URBAN LIFE | Staff Picks

Best Intercommunity Shift: The shift of retail and restaurants from the increasingly downtrodden Short Vine in Corryville to the Calhoun and McMillan street parallels. Used to be Short Vine was the hot spot, not just in the university area but the city. While Bogart's, Top Cat's and a few other spots continue to thrive, the Calhoun/McMillan strip is now the place to go when you want to see what a real "university village" looks like, thanks to newcomers like Chipotle and Urban Outfitters and quaint standbys like Myra's Dionysus, Floyd's and Baba Budan's.

Best Hope for Downtown Residents and Their Grocery Needs: That there's still no halfway decent downtown grocery store doesn't bode well for the supposedly forthcoming "Banks" residential area along the riverfront. In the meantime, though, shoppers who dart up to Clifton for their groceries can do it a little easier with the new CVS drug store on the corner of Vine and Calhoun. OK, so you can't get your meats and veggies, but your drug (legal, of course), milk, soda and snack needs are now very accessible. The new CVS helps you avoid the traffic headache, long lines and employee indifference of the Corryville Kroger and the higher prices of Keller's IGA on Ludlow. CVS, Vine and Calhoun streets, Corryville, 513-569-4600.

 

Photo: Geoff Raker Best Place to Hide in Plain Sight: Main Library second floor connector Downtown commuters who parked in that dark, horror-movie parking garage where the Ninth Street addition to the Main Public Library now stands probably marvel at the differences to the city's landscape. Where once there was ugliness, there's now beauty. The second floor connector between the old and new buildings is more than a tunnel bridging old and new. It's actually a light-filled, newspaper and magazine-strewn Great Room where college students, writers and hurried business types plug in their laptops and where the library's cast of regular homeless people take a load off to peruse newspapers, catch up on street gossip and play possum with the library's security guards. The sliver connects Magazines and Newspapers to the north with Education and Religion to the south. It has the feel of an oasis, like an airport lounge providing respite to the travel-weary. The modern, Art Deco chairs have held up remarkably well and the study tables have subdued overhead lamps to put the spotlight on your text. The floor-to-ceiling windows -- with retractable shades! -- make for interesting people-watching between sentences and ideas. (KYW) Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, 800 Vine St., Downtown, 513-369-6900.

Best False Panic Attack: Thinking that you'll be killed in an instant if you venture downtown after dark. Don't be so stupid. It's understandable that people would be a little wary of coming downtown after April's events, but, if anything, Over-the-Rhine is probably safer than it was a year ago. Businesses have suffered needlessly, which in the long run brings us a step closer to having a nonexistent downtown entertainment district. Do you really want that to happen?

Best Tap Water: You don't often think of municipal water as tasty. But a national report confirmed that Fort Wright and Fort Thomas brew the best city H20, besting even Evian and Dannon spring liquid. The secret ingredients? Potassium permanganate and carbon, say water district officials.

Best Tap Water We Could Do Without: A mailing from Cincinnati Public Waterworks encouraged us to stop by their booth at last year's Taste of Cincinnati for a free cup of water. Sure ya can spare it?

Best Urban Fishing Tournament: "Kids' Fishing Day" each June at Winton Woods Harbor. The Hamilton County park practically guarantees your youngster will bag a big one, as the lake is stocked the day before with 1,000 pounds of catfish. Winton Woods Park, Winton Road at Lakeview Drive, Forest Park, 513-521-7275.

 

Photo: Julie Fay Best Neighborhood Glow: Luminaria in Washington Park Of course everyone gets a bit nervous when they see something burning in Over-the-Rhine. So weren't we all glad when, on Dec. 8, the flames were holiday luminaria making the troubled neighborhood glow in ways it hasn't in years? In particular, it was a treat to see the trees aglow in Washington Park across from Music Hall, thanks to the generosity of General Electric, who have guaranteed to fund the decorations for a decade. It's enough to make us feel all warm and fuzzy. (RP) Washington Park, Elm Street between 12th and 13th, Over-the-Rhine.

