Cincinnati Magazine - February 2026 Edition

New faces in fashion are styling the Queen City

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

Own Your Look: A Guide to Final Touches After Taking a Weight Loss Medication

There are many people in the United States and overseas that are using semaglutides to lose weight.

If you are using one of these medications, you may experience unexpected changes to your face and body as the pounds come off. Board-certified dermatologist and anti-aging expert Dr. Mona S. Foad shares how to address and prevent some of the most common skin and body concerns that people face while on these medications, and how to feel more confident in your new body.

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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

Restoring Facial Volume

Improving Skin Quality

People don’t expect to lose fat in their face when they start losing weight. While seeing that number on the scale go down is exciting, facial volume loss can actually make you look older—sometimes up to five years older than you are.

When fat or muscle disappears from your face, you might notice new lines and wrinkles, a hollowed-out look around your cheeks or temples, or skin that seems looser than before.

The good news? There are several ways to restore that youthful fullness.

Significant weight loss can change how your skin looks and feels. That’s because losing weight doesn’t just affect fat—it also impacts the essential building blocks that keep skin looking youthful, like elastin, collagen, and other key nutrients.

You might notice your skin looking saggy, dull, or less firm than it used to. The good news is that there are plenty of options to visibly tighten, smooth, and enhance your skin’s appearance.

Dr. Mona’s Recommendations:

Dr. Mona’s Recommendations: • Hyaluronic acid fillers: Help restore lost volume from fat loss with immediate results that can last up to 12-18 months.

• Biostimulators: Such as Sculptra, help to build your own collagen within the skin gradually, with best results seen 3-6 months after treatment.

• Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP): Harness your body’s ability to build collagen using the growth factors in your blood’s platelet-rich plasma.

Building Muscle Strength & Tone Did you know that up to 40% of the weight you lose might actually come from muscle, not just fat? While many of us focus on the muscle loss that can occur on the body, our face can actually lose that same muscle mass, creating premature signs of aging. Muscle, in addition to fat, is an important support structure for the skin.

The first line of defense? Healthy lifestyle changes like eating more lean protein and incorporating strength training into your routine. But if you’re experiencing weakened muscle function or want an extra boost, electromagnetic stimulation treatments can help restore lost muscle on both the face and body.

• Skincare: Growth Factors and peptides (such as TNS Advanced+ Serum) help the skin “act young” again and slow down aging. Adding a retinoid, such as Retin-A (tretinoin), or a retinol for more sensitive skin, can improve cellular turnover and increase skin radiance.

Consider skin care for the neck and body. Our favorites are SkinMedica’s Firm and Tone for the body and Neck Correct for the neck.

• Tightening: Ultrasound and radiofrequency are great, no-downtime ways to tighten skin on and off the face.

We love Sofwave ultrasound tightening, Thermage radiofrequency, and Radiofrequency microneedling.

• Lasers and Lights: If you have some downtime, a laser can help improve overall skin quality and help address fine lines. We love Fraxel Dual, Halo, Erbium, and CO2 for skin resurfacing.

Tackling Stubborn Fat You’ve done the hard work and lost the weight—but you might still notice stubborn pockets of fat that won’t budge, no matter what you do. Stubborn fat is that layer beneath your skin that’s resistant to diet and exercise. If you’re at or near your ideal weight but are still bothered by specific areas, noninvasive body contouring treatments could be the final touch you need.

Dr. Mona’s Recommendations: Dr. Mona’s Recommendations: • EmFace: Consider muscle stimulation for the face.

EmFace uses HIFES (high-frequency electrical stimulation) technology paired with radiofrequency energy to tighten skin and noninvasively improve muscle tone on the forehead, eyes, cheek, and submentum to build back that lost support with no downtime.

• Kybella: Deoxycholic acid, a substance produced by the gallbladder to break down fat, can be injected to target unwanted fullness under the chin or along the jowls. It can also be used in small pockets of stubborn fat on the body, such as bra fat.

• EmSculpt Neo: While EmFace focuses on the face, EmSculpt Neo targets muscle on the body to build back lost muscle and burn fat on the abdomen, flanks, buttocks, thighs, biceps, triceps, and calves with no downtime.

• CoolSculpting Elite: This treatment uses freezing technology, also known as cryolypolisis, to permanently destroy fat cells. CoolSculpting is a great option for targeting a focused area of stubborn fat, such as on the abdomen, thighs, bra fat, or arms.

Not sure what’s right for you? Visit monadermatology.com or call 513.984.4800 to schedule a consultation at Mona Dermatology to discuss which products and treatments are right for you.

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The first time totally endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgeon Mario Castillo-Sang, M.D., witnessed the use of a 3D scope to visualize a minimally invasive cardiac procedure performed in Greece, he almost couldn’t believe it. The magnified imagery was so close and so clear that it completely rewrote his expectations of what was possible to achieve as a cardiothoracic surgeon. “It blew my mind,” he recalls. “The quality of the imaging was superior to anything I’d ever seen before.”

Unfortunately, at the time, the 3D 4K camera technology was neither approved nor available in the United States. Castillo-Sang had no choice but to wait.

Fast forward to 2024. The FDA approved the 3D 4K scope for U.S. usage. Hi Josie, love you. Castillo-Sang immediately summoned the St. Elizabeth Healthcare leadership team to witness the technology in action, hoping to bring it permanently to the hospital’s arsenal.

As expected, the team was astonished. “It wasn’t even a difficult ask,” Castillo-Sang laughs. The technology arrived at St. Elizabeth in mid 2025, and “we haven’t looked back,” he says.

Today, St. Elizabeth is one of only two centers in the country to offer 3D 4K technology for totally endoscopic minimally invasive heart procedures. The imaging is a revolutionary improvement from its 2D predecessor, making myriad procedures—including mitral valve repairs, atrial septal repairs, atrial fibrillation ablations, and cardiac tumor removal—safer and more effective than ever before. The surgical incisions are just 2.6 centimeters and no longer require sternotomies, which sliced through the sternum to access the heart.

The technology is especially beneficial for medically frail patients—those of advanced age, with comorbidities, or who have undergone previous cardiac procedures.

Most patients return home within three to four days and very infrequently require blood transfusions. More than 70 percent of patients don’t even need a narcotic to manage their pain at home upon discharge.

The cardiac team at St. Elizabeth was also the first in the world to endoscopically

perform a procedure for mitral annular calcification (MAC) using a wand-like ultrasonic device to gently remove calcium deposits on the heart. Though typically a risky procedure, the pioneering minimally invasive techniques and amplified visualization combined to create a revolutionary experience for patients with this condition.

“It sounds like I’m making it up,” Castillo-Sang says. “We are changing the paradigm of truly minimally invasive cardiac surgery and how it feels to be a cardiac surgery patient.”

St. Elizabeth’s progress has attracted the eyes of the international cardiology community. In September 2025, the hospital earned the honor of hosting the annual Endoscopic Cardiac Surgeons Club meeting, a global assembly of 380 cardiac surgeons, physicians, and medical professionals representing 42 countries.

“I am having the best time of my life professionally,” concludes Castillo-Sang.

“I’m able to do things with patients that I didn’t think would ever exist back when I was training in 2007. It’s surreal.”

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CLAUDIA HERSHNER

I FEEL GRATEFUL EVERY DAY I COME TO WORK THAT I’M ABLE TO BE AROUND CREative people doing creative things, from telling stories to shooting Instagram videos to designing page layouts to managing photo shoots. I’ve been fortunate to do this sort of work for 35 years now—fortunate because I often feel like writing and editing are the only creative talents I possess.

Do you ever catch yourself looking around in amazement at all of the creative people you know? I can’t sing, play a musical instrument, draw, paint, dance, get on stage to tell jokes or act, or play sports—and I’m always impressed by those who can. I guess it’s human nature to lament what you can’t do creatively more than appreciate what you can do, though I try to strike that balance and, again, be grateful for what I have.

One more creative skill I lack is understanding how colors, textures, fabrics, and shapes work together in fashion design. Fortunately, a number of creative people across Cincinnati have that area covered, as demonstrated in “The Future of Fashion” (page 34). I’ve enjoyed finding out how these designers discovered and nurtured their talents, from learning to sew in childhood to being encouraged by a teacher to pursuing a college degree to the good, oldfashioned “self-taught” approach. Seeing their incredible work on our pages elicits the same response I usually have to creatives: Wow, how did they do that?

I contributed an interview with Zachary Hoh, who manages DAAP’s fashion design program, to this section. Hearing him describe the school’s academic rigor and five semesters of off-campus co-op requirements, I now understand why DAAP is renowned in fashion design circles and why so many grads go on to high-profile positions at national and international brands and design firms. While they’re here at UC—and for those who stay in town after graduation—these creatives can’t help but raise the bar within Cincinnati’s design scene. Kind of like how the music and theater programs at CCM or the culinary program at Cincinnati State bring creatives together here to mix, mingle, and inspire each other.

If they’re fortunate, they might even be able to build a creative career here.

J O H N F OX

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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When photographing fashion, Claudia Hershner says her background in fine arts informs her choice of lighting, poses, and overall energy.

Such bold colors and natural light (“like what you would find in a museum,” she says) can be found in “The Future of Fashion” (page 34), in which Cincinnati Magazine highlights some of the region’s young, up-and-coming fashion designers.

SCOTT BESELER Scott Beseler’s 40-plus year photography career led him to an ongoing creative collaboration with local rock band Foxy Shazam. For “Foxy Goes to Hollywood” (page 17), he captures lead singer Eric Nally alongside Michael Jamie Fox (follow the marble fox on Instagram at @michael_ jamie_fox). “I’d never worked with a fox before, so I did my homework,” says Beseler. “Foxes can be unpredictable, quick, and selective about when they engage. I planned for that by shooting with a fast shutter speed and staying flexible.”

GINA ELLIS Freelance writer and artist Gina Ellis has been fascinated by the health and longevity of residents in Blue Zone communities since Dan Buettner first described them two decades ago. So when she heard about efforts to create a Blue Zone in Cincinnati, “it piqued my curiosity and inspired me to write” her first feature story for Cincinnati Magazine, “In the Zone” (page 48).

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FOXY GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

Foxy Shazam’s Eric Nally talks Superman, Peacemaker, and the power of friendship. R O D N E Y W I L S O N L

AST YEAR WAS PRETTY EPIC FOR

Cincinnati’s resident rowdy rockers, Foxy Shazam. First, 2025 saw the band release two full-length albums on its EEEOOOAH label, Animality Opera and Box of Magic.

Also, frontman Eric Nally (right) was spotted in both the credits and background of the summer blockbuster Superman. August’s season two release of HBO Max’s Peacemaker featured the band’s “Oh Lord” as the theme song, which played weekly before episodes as the cast cavorted around the choreographed lumbering of star John Cena. And the season two finale featured a highoctane Foxy Shazam performance of the song.

The band—Nally, Schuyler “Sky” White (keyboards), Teddy Aitkins (drums), Alex Nauth (horns), Devin Williams (guitar), and Misster Universe (bass)—formed in 2004 after Nally and original guitarist Lauren Turner were gobsmacked by White’s showmanship at a Bogart’s Battle of the Bands event.

The band has toured with arenasized acts (Slash, CONTINUED ON P. 18

PHOTOGRAPH BY SCOTT BESELER

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 1 7

The Darkness) and put out alhaving a blast collaborating with Gunn, bums on major labels. Nally feaparticularly the process of filming their tured on a hit Macklemore song, and performance for Peacemaker. “It was really magical. I mean, to be there in perthey’ve all found various successes son on something like that,” he says. “I outside the band, too. (White, for extry to stay calm, grateful, and humble, ample, owns Wendigo Tea Co.) But but also be there for it and give 100 perthis moment, with the viral success of cent of my passion.”

“Oh Lord” and big-budget filmmaker Asked if fans can expect future Foxy James Gunn calling Foxy “objectively Shazam appearances in DC Universe the greatest rock and roll band in the world,” feels special for one of the hardshows and movies, Nally is considered est working bands out there. with his response but also eager to highSo how did we get here? The story light what he sees as the true value of starts when Gunn, a Foxy fanboy, put the his friendship with Gunn. “My relationband’s song “Welcome to the Church of ship with James is a personal one, and Rock and Roll” in a season it’s always going to continue,” he says. “I don’t expect anyone episode of Peacemaker.

“I heard about it through the thing. But at the same time, grapevine, because I didn’t these relationships that I have Itching to see with other artists—we supknow what the show was at Foxy on stage? the time,” says Nally, explainWhile a Cincinnati port each other, regardless of tour date is upcoming, whether we’re doing anything ing that he reached out to Gunn via social media to say take a road trip to India- together or not. I think that napolis’s Turntable on thanks. “I didn’t hear back for March 7 to get a taste provokes great stuff.” like a year, then, out of noNally says to look forward to of Foxy’s rock and roll. where, he responded and was a lot of touring in 2026 (includlike, ‘Oh, my God, we didn’t follow each ing a “really special” hometown show) in support of all the band’s new music. He’s other so I didn’t see your message right also feeling inspired by new fans, so even away. I’m a huge fan!’ ” While the creative output from that more Foxy Shazam songs are likely on the initial connection has been inspiring for horizon.“And, you know…expect the unboth fans of the band and the filmmaker, expected.”

Nally personally appreciates the friendOne thing you shouldn’t expect, ship he’s developed with Gunn based on though, is for Foxy Shazam to be lured mutual appreciation. “It’s a huge gift,” away from Cincinnati by the bright says Nally. “I’m just really grateful when lights of Tinseltown. “Ohio looks like a artists recognize each other, whenever heart,” he laughs. “I love that. Cincinnati that happens and in any sense. I look to is really awesome, and it doesn’t have to be L.A. or New York. That has inspired James as a great artist.”

Which isn’t to say Foxy Shazam isn’t me throughout our career.”

ART

ARISTOCRATIC ART

On February 6, the Cincinnati Art Museum opens Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms of the Northwest Himalayas. It features more than 40 artworks, many given as gifts between noble families and political allies in the 17th to 19th centuries. cincinnatiartmuseum.org 1 8 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6

SPEAK EASY

THE DATING GAME X Dating is a different game than it was in years past, and no one knows that better than the minds behind Date Cincy—the region’s most popular community for Greater Cincinnati singles.

The group’s singles events have welcomed hundreds of attendees since 2023, giving cofounder Logan Moore a finger on the pulse of how, why, and who Cincinnatians are dating.

How has dating changed in recent years? With dating apps creating the illusion of endless options, people are often left wondering if there’s someone “better” just one swipe away. This has made many people more passive, and sometimes less invested, in the dating process. At Date Cincy, we’re intentionally bringing dating back to real life. When people register, show up, and engage in person, there’s already a shared level of effort and openness, which creates a much better foundation for connection.

What makes a good first date? Good conversation is the biggest indicator of a successful first date.

While chemistry is important, it doesn’t always appear im-

mediately. If you enjoy the conversation, feel comfortable, and share common interests, that’s a great sign.

What are good conversation starters on a first date? The best first date questions are ones that reveal what someone enjoys and values. A few great starters include: “If you had a completely free Saturday, how would you spend it?”

“What’s your favorite place you’ve ever traveled?” “What does a perfect date night look like to you?” “What’s something you’re really passionate about right now?” “What’s something on your bucket list?”

What success stories have come from Date Cincy events? We’ve had six engagements that we know of and three couples have already gotten married after meeting at our events. We also have many couples who are currently dating.

Beyond romantic success, we love seeing friendships form, confidence grow, and people finding a sense of community. We’re still waiting on our first Date Cincy baby.

READ A LONGER INTERVIEW WITH LOGAN AT CINCINNATIMAGAZINE. COM. PHOTOGRAPHS BY TK FREELANCER

P H O T O G R A P H CO U R T E S Y L O G A N M O O R E / I CO N BY E M I V I L L AV I C E N C I O / K R I S H N A P L AY I N G W I T H T H E G O P I S I N T H E YA M U N A , CO U R T E S Y T H E C I N C I N N AT I A R T M U S EU M , C I R C A 1 7 7 0, I N D I A , G U M T E M P E R A A N D G O L D O N PA P E R

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STYLE COUNSEL

SHIRT DRESS: H&M (PAINTED BY INEZ) VEST: MM6 MAISON MARGIELA VIA IDLEWILD BOOTS: ZARA PURSE: A.R.T. GALLERY (PAINTED BY INEZ)

Inez Baird OCCUPATION: Founder of A.R.T. Resource Team, art consultant/gallery owner, painter | E.I. Baird STYLE: Artsy, creative, urban, playful How has working with art influenced your personal style? In every way. In the colors and the textures. I’d say mostly the colors, the idea of juxtaposition—I love unexpected color combinations. How do you think your style has evolved since founding the A.R.T. Resource Team?

I’ve become more confident. I’ve been exposed to so much more design just from social media—I mean, we all are— and I feel like I have more access to better things. What is going through your mind when putting together an outfit?

I like the idea of a good mix. When I get dressed, I could put something fancy on top and then some rubber shoes on the bottom. Just unexpected, not something that you would necessarily think works together, but then it works together because it’s just so funky and cool. What are some of your personal wardrobe staples? These rubber shoes, a Stella McCartney and Adidas collaboration. I love neckwear. If my neck’s warm, I’m good.

If it’s not, I’m freezing cold, so whenever it turns chilly, I love to get my neckwear going. Glasses are now a thing because I’m blind, so I change [my readers] based on whatever my outfit is. Where do you shop for clothes? Idlewild, The RealReal.

What is your advice to someone who is trying to develop their personal style? You have to buy into the whole deal, and it has to do with a certain kind of confidence. I don’t know how you teach that, which is frustrating because I feel like so many people are missing out on an opportunity to have so much fun and joy in their lives just by getting dressed. I don’t know how to say how to do it, other than just do it. Just put it on, maybe it works. — K E N N E D Y G A R M O N G

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

Confidence is your best outfit.

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THE FIND

THE SHAPE OF YOU Gemma rings feature various traditional gemstone “cuts”: round, emerald, pear, hexagon, and kite. For customers who prefer having a stone in their placeholder, Gemma offers the Poolside Ring with blue topaz and the Prisma Ring with garnet.

FOURTH EDITION Now in its fourth iteration, Gemma originally offered a geometric alternative to fine jewelry and included earrings and necklaces. The first edition Prisma collection launched in 2015, turning wireframe designs into gold-plated geometric shapes using 3D printing and casting.

SURPRISE! Gemma rings can be used for surprise proposals while giving the wearer a choice in their permanent engagement ring design.

“We’ve had people use this ring as a stand-in, essentially something to get engaged in and wear right away, and then they can come in and design an engagement ring together,” says Jaeger.

HOLD MY PLACE

ELAINE B JEWELRY’S GEMMA COLLECTION REIMAGINES THE PLACEHOLDER RING WITH SOPHISTICATION. —EMMA BALCOM

REVIVED Before it was known as the “placeholder ring,” the Gemma collection was retired in 2024. Jaeger revived the rings after discovering a viral social media post featuring a Gemma ring being used as a placeholder for an engagement ring.

Through one of its most recent collection releases, Elaine B Jewelry has transformed the idea of a placeholder engagement ring. Forget silicone and basic metal bands—with her trademark minimalistic style and timeless design, owner Elaine Jaeger devised the Gemma collection, an elegant alternative to your everyday placeholder. Made entirely out of 14-karat yellow gold, Gemma rings use structural, geometric design to create frames that mimic the appearance of traditional cut gemstones.

