Cincinnati Magazine - June 2022 Edition by Cincinnati Magazine

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SUN SPOT THE CITY OF CINCINNATI’S MUNICIPAL SOLAR ARRAY IN HIGHLAND COUNTY, PHOTOGRAPHED ON APRIL 29, 2022.

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, RETHINK, AND REFUSE Our guide to living a more sustainable life, from recycling basics and places you can get rid of hard-to-recycle stuff to organizations and podcasts that will help you go green.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS JUST GETTING WARMED UP P. 54

Even though Cincinnati is far from the coasts and has been called a “climate haven,” threats from summer heat, winter warming, heavy rains, and ﬂooding are real and growing.

CINCINNATI’S GOLDEN BOYS AND GIRLS P. 58

An Over-the-Rhine boxing club gives city kids a place to learn and train, ﬁlls their bellies, and always keeps them safe. BY J AC LY N YO U H A N A G A R V E R

BY JOHN STOWELL PHOTOGRAPH BY JUSTIN SCHAFER

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ON OUR SITE

FOOD NEWS

12 / LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

FRONTLINES 17 / DISPATCH

World premieres from Cincinnati Opera

18 / SPEAK EASY

112 / CINCY OBSCURA

Camp Ernst Executive Director Eli Cochran

The Mariemont Boathouse BY LAUREN FISHER

18 / EVENTS 20 / STYLE COUNSEL

DINE

Henry Lunn, a.k.a. Twink Trash, opera singer and drag performer

90 / OFF THE MENU Josh Campbell takes over at Maverick’s

22 / STOREFRONT

92 / SNACK TIME

East to Vest Productions, Covington

Gelatin molds from Calliope Sweets

24 / REAL ESTATE

94 / PANTRY

A Homearama showplace in the East End

Redden Fine Meats & Seafood, Madeira

26 / DR. KNOW

96 / TRY THIS

Your QC questions answered

The Ferrero Rocher Frappe at Bebo’s

Celebrating Juneteenth

99 / DINING GUIDE

COLUMNS

Greater Cincinnati restaurants: A selective list

30 / LIVING IN CIN The ﬁre box rules BY J AY G I L B E R T

34 / PERSON OF INTEREST Bea Lampkin changed cancer treatment for kids

CITY NEWS

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

HOME + LIFE

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

ON THE COVER

photograph by JEREMY KRAMER retouching by PATRICK WHITE

BY LISA MURTHA SPORTS

Insight and analysis on the Reds and FC Cincinnati.

6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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CONTRIBUTORS

SARAH McCOSHAM

I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH MY SON RECENTLY ABOUT THE FATE OF THE WORLD. He’s 18 and graduating from high school, and like many in my generation I feel guilty about the planet I’m leaving for him. Long after I’m dead and gone, he and his own children will be cleaning up the mess we created by polluting the atmosphere, clear-cutting the forests, and killing off nature. And they’ll curse us for not having done more to head off disaster while we still could. He told me his history class had been talking about climate change from the perspective of how mankind has dealt with it in the decades since it was identified as a worldwide problem. Wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources now produce more electricity in the U.S. than coal. Almost every car maker sells electric vehicles, and Tesla has become one of the world’s most valuable companies. Recycling is a way of life these days. Humans have always found a way to cope with crisis, my son said. “We’ll get it done,” he told me. “We have to.” We’ve placed a lot of hope in this younger generation. They’ll be the ones to finally eliminate racism, sexism, and homophobia. They’ll do away with war. They’ll fix the environment. They’ll get to the promised land and finish the journey we started before daily life distracted us. It’s a great story I tell myself, safe in the knowledge that I won’t be around to find out if it comes true or not. Meanwhile, the news gets worse every day about droughts, floods, wildfires, and simultaneous heat waves in the Arctic and the Antarctic. Cincinnati isn’t immune, of course (see “Climate Change Is Just Getting Warmed Up,” page 54). And there’s still plenty we can do to make a small difference in the battle, as discussed in “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink, and Refuse” (page 40). When my grandchildren ask one day what I did to save the planet, my son can tell them I put our bottles and cardboard in a separate trash can. And I helped produce this issue of Cincinnati Magazine, which possibly convinced you that all hope isn’t lost. Was that enough? Only time will tell.

J O H N F OX

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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ILLUSTR ATIO N BY L A R S LEE TA RU

Contributing writer Sarah McCosham knows sleepaway summer camp is in the future for her four kids, all under age 12. “They have a curiosity about the natural world that blows my mind,” McCosham says. In Camp Ernst Executive Director Eli Cochran (Speak Easy, page 18), she found a kindred parenting spirit. “Eli’s perspective isn’t so black and white. We’re all just doing the best we can.”

MICHELLE SIKORKSI Dresses made of pool noodles and Baroque wigs piled skyward, adorned with ﬂowers and jewels. Those were just a few of the quirky creations contributing writer Michelle Sikorski saw when she visited Stacey Vest at Covington’s East and Vest Productions (page 22). “She’s a fascinating person,” Sikorski says of Vest. “She has that creative energy that leaps from one thing to the next, so talking to her was a delight. I had about a million half-ﬁnished details in my notes.”

PATRICK WHITE Contributing artist Patrick White specializes in user experience and graphic design and has done work for Lowe’s and Bank of America. This month, he showcases his skills on our cover. Sustainability is an issue close to his heart. “I strive to be more eco-friendly in all aspects of life,” says White. “And I’m working to learn more and get better every day.”

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Wittenberg University. “We understand what drives them and appreciate what they are going through. We help them both physically and mentally and know what it takes to get them back on the ﬁeld.” Dr. Argo grew up playing multiple sports and was a member of the soccer team at Vanderbilt University. “When I was playing sports, the only doctors I ever saw were orthopaedic surgeons,” Dr. Argo says. “So when I went to medical school, I knew I wanted to take care of athletes. I wanted to get people who were as intense and athletic as I was back on the ﬁeld after an injury. The warm and fuzzy for me is that if someone is injured, I get to do something physically to make them better.” Sports is also in the background of Dr. Burger, who co-founded Beacon with Dr. Kremchek. A football standout at his alma mater LaSalle, Dr. Burger walked on to the football team at Notre Dame, where he played on the 1977 national championship team with the legendary Fighting Irish quarterback Joe Montana.

Beacon’s Top Doctors Treat Students at Top Area High Schools AT SOME OF GREATER CINCINNATI’S BEST HIGH SCHOOLS, TOP DOCTORS FROM BEACON ORTHOPAEDICS & SPORTS MEDICINE ARE PART OF THE TEAM.

“S

ports medicine is our specialty at Beacon,” says Beacon’s Peter Cha, M.D. “And because of our experience and expertise, we are privileged to be the official sports medicine providers to high schools across the region, as well as club, college, and professional teams.”

BEACON PHYSICIANS SERVE AS TEAM DOCTORS FOR THE FOLLOWING AREA HIGH SCHOOLS Peter Cha, M.D. (Medical Director at Ursuline Academy, Seven Hills, Cincinnati Country Day, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy and Lakota East high schools). Tim Kremchek, M.D.

(Medical Director at Moeller, Indian Hills, Kings, Wyoming, Mt. Notre Dame, Madeira, Clinton-Massie, Wilmington, and Lokota West high schools). David Argo, M.D. (Medical Director at Oak Hills East Central, South Dearborn, and Lawrenceburg high schools). Robert Burger, M.D. (Medical Director at LaSalle High School). Beacon’s origins are rooted in building a practice that focuses on providing the best care to athletes, says Dr. Kremchek, who cofounded Beacon 26 years ago. “Our team at Beacon understands athletes, including the sports and positions they play,” says Dr. Kremchek, who played baseball at Indian Hill and

“One of the reasons we are able to provide such outstanding care to high school athletes is the integrated services we provide our patients at Beacon,” Dr. Burger says. “The concept of consolidating physical therapy, MRIs, and even an ambulatory surgery center in the same location provides a real synergy that our patients want and appreciate.” Do you have an injury? Beacon Orthopaedics can help! Explore Beacon’s website, www.beaconortho.com, to learn more about their services and the Beacon difference or call to schedule an appointment today: (513) 354-3700.

Schedule an appointment today on www.beaconortho.com or call (513) 354-3700

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WIGGING OUT IN COVINGTON P. 22

ELEVATING THE EAST END P. 24

A FIERCE REFOCUS

After two years in limbo, Cincinnati Opera returns, celebrating its past and shaping its future. BILL THOMPSON

FTER A TWO-SEASON PANDEMIC

hiatus, Cincinnati Opera returns to its homes at Music Hall and the School for Creative and Performing Arts this month. The company presents two world premieres, Fierce and Castor and Patience, that were postponed from what would have been its 100th anniversary season in 2020. The other productions this season are familiar titles from the opera canon, kicking off with La Bohème June 18 and including Aida and The Pirates of Penzance. Artistic Director Evans Mirageas says the excitement of returning to whatever normal looks like is “feverish” after the company pivoted to digital performances in 2020 and produced outdoor shows at Summit Park in Blue Ash last summer. “The anticipation level is about as high as it could be. We have so missed putting our feet on those stages and having our great Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the pit and fully staged productions with, as we say in the business, tights and lights.” The world premieres might provide a gateway for opera newcomers, but they’ll also draw longtime fans who trust the taste of Mirageas, now in his 17th year. Castor and Patience is a collaboration between composer Gregory Spears (Fellow Travelers, a previous Cincinnati Opera commission) and former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. CONTINUED ON P. 18 ILLUSTR ATIO N BY G A BRIELE CR ACOLICI

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REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE

Cincinnati’s 35th annual Juneteenth Festival returns June 18–20, marking the end of slavery and reﬂecting on the ongoing ﬁght for freedom. Festivities include live music, kids’ activities, food, art, and health screenings in Eden Park, plus a parade. juneteenthcincinnati.org 1 8 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

SPEAK EASY

OPTING OUT(SIDE) AT SUMMER CAMP There’s no experience quite like camp. Unplugged time in nature, especially in summer, reaps dividends for kids in ways that grow and flourish over time. Camp Ernst Executive Director Elizabeth (Eli) Cochran knows the benefits of reconnecting kids to nature and loves to help people choose the right camp experience for their child, and she says your kids might just inspire you to get outside more, too. What makes Camp Ernst such a Cincinnati gem? Camp Ernst was founded in Burlington, Kentucky, by the Covington Y in 1928. We’re now owned and operated by the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, and our campus is a summer sanctuary that’s home to a lake, two creeks, two pools, and 50 buildings. It’s close to town and yet it still allows campers to disconnect from their screens and to connect with each other. What are your most popular summer programs? Camp Ernst has nine weeks of day and overnight camp. All daily activities—including ziplining, swimming, archery, canoeing, and fishing—are open to campers, and there are “add-on” activities

like horseback riding available, too. In terms of accessibility, we can work to adapt camp to many different abilities and customize those adaptations, knowing that each child is unique. You attended Camp Ernst as a child, and clearly your experience had a profound experience on your life. My years as a camper in the 1980s and counselor in the ’90s inﬂuenced my work today and inspired me to steward this amazing place. Being a mom, however, has probably informed my role the most; seeing the way my own kids’ camp friendships and experiences shaped them, I’ve approached my leadership through that lens, too. The #parentguilt over technology is real. How do you respond to that? Technology can actually help kids connect to nature, because there are lots of apps that offer nature identiﬁcation and activities. Children have a natural sense of curiosity, and caregivers can encourage that by asking questions, modeling delight and wonder at surroundings, and practicing creative storytelling. —SARAH McCOSHAM READ A LONGER INTERVIEW WITH ELI AT CINCIN NATIMAGAZINE.COM

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IM AG E S CO U R TE S Y (SPE A K E A S Y ) C A M P ERN S T / (E V EN T S) J U N E TEEN TH CIN CIN N ATI / I CO N BY EMI VILL AVICENCIO

Fierce is the story of four teenage era’s former director of artistic operagirls—two Black, two white— tions] contacted me about the project,” who meet in a workshop on how to write says Menefield. “The original working an effective college essay. The gathering title was Girls 2020, with the idea that prompts each to share stories that help 2020 was Cincinnati Opera’s anniverbegin a journey toward self-assurance. sary as well as the 100th anniversary of William Menefield, who grew up women’s suffrage. I was open to writing some good music to help make everyplaying jazz piano around town before graduating from UC’s College-Conserthing come together. On the surface, it vatory of Music, wrote the music for sounds like the girls are just kids, but every woman was a young girl once. So Fierce. Author Sheila Williams, who there are all kinds of ways for people, lives in Newport, wrote the libretto. even guys, to connect with it.” Ensemble Theatre Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn The lure of opera is its abilMeyers will direct, her first ity to offer each audience memtime helming an opera. ber a different reason to attend, Williams crafted the story says Mirageas, whether it’s the after meeting with 10 girls beauty of the singers’ voices, from WordPlay Cincy and The music composed by masters Music Resource Center, local A Fierce Urgency from different generations, the The world premiere nonprofit programs that offer costumes, the scenery, or simof Fierce is July 6, resources, support, and tools ply sharing an event in the same 9, and 10 at SCPA. space with like-minded people. to help young people express Details and tickets at That is the task he faces each themselves as they navigate cincinnatiopera.org. the turbulence of adolescence. year, and it’s one he relishes. “I made a decision to do more listening “To put together a season, you althan talking,” she says. “The girls were most always need to have one of those name recognition operas like La Bohème very wise and very gracious in allowor Aida,” he says. “And we try to do one ing me to listen. They came with a lot that’s a little less than Top 10 but is relaof things on their minds. Those were tively familiar for the diehard operagoer. also things on my mind back in the Jurassic age [laughs] when I was 13 and 14 Then we like to push the boat out a little and 15. It allowed me to time travel, and to do world premieres, commissions, I was able to open some drawers I hadn’t co-commissions, and first-time-inCincinnati productions. It’s kind of like opened in a while and take a look.” Menefield, like Williams, had never a Rubik’s cube. You keep twisting it and written an opera before, but his doctortwisting it, and finally all those colors ate from the University of Texas is in line up and you say, Yep, that season composition. “Marcus Küchle [the Opworks.”

STYLE COUNSEL

Henry Lunn, a.k.a.

Twink Trash OCCUPATION: Student, pursuing opera and drag STYLE: As Henry Lunn: “Ironic. Swashbuckling. Thrifted. Oversized and sheer. No! Leopard-print.” As Twink Trash: “Camp. Meta. Corseted and painful. Drag hurts.” We have to start with that viral video of your grandmother reacting to one of your drag outfits. My grandmother, first of all, is an angel icon. She went to school for fashion. She taught my mom to sew, and they both taught me to sew. More importantly, she taught me to appreciate fashion and respect what goes into it. Whenever I’m in a new outfit for a shoot or a performance, I always have to go into her room, do a little spin. She takes pictures. She sends them to her church friends. How long have you been making your own clothes? I was homeschooled from fifth grade to eighth grade because I was pursuing opera professionally at that point. As a child—especially as a boy, before your voice changes—it’s a very specific role that not too many people can fill, so I was doing opera nonstop. I also had outdoor [classes], how to create a garden in our backyard, how to sew. I began drag at 15. I didn’t start to actually sew my own drag designs until a year into drag, and it didn’t get good for a while. For your senior opera recital, you performed in drag. What is the connection between the two? I wanted to present myself as the artist I’m presenting to the world. I’m a drag artist. I’m a classical musician, and I respect and I love the roots of classical music, but art genres need to be relevant and need to have a reason to exist. I’m really invested in the future of classical music, and I see drag as a really wonderful platform. —JAC LY N YO U H A N A G A R V E R

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Stacey Vest has been making wigs for 17 years, but these are not typical hairpieces. In one of her latest creations, faux leaves, ﬂowers, and jewels pile upward and outward on blonde and blue strands, Marie Antoinette-style. Her work has always been inspired by the Club Kids scene from the ’90s. “It was a lot of self-expression, dancing, and nongender-speciﬁc ways of decorating yourself,” Vest says. “I was going to parties, and I’d see someone dressed in a head-to-toe suit with spikes coming out, and I’d think, I want to know that person. Meanwhile I was the kid putting battery-pack Christmas lights down my pants.” Resourceful engineering in pursuit of self-expression is at the heart of Vest’s artistic vision today, and her Covington storefront-studio, East to Vest Productions, is bursting with evidence. Everywhere you look, something is being repurposed, reimagined: Straws and pool noodles turned dramatic, elegant headdresses, and thousands of multicolored condoms sewn together to form dresses just begging to be twirled. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg—Vest has ideas blooming for plastic bags and bird cages, old buttons and giant googly eyes. She seems to view the world as if she’s constantly asking, How could this become unforgettable? Vest’s creations will make you stand out in a crowd, but Vest’s

philosophy is about more than just getting attention. Ultimately, she’s dedicated to helping people declare themselves the instant they walk in the room—to show the parts of themselves the world has told them to ignore or suppress. “That was one of my favorite projects,” Vest says, pointing to a wig that features two multitoned waterfalls of hair cascading from sculpted braids on either side of a ﬂat, ﬂesh-toned patch. “The woman I designed that for was bald,” Vest explains, “and she wanted a wig, but she wanted to keep her baldness, keep that part of it.” Vest may draw her inspiration from Club

Kids gone by, but she has her eye to the future as well. In the short term, she’s working on coming up with ways to foster creative expression and arts accessibility for people of all ages. In the long term, she plans to break the Guinness World Record for the tallest wig. Count on it happening: She’s already got a muscle man on standby, ready to hoist 50 feet of self-expression onto his (substantial) shoulders.

EAST TO VEST PRODUCTIONS, 10 W. PIKE ST., COVINGTON, STACEY-VEST.SQUARESPACE .COM

The East to Vest Productions team can liven up your next event with wearable, interactive displays, like strolling treat tables and champagne skirts that hold 100 ﬂutes. GOOD TO KNOW

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

ON THE MARKET

ADDRESS: 2909 WALWORTH AVE., EAST END LISTING PRICE: $1,750,000

FULL STEAM AHEAD

TO CALL IT “WALWORTH JUNCTION” IS TO PUT AN UNASSUMING NAME

on a neighborhood that is, by its nature, pretty assuming. The name is actually a nod to the land’s history. In its past life, this was Pendleton Yard, a riverside switch station that was a crucial railroad junction connecting Cincinnati cargo and passengers to the rest of the U.S. Today, thanks to the passage of time and 2020 Homearama, it has traded in locomotives for luxury, though railroad tracks still separate the hillside homes from Riverside Drive. Houses in the development grow vertically, typically climbing at least three stories—plus a lower level—and featuring rooftop decks with high-ﬂying city views. Here, elevators aren’t a luxury for the few. They’re expected. Part of the original seven-home Homearama show, 2909 Walworth Ave. is a case study in everything that’s driven the buzz around this development. The kitchen is on the sec-

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ond floor, bleeding into the dining and great rooms before opening to a terrace that overlooks the river. The ceilings soar, particularly in the entryway, where they stretch a dizzying 20 feet. With the exception of a few accent walls, the space is a neutral canvas of white walls, hickory floors, and wrought iron railings that keep the space feeling cohesive, despite the fact that it spreads out over 4,000 square feet and four floors. Even the lower level—typically an afterthought—wows with a mirror-lined exercise room, safe room, and extra bedroom. The third level’s indoor space features a full family room, guest suite, and a bar area that opens up via retractable window for anytime in-home walkup service. On the terrace, touches like the built-in barbecue grill and fire pit play second fiddle to the sweeping panorama of the Ohio River, the downtown skyline, and those namesake train tracks. It’s a long way from the railyard of old. But the view from the top is well worth the climb.

PHOTOGR APHS COURTESY CHRIS FARR/ THE FIRST SHOWING LLC

THIS CONTEMPORARY FOUR-STORY HOME IN A COVETED EAST END DEVELOPMENT HAS VIEWS FOR DAYS—AND AN ELEVATOR TO TAKE YOU TO THE TOP. — L A U R E N F I S H E R

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

DR. KNOW

Q+ A

conﬁgure with the institution’s move to the Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990. While many elements were successfully installed in the new location, some had to sadly be left behind. The magniﬁcent Planetarium especially was a major loss; Pink Floyd laser shows just haven’t been the same since. But even with the extinction of reallife wooly mammoths—thank you for not calling them elephants; it’s a sore point— the Natural History Museum committed to giving their mammoths a new home. The family of four now happily roams outside the entrance of the Cincinnati Museum Center’s sister location at West Fifth and Gest Streets in Queensgate. It’s all for the best, really, because back in the old neighborhood, the new Cincinnati Ballet Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance has just opened on Gilbert Avenue. If the mammoths were still hanging around, it would make everyone think of that scene in Fantasia.

I live in Denver now, but as a Cincinnati kid I often visited the Natural History Museum by the Elsinore Tower on Gilbert Avenue. Outside were enormous sculptures of wooly mammoths. I loved them more than the exhibits inside. Why didn’t they move with the Museum to Union Terminal? Please tell me they survive somewhere. — MAMMOTH MEMORY

DEAR MEMORY:

The Doctor is pleased to tell you that they survive somewhere. Despite decades of, um, mammoth popularity standing guard outside the old Natural History Museum, your cherished pachyderms were unable to

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At the corner of Reading Road and Liberty Street is the beautiful clock tower that welcomes people to Pendleton/Over-the-Rhine. But the clock (two clocks, really) stopped working about two years ago. It’s been 10:06 in my beloved neighborhood for too long. Are there plans to ﬁx it? — IT’S ABOUT TIME DEAR ABOUT:

Because the Doctor is a history nerd, he shall begin by bringing up a much older clock tower. On September 24, 1848, Cincinnati’s riverfront was the subject of the world’s first panoramic city photograph. Not until 2015, though, during a painstaking digital restoration of the daguerreotype plates, did we discern a downtown clock tower showing that the time was exactly 1:55. Everyone was impressed, but come on, was the clock even working that day? We all know how finicky those contraptions are. The clock(s) at Reading and Liberty continue(s) this finicky tradition. Time ILLUSTR ATIO N S BY L A R S LEE TA RU

stopped right around the time everything stopped: when the pandemic hit in early 2020. Abbey Tissot, president of the Pendleton Neighborhood Council, says attempts to ﬁx it have been hampered by all the things that have hampered everything since then. The city and the Verdin Bell Company (which ﬁrst installed the clock and its companion bells) are on the case. What day and time will Pendleton resume ticking? Place your bets now at the Hard Rock Casino down the street.

I recently got a new car and am waiting for new Ohio plates. Can my old plates go in the recycling bin? Rumpke’s website says no chains, buckets, pots and pans, or scrap metal. Are license plates scrap metal? I want to do the right thing, but I can’t wait forever on hold for an answer. Can you? — SPINNING PLATES DEAR PLATES:

How very impressive, your certainty that the Doctor’s time is less valuable than your own. How very tragic, those lost moments on hold before abandoning the telephone. Had you taken a few more seconds perusing the Rumpke website, you would have noticed that a question such as this is easily submitted via their contact form. The Doctor tried it and received a reply within the hour. First, the friendly folks at Rumpke send their congratulations on your new car. Unfortunately, they can’t help with your problem—license plates are not recyclable at their facility. Sorry, they did not suggest other options. Here’s an idea: Back in the days when everyone got fresh plates every year, it was common to hang expired ones chronologically on a garage wall. Maybe you could rekindle this tradition. Then again, Ohio vehicles now get only one plate instead of two, and a tiny sticker renews it annually forever. Never mind; hide your old plates under the bed.

JULY 19 - 24 Aronoff Center CincinnatiArts.org Groups of 10+: Peggy.Hughes@BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com

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I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H M I K E A L B E R T

Mike Albert: Driving Toward a Better Future for All

hen employees at Mike Albert refill their reusable bottles at work, the water dispenser displays a running count of how many plastic bottles were saved. To date, that number exceeds a half-million. If stacked on top of one another, that many bottles would reach the edge of space—62 miles above our beautiful, fragile planet. For Evendale-based Mike Albert, one of the country’s largest vehicle leasing and fleet management companies, sustainability is nothing new. They installed their plastic waste-reducing water dispenser 10 years ago. A year before that, they began managing electric vehicles for their clients and subsequently added EVs to their own fleet, allowing their associates to sign them out to run company errands. Three years ago, the company converted its high-wattage parking lot lights to energy-efficient LEDs. “When it comes to sustainability, we

don’t face the same regulatory and reporting requirements that public companies do,” says Jeff Hart, the president of Mike Albert. “Our motivation comes from a genuine belief that helping Mother Nature by reducing our carbon footprint is the right thing to do. The fact that sustainable practices are often good for the bottom line is a nice bonus.” Hart and the rest of the Mike Albert leadership team are not resting on their sustainability laurels. Far from it. They’re currently evaluating options and making plans for indoor LED lighting, solar energy collection, and the introduction of water-saving modiﬁcations to their landscaping. These efforts are part of their broader Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives—a framework that helps companies become the best corporate citizens possible. “Sustainability is about more than environmental improvement,” says

Bruce Shaffer, vice president of strategic initiatives at Mike Albert. “It’s also about everything a company must do to keep itself sustainable as a viable enterprise with happy employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders.” “When it comes to ESG, matters of diversity are essential,” Hart adds. “We believe it’s diversity of all types, but especially of thought, that will keep our company evolving and adapting so that we sustain ourselves for 100 years and beyond.” Mike Albert celebrates its 65th birthday this year and its 100th in the year 2057, assuming, of course, that today’s sustainability efforts keep our planet healthy and habitable. If more companies follow Mike Albert’s lead, the odds look quite promising indeed.