Best Meat and Greet Fest: The first ever Goettafest, which convened at Covington's MainStrasse Village last summer. Goetta, of course, is as unique a Cincinnati foodstuff as sweet chili heaped atop spaghetti and is produced nowhere else in America. For the uninitiated, the German meat product (pronounced "get-uh") is a combination of steel-cut pinhead oatmeal, pork, beef and seasonings. The fest featured every possible incarnation: goetta omelets, goetta pizzas, goetta hoagies, goetta sausage, goetta burgers, goetta breakfast links, goetta balls, even a goetta taco.

Best Urban Statement: The Cincinnati Zoo's new "Wetland Trail," which makes the point that Ohio has lost 90 percent of its original wetlands due to urban development. The $400,000 exhibit focuses on the wildlife, waterfowl, fish, insects and fauna of Ohio's endangered wetlands, including otters, ducks and trumpeter swans. Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale, 513-281-4700.

Best Petting Zoo: If you ever wanted to nuzzle an emu, stroke a llama, or encounter exotic pigs, macaws, horses and ferrets, Noah's Ark Farm is the place to go. You can even bottle feed the smaller creatures. Noah's Ark Farm, 401 Route 1, California, Ky., 859-635-0803.

Best Validation of a Nursery Rhyme: The scrappy cow that jumped its slaughterhouse pen and eluded humans for a week while hiding out in Clifton. If a cow can jump over an 8-foot fence, perhaps the moon really is possible.

Best Sign of Life Downtown: The ongoing renovation of Eighth Street's Power Building into residential apartments and the opening of the Emery Center and Hale-Justis Building apartments prove that city leaders finally understand that increasing downtown residents is a top priority. We're finally starting to get a critical mass of downtown residents, which, one day in the future, might actually result in a downtown grocery store and other amenities for residents, not tourists.

Best Sign That Downtown Is Dead: The vacant McAlpin's Department Store building casts a long and dreary shadow across once-upscale Fourth Street. Developers continue to talk about filling the space with stores, offices and restaurants. Developers like to talk about a lot of things. Like downtown grocery stores.

Best Parking Deal: $1 after 5 p.m. and all weekend at city of Cincinnati garages downtown. There's no better deal in the contiguous 48 states -- or all 50, as far as we know.

Best Use of Telephone Poles: Artist Robert Wilson's outdoor sculpture, "Poles," was recently re-dedicated at Grailville, the spiritual retreat center. The enormous amphitheater and proscenium arch, constructed entirely of discarded telephone poles, is newly renovated after years of disrepair. Grailville, 932 O'Bannonville Road, Loveland, 513-683-2340.

 

Photo: David Schmidt Best taste of Cincinnati: Trotta's Drive Thru It's safe to say that the West Side has its own unique way of doing things. Trotta's Drive Thru -- a proud proponent of that weird Cincinnati tradition, the drive-thru -- is no exception. Where else can you get everything from a goetta pizza and a Hudy Delight to Gourmet Cheesecake on a Stick and cigarettes in one stop, and all without leaving the cozy confines of your car? (Warning: Expect a 5-10 minute wait for food, though.) Trotta's has the usual pizza choices, plus an intriguing batch of specialty pizzas -- chicken ranch, hot wing, BLT and chili -- as well as appetizers, salads and hoagies. If you're in an extra hurry, slices of pepperoni or plain pizza are available for just $1.50. (JG) Trotta's Drive Thru, 3501 Werk Road, Westwood, 513-451-5555.

Best Use of a Municipal Railway: An auto race at an airport? You bet. The Sports Car Club of America brought its formula and stock car racing to the runways of Lunken Airfield for the "Lunken Runway Enduro" last year. Here's hoping for a repeat -- vrrrrooooom. Lunken Airfield, 262 Wilmer Ave., Mount Washington, 513-321-4700.

