If you asked creative director and Newport resident Josh Jacob what he does in his free time, he might wryly explain his talent for making “fake watches.” But his watches are very real—and way more interesting than most of what you’d find in a jewelry store.

Faux Wrist, the timepiece brand Jacob created for his project, can make you the watch of your dreams. Everything about his watches—from obvious components like the bracelet or the hands of the clock to tiny details like the indices, the dial, and the crystal—is fully customizable to your liking.

He sources his watch components from the same manufacturers that major brands do, but without the hefty price tag that comes with a brand name. It’s part of his goal to make affordable watches that are “just as good, if not better” than the ones crafted by well-known names, but fully customized to fit anyone’s look.

“In my opinion, it’s cooler than wearing a Rolex, because you’re not just flexing that you own an expensive timepiece,” he said. “I like to think the person who wears the watches I make is more interested in curating their own personal aesthetic, not just choosing what someone else thinks is cool.”

It all started when a friend of his won an Instagram giveaway for an Omega Speedmaster, a watch that normally retails for close to $8,000. Jacob became enamored with the mechanical construction of the watch, citing a prior love for analog technology in an age where everything is digital.

Eventually, he started learning “as much as I possibly could about watches and watch culture,” found a DIY watch kit online, and decided to try his hand at making his own timepiece. The box said it could be built in an hour, but it actually took him closer to four or five.

“Setting the [watch] hands requires a really steady wrist. You’re operating off feel. Unless you’ve got a really good magnifying lens, you can’t see what you’re doing,” he said.

Over the course of his research, he discovered that his favorite watch brand, Seiko, sells its movements (the engine inside a watch that powers the clock) wholesale, and realized with time and effort that he could make his own retail-quality watches from the same parts.

Finding the hobby came at exactly the right time for Jacob. Over the previous seven years, his mother was dealing with Alzheimer’s but it affected her differently than most. His mother initially suffered from aphasia, a disorder that removes the ability to speak, write or communicate, although it does not affect intelligence.

“You could see her eyes get wide during conversations like she wanted to participate, but she literally couldn’t talk… I like to think it’s similar to when something’s on the tip of your tongue, but you’re like that forever,” he said. “Her voice was taken away from her, but her mind was very much still there. It was heartbreaking.”

Over the “soul-crushing” period where his mother was at the end of her life, he got to a mental state where he “didn’t do anything but work and drink, constantly.” It reached a breaking point where he realized if he didn’t make some drastic changes, and fast, he wouldn’t “have anything to live for.”

He went sober, started making watches to occupy his time, and then got hit with a triple whammy: the COVID-19 pandemic, the death of his dog, King—who he’d owned for 14 years—and the death of his mother all in a few short months. Watchmaking became a “vehicle for grief” for Jacob and a distraction to keep his mental health in check.

“It was extremely important to have something to do when I was—what is the term now, crashing out? You have to give your brain something to focus on so you’re not just thinking about how everything sucks,” he said. “I literally made like seven watches based just off my dog, and called it the King series. The black dials on the watches reflected how I felt, like when people wear a black armband to acknowledge tragedy. It almost felt like I was paying homage to him.”

But then people started noticing his work. They’d find him online and send over pictures of their dad’s old watches, or a style of watch they like but couldn’t afford, or even just send over some art they like and ask for a watch based on it.

“It’s evolved into this cool thing now where I have a client base of family and friends and people I’ve never met who reach out and go, ‘Hey, can you make me a watch?'” he said. “It’s extremely rewarding, because I never even cared if it became that. I just needed it to be a distraction, right?”

Realizing that he’d have to “put some kind of brand” on this if he was going to turn watchmaking into a real hobby, he combined his B.A. in graphic design and dry sense of humor to come up with the logo for Faux, a tongue-in-cheek name that he knew “absolutely nobody would copy.”

“It was almost like, what is the worst possible name you could give a watch brand, and how can you take ownership of it to make it so cool and interesting that the name wouldn’t be a factor?” he said.

Jacob’s biggest goal for the future is to create parts himself instead of sourcing them from other countries so he can fabricate a watch entirely from scratch—a goal he’s made headway on, as he’s already in talks with manufacturers. It’ll be a higher-end version of what he does now, and these watches will tout the name of his “insanely amazing” new dog, Scout.

He knows that your average Rolex or Omega-obsessed watch fiend probably won’t care for his products, but that’s okay, as “there’s a really big gap in the market” for people who are interested in well-crafted timepieces but don’t want to drop thousands of dollars on one. For him, it’s all about making watches that reflect their owner.

“I would say it’s for people more my speed, who like the music I’m into, or the style of design I’m into, or things that are just interesting and cool… what would that look like if a watch brand did that?,” he said. “Overall, my goal is to continue to share this with people because they genuinely want to be a part of it.”

You can learn more about Faux Wrist by visiting the website.

The post How a local creative director passes the time with his custom watch business appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Local entrepreneur Harrison Baer has always been a big fan of surprise.

“Growing up, whenever someone asked me what I want to eat or drink, I’d always say ‘Surprise me,'” he said. “And I was always more satisfied with whatever I got than if I’d already predetermined what I wanted. I’ve always wanted to try new things, expand my horizons. Then one day I realized maybe I’m not the only person who thinks that way.”

His business, Mystery Machine, has placed several vending machines all around the Cincinnati area. Guests who step up to the machine might be a little confused at first glance: There are no specific choices, and you won’t know what kind of soda you’ll get until it pops out.

Put your cash in, and you could end up with an orange mango guava drink from Taiwan, or a rare flavor of Mountain Dew that’s no longer in production. With these machines, it’s all about the excitement of the unknown.

While Baer always wanted to run a business, he didn’t have any concrete plans until recently. As one of ten homeschooled siblings from Chicago, he majored in political economy with a minor in history at a local university—”a degree I didn’t end up using in the slightest”—and planned to stay in the area until his family members all moved to Cincinnati.