After running a company errand, associate Ken McCormick charges a Mike Albert EV.

“It feels good working for a company that cares about sustainability,” says associate Emani Thompson.

Green is not only in our brand; it’s in our hearts. We love the lush greens and deep blues of our planet. That’s why we’re so committed to sustainability. When our company turns 100 years old in 2057, we want to celebrate on an Earth that’s greener, bluer—and healthier— than it is today. The very thought of that warms our hearts.

MIKEALBERT.COM 866.218.8047

LIVING IN CIN

Caper of the Flame

MY ONLY EXPERIENCE WITH A CINCINNATI FIRE ALARM BOX, AND I DIDN’T GET IN TROUBLE. IN CASE OF FIRE, BREAK GLASS. IN CASE OF FIRE, CALL 911. IN CASE OF FIRE SOME DECADES ago, run down the street, open the little box, pull the lever, and wait for a fire engine. That’s what I did, minus the running down the street; the box was right outside my front door. For years, Cincinnati Fire Department Alarm Box No. 4189 had seductively beckoned me from its pole at the curb, calling out to my inner 9-year-old. Open my cute little door and pull my lever, it teased. You can’t wait to hear that big fire engine coming, sang its literal siren song. But no, I had become a responsible adult, a fine citizen, a parent. When the moment arose for me to actually pull the lever, there was a real emergency happening, yet I still felt my inner 9-year-old jumping and yelling, Woo hoo! Finally! Cincinnati’s fire alarm boxes are gone now, replaced by the 911 system. They stood 3 0 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

silently on duty for more than a century and saved countless lives. Let us honor them, even as we smirk at their crudeness. Like typewriters, slide rules, and eighttrack tapes, fireboxes are near extinction. A few cities still use them as a backup, but not Cincinnati. We fired our fireboxes, almost 2,000 of them, auctioning them off in 1990. Besides being outdated, they had become the source for 95 percent of false alarms, including an embarrassing percentage triggered by people who thought they were mailing a letter. When I activated Box 4189, it was no false alarm. I truly feared a fire at any moment, maybe even an explosion. At the intersection a few feet away were the remains of two cars that had just collided—smoldering, with fluids rapidly spilling out underneath and at least one engine still running. PHOTOGRAPH BY JEREMY KRAMER

PHOTOGRAPH (HOUSE) BY LAWC AIN/ STOCK.ADOBE.COM

BY JAY GILBERT

LIVING IN CIN Lots of smoke. Lots of people gathered. Viewing the dangerous scene, I decided to summon a fire engine. Mobile phones weren’t common yet, so the firebox made more sense than running back into the house for the landline. The firefighters arrived and, in their chemical way, drove a stake through the hearts of the alreadytotaled vehicles. Crisis averted. Both drivers were dazed, but unhurt. For perhaps the first time but definitely

with a key had to be located, and fast. Telephones didn’t exist, so imagine those few minutes. Upon being found, Mr. Responsible had to run to the nearest ﬁrebox, unlock it, and turn a crank—but not too fast or the signal would be corrupted—exactly 25 times. Assuming the mechanical and electric innards functioned properly at both ends, a central office would identify the cranked box, and only then could a brigade race to it. Well,

ONE DETAIL ABOUT THE FIRE HAS ALWAYS STAYED WITH ME: THE TIME LAPSE BETWEEN I THINK I SMELL SOMETHING AND I CAN HARDLY SEE WAS MAYBE TWO MINUTES. the last, Box 4189 was a hero. It disappeared not long afterward. I want you to know its proud story, along with its 1,928 siblings who once protected Cincinnati. Therefore I shall momentarily set aside the rest of my anecdote about a crash and two dazed drivers, even though one of them was my wife. THE GOOD OLD DAYS RARELY LOOK VERY good under close inspection. For example, community fire alarms sucked. Cincinnati’s first version consisted of just a guy on a downtown roof pounding on a huge drum. The city’s several volunteer fire brigades would interpret the noise thusly: Attention! There’s a fire somewhere! Grab your leather buckets and try to find it! If another brigade gets there first, get into a big fistfight with them while the fire grows! Cincinnati can pride itself on addressing this insanity with the creation of America’s first professionally-paid fire department, in 1853. A decade later came the newly-invented “telegraphic fire alarm,” which bumped the big drum into retirement. You can see it today at the Cincinnati Fire Museum downtown. Take the kids there; the museum is an underappreciated local treasure. The original telegraph alarm was only slightly less insane than the drum. Here’s how it worked: Somebody would discover (or accidentally start) a fire. They would then run to the nearest firebox, and… oh, wait, that isn’t right. The boxes were locked. A “responsible” citizen entrusted 3 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

maybe. Sometimes the signal got garbled and sent firemen to the wrong box. Things eventually got better. The next generation of Cincinnati fireboxes were unlocked, with reliable electrical infrastructure and a single-pull lever replacing the clumsy crank. Firefighting was now more efficient and life-saving, although there was no escaping the side effect of more false alarms. Fire departments everywhere have tried everything to suppress them. A bell would clang obnoxiously when an alarm was triggered. Or a dye got squirted onto your hands. Or a line of buttons required four simultaneous presses, grabbing your fingerprints. Somebody even invented a firebox with a handcuff that clamped over your wrist, trapping you until the fire team arrived (unless you’d chewed your hand off first). I DON’T REMEMBER MY PERSONAL FIREbox’s reaction when I pulled its lever, but it definitely did not squirt or handcuff me. I only know that it worked. Box 4189 magically summoned Engine 46, which promptly arrived and ended the crisis that had begun with me and the kids hearing the ugly crash outside of our house. The intersection along Madison Road was notorious for fenderbenders, so it wasn’t the first time a noise had sent us to the door to look out at the scene. It was, however, the first time my daughter would say, “Isn’t that Mom’s car?” Carolyn had been hit on the passenger side, so she was able to open her door

and unsteadily get out. The other car had crumpled in front; its young driver expended a little more effort getting his door open. After his parents arrived, their first reaction was relief that their son was OK; their second reaction, upon seeing the hulk of metal they’d only recently paid to have restored after the son’s previous collision, were words that this magazine reserves for more profound situations. The bottom line is that we were all lucky. Both cars were toast, but everyone was fine and the firefighters had squelched any remaining danger. And me, I had crossed an item off my bucket list I hadn’t even realized was on it. Carolyn and I experienced another fire emergency a few years earlier, when the kids were small and we were renting the top floor of a house. Lint had ignited in the basement tenant’s dryer, spreading to the clothing and pushing smoke up through the ducts straight to us. We grabbed the kids and got the hell out; the pros quickly arrived and extinguished the fire. As emergencies go, this one was almost forgettable, except for one detail that has always stayed with me: The time lapse between I think I smell something and I can hardly see was maybe two minutes. Things can turn lethal very quickly. Clean those lint filters, people. And go downtown to see that giant drum. Thank every person who ever stood watch with it, and thank the inventors of every fire alarm network since then. Greater Cincinnati is currently observing the 45th anniversary of the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, the worst local tragedy of our lifetime. The heartbreaking number of casualties from that awful night would have been even higher had it not been for community alarm systems that summoned the first responders. Fires are a lottery handing out tickets nobody wants, but if your number comes up there are strangers who have spent their lives developing ways to deliver help to you as fast as possible. Even you, that damn kid who broadsided my wife. Cincinnati’s fireboxes are gone. What remains are countless lives that are not gone, thanks to people whose inner 9-year-olds blossomed into inventors and engineers creating our fire alarm networks. They rarely get the recognition that firefighters and EMTs get. Join me in saluting them.

IN THIS ISSUE OF CINCINNATI MAGAZINE CENTRAL OHIO RIVER VALLEY

15TH ANNUAL

LOCAL FOOD GUIDE A MOST BEAUTIFUL GUIDE TO WHERE AND WHEN TO FIND LOCAL FOOD IN THE REGION

E AT L O C A L C O R V. O R G

PERSON OF INT E R E S T BY LISA MURTHA

Being a Friend

BEA LAMPKIN NEVER GAVE UP ON HER PATIENTS. ON A WALL IN BEA LAMPKIN’S HOME HANGS A 1981 PAINTING TITLED TEARDROP. IT’S AN acrylic, made by a young man she ﬁrst met in 1965, when he was 3 years old and battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Back then, notes Lampkin, a pediatric specialist who served as director of hematology at Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) for nearly 20 years, “[the] prognosis of ALL was dismal and surviving the disease over about a year was not common.” Still, this young man—a “hero” in Lampkin’s eyes for all he ultimately endured—deﬁed the odds, responding well to the then-limited treatment available. While other pediatric patients rarely went into one long-term remission, Lampkin treated this young man through four remissions and a bone marrow transplant—time that allowed him to play basketball, graduate from high school, and earn a college degree. 3 4 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

When he couldn’t find a job because of his medical history, Lampkin hired him in her department. When she learned in 1990 that he was an artist, Lampkin helped arrange a one-man show at CCHMC for 42 of his paintings. And when she’d finally exhausted all means of fighting the cancer that would ultimately claim his life, she arranged for him to spend a week at the beach because he’d always wanted to see the ocean. “I never will forget his reaching up and hugging me for being his doctor when he was just 3 years of age,” she says today in a gracious, deep-south drawl. “He was an inspiration to me and all who knew him.” Inspiration is something Lampkin—an Alabama native who’s spent eight decades dealing with the challenging after-effects of her own childhood battle with polio— knows a little something about. In fact, the overwhelming message of her life’s journey, she notes today in perhaps the understatement of a lifetime, is simple: “It shows what you can do when you put your mind to it.” Turns out, Lampkin put her mind to quite a lot. While treating pediatric patients with life-threatening illnesses and disorders, she was also working diligently to research one of the most vexing pediatric cancers of her time—Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). But where other doctors “thought there was no way forward,” noted Children’s Director of Oncology John Perentesis at a 2013 awards ceremony, Lampkin was a “trailblazer” who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Looking back, it’s no exaggeration to say that Lampkin’s work with AML, fueled largely by her innate persistence in the face of life’s many oppositions, altered the course of pediatric cancer treatment nationwide. She’d gently decline full credit, but it’s clear from her dedication to this patient and so many hundreds of others that Bea Lampkin is an unstoppable force. BORN IN 1934, LAMPKIN WAS THE MIDDLE of five children and a Depression-era baby who grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her early days consisted largely of walking to and from school, running barefoot through neighboring farms, and exploring a nearby forest and lake with siblings. Her mother, a University of Alabama (UA)-trained musician and eventual elementary school teachPPHHOOT TOOGGRRAAPPHHBBYYJ AO NN DA RT HE W A ND W O EI LNLCI HS

PERSON OF INTEREST er, fed itinerant homeless men on the family’s back porch and formed a “rhythm band” for the neighborhood kids. Her father, who had to drop out of UA law school to feed the family, worked for 50 years as the Tuscaloosa postmaster and built the family home by hand, on land that also housed farm animals and a vegetable garden. But Lampkin’s life changed forever when she contracted polio in 1941 and became paralyzed from the neck down. At ﬁrst, she says, “I was sent away to a hospital in another city but did not thrive emotionally or physically,” so she came home and went back to school in a wheelchair. Slowly, she regained the use of her arms and most of one leg, but the physical and emotional journey took years and the painful struggle was profound. Many surgeries and custom braces later, she was able to walk independently with crutches; eventually, she became the March of Dimes poster child. Still, life after polio was hardly easy. Her sister carried her schoolbooks. When

mingham (“I thought if they didn’t accept me, no other medical school in the United States would, since I walked with Canadian canes and a brace on my right leg,” she says). When she was accepted on a full tuition scholarship, her father jerry-rigged a car so she could drive there on her own (albeit with her left foot and a hand brake). The summer after her first year, she worked at a National Cancer Institute lab in Bethesda, Maryland—an experience that “piqued my interest in doing research,” says Lampkin. Later, she paid her own room and board by working as an extern at the Medical College’s teaching hospital. She’d go on to graduate second in her class, be certiﬁed as a medical doctor in 1960, and intern at the Medical College of Virginia, where she settled on pediatrics because she found her ﬁrst interest, surgery, too physically demanding and because she liked the challenge of diagnosing and treating pediatric and adolescent diseases. In 1961, she was accepted “sight unseen”

THE MESSAGE OF BEA LAMPKIN’S LIFE’S JOURNEY IS SIMPLE: “IT SHOWS WHAT YOU CAN DO WHEN YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT.” AND SHE PUT HER MIND TO QUITE A LOT. friends were playing on the playground, Lampkin was relegated to eating alone in a classroom. When other kids ran to school, she struggled to keep up. But by the time she entered high school, Lampkin was playing football with the neighborhood kids (as quarterback only—no tackle), swimming regularly, and riding a bike using a special pedal her dad had made to accommodate her leg brace. “I wanted to be looked upon just like any other kid,” says Lampkin. That theme would echo throughout her life. In college at UA, she lived in a dorm, studied pre-med, and played clarinet at football games with the University’s Million Dollar Marching Band. Money was tight, so she helped pay her tuition by working as a telephone operator, a clerical assistant, and a lab assistant in embryology and parasitology. After graduation, she applied only to the Medical College of Alabama in Bir3 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

for a residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital after multiple recommendations from professors. “I did not go for an interview because I feared I would not be accepted if they saw me walking on crutches,” she says. She soon became interested in children’s blood diseases and began a twoyear pediatric hematology fellowship in Los Angeles after her residency. An opportunity to study leukemia and pediatric chemotherapy treatment brought her back to Cincinnati in 1965 to work as a research fellow. Back then, writes Lampkin in a draft of her memoir, “a few children with leukemia were diagnosed and treated but chemotherapy was in its infancy. This disease was fatal in almost all cases and little could be done other than giving ﬂuids, blood transfusions, and antibiotics. Only a few patients could be induced into a remission.” She set out to change all that. After a series of promotions and ex-

tensive work in research, patient care, and teaching opportunities (she regularly taught at both CCHMC and the University of Cincinnati), Lampkin arranged a second fellowship in Australia on bone marrow stem cells and leukemia. “My plans abruptly, completely changed in 1973,” she says, when both of her superiors left CCHMC and she was offered the position of Director of Hematology—the only pediatric hematologist in a 75-mile radius. During Lampkin’s tenure, the CCHMC hematology division grew substantially, most notably to include oncology. In 1981, Lampkin, still both a practitioner and avid researcher, was named the first leader and chair of the AML Strategy Group, a division of a national organization dedicated to studying pediatric cancer. She was also instrumental in starting up a bone marrow transplant program at CCHMC—a then-groundbreaking procedure that offered “some children a better chance for survivorship,” says Lampkin. As a result, “We not infrequently were referred children with AML from other pediatric institutions for treatment,” she says; even so, “very few of these patients became longterm survivors.” The loss only made her work harder. After conducting countless studies involving chemotherapy drugs and delivery methods, she and her team finally made headway after realizing “very intensive therapy over a short period of time” was just as good as the then-standard of care (less intensive therapy delivered over the course of two or three years). Ultimately, “Lampkin developed one of the most effective treatment regimens for acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of the disease,” Perentesis is credited as saying in a 2013 Business Courier article. “The core of it is still used today.” Soon, peers began taking notice of what was happening at CCHMC. “As a result of our leadership in the field of AML,” says Lampkin, “our division became recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in the United States in the diagnosis and treatment of children with AML.” More importantly, pediatric cancer patients’ remission rates began to drastically improve. “When she started,” notes a 2013 Busi-

ness Courier piece on Lampkin, “only about 30 percent of children with cancer were being cured. By the time she retired, as many as 80 percent were able to become cancer-free, with even higher rates—85 to 90 percent—for leukemia.” In addition, notes Lampkin, “the Oncology Division had been designated as the Number One Pediatric Oncology Program by U.S. News and World Report [and the CCHMC] Bone Marrow Transplant Center had become perhaps the largest for children and adolescents and one of the best in the United States.” Lampkin continued her groundbreaking work and research until 1991, when she chose to step down as Director of Hematology, “principally because of developing post-polio syndrome,” she says—a progressive muscle weakening that happens to between 25 and 40 percent of survivors and that eventually required her to use a wheelchair nearly full-time. Still, she continued teaching at CCHMC until June 30,

2015, “because I wanted to make it exactly 50 years,” she says. HELPING DEVELOP SUCCESSFUL TREATment protocols for childhood cancer might have been enough for most people, but Lampkin spent countless hours of her personal time giving back, too. When she saw how difficult it was for parents to ﬁnd lodging while their kids received treatment at CCHMC, Lampkin helped raise $1.3 million and co-found a “Children’s Family House” in 1982—the predecessor to Avondale’s current Ronald McDonald House. In 1998, she cofounded GLAD House (Giving Life A Dream), a nonproﬁt with a mission of “improving the lives of children and their families by breaking the cycle of addiction,” says Lampkin in a video on their website. Now, eight years into official retirement, she’s following in her mother’s footsteps, having helped form a “Rhythm and Songs” band for Alzheimer’s patients at Montgomery’s Twin Lakes, in an effort to “help

elderly patients with dementia,” she says. A friend plays piano while she and others help residents sing and play instruments like shakers and tambourines. No matter what, says Lampkin, “We always end with ‘The Stars and Stripes.’” She still wishes she could be back at CCHMC, helping more patients. In her ﬁles, she keeps newspaper clippings about former patients and thank-you notes from long-term survivors. She also keeps a school paper a former patient wrote in 1990, titled “An Important Person.” “I remember once when I was lying in my hospital bed,” it reads, “depressed, close to death, and close to giving up. Dr. Lampkin came to me and told me that she was doing all she could do to help me, and that she expected me to do my share by continuing to fight my illness. That pep talk was one of many from Dr. Lampkin that helped me overcome the lowest points in my treatment. She has not only been my doctor, but she has also been my friend.”

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Kick off Pride weekend with us at the ultimate outdoor cocktail party!

y, June a d Street P 2 i r urt 4 la z Co

5–8 pm

For information and tickets:

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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, HOW TO LIVE A MORE SUSTAINABLE LIFE.

RETHINK, and REFUSE 41

OUR WASTE, OUR PROBLEM Cincinnati’s growing waste footprint threatens all attempts to make our community more sustainable. Thankfully, there’s something each of us can each do about it.—CARRIE BLACKMORE SMITH

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y C A I T L I N K E E G A N

ments in recycling and the spread of reuse and SHEILA FIELDS OWNS A upcycle movements, Sanitary Landfill we’re tour1.5-gallon trash can, but she someday. the U.S. produced more ing, are highly engineered doesn’t really need one. The “This way of life is not waste in 2018 than any structures. Everything is solid waste and recycling conormal,” says Fields, who year in history and is the regulated, from the air to ordinator for the city of Covgrew up in the country and third-largest producer the sediment ponds to the ington hasn’t thrown a piece has always had a strong of trash per capita in the leachate—the liquid that of personal waste in a landfill world, behind only Canada connection to the Earth. comes from decomposing in about five years. and Bulgaria. “The way everybody else trash, which one of her colNot a scrap of food or used lives, that’s normal.” If the thought of the leagues disgustingly calls paper towel from her kitchen. By comparison, waste leaving your hands “garbage tea.” Not an empty tube of toothon a daily basis has you sudAmericans throw away “The whole point of this paste or shampoo bottle from operation is to protect the her bathroom. Nothing at environment from sociwork or when she goes out. Americans throw away 4.9 pounds ety’s waste,” says Yeager. Sure, restaurant servers of trash per person every day, “Some people view a landand grocery store butchaccording to the most recent data fill as a necessary evil. It ers sometimes look at her shouldn’t be viewed that funny when she hands over released by the U.S. Environmental way. It’s the reality. If the a reusable container for Protection Agency. Collectively, waste didn’t come here, leftovers or raw chicken. we tossed 292.4 million tons of where would it go?” “But I don’t care,” says We arrive at the top of Fields, who is showing me unwanted things in the garbage the landfill—the tallest one year of her garbage, in 2018, equivalent to the weight point in Hamilton County, which fits in a small closet of 3.5 million space shuttles. if you count manmade elin her 725-square-foot evations—and our Ford Esapartment on Greenup denly overwhelmed, Fields cape joins a queue of about 25 4.9 pounds of trash per perStreet. trucks waiting to dump loads says don’t be. “There are son every day, according to Over the last decade, the most recent data released of garbage onto its working so many things we can do,” Fields has honed a system by the U.S. Environmental she says. “We can all start in face. Trucks come and go that involves rinsing and our kitchens and in our own 24/7, and each day the site acProtection Agency. Colstoring her trash and pracbackyards.” cepts approximately 9,000 lectively, we tossed 292.4 ticing “pay as you throw”— tons of waste. million tons of unwanted meaning she finds a way to R U M P K E C O M M U N I C ARumpke accepted more things in the garbage in sustainably dispose of each tions Manager Molly Yeager garbage at its Colerain Town2018 (the most recent item—even if she must pay ship, Brown County, and Penddrives up a steep road built stats), equivalent to the to get rid of it. If she can’t weight of 3.5 million space atop the region’s decadesfind a place to recycle or upcontinued on p. 76 shuttles. old garbage and explains that cycle an item, she keeps it and Most of that waste (62 landfills, like the Rumpke hopes to find an alternative percent) ended up in landfills or burned in incinerators. Despite advance-

crisis? Because the clock is ticking on the window to avoid warming the planet by another crucial 2 degrees Celsius.

You don’t have to go there to be there. We learned to telecommute during the pandemic, says Oliver Kroner, manager of the City of Cincinnati’s Office of Sustainability. And that, he says, “is arguably a climate strategy. If you eliminate the daily commute, if you eliminate ﬂights required for business travel, there are certainly climate beneﬁts.” With transportation being one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases, representing 29 percent of U.S. emissions in 2019, less travel puts a big dent in carbon released into the atmosphere.

Environmental justice is social justice.

A TALE OF TWO CRISES

Lessons from the pandemic for a warming planet. —CEDRIC ROSE

When the pandemic emptied streets and slowed economies, it temporarily reduced global carbon emissions by 7 percent. But economic woes also scuttled hopes of reducing annual carbon emissions by the annual 7.6 percent needed, according to the World Meteorological Organization, to ward off the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Then, in September 2020, a team of scientists from the U.S. and U.K. noted similarities between the pandemic and the climate crisis. The effects of both are delayed, they noted, leading to skepticism and inaction. And their effects compound, multiplying rapidly. Such similarities, they suggest, mean the pandemic holds lessons for tackling the climate crisis. 44

There’s no substitute for early intervention. A study by Columbia University found that 36,000 lives could have been saved if social distancing measures had been put in place just one week earlier. How many more lives can be saved from displacement, hunger, and worse if we take immediate global action to avert the worst of the climate

When Kroner and leaders of regional nonproﬁts spoke about “Community Partnerships in Sustainability” at a recent UC Center for Public Engagement With Science event, the disproportionate impact climate change is having on lower income Cincinnati neighborhoods was a big part of the conversation. These same neighborhoods suffered more from COVID and its complications. So one byproduct of the pandemic, Kroner says, is “increasing focus on community environmental health.” That includes green space, urban heat issues, and air quality, indoors and out. “We’re at a stage where we can look back and ask, Who was vulnerable to this crisis? The climate crisis is presenting that parallel path where we have a better understanding of how it will impact certain pockets of our community,” Kroner says. The University of Cincinnati, Green Umbrella, I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y Z A R A P I C K E N

Groundwork Ohio River Valley, and Adaptation International have partnered with the city to develop neighborhood Climate Equity Indicators.

Green the economy. Decarbonizing our economy can deliver more than jobs. It’s an opportunity to incorporate much-needed systemic change with environmental and social beneﬁts. Just one example from the Green Cincinnati Plan’s 80 recommendations: our energy equity program, aimed at overcoming the high energy burden carried by Cincinnati’s poorest neighborhoods. The program offers consultations and funding for energy efficiency upgrades in multifamily and rental units, historically overlooked by similar programs targeting single-family homeowners. Upgrades could save residents up to 50 percent on utilities and reduce our region’s carbon footprint.

Number of homes along the Ohio River at risk if ﬂooding trends continue.

Years left to avoid the worst damage from climate change, per the Global Carbon Budget.

Tons of metal, glass, plastic, and paper recycled by Cincinnati residents in 2020.

How much the city of Cincinnati plans to decrease the household energy burden by 2023.

We can do this. And we must. “The pandemic has shown we’re capable of rapidly adjusting our behaviors when the health of our community, families, and selves is on the line,” says Ryan MooneyBullock, director of regional sustainability alliance Green Umbrella. The effects of our activities aren’t as far removed as we thought, she says, and that should give us a sense of urgency to move beyond our divides to “recognize that we can make choices every day that decrease our greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and create a healthier, better quality of life in our communities.” The pandemic tells us this: We separate our own health from that of others, and of the planet, at our peril. This is real. And it’s happening now.

