The largest wine festival in the Midwest returns to the Queen City this weekend, allowing you to sip wine from all over the globe right here in Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati International Wine Festival, which started in 1991, is celebrating 35 years of operation. Beginning this Thursday and running through Saturday, plenty of exotic wines will be on hand for sampling, with proceeds from the festival going to more than 30 local nonprofits.

New this year is a 20-minute introductory course on how to properly taste wine and a class on the three biggest wine trends right now, with samples included. The main event this year is The Slam on Saturday night, which puts sommeliers head-to-head in a live, timed challenge as the audience watches and sips the same wines they’ll be tested on.

To date, the festival has raised more than $8 million for local nonprofits.

Tickets are available now on the festival’s website by clicking here.

The post The Cincinnati International Wine Festival celebrates its 35th Anniversary appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

When Chef Casey Hopkins appeared on my laptop screen via FaceTime, she had just gotten home from a Thursday shift at Longfellow. She was wearing a popular merch item from the bar – a gray sweatshirt emblazoned with a four-eyed, winking red cocktail – and she had her two little dumplings running amok in the background.

Having seen Hopkins’ packed bag ahead of an upcoming trip, her pug, Pierogi, had spent the day sulking. Her mood hadn’t improved. Meanwhile, Momo the French bulldog intermittently popped into the bottom right corner of my screen, seemingly oblivious to Hopkins’ impending departure and just hankering for some attention.

“ I’ve always cooked,” Hopkins said, occasionally patting Momo’s head and minding Pierogi’s grump-fueled antics. “I’ve always loved food. And Longfellow was the first real place that I was a cook, I was a chef, I was in the kitchen. So all of my real culinary experience has been within the walls of Longfellow in the last 8 years.”

Working with people has pretty much been a focal point of any line of work Hopkins has found herself in. As a teenager, her gigs included a face painter at the Cincinnati Zoo, an assistant for studio dance classes, and a camp counselor. Her first restaurant job was at a Chipotle, but even before then, she was no stranger to culinary environments. 

“I  was very close with my neighbors growing up,” Hopkins said. “They had a restaurant on the West Side, so I was always in a restaurant, and I was always at their house, in their kitchen learning how to cook.”

At that point, Hopkins was “just part of the family,” as opposed to staff, looking after the family’s children every night at the restaurant. Over time, she’s worked serving jobs, and picked up some kitchen work during her time at Chicago Gyros and Northside Yacht Club. 

It was during her time at the yacht club that Casey met future Longfellow owner (and recent second-time James Beard nominee) Mike Stankovich. Stankovich opened his nationally-ranked bar in February 2017, with Chef Evan Wallis at the helm of the kitchen. Wanting to involve Wallis in more of the kitchen management side, Stankovich began seeking additional members for the kitchen staff – with a few qualifications in mind. 

“Longfellow’s kind of a unique kitchen in the sense that it’s visible to the public, and a lot of people that work in kitchens don’t wanna have to talk to people,” Stankovich said. “Whenever we’ve had to hire for that position, we’ve had to try to find the right kind of personality that wants to talk to people, but also make food under people watching them. And Casey has that personality and does well at it.”

Hopkins ultimately joined in March 2018. 

“She had a long history of working in bars and restaurants, and just was a good worker, and learned quickly, and was willing to take advice,” Wallis said of Hopkins. 

Longfellow was an all-hands-on-deck operation, with team members picking up different responsibilities to keep the busy bar running. According to Wallis, as he got busier assisting with the bartending side of Longfellow, Hopkins took on more of the food service side.

When Wallis ultimately moved on from Longfellow, Hopkins was selected to take his position. Stankovich cited her preexisting tenure with Longfellow, her culinary ability, and her love for the work as reasons.

“She had to learn some stuff,” Stankovich said. “But any job anyone takes, you have to learn some stuff. So that’s not a deterrent, at least for me, to hire somebody. I’d rather teach someone to do the right thing than have them think they know everything.”

