Best Dip:
We’ll take the high road and resist a Phil Heimlich
jab. Instead, try the My Big Fat Greek Dip from The Herbalist,
those spice and herbal magicians. The dip is a velvety blend of sour cream,
Kalamata olives, feta cheese, red onion, basil and thyme. Available
at the Party Source and other locations.
Best One-Stop Meal to Go:
At Ridge Market, the new collection of entrepreneurs
in the former IGA grocery in downtown Pleasant Ridge. Mix and match
at your disgression: You can pick up an appetizer from the Outer
Banks Seafood booth, deli salads from “R” Deli, organic
fruits and vegetables from Madison’s, smoothies from the Suttschenko’s
Pure Juice counter or dessert from the Bonbonerie kiosk. Voted “Best
New Store” by readers this year. Ridge Market, 6142 Montgomery
Road, Pleasant Ridge, 513-924-1600.
Best Coffee With a Conscience:
The Coffee Underground, where owners Michael and
Phyllis Persicano belong to a network called “Coffee Kids:
Grounds for Hope.” The nonprofit addresses the true cost of
coffee-growing on families in Third World nations. Lest we forget
to add, the Persicanos brew a mean cup of java — fresh roasted
and flavorful. The Coffee Underground, 6665 Salem Road, Mount Washington,
513-232-0383.
Best New Soft Drink:
Ale-8-One
Well, it’s new to Greater Cincinnati, though not to anyone
who’s travelled south to grab this soda pop with a flavor
that falls somewhere between ginger ale and lemon-lime with
a spike of caffeine. Founded in 1926 in Winchester, Ky., the
company making Ale-8-One (a pun on “a late one,”
meaning the latest thing in soft drinks; pretty clever for 1926)
had been distributing it only within a 70-mile radius from the
factory. But after striking a deal with Coca-Cola — which
was rebuffed in its attempt to buy the company and settled on
taking over distribution — the product is now available
in 70 counties in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. They opened a
new bottling plant in Indianapolis and are even working on a
diet version. (RL) |
Best Guide to Gay-Friendly Businesses:
The Queen City Careers Association’s
15th annual version of The Listings, a directory of GLBT supportive
businesses. What started out as a telephone directory to connect
people in Cincinnati has become an indispensible handbook for those
in the GLBT community to know where to turn for everything from
a plumber they can trust in their home to a mental health professional
who understands how depression can afflict homosexuals and heterosexuals
differently.
Best Gas Value:
Swifty in Norwood. Their gas prices are almost
always several cents a gallon below the name brands, an important
consideration
in the current war climate. Just a quick pit stop off the Lateral.
Plus they’ll pump it for you. Swifty, Norwood Avenue at the
Montgomery Road exit, Norwood, 513-531-7421.
Best Outlet Shopping for the Health Minded:
Gaiam. Having a distribution
center for their catalog companies located in West Chester means
lots of great bargains on discontinued, overstock and returned health-related
merchandise. Public sales usually happen once a month, with savings
of at least 50 percent off catalog prices. Gaiam, 9107 Meredian Way,
West Chester, 513-712-8600.
Best Outlet Shopping for the Non-Health Minded:
Hostess Bakery Outlets throughout Greater Cincinnati. Stock up on HoHos and Twinkies. Hey,
we hear that deep fried Twinkies are the hot new dessert delicacy.
Hostess Bakery Outlets, multiple locations.
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Photo:
Wendy Uhlman
Yummie Yummie Russian Deli
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Best
Reminders That Cincinnati Isn’t So Whitebread:
Saigon
Market, Yummie Yummie Russian Deli, JagDeep’s Indian
Grocery
Here’s a quick rundown on just three of the area’s
intriguing ethnic markets. Saigon Market is a treasure trove
of Asian products such as potent ginseng extracts, fried sardine
sheets, fish balls, bean-filled buns with lotus seeds, oodles
of noodles and shelves of exotic sauces. The best kept secret
is their bulk spices — at prices like $1 for 2 oz. of
cinnamon, $1.50 for 3 oz. of poppy seeds and $1.45 for whole
vanilla beans (compared to $3.25 per bean at Kroger), you’ll
never buy those little red and white cans again. Catering to
a local Russian community of more than 10,000, Yummie Yummie
offers made-to-order sandwiches, rows of cold smoked fish (a
favorite snack with beer), meats, cheeses, wine, beautiful pastries,
Russian “raviolis,” hot mustards and weird delicious
sodas. The gorgeous Fatima with her sensual Baltic accent will
guide you through a crash course in Russian cuisine. Finally,
tucked behind Amol Indian Restaurant, JagDeep’s specializes
in bulk flours, grains, legumes and rices with a small but interesting
selection of unusual vegetables, canned goods and spices. Have
no idea how to use mathia flour, mango pulp or green chana?