Metric tons of C02 the city hopes to eliminate from its atmosphere by 2050. Football ﬁelds that could be covered by the city’s new municipal solar array.

How much Cincinnati’s average temperature could rise by the end of the century if we do nothing.

100-year rainstorm events that hit Cincinnati in the past 10 years.

The year the city plans to have carbon neutral facilities and an all-electric vehicle ﬂeet.

Betting on the Sun The largest U.S. municipal solar array now powers the city’s government buildings. —CARRIE BLACKMORE SMITH

If it’s a sunny summer day in southwest Ohio, chances are pretty good that Cincinnati’s city-owned buildings are running on renewable solar energy. The New Market Solar Array, in Highland County, is the size of 750 football ﬁelds and consists of 310,000 solar panels. It began operating in the spring, and will generate 203,000 megawatt-hours of electricity a year— making it the largest municipally-led solar project in the country. Michael Forrester, director of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment and Sustainability, says it will power 25 percent of the city government’s overall operational need, and could also cover roughly 15 percent of the power needed to run homes that have opted into the city’s alternative energy program. The New Market Solar Array cost $125 million to build, but Cincinnati didn’t pay anything to construct it. Instead, the city entered into a power purchasing agreement with Hecate Energy, the project developer, agreeing to pay an annual ﬁxed rate for 100 megawatts of electricity generated by the array for the next 20 years. “Summer is when energy costs are the highest, so solar is a very good budget hedge,” Forrester says, adding that the deal should save the city at least $1.8 million in energy expenditures over the next 20 years. All of this works because Ohio has a deregulated energy market. Public utility companies like Duke Energy own the electric transmission lines, but the electricity comes from many sources. Because the state used to have so many coal-powered plants along the Ohio River, southern Ohio already has an electricity superhighway crisscrossing the state that’s underutilized, Forrester says. The groundbreaking New Market Solar project is being copied around the state and around the country, Forrester says. “We created a business model that had never been done before,” he says. “We cracked a nut that had never been cracked before.”

P H OTO G R A P H BY J U S T I N S C H A F E R

POWER PLAYERS Members of the District 2030 coalition plan to reduce their energy consumption by 50 percent by 2030. How do we get there? —JOHN STOWELL

The lights shine brighter in the Mercantile Center’s soaring atrium. And more efficiently too. As the COVID-19 pandemic kept downtown offices largely empty, facilities manager Nick Miller and his team grabbed their ladders and LEDs, purchased from Johnson Electric Supply Company, and got to work. Over the next several months, they worked around empty desks, replacing more than 3,500 incandescent and ﬂuorescent ﬁxtures in the 107,000-square-foot Fourth Street skyscraper. The new bulbs, according to Johnson Electric, will reduce the building’s electricity consumption by 18 percent and total energy consumption by 12 percent. And, Johnson says, the investment payback will take just a little over six months. The Mercantile project, along with other energy efficiency measures taken at the downtown Sleepy Bee Café and Silverton’s HighGrain Brewing, have been coaxed along by Cincinnati District 2030, a coalition of building owners and managers, professional specialists, tenants, and community partners dedicated to actions that will reduce the city’s environmental footprint. District 2030 members work together toward reducing their energy and water consumption by 35 percent in 2025 and 50 percent by 2030, compared to a 2003 baseline. There is also a transportation component, designed to attack commuting emissions. 2030 is a volunteer organization, originally designed to cover just the city’s Central Business District. But it’s taken off as both environmental consciousness and the proven energy savings have attracted new members. Today, District 2030 boasts 46 partners owning or leasing over 28 million square feet in 321 buildings in downtown, Over-the-Rhine, Uptown, the suburbs, and even across the river at Northern Kentucky University. 47

“We’re ready to begin expanding again,” says Elizabeth Rojas, District 2030 director. “During the pandemic, the larger buildings really didn’t have the time to work on sustainability. They were just trying to keep people alive.” Some of the larger buildings were challenged to keep facilities open almost constantly, as employees who needed to be on site didn’t want to share space near their fellow workers. In some cases, whole ﬂoors had to be lit and air-conditioned for just a few workers or facilities needed to be fully functional late into the night or on weekends. Still, of the 65 buildings that reported their 2020 energy usage to District 2030, consumption was down 30.4 percent from 2019 levels. These energy reductions are important to the overall goal of addressing climate change, Rojas

notes. A United Nations study, in fact, demonstrated that 39 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions come from energy use by buildings. The 2018 Cincinnati Green Energy Plan has a section devoted to reducing building emissions, and District 2030 reports that the energy efficiency steps made by its members in 2020 meant 54,397 fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere. Last year, District 2030 established a fourth measurement for its members to consider. The Occupant Health pillar will examine the interior working conditions of member buildings. Is there natural light? Are there clean water stations available? Is employee mobility encouraged? Is nutritious food available? Are there plants in the working spaces? “It’s all about helping the culture of the building and the well-being of the employees,” Rojas says.

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GET ON THE GREEN TEAM A surprisingly vast array of experts across Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are ready, willing, and able to help you go green. —JOHN FOX

Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit The annual get-together for swapping sustainability ideas among business, nonproﬁt, and community leaders is June 16 at Xavier University’s Cintas Center. Students and the general public are welcome as well, and there’s a virtual ticket for livestreams. The keynote speaker is Kristin Baja of the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, who helps cities identify strategic ways to advance climate resilience planning and implementation. Panelists include experts from local groups like Cincinnati Parks, Community Matters, Groundwork Ohio River Valley, and Queen City Commons. midwestsustainabilitysum mit.org

Common Orchard Project This nonproﬁt installed and maintains 12 public orchards in Camp Washington, Mt. Auburn, North Fairmount, and Price Hill to increase access to fresh food, tree canopy, walkable greenspace, and community building in neighborhoods experiencing disinvestment. Supported by Green Umbrella and the national Giving Grove organization, plus dedicated volunteers, more orchard planting is planned. Workshops

can also teach you to plant locally adapted fruit trees in your own yard. commonorchard.com

Hamilton County R3Source This county government unit provides recycling and waste reduction services for residents, schools, and businesses. Apply for a $10,000 grant to fund new reuse, food rescue, or composting ideas. They train commercial kitchens to track food waste and safely set up donation programs. They’ll connect you with recycling solutions for waste and by-product materials. They’ll host an enrichment program at your workplace, organization, club, or event. They seriously want to help! hcdoes.org

Carlie Trott, University of Cincinnati The assistant professor of psychology researches and teaches how to use transformational social change to advance environmental justice and sustainability. In other words, how do we get everyone to understand that climate change impacts equity and justice in underserved communities and then collectively do something about it? Outside of the classroom, she’s active with the UC Center for Public Engagement With Science. researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/ trottcd

Transportation Troops Dozens of local groups and companies would love to help you substitute cleaner, greener options for gas-guzzling car trips. Tri-State Trails advocates for bike paths and protected urban bike lanes to promote “active transportation” (tristatetrails. org). Red Bike offers e-bikes for rent at 57 stations on both sides of the river (cincyredbike.org). The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber promotes better public transit to connect people to jobs (cincinnatichamber.com/ government-affairs). Mike Albert Subscribe enables you to lease a different new car, including Teslas, every month (subscribe. mikealbert.com).

PHOTOGRAPH BY JEREMY KRAMER / BUTTON ILLUSTRATIONS BY EMI VILLAVICENCIO

Listen Up! Not sure where to start on your journey toward personal sustainability? These podcasts can point you in the right direction. — LAUREN FISHER The Minimalists Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, creators of the wildly popular Netﬂix documentary Minimalism, share their tips for living with less in a consumption-obsessed world in this series, which tackles sustainability with a philosophical twist. theminimalists.com

The David Suzuki Podcast This ﬁve-episode series from scientist and environmental activist David Suzuki explores how we can use lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to build a greener, more equitable world. davidsuzuki.org/podcast

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Sustainable Dish Podcast Hungry for a more eco-friendly diet? Nutritionist and sustainability advocate Diana Rodgers hosts a wide range of experts, from doctors and food scientists to entrepreneurs and activists, on this thought-provoking series. sustainabledish.com/podcasts

A Sustainable Mind When host Marjorie Alexander started working on this series as a master’s thesis project, she quickly realized that there weren’t nearly enough environmentalists who looked like her. Today, the weekly podcast brings everyone to the table to discuss the most pressing issues in sustainability. asustainablemind.com

America Adapts How do we thrive in a changing, warming world? For host Doug Parsons, there’s only one answer: Adapt. The series tackles everything from racially just climate adaptation to stories from the frontlines of the ﬁght against climate change. americaadapts.org/episodes 49

TINY ACTIONS, BIG IMPACT 20 steps you can take today to cut down on waste and reduce your carbon footprint. —LAUREN FISHER

Compost in your kitchen: Fruits and veggies rotting in landﬁlls produce methane gas, which is even more potent than carbon dioxide. Instead of pitching your banana peels and eggshells, opt for a countertop compost bin and turn your scraps into nutrient-rich dirt for the garden.

Ditch the single-use coffeemaker: Coffee pods and single-use ﬁlters add up quickly. If you can’t live without

your Keurig, try a reusable pod. Partial to pour-overs? Plenty of online stores sell reusable mesh and cloth ﬁlters to wash in the sink after brewing.

Stock up on cloth diapers: Is it glamorous? Not at all. But disposable diapers account for nearly 7 percent of waste scattered across landﬁlls in the U.S. Cincinnati-based Real Cloth Diaper will deliver fresh supplies to your front door each week and do the dirty work for you.

Shop the farmers’ market: Supporting your regional farmers isn’t just good for local business, it’s also good for the planet. There are dozens of farmers’ markets dotting the Cincinnati landscape. Pick your favorite, grab a reusable bag, and make a day of it.

Plant bee-friendly ground cover: Freshly mowed, chemical-andwater-hungry yards are a curse on our natural ecosystem. Try replacing your grass with clover. It’s lowmaintenance, drought-resistant, and a godsend for our local pollinators.

Say no to plastic straws: Single-use straws don’t just cause

harm in their full form; they also break down into microplastics that are nearly impossible to control once in the ocean. Silicone and stainless-steel straws are readily available online, and more restaurants are replacing their plastic supplies with compostable options.

Bring your own produce bags: Those single-use plastic bags in the produce section of your local grocery store are as bad for your food as they are for the planet. Skip the roll and purchase reusable cotton produce bags to transport all your leafy greens and keep them fresh for days to come.

Swap out period products: Reusable silicone menstrual cups, which are washable and durable, can replace thousands of tampons and pads. Better yet, you’ll save money. It’s a win-win.

Invest in reusable bottles: Bottled water is convenient and clean, but awful for the earth. Instead of spending the money on a 24-pack of plastic bottles, invest in a reusable water bottle and a refrigerator water ﬁlter.

Take your bills digital: Banks, credit card companies, and utility suppliers all offer online billing and payment options. With just a few clicks, you can ditch the mailbox full of bills and go paperless.

Fill your tires: Quit ignoring that blinking light on your dashboard. According to the EPA, keeping your tires properly inﬂated can reduce your vehicle’s carbon footprint by an average of 327 pounds each year.

Cut down on shower time: According to the EPA, the average eight-minute shower uses at least 16 gallons of water, so trimming just a few minutes can make a huge difference in your energy consumption and water bill. Also consider a watersaving shower head.

Take the streetcar: Cincinnati’s downtown streetcar isn’t just convenient and fare-free, it’s also a greener way to travel. Choosing public transportation (as well as walking and cycling) over single-occupancy vehicles cuts down on carbon emissions.

Thrift your next outﬁt: Thanks in part to the conﬂuence of

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y Z A R A P I C K E N

Marie Kondo and cyclical fashion trends, local thrift stores are a treasure trove of gently used, ontrend pieces. If you prefer to shop online, sites like threadUP and The RealReal sell quality secondhand goods.

Choose rags over paper towels: Instead of reaching for the paper towel roll whenever you need to clean up a spill or wipe down a counter, designate a few cloth rags for drying dishes, wiping up messes, and drying hands.

Switch out lightbulbs: It’s not just about turning off the lights when you’re not using them. Swapping incandescent bulbs for LEDs means your lights will last longer, burn cooler, and save you money in the long run.

Recycling 101 Don’t let the fear of a confusing system keep you from doing your part. —L.F. DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT THAT “CHASING ARROWS” SYMBOL ON THE BOTTOM OF YOUR

milk jug really means? There are, after all, seven distinct types of recyclable plastic out there, all with different guidelines for disposal. Items marked 1 and 2, for instance, are widely recyclable. You might want to think again if it’s a 3, 4, 6, or 7. But even if you sort your garbage and follow every instruction, there’s still a chance your recyclables won’t be accepted. Every jurisdiction has different policies and procedures, not to mention different facilities for sorting and ﬂuctuating demand. Confused yet? You can thank cheap, readily available plastics for that. Or you can research your town’s recycling protocol to see how you can best dispose of everyday items. Yogurt containers. Cardboard (ﬂatten it!), paperboard (like cereal boxes), envelopes, clean pizza boxes, paper cartons without straws, soup boxes without caps.

Newspapers, magazines (like this one), phone books, brown paper grocery bags, junk mail, office paper.

Request an energy audit: Qualiﬁed Duke Energy customers can request a home audit to assess your insulation, check for air leaks, and determine how energy efficient your appliances are.

Plastic bottles and jugs.

What can I recycle? It varies slightly by county. But almost all roads in the Cincinnati recycling world lead to Rumpke, so we’re going by their guidelines. Generally, you can recycle:

Wash clothes in cold water: Skipping the hot water rinse on your washing machine doesn’t just save energy, it’s also better for your clothes. Cold water is less likely to shrink and fade fabric and can reduce wrinkles.

Recycle electronics: Next time you upgrade your phone or laptop, don’t just throw the old one in the trash. Local programs like Habitat for Humanity will gladly accept your used electronics, and many national retailers offer their own recycling programs and credit toward your new device.

Donate kids’ stuff: Blink, and your kids have grown out of cribs, strollers, and onesies. So long as those products are gently used, you can give them a second life through local organizations like Miranda’s Closet, which provides the essentials to pregnant women and mothers in need.

Plastic tubs (butter, sour cream, cottage cheese). No clam shells (berry containers) allowed.

Glass bottles and jars, aluminum cans, steel cans, empty aerosol cans.

Should I put it all in a garbage bag?

Absolutely not! Plastic bags have the tendency to gum up the works. Just put your loose recycling materials in a marked bin, set it near the curb on recycling day, and let the experts handle the rest.

So where can I get rid of those pesky plastic bags?

What should I never, ever put in the recycle bin?

Grocers like Kroger, Meijer, Target, and Walmart and retailers like Lowe’s and Kohl’s typically have collection bins for used plastic bags. Check out plasticﬁlmrecycling.org to ﬁnd a drop-off point near you.

Plastic bags are a no-no. So are cassette tapes, bed sheets, hangers, needles, batteries, electronics, metal chains, pots and pans, and light bulbs.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Wait. What about yard waste?

Don’t put it in the recycling bin, but don’t put it in the trash either. Grass clippings, cuttings from bushes and trees, etc., go in clearly marked yard waste containers, in special paper bags, or bundled with heavy twine or cotton rope.

Rise of the Reﬁll THE PUSH TOWARD ZERO

waste has seen a rise in reﬁlleries—stores that sell commonly used products in bulk without the single-use plastics you see at the grocery store. All you have to do is bring your own container, pick your product, and ﬁll up (typically by the ounce) on everything from dishwasher detergent to face wash. —LAUREN FISHER

Shampoo bottles:

Laundry detergent pods:

All-purpose cleaners:

Single-use plastic bottles can take hundreds of years to break down in a landﬁll. The shampoo bars from Simply Zero in OTR are biodegradable, plus they come in ﬁve options for nearly every hair type. Lather, rinse, reuse, repeat. 1235 Vine St, Over-the-Rhine, simplyzero.co

At Madisonville’s Fill More Waste Less, you can swap your detergent for plastic-free Dropps Stain & Odor laundry packs, which come in lavender eucalyptus, ﬁr and orange, or unscented for sensitive skin. 4305 Whetsel Ave., Madisonville, (513) 390-2873, ﬁllmorewasteless. com

Eco-friendly household cleaners can’t just smell good—they also have to get the job done. Kentucky Botanical Co. offers reﬁllable cleaning products for around the house, from the bathroom to the dishwasher. Multiple locations, kybotanicalco.com

Plastic wrap:

Flimsy, ﬁlmy plastic can clog up recycling sorting equipment and wreak havoc on the environment. Next time you need to cover up leftovers, reach for something reusable, like the malleable wrap from OTR’s Bee Haven. 1815 Elm St., (513) 381-4669, beehaven honey.com

Plastic fruit containers:

Clamshells—like the types that hold berries—are notoriously tough to recycle, thanks in part to the difficult-toremove stickers on their lids. For a more permanent solution to this single-use nightmare, opt to store your fruits and veggies in The Native One’s stoneware baskets. Multiple locations, thenative one.com

PHOTOGRAPH BY JEREMY KR AMER

IF YOU’RE A BORDERLINE HOARDER, LIKE ME, RAISE YOUR

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT From old TVs to ﬂoppy disks to ratty clothing— where to take your unwanted stuff. —CARRIE BLACKMORE SMITH

Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub cincinnatirecyclingandreusehub.org For a fee: For free: Batteries Coffee bean bags Bike helmets Denim Eyeglasses

hand. I’m almost 40 and I’ve kept things decades longer than necessary. Some of this stuff has accumulated because I knew I shouldn’t throw it away for environmental reasons—like pounds of dead batteries and a box of burned-out light bulbs. Some of it is daunting— like the massive early-era flatscreen television that the screen went out on years ago but that also weighs a ton. I’ve got plastic shopping bags and restaurant to-go containers coming out my ears. So I decided for this sustainability project to find out where to get rid of a lot of my stuff sustainably, so you can, too. Some items require a disposal fee that is pretty reasonable when you think about the object taking hundreds—maybe millions—of years to break down in a landfill. Always check an organization’s website, first, to make sure their collections haven’t changed.

St. Vincent DePaul svdpcincinnati.org Lightly used and damaged clothing and shoes Vehicles

Habitat for Humanity ReStores habitat.org New and gently used furniture, appliances, housewares, building materials and more

Crayons to Computers Car tires Car seats

Miscellaneous: contact lens packaging, Brita water ﬁlters, corks, hangers, egg cartons, gardening pots Office supplies Oral care packaging

Electronics (computers, televisions, etc.) Electronic media (CDs, DVDs, VHS, etc.)

Goodwill goodwill.org New and gently used items

Kroger kroger.com Plastic shopping bags and plastic food packaging

I C O N S BY S TO C K . A D O B E .C O M

Dress for Success

Ink and toner cartridges Smoke detectors

Plastics (No. 2 though No. 7 and no number, packaging material) Prescription pill bottles Shoes (any condition) Plastics Styrofoam Tools

crayons2computers.org Usable arts and crafts and school supplies

dfscincy.org New or like-new clothing and shoes

Terracycle terracycle.com Cigarettes, Gerber baby food packaging, Taco Bell hot sauce packets, and much more

Climate C limate Change Is Just Getting Warmed up By

John Stowell Illustration by

Phil Wrigglesworth

Even though Cincinnati is far from the coasts and has been called a “climate haven,” threats from summer heat, winter warming, heavy rains, and flooding are real and growing. Local leaders are working on strategies for both mitigation and adaptation. 55 55

The clouds on the western horizon tease the promise of relief. The sun’s been merciless the past three weeks, turning the air into a noxious mix of choking ozone and bludgeoning heat. A runway at CVG buckles. The power grid teeters. The sweatsoaked home plate umpire at a Reds game collapses. A group of kids from Bond Hill fry an egg on the sidewalk and become the latest TikTok sensations. The asphalt along Vine Street shimmers with fever, and Over-the-Rhine is as empty as it was during the dark days of COVID. People are staying in their homes, drawing their shades, hunkering down. They’re the lucky ones. Others, with no air-conditioning, roast in their brick apartment buildings, unable to escape the relentless heat. Nighttime offers little relief. Some die. But those clouds bring a bit of hope—until it starts raining. It comes down in sheets of water so intense that those who’d run outside to welcome the respite are soon driven back inside. Streets overflow; sewers back up. Small streams jump their banks, turning backyards into lakes. Sump pumps are ineffective, and basements along the Mill Creek watershed begin to fill. It rains for hours that way and, at some point, the ground can take no more. People nearby say they hear a rumble and figure it’s thunder. It isn’t. Instead, an imposing hillside towering over Columbia Parkway slides forward on a river of rain, turning into an avalanche of soil, trees, rocks, and million-dollar homes. Is this Cincinnati’s version of the Apocalypse? Maybe. Skeptics might call this scenario alarmist or even hysterical. Some critics—most of them politically motivated—accuse science and scientists of perpetuating a hidden agenda. But Mother Nature, like the COVID virus, doesn’t care about the politics. She’s just getting warmed up. “Climate change has shifted from be-

D o y o u r e c a l l l a s t C h r i s t m a s D ay ? T h e t e m p e r a ture hit a record 69 degrees. Two weeks earlier, a deadly tornado plowed through western Kentucky, staying on the ground for an astonishing and destructive 165 miles, killing 57 people along its path. In December. While we often think of climate change as searing summer heat (a.k.a. global warming), records indicate that it’s a 365-day phenomenon now. “It’s actually the winter months where we’ve seen greater impact,” says Bryan Mark, Ohio’s state climatologist. A geography professor at Ohio State University, he’s an expert in glacial geology and interR E A L I M PAC T Ryan Mooney-Bullock (left) and Savannah Sullivan lead Green Umbrella’s advocacy efforts.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARY JO MCCLAIN

ing this nebulous could happen to it’s happening right now, and we see it in a real way,” says Michael Forrester, director of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment and Sustainability. Previously the city’s energy manager, he’s been helping prepare city government for a future climate that will be warmer, wetter, and more extreme. Cincinnati’s average temperature is already almost 2 degrees higher than in the 1950s, says Forrester, and—unless things change—scientists believe we’re in for another increase of 4 to 6 degrees by the end of this century. And while you or even your kids may not be around to see 2100, the path between here and there will likely be disruptive, painful, and expensive in ways you haven’t contemplated. Disruptive as in the exponential problem of climate refugees— people forced to migrate because their homeland can no longer support food production. It’s already happening in the stream of Central Americans gathering at and crossing our southern border. Painful as in an expansion north of diseases and invasive species heretofore contained in tropical zones. Expensive as in increases in energy costs and insurance rates and higher prices passed down by businesses retrofitting operations to face a volatile climate. “It’s a huge problem that’s hard for people to get their arms around,” acknowledges Ryan Mooney-Bullock, executive director of Green Umbrella, the region’s premier sustainability alliance. Green Umbrella tackles energy efficiency, transportation infrastructure, local food systems, biodiversity, green spaces, environmental equity, and a host of other issues. Mooney-Bullock admits that climate change can be overwhelming and, as the opening of this story suggests, scary.“People see on the news what climate change is doing already,” she says, noting that until people feel the impact directly, those worries are often put on hold.“It’s not only about polar bears floating away on broken icebergs. It’s about how you can’t cook out in the summer or you have to constantly dry out your flooded basement or you remember it used to snow more in the winter.”

av e r a g e n u m b e r o f h e a t wav e s p e r y e a r

Frequency of Extreme Heat in the U.S. 6

G R A P H I L LU S T R AT I O N BY C A R L I E B U R TO N / DATA F R O M N AT I O N A L O C E A N I C A N D AT M O S P H E R I C A D M I N I S T R AT I O N

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actions among land mass, water, and the atmosphere. Interestingly, and perhaps a suggestion of how seriously climate change is taken by some political leaders, the state climate office has no budget. Mark, who calls himself “just a thin New Englander with spectacles,” says his small staff is compensated by the university as part of a “service commitment,” not by state government. The warmer winters, Mark says, pose both a problem and an opportunity for Ohio’s $93 billion farming industry. On one hand, the state’s growing season has expanded as killing frosts come later; on the other, higher average nighttime temperatures and the lower number of hard freeze days mean agricultural pests and fungal pathogens have a better chance to survive each winter. Spring rains have been earlier and more intense, disrupting farmers’ planting schedules and forcing them to till when the soil is still wet; that results in soil compacting, which adversely impacts yields. “The Farm Bureau is seeing all of this as a threat multiplier,” Mark notes,“with impacts on production, proﬁtability of the farm, and eventually food prices for consumers.” The U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Fourth National Climate Assessment—written and edited by more than 300 science, business, academic, and government experts—has conﬁrmed the longer growing season (up nine days in the last 100 years) and sees the warming trend accelerating. By 2045, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts, the Midwest’s frost-free season will increase by another

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10 days; it’ll grow an additional 10 days by 2065 and a full month by the end of this century. As the temperatures increase, crops will be stressed to the point that, to quote the report, “By midcentury…maximum temperatures are projected to have moved further above optimum conditions for many crops and closer to the reproductive failure temperature, especially for corn in the southern half of the Midwest.” That’s us. If these experts are right or unless the trends reverse, our grandkids might be traveling up I-71 to Columbus someday and whiz by ﬁelds of cotton instead of rows of corn. Our climate, Mark explains, is a complex system that’s inﬂuenced both by nature and, more and more, by human beings. He’s quick to differentiate climate from weather. Think of your afternoon thunderstorm or even a weeklong heat wave as weather—a temporary event that, as we all know living in Cincinnati, can change in a few hours. Climate refers to the long-term atmospheric trends and is typically measured, in the case of climate change, over at least a 30-year period. Earth’s temperature has gone up and down many times during its roughly 4.5 billion years of existence. Continents were formed, species evolved and disappeared, and land was scoured by glaciers and deposited here to sculpt our seven hills. When the planet was exceptionally warm, scientists say, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was as high as 10 times today’s level. Then, when greenhouse gases fell, the planet cooled dramatically. c o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 7 8

Our climate is a complex system that’s influenced both by nature and, more and more, by human beings. There’s a big difference between climate and the weather.