He followed suit and began working odd jobs all over the Queen City: a gym employee, a videographer, a car salesman. Two years ago, the idea for a mystery box soda vending machine came to Baer during a regular workday, and he was “naive enough” to think he could follow through with the concept.

“If I knew how much work it would actually take, I don’t think I would’ve done it,” he said, laughing.

After searching around on Facebook Marketplace, he enlisted his siblings to help him retrieve a 1998 vending machine he paid $500 for and get to work on repairing it.

“There was no card scanner. It only took $1 bills. Two of the options were broken. I had to wire it shut with a homemade lock,” he said. “It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but all I needed to see was if people appreciated the concept enough for me to keep going.”

He set up the machine with a couple of options: domestic cans, caffeine-free cans, energy drinks, kids’ drinks, sugar-free cans, and (the most popular choice) international drinks. Then, he presented the concept to nine different local businesses and was turned down before the Norwood Delite Creamy Whip gave him a chance.

The machine was an immediate success on the first day, and other businesses started contacting Baer about getting their own Mystery Machine. Good thing, too, because that janky vending machine from 1998 broke permanently just two months after he set it up.

“We did our best to make it look nice, but it was an old and dying machine,” he said. “I always tell people it did the job I needed it to do, which was to let me know that this idea could work.”

In October 2024, he was featured in a segment on local news station FOX19, and that’s when things really started to take off. Soon after, Amazon Studios contacted him to appear on The Blox, a reality competition show on Prime Video where entrepreneurs duke it out to have their business ideas funded by the billion-dollar corporation. While Baer didn’t win, he received “invaluable” advice on the series from more seasoned businessmen that “helped propel me into the spot I’m in now.”

There are now four different Mystery Machines in the Greater Cincinnati area. In addition to a new-and-improved machine at the Norwood Delite Creamy Whip, there’s one in Union, KY at Dreamie’s Ice Cream, one in the outdoor mall Liberty Center north of the city, and one just-opened vending machine at Al’s Delicious Popcorn in Over-the-Rhine. A fifth is already on the way, though he can’t reveal where just yet.

The newer Mystery Machines have even more options: while domestic, caffeine-free, energy drinks, kids’ drinks, sugar-free, and international drinks are still options, there’s also diet cans, sparkling drinks, a ‘total mystery’ option, and a button for Coca-Cola because “sometimes you just need a Coke.” Between all four machines combined, there are over 1,000 different options for consumers to try.

His ultimate goal is to appear on Shark Tank, his favorite television series, and then put a Mystery Machine in every state. Mostly, though, he just wants to make people happy.

“The older you get, the more it just seems like you’re doing the same thing day in, day out. Not switching things up, just living on this flatlined cycle each day,” he said. “That’s something that got to me, and I think the Mystery Machine can help undo that. Not that it’s a major change, but it’s a small thing that can bring some excitement to your day and a smile to your face.”

He emphasized the social aspect of the machines, noting that plenty of customers have visited with large groups and taken videos of them swapping drinks back and forth to post on social media.

“You get to try something new with your friends and experience what the world has to offer you instead of just being stuck in your ways, and … it kind of sets you free,” he said. “For me, it’s all about bringing joy to people’s lives.”

The post With the Mystery Machine, you never know what soda you’re going to get appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

What’s more universal to the human experience than food?

We share food together, we make food for each other, we even spend hours arguing about our favorite foods. (Don’t believe me? Just go take a look at CityBeat’s Facebook comments.)

If you don’t know me, I’m our new Arts & Culture reporter, which means I cover everything from theater to music to visual arts. But my real passion—and my favorite thing to write about—is food.

Over the course of my career as a journalist, I’ve covered everything you can think of: vibrant openings, unique pop-ups, crazy cocktails, delicious desserts, elaborate sandwiches, restaurant labor investigations and more. One time, I even had to review 20 different breakfast restaurants in a two-week span. My stomach hurt almost as much as my wallet.

Having now joined CityBeat, I looked at our most popular pages over the past year and every single one is about food—specifically, the BEST food. It doesn’t matter if the article is a week old or 10 years old: people want to know what to eat!

I’ve enlisted Noah Jones, our Community Vibrancy reporter, to discuss our individual picks for the top five restaurants in the Cincinnati area. While my picks skew toward fine dining and his picks lean more toward fast-casual, all 10 are worth the trip. Let’s get to it.

Noah’s #5: The Echo, Hyde Park

The Echo is the kind of place that makes you feel like a regular customer from the minute you sit in a booth or the swivel seats at the bar. From young adults picking up a quick meal to the older diners slugging back coffee and conversation, this joint has a magical way of bringing eaters back to when diners were America’s peak food destination. The food is perfect for breakfast or brunch, with seasonal specials—crabby benedict, anyone?—and staple foods like hearty omelets.

Kane’s #5: Nolia, Over-the-Rhine

It’s a common misconception that Nolia is strictly a Cajun or Creole restaurant. Sure, owner Jeff Harris is from New Orleans, and yes, the ever-changing menu regularly sports cornbread, crab and crawfish. But this is a showcase for the flavors of the South and the entire world, with plenty of Indian and West African-inspired dishes adorning its menu across the years. Really, all you need to know is that Nolia is the best Southern restaurant in the Cincinnati area, and nothing soothes the soul like good Southern cooking.

Noah’s #4: Heyday, East Walnut Hills

This joint has a place in the heart of any Cincinnati burger lover. Heyday makes fantastic bar food, whether you’re enjoying a quiet summer day on their patio or carrying over a burger to the Growler House to watch an FC Cincinnati game. Plus, who doesn’t love the option of tater tots on the side?

