July 2016
Features
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12 of Our Favorite Butcher Shops
Whether you’re looking to keep kosher (or halal), procure porchetta, debate dry-aging, or marvel at marbling, we’ve got a bevy of butchers with cleavers poised to deliver the goods.
The Rusty Griswolds Keep the ’80s Alive, One Journey Cover at a Time
When a bunch of friends from Oak Hills High School formed the Rusty Griswolds, they had no idea they’d become the Queen City’s favorite cover band. Get out the Aqua Net, plug in your keytar, and take a trip back in time with the graying gods of church festival rock.
Patricia Beggs Turns Up the Drama at the Opera
Going from banking to opera isn’t the traditional path to success, but for this dedicated CEO, it worked. As the Cincinnati Opera moves to its temporary home in the Aronoff Center, we turn the spotlight on the Valkyrie behind the scenes.
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Frontlines
The Fits Bets on Cincinnati’s West End
The Fits joins the list of recent movies filmed in Cincinnati, but this time all we had to do was act naturally.
Donald Ray Pollock’s Dark New Thriller is a Good Dose of Southern (Ohio) Gothic
Set in 1917, the novel follows three brothers in the nowhere-near-Reconstructed South who decide to steal and murder their way to a better life.
John Kasich is the GOP’s Anti-Trump and Ohioans Don’t Know How to Feel About It
How did a cranky, stubborn, old-school Republican governor, who’s alienated more than a few folks in his home state, become the GOP’s defender of compassion and reason?
Bask in the Beautiful Weirdness That is the Northside Fourth of July Parade
“I fell in love with the Northside Fourth of July Parade the moment I saw the father and son bananas.”
The National Flag Co.’s Printing Press is a West End Colossus
“My great-great uncle George Schaller started working here in 1903, when he was 12 years old, as a stock boy,” says Artie, the general manager and de facto historian. “He became president in 1948. Worked here 74 years.”
These Covington “Parklets” Are Way Cute. Also, “Parklets” Are a Thing Now.
Five Covington parking spaces have transmogrified into 3D reveries of imagination and design where people can interact, play, or park their behinds. In place through October, the “parklets” are winning designs from Curb’d, a competition aimed at making the city’s sidewalks more sociable. Let us explain.
By The Numbers: Kings Island’s Bonkers New Water Slide
Slide-riders, rejoice! The new seven-story Tropical Plunge at Kings Island’s Soak City water park opened its chutes Memorial Day weekend. The gravity-aided attraction includes six slides with twists and turns to thrill even the park’s most seasoned Gold Pass–holders, including vertical drops from various “Aqua-Launch” chambers and a string of four 360-degree loops. We crunched the numbers on this wet and wild ride.
Radar
Rent This Little Retro Trailer for the Best Weekend Ever
In a big country, sometimes it’s best to travel small. Route Fifty Campers lets you take it all in tow.
Style Counsel: Becky & Levi Kramer
Occupation: Toddler wrangler; front line lead at Remke; Their style: Playful and comfortable
Glamping is Fancy Outdoor Fun and Haters to the Left
Camping does not have to mean roughing it. Here’s the gear for a more luxe time communing with nature.
Columns
Letter from the Editor: July 2016
What do you do when your wife comes home with 17 pounds of fresh sausage?
A Bike Trail in the Treetops? It Could Happen.
We have the makings of a bike commuter’s paradise.
Dr. Know: Speed Traps, Weather Windbaggery, and Itan-Nic-Nic
Conditions could change at any time, so you’d be wise to stock up on milk and bread. (From Kroger!)
The Secret Life of Plants
It turns out that plants “talk” to each other, sending helpful messages—and issuing the occasional death threat—over their own underground internet. One Xavier University biologist is following the conversation.
Dine
Trade Secrets: Ramp it Up
When Seely Wetherell’s mother immigrated to the United States from South Korea in 1971, she brought along a traditional kimchi recipe that she passed on to her son. “I’ve done my family recipe most of my life,” says Wetherell, who is now a personal chef in addition to working with McHale’s Catering in Ft. Mitchell. […]
Putz’s Creamy Whip Gets its Magic from a 63-Year-Old Soft Serve Machine
A 1953 Electro-Freeze soft serve machine has faithfully served vanilla ice cream to customers for more than 50 years.
Dutch’s Charcuterie Board is a Meaty Work of Art
With the addition of Patrick Hague (a.k.a. our sausage sensei), Dutch’s has been on a tear.
Yes, That’s Fried Rice in a Pineapple, and It’s Spectacular
Head out to Mason for a smorgasbord of edible garnishes.
Schoolhouse Restaurant is Comfort Food Heaven
A home-cooked meal, just like grandma used to fry.
Harvest Bistro is On a Mission to Take Back Clifton Gaslight
With a focused kitchen and treasure trove wine cellar, Harvest Bistro breathes life back into Ludlow.
Great Ideas of the 21st Century: The Pop-Up Doughnut Shop
For a little over a year Karina Rice has been dropping in all over town, selling her artisan doughnuts—more than 25 custom flavors of fried dough goodness—via her pop-up business, Gadabout Doughnuts.