Taste of Cincinnati

How many times did you hit Taste? I think my record is now four times. I went with 5chw4r7z and friends on Sat and had what turned out to be my favorite dishes of the weekend: vegetable pad thai and chicken curry with rice from Arioi Dee. The pad thai was good, but I really enjoyed the spiciness in the chicken curry; too hot for some of my companions but it was just right for me.

Sunday 5chw4r7z accompanied me on my quest for chocolate mousse from Behle Street Cafe. Alas, we were too late and they had closed up for the night. We went on to the Courtyard Cafe stand where I had raspberry cloud pie instead. I liked it and the people at the stand were great, but the pie wasn't as good as I remember it from last year.

On Monday, since I was still on a quest for chocolate mousse, I decided to go down early in the afternoon, starting off at Market Street Grille, where I tried the jambalaya. Spicy happiness for me until I realized they didn't pull the tails off the shrimp! On to the Friday's booth where I had samples of two mojitos and won a hat. I also ran into someone I know, got a few samples (the Ghiardelli samples were the best!) and finally has my chocolate mousse, which was worth the wait, before heading home to beat the rain. Not bad for an hour's work! We went back down in the evening to check out Leroy Ellington and his band and made one last stop at Arioi Dee for the Thai vegetable spring roll. Over the course of the weekend, I tried everything from that place except for the California Roll.
Next on the schedule: Cincy Fringe!

Happy Mother's Day

Week in Review

Tuesday: 5chwartz and I braved the rain to attend the sold out preview performance of The Great American Trailer Park Musical, a raucous homage to all things white trash. With a cast full of CCM grads, it centers on an agorophobic housewife, her philandering husband and his stripper girlfriend. The performances were spot on, the set was amazing & the cast recieved a standing ovation at the end of the night. This is likely going to be one of the most talked about shows in Cincinnati this year. Get your tickets while you can; the original run is sold out. ETC has extended the run for two weeks after Fringe Fest.

Thursday: I now understand how guys feel trying to shop at Victoria's Secret. Shopping for a gift for Jennifer's baby shower, I felt completely out of place in Babies R Us. Even though I was armed with a registry and a map, I still had no idea where or what anything was. For those of you who know me well, this little shopping excursion should give you some idea of just how much she means to me.

Saturday: Went with a group of friends to the Funny Bone at Newport on the Levee courtesy of Zipscene.

Goodbye Matt

Although I've never been a supporter of the war, I do support all the brave men and women in the armed forces, particularly those serving in Iraq. With that in mind, I went down to Great American Ball Park yesterday for the Celebration Service for Staff Sergeant Matt Maupin, who was captured just a few months before we moved down here. After nearly four years of searching, his remains were found late last month and he returned home on Sat. I was out on Rt 32 on Friday and yellow ribbons were everywhere in Newtown along the route from Lunken Airport to the viewing site. At the service I thought I wouldn't cry since I didn't know him personally- that went out the window when they started showing pictures of him on the scoreboard and I could make out his parents in the front row.

Back to Hip-Hop...maaaaaybe not

I should have known something was up when I walked in the room. And really I did, when I saw there were about 15 people and it was only the second week of the spring sessions. The room should have been packed. The regular instructor doesn't teach in the spring or summer. So who's the new instructor? Well, today's hip-hop class was taught by a 60ish white guy with a beard and a do rag. He knew what he was doing and did some ok things but it just didn't pop & flow like Danielle's class. I think I'll be sticking with Zumba until the fall sessions start up.

N/E Ohio- The List

Being up in Youngstown last weekend made me realize there are some things I miss about the area. These things being:

1. Cleveland Indians
2. Cleveland Plain Dealer
3. Lake Erie
4. Scheetz
5. Cleveland Public Theater
6. Giant Eagle
7. The Warren Panera with the cool fountain
8. Beachwood Place
9. Kent Trumbull Theater (love you, Dan!)
10. Coventry
11. Parade the Circle
12. Little Italy, in particular Corbo's bakery
13. Amish buggies
14. Oakland Center for the Arts
15. Cedar Lee Theater
16. Handel's Chocolate Malt w/caramel

Note that most of the things I miss are in or near Cleveland.
I once had a boss who described 5chw4r7z and I as Clevelanders living in Youngstown. I think that says it all.

Reds Opening Day

I celebrated Reds opening day the same way everybody else did-by taking a day off! I met two girlfriends at Game Day for breakfast & met these fellows too, who had been drinking steadily since about 6 am. At $5 per beer, I figured they were well on their way to spending at least $150.

I also ran into Dan Carroll at the ballpark, so yeah, it's a picture of another Fox 19 personality.

Next, we hit Fountain Square for our spots to watch the parade.

And you can't have a parade in Cincinnati without a giant, pink pig!

No pictures of Matt Maupin's parents; I was too busy applauding them.