Kane’s #4: Kiki, Clifton

I would pay a ridiculous amount of money to know what Kiki puts in their broth. Try as I might (and I have tried), I’ve never been able to replicate anything close to the savory-smooth chicken flavor in the broth of their Shio ramen, which also sports pork belly, rayu, nori, green onions, and a tea-marinated egg. And when it comes to their excellent nigiri, there’s no fresher fish to be had in the Cincinnati area—except at Kiki’s sister omakase joint Roji, located downtown. One day, maybe I’ll be able to make ramen that’s even half as good as this. But for now, I’ll just keep giving them my money.

Noah’s #3: Café Mochiko, Walnut Hills

There’s something exciting about waiting in a line out the door for food when you already know the wait is worth it. Mornings at Mochiko are always the start of a great day, thanks to their Beard-nominated pastries (like an ube halaya croissant) and weekly baked specials. At night, they serve udon, karaage and other entrees in spectacular fashion, with standout weekly specials like their Cincinnati chili ramen. This beloved Asian-American eatery always serves up perfection and is a must-try when you’ve got out-of-town visitors.

Kane’s #3: Abigail Street, Over-the-Rhine

It’s fun to share food, but it’s even more fun to be surprised. Abigail Street’s Mediterranean-inspired menu is filled with incredible renditions of falafel, dates, scallops, short rib, octopus, and more. So it’s really fun when I get to take someone new there and I watch their face scrunch up as I tell them we’re ordering broccoli. ‘All this amazing food and we’re getting broccoli?’ their facial expression reads. Then they take a bite and the look of surprise makes me think they’ve seen the face of God.

The restaurant’s Moroccan-spiced broccoli—fried extra-crispy and served with berbere, sesame seeds, miso and tahini—is my favorite appetizer in the city. It’s got such a legendary reputation among my friends that I recently took a photo of it and sent it to someone as a playful attempt at making him jealous. His response? “I’ve been dreaming about that broccoli for months.” Which begs the question: if even the broccoli is this good, what’s the rest of the food taste like?

Noah’s #2: Your Mom’s Pizzeria, Mount Adams

This literal mom-and-pop pizzeria excels at making fantastic pies. Take my favorite: the Shiesty, a pie with excellent tomato sauce and a damn good crust, topped with pepperoni, ricotta cheese, peppadews, and one of the greatest inventions of all time in hot honey. Excuse me while I go wipe my chin.

Kane’s #2: Mita’s, downtown

Mita’s is probably the most critically lauded restaurant in the city: among countless other awards, chef/owner Jose Salazar has been nominated as the best chef in the region by the James Beard Foundation a whopping six times. One visit makes it obvious why. 

The Latin-focused cuisine at the restaurant, named as an homage to Salazar’s Colombian grandmother (his “mita”), has something that’s missing from a lot of fine dining: it’s fun. That might sound cliche, but each item on the menu—like the chicken skewers or the blistered shishito peppers—invites friendly conversation in a way that too many restaurants lack, making it my top pick anytime I’m dining out with a big group. Everything at Mita’s is always so ridiculously well-executed that I regularly order their shrimp ceviche as a side even though I’m allergic. Food this great is worth a fuzzy tongue.

Noah’s #1: Ambar India, Clifton

Indian food is in abundance in Cincinnati, but Ambar India stands out. Their unusually large portions, even for Indian spots, have left me with meals for days. The chicken saag slaps. The lamb curry slaps too. It’s hard to go wrong here. In fact, the only wrong decision you could make at Ambar is not placing an order for garlic naan.

Kane’s #1: Wildweed, Over-the-Rhine

At first glance, with the punk rock blasting over the speakers and plating so fancy it’s just begging to go on your Instagram story, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Wildweed is the kind of place they’d skewer on FX’s The Bear. But Wildweed’s ethos isn’t one of fine-dining snobbery. If anything, the place exhibits a freedom to experiment that you’d only see in Michelin-starred restaurants.

Here’s an example from my favorite dining experience ever: as their current location was being built, chefs David and Lydia Jackman hosted several pop-ups. During a winter 2023 edition, I ravenously consumed several dishes that would later become mainstays at the full restaurant—like quark-stuffed culurgiones and Dungeness crab risotto, the latter of which is probably the last meal I’d request if I was ever on Death Row.

As we finished the meal, Chef Jackman walked over and said he had a surprise for us while handing me a mysterious bowl of ice cream. I took a bite and gasped as he explained it was made from melted-down pine needles from his Christmas tree, then sat in stunned silence wondering how he even came up with something that bizarre. If you’re looking for food that will challenge your taste buds, Wildweed is your first stop. And if you’re averse to fine-dining, Wildweed will make you a believer.

The post Ten must-try restaurants in Cincinnati, according to CityBeat’s newest writers appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Cincinnati has plenty to do this weekend, including art shows, raves, a symphony, a musical, a soccer watch party, and some visits from famous comedians, dancers and musicians.

If you’re looking for even more to do every day of the week, visit the CityBeat events calendar, which is free to use if you have something planned that you’d like to advertise to CityBeat readers.

John Mulaney: Mister Whatever

Friday, Taft Theatre, downtown, 7:30 p.m.

The wildly popular comedian brings his latest tour, “Mister Whatever,” to Cincinnati. The two-time Emmy winner and former SNL alum is best known for his Netflix specials and shows, the most recent of which was the 2024 live talk show John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA.

Bloodrave at Madison Theater

Saturday, Madison Theater, Covington, 9 p.m.

Do you wanna dance till you bleed? Are you tired of vibeless themed dance nights? Welcome to BLOODRAVE, a new goth/techno/industrial dance night that puts you at the center of your favorite neo futuristic dystopian rave scene. Killer DJs, special vampiric drinks, the occasional wailing guitar, and fiery cage dancers are just some of what you can expect for a night of debauchery you will never forget.

Created and curated by Grammy-nominated producer duo NOWHERE2RUN, BLOODRAVE brings together EDM regulars, metal showgoers, and anyone with a kinship for the darker side of night life. Put on some leather and get ready to live your ultimate BLADE and THE MATRIX goth rave fantasy. This is not your uncle’s goth night and you weren’t born for the light. So meet us in the dark. Featuring DJ Boywife, Flores Negras, Skylinn, Dahlia Parton, and ViciousWishes.

