get 2 to 5 percent of the voters coming out.”

For their unwillingness to spend the extra dollars to boost turnout, Seitz had nothing but scorn.

His outrage is hard to justify given that the August primary’s price tag was a direct result of his own party’s delays in adopting a new state legislative map. Or that the new maps approved for both Congressional and General Assembly seats by Ohio’s GOP-dominated redistricting commission were found to be unconstitutionally partisan by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Or, perhaps most egregious of all, that the new GOP-imposed maps defy 2015 and 2018 anti-gerrymandering amendments approved by more than 70 percent of Ohio voters.

Despite redistricting reforms that were decades in the making, Ohio Republicans once again succeeded in drawing the legislative maps to their advantage, thanks to months of strategic delays and bad faith negotiations and a timely assist by two Trump-appointed federal judges that enabled the tactics to work.

“We win again,” Seitz replied to a Tweet decrying the federal court ruling posted

by David Pepper, former head of the Ohio Democratic Party and his favorite political sparring partner. Seitz went on: “Now I know it’s been a tough night for all you libs. Pour yourself a glass of warm milk and you will sleep better. The game is over and you lost.”

TO MOST OHIOANS, FAIR ELECTIONS ARE more than a game, a fact those tasked with redrawing the state’s legislative districts seemed to recognize early in the process.

Back in March, the Ohio Redistricting Commission—state House and Senate leaders from both parties, plus Gov. Mike

day, the commission was just hours away from finalizing a map in line with the bipartisan fairness embodied in Ohio’s 2015 constitutional amendment. It had created the seven-person commission as a way to replace the previous system of having state legislators draw maps every 10 years that carved Ohio into a hellish jigsaw puzzle to keep the majority party in power for the next decade, often by slicing through counties, cities, and sometimes even neighborhoods to guarantee safe seats for the party in power.

Fair election activists, some of whom had fought for decades to end Ohio’s increasingly odious gerrymandered representation, were encouraged. The first

“TOO BAD SO SAD. WE WIN AGAIN,” TWEETED STATE REP. BILL SEITZ AFTER REPUBLICANS GOT ELECTION MAPS APPROVED IN JUNE. “THE GAME IS OVER AND [DEMOCRATS] LOST.” DeWine, Auditor Keith Faber, and Secretary of State Frank LaRose—met for six consecutive days with independent experts to discuss maps that could be approved by the Ohio Supreme Court. The commission’s five Republicans and two Democrats appeared to be focused on compromise, and the process was livestreamed to the public in the name of transparency.

By the end of the meeting on the sixth 56

drafts of Congressional and General Assembly maps had already been struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court as unconstitutional at that point, but the hope was that Republicans were finally absorbing the will of the voters. Could it mean an end to GOP secret meetings with their own data experts? An end to the GOP maps presented to the commission’s Democratic minority as a last-minute fait accompli,

MAPS COURTESY OHIO REDISTRICTING COMMISSION

then rubber stamped with little discussion by the GOP majority in Columbus?

On March 28, the last day of the court’s deadline for a new map, the charade ended.

The Republicans showed up at the commission meeting with a third revised state legislative map not much different from their second revision, again to be shoved down the Democratic members’ throats. In throwing out this map as well in an April 14 ruling, a 4–3 majority of the Ohio Supreme Court found “intent of partisan favoritism from the timeline that led to the commission’s decision to scrap the work of the independent map drawers in favor of a plan that included minimal changes to one already invalidated as unconstitutional.”

As final authority over the redistricting maps under the new reforms, the court ordered the commission to come up with an entirely new plan to meet constitutional requirements, setting a new deadline of May 6. Unfortunately, those same reforms didn’t allow the court to draw the maps if the commission failed again.

The ping-pong match of filings between commission and court began anew for the fifth time. The day of the April 14 ruling, the commission’s two Democratic members, Sen. Vernon Sykes (Akron) and House Minority Leader Allison Russo (Upper Arlington), began sending a series of letters to the group’s other members asking to reconvene with the independent mapmakers. Getting no response from their col- C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 1 0

SOLIDLY DEMOCRATIC

TOSS-UP

SOLIDLY REPUBLICAN

COLORS INDICATE DISTRICT AREAS, NOT COMPETITIVENESS OR PARTY AFFILIATION

NO FAIR! REPUBLICAN LEADERS, WHO HELD A 5–2 ADVANTAGE OVER DEMOCRATS ON THE OHIO REDISTRICTING COMMISSION, PUSHED THROUGH A CONGRESSIONAL MAP (TOP) THAT GIVES REPUBLICANS CONTROL OF 11 OF THE STATE’S 15 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS (73 PERCENT) WITH JUST 54 PERCENT OF THE STATEWIDE VOTE. DEMOCRATS WERE NEVER ABLE TO GET THEIR GOP COLLEAGUES TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER FAIR DISTRICT MAPS (ABOVE) THAT COULD PRODUCE MORE COMPETITIVE RACES.

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Q&A WITH BLAIR HENLEY DRESS LIKE A PRO GROWING UP W&SO NEW FAN EXPERIENCE ZONE PLAYERS TO WATCH PHOTOS OF TOURNAMENTS' PAST

BY THE NUMBERS

PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF HOUCHIN

BLAIR HENLEY

Tennis Talk BLAIR HENLEY HOPES TO BOTH INFORM AND ENTERTAIN FANS AT THE TOURNAMENT’S “COURTYARD CONVERSATIONS” SESSIONS. — N A T H A N G R A N G E R

S

ports journalist Blair Henley discusses how her background has informed her work and what she hopes to accomplish for this year’s “Courtyard Conservations” at Western & Southern Open.

WHAT ARE “COURTYARD CONVERSATIONS”? One of the components of the Grand Courtyard is a stage perfect for getting to know some special guests. “Courtyard Conversations” will provide plenty of opportunities for fans to hear directly from the stars of the show. That space will also allow us to bring in other tennis personalities of note, who can provide one-of-a-kind tennis insight.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC “UNSUNG HEROES” YOU’RE HOPING TO HIGHLIGHT? There’s a lengthy list of people, from legends to coaches to physios to sports psychologists to nutritionists, who can share expertise on some of the less-discussed aspects of the game. And we couldn’t talk about unsung heroes without mentioning the tournament’s amazing army of 1,300 volunteers. Some of them have been with us for decades, and I have no doubt they have some fascinating tournament stories to tell.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE “COURTYARD CONVERSATIONS” WILL HELP DRAW IN NEW FANS? American star Reilly Opelka walked through our gates as an up-

and-coming junior in 2008. He managed to get his giant tennis ball signed by none other than Novak Djokovic, a gesture he has said was far more important in fostering his love for the game than watching the tennis itself. It’s not an exaggeration to say that player interactions can create fans for life, and that is part of what we hope to do with “Courtyard Conversations.”

FINALLY, IF THERE’S A MESSAGE YOU’D DELIVER TO THE FANS TO

GET THEM EXCITED FOR THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE? We will certainly have plenty of new things to see and do around the grounds with the Grand Courtyard topping that list. But most importantly, we are one more year removed from the worst of the pandemic. While we are still proceeding with caution, there is an excitement and thankfulness in enjoying the same fun, exciting, familiar feel that fans at the Western & Southern Open have come to know and love.

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Fans can download the Western & Southern Open mobile app via the App Store or Google Play to access their tickets.

GET IN THE GAME When you're not in the stands, the scores, schedules, and draws are right at your fingertips in the app.

NO TENNIS? NO PROBLEM! Use the app to find out about all of the activities in the Grand Courtyard, W&SO's new fan experience zone.

Stay Connected Get up-to-date info on the Western & Southern Open all year on social media. facebook.com/cincytennis

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2022 WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN 69

Growing Up W&SO CINCINNATIANS CATY MCNALLY AND J.J. WOLF COMPETE FOR THE HOMETOWN CROWD AT THE WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN. — A L L I S O N

CATY McNALLY

T

he Western & Southern Open is among the nation’s largest tennis championships, so Cincinnatians are able to watch some of the best and brightest tennis stars compete annually.

This year, players Caty McNally and J.J. Wolf will have the home court advantage as they compete in the very tournament they grew up watching in their hometown.

McNally, who went pro in 2019, travels internationally to compete on the world tennis stage, but she still calls Cincinnati home. “Madeira is a pretty special place to me,” she says.

“Once I’m on the road for so long, nothing feels better than going back there.”

She continues to train at the tennis club where she first found her love for tennis, The Club at Harper’s Point, with her mom, Lynn Nabors McNally, as her coach.

“I just fell in love with the game there,” McNally notes.

“Whenever I was at the club, I was always trying to find time to hit on the wall or ask someone if they would go out on the court with me and play

with me.”

Wolf’s journey was a little different. “I just started playing [tennis] on vacation as a family activity,” says the Loveland native. “Getting to play against my sister really got me excited in the sport.”

After a successful threeyear collegiate tennis career at The Ohio State University, where he finished his junior year with a 35-2 singles record, Wolf turned pro in 2019. He’s currently coached

by David Kass and Patrick Thompson.

With the Western & Southern Open practically in their backyards, both players attended the tournament when they were young.

“It was really big for me to see up close the level of the pros competing in the event,” Wolf says.

“It allowed me to get a sense of the level of skill I

70 WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN 2022

would need to reach in order to compete against the best.”

McNally attended the open each year with her mom, where she collected autographs and pictures with the players.

“I can still remember just how excited I was on the drives to the courts and just getting to be around all those players knowing that one day I wanted to be exactly like them,” she adds.

“It’s pretty cool to actually be around some of those players that I once saw when I was a little girl.”

This year, McNally and Wolf are among the strong competitors at the Western & Southern Open, the kind of players they witnessed at the open as they grew up. McNally will compete in doubles

KIEHL

matches with her partner, Cori “Coco” Gauff. Wolf, currently ranked No. 151 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (APT), is set to compete in the singles tournament.

Their performances on the court will be under the watchful eye of their community, where both players feel the warm embrace of support from their Cincinnati fans, family, and friends.

While some athletes may feel the pressure of competing in front of their hometown crowd, McNally and Wolf look forward to the upcoming performance in their Cincinnati tournament.

“I think every single athlete reacts differently to playing at home,” McNally says. “When I was younger, I probably felt a little bit more pressure because all eyes were on me. But over the years, I've realized the pressure is a privilege to have, it’s a good thing.”

Wolf agrees. “It’s the tournament I look forward to the most every year,” he notes.

“Win or lose, it’s the best place to compete. It’s my favorite thing to do in the world.”

J. J. WOLF

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THE GRAND COURTYARD A NEW FAN EXPERIENCE AREA AT THE WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN. - E L I Z A B E T H

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C

ome for the tennis, stay for the fun. At the Western & Southern Open, fans from throughout the Cincinnati region and around the world gather to enjoy the on-court spectacle and the food, drinks and fun at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. For die-hard tennis fans and casual, entertainment seekers alike, the tournament has an array of on-site experiences for all to enjoy. This year, WS&O is kicking it up a notch with even more to offer fans.

“Our fans spend an average of six hours on-site per day during the tournament,” says Katie Haas, CEO of the Western & Southern Open. “With that in mind, we’re adding more entertainment and opportunities for fun in addition to world-class tennis.”

New this year, fans are invited to visit the Grand Courtyard, located to the southwest of Grandstand Court.

This revamped area will be the go-to spot for fans of all ages, featuring outdoor lounge seating, interactive entertainment experiences and a full line-up of programming.

Here’s a taste of what fans can expect at the Grand Courtyard.

KICK BACK AND RELAX The Grand Courtyard’s vibe is laid-back and fun. With ample greenspace and a variety of lounge and seating options, this is the place to chill out and spend time with friends to break up your time on-site. Relax in Adirondack chairs as you watch the latest match action on the big screen, or snag a table to take in all the energy and excitement surrounding you.

COURTYARD CONVERSATIONS After player interactions with fans were limited in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions, the intimate access to players that fans have come to love and expect is back in 2022. This year, players will not only be available for autographs and selfies, they’ll also be making special appearances at the Grand Courtyard stage for the “Courtyard Conversations” series. Join tennis personality Blair Henley at the stage each day to hear from different tennis stars in these personal Q&A sessions. This is the perfect opportunity to get to know the players and get the inside scoop on what’s happening on and off the court.

DO IT FOR THE ‘GRAM The tournament site is filled with Instagrammable moments, from the champagne clinks to the break point fist pumps. The Grand Courtyard sets the perfect backdrop for your best looks at this “see, and be seen” event. Snap a photo immediately upon entering the Grand Courtyard next to the giant CINCY tennis letters or strike a pose like you’re a champion in front of a fun photo backdrop. Don’t forget to use #CincyTennis in your posts throughout the tournament!

MAKE YOUR MARK Grab a paintbrush and be part of a new tournament tradition: the 2022 Western & Southern Open mural, in partnership with ArtWorks. This paint-by-number feature, created by youth apprentices from throughout the Cincinnati region, allows fans to paint a section at a time to see the mural come to life throughout the tournament. By the end of the week, a new piece of tournament-inspired artwork, created by the fans, will be on display to celebrate the community and vibe at the Western & Southern Open.

72 WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN 2022

CONTINUED ON PAGE 74

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BEAT THE HEAT Take a break from the sun in the Grand Courtyard in one of several shaded spots or cool off with a refreshing beverage or a cup of Graeter’s ice cream. A pop-up bar is the centerpiece of the space, surrounded by umbrella seating and a shaded gathering area. Separate from the hustle and bustle of the food court, the Grand Courtyard is the perfect place to have a good time without breaking a sweat.

