March 2008 Archives

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The following is an excerpt from our BuyCincy Opening Day Guide.  Click here to check out the complete guide.

Don't have a ticket to the game?  Here are 6 places we recommend you check out to catch the game over food and drinks with other Reds fans.

1. Fountain Square

Sure to be packed with Reds Fans, a jumbo screen and lots of entertainment, Fountain Square is a great place to watch the game.  Give Back Cincinnati is putting on an Opening Day event, with food, drinks, live music, and of course the Game on the Jumbotron. The schedule for events is:

  • 2:00- 6:00 Food, drink and the game
  • 6:00 The Flight Station
  • 7:00 Ellison
  • 8:00 Heroes and Madmen
  • 9:00 TBA

2. Gabby's Cafe

Owner Dino DiStasi is a huge Reds fan.  Gabby's is not a sports bar, but it is a great restaraunt with lots of great flat screen TVs, and really good food.  Located in Wyoming on Wyoming Ave, it is the perfect spot for people in the north/central region to watch the game.  Visit www.gabbyswyoming.com for directions and a menu.

3. Tickets

A good locally owned sports bar in Covington with lots of TVs and a happy hour from 2pm to 7pm.  Visit www.ticketssportscafe.com

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The following is an excerpt from our BuyCincy Opening Day Guide.  Click here to check out the complete guide.

Where to watch the parade (courtesy of the folks at Findlay Market):

The Parade route starts at Findlay Market and heads down Race St to Fifth, and then travels east on Fifth ending at Broadway.  The best spots to watch the parade are:  

Findlay Market: Nothing beats the excitement of watching the hustle and bustle of getting the parade together, and when the parade is finished, you can pick up some great food!  

Race and Central Parkway the Gateway Quarter:  Come and see all the progress and development in the Gateway Quarter just north of Central Parkway.  The new School for Performing Arts building is being constructed, and the new location for the Art Academy is just a block away.  After the parade is finished you can pop over for some shopping on Vine St, at Park and Vine, MiCA, or Metronation.  Then you can get a little something to eat at Jean Robert's new restaraunt, Lavomatic. 

We're always sad to see a local business close, and this time it's Freda's Restaurant on North Bend in Finneytown. Freda's was a breakfast and lunch joint that had been in the location for some time. Signs on the windows simply read "Lost our lease. Had to close."

A local alternative for breakfast, lunch (and dinner), Angelo's, seems to be doing well, so if you're in the area make sure to stop by and support your neighbors.

 

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Obviously if you checked out the column last week, you saw that we mentioned a very exciting Art Gallery opening. After a series of red faces, we discovered that we had apparently entered a time machine as its opening is THIS weekend, not last. Apologies for anyone that was starving for art from starving artists. We're making up for it this week (we hope)!
 
Hit the jump for this weekend's recommendations:

We openly admit it, we love opening day.  This Monday we most likely will skip work and school to head down to Findlay Market and watch the very beginnings of the parade.  And, some of our staff is even lucky enough to attend the events of all events in Cincinnati, the opening day game at Great American (grrrrr).  The rest of the BuyCincy staff will be kicking back with some Kroeger and Sons brats and a few Christian Moerleins as we welcome Spring in Cincinnati.  


BuyCincy wanted to commemorate this very special event, so we put together a local guide to Opening Day full of great places to check out during the baseball festivities.  So, to get your local on, go check out our 2008 Opening Day Guide.

"Local business" was the word in this year's CityBeat Best of Cincinnati.  The guide starts out with a nod to our friends over at Cincinnati Locavore, and continues to talk about the importance of locally-owned business in the city.  

Both of the best restaurants (there was a tie between Boca and Pigall's), the best new restaurant (Nada), the best bar (Northside Tavern), the best new bar (Twist) and the best new store (Park + Vine) highlighted the cream of the crop when it comes to locally-owned restaurants and shops.  But, that just scratches the surface, plenty of familiar faces litter the pages of the guide, way too many to list here, so a big congrats to all the winning shopowners and restauranteurs!