And not three days after transitioning into the position, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began. What followed was a pivot to an all-takeout operation for Longfellow’s loyal base of customers – and a need to churn out a whole lot of egg salad. 

“ We did have a couple regulars in that time who were buying, like, two pints a week of Longfellow egg salad, which is amazing egg salad,” Hopkins remembered with a laugh. “I love the egg salad! But also, who’s eating a quart of egg salad in a week?” 

For any challenges, the trial by fire ended up being an unintentional masterclass for the rising chef.

“When we opened back up inside, however long that was after, it was like, ‘Cool, alright, I know how to work this space, and make it work in a large scale. Now I can refine it,’” Hopkins said. 

Wallis, who now owns College Hill bar Big Chill with his wife, Hannah Wheatley, also saw some serendipity in the circumstances. 

“ I think it was a nice time, because it was a natural time to reset and let her do her own thing, and kind of see how things went from there,” Wallis said.

While she had to learn what Stankovich called the “medial” aspects of operating a kitchen – like getting acquainted with sources for ingredients and ordering them in the right quantity – Stankovich witnessed key growth in her confidence in skills she already possessed. 

“She has whatever it takes to just make food taste good, but I think her kind of realizing that, or accepting that, was a big step,” Stankovich said.

Longfellow’s ever-evolving menu has steady items – the charcuterie board, the Scrap Sandwich, the egg salad (figures) – but Hopkins and her team still get plenty of freedom to conceptualize and experiment. Menu comings-and-goings have been born of trial-and-error, nostalgia and everyday cravings. Case in point: the bestselling mushroom melt. 

“Our mushroom melt just happened one day because I wanted pizza, but I didn’t wanna buy pizza,” Hopkins said. “So I was like, ‘What do we have in here that can make me something that tastes reminiscent of pizza?’ And it worked out perfectly.”

Hopkins categorizes the mixed menu into “plates” and “snacks,” striving to make the latter “elevated comfort food.”

“The snack side in my brain is just like, ‘What are you eating in your cool aunt’s basement when she’s hosting a house party,” Hopkins said. “Like, what is your awesome Aunt Kathy putting out on her table to feed you snack-wise?’”

Enter hanky pankies, a Midwestern staple that Hopkins considers “an homage” to her own (presumably awesome) Great Aunt Jenny. A blend of ground meat, spices, and logs of glorious Velveeta cheese piled on bread, they’re not your everyday printed menu item, but one that catches eyes and elicits joy nonetheless. 

 ”It’s a fun thing to have on the menu,” Hopkins said of this family dish she’s long enjoyed annually on Christmas Eve. “People see them and they get excited.”

Many of Longfellow’s ingredients are sourced locally. Hopkins also taps into resources a stone’s throw (or streetcar ride) away, from Avril Bleh to Findlay Market. And she cultivates a small spice garden right outside the bar near its outdoor seating area. If you opt to sip your signature Shiso Painkiller outside, you might just be sitting near the namesake plant involved in its creation. 

Food is Hopkins’ passion, yet her recipes aren’t something she seems to agonize over. 

“At the end of the day, it’s just food,” Hopkins said. “I mean, ‘It’s just food’ is such an understatement, but it’s gotta be good food. We wanna make good food, and it’s not the end of the world if we gotta change something.”

For any menu leeway, however, there are some challenges literally inherent to the establishment’s architecture. According to Stankovich, due to preservation requirements in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, Longfellow wasn’t permitted to install a kitchen hood within the historic building.

As a workaround, Stankovich drew inspiration from his work in the industry in New York City, where chefs built perfectly efficient kitchens without the need to install pricey hoods. Stankovich also explains the pivot was inherent to Longfellow’s design – its character channels that of a Japanese izakaya, casual, sometimes compact bars with kitchens that serve up small plates and bar snacks alongside drinks. And the Longfellow kitchen team has made it all work from the outset. 