Cincinnati Home & Garden Show 2026

February 27–March 1, First Financial Center, downtown

The 56th annual Cincinnati Home + Garden Show returns to the newly renovated First Financial Center featuring 350+ home improvement, kitchen and bath, outdoor living, landscaping and gardening experts, all under one roof. This massive show is the region’s largest and includes immersive garden experiences and home improvement inspiration galore. Attendees will discover the latest trends, score exclusive show-only discounts, and gain expert advice by connecting directly with industry professionals.

Miguel: CAOS Tour

Friday, Andrew J. Brady Center, downtown, 8:30 p.m.

The beloved R&B singer is coming to Cincinnati on the tour supporting his latest album, CAOS. He’s best known for his 2017 triple-platinum single “Sky Walker” and his 2010 hit “Sure Thing,” which recently had a public resurgence thanks to TikTok.

Art After Dark at the Cincinnati Art Museum

Friday, Cincinnati Art Museum, Mt. Adams, 5-9 p.m.

Dance the night away to music from DJ K. Chantà, help create a collaborative mural with Not Your Average Paint & Sip, and take a self-guided tour of artworks that celebrate love and belonging, curated through a queer lens. (You might even find “pop-up” artwork displays, on view this night only!) Enjoy cash bars, food for purchase from the Terrace Café and Carl’s Deli, and free admission to the museum’s two ticketed exhibits: What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine and Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms of the Northwest Himalayas.

Dancing with the Stars: Live!

Saturday, Andrew J. Brady Center, downtown, 7:30 p.m.

Dancing with the Stars is hotter than ever — and now it’s hitting the road with a 74-date tour across North America! After a sold-out tour earlier this year, DWTS returns in 2026 with a brand-new live show, visiting Cincinnati, OH at The Andrew J Brady Music Center® on Saturday, February 28 and May 7. This year’s stage spectacular will feature fan-favorite professional dancers from the #1 hit television series in a mix of standout routines from DWTS’ record-breaking Season 34 and fresh performances created just for the stage.

LEGO: Art of the Brick

Feb. 27-March 1, W. 4th Street, downtown

After touring several cities and entering CNN’s list of “Must-See” exhibitions, the best-known LEGO® art exhibition in the world arrives in Cincinnati. Critically acclaimed, the collection features works by artist Nathan Sawaya which are made from millions of LEGO® bricks. This is the second-to-last weekend the exhibit will be in town.

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra: Beethoven and Ravel

Feb. 27-March 1, Music Hall, Over-the-Rhine

Samuel Lee, winner of the prestigious Malko Competition and former Associate Conductor of the CSO, returns for a sublime evening of music. Louise Farrenc’s Overture No. 2 opens the program with a brief glimpse into the musical world of 19th-century France, which flows into the delicate dances of Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, laced with a tender homage to the French Baroque.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical

Saturday, Emery Theatre, Over-the-Rhine

In the winter of 2026, one of the most beloved children’s book series of all-time jumps from the page to the stage! Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical brings Jeff Kinney’s iconic characters to life in a hilarious and heartfelt production. The show will also feature original illustrations and animations by Kinney himself.

FC Cincinnati: Away vs. Minnesota

Watch parties all over the city, Saturday, 4:30 p.m.

FC Cincinnati heads to Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota for an away game. Watch parties will take place at just about every sports bar in the downtown area. (If you need a suggestion, might we suggest official FCC bars Rhinehaus or Queen City Radio in Over-the-Rhine?)

The post 10 things to do in Cincinnati this weekend (Feb. 27-March 1) appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

If you’re from Cincinnati, you know chili means something different here.

Today is National Chili Day, and while that might not be so important for other cities, it’s a big deal to us. So much so, in fact, that Skyline Chili has offered free Skyline onesies and a $50 gift card to any parents of a child born today. The results have been nothing short of adorable.

And if you want to enter Skyline’s sweepstakes for National Chili Day, make sure you click here. The giveaway closes on March 1.

Click through the gallery below to see some of the newborns at local hospitals sporting Skyline gear today.

The post Cincinnati newborns celebrate National Chili Day appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

A five-course farm-to-table dinner with completely 100% organic ingredients, presented on handmade ceramic dishes that you get to take home.

Sound enticing? The Potter’s Table is the Queen City’s most exclusive, best-kept culinary secret—if you know any chefs in Cincinnati, you might’ve heard rumblings about the food, but you almost certainly haven’t been able to try it.

Local queer couple Blake and Colleen Crawford-Larson founded the pop-up dinner series out of a desire to merge their two creative interests: fine dining and pottery. The results are nothing short of stunning.

Guests entering The Potter’s Table enjoy an amuse-bouche and a glass of champagne, followed by five courses made with just-harvested ingredients from local Turner Farms, all of which are sweetened only with natural sugars. Each course is served on a ceramic dish made by Colleen or Bonnie McNett, the owner of Whistlestop Clay in Loveland. And at the end of the night, each guest chooses one ceramic piece to take home with them to their own kitchen.

The setup ensures that no two dinners are the same, even down to the plates you’re eating on. It’s born out of Blake’s absolute revulsion towards any sort of waste, especially when it comes to the restaurant industry.

The couple met in Asheville, North Carolina, where both were self-described “industry rats” — Colleen managed front-of-house at the vegan restaurant Plant for several years, while culinary wunderkind Blake became the region’s youngest executive chef at 23 when she took over French bistro Bouchon.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Blake’s parents purchased a wedding venue in rural Adams County, Ohio, and not-so-subtly suggested she move back to the state she was born in.