TEST YOUR SKILLS Grab a racquet and put your skills to the test with a series of tennis challenges hosted by USTA Midwest. Try your hand at hitting pre-set targets with your forehand shot or see if you have what it takes to volley like the pros. If a paddle is more your speed instead of a racquet, snag a spot at a ping pong table for some miniature tennis action.

A NEW EXPERIENCE EACH DAY Throughout the tournament, a variety of unique programming will take place in the Grand Courtyard, ranging from giveaways and sampling opportunities to interactive activities and special guest appearances.

Every day’s experience will be different, giving fans a reason to continue coming back to see what’s new and exciting.

Check the Western & Southern Open official mobile app and on-site signage each day to see what’s scheduled during your visit.

74 WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN 2022

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Players to Watch

KEEP AN EYE ON THESE RISING STARS DURING THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT. — P E T E

IGA SWIATEK Iga Swiatek appears to be gliding along the tennis waters in 2022. The 21-year-old ascended to No. 1 in the WTA Rankings in early April, rising to the top spot with a 17-match winning streak.

She played four WTA 1000 tournaments through May and took home the title from all four. Working with full-time performance psychologist Daria Abramowicz has helped Poland’s Swiatek take full control of game. She will come to Cincinnati looking to build on an incredible first half of the year to perhaps complete one of the greatest seasons in WTA history.

HOLT ERM A NN

JESSICA PEGULA Getting to the quarterfinals or better is almost standard operating procedure for Jessica Pegula when she takes the court at a Grand Slam or WTA 1000 these days, which gives reason to believe that lifting a trophy cannot be far off. Perhaps she's comfortable on the biggest stages thanks to her family’s ownership of the NFL’s Bills and NHL’s Sabres. The 28-year-old saw injuries interrupt her progress early in her career. However, Pegula has seen a steady ranking rise following a 2017 hip operation, thanks to her consistent results.

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CARLOS ALCARAZ Before his 19th birthday on May 5, Carlos Alcaraz had announced himself with a remarkable early season, winning three titles. And he was just getting started. The day after his birthday, he beat Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of Madrid, then bested World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals before lifting the trophy at the end of the week. Alcaraz will look to join fellow Spaniards Nadal (2013) and Carlos Moya (2002) in winning the Western & Southern Open as he also looks to equal those countrymen in reaching No. 1 in the rankings.

REILLY OPELKA On Twitter, Reilly Opelka's not shy about sharing his opinions. Offline, he’s likely to be found visiting art galleries around the world. All of which can distract from the fact that 24-year-old American is playing some of the best tennis of his career. He owns a pair of titles this season and four in his career. Last summer, he reached the final in Toronto, his best big tournament result to date. That came one year after his Western & Southern Open quarterfinal. It’s not just because of his height that big things are expected from Opelka on the U.S. hard courts.

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*All numbers are from the 2021 Western & Southern Open Wrap Up Report

BY THE NUMBERS 47 Nations

156,098

REPRESENTED

AMONG PLAYERS

4,659

in attendance

coneys sold

7,657

slices of pizza consumed

TWENTy-SIX 20,369 scoops of ice cream enjoyed

8,894

musical acts

FORTy-ONE hours of musical entertainment

30

37

corporate partners

61,536

states hours of donated volunteers time by call home volunteers

213 4,882 480

matches

SOUVENIR CUPS WITH ICE SOLD

games

sets

ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED FOUR

VOLUNTEERS

1,598

RACQUETS STRUNG

3

countries volunteers call home

30

volunteer committees

THIRTEEN food vendors

THREE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY-ONE cold brew coffees drank

FOUR THOUSAND THIRTY-EIGHT TENNIS BALLS USED

82 WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN 2022

P H OTO G R A P H S BY ( M U S I C ) J U S T I N S H E L D O N / ( M ATC H ) B E N S O L O M O N / I L LU S T R AT I O N S BY E M I V I L L AV I C E N C I O & J E S S I C A D U N H A M

LOCATED IN MOREHEAD, KENTUCKY At MSU, you’ll find excellent academic programs and a campus community committed to supporting you as an individual. You’ll learn the skills and earn the experience you need for a successful career.

WWW.MOREHEADSTATE.EDU MSU is an affirmative action, equal opportunity, educational institution.

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P H OTO G R A P H BY M N I R AT / S TO C K . A D O B E .C O M

FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF

INSIDE

HOW TO PREPARE FOR COLLEGE

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EDUCATION INDEX Art Academy of Cincinnati 86 Bowling Green State University 94 Butler Tech 95 Central State University 90 The Christ College of Nursing & Health Sciences 96 Cincinnati State 97 Galen College of Nursing 98 Gateway Community and Technical College 88 Great Oaks Career Campuses 89 Hanover College 99 Indiana Tech 100 Miami University Regionals 101 Morehead State University 84 Mount St. Joseph University 92

Northern Kentucky University Sinclair Community College Spalding University Thomas More University University of Toledo Wright State University Xavier University

102 103 104 105 88 106 107

CONTENTS 87 COLLEGE BOUND 88 FOUR-YEAR PLAN 89 CLOSING THE GAP

The College of Art and Design for the Radiant and Radical MAJORS/AREAS OF STUDY Design Illustration Painting & Drawing Sculpture Photography Print Media Digital Arts Animation Creative Writing Art History* Film & Video*

To learn more, scan:

*available as minors only

1212 Jackson Street | Cincinnati, OH 45202

www.artacademy.edu

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COLLEGE BOUND How do you choose the college that’s right for you?

With such a wide range of college options out there, selecting the right school for you can be a stressful process. Before beginning your search, it’s wise to determine your priorities to better understand what you’re looking for. Do your research!

Look for colleges with programs geared toward your academic interests, and sort them into three categories: “reach” schools, “safety” schools, and “match” schools. It’s OK to dream big—but make sure you have a backup plan.

Looking for more affordable options?

Start by setting a budget. If you’re not tied to a specific location, looking into

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colleges in small cities might be helpful, since colleges located in big cities will likely be more expensive. Every student, regardless of need, should look at scholarships and financial aid options.

Colleges typically offer scholarships based on academic performance, financial need, community service, athletics, and even extracurriculars, so apply to as many as possible to maximize your opportunities. Your guidance counselor can help, or you can use one of the many scholarship search engines, like Scholarships.com.

Outside of academics, ask yourself

what resources you’re looking for in a college. When facing academic or personal stress at school, it’s important to have trustworthy supports to rely on. What are the class sizes like? Larger public universities might have more student resources, while students at smaller schools may benefit from smaller classes and more personalized instruction. Values might be another aspect to consider. What’s the community like? Is religion an important consideration? Remember, you’re going to call this school home for the next four years. Feeling valued, safe, and supported is a must. —Andrea Oberto

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FOUR-YEAR PLAN STAYING ON TRACK WITH SO MANY DATES AND DEADLINES CAN BE A STRUGGLE. HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND AS YOU GO THROUGH EACH YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL.

Freshman Year

Junior Year

Although ninth grade seems so far away from college, this is technically when college prep begins. While there are no tests or deadlines to consider for this period, looking at clubs and extracurriculars is important. It’s an opportunity to explore your interests, and if something is not for you, choosing to leave an organization will not be impactful at this point.

Sophomore Year In 10th grade, selecting the clubs you want to focus on is key. At this point, student organizations begin to consider which students are potential candidates for leadership positions later on. During the second semester, you can also take the PSAT10 and practice ACT to get some practice for standardized tests ahead of time.

During the first semester of 11th grade, you should begin making final preparations for standardized tests. Schedule at least one of each test (the SAT and ACT) before the end of this year. Eleventh grade is also the time to be thinking seriously about taking on leadership positions in student organizations.

Senior Year College applications typically start during the first semester of 12th grade. Before applying, make sure you’re satisfied with your standardized test scores— this is the last chance to re-take the ACT and SAT. Are you going to be applying early action or early decision? Be sure to file on time. Most applications are due at the start of your second semester, with regular decisions going out in early spring. —A.O.

Countless research opportunities, two beautiful campuses — one amazing experience.

Come see for yourself: utoledo.edu/visit 8 8 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M AMUOGNUTSHT 2200X2X2

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CLOSING THE GAP THE NATIONAL MOON SHOT FOR EQUITY PROJECT ADDRESSES DISPARITIES IN EDUCATION EQUITY. LOCAL SCHOOLS ARE GETTING ON BOARD. —CIERRA BRITTEN

Four Cincinnati- area schools have joined a national initiative called Moon Shot for Equity that aims to close equity gaps within regional cohorts of two- and four-year colleges and universities by 2030. Miami University, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Northern Kentucky University, and Gateway Community and Technical College have partnered to provide equity-minded education, ad-

vance student success, and serve as a regional model to other institutions worldwide.

Research shows barely half of all Black and Latinx students who attend college earn their undergraduate degree in six years compared to 70 percent of white students. Data also shows that first-generation students and those from low-income families graduate from college at significantly lower rates than those from more privileged backgrounds. Without a degree, students who drop out are far more likely to struggle to pay off student debt.

Leaders from the initiative’s partner schools hope to address these disparities and eliminate persistent equity gaps at colleges and universities by developing cohesive equity plans based on best practices, policies, and technology.

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The national partnership, which groups colleges into regions, is led by the Education Advisory Board (EAB), a Washington, D.C.-based education firm. The four Cincinnati member schools will share resources and ideas, while EAB will provide research, technology, and advisory services. Each of the project’s regional clusters must commit to carrying out at least 15 research-based best practices and policies to boost equity while mutually benefitting the needs of students. These best practices can range from updating academic policies to providing equity training.

It’s all part of EAB’s national effort to increase the number of college graduates from historically underrepresented populations, including students of color. By providing programs tailored to each stu-

dent’s academic and financial needs, the organization helps ensure students are set up for success before they enter college, as well as after graduation. Ultimately, local member schools hope Moon Shoot will produce more college graduates with improved career outcomes, regardless of race or socioeconomic status.

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Reach Higher. Go Farther.

Thrive!

At Central State, we educate and prepare students to be successful in their chosen DFDGHPLF ÀHOGV DQG HTXDOO\ DV LPSRUWDQW we develop leaders who are committed to changing their communities IRU WKH EHWWHUPHQW RI VRFLHW\

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MOUNT ST. JOSEPH UNIVERSITY 5701 Delhi Rd. • Cincinnati, OH 45233 (513) 244-4200 • WWW.MSJ.EDU

For more than a century, Mount St. Joseph University has enabled students to climb higher than they ever thought possible. As a Catholic university rooted in the values of the Sisters of Charity, the Mount is dedicated to the success and well-being of each student, empowering them to become competent, compassionate, critical thinkers who make a meaningful impact on the world with the heart of a lion.

Each student is given the opportunity to reach their peak potential: our students receive personal attention from some of the world’s leading scholars, who know their students by name; the MSJ Career & Experiential Education Center prepares

students for success with real-world and leadership experience; and students gain vital problem-solving skills through the Mount’s liberal arts core curriculum. A rock-solid experience is available on our safe, ideal campus—just 15 minutes west of downtown Cincinnati. Our new Centennial Field House was designed for all students, featuring the latest exercise equipment, indoor practice areas, and the only indoor NCAA regulation-size track in the region. Students can get involved through 20 NCAA DIII programs, Esports, band, choir, theatre, campus ministry, or a diverse range of student activities and organizations.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1920 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 2,007 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 11:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 32 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 8 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 3 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Doctoral: Nursing, Physical Therapy,

Reading Science; Graduate: Business, Education, Nursing, Physician Assistant, Speech Language Pathology; Undergraduate: Computer Science, Early Childhood & Special Education, Graphic Design, Health & Exercise Science, Nursing, Social Work, and Sport Management. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 8 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $33,750 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $33,750 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 94% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: 99% 2021 Career Outcomes Rate. • 2021 Social Work graduates had a 100% passage rate on the Ohio Licensed Social Work Exam • A+ Rating from the National Council on Teacher Quality • In 2021 U.S. News & World Report ranked the Mount #79 in Regional Universities Midwest and #35 in Best Value Schools. // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATTELITE CAMPUSES: Mount St. Joseph University continues to foster partnerships with several Greater Cincinnati colleges, universities, businesses, and hospitals for bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

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CLIMB HIGHER VISIT CAMPUS & EARN

$4,000

OFF YOUR MSJ TUITION*

Go to msj.edu/visit or scan the QR code or to explore your options and register for a campus tour!

5701 Delhi Road , Cincinnati, Ohio 45233-1670 | admission@msj.edu * High school seniors (class of 2023) can earn up to $4,000 off their MSJ tuition - awarded $1,000 each year, for four years. To be eligible, you must schedule your visit through the Office of Admission and visit campus by December 1, 2022. Learn more at www.msj.edu/visit.

Mount St. Joseph University is committed to providing an educational and employment environment free from discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other minority or protected status. Visit www.msj.edu/non-discrimination for the full policy and contact information. 10-WO-002193/22/Ad

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BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY 1001 E. Wooster St. • Bowling Green, OH 43403 (419) 372-2478• WWW.BGSU.EDU

With pride in public education, Bowling Green State University is committed to providing an education of value and creating public good through high-impact research, innovative partnerships, and quality academic programs that meet workforce needs. BGSU ranks among the top universities in the nation that students say they would choose again, according to the Wall Street Journal. Students can engage in Life Design, an additional educational experience beyond the classroom that ensures students are life-ready, able to navigate challenges, pivot when needed and lead meaningful and productive lives.

