STAFF PICKS Best Place to Catch Up On The News While Sipping an Espresso
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Photo By: Joe Lamb
Best "Buy Local" Store: The new Madison's Market in Northside is where you can always pick up a mango or two every time you're in the neighborhood. Or you can grab some soup and some of the best homemade gelato going. Not to mention that the staff are always friendly and are always on the lookout for new items. Best Place to Ditch the Mall Hair: Let's face it, Northern Kentucky's neighborhoods, while full of subtle character, have never exactly been praised as piazzas of style. Bellevue, however, is bidding farewell to frump once and for all. The full service Evolutions Image & Wellness Salon is a world apart from the area's typical countrified chop shops. Their staff is built of professional stylists like David Streine, the south bank's liaison to the cutting edge. This is Hyde Park style and quality for a fraction of the price. Best Hair Salon for Dudes: Fellas, if you're tired of the old barbershop, sick of getting hacked up at Supercuts or not quite comfortable going to a "ladies salon," Tycoon Harry's is the place for you. It's a comfortable and friendly atmosphere with a cool staff of quality head-cutters, the kind of place you don't have to dread going to out of fear of a bad 'do or annoying stylists. Along with cuts, the salon offers pedicures, manicures, facials and waxing (only $55 to get rid of that forest on your back). Best School Lunch: If you've enjoyed a good experience at an area restaurant, there's a good chance that some of the people who made it so were trained at the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State, where students are trained by world-class chef Meg Galvin and others to run kitchens and produce food that's both artistic and satisfying. And here's a tip: Stop by Cincinnati State at lunchtime on weekdays to experience the students' work in a 90-seat restaurant — meals are served to faculty, students and the general public for a modest price. (culinary.cincinnatistate.edu)
Best Restored Blight
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Photo By: Jared M. Holder
Best Teatime: Who needs Starbuck's when you can be oh-so-civilized with a stop for a spot of tea at Churchill's Gift Shop. The best moment for that is, of course, tea time (between 2 and 4 p.m.). While you're there, check out the shop's supply of 80 types of loose tea from around the world, plus beautiful china. Founder Kathleen Kern crossed the pond from London in 1967, so she knows what she's up to. Lunch is available 11 a.m.-2 p.m. If you want the traditional tea at mid-afternoon (with fresh scones, clotted cream, preserves and more), it's best call for a reservation. Best Throw-Away Clothes: Forever XXI sells cool shirts on the cheap. That means that whether you've fallen victim to a pack of hungry pumas or just your old hole-in-lip-whenever-drinking-anything-red defect, you don't have to be out more than $20. And ladies, this affordable fashion line understands that a great looking top can be comfortable — they're mostly cotton and long enough that you'll never again need a friendly thong-snap reminder. Best Boutique for a Fashion-Forward Frisson: If the names Dries van Noten and Martin Margiela mean anything to you, you might already be a Suki junkie. Owner Summer Skrzelowski consistently brings an exciting array of cutting-edge, well-designed, quality clothing to women who aspire to more than a cookie-cutter look. Individual style for individual women, and great personal service to boot. Did someone say boots? Suki offers a handful of handpicked footwear selections each season to complete your unique ensembles. Be forewarned: many of the aforementioned European designers' goods are wardrobe investments.
Best Marriage of Cotton and Comedy
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Photo By: Joe Lamb
Best Place to Score a Vintage Bargain: Looking for an old-school, European-made Izod Lacoste shirt? How about a pair of primary colored floral-print polyester pants? Or perhaps a 45 of Tom Jones' "She's a Lady"? Look no further than Avant Garage, the quirky, anything-goes vintage shop run by a collective of longtime beacons of Cincinnati's music scene (see related feature story on page 18). What's more, any of those items wouldn't set you back more than a handful of greenbacks. You never know what you might find there, but you can be sure you won't find it anyplace else. Best Person to Tweak Your Clothing Size: Can't afford tailor-made clothes? A visit to expert tailor Laurie Keleher of Sew Fine provides the next best thing, whether it's a matter of hemming your new pants or getting that suit jacket to drape just so. Depending on her schedule, she's often willing to discuss "special projects" too. Best Place to Go Old School: Bold Tradition Tattoos in Pleasant Ridge is home to artist Kevin Brandenburg, who specializes in real-deal, Popeye-esque tats. He's your guy if you're looking for those tattoos that could easily accompany the dictionary's definition — skulls in top hats, militaristic crests, "Mom" complete with a heart and arrow. You get the idea. Although the inkers at Bold Tradition are widely recognized as fine purveyors of all types of body art, they're keeping it real with a strong dedication to the history of American tattoos. Best Reason to Stay Home on Friday Night: Being jostled in a crowded bar, spending too much money on mediocre food and coming home feeling tired instead of relaxed makes a reasonable argument for staying in and having some fun at home. Add in a few toys from Pure Romance, and you have the makings for a fun Friday alone or with a special someone. Best Gallery/Store/Printshop Combo: Feralmade, with their slogans "Never not working" and "Creative savages," offers a welcome addition to the burgeoning Northside DIY hipster scene. The five-partner-strong collective opened up shop in February and features handmade goods for sale from visual artists from this area and beyond, working in a variety of media, including painting, graphic design, video work, handcrafted silver jewelry, fashion and more. The gallery is linked to a screen printshop in the basement, where fresh T-shirts repping local bands are created, along with music posters and anything that might hold ink. Best Place to Take a Dive: The only thing better than diving among the reefs in warm Caribbean waters is learning to scuba dive in a heated pool in Northern Kentucky. The Central Coast Dive Center offers all the instruction, equipment and atmosphere you need to look like a pro the very first time you dive for real.