N CI

N E D GOL ER U H A N A G A RV BY J A C LY N YO

b ine boxing claiun, h -R e h -t r e v O tr An e to learn and

s a plac safe. gives city kid ays keeps them w al d an s, ie ll fills their be

S L R I G & S Y O B I L LU ST RA T I O

L BY E R S N BY M I C H A E

DECEMBER 2013

MIKE STAFFORD’S

SON GOT IN A FIGHT. PLENTY OF KIDS DO WHILE RESPONDING TO BULLIES OR POSITIONING THEMSELVES AS THE BULLY. NAME-CALLING OR PUNCH-THROWING, STANDING UP OR RUNNING AWAY—GETTING IN A SCHOOLYARD OR NEIGHBORHOOD FIGHT IS REMARKABLE IN ITS ORDINARY-NESS.

But this fight, when recalled through the lens of the journey it started, meant a little more. “I brought him down to the gym when he was 12, 13 years old because I didn’t want him to be fighting in the streets,” says Stafford, whose son is also named Mike. That was more than 30 years ago, and Mike Jr. doesn’t box anymore. But the senior Stafford is another story. He’s the head coach at Cincinnati Golden Gloves in Over-the-Rhine and has worked with hundreds of boxers over the years. Most are like his son used to be, kids who wanted to learn how to defend themselves or to have somewhere to go after school. OTR isn’t exactly teeming with after-school activities to challenge young minds or keep young bodies from flailing at one another. Some of the kids Stafford has worked with over the years took to boxing. Some really took to boxing. He’s coached athletes at national competitions maybe 100 times— three or so a year for more than 30 years. He’s coached at the Olympics twice, in 2004 and 2008. One of his Olympic boxers brought home

silver and bronze medals; another won a bronze. “We did good,” he says, and grins. “We could have done better.” When Stafford travels for professional bouts, which are often shown as pay-perview events on Showtime, he’s famous, says Christina LaRosa, executive director at Cincinnati Golden Gloves. She says she sometimes acts as his handler, to ensure he’s not late to bouts or interviews. He can pause for a snapshot or selﬁe, but then she has to usher him along to the next appointment. “Mike’s handler” isn’t exactly in her official job description, but at such a lean organization everyone does everything they can to help out. Stafford is so well-known in the boxing world that fans and boxers seek him out for a photo or a handshake, but he seems uncomfortable talking about himself. He’ll do it, but he doesn’t give the impression he enjoys sharing his thoughts. Consider this: I’ve never swung at anything in my life, but when I ask Stafford to wrap my hands because I’m curious what it feels like, he opens a new package of 15-foot long purple boxing tape, not unlike

-RING TO

N ES

C I N C I N N AT I G O L D E N G L O V E S F O U N D E R B U D DY LAROSA (ABOVE) WITH TYRESE “ C O R N B R E A D ” W O O D A R D. C O A C H M I K E S TA F F O R D ( L E F T ) H A S B E E N C H A N G I N G L IV E S F O R 30 Y E A R S, O F T E N TA K I N G H I S Y O U N G B O X E R S O N T H E R OA D F O R TO U R N A M E N T S ( O P P O S I T E PA G E ; S TA F F O R D I S I N R E D , F L A N K E D BY COAC H L EV I S M I T H A N D CHRISTINA LAROSA). JASON SNELL DESIGNED THE EZZARD CHARLES M U R A L O N L I B E R T Y S T R E E T I N OT R .

61 though, Stafford gets a little quieter. He answers questions, but the stream of conversation dams up just a little.

C i nc i nnat i Go lde n Glov e s, housed at the Over-the-Rhine Recreation Center on Republic Street, is a neighborhood gym. In addition to the amateur boxers who train—with goals of winning national competitions, going to the Olympics, or learning the soft skills that make success more likely—kids wander in and play tag up and down the track that surrounds a trio of boxing rings. There are the twenty- and thirtysomething-year-old professional boxers who started with Stafford well over a decade ago. And there’s Christina LaRosa, wondering why one kid doesn’t have shoes and making another give back the phone she snatched from her friend. “He didn’t say please,” the young girl says, hopping from foot to foot. “He doesn’t have to,” LaRosa says. “It’s his phone.” The Golden Gloves program opened its doors in 1988, thanks to Christina’s grandfather, Buddy LaRosa, who also managed to launch the LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria empire. There are two gyms at this site: the Newman Learning Center and the Cincinnati Golden Gloves gym, together known as the OTR Boxing Center. The Learning Center has a small workout gym, and it’s where the organization provides nightly dinners. Meals are currently pre-packaged, but pre-pandemic they used to serve hot meals to boxers and neighborhood kids. “This is deﬁnitely a neighborhood where food insecurity is an issue with more kids than we would like,” says Christina, so Golden Gloves partners with Children’s Hunger Alliance, a statewide C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 8 4

the Ace bandage you’d use for a sprain. He explains how the wrap has to go over the knuckles and around the hand. Some boxers tape between each ﬁnger, but not all.… Oh, you have small hands, let’s get this tighter.… It’s all about the hands. These little bones are so fragile.… Adrien Broner started with us, got successful, bought that boxing ring for us, and he was boxing with a broken bone in his hand for how long?… They’re so easy to break, but the wraps are so protective.… Adrien boxed and didn’t even know anything was wrong. Hey, Adrien, come here! See his hands? Look at that… And Stafford runs his ﬁngers over the hills and valleys atop Broner’s hand. Adrien Broner, in case you don’t know, trained under Stafford as he boxed his way to world titles in four different professional weight classes between 2011 and 2015. As soon as my tape recorder comes out,

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY CHRISTINA LAROSA/GOLDEN GLOVES / SNELL PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW HIGLEY

WEEKEND

EVENTS

JUNE 11–12, 2022

6/11 Countryside Tour ($50/Vehicle) Departing from Mariemont Square 6/11 Hangar Party Presented by Porsche of the Village Sponsored by MOTA & Kopf Hunter Haas ($150/ticket) Hosted at Executive Jet Management 6/12 Concours d’Elegance Presented by EXAIR Hosted at Ault Park (Presales online $30, Day of Show $35, Student $15, 12 & under free)

6/12 Sunday Concours Highlights Brunch at the Pavilion Sponsored by Premier Park Events ($60, Reservations 10:30 am, 11:45 am, 1:00 pm) Craft Beer Garden at the Pavilion Featuring Esoteric, Rebel Mettle, & Streetside Brewery Sponsored by Prime Time Events Rentals (purchase at the show) Will Sherman Automotive Art Show Sponsored by Krombholz Jewelers (included) Automotive Legacy Library Hosted by Drei Staaten Gruppe car club (included for youth enthusiasts)

GET TICKETS NOW!

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2022 CHAMPIONS OF

DIVERSITY AND

INCLUSION Local businesses highlight their commitment to creating workplaces that are open and welcoming to all.

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At Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, our vision to be the leader in improving child health inspires everything

By the numbers Our DEI journey

How our bold DEI Plan improves child health

40% women in executive roles

19% executive and senior leaders of color

we do. We aspire to be a place where all employees, patients and families feel valued, supported and respected. Simply put, we want every patient to receive the best service and care

17,000+

children and families supported through community outreach

regardless of who they are or where they come from. We want every employee to have an experience where they feel appreciated for who they are as they live our value of making a difference. And we’re on a journey to make that happen.

$79.8M

diverse Tier-1 spend in FY21

While respecting others has always been at our core, we’re now taking bold new steps to champion diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across our organization, in our community, even around the globe—because our patients and our people come from everywhere. We started by creating a ﬁve-year strategic plan to guide our efforts and embed DEI in everything we do. We are advancing DEI impact and outcomes through intentional strategies, active leadership engagement, inclusion of diverse employee voices, and partnership

A healthy future for every child At Cincinnati Children’s, we are pursuing our potential together, so all kids can pursue theirs. We recently focused on children living with asthma in our communities. Within three years, we were able to: •

Reduce asthma-related hospitalization

in the community. People, Cultural Competence, Equity and Health

rates by 20%. We proactively called

Excellence, and Community and Neighbors are the cornerstones

families to make sure they had the

of our plan.

supplies they needed.

•

Aim to be as diverse as the communities we serve and

Lower the inpatient bed-day rate

create an inclusive environment where employees

by 17%. When patients arrived, we provided

can be themselves. That means zero tolerance for

resources and support - even helping with

unconscious-biases in our health system.

homework if needed.

Learn to interact and connect with people of all

•

Remove key barriers to care. To make it

backgrounds to build trust and help families feel

easier on families with work demands,

safe and respected. Everyone is welcome here.

child care needs and transportation issues,

Achieve excellent and equitable health outcomes for every child by solving for social determinants of health and wellbeing.

•

Partner across the organization and with our communities to advance health, invest in related causes, champion diversity and support supplier diversity.

Each initiative is supported by robust data, accountability measures and detailed goals, strategies and actions for lasting change. We aim to change our institution on the inside so we can positively impact the communities where we work and live. See us in action through Employee Resource Groups, Diversity Councils, CEO ACT!ON Days of Understanding, Cultural Celebrations, Leadership Development programs for diverse leaders, Michael Fisher Center for Child Health Equity, supplier diversity accountability, community partnerships for workforce development, and more. We’re just getting started!

Come join our team Scan to learn more

BRV627058

we launched school-based health centers, medication delivery and telehealth visits. To improve child health for generations to come, we are working together to ensure every employee, patient, family, and visitor feels welcome and safe.

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CHAMPIONS OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Northern Kentucky University is a regionally engaged and student-ready institution with students from 51 countries and five continents. NKU proudly enrolls students of every race, gender, sexual identity, and religion. We aspire to create an inclusive environment for all students and introduce them to research, scholars,

6 8 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

and curriculums that have diverse perspectives. Our inclusive classrooms, living learning environments, pedagogy, and instructors not only prepare students for their careers but to be successful global citizens. Ultimately NKU fosters an inclusive environment where all students have a sense of safety and belonging.

Northern Kentucky University 1 Louie B Nunn Dr., Highland Heights, KY 41099, (859) 572-5220, www.nku.edu

029,1* )520 7+(25< 72 $&7,21

Chief Diversity Ofﬁcer Darryl Peal leads inclusion initiatives SINCE JOINING NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY IN JANUARY 2020 AS THE CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER, Darryl Alan Peal, and

the Ofﬁce of Inclusive Excellence orchestrates inclusion efforts in partnership with the Inclusive Excellence Council that represents multiple races, genders, religions and ages of various staff, faculty and students. Each college within NKU has diversity, equity and inclusion committees and goals. Initiatives are implemented across the university with the input and expertise of the entire campus community. Our diversity goals are aligned with our strategic framework, Success by Design, that focuses on implementing key projects necessary for student success.

NKU’s Ofﬁce of Inclusive Excellence and the CDO have created and are implementing the University’s ﬁrst diversity goals. NKU hosted the inaugural Inclusive Teaching Academy, a two-day conference that introduced strategies, practices and tools for facilitating crucial conversations and creating diverse and inclusive pedagogy. NKU has created a bias incident response protocol and team to support individuals and/or groups who are targeted by bias-motivated actions and/or expressions. Additionally, NKU has also established three diversity faculty fellowships and selected faculty who are currently developing trainings, research and implementing initiatives to provide new teaching strategies that create access and increase completion.

OFFICE OF INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE & TITLE IX Darryl A. Peal Chief Diversity Ofﬁcer (859) 572–6630 inclusiveexcellence@nku.edu

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CHAMPIONS OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

CINCINNATINAME COMPANY STATE GOES HERE

WHY ARE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IMPORTANT TO YOUR ORGANIZATION? Cincinnati aliam utati State re doluptate has onesitoffugia the most veliquat diverse student explab Ihictem populations inum imoditati in our region. coneste Theniet, result utislaavollorem wonderful esedit mix laceatecto of differentblaceri ages, ethnicities, onsecae esequamet countriesdolupta of origin, eseditatinum and even types ea of pedipis sunderio schooling, including eumhome quatur schooled alitatiis esci students quundant and veterans autescid with eicidunt hillabo knowledge gained reprehendis through their volorepe service. volentem We honor quam diversity hilit iuscit, and the to tem doloribero richness it adds toblantiosae the student natSequis experience, volupta not tiassunt only in classrooms. ea que vendaes And thatsequae. is a great Inum plusunt foreat ourvolut community eaquamand quofor moemployers. et lacipsunOur tur? Beatem co-op students rat fugiae and graduates laut exerore are instrumental lat harcit erione in creating lab ipsaeanet diverse quo highly and optatiaskilled eosamregional cor aut fuga. workforce—in Dolupietur,health eumque care, preriam advanced sandici isimaximpore manufacturing, business, la dolupture, aviation quam maintenance, voloreminformation dae preptaqtechuiasinu sandes nology, culinary, accume and other verem essential voluptaindustries. erumquo vendi Many alibustem students also facessi go on to magnam earn further sita debis degrees nobitiusam at universities. adit, nihiligent The possibilities lam volum for volupta eaquis students at Cincinnati dolorehenisi State,dempore like our student preicid ipicil bodymi, itself, endae are diverse, voluptat. and without Tamlimits. voluptas repedi que net restinv eligend antorio. Nequiat hillatur, sitist, ari unt harum, unde volo modipsapidel int hilles eosam sera quasin comnimo ipsandit,

Cincinnati State 3520 Central Pkwy., Cincinnati, OH 45223, Company Name Goes Here (513) 861-7700, www.cincinnatistate.edu 513-123-4567, websiteurl.com/moreinformation

7 0 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

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CHAMPIONS OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

FIFTH THIRD COMPANY NAME BANK, GOES HERE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

WHY ARE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IMPORTANT TO YOUR TO YOUR ORGANIZATION? ORGANIZATION? aliam Asutati an intentionally re doluptateinclusive, sit fugia diverse veliquat Ihictem and thriving explab organization, inum imoditati we want coneste eachniet, employee ut la vollorem and each esedit laceatecto customer to blaceri feel valued, onsecae respected, esequamet anddolupta understood. eseditatinum Employees ea pedipis at Fifth Third sunderio are encouraged eum quatur to alitatiis bringesci theirquundant authenticautescid selves and eicidunt best thinking hillabo into reprehendis the workplace volorepe to fully volentem leveragequam the power hilit iuscit, of to ourtem diversity doloribero and our blantiosae commonality. natSequis We are volupta all One tiassunt Bank. ea que vendaes Inclusion sequae. and diversity Inum unt in the eat volut workplace eaquam are quo essential mo ettolacipsunliving tur? our Core Beatem Values: rat fugiae serving laut ourexerore customers, lat harcit delivering erionefinancial lab ipsaepernet quo formance, optatiaand eosam being cor recognized aut fuga. Dolupietur, as a leader in eumque building preriam an engagsandici ing workplace, isimaximpore a strong la supplier dolupture, base, quam andvolorem vibrant dae communities. preptaq uiasinu We aresandes committed accume to talent veremdiversity volupta at erumquo every level vendi of the alibustem Comfacessi pany, from magnam our Board sita debis of Directors nobitiusam to our adit, Enterprise nihiligent Leadership lam volum volupta Committee eaquis to all dolorehenisi of our employees dempore throughout preicid ipicil ourmi, markets. endae voluptat. Further, we Tam arevoluptas committed repedi to transparency. que net restinv Weeligend demonstrate antorio.that Nequiat commitment hillatur, by sitist, publishing ari untour harum, inclusion undeand volodiversity modipsapidel practices int hilles and demographic eosam sera quasin data on comnimo an annual ipsandit, basis in our Environmental, Social, and Governance Report.

Fifth Third Bank, National Association Company NameCincinnati, Goes Here 38 Fountain Square Plaza, OH 45202, 513-123-4567, websiteurl.com/moreinformation www.53.com

BONDS BUILD A BETTER COMMUNITY. A strong community creates a bond between us all. It fosters friendship, respect, and well-being. And most importantly, we accomplish more together. That’s why we’re proud to be named one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality.

Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.

J U N E 2 0 2 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 7 1

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CHAMPIONS OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

GE AVIATION

WHAT SETS YOUR ORGANIZATION APART IN TERMS OF ITS DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION EFFORTS? At GE Aviation, we are committed to creating an inclusive environment that embraces and promotes diversity to ensure our employees feel valued, respected, accepted, and that they belong. For over 30 years, GE’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have added value to our colleagues and business by helping to engage and develop the diverse talent needed to build a world that works. These are communities built on common backgrounds and experiences that welcome all employees to learn, connect, advocate, and foster a sense of belonging. One of the ways we mobilize and activate our communities is through the GE Foundation’s Next Engineers program, a global college-readiness program focused on increasing the diversity of young people in engineering. Next Engineers bridges gaps and empowers diverse youth to build a better future by inspiring the next generation of innovators.

GE Aviation 1 Neumann Way, Cincinnati, OH 45215, (513) 304-7082, www.geaviation.com

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CHAMPIONS OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

METRO

At Metro, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is not just a slogan, it’s our mission, from our 900+ employees to the thousands of people we serve every day. And that extends to those with whom we do business. It’s our vision to drive economic development by investing in socially and economically disadvantaged companies. Metro’s Small and Disadvantaged Business Program strives to be a pioneer of DEI, and we are working to pave the way for equity and inclusion in contracting and beyond. Our goal is to make a positive impact on the communities we serve by investing in and providing for opportunities to help under-represented entrepreneurs and businesses grow and prosper. When Metro moves forward, we all move forward.

525 Vine St., Suite 500, Cincinnati, OH 45202, (513) 632-7614, http://go-metro.com

Metro is committed to providing disadvantaged, minority-owned and small businesses with equal opportunities to bid on the thousands of dollars of goods and services Metro buys each year.

Metro increased its spending with disadvantaged businesses from $72,205 in 2019 to nearly $850,000 in 2021. And our plans for 2022 and beyond are even more aggressive!

Get your business on board with Metro – call Metro Diversity & Inclusion Program Manager Tara Walker at 513-632-7614.

Buying is believing. www.go-metro.com J U N E 2 0 2 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 7 3

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CHAMPIONS OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

OHIO NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES

Ohio National weaves diversity, equity and inclusion into the fabric of what we do and who we are through: Internal inﬂuencers and thought leaders: Our DEI Associate Council serve as ambassadors for inclusion and help shape strategy. Integration into company strategy: Activities are thoughtful, intentional, and aligned with culture and metrics. Business partnerships across the country: Our “Next Markets” strategy equips financial professionals to connect with underserved groups, including women, Hispanics, and African-Americans. Communications and social media: Internal teams diligently review and develop content that resonates with diverse cultures. Partnerships, sponsorships and community involvement: We support activities, events, and courageous conversations that foster an inclusive community. Talent and leadership diversity: Ohio National’s practices create opportunity and equity for all. We are recognized as a Leader in Workplace Equity by Ellequate.

Ohio National Financial Services, Inc. One Financial Way, Cincinnati, OH 45242, (513) 794-6100, www.ohionational.com

Helping you achieve ﬁnancial security and independence today — and for generations to come. One Financial Way | Cincinnati, OH 45242 513.794.6100 | ohionational.com T-785173 4-22

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CHAMPIONS OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

YMCA OF GREATER CINCINNATI

The YMCA is more than fitness centers and swimming pools. It is a movement committed to strengthening individuals and communities. Each year the Y provides over $1 million locally in financial assistance for summer camps, swim lessons, and membership. Find your passion, whether it is through youth development, healthy living, or social responsibility. Find your Y today! Together, the YMCA works to ensure that everyone—regardless of ability, age, cultural background, ethnicity, faith, gender identity, ideology, income, national origin, race, or sexual orientation— is treated equitably. We do this by building inclusive and joyful environments where all people can reach goals, make friends, and connect to a cause greater than themselves.

YMCA of Greater Cincinnati 1105 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202

Find belonging Find your Y Youth Development

Healthy Living

Social Responsibility

MyY.org

J U N E 2 0 2 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 7 5

OUR WASTE, OUR PROBLEM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 43

leton County landﬁlls in 2021 than any year before, logging a total of 3.5 million tons. The company got permission from the state of Ohio to increase its authorized maximum daily waste from 10,000 to 12,500 tons in 2019, and is working on an expansion of the Colerain landﬁll from 330 acres to 554 acres. “That’s one of the reasons why we bring people out [for tours],” Yeager says. “We want them to see the volume of waste. There are implications for just throwing everything away.” How long the expansion will cover our

We start at the viewing windows of the tipping floor, a massive room with mounds of material that are loaded onto a conveyor belt system, and the sorting process begins. The main floor is a dusty, dizzying system of conveyors, machines, and people sorting the recyclable material into streams. First cardboard. Then glass. Then paper. Followed by most metals. Cartons, jugs, and aluminum cans are diverted into their own streams. Each of these items is separated with specialized machinery, maybe an optical scanner or an overhead magnet. In recent years, robots have been added to sort specific items at up to 70 picks per minute. Employees along the line grab objects that can’t be recycled, things thrown in by “wish-cyclers” and those who make no effort to put items in the right cans. Unwanted objects make the process less efficient, Gray says. Almost daily, plastic shopping bags—which are not recyclable in this system—get caught in equipment, and the whole system is halted

“ONCE YOU’RE DONE WITH SOMETHING, DOES IT MEAN YOU THROW IT AWAY,” ASKS CARRIE HARMS. “DOES IT STILL HAVE VALUE? CAN IT BE USED BY YOU OR SOMEBODY ELSE?” space needs for trash depends a lot on Rumpke customers, says Yeager. “It could be 30 years. It could be 50 years. It could be 100 years. We may own the landfill, but it’s not our waste.” Rumpke has made a lot of investments in recycling and is dedicated to education, Yeager says. Educating the public goes a long way and clearly rubs off on Rumpke employees. “When I had my first child, we decided to use reusable diapers—cloth diapers verses disposable,” she says, “because I knew 4 percent of what was going into this landfill were disposable diapers.” Over at the Rumpke material recovery facility in St. Bernard, Education Specialist Anne Gray turns on her microphone and directs those of us on a tour to put on a headset, hard hat, and protective glasses. Sorting 55 tons of trash per hour in order to give it a new use is a noisy and sometimes dangerous operation. 7 6 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

while employees remove the bags before they do real damage. Some things tossed in recycling cans can be dangerous. A baseball showed up at Rumpke’s recycling facility in Columbus, shot off a conveyor, and struck an employee, Gray says. Luckily the person wasn’t badly injured. And later in the day after my tour, a lithium battery caught ﬁre and made its way to the paper bin. Employees extinguished the blaze, but it could have been much worse. Yeager says the recycling center was destroyed by ﬁre in 2012, though investigators never determined how it started. Over the years, Rumpke’s system has gotten more advanced, adding a glass processing facility in Dayton in 2004 and expanding technology to include new items, like most plastic and paper cups and plastic tubs with lids. (See “Recycling 101” on page 51 for a full tutorial.) Gray pleads with Rumpke customers to

familiarize themselves with the acceptable items. “If you stick to that,” she says, “the system works beautifully.” A GROUP OF GIRL SCOUTS FROM BLUE Ash peer into big cardboard boxes of plastic silverware and plastic straws on a tour of the Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub in Lower Price Hill. Rumpke doesn’t take them, their guide Carrie Harms explains. The nonprofit takes many other items not accepted in our region’s curbside recycling programs, such as No. 2 through No. 7 and no-number plastics, denim, shoes, empty oral care product containers, office supplies, and Styrofoam. The Hub sends the items to authorized recyclers as close to Cincinnati as possible. These items can find all sorts of new uses—plastics can become new plastics or diesel fuel, and denim becomes insulation. The Hub, which opened in April 2021, has diverted 100 tons of materials from landfills. On Thursdays and Saturdays, the nonprofit is open for people to come in with their sorted trash and drop it off or “shop” in a reuse area full of building materials, garden and office supplies, and much more. Shopping is free, though a donation is welcome. They also take items for a small disposal fee. A broken television, for example, costs $25 if one person can carry it and $35 if it takes two to carry it. They charge $2 per pound for dead batteries, and electronic media (think DVDs and VHS tapes) will cost you $1 per pound to drop off. Car tires are $6 a pop. Find a full list of accepted items on their website: cincinnatirecycling andreusehub.org. The Hub has created a new opportunity for our community to recycle more, but there’s much more to its mission, says Harms, who is there almost weekly as a volunteer and serves as secretary of the nonprofit’s board. The Hub wants to increase awareness of consumer habits and harmful environmental consequences. Last year, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the release of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report “a code red for humanity.” The report found that our opportunity to limit the impact of climate change is rapidly narrowing.