BGSU is the only university in the country building this initiative to be offered to all undergraduate students at this scale. Situated in one of America’s Best College Towns, students say BGSU “feels like home,” and with more than 350 student organizations, 17 themed-learning communities, and nearly 100 intramural and club sports, there are substantial opportunities for students to build community.

A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.®

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1910 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 18,325 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 18:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 230+ // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 110 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 27 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Nursing, Aviation, Education, Business, Psychology, Biology, Criminal Justice, Architecture, Computer Science, Construction Management, Digital Arts, Forensics, Applied Health Science, Social Work, Sport Management, Pre-Professional Programs // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 180 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $13,126 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $21,114 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 90% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Ranked #1 in the Midwest for the third consecutive year as the public university students would choose again by the Wall Street Journal • No. 1 public university for boosting graduates’ earning after college • One of the safest college campuses in the U.S. // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/ SATTELITE CAMPUSES: BGSU Firelands in Huron, Ohio

1

#

Public university in the Midwest students would choose again.

– The Wall Street Journal

Learn more and schedule your visit

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BGSU.EDU

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BUTLER TECH 101 Jerry Couch Blvd. • Monroe, OH 45044 ADULT EDUCATION MAIN OFFICE:(513) 645-8200 • WWW.BUTLERTECH.ORG/

ADULT-EDUCATION

Butler Tech, one of Ohio’s largest career technical institutions, is moving at the speed of business to prepare students to meet the demands of the workforce.

More than 111,000+ unfilled jobs in Ohio align with Butler Tech adult education career training programs in healthcare, public safety, industrial technology, and commercial transportation. Each program is designed to prepare you for a successful career through hands-on instruction and industry recognized credentials.

Butler Tech adult education offers an inclusive learning environment that will open doors for individuals who are eager to build a career and achieve their dreams, talents, and goals.

Transform your life in 11 months or less with Butler Tech—Training for Life!

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1975 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 750 yearly // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 15:1 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE:

Adult Career Training Programs: training designed to prepare you for employment and to begin a successful career in: Healthcare Programs— Nursing, Clinical Medical Assisting, Phlebotomy, Medical Billing & Coding, and STNA. Public Safety Programs—Firefighter, Paramedic/EMT, Police. Industrial Technology Programs—Industrial Maintenance Technology, Industrial Welding, and HVAC/R Technician. Commercial Drivers (CDL) program. Nationally recognized certifications. Program length ranges from two weeks to 11 months. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 34 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: Varies by program // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 75% // TOP AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: 91% Student Completion Rate • 89% Earned Industry Credential Rate • STAR Police Training Academy Designation

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THE CHRIST COLLEGE OF NURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES 2139 Auburn Ave. • Cincinnati, OH 45219 (513) 585-2401 • WWW.THECHRISTCOLLEGE.EDU

The Christ College of Nursing & Health Sciences is a private, fully accredited, nonprofit college affiliated with The Christ Hospital Health Network for over 125 years.

The College is dedicated to delivering the highest quality healthcare education with a strong foundation in arts and sciences. The hospital-based campus offers degrees in nursing and the health sciences with Career Pathways that allow students to work alongside their undergraduate studies with pay, tuition benefits, and career connections. All accepted students have a clinical seat reserved for them with personalized learning and individual support.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1902 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 850 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 12:1; clinical classes are 8:1 or 6:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 6 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing,

Online RN-BSN Completion Program, Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration, Associate of Applied Science in Medical Assisting, Associate of Applied Science in Sonography - Cardiovascular track, Associate of Science in General Studies, Medical Assisting Clinical Certificate // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 3 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: First time college student, $16,405 annual tuition and fees; all undergraduates, $15,789 tuition and fees // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: N/A // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 100% in most recent year due to COVID CARES/HEERF funds // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: 4th Best Accredited Online College in Ohio, 2021 BestColleges.com; 19th Best Online College and 25th Best Nursing Program in America 2021/2022, Niche; first in region and 12th in nation for highest post-graduate salaries 2018. // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: N/A

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CINCINNATI STATE TECHNICAL AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE 3520 Central Parkway • Cincinnati, OH 45223 (513) 861-7700 • WWW.CINCINNATISTATE.EDU

Cincinnati State is the regional leader in career education and one of its best higher education values. Cincinnati State offers a wide variety of online, in-person, and hybrid education options that are geared to local employment needs and flexibility for students. Many programs lead directly to well-paid careers and include paid co-op experience with area employers. For bachelor-bound students, Cincinnati State is a smart start with tuition less than half the cost of traditional universities and credits that transfer seamlessly. Cincinnati State offers associate degrees, certificates, and selected bachelor’s degrees in healthcare, business, culinary, engineering and information technologies, and humanities and sciences. Cincinnati State information sessions are held at the Clifton campus every Tuesday at 9 a.m.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1969 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 8,500 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 13:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: More than 140 Associate Degrees, Bachelor’s Degrees, and Certificates // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Health; Business; Engineering Technologies; Information Technologies; Midwest Culinary Institute; and many other fields. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 3 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $178.64 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $357.28 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 75% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: One of the first community colleges in Ohio approved to offer bachelor’s degrees: Bachelor of Applied Science in Land Surveying; Bachelor of Applied Science in Culinary & Food Science; and coming for Fall 2023, Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATTELITE CAMPUSES: Middletown, Harrison, and Evendale (Workforce Development Center)

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GALEN COLLEGE OF NURSING 100 E Business Way, Suite 120 • Cincinnati, OH 45241 (513) 475-3636 • HTTPS://GALENCOLLEGE.EDU/

Founded over 30 years ago, Galen College of Nursing is one of the largest private nursing schools in the United States. Focused solely on nursing education, Galen dedicates 100% of resources to helping prepare confident, caring professionals for successful careers and advancement in nursing. With no prerequisites required, earlier hands-on education, a clinical emphasis, small class sizes, and personalized attention and support, Galen is there for you every step of the way. Plus, flexible and accredited pre- and post-licensure programs, including online options, offer multiple pathways to achieving your goals. Start your journey to one of the most fulfilling—and in demand—jobs you will ever love. For more information about Galen College of Nursing and to schedule an admissions appointment, visit galencollege.edu.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1989 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 9,000+ // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 13:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 2 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 1 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Nursing // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 21 miles // INSTATE TUITION: Varies by program // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: Varies by program // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: N/A // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: 87% First Time NCLEX Pass Rates (2021 - Cincinnati Campus) • 30,000+ Students and Alumni • One of the largest nursing colleges in the U.S., with campuses throughout the country and online // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Campuses in

Gainesville, Pembroke Pines, Sarasota, and St. Petersburg, FL; Hazard and Louisville, KY; Myrtle Beach, SC; Nashville, TN; Austin and San Antonio, TX; Richmond, VA

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HANOVER COLLEGE 517 Ball Dr. • Hanover, IN 47243 (800) 213-2178 • WWW.HANOVER.EDU

Just 78 miles from downtown Cincinnati, Hanover College is a nationally recognized liberal arts institution with core strengths in natural and life sciences, education, and business. Founded in 1827, Hanover is Indiana’s oldest private, four-year college and sits on a beautiful 650-acre campus overlooking the Ohio River. Every Hanover student receives some form of financial aid. The “Price Promise” locks new-student tuition for four consecutive academic years. The “Pell Promise” provides a bridge between the Pell Grant amount and full-tuition cost for Pell-eligible students.

The “Four-year Guarantee” assures students will graduate in four years (eight semesters) or tuition for a fifth year is waived. Hanover’s Levett Career Center offers support for all students, including internships, mentoring, interview preparation, and career counseling. More than 99 percent of the College’s graduates gain full-time employment or enroll in graduate/professional school within seven months of graduation.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1827 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 1,004 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 11:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 35 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 0 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 1 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Business, education, natural and life sciences // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 78 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $42,003 // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $42,003 // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 100% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: U.S. News & World Report, Princeton Review // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: None

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INDIANA TECH Northern Kentucky Campus, 809 Wright Summit Pkwy., Suite 310 • Ft. Wright, KY 41011 (859) 916-5884 • HTTPS://ONLINE.INDIANATECH.EDU

Indiana Tech educates students beyond its home base in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, with regional campuses throughout the Midwest, as well as online programs that meet the needs of students worldwide. The private, not-for-profit university offers careeroriented degree programs at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. levels, as well as professional certificate programs. Busy working adults find Indiana Tech an ideal fit, with class schedules that allow students to take one class at a time and still make rapid progress toward a degree. Classes start every six weeks, so students can begin their education at any time of year. The university is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). For more information or to enroll today, contact the Northern Kentucky admissions team at (859) 916-5884.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1930 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 1,500 undergraduates on main campus, 6,500 online undergraduate and graduate students // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 16:1 average class size // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 50 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 8 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 1 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: More than 100 degree and certificate programs align with in-demand careers, including project

management, engineering, business, cybersecurity, accounting, information technology, computer science, health care administration, criminal justice, and more. // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 4.5 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $399 per credit hour for undergrad/$525 per credit hour for graduate // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: same as in-state // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 90% // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Rated among nation’s Best Online Bachelor’s in Business programs by U.S. News & World Report • Ranked as a Gold Level Military Friendly School for the past 11 years • Cyber Warriors collegiate cyber defense team has won 8 straight and 15 total Indiana state championships // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Indiana Tech’s main campus is in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, with regional locations throughout Indiana and Kentucky.

LIFE CHANGING EDUCATION Indiana Tech will help you go fur ther with 100-plus quality online degree and cer tificate programs. Our class schedules allow you to take one class at a time and make rapid progress toward program completion.

ENROLL TODAY! | Indiana Tech Northern Kentucky 859.916.5884 | 809 Wright Summit Pkwy. | Suite 310

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MIAMI UNIVERSITY REGIONALS Hamilton • Middletown • West Chester • Online Hamilton, OH 45011 (513) 785-3111 • HTTPS://MIAMIOH.EDU/REGIONALS

If you’re looking for the best place to earn a degree at a price you can afford and fits your schedule, look no further than Miami University Regionals. Regional students can earn bachelor’s degrees in-person or online for about $27,000 in one of more than 30 majors, including Applied Biology with pre-med and pre-vet tracks; English Studies; Information Technology with a focus in Cybersecurity, Networking, and Agile; and Psychological Science. The Work+ program allows students to earn a college degree debt-free while earning a salary working part-time. Our Integrative Studies degree helps students build a bachelor’s degree that fits their educational and personal goals.

All this, plus the opportunity to take classes on our main campus in Oxford, makes Miami University Regionals your best choice.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: Hamilton 1968, Middletown 1966, Online 1999, West Chester 2009 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 3,900 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 18:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 27 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Commerce, Nursing, Criminal Justice, and Engineering Technology (electrical and computer, electro-mechanical, mechanical, and robotics) // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 30 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $3,386 per semester // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $8,838 per semester // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 71% // TOP THREE AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Miami Regionals’ E-Campus ranked in the top 20 nationally for best ROI by Online

U in 2020 • First university in the country to offer ICAgile-accredited courses • State-of-the-art Nursing Innovation Hub and Robotics Lab // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Miami University Regionals has campuses located in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a robust online learning program.

Expect the unexpected AT MIAMI UNIVERSITY REGIONALS • 95.6% of 2019-20 graduates employed or furthering their education within 6 months of graduating.

• 30+ majors with online and in-person course offerings.

• #1 public college in Ohio for return on investment according to Stacker.

• Work+ Program allows students to earn a college degree debt-free.

• Member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

• Student support services including academic advising, tutoring, counseling, disability services and more.

MiamiOH.edu/Regionals | 513-785-3111

Hamilton | Middletown | West Chester | E-Campus

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NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY 1 Nunn Drive • Highland Heights, KY 41099 UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT INFORMATION: (859) 572-5200 • www.nku.edu/

admissions/undergrad GRADUATE ENROLLMENT INFORMATION: (859) 572-6364 • www.nku.edu/admis-

sions/graduate Fueled by an unstoppable spirit and a passion for knowledge, Northern Kentucky University students engage and impact their communities, the region, and our world.

The university’s long-standing commitment to academic excellence offers abundant opportunities for experiential learning in the region’s best facilities, including the new Health Innovation Center. NKU connects students to their world-changing dreams through classroom experiences, faculty mentorship, and internships and co-ops with hundreds of community partners and more than 200 student organizations. We’re also home to 17 NCAA Division I athletic programs.

We shape driven individuals and create opportunities for our students to succeed in this knowledge-based economy. We will continue to nurture inclusive and equitable communities where people want to live, work, and tackle complex challenges.

You belong here.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1968 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 15,998 // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 19:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 80+ // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 24 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 3 // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 7.4 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $425/credit hour // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $853/credit hour // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 95% // TOP AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: No. 1 for return on investment in KY (SmartAsset & 24/7 Wall St.) • Five-star rating for LGBTQ students (Campus Pride) • Only

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Thomas More is a liberal arts University, inspired by the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, where students are exposed to the very best thought, literature, art, and music, with the support of a nurturing community of faculty and scholars. Students learn to harness the power of human reason to solve problems and, most importantly, they have the chance to become the person they were created to be—the chance to Make It More. Thomas More propels into its second century upholding the values of student success, academic innovation, and responsible stewardship. Founded in 1921 by the Benedictine Sisters as Villa Madonna College, the University serves students from across the country and around the world on its beautiful Crestview Hills, Kentucky, campus.

THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1921 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 1,800+ // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 13:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 40+ // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 3 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 0 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: We believe a liberal arts education

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THE STATS YEAR FOUNDED: 1967 // CURRENT ENROLLMENT: 11,469 (Fall 2021) // STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO: 14:1 // UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED: 160 // MASTER’S DEGREES OFFERED: 71 // DOCTORAL DEGREES OFFERED: 8 // SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE: Interdisciplinary // DISTANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI: 68 miles // IN-STATE TUITION: $10,814/year // OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: $20,232/year // PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL AID: 68 // TOP AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: No. 3 Best Accredited Nursing Schools in Ohio (nursingprocess.org) • Best Online MBAs (Fortune) • Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (U.S. News & World Report) // AFFILIATED COLLEGES/SATELLITE CAMPUSES: Wright State-Lake Campus, Celina, OH

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WHEN WAR HITS HOME CONTINUED FROM PAGE 53

call, Tymoshenko sits to the side of a Ukrainian flag mounted on the wall. There are bold Cyrillic letters imprinted across the flag’s lower half that read, she says, “We are from Kharkiv. We are processing the invaders into fertilizer.”

SISTER CITY PARTNERSHIPS WERE EStablished during the Cold War when President Dwight Eisenhower envisioned a citizen-to-citizen exchange program to form economic, cultural, and personal bonds among the world’s peoples. It took 32 years and the leadership of then-Mayor Charlie

might remind you of mash-up of Mt. Airy Forest and Coney Island. Like Cincinnati, two rivers flow through Kharkiv (the Lopan and the Udy), although they’re more like the Licking than the mighty Ohio.

“There was an energy there, especially among the young people,” Neaman says of her four trips to Kharkiv. “There was a sense of pride and mission that was palpable. They were very optimistic about the future.” Left unsaid, but written all over her face, is that memory now sullied by bombs and bullets.

Nearly every block of our sister city and its surrounding villages has been punished by artillery, rockets, mortar barrages, and bombs dropped from the sky. Freedom Square is a cratered moonscape, while their music hall, opera house, museums, and government building lie in ruins. Apartment buildings, their facades peeled away, expose the ruin of thousands of lives. The air raid siren has become almost background noise since the invasion began. Even after the

“AFTER RUSSIA INVADED, MY FRIENDS IN CINCINNATI CONTACTED US AND ASKED WHAT THEY COULD DO,” SAYS VOLODYMYR BULBA. “I REALIZED WE WEREN’T ALONE.” Luken for Cincinnati to score its first partnership, twinning with Liuzou, China, and Gifu, Japan. Kharkiv joined a year later in 1989; back then it was a city in the old Soviet Union, and it was known as Kharkov.

Today, Cincinnati has nine sister cities: Liuzou, Gifu, Kharkiv, Nancy (France), New Taipei City (Taiwan), Harare (Zimbabwe), Mysore (India), Amman (Jordan), and perhaps our most famous partner, Munich.

Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second largest city but shares similar traits with Cincinnati.

It’s home to a large public university and Freedom Square, a gigantic downtown plaza that would dwarf Fountain Square. We buy our fresh produce at Findlay Market while Kharkivites shop at Tsentralniy Market. There are several major hospitals and an impressive music hall. We have Washington Park; Kharkiv citizens stroll the leafy gardens of Shevchenko Park. North of the city, Maxim Gorky Central Park

Ukrainian Army pushed the Russians back to their border in May, the invaders continued to pour death into the city. Shelling picked up again in June.

It’s easy to see why Kharkiv is still in danger. The city lies just 25 miles south of the Russian border, about as close as the Monroe Outlets are from downtown Cincinnati. When the war began, Kharkiv absorbed an artillery shellacking as Russian soldiers drove across the frontier. Ukrainian defenders dug in at the top of the highway loop that circles the city and halted the Russian advance.

“Think of it this way,” says Herring.

“If you lived in Fairfield, Hamilton, West Chester, or Loveland, you were in occupied territory. The front line was I-275.” But no one was spared artillery fire, especially when the Russians were able to move their big guns forward as the infantry advanced.

Even Kharkiv’s southern suburbs, like

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Merefa, where Tymoshenko lives, were shelled. If the war were here, that would put Florence and CVG airport under the guns.

Herring thinks back a few years to happier times when a group of fresh-faced young men from Kharkiv wanted to start a baseball team. “They did this on their own,” he says. “They wanted to play the great American pastime in a country where there were only soccer fields and no balls, bats, or gloves.” The men appealed to Cincinnati for help, and it came.

The Sister City Partnership contacted the Reds, Knothole Baseball, and the Cincinnati Recreation Commission to obtain equipment and then began considering a program that would bring these men to Cincinnati to watch and play baseball at all levels—professional, college, high school, and Knothole. Unfortunately, Herring laments, the trip fell through when the U.S. government denied the men visas, worrying they might not return to their homes.

Still, they were able to organize a game in Gorky Park, and the mayor of Kharkiv came to watch.

“The Sister City Summer Classic is still my dream when this is over,” says Herring.

“A team from Kharkiv comes here one year, and a team from Cincinnati goes to Kharkiv the next.”

He and I look at the photos of the smiling boys in American baseball gear and wonder: They are all of military age. What horrors have they experienced? What’s happened to their homes and families? Are they even alive?

It is kids who are central to the heart of Herring’s passion for Kharkiv. In the early 1990s, a delegation from Kharkiv that included the vice principal from Kharkiv School No. 3 visited Cincinnati and spent three days at Nativity, where Herring had created a global education program. “Yuri Golb was the vice principal from Kharkiv, and he visited every classroom during those three days,” Herring recalls. “We developed a real friendship and began talking about an exchange program.”

Herring wasn’t involved in the Sister Cities program at the time, but he was hooked after the visit and soon found himself in Kharkiv, staying in the home of School No. 3 teacher Iryna Bakumenko, who went on to become president of

Kharkiv’s sister city program. Iryna has fled to England, and Herring wonders if the exchange program will ever be revived.

The outbreak of hostilities also ended, at least temporarily, a potential exchange program among Cincinnati’s and Kharkiv’s suburbs. Herring says he hopes Denys Tkackov will eventually be able to come to Cincinnati to continue his governmentto-government outreach with some of our suburbs. He was scheduled to visit in early March to study how some of our jurisdictions share costs and responsibilities such as fire protection. Tkackov and his family have now fled to France.

IT WAS 4 A.M. ON INVASION THURSDAY when Bulba awakened to a loud buzzing noise as a nearby explosion rattled his house. Rockets likely launched from nearby Belgorod, Russia, were flying overhead, and the black sky was alight. His children and others who live nearby ran to his home, which has a basement. “Everyone brought their pillows,” Bulba remembers, “and the little ones all thought it was a big game. The women were crying, of course, but the kids, at least the young ones, were excited.”

He would see that same juxtaposition of fear and excitement days later as he passed out medical supplies and words of encouragement to women and children huddled underground in Kharkiv’s subway tunnels.

Those supplies have a direct connection to Cincinnati. “I get very emotional when I talk about it,” Bulba says softly. The lighting is muted on our Zoom call, but he’s clearly fighting back tears. “Literally, just a few hours after the tragedy began, my friends in Cincinnati contacted us and asked what they could do to help. I realized they cared and we weren’t alone.”

Bulba is a man with connections and, like Tymoshenko, a whirlwind of action.

Within days of the war starting, he helped create the School of Courage, a volunteer organization dedicated to helping thousands of displaced Kharkivites with the delivery of products essential to life. Tymoshenko, a former student of his, is one of many courageous drivers. Food, bottled water, medicines, and personal hygiene products were at the top of Bulba’s wish list, and when he forwarded those needs to his Cincinnati connections, Herring, Nea-

man, and the rest of the Sister City Partnership got to work.

A three-week-long web-based and word-of-mouth fund-raiser in late March and early April netted $100,000, all of it from individual donations. The Cincinnati group wire-transferred the funds to the Red Cross Kharkiv, which purchased supplies that the School of Courage helped to deliver.

That was closely followed by a separate effort from the Procter & Gamble Alumni Group that raised nearly $300,000 over Easter weekend from its expansive membership. Kathleen Dillon Carroll, a marketing expert and P&G alumna, credits John and Frances Pepper for jump-starting the P&G effort by providing $50,000 in matching funds. Those funds were earmarked for the charity Mission to Ukraine and used to purchase a variety of desperately needed medical and personal supplies, as well as power generators to keep the hospitals running.

Music students at Walnut Hills High School hurriedly organized a benefit concert, and Northern Kentucky University sponsored an event featuring two worldrenowned Ukrainian pianists, both NKU graduates. Cincinnati Chefs for Ukraine hosted a massive pierogi party at the OTR StillHouse.

Bulba holds up a piece of paper printed with the Cincinnati-Kharkiv sister city logo. “This is the heart of Ukraine and the symbol of the helping hand of Cincinnati,” he says. “Your funds have helped so many people with medicines. We have been able also to purchase generators, rescue equipment, and tools to help us clear the rubble in our streets. We would never have imagined this could happen.”

IT’S BEEN MONTHS SINCE THE RUSSIAN invasion began, and yet the brutality of war continues. Cincinnati was all in from the beginning. The questions now are: What’s next? Where will home be?

“We have reached out to the Biden administration and let them know that Cincinnati would be proud to provide a home for Ukrainian refugees,” says Mayor Aftab Pureval. “It’s out of our hands for now, but we’ve been working with Catholic Charities to be ready.” The U.S. has committed to ac-

cepting up to 100,000 displaced Ukrainians.

Neaman hopes to be among the first in line. She’s housed three sets of Kharkivites in the past and desperately wants to bring her friend, Viktoria Marinuk, and her 13-year-old daughter, Irina, to Cincinnati for resettlement. Viktoria, who taught English to young adults in Kharkiv before the war, fled to Slovakia, where she now works with mental health professionals tending to traumatized Ukrainian refugees. Getting Viktoria and Irina here will involve a lot of paperwork, vetting, and approval by the American Embassy in Bratislava and a pledge by Neaman to financially support them once here. It will likely be a slow process.

Many of Cincinnati’s sister city friends have, in fact, fled the war zone. Most are women and children—males between 18 and 60, with some exceptions, can’t leave—and they’ve relocated to England, France, Germany, Poland, and other European nations where they’re trying to rebuild their lives. Some, like Tymoshenko and Bulba, remain in immediate peril, doing what they can to keep themselves, their families, and their neighbors alive. Others have stayed in-country but moved to central or western Ukraine, out of the reach of Russia’s guns.

“Will they come back to Kharkiv? Can they come back and, if they do, to what?”

Herring asks rhetorically. If they do, he hopes the Sister City Partnership will be there to help rebuild. What Kharkiv will need and when is unknown and, assuming the city remains Ukrainian territory, the job of rebuilding will require a lot more than what Cincinnati alone can provide.

Cincinnati’s sister city leadership team clearly has the contacts in Kharkiv. They have a love for the city and its people and, most importantly, their trust. Cincinnati, says Herring, has strong companies with skilled people and vital equipment that can make a difference. Maybe when the dust clears and the enemy has been expelled, they can help bring Kharkiv back to life.

“It was a beautiful city, and it’s been ruined,” Herring laments. “I know it’s not possible now, but I am dreaming about what we can do to help them rebuild.”

“It’ll be a while,” Neaman says sadly.

Herring gives a quick nod. He knows.

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WIN, LOSE, DRAW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 57

WIN, LOSE,

DRAW OHIO REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SUBMITTED UNCONSTITUTIONAL ELECTION MAPS FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES IN ORDER TO RUN OUT THE CLOCK ON FAIR REDISTRICTING, AND THEY PREVAILED. A SECOND PRIMARY ON AUGUST 2 WILL NOW COST TAXPAYERS $20 MILLION.

BY JIM DEBROSSE ILLUSTRATION BY DAVIDE BONAZZI 54

leagues, the Democrats invited the Republicans anyway and called a meeting for April 25. But when Sykes and Russo showed up, the meeting room doors at the statehouse were locked. (A GOP spokesperson said the Democrats hadn’t filed a meeting request with the clerk’s office.)

Two days before the court’s May 6 deadline, the Republican commission members called a final meeting and adopted a fourth state legislative map identical to the third. In a move that showed just how lightly the Republican leadership was taking its orders from the Ohio Su-

preme Court, the two key Republican players, Senate Majority Leader Matt Huffman (Lima) and Speaker of the House Bob Cupp (also Lima), dropped off the commission on May 3 and May 4, respectively, and appointed junior members of the General Assembly to take their places. DeWine, Faber, and LaRose remained on the commission but in hands-off roles, as they’d been from the beginning.

The Ohio Supreme Court again said “no go” to the map in a May 25 ruling. The commission was now at the plate with five strikes against it—one Congressional map and four state legislative plans rejected by the state’s highest court in the space of four months. The court again ordered the commission to reconvene and submit a new plan by June 3. Republican commission members didn’t bother to meet again.

Enabling their defiance were a couple of court decisions that perhaps the Ohio GOP had been counting on all along: a state supreme court procedural delay that

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forced the adoption of an unconstitutional Congressional map for Ohio’s normal primary election on May 3, and a controversial intervention by Trump-appointed U.S. District Court judges that set up Ohio for an unconstitutional General Assembly map as well. When the legal and political dust settled in June, Ohio Republicans had retained control of most of their safe seats in both Congress and the Ohio General Assembly while corralling the state’s Democratic candidates into mostly competitive toss-up districts.