“My mom was constantly texting me every other week like, ‘Sure could use some hands! Really wish we had some help up here!’ So eventually, we [moved] up and we were like, ‘Well, we don’t really want to do the wedding thing. But we will utilize your space when weddings aren’t booked,'” Blake said.

Thus began the journey for the couple to open their first venture, Flock. But before that, Blake took on a job that affected her cooking philosophy for years to come.

In the time between moving to Cincinnati and opening their own restaurant, Blake became executive chef at the Hope Springs Institute, a non-profit “transformational retreat center” in Peebles, Ohio that provides “growth and healing” to guests. But her food budget was practically skeletal: the non-profit gave her $300 every two weeks to serve groups of 30+ eating three meals a day. It’s a tough task in a proper city, much less a food desert like Adams County.

“These farmers were growing things, but no one [on staff] really knew what to do with them. I made so many farm connections. We started our own garden, Colleen was growing things, and I had to learn,” she said, extending the last syllable of ‘learn’ for nearly 10 seconds. “Every day was, ‘OK, what am I going to do with every piece of this ingredient to make sure that guests are fed this week and the nonprofit can stay alive?'”

Her time at the nonprofit proved as transformational as it was for the center’s guests. Over time, she’s adapted a no-waste philosophy, noting when it comes to food waste that humans “are so used to, as a society, seeing things as they are and not as they could be.”

Blake said that after watching how much food was wasted for a set menu, she could never work in a restaurant kitchen again.

“I understand people want consistency,” she said. “The same dish every time. And that’s how the world works, but that’s not who I want to be as a chef. I want to be the chef who found 16 different uses for one piece of squash. I don’t ever want to be a chef who says ‘Oh, this recipe has four shallots. If I don’t have four shallots, I can’t make this.’ I’ll be damned!”

Eventually, the two opened Flock in West Union, Ohio, which had a similar focus to their new dinner series: using only the freshest ingredients possible from local sources. Their first night open, Colleen knew they had something special.

“Our first Flock event, it was initially a little awkward. These six strangers showed up… it’s like, they didn’t know each other, they didn’t know us. We had just moved to West Union. We’re outsiders,” she said. “Then [Blake and I] were in the back doing dishes, and we hear them all start laughing and cracking up at the table together. And we looked at each other and just smiled.”

But over time, their desire to keep going decayed. “Three rural winters” was a lot for the two, and the two faced plenty of discrimination for being a queer couple, with Colleen saying it was “no longer fun” to live in Adams County—prompting their move to Cincinnati to be in a place “where we saw and existed around other people like us.”

In West Union, the two had several locals boycott them for making “gay bread,” and even had a customer afraid of “gay water.”

“[He] would not let me fill his water,” Colleen said. “He didn’t want me touching the things he was consuming. Despite him being there to eat my wife’s food, he had a difficult time with me being close to his food because I’m gay. And that was something I never wanted to feel again, and I don’t want anyone to feel again. With Potter’s Table, knowing that people are aware of who we are and what we stand for and still choose to come is really important to me.”

Blake felt like the two “rode a very fragile line” of keeping their lives private to stay in business, and the Potter’s Table was created out of a desire to “pay homage to a part of ourselves that we had to keep silent.”

“Growing up as a queer person in the Bible Belt, there aren’t a lot of tables that fit you, so I think it’s imperative for us to build our own tables… and to find people willing to sit with us and have dinner through hard times and hard conversations,” Blake said. “Even when we can’t control anything else going on in the world, we can sit across from our neighbor and be genuine for an hour.”

After they realized their time at Flock was ending, the two came to a crossroads. Blake worked at the popular Southern eatery Nolia in Over-the-Rhine and eventually transitioned to serving as executive chef at Turner Farm, while Colleen contemplated a return to the ceramic art form she went to college for—and then her wife urged her to “just buy the fuckin’ clay.”

“I went into our spare bedroom with a $100 pottery wheel I got off Amazon, and I went to college in 2013 so it had been some time since I’d even touched clay… I started throwing some pieces and Blake came in and she goes, ‘Oh, these are great!’ and I’m like, ‘No, babe, these are shit,'” she said, laughing.

She decided to pursue pottery full-time and purchased a professional pottery wheel and a kiln. Presa Ceramics was born, and Colleen now sells her wares—mugs, vases, plates, utensils—at shops all over the Cincinnati area.

Eventually, the two realized they missed the sense of community they got from feeding people. Earlier this year, they conceptualized The Potter’s Table to “find their balance again and realize what matters.”

“Being two creative people in a relationship, we really wanted to find a way where we could both shine and both feel supported. We wanted to have community,” Colleen said. “We also always dreamt of having a long table full of people, right? Like, what are you doing in life if you’re not sitting at a table with a bunch of people enjoying themselves?”

While the concept is “a love letter to each other” and a “dream come true,” it’s still a ton of work. It takes the two about a month of preparation for each dinner, on both the culinary and ceramic fronts.

“A lot of the concepts will be me making a shape, then Blake looks at it and goes, ‘I want to put ice cream in there.’ And I go ‘Okay, I’ll make 12,'” Colleen said. “It’s an intersection of my mind and her mind. Like, how can I build something that will showcase her food and vice versa?”

Their food has become a hidden favorite of Cincinnatians everywhere, from Beard-nominated chefs to local influencers. Ben Plotkin, creator of Explore Cincinnati, called Blake and Colleen “incredibly talented” and described the food as “delicious, inventive, and beautifully presented.” One standout dish from his dinner was a turnip-derived ice cream, with honey cake on top and a light sprinkling of puffed mustard seeds.

“I found myself just as excited to see which piece of pottery would arrive next as I was to taste the next dish,” he said.

The outpouring of support and recognition from their peers and fans alike has been “fantastic,” and the two foresee Cincinnati becoming a major culinary hub just like Asheville did.