“Part of how we developed our menu was what we were able to do,” Wallis said. “And that was something that I think me, Mike, and Casey all enjoyed – having limited resources and still seeing what you were able to do.”

These days, during busy times, Hopkins operates in what she approximates to be a three-foot by two-foot space, not to mention the other bartenders in motion around her (she’ll also bartend, when needed). Hopkins and her team work with an intentional set of tools that includes a hand crank meat slicer, hot plate, toaster oven and steam table.

“ I think it is a testament to that you don’t need a big, fancy kitchen or all the crazy hullabaloo to create good, comforting food,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins and her colleagues, Chef Mike Lizama and Chef Thearvy Long, continue to do their work in full view of patrons – which, while sometimes stressful, isn’t necessarily a negative for Hopkins. 

“ A lot of cooks and a lot of chefs love being behind their closed door,” Hopkins said. “They love the fact that they don’t have to interact. I personally love it, ’cause I’m just a schmoozer. I love talking. I’ve made so many great friends and met so many awesome people by just being at my meat slicer and someone being like, ‘Is that this?’ And me being like, ‘No, it’s actually this.’”

Evidence of these connections can be found in a lineup of tcotchkes near that same meat slicer. What started as a photograph of one of Hopkins’ dogs and a shot glass emblazoned with aliens has grown into a collection of small offerings from patrons. Everything from baby photos to an E.T. figurine keep Hopkins company at her station.

Hopkins said the broader Cincinnati culinary scene Longfellow operates in is robust, yet not necessarily cutthroat. 

 ”We do have this huge booming culinary scene, but nothing feels insanely competitive against each other,” Hopkins said. “Like, we’re all doing it together. We’re all there for one another. If one of our buddies up the street needs an extra bag of towels for the night, guess what? We got you.”

While an establishment of her own someday isn’t totally off the table, Hopkins deems herself “a short term goal girl,” and keeps herself grounded in the present as she considers her future.

“ The goal right now is to just keep ripping, and keep learning, and just keep having fun, because that’s the coolest thing I think about my job is that I have a lot of fun doing it,” Hopkins said. 

“She’s a crucial part of Longfellow,” Stankovich said of Hopkins. “But if she ever needed to move on or grow her career or something, I would support it, too. So I’m supportive of her outside of just her standing in the kitchen.”

For all of the industry experience she’s amassed over time, Hopkins still acknowledges that she never imagined being in her role today. 

“ It is really cool to just be floating around with serving tables, working in random bars. And then now, you know what I do? I’m a chef now, and I run a kitchen side of a bar that’s very successful, because I work with great people, we have great guests, and I have the openness to learn and soak in new skills.”

The post Chef Casey Hopkins turns Longfellow’s kitchen into center stage 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.

One popular LaRosa’s location has permanently closed after 40 years of business—but a new, larger location is opening close by.

The Mount Washington location at 2111 Beechmont Ave. closed up shop for the final time this past Sunday, March 1. The popular regional pizza chain is set to open a brewing-focused experience just down the road called LaRosa’s Taphouse, prompting the closure of the original location.

“We’re incredibly thankful to have been such a core part of the Mount Washington community for so long. We created so many strong relationships with Mount Washington neighbors and hope they’ll continue to visit us just down the hill at LaRosa’s Taphouse,” said Nick Fucito, LaRosa’s Mount Washington franchise owner. “While the address is changing, our commitment to our guests remains unchanged. We’re excited to welcome everyone and give our guests more of what they love in a bigger, more comfortable space,” he continued.

The upcoming LaRosa’s Taphouse will open in the current Big Ash Brewing space at Skytop Pavilion near the Little Miami River. It will feature a full dining room/beer hall with seating for 100, 14 big screen TVs, an outdoor beer garden with live music area, an enclosed, dog-friendly four-season patio with total seating for 210, and a self-serve tap system offering a selection of Big Ash Brewing craft beers, wine and hard seltzers.

