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.

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.