Cincinnati Blues

On a recent flight from Rome to Atlanta, Morgantina sat beside a delightful pilgrim from the Cincinnati area. The slip of paper with her name and e-mail address has been misplaced, and it’s a disappointment to go to Cincinnati without making contact. We’d never have chosen to check out the ‘Nati if it weren’t for this woman. Did she divulge some secrets about Cincinnati or tell Morgantina where to go or eat? No. She’s was just so utterly pleasant that we wanted to see where a person like that hails from.

Nothing we know about Cincinnati is useful. Ken Anderson and the Bengals lost Super Bowl XVI to Joe Montana and the 49ers in 1982. The last line of the WKRP in Cincinnati theme song is "I’m at WKRP in Cincinnati” which goes unsung when Morgantina sings instead “I’m going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come.” We don’t think it’s an omen or a subconscious affinity for Wilbert Harrison, but it may be proof that our hearts are elsewhere. And, in fact, writing about the Queen City is a drag.

Like any other city of its size (330K and over 2 million in the metro) it has museums, a zoo, botanical garden, amusement parks, friendly library staff at the local libraries, opera – think Kathleen Battle - and professional sports. In addition it boasts the largest Octoberfest in America, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and tons of chili. When we asked locals what they liked most about living in the area we heard the phrase, “it’s home” most often. We got the distinct impression that people living outside of Cincinnati proper most liked that they didn’t live in Cincinnati. When asked what they disliked most crime topped the list. Lack of diversity and traffic were also mentioned.

Random Cincinnati:

Mt. Adams: Mt. Adams is described by some as San Francisco-like. We thought the comparison a two thousand mile stretch. It’s a compact hilly neighborhood in Cincinnati’s East end. Colorful, overpriced Victorian homes are convenient to Eden Park, home of the Cincinnati Museum of Art. If we had to live in the city, we’d live here. There’s a plenty of green alongside plentiful food and drink. United Dairy Farmers has the best peach ice cream and it gets five cows. It was time to leave when vacuous thirty-something posturing prospectors in ill-fitting suits started pointing at vacant storefronts with Blackberries in hand and telling tales of just how many e-mails they receive each day.

Chili: It’s not twelve alarm and it doesn’t have beans. It’s more like a Greek inspired stew served atop spaghetti or hot dogs, with or without cheese, onions and beans. Cinnamon and cloves feature prominently with the chili powder and cumin. It’s fantastic and flavor reminiscent of our French-Canadian gorton/creton. Skyline Chili and Camp Washington Chili were our favorites.

Hyde Park Gourmet Food and Wine: (Really more spirits than food). At the suggestion of the amicable beer advocate, Nelson, Pellew picked up a fine six pack of the Cincinnati based Mt. Carmel’s Blonde Ale. A lengthy discussion about palate and taste ensued with the copious use of the terms differentials, regionals and regions. After a bit of head scratching and an invisible decoder, we deduced these terms could only have been intended to convey differences, preferences and reasons for drinking beer.

Personalities: Chummed it up with Christian Bradley of Fly Society Entertainment who was interviewed for Cincinnati Magazine's monthly Style Counsel section. Had a conversation with an itinerant raccoon which behaved much like a peckish canine.

Fini.