Road Trip: Cincinnati

Cincinnati was the destination for a quick get-away. We headed down on Thursday, and stayed down town. I find Cinci interesting, because you can tell the city grew to prominence at an earlier time, it seems, than Indianapolis. There are some great older building, but too many seem closed or mostly empty. And, they do a nice job of using the water with the Mighty Ohio rushing by.

We wandered around some areas of the city, went to see Rock of Ages at the Aronoff Center. Pretty fun musical, kind of silly, lots of big hair hits from the 80s weaved into the show. We of course had to do some exploratory eating, so I'll mention some highlights here.

Friday, we wandered around the Mt. Adams area. Now, this is a pretty cool spot, very close to downtown, with some nice views of downtown and the river. We had lunch at the City View Tavern, which has a spectacular view from its patio.

I had a Myrt's Wurst, a griddled sausage on rye with American cheese and some horseradish. Nice, spicy, tasty. But, small. Sure, it packs a lot of saturated fat, but I was surprised at how small it is.

The Better Half had their signature burger, the Big Ted Deluxe. A very nice bar burger. City View Tavern is apparently pretty popular and well known, but not nearly as well known as Terry's Turf Club in Mt. Adams. We didn't feel like fighting the crowds there, but the burgers sure sound epic. City View definitely has a great view, the bartender is friendly, and it is just a nice place to stop in for a quick bite.

Another nice little joint was It's Just Crepes. They have 2 locations in downtown Cinci, and they offered up some very filling crepes. The two times I was in Paris, I would hardly stray from the sweet crepes, mostly going with banana and Nutella. These savory ones were well prepared, and stuffed with fillings. A pretty nice start to your day for just $6-$7. I'd really enjoy seeing this place have a location in Indy, as the idea seems easily repeatable, and the overhead seems quite low.

We did a little slightly fine dining, but... I tend to find the lower-priced meals more Grub-worthy and interesting to write about. I'll save the entry about Jungle Jim's for later, but... one really noteworthy spot is Findlay Market on the near-North side of Cinci. This is what the Indianapolis city market could only hope to be. We stopped in on both Saturday and Sunday. Yes, the Belgium waffles from Taste of Belgium were that good. Findlay Market is kind of like a homeless man's Faneuil Hall from Boston, just without the whole Freedom Trail tie in and the centuries old building. But, there is a nice mix of produce, meats, specialty items, and seafood. I'm sure it is great in the late summer with so much more produce. But, this is a worthy stopping point. And... don't forget the waffles!

So, overall, a very nice time in the Queen City. I did not see a pig fly, but we did also visit the Cincinnati Contemporary Museum of Art, the Underground Railroad Museum, and went to the Newport Kentucky riverfront, but didn't feel like taking the time to make a visit to the aquarium worthwhile.