December 2016
Features
Best of the City: Shopping
→ Walk-Up Flower Shop Gia & the Blooms Yuliya Bui is bringing flower power to OTR with her 13th Street florist shop, which she named after her rescue pit bull. Her burlap-wrapped bouquets are wild and free-spirited, usually with some rare specimen (banksia, protea) next to stems of old favorites like peonies and dahlias. The […]
Best of the City: Services
→ New Nail Salon Spruce Nail Shop Your blood pressure will go down just walking in: West Elm pedicure chairs, Brush Factory manicure tables, the light scent of lotions and oils mixed on site and no chemicals, plus plants plants plants. “The Goods” manicure’s hot stone massage—no token swipe of lotion here—will release tension you […]
Best of the City: Adventure
→ Adventure Race Training Go Native Fitness Signing up for that mud race or obstacle course is the easy part. Figuring out how to simulate the experience in training? Not so much. That’s where Go Native Fitness comes in. Combining a mix of personal training, group classes, and do-it-yourself workouts, the indoor/outdoor setup allows you […]
Best of the City: Food
→ Healthy Food Joint Rooted Juicery + Kitchen It’s both vegan and gluten-free but you don’t need to be either to enjoy Rooted. In a world of bagged greens, the wraps, bowls, and salads here stand apart as creative, fresh, and tasty. Yes, juices are pricey (sold individually or as a cleanse set) and dessert […]
Best of the City: Nightlife
→ Snowy Day Bar Mita’s If you happen to find yourself downtown when the White Death begins to fall, drop what you’re doing and get to Mita’s. You can watch the flakes through the wall of windows while shoppers scurry at the corner of Fifth and Race. Fill your belly with small plates (we especially […]
Best of the City: Kids
→ Kid Lit Letters Are For Learning By Andrew Neyer Local designer Andrew Neyer is known for his quirky home goods—see: Yoyo light and Cactus Catchall—so it was just a small pivot toward cuteness that made way for his children’s board book, Letters Are For Learning (blue manatee press, 2015). The concept is simple: Each […]
Best of the City: City Life
→ Seasonal Public Art Curb’d Parklets Curb’d, a project to create five temporary micro-parks small enough to fit in a parking space, arrived around Covington in the spring. With names like Wish Igloo (a stylized seating space in front of Left Bank Coffeehouse) and Ride (stationary bikes in front of Inspirado restaurant and gallery), the […]
Behind the Scenes at Playhouse in the Park
Grand streets. Artful vomit. Crumbling masonry. At Playhouse in the Park’s scene shop in Walnut Hills, magic happens.
A Man in Need
A doctor with a drug problem and a sob story, a good Samaritan with cash on hand, and a chance meeting that became a public lesson in crime, crowdsourcing, and the limits of privacy in a big little town.
Frontlines
The Nutcracker’s Fritz Talks Baby Mice, Football, and Breaking the Nutcracker
“People have this stereotype about ballet that it’s a girl in a tutu jumping around. It’s so much more than that.”
Dr. Know: Saving a Mechanical Bear, Missing Bushes, and Bengals Tailgates
Cincinnatians of a certain age are prone to relaying nostalgic stories of the Shillito’s Elves anytime the calendar turns to December, though this one isn’t quite as cute.
Heroin: How Did We Get Here?
Heroin’s deadly hold on the Cincinnati region is indisputable. How did it happen? A brief history.
We Approve: Rosemary Clooney’s White Christmas Album
Rosemary Clooney’s White Christmas is just the right amount of winter wonderland.
An Enquirer Reporter Makes Her Own Murder Podcast
The unsolved 1978 murder of Miami University student Elizabeth Andes left a lot of unanswered questions, so Cincinnati Enquirer reporters Amber Hunt and Amanda Rossmann created Accused, an eight-part podcast in search of answers.
Cincinnati Museum Center Exhibits the Longest Viking Ship Ever Discovered
The Roskilde 6 is on loan from the National Museum of Denmark.
Top of the Class 2016
As we bid adieu to 2016, we honor the instigators, spotlight-hoggers, and internet sensations that have graced the pages of this section and the story of our lives over the past year.
Radar
This House Has an Actual Prohibition-Era Hidden Bar
Big surprise: The original owner worked at Stitzel-Weller and was related to legendary bourbon maker Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle.
Block Party: Ft. Mitchell Homes for Sale
A neighborhood full of ranches and Cape Cod homes.
Gift Guide 2016
Giving gifts should not be stressful, yet that never seems to be the case. The good tidings we bring? We did the research for you.
9 Holiday Cards We Want to Receive
Send season’s greetings like you mean it.
Cincinnati Cruiser Makes Customized Longboards for Queen City Skaters
Cincinnati Cruiser has taken long-boarding from a childhood fascination to a full-fledged business.
Style Counsel: Nicole Gunderman
“I’m not some expert on sustainable fashion. But I have that intention.”
Columns
Letter from the Editor: December 2016
Journalism is, actually, a tough job that somebody does have to do, because the underpinnings of our republic depend on it. So we’ll keep doing our job and trust that you’ll keep reading.
What’s Next For the Old Peters Cartridge Factory?
If Ken Schon gentrifies the old Peters Cartridge Factory will the buyers come?
Letter From Katie: A Song for J.D.
The best dogs come unexpectedly, and show us the way home.
Vultures Need Love Too
Raptor Inc., the Milford-based nonprofit, rescues injured birds of prey, rehabilitates them, and returns them to the wild whenever possible.
Dine
A Better Babka
This holiday treat is somehow cake, bread, pastry, and croissant all in one.
We’ve Rounded Up the Best Bubbly for Your Holiday Parties
Ring in the new year with a quality cuvée.
Going Dutch at LISSE
LISSE tries to carve out a unique identity, for a steakhuis.
Story Inn is a Hidden Gem
Ready to take date night to the next level? We recommend the long, scenic drive to Brown County, Indiana, where you’ll find the Story Inn.
Nittha Siam Kitchen Brings The Heat
This little unsung hero in Highland Heights is a boon for the Northern Kentucky University crowd
Tableside with Caitlin Steininger and Kelly Trush
Two sisters and the tradition of ending every day at the table.