When you order at Cilantro Vietnamese Bistro, you may think with a mixture of relief and disappointment that you've managed to snag soup and Vermicelli at one of the only layman-friendly Vietnamese restaurants in the city. Don't dwell on it for too long, though, because you've still got to decide what kind of spices you want; your desired sauces or dressings; what kind of noodles, etc, etc. As you munch later on, you might try to count what other Cincinnati Vietnamese restaurants you had ordered this dish from; we promise you won't need to relinquish your chopsticks hand to add it up.

Buy Cincy spends many a weekend in Northside at the fabulous local restaurants (Melt, Slims, Honey...) and the eclectic businesses (ShakeIt Records, Bughouse Video, Casablanca Vintage Clothing Store...). Add some of the city's coolest bars (the Comet, the Gypsy Hut, and of course, Northside Tavern), and you've got a great place to play.

Soon, we'll be hanging out there on Wednesday nights, too, when the Northside Farmers Market opens for the season.  

For many of us, sushi is a production, a night out with no sneakers allowed. But nestled in Clifton Heights, Maki Express is giving its patrons a simple and pleasurable experience that's sure leave some extra cash in your pocket (for another visit maybe?).

O'Bryonville, that quaint strip of Madison Road wedged between Walnut Hills and Hyde Park, is BuyCincy's kind of place: Independent, locally owned and operated businesses as far as the eye can see. Some of these businesses (The BonBonerie, Bob Roncker's Running Spot and others) have been there for decades, and we look forward to working our way down the strip. But it's one of O'Bryonville's newest businesses that caught our eye recently, The Coffee Shop on Madison.

Grammer's has already established itself as a sure stop for any local beer afficionado, and has provided us with its newly finished beer list for spring and summer. For those of you less inclined to drink beer, Grammer's has also announced that it is now carrying Cincinnati's own Woodstone Creek Vodka. We featured Woodstone Creek only weeks ago here. Peruse the menu and stop by this new/old OTR favorite!

Dee Felice Cafe is the closest Queen City can get to New Orleans. Located in Covington's MainStrasse district, Dee Felice has been serving up classic Cajun dishes against a soundtrack of live jazz since 1984.

BuyCincy is pleased to present our first monthly installment of The Locavore Report.  Valerie of the Cincinnati Locavore blog will be stopping by regularly to give us an update on locally-produced foods in the Greater Cincinnati area.  We hope you enjoy this new addition to the site!

The official start of the farmshed season at Findlay Market (although many vendors have attended occasionally throughout the winter depending on what they had available) is this coming Saturday, April 19th from 8 - 6. I contacted the attending farmshed and outdoor vendors and asked them what they'd be bringing to market on opening day. Many vendors will also be offering a raffle item for the Farmshed Spring Kickoff. Raffle tickets can be purchased from the individual vendors.

For a foodie, Opening Day is April 19, when the region's first farmers markets open! (According to Cincinnati Locavore, both markets at Findlay Market and Burlington open that day!)
It doesn't get much more local than farmers markets, and our region has a bounty. Now, there's a comprehensive (but unofficial) Web site for local farmers markets: www.cincinnatifarmersmarkets.org.
Check it out, and don't forget your reusable totes for all that produce!

 

For fans of Riverside Korean Restaurant in Covington, BuyCincy has some fabulous news: Cafe Riverside, a Korean tea and pastry shop, opens Monday in the former Mad Cup at 514 Madison Ave. in Covington. The cafe will serve about a dozen varieties of tea, plus coffee and Korean baked goods -- think walnut buns, sweet rice cakes and red bean fillings*. At night, expect Korean wine and dessert wines, plus appetizers from the adjoining restaurant.

Cafe Riverside is owned by Mark Jang, who also owns Riverside. Cafe Riverside will serve two purposes: Accommodate overflow crowds on weekends and expose Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to a different side of Korean culture.

The Greater Cincinnati Independents, which is a group of locally owned and operated Restrauranteurs (which includes, the Jean Robert Group, Jag's, Bella Luna, and many, many others) is having their quarterly gift-certificate auction.