Oh, and I guess we forgot to mention the local business that won "Best Blog," some website by the name of BuyCincy.com.  That's right, in the words of Stephen Colbert, "We did it!"  What's more, our Cincinnati Unchained event won the staff pick for "Best Retail Promotion."  A huge thanks to everyone who voted for us!  

We also wanted to give a shoutout to the other really, really, really great blogs that were listed with us, Building Cincinnati (lead by the unstoppable Kevin Lemaster), the Lance McAlister Blog, the Cincinnati Blog (lead by the grandfather of Cincinnati blogging, Brian Griffin), and Urban Cincinnati (lead by our good friend and urban advocate Randy Simes).  

We are looking at and hoping for great things this year so we can live up to the "Best Blog" title.

- Sean Fisher
  co-founder, BuyCincy.com   

  

Nicholas Gallery

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When Nicholas Paddock first opened Nicholas Gallery only two years ago, the easy way to get visibility would have been to situate himself next to a host of other galleries, not on a diverse downtown street where businesses such as butchers and florists would be his next door neighbors.  However, that is exactly what Paddock did, a nod to his vision that art should be experienced every day.  "I feel art should be in the whole downtown," says Paddock, "not just split up into groups."  So, he found a funky space on Court St. complete with a functioning garage door for a front wall and started his gallery.  Nicholas Gallery immediately became a part of his Court St. neighborhood and downtown as a whole.    

BuyCincy has learned that, due to the Blizzard a few weekends ago, the Prohibition Resistance Tour is being rescheduled for  April 12th and 13th.  Look for more details coming soon.

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This weekend you'll have an opportunity to check out the opening of an extremely unique art show, and meet the Easter Bunny where he shops.
 
Hit the jump for details:
 
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What's the deal?

Tucked away on an unassuming corner near Dana Ave in Evanston lies an unassuming red brick building with an unassuming green door.  Inside the old warehouse, though, lies Ohio's first microdistillery and one of Cincinnati's few urban wineries.  Woodstone Creek has been at this Evanston location for the past 6 years in Evanston (and 3 years before that in Lebanon), creating local, national and internationally-awarded wines, meads and even a locally-produced vodka.

Woodstone makes 20 different wine and mead varietals, and like any winery worth its weight in grapes, they let you come in and taste the available wines and purchase them directly from the winemakers (every Saturday 1-5 p.m.).  Unfortunately, due to Ohio liquor laws (laws Woodstone Creek are working hard to change), not all of Woodstone's creations can be tasted or even bought directly from the company.  In 2006, the company introduced the first in a line of locally-produced spirits - Woodstone Creek Vodka.    

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This weekend is, fittingly, shaping up to be about one thing and one thing only - beer.  Whether the blizzard forced you to miss out on last weekend's beer festivities or you are just looking forward to staining your tongue green on Monday, beer will be flowing.  Here are this weekend's best activities...
After a long hiatus, BlurgGirl is back on the Cincy blog scene, and one of her first posts back is right up our alley.  In response to today's IKEA opening, she is challenging her readers to post their favorite local places for buying furniture - with bonus points for locally or regionally works.  Have one in mind?  Head on over to BlurgGirl.

* Family-friendly warning.  We have seen BlurgGirl described as "irreverent," and that's probably an apt description.  If foul language offends you, you should probably steer clear.

The Living Canvas

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What's the deal?
 
When Curtis Heuser casually accepted a sidejob to paint a mural for a customer of the photo lab he worked for, upon finishing he found that he had six months of mural work lined up. He then quit his menial job and never looked back. That was 1987. Since then Heuser has been hard at work doing murals and faux finishes. His most recent project was the complete remodel of a house in the Eastrow Historic District of Newport, KY. Run down and filled with junk, Heuser's remodel of the house turned into a rigorous full-time job that, as fate would have it, landed him a book deal detailing the entire process.
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What's the deal?

OTR and Findlay Market have a new wine store.  Market Wines, an independant wine shop, opens up on March 29 across from the main Market building.  Owner Michael Maxwell plans on offering wines designed to compliment the market's main attraction, fresh, high-quality food.  Organic, kosher and "biodynamic" wines will sit beside conventional grapes, and the shop also plans to offer micro-brews, imported beers and wine accessories so you have everything you need to get your drink on.  

