Last night, the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years. Five days from now, Americans will cast their vote in the presidential election (if they haven’t done so already) and our long national nightmare will be over. All of which is to say that we put this magazine to bed weeks before you see it. If you’re doing the math, that means we spent most of late summer and early fall running around the countryside, from Adams County to Big Bone Lick, doing our best to compile our annual Best of the City list. I know, it’s a tough job… but it’s something we’ve taken seriously enough to report and publish since 1977. That’s a lot of margaritas and piano movers and sushi bars and public restrooms(!) to research. But having done it for so long, we’ve bridged the gap between our acumen and our readers’ collective judgment. You may never have need for a relatively cheap, detail-oriented drapery cleaner or the most economical mariachi band available for rent. But somebody you know probably does, and we like to think that our reporting helps all of us lead a moderately happier existence.
It comes down to trust, a theme that crops up throughout this issue. In John Stowell’s department about the rehabilitation of the Peters Cartridge Factory along the Little Miami Bike Trail (Can the developers transform a decrepit industrial hulk into urbane loft-style condos? Trust us, they say). And in RJ Smith’s tale of a good Samaritan answering a random stranger’s plea for monetary aid on a Walnut Hills street corner late one night—and the social media–fueled hubbub that ensues. And even in Burke Morton’s assessment of the best Champagnes available locally that will cost you a bit more but will repay you in degrees of taste and emotional depth you could scarcely imagine.
This year has been a rough one for journalists, whether it was Gannett’s recent layoffs at the Enquirer or the drubbing the entire profession underwent during election season. Which means it is, actually, a tough job that somebody does, in fact, have to do. Not just because people want to know where to find the best local pilsner (see page 80) but because the underpinnings of our republic depend on it. So we’ll keep doing our job and trust that you’ll keep reading.
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