Best Indulgence For Those Not Able to Indulge
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Photo By: Graham Lienhart
Best Fitting Bicycles: If you're shopping for a bike, Gargoyle Board & Bike is a great place to start. The owner, Jeff Whiting, begins the conversation asking simply, "What do you want to do?" That starting point branches through an easy, informed and fact-filled discussion that helps you narrow down a ride that does all the things you ever wanted a bike to do. If only the car dealers were this helpful. Best Place to Dump Excess Books: Are your bookcases overflowing? Donate them to the Public Library system. You'll free up some space and provide inventory for the library's annual Used Book Sale (June 4-8 this year). You can get a tax deduction for your generosity, and you'll have room for all the great deals you'll find at the next sale! Best (Incoming) Place to Grease the Wheels of Commerce: Sick of its years of mall-less existence, central Newport will soon be home to such retail giants as Target and Home Depot just off Carothers Road and I-471. Despite the speculation of residents of the Cote Brilliante neighborhood — that the $12 million deal, which will include construction of a Kroger Marketplace, is in response to a riverfront influx of high-rise condos — we say bring it on! Let's rub elbows with rich folks if it means not having to drive 15 miles for drywall screws. Best Place to Remember Your Primary Colors: Every day is like kindergarten at Newport Shopping Center's Village Discount Outlet. A quick check of the daily board on your way in spells discounts of up to 50 percent on items with tags of the corresponding color. They're putting the "thrift" back in thrift store, and with all the time this system saves you can dedicate a minute to staring in awe at the $300 vintage Levi's that have been hanging above the checkout since before jeans themselves were cool. Best Place to Circumvent Corporate Musicianship: Guitar Center, widely recognized as the big box retailer of musical equipment, is a solid stop for strings, guitars and other musical miscellany, but what's a rocker to do when he or she needs a 1966 Fender Deluxe Reverb amp? Or a 1946 Gibson L-5? Mike's Music offers a wider range of vintage, hard-to-find gear than its bigger counterparts. Aficionados and in-house repair specialists are on hand to answer the hard questions of musicians in search of that rare sound. Best Paint Samples: You think you've decided on a color. Green, you say? You want it to be subtle but not pea, rich but not avocado, cheerful but not kelly. Paint's not cheap — not to mention the time and labor of (God forbid) repainting. Restoration Hardware understands this; they offer small sample bottles of paint for $4 so you can actually see how the color looks on your wall. Best Sip of Wine: Every Tuesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m., City Cellars wine boutique hosts a tasting. According to General Manager Brian Hymel, there's usually a theme, but not always. Hymel is obviously in the know, so chances are he'll offer something special — and it's a good deal too: $6 lets you taste four wines. If you like what you taste, there's bound to be more. Best Wine Shop: There are good shops that feature a large number of choices (Jungle Jim's, Cork n' Bottle, Party Source), and there are good shops that focus more on meticulous selection (Wine Merchant, Wine Warehouse). But for us, the shop that offers the best combination of solid selection as well as knowledgeable, personalized attention is still microWINES in Kenwood. It's a little hard to find, but it's worth the effort. Best Attempt at Free WiFi: The LilyPad service in Over-the-Rhine is a great idea, but it fizzles when you can't get a signal sitting three booths back in Kaldi's. Unless you get a window seat or want to sit out on the sidewalk, getting a connection is rather hit-and-miss. Those old buildings really know how to interfere with technology. Best Use of Paper: Though Parisian jewelry designer Minh-thu Leroy left Cincinnati last year, her work is still available in the Contemporary Arts Center gift shop and Paolo Modern Lifestyle in the Clifton. Best Place to Spend a Dog Day: Good Dog sells homemade natural treats for pets, plus the outside is just so welcoming to window shoppers with their displays change regularly. Whenever we go by we can't help but stare in the windows and long to spend more money on our already spoiled pets.
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