momn3

We are moving to Cincinