LINK Streetscapes: Taylor Mill Road

BY MARIA HEHMAN | LINK nky CONTRIBUTOR

This week Streetscapes goes off the beaten path and down a seemingly never ending road for some classic comfort food in all cuisines. Come to Taylor Mill for trendy, new restaurants and community staples.

Coba Bar and Grill

Weeks after opening, Coba Bar and Grill is already a perfect spot for dinner, drinks and catching a game. Coba’s atmosphere is sports bar meets a trendy cocktail joint. A majority of the food offered is Mexican-style cuisine, and Coba also offers American-style dishes, like boneless wings alongside tacos al pastor.

Those who come for the Tex-Mex will not be disappointed. Guests are greeted with chips and salsa and the margaritas are as big as someone’s head, requiring two hands to hold. The margaritas can be frozen or on the rocks, and are offered in three sizes and in 10 flavors.

For the health conscious, Coba has a large selection of rice bowls as well as tapas. For those pining for classic Mexican cuisine, street-style tacos and quesadillas are on the menu as well. And for those wanting comfort food, burgers and pasta are available.

A popular choice for guests is the chicken avocado bowl, with chicken breast, avocado, black beans, and mango pico de gallo on a bed of cilantro lime rice. The pico added a nice refreshing flavor to the warm dish.

Knuk-N-Futz

Like its name, this quirky restaurant is one of a kind. Best known for its wings, KnukN-Futz has even trademarked the name for the wings on its menu: SchWINGzzz.

With effort like that, one can expect a big personality to go with it. At the center of the dining room is a fireplace original to the building. Around it are license plates, posters, and enough neon beer signs to make a new wallpaper. The eclectic decor can feel a little hectic, but the food makes it clear that it is the right way to go.

Fried pickles are commonplace in Northern Kentucky restaurants, but at Knuk-NFutz they have pickle spears.

In the world of fried pickles there is a heated debate about spears versus chips, and Knuk N Futz makes a clear case for spears as the winner. Golden crispy breading outside with a large juicy dill pickle on the inside; these are the ideal starter before ordering their schWINGzzz’s.

They offer both bone-in and boneless varieties of their trademarked wings with 14 sauces and four dry rubs to choose from. Servers recommend the house-made bleu cheese with an order of wings, and regulars swear by it as a cooldown to complement Knuk’s spicy wings.

Anyone looking for a cold one to cool off their palate can find at least 16 draft beers on tap at any given time.

Original Wok

Especially in the winter, Chinese food can be the most comforting of cuisines. Original Wok is the place to go for quick carryout, so guests can hurry home and snuggle under a blanket to enjoy the meal.

For now, Original Wok only offers carryout and delivery. On the menu are Americanized Chinese favorites, like orange chicken, fried rice, pot stickers and crab rangoon. Those with a craving will not be let down by the crab rangoon, which offers the perfect mixture of cream cheese with crab meat surrounded by a crunchy, fried wonton.

Have a street, city or business you want me to check out next? Email Maria Hehman at mchehman@gmail.com and it could be featured on the next LINK Streetscapes.

What to know if you go:

Coba Bar and Grill

Location: 5028 Old Taylor Mill Road

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Website: toasttab.com/coba-bar-andgrill

Phone: (859) 415-0030

Knuk-N-Futz

Location: 5468 Taylor Mill Road

Hours: Sundays open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays; Wednesdays and Thursdays open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Website: knuknfutz.com

Phone: (859) 261-9464

Original Wok

Location: 5038 Old Taylor Mill Road

Hours: Sunday through Thursday open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; open 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday; midnight to 10:30 p.m. Saturday

Website: originalwoktaylormill.com

Phone: (859) 431-3000

Volleyball coach at Brossart

Danielle French, an alum of Bishop Brossart, will be taking over as the Mustangs volleyball coach. French spent the last three years building up the Pendleton County program. Pendleton County finished 55-25 in her three years as head coach, finishing 38th District runner-up to Harrison County all three years. French is a 2003 graduate of Bishop Brossart, lettering in volleyball and softball.

French inherits a program coming off its first-ever 10th Region title and first-ever appearance in the state tournament. The Mustangs will graduate two seniors and return their starting libero, key hitters, and leading setter. Brossart will still be faced with the challenge of advancing out of the rugged 37th District in the fall, which the Mustangs did for the first time since 2018 this past season.

Ryle Girl soccer coach

Former Thomas More assistant Coach Kyle Kosco will become the next Ryle Girl’s soccer coach.