Harms says the time has come to think beyond disposable, single-use items such as plastic forks, which take 200 years to break down in a landfill. “Once you’re done with something, does it mean you throw it away,” she asks. “Does it still have value? Can it be used by you or somebody else?” If you ask Fields, two more “Rs” should be added to the mantra of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. “Rethink and refuse,” she says. “We need smart entrepreneurs to see this sustainability crisis as an opportunity. We were just talking about shampoo bars, which I think are great. Why does shampoo have to come in a single-use plastic bottle?” Fields says sustainable living shouldn’t be about filling up a huge recycling bin so you have less trash bound for the landfill, but working on ways to keep things out of both. Rethinking for her means using the Bokashi method of composting—the Japanese method can include any organic material, even meat, dairy, and fats. Once every eight weeks or so she buries the composted material on her mother’s land in Kentucky. Refuse means not getting everything she wants all the time and asking others not to give her stuff. “It’s incredibly inconvenient to live this way,” says Fields, “but it gives me so much satisfaction.” Sitting in Fields’s kitchen, her Covington colleague Stephanie Bacher, the city’s solid waste and recycling supervisor, talks her through a few options for her annual haul. Bacher says the city can accept some of the industrial composting materials you sometimes get now from restaurants. She likes to test how long it takes for things to break down in her backyard compost. None of us should give up, Bacher says, because our world is worth the inconvenience. She explains that she got the sustainability bug in middle school in the 1990s when science and political powers joined forces and adopted a series of agreements which reversed damage to the ozone above Antarctica. “We fixed it as a people, as a culture,” says Bacher. “We did it, and no one got hurt.”

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CLIMATE CHANGE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 57

Climate C limate Change Is Just Getting Warmed up By

John Stowell Illustration by

Phil Wrigglesworth

last 40 years. “It’s real,” Mark says,“and it’s not the sun or just a natural cycle. It’s us.”

There were and still are natural reasons that Earth’s temperature fluctuates. But now? An international panel of climate experts have agreed, since 1988, that most of what we’ve experienced recently isn’t natural. The planet is heating up because of us. They use terms like “unequivocal” in their latest United Nations report, and warn this “unprecedented” and “dangerous” warming is leading to a climate “that could surpass thresholds sustaining human health and agriculture.” The records don’t lie. Since scientists began keeping records in 1880, 21 of the

SO THEN, WHAT DO WE DO? THERE ARE two principal strategies where policy leaders focus much of their time: mitigation and adaptation. “We need to make our city more resilient to climate change,” insists Forrester, who in March joined Mayor Aftab Pureval in kicking off the third update of the Green Cincinnati Plan.“That means looking at our infrastructure and ﬁguring out ways to mitigate the impact heat will have on our residents. It means ensuring that our infrastructure, a lot of it built for the climate we had 100 years ago, can meet the challenges of the climate we’re going to have.” Forrester thinks about the 1995 Chicago heat wave that killed 739 people, most of them elderly and poor. Just three years ago, more than 1,400 people died in two separate heat waves that suffocated Germany, France,

HEAT IS THE NO. 1 WEATHER-RELATED KILLER, ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE—MORE THAN HURRICANES, TORNADOES, FLOODS, AND LIGHTNING. world’s highest average temperatures have occurred in this century alone, according to the European Union Science Consortium. The culprit? Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, which are emitted primarily by the industrial and transportation sectors. These gases trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere, much like how clouds keep evening temperatures from falling. Carbon dioxide’s atmospheric content is measured in parts per million at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii; it was 420 ppm in April. Scientists say this is the highest it’s been in at least 4 million years, when saber tooth tigers and mastodons roamed the planet in the Pliocene epoch. World Meteorological Organization scientists say humans are living in unknown territory and the pace of warming has accelerated. More than half the carbon dioxide mankind has sent into the air since the Industrial Revolution began in 1750 has been emitted in the 7 8 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

and the Low Countries. He thinks about the torrential rains that flooded Belgium last July, six days after epic thunderstorms turned New York’s subway into a river. When Forrester speaks of resiliency, he means adaptation—a recognition, in this case, that the climate is inexorably warming and we need to figure out how to live with it and in it. Contrast that with a mitigation strategy, which focuses on ways to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Think of the city of Cincinnati’s mammoth solar array in Highland County as a mitigation strategy. The electricity generated from that renewable zero-carbon energy source replaces standard electricity generated by burning coal or natural gas. Similarly, think of a commitment to replace your fleet of gas-guzzling cars and trucks with electric vehicles and working with partners to install hundreds of charging stations around town.

Getting out from under the blazing sun and into the shade is an example of an adaptation strategy. Think of planting trees, improving your home’s insulation, buying more energy-efficient appliances, or even replacing your black-shingled home with a white or green (as in a garden) roof. These are all in the Green Cincinnati plan city leaders adopted back in 2018. As homeowners and utility customers have discovered, the strategies have a side benefit: They can save you money. “The tree canopy is especially important in the urban environment, where the heat island effect is pronounced,” Forrester says. Treeless cityscapes, asphalt pavement, and brick buildings—often found in lowincome neighborhoods—have resulted in temperatures as much as 8 degrees higher than in our leafier communities, according to local heat mapping studies. Groundwork Ohio River Valley, Green Umbrella, and the city collaborated on that study last summer. According to Forrester, some of the most searing heat islands are along the Mill Creek valley in neighborhoods like Camp Washington, South Fairmount, Lower Price Hill, Bond Hill, Lincoln Heights, and Roselawn. “What’s especially bad about the heat in these neighborhoods is that people who live there get little relief in the nighttime hours,” he notes. “The built infrastructure holds the heat in at night, and it becomes a public health issue when people have no opportunity to cool off.” Heat, in fact, is the No. 1 weatherrelated killer, according to the National Weather Service—more than hurricanes, tornadoes, fl oods, and lightning. It can kill anyone anywhere, but low-income and minority communities are particularly susceptible. “It’s really important that we have equity-centered action on climate change,” says Savannah Sullivan, climate policy director for Green Umbrella. “Our most vulnerable communities are suffering disproportionately in terms of their actual physical impacts, but it also adversely affects people socially and economically.” Air quality in those communities, Sullivan notes, is often poor because they abut an industrial complex or an interstate highway. Many residents live in substandard, poorly insulated housing with inad-

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CLIMATE CHANGE equate air-conditioning. There’s little to no green space or tree canopy to soften the searing heat. These conditions, she says, strain physical and mental health, discourage social interaction, and blow a disproportionate hole in the wallets of those living paycheck to paycheck. Sullivan’s job is to coordinate climate change policy positions and solutions among dozens of local governments within Green Umbrella’s 10-county, threestate community. She organizes the annual Midwest Sustainability Summit, which this year is themed “Emergent Strategies for an Equitable Climate-Prepared Region.” On July 21, Green Umbrella plans to launch its Regional Climate Collaborative—a network designed to encourage local governments and the private sector to share ideas and information, institute policies, and design both mitigation and adaptation projects. “We want to be on the cutting edge of developing climate solutions that work for our community,” Sullivan says with enthusiasm. The collaborative plans to develop a regional climate playbook to highlight best practices, specific needs, funding opportunities, and visions and to offer a menu of options on energy, transportation, efficiency, and other climate strategies that local governments can access and see what fits best. This isn’t Green Umbrella’s first climate collaborative initiative. In fact, the organization was created in the late 1990s specifically to bring parties together to preserve and restore the region’s greenspaces. It’s since evolved into a multi-dimensional organization with hundreds of members working on everything from bike trails and healthy food to building efficiency and environmental education. Climate was always embedded in the organization’s work but wasn’t formally added to the agenda until two years ago. Similarly, Cincinnati City Council formed a new climate committee this year, chaired by Councilmember Meeka Owens. Mooney-Bullock, complimenting former Mayor John Cranley’s environmental record, is optimistic the new leadership in City Hall is just as progressive. “We had a climate workshop for all

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CLIMATE CHANGE the City Council candidates last April, and around 40 came,” she recalls.“Eight of those elected in November had climate plans as part of their campaigns. To me, that shows how the issue has matured.” CLIMATE CHANGE ALSO POSES A CHALlenge to our rivers and streams, says Richard Harrison, executive director and chief engineer at the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), which focuses on the water quality of the Ohio River and its tributaries. A warming climate, especially one that incites epic rain events, grabs his attention. Harrison echoes the oft-heard caveat that the impact of climate change on our region’s principal water resource is a complex topic. ORSANCO is a data-driven organization, he notes, directing me to a 2017 study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that’s 321 pages long and kind of hard to follow if you don’t have a science background or a thick dictionary. It

says climate change is affecting the Ohio River, and, as we warm up, those changes may become more pronounced. Increasingly heavy spring rains and more summer droughts impact barge navigation, hydroelectric generation, fish reproduction and diversity, algae growth, erosion, and sedimentation. While some of these could be seasonally beneficial, most aren’t; the wild swings from a swelling, roaring river in the spring to the leisurely, turbid summertime current concern river managers the most. Harrison mentions how those signature heavy rains can overflow streets and overwhelm water sanitation systems. Out in the country or on your suburban lawn, fertilizer and pesticide runoff eventually makes it into the river. “Bacteria growth is really impacted by these rain events, especially through combined sewer overflows,” he says. “Fertilizer runoff carries chemicals that, if they become too concentrated, can cause algae blooms and harm fish.” The Metropolitan Sewer District’s

multibillion-dollar combined sewer project should help in Hamilton County, says Harrison. The city’s Forrester, however, isn’t so sure. The federal consent decree that required a makeover of our sewer system was based on requirements in the 1972 Clean Water Act. “There’s a recognition at MSD that we need to prepare for the future, but the consent decree isn’t set up that way,” he says. “We need to continue to plan and build these heavy, more frequent rains into our modeling.” As the frequency of river and stream flooding has increased, property owners along water banks or further inland are seeing their insurance rates increase. Some might wonder if their homes will still be standing 30 years from now. A 2021 study by the nonprofit First Street Foundation showed that more than 230,000 homes along the Ohio River are at high risk for ﬂooding as it ﬂows through the heart of Appalachia. Most owners of these threatened homes are poor.

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Closer to home, rising river levels present a challenge to a historical home. The website Stacker cross-referenced data from the Federal Energy Management Agency with the list of properties on the National Register of Historic Places, revealing the famous Underground Railroad stop in Ripley, the John P. Parker House, as being at “very high risk” of future flooding. While these data points can certainly feel distressing, things could be worse. In fact, Cincinnati billed itself a future “climate haven” in the 2018 Green Cincinnati Plan, noting we “live outside the likely disaster areas” on the east and west coasts and the oppressive heat band in the deep south. No wildfires, hurricanes, or rising sea levels here. The Reds can still play outdoors in August (but always sit in the shade on the first base side for a day game), and most evenings you can still grill a burger on your Weber. Still, this story’s opening scenario isn’t all that far-fetched. Forrester notes that the Cincinnati region has had nine rainstorms

in the last 10 years qualifying as “100-year storms.” That’s defined as a storm so intense the chances of it happening are 1 percent. Many of our storms have been selective, such as a tornado. You might get a 3-inch rain in Northside but only a few sprinkles in Oakley. And that hillside above Columbia Parkway? You remember how long that vital east-side artery was shut down while debris was cleared and the retaining walls fortified at a cost of $18 million. The city maintains more than 1,500 miles of similar hillside retaining walls. But there are solutions: Big ones that government and industry can do, smaller ones you can do. They add up. Most of them can save you money on your energy bill, and some—like installing solar panels or buying an electric vehicle—have tax benefits. Maybe you’ve done some of them already, like buying LED light bulbs, upgrading your insulation, reducing your food waste, or riding the bus to work. Those little things are important, says

Green Umbrella’s Mooney-Bullock, but ultimately the federal government needs to ﬁgure it out and lead. In the meantime, she believes, it’s important to educate and do what we can as a community to develop tools to address speciﬁc area climate change impacts. Forrester agrees, but says the clock is ticking. The city of Cincinnati is decarbonizing, but China keeps building coal plants. We all share the carbon molecules. There’s only one ecosystem on the planet. Ohio State’s Mark calls climate “a big ship to turn around,” noting the atmosphere is already front-loaded and carbon molecules are going to stay up there for generations. If we turned off every light right now, he says, the world’s temperature would still go up one degree in the coming years. The heat increase is baked in, so to speak. “We are smartening up to what we face, and now we need to pull up our bootstraps and get to work,” he says. Adapt and suffer, he notes sardonically, is not a sustainable strategy.

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GOLDEN GLOVES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 61 58

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GOLDEN R U H A N A G A RVE BY J AC LY N YO

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An Over-th place to learn and train, a gives city kids them safe. and always keeps fills their bellies,

BOYS & GIRLS I L LU ST RAT I O

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nonprofit focused on ending childhood hunger, to feed the young athletes. Stafford doesn’t just work with boxers in the gym. He also travels with them to tournaments—and that’s all part of the program. “When you go out of town, they make sure you’re fed,” says Tyrese “Cornbread” Woodard, who has trained with Golden Gloves for more than a decade. “They make sure you’re safe.” Golden Gloves is 100 percent donorfunded. It works with a board of directors that includes Buddy’s sons Michael and Mark, who run the restaurant business;

ing back to the ’90s. Boxing murals live outside on the Rec Center buildings themselves. The main doors of the Golden Gloves gym are ﬂanked by black-and-white, full-body paintings of Rocky Marciano (“Because he’s Italian,” says Christina) and Ezzard Charles. Live any longer than a few months in Cincinnati, and you’ll hear of the city’s most famous boxer. You’ve likely driven on Ezzard Charles Drive between Music Hall and Union Terminal in the West End, but have you ever wondered, at least at some point, “What’s an ezzard?” Known as “The Cincinnati Cobra,” Charles became the undisputed world heavyweight champion when he defeated Joe Louis in New York City on September 27, 1950. He kept the title until July 1951, when Jersey Joe Walcott knocked him out in seven rounds, and he went on to lose two close battles with Marciano in 1954. His ﬁrst name came from the doctor who delivered Charles in Lawrenceville, Georgia. From William Dettloff ’s Ezzard Charles: A

“WHEN YOU GO OUT OF TOWN FOR BOXING TOURNAMENTS, THEY MAKE SURE YOU’RE FED,” SAYS TYRESE “CORNBREAD” WOODARD. “THEY MAKE SURE YOU’RE SAFE.” Christina is Mark’s daughter. All money raised for the program goes right to the kids, she says, to purchase supplies, travel, food, and any equipment the boxers need. In addition to a dining hall and workout space, the Learning Center is also an unofficial museum where Buddy LaRosa displays his love of boxing. Walls are covered with photos, autographs, framed newspaper stories, magazine covers, cartoon illustrations, boxing gloves in shadow boxes, posters, and trophies. And, oh, those trophies. There are so many that the gym is running out of space. Most are tucked away in the Golden Gloves gym, set high above the boxing rings near the ceiling. They’re stacked and cluttered, leaning this way and that like fallen dominos. Christina, who took a full-time position at Cincinnati Golden Gloves in 2018 after working as an attorney in Chicago, guesses there are about 100 trophies dat8 4 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

Boxing Life: “After [Dr. Webster Pierce Ezzard] eased the Charles boy into the dark squalor that July night, William and Alberta had no money to pay him, so they named their son ‘Ezzard’ in his honor. They weren’t the ﬁrst. Several folks around Lawrenceville had done the same thing.” Which means that when Ezzard was a boy in the 1920s his ﬁrst name—the 17,105th most popular of all time, according to names.org—might have been one of the most popular in his small hometown. Charles would be raised by his grandmother in Cincinnati’s West End. Golden Gloves boxers learn about his legend early on, in large part because of the mural and the Ezzard Charles memorabilia displayed in the Learning Center. Boxers see his name sprinkled throughout the gym and ask about him, says Christina LaRosa. Woodard looked him up four or five years ago, curious to learn more about Cincinnati’s most successful boxer, and he

was struck by Charles’s stats. He fought 122 professional bouts—which isn’t even possible today based on changed safety regulations, he says—and won 96 of them. “If you’re from Cincinnati, you should know your history,” says Woodard. Another history lesson can be found on Liberty Street, a few blocks south of the OTR Rec Center. The colorful Ezzard Charles mural was ArtWorks’s 100th mural when it debuted in 2015. Local artist Jason Snell designed the piece, and he’s involved with the Charles statue due to be unveiled this summer in Laurel Park along Ezzard Charles Drive. The project includes a partnership with Cincinnati Bell for free WiFi in the space, giving kids a digital connection so they can learn about the famous boxer. It’s fitting for the statue to have these community elements, says Snell, because Charles was such a proponent of Cincinnati. After achieving success, he became a jazz musician and part-owner of the Cincinnati Cotton Club, bringing white and Black fans together for music. He was also a tailor and a fashion-lover. “To me, as an artist, I just always love that vibe of coming back, giving back to kids, showing them that there’s a different way to do things,” says Snell.“He really was a true renaissance man. And doing that while being a Black man in this place in the 1950s and ’60s couldn’t have been easy.” A NICKNAME FOR A BOXER IS A THING: Ezzard “The Cincinnati Cobra” Charles, “Smokin’ ” Joe Frazier, “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali, Adrien “The Problem” Broner. Sugar Ray Robinson was born Walker Smith Jr. A nickname should be boastful or incite fear. It should be cool and slick and help an athlete move with swag. Tyrese Woodard is only 22 years old, but he’s had his “Cornbread” nickname since age 15. It’s so solidified that when LaRosa shares his phone number, she shows me her phone; he’s saved under “Cornbread.” When he travels, others might not know who Tyrese Woodard is, she says, “But you say ‘Cornbread,’ and they go, ‘Oh, the kid with the glasses!’ ” The origins of his nickname go back to one of his first experiences with a boxer’s ongoing nightmare of making weight. You see, boxers need to fight others in their

GOLDEN GLOVES weight class; putting someone who’s 135 pounds against someone who’s 161 is asking for trouble, and it’s not a fair fight. So if a boxer weighs in at 11 a.m., says Woodard, they’ll fight, they’ll eat, but then they’ll need to lose the weight they just gained from that meal before fighting again. On the day Woodard earned his nickname, he was traveling for a bout with Stafford and some other boxers. “I drank two Gatorades,” he says. “I didn’t eat any food, just Gatorades. I went to Coach Mike’s room, and he’d left a plate out. I was supposed to be weighing myself because the scale was in his room, but I just snuck the cornbread [from his plate] and then I weighed myself. I went back in the room and went to sleep. We woke up the next morning so everybody could check their weight. I think I was like a pound and a half over.” He didn’t have a sweat bag or sauna suit, which are made to help boxers sweat out water weight. So he used trash bags and Albolene, a cream boxers rub on their bodies

to open their pores and make them sweat. “I lost the weight, but I was tired,” he says. “They asked, ‘What happened?’ And ever since then, I’ve just been called Cornbread.” After taking a bit of a hiatus from boxing due in part to COVID, Woodard is back to the gym daily, as are a lot of the coaches he grew up with. When he started coming back, it was important to get the old crew back together. “If we’re getting ready to turn pro, we need people who know us,” he says. “It can’t be someone brand new that’s just come in the gym and tell us, ‘You should do this, do that.’ These people been watching us 10-plus years. They know how we act and react.” Woodard calls Stafford “another father” or his “gym dad,” ﬁtting because his father and Stafford are friends. It’s part of what made Woodard want to box in the first place—to follow in the footsteps of his dad, who used to box. Having spent more than half of his life with Golden Gloves—he started partici-

pating at age 12—Woodard can pinpoint just how the program has impacted his life. He used to be a nervous fighter who let folks get in his head, he says. People would tell him about an upcoming opponent before Woodard ever met the guy, which exacerbated his nerves. Then to look in the audience and see everyone’s eyes on him? Lots of anxious energy. The gym and Stafford have helped him grow up, says Woodard. He communicates better in general, too—he can now watch boxers spar and point out missteps or areas that can be improved. Golden Gloves taught him how to be calm and ensure his actions don’t get the best of him. It helped make him more serious.“I give them five stars,” he says. “Or six stars. Six stars out of five. They definitely get an extra one. They’re worth it.” STAFFORD HAS SEEN PLENTY OF CHANGes in the boxing world during his 30 years in coaching, especially for children and teens. For example, young boxers used to be able to

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compete all day, match after match, he says. Now they can box in just two bouts a day. If an athlete gets a bad nosebleed, the referee will pause the match and a doctor will be on-hand to check it out. If one boxer is outclassing the other, they’ll stop the fight. “Back in the day, they didn’t care,” Stafford says. “Like the Romans, they wanted to see blood. If they didn’t see no blood, they didn’t think it was a good fight.” Safety comes first today—in the way of rule changes, yes, and also with equipment. Headgear is required at all times, and smaller kids use smaller gloves. Boxers need to always have their mouth pieces, their cups, their breast protection. Over the years, Stafford and LaRosa have seen more girls in the gym and at tournaments, too. Depending on their ability, fights aren’t necessarily segregated by gender. “When I started training girls, they were more advanced than the guys,” says Stafford. “They follow directions.” They included, for the short time she boxed, his granddaugh-

ter. “She ran a lot of little boys out of this gym, but she didn’t want to box no more.” Other changes are on the horizon as part of a plan to help Over-the-Rhine organizations better serve their community. Physical updates are coming for the OTR Rec Center, the Golden Gloves program, and nearby Findlay Playground. Nothing is ﬁrm yet, says Joe Rudemiller, 3CDC’s marketing and communications vice president, but he estimates that within ﬁve years Cincinnati Golden Gloves will relocate from its current two buildings to a refurbished rec center. “The idea behind trying to revitalize a space like that would be to help the entity using it serve the broadest population in the best way possible,” he says. LaRosa already has a list of her must-have amenities in the new space: two boxing rings, space for all the heavy punching bags and treadmills, and classrooms. In the meantime, it’s business as usual for Stafford and Golden Gloves. He’ll continue to travel for tournaments, both

amateur and pro, though he admits, “I hate leaving my babies at the club.” There’s a lot more to his coaching job than teaching neighborhood kids a new sport. “Not only do we teach boxing,” he says, “but we teach manners. We teach them how to eat, what to wear, hygiene. Sometimes we train on Saturday, and sometimes we may be gone 10 days or two weeks at a time.” On one late-winter Thursday, like so many other weekdays, Stafford coaches the dozen or so kids in the gym through a set of drills, stretching their muscles, working the punching bags, and running. They follow the track looping the trio of boxing rings, then up a ﬂight of stairs tucked against the north wall of the gym.“Pick your feet up, pick your feet up,” he chants to them. Mid-practice, a woman drops off two brothers, one of whom can’t be older than 4 or 5. For a moment, the younger one watches the older kids running around the track, then stuffs his hands in his khakis and joins the pack.

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MADEIRA BUTCHER P. 94

CHOCOLATE FRAPPE AT BEBO’S P. 96

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

J U N E 2 0 2 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 8 9

OFF THE MENU

CULINARY MAVERICK

Josh Campbell ﬁnds new opportunities to cook food his way. — B R A N D O N W U S K E

URING THE SOFT OPENING OF MAVERICK’S RESTOBAR & LOUNGE, I RAN INTO Victor Kidd, whose Kidd Family of Brands operates the coffee shop in The Cincinnatian Hotel, right across the hall from the restaurant. We talked about Josh Campbell, who took the helm at Maverick’s, which fills the space once occupied by that iconic Cincinnati restaurant, The Palace. “He’s a great leader,” Kidd told me.“Not only that but he’s compassionate. He’s exactly the kind of guy you want to work with.” It’s rare, and refreshing, to hear “compassionate” used as one of the first words to describe a high-profile chef. That he’s also an incredible cook went without saying because, well, it should. Campbell is responsible for several standout restaurants, including Mayberry, the beloved-but-shuttered Over-the-Rhine spot known for elevated comfort food, and Django Western Taco, the creative Northside taco shop that closed at the height of the pandemic but returned to Rebel Mettle Brewery last month. It’s fitting to see a chef who has dealt with the disheartening closures of some genuinely good restaurants take the helm as part of the resurrection of such a storied space. The comeback doesn’t stop there, however. Aside from running the show at Maverick’s, he has also taken over food and beverage service at local SREE hotels. Additionally, he recently started SQR (pronounced skewer), the izakaya-inspired to-go window operating out of Knox Joseph Distillery’s OTR StillHouse. Oh, and he’s also in charge of meal service at Cedar Oaks Wellness Center, a rehabilitation facility in Oregonia. How does one chef get involved with so many disparate projects? A little luck and a lot of connec9 0 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

FYI

Maverick’s Restobar & Lounge 601 Vine St., downtown, (513) 864-7135, mavericksrestobar.com Hours Dinner Thurs–Sun 4–10 p.m. Prices $8 (Warm Roasted Greek Olives)–$44 (Grass Fed Bison Strip Loin) Credit Cards All major The Takeaway Chef-driven hotel restaurant with a bold, yet approachable, seasonal menu.