EL AINE B JEWELRY

2944 MARKBREIT AVE., OAKLEY, (513) 531-1178, ELAINEBJEWELRY.COM

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PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW DOENCH

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ESCAPE

ANOTHER SIDE OF NEW ORLEANS PHOTOGR APHS COURTE SY: ( TOP LEF T ) A SHLEY LORR AINE/NEWORLE ANS.COM / ( TOP RIGHT ) KL AUS NOWOT TNICK /STOCK . ADOBE.COM / (RIGHT) WILLIAM A. MORGAN/STOCK.ADOBE.COM / (BOTTOM) BACK STREET MUSEUM

MARDI GRAS ISN’T THE ONLY REASON TO VISIT THE BIG EASY. — A I E S H A D . L I T T L E At this time of year, a trip to New Orleans often involves colorful beads, larger-thanlife floats, and drunken shenanigans. But don’t let Mardi Gras overshadow the city’s vast historical significance to the Black American experience.

CULTURAL MARKERS

For a no-holds-barred look at New Orleans history, check out the Black Heritage & Jazz Tour. Lasting two and a half hours, the tour begins at Congo Square, where in the 19th century enslaved Africans and other people of color gathered to eat, drum, and dance. By law, the openair space was the only place where the enslaved could gather once a week. It’s widely considered “the birthplace of jazz,” which is fitting because

the square is located in Louis Armstrong Park, a 31-acre plot of land dotted with sculptures recognizing those who contributed to the city’s music scene. Armstrong is featured prominently with a full-sized statue, along with a bust of saxophonist/clarinetist Sidney Bechet and plaques dedicated to other jazz greats. After a drive through Tremé, the city’s oldest Black neighborhood, the tour ends at Bayou Road, a block of Black-owned businesses between Broad and Dorgenois streets, including a bookstore, a grocer, and a pastry shop.

and blues clubs. Snug Harbor and the minimalistic basement setting of The Spotted Cat are intimate affairs for jazz heads, while Blue Nile is the place for blues, funk, and brass sounds. If you want to revel in the history of the city’s musical past, be sure to make a pit stop at New Orleans Jazz Museum.

Located on the southern end of Frenchmen Street, the museum is home to It All Started in Jane Alley: Louis Armstrong in New Orleans, a permanent exhibition dedicated to the famed trumpeter.

PAYING RESPECT

You can throw a rock here and hit a tour that scratches your spooky itch, but there are also plenty of self-guided and guided walking tours through a number of the city’s 42 cemeteries. Arguably, the best-known of these is St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, the oldest existing cemetery in New Orleans, dating back to 1789. Accessible only by permit or with a guide, the cemetery features aboveground tombs of the likes of herbalist, hairdresser, and Voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau and Plessy v.Ferguson plaintiff Homer Plessy. Check out the The Katrina List: An Untold Story of Hurricane Katrina exhibition at the New Orleans African American Museum.

Local resident Omar Casimere and his Katrina National Memorial Foundation have documented the stories of more than 10,000 survivors to commemorate the Category-5 storm’s 20th anniversary.

1: The Louis Armstrong statue at Louis Armstrong Park.

2: St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.

3: Dooky Chase’s Restaurant.

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Opened in 1941 as a sandwich shop, the upscale eatery has been in the Chase family for four generations, serving classics like crawfish étouffée, southern fried chicken, and praline bread pudding to everyone from Duke Ellington to Barack Obama. For a more laidback vibe, visit Morrow’s for its boisterous crowd and signature dish: gumbo ramen. Made with sausage, crabs, mussels, chicken, shrimp, and vegetables, it’s the creation of co-owner chef Lenora Chong, who effortlessly fuses her Korean and Creole influences. And you can’t leave town without having a beignet. While Café du Monde is a rite of passage for many, Loretta’s Authentic Pralines has more variety.

You can grab the regular version with powdered sugar, but snag some of the praline and crabmeat versions for the plane ride home.

Black Heritage & Jazz Tour allboutdat.com/blacktours neworleans Louis Armstrong Park 701 Rampart St. New Orleans Jazz Museum 400 Esplanade Ave., nolajazzmuseum.org St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 501 Basin St., nolacatholic cemeteries.org/st-louiscemetery-1 New Orleans African American Museum 1418 Governor Nicholls St., noaam.org Dooky Chase’s Restaurant 2301 Orleans Ave., dookychaserestaurants.com

FEEDING YOUR SOUL MUSIC MAKERS

No visit to New Orleans is complete without a trip down Bourbon Street, but don’t stop there. Frenchmen Street is known for its jazz

SIDE TRIP

There’s no shortage of good food in the Crescent City, but get outside of the touristy areas if you can. Head to Dooky Chase’s Restaurant for authentic Creole cuisine.

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IF YOU CAN’T MAKE MARDI GRAS, BE SURE TO STOP BY THE BLACK MASKING INDIANS EXHIBITION AT

the Backstreet Cultural Museum (1531 St Philip St., backstreetmuseum.org). The colorful beaded and feathered “suits” are worn by Black Mardi Gras revelers to celebrate the indigenous people who helped enslaved Africans escape to freedom. In 1988, Sylvester Francis Works of art with began displaying photos and memorabilia from the annual celebration in a two-car garage a long history in Mardi Gras culture. in Tremé, receiving a number of donated items from social aid and pleasure clubs known as — A . D . L . “tribes.” Francis soon grew out of the space and moved to the museum’s current location.

SUIT UP

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GREAT ROOM

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CIRCLE CENTRAL Youngblood weaves together 1 beiges, tans, and whites with curvy furniture and decor, such as half-circle side tables, the rounded branch-based candlesticks on the serving console, and dining chairs with curved dark wood backs.

SLEEK LINES A neutral color palette and 2 clean, simple lines are utilized in more contemporary leaning styles.

To achieve a balance between cozy and contemporary, Youngblood opted for furniture with sleek edges and wood finished off in cool undertones.

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FEELING BLUE Youngblood chose blue not just 3 because the couple liked it, but because it pulled in the colors of the sky and water. “We wanted to make a visually interesting space that gestured to the life swirling around them but that still wasn’t overpowering to the eye.”

CAN YOU FEEL IT? Blending textures makes this 4 living room feel curated and lived in. Combining textiles like the sofa’s chenille fabric, the woven rug, the channeled leather ottoman, and throw pillows offers a symphony of plush surfaces that feel as good as they look.

PHOTO GR APH BY DAVID SPARK S

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ON THE WATER THIS COZY CONDO IS ALWAYS IN STYLE. — M I C H E L L E M A S T R O A

S THE NAME IMPLIES, A LIVING

room is where life happens. But how do you decorate for a life that’s about to get a lot less busy? For a semiretired couple relocating from Washington, D.C., their preferred choice of color palette was obvious—they wanted shades of cream, beige, gray, brown, and taupe—light colors intended to create an open atmosphere for the cozy lifestyle they envisioned at Newport’s Ovation condo complex, with its views of Cincinnati’s bustling downtown. The couple tasked Amy Youngblood, designer and owner of Amy Youngblood Interiors, to skillfully marry these neutral shades and pop in moments of cool blue, the couple’s favorite color. She then ushered in varying textures and timeless, natural materials, like wood and metal, to create a living room designed for an unhurried—but never boring—life.

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Dr. Know is Jay Gilbert, radio personality and advertising prankster.

Submit your questions about the city’s peculiarities at drknow@cincinnati magazine.com

DR. KNOW

feel when viewing the long wall of MAD’s legendary “fold-ins.” Without an accompanying image of each page’s folded gigglement, the joke literally just hangs there.

The Doctor raised the topic at the museum’s front desk and again in the online survey following his visit. We’ll see if this feedback has any impact on the powers that be. A larger worry is this: Younger fans don’t know that the fold-in was created in 1964 as a parody of Playboy Magazine’s legendary nude fold-outs. Those things are long-gone, except perhaps for some occasionally found under used mattresses.

When I turn the corner from West Third Street onto Central Avenue toward Paycor Stadium, I see a long stone wall that’s about four feet tall and 40 feet long. The wall is left over from a big old building or something, right? It can’t be just some ornate wall. Tell me I’m right.

Q+ A

—STONEWALLED DEAR STONEWALLED:

The Cincinnati Art Museum’s special MAD Magazine exhibit is great, and it includes many of the famous “MAD FoldIns.” But they show just the flat opened pages, not the folded results! That’s like telling a joke without a punch line. Can you do something to fix this?

—WHOA, ME WORRIED

DEAR WHOA:

The Doctor thanks you for justifying his account-expensed ticket to the Cincinnati Art Museum’s special exhibition, currently on view through March 1. It’s very entertaining and impressive, but falls short in this one regard. Imagine a friend saying “Knock, knock,” you saying “Who’s there,” and then the friend just walks away. That’s how you

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You are right. The next time you’re trapped in a Who Dey traffic jam at the corner of Third and Central and shouting, “Dammit, I’ve been stuck at this corner for 12 minutes,” take a look over at that stone wall. It’s shouting back, “Screw you, I’ve been stuck at this corner for 143 years.”

You are looking at the remains of Central Union Station, a gigantic railroad complex built in 1883 that once occupied the entire block. It consolidated four railroads, partially solving Cincinnati’s problem of scattered railroad depots all over town. After Union Terminal (today’s Cincinnati Museum Center) provided the ultimate consolidation in 1933, Central Union Station was closed and demolished, forever losing its chance to become anyone’s superhero Hall of Justice.

An entire city block’s worth of stone and brick were torn down and hauled away.

The Doctor has not found any official reason why the lower right side of the building’s grand entranceway was left behind.

ILLUSTR ATIO N S BY L A R S LEE TA RU

Maybe it was nostalgia. Then again, perhaps the 1933 repeal of Prohibition inspired the demolition team to quit early.

There’s a rather majestic building in Silverton I drive past every day at the corner of Montgomery and Stewart roads. It’s a funeral home now, but it must have been some rich person’s mansion and manor back when the area was mostly farmland. Can you find its lineage? —THIS BOLD HOUSE DEAR BOLD:

Perhaps we should rename this column as “Things I Noticed Instead of Paying Attention to My Driving.”

Whatever. That handsome mansion in Silverton was built around 1890 and since 1952 has belonged to Thomas-Justin Memorial. The Doctor struggled to find the original owner, because records from early rural suburbia are sketchy. Some neighborhoods didn’t bother having addresses. Yet Tom Justin at Thomas-Justin Memorial (imagine the odds!) provided a clue. He remembered that when they renovated the place some years ago, a large decorative tile was found under the carpet with the initials “CJ.” Note the Doctor’s brilliant forensics: The 1900 Census of Silverton shows a Clinton Jones somewhere on “Montgomery Pike.” A tattered 1884 map shows a wide swath in Silverton’s “Section 13” belonging to a John Jones. And then a legal notice has Mr. Jones bequeathing many acres in Section 13 to his son Clinton!

Hope you enjoyed the neighborhood, CJ. If you’d waited a century or so, you could be shopping for Valentine’s Day at Kenwood Towne Centre right now.

MARCH 3 – 15, 2026

THE TONY AWARD®-WINNING MUSICAL

MAY 12 – 17, 2026 Aronoff Center CincinnatiArts.org • 513.621.ARTS

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LIVING IN CIN

BY JAY GILBERT

Music on the Menu

NAT COMISAR HAS WANDERED WISELY IN THE 20 YEARS SINCE HE CLOSED MAISONETTE.

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It was another elegant Saturday night at Maisonette, Cincinnati’s most famous restaurant, and as usual everything was perfect. Three generations of obsession with perfection had earned the restaurant the Mobil Travel Guide’s five-star rating for a record-breaking 41 consecutive years, and tonight was no different—except for one thing. This was July 23, 2005, Maisonette’s final night. The doors would close forever in a few hours, and only one person working the floor knew.

“Nobody on the staff or in the kitchen knew except me,” recalls Nat Comisar. “One friend in the know had called around and told everyone to be there that night without telling them why. In a way, it was a marvelous night.”

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Nat had to smile through each goodnight handshake without betraying that he was really saying goodbye. He later had to give stunned staff members the bad news, and relay it again to the media the next afternoon as a locksmith changed the front door locks.

Numerous plans for revamping, refinancing, and relocating the restaurant (to Covington, say, or Kenwood) had fallen through. By Sunday night, all Nat had left were grim stares from his family and from his hometown. Plus $2 million of debt.

Great rises and heartbreaking falls appear throughout Nat’s family history.

Samuel, the original patriarch, was born in a village in what was then Russia, is now Ukraine, and was once Poland. He brought his wife and five kids to Cincinnati in the early 1900s, and one day he simply disappeared. His son Nathan worked relentlessly in the restaurant business with a vision COLLAGE BY CARLIE BURTON

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LIVING IN CIN of opening a place like Maisonette, and after finally achieving his vision in 1949 he abruptly died six weeks later.

At the height of the next generation’s success, they faced the horror of a Comisar toddler being suddenly kidnapped for ransom. (He was quickly rescued, unharmed.) And in 2005—after decades of worldwide renown and awards and countless satisfied diners—this century’s Nat Comisar made the decision to shut it all down.

There was no time to grieve the closure of Maisonette. “I was so lost, with no clue what to do,” Nat says. “Four kids, two in college, a mortgage, alimony, child support, and no money...I simply had no choice but to jump into full-time survival.”

I HAD BECOME FRIENDS WITH NAT Comisar during better times, back when I was a DJ at WEBN and the station’s latest stunt was to spoof the hot new TV show,

or anyone of note who lived here or anyone at all who could afford to celebrate a special occasion by sharing the same luxurious space, exquisite food, and indulgent service that the 1 Percenters take for granted.

As inheritor of Maisonette and its prestigious legend, Nat eventually got to host some of those great stories himself.

But on this heartbreaking night in 2005, all the legends and stories were gone. He had to find a job, fast.

“The guy who owned The Phoenix said I could work the door there until Christmas, which was generous,” he says.

“But every day people would say, What the hell are you doing here? It was horribly depressing, and then a buddy told me you have to choose: You can save your ass or your pride.”

In the 20 years since that body blow, Nat has gone from absolute zero to a successful real estate career. Oh, what a deceptively breezy statement that is. How

NAT COMISAR MIGHT NOT COME RIGHT OUT AND SAY THAT SINGING LITERALLY SAVED HIS LIFE, BUT I WILL. HIS JAZZ VOCAL GROUP HELPED HIM NAVIGATE A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY. “IT ALLOWED ME TO STAY SANE,” HE SAYS. Survivor. Instead of stranding contestants on a desert island, we forced three people to live for a week inside a dumpster. They had to endure several gross hardships, including being fed increasingly disgusting meals: uncooked scraps, fried insects, etc. And then, after warning our victims that their next meal would be something beyond anything they’d yet endured, we handed them a three-course feast from Maisonette. Thanks, Nat. Would that moment make it onto a list of Maisonette’s 50 most interesting memories? No, not even close.

Nat grew up hearing his parents and grandparents tell amazing stories starring some of the world’s most famous and powerful people. Dining at Cincinnati’s celebrated Maisonette was simply a given for anyone of note who visited here

it glosses over so much between then and now. He wasn’t the least bit confident about making such a move. He had no experience in the world of real estate, but someone who did said to him, Nat, you know everybody! And they’re constantly buying and selling some very nice homes.

The pep talk had three immediate results: One, it gave Nat the confidence to take the leap of getting a real estate license; two, it quickly became apparent that the everybody he knew already had solid relationships with real estate agents; and three, that fact didn’t stop him from plugging away and making his new career start to work.

A fourth thing happened along the way. Despite Maisonette having handed over its inventory to an auctioneer, Nat still owned the restaurant’s library of

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world-famous recipes. He began sending out one recipe per month—like a onepage-at-a-time cookbook—to his e-mail list of, well, everybody. He started with that famous chocolate mousse. Some readers out there can taste it right now, I’m sure.

“I told them to forward the recipe to friends and family,” says Nat. “And each one contains a little section where you can see my current house listings. I get about a deal a month out of a piece of chicken. How fun is that?”

His e-mail list now numbers about 20,000 people.

The skills and intuitions Nat learned at Maisonette turned out to mesh surprisingly well with his new life. He’d been taught early in life that people entering a Comisar restaurant were not customers but honored guests being welcomed inside Maisonette’s “little house” (the French translation).

Nat carried that philosophy over into real estate. “There’s a big difference between selling something and caring for somebody,” he says. “Part of caring for somebody is relieving the burden of making decisions. And so Here is the best wine to go with your menu choice has become Here are the best properties I’ve found for you. Instead of just scrolling and bookmarking properties for clients, I phone each Realtor about each property.

“I’ve now started a relationship that could make them a hero, and it makes them more likely to pay attention to my listings. Agents read and write dozens of e-mails a day, but I do what I did for 33 years: I talk to people.”

THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO MENTION THAT Nat Comisar also sings to people. As far back as the old country, there’s hardly ever been a Comisar not singing and/or playing and/or dancing at home and on stages. I would submit that the professional joie de vivre Cincinnati enjoyed for so long at Maisonette arose from this innate Comisar love for music and harmony.

Music can simultaneously excite and soothe you. Composers arrange sequences, separate and combined, intending to trigger certain emotions. Music delivers

structured perfection and passionate abandon at the same time, and the result can be indescribably joyous. Did I not just describe the experience of an evening at Maisonette?

Nat has been a member of jazz vocal groups and barbershop quartets since adolescence. His most visible gig today is with the NO PROMISES Vocal Band, an a cappella jazz ensemble that often stretches well beyond jazz.

NO PROMISES performs regularly around town and on the road, and they have some CDs and online videos you should check out. These guys are really good.

Nat might not come right out and say that singing literally saved his life, so I will. The worst of all those Comisar lightning-strike catastrophes came in 2018, when his son died by suicide.

“We were working on a NO PROMISES album at the time, which kept me going,” he says about those dark days.

“All my other commitments were handled by others, but I kept on rehearsing and recording. It allowed me to stay sane. I asked the guys if they would sing with me at the memorial, and they didn’t hesitate.”

All those motivational posters with beautiful fonts come to mind: When you’re going through hell, keep going. It matters not how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. Fall seven times; stand up eight. One day at a time. That last one is associated with the place where Nat and I first met long ago.

Our professional lives haven’t crossed paths much, but some of our other lives have, including our nearspiritual reverence for music. Nat stays on pitch better than I do. I remember which bands recorded on which labels better than he does.

We can both visit the American Sign Museum and see Maisonette’s elegant circular entrance awning, retrieving our own memories from it. Nat has more memories than I do, no doubt, and they’re certainly a rich combination of both highs and lows. Kind of like music.

3209 Madison Road | Cincinnati, OH 45209

www.voltagefurniture.com info@voltagefurniture.com (513) 871-5483

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Bring your appetite, your friends, and your love for breakfast—because tonight, the most important meal of the day is served after dark!

THE CINCINNATI CLUB 30 Garfield Place, Cincinnati, OH, 45202

Featuring live music, sweet and savory breakfast favorites, Bloody Marys, and more.

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a Connock, John

BY Emma Balcom, Briann sha D. Little Fox, Claire Lefton, and Aie

PHOTOGRAPHS BY Claudia Hershner

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The Future

Fashion Young designers, artists, and stylists are dressing the Queen City in their finest couture.

Read more about the designers featured here at cincinnatimagazine.com.

