A Saturday Morning Adventure: Findlay Market

Findlay Market.. the smells, the people.. it makes for a great Saturday morning adventure. This past Saturday my mom, Karen, and I ventured down to OTR.

First stop of course Dojo Gelato! I never know why I am surprised when I try their flavors, it always tastes exactly like what it's supposed to be! (Funny concept in America if you think about, why doesn't a strawberry jolly rancher taste like a strawberry?)  My choice this week, Pistachio and Dutch Chocolate. Little tip when you are getting Pistachio gelato, if the flavor is lime, bright, in-your-face green, chances are it's not natural. If it is light green, almost gray, you've got the good stuff! Also thanks to Dojo, for sharing a recipe with Karen, she was really grateful!







I also sampled the blue cheese and honey, and I liked it, but don't think I would be able to eat a whole cup...that's a lot of cheese!

The next part of our trip led to the meets and spices. We were educated by the Colonel and his crew about what spices to pick, and then next door, (Queen City Meats I believe?) the butchers happily educated us on how to pick a good steak! That's what I love about Findlay, they will not only sell you the food, but they will teach you about it too. And boy are they patient, sometimes I ask a lot of stupid questions!





Shout out to Mike from Mike's Meats. He hooked us up with some complementary peperoni, as well as a piece of french bread. My mom was trying to figure out how to get bread like 'Subway'. Mike happily went back to his personal pantry, gave us some bread and told us to cook it at 450 for 5 minutes and we would have 'Subway Bread'. We tried it and he was right!

Anything can happen at Findlay, like finding your true love. Karen got asked on a date from a guy who didn't even know her name, pretty bold I'd say! Too make it more romantic, it was right next to the fresh salmon, who like Karen, were staring in disbelief.  Alas, we will never know what could have been. :-) 

Finally we stopped at the produce section. This was the coolest part. Most of the vendors have been working down at Findlay Market since they were kids, and their parents owned the stand. My Grandpa (Mom's dad) owned a produce store in OTR. When my mom asked the vendors if they recognized the name, several did! They even could name the street it was on (13th and Main). I thought that was very cool, considering the store shut down in 1985.



All in all, great trip to the market. I am hoping as the weather gets warmer, I will start spending more of my grocery money there, rather than regular grocery stores.

Taste of Belgium.. not just waffles!

Mark and I ventured down to Findley Market on a rainy Sunday. I am a bit ashamed to admit, but I first visited Findley Market in September, after living in Cincinnati for 20 something years. Boy have I missed out! It's such a variety of foods, people, and noises. From spices to gelato the market has everything (and you've only stepped through the door).

We were deciding whether to buy some food and make lunch or grab it while at Findley Market. I tried to convince Mark that a Creme Puff could be considered lunch, but Mark, being a firm believer that meat must be served at every meal, would not agree.

We decided on the meatlovers stromboli from Taste of Belgium. Now if you have every tried their waffles you know that anything that comes from them is fantastic. The stromboli was no exception. The gentleman who served us, offered to heat up the stromboli, and gave us marinara sauce to dip it in.


 



My first bite, I thought I had flown back to Italy. The break was so crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. It was the perfect balance of cheese, meat, and bread. Mark and I both agreed that dipping it in cold marinara sauce really made it great. Again, it's all about the balance. Splitting it between us, we were both content after our lunch. I really thought I was going to be able to have a waffle after our lunch, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach!

So who knew.. Taste of Belgium makes more than fabulous waffles.

Lodgebar & Milli Vanilli

I really enjoy going to Lodgebar downtown. They normally have some good drink specials, the atmosphere is pretty casual and I like the live music as well. I am wondering if I am the only one who noticed, but I was there back in December and I swear the band was not playing. They were up there, with instruments, but the music I was hearing was not coming from them. Has anyone else noticed this? I have had a couple of friends say that this is not the first time. Are there not enough cover bands out there? I find that hard to believe. What are your thoughts??

Pizza and Chili? My Dream Come True!

I've heard great things about Newport Pizza Company, and have been saying over and over again that I should really eat there. Friday after the January snowstorm hit Cincinnati, (and by snowstorm I mean 3 inches) I made the decision to go!
 
Karen and I made the trip across the river to try some pizza. I do have to say that we have quite the expert pallet for pizza, Karen spent 3 months in Europe, I spent 2 weeks in Italy, and most importantly, we both have 4 years of college pizza 'sampling' under our belts!