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

REBEL REBEL (From left) Chef Josh Campbell; grilled carrot salad with crisp rye, dill, escarole, and buttermilk dressing from Maverick’s; the restaurant’s main dining area.

tion. Campbell got involved with Maverick’s after meeting Kidd through a mutual friend. His work at Cedar Oaks stems from a similar connection. As for his involvement with SQR, he has his basketball skills to thank for that—he met Knox Joseph Operations Manager Steve Schwartz at a pickup game. As a result of that meeting, he started working with the distillery’s owner Michele Hobbs on a menu that, as he put it, would “go well with booze and beer—but we wanted to do something different than the pizza and/or BBQ that you see at most breweries,” he says. “That’s how we hit on the izakaya concept.” I went down to the OTR StillHouse for brunch on a busy Saturday morning. It was game day for FC Cincinnati and the distillery, located on Central Parkway within shouting distance of TQL Stadium, was full of hungry (and thirsty) FC Cincinnati fans. We all had plenty of good global street food to chow down on. In many ways, SQR is the perfect project for Campbell, who has a talent for making the familiar novel and, conversely, making the novel familiar. For evidence of the former, we had the refined comfort food of Mayberry. For evidence of the latter, we had Django Western Taco, with its jerk chicken quesadillas and chorizo patty melts. Add to that column the delicious “Dixiekaya” mash-up of teriyaki grilled shrimp with miso butter grits. It’s comfort food at its finest and most inventive. His take on global fusion food isn’t merely for the sake of eclecticism; he serves dishes that reflect a varied culinary education. He spent five years running the kitchen at the exclusive Graycliff Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas. It was there he came to love conch fritters, learning what he described as the perfect preparation from a local grandmother. His culinary travels have taken him to Mexico, Italy, and Thailand, where he earned a secondary professional culinary degree from the Royal Thai Culinary Institute. He earned his first

degree at the Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach. He made the trip from Cincinnati to Florida after seeing an ad for the school on The Food Network one fateful afternoon in the late ’90s. His ﬁrst job out of culinary school was at what he calls a “crappy BBQ joint.” This was followed by a stint at Morton’s, then by a formative culinary relationship with Mike Perrin at celebrated Florida restaurant 11 Maple Street. The restaurant featured seasonal menus, fresh produce, and wild game before such offerings were the norm. “11 Maple Street is the reason I am who I am,” Campbell says. With that in mind, it’s hard not to think of Maverick’s as a return to Campbell’s roots there. The menu will be seasonal and heavy on fresh vegetables. If the grilled carrot salad I ordered—with its hint of dill and crusty rye croutons—is a sign of things to come, I say bring on the veggies. The restaurant will also feature lots of game meats, like venison and grass-fed bison. Much of this will be locally sourced, as Campbell has cultivated relationships with vendors across the region (he gets his eggs from a farmer in Waynesville and his grains from Carriage House Farm in North Bend). It’s easy to see that relationships are important to Campbell. Maybe that’s why Kidd was so quick to point out his compassion. (He credits his newfound faith for centering him and helping him keep his cool in the kitchen. “I couldn’t have handled the things I can handle now in 2010, or even 2020,” he says.) His relationships have led to some amazing collaborations, whether from a chance meeting at a pickup basketball game or an introduction through a mutual friend. When I ask Campbell how Cincinnati’s food scene has changed since he first opened Mayberry in 2009, he was effusive in his praise for other local chefs. “We’ve got some awesome chefs in this city,” he notes. “Jose Salazar, Kayla [Robison] at Arnold’s, Jared Bennett at Khora, Sam Dobrozsi at Fireside, Gramma Debbie runs a great stand at Findlay Market.” I got the feeling he could have gone on and on. To that list, I would add Josh Campbell of Maverick’s. And SQR. And Cedar Oaks Wellness Center. And…let’s wait and see what else, shall we? J U N E 2 0 2 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M 9 1

SNACK TIME

SO JELLY AFTER HER FREElance and restaurant work slowed to a crawl during the ﬁrst year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amanda Bowman started thinking about gelatin. Speciﬁcally, that of the psychedelic 1960s variety. “I had lots of wacky ideas about creating gelatin pieces,” she says. “The sculptural nature of a tower of gelatin, wobbling with any movement, is just so fun.” Out of this sprung Bowman’s home-baking business Calliope Sweets. She scours yard sales, antique malls, and the like looking for molds to shape her gelatinous creations, which have included everything from strawberries and grapefruit to apricot Bavarian cream and avocado. Gelatin isn’t exactly a popular ingredient in modern dishes, but that doesn’t bother Bowman, who takes custom orders through Instagram (@enjoycalliope). “Growing up with Jell-O Jigglers and dusty ’50s cookbooks, it’s easy to turn your nose up and dismiss it as lowbrow,” she says. “That’s what I appreciate about it. It’s dessert, which is a totally unnecessary thing to consume, so why not make it extra extra?” —AIESHA D. LITTLE

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PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS VON HOLLE

Celebrate Ohio Wines Hanover Winery

Heineman’s Winery

Located in Ohio’s SW corner between Hamilton and Miami U. Oxford. International award-winning Wines handcrafted on site. Live music & food, Beer & Bourbon. Enjoy outdoor seating with scenic views and beautiful sunsets.

Heineman Winery, now in its 5th generation is Ohio’s oldest familyowned winery. Take a ferry trip to Putin-Bay and enjoy a bottle of wine and a cheese plate in our beautiful wine garden. We are also home to Crystal Cave, the world’s largest Celestite geode! Tours daily, early May-end of September. Call the winery for more details.

Hanover Winery Festival August 5th & 6th 2022 2165 Morman Rd. Hamilton, OH 45013 (513) 863-3119 hanoverwinery.com

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Vinoklet Winery & Restaurant

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Vinoklet Winery is perched atop picturesque rolling hills. A glassedenclosed solarium and spacious gazebo provide a panoramic view of the surrounding vineyards. A unique atmosphere for wedding ceremonies, receptions, rehearsal dinners, family parties, banquets, and corporate events. Please check the website for hours and events.

152 State Route 726 Eaton, OH 45320 (937) 472-WINE (9463) oshwinery.com

11069 Colerain Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45252 (513) 385-9309 vinokletwines.com

Eaton, Ohio

Visit us today, order your free Ohio Wine Guide at (614) 728-6438

PANTRY

A CUT ABOVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD BUTCHER SHOP IS ALIVE AND WELL IN MADEIRA. — M . L E I G H H O O D

Originally intended as a fairly simple butcher shop, Redden Fine Meats and Seafood has blossomed into a staple of the local food scene since opening last April. When Madeira Meats, a mainstay of the community, suffered a fire and chose not to reopen, Sean Redden (left) saw an opportunity in the gap left in his hometown. Despite his extensive restaurant and sales experience (he began working in the restaurant industry at age 15), running this type of shop has been a dive into new territory. “I had never even worked in a butcher shop prior to this,” he says. “The day we opened was day one for me.” (He’s a true local who didn’t leave his roots far behind. “I went to Madeira High School,” Redden explains. “Both of my kids graduated from Madeira High School.” Both of those kids, incidentally, now work in the shop.) The store aims to bring in items customers can’t find elsewhere, particularly fresh fish and seafood. These days, Redden is a butcher shop, a deli, and a grocery store, all rolled into one. It sells nearly 140 pounds of chicken salad every week in addition to premade meals ready for customers to take home and heat up after work. Although he hopes to give more east-siders the opportunity to experience the joys of a neighborhood butcher, Redden Fine Meats and Seafood is intrinsically linked with Madeira. “It’s been great,” he notes. “We’ve gotten a

lot of community support, and we’re starting to pull now from those outside of Madeira—Indian Hill, Terrace Park, Mariemont—which is encouraging.” House-made sausages, crab cakes, soups, and sandwiches keep things not only fresh but interesting. A recent collaboration with Twisted Greek food truck birthed the Loukaniko sausage, made with pork, orange zest, leeks, garlic, and oregano. “We do everything from scratch,”

Redden says. The grocery section features as many local producers as possible while also providing specialty grains, oils, and more to help customers transform what they buy from the case into a sumptuous meal. Products from Pickled Pig, Russo’s Ravioli, and Hen of the Woods keep regional favorites close at hand. It is, as Redden describes, like a smaller Findlay Market packed into a historic train depot.

Redden Fine Meats and Seafood, 7701 Railroad Ave., Madeira, (513) 407-8998, facebook.com/reddenscincy

The twice-baked potato is Redden’s personal favorite, but the duck fat roasted potato elevates the humble spud to new heights. MEATS AND POTATOES

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PH OTO G R A PH Y BY C ATIE V I OX

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BE FRAPPE-Y

ooking for a refreshing afternoon pick-me-up after a long day at the office? Perhaps your sweet tooth just won’t stop nagging. No matter the occasion, we’ve got just the thing for you: the Ferrero Rocher Frappe from Bebo’s Artisan Burgers and Frappes. This cozy burger joint is known for premium ingredients and expertly crafted menu items. Made with real Ferrero Rocher candies, Nutella, coffee toffee, and chocolate syrup, this extraordinary frappe is perfectArtisan ly blended with milk, sugar, and lots of ice, then topped with whipped cream (of course!) BurgersBebo’s and Frappes, St., downtown, for the most decadent dessert. Bebo’s offers a variety of tasty frappes, but according to 29 E. Court(513) 381-4848, Chef Jeysie Torres, this one takes the cake…or should we say, chocolate. — M A R I E L L E T R O T T A bebosburger.com L

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DINING GUIDE CINCINNATI MAGAZINE’S

dining guide is compiled by our editors as a service to our readers. The magazine accepts no advertising or other consideration in exchange for a restaurant listing. The editors may add or delete restaurants based on their judgment. Because of space limitations, all

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

BOOMTOWN BISCUITS & WHISKEY

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

BROWN DOG CAFÉ

If you haven’t had a plate of Shawn McCoy’s design set in front of you, it’s about time. Many of the menu’s dishes show his knack for the plate as a palette. A trio of stout day boat diver scallops—exquisitely golden from pan searing—perch atop individual beds of uniformly diced butternut squash, fragments of boar bacon, and shavings of Brussels sprout. The eye for detail and contrasts of colors and textures belongs to someone who cares for food. 1000 Summit Place, Blue Ash, (513) 794-1610, browndogcafe.com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Mon–Fri, brunch and dinner Sat, brunch Sun. MCC, DS. $$

COZY’S CAFÉ & PUB

On a visit to England, Jan Collins discovered the “cozy” atmosphere of London restaurants built in historic houses. She brought that warm, comfortable feeling back to the United States in opening Cozy’s. Though the atmosphere in the restaurant is reminiscent of Collins’s London travels, the food remains proudly American. The produce in virtually every dish is fresh, seasonal, and ﬂavorful. ICON BY STOCK.ADOBE.COM

= Named a

Top 10 Best Restaurant March 2020.

The 12-hour pork shank stands out with its buttery grits and root vegetable hash, along with a portion of tender meat. And when it comes down to the classics, from the biscuits that open the meal to carrot cake at the end, Cozy’s does it right.

AMERICAN

Boomtown leans hard into the Gold Rush theme: prospector-style overall aprons on servers, bluegrass tunes humming, and rustic decor details. And the dense grub isn’t for the faint of heart. Arrive with an empty belly, ready for a carbo load. The biscuits are all they’re cracked up to be, and the gravy’s not playing around, either. Sample its biscuits and gravy styles with a gravy ﬂight. Or try The Yukon, an anytime breakfast sandwich, featuring fried chicken on par with the best the city has to offer. By the end of the meal, you’ll feel a little out of place without your own denim getup.

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

6440 Cincinnati Dayton Rd., Liberty Twp., (513) 644-9364, cozyscafeandpub.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat, brunch Sat & Sun. $$$

THE EAGLE OTR

SHOE-IN

For White Castle’s 101st birthday this month, PUMA and the restaurant chain are releasing the RS-Xs. The orange, tan, and brown athletic shoes are inspired by White Castle’s cheese sliders. Available at PUMA. com, Champs Sports, and Foot Locker, the burgerthemed sneakers retail at $120 a pair.

The revamped post office at 13th and Vine feels cozy but not claustrophobic, and it has distinguished itself with its stellar fried chicken. Even the white meat was pull-apart steamy, with just enough peppery batter to pack a piquant punch. Diners can order by the quarter, half, or whole bird—but whatever you do, don’t skimp on the sides. Bacon adds savory mystery to crisp corn, green beans, and edamame (not limas) in the succotash, and the crock of mac and cheese has the perfect proportion of sauce, noodle, and crumb topping. The Eagle OTR seems deceptively simple on the surface, but behind that simplicity is a secret recipe built on deep thought, skill, and love. 1342 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 802-5007, eaglerestaurant.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $

GREYHOUND TAVERN

Back in the streetcar days, this roughly 100-yearold roadhouse was at the end of the Dixie Highway line, where the cars turned around to head north. The place was called the Dixie Tea Room then, and they served ice cream. The fried chicken came along in the 1930s, and they’re still dishing it up today. Families and regulars alike pile in on Mondays and Tuesdays for the fried chicken dinner. While the juicy (never greasy) chicken with its lightly seasoned, crisp coating is the star, the side dishes—homemade biscuits, cole slaw, 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 Sat & Sun. MCC, DS. $$

99 AMERICAN 100 BARBECUE 100 CAJUN/CARIBBEAN 102 CHINESE 102 ECLECTIC 104 FRENCH 106 INDIAN 106 ITALIAN 107 JAPANESE 108 KOREAN 108 MEDITERRANEAN 109 MEXICAN 110 SEAFOOD 110 STEAKS 111 VIETNAMESE

GOOSE & ELDER

The third restaurant from chef Jose Salazar, Goose & Elder is a more everyday kind of joint compared to his others. The prices are lower, and most of the dishes, from burgers to grits, are familiar. Salazar’s menus have always hinted that the chef had a fondness for, well, junk food. But junk food is only junk if it is made thoughtlessly. Everything here is made with little twists, like the cumin-spiced potato chips and delicate ribbons of housemade cucumber pickles with a sweet rice wine vinegar. Even the fries, crinkle cut and served with “goose sauce,” a mildly spiced mayonnaise, are wonderfully addictive. The restaurant demonstrates that what we now consider “fast food” can be awfully good if someone makes it the old-fashioned, slow way. 1800 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 5798400, gooseandelder.com. Mon & Wed–Fri, dinner Mon & Wed–Sun, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC. $$

MIGHTY GOOD

With a kitchen full of students from the Findlay Culinary Training Program, this “meat and three” makes food good enough that everyone involved can hang their chef’s hats on. (Served in a small skillet so it stays hot and slightly creamy throughout the meal, the mac and cheese casserole would be the favorite dish at any church potluck.) At $11 for an entrée and three sides, Mighty Good offers one of the best values, not just in Over-the-Rhine, but in all of Greater Cincinnati. 1819 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 263-6893, mightygoodotr.com. Lunch and dinner Tues-Sat. MCC. $$

QUATMAN CAFÉ

The quintessential neighborhood dive, Quatman’s sits in the shadow of the Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center, serving up a classic bar burger. Look elsewhere if you like your burger with exotic toppings: This half-pound of grilled beef is served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle. Sometimes cheese. The no-frills theme is straightforward and appealing. A menu of standard sandwich fare and smooth mock turtle soup; beer on tap or soda in cans (no wine or liquor); and checkered tablecloths, serving

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WHERE TO EAT NOW

baskets, and plenty of kitsch is served daily. Peppered with regulars, families, political discussions, and the occasional fool, Quatman’s is far from fancy. But it is fun, fast, and delicious. 2434 Quatman Ave., Norwood, (513) 731-4370, quatmancafe.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MC, V. $

RED ROOST TAVERN At its best, Red Roost Tavern—located in the Hyatt Regency, downtown—meets its singular challenge with verve: offering a locally sourced sensibility to an increasingly demanding dining public while introducing out-of-town guests to unique Cincinnati foods. Take the goetta, rich pork capturing the earthiness of the steel-cut oats, served as a hash with sweet potatoes and poached eggs. The seasoning added a restrained, almost mysterious hint of black pepper. But the kitchen’s talent seems straightjacketed. Chefs thrive on instincts not covered by the ﬁve senses; restaurants thrive by taking careful risks. Red Roost seems to be struggling to ﬁnd its third eye, and sometimes the entrées don’t live up to their ambitions. 151 W. Fifth St., downtown, (513) 354-4025. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days. MCC,DS. $$$

THE SCHOOLHOUSE RESTAURANT An old flag stands in one corner and pictures of Abe Lincoln and the first George W. hang on the wall of this Civil War–era schoolhouse. The daily menu of familiar Midwestern comfort fare is written in letter-perfect cursive on the original chalkboard. Once you order from a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to your high school lunch lady, the elevated lazy Susan in the center of the table begins to fill up with individual bowls and baskets of corn bread, slaw, salad, mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and vegetables. The deal here is quantity. More mashed potatoes with your fried chicken? More corn bread with your baked ham? You don’t even have to raise your hand. 8031 Glendale-Milford Rd., Camp Dennison, (513) 8315753, theschoolhousecincinnati.com. Lunch Sun, dinner Fri–Sun. MCC, DS. $

SUGAR N’ SPICE This Paddock Hills diner, with a second location in Overthe-Rhine, has been dishing up wispy-thin pancakes and football-sized omelettes to Cincinnatians since FDR was signing new deals. Breakfast and lunch offerings mix oldhat classics like steak and eggs, corned beef hash, and basic burgers with funky iterations that draw on ethnic ingredients such as chorizo and tzatziki. Get here early if you don’t want to stand in line. 4381 Reading Rd., Paddock Hills; 1203 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 242-3521, eatsugarnspice.com, Breakfast and lunch seven days. MCC. $

SYMPHONY HOTEL & RESTAURANT Tucked into a West 14th Street Italianate directly around the corner from Music Hall, this place feels like a private dinner club. There’s a preferred by-reservation policy. Check the web site for the weekend’s five-course menu, a slate of “new American” dishes that changes monthly. You can see the reliance on local produce in the spring vegetable barley soup. Salads are interesting without being busy, and the sorbets are served as the third course palate cleanser. Main courses of almond-crusted mahimahi, flat-iron steak, and a vegetable lasagna hit all the right notes, and you can end with a sweet flourish if you choose the chocolate croissant bread pudding. 210 W. 14th St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 721-3353, symphonyhotel.com. Dinner Fri & Sat. $$

TANO BISTRO Gaetano Williams’s Loveland bistro is comfortable, with reasonably priced food and amenable service. The menu is tidy—25 or so dishes divided between appetizers, salads, and entrées, plus two or three specials—its flavor profile partially influenced by a childhood growing up

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in a third generation Italian family. Most of Tano Bistro’s main courses lean toward the comfortable side of American. For instance, Williams serves a stuffed salmon and potato-crusted chicken. The simple roast chicken is also worth a trip to Loveland, sweetly moist beneath its crisp bronze skin.

global influences, while the sides take flavors back to the country (try the creamy coleslaw, the house-made mac and cheese, and chili-spiced cornbread). The resaurant’s character shines through its decor, which includes hanging hockey memorabilia, pictures of public figures and tables made from real NBA courts.

204 W. Loveland Ave., Loveland, (513) 683-8266, foodbytano.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$$

2062 Riverside Dr., East End, (513) 281-4355, sinsaintsmoke.com. Lunch Sat & Sun, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

TELA BAR + KITCHEN Classically conceived but casually executed comfort food, including mini-Monte Cristo sandwiches with tangy housemade pimento cheese stuffed into sourdough bread and fried crisp, mac and cheese topped with a Mr. Pibb–braised pulled short rib, and steak and potatoes. Servers are slightly scattered, yet enthusiastic and friendly, with a good grasp of the beverage program. 1212 Springﬁeld Pke., Wyoming, (513) 821-8352, telabarandkitchen.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$

THE WILDFLOWER CAFÉ Wildflower Café is not the sort of place that tries to wow anyone with feats of inventiveness. Its formula is simple but satisfying: lots of mostly local meat and produce, a menu that continuously changes with available ingredients, a nice selection of wine and beer, and well-made, homey food. The small, focused menu has a classic American quality (salads, steaks, burgers) with enough surprises to keep things interesting. Many of the dishes are designed with open spaces to be filled with whatever is available in the kitchen that day, an advantage of an unfussy style. You don’t go to Wildflower expecting a certain kind of perfection; you accept that your favorite dish from last time might be made differently tonight, or no longer available. Like the farmhouse that Wildflower occupies, the imperfections are part of the charm. 207 E. Main St., Mason, (513) 492-7514, wildflowermason.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Fri. MCC. $$$

BARBECUE BEE’S BARBEQUE You’ll want to get to Bee’s Barbecue in Madisonville early if you want to avoid the line of friendly regulars. The restaurant’s smoker churns out a variety of meats—including brisket, pulled pork, ribs, turkey breast, and two kinds of sausage—so it’s easy to see why they keep coming back. If you enjoy the spicy grease that oozes out of a good chorizo, you’ll love the Cincinnati Hot Link, which tastes like the delicious love child of a chorizo and a hot mett. Word to the wise: Bee’s opens at 11 a.m. and closes when they run out of meat. Understandably, this doesn’t take long. 5910 Chandler St., Madisonville, (513) 561-2337, beesbarbecue.com. Lunch and dinner Wed–Sat. MCC. $

ELI’S BBQ Elias Leisring started building his pulled pork reputation under canopies at Findlay Market and Fountain Square in 2011. Leisring’s proper little ’cue shack along the river serves up ribs that are speaking-in-tongues good, some of the zazziest jalapeño cheese grits north of the MasonDixon line, and browned mashed potatoes that would make any short order cook diner-proud. The small no-frills restaurant—packed cheek-by-jowl most nights—feels like it’s been there a lifetime, with customers dropping vinyl on the turntable, dogs romping in the side yard, and picnic tables crowded with diners. The hooch is bring-your-own, and the barbecue is bona ﬁde. 3313 Riverside Dr., East End, (513) 533-1957, elisbarbeque.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $

SINNERS & SAINTS TAVERN You won’t leave this Texas smokehouse/sports bar hungry. From the brisket—served with Texas BBQ sauce, white bread, and pickles, or on toasted sourdough—to the chicken thighs, you can’t go wrong with these richly smoked ﬂavors. Several dishes, like the Korean style pork belly, the pulled pork naan tacos, and Bigos stew, draw on

WALT’S HITCHING POST A Northern Kentucky institution returns. Roughly 750 pounds of ribs per week are pit-ﬁred in a small building in front of the restaurant, with a smaller dedicated smoker out back for brisket and chicken. Walt’s ribs begin with several hours in the smokehouse and then are quick-seared at the time of service. This hybrid method takes advantage of the leaner nature of the baby-back ribs they prefer to use. Each rib had a just-right tooth to it where soft ﬂesh peeled away from the bone. One hidden treasure: Walt’s housemade tomato and garlic dressing. Slightly thicker than a vinaigrette yet unwilling to overwhelm a plate of greens, the two key elements play well together. 3300 Madison Pke., Ft. Wright, (859) 360-2222, waltshitchingpost.com. Dinner seven days. MCC. $$

CAJUN/ CARIBBEAN BREWRIVER CREOLE More than 800 miles from New Orleans, this may be as close as you can get to the real deal here in your own backyard. The menu fully leans into Chef Michael Shields’s penchant for cuisine from the Crescent City. His six years of training under NOLA’s own Emeril Lagasse comes through in a scratch kitchen menu that spans a range of the city’s classics. The enormous shrimp and oyster po’ boys—the former protein fried in a light and crispy beer batter and the latter in a hearty cornmeal breading—are served on ﬂuffy French bread loaves and dressed with lightly spicy rémoulades. The jambalaya packs all the heat of a late summer day in the French Quarter without masking a hint of its satisfying ﬂavors. Paired with a Sazerac and nightly live jazz, you may just feel tempted to start a second line. 4632 Eastern Ave., Linwood, (513) 861-2484, brewrivercreolekitchen.com. Dinner Tues–Sun, brunch and lunch Sat & Sun. MCC. $

SWAMPWATER GRILL At first blush, this place is a dive where homesick Cajuns can find a good pile of jambalaya. But thoughtful details like draft Abita Root Beer and char-grilled Gulf Coast oysters on the half shell signal its ambition. Bayou standards like jambalaya, gumbo, and fried seafood also make an appearance. But the extensive menu also features amped up pub-style items for those who may be squeamish about crawfish tails (which can be added to just about anything on the menu). You’ll also find a roundup of oyster, shrimp, and catfish Po’Boys, as well as a selection of hardwoodsmoked meats. 3742 Kellogg Ave., East End, (513) 834-7067, swampwatergrill.com. Lunch and dinner Wed–Sun, brunch Fri–Sun. MCC. $$

