Cincinnati, a most fine, upstanding and law-abiding Midwestern Queen City of long-standing tradition, has oft-battled a countervailing image redolent with a whiff of somewhat staid and stolid conservatism. Not necessarily in the political sense (although there is that), but rather more in the obvious socio-cultural dynamics. Anyone who has logged even a modicum of time in the city’s art galleries and performance spaces knows the wealth and breadth of talent and cutting edge vision on the ground, and under the ground, but, for better or worse, a lot of ignorant outside observers reduce the city to a simple equation that goes something like (Mapplethorpe + Larry Flynt) ÷ Morality Police = Mainstream Midwestern Scene. In disabusing an outsider of such a notion, a simple trip to the CAC, plus a side trip to Northside coupled with a few art galleries/theaters in Over the Rhine and Brighton will do wonders to loosen up the corset. Buttressing the obvious, there are also the proverbial “little things” that, while seemingly innocuous and borderline trivial in nature, occupy a definitive role in the creeping subconscious of “cool” permeating the city proper.
I happened upon one such microcosmic yet archetypal example on a recent stroll up the street from the intersection of 4th and Vine downtown. I spied a small blackboard in the lace-bedecked window of the Bistro Jean Ro indicating that they have initiated a Parisian-style “bar menu,” available only during the hours of 2:30 and 5:30. Pulling up a stool at the copper-clad bar, one can sample such options as a short rib shawarma, a Tunisian merguez sandwich, charcuterie, smoked salmon or pommes frites. Pair these up with a nice glass or two of Bordeaux, a beret and a debate on the metaphysics of morals, and you’ve got yourself an afternoon straight out of the Left Bank. The downside to such a romanticized vision, unfortunately, is that most of us are chained to our desks between the hours of 2:30 and 5:30, and, as such, savoring a few glasses of wine and some mid-day merguez is most likely not in the offing. Nevertheless, one can find some chic comfort in the notion that perhaps someone, anyone, out there on the street is engaged in such a quintessentially Gallic weekday workday afternoon. Squint a bit more (and have another glass of wine) and you can pretend Mt. Adams is Montmartre (okay, okay…let’s not get carried away). In any event, let’s just put another check in the “plus” column for Jean-Robert. Stay tuned to see if Cincinnati starts taking off the entire month of August for vacation.
Unrelated to the above thesis (other than by pure spatial geography) if one were to stroll a bit further up Vine, you would pass the new Tazza Mia in the old Carew Tower jewelry space. The Tazza Mia coffee impresarios did a great job renovating the space, and the pot roast panini is reportedly a must-eat new sandwich for the downtown worker bee crowd. Whilst the combination of a panini with Richard Nixon’s favorite meal may strike some as an odd juxtaposition, the chic new space does well with its adopted vibe. Moreover score one for the Tazza Mia folks for bringing their little chain down from West Chester (take that Paul Sturkey!). The addition of the 5 to 10 new Tazza Mia workers certainly takes the sting out of West Chester snaring the 1,400 or so employees that will be employed at an impressive new $75 million GE facility. Another 150 or so Tazza Mia outlets and Hamilton County can just call it even (okay, okay….let’s not get carried away again). In any event, the very fact that a suburban-based West Chester business, no matter how small, is opening an outlet in the heart of downtown Cincinnati is indeed a heartening endeavor and worthy of a mid-afternoon Cote du Rhone and cheese plate at Jean Ro. Salut!
Miss a previous SoapDish? Scrub here:
SoapDish 4: A new soapbox in town
SoapDish 3: Another great idea, Fountain Square
SoapDish 2: The latest scoop on Cincinnati's favorite ground breakings
SoapDish 1: It's clean, it's easy, it's safe - it's Soapdish
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