July 25, 200717 yr ^I'm a tough sell...I just think there is probably a way to work around it. They always say that there is more than one way to skin a cat...but then again I guess the easiest option is to just throw the cat out the window.
July 25, 200717 yr I think that if the place serving hookah is already established, they can get away with certain things but it would be impossible for them to relocate in Ohio with the same theme, and I'd rather them go across the river and maintain the same theme. 80 percent of revenue has to be derived from tobacco for hookah to work. They've also made it where you can't open a hookah bar in a building that is right up against another building-- I learned this after I suggested to the dude that owns the one on Calhoun that he should open one in Northside (I think it would get good business).
July 25, 200717 yr I spoke with the son of the owners about 6 months ago and he said that they were going to close, because his mother was the head cook and that she was getting too old to keep up with everything. I asked him why don't they hire someone that is familiar with the same ethnic background in this type of culinary and he stated that they have been trying to find someone to fill her position and/or help out. He said that they couldn't find anyone that fit the standards. This sounded a little weird and far-fetched, but obviously they are now closing, so I don't know. Most of you downtowners have probably seen him around, he seems to be everywhere downtown. Actually, I think he lives at 6th and Race Apts.
July 26, 200717 yr Author Molly Malone's moving into Jack Quinn's spot BY RYAN CLARK | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER At the end of a three-month courtship, Covington has lured another Irish pub to the building that used to be inhabited by Jack Quinn's Restaurant. Click here for article: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/BIZ01/707260328/1076/BIZ
July 26, 200717 yr http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/NEWS02/707250357 New Korean restaurant to open in Cincinnati By Joe Wessels Post contributor A Korean restaurateur who was part of a popular Covington eatery is opening his own in downtown Cincinnati. Sung J. Oh, who worked in and helped manage his sister's restaurant, Korean Riverside, is opening his own restaurant - Sung Korean Bistro - at 7th and Elm streets in the location of the former Aioli's and Jalapeno's Mexican restaurant.
July 26, 200717 yr Wonderful - welcome to him! And maybe I'll finally be able to go to one of his restaurants without worrying about if I'm going to be miserable sitting on the floor the whole damn night if all the booths are taken!
July 26, 200717 yr I have talked with Mr. Oh while dining at his old location, and he definitely has what it takes to succeed. This is fantastic news for downtown. And again, how does Joe Wessels keep getting these scoops? All while working for a paper that is 4 months from closing.
July 26, 200717 yr New eatery replaces Simone's BY JOHN ECKBERG | [email protected] A revamped interior, approach and menu comes to the East Walnut Hills space once occupied by Simone’s on Sept. 5 when executive chef and founder Travis Maier opens Seny to bring Spanish tapas to a Cincinnati neighborhood. See link above for article.
July 27, 200717 yr Has anyone heard anything about the Rise and Shine Cafe on 6th Street? They've been closed for almost two weeks now, and a sign in the window says that they are closed for emergency repairs.
July 27, 200717 yr Review: Boi Na Braza Downtown's new temple of meat adds sizzle to the Square BY MICHAEL SCHIAPARELLI | CITY BEAT July 25, 2007 PHOTO: Boi Na Braza interior Joe Lamb/CityBeat DOWNTOWN - At a valet parking station across from Fountain Square, a personable young attendant asks where we're headed. We tell him Boi Na Braza. "Pace yourselves!" he advises knowingly. (Note: Excellent advice; in fact, a better tip than I gave in return.) See link above for article.
July 27, 200717 yr New world of food choices Mejana exits downtown, but Korean eatery, others moving in BY LISA BIANK FASIG | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER July 27, 2007 PHOTO: With the help of a friend, Sung Oh built the low tables that will be used for dining on the floor of his new restaurant Sung Korean Bistro. Mark Bowen | Courier DOWNTOWN - Gauchos and Cadillacs might be grabbing attention in the middle of downtown, but to the west of Fountain Square kabobs and kimchi are flying, both in and out. The Mediterranean eatery Mejana, known for Middle Eastern buffets, shish kabobs and hookahs, has closed its location at Sixth and Race streets and plans to reopen in Tri-County Mall in September. Meanwhile, a couple blocks away at the former Jalapeños restaurant space at Seventh and Elm, a Korean chef is preparing to take over. See link above for article.
July 27, 200717 yr With the help of a friend, Sung Oh built the low tables that will be used for dining on the floor of his new restaurant Sung Korean Bistro. M%*$ f$#@.
July 27, 200717 yr I wonder if it will have the do it yourself self-bbq set-ups of many Korean restaurants; I hope so!
July 27, 200717 yr My gf asked me to inquire about this (because I don't know off the top of my head). Where is there a good place to get soup, for lunch, downtown...or are there any? I know that some places offer a soup of the day, but I'm/she's looking more so for a place with multiple options, good quality and reasonable prices. Any suggesstions??
July 27, 200717 yr Author The former Simone's space in Walnut Hills has a new tenant and is under construction. The restaurant is a tapas place named Seny Cincinnati. The website is http://www.senycincy.com/, but it is not up yet. Good to see something going in there.