There’s a free cooking class the first Sunday of each
month at 10 a.m. Saigon Market, Elder Street at Findlay Market,
Over-the-Rhine, 513-721-8053; Yummie Yummie Russian Deli, 7523
Reading Road, Roselawn, 513-821-4111; JagDeep’s Indian
Grocery, 356 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, 513-961-2629. (DC) |
Best Garage Salers:
Helping Hands, the service that organizes, advertises
and conducts household sales. Their sales usually feature a lot of
quality items as evidenced by their loyal following. (Shoppers often
show up as early as 6 a.m. to get a number at 8 a.m. for a sale that
starts at 10 a.m.) Bargain hunters can show up for the second half
of the sale to haggle for better prices. Helping Hands Household
Sales, 6619 Mariemont Ave., Mariemont, 513-271-5971.
Best Crime Deterrent:
Kenny’s Liquors in Covington sports
a wooden plaque depicting a gun with the message “We ain’t
dialing 911.” Kenny’s aunt has the same sign posted in
her restaurant, The Anchor Grill, down the street. Apparently the
signs are effective — neither place has ever been robbed. Kenny’s
Liquors, 258 Pike St., Covington, 859-261-5031.
Best Perk If You Live or Work Downtown:
New Horizons Credit Union.
It used to be for Federated Department Stores employees only, but
now if you work or reside downtown you can join. The perk, a totally
free ATM, is conveniently located at Seventh and Vine streets. Those
$2 fees add up. New Horizons Credit Union, 637 Vine St., Downtown,
513-562-6600.
Best Place to Go Straight After Depositing Your Paycheck:
You can’t
beat the 10 Minute Backrub Store at Tower
Place, where they’ll
massage away the previous two weeks of stress while you spend
a few moments contemplating how to spend the rest of your paycheck.
10
Minute Backrub Store, 441 Vine St., Downtown, 513-721-7822.
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Best Miniature Empire:
WizKids Cincinnati Sculpting Studio
This fortress of creativity can be found in the backroom of
an office/warehouse tucked off I-275 in a suburban industrial
park. That’s the nondescript location of the Cincinnati
studio for WizKids, the creator of collectible miniature games,
including the popular superhero game Heroclix. Their workroom
is cluttered with stacks of comics, pin-up posters, art books
and action figures. There, Studio Manager Steve Saunders (pictured)
and his five-man sculpting team, James Carter, David Summers,
James Van Schaik, Jeff Wilhelm and Robert Kyde bring magical
knights, long-ago warriors and well-known superheroes like Spider-Man
and Superman to life as Heroclix plastic figures. The local
WizKids studio is one of three nationwide, and Saunders and
his team have created more than 100 models — and there’s
no end in sight. Creepy Freaks, a Heroclix game featuring child-friendly
monsters, is due this summer. Independent comic characters like
Judge Dredd, Hell Boy and Kabuki are slated for their own Heroclix
series this fall. (SR) |
Best Imitation of NYC’s
SoHo Section:
The unique galleries
and lofts popping up at 13th and Main in Over-the-Rhine. With the
likes of Flowers and Beyond, LifeEsthetics and The
Projects, Cincinnatians
have yet another chance to support a neighborhood rich with history
and creative talent that rivals any in the real SoHo.
Best Store to Help You Feel You’re in Another City:
Saks
Fifth Avenue offers products that no other store in the city carries.
And
most of the clientele also seem to be from out of town. Saks Fifth
Avenue, 101 W. Fifth St., Downtown, 513-421-6800.
Best Train Trip:
Amtrak’s eastbound Cardinal, which leaves from Union
Terminal at 5:29 a.m. (ending up in Washington 14 hours later). From
sunrise on, you’ll enjoy the unspoiled beauty of the rivers
and forestlands that stretch from here to D.C. Standard coach hovers
around $200, all the way up to $1,200 for a deluxe sleeper car for
a family. Do it now, before Amtrak pulls the plug on Cincinnati service
forever. Amtrak, Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., West End, 513-651-3337.