Kosco comes to Ryle with two years of varsity head coaching experience and has been in coaching since the age of 20. Kosco led the Princeton (Ohio) girls’ soccer team in 2017 and the Scott boys in 2021. The Eagles finished 10-8-1 that season for their second 10-win season in three years, tying the most number of wins since they finished state runner-up in 2014.

The Raiders have not had a double-digit win season in the last three years. But after an injury-filled regular and preseason in 2022, Ryle surprised people in the postseason winning the 33rd District championship as the fourth seed before losing to St.

Henry in the region quarterfinals to finish 6-12-2.

The Raiders graduate eight seniors from this past season. Freshman goalkeeper Maleah Lehmkuhl returns after recording 172 saves in 19 games last year. Junior Gracie Carrigan also returns after leading the Raiders with nine goals and tied for a teamhigh four assists.

Ryle is one of many teams in the 9th Region trying to tear down the region wall. Either the Notre Dame Pandas or Highlands Bluebirds have won all 11 region championships in the current format.

Kosco is looking forward to the challenges of playing in the rugged 33rd District and 9th region.

Thomas More inks 32 on Signing Day

As Thomas More University is just about set to make the transition from NAIA to Division II, the football team honed in on recruiting in its backyard and inked 32 players to their 2023 recruiting class.

Coach Chris Norwell estimates the incoming class will be around 50.

The 2023 class so far consists of players from nine different states that includes the tri-state of Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana along with players from Georgia, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Saints initially signed six from NKY as they wait on a few others to turn in their letters of intent. The six are Cooper’s Jayce Hotchkiss (S, 6-1, 185), Ryle’s Luke Zimmerman (DL, 6-2, 205), Simon Kenton’s Chase Crone (QB, 6-2, 195), Cooper’s Eli White (RB, 6-0, 193), Highlands’ Sam Robinson

(LB, 5-10, 190) and Covington Catholic’s Broghan Rust (OL, 6-3, 290).

Starting in 2023, the Saints will play in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. During the two-year provisional period in making the jump to Division II, they’ll be eligible for conference championships and tournaments beginning in the 2023 season. Following the mandatory two-year transition period, the University would then become eligible for NCAA Championships during the 2025-26 year.

Thomas More finished 5-6 in 2022, going 4-4 in the Mid-South Conference. The GMAC includes Ashland, Ohio Dominican, Findlay, Tiffin, Hillsdale, Lake Erie, Northwood, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Walsh.

Scott brings in Owens to lead football program

Jake Owens is set to take over as the head football coach at Scott High School. After coaching for more than 20 years in Florida, Owens is headed north to Taylor Mill. He’ll inherit an Eagles team that went 4-7 in 2022 and graduate 19 seniors.

Owens coached at Palm Bay in Melbourne, FL, the last two seasons, including an 8-4 record last year. He’s also been a head coach at Space Coast High School. has been in coaching for 20 years, he previously coached in Melbourne, Florida. Owens will be taking over for Eric Turner who resigned in December after four years at the helm. Owens plans to implement an up-tempo offense in which the goal is to be set and hike the ball within 12-15 seconds between plays and create havoc defensively by getting after the quarterback and creating turnovers.

Owens plans to continue the offseason weightlifting program before leading into spring practice and will participate in 7-on7s when that time rolls around in the summer. The first day of the KHSAA football season is typically around July 10.

Notre Dame, Ryle winning regional swimming titles

After Ryle and Dixie Heights claimed the past four region titles, the Pandas ended that streak at the Region 7 swim meet. Notre Dame captured its first team title since 2019 by dethroning three-time defending champion Ryle, 372-353, at Silverlake The Family Place.

The quartet of Claire Monahan, Olivia Wallace, Riley Quinn, and Sadie Hartig finished three-tenths of a second ahead of St. Henry in the 200-yard freestyle relay helping clinch the title. Two-time state champion Lainy Kruger, a Florida-bound senior, won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:50.03 and the 100 breaststrokes in 1:04.23.

On the boys side, the Ryle Raiders defeated Highlands 518-473 to claim their first ever regional title. Freshman Chase Knopf and sophomore Andy Pleiman played large roles in the Raiders’ win. Knopf placed first in the 200 freestyle (1:43.18), and Pleiman won the 50 freestyle (21.84) and 100 freestyle (48.16).

Knopf, Roman Furuta, Garrett Dennis, and Blake Koenigsknecht won the 200 medley relay (1:38.22). A couple of hours later, Furuta, Pleiman, Koenigsknecht, and Zach Stephens won the 200 freestyle relay (1:28.48), and Pleiman, Stephens, Dennis, and Knopf won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:16.55.

Both advance to the KHSAA state swim meet in Lexington starting on February 17.