July 27, 200717 yr My gf asked me to inquire about this (because I don't know off the top of my head). Where is there a good place to get soup, for lunch, downtown...or are there any? I know that some places offer a soup of the day, but I'm/she's looking more so for a place with multiple options, good quality and reasonable prices. Any suggesstions?? Other options may come to mind . . . but Sunny Deli on the 15th floor of the URS Building and in the Carew Tower has a selection of soups (5 or so) every day. They are pretty good and reasonably priced. Not sure if they are homemade or anything . . . but good. I loved Paula's soups but I think she only had one or two options per day.
July 27, 200717 yr My gf asked me to inquire about this (because I don't know off the top of my head). Where is there a good place to get soup, for lunch, downtown...or are there any? no help here, as usual, but you soup lovers ever hear of Souplantaion ? http://www.souplantation.com/ All the soup/salad freaks I know who have experienced it have loved it and the ones who know Cinti all want one here. Apparently they don't franchise but they seem to be inching their way here. It's not my cup of tea but even I liked it in LA/Pasadena.
July 29, 200717 yr Cincinnati's bar/restaurant scene is really picking up steam ... We need to really re-think about what's going on here as far as creating an official "entertainment district". I know that sounds kind of silly, since it's the bars/restaurants that make up the district anyway, but I'm talking about open container, bar-to-bar type of thing. We need street closures on Friday and Saturdays and open from happy hour to 2:30 a.m. All of these bar/restaurant owners need to get together and talk about some kind of commitment to serving these new patrons of downtown along with the old one's. There needs to be accountability in staying open late, outside dining, etc... Teaming up and funding the security/rent-a-cop fees, outside dining equipment, etc. There needs to also be some kind of band/DJ that plays or spins on each night of the weekend, let's say the band plays on Friday and the DJ spins on Saturday to cater to multiple personalities. The city needs to market this also, by funding signs, advertisements, and something that just adds a little character to the new district. I'm not talking about cheesy 15' bowling pins, just something that kind of says, "you are entering an area designated for adult entertainment and be prepared to have fun". Has this been on anyone else's mind lately? What do you guys think, give specific details of what you'd like to see happen.
July 29, 200717 yr The open container idea certainly has been on my mind...along with the street closures. I don't know what discussions there have been in the Mayor's Young Professional Kitchen Cabinet for this type of stuff, but I would certainly hope that it's being covered. Little things like this could be what puts the nightlife scene downtown over the edge!
July 29, 200717 yr We still have a long way to go with bars, around Fountain Square there are about 5 and while that is a lot compared to what there used to be, it is still terribly insufficient. I was up in Denver last night and there are bars everywhere. I still don't understand why there are vacant buildings near second street, put a bar in a building there and you have a cash cow.
July 29, 200717 yr I've never been to Denver, but I hope it's not like 4th Street Live in Louisville and by that I mean national chains. Last time I went to 4th Street Live I asked a freakin chef that just got off work walking down the street where a good local place was and he said "Red Star Tavern". I asked the server if this was the Bar Louie and she said yes. A waste of $.
July 30, 200717 yr ^ Denver is nothing like 4th Street Live, it truly is a fantastic city that would blow your mind. I love downtown Denver, 16th street is just wow...
July 30, 200717 yr Boulder is supposedly really awesome too. I heard they have a lot of street performers/entertainers.
July 31, 200717 yr My gf asked me to inquire about this (because I don't know off the top of my head). Where is there a good place to get soup, for lunch, downtown...or are there any? I know that some places offer a soup of the day, but I'm/she's looking more so for a place with multiple options, good quality and reasonable prices. Any suggesstions?? Fresh at the corner of 4th and Walnut has good soup, but they usually have just 2-3 different ones per day, and they don't seem to have a set schedule. Bruegger's Bagels usually has a few soup options as well. Sunshine Fine Foods in the Grammercy facing Piatt Park has good soups as well, and they are definitely inexpensive. They do make theirs on site. Bagel Stop also offers soup, but I think they are high for the type of quality you get.
July 31, 200717 yr I almost forgot about Servatii's on Court St. They have 2-3 different soups a day, they are reasonably priced, and they even give you a pretzel stick with it. :)
August 1, 200717 yr Olives: Clifton So went to Esquire last night for cheap movie night (lately a Tuesday ritual) followed by drinks at Golden Lion (also lately a Tuesday ritual). Noticed Olives is now open in the old Uno spot. Didn't go in but it was a topic of some of the bar goers. Two guys had just returned from dinner and didn't have much to say about the food quality but said service was great. And interestingly, the bar had an Olives menu which I read through. Now I don't know why but it was printed incorrectly (had to turn it upside down when reading the back) and had numerous, and I mean numerous, typing and spelling errors. Maybe it was just a prototype but it struck me as unprofessional. We decided to go over and read the real menu at the restaurant and it looked fine with no errors, etc. Formatting was different (better) too. The whole thing struck me as odd. Why put out bad menus like that? Anyway, we are always looking for new places to eat before and after the shows at Esquire so I will reserve further judgement until after we try it out for ourselves. By the way, the Esquire & Ludlow were hopping!
