FEATURES

Have you ever gotten in your car and given yourself a tour of Cincinnati? I do this a lot and almost always discover something—a micro-neighborhood, a cool out-of-the-way park, fascinating architecture—that I never knew was there. Whether you live on the north or south bank of the river, Greater Cincinnati is a vast patchwork of neighborhoods, and that means there is often something new happening the next few streets over. That’s the ultimate aim of this month’s cover story: To help readers discover something they didn’t already know.

Despite the sorry state of the housing market these last couple of years, sleek new condo towers continue to rise along the Ohio River, grand old homes in need of some repair continue to attract that peculiar subspecies known as the “rehabber,” and new homes (some of the McMansion variety, some of the more aesthetically pleasing—or at least intriguing—modern variety) continue to be built. Not in the stock market-busting numbers they were before the housing market overheated and blew up the American economy, true, but there are people who still want and need new homes. The good news? Our neighborhoods have remained strong through all the bad stuff. And if anything they’ve acquired more character than they had before. God knows, Cincinnatians still have their diehard allegiances—west side vs. east side, Kentucky side vs. Ohio side—but only the most hard-hearted and dull-headed would deny that we have an embarrassment of riches. Whether you’ve spied a magisterial foursquare in Ft. Thomas, a charming Tudor in Westwood, or a new giganto-home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Liberty Township—or more to the point, if you haven’t—our package should stoke your house envy.

Envy is not a sin that Joey Votto can be accused of. He’s just too damn good for that. And as Jason Cohen found out when he sat down with him before the Reds faced the Seattle Mariners in late June (and well before he was unduly passed over in the initial vote for the National League All-Star team), Votto is one of the most thoughtful players in baseball today. Not to mention gifted—though he wouldn’t tell you that. As he says, he’s “still in that I-try-to-keep-my-mouth-shut-and-just-do-my-job phase.” Here’s hoping he keeps doing that job as winningly as he has for the last three seasons.

Finally, it wouldn’t be an August issue if we didn’t give a shout-out to farm-fresh vegetables or milk cows or mushroom foragers. Luckily, we hit all three, a veritable locavore trifecta, in Jenny Wohlfarth’s delightful romp across at least two states and through numerous barns to find the coolest ways local farmers are cashing in on the current agritourism trend. If you ever wanted to know what it’s like to grow shiitakes or make mead or birth a cow, read her story and hit the road. We guarantee you’ll have as good a time as she had. Unless of course you already know how to do some of those things, in which case we recommend you still read her story, chuckle knowingly to yourself, take a sip from your well-earned evening cocktail, and watch the sun set over your land. It’s quittin’ time.

Originally published in the August 2010 issue.