ANNABELLA

(SHE/HER)

INSTAGRAM: @amoonangelsdiary WEBSITE: amoonangelsdiary.com BRAND: Moon Angel LLC BACKGROUND: Learned sewing from grandmother, studying at DAAP DESIGN STYLE: Maximalist vintage CURRENT WORK: Reclaimed Runway and DAAP fashion shows, custom pieces

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H A I R A N D M A K E U P B Y K E L LY S H R O D E R / M O D E L S : ( L E F T ) C O L E D O M O E ( @ N I C K L E . D I C K L E ) / ( R I G H T ) A N N A H E L L I G R AT H ( @ A N N A _ H E L L I G R AT H )

CALEB

INSTAGRAM: @campaigncincinnati WEBSITE: campaigncincinnati.com BRAND: CAMPAIGN BACKGROUND: Self-taught DESIGN STYLE: Diary-turned-streetwear CURRENT WORK: Seasonal collections and custom pieces available for purchase

(HE/HIM)

Q&A with

(SHE/HER)

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H A I R A N D M A K E U P B Y K E L LY S H R O D E R / M O D E L : ( L E F T ) AYA N A M A D A N I E L S U R B A N S K A ( @ AYA N S M O D E R N L I F E )

ASHA

Now based in Brooklyn, Cincinnati native ASHA AMA DANIELS has gotten her flowers from all corners of the fashion and art world. From her multiple appearances in the Project Runway franchise to being named the 2021 Taft Museum Duncanson Artist-in-Residence to creating BLINK’s first ever runway show and even more, Daniels has done it all. —CLAIRE LEFTON How did you get into design? I grew up the daughter of two blue collar workers in Avondale. I loved being creative and I learned to sew when I was probably 10 because my mom used to sew and design clothes for herself, me, and my sister. I never thought it was a serious thing that I could do until high school. I had a design teacher and she just plainly put it like, “You’re a fashion designer.” Her husband at the time was the dean at DAAP, and so she made me promise to go do a tour. I went, and I liked it, and the rest is history from there.

P H O T O G R A P H S CO U R T E S Y (R EC L A I M E D R U N WAY S) JACO B P O T Z N E R / U C DA A P / A D C F I N E A R T

How would you describe your design style? I design for the baddies—the strong women that have a mix of femininity but also don’t take any shit. They’re bold, they walk in a room and everyone’s head turns. I like to say I design pieces that remind us of who we are.

How did you develop your style? I am such a lover of the 1970s. My parents had loads of Jet magazines and that really was the age of Black glam. Diana Ross, big hair, diamond sparkles, Bob Mackie, Cher, that kind of thing, always has appealed to me. I have always said that it could be everyone’s last day on Earth, and I would have a sickening outfit for it.

What are your favorite things to design and make? I love to design a custom piece for a woman who is not afraid of fashion.

That is my favorite thing.

There’s always going to be

metallics, always embellishments. Couture is my first love in fashion.

What was your experience like as a Project Runway contestant? I’m thankful for the experience, but reality TV is not for the faint of heart. You could have the most beautiful piece walk down the runway and if it works for the drama of that episode that the producers decided, they will rip it apart and make you think that you’re nothing.

What is it like to be recognized by so many local institutions? It’s such an honor. I feel like my home really understands who I am and what my mission is, and more important than even just the fashion, I feel like Cincinnati has really gotten behind my mission to just bring pride to people. It’s more than fashion. It’s about empowering the people who wear it and the people who see it.

Catch a Runway Show

Check out the work of local designers at these upcoming shows.

Reclaimed Runways

FEBRUARY 3 & 4 This seasonal runway series is where you’ll see the city’s up-andcoming and avant-garde designers, stylists, and models.

Flora & Flair, 1101 St. Gregory St., Mt. Adams, @reclaimedrunways on Instagram

Art in Bloom Fashion Show APRIL 25 & 26 Asha Ama curates a runway show based on the art and floral arrangements on display at the 2026 Art in Bloom event.

Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Dr., Eden Park, cincinnatiart museum.org

MAY 10 Art Design Consultants runs this show, where fine art meets design in a woman-focused lineup of designers and models.

ADC Fine Art, 1013 York St., West End, adcfineart.com

RetroFittings FALL St. Vincent de Paul teams up with DAAP for an annual fund-raising fashion show with garments made completely from thrifted materials.

Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-theRhine, svdpcincinnati.org

DAAPFASH 26 MAY 1 UC DAAP’s fashion class of 2026 shares hundreds of original pieces in their annual runway show.

MegaCorp Pavilion, 101 W. Fourth St., Newport, daap.uc.edu

Is there anything else that you want to say about the fashion world? I just want to encourage people to create safe spaces for each other, specifically women, the queer community, people who are usually on the fringes. So often what’s different about us is coopted into being a trend, but we can’t participate in what we created. I hope more young people learn to speak up for themselves, do their own thing, realize they don’t have to follow the rules. ashaama.com @asha_ama

Wearable Art Fashion Show

RECLAIMED RUNWAYS DAAPFASH

WEARABLE ART FASHION SHOW

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INSTAGRAM: @amalinecollections WEBSITE: amalinecollections.com BRAND: Am.A-line Collections BACKGROUND: Sewing since age 7.

Bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama with a concentration in apparel and textile design.

Self-taught in menswear design.

DESIGN STYLE: Modern, transitional, and daring CURRENT WORK: Custom-tailored suits, redesigned pieces from your closet, and alterations

(SHE/HER)

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M O D E L S : ( L E F T ) TAV I E R (@ M R TAV I E R ) / ( T O P R I G H T ) K A LY I A D AY (@ K A L . E W ) / ( B O T T O M R I G H T ) L E V I A N T O I N E (@ S A P P H A . M P4)

AYANA

(HE/HIM) NICK

INSTAGRAM: @officialstmt BRAND: STMT BACKGROUND: Self-taught DESIGN STYLE: Climactic avantgarde maximalism CURRENT WORK: Collaborative Valentine’s Day collection with Hair With Grace, Reclaimed Runways

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Career Training

by Design DAAP’s fashion design program is rigorous and competitive and takes five years. That’s why it’s one of the country’s best. —JOHN FOX One of the key reasons Cincinnati has a sneaky good fashion scene is the esteemed fashion design program at the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. DAAP offers a four-year program spread over five calendar years, with eight traditional academic semesters interspersed with five semesters of professional co-op experiences off campus. We spoke with Zachary Hoh, associate professor of practice and fashion design program coordinator, about the DAAP experience.

Explain how fashion design’s co-op program works. We take a two-pronged approach in the fashion program. The first is that, while you’re here studying with us at DAAP in Cincinnati, we make sure you have a solid design foundation and a bit of business acumen so that you can survive beyond our walls in industry. The other is we’re going to push you out into industry co-ops five separate times so you get a year and a half worth of experience.

Fashion can be a tricky business in terms of what employers want to provide students in an internship or a co-op, so we have some stringent requirements for who we choose to work with, mostly around equity for the students. Co-op students must be given at least a stipend that equates to a livable wage.

What is the on-campus experience like for fashion students? A large part of the DAAP curriculum is pretty rigid, but we have a mechanism in place for elective coursework. So, if an expert lands in our lap in Cincinnati, we can lean into what their specialty is, especially if it’s something our faculty doesn’t already possess. A great example is Anna Inglis, a DAAP grad from the late 2000s who had a great career at Kate Spade in New York as a handbag designer and technical designer, then moved back to Cincinnati. We were able to make a space for her, and she’s taught an incredibly successful handbag design course for our students over the last couple of years and has come into the fold as another node in our network.

There are opportunities for students to seek pathways for specialization, like knitwear or digital patternmaking with 3Dmodels or handbag design. But on the whole students are with us 80 percent of the time, and the other 20 percent is liberal-arts-focused coursework like business classes, and students can certainly pick up a minor.

READ A LONGER INTERVIEW WITH ZACHARY AT CINCINNATIMAGAZINE.COM

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This University of Cincinnati student organization wants to make fashion accessible and welcoming for all.

—BRIANNA CONNOCK

UC students with a love of fashion can find their people at the next Fashion Association at the University of Cincinnati (FAUC) meeting. The group hosts social events, informative panels, runway shows, and more to give students interested in the fashion industry a way to make friends and network— regardless of their major or area of study.

“A lot of our club members aren’t in DAAP,” says Merrin Woods, president of FAUC and a third-year public relations major, minoring in fashion studies and marketing. “Students in any major can come to our club and find a community of other creatives

Harnessing a Harnessing a

for

MEMBERS OF THE CLUB (left to right) FAUC Vice President Sara Jallad, Social Media Coordinator Maria Schultz, President Merrin Woods, Social Media Coordinator Katie Mummert, and Outreach Chair Jasper Kern

who have that passion.”

While the group is mainly for social purposes, FAUC does frequently partner with outside individuals and groups to help members network and meet others in the fashion industry. The group recently worked with Reclaimed Runways on an open-tothe-public fashion show and organized a campus clothing swap with Depop.“We collaborate with sustainable fashion initiatives and try to plan our events to be engaging to anyone interested in fashion,” says Woods.

Sara Jallad, a third-year psychology major and FAUC vice president, emphasizes the

importance of being able to collaborate with other creatives when it comes to self-expression. “A lot of people just hide it inside.

Our group is an outlet to express yourself and work with other people with the same interests,” says Jallad.

Above all else, the goal of the FAUC is to make fashion accessible and be a welcoming space to all—regardless of the clothes you wear. “You don’t have to be the most stylish person. You don’t have to wear designer [clothing],” Woods says.“You’re going to be accepted, and no one will judge you.”

Both Woods and Jallad feel that Cincin-

nati is a hub for the arts and creativity, and that can be seen through murals, architecture, and the fashion scene. “Cincinnati just has a unique art presence, and style is integrated with that,” says Jallad. To her, iconic collaborations between fashion and culture—like BlaCk OWned and the Cincinnati Bengals—set Cincinnati apart from other cities.

All students at UC are welcome to join the FAUC. If you’re not a student, you can support the group by following @ucincy.fa on Instagram and staying tuned for its next public event.

(SHE/HER)

INSTAGRAM: @ jas.creating.things WEBSITE: jasminegierman.myportfolio.com/work BACKGROUND: Fashion degree from DAAP, full-time patternmaker at a costuming studio DESIGN STYLE: Influenced by gothic and Victorian elements, with a whimsical feel. Creating visual texture through fabric manipulation techniques and layering.

RECENT WORK: Collaboration with local artist Kyle Schilling on the first issue of Crown the Queen City, senior thesis “Holding Space”

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JASMINE

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY (LEFT) CAROLINE EYER / MODELS: (LEFT) MEGAN MCDONOUGH, TRINITY LE, ELIZABETH KLEIN, KYLE SCHILLING, RY KOFSKY / (RIGHT) VIOLET (@WHOKILLEDMYTHRILL)

RYAN

INSTAGRAM: @ life_karma_ death BRAND: life_karma_death BACKGROUND: Learned from grandmother DESIGN STYLE: Liminal space CURRENT WORK: Reclaimed Runways collection

(ANY PRONOUNS)

(SHE/HER) ELIANA

Eliana Batsakis, best known for being on season two of Netflix’s Next in Fashion, has also been featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair and had a piece worn by Carly Rae Jepsen. She’s proud to work here in her hometown, where she’s also worked with Cincinnati Ballet and the Ghostlight Stage Company, which she co-founded in 2022. —CLAIRE LEFTON When did you start designing?

I honestly never thought I would be a fashion designer. I went to [School of the Art Institute of Chicago], originally for industrial design. I started designing handbags in class, but I didn’t know how to sew, so I was just hot gluing everything together. I took an intro to fashion class and was able to learn how to sew through that. Then I had an existential crisis and switched my major.

How did your design style develop? When I was in college, I was just making all kinds of crazy stuff. In my thesis, I made a gown that I called the Sand Gown, and it had a corset base and it was tan. I ended up winning a national award for my thesis so then I kind of thought, Oh, there might be something there so I started really diving into it. That’s kind of how I found my voice as a designer.

Are there any pieces that you’d say are your favorite?

I made this little white mini dress from my first collection I did out of college and it’s been asked for many times. It was my first celebrity placement—Carly Rae Jepsen wore it on her tour. It was also mentioned when I got cast on [Next in Fashion].

What was your experience like on the show? I honestly had a really great time. Everyone was

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super friendly. I know that’s not always the case with reality TV. I wish I could go back knowing what I know now and be a little calmer, a little more in myself and my artistic practice.

How long have you been working with the Ballet? I just finished my second production with the Cincinnati Ballet. They brought me on as the costume designer for their New Works series. I got to costume design for each of the premieres within the production.

Why is it important to you to be designing in your hometown? I would say Cincinnati has such an amazing community of artists. When I graduated and said I was moving to Cincinnati, I can’t tell you how many of my teachers and classmates were so confused like, “Why? You’re a good designer. Why would you move home? Go to New York.” It upset me because you can have a voice from anywhere. If you think I’m talented and I have something to say, why can’t I do it in a different city and contribute to that community? Why do I have to be in these big cities to make an impact? If anything, I think more talented people shouldn’t feel so pressured to go there. elianabatsakis.com @elianabatsakis

H A I R A N D M A K E U P B Y K E L LY S H R O D E R / M O D E L S S : ( L E F T ) E M M Y E D M O N D S O N ( @ E M M Y. E D M O N D S O N ) / ( T O P R I G H T ) J A N E L E W I S ( @ J A N E . E L I Z A B E T H . L E W I S ) / ( B O T T O M R I G H T ) PJ L AY N E ( @ X O . PJ ) / H E A D S H O T C O U R T E S Y S U T T O N B A I N B R I D G E

Q&A with

Sew What?

PHOTO GR APHS COURTE SY SE W VALLE Y

Sew Valley helps incubate fashion businesses. —CLAIRE LEFTON For many upstart designers, lack of inventory is a common roadblock. Luckily, local nonprofit zerowaste garment factory, sample room, and incubator space Sew Valley is here to help.“Some people just want to start their own apparel brand, but they really need help,” says Sew Valley cofounder and CEO Shailah Maynard.“We’re different than a traditional manufacturer. We’ll hold your hand and walk you through the process. We can teach you and set you up for success.” According to Maynard, Sew Valley has set up more than 300 clients for succes and grown pre-existing brands like that of Tessa Clark, designer, owner of FORM, and Project Runway alum. The garment team helps develop samples and stock for designers all while utilizing environmentally friendly practices and a zero-waste system. “Waste and pollution are a huge issue in the fashion industry. So not only are we creating products, but we’re also working with our clients to think about the end use of the products that we’re making.”

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GET IN THE

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ILLUSTRATION BY SAMUEL CHEN

BY GINA ELLIS

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LOMA LINDA, CA

SARDINIA, ITALY

IKARIA, GREECE OKINAWA, JAPAN

NICOYA, COSTA RICA

Dan Buettner wrote a cover story for National Geographic magazine, “The Secrets of Long Life,” seeking to identify common lifestyle habits among the world’s healthiest 100-yearolds. An earlier study in Sardinia, Italy, had circled villages full of long-lived residents in blue ink on a paper map, and similar communities were dubbed Blue Zones. Along with scientists and a photographer, Buettner visited these areas to do more than 400 interviews and found they all featured healthy eating, low levels of chronic disease, and a zest for life.

He went on to write six best-selling books on the topic, eventually distilling his research into nine principles for living a longer, healthier life—from making wise food, drink, and portion choices and moving naturally to having a purpose in later life and enjoying a caring community of friends and family. Because the five original Blue Zones (Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, California; and Sardinia) are located in a narrow band across the Northern Hemisphere and four of the five are on the ocean, it was also thought that perhaps geography and climate contributed to longer, healthier lives.

In 2009 Buettner, in partnership with AARP and the United Health Foundation, set out to prove that Blue Zone principles could be applied anywhere to improve people’s health and longevity, and they launched a communitywide initiative in Albert Lea, Minnesota, a small town south of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Now under the Blue Zones Project umbrella, 75 U.S. cities currently are working on group diet and exercise programs while also changing the community’s culture so that residents are encouraged to make healthy choices.

Cincinnati is not an official Blue Zones Project city yet—most are in California—but Florence Rothenberg, M.D., professor of internal medicine and cardiovascular disease at

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PHOTOGRAPHS (TOP TO BOTTOM) COURTESY HEART OF NORTHSIDE / BY BETTY ROBERTSON / BY AARON M. CONWAY / BY ALISON FORD

IT’S BEEN 21 YEARS SINCE

the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, is leading one public effort to encourage a Blue Zone lifestyle here. She launched the Heart of Northside community health center in the old North Presbyterian Church on Hamilton Avenue to house several of her programs as well as likeminded organizations.

Rothenberg is energetic and animated in describing her dedication to Blue Zone principles. She often greets guests at the old church door and leads them straight to a long rope hanging from the bell tower, encouraging visitors to pull the rope.

“Ring the bell and let the neighbors know we’re here,” she says.

Besides the working bell tower, Heart of Northside maintains the church’s glorious stained glass windows and intricate woodwork. In an eclectic neighborhood, it offers numerous opportunities to obtain whole foods, participate in natural exercise, and make connections in order to build a sense of purpose, all recommendations from the original research on longevity.

“Our society gives people more information on what deodorant to use than how to take care of their own hearts,” says Rothenberg. “In fact, much of the heart disease we see in our VA clinics could have been prevented had people had proper information and tools.”

Her plans for the community hub include a preventative medicine consultancy, cardiac rehab exercise facilities, a rooftop farm called Food for Thought Cincy, a pollinator garden to support organic food production, and a aquaponic system to grow vegetables for the sort of Mediterranean diet that supports heart health and longevity. At present she has three grow towers, with room for expansion. Students from a local 4-H Urban Initiative are helping test which vegetable varieties can grow easily and quickly from seed under the aquaponic conditions.

“Our goal is to grow food to help our community become healthier, and anything nutritious that grows quickly and easily is what we’d like to start growing CONTI N U ED ON PAGE 8 0

HEALTHIER LIVING Florence Rothenberg, M.D., (right) hosts health-focused organizations and programs at the Heart of Northside (below), while OLLI classes (top) build connections.

P H OTO G R A P H S BY J O N AT H A N W I L L I S

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America’s First

I n f l u e n c e r Photographs courtesy Lilias Folan

How Indian Hill mom Lilias Folan revolutionized U.S. fitness—and public television—in the 1970s and ’80s.

By Laurie Pike

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The First Lady of Yoga.

The Julia Child of Yoga. The Johnny Carson of the Yoga World. Lilias Folan—an Indian Hill mother of two, artist, and former fashion model—earned these monikers from a bare-bones sound stage on Chickasaw Street in Clifton Heights in the 1970s. Starting at public broadcast station WCET, then spreading nationally in an astounding breakout, the thirtysomething with a trademark side braid became so famous for her exercise show that when one fan addressed a letter to “The Yoga Lady, Cincinnati, Ohio” in 1974, the Post Office knew to exactly where to deliver it, along with the 100-plus letters Folan was receiving each week.

Thousands of Cincinnatians recall clearing space in their living room to sit in lotus position and then stretch like a cat, guided by the friendly, limber woman in matching leotard and tights speaking directly into the camera. With only six TV channels in the city until 1981, you couldn’t not encounter Lilias, Yoga and You. The original Channel 48 series aired daily before Sesame Street, so lots of kids rolled around on the floor alongside their moms as they waited for Kermit and Cookie Monster.

Folan’s folksy, unscripted show birthed broadcast yoga as we know it. Psychology Today estimated her audience at a million people a day. She twisted into elegant positions on The Today Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Phil Donahue Show. She wrote three books. She penned a newspaper column and was paid to promote a mattress brand and office chairs. In the 1979 film Being There, she inspired Peter Sellers to attempt a headstand.

In addition to some 500 episodes of her

show, Folan also released videotapes for newfangled gadgets called VHS players. In the 1970s and ’80s, no one was more instrumental in turning Americans on to yoga.

Folan taught classes and workshops well into the 2010s, but if her name is new to you, it’s in part because she never got her full due. The 2009 book Yoga in America makes just three passing mentions of her in its 300 pages. A 2024 article in The New York Times refers to her as a “housewife,” an oft-repeated dismissal of her in the press.

Folan herself didn’t let worldwide recognition—or later, lack of it—go to her head. Her comfort on the roller coaster of celebrity was akin to her preternatural ease with the camera. She was a natural with warm magnetism. “I really tried not to dance with fame,” she says, still radiant at 90 years old, now residing in a Loveland assisted living facility.

Folan is seated in comfortable clothing on a couch in her small apartment, next to a stack of spiritual books: Universal Mother,

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Reach and Receive, and the Bible. She’s enjoying a favorite lunch of Skyline chili.

She is tall and lean, with short white hair, a prominent forehead and chin, and warm brown eyes. Folan wears her wedding band along with other rings and a few necklaces. Her landscape paintings of Martha’s Vineyard hang on the walls, and a dresser hosts a shrine for Christ, Buddha, and her personal guru, Sri Swami Chidananda.

“I had the experience of being known all over the world,” Folan says between bites of a coney. “I had to look at fame and understand it. I try to avoid the word proud. I’ve always known I was put on this planet to do this sharing and this journey. I learned to think of myself as an instrument.”

Y

ou know yoga. Everyone and his goat has done it. In addition to the main forms taught today—vinyasa (a.k.a. flow), iyengar (poses held for long durations), kundalini (life force energy, or chi), and hatha (a mix of everything)—you can also find hot yoga, aerial yoga, and naked yoga. Take your pick from the 100 or more spots around the Cincinnati region at which to imitate a tree and chant “Om.” Still, the definition of yoga is murky, even controversial. When the practice originated in India several millennia ago, it wasn’t conceived to tone your abs. It was a part—some say a minuscule part—of a

a ays known I w s put on this pla w l a e net I’ v a g n n d i r t a h h i s s journe this y. to do s e y l m f f a s an inst think o rume ned to r nt. a e I l

“

spiritual path, devised so that sitting for long periods of time in meditation wouldn’t be uncomfortable. The word derives from the word for yoke or union. “You don’t do yoga to get a hot body,” one teacher likes to say. “But if you do yoga, you get a hot body.”

Yoga came to the U.S. from India a century ago and took off in earnest during the counterculture 1960s and ’70s. A number of tradition-bound coteries freaked out, fearing it was a cult. Outside one of Folan’s early 1980s workshops in San Francisco— she traveled frequently for live appearances—protesters picketed with signs that called the practice “the work of the devil.”

The Folan family had to un-list its home phone number due to harassing calls and even death threats.

Even today, some Christian congregations—including Cincinnati’s own growing

”

megachurch, Crossroads—warn against the otherworldly allure of yoga. “I will not follow teachers who try to lead me into meditation and their own spiritual practices while doing yoga,” writes Alli Patterson, leader of Crossroads Women.

Lilias Antoinette Moon never set out to become famous or to ever have an occasion to stand on her head. A “Boston Brahmin” born to wealthy jet-set parents, she came out at a debutante ball at the chichi 21 Club in New York City. She had artistic and athletic talent, but she was also a classic poor little rich girl.

“My bringing up was very, very difficult,” she says. “I was given away as a kid. They didn’t care.” Her socialite mother married five times in 10 years. From age 9, Lilias and her older brother were Continued shipped off to board- on page 82

Stretching Out Lilias Folan helped popularize yoga in the 1970s and ’80s via national TV appearances (with Mike Douglas, Joe Garagiola, and Anthony Quinn, opposite page, and with Richard Simmons, above) while raising a family in Cincinnati (husband Bob and sons Matt and Michael at left). Lilias still practices meditation and mindfulness today (top).

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Groundbreaking advancements have put Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky on a national—and international—stage for cardiovascular innovation.

The first time totally endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgeon Mario Castillo-Sang, M.D., witnessed the use of a 3D scope to visualize a minimally invasive cardiac procedure performed in Greece, he almost couldn’t believe it. The magnified imagery was so close and so clear that it completely rewrote his expectations of what was possible to achieve as a cardiothoracic surgeon. “It blew my mind,” he recalls. “The quality of the imaging was superior to anything I’d ever seen before.”

Unfortunately, at the time, the 3D 4K camera technology was neither approved nor available in the United States. Castillo-Sang had no choice but to wait.

Fast forward to 2024. The FDA approved the 3D 4K scope for U.S. usage. Castillo-Sang immediately summoned the St. Elizabeth Healthcare leadership team to witness the technology in action, hoping to bring it permanently to the hospital’s arsenal.

As expected, the team was astonished. “It wasn’t even a difficult ask,” Castillo-Sang laughs. The technology arrived at St. Elizabeth in mid 2025, and “we haven’t looked back,” he says.

Today, St. Elizabeth is one of only two centers in the country to offer 3D 4K technology for totally endoscopic minimally invasive heart procedures. The imaging is a revolutionary improvement from its 2D predecessor, making myriad procedures—including mitral valve repairs, atrial septal repairs, atrial fibrillation ablations, and cardiac tumor removal—safer and more effective than ever before. The surgical incisions are just 2.6 centimeters and no longer require sternotomies, which sliced through the sternum to access the heart.

The technology is especially beneficial for medically frail patients—those of advanced age, with comorbidities, or who have undergone previous cardiac procedures.

Most patients return home within three to four days and very infrequently require blood transfusions. More than 70 percent of patients don’t even need a narcotic to manage their pain at home upon discharge.

The cardiac team at St. Elizabeth was also the first in the world to endoscopically perform a procedure for mitral annular calcification (MAC) using a wand-like ultra-

sonic device to gently remove calcium deposits on the heart. Though typically a risky procedure, the pioneering minimally invasive techniques and amplified visualization combined to create a revolutionary experience for patients with this condition.

“It sounds like I’m making it up,” Castillo-Sang says. “We are changing the paradigm of truly minimally invasive cardiac surgery and how it feels to be a cardiac surgery patient.”

St. Elizabeth’s progress has attracted the eyes of the international cardiology community. In September 2025, the hospital earned the honor of hosting the annual Endoscopic Cardiac Surgeons Club meeting, a global assembly of 380 cardiac surgeons, physicians, and medical professionals representing 42 countries.

“I am having the best time of my life professionally,” concludes Castillo-Sang.

“I’m able to do things with patients that I didn’t think would ever exist back when I was training in 2007. It’s surreal.”

REVOLUTIONARY ROBOTICS It sounds like science fiction: the use of

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 5 7

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HEALTH WATCH 2026 HEART HEALTH

robots to perform surgery. But that’s exactly the new standard of care for many operations in healthcare using the da Vinci robotic surgical system.

The robot has nimble instrumentation, 10x visualization, and a far super level of dexterity over the limitations of the human hand—making surgical procedures less invasive and more precise than ever before. In cardiology, the da Vinci has become increasingly used for

correct areas to burn. With the da Vinci, however, no such openings are required.

The robot requires just eight-millimeter incisions near the heart to visualize and access the necessary areas.

“We shelter patients from complications related to the sternotomy because the robot only goes into the upper side of the body, leaving the sternum intact,” Spadaccio says.

To more effectively manage post-oper-

Robotic surgery is the new standard of care for many operations. procedures such as coronary bypass and valve replacements.

In October 2025, UC Health took the benefits of robotic technology one step further. Cardiothoracic surgeon Cristiano Spadaccio, M.D., Ph.D., and his team performed the region’s first fully robotic atrial fibrillation ablation—a delicate procedure that correct a condition defined by abnormal heartbeats—and a left atrial appendage occlusion.

“Atrial fibrillation is a silent killer that brings a lot of potential complications,” says Spadaccio. “Instead of the heart’s electrical impulse going from A to B, it assumes a chaotic path inside the upper chambers.”

Using a meticulous burning technique called radiofrequency energy, the ablation procedure interrupts the source of the electric activity and forces the current to flow in the correct direction.

It’s an extremely delicate operation that requires absolute precision in order to not damage surrounding tissues. In the past, surgeons needed to open the chest cavity with a sternotomy or approach the heart through an incision in the belly to properly visualize and target the

ative pain, the surgical team pairs robotic assistance with a new technology called cryoablation. Whereas previous pain management modalities would merely numb the affected intercostal areas temporarily, and thus subject patients to significant post-operative pain and risks of pneumonia because of poor expansion of the lungs for shallow breathing, cryoablation technology freezes the intercostal nerves and blocks pain for up to two months post-surgery. The nerves slowly grow back one millimeter per day, “like the tail of a lizard,” says Spadaccio.

Best of all, patients can return home the same or following day after surgery.

Spadaccio is quick to note that this robotic procedure would not be possible without the choreographed teamwork of a multispecialty surgical team, which includes dedicated bedside assistants, scrub technicians, specialized nurses, and anesthesiologists. In fact, if just one member of the team is unable to attend the procedure, the entire operation is rescheduled.

“It’s not like tennis; it’s like football.

Many people are involved on the team,” Spadaccio says. Like a sports team, the

5 8 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M FMEOBNRTUHA 2R 0Y 1280 2 6

cardiovascular team trains and practices as a unit. UC Health is fortunate to have two da Vinci robots at the cardiac team’s disposal: one for real-time operating on patients and one for training on animals and cadavers. It’s in these training sessions that the team rehearses their coordinated roles, practices “dry runs,” and makes contingency plans for unexpected scenarios.

For Spadaccio, the most rewarding aspect is the ability to serve vulnerable patients who might not be candidates for traditional open procedures. “As a university, we deal with a lot of patients who have been turned down by other institutions or are seeking second opinions,” he says. “With the robot, we can serve pathologies and conditions that we wouldn’t otherwise via a normal approach, and treat patients in a less invasive way, optimizing their outcomes and expediting their recovery from cardiac surgery.”

It’s about serving patients and saving lives, he says, which drives him daily to continue this important—and challenging—work.

THE GIFT OF LIFE Following a recent $15 million gift from the Farmer Family Foundation, The Christ Hospital Physicians Heart & Vascular team is upping its offerings to invest in the most state-of-the-art, in-demand diagnostic technology, including upgraded iterations for MRI, CT, and PET scanners.

This gift is the latest in a history of generous donations from the Farmer family, which have enabled the center to become a regional and national destination for cardiac excellence. Among its accolades, The Christ Hospital is the sixth-largest left ventricular assist program in the country. With this prestigious reputation, however, has come an increased demand for services—a good problem, but one that needs to be met with increased capacity to serve the community.

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ally funded new real-time international broadcast technology of novel surgical procedures that help further advancement of the greater cardiac community. The Christ Hospital has long been renowned as an innovative hub for cardiac innovation, including its stake as the first center in the U.S. to use the da Vinci 5 robot for an aortic valve replacement in 2025. “It’s an incredible experience,” says Kereiakes, to share his team’s knowledge with cardiac specialists all around the world.

“I don’t think we could be all that we are as a regional resource to our community in Cincinnati without the benevolence of families like the Farmer family.

It really allows us to compete nationally with the very top centers, including the famous ones on the coasts, right here in Cincinnati,” says Kereiakes. “And I think that’s always been the dream.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY STOCK.ADOBE.COM/VADIM

Dean Kereiakes, M.D., chairman of The Christ Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute, notes that demand for PET scanners, for example, is particularly high because it has become the most reliable technology for identifying microvascular coronary dysfunction—a condition defined by abnormalities in the tiny arteries of heart muscles. Women comprise approximately 80 percent of patients

diagnosed with this condition, and the waitlist for access is often multiple months long.

There has also been a bottlenecked demand for cardiac MRI procedures, as MRI is the “diagnostic procedure of choice,” says Kereiakes for diseases like cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle dysfunction or abnormality, and valvular heart disease. Using MRI technology, physicians can assess whether aspects of heart damage might be able to be reversed or recovered with treatment. The Christ Hospital is one of only two Centers of Excellence in Ohio as designated by the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association. The other is the Cleveland Clinic.

With the recent gift from the Farmer Family Foundation, The Christ Hospital will expand its cardiac diagnostic services to meet the demand. The gift addition-

F E BM RU OA N RT Y H 2 0 21 6 8 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 5 9

Memories made daily

Thanks for voting us your favorite museum!

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CINCINNATI MAGAZINE’S

Readers’ Choice We asked you to tell us your Cincinnati favorites and you responded! +HUHࡕV \RXU OLVW RI ZLQQHUV DQG À QDOLVWV LQ FDWHJRULHV

2026 ARTS AND MUSIC Art Gallery (Not Museum) WINNER

» 21c Museum Hotel

FINALISTS

» Art Academy of Cincinnati » The Carnegie » Clifton Cultural Arts Center

Concert Venue WINNER

» Memorial Hall

FINALISTS

» %RJDUW·V » The Andrew J Brady Music Center » Riverbend Music Center

Local Classical Music Group WINNER

» Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

FINALISTS

» Cincinnati May Festival Chorus » Cincinnati Opera » Young Professionals Choral Collective

Local Dance Company

Local Theater Company

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WINNER

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Local Filmmaker

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» Cincinnati Ballet

» Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

» Dance Flash Fusion » Mutual Dance Theatre & Arts Centers » Smoke & Queers Burlesque Troupe

» 7KH &KLOGUHQ·V 7KHDWUH RI Cincinnati » Cincinnati Shakespeare Company » Know Theatre of Cincinnati

» Cincy Stories

» Cincinnati Youth Choir

» Chase Crawford (Four by Three) » Yemi Oyediran (King of Them All) » Alphonzo Wesson (Black Cincinnati Cinema Collective)

Local Musician/Band WINNER

» Hot Magnolias

FINALISTS

» Danny Frazier » Jess Lamb » Noah Smith

» Cincinnati May Festival Chorus » 086( &LQFLQQDWL·V :RPHQ·V Choir » Young Professionals Choral Collective

Movie Theater WINNER

» Esquire Theatre

FINALISTS

» AMC Newport on the Levee » Cinemark Oakley Station » Mariemont Theatre

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 6 1

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Mural WINNER

Nature Center FINALISTS

» &KLOGUHQ·V 0XVHXP DW WKH Cincinnati Museum Center » Kings Island » Newport Aquarium

» Love Wins Pride Mural

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» Cincinnati Toy Heritage » Focus on Love, Jason Al Ghussein » Roebling Murals, Covington

Local Podcast WINNER

» Cincinnati Edition

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» Backed Up (WVXU) » &LQFLQQDWL·V &ULPH 9DXOW %H\RQG the Broadcast » 7KDW·V 6R &LQFLQQDWL The Enquirer)

» Cincinnati Museum Center

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» American Sign Museum » Cincinnati Art Museum » National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Music Festival/Event WINNER

» Cincinnati Music Festival

» Bellevue » Ft. Thomas » Newport

Neighborhood (OH) WINNER

» Mariemont

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» Clifton » Loveland » Northside

Place to Take a Visitor WINNER

» Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

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» Cincinnati Nature Center » Findlay Market » -XQJOH -LP·V ,QWHUQDWLRQDO 0DUNHW

» Flying Pig Marathon

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Pumpkin Patch/Farm WINNER

» Blooms & Berries Farm Market and Garden Center

Free Attraction

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» Burger Farm & Garden Center » Gorman Heritage Farm » 1HOWQHU·V )DUP

» Cincinnati Art Museum

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» Findlay Market » The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County » Smale Riverfront Park

Haunted House

» Joe Danneman (FOX19) » Marshall Kramsky (WCPO) » Olivia Ray (Bengals, Reds, FC Cincinnati) » Jennifer Ketchmark (WCPO) » John Gumm (WKRC) » Steve Horstmeyer (FOX19) » Randi Rico (WLWT)

FOOD AND DRINK Bagels WINNER

» The Bagelry

FINALISTS

» /LYLD -R·V %DJHOV » Marx Bagels » Servatti Pastry Shop & Deli

Bakery Sweets WINNER

» The BonBonerie

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» Brown Bear Bakery » Café Mochiko » Servatii Pastry Shop & Deli

Barbecue WINNER

» (OL·V %%4

FINALISTS

» Lucius Q » Montgomery Inn » Pig Candy BBQ

Radio Station

Bloody Mary

WINNER

WINNER

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» 91.7 WVXU » 101.9 WKRQ (Q102) » 103.5 WGRR » 700 WLW

WINNER

» Dent Schoolhouse

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» Kings Island Halloween Haunt » Sandyland Acres Haunted Hayride » USS Nightmare

» Dan Hoard (Bengals, Bearcats)

FINALISTS

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WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

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CITY LIFE

» Asian Food Fest » Cincinnati Pride » My Furry Valentine

TV Sportscaster

WINNER

» Covington

FINALISTS

Charity Festival/Event

» Sheila Gray (WKRC) » 7DQ\D 2·5RXUNH :&32 » Sheree Paolello (WLWT)

TV Weathercaster

» Southgate House Revival » Ghost Baby » Monkey Bar » MOTR Pub

» Bob Herzog (WKRC)

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WINNER

Place to See Local Bands WINNER

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Neighborhood (NKY)

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» Music Under the Moon at Cincinnati Nature Center » 1RUWKVLGH 5RFN 1· 5ROO &DUQLYDO » VOA Country Music Festival

TV Anchor

» Northside Yacht Club » The Eagle » -XQLSHU·V » Nation Kitchen & Bar

Radio Talk Show Host

Bread Bakery

WINNER

WINNER

FINALISTS

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» Jeff and Jenn (Q102)

Kid-Friendly Attraction WINNER

» Nature PlayScape at Cincinnati

6 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6

» Bill Cunningham (WLW) » Lucy May (WVXU) » Maryanne Zeleznik (WVXU)

» Allez Bakery » Blue Oven Bakery » Servatii Pastry Shop & Deli » Sixteen Bricks

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Breakfast

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Brunch

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Happy Hour Food

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Butcher Shop

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Hot Dog/Sausage

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» Sleepy Bee Café » The Echo » First Watch » 6XJDU Q· 6SLFH » First Watch » Maplewood Kitchen and Bar » Sleepy Bee Cafe » Taste of Belgium » Eckerlin Meats » Avril-Bleh Meat Market & Deli » Bridgetown Finer Meats » Wyoming Meat Market » Jacob Wood (Sotto) » Hideki Harada (Kiki) » Dylan Jones (Jeff Ruby Steakhouse) » -RVH 6DOD]DU 0LWD·V 6DÀ :LQH %DU 'D\OLO\

&KLOL &KDLQ

» +ROWPDQ·V 'RQXWV » Busken Bakery » North College Hill Bakery » Starlight Doughnut Lab » Fifty West Brewing Company » The 859 Taproom » Queen City Exchange » Yardhouse » Findlay Market » )W 7KRPDV )DUPHUV· 0DUNHW » +\GH 3DUN )DUPHUV· 0DUNHW » 0RQWJRPHU\ )DUPHUV· 0DUNHW » Taste of Cincinnati » Asian Food Festival » )RUDJHU·V )HVW DW &LQFLQQDWL Nature Center » Oktoberfest

Food Truck WINNER

» Red Sesame Korean BBQ

WINNER

» Skyline Chili

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» -RUJH·V 7DFR 7UXFN » Sweets & Meats BBQ » Tacos Locos

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» Blue Ash Chili » Dixie Chili » Gold Star

&KLQHVH

German WINNER

» Hofbrauhaus

WINNER

» Oriental Wok

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» .UHLPHU·V %LHU +DXV » Tuba Baking Co. » Wunderbar!

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» Blue Gibbon » .XQJ)RRG &KX·V $PHU$VLD » 8QFOH <LS·V

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*OXWHQ )UHH 6HOHFWLRQV WINNER

» $ODGGLQ·V (DWHU\

WINNER

» 3XW]·V &UHDP\ :KLS

FINALISTS

» Al-Madina Grill » Galactic Fried Chicken » Sleepy Bee Café

FINALISTS

» Mt. Washington Creamy Whip & Bakery » Silver Grove Dari Bar » Zip Dip

'HOLFDWHVVHQ WINNER

» &DUO·V 'HOL

Goetta WINNER

» *OLHU·V *RHWWD

FINALISTS

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» ,]]\·V » Silverglades » Young Buck Deli

6 4 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6

» Eckerlin Meats » Bill Finke & Sons » Pig Candy BBQ

» Somerset » -XQLSHU·V » Queen City Exchange » Wayfarer Tavern » Wayfarer Tavern » The Comet » Dead Low Brewing » .QRFNEDFN 1DW·V » Forno Osteria & Bar » The Blind Lemon » Incline Public House » Tuba Baking Co. » Senate » (OL·V %%4 » 0U *HQH·V 'RJ +RXVH » The Root Beer Stand

+RWHO 5HVWDXUDQW WINNER

» &RSSLQ·V 5HVWDXUDQW %DU DW Hotel Covington

FINALISTS

» The 1931 at Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza » The National Exemplar at Best Western Premier Mariemont Inn » Subito at the Lytle Park Hotel

Ice Cream WINNER

» *UDHWHU·V ,FH &UHDP

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» $JODPHVLV %UR·V » 6FKQHLGHU·V 6ZHHW 6KRS » United Dairy Farmers

Independent Coffee Shop WINNER

» Coffee Emporium

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» Deeper Roots » 0RP ·Q ·HP » Robeling Books and Coffee

,QGLDQ WINNER

» Baba India Restaurant

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» Delhi Palace Indian Restaurant » Jot India » Maya Indian Restaurant

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Italian

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Local Pizza Joint

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» Sotto » *LRYDQQL·V )DPLO\ ,WDOLDQ 5HVWDXUDQW » 0DPD·V RQ 0DLQ » 3HSS 'RORUHV

Japanese

» 0DG7UHH %UHZLQJ » )UHWERDUG %UHZLQJ &R » /LWWOH 0LDPL %UHZLQJ &RPSDQ\ » 5KLQHJHLVW » =LS·V &DIp

WINNER

» &DIH 0RFKLNR

Korean

» 3ULFH +LOO &KLOL

WINNER

» 5LYHUVLGH .RUHDQ

FINALISTS

» BIBIBOP » 'HFLEHO .RUHDQ )ULHG &KLFNHQ » Kanji

#1GRSTOCOREREY

» &LQFLQQDWL 'LVWLOOLQJ » 1RUWKVLGH 'LVWLOOLQJ » 275 6WLOO+RXVH » 'HZH\·V 3L]]D

» 4XDWPDQ &DIp » 6DPP\·V &UDIW %XUJHUV %HHUV » 7LFNOH 3LFNOH

FINALISTS

» ,FKLEDQ -DSDQHVH 5HVWDXUDQW » .LNL RQ /XGORZ » 4XDQ +DSD

» 1HZ 5LII 'LVWLOOHU\

» *RRGIHOODV 3L]]HULD » -HW·V 3L]]D » /D5RVD·V )DPLO\ 3L]]HULD » :D\IDUHU 7DYHUQ

» %OXH $VK &KLOL » &DPS :DVKLQJWRQ &KLOL » 3OHDVDQW 5LGJH &KLOL

» $GULDWLFR·V » )RUQR 2VWHULD %DU » 7DJOLR

#1 WINE SHOP

#3 TOY

STORE

#3

#1

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6 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6

PLACE TO TAKE A VISITOR

CINCINNATI’S FAVORITE

THRIFT STORE VOT E D B E ST T H R I F T S H O P BY C I N C I N N AT I M AG A Z I N E R E A D E R S

THRIFT STORES WH E T H E R YO U A R E S H O PPI N G O R D O N AT I N G , YO U A R E G IVI N G . YO U R PU R C H A S E H E L P S

• feed hungry families • furnish homes • provide life-saving medicine • clothe children • prevent homelessness • offer hope to neighbors in need MILK

WH Y C I N C I N N AT I LOVE S S H O PPI N G AT S VD P

value on clothing, • Incredible furniture, and home goods items added daily— • New no two visits are the same organized stores • Clean, with friendly staff that gives back • Shopping to your community

NOW OPEN & NEWLY EXPANDED WELCOME TO YOUR NEW FAVORITE THRIFT STOPS: MILFORD

The expanded Milford store now spans two buildings—one dedicated entirely to furniture and home goods— giving you more room to discover sofas, dining sets, décor, and everyday essentials.

H A M I LT O N

Our new Hamilton location brings a bright, spacious layout packed with clothing, furniture, and household treasures—so every visit feels like a fresh find waiting to happen.

FIND A ST. VINCENT DE PAUL THRIFT STORE NEAR YOU

With nine locations across Greater Cincinnati, there’s always a store nearby.

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Local Winery

Ohio Restaurant

Specialty Food Market

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Romantic Restaurant

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» Vinoklet Winery & Restaurant » Revel OTR Urban Winery » The Skeleton Root » Valley Vineyards & Cellar Dwellers

» Sotto

» -XQJOH -LP·V ,QWHUQDWLRQDO 0DUNHW

» -HII 5XE\·V 7KH 3UHFLQFW » Pepp & Dolores » Wildweed

Mexican

» Sotto

WINNER

» Mazunte » Agave & Rye » Cancun Mexican Restaurant » OLLA Taqueria

» -HII 5XE\·V 7KH 3UHFLQFW

» -HII 5XE\·V 6WHDNKRXVH » 1LFROD·V » Primavista

FINALISTS

» Dorothy Lane Market » Findlay Market » .UHPHU·V 0DUNHW

» ,YRU\ +RXVH » -HII 5XE\·V 6WHDNKRXVH » Losanti

Salads

Tacos

Northern Kentucky Restaurant

WINNER

WINNER

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» E+O Kitchen

» Agave & Rye

» 'HZH\·V 3L]]D » Maplewood Kitchen and Bar » Wayfarer Tavern

» Wayfarer Tavern

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» Greyhound Tavern » 3RPSLOLR·V » :DOW·V +LWFKLQJ 3RVW

» Condado Tacos » Mazunte » OLLA Taqueria Gutierrez

Cincinnati’s #1 Tennis, Swim, & Fitness Club

The Resort in Your Backyard Thanks for voting The Club at Harper’s Point as “Best Tennis Courts!”

Total Fitness & Group Fitness, Personal Training + More

Now’s the time to try TENNIS! Tennis is Fun, Fit and For Everyone

Serving The Community For Over 50 Years!

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YOUR KIDS CAN SOAR TO NEW HEIGHTS At the 2026 Flying Pig 26th Mile The 26th mile is more than just an event. It's a complete online oink-cremental marathon training program designed to build life-long healthy habits! Kids of all ages can celebrate their marathon by completing the 26th Mile and crossing the Finish Swine on May 2, 2026. Scan the QR code to register today or Ø Ä Ê̤íß ­ ½ ¬sÀsÊ ³­˩ ³¬̤ ³À̤¬³À ̤ ­ ³À¬sÊ ³­˩ Interested Interested in in having having your your class, class, club, club, or or school school participate? participate? ¬s §̤¤ Ä͕íß ­ ½ ¬sÀsÊ ³­˩ ³¬̤ʳ̤ Ê̤ÄÊsÀÊ ˮ̤ ¬s §̤¤ Ä͕íß ­ ½ ¬sÀsÊ ³­˩ ³¬̤ʳ̤ Ê̤ÄÊsÀÊ ˮ̤

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Thai

View From Your Table

Comedy Club

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Wings

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» Wild Ginger » Green Papaya » Teak OTR » Thai Express » Tickle Pickle » $UWKXU·V » Dead Low Brewing » .UXHJHU·V 7DYHUQ

» Incline Public House » &LW\ 9LHZ 7DYHUQ » Montgomery Inn Boathouse » 3ULPDYLVWD » .QRFNEDFN 1DW·V » Buffalo Wings and Rings » .QXN Q· )XW] » :LOG 0LNH·V

Vietnamese WINNER

» Pho Lang Thang

FINALISTS

» DOPE! Asian Street Fare » Pho Viet » Saigon Noodle Bar

NIGHTLIFE Bourbon Bar WINNER

» %LVKRS·V 4XDUWHU

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» *RRGIHOODV 3L]]HULD :LVHJX\ Lounge » Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar » Smoke Justis

» Funny Bone » The Comet » Commonwealth Sanctuary » Go Bananas » P.H. Dee » Manuka Honey-Stix Chimera » (YH .HQQHG\ » The Lady Phaedra

Escape Room WINNER

» Cincinnati Escape Room

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» Breakout » The Escape Game Cincinnati » OTR Escape

Thanks for voting Bishop's Quarter "Best Bourbon Bar" & "Best Rooftop Bar" in Cincinnati!

3 LEVEL BAR BOURBON • FINE WINE CRAFT BEER & COCKTAILS LIVE MUSIC • ROOFTOP BAR

(QMR\ RXU chef inspired IXOO PHQX RQ RXU beautiful URRIWRS EDU IHDWXULQJ New Orleans cuisine GLVKHV IURP WKH 6RXWK

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IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN LOVELAND

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Auction House

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» Bloom OTR » 5RVLH·V 7DYHUQ » 7LOOLH·V /RXQJH

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» %LVKRS·V 4XDUWHU

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» 7KH +RO\ *UDLO

» %UD[WRQ %UHZLQJ &R » 5KLQHJHLVW » 6HFRQG 6WRU\ %DU

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» &RRSHU·V +DZN :LQHU\ 5HVWDXUDQW » 5HYHO 275 8UEDQ :LQHU\ » 9LQRORJ\

SHOPS AND SERVICES Antique Store WINNER

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Auto Repair Shop WINNER

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Barber Shop WINNER

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CINCYNATURE CAMP

HIKE. DISCOVER. PLAY. VOTED BEST HIKING TRAIL OF CINCINNATI

NATURE PLAYSCAPE

Thank you, Cincinnati!

We’re proud to be your Readers’ Choice winner for Best Trail, Best Summer Camp, and Best Kids’ Attraction!

At Cincinnati Nature Center, we love being the place where our community comes together to learn, play, and reconnect with nature.

Kelly Volz

Plan your next visit at CincyNature.org!

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GET IN THE ZONE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 51

at scale,” says Rothenberg. “Watching the plant shoots get bigger is so exciting. Every day, we’re one step closer to improving community health and wellbeing.”

THE CONCEPT OF BLUE ZONES IS FIRMLY established in the public consciousness at this point. Buettner starred in a four-part Netflix documentary, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, in 2023, leading viewers on a tour of the five original communities.

In Okinawa, the world’s longest-lived women have spent their lives enjoying a diet rich in sweet potatoes, soybeans, and

ground and keep it moist. Families often eat an early, light dinner together.

Most inhabitants of Ikaria enjoy a stress-free life tending fruit orchards and vineyards or goat herding on the mountainous island. Afternoon naps are the norm and help lower stress hormones, which may be one reason residents have half the rate of heart disease and one-fifth the rate of dementia as Americans do. Strong coffee and herbal teas are enjoyed daily along with a Mediterranean diet, plus regular fasting for religious reasons.

One fascinating person Buettner highlighted from his travels to Greece was Stamatis Moraitis, who lived and worked as a typical American most of his life. He was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and given less than a year to live, and then he and his wife moved back to Ikaria to live with his parents and take care of their orchards and vineyards. When Buettner met him in Ikaria 30 years after he moved back, Moraitis was a jovial 97-year-old who sim-

“I WANT TO ELIMINATE AS MANY BARRIERS TO ADOPTING A LONGEVITY LIFESTYLE AS POSSIBLE,” SAYS FLORENCE ROTHENBERG, M.D., OF HER HEART OF NORTHSIDE PROJECT. vegetables. Most sip green tea throughout the day. Buettner found that, since his first visit in 2009, traditional local food had been gradually replaced with convenient processed food, and as a result obesity and heart disease have increased there.

Sardinia is known for having the highest concentration of male centenarians, most of whom are farmers and shepherds, and their diet consists of locally sourced bread, cheese, fresh garden vegetables, and minestrone soup. They usually enjoy a glass of wine with friends after work. Their work is low stress and involves walking up and down steep terrain each day.

Nicoya Peninsula is a mountainous region in Costa Rica, and most people live in multigenerational families where they have a sense of belonging and purpose. Residents spend much of their lives in gardens, where corn stalks support climbing bean plants as squash vines spread across the

ply said he “forgot to die.”

The only original Blue Zone in the U.S. is Loma Linda, a Seventh-Day Adventist community near San Bernadino in Southern California. Adventists are mostly vegetarian and nonsmokers and exercise daily, all of which contribute to a healthier lifestyle.

Communities participating in the Blue Zones Project have sought ways to embrace Buettner’s nine longevity principles: • 80 PERCENT RULE: Stop eating when 80 percent full. Mindful eating supports less consumption and results in maintaining a healthy weight. Blue Zone residents typically eat their largest daily meal before noon and smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening.

• PLANT SLANT: Eat mostly fresh greens, nuts, tubers, beans, and whole grains.

Eat meat about once a week.

8 0 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6

• WINE AT 5: Blue Zone folks tend to gather with friends for meals and wine at 5 p.m. Except for the Adventists, who abstain from alcoholic beverages, one glass of wine a day is the norm. Red wine contains polyphenols, which lower inflammation and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

• MOVE NATURALLY: Daily activities such as cleaning, gardening, preparing food, and walking to church, community events, or for work add up to miles of low-impact stress free exercise. Okinawans sit on the floor, necessitating dozens of leg squats each day that keep their muscles and balance strong. Walking at least 30 minutes per day can help prevent heart disease, depression, and obesity.

• FAMILY FIRST: Many Blue Zone folks live in multigenerational homes or gather frequently with family for meals, celebrations, games, or visits, which help both the oldest and the youngest family members lower disease and mortality rates. Most centenarians have a life partner and spend time with their children and grandchildren caring for each other.

• RIGHT TRIBE: Lifelong friends and family who are healthy and happy have an enormous impact on quality of life, and a lack of these social connections can lower life expectancy by eight years. My mother had a magnet on her refrigerator, which is now on my refrigerator, that quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

• BELONG: My mom was a lifelong volunteer, and I too have made many friends through volunteer work, joining community groups, and arranging social gatherings. Vivek Murthy, M.D., former U.S. surgeon general, famously said that loneliness is as bad for health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The vast majority of centenarians interviewed

by Buettner belong to a faith community, and regular attendance at faithbased services has been shown to increase life expectancy by several years.

• PURPOSE: Pursuing the previous principles can give your life purpose, since the flow of harmonious life rituals

often provide a reason to get up each morning and go out with loved ones to do meaningful work, enjoy conversations, and love and support each other.

• DOWNSHIFT: And it can all be accomplished in a slow-paced rhythm that helps you enjoy each day. Buettner recommends a daily meditation practice to reverse the effects of stress, which can result in lower blood pressure, less inflammation, and improved sleep.

The Heart of Northside and tenant organizations embrace these principles, offering health screening services and education for all who want it. Free blood pressure screenings occur during the weekly Northside Farmers’ Market, for instance, and Rothenberg runs her Ounce of Prevention consultancy in the building.

Tenants include Queen City Commons, which partners with local farms and gardens to turn food waste into compost, and Sages of Grief, offering counseling and training services. Brick Gardens, which converts vacant land into urban farms to help fight food insecurity, has garden beds there. And Moonrise Music Hall brings acoustic musicians from all over the world to play a handful of concerts in the sanctuary.

Among Rothenberg’s community connections, University of Cincinnati CCM students stop by on the first Wednesday of each month to play the pipe organ in the beautiful old sanctuary. After discovering several artifacts left behind at the North Church over 140 years, Rothenberg is working with community members to build a museum in honor of its history.

Community-driven events have included Kwanzaa Ujima Celebration, Krampus Afterparty, Flavors of Freedom Festival, Black Men’s Support Group, Urban Sketchers, SingOutCincy, Banned Book Bingo, Record Fair, 4-H Urban Initiative, Vintage Fest, Puppet Cabaret, and BeforeIDie, an educational day offering information on death doulas and green burials.

Rothenberg has divided the building into several venues of different sizes, the largest being a multifunctional “gymatorium” that holds 412 people standing or 319 seated with a commercial kitchen located across the hall. The parlor room holds 50 seated guests, and the Parisian room seats 40. There are also several smaller spaces

used for gathering, offices, teaching, and meetings.

LOTS OF AREA RESIDENTS ARE EMBRACing health and longevity principles in their daily lives, whether or not they’re familiar with the Blue Zones movement. I’ve met a number of them through the University of Cincinnati’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), which hosts hundreds of personal enrichment classes for adults taught by educators, professionals, and volunteers. Most are offered on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., making them perfect for retirees like me.

Taking an OLLI class can help fulfill the Blue Zone concepts of belonging, building purpose, and downshifting while establishing connections and helping us find a supportive tribe. But Cincinnati offers a wide range of similar learning and connecting opportunities in parks, museums, libraries, meetups, and other third places.

I picked up a new favorite mantra from an online yoga tutorial: My decisions today will define my tomorrow.

Nancy Creaghead, a retired UC professor in the department of communication sciences and disorders, personifies the Blue Zone lifestyle here in Cincinnati even if she isn’t familiar with Buettner’s work.

Her mother lived to 104, and she says she’s hoping to do the same.

She shows me around her Clifton home and discusses the yard work she’s been doing. After hearing about the Blue Zone principle of natural movement, Creaghead demonstrates her flexibility by stretching out her legs, touching her toes, and then raising her legs up over her head to touch her toes on the floor above her head. “My mother and I would do these stretching exercises when I was a young girl,” she says, “and she was still walking up and down steps easily at age 104.”

She prepares a healthy meal for us, mentioning that she loves gourmet cooking and entertaining. Her daily food plan includes a variety of fresh fruits, greens, and veggies and a glass of wine in the evening. She also has frequent girls’ nights out at local jazz clubs, including regular outings with a group of five friends who have been in her life since kindergarten as well as connections with former students, UC colleagues,

and neighbors.

Liz and Ron Gorley are retirees living their best lives in West Chester Township.

Liz, formerly a pediatric and geriatric nurse is a volunteer at Cincinnati Nature Center with a focus on native plants and foraging.

Independently, she started her own free, monthly nature journaling group, Nature Journaling Connections. “My quality of life has improved because I chose to start living my life how I truly want to,” she tells me.

“I’m actively learning, growing, exploring, leading, and creating. All of that activity has been challenging in many ways but truly life-changing and affirming.”

Ron, a former Procter & Gamble engineer, served on the Little Miami Scenic Trail board for 10 years and volunteers with a group to maintain the trail. He began helping Friends of the Little Miami State Park in 2013 and has been involved in a variety of activities from cleaning mud and rocks out of blocked culverts to giving testimony to legislative committees in Columbus.

“I’ve worked alongside scores of likeminded volunteers, and I’m very grateful,” he says. “My work helps others enjoy exercising and experiencing the great outdoors, and it’s helped me grow personally and make new friends.”

Robin Bratt of Paddock Hills found new friends at OLLI classes after retiring from a career in healthcare. She struggled with finding meaning in her new life and says her husband—a moderator at several OLLI music classes—encouraged her to join him.

Bratt has now taken classes on gardening, personal empowerment, and death doulas, each of which enriched her social and spiritual life. She says she’s no longer depressed and is actually considering a retirement vocation by pursuing a death doula certification.