I felt like I was walking into a local diner. Newport Pizza Co. is pretty small and nothing too fancy. It wasn't very crowded, so we were able to pick a table. (We chose closer to the back, to avoid the cold air from the front door!)

I've never been to a pizza place with such drastic choices on their menu. We had a hard time deciding what to choose, especially because each choice felt like it was going to be a unique experience.

We finally decided on a half buffalo chicken pizza, and half Cincinnati Chili Pizza.I love Cincinnati Chili and I love pizza, but I was hesitant as to how it would work out together. Well I must say that it was a great life choice. The Cincinnati Chili Pizza was great; don't ask me how the marina sauce works with the chili, but it does!

 

The buffalo chicken was also good, but a bit heavy on the blue cheese. After scraping some of it off, it was perfect. The pizza dough was thin and very tasty. I was surprised, for some reason I thought the crust would be deep dish.

All in all Newport Pizza Company is definitely a place I would like to return to. There are so many choices I have to try!

New Years at the CAC

I have to admit, contemporary arts is not my thing. However, throw in New Years Eve and a party with all my friends, and the CAC is looking a little more inviting. If you have not been able to stop by the CAC, you should. They did a good job hosting the New Years Even even with a great dance floor, appetizers, and various bars. It had an NYC feel to it, and was a great place to ring in 2010!

Dogs Dressed as Humans (for a good cause)

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not the biggest fan of dressing up dogs. They are animals and should stay dressed how God made them, in their fur. However, I will make an exception for.. The Mount Adams Dog Parade! I have never seen so many dogs in one place! Many (majority) looked sad and confused as to why they were covered in sparkles, holly, and wearing capes. However to the delight of all the parade viewers, these dogs bravely walked the hills. Here are some of my favorites from the parade:

What Motivates Me to Run: Egg Nog!

I'm not a runner, however for the sake of exercising, running is what I do. I am not ready to call myself a one because personally I think runners are a crazy bunch. I found this out firsthand when I participated in the Mt. Adams Egg Nog Jog 5k in December. Both Karen and I were pretty sure the race would be canceled, as there was an inch or two of snow on the ground from the night before. We wandered up to Koka CoffeeShop and found that nope, race still on, and plenty of runners to participate. The course was slippery at points, but overall a great run through Mt. Adams. Don't let the hills turn you away from this 5K, I thought the Run Like Hell route was a lot worse! And what a great way to end the race... a fresh cup of Egg Nog ;)

Get Lit in Mt. Adams

The First Annual Mt. Adams Luminaria was a great charity event. It brought out all of neighbors in the middle of December and businesses on the hill offered food and drink specials for all those who participated. I would say about 75% of the streets were lit up. (candles mind you.. ) It really put me in the Christmas spirit (which isn't hard to do), wandering around with a cup of Mulled Wine from the Wine Cellar listening kids caroling. Enjoy the pictures below!

30 Santas=Traumatized Children

What started out as a nice morning at Findley Market ended up with an afternoon beer at Lavomatic. My roommate Karen and I decided to wander down to Park+Vine after some Findley Shopping. After perusing the store and several others in OTR, we glanced out the window and saw 30 Santas walk by. Now I am new to OTR, but I was guessing this wasn't a normal occurrence. So what else is there to do when you see 30 Santas? You follow them!

All the Santas entered Lavomatic, so we were able to talk to them and they explained they were participating in Santacon, a Christmas Barcrawl through Cincincinnati. (They also strongly encouraged us to join them)! From the official website, 'Cincinnati Santacon is essentially a gathering of like minded individuals who wish to both get into the Christmas spirit as well as spread Christmas cheer to their fellow man.' The rules for Santacon were pretty funny:

The rules of Santacon:
1. You must wear a Santa Claus Suit
2. Don't mess with Children
3. Don't mess with Police or Security
4. Don't mess with Santa

This isn't just your normal barcrawl, it is a Web2.0 barcrawl where participants follow a twitter account (@CincySantacon ) that directs them to the bar. 

I was only able to participate in one stop for Santacon 2009, I can't wait to be a part of the whole
event next year! 




To learn more visit the site: http://www.cincinnatisantacon.com/

Hello Cincinnati!

I am a twenty something who just graduated and is starting a new adventure. Although I have lived in Cincinnati all my life, I feel like I am just exploring it for the first time. Born and raised West-Sider, I have ventured out and now reside in Mt. Adams (although you can never take the West Side out of me). My hopes for this blog are to show the cool events, shows, restaurants and night life that Cincinnati has to offer. Any comments are much appreciated!