KNOTTY PINE ON THE BAYOU The Pine serves some of the best Louisiana home-style food you’ll find this far north of New Orleans. Taste the fried catfish filets with their peppery crust, or the garlic sauteed shrimp with smoky greens on the side, and you’ll understand why it’s called soul food. Between March and June, it’s crawfish season. Get them boiled and heaped high on a platter or in a superb crawfish etouffee. But the rockin’ gumbo—a thick, murky brew of andouille sausage, chicken, and vegetables—serves the best roundhouse punch all year round. As soon as you inhale the bouquet and take that first bite, you realize why Cajun style food is considered a high art form and a serious pleasure. And you’ll start planning your return trip. 6302 Licking Pke., Cold Spring, (859) 781-2200, theknottypineonthebayou.com. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

PROMOTION

15 MINUTES

SAVOR CINCINNATI

SAVOR CINCINNATI SERVED FOUR NIGHTS OF FUN, FINE FOOD, AND FUND-RAISING AT THE CINCINNATI CLUB. In April, hundreds of guests gathered to enjoy the very best of the Cincinnati restaurant scene. Eight local chefs worked together to prepare multiple course meals with wine pairings. We also celebrated the city’s giving spirit by partnering with four local nonprofits and raised funds for one each night. Thank you to all of our sponsors and partners, who made this dining series a phenomenal success! THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Presenting Sponsors: Kroger, The Cincinnati Club, McHale’s Catering Major Sponsors: FIJI Water, Maker’s Mark, KMK Law, Mixicles, La Brea Bakery, Nothing Bundt Cakes

PHOTOGRAPHS BY HARTONG DIGITAL MEDIA

WHERE TO EAT NOW

CHINESE AMERASIA A sense of energetic fun defines this tiny Chinese spot with a robust beer list. The glossy paper menu depicts Master Chef Rich Chu as a “Kung Food” master fighting the evil fast-food villain with dishes like “fly rice,” “Brocco-Lee,” and “Big Bird’s Nest.” Freshness rules. Pot stickers, dumplings, and wontons are hand-shaped. The Dragon’s Breath wontons will invade your dreams. Seasoned ground pork, onion, and cilantro meatballs are wrapped in egg dough, wok simmered, and topped with thick, spicy red pepper sauce and fresh cilantro. Noodles are clearly Chef Chu’s specialty, with zonxon (a tangle of thin noodles, finely chopped pork, tofu, and mushrooms cloaked in spicy dark sauce and crowned with peanuts and cilantro) and Matt Chu’s Special (shaved rice noodle, fried chicken, and seasonal vegetables in gingery white sauce) topping the menu’s flavor charts. 521 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 261-6121 , amerasia.carry-out.com. Lunch Sun–Fri, dinner seven days. MCC. $

GREAT TANG

WHAT A TRIP

Several Over-theRhine restaurants, including Losanti and Pepp & Dolores, were recently mentioned in a Harper’s Bazaar article titled “A Sublime Road Trip Through the Heart of the Midwest.” The piece covers “where to go, what to do, and what to eat” in the Midwest’s “ﬂyover” states.

harpersbazaar.com

Although the (24-page!) menu features classic dishes in every style, the specialty at Great Tang is the reﬁned coastal cuisine of Zhejiang. If you like spice, you can get still the Sichuanese and Hunanese classics. One dish will hint at the surprises in store for people who are mainly used to Chinese takeout: the lovely Xian cold noodle. The dish is exquisitely layered: the creamy and nutty undertone of sesame paste, mixed with notes of tang and spice, topped with the bright pop of cilantro. The combination of textures is also delightful, with crunches of cucumber and sprouted mung and the softness of the ﬂat noodles. And that tofu! It was wonderfully meaty, with dense layers, substantial and satisfying as a counterpart to the noodles. Be as brave as you are in the mood to be. Ask for some suggestions and prepare to be astonished. 7340 Kingsgate Way, West Chester, (513) 847-6097, greattangohio.com. Lunch and dinner Wed–Mon, dim sum Sat & Sun. MCC. $$

rice at the bottom of the stone bowl, and the accompanying banchan were soothing yet flavorful, especially the strips of lightly pickled cucumber. Even dishes like a Malaysian goat stew resonated with rich, original flavors. 8300 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, (513) 898-1833, thepacific.kitchen. Lunch and dinner seven days; dim sum Sat & Sun. MCC. $$

SICHUAN BISTRO CHINESE GOURMET Like many Chinese restaurants that cater to both mainstream American and Chinese palates, this strip mall gem uses two menus. The real story here is found in dishes of pungent multi-layered ﬂavors that set your mouth ablaze with fermented peppers and fresh chilies and then just as quickly cool it down with the devilish, numbing sensation of hua jiao, Sichuan pepper. Its numbing effect is subtle at ﬁrst: appetizers of cold sliced beef and tripe, as well as slices of pork belly with a profusion of minced garlic, lean toward the hot and sweet; mapo tofu freckled with tiny fermented black beans and scallions, and pork with pickled red peppers and strips of ginger root, progress from sweet to pungent to hot to salty—in that order. Alternated with cooling dishes—nibbles of rice, a verdant mound of baby bok choy stir-fried with a shovelful of garlic, refreshing spinach wilted in ginger sauce, a simply sensational tea-smoked duck—the effect is momentarily tempered. 7888 S. Mason Montgomery Rd., Mason, (513) 770-3123, sichuanbistro.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MCC, DS. $$

UNCLE YIP’S Long before sushi somehow un-disgusted itself to the Western World, China had houses of dim sum. Uncle Yip’s valiantly upholds that tradition in Evendale. This is a traditional dim sum house with all manner of exotic dumplings, including shark ﬁn or beef tripe with ginger and onion. As for the seafood part of the restaurant’s full name, Uncle Yip has most everything the sea has to offer, from lobster to mussels. The menu has more than 260 items, so you’ll ﬁnd a range of favorites, from moo goo gai pan to rock salt frog legs. 10736 Reading Rd., Evendale, (513) 733-8484, uncleyips.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, discount for cash. $$

ORIENTAL WOK This is the restaurant of your childhood memories: the showy Las Vegas-meets-China decor, the ebulliently comedic host, the chop sueys, chow meins, and crab rangoons that have never met a crab. But behind the giant elephant tusk entryway and past the goldfish ponds and fountains is the genuine hospitality and warmth of the Wong family, service worthy of the finest dining establishments, and some very good food that’s easy on the palate. Best are the fresh fish: salmon, sea bass, and halibut steamed, grilled, or flash fried in a wok, needing little more than the ginger–green onion sauce that accompanies them. Even the chicken lo mein is good. It may not be provocative, but not everyone wants to eat blazing frogs in a hot pot. 317 Buttermilk Pke., Ft. Mitchell, (859) 331-3000; 2444 Madison Rd., Hyde Park, (513) 871-6888, orientalwok.com. Lunch Mon–Fri (Ft. Mitchell; buffet Sun 11–2:30), lunch Tues–Sat (Hyde Park), dinner Mon–Sat (Ft. Mitchell) dinner Tues–Sun (Hyde Park). MCC. $$

THE PACIFIC KITCHEN The monster of a menu can be dizzying. Ease in with some top-notch Korean Fried Chicken. These slightly bubbly, shatter-crisp wings are painted with a thin gochujang pepper sauce (a foil to the fat). It takes 24 hours to prep the Cantonese duck, between a honey-vinegar brine to dry the skin, a marinade of star anise, bean paste, and soy within the re-sealed cavity, and the crispy convection oven ﬁnish. Dolsot bibimbap had plenty of crispy

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ECLECTIC 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. New offerings like the duck leg confit, with spicy-sour harissa flavors, firm-tender butternut squash, and perfectly made couscous, feel just as accomplished as old favorites like the falafel, beautifully moist and crumbly with a bright parsley interior. The restaurant is always watching for what works and what will truly satisfy, ready to sacrifice the superficially interesting in favor of the essential 1214 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 421-4040, abigailstreet.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

Top 10

BOUQUET RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR

Normally diners aren’t pleased when a restaurant runs out of something. At Bouquet, though,

surprise changes to the menu are simply a sign of integrity. Chef-owner Stephen Williams is serious about using seasonal ingredients, and if the ﬁgs have run out or there is no more chicken from a local farm, so be it. The ﬂavors at Bouquet are about doing justice to what’s available. Preparations are unfussy, complexity coming from within the vegetables and proteins themselves. A tomato salad—wonderfully fresh and vibrant, so you know the tomatoes have just come off a nearby vine—is dressed with chopped shiso, a crimson herb that tastes like a mysterious combination of mint and cilantro. This determination to make something delicious out of what’s on hand, to embrace limitations, gives the food at Bouquet a rustic, soulful quality. 519 Main St., Covington, (859) 491-7777, bouquetrestaurant.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

CHÉ This Walnut Street spot draws on authentic Argentine recipes, including the empanadas. Choose from more than a dozen different crispy, perfectly cinched dough pockets, with ﬁllings ranging from traditional (a mixture of cumin-spiced beef, egg, and olives) to experimental (mushrooms, feta, green onion, and mozzarella). There are also six different dipping sauces to choose from, but you need not stray from the house chimichurri. It complements practically every item on the menu, but particularly the grilled meats, another Argentinian staple. Marinated beef skewers and sausages are cooked on an open-ﬂame grill, imparting welcome bits of bitter char to the juicy meat. 1342 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 3458838, checincinnati.com. Lunch Tues–Sun , dinner seven days, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC. $$

DEAR RESTAURANT & BUTCHERY The concept behind the name for Dear is that the restaurant is a kind of love letter from the team to the guests, to Hyde Park, and to Cincinnati. Occupying the old Teller’s spot on Hyde Park Square, it’s two establishments in one. One side is a full-service butchery that sells housemade sausages, wine, coffee, sandwiches, and take-andbake offerings and the other is a grand two-story restaurant. Animals, from pigs to Wagyu beef, arrive bi-weekly and are broken down in house, and turned into charcuterie and other cuts that make it into most of Dear’s dishes. The menu is small and focused, with dishes changing weekly and seasonally. This variability means the restaurant is serious about letting the availability of the best ingredients dictate what comes out. And if the dishes turn out to be as good as the sugo, with its tender gnocchi-like dumplings and deliciously crumbly house-made pork sausage, they can serve us whatever they want. 2710 Erie Ave., Hyde Park, (513) 321-2710, dear-restaurant.com. Dinner Wed–Sat, brunch Sun. MCC. $$$

THE GOVERNOR This Milford restaurant playfully elevates diner classics. Breakfast is available all day so if you’re looking to greet the morning with decadence, try the ricotta toast, a thick slab of brioche toast smothered in ricotta and fresh, seasonal jams. Sandwiches also get an inventive twist here. The “Governor Tso’s chicken”—a crispy fried chicken breast glazed with a General Tso’s–inspired sauce, topped with coleslaw and served on a toasted sesame seed bun—is a gigantic, happy mess of a sandwich, but the sweet glaze faintly evokes the namesake “General” while letting the sublimely fried chicken lead the charge. Order a side of crinkle cut fries and ask for the housemade Maple Thousand Island dipping sauce. (You’ll thank us later.) 231 Main St., Milford, (513) 239-8298, governordiner.com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days. Brunch and lunch Sun. MCC. $ ICON BY STOCK.ADOBE.COM

RED, WHITE & SMOOTH M A D E W I T H W A T E R . ENR ICHED B Y PA CIFIC MINER A L S

WHERE TO EAT NOW

THE LITTLEFIELD Inside a modest 1,500 square-foot space on Spring Grove, just south of Hamilton Avenue, at least 70-odd bourbons behind the bar drive this little restaurant’s philosophy. The menu is meant to be limited, the better to support and celebrate the bottled flavors up front. There are surprises: a faint hint of curry powder deepens the moody cauliflower fritters; skewered golf-balls of mild, peppery ground lamb get a faint crust from the final sear. You’ll also want to order the smoked pork katsu. Panko crusted cutlets of pork, topped with tonkatsu sauce, served with sesame ginger slaw and kewpie mayo. The signature chicken and corn chowder is exactly what you need on a cold winter’s day. 3934 Spring Grove Ave., Northside, (513) 386-7570, littlefieldns.com. Lunch Mon–Sat, dinner seven days, brunch Sun. V, MC. $

MELT REVIVAL In this Northside sandwich joint, the restaurant’s name pretty much dictates what you should get. Diners have their choice of sandwiches, including the vegetarian cheesesteak—seitan (a meat substitute) topped with roasted onions, peppers, and provolone—and the J.L.R. Burger, a black bean or veggie patty served with cheese, tomato, lettuce and housemade vegan mayo. For those who require meat in their meals, try the verde chicken melt: juicy pieces of chicken intermingle with pesto, zucchini, and provolone. Not sure you’ll want a whole sandwich? Try one of the halvesies, a half-salad, half-soup selection popular with the lunch crowd. 4100 Hamilton Ave., Northside, (513) 818-8951, meltrevival.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Fri, breakfast, lunch, and dinner Sat, brunch Sun. MCC, DS. $ Top 10

MITA’S

It’s ﬁtting that chef Jose Salazar named this restaurant after his grandmother, because there is something deeply homey about the food at Mita’s. With a focus on Spanish tapas, it always feels, in the best possible way, like elevated home cooking. Its sophistication is modestly concealed. The ﬂavors are bold and direct, whether the smoky depths of the chimichurri rojo on skewers of grilled chicken or the intensely bright sourness of the pozole verde. In dishes like the mushroom soup, the chef hits every register: the acid of red piquillo peppers to balance the earthy mushrooms, the crisp fried leeks against the delicately creamy soup. But what mainly comes through is the warm-hearted affection a grandmother might have put into a meal for a beloved grandson. It’s the kind of big hug everyone needs from time to time. 501 Race St., downtown, (513) 421-6482, mitas.co. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC. $$$

NICHOLSON’S To remind local diners that they were here before those young dog-toting punks with their exposed brick and crafty ales in Over-the-Rhine, Nicholson’s branded themselves Cincinnati’s “ﬁrst and ﬁnest gastropub,” and revamped the menu to include plenty of snacks and small plates for grazing, and not-quite-brawny, straightforward sandwiches and main dishes. Try the oatmeal crusted trout, bowl of cock-a-leekie soup, or check out the cranberry-apple or Scottish BBQ style burgers or the turkey burger with apple chutney. And the bar’s clubby intimacy makes it easy to belly up and enjoy their impressive collection of single malts or a Scottish stout. 625 Walnut St., downtown, (513) 564-9111, nicholsonspub.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $$

PAMPAS Much like American food, Argentine cuisine is a melting pot shaped by immigration, particularly from Italy and Germany, and with plenty of meat on the plate. You see that mix in the menu, but Pampas puts parrillada, the Argentine method of cooking over an open flame, front and center. The chimichurri appears throughout the menu, and does wonders wherever it goes. Spicy, tart, and filled with the flavor of oregano, it wakes up the marinated skirt steak.

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Magniﬁcent desserts deserve special mention. Cabernet pears are cooked in a complex spiced wine reduction that beautifully sets off the sweetness of the fruit. A cinnamon crumble adds texture and a touch of vanilla whipped cream rounds out the whole dish. 2036 Madison Rd., O’Bryonville, (513) 321-0863, pampascincinnati.com. Brunch Sun, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

PLEASANTRY With only 40 seats inside, Daniel Souder and Joanna Kirkendall’s snug but spare OTR gem—they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner like a true neighborhood spot—features an engaging wine program aimed at broadening your palate alongside small plates that are equally ambitious. Classic technique and fresh produce anchor an approachable menu—“everything” biscuits with cured salmon, burgers, and chicken salad sandwiches are available at lunch, and the cauliflower with sambal is a comforting mash-up of a rich cauliflower-and-coconut-cream schmear topped with a head of sambal-roasted cauliflower, grapefruit segments, toasted cashews, and cilantro. This is not to say that the proteins aren’t something special. Traditionally a much less expensive cut, the small hanger steak was decidedly tender, served with braised cippolini onions and sauteed mushrooms. 118 W. 15th St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 381-1969, pleasantryotr.com. Dinner Tues–Sat, brunch Fri–Sun. MCC. $

SACRED BEAST Sacred Beast advertises itself as a kind of upscale diner, but the real gems are the oddball dishes that don’t quite fit the diner mold. The menu can be disorienting in its eclecticism: foie gras torchon is next to lobster poutine, and a king salmon is next to a diner breakfast and deviled eggs. Winners are scattered throughout the menu in every category. On the cocktail list, the Covington Iced Tea, a lemon and coffee concoction made with cold brew, San Pellegrino, and vodka is oddly satisfying. The service is good, and there is some flair about the place—including vintage touches, from the facsimile reel-to-reel audio system to the mostly classic cocktails—even within its rather chilly industrial design. In short, go for the late night grub; stay for the elegant, shareable twists on classic snacks. 1437 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 213-2864, sacredbeastdiner.com. Lunch, dinner, and late night seven days. MCC. $$

THE STANDARD Owners Paul Weckman and Emily Wolff offer a pared down menu of six small plates (if you include the fries) and ﬁve mains. It’s simple but satisfying, with an interesting PanAsian street food vibe. The two kinds of satay (particularly the lemongrass chicken) and the fried honey sriracha tenders, with an excellent housemade bread-and-butter pickle, are the highlights. In terms of drinks, try the Hot Rod, which has the ﬂavor of kimchi captured in a drink. There is a gochujang (salty, fermented Korean chile paste) simple syrup and a rim of Korean pepper—and the result is wonderful and unique. 434 Main St., Covington, (859) 360-0731, facebook. com/thestandardcov. Dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $

THE SUMMIT This “laboratory restaurant” staffed by Midwest Culinary Institute students features a limited but eclectic menu. Soft shell crab goes Latin with black beans, avocado, lime, and chiles. Spanish mackerel is given a Mediterranean twist with yogurt, cucumbers, pickled red onion, and chickpeas. A more traditional pasta dish of hand cut pappardelle with prosciutto, peas, and Parmesan makes an appearance alongside a Kurabota (the pork equivalent of Kobe beef) “hot dog.” Some dishes work better than others: There is redemption in a rustic combination of morels with cream, shallots, and tangy, smoky Idiazábal sheep’s milk cheese. The complex ﬂavor of earth, wood, and char makes this a classic dish for enjoying, not for analyzing. That’s exactly what culinary students should be striving for. 3520 Central Parkway, Clifton, (513) 569-4980, midwestculinary.com. Dinner Thurs–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

20 BRIX Paul Barraco mixes Mediterranean influences with homespun choices, and he comes up with some marvelous food. Lamb meatballs with melted onions and romesco sauce are sweet and peppery, and their simplicity partners well with a lush Zinfandel. And his chicken and waffles could inspire you to regularly take a solo seat at the bar. The excellent wine list, arranged by flavor profiles within the varietals, features dozens of varieties by the glass in five-ounce or two-ounce pours, which makes it easy to try several. 101 Main St., Milford, (513) 831-2749, 20brix.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS, DC. $$

TERANGA West African cuisine consists of mostly simple, home-style dishes of stews and grilled lamb with just enough of the exotic to offer a glimpse of another culture. Be prepared for a few stimulating sights and ﬂavors that warm from within. An entire grilled tilapia—head and all—in a peppery citrus marinade and served on plantains with a side of Dijon-coated cooked onions is interesting enough to pique foodie interest without overwhelming the moderate eater. Stews of lamb or chicken with vegetables and rice are a milder bet, and Morrocan-style couscous with vegetables and mustard sauce accompanies most items. The dining room atmosphere is extremely modest with most of the action coming from the constant stream of carryout orders. 8438 Vine St., Hartwell, (513) 821-1300, terangacinci. com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC. $

FRENCH CHEZ RENÉE FRENCH BISTROT Based on American stereotypes of French food—that it’s elaborate, elitist, and expensive—one might expect Chez Renee to fall on the chichi side. Instead, it’s elegant in an everyday way, operating on the principle that it is better to excel at simplicity than to badly execute something complicated. The formula is not complex: Simple ingredients, generally fresh and from nearby, prepared without much fuss. Asparagus is beautifully roasted and perfectly salted, and the quiche Lorraine (yes, the old standby) has a nice, ﬁrm texture, and a ﬁne balance of bacon, mushrooms, and oignons (to quote the menu, which is a charming hodgepodge of French and English). This is solid, tasty food, both approachable and well executed. It’s well on its way to becoming, as a good bistrot should be, a neighborhood institution. 233 Main St., Milford, (513) 428-0454, chezreneefrenchbistrot.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$

FRENCH CRUST Located in the old Globe Furniture building at the corner of Elm and Elder Streets, this Jean-Robert de Cavel creation offers French fare in the heart of Over-theRhine. Swing by for lunch and have a quiche Lorraine (French Crust’s quiches are unrivaled in our humble opinion) and an avocado and shrimp salad, or opt for a more hearty entree—like bouillabaisse or cassoulet— for dinner. If you’re an early bird, a Croque Monsieur (sunny side up egg) is a great way to start the day. 1801 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 455-3720, frenchcrustcafe.com. Breakfast and lunch Wed–Sun, dinner Thurs–Sun. MCC. $$

LE BAR A BOEUF Jean-Robert de Cavel’s upscale alterna-burger-shack features bifteck haché, ground beef patties that are a mainstay of French family dinners, according to de Cavel. His “Les Ground Meat” is available in beef, Wagyu beef, bison, lamb, and ﬁsh (a blend of albacore tuna and salmon). Portions are eight ounces, taller than a typical burger, and seared on the kitchen’s iron griddle. It’s easy to turn many of the generously portioned appetizers into dinner. Pair the open-faced beef tongue “French Dip” sandwich with a spinach salad and you’ll have one of the best choices in the house. Or go for mac-and-cheese. The lobster mac always sounds lush, but do consider the humble beef cheek version, enlivened by a touch of truffle oil, instead. 2200 Victory Pkwy., East Walnut Hills, (513) 751-2333, barboeuf.com. Dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$

WHERE TO EAT NOW

INDIAN AMMA’S KITCHEN

Muthu “Kumar” Muthiah serves traditional southern Indian and Indo-Chinese vegetarian cuisine, but with a sizable Orthodox Jewish community nearby, Muthia saw an opportunity: If he was going to cook vegetarian, why not also make it kosher? Muthiah prepares every item— from the addictively crunchy gobhi Manchurian, a spicy Chinese cauliﬂower dish, to the lemon pickle, tamarind, and mint sauces—entirely from scratch under the careful eye of Rabbi Michoel Stern. Always 80 percent vegan, the daily lunch buffet is 100 percent animal-product-free on Wednesdays. Tuck into a warm and savory channa masala (spiced chickpeas) or malai kofta (vegetable dumplings in tomato sauce) from the curry menu. Or tear into a crispy, two-foot diameter dosa (chickpea ﬂour crepe) stuffed with spiced onions and potatoes. 7633 Reading Rd., Roselawn, (513) 821-2021, ammaskitchen.com. Lunch buffet seven days (all-vegan on Wed), dinner seven days. MC, V, DS. $

BOMBAY BRAZIER

Indian food in America is hard to judge, because whether coming from the kitchen of a takeout joint or from a nicer establishment, the food will rarely taste all that different. It will gener-

ally be some twist on Punjabi cuisine. Bombay Brazier does it just right. Chef Rip Sidhu could serve his dal tadka in India, along with several other extraordinary dishes, and still do a roaring business—and this is not something that can be said of most Indian establishments in America. Try the pappadi chaat, a common Indian street food rarely found on American menus, and you will see what sets this place apart. They do everything the way it is supposed to be done, from the dusting of kala namak (a pungent black rock salt) on the fried crisps to the mixture of tamarind and mint chutneys on the chopped onion, tomatoes, and chickpeas—having this dish properly made is balm to the soul of a homesick immigrant, and fresh treasure for any American lover of this cuisine. 12140 Royal Point Dr., Mason, (513) 794-0000, bombaybraziercincy.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC. $$$

I TA L I A N BETTA’S ITALIAN OVEN

This Italian place hits the spot on all levels. It’s casual—we felt at home in jeans and a T-shirt—but not so casual to rule it out as a date-night spot. It’s friendly, with a staff that stays on top of reﬁlling that Morretti La Rossa beer. And best of all, the food is amazing (especially for the price). We ranked their pizza the best in the city. Dubious? Their pizza Margherita will make a believer out of you. Their lasagna, spaghetti, and eggplant Parmesan will have you crying Mama Mia and other Italian-sounding phrases. Their dessert options (Cannoli! Tiramisu! Amaretto cream cake!) are all homemade, and delicious to the very last bite. 3764 Montgomery Rd., Norwood, (513) 6316836. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Mon–Sat. MC, V. $$

BRIJ MOHAN

Order at the counter the way you might at a fast food joint, except the shakes come in mango and there’s no super-sizing your mint lassi. The saag, full of cream in most northern Indian restaurants, is as intensely ﬂavored as collard greens in the Deep South—real Punjabi soul food. Tarka dal is spectacular here, the black lentils smoky from charred tomatoes and onions, and the pani puri, hollow fried shells into which you spoon a peppery cold broth, burst with tart cool crunch. Follow the spice with soothing ras malai, freshly made cheese simmered in thick almondﬂavored milk, cooled and sprinkled with crushed pistachios. 11259 Reading Rd., Sharonville, (513) 7694549, brijmohancincinnati.com. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MC, V, DC. $

NICOLA’S

Chef/Restaurateur Cristian Pietoso carries on the legacy of his father, Nicola, as the elder Pietoso’s Over-the-Rhine eatery celebrates 25 years in business. Nicola’s has entered a new era of exuberant creativity under the leadership of chef Jack Hemmer. You can still get the old Italian classics, and they’ll be as good as ever, but the rest of the menu has blossomed into a freewheeling tour of modern American cuisine. Any establishment paying this level of attention to detail—from the candied slice of blood orange on the mascarpone cheesecake to the staff’s wine knowledge—is going to put out special meals. Rarely have humble insalate been so intricately delicious, between the perfectly nested ribbons of beets in the pickled beet salad or the balance Top 10

GIVING BACK

Chick’nCone recently partnered with the charitable giving app GiftAMeal to offer meals to regional food banks. Customers participate by downloading the app, selecting one of Ohio’s 11 Chick’nCone locations, and taking a photo of their purchase. The chain then donates a meal’s worth of groceries to a neighborhood pantry.