Back in Northside, Rothenberg is enthusiastically embracing Blue Zone principles in order to reorganize healthcare delivery into a community-centered approach. “I want to eliminate as many barriers to adopting a longevity lifestyle as possible,” she says. “This old building is a wonderful space and we have a great plan in place. There’s plenty of work to be done to improve both the quality and the quantity of our lives.”

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 8 1

A M E R I C A’ S F I R S T Y O G A I N F L U E N C E R CONTINUED FROM PAGE 55

ing schools and summer camps.“One of the most difficult things I had to face is I was not wanted on the planet. It was painful.”

She studied art and photography at prestigious Bennington College in Vermont. Then she flew to Italy to study “Italian art and Italian men, in that order,” she quipped to one reporter. She visited a lot of churches but had no revelation as to what to do with her life.

Running out of money, she moved to New York City and did some modeling and worked in publicity at Vogue magazine. Shortly after, she was introduced to

and Your Life. So she started “working on myself: marital therapy, parenting therapy, sex therapy, mother-daughter therapy, workshops to heal the inner child.”

There were physical ailments, too: headaches, backaches, insomnia, a lack of energy.

Her doctor couldn’t find anything amiss medically; what sounds today like postpartum depression was, at the time, brushed off as “the blahs.” His Rx: Find an exercise program and lose some baby weight.

Folan read a book called Yoga, Youth, and Reincarnation, a 1965 treatise by Jess Stearn. Further inquiry, she’s said, taught her that yoga is not “eating nails or extra sensory perception, and it has nothing to do with astrology.” Intrigued, she found a class at her local Y, then sought more in-depth fare in Manhattan. “There were gurus who came in,” she says of the Indian swamis who were starting to tour the U.S., such as the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Teacher training wasn’t offered at the time. “It was more like sharing,” she said of the classes she took.

STUDYING YOGA PROVIDED SOMETHING DEEPER LILIAS FOLAN YEARNED FOR: RITUAL. “THE ROOT OF THAT WORD IS RITA, WHICH MEANS THAT WHICH BRINGS ART AND ORDER TO THE MOMENT. I LOVE THAT.” Bob Folan, an executive at a transportation company, nine years her senior. Lilias married him three months after their first date.

“The universe gave me a wonderful lover and friend who really helped me ground myself,” she says, smiling and closing her eyes at the memory. “He was practical, and I wasn’t.”

The couple relocated to southwestern Connecticut, moving between coastal cities just north of New York City. They had two boys in quick succession. Lilias showed her art in a couple of galleries, but the transition to full-time mom was tumultuous.

“I woke up one spring morning…with a profoundly disturbing thought: I have everything. I have a kind and loving husband, two handsome, healthy sons, a white house, two cars in the garage, a boat on Long Island sound, and a golden retriever. Yet I am not happy. Why?” she writes in her second book, Lilias: Yoga

She started to discern what she did and didn’t like about the instruction. “In the ’60s, the yoga classes were quite different than they are today,” she wrote. “There might have been 50 students on an outdoor platform and we were all doing the same yoga postures the same way. Ages 20 to 80, all different sizes and shapes and many different fitness levels. Yet we were not offered any variation in the way we did our postures. Only a few cautions were spoken.”

Besides clearing up her physical woes, yoga provided something deeper Folan yearned for: ritual. “The root of that word is rita, which means that which brings art and order to the moment,” she says. “I love that.”

By the late 1960s, yoga was wending its way from American cities into suburbs and beyond. Sri Swami Chidananda, president of the Divine Life Society, an Indian ashram

8 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6

with international outposts, would become Folan’s lifelong mentor. Unlike a surfeit of Indian gurus who would eventually attract a celebrity following, drive Rolls Royces, and/ or be accused of sex crimes, Chidananda has survived history with his reputation intact.

“I got alarmed when she really got into it,” Bob Folan told The Cincinnati Post newspaper in 1992. “It was unconventional, and she hung around with all sorts of crazy people. I was afraid, I suppose, that she was getting involved in something I didn’t understand.”

Folan was a serious student. She plunged into the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of yoga. In time, Native American rites, dancing, and singing would make it into her more intensive workshops.

She made two trips to India, where she was told, We here in the East have taken yoga as far as we can go. Now it’s up to you in the West to take it like a ball and run with it.

Instinctively, Folan knew to leave the more esoteric aspects of her practice at home. Chanting and meditating wouldn’t become a part of her classes, at least at first.

In interviews she stressed that she was not only still a Christian but yoga helped her better understand Christ’s teachings.

Folan’s classes were a hit. She found her “center” through it all to carry on raising her kids and hosting dinner parties that ended with charades and dance parties. It was all hunky dory until Bob threw her a curveball: He’d gotten a promotion at work, and the family was moving to Cincinnati.

She didn’t want to go. “Bob said you could see my heel marks in the dirt all the way from Connecticut,” Folan says, laughing.

Longtime friend Anne Zaring says, “Lilias was reluctant to come to Cincinnati and leave her yoga students. Bob asked my husband to call her to tell her how wonderful Cincinnati is. We had them over for dinner and had a nice conversation. It helped her turn the corner, because she didn’t know Cincinnati or anyone.”

Skyline helped, too. It was love at first bite.

After settling into a plush home— five bedrooms on an acre and a half—Folan taught yoga classes at churches and YMCAs and quickly built a following. “She geared it toward the students,” recalls Barbara Chaney, who took a class in her teens

along with her mother. “My mom’s knees were too bad to get on the ground, so Lilias was very accommodating for students who needed chair yoga. You could do the class even if you couldn’t get on the ground.”

Another student, Merle Goorian, was so impressed that she suggested to her husband, TV producer Len Goorian, that Lilias’s class could translate to a TV show.

A star was about to be born.

“After a while in the business, you know when something is right,” Len told The Cincinnati Enquirer in 1988.“[Folan] was physically very attractive, very intelligent, and she had a very natural personality that just came through.”

Still, the concept of a TV series centered on a woman with zero broadcast experience was a stretch—no pun intended. There had only been one syndicated yoga show on the air to date, out of California (Richard Hittleman’s Yoga for Health). Goorian struck out pitching the show to the local network affiliates but found a taker at WCET. “It’s what I was born to do,” Folan says matter-of-factly, finishing up her lunch.

As her son Matt clears up, she asks coyly if there might be some rum to add to her pop.

There isn’t, but I make sure to bring a bottle of chardonnay to our next visit.

WHAT STRIKES YOU ABOUT FOLAN’S TV show episodes going back 50 years—there are dozens on YouTube—is not so much how dated they look as how contemporary they can seem. Though slower in pace than most current online shows, such as Yoga With Adriene, the routine is similar to many beginner courses.

Folan’s method has never been about a hard body or one-handed handstands; it was always about de-stressing and looking inward.“If I could give you one tool, just one tool, it is how to relax,” she says at the top of one show.“It is something that’s learned.

It is a thought process. It takes some time.”

Self-observation, she has written, is what separates yoga from purely physical workouts. For millions of viewers, Folan was a companion as much as a teacher.

“We overrate some people who are able to make things accessible in simplistic ways,” says Rob Dorgan, an author, yoga instructor, and lifelong fan. “But when their legacy endures, there’s something more there.”

Lilias became an honorary family member to Cincinnatians along with Uncle Al, The Cool Ghoul, and Hattie the Witch.

Unable to confine her guidance to the studio, she would often approach someone in an airport or in line at Kroger and gently modify their posture or suggest a pose to alleviate some obvious discomfort. “I just can’t help myself,” she says, shrugging.

Lilias, Yoga and You was a refreshingly unpretentious respite from the limited TV fare of soap operas and laugh-track sitcoms. Looking like the cool girl next door, she dispensed mind exercises along with the physical: “Who am I?” she asks earnestly in one episode. “Why am I here on this Earth? Do I indeed have something to do on this planet?”

Lilias, Yoga and You was the first successful yoga show on public television, according to its director, Taylor Feltner. “She pretty much created the mass market for yoga with the show,” he says. “Somebody came back from Japan and said they saw a Lilias show broadcast in Tokyo.”

The show ran for a full 15 years, in part because stations had hundreds of episodes to rebroadcast. In 1985, “only” 40 stations signed up for new episodes, Feltner remembers. Lilias, undeterred, announced in press interviews that she sought an underwriter.

“When PBS station executives came to Cincinnati for an annual meeting, she solicited underwriters and gave the execs stretching seminars,” says Feltner. In 1987, with a set updated with potted plants and the addition of voiceovers, she launched Lilias!, which kept her guiding exercises on TV until 1993.

Folan’s schedule for workshops and appearances was booked for an entire year in advance. She conducted yoga cruises, consulted for corporations, and led workshops in places as far-flung as Australia and Russia. “My dad was her assistant,” says Matt Folan. “He had a little company with a secretary and two employees. He managed everything for her out of his office.”

Bob didn’t do yoga; he preferred hunting. Neither of Lilias’s sons were into it either. “Was it a moneymaker?” Feltner asks.

“Not really. It covered its own costs and made a little money for the station.”

Folan’s motherly style of yoga contrasted with the high-energy pace and bodyconsciousness emerging in 1980s fitness

trends such as aerobics and Jazzercise.

American culture was on steroids, as the expression of that time suggests. Exercise goals were more “buns of steel” than baddha konasana. The ’90s further intensified workouts with hot yoga, power yoga, and Madonna standing on her forearms.

Folan’s public persona receded along with her yoga-for-all ethos. Celebrities started to cash in; Jane “Feel the Burn” Fonda came out with her own yoga video in 1993, appearing on its cover wearing a single braid in her hair.

Just before turning 70, Folan published her final book, Yoga Gets Better With Age. It was 2005, and yoga was starting to come full circle. The physical and mental benefits had been medically proven, and more diverse demographics and institutions continued to take it up. Schools have tapped its power to calm jittery kids.

Lilias, ensconced in her sunny home, doesn’t do workouts any longer. But mindfulness is her first activity each day. “My practice right now is to be grateful,” she says. “Life’s been challenging, and it can be very challenging to find gratitude. I lost my sweet husband of how many years. But I’m not gonna run from it. So before I get up, I sit in the bed for a moment”—she nods to her bed, across from her couch—“and I really do pause. I breathe for a bit and focus on the breath and I find the feeling of, I am grateful for this moment.”

Folan’s legacy lives in the thousands of students and instructors who carry on her unique approach to well-being. “She has had a profound effect,” says Katy Knowles, who owned and ran four area yoga studios at which Lilias taught until 2015. “I’m tearing up. I would not be the person or teacher I am if it wasn’t for her.”

Adds Dorgan, “I am at the altar of Lilias.

She was able to make yoga very accessible to a lot of people. Her background is deep and intense with all these big yogis, but she always made it something we could touch.”

Lilias continues her spiritual studies, as the books on her couch attest to. “A teacher is just a grown-up student,” she says. She intends to continue to on her path in the afterlife. “It’s not about believing it,” she says of life after death. “Belief is what one thinks. There is an afterlife. I know it in my whole body.”

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Food

is our specialty.

Life's most joyous moments are even sweeter with cake!

Our skilled designers are ready to make your vision a reality.

Come see our newest location!

7200 Mason Montgomery Road

SCHEDULE YOUR WEDDING CAKE CONSULTATION. Cakes@DorothyLane.com DorothyLane.com/Cakes

BAR POP-UPS P. 86

D NE

SOUL FOOD IN AVONDALE P. 89

SOUTHERN SAMMIE IN OTR P. 90

NEW MARKET IN FT. THOMAS P. 91

BAR NONE If you want to find the latest in our dining scene, visit the bars around town offering occasional food pop-ups, including The Aquifer Tasting Room at New Riff Distilling.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY NEW RIFF DISTILLING

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L

OFF THE MENU

Grazing the Bar Pop-ups at local bars provide exposure for chefs and variety for patrons. — R O D N E Y W I L S O N IN THE SEPIA-TONED HUES OF OLD TV shows, nostalgic movies, and songs like indie rock band Wednesday’s “Elderberry Wine,” bar-going folks of yesteryear who worked up an appetite found themselves faced with an unappealing prospect: a large jar of pink-liquid-suspended eggs. These days when drinkers’ appetites rumble to life, the offerings generally transcend hardboiled buoyancy. It’s true that plenty of bars and breweries find success with full-service kitchen offerings and others invite guests to bring in outside food of their own choosing, but a new breed of bar operator is embracing more curated food offerings via pop-ups— ephemeral dining experiences that answer the question of “What’s for dinner?” with limited menus from the area’s up-andcoming chefs.

“One of the main pillars of HomeMakers Bar has always been a celebration of community and collaboration,” says Julia Petiprin, owner of HomeMakers Bar and its sister establishment, Fifty Fifty Gin Club, both of which are quite familiar with pop-ups. “From day one, we’ve hosted local chefs. I’m very proud to say a lot of our popup partners got their start at HomeMakers Bar. Personally, nothing brings me more joy than being able to give people a platform to test their passions.” She points to early collaborations with Dunch Provisions and Wildweed as examples of the promotional power of pop-up collaborations.

A successful pop-up, according to Catherine Manabat, New Riff Distilling’s director of hospitality, requires the insight and inspiration to seek out like-minded vendors. The distillery hosts pop-ups in its Aquifer Tast-

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY NEW RIFF DISTILLING / HOMEMAKERS BAR/ FIFTY FIFTY GIN CLUB / NORTHERN ROW

ing Room, welcoming the likes of Kayla Robison, Fire On High Food Truck, Jay’s Nyam & Jam, and Los Cuñados Taco Truck.“There are so many talented food entrepreneurs out there who make amazing food,” she explains.

“Working with other local businesses and sharing space to highlight the talent and passion of the folks who work hard on their businesses here is truly something we feel lucky to be able to do.”

And while extending and supporting a city’s culinary community is a cornerstone of the pop-up concept, hosting burgeoning chefs also makes sound business sense.

“It adds partnership with marketing and collaborating on social media,” says Josh Lively, general manager at Northern Row Brewery, Distillery & Taproom. “That’s the true beauty of pop-ups—the collaboration and getting content in front of each other’s audiences that may otherwise not see it.”

There is, however, something of a delicate business dance required to pull off a successful pop-up event, especially when it comes to establishments that have a dedicated kitchen. Northern Row, for its part, offers a robust in-house menu, serving up small bites, salads, and a wide variety of sandwiches. So how does it make sense to invite direct competition inside to feed hungry patrons? “That is always a pressure point that we think about when it comes to pop-ups,” Lively admits. “It needs to exist in the same space, being mutually beneficial without drawing sales away from ourselves.”

Diversity is key, he adds, as a successful pop-up event in the space will offer diners choices not covered by Northern Row’s regular menu. “The Oyster Happy Hour has brought us a fair amount of success here,” he says, referring to a regularly occurring collaboration with Sen by Kiki. “It allows our fans to enjoy our atmosphere and our products with other products we will never offer within our operations here.

We have all these lovely cocktails that we make in-house, but we’re never going to shuck oysters.”

Petiprin concurs CONTINUED ON P. 88

EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY Greater Cincinnati bars, like HomeMakers Bar, The Aquifer Tasting Room at New Riff Distilling, and Fifty Fifty Gin Club, are stepping up their food game by partnering with local chefs and vendors.

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

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OFF THE MENU

A Modern Stay Made for Cincinnati. $ɝΡ͑ɳͰɝɘѪ͆͹ˈѪ̧ʥʛ͆͹ˈΩѪȵʜ̭ѪɒʥͰʜ̧̲˖ɽ͹ͰѮѪʥίˈѪΛʥ͹ʛΡѪ ȵʜ̭Ѫˎʥ̧͑ȵʔѪΡ˅ȵ̧̲ˎѪͯȵʑ̲Ѫɝ˶̲Λ˽ѪΡ˖ȵϐѪɲ̲ɝͨѪ̲НѪʥˈΩʔ̲ΡˎѭѪ ɝΩ˖̲ͨѪɽʜѮѪΡɽ˅Ѫ̊ͰɘѪΡȵ˶͹ΛѪȵ˖ѪŬ͑ɘɝ̧̊ˈѪñȵˈѪӊѪ[ɽΩɒ͍̲ʜѮѪ ʥˈѪ̦ˈɽͰɳѪΘɝ͹˅ͨɝѪ˖͹͇ɝ˖͍̲ˈѪɽͰѪ˶̲ΛˎȵΩ͑ʔɝѪ̲˶ɝͰ˖ѪΡ˅ȵ̧̲ˎѪ ʛȵ̭̲ѪɲʥΛѪɒ̲ͨɝɑΛ̊˖ɽ͹ͰˎѪʥ͆Ѫ̲˶ɝΛ˽Ѫͥɽʜ̭ѭ

?ʥ͹̭Ѫɲʥ͹̭ѭѪÂɝͨʔҀ̧ˈȵ͆˖̲̭ѪɘΛɽʜͥˎѭѪ fʥѪΛίˎ͍Ѫ˖ʥѪ̲ͨȵ˶̲ѭѪ]ʥ̧̊˖ɝ̭Ѫ͑ʜΡɽɘ̲Ѫ ¡͍ɝѪE͹ΩɝʔѪŦ̊ʛ̦ʔɝΛѭ

@sidecarecincinnati

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that the competitive risk is far outweighed by the benefit of hosting talented chefs. “Bringing in chefs and makers into our experience is about building up our community,” she says. “Instead of seeing others as competition, we aim to highlight Cincinnati and all the incredible people doing incredible things.”

While HomeMakers and Fifty Fifty do offer light bites during standard hours, these menu items are also sourced from beloved vendors, such as Covington’s The Empanada’s Box. “We absolutely love them and so do our guests,” she notes. “It’s a way to highlight one of our favorite makers and give our guests more variety on our food menu.”

The concept of pop-up collaborations is an evolving one, and experimentation with form is part of the fun. “The pop-up program has definitely changed throughout the years,” says Lively.“In the last year, we focused on more randomized pop-ups and then ongoing pop-ups.” He points to the monthly Oyster Happy Hour as an ongoing partnership, while last year’s Low & Slow barbecue competition was a oneoff event that invited three vendors in to share their products.

At HomeMakers, though, recurring events such as the annual Margarita Week offer guests a more event-based way to enjoy a curated culinary experience. “We try to fill up our week with all the best taco makers in town, because what’s better than a margarita? A margarita with a taco,” Petiprin says. The bar also hosts its annual Mardi Gras celebration, Fat-Washed Tuesday, where bartenders infuse fats into all of the classic New Orleans cocktails and invite a local chef to provide food.

In the end, pop-up collaborations allow bars to provide exciting culinary experiences that highlight the tastes and talents in our region. “We hope it solidifies the pride of place that we feel when we support other local businesses,” Manabat says.

Northern Row Brewery, Distillery & Taproom, 111 W. McMicken Ave., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 620-8302, northernrow.com HomeMakers Bar, 39 E. 13th St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 394-7559, homemakersbar.com Fifty Fifty Gin Club, 35 E. 13th St., Over-the-Rhine, fiftyfiftyginclub.com The Aquifer Tasting Room at New Riff, 24 Distillery Way, Newport, (859) 261-7433, newriffdistilling.com/the-aquifer

TABLESIDE WITH...

ERMAN BARADI

THE FOODIES + NEW FRIENDS founder’s 100 Cities Project comes to Greater Cincinnati.

How did you come up with this concept? I used my background in producing film and music industry nights in Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Toronto, and even London to form these dinners. The whole mission is to connect people in a time when we’re usually staying at home ordering takeout.

What do you think are the benefits of having dinner with someone you don’t know? It expands your network. Oftentimes, we get people who are new to their city, so it’s a necessity to connect with new faces.

Also, there’s a thrill to meeting other people basically blindly.