The new location is set to open later this month. In the meantime, guests in Mount Washington can order from the LaRosa’s in Anderson, which will temporarily deliver to the area.

The post LaRosa’s closes Mount Washington location after 40 years of business appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Local ice cream chain Graeter’s is bringing back a highly requested flavor that was previously in their permanent lineup but was discontinued in 2025.

Their Caramel Macchiato ice cream, made with a blend of caramel and coffee-flavored ice cream, buttery toffee pieces and milk chocolate caramel truffles, has returned for a limited time.

The flavor will be available by the scoop and by the pint at every Graeter’s location across the tri-state area, while supplies last.

It’s yet another monthly special from the oldest family-owned and operated craft ice cream maker in the country; previously, they released a Chocolate Almond Chocolate Chip flavor in January and a Cherry Chocolate Chip flavor in February.

More details are available on their website.

The post Fan-favorite Graeter’s flavor returns after being discontinued 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.

Just days before Ohio will ban them, two of Cincinnati’s biggest names want you to try THC seltzers.

Rhinegeist Brewery is partnering with the Contemporary Arts Center for “The (High) Art of Seltzers,” a guided tasting and museum tour about the craft, science and cultural conversation surrounding THC seltzers. The event takes place at the CAC on March 12 at 5:30 p.m.

Led by Nick Brehm, director of Innovation and Raw Materials and Tracey Ireland, vice president of Marketing at Rhinegeist, the evening will feature Fuzzy Bones, an alcohol-free sparkling beverage crafted with hemp-derived Delta-9 THC and real fruit juice.

Rhinegeist’s team will guide participants through the formulation, production and evolving landscape of hemp-derived beverages, offering insight into how hemp-derived Delta-9 THC is legally defined, nanoemulsion technology and its role in onset timing, what “quick onset” means in practice, understanding 5mg dosing and pacing consumption, and the influence of minor cannabinoids such as CBG and CBN.

Guests will sample three flavors–Blood Orange Tangerine, Lemon Blueberry, and Blackberry Hibiscus–and receive one 12 oz. 5mg can to take home.

“CAC’s ‘The Art of…’ series is about exploring creativity in all its forms, and we’re excited to partner with Rhinegeist to examine the craft, science, and sensory experience behind this evolving field,” said Carolyn Hefner, Chief of External Affairs at CAC. “Programs like this invite people into the museum in new ways—connecting contemporary art with everyday experiences and encouraging curiosity, conversation, and discovery.”

Following the tasting, participants will join CAC Adjunct Curator, Maria Seda-Reeder, for a guided exploration of the galleries. Slowing down with a work of art invites a different kind of awareness. This portion of the evening encourages guests to consider how perception shifts when we tune into our senses more intentionally.

The event is only available to guests 21+, and a valid ID is required. Tickets are $30, although members of the museum get a discount. For more information, click here.

The post Rhinegeist, CAC partner on THC seltzer event 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.

Five bars at The Banks want you to feel the luck of the Irish.

Following their sold-out espresso martini tasting event last week, the Cincinnati Coffee Festival is bringing another caffeine fueled event to the downtown area on Friday, March 13.

The organization’s Irish Coffee Tasting event will take place across five locations—as opposed to just three from the espresso martini event.

Guests can pay $25 to get a free classic or specialty Irish coffee at Holy Grail, Moerlein Lager House, Killer Queen, The Park and Jefferson Social, with special discounts on food and other Irish-themed cocktails at each stop.

The event arrives just in time for the upcoming 58th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade the day after, on Saturday, March 14.

Proceeds from the tasting benefit the Ohio River Foundation, supporting its work to protect and restore the Ohio River watershed, because you can’t make a great cup of coffee—or in this case, an Irish Coffee—without great water.

The post Feeling lucky? Head to The Banks for an Irish coffee tasting event 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.

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