“I think if we keep inspiring each other to create, and we see things as less of a competition and more of a collaboration, Cincinnati could become the next food destination. That’s how things these start, when fire lights fire,” Blake said. “When we moved to Asheville, it was already a ‘food city,’ but when we left there was any kind of restaurant you could imagine. And I see that for Cincinnati, it’s such a cool and unique space with so much talent… it could be really special.”

The couple will host future Potter’s Table events at different businesses all over the Ohio area. The next two iterations of the dinner series, in April and May, are already sold out. Guests who wish to attend the July and August dinners can join the waitlist—of which, at the time of writing, over 100 people have already signed up for—by messaging their official account on Instagram.

The post This unique dinner series is Cincinnati’s best-kept culinary secret appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

One Grammy-winning rapper seems to have a special fondness for the Queen City.

Baby Keem, best known for his quadruple-platinum single “Orange Soda” and for collaborating with his cousin Kendrick Lamar on the Grammy-winning “Family Ties,” mentioned Cincinnati on his new album Ca$ino.

On the album’s seventh song, “$ex Appeal” featuring LA rapper Too $hort, Keem raps: “I’m in the mood, we in Miami / I met a freak from Cincinnati.”

It’s anyone’s guess who the “freak” in question could be, but the rapper has already touched down in Cincinnati at least once before. In 2022, he played a show at popular venue Bogart’s, as part of his tour for his platinum-selling album The Melodic Blue. That show was one of the year’s hottest concerts in the Cincinnati area; tickets sold out in less than 10 minutes.

The rapper is returning to Cincinnati later this year, too—the Ca$ino tour will stop at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center on May 23, which you can learn more about by clicking here.

The post Grammy-winning rapper mentions Cincinnati in new song appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Local librarian, DJ, artist and game developer Nukes de Almeida Nuku-Graves is making waves in the city’s art scene by teaching others how to make video games while telling the stories they’re passionate about.

The American-born Brazilian-Ghanaian artist is hosting a free-to-attend panel at the Contemporary Arts Center this Sunday afternoon, where her students will present the video games they’ve made as part of a seven-week ‘game jam’ class every Friday. During the panel, three games will be presented for audiences to play, discuss, and enjoy.

For Nuku-Graves, who uses she/they pronouns, storytelling is a lifelong obsession. Coming from a rural Indiana town, she didn’t know many people growing up who looked like her or shared her same interests, so she spent the majority of her time creating her own fantastical universes.

“I spent all my time growing up on the Internet, writing stories I came up with in my head, because the idea of creating a story that could impact somebody else’s life was such a beautiful concept,” they said. “There have been so many books or movies where I was like ‘wow, I’m gonna hold this with me in my heart,’ and the intrigue of being able to write a story myself that people still think about is… my dream.”

In her childhood, she eventually discovered visual novels, the video game genre she’d go on to work in as an adult. As the name implies, the genre primarily involves reading text on a screen with visual and gameplay accompaniments. (Notable examples of visual novel-esque games are the wildly popular Persona and Ace Attorney franchises.)

“My parents were really strict, so we didn’t have a lot of video games at home. And so I’d get online and find—wait, you know that website GirlsGoGames? With the really shity romance games? Yeah, that was my introduction to visual novels,” they said. “I was like, ‘whoa, I can experience all these stories about people who are different than me, and I can access them for free on the web without having to download anything.’ It was really fascinating.”

Fast forward to college, and Nuku-Graves planned to be a software engineer—and “then I took one JavaScript class and realized ‘this is the worst shit I’ve ever done in my whole life.'” She transitioned to UC’s DAAP school with plans of becoming an animator, and then took “the class that changed my life.”

During her time at DAAP, she took an “Intro to Video Game Design” class, attempting to expand her horizons and take a peek behind the curtain of game development. Her final class project paired her with a group that made a game called ‘Hot Monsters,’ a dating simulator about Bigfoot and Mothman.

“The game was like 15 minutes long, I didn’t even care about Bigfoot or cryptids, that was all my groupmates. And I did the art and developed [the game] and I was like,” she said, pausing, “‘Why is this literally, like, so lit?’ I was shocked because I had played so many games like this growing up, and it was like, ‘Wait, I could do this myself?'”

Their professor, Katherine Castiello Jones, “loved the game so much” and encouraged her to pursue game development. She eventually signed up to do an independent study, where she’d have her own game to showcase by the end of the semester.

“I went home for the summer and played a ton of [games], trying to figure out what I’d do for my own,” they said. Over time, however, they became frustrated with video game storytelling in general, saying that “a lot of video games, regardless of genre, are not for black people, not for queer people, not for immigrant children. They’re for straight white guys.”

With her final project, they set out to change that and make a game that reflected the diversity in their real life. “And I was like, ‘well, what if I just did ‘Hot Monsters’ again but bigger?’ I really, really liked the design I created for the Mothman character. So what if I just made a game featuring them?”

Three months later, work on Cryptid Coffeehouse was completed. Set in an alternate-universe Cincinnati, the player spends time in a local coffee shop romancing the famous mythical creature Mothman while interacting with a wide array of colorful characters. It was developed in a Python-based programming language called Ren’Py.

Nuku-Graves posted the game on the website itch.io, which allows people to upload and distribute independent games for free, “just to have somewhere to easily host it and distribute it to my classmates.” But hours later, the game already had 1000 players. “I was like, what the hell is happening here?”

Four years later, Cryptid Coffeehouse has tens of thousands of players and still receives updates adding to the game’s story. It’s been published on Xbox and Steam, which makes her “a chunk of change every so often” as new people discover and purchase the game. (There’s even a spin-off game, titled Kurou Connect.) But what’s really impacted her life is the game’s rabid fanbase.

Fans of the game are writing fanfiction, drawing fan art, and creating new projects based on Cryptid Coffeehouse—in exactly the same way Nuku-Graves did with their favorite works of art when they were a child.