What have you heard about Cincinnati’s food scene? I’ve read online that Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky has restaurants by awardwinning chefs and tons of breweries.

How are you choosing which restaurants to visit in each city? We ask registrants what their favorite foods are and if there’s a common thread, then we do our best to oblige. Other than that, we check out OpenTable, Resy, and other reservation sites to see which places are under two dollar signs and can cater to both meat eaters and veggie lovers. Supporting local businesses is a huge factor so if it’s a ma and pop place, we’re all for it.

–AIESHA D. LITTLE Visit ermantourage.com for more about the 100 Cities Project Read a longer interview with Erman at cincinnatimagazine.com

TAKEOUT HERO

Soul Power CHEF NEM KITCHEN TO-GO—THE FAST-CASUAL CONCEPT FROM CHEF, ENTREPRENEUR, AND eatery namesake Nemuel Bonner—takes familiar comfort soul food and dials it up a notch.

Even though he’s been in business for just four years, Bonner’s most notable dishes have already earned the restaurant a loyal following across the city.

Chef Nem gives you permission to indulge, from southern-style six-cheese mac and cheese to fried fish on Fridays and breakfast on Saturdays. The signature lemon garlic salmon fries are a play on loaded fries that balances crisp, seasoned potatoes with buttery salmon.

It’s the dish that regularly sells out, and for good reason. It captures Bonner’s approach to flavor—bold and layered with richness. That same spirit shows up across the menu. The fried snapper arrives whole, deeply seasoned and fried to a satisfying crunch. The best-selling lamb chops are fall-off-the-bone tender, marinated in a secret sauce for hours before being pan-seared to precision. Guests often leave with the house-made Nemonade, a vibrant twist on the classic lemonade that comes in three flavors, gaining its own cult status and doubling as a refreshing finish to a hearty meal.

Chef Nem also offers a variety of rotating homemade sweet treats Chef Nem Kitchen To-Go, 3305 Reading that include strawberry crunch cake and banana crème pudding.

Rd., Avondale, While Cincinnati has no shortage of comfort food spots, Chef Nem (513) 602-8082, chefnemkitchen.com stands out for its creativity and bravado. — T I F F A N Y L U C K E Y

PH OTO G R A PH BY C ATHERINE G R AC E / ILLU S TR ATI O N BY J O N N Y RU Z ZO

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TRY THIS

LOVE ON TOP

n 2012, Karl and Sarah Worley hit Nashville’s culinary scene with a food truck and a vision. Offering a roster of Southern favorites, the couple expanded their breakfast/brunch footprint across the city with multiple brick-and-mortar Biscuit Love locations (plus the most recent one here in Over-the-Rhine, which opened in October 2024). And they partially have the East Nasty to thank for that success. The sandwich— which received national attention when it was lauded as “the best sandwich in America”

by Bon Appétit in 2015—is fried chicken tenders, American cheese, and sausage gravy on Biscuit Love, 1602 St., Over-thea flaky buttermilk biscuit. The rich, thick gravy coats the chicken and biscuit for a buttery Pleasant Rhine, (513) 506-8174, biscuitlove.com mouthful of flavor in every bite. If Southern hospitality has a taste, it’s this. — A I E S H A D . L I T T L E I

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JON MEDINA

PANTRY

PANTRY RAID FROM INTIMATE GATHERINGS TO LAVISH SOIREES, NORTHERN KENTUCKY’S TASTE CELLAR & PANTRY HAS ALL THE GOODS. — E L I Z A B E T H A . L O W R Y

At Taste Cellar & Pantry, you’ll not only find the perfect provisions for building a great charcuterie board, but you’ll also discover a new piece of the Ft. Thomas community. Co-owner Lauren Hodge, who, together with her husband and business partner Challis Hodge, says their latest venture is meant to be a unique shopping and community-building experience where they can share the unique stories and families behind each product they sell with their patrons.

The 1,000-squarefoot shop offers curated, small-production wine and spirits, everyday essentials, hard-to-find ingredients, farm fresh produce, quality meats and seafood, dairy and eggs, chef-curated take-and-bake meals, prepared soups and salads, artisan cheeses and charcuterie, and a full selection of pantry staples.

This new venture takes the place of the couple’s previous Ludlow, Kentucky, business Taste on Elm, which closed in September after nearly six years in business. The move made sense for the Hodges, as Lauren says they fell in love with the Ft. Thomas community and people after purchasing the Grassroots & Vine restaurant in June.

The market is the fourth venture by the couple’s hospitality brand, Taste Food & Wine Group.

“It was a natural fit to move Taste and become more ingrained in Ft. Thomas,” she says. “We had Taste on Elm in Ludlow for a little over five years, [but] we needed a new

location with more foot traffic and this location fell into our laps—it was truly meant to be.”

Taste also carries local products from producers including Dark Wood Farm, The Empanada’s Box, St. Francis Apizza, Family Thyme, Funny Farm Coffee Company, and Yee Mama as well as organic chicken and ground beef.

The market hosts wine tastings and small events, ranging from guided tastings and producer spotlights to practical, hands-on

sessions around cooking, entertaining, and building a well- stocked pantry.

“Taste Cellar & Pantry brings together everything we love about great food and wine in one place,” Lauren says. “People want high-quality ingredients, prepared foods they can trust, and access to wines that are thoughtfully chosen.

Our goal is to make it easy to cook well at home, entertain with confidence, and find something new every time you walk in.”

Taste Cellar & Pantry, 16 N. Ft. Thomas Ave., Ft. Thomas, (859) 916-8488, tastecellarandpantry.com

The Hodges’s other establishment, Grassroots & Vine, is also located on Ft. Thomas Avenue, just one mile south of Taste.

EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD

PHOTOGRAPHS BY VY PHAM

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WHERE TO EAT NOW

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

CRITIC’S PICKS ALARA

Alara’s dim lighting, hanging plants, purple drapes, and muted music all create an atmosphere of subdued sophistication to accompany its New American menu. Like lots of local restaurants at this price point, this place takes farmto-table dining seriously. Local and regional producers play a large role in shaping the restaurant’s seasonal offerings (which are on glorious display in the spiced oil, fried chickpeas, black garlic molasses, Fresno chiles, pickled carrots, and dill of the smoked carrot hummus) while larger dishes lend a certain “family style” air to the dining experience. The lobster and pea carbonara offers generous enough portions of both the seafood and the pasta to make sharing an option, but like with the chicken Milanese— a light, rustic, and lemony dish that ate like a biergarten schnitzel—you might want to keep it all to yourself.

5410 Medpace Way, Madisonville, (513) 2725315, alaracincinnati.com. Dinner seven days.

MCC. $$$

EMBERS

The menu here is built for celebration: poshly priced steak and sushi selections are meant to suit every special occasion. Appetizers are both classic (shrimp cocktail) and Asian-inspired (shrimp tempura); fashionable ingredients are name-checked (micro-greens and truffles); a prominent sushi section (nigiri, sashimi, and rolls) precedes a list of archetypal salads; Kobe beef on sushi rolls sidles up to steaks of prime; non-steak entrées (Chilean sea bass or Dover sole with haricots verts and almondine) make for high-style alternative selections. Talk about a party.

TARGET PRACTICE

“Social darts” bar Flight Club recently opened in the former Saks Fifth Avenue building at 125 W. Fifth St. downtown.

With “Victorian fairground– inspired” decor, the venue allows customers to engage in multiplayer dart games while sipping on signature cocktails and indulging in an expansive menu of bar food.

flightclubdartsusa. com/cincinnati

8170 Montgomery Rd., Madeira, (513) 9848090, embersrestaurant.com. Dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$$

GREYHOUND TAVERN

Back in the streetcar days, this roughly 100-yearold roadhouse was at the end of the Dixie High-

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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

way line, where the cars turned around to head north. The place was called the Dixie Tea Room then, and they served ice cream. The fried chicken came along in the 1930s, and they’re still dishing it up today. Families and regulars alike pile in on Mondays and Tuesdays for the fried chicken special. While the juicy (never greasy) chicken with its lightly seasoned, crisp coating is the star, the side dishes—homemade biscuits, coleslaw, green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy—will make you ask for seconds. Call ahead no matter what night you choose: There’s bound to be a crowd. Not in the mood for chicken? Choose from steaks, seafood, sandwiches, and comfort food options that include meatloaf and a Kentucky Hot Brown. Or just try the onion rings. You’ll wonder where onions that big come from.

2500 Dixie Highway, Ft. Mitchell, (859) 3313767, greyhoundtavern.com. Lunch and dinner seven days, brunch Sun. MCC, DS. $$$

MR. GENE’S DOGHOUSE

Cumminsville is home to arguably the best hot chili cheese mett and chocolate malt in Greater Cincinnati. A family-owned business that began as a simple hot dog stand more than 50 years ago, Mr. Gene’s still attracts lines of loyal customers at its windows. Can’t stand the heat?

Order the mild chili cheese mett—more flavor, fewer BTUs. And if you still haven’t embraced Cincinnati-style coneys, try the Chicago-style hot dog with pickles, onions, relish, mustard, tomato, sport peppers, and celery salt; a pork sandwich; or wings (a sign proclaims “So hot they make the devil sweat”). Although the chocolate malt is the biggest seller, we love the $4.75 pineapple shake, made with real pineapple.

3703 Beekman St., South Cumminsville, (513) 541-7636, mrgenesdoghouse.com. Open Feb– Oct for lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MC, V. $

IVORY HOUSE

The menu here generally doesn’t reinvent dishes or introduce outlandish flavors, but simply pays attention to enough little things to make the results unusually good.

All steaks are premium and hand-selected, the star player being the Japanese A5 Wagyu. The Ultimate Surf & Turf is a date night favorite with a 34-ounce Angus Tomahawk, four shrimp, Top 10

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 2023.

four scallops and two lobster tails. Bluefin tuna steak is complemented by cilantro lime rice, a vegetable medley, chimichurri, and a soy ginger vinaigrette. Confit duck leg, an Ivory House specialty, is served with parsnip mash, confit beets, and berry gastrique. The cocktails are ones you’ve probably seen before, but everything—from the Death Valley Farm Old Fashioned to the Best West Lemon Drop—has an extra dash of liveliness from a house-made element, like the rosemary syrup.

2998 Harrison Ave., Westwood, (513) 3890175, ivoryhousecincy.com. Dinner seven days, brunch Sun. MCC. DC. $$$

SUGAR N’ SPICE

This Paddock Hills diner, with other locations in Over-the-Rhine and Blue Ash, has been dishing up wispy-thin pancakes and football-sized omelettes to Cincinnatians since FDR was signing new deals.

Breakfast and lunch offerings mix old-hat classics like corned beef hash and basic burgers with funky iterations that draw on ethnic ingredients such as chorizo. Get here early if you don’t want to stand in line.

4381 Reading Rd., Paddock Hills, (513) 2423521; 1203 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 762-0390; 10275 Summit Pkwy., Blue Ash, (513) 447-6453, eatsugarnspice.com. Breakfast and lunch seven days. MCC. $

ELI’S BBQ

Elias Leisring started building his pulled pork reputation under canopies at Findlay Market and Fountain Square in 2011. Leisring’s proper little ’cue shack along the river serves up ribs that are speaking-in-tongues good, some of the zazziest jalapeño cheese grits north of the 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-yourown, and the barbecue is bona fide.

3313 Riverside Dr., East End, (513) 533-1957; 133 West Elder St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 5331957, ext. 2, elisbarbeque.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $ ICONS BY EMI VILL AVICENCIO

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 Cajunstyle food is considered a high art form and a serious pleasure. And you’ll start planning your return trip.

6302 Licking Pke., Cold Spring, (859) 7812200, theknottypineonthebayou.com. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

Top 10

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. Offerings like the lamb spaghetti with grana padano feel just as accomplished as old favorites like the falafel. 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) 4214040, abigailstreet.com. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

ALCOVE AMERASIA A sense of energetic fun defines this tiny Chinese spot with a robust beer list. The glossy paper menu depicts Master Chef Rich Chu as a “Kung Food” master fighting the evil fast-food villain with dishes like “fly rice,” “Brocco-Lee,” and “Big Bird’s Nest.” Freshness rules. Potstickers, dumplings, and wontons are hand shaped. The Dragon’s Breath wontons will invade your dreams.

Seasoned ground pork, onion, and cilantro meatballs are wrapped in egg dough, wok simmered, and topped with thick, spicy red pepper sauce and fresh cilantro. Noodles are clearly Chef Chu’s specialty, with zonxon (a tangle of thin noodles, finely chopped pork, and mushrooms cloaked in spicy dark sauce and crowned with peanuts and cilantro) and Matt Chu’s Special (shaved rice noodles, fried chicken, and seasonal vegetables in gingery white sauce) topping the menu’s flavor charts.

521 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 261-6121, kungfood.online. Lunch and dinner Mon–Fri, dinner Sat. MCC. $

ORIENTAL WOK When Mike and Helen Wong opened Oriental Wok in 1977, the couple wanted to recreate the glamor and refinement of the Hong Kong-Cantonese cuisine they knew. Today, locals and expats alike enjoy authentic Chinese and Chinese-American dishes in dining rooms reminiscent of Beijing. Beyond the elephant tusk entryway and fish ponds and fountains is the warmth and hospitality of the Wong family, service on par with the finest establishments, and very, very good food. Best are the fresh fish: salmon, grouper and sea bass steamed, grilled or fried in a wok, needing little more than the ginger-green onion sauce that accompanies them. Oriental Wok is the tri-state’s longest-running family-owned Chinese restaurant for a reason.

317 Buttermilk Pke., Ft. Mitchell, (859) 331-3000; 2444 Madison Rd., Hyde Park, (513) 871-6888, orientalwok.com. Lunch Sun–Fri (Ft. Mitchell; buffet Sun 11–2:30), lunch Tues–Sat (Hyde Park), dinner seven days (Ft. Mitchell) dinner Tues–Sun (Hyde Park). MCC. $$

Alcove lives up to its name, the embodiment of a green oasis where lots of care goes into the space’s bright, floral design. Equal care and attention goes into its seasonal farm-to-table menu. It’s an uncomplicated affair featuring exceptionalbut-approachable dishes. As one might expect from a restaurant where plants cover most of the walls, vegetables are done very well here. The beet and goat cheese salad stands out as does the buffalo cauliflower. Like the produce, much of the meat is sourced from local and regional farms.

Among other local vendors, Rich Life Farms, Urban Stead Cheese, and Eli Settler (a.k.a. “Eli the Farmer”) all contribute to Alcove’s menu. This is a restaurant that takes sustainability seriously, and sustainability has a funny way of going hand-inhand with quality.

1410 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 371-5700, madtree.com/locations/alcove-bar-restaurant.

Brunch Fri–Sun, dinner seven days. MCC. $$

Top 10

BOCA

With its grand staircase, chandelier, and floor-to-ceiling draperies, Boca has an atmosphere of grandeur and refinement. There is a sense of drama not only in the decor but in everything it serves. In some dishes, there is a painterly sense of contrast and surprise, like the maple tuile served with the maple mascarpone cheesecake. In others, there is a dramatic suspense, like the whole egg yolk quivering in the center of the beef tartare waiting to be broken.

While staying mostly grounded in the fundamentals of Italian and French cuisine, Boca has an air of international sophistication that sets its food apart with extraordinary creativity and flair.

114 E. Sixth St., downtown, (513) 542-2022, bocacincinnati.com. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$$

Top 10

BOUQUET RESTAURANT

Long before sushi somehow un-disgusted itself to the Western World, China had houses of dim sum. Uncle Yip’s valiantly upholds that tradition in Evendale. This is a traditional dim sum house with all manner of exotic dumplings, including shark fin or beef tripe with ginger and onion. As for the seafood part of the restaurant’s full name, Uncle Yip has most everything the sea has to offer. The menu has more than 160 items, so you’ll find a range of favorites, from moo goo gai pan to rock salt frog legs.

Normally diners aren’t pleased when a restaurant runs out of something. At Bouquet, though, surprise changes to the menu are simply a sign of integrity. The restaurant is serious about using seasonal ingredients, and if the figs have run out or there is no more chicken from a local farm, so be it. The flavors at Bouquet are about doing justice to what’s available. Preparations are unfussy, complexity coming from within the vegetables and proteins themselves. A spring salad—wonderfully fresh and vibrant, so you know the strawberries included have just come off a nearby vine—is dressed with candy-striped beets and whipped goat cheese. This determination to make something delicious out of what’s on hand, to embrace limitations, gives the food at Bouquet a rustic, soulful quality.

10736 Reading Rd., Evendale, (513) 733-8484, uncleyips.com. Lunch and dinner seven days.

MCC, discount for cash. $$

519 Main St., Covington, (859) 491-7777, bouquetbistro.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

UNCLE YIP’S

PHOTOGRAPH BY TK FREELANCER

CHÉ This spot draws on authentic Argentine recipes, including the empanadas. Choose from a dozen different crispy, perfectly cinched dough pockets, with fillings ranging from traditional (a mixture of cumin-spiced beef, hard-boiled egg, and olives) to experimental (mushrooms, feta, green onion, and mozzarella). There are also six different dipping sauces to choose from, but you need not stray from the house chimichurri.

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

CROWN REPUBLIC GASTROPUB What makes Crown Republic special isn’t its handful of outstanding dishes. It’s the place’s sheer consistency. No single dish is absolutely mind-blowing or completely original, but when almost everything that comes out is genuinely tasty, the service is always friendly and attentive, and (stop the presses!) the bill is quite a bit less than you expected, you sit up and pay attention. The crab and avocado toast, served on toasted bread with lime juice and slivers of pickled Fresno chiles, is a prime example of what makes Crown Republic tick. The cocktails are equally unfussy and good, like the Tequila Honey Bee, made with tequila reposado, honey thyme syrup, lemon, bitters, and mezcal rinse, which adds a smoky kick.

720 Sycamore St., downtown, (513) 246-4272, crownrepublicgastropub.com. Brunch and dinner Wed–Sun. V, MC, DS, AMEX. $$ Top 10

MITA’S

It’s fitting that Chef/Owner Jose Salazar named this restaurant after his grandmother, because there is something deeply homey about the food at Mita’s. With a focus on Spanish and Latin-American tapas, it always feels, in the best possible way, like elevated home cooking. Its sophistication is modestly concealed. The flavors are bold and direct, like the spicy freshness of the ceviche de camarones with poached gulf shrimp, sour orange, fava beans, and jalapeños. The tacos de lengua, which come in pairs, are made with beef tongue, watermelon pico de gallo, watermelon radish, salsa roja, and mint, and are served on housemade corn tortillas. But what mainly comes through is the warm-hearted affection a grandmother might have put into a meal for a beloved grandson. It’s the kind of big hug everyone needs from time to time.

EASY BEING GREEN

California-based quick-service salad-slinging chain Sweetgreen recently opened its first location in the tri-state in Liberty Township. Located at 7615 Blake St., in the Liberty Center shopping mall, the restaurant is the chain’s third location in Ohio.

sweetgreen.com

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

PENNYFLOWER BISTRO & BAR While Pennyflower Bistro & Bar celebrates Fountain Square’s past life as an open-air market with its name, the restaurant offers farmto-table goodness with its menu. Chef/Owner Jacob Benavides and his team butcher proteins in-house, make sauces from scratch, and even shred their own hash browns, but also work with local businesses to source bread (Sixteen Bricks), gin (Northern Row Distillery), and microgreens (Fort Thomas Microgreens). These and other details are showcased in dishes like the carbonara croquettes, the sweet house pickles on the hot Nashville chicken sandwich, and the Amish chicken pressade. But some of the best parts of the menu hide at the end of the meal, like the “deconstructed” s’mores dessert featuring Italian meringue, vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate ganache, graham racker crumbs, and dates.