Best Real Man’s Hardware
Store:
Once upon a time a hardware
store was a crowded wonderland full of mysterious widgits,
stacked to the eaves and bulging at the seams with tiny and
enormous
pieces of metal that you usually had to describe by function
because you
couldn’t remember its name. One of the last old-school
hardware stores is Landwehr’s in Covington.
Recently we found real doorknob/latch/brass plate units there
when not even Lowes could supply the need. Landwehr’s
Hardware, 826 Madison Ave., Covington, 859-581-5080.
Best Apple of Our Eye:
The Apple Store
While we generally avoid being mauled by the malls, we’re
able to brave the masses for one key exception — the Apple
Store in Kenwood Towne Centre, which appeals to the many Mac
addicts among the CityBeat staff. But this time out, it’s
style over substance that earns the Apple Store merit. This
isn’t your Granny Smith’s store. Taking art direction
cues from A Clockwork Orange, the store hacks into the clean,
stream-lined nuances of modern design. A black façade,
with three luminescent Apple logos embedded in its walls, frames
glass windows. Two black shelves, deceptively miles-long, bite
through the middle. White, semi-circular pedestals promote the
latest innovations in the store’s eight core sections
with futuristic panache. The whole design is fresh and crisp.
A well-polished Apple, indeed. The Apple Store, 7875 Montgomery
Road, Kenwood, 513-791-9866. (BB) |
Best Place to Get a Woody:
Home Depot offers the best wood for those
doing major renovations to a house. Hey, you can never have enough
wood. Home Depot, multiple locations.
Best Place to Bust a Gasket:
Noel’s Plumbing Supply has every
washer and gasket you could want, plus offers good advice for
fixing stuff. Don’t put off that kitchen sink project any longer.
Noel’s Plumbing Supply, 1200 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine,
513-721-5286.
Best Repair Shop for Your Cuckoo Clock:
Ken-Hav Clock Service,
where they’ll coax that stuck bird out of its nest. Ken-Hav
Clock Service, 6825 Main St., Newtown, 513-561-8453.
Best Place to Wrap It Up and Get Buttoned Down:
Saint Theresa’s
Textile Trove features imported fabrics and buttons/closers
for anyone looking to make their own shirts or update their
current wardrobe.
And who isn’t? Saint Theresa’s Textile Trove, 1329
Main St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-333-0399.
Best Place to Find ’70s and ’80s
Vinyl:
Circle CD & Records in Westwood offers
rack after rack of original LPs at very cheap prices. For those
of
you younger than 30, that’s a circular
slab that plays music on something called a turntable. Of course,
who would pay more than 50 cents for Kenny Loggins Comes Alive? Circle
CD & Records, 5975 Glenway Ave., Westwood, 513-451-9824.
Best Morning Brain Teaser:
Atlas Dry Cleaners’ outdoor signs
in Newport. OK, so they’re not really mind-boggling once you
get the seasonal theme, but they’re catchy. January’s “Has
anyone seen my friend Martin?” was followed by “X Weeks
left, only the shadow knows” and “Come on in, feel the
love” in February. It also helps when the employees are
just as friendly as the outside would have you believe. Atlas
Dry Cleaners,
326 Monmouth St., Newport, 859-261-9745.
Best Place to Get Your Car Fixed
If You Don’t Trust
Car Repair Shops:
Ted’s Auto Service on Queen City Avenue.
Ted and his employees are flat out honest about what’s going on with your
car and they’ll show you, even if you don’t have any
idea what they’re talking about. If you don’t have the
money to get it all fixed all at once, they’ll tell you what
needs the immediate attention and what can be put off. Ted’s
Auto Service, 2333 Quebec Road, Fairmount, 5133-921-7725
Best Breath of Fresh Air:
Stacy Sims of Pendleton Pilates, who returned to
Cincinnati after having turned her life around, in her words, by discovering
the exercise program pilates. After starting her own pilates studio
in the Pendleton area of Over-the-Rhine, Sims was so successful she
recently opened another studio in Oakley. She’s now dedicated
to changing Cincinnati one flabby body at a time. Pendleton Pilates,
1115 Pendleton St., Over-the-Rhine, and 4404 Brazee St., Oakley, 513-333-0191.
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