“People will tell me, ‘I’ve experienced something here that I’ve never experienced with another game, and these characters, I see myself in them and feel validated.’ And that’s what I make games for,” she said. “I wanted to feel that way while gaming [as a child], and now… I get to meet people who were just like me, in another state or even across the world, who feel seen. I was alone, but these people aren’t alone because of my game, and now I’m not alone either because I have these people, too.”

This past winter, the Contemporary Arts Center asked Nuku-Graves to headline the winter edition of their Co-LAB series, a quarterly class that is “designed to collaborate with the public, create change, alter perspectives, and think creatively.” She’s now hosting her own introductory game design class at one of the biggest art showcases in the city.

It’s a full-circle moment for her, as she’s achieved her childhood dream of creating a story that tons of people enjoy and is now inspiring that same dream for those in her class.

“I feel a sense of pride with [my students] because little Nukes, growing up in middle-of-nowhere Indiana, felt all alone,” they said. “Now, [my students] want to learn, and want to tell stories, and want to make games, and want to make a statement in their art… I’m living out my dream, and I feel like this is what I want to do forever.”

The post Local developer teaches students how to tell their stories through gaming appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Cincinnati loves a fish fry.

From Ash Wednesday all the way up to Easter, plenty of churches and local businesses in Cincinnati will be serving up fried fish and good times all over the city. Scroll down to find all the fish you could ever want.

Did we miss your fish fry? Email me at kmitten@citybeat.com to be added to the list.

Local restaurants:

• Arnold’s Bar & Grill, downtown, Feb. 20, 27, and March 6, 13, 20, 27.
• Delhi Pub, Delhi, Feb. 20, 27, and March 6, 13, 20, 27.
• Four Mile Pig, Alexandria, Feb. 20, 27, and March 6, 13, 20, 27.
• LaRosa’s, every location, until April 2
• R&R Quality Meats, Cheviot, March 5, 13, 20, 27, and April 3, 10.
• Rekas Butchery, Covington, special order on Fridays
• Wyoming Meat Market, Wyoming, every Friday during Lent, dine-in only

Ohio:

Hamilton County:

• American Legion Post 318, Anderson, every Friday until Easter
• American Legion Post 485, Cleves, every Friday during Lent
• All Saints Church, Kenwood, every Friday during Lent, 5-7:30 p.m.
• Fernbank Golf Course, Sayler Park, every Friday during Lent, 5-8 p.m.
• Good Shepherd Church, Montgomery, Feb 20, 27 and March 6, 13, 5:7-30 p.m.
• Globetrotters VFW Post 6428, Addyston, every Friday until Easter
• Our Lady of the Valley, Reading, Feb 27 and March 27, 5-7 p.m.
• Kolping Society, New Burlington, Feb 20, 27, March 6, 13, 20, 27
• St. Aloysius Gonzaga School, Cheviot, every Friday during Lent, 5-7:30 p.m.
• St. Clare, College Hill, Feb 20 through March 27
• St. John Neumann Church, Pleasant Run, Feb 20 through March 27, 4:30-7:30 p.m.
• St. Lawrence Price Hill Knights of Columbus, Price Hill, every Friday during Lent, 5-8 p.m.
• St. Vincent Ferrer, Kenwood, March 6 and 27, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
• St. William Church, West Price Hill, every Friday during Lent, 4-7:30 p.m.
• Syrian Shrine, Evendale, every Friday during Lent, 5-7 p.m.
• West Side Masonic Center, Monfort Heights, drive-thru only, every Friday during Lent, 4:30-7 p.m.
• Wesley Werner American Legion Post 513, Mount Healthy, Feb. 6, 20, March 13, 20, 27, and April 3, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Butler County:

• St. Aloysius, Hamilton, Feb 20 through March 13, 4:30-7 p.m.
• St. John the Evangelist, West Chester, 4:30-7:30 p.m.
• St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, Liberty Township, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Clermont County:

• St. Veronica Holy Name Society, Mount Carmel, every Friday during Lent, 5-7:30 p.m.
• Victor Stier American Legion Post 450, Milford, Feb 20 through April 3, 5-7:30 p.m.
• Williamsburg American Legion Post 288, Williamsburg, every Friday during Lent, 5-7 p.m.

Northern Kentucky:

Campbell County:

• Campbell County Future Farmers of America at Alexandria Fairgrounds, Alexandria, 4-7 p.m.
• St. Bernard Church, Dayton, every Friday but Good Friday during Lent, 5-7 p.m.
• St. Catherine of Siena, Fort Thomas, every Friday during Lent, 4-7:30 p.m.
• St. Joseph, Camp Springs, every Friday during Lent until March 27, 4-7:30 p.m.
• St. Thomas Catholic Church, Fort Thomas, every Friday during Lent, 4-7:30 p.m.

Kenton County:

• Bradford Masonic Lodge, Independence, every Friday until Easter, 4-8 p.m.
• Holy Cross High School, Covington, Feb 20 through March 27, 5-8 p.m.
• Knights of Columbus, Elsmere, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Mary Queen of Heaven, Erlanger, every Friday during Lent, 4-8 p.m.
• Simon Kenton Band Boosters, 11132 Madison Pike, Independence, every Friday during Lent, 5-7:30 p.m. (drive-thru only)
• St. Agnes Church, every Friday during Lent, 5-7:30 p.m.
• St Barbara Church, every Friday during Lent through March 27, dine-in 4:30-8 PM, drive-thru 4:30-7:30 PM
• St. Joseph at Noll Hall, Crescent Springs, every Friday during Lent, 5-8 p.m.
• St. Patrick Parish, Taylor Mill, every Friday during Lent, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Boone County:

• Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Burlington, Feb. 20, 27, and March 6, 13, 20, 27, 4:30-7:30 p.m. drive-thru and 5-8 p.m. dine-in.
• St. Joseph, Walton, every Friday during Lent
• St. Paul Parish, Florence, every Friday through March 27, 4:30-7:30 p.m.
• St. Timothy, Union, every Friday during Lent, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

The post Where to find a fish fry in Cincinnati in 2026 appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Popular manga café pop-up CinSei is expanding from their two-car-garage-wide space to a full-service location in the heart of Over-the-Rhine.