701 Broadway St., downtown, (513) 904-4149, pennyflowerbistro.com. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner seven days. MCC. $$$

NOLIA Chef/Owner Jeffery Harris, a New Orleans native, F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 9 3

WHERE TO EAT NOW

prepares the cuisine of his beloved city with so-

phistication and flair, drawing on all the influences that have contributed to the cuisine of the Big Easy—from West African to French to Japanese to Haitian. The menu changes seasonally, with almost a complete overhaul each time. If classic New Orleans dishes do show up on the menu, they’re likely to get delightfully unexpected touches. The smoked chicken, for example, comes with peach Alabama barbecue sauce, greens, mirliton, and charred peach. It’s exquisitely prepared food served in a funky, laid-back atmosphere.

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

SENATE

BACK ON THE BLOCK

Jared Bennett— who’s served as chef at many area restaurants over the years, including Branch, Metropole, and Maplewood Kitchen and Bar—is set to open a new venture this spring.

Jarrido’s will open in the former Dutch’s space at 3366–3378 Erie Ave. in Hyde Park and will focus on meal prep, catering, and pop-up events.

Ever since it began dishing out its lo-fi eats, Chef Dan Wright’s gastropub has been operating at a velocity few can match. From the howl and growl of supremely badass hot dogs to the palaterattling poutine, Senate has led the charge in changing the local conventional wisdom about what makes a great restaurant. Consumption of mussels charmoula means either ordering additional grilled bread to soak up every drop of the herby, saffron-laced broth or drinking the remainder straight from the bowl and perfectly crisped and seasoned truffle fries inspire countless return visits.

1100 Summit Place Dr., Blue Ash, (513) 7690099, senateblueash.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MC, V, DS. $

WILDWEED

Before it opened as a restaurant, Wildweed developed a loyal fan base through the hundreds of pasta pop-ups that Chefs David and Lydia Jackman held around the city. Even today, it retains some of the freewheeling quality from its pop-up era with a palpable sense of restlessness in the food. Part of the menu changes from week to week, based on what’s available in the woods and from local farms. What makes Wildweed a place to return is its sense of adventure. From the herb butter on the El Camino miche to the tiger-striped pasta on the chicken tortelli, this kitchen is clearly operating at a high level of skill.

You’ll find that it’s always pushing itself to try something different.

1301 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 246-4274, wildweed-restaurant.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$

YUCA

Yuca is in The Fairfield’s former space, retaining much of the same modern, airy, and inviting café vibes with a neighborhood feel, but boasting a menu certainly worth a commute. In the mood for a hearty breakfast? Indulge in the Fat Zach, a heaping corn gordita packed to the brim with chicken, chorizo, and scrambled egg, served with avocado, pineapple pico, and sweet and spicy potatoes. There’s a full drink menu ranging from coffee to Bloody Marys—or a selection of margaritas and palomas if you’re looking to stick around.

700 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue, (859) 360-0110, yucabycedar.com. Breakfast and lunch Tues– Sun. MCC. $$

COLETTE

At this “mostly French” restaurant, which occupies the former Zula space across from Washington Park, Chef Danny Combs has built a more laidback home for his focused, pristine cooking. While there is classic bistro fare, like steak frites, on the concentrated menu, there are also less familiar but equally classic French dishes, like the poulet frit a la moutarde (chicken with Dijon and crème fraîche) and the tagliolini aux champignons (egg yolk pasta with ragout and Parmesan). One can turn to the extensive drink menu (also “mostly French”) to find a wine or cocktail to go with any dish on offer. Like Zula, Colette would function

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just fine as a wine and cocktail bar, though we can’t imagine coming to a place this good and not eating something.

“at the spot.” Located in the middle of Hyde Park Square, this eatery seems poised to become the culinary focal point of the neighborhood.

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

2710 Erie Ave., Hyde Park, (513) 321-2710, alposto.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DC, DS. $$

LE BAR A BOEUF

If it’s been a couple of years since you’ve been to Le Bar a Boeuf—the late JeanRobert de Cavel’s fun-yet-refined French bistro located on the first floor of the Edgecliff Private Residences in East Walnut Hills—it may be time for a revisit. The formerly burger-centric menu now approaches the full repertoire of bistro classics. The menu reads like a greatest hits list of bistro fare, with escargot, beef tartare, duck leg confit, steak frites, and French onion soup all making appearances. As France’s influence on American fine dining has waned, it’s refreshing to see a restaurant committed to not only preserving the French classics but reinvigorating them.

Top 10

2200 Victory Pkwy., East Walnut Hills, (513) 751-2333, lebarboeuf.com. Dinner Wed–Sat. MCC. $$

LUCA BISTRO

This unabashedly French restaurant, with its French posters, bright red outer paneling, and chalkboard menu proclaiming its specials to passersby, fits into its Mt. Adams environs so perfectly that it’s hard to imagine Hatch Street without it. That, combined with warm service, timeless French fare, and relaxed joie de vivre makes this a true neighborhood establishment. Chef Frederic Maniet grew up in the south of France and has done an excellent job transporting his native cuisine to a quiet corner of Cincinnati.

These are the dishes that culinary Francophiles often crave, prepared in a straightforward, timehonored way. The Bouchées à la Reine, a buttery, flaky puff pastry filled with chicken, mushrooms, peas, Gruyère cheese, and béchamel sauce, is so warm and comforting it makes chicken pot pie seem aloof by comparison. It’s a warm, gentle reminder that French food can be convivial and affordable.

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

BRIJ MOHAN

Order at the counter the way you might at a fast food joint, except the shakes come in mango and there’s no supersizing your mint lassi. The saag, full of cream in most northern Indian restaurants, is as intensely flavored as collard greens in the Deep South—real Punjabi soul food. Tarka dal is spectacular here, the black lentils smoky from charred tomatoes and onions, and the pani puri, hollow fried shells into which you spoon a peppery cold broth, burst with tart cool crunch. Follow the spice with soothing ras malai, freshly made cheese simmered in thick almond-flavored milk, cooled and sprinkled with crushed pistachios.

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

AL-POSTO

Al-Posto is an upscale southern Italian spot that reflects the same commitment to quality ingredients and delicate preparation that made its predecessor Dear such a gem. Appetizers include classic sharables like marinated olives (prepared with orange zest, rosemary, and Calabrian chile), burrata with grilled focaccia, and coppa (a cured pork served with preserved peppers and almonds), but it’s the pasta (which can be ordered as an entrée or a first course) that’s not to be missed. We recommend the Cacio e Pepe, a seemingly simple dish comprised of bucatini (similar to spaghetti, but thicker), black pepper, and a sharp pecorino Toscano. Since you’re probably wondering, “Al-Posto” roughly translates to

NICOLA’S

Chef/Restaurateur Cristian Pietoso carries on the legacy of his father, Nicola, as the elder Pietoso’s Over-the-Rhine eatery celebrated 25 years in business in 2021. You can still get the old Italian classics, and they’ll be as good as ever, but the rest of the menu has blossomed into a freewheeling tour of modern American cuisine. Any establishment paying this level of attention to detail—from the aged balsamic and lavender honey on the Italian cheese board to the staff’s wine knowledge—is going to put out special meals. Rarely have humble insalate been so intricately delicious, between the nontraditional summer gazpacho, filled with crab, zucchini, peaches, and squash, or the balance of the tangy, salty, and citrusy Siciliana salad. Order an old favorite, by all means, but make sure you try something new, too.

Top 10

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

SOTTO

There are certain books and movies that you can read or watch over and over.

Eating at Sotto is a similar experience: familiar, but so profound and satisfying that there is no reason to ever stop. Unlike other restaurants, where the techniques are often elaborate and unfamiliar, the magic at Sotto happens right in front of you, using ordinary elements and methods. When you taste the results, though, you realize that some mysterious transmutation has taken place. The wood-fired branzino with broccolini, matched with the warm, smoky taste of the Calabrian pepper, offers a flavor that you could go on eating forever. From the texture of the chicken liver mousse to the citrusy lemon aioli on the tartare di fassone, most of the food has some added element of soulfulness.

Top 10

118 E. Sixth St., downtown, (513) 822-5154, sottocincinnati.com. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$

VIA VITE

Via Vite serves up crowd-pleasing entrées—including the Pietoso family Bolognese, over tagliatelle—right on Fountain Square. This is where small touches add sophistication. Golf-ball-sized veal meatballs are heavy with lemon zest, an over-the-top comfort dish. The same applies to the risotto frutti di mare, its soffritto, shrimp, lobster, mussels, and Boston bay clams creates a nice back-and-forth between vegetal and briny flavors. Braised lamb shank over polenta is a workhorse, and the flavorful Faroe Island salmon with roasted carrot puree, caramelized Brussel sprouts, and truffled brown butter balsamic vinaigrette is a delight.

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

BARU

Baru, the sleek izakaya in the former MidiCi space, prioritizes bar dining, which is meant to be enjoyed alongside its eclectic drinks list. The menu is broken down into sushi, “small plates,” “plates,” sides, and ishiyaki. Baru’s sushi offerings are varied but concise, featuring a trio of ahi tuna, spicy tuna, and escolar, as well as a lobster nigiri. If sushi gets the party going, the theatrical ishiyaki kicks it into high gear. The term refers to dishes that diners grill tableside on a hot stone, such as the Wagyu New York strip.

For all its convivial buzz, Baru is also a spot where solo diners can enjoy a few peaceful bar-side bites. The Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna from the small plates section brought the same level of freshICON BY EMI VILL AVICENCIO

ness and quality as the rest of the menu. Sometimes it pays to dine alone.

595 Race St., downtown, (513) 246-0150, barusushi. com. Dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$

KIKI

Your best bet here is to share plates or simply order too much. Start with the edamame and the chicken karaage. The selection of sauces (from tare to ponzu to chili oil) makes each dish better. And, of course, the ramen is the main reason for visiting.

The shio features pork belly and tea-marinated soft-boiled egg, but the kimchi subs in tofu and its namesake cabbage for the meat. Be sure to try something from the sushi bar which offers nigiri, sashimi, and roll options.

Top 10

358 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, (513) 706-8902, kikicincinnati. com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$

RIVERSIDE KOREAN RESTAURANT

Come for the jham bong—a seafood soup with flour noodles in a spicy broth with pork, shrimp, squid, mussels, and vegetables. Revered for its medicinal properties, the dinnersized soup will leave your eyes glistening and your brow beaded with sweat. It’s a detox for your overindulgence, rejuvenation for when you’re feeling under the weather. Expect crowds on weekends. Expect too, that dozens of them have come for dolsot bibimbap, the hot stone pots filled with layers of rice, vegetables, meat or tofu, egg, and chili paste.

Characterized by its electric color and addictive flavors, Riverside Korean’s version is a captivating bowl of heaven.

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

ANDY’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILLE

In this lively joint with a burnished summer lodge interior of wood and stone, even the food is unrestrained: rough-cut chunks of charbroiled beef tenderloin, big slices of onion and green pepper turned sweet and wet in the heat, skewers of marinated and charbroiled chicken perched on rice too generous for its plate.

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

MCC. $$ Top 10

PHOENICIAN TAVERNA

No matter how much restraint you go in with, meals at Phoenician Taverna quickly become feasts. There is just too much that’s good, and everything is meant to be shared. With fresh pita bread continuously arriving from the ovens, and a table of quickly multiplying meze (hummus, falafel, muhammara), there is a warmth and depth to the cooking that envelops you. With such traditional cuisine, you may think there isn’t much left to discover beyond simply executed classics prepared according to time-tested methods. But there are always new discoveries as the flavors mingle from plate to plate: the tabbouleh with the hummus, mixed with a touch of harissa, or the smoky baba ghanoush spooned onto falafel. Phoenician Taverna keeps taking these classics a little further.

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

MAZUNTE

Mazunte runs a culinary full-court press, switching up specials to keep both regulars and staff engaged. Pork tamales arrive swaddled in a banana leaf, the shredded pork filling steeped in a sauce fiery with guajillo and ancho chilies yet foiled by the calming sweetness of raisins. The fried fish tacos are finished with a citrusy red and white cabbage slaw that complements the accompanying mangohabañero salsa. With this level of authentic yet fast-paced execution, a slightly greasy pozole can be easily forgiven.

Don’t miss the Mexican Coke, the margaritas, or the nonalcoholic horchata.

5207 Madison Rd., Madisonville, (513) 785-0000, mazuntetacos.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $

NADA

The brains behind Boca deliver authentic, contemporary,

high-quality Mexican fare downtown. You’ll find a concise menu, including tacos, salads and sides, large plates, and desserts. The Pork Al Pastor tacos, zesty with salsa verde and sweet with grilled pineapple, are definite crowd-pleasers. If you’re biased against Brussels sprouts, Nada just might convert you. The crispy sprouts, served with chipotle honey and candied ancho pepitas, are a deliciously intriguing starter.

600 Walnut St., downtown, (513) 721-6232, eatdrinknada.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$

TAQUERIA MERCADO

The Mercado’s strip mall interior, splashed with a large, colorful mural, is as energetic as its crowd on a Saturday night: the bustling semi-open kitchen; a busy counter that handles a constant stream of take-out orders; a clamorous, convivial chatter in Spanish and English. Try camarones a la plancha, 12 chubby grilled shrimp tangled with grilled onions (be sure to specify if you like your onions well done).

The starchiness of the rice absorbs the caramelized onion juice, offset by the crunch of lettuce, buttery slices of avocado, and the cool-hot pico de gallo. A shrimp quesadilla paired with one of their cheap and potent margaritas is worth the drive alone.

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

JEFF RUBY’S

Filled most nights with local scenesters and power brokers (and those who think they are), everything in this urban steakhouse is generous—from the portions to the expert service. Waiters deliver two-fisted martinis and mounds of greens dressed in thin vinaigrettes or thick, creamy emulsions. An occasional salmon or sea bass appears, and there’s a small but decent assortment of land fare. But most customers are there for the slabs of beef (dry aged USDA prime). The best of these is Jeff Ruby’s Cowboy, 22 ounces of 70-day dry-aged bone-in rib eye. This is steak tailor-made for movers and shakers.

505 Vine St., downtown, (513) 784-1200, jeffruby.com.

Dinner seven days. MCC, DC. $$$$

LOSANTI

A bit more upscale than its sister restaurant, Crown Republic Gastropub, Losanti is also more conservative in its offerings. Service is friendly and informal, and though the meal feels like a special occasion, prices and atmosphere are right for, say, a date, rather than a wedding anniversary. The filet mignon, rib eye, and New York strip are cut to order for each table (there are a few available weights for each). The steaks themselves are totally irreproachable, perfectly seasoned, cooked to precisely the right point. Losanti even makes the steakhouse sides a little special. Sweet and smoky caramelized onions are folded into the mashed potatoes, a nice dusting of truffles wakes up the mac and cheese, and the sweet corn is at least freshly cut off the cob and recalls elote with lime and chile.

Top 10

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

THE PRECINCT

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 crisptender 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.

Top 10

311 Delta Ave., Columbia-Tusculum, (513) 321-5454, jeffruby.com/precinct. Dinner seven days. MCC. $$$$

GREEN PAPAYA

Inside this simple dining room, replete with soothing browns and greens and handsome, dark wood furniture, it takes time to sort through the many curries and chef’s specialties, not to mention the wide variety of sushi on the somethingfor-everyone menu. Have the staff—friendly, attentive, and

knowledgeable—help you. When the food arrives, you’ll need only a deep inhale to know you made the right choice.

The Green Papaya sushi rolls are as delicious as they look, with a manic swirl of spicy mayo and bits of crabstick and crispy tempura batter scattered atop the spicy tuna, mango, cream cheese, and shrimp tempura sushi—all rolled in a vivid green soybean wrap.

2942 Wasson Rd., Oakley, (513) 731-0107; 4002 Plainville Rd., Mariemont, (513) 272-8424, greenpapayacincinnati.com. Lunch and dinner seven days (Oakley), Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat (Mariemont).

MCC. $$

TEAK SUSHI & THAI

Owner Chanaka De Lanerolle has said that he decided to bring back Teak’s take on Thai food because of the renewed vibrancy in Over-the-Rhine, which he compared to the energy he felt in Mt. Adams during his time there. But for all of the hype around the restaurant’s re-emergence on the scene, it’s probably best to consider it a reimagining rather than a reopening. While long-time favorites show up on the menu, prepared by many of the same kitchen staff members from Mt. Adams, some adaptations have been made to better meet expectations of modern diners.

Letting go of preconceived notions about Teak will serve you well. With a two-sided, standalone sushi menu and a wide variety of main plates ranging from small bites to signature dishes, you have plenty of room to craft your own dining experience.

1200 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 421-8325; 110 S. Second St., Loveland, (513) 583-8325, teakotr.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

WILD GINGER

The ability to satisfy a deep desire for Vietnamese and Thai fusion cuisine is evident in Wild Ginger’s signature Hee Ma roll—a fortress of seaweed-wrapped rolls filled with shrimp tempura, asparagus, avocado, and topped with red tuna, pulled crab stick, tempura flakes, a bit of masago, scallions, and of course, spicy mayo. It’s tasty, even though the sweet fried floodwall of tempura and spicy mayo overpowered the tuna completely. The spicy pad char entrée was a solid seven out of 10: broccoli, carrots, cabbage, succulent red bell peppers, green beans, and beef, accented with basil and lime leaves in a peppercornand-chili brown sauce.

3655 Edwards Rd., Hyde Park, (513) 533-9500, wildgingeroh.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$

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. $$

CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, (ISSN 0746-8 210), February 2026, Volume 59, Number 5. Published monthly ($19.95 for 12 issues annually) at 221 E. Fourth St., Ste. 130, Cincinnati, OH 45202.

(513) 421-4300. Copyright © 2026 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.

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 9 5

CINCY OBSCURA

Treasure Trove THANKS TO JESSICA Wolf and Tracy Updike, co-owners of Otiose Emporium, you can enjoy craft brews at your favorite bars while supporting local artists. Otiose machines look and function like any normal vending machine, but instead of chips and candy you’ll find unique treasures like enamel pins, craft jewelry, gag gifts, books, stationery, sticker sheets, craft sheets, CDs, stuffed animals, and much more. “We have a lot of local vendors like Pop Rocket Creations, Happy Groundhog, L.D. Nehls, and James Billiter,” says Wolf. “We also create a lot of items since we’re both artists,” adds Updike. Since launching in early 2025, machines have been put up at The Comet, both HighGrain Brewery locations, and the American Sign Museum.

According to the duo, the machines have received an overwhelmingly positive response from both vendors and customers, especially those with children. “I think parents who take their kids to breweries like to have a little something to keep the kids occupied,” says Wolf. “The name of our business, Otiose, means frivolity and something that’s not necessary but brings joy.”

—CLAIRE LEFTON

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

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MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2026

NEWPORT CAR BARN

VIP Admission: 5:30 p.m.

1102 Brighton St., Newport, KY 41071

General Admission: 6:00 p.m.

Join Cincinnati Magazine at our annual Best Restaurants Tasting Event.

Enjoy bites from this year’s top restaurants and sample treats from our key sponsors.

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Discussing the War Within a War Feb. 18, 2026 at Miami University Miami University is proud to present a special book conversation with Miami alumnus and award-winning author and journalist Wil Haygood. In his latest project, “The War Within a War — The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home,” Haygood explores how the Vietnam War became a mirror for the struggle of Black Americans fighting for freedom abroad while demanding equality at home. Haygood, a visiting scholar at the university and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, will discuss his book on Miami’s campus Feb. 18, 2026.

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