“It’s incredibly painful to think that we can’t trust our elected officials to follow the Ohio Constitution,” says Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, one of several non-partisan groups fighting for redistricting reform.

“These are constitutional officers who took an oath and clearly violated it.”

Worse, she says, the federal court’s 2–1 decision allowing the adoption of an invalidated General Assembly map rewarded

the GOP for refusing to collaborate on a fair one. “It’s like parents saying, If you don’t make your bed, we’re going to give you ice cream. It’s completely galling.”

PHIL HEIMLICH IS A REPUBLICAN WHO served on Cincinnati City Council and as Hamilton County Commissioner, and he challenged U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson in Ohio’s 8th Congressional District in the May primary, losing 67–33 percent. Heimlich says he wasn’t surprised that the commission’s Republican majority “turned to a Donald Trump tactic to rig the system so that the number of Democrats [in Ohio] are under-represented. In fairness, the Democrats in some states like New York have kind of done the same thing” to Republicans.

Nor was he surprised, Heimlich says, that the federal court ordered implementation of an unconstitutional map in favor of the GOP. The decision, he says, reflected the party’s frustrations with Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, a

Republican-endorsed judge who consistently cast the deciding vote on the state court in favor of fair redistricting. But by defying Ohio’s voter reforms and orders of the state’s highest court, he says Republicans further eroded Ohioans’ faith in the state election process just as Trumpism and The Big Lie have done to national elections. “What we need are Republicans and Democrats willing to stand up for free and fair elections and against partisan gerrymandering,” he says.

A key factor driving redistricting reform proponents is a fairness doctrine that legislative districts reflect the proportionality of Ohio’s voters over the last decade: 54 percent Republican and 46 percent Democrat. The commission’s second Congressional map, which is now in effect for the 2022 elections, gives control of 73 percent of the state’s 15 districts to Republicans and 13 percent to Democrats, with two districts rated as toss-ups. Ohio had 16 Congressional districts for the past

decade, but is losing one based on results of the 2020 U.S. Census.

For Heimlich, the competitiveness of each voting district is more important than the number of districts divvied up to each party. Competition between parties in the general election, he says, is what pressures legislators to be responsive to all voters, not just their committed party base. “Otherwise, we continue this situation where the only thing candidates have to fear is a challenge from the right in the Republican primary and a challenge from the left in the Democratic primary, which leads to extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene being elected.”

In the view of Pepper and many Democrats, Ohio still has no legally drawn redistricting maps. The federal court “basically made it so that, for the next two years, Ohioans will be living with a map that Ohio’s own Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional multiple times,” he says.

“We’re basically going to be living under

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WIN, LOSE, DRAW an illegitimate representation.”

Election officials in at least 23 Ohio counties agree. In June, they signed on to a letter admonishing the Ohio Redistricting Commission and Secretary of State LaRose that the adopted maps are illegal.

The officials told the Ohio Capital Journal that they’re continuing to collect signatures on the letter and say more time exists for the General Assembly to change election dates and methods before the November general election.

By tipping their hand in the April 20 ruling that the court would impose the commission’s third map on Ohio if Re-

Rosenberger for accepting overseas vacations from payday lending lobbyists, the 2021 expulsion of House Speaker Larry Householder on racketeering charges, and the ongoing investigation into the $61 million FirstEnergy bribery scandal, the largest in state history.

On a positive note for fair election advocates, the Congressional map now in effect will add a potential Democratic district to the state mix—the 1st District seat held by Steve Chabot, which now includes all of the city of Cincinnati rather than just its more conservative western neighborhoods, but remains merged with

A RUN-OUT-THE-CLOCK STRATEGY ON FAIR REDISTRICTING

BY REPUBLICANS, SAYS FORMER OHIO DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADER DAVID PEPPER, “IS WHAT YOU’D EXPECT.” publicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement, the federal judges essentially eliminated “the whole incentive for working things out,” Pepper says. “It’s the uncertainty of what will happen if you don’t [compromise with the other side].

In this case, the side they gave the victory to had violated their state’s highest court five times.”

FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, GERRYMANdering in Ohio has guaranteed seats for a veto-proof supermajority of Republican state legislators, which has led to extremism and corruption among GOP officials in the statehouse, Pepper says. “In a robust democracy with competitive seats, when you face re-election you want to push forward ideas that are generally popular and to work with the other side” to pass legislation, he says. “And you don’t want to be corrupt, or you won’t be re-elected. All of those incentives in Ohio have been turned upside down” by gerrymandering.

The result of a decade of slam-dunk wins for Ohio’s Republican legislators, Pepper says, has been a downgrading of Ohio’s education system and infrastructure and an upsurge in statehouse corruption. Recent examples include the 2018 resignation of House Speaker Cliff

staunchly Republican Warren County. On the other hand, the new map further tightens Brad Wenstrup’s grip on Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District by eliminating all of Cincinnati and its eastern suburbs and replacing them with additional rural voters in southeast Ohio.

What makes the redistricting brawl all the more surprising is that, just eight years ago, Ohio Republicans lauded themselves for reaching a compromise with Democrats that promised an end to gerrymandering. A senior aide to thenGov. John Kasich tweeted a declaration of near-sainthood for party chieftains after the measure breezed through the General Assembly in 2015: “Ohio Republican Leaders deserve a ton of credit for breaking the cycle [of partisan districts] and potentially giving up power.” Even Huffman, a state rep involved in the bipartisan negotiations, was quoted in The Lima News at the time: “This system basically says we are going to have a system that you now have an incentive to take in account what the minority party wants.… All the people sitting at the table now have an incentive to compromise.”

Ohio voters endorsed a constitutional amendment for state legislative redistricting in 2015 with more than 71 percent of

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the vote and passed it in all 88 counties.

They approved a similar reform measure for Congressional districts in 2018 with 75 percent of the vote, again passing in every county. But the incentives for compromise built into the law failed to work. The “carrot” was that both parties would be willing to reach an agreement in order to secure a 10-year map until the next U.S. Census. If they failed, a simple majority of the commission would approve a four-year map with built-in safeguards that included limits on slicing up cities and counties.

Congressional redistricting requires that the map “not unduly favor or disfavor” a party or its incumbents. In addition, state legislative maps “shall correspond closely to the statewide preferences of the voters of Ohio” during the previous decade.

As the “stick” for the reforms, the Ohio Supreme Court was supposed to have the final say in any disagreements.

The incentives clearly didn’t work in this map-drawing cycle. While the commission’s Democrats offered access to their mapmakers as well as early drafts of their maps, Republicans drew each of their maps without Democratic input and, according to court depositions, with their own mapmakers under the direction of just Huffman and Cupp.

Pepper believes the Republican fix was in from the very inception of the reform amendments in 2015 and 2018. At the time, he points out, the GOP had control not only of the General Assembly and governor’s office but the Ohio Supreme Court as well.

“They’re the ones in those negotiations who insisted the Ohio Supreme Court have sole and exclusive jurisdiction over any challenge to the maps,” Pepper says. “Well, back then, they didn’t count on voters replacing three of their justices over the next two years with Democrats.” A run-out-theclock strategy “is what you’d expect from people who, for 10 years, have been living in a world without accountability.”

As of late June, Louisiana was the only state that still hadn’t resolved its Congressional map. According to the FiveThirtyEight political research website, the outcome of the national redistricting fight has been a wash for both parties, but not necessarily a victory for voters wary of the country’s increasingly divisive poli-

tics. Democrats gained 15 solid seats and five competitive districts across the U.S. in 2022 Congressional races, while Republicans countered with the exact same gains. But the number of new truly competitive districts was zilch.

Multiple states, including Ohio, created redistricting commissions to supplement or supplant the role of state legislatures. So far, though, only Michigan and Colorado have succeeded in making their commissions truly independent of state politics, according to the library information service CQ Researcher. National Republican and Democratic redistricting committees have squared off in every state as a precursor to the 2022 midterm elections. The GOP needs a net gain of just a handful of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to take control from Democrats.

Both Ohio Democrats and Republicans agree that, despite this year’s fiasco, the Ohio Supreme Court will ultimately decide how Ohio draws its election maps. Although it’s too late to block the GOP-gerrymandered maps for 2022, the Ohio ACLU has already filed a lawsuit to have fair maps in time for 2024. The outcome of that decision may depend on who replaces retiring Chief Justice O’Connor in November. Current justices Jennifer Brunner (a Democrat who voted against the GOP’s election maps) and Sharon Kennedy (a Republican who voted in favor of them) are facing off in that election.

If needed, says Turcer of Common Cause, fair election advocates are prepared to go back to Ohio’s voters to pass yet another constitutional amendment to give the Ohio Supreme Court more teeth for enforcing redistricting reforms. Or the new reforms could take the map-drawing powers away from politicians altogether and place them in the hands of an independent citizens’ commission, as Arizona and California have done.

“First, we need to see what the best practices are, what worked in other states and what didn’t,” Turcer says.

“But when politicians are drunk on power, the clear thing to do is to take away their keys.”

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LOCAL INCUBATOR INITIATIVES P. 116

BBQ BASTE MAKER P. 118

BOOZY FRUIT SLUSHIES P. 119

MEDITERRANEAN FARE P. 120 NUMERO DOS At Tortilleria Garcia, each taco is double wrapped with fresh corn tortillas for maximum grippage and minimal mess.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS VON HOLLE

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OFF THE MENU

HATCHING GREATNESS

Culinary incubators play an important role in the Queen City’s restaurant community. — B R A N D O N W U S K E

T

HE ROAD TO SUCCESS IN THE FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY IS FRAUGHT WITH exorbitant expenses. Restaurant leases, equipment purchases, and steep utilities all stack the odds against food entrepreneurs. Luckily, an ingenious solution has helped folks with a dream and a talent for cooking soar over these hurdles and make an indelible mark on our local and even national food scene. Meet the culinary incubator.

Culinary incubators like Oakley Kitchen Food Hall, Findlay Kitchen, and Incubator Kitchen Collective offer shared space and equipment, often at a recurring or per-use fee. Members typically include budding food entrepreneurs looking to make a name for themselves through ventures like pop-ups, catering services, and take-home meal kits as well as more established restaurateurs looking for extra prep space and equipment. Many culinary incubators also provide other crucial services to those looking to build a successful food business, such as help with marketing, networking, business planning, packaging, and logistics.

The nine vendors at Oakley Kitchen sell 115 consumer goods at nearly 50 retail venues. Campfire Foods, which operates Oakley Kitchen, provides occasional packaging and logistical support to get all of those goods to retail establishments throughout our region. Of course, you can also sample the tasty wares at Oakley Kitchen itself because members serve made-to-order meals out of on-site eateries. It’s a great way to try several cuisines (and a few libations, thanks to full-service bar The Factory) in one communal location. Its list of members, while small, is quite eclectic, with Indian, Middle Eastern, Italian, Hawaiian, 1 1 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M A U G U S T 2 0 2 2

FYI

Findlay Kitchen 1719 Elm St., Over-theRhine, findlaykitchen.org Incubator Kitchen Collective 517 W. Seventh St., Newport, incubatorkitchencollec tive.org Oakley Kitchen Food Hall 3715 Madison Rd., Oakley, oakley-kitchen.com

PH OTO G R A PHS BY D E V Y N G LI S TA

FROM SCRATCH (From left) Prep work at Incubator Kitchen Collective in Newport; Olive Tree at Oakley Kitchen Food Hall offers Middle Eastern food; the exterior of Oakley Kitchen.

Belgian, Creole/Cajun, and BBQ all on offer.

According to Tyler Martin, CEO of Campfire Foods, curating a diverse assortment of vendors and offerings was a deliberate process. “We interviewed 100 folks, from established restaurants to first-time restaurant entrepreneurs,” he notes. “Throughout this process, we were seeking good food with a story behind it and a reason for being.” Because vendors can serve food directly to the public, Martin describes Oakley Kitchen as a bridge between a culinary incubator and a “brickand-mortar.”

The diversity on display at Oakley Kitchen underscores one of the main contributions of culinary incubators to our city’s foodscape—the ability to give voice (and bite) to new stories, greatly expanding our region’s culinary offerings. Findlay Kitchen in Over-the-Rhine is another testament to this. According to Findlay Market’s president and CEO Joe Hansbauer, its commitment is to not only foster a diverse array of cuisines that reflects our urban core, but also to support food entrepreneurs who come from communities that are often overlooked for capital loans and commercial leases. Seven years ago, Findlay Market brought in a group from Philadelphia to help conduct a feasibility study. One of the needs identified in that study was people who lacked access to capital or commercial kitchen space. “We saw that those lacking access were often minority, immigrant, and/or women-owned businesses,” Hansbauer explains. “We set a target of 30 percent. It’s been 80 percent since day one.”

Hansbauer singles out Isis Arrieta-Dennis, owner of The Arepa Place, as the kind of success story that Findlay Kitchen was always after. “Isis was one of the very first people to walk through our doors when we opened,” he says. “She wasn’t an established restauranteur, just someone who came in with recipes that she missed

from growing up in Colombia. She did pop-ups for [a couple of] years, opened a location in Findlay Market, and now has a second place in Wyoming. If, when we opened seven years ago, we were to dream up what we were trying to accomplish, it’s that story: someone without commercial kitchen experience bringing new food and culture to this area—and she’s absolutely killing it.”

Findlay Kitchen as a whole is also “killing it.” When the nonprofit launched in 2015, organizers expected to house 60 users a month in the 8,000-square-foot facility; Hansbauer notes that it now houses as many as 70 users a month. According to Hansbauer, Findlay Kitchen turns a profit that gets invested back into the community.