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of bitterness, funkiness, and creaminess in the endive and Gorgonzola salad. Order an old favorite, by all means, but make sure you try something new, too. 1420 Sycamore St., Pendleton, (513) 721-6200, nicolasotr.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC, DS. $$$

PADRINO

This sister restaurant to 20 Brix is also owned and operated by the Thomas family and their superstar Executive Chef Paul Barraco, who brings his passion for the slow food movement to the Padrino menu. Billed as “Italian comfort food,” Padrino offers the classics (like lasagna and chicken carbonara) plus hoagies and meatball sliders, an impressive wine list, seasonal martinis, and a decadent signature appetizer—garlic rolls, doughy buns smothered in olive oil and garlic. Best of all, Barraco’s pizza sauce, which is comprised of roasted tomatoes and basil, is so garden-fresh that one can’t help but wonder: If this is real pizza, what have we been eating all these years?

SUBITO

KIKI

311 Pike St., downtown, (513) 621-4500, thelytleparkhotel.com/dining/subito. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days. MCC. $$

5932 Hamilton Ave., College Hill, (513) 541-0381, kikicincinnati.com. Lunch (carryout only) and dinner Thurs–Sun. MCC. $

Focusing on Northern Italian cuisine, Subito carves out its own worthwhile place in the landscape. Most of the items on the menu—from pizza to risotto to various pastas—will be familiar, but there are delightful surprises, like the vegan torta di ceci. At the base of the dish is a light, ﬂaky farinata—a griddled pancake made out of chickpea ﬂour. Topped with an herbed tofu ricotta, and covered with roasted ribbons of beet and carrot, the whole dish is rounded out with a touch of astringent tartness from preserved lemon oil. Everything at Subito is done with intelligence and a light touch.

Kiki started as a pop-up at Northside Yacht Club, then leapt into brick-and-mortar life in College Hill. Your best bet here is to share plates, or simply order too much, starting with the shishito buono, a piled-high plate of roasted shishito peppers tossed in shaved parmesan and bagna cauda, a warm, rich blend of garlic and anchovies. Add the karaage fried chicken, with the Jordy mayo and the pepe meshi, conﬁt chicken on spaghetti and rice that somehow works. And, yes, the ramen, too. The shio features pork belly and tea-marinated soft-boiled egg, but the kimchi subs in tofu and its namesake cabbage for the meat.

MEI

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

You don’t go just anywhere to dine on uni sashimi (sea urchin) or tanshio (thinly sliced charcoal-grilled beef tongue). Don’t miss the rich and meaty chyu toro (fatty big-eye tuna), or the pucker-inducing umeshiso maki (pickled plum paste and shiso leaf roll). Noodles are also well represented, with udon, soba, or ramen options available. And don’t forget to ask about the specials; owners Ken and Keiko Ando always have something new, be it oysters, pork belly, or steamed monkfish liver, a Japanese delicacy that you’ll be hard-pressed to find in any of those Hyde Park pan-Asian wannabes. The only thing you won’t find here is sake, or any other alcohol. Bring your own, or stick to the nutty and outright addicting barley tea.

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

118 E. Sixth St., downtown, (513) 977-6886, sottocincinnati.com. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$

5889 Pfeiffer Rd., Blue Ash, (513) 791-8687, andojapaneserestaurant.com. Lunch Tues & Thurs, dinner Tues–Sat. MCC. $$$

8608 Market Place Lane, Montgomery, (513) 891-6880, meijapaneserestaurant.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$

J A PA N E S E

111 Main St., Milford, (513) 965-0100, padrinoitalian. com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$

Top 10

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WHERE TO EAT NOW ZUNDO RAMEN & DONBURI

A stark contrast to Styrofoam cup soup, chef Han Lin’s ramens are a deep and exciting branch of cuisine, capable of subtlety, variation, and depth. The simplicity of the dish’s name hides a world of complexity. Zundo uses the traditional Japanese building blocks of ﬂavor—soy sauce, miso, sake, mirin—to create something freewheeling and time-tested. Bowls of ramen come with a marinated softboiled egg half, roast pork, green onion, and a healthy serving of noodles. Each has a distinct identity, like the milky richness of the tonkotsu, the rich and buttery miso, or the light and faintly sweet shoyu ramen. A transformative add-in is the mayu, or black garlic oil. Dripped on top of one of the subtler broths, it adds a deep, mushroom-y richness, with the hint of burned ﬂavor that makes barbecue so good. 220 W. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 975-0706, zundootr.com. Lunch Tues–Sun. MCC. $$

KOREAN HARU

After the closing of Sung Korean Bistro, Haru is a welcome addition to the downtown scene. Dishes are served along with the usual Korean accompaniment of pickles, kimchi, fish cakes, and other mysteriously delicious dainties. A favorite is the japchae, a traditional dish sporting silky sweet potato noodles with sesame-andgarlic sauce, matchsticks of assorted crisp vegetables, and behind it all a wonderful smokiness that pervades

the whole meal. The accompanying pot of gochujang, a fermented Korean chili paste, adds its own sweet and spicy note. The result is a homey, soulful, and satisfying taste that appeals even to those who’ve never eaten a bite of Korean food before. 628 Vine St., downtown, (513) 381-0947, harucincy. com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC. $$

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

RIVERSIDE KOREAN RESTAURANT

Revered for their medicinal properties, the dinner-sized soups jo gi mae un tang (with its red pepper, garlic, and ginger, crowded with nuggets of fish, tofu, and vegetables) and sam gae tang (a whole Cornish hen submerged in its own juices and plumped with sticky rice and ginseng, dried red dates, and pine nuts) will leave your eyes glistening and your brow beaded with sweat. They’re a detox for your overindulgence, rejuvenation for when you’re feeling under the weather. Expect crowds on weekends. Expect too, that dozens of them have come for dolsot bibimbap, the hot stone pots filled with layers of rice, vegetables, meat or tofu, egg, and chili paste. Characterized by its electric color and addictive flavors, Riverside Korean’s version is a captivating bowl of heaven. 512 Madison Ave., Covington, (859) 291-1484, riversidekoreanrestaurant.com. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$

MEDITERRANEAN ANDY’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILLE

onion and green pepper turned sweet and wet in the heat, skewers of marinated and charbroiled chicken perched on rice too generous for its plate. Co-owner Andy Hajjar mans his station at the end of the bar, smoking a hookah pipe that ﬁlls the air with the sweet smell of ﬂavored tobacco, while the friendly but hurried staff hustles through.

In this lively joint with a burnished summer lodge interior of wood and stone, even the food is unrestrained: roughcut chunks of charbroiled beef tenderloin, big slices of

CAFÉ MEDITERRANEAN

Chef-driven Middle Eastern cuisine leans heavily on Turkish tradition here. The baba ghanoush uses seared eggplant, which adds a pleasant smokiness to the final product. Börek is described as a “Turkish Egg Roll,” wrapping feta and fresh and dried herbs into phyllo dough, and frying it lightly to brittle flakiness. The pastry arrives atop a vivid cherry tomato marmalade, which adds a welcome dimension of barely sweet fruitiness. While there is a smooth, simple hummus on the menu, you should go for the classic sucuklu hummus, which is spiked with sujuk, a common beef sausage popular all over the Middle East. 3520 Erie Ave., East Hyde Park, (513) 871-8714. Lunch Mon–Sat, dinner seven days. MCC. $$

SANTORINI

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

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3414 Harrison Ave., Cheviot, (513) 662-8080. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner Mon–Sat, breakfast and lunch Sun. Cash. $

SEBASTIAN’S

When the wind is just right, you can smell the garlicky meat roasting from a mile away. Watch owner Alex Sebastian tend to the rotating wheels of beef and lamb, and you understand how Greek food has escaped the American tendency to appropriate foreign cuisines. Sebastian’s specializes in gyros, shaved off the stick, wrapped in thick griddle pita with onions and tomatoes, and served with cool tzatziki sauce. Alex’s wife and daughter run the counter with efficient speed, and whether you’re having a crisp Greek salad with house-made dressing, triangles of spanikopita, or simply the best walnut and honey baklava this side of the Atlantic (often made by the Mrs.), they never miss a beat, turning more covers in their tiny deli on one Saturday afternoon than some restaurants do in an entire weekend. 5209 Glenway Ave., Price Hill, (513) 471-2100, sebastiansgyros.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. Cash. $

SULTAN’S MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE

The meze, a parade of small plates and appetizers—the refreshing yogurt dish with cucumber, mint, and garlic known as cacik, and its thicker cousin haydari, with chopped walnuts, dill, and garlic—is rounded out with ﬂaky cheese or spinach boureks, falafels, soups, salads, and more, while baked casseroles or stuffed cabbage and eggplant dishes (dubbed “Ottoman specials”) augment the heavy focus on kebabs: chunks of lamb and beef on a vertical spit for the popular Doner kebab (a.k.a. Turkish gyro), peppery ground lamb for the Adana kebab, or cubed and marinated for the Shish kebab. 7305 Tyler’s Corner Dr., West Chester, (513) 847-1535, sultanscincinnati.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$

MEXICAN EL VALLE VERDE

Guests with dietary issues, high anxiety, and no Spanish may take a pass, but for hardy souls, this taqueria delivers a memorable evening. Seafood dishes are the star here—ceviche tostadas, crisp corn tortillas piled high with pico de gallo, avocado, and lime-tastic bits of white ﬁsh, squid, and crab; the oversized goblet of cocktel campechano, with ample poached shrimp crammed into a Clamato-heavy gazpacho; and simmering sopa de marisco came with langoustines, mussels, crab legs, and an entire ﬁsh—enough to feed three. 6717 Vine St., Carthage, (513) 821-5400. Lunch and dinner seven days. $

HABAÑERO

It’s easy to find a cheap burrito place around a college campus, but you’d be hard-pressed to find one as consistently good as Habañero, with its flavors of Latin America and the Caribbean wrapped up in enormous packages. Fried tilapia, apricot-glazed chicken breast, hand-rubbed spiced flank steak, shredded pork tenderloin, or cinnamon-roasted squash are just some of the ingredients for Habañero’s signature burritos. All salsas are house-made, from the smoky tomato chipotle to the sweet-sounding mango jalapeño, which is hot enough to spark spontaneous combustion. 358 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, (513) 961-6800, habanerolatin.com. Lunch and dinner seven days. MCC, DC, DS. $

MAZUNTE

Mazunte runs a culinary full court press, switching up specials to keep both regulars and staff engaged. 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 mahi-mahi tacos are finished with a citrusy red and white cabbage slaw that complements the accompanying mango-habañero salsa. With this level of authentic yet fast-paced execution, a slightly greasy pozole can be easily forgiven. Don’t miss the Mexican Coke and selfserve sangria (try the blanco), or the cans of Rhinegeist and MadTree on ice. 5207 Madison Rd., Madisonville, (513) 785-0000, mazuntetacos.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat, brunch Sun. MCC. $

MONTOYA’S

Mexican places seem to change hands in this town so often that you can’t get the same meal twice. Montoya’s is the exception. They’ve been hidden in a tiny strip mall off the main drag in Ft. Mitchell for years. It’s unpretentious and seemingly not interested in success, which means success has never gone to their head here. At a place where you can get Huracan Fajitas with steak, chicken, and chorizo or Tilapia Asada, the tacos are still a big item. 2507 Chelsea Dr., Ft. Mitchell, (859) 341-0707. Lunch and dinner Tues–Sun. MC, V, DS. $

NADA

The brains behind Boca deliver authentic, contemporary, high-quality Mexican fare downtown. You’ll ﬁnd a concise menu, including tacos, salads and sides, large plates, and desserts. Tacos inspired by global cuisine include the Señor Mu Shu (Modelo and ginger braised pork) and fried avocado (chipotle bean purée). The ancho-glazed pork shank with chili-roasted carrots comes with a papaya guajillo salad (order it for the table); dreamy mac-and-cheese looks harmless, but there’s just enough of a roasted poblano and jalapeño punch to have you reaching for another icy margarita. 600 Walnut St., downtown, (513) 721-6232, eatdrinknada.com. Lunch Mon–Fri, dinner seven days, brunch Sat & Sun. MCC, DS. $$

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WHERE TO EAT NOW

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

SEAFOOD

TAQUERIA CRUZ

The menu at this four-table mom-and-pop welcomes you to “a little piece of Mexico.” The huaraches (spelled guarachis here), are ﬂat troughs of thick, handmade fried masa dough the approximate shape and size of a shoeprint, mounded with beans and slivers of grilled beef or chili-red nubs of sausage, shredded lettuce, a crumble of queso fresco, and drizzle of cultured cream. Should you have an adventurous side, you can have your huarache topped with slippery tongue, goat meat, shredded chicken, or pork. There are stews, carne asada plates, and sopes—saucers of fried masa much like huaraches, only smaller. 518 Pike St., Covington, (859) 431-3859. Lunch and dinner seven days. Cash. $

TAQUERIA MERCADO

On a Saturday night, Taqueria Mercado is a lively ﬁesta, with seemingly half of the local Hispanic community guzzling margaritas and cervezas, or carrying out sacks of burritos and carnitas tacos—pork tenderized by a long simmer, its edges frizzled and crispy. The Mercado’s strip mall interior, splashed with a large, colorful mural, is equally energetic: the bustling semi-open kitchen; a busy counter that handles a constant stream of takeout 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.

3036 Madison Rd., Oakley, (513) 631-3474, oakleyﬁshhouse.com. Lunch Fri–Sun, dinner Tues–Sun. MCC. $$$

7261 Beechmont Ave., Anderson Twp., (513) 232-2526, the pelicansreef.com. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DS. $$

PEARLSTAR

Over-the-Rhine’s buzzworthy oyster bar marks owner Terry Raley and his Amaranth Hospitality Group’s first foray outside of Nashville. The oysters—flown in every 24 to 36 hours—are delivered on a bed of crushed ice with lemon wedges and a vinegary herbed mignonette sauce. Add a few refreshing drops of lemon and mignonette, mix in the additional fresh horseradish, house-made hot sauce, or cocktail sauce, and slurp your way to the sea. The entrées (Pearl “Stars,” as they’re called on the menu) is equal parts surf and turf, with the Arctic char and Texas redfish living up to the “star” billing. The char, with its topping of lemon caper butter, was creamy enough to eat

WITH OUR LINE OF ARTISAN BREADS

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PELICAN’S REEF

Chanaka De Lanerolle sold Mt. Adams Fish House back in 2011, and Oakley Fish House is its reincarnation—and reinvention. Most of the menu tends toward fairly conservative takes on classics, like well-seasoned crab cakes and thick, creamy chowder full of seafood. The handful of ethnic experiments on the menu are among its most vibrant offerings, including a Mediterranean fish stew that takes inspiration from the North African coast. Tender, fluffy couscous soaks up a fiery but sweet tomato sauce that showcases chiles and peppercorns, golden raisins, and lovely firm cashews, and the stew itself is packed with mussels, shrimp, and chunks of fish.

GIRLS NIGHT

Available at

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

Over the years Chef John Broshar has developed his niche, inspired by the seasonal availability of fish obtained daily from one or more of the purveyors he uses. Mahi-mahi from the Gulf, swordfish from Hawaii, Lake Erie walleye, wild Alaskan salmon, wreckfish from South Carolina, rainbow trout, and wild striped bass are just some of the varieties that rotate through the extensive features listed on a 10-foot by 2-foot chalkboard. The regular offerings are no slouch: Grilled grouper sandwich with chipotle tartar sauce, chubby fish tacos, perfectly fried piping hot oysters tucked into a buttered and toasted po’ boy bun with housemade slaw, and tart-sweet key lime pie. And of course, the damn good New England style chowder.

OAKLEY FISH HOUSE

ELEVATING

SINCE 1989

by the spoonful while the soft, spicy redﬁsh was ﬂecked with a chocolaty chorizo oil that tasted like a master chef’s take on Cincinnati chili. All of this can be washed down with PearlStar’s extensive drink menu.

STEAKS CARLO & JOHNNY

The stars of the menu are 12 delectable steaks that could sway the vegi-curious to recommit. Not sure which to choose? If you prefer brawny flavor over buttery texture, go for one of the three bone-in rib cuts. Or if it’s that meltin-your-mouth experience that raises your serotonin levels, C&J features several tenderloin cuts, including the hard to find bone-in filet. There are the usual suspects of raw bar,

seafood, pork chops, et al, if you’re interested in non-beef alternatives. 9769 Montgomery Rd., Montgomery, (513) 936-8600, jeffruby.com. Dinner seven days. MCC. $$$$

LOSANTI

A bit more upscale than its sister restaurant, Crown Republic Gastropub, Losanti is also more conservative in its offerings. Service is friendly and informal, and though the meal feels like a special occasion, prices and atmosphere are right for, say, a date, rather than a wedding anniversary. The ﬁlet mignon, rib eye, and New York strip are cut to order for each table (there are a few available weights for each). The steaks themselves are totally irreproachable, perfectly seasoned, cooked to precisely the right point. Losanti even makes the steakhose sides a little special. Sweet and smoky caramelized onions are folded into the mashed potatoes, a nice dusting of truffles wakes up the mac and cheese, and the sweet corn— yes, totally out of season, but still good—is at least freshly cut off the cob and recalls elote with lime and chile powder. 1401 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, (513) 246-4213, losantiotr.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC. $$$

JAG’S STEAK AND SEAFOOD

Chef Michelle Brown’s food is deeply ﬂavored, if occasionally a bit busy, her steaks of the buttery-mild variety, with not too much salty char crust. All seven cuts are served with veal demi-glace and fried onion straws. According to my steakcentric dining partner, his cowboy rib eye is “too tender and uniform” (as if that’s a crime). “I like to wrestle with the bone,” he adds, though that’s a scenario that, thankfully, doesn’t get played out in this subdued dining room. 5980 West Chester Rd., West Chester, (513) 860-5353, jags.com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC. $$$

JEFF RUBY’S

Filled most nights with local scenesters and power brokers (and those who think they are), everything in this urban steakhouse is generous—from the portions to the expert

service. White-jacketed waiters with ﬂoor-length aprons deliver two-ﬁsted martinis and stacks of king crab legs, or mounds of greens dressed in thin vinaigrettes or thick, creamy emulsions. An occasional salmon or sea bass appears, and there’s a small but decent assortment of land fare. But most customers, even the willowy model types, inhale slabs of beef (dry aged USDA prime) like they’re dining in a crack house for carnivores. The best of these is Jeff Ruby’s Jewel, nearly a pound-and-a-half of bone-in rib eye. This is steak tailor-made for movers and shakers. 700 Walnut St., downtown, (513) 784-1200, jeffruby. com. Dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC. $$$$

TONY’S

He is a captivating presence, Tony Ricci. Best known for his 30 years in ﬁne dining—including the Jeff Ruby empire while managing the venerable Precinct—Ricci has built a life in the hospitality industry. Much of Tony’s menu is right out of a steakhouse playbook: jumbo shrimp and king crab legs from the raw bar; Caprese, Greek, and Caesar salads; sides of creamed spinach, mac-and-cheese, asparagus, and sautéed mushrooms; toppings of roasted garlic or Gorgonzola butters to accompany your center cut of ﬁlet mignon. There are boutique touches, though, that make it stand out—a garlic herb aioli with the calamari, steak tartare torch-kissed and topped with a poached egg, a superb rack of lamb rubbed with aromatic sumac and served with mint pesto. 12110 Montgomery Rd., Symmes Township, (513) 6778669, tonysofcincinnati.com. Dinner seven days. MCC, DS. $$$$

VI ETNAM E S E PHO LANG THANG

Owners Duy and Bao Nguyen and David Le have created a greatest hits playlist of Vietnamese cuisine: elegant, brothy

pho made from poultry, beef, or vegan stocks poured over rice noodles and adrift with slices of onions, meats, or vegetables (the vegan pho chay is by far the most ﬂavorful); fresh julienned vegetables, crunchy sprouts, and herbs served over vermicelli rice noodles; 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. $

SONG LONG

The reason there’s a line at the door on weekend nights is the ﬁne Vietnamese specialties cooked and served by the Le family. Begin with the goi cuon, the cold rolls of moistened rice paper wrapped around vermicelli noodles, julienned cucumbers, lettuce, cilantro, and mung bean sprouts. Or try the banh xeo, a platter-sized pan-fried rice crepe folded over substantial nuggets of chicken and shrimp, mushrooms, and wilted mung sprouts. The phos, meal-sized soups eaten for breakfast, are good, but the pho dac biet is Song Long’s best. Crisp-tender vegetables, slices of beef, herbs, and scallions glide through the noodle-streaked broth. 1737 Section Rd., Roselawn, (513) 351-7631, songlong. net. Lunch and dinner Mon–Sat. MCC, DC, DS. $ CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, (ISSN 0746-8 210), June 2022, Volume 55, Number 9. Published monthly ($19.95 for 12 issues annually) at 1818 Race St., Ste. 301, Cincinnati, OH 45202. (513) 421-4300. Copyright © 2022 by Cincinnati Magazine LLC, a subsidiary of Hour Media Group, 5750 New King Dr., Ste. 100, Troy, MI 48098. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or reprinted without permission. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and artwork should be accompanied by SASE for return. The magazine cannot be held responsible for loss. For subscription orders, address changes or renewals, write to CINCINNATI MAGAZINE, 1965 E. Avis Dr., Madison Heights, MI 48071, or call 1-866-6606247. 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.

ONLY ONE RAINBOW

MATTERS DURING

PRIDE

SO WE’VE GIVEN UP OURS

SKITTLES

PHOTOGRAPH BY TK FREELANCER

PACKS DESIGNED BY LGBTQ+ ARTISTS

Available at

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

CINCY OBSCURA

Row Your Boat

LET’S GET ONE THING STRAIGHT: THERE ARE NO BOATS IN THE MARIEMONT BOATHOUSE.

Mostly because there’s no water, either. Even if you wanted to take your canoe out on “The Lagoon,” you’d have a rather dry excursion over a carpet of clover and dandelions. But in its heyday, from the late 1920s through World War II, the spot was a favorite of local kids, who could take their rowboats out to “Treasure Island,” a manmade destination in the middle of the also-manmade lagoon. In case you weren’t aware, everything in Mariemont, from the towering carillon all the way down to the swans in the lagoon, was meticulously planned. Mariemont was meant to mirror the romantic garden cities of England. And what could be more romantic than rowing across a shaded lagoon, even if the swans have to be shipped in? The structure fell into disrepair after the water was drained by the village in the ’40s. In the ’60s, Boy Scout Troop 149 turned it into a meeting space. And it worked—at least for a while. Long-term restoration plans were hampered by a 100-year storm. Today, Mariemont has made a sort of peace with the boathouse and its low-lying location off Wooster Pike, keeping the structure and its outdoor gathering space maintained while letting nature do its thing. — L A U R E N F I S H E R 1 1 2 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U N E 2 0 2 2

PH OTO G R A PH BY B RIT TA N Y D E X TE R

APPLY TO OUR SIXWEEK CAREGIVER SUPPORT SERIES

Who Cares for the Caregivers of Our Seniors?

WE DO. If you take care of an elderly loved one, we want to ensure your needs are met, too. Caregiving is stressful and draining. That’s why we’re launching a six-week series focused on you. You’ll receive:

Practical resources tailored to you

Community Support

Personalized consultation

There are no barriers to participation. We can provide transportation and homecare. We’ll be in multiple areas throughout Hamilton County.

ClosingTheHealthGap.org

For more information about the program visit closingthehealthgap.org/caregiver or call 513-585-9879

Cincinnati Magazine - June 2022 Edition

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