The only bad part in our opinion is no Sunday hours (we love spending Sunday mornings at Findlay), but weekday and Saturday hours are represented - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9am - 5pm, Friday from 9am - 6pm and Saturday from 8am to 6pm.     

Perfect for?

Findlay Market foodies, Paul Giamatti's character in Sideways.

Where to get it?

Findlay Market
128 W. Elder St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202

bestofforum.jpgRegular BuyCincy readers probably have noticed the "forum" link at the top of our page.  Well, after working out (hopefully) all the bugs, we are ready to bring everyone on board.  Starting today, we are going to be highlighting some of the best forums posts on BuyCincy's main page.  So, we hope you go on over to the forums, sign up for an account and interact with others interested about local shops, bars and restaurants.  Here are some of the threads now going on over on the forums:

  • Quimbob is trying to find "Cincinnati or Ohio themed commemorative tea towels."  Anyone out there have the hook up?
  • We were wondering, "Who else ventured into the blizzard to Bockfest this weekend?"  Playing in the deserted city streets certainly made us feel (and act) like kids again.
  • And, who has the lowdown on local bars for St. Patrick's Day?  We want to know where you plan on going, or have gone in the past.

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Okay, I realize it's not Sunday, and so I suppose we should really be calling it "Sale Monday" this week, but it just doesn't have the same ring. Day of the week aside, however, we're back to inform you of same great local sales. If you are a shopowner and are interested in having your sale appear in Sale Sunday contact us at kristi@buycincy.com. As always, keep reading for information on this week's sales. 

Maya Drozdz

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Maya is a partner in the all-media design studio VisuaLingual. She holds an MFA in Graphic Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BA in Philosophy from Cornell University. A transplant to Cincinnati, she lives in Over-the-Rhine and can be reached at maya [at] buycincy [dot] com.
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Whispers of wintry mix and white death are probably going to keep most people in the comfort of their homes this weekend, which is unfortunate because Bockfest 2008 is officially this weekend. We encourage you to brave the inclement weather to enjoy the festivities. Hit the jump for all the details:
twist_cincinnati.jpgWhat's the deal?

So, we have been paying quite a bit of attention of Jean-Robert this past week.  First, we brought news of the opening of Lavomatic in the Gateway Quarter - and shortly after that, first impressions from other blogs.  Now, we are all hyped up about our recent visit to Jean Robert's Twist Lounge next to Pigall's, the scene for last Wednesday's CityBeat's Swizzle Soiree.  

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The Friends' of the Public Library Gift Shop is, as manager Martha Totten puts it, a secret she doesn't want to keep, and after investigating, we here at BuyCincy are happy to spread the word about it. Located in the main public library on Vine Street, this delightful little shop has been selling very low priced gently used books for 25 years. Aside from books, however, the shop can be seen as somewhat of a creative literary theme park, selling literary games and dolls, and just about any book-reading accessory you could ever need (booklights, bookmarks, book totes...need I list more?)

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 As announced last week to subscribers of the BuyCincy Newsletter, BuyCincy is pleased to announce a new monthly segment on the site:  Market Watch:  The Findlay Market Update.  Click below to hear the latest happenings, a little history about the market, and "the big event".

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Wanna know what everyone else is digging on BuyCincy?  "Reader's Choice," brings you the five most read stories every month.  So, hit these links to read BuyCincy's most popular posts for February.

1) Jean Robert's Lavomatic

Jean Robert's new OTR urban wine bar is officially a hit on the blogosphere.  We had a chance to go talk to the Lavomatic crew two days before they opened.

2)  New Store: A Lucky Step

Another new store opened in the Gateway Quarter this month, the contemporary funiture and home accessories store A Lucky Step.  We came equipped with a camera so you know what to expect.

3) Bill Donabedian: My Favorite Local Spot

To kick off our new column "My Favorite Local Spot," where Cincinnati tells us their favorite local digs, we got Bill Donabedian, Managing Director of Fountain Square to tell us his.  Bill's choice?  The men's clothiers at Bolero.



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About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from March 2008 listed from newest to oldest.

February 2008 is the previous archive.

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