Newport’s Incubator Kitchen Collective (IKC) is a great example of the community investing in a culinary incubator.

Kroger’s Cincinnati/Dayton division partnered with the organization to offer grants to local businesses, including Pata Roja Taqueria, F & Goode Desserts, and FOZbakery. The grants cover one year’s rent at IKC for each recipient.

IKC’s founder Rachel DesRochers reports that the Kroger partnership continued earlier this year with five new grants awarded. The current crop of recipients includes a Southern-inspired food retailer called In The Curious Kitchen; How We Roll, with its creative takes on the classic egg roll; Matunda Juice & Co, a Clifton juicery; Mimi’s Macros, which offers home-delivered, chef-made meals; and Laughing Bees Honey. Kroger’s support goes beyond mere dollars. “It is a very hands-on relationship, with Kroger people frequently stopping by,” DesRochers says.

At the moment, DesRochers is thinking about upcoming IKC expansion plans. Oakley Kitchen has big expansion plans as well, with Tyler Martin noting that the upstairs is currently being renovated so that it can better accommodate community events.

Of course, good, unique food has a way of strengthening community, especially when it’s prepared by passionate entrepreneurs from within the community, despite notoriously overwhelming odds. It looks like culinary incubators will deliciously reshape our community for years to come.

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TABLESIDE WITH...

KATHY TURNER

HOT PLATE

THE BUSINESS OWNER’S signature product is a tribute to her father.

Where did your recipe come from?

From my dad, Ernie Cook. He would head out to the market, pick up ingredients, and without a cookbook or writing down the steps, he would just begin chopping and stirring away, creating a barbecue sauce. He relied on his taste buds. As a young girl, I would stand close by watching him cook with a happy heart, knowing he was making this for his family. That first creation of his sauce stayed in my food memory bank.

Get Corny IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, OMAR GARCIA, OWNER OF TORTILLERIA GARCIA, HAS FOCUSED on spreading his love of the Mexican food he grew up on across the city. In addition to its original Springdale location, the restaurant now has shops in College Hill and Mason, a testament to the demand for Garcia’s handmade corn tortillas. He uses the same recipe his grandmother and mother taught him in Michoacan, Mexico, where his family ran a corn farm. And you can taste the freshness of this labor of love in every bite. Combine the tortillas with the rich protein in the carnitas and carne asada, and it’s a one-two punch of flavor. Mix and match with other options (shrimp, chicken, al pastor, etc.) for a combo platter or make it a burrito or a bowl. The choices are practically endless. Don’t forget to pile on the toppings—cheese, tomatoes, onions, refried beans, pico de gallo, the list goes on and on. With so many main course options, you might be tempted to skip the sides but that would be a real shame at this place. The corn Tortilleria Garcia, chips with thick, creamy queso, in particular, are tasty enough to be 11774 Springfield Pike, Springdale, (513) 671a meal unto themselves. In fact, the queso is so good, you can buy 8678; 5917 Hamilton it by the quart. Whatever you order, do yourself a favor and pair it Ave., College Hill, (513) 541-0568; with the deliciously refreshing hibiscus iced tea drink Jamaica (pro4200 Aero Dr., Mason, nounced ha-MY-cah). We’re sure you’ll want that by the quart, too.

(513) 486-3016, —AIESHA D. LITTLE

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tortilleriagarcia.us

How did you come up with the name? I had a great response from family and different people who sampled my sauce. I thought, _Maybe I can bring my sauce to market. I remember being in our kitchen with my husband and children. We talked together, thought of ideas to name the sauce. We all thought how much we loved Grandpa’s sauce and all of his cooking, so without hesitation, Cook’s Best Inc. was born.

Did your dad get to taste any of your products? What did he think? He really enjoyed it as did my mom! I worked hard to get the sauces sweet and tangy balance to taste just like his. They really were pleased to know that people would be cooking their specialty dishes with Cook’s Best.

What are your overall goals for your business? I hope to expand the number of places locally where my sauce is sold in stores. — A I E S H A D . L I T T L E FYI Cook’s Best is available is Pipkin’s Market in Blue Ash and Holzman Meats in Montgomery.

PH OTO G R A PH BY C H RI S VO N H O LLE / ILLUSTR ATIO N BY C H R I S DA N G E R

CHERRY BLOW POP Piper’s rebranded last spring to focus more on adult beverages, making itself an even bigger hit with the combination of cold treats and alcohol in its frozen drink selections. Made with amaretto, black cherry, and pomegranate, this frozen drink is the kind of snow cone that only the 21-plus crowd can acquire. Pro tip: ask for it over creamy whip with whipped cream on top!

1

TAKE 5

ICE ICE BABY If you’re looking for a way to cool down (and turn up), try one or more of these boozy fruit-flavored slushies. Be warned: too many of these and you’ll have a brain freeze that will require a couple of Tylenol the next day. –A I ESHA D. L I T T L E

Piper’s Café, 520 W. Sixth St., Covington, (859) 291-7287, piperscafe.biz

ORIGINAL CHERRY SLUSH PUPPIE When 16-Bit closed up shop, we thought the old school Slush Puppie machine was gone for good. Luckily, Pins surprised everyone by bringing it back.

Add cherry vodka, whipped vodka, or some Fireball to this puppie and relive your childhood—at least parts of it, anyway.

2

CHERRY BLOW POP

Pins Mechanical Co., 1124 Main St., (513) 964-7746, pinsbar.com

HABANERO BLOOD ORANGE MARG At this joint, which opened in 2020, you can build almost any kind of boozy slushie your heart desires, but we recommend the sweet heat of this frozen drink. It combines and balances two polar opposite flavors for a taste that will warm you up while cooling you off.

3

The Frost Factory, 7547 Bales St., Liberty Twp. and 36 W. Freedom Way, downtown, (513) 644-0170, letsgetfrosty.com

DREAMSICLE Remember the Creamsicle? Those orange and vanilla popsicles you consumed all summer during your youth? Well, imagine those mixed with Tito’s Handmade Vodka and you’ve got this beauty. The smooth orange flavor is the perfect match for that kick the vodka will give you.

4

Frosthaus, 115 Park Pl., Covington, frosthauscov.com

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE BLOX Spiked Ice gives you control of the drink-making with its frozen cocktail cubes. Go for something sweet by taking two pineapple BLOX, adding some cake vodka, pineapple juice, and a splash of grenadine, and get a little tropical. You can snag some of these cubes during a game at Great American Ball Park or at a corner store near you.

5

BLOX, ontheblox.com

PH OTO G R A PH BY D E V Y N G LI S TA

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LUNCHBOX

Challah Calling This Pleasant Ridge eatery offers healthy Mediterranean dishes.

CAFÉ ALMA SPECIALIZES IN ISRAELI and Mediterranean breakfast fare that nourishes both body and soul. The menu includes regional specialties like sabikh and tabbouleh, but also waffles, pancakes, and French toast with flavorful twists.

Alma’s Classic Shakshuka serves up two poached eggs in a traditional, tomato-based sauce. If you’ve never had a shakshuka, imagine a cross between chunky marinara and a rich tomato soup. Red peppers and other vegetables add complexity to the base, and there’s just enough sauce to balance the eggs for a savory, satisfying meal. The housemade challah roll sops up any leftovers beautifully. Presentation gets a gold star: the shakshuka comes in a little cast iron skillet, sharing a wooden serving board with the warm roll.

A full coffee bar, craft cocktails, hot tea, kombucha, and a plethora of specialty Mediterranean drinks transform lunchtime into a choose-your-ownadventure story. The Molly Malone, named after the building’s former tenant, is a classic Irish coffee made with cane sugar and whiskey. If you want to keep things calm, a cup of authentic Turkish tea finishes off any meal with the perfect hint of warm spice.

Enjoy brunch al fresco in either of the café’s two outdoor dining areas. If dining indoors, make sure to check out the swing seat and low Turkish couch for charming breaks from the ordinary.

—M. LEIGH HOOD Café Alma, 6111 Montgomery Rd., Pleasant Ridge, (513) 620-8526, cafealmacincy.com

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW DOENCH

WHERE TO EAT NOW

AMERICAN BARBECUE CAJUN/CARIBBEAN CHINESE ECLECTIC FRENCH INDIAN ITALIAN JAPANESE KOREAN MEDITERRANEAN MEXICAN SEAFOOD STEAKS VIETNAMESE

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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

cotash, and the crock of mac and cheese has the perfect proportion of sauce, noodle, and crumb topping. The Eagle OTR seems deceptively simple on the surface, but behind that simplicity is a secret recipe built on deep thought, skill, and love.

AMERICAN BOOMTOWN BISCUITS & WHISKEY Boomtown leans hard into the Gold Rush theme: prospector-style overall aprons on servers, bluegrass tunes humming, and rustic decor details.

And the dense grub isn’t for the faint of heart.

Arrive with an empty belly, ready for a carbo load.

The biscuits are all they’re cracked up to be, and the gravy’s not playing around, either. Sample its biscuits and gravy styles with a gravy flight. Or try The Yukon, an anytime breakfast sandwich, featuring fried chicken on par with the best the city has to offer. By the end of the meal, you’ll feel a little out of place without your own denim getup.

1201 Broadway St., Pendleton, (513) 3812666; 9039 U.S. Route 42, Suite H, Union, (859) 384-5910, boomtownbiscuitsandwhiskey. com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Tues–Sat. Breakfast and lunch Sun. MCC. $

BROWN DOG CAFÉ If you haven’t had a plate of Shawn McCoy’s design set in front of you, it’s about time. Many of the menu’s dishes show his knack for the plate as a palette. A trio of stout day boat diver scallops—exquisitely golden from pan searing—perch atop individual beds of uniformly diced butternut squash, fragments of boar bacon, and shavings of Brussels sprout. The eye for detail and contrasts of colors and textures belongs to someone who cares for food.

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

1342 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 802-5007, eaglerestaurant.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $

GOOSE & ELDER

SCOOPS AHOY

Columbus-based Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams plans to open its first location in the Queen City next year. The scoop shop will be at Factory 52, the retail/residential development at the old United States Playing Card Company property in Norwood. jenis.com

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

THE EAGLE OTR The revamped post office at 13th and Vine feels cozy but not claustrophobic, and it has distinguished itself with its stellar fried chicken. Even the white meat was pull-apart steamy, with just enough peppery batter to pack a piquant punch.

Diners can order by the quarter, half, or whole bird—but whatever you do, don’t skimp on the sides. Bacon adds savory mystery to crisp corn, green beans, and edamame (not limas) in the suc-

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The third restaurant from chef Jose Salazar, Goose & Elder is a more everyday kind of joint compared to his others. The prices are lower, and most of the dishes, from burgers to grits, are familiar. Salazar’s menus have always hinted that the chef had a fondness for, well, junk food. But junk food is only junk if it is made thoughtlessly. Everything here is made with little twists, like the cumin-spiced potato chips and delicate ribbons of housemade cucumber pickles with a sweet rice wine vinegar.

Even the fries, crinkle cut and served with “goose sauce,” a mildly spiced mayonnaise, are wonderfully addictive. The restaurant demonstrates that what we now consider “fast food” can be awfully good if someone makes it the old-fashioned, slow way.

1800 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 5798400, gooseandelder.com. Mon & Wed–Fri, dinner Mon & Wed–Sun, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC. $$

MIGHTY GOOD With a kitchen full of students from the Findlay Culinary Training Program, this “meat and three” makes food good enough that everyone involved can hang their chef’s hats on. (Served in a small skillet so it stays hot and slightly creamy throughout the meal, the mac and cheese casserole would be the favorite dish at any church potluck.) At $11 for an entrée and three sides, Mighty Good offers one of the best values, not just in Over-the-Rhine, but in all of Greater Cincinnati.

1819 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 263-6893, mightygoodotr.com. Lunch and dinner Tues-Sat. MCC. $$

TRIO Trio is nothing if not a crowd pleaser. Whether you’re in the mood for a California-style pizza or filet mignon (with side salad, garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed swiss chard, and mushroom jus),

KEY: No checks unless specified.

AE American Express, DC Diners Club DS Discover, MC MasterCard, V Visa MCC Major credit cards: AE, MC, V $ = Under $15 $$$ = Up to $49 $$ = Up to $30 $$$$ = $50 and up Top 10

= Named a Best Restaurant March 2020.

the menu is broad enough to offer something for everyone. It may lack a cohesive point of view, but with the number of regulars who come in seven nights a week, variety is Trio’s ace in the hole. A simple margherita pizza with roma tomatoes, basil, Parmesan, and provolone delivered a fine balance of crunchy crust, sharp cheese, and sweet, roasted tomatoes. Paired with a glass of pinot noir, it made a perfect light meal. The service is friendly enough for a casual neighborhood joint but comes with white tablecloth attentiveness and knowledge. Combine that with the consistency in the kitchen, and Trio is a safe bet.

7565 Kenwood Rd., Kenwood, (513) 984-1905, triobistro.com. Lunch and dinner seven days.

MCC, DC. $$$

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. Lunch and dinner Mon– Fri. MCC. $$$

BARBECUE 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 ICON BY JESSICA DUNHAM

jalapeño cheese grits north of the Mason-Dixon 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, elisbarbeque.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $

SINNERS & SAINTS TAVERN You won’t leave this Texas smokehouse/sports bar hungry. From the brisket—served with Texas BBQ sauce, white bread, and pickles, or on toasted sourdough—to the chicken thighs, you can’t go wrong with these richly smoked flavors.