August 1, 200717 yr According to dineoutoften.com, the Holy Grail is opening a 2nd location in a couple of weeks on the West Side on Ebenezer near Cleaves Warsaw.
August 1, 200717 yr is The Golden Lion a gay bar? I am moving to Ludlow area and saw rainbow flags outside it but they werent typical rainbow flags so I wasnt sure if it meant it was a gay bar or if they were just happy decorations.
August 1, 200717 yr Oldest gay bar in the city, from what I understand...Issue430 could give us more history on it - I think he met some of the original waitresses a few years ago... Great place - cheap drinks, hole-in-the-wall, delightfully nice people...it's my favorite place to go and just liquor up...
August 1, 200717 yr my favorite place to go and just liquor up... I think this is an attitude of many people who go there. There are always one or two drunk crazies in there every time I'm there. A hole-in-the wall for sure.
August 1, 200717 yr is The Golden Lion a gay bar? I am moving to Ludlow area and saw rainbow flags outside it but they werent typical rainbow flags so I wasnt sure if it meant it was a gay bar or if they were just happy decorations. those are technically rainbow buntings
August 2, 200717 yr Just got back from Olives, and all I can say is...meh. The menu looked really great, and the food was alright, however - the food was just alright. Same price range as say, Kona Bistro (one of my favorites), but the quality of the food was not quite as good. Also, it will still be another week or two until they get their liquor license, so get a bottle of wine across the street and bring it with you - as they suggested once we sat down - if you want to drink.
August 2, 200717 yr Tonight was my wife's birthday, so we took her to Pigall's, and got the Chef's Table in the kitchen...and wow, was that cool! We only reserved it a couple weeks in advance, so it's definitely not some crazy booked-up-forever kind of thing. We got a couple extra courses tossed in, which was cool, except we left STUFFED to the gills...and best of all, Issue430 picked up the bill! What a guy! Anyway, here's a few crappy cell phone shots I took between gorging on food and knocking back bourbon... Issue430 enjoying a martini (with blue cheese stuffed olives!): The civilian against the wall is an Enquirer reporter who's doing a story on A Day In The Life of Jean Robert or something...I was a touch late on this shot - Jean Robert's head is disappearing over the woman's right shoulder...
August 2, 200717 yr Awesome! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 2, 200717 yr I didn't even know this existed...although it's way out of my price range so it's not too surprising I guess. Looks fantastic!
August 2, 200717 yr The two most shocking things: 1) The cleanliness of the kitchen. The cooks weren't even standing on mats - they were on the floor. Non-stick shoes, of course, but still, all the food and oil and salt and sauces flying everywhere, and everything was spotless. 2) The efficiency of the chefs...it's a pretty small kitchen, and a very extensive menu, with probably a half dozen components to every dish, and probably twenty or twenty five different dishes, but there was no fuss, no muss, just food prep...Issue430 and I cook together at least weekly for my wife and his SO, and we have a bigger hassle and make a bigger mess just grilling burgers and brats! These folks are truly impressive...
August 2, 200717 yr Thats really weird that its so clean--Indigo was a nightmare. I hated going back to the kitchen. Everything was grease, humidity and wetness.
August 2, 200717 yr does it attract a young crowd? I have been there more this summer than ever before but my friend indicated there is a younger crowd when school is in session. The crowd when I have been there has really been a range of older and younger, mostly men (but some women) of which there were regulars who are there a lot.
August 2, 200717 yr Thats really weird that its so clean--Indigo was a nightmare. I hated going back to the kitchen. Everything was grease, humidity and wetness. It's really not that weird...the better/higher quality of restaurant...the nicer the kitchen. Pigalls is high quality and you can see how it stems from the kitchen.
August 2, 200717 yr Thats really weird that its so clean--Indigo was a nightmare. I hated going back to the kitchen. Everything was grease, humidity and wetness. It's really not that weird...the better/higher quality of restaurant...the nicer the kitchen. Pigalls is high quality and you can see how it stems from the kitchen. I do like this trend of opening the kitchen up to the world...like Boca's kitchen - the whole back room looks right into the kitchen. At least one of the early design's for Via Vite had an open kitchen, and he'd thought about a six-seater bar-type space where folks could sit looking in on the kitchen and have the kitchen staff serve their meal. Actually, for a less-pricey open-kitchen experience, there's always Brio in NOTL - I know it's a chain, and it's NOTL, but I couldn't care less, the food is quite tasty - but they have a four or six seater bar-like area that faces the kitchen...that's very fun too... Or hell, there's always Skyline!
August 2, 200717 yr Golden Lions - they built the bar around me. It's been there since the mid-1960s. There is some discussion if it will remain in its current location or if it will continue to exist at all. The folks who purchased the Ludlow Garage also purchased the building GL is in and, rumor has it, may tear it down. Pigalls's - yummmiee! (my wallet is feeling the pain today, though!)
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