Sorry, folks, we’re going to dive a tiny bit away from food for just a post today, but you still might find this interesting (trust me, food will be involved).
Cincinnati is a car town. Most folks have one, and a lot of us would be pretty lost without one. On Sunday, a cable snapped stranding me in Northside (thank you, AAA) and since the auto shop I go to had to order a part, I’m basically carless until next Tuesday. Now, I could just go and get a rental car, but I figured that I live downtown, I’m close enough to a bus line, and The Boyfriend has a car, so I decided to skip the rental and see what happens.
As my car is at a technician on Reading Road, I walked back home the few blocks down 13th. I realized that, in three years of driving that road, I’d never walked it. I wish I’d had my camera, as it’s my favorite view of the city by car, and it’s actually very pretty by foot as well. You see all sorts of detail you’d never see in cars– intricate woodwork on row houses, an empty, hilly lot that has a spectacular view of the city– and the people sitting outside were very neighborly.
The first two days, I worked from home, and on Monday didn’t even leave the house. Boring. On Tuesday, I got a bit of cabin fever and decided to leave the house for lunch. I also needed to buy some paint for our bedroom, so I walked two blocks to Park + Vine and picked up some excellent Picnic and Pantry Thai potato salad (a delicious coconut-milk sauce instead of mayonnaise, combined with soy, peanuts and red peppers) as well as Mythic paint (it’s zero VOC– doesn’t even smell like paint!). Park + Vine doesn’t carry paint supplies, so I walked over to Rohs (pronounced “Ross”) Hardware and picked up the appropriate supplies. All of this within walking distance, and supporting local businesses. 70 cents of every dollar you spend at a local business stays in the community– good for the local economy, and great to support your neighbors. Tuesday night, I met a friend at Tonic for a drink and grabbed a burger at Local 127 (their third version of their potato skins are heaven) and walked right back home.
Wednesday and today, I hopped on the bus at Court and Walnut to get up to Mason via the 72. It’s very easy for commuters to get downtown from Mason, but a bit more difficult for commuters to go north from Downtown. They have two times each weekday I can head up (6:40 and 7:40) and two times I can go back home (3:30 and 4:30). I’m not sure if there is low bus usage north to Mason from downtown because of lack of routes, or if there aren’t many routes because there is a lack of riders. I guarantee I’d ride more if I had more choices in the times I could ride. The 71X, which goes directly from King’s Island to downtown, has more choices, but no PM routes from King’s Island/Mason, and no AM routes to King’s Island/Mason. Oy. I am hoping that as more people move downtown, bus service will expand a bit. I mean, I really LIKE riding the bus: I can read and I don’t have to get stressed out with traffic, but most days I work well past 4:30. We’ll see. It would also be nice if Mason had sidewalks and crosswalks to add some walkability (playing Frogger at 8:30 AM isn’t my idea of a fun way to start the morning).
Metro, by the way, is very responsive. I mentioned to them on Twitter that there was no sign marking the stop that the bus driver kindly told me about that was right across the street from my office, and they’re getting a sign up. Pretty cool.
On the way back from the bus, I stopped in Coffee Emporium and picked up possibly my favorite guilty pleasure: oatmeal cream pies. There will be more on guilty pleasures in another post, but these aren’t so guilty– they’re vegan and from Sweet Peace Bakery, run out of a home in Northside. They do “Oatmeal Dream Pies”, “Fauxtess” frosted cupcakes (complete with cute swirl of white icing), “Betterfingers” (which I’d had previously and enjoyed quite a bit) and Voreos, a vegan oreo along with other treats. A definite find and I’ll be stopping in there and Park + Vine to pick up more. Sure, they’re not super healthy– they’re cookies and cupcakes, so there’s still sugar and fat– but they allow me to go back to my childhood without all of the chemicals and preservatives in the over-processed versions.
Dinner? I hadn’t had a chance to walk over to Findlay Market, so I walked over to the Cricket Lounge and got dinner. Happy hour is between 4-7 Monday-Friday, and I’d argue it’s the best deal in town. I had two glasses of wine (normally $8, half price), a quesadilla with some amazing braised chicken in what tasted like adobo, with fresh salsa and avocado (normally $8, half-price) and lemon-blueberry bread pudding ($8). I had leftovers, and my bill was right around $20. Amazing! I mentioned I missed their burger deal, and they still sort of have it– the burger is $5 and their domestic bottles are $2.50 (they no longer have beer on tap), so for $7.50 you get one of the best burgers in town (in my opinion) plus a beer. Nice deal.
Tonight, after work, I’m looking forward to walking home from the bus and grabbing a cup of coffee at the Coffee Emporium. Afterwards, I’ll grab some painter’s tape at Roh’s Hardware and pick up a few things at the Kroger on Vine.
Which community are you in? Is it walkable?
(Photo courtesy Mary Beth Berberich)
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