Best New High School: The new Virtual High School, run by the Cincinnati Public Schools but serving students across the region. The school's 330 students, ages 14-22, take online courses (9th grade to 12th grade levels) at their own rate and work almost entirely from home. It's one of a handful of such schools in the region offering a high school degree without the traditional classroom. It's free to city of Cincinnati students; all others pay $473 a month, with courses in English, math, science, computer literacy and other topics. Virtual High School, 1150 W. Eighth St., Price Hill, 513-357-8585.

Best News for an Urban Public School: Kilgour Elementary in Mount Lookout is the only urban public school in Ohio to be named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2002. The win marks the first time in a decade that a Cincinnati public school has achieved one of the nation's most prestigious education honors. Kilgour Elementary, 1339 Herschel Ave., Mount Lookout, 513-533-6330.

Best Laughable City Intersection: The funniest intersection in America, according to the results of a national contest sponsored by State Farm Insurance, is the crossroads of Barret Road and Grinn Drive in West Chester. Get it? The intersection of Grinn and Barret.

Best World Vision: At the Children's International Summer Village, where some 70 children from 15 nations arrive to spend a summer each year. The kids (ages 11-18) -- from Canada, Guatemala, Sweden, Indonesia and a host of other countries -- spend a month getting to know each other's cultures (villagers communicate non-verbally through games and hand motions). Founded on the belief that world peace begins with the children, the non-profit program also sends dozens of Cincinnati children to all points on the globe. Notable grads include U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, who, as a 7th-grader, traveled to a Swedish summer village for a month. Children's International Summer Village, 11 Glendale Square, Glendale, 513-771-7200.

 

Best Place to Get Stuffed in Camp Washington: Sacred Heart Church Some poor soul is still scraping pans from last week's Ravioli Dinner at Sacred Heart Church in Camp Washington. If all went as planned, at least 4,000 people filled their bellies with the homemade meat and cheese pasta or at least their Tupperware containers (you're encouraged to bring your own for large take-out orders). This is the church's 91st year of dishing out the carefully guarded recipe -- spinach is at least one magic ingredient -- to raise money. If you missed it last week, mark your calendar for the next one: Sunday, Oct. 20. Doors open at noon, but rumor has it the carryout line starts much earlier. (RL) Sacred Heart Church, 2733 Massachusetts Ave., Camp Washington, 513-541-4654.

Best New Urban Crime Wave: The one-woman crime wave launched by mystery author Cora Miller. The native Cincinnatian sets her tales of accounting and murder in the fictional African-American neighborhood of Rosemont. In books such as Taxes, Death and Trouble and Accrual Way to Die, her protagonist -- financial planner Audrey Wilson -- stumbles from balance sheets to unbalanced killers. The series is loaded with local references, from characters munching Grippo's chips to picnics at Sawyer Point. And yes, Miller actually has her degree in accounting, from the University of Cincinnati.

Best Place to Find Out About Your Rich Lost Grandpappy: The History and the Genealogy Department at the Main Library offers one of the nation's best collection of census lists, immigration records and other resources needed for family history research. It's all free and the staff is friendly, too. Cincinnati and Hamilton County Library, 800 Vine St., Downtown, 513-369-6900.

Best On-Time Delivery: TANK buses are the best means of public transportation to arrive on time in the morning, or even early, for work or anything else. It's also the best system for those who don't give a damn about when they arrive in the afternoon. TANK, 3375 Madison Pike, Fort Wright, Ky., 859-331-TANK.

Best Off-Route Delivery: Metro bus driver Tony Cleveland, who drives the 53 and 17 routes, is both professional and positive. When a CityBeat staffer accidently left her purse on the bus one night, Cleveland made sure she got it back the same evening, pulling the bus over on his return trip back downtown to drop it off at the staffer's apartment building.