The café, which serves matcha (a Japanese caffeinated beverage made from green tea leaves) and sells manga (Japanese comics), is the only Black-owned manga café in the United States.

Owners Kendall and Jaleesa Ross have no experience running a store, but the two have had a lifelong passion for manga and anime, and knew there was an untapped market for others in the Cincinnati area who share the same interests.

“We’ve never ran a café before,” Kendall said. “She’s a nurse. I’m a graphic designer. We both have zero barista experience. And on top of that, we don’t go to cafés because we don’t drink coffee. So when we started, we had no idea what to do. But… we knew this was needed in the community, and we wanted to create a third space for people to hang out. The Black community, especially, is extremely underrepresented in this space and is a lot bigger than what people believe it is.”

Their instincts were correct: When they opened last August, hundreds of people showed up, and they even sold out of matcha the first few days they were open.

“We thought people were just gonna come and see the books and leave. But we didn’t expect the matcha to fly,” Jaleesa said. “Not only did we sell out of our matcha quickly, but everyone still seems to love it, and they come back regularly.”

Their lease in the pop-up space at OTR design firm Yard & Co was supposed to end in October 2025, but the outpouring of community support has allowed them to keep the shop open. It’s a bit ironic that the café has become well-known for having some of the best matcha in the Cincinnati area, given that the two initially didn’t like the drink when they first tried it last April.

“At one point, I was like ‘This is disgusting, we’re just gonna have hot chocolate, screw this,'” Jaleesa said. “But once we found a kind [of matcha] we liked, I was like ‘OK, this is gold.’ And we realized Japanese tea obviously pairs really well with manga.”

Two recent additions that will now be menu mainstays are pistachio-infused matcha and hojicha, where a matcha leaf is torched over high heat and gains a natural caramelization (similar to the “roasted” feel of coffee) before a pinch of brown sugar is added to the drink. Kendall said it’s his favorite drink in their shop, and usually what he recommends to coffee drinkers trying to ease their way into the tea-heavy flavor of matcha.

But despite the city’s love for its matcha, CinSei is “a manga shop first and foremost,” Kendall said. Unlike most American comic books, which primarily feature superheroes and are generally marketed toward children, manga is considered an art form in Japan and there are series of every genre—from sci-fi to horror to romance—intended for adults.

Jaleesa hand-picked every single book in the store and has read nearly everything on the shelves. For manga newcomers, she usually recommends action series Kagurabachi (“it’s like Kill Bill mixed with Demon Slayer,” Kendall said) and the high-fantasy series Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and Vinland Saga, which are comparable to adults-only Western fantasy fare like Game of Thrones.

For experienced manga readers, she usually recommends her favorite series, Fire Punch by Tatsuki Fujimoto, “as long as they’re OK with some messed up stuff,” as the series is well-known for its mature and depressing themes. “I tell them, ‘Hey, just read this, Fujimoto is a genius.’ I can go on and on about him.”

Initially, they planned to open CinSei for three months, but the café’s resounding success has kept it open much longer; eventually, 3CDC approached the two about moving into the former home of Coffia on E 3rd Street in Over-the-Rhine, next to the popular restaurant Wildweed.

Now, Kendall and Jaleesa’s short-term hobby has become a full-time project. Not much will change after moving into the bigger space (“the number one question we get is ‘When are you going to do coffee?’ and the answer is ‘never,'” Kendall said, laughing), but the relocation will allow them to hone in on their true focus: community building.

The name of the café—a play on words combining Cincy and sensei, which is Japanese for teacher—speaks to their goal for the space. The shop is littered with educational information about manga and Japanese culture, and the owners often host events at other venues that they pay out of pocket for and make no profit from, all in the name of growing their local scene.

“Over in Japan, there’s manga cafés everywhere,” Kendall said. “But in the United States, they don’t exist at all. I feel like [this café] is not even necessarily about a dollar for us… this is really for our community.”

Jaleesa agreed, saying the shop is creating “the community [her and Kendall] wished we would’ve had” growing up, and that “we’ve always loved anime and manga, and we always wanted to see a space where you can hang out and find friends who share the same interest.”

Specifically, the two are interested in creating a space where Black people feel welcome, as the larger manga/anime community online tends to be the opposite of inclusive.

“To be frank and honest with you, Black people are usually shunned and looked down upon by anime fans online. Just recently, there was a Black teenage cosplayer who committed suicide because of the harassment and hate they were receiving for dressing up as characters who don’t look like them. For us, this kind of space just doesn’t exist,” Kendall said. “We have customers that are grown adults in their 40s and for the first time, when they come in… they feel seen and welcomed.”

A majority of manga stories revolve around underdogs cast out by society and faced with impossible challenges, which Jaleesa feels is relatable to “how African-Americans feel.”

“I feel like the challenges they go through are similar to how African-Americans live, how America is, and how our society is set up—which is sad to say, but it’s true,” she said. “I feel like it’s easy to connect to and resonate with these underdog characters, and we can see ourselves in them and relate to the strife and difficulty they face when they’re trying to achieve their goals.”

Now that they’re finally able to have a larger space to find the community they’ve been searching for, it feels like a dream come true.

“It’s so funny, I go to work and they’re like ‘What are you still here for? [The café] is your get rich card!’ I tell them this is supposed to be just for fun and then I realize ‘Oh, we’re about to have a whole business,'” Jaleesa said, laughing. “We thought this wasn’t gonna last very long. Now we’re realizing we have a lot of work ahead. But it’s fun work. Like, way fun work… Customers don’t even have to come in and buy a drink or a book. We just want a truly cool space where everyone can enjoy themselves.”

The post Manga & matcha café in OTR expands to full brick-and-mortar appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.