Several dishes, like the Korean style pork belly, the pulled pork naan tacos, and Bigos stew, draw on global influences, while the sides take flavors back to the country (try the creamy coleslaw, the house-made mac and cheese, and chili-spiced cornbread). The resaurant’s character shines through its decor, which includes hanging hockey memorabilia, pictures of public figures and tables made from real NBA courts.

2062 Riverside Dr., East End, (513) 281-4355, sinsaintsmoke.com. Lunch Sat & Sun, dinner Tues–Sun. 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 housemade tomato and garlic dressing. Slightly thicker than a vinaigrette yet unwilling to overwhelm a plate of greens, the two key elements play well together.

3300 Madison Pke., Ft. Wright, (859) 360-2222, waltshitchingpost.com. Dinner seven days. MCC. $$

CAJUN/ CARIBBEAN BREWRIVER CREOLE More than 800 miles from New Orleans, this may be as close as you can get to the real deal here in your own backyard.

The menu fully leans into Chef Michael Shields’s penchant for cuisine from the Crescent City. His six years of training under NOLA’s own Emeril Lagasse comes through in a scratch kitchen menu that spans a range of the city’s classics. The enormous shrimp and oyster po’ boys—the former protein fried in a light and crispy beer batter and the latter in a hearty cornmeal breading—are served on fluffy French bread loaves and dressed with lightly spicy rémoulades. The jambalaya packs all the heat of a late summer day in the French Quarter without masking a hint of its satisfying flavors. Paired with a Sazerac and nightly live jazz, you may just feel tempted to start a second line.

4632 Eastern Ave., Linwood, (513) 861-2484, brewrivercreolekitchen.com. Dinner Tues–Sun, brunch and lunch Sat & Sun. MCC. $

SWAMPWATER GRILL At first blush, this place is a dive where homesick Cajuns can find a good pile of jambalaya. But thoughtful details like draft Abita Root Beer and char-grilled Gulf Coast oysters on the half shell signal its ambition. Bayou standards like jambalaya, gumbo, and fried seafood also make an appearance. But the extensive menu also features amped up pub-style items for those who may be squeamish about crawfish tails (which can be added to just about anything on the menu). You’ll also find a roundup of oyster, shrimp, and catfish Po’Boys, as well as a selection of hardwoodsmoked meats.

3742 Kellogg Ave., East End, (513) 834-7067, swampwatergrill.com. Lunch and dinner Wed–Sun, brunch Fri–Sun. MCC. $$ PHOTOGRAPH BY TK FREELANCER

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.

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 260 items, so you’ll find a range of favorites, from moo goo gai pan to rock salt frog legs.

10736 Reading Rd., Evendale, (513) 733-8484, uncleyips.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, discount for cash. $$

ECLECTIC

6302 Licking Pke., Cold Spring, (859) 781-2200, theknottypineonthebayou.com. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$ Top 10

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. Pot stickers, 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, tofu, and mushrooms cloaked in spicy dark sauce and crowned with peanuts and cilantro) and Matt Chu’s Special (shaved rice noodle, fried chicken, and seasonal vegetables in gingery white sauce) topping the menu’s flavor charts.

521 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 261-6121 , amerasia. carry-out.com. Lunch Sun–Fri, dinner seven days. MCC. $

THE PACIFIC KITCHEN The monster of a menu can be dizzying. Ease in with some top-notch Korean Fried Chicken. These slightly bubbly, shatter-crisp wings are painted with a thin gochujang pepper 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, especially the strips of lightly pickled cucumber. 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 seven days; dim sum Sat & Sun. MCC. $$

SICHUAN BISTRO CHINESE GOURMET 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 teasmoked duck—the effect is momentarily tempered.

7888 S. Mason Montgomery Rd., Mason, (513) 7703123, 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

ABIGAIL STREET

Most people who’ve eaten at Abigail Street have favorite dishes that they order every visit: the Moroccan spiced broccoli, for example, or the mussels charmoula, with its perfect balance of saffron, creaminess, and tomatoey acidity. Many of the new items on the menu have the same perfected feeling as these classics.

Working within a loose framework of Middle Eastern and North African flavors, Abigail Street has never fallen into a routine that would sap its energy. New offerings like the duck leg confit, with spicy-sour harissa flavors, firm-tender butternut squash, and perfectly made couscous, 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. $$ Top 10

BOUQUET RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR

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. Chef-owner 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 tomato salad—wonderfully fresh and vibrant, so you know the tomatoes have just come off a nearby vine—is dressed with chopped shiso, a crimson herb that tastes like a mysterious combination of mint and cilantro. 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, bouquetrestaurant.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

CHÉ This Walnut Street spot draws on authentic Argentine recipes, including the empanadas. Choose from more than a dozen different crispy, perfectly cinched dough pockets, with fillings ranging from traditional (a mixture of cuminspiced beef, 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. It complements practically every item on the menu, but particularly the grilled meats, another Argentinian staple. Marinated beef skewers and sausages are cooked on an open-flame grill, imparting welcome bits of bitter char to the juicy meat.

1342 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 345-8838, checincinnati.com. Dinner seven days, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC. $$

DEAR RESTAURANT & BUTCHERY The concept behind the name for Dear is that the restaurant is a kind of love letter from the team to the guests, to Hyde Park, and to Cincinnati. Occupying the old Teller’s spot on Hyde Park Square, it’s two establishments in one. One side is a full-service butchery that sells housemade sausages, wine, coffee, sandwiches, and take-and-bake offerings and the other is a grand two-story restaurant. Animals, from pigs to Wagyu beef, arrive bi-weekly and are broken down

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in house, and turned into charcuterie and other cuts that make it into most of Dear’s dishes. The menu is small and focused, with dishes changing weekly and seasonally. This variability means the restaurant is serious about letting the availability of the best ingredients dictate what comes out.

And if the dishes turn out to be as good as the sugo, with its tender gnocchi-like dumplings and deliciously crumbly house-made pork sausage, they can serve us whatever they want.

2710 Erie Ave., Hyde Park, (513) 321-2710, dear-restaurant.com. Dinner Wed–Sat, brunch Sun. 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 ricotta toast, a thick slab of brioche toast smothered in ricotta and fresh, seasonal jams.

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 coleslaw and served on a toasted sesame seed 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 crinkle cut fries and ask for the housemade Maple Thousand Island dipping sauce. (You’ll thank us later.)

231 Main St., Milford, (513) 239-8298, governordiner.com. Breakfast, lunch, and

dinner seven days. Brunch and lunch Sun. MCC. $

MITA’S

0863, pampascincinnati.com. Brunch Sun, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

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 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 smoky depths of the chimichurri rojo on skewers of grilled chicken or the intensely bright sourness of the pozole verde. In dishes like the mushroom soup, the chef hits every register: the acid of red piquillo peppers to balance the earthy mushrooms, the crisp fried leeks against the delicately creamy soup. 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.

SACRED BEAST

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

1437 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 213-2864, sacredbeastdiner.com. Lunch, dinner, and late night seven days. MCC. $$

Top 10

PAMPAS Much like American food, Argentine cuisine is a melting pot shaped by immigration, particularly from Italy and Germany, and with plenty of meat on the plate. You see that mix in the menu, but Pampas puts parrillada, the Argentine method of cooking over an open flame, front and center. The chimichurri appears throughout the menu, and does wonders wherever it goes. Spicy, tart, and filled with the flavor of oregano, it wakes up the marinated skirt steak. Magnificent desserts deserve special mention. The dolce de leche crème brule, with its caramelized sugar crust and shaved chocolate, is quite popular.

2038 Madison Rd., O’Bryonville, (513) 321-

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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 lobster poutine, 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 late night grub; stay for the elegant, shareable twists on classic snacks.

THE STANDARD Owners Paul Weckman and Emily Wolff offer a pared down menu of six small plates (if you include the fries) and five mains. It’s simple but satisfying, with an interesting Pan-Asian street food vibe. The two kinds of satay (particularly the lemongrass chicken) and the fried honey sriracha tenders, with an excellent housemade bread-andbutter pickle, are the highlights. In terms of drinks, try the Hot Rod, which has the flavor of kimchi captured in a drink. There is a gochujang (salty, fermented Korean chile paste) simple syrup and a rim of Korean pepper—and the result is wonderful and unique.

BABY LOVE

Over-the-Rhine jazz club Ghost Baby recently appeared on Esquire magazine’s 2022 “Best Bars in America” list . The editors said the old storage tunnel that houses the establishment has been “turned into an ambitious Babylon Berlin– feeling nightclub” with “bomb-shelter excitement.”

esquire.com/fooddrink/bars/a40253934/ best-bars-america-2022

ICON BY JESSICA DUNHAM

434 Main St., Covington, (859) 360-0731, facebook. com/thestandardcov. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $

20 BRIX Paul Barraco mixes Mediterranean influences with homespun choices, and he comes up with some marvelous food.

Lamb meatballs with melted onions and romesco sauce are sweet and peppery, and their simplicity partners well with a lush Zinfandel. And his chicken and waffles could inspire you to regularly take a solo seat at the bar. The excellent wine list, arranged by flavor profiles within the varietals, features dozens of varieties by the glass in five-ounce or two-ounce pours, which makes it easy to try several.

101 Main St., Milford, (513) 831-2749, 20brix.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS, DC. $$

TERANGA West African cuisine consists of mostly simple, home-style dishes of stews and grilled lamb with just enough of the exotic to offer a glimpse of another culture. Be prepared for a few stimulating sights and flavors that warm from within. An entire grilled tilapia—head and all—in a peppery citrus marinade and served on plantains with a side of Dijoncoated cooked onions is interesting enough to pique foodie interest without overwhelming the moderate eater. Stews of lamb or chicken with vegetables and rice are a milder bet, and Morrocan-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. $

ZULA For a restaurant whose name loosely derives from an Israeli slang term for “hidden treasure,” it seems apt that a dish or two might sneak in and stun—like the mussels Marseilles, with its bouillabaisse-style broth, rich with saffron, tomato, and fennel. But Zula is no one-trick pony. With a wood-fired

oven on the premises, it’s incumbent on you to try the flatbreads. One zula is the eggplant option, where caramelized onions and marinated red bell peppers pair well with subtly sweet fontina. Not every bite at Zula is a game-changer, but one is all you need.

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 bouillabaisse or cassoulet—for dinner. If you’re an early bird, a Croque Monsieur (sunny side up egg) is a great way to start the day.

1400 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 744-9852, zulabistro.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$

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

LE BAR A BOEUF

FRENCH CHEZ RENÉE FRENCH BISTROT Based on American stereotypes of French food—that it’s elaborate, elitist, and expensive—one might expect Chez Renee 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. Asparagus is beautifully roasted and perfectly salted, and the quiche Lorraine (yes, the old standby) has a nice, firm texture, and a fine balance of bacon, mushrooms, and oignons (to quote the menu, which is a charming hodgepodge of French and English). 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 and 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

Jean-Robert de Cavel’s upscale alterna-burger-shack features bifteck haché, ground beef patties that are a mainstay of French family dinners, according to de Cavel. His “Les Ground Meat” is available in beef, Wagyu beef, bison, lamb, and fish (a blend of albacore tuna and salmon). Portions are eight ounces, taller than a typical burger, and seared on the kitchen’s iron griddle. It’s easy to turn many of the generously portioned appetizers into dinner. Pair the open-faced beef tongue “French Dip” sandwich with a spinach salad and you’ll have one of the best choices in the house. Or go for mac-and-cheese. The lobster mac always sounds lush, but do consider the humble beef cheek version, enlivened by a touch of truffle oil, instead.

2200 Victory Pkwy., East Walnut Hills, (513) 751-2333, lebaraboeuf.com . 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, Muthia 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

Local Comes Full Circle Turkey Red Wheat is a hard winter wheat that’s not predominantly grown in Ohio, but thanks to three local farmers — Danny Jones, Dale Friesen, and Edward Hill — we have a 50-acre crop that’s milled farmside. From it, our Artisan Bakers craft this Turkey Red Wheat Oatmeal Stout Pan Loaf.

Learn why this wheat is so special.

Oakwood (937) 299-3561 Washington Square (937) 434-1294 Springboro (937) 748-6800 D O RO T H Y L A N E . CO M

PHOTOGRAPH BY TK FREELANCER

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nicolasotr.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC, DS. $$$

SUBITO cauliflower dish, to the lemon pickle, tamarind, and mint sauces—entirely from scratch under the careful eye of Rabbi Michoel Stern. Always 80 percent vegan, the daily lunch buffet is 100 percent animal-product-free on Wednesdays. Tuck into a warm and savory channa masala (spiced chickpeas) or malai kofta (vegetable dumplings in tomato sauce) from the curry menu. Or tear into a crispy, two-foot diameter dosa (chickpea flour crepe) stuffed with spiced onions and potatoes.

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 risotto 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 an herbed tofu ricotta, and covered with roasted ribbons of beet and carrot, the whole dish is rounded out with a touch of astringent tartness from preserved lemon oil.

Everything at Subito is done with intelligence and a light touch.

7633 Reading Rd., Roselawn, (513) 821-2021, ammaskitchen.com. Lunch buffet seven days (allvegan on Wed), dinner seven days. MC, V, DS. $

311 Pike St., downtown, (513) 621-4500, thelytleparkhotel.com/dining/subito.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days. MCC. $$

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 super-sizing 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.

FOOD UNITY

After five years in business, Emily Frank of Share: Cheesebar in Pleasant Ridge closed her shop in June but announced plans to reopen inside nearby coffeeshop Coffee Exchange by early November.

This move allows Frank to expand her catering operations and adds more hours for customers to pick up their charcuterie board orders.

sharecheesebar.com

11259 Reading Rd., Sharonville, (513) 7694549, brijmohancincinnati.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. AMEX, MC, V, DC. $

I TA L I A N FORNO Cristian Pietoso’s second restaurant has all the bones of an upscale eatery, but the menu is infused with enough Italian soul to make nonna proud. In most instances, raving about a side of creamed corn wouldn’t bode well for the rest of the menu. Here, that side dish—kernels swimming in a pool of truffle-laced heavy cream that demands sopping up—is evidence that each component prepared by chef de cuisine Stefano Carne is purposedriven. The red wine–braised honeycomb tripe, which carries a warning label (“Don’t be scared!”), and the pappardelle with spiced cinghiale (wild boar) ragu are examples of the elevated, adventurous comfort food that Pietoso strives for.

3514 Erie Ave., East Hyde Park, (513) 818-8720, fornoosteriabar.com. Dinner Tues–Sun, brunch Sun. MCC. $$ 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 celebrates 25 years in business. Nicola’s has entered a new era of exuberant creativity under the leadership of chef Jack Hemmer. 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,

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J A PA N E S E 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 shishito buono, a piled-high plate of roasted shishito peppers tossed in shaved parmesan and bagna cauda, a warm, rich blend of garlic and anchovies. 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) 5410381, kikicincinnati.com. Lunch (carryout only) and dinner Thurs–Sun. 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). Deepfried 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 and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$

KOREAN HARU After the closing of Sung Korean Bistro, Haru is a welcome addition to the downtown scene. Dishes are served along with the usual Korean accompaniment of pickles, kimchi, fish cakes, and other mysteriously delicious dainties. A favorite is the japchae, a traditional dish sporting silky sweet potato noodles with sesame-and-garlic sauce,

matchsticks of assorted crisp vegetables, and behind it all a wonderful smokiness that pervades the whole meal. The accompanying pot of gochujang, a fermented Korean chili paste, adds its own sweet and spicy note. The result is a homey, soulful, and satisfying taste that appeals even to those who’ve never eaten a bite of Korean food before.

628 Vine St., downtown, (513) 381-0947, harucincy.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC. $$

RIVERSIDE KOREAN RESTAURANT Come for the jo gi mae un tang—a bowl of sizzling, happy hellbroth pungent with red pepper, garlic, and ginger, crowded with nuggets of fish, tofu, and vegetables. Come for the restorative power of sam gae tang, a chicken soup for the Seoul—a whole Cornish hen submerged in its own juices and plumped with sticky rice and ginseng, dried red dates, and pine nuts. Revered for their medicinal properties, both dinner-sized soups will leave your eyes glistening and your brow beaded with sweat. They’re 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 Mon– Fri, dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$

MEDITERRANEAN CAFÉ MEDITERRANEAN Chef-driven Middle Eastern cuisine leans heavily on Turkish tradition here. The baba ghanoush uses seared eggplant, which adds a pleasant smokiness to the final product. Börek is described as a “Turkish Egg Roll,” wrapping feta and fresh and dried herbs into phyllo dough, and frying it lightly to brittle flakiness. The pastry arrives atop a vivid cherry tomato marmalade, which adds a welcome dimension of barely sweet fruitiness. While there is a smooth, simple hummus on the menu, you should go for the classic sucuklu hummus, which is spiked with sujuk, a common beef sausage popular all over the Middle East.

3520 Erie Ave., East Hyde Park, (513) 871-8714.

Lunch Mon–Sat, dinner seven days. MCC. $$

SANTORINI Steak, eggs, and home fries. Jumbo haddock sandwich with Greek fries. Chocolate chip hot cakes with bacon. Notice something wrong with this menu? Chicken Philly cheese steak sandwich with Olympic onion rings. Yep, it’s obvious: What’s wrong with this menu is that there’s nothing wrong with this menu. Greek feta cheese omelette with a side of ham. It’s been owned by the same family for more than 30 years. Santorini has diner standards, like cheeseburgers, chili five ways, and breakfast anytime, but they also make some Greek pastries in house, like spanakopita and baklava.

3414 Harrison Ave., Cheviot, (513) 6628080. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Mon–Sat, breakfast and lunch Sun. Cash. $

SULTAN’S MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE The meze, a parade of small plates and appetizers—the refreshing yogurt dish with cucumber, mint, and garlic known as cacik, and its thicker cousin haydari, with chopped walnuts, dill, and garlic—is rounded out with flaky cheese or spinach boureks, falafels, soups, salads, and more, while ICON BY JESSICA DUNHAM

baked casseroles or stuffed cabbage and eggplant dishes (dubbed “Ottoman specials”) augment the heavy focus on kebabs: chunks of lamb and beef on a vertical spit for the popular Doner kebab (a.k.a. Turkish gyro), peppery ground lamb for the Adana kebab, or cubed and marinated for the Shish kebab.

7305 Tyler’s Corner Dr., West Chester, (513) 847-1535, sultanscincinnati.com. Lunch and dinner seven days.

MCC, DS. $$

MEXICAN EL VALLE VERDE Guests with dietary issues, high anxiety, and no Spanish may take a pass, but for hardy souls, this taqueria delivers a memorable evening. Seafood dishes are the star here—ceviche tostadas, crisp corn tortillas piled high with pico de gallo, avocado, and lime-tastic bits of white fish, squid, and crab; the oversized goblet of cocktel campechano, with ample poached shrimp crammed into a Clamato-heavy gazpacho; and simmering sopa de marisco came with langoustines, mussels, crab legs, and an entire fish—enough to feed three.

6717 Vine St., Carthage, (513) 821-5400. Lunch and dinner seven days. $

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 house-made, 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. $

NADA The brains behind Boca deliver authentic, contemporary, high-quality Mexican fare downtown. You’ll find a concise menu, including tacos, salads and sides, large plates, and desserts. Tacos inspired by global cuisine include the Señor Mu Shu (Modelo and ginger braised pork) and fried avocado (chipotle bean purée). The ancho-glazed pork shank with chili-roasted carrots comes with a papaya guajillo salad (order it for the table); dreamy mac-and-cheese looks harmless, but there’s just enough of a roasted poblano and jalapeño punch to have you reaching for another icy margarita.

600 Walnut St., downtown, (513) 721-6232, eatdrinknada.com. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner seven days, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC, DS. $$

TAQUERIA MERCADO On a Saturday night, Taqueria Mercado is a lively fiesta, with seemingly half of the local Hispanic community guzzling margaritas and cervezas, or carrying out sacks of burritos and carnitas tacos—pork tenderized by a long simmer, its edges frizzled and crispy. The Mercado’s strip mall interior is equally energetic: the bustling semi-open kitchen; a busy counter that handles a constant stream of take-out orders; a clamorous, convivial chatter in Spanish and English. Try camarones a la plancha, 12 chubby grilled shrimp tangled with grilled onions (be sure to specify if you like your onions well done). The starchiness of the rice absorbs the caramelized onion juice, offset by the crunch of lettuce, buttery slices of avocado, and the cool-hot pico de gallo.

6507 Dixie Hwy., Fairfield, (513) 942-4943; 100 E. Eighth St., downtown, (513) 381-0678, tmercadocincy. com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $

waii, North Carolina catfish, Massachusetts cod. But highquality ingredients are only half the equation; preparation is the other. Flaky Parmesan-crusted tilapia, with a squeeze of lemon, 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. $$

OAKLEY FISH HOUSE Chanaka De Lanerolle sold Mt. Adams Fish House back in 2011, and Oakley Fish House 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, fluffy 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. $$$

PEARLSTAR Over-the-Rhine’s buzzworthy oyster bar marks owner Terry Raley and his Amaranth Hospitality Group’s first foray outside of Nashville. The oysters—flown in every 24 to 36 hours—are delivered on a bed of crushed ice with lemon wedges and a vinegary herbed mignonette sauce. Add a few refreshing drops of lemon and mignonette, mix in the additional fresh horseradish, house-made hot sauce, or cocktail sauce, and slurp your way to the sea. The entrées (Pearl “Stars,” as they’re called on the menu) is equal parts surf and turf, with the Arctic char and Texas redfish living up to the “star” billing. The char, with its topping of lemon caper butter, was creamy enough to eat by the spoonful while the soft, spicy redfish was flecked with a chocolaty chorizo oil that tasted like a master chef’s take on Cincinnati chili. All of this can be washed down with PearlStar’s extensive drink menu, including cleverly named cocktails like Thyme to Fly and Golf Pants.

1220 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 381-0427, pearlstar.com. Dinner Wed–Sun, brunch Sun. MCC. $$

STEAKS 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 steakhose 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—yes, totally out of season, but still good—is at least freshly cut off the cob and recalls elote with lime and chile powder.

1401 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 246-4213, losantiotr.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC. $$$

JAG’S STEAK AND 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 Ha-

5980 West Chester Rd., West Chester, (513) 860-5353, jags.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC. $$$

PHOTOGRAPH BY TK FREELANCER

Part of the appeal of the Ruby restaurants is their ability to deliver deep, comfort-food satisfaction. And the steaks. The meat is tender with a rich mineral flavor, and the signature seasoning provided a nice crunch, not to mention blazing heat. The supporting cast is strong—the basket of warm Sixteen Bricks bread with a mushroom truffle butter, the addictive baked macaroni and cheese, the creamy garlic mashed potatoes, the crisp-tender asparagus with roasted garlic and lemon vinaigrette—and dinner ends on a sweet note with a piece of Ruby family recipe cheesecake. Neither cloyingly sweet nor overwhelmingly creamy, it’s a lovely slice of restraint.

311 Delta Ave., Columbia-Tusculum, (513) 321-5454, jeffruby.com/precinct. 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, mac-and-cheese, asparagus, and sautéed mushrooms; toppings of roasted garlic or Gorgonzola butters to accompany your center cut of filet mignon. There are boutique touches, though, that make it stand out—a garlic herb aioli with the calamari, steak tartare torch-kissed and topped with a poached egg, a superb rack of lamb rubbed with aromatic sumac and served with mint pesto.

12110 Montgomery Rd., Symmes Township, (513) 6778669, tonysofcincinnati.com. Dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$$

VI ETNAM E S E PHO LANG THANG Owners Duy and Bao Nguyen and David Le have created a greatest hits playlist of Vietnamese cuisine: elegant, brothy pho made from poultry, beef, or vegan stocks poured over rice noodles and adrift with slices of onions, meats, or vegetables (the vegan pho chay is by far the most flavorful); fresh julienned vegetables, crunchy sprouts, and herbs served over vermicelli rice noodles (again, the vegan version, bun chay, is the standout); and bánh mì. Be sure to end with a cup of Vietnamese coffee, a devilish jolt of dark roast and sweetened condensed milk that should make canned energy drinks obsolete.

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

Jag’s food is deeply flavored, if occasionally a bit busy, the steaks of the buttery-mild variety, with not too much salty char crust. All seven cuts are served with veal demi-glace and fried onion straws. According to my steak-centric dining partner, his cowboy rib eye is “too tender and uniform” (as if that’s a crime). “I like to wrestle with the bone,” he adds, though that’s a scenario that, thankfully, doesn’t get played out in this subdued dining room.

SEAFOOD

THE PRECINCT

SONG LONG The menu does have a substantial Chinese section, but make no mistake, the reason there’s a line at the door on weekend nights is the fine Vietnamese specialties cooked and served by the Le family. Begin with the goi cuon, the cold rolls of moistened rice paper wrapped around vermicelli noodles, julienned cucumbers, lettuce, cilantro, and mung bean sprouts. Or try the banh xeo, a platter-sized pan-fried rice crepe folded over substantial nuggets of chicken and shrimp, mushrooms, and wilted mung sprouts.

The phos, meal-sized soups eaten for breakfast, are good, but the pho dac biet is Song Long’s best. Crisp-tender vegetables, slices of beef, herbs, and scallions glide through the noodle-streaked broth.

1737 Section Rd., Roselawn, (513) 351-7631, songlong. net. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC, DS. $ CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, (ISSN 0746-8 210), August 2022, Volume 55, Number 11. Published monthly ($19.95 for 12 issues annually) at 1818 Race St., Ste. 301, Cincinnati, OH 45202. (513) 421-4300. Copyright © 2022 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.

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CINCY OBSCURA

Let It Slide THERE ARE PLENTY of playgrounds in Burnet Woods, but they’re almost no match for the timeless allure of an 80-year-old slide carved into the stairs near the park’s Trailside Nature Center. Built in 1940 as part of a series of local WPA projects, the slide has drawn in generations of families looking for a bit of old-fashioned fun. “The Cincinnati Park Board has greatly benefitted from projects launched during the Great Depression,” says Michael George, the Park Naturalist who oversees the Burnet Woods Trailside Nature Center. At some points in its history the slide has been coated with epoxy resin to make for a smoother ride, though today cardboard is going to be your best friend.

(George says there are no immediate plans to re-coat the slide.) You’ll likely find leftover pieces of it hiding in the grass surrounding the slide.

“Some purists insist on going down on their bottoms,” says George, while others swear that the key is wax paper.

A word of caution to those wishing to take the plunge: Hold on tight. Even unpainted, this thing is no joke; we were shocked by how tall it was in-person. Don’t be surprised if you walk away with a few scraped knuckles and knees in pursuit of a thrill.

—LAUREN FISHER

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PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW DOENCH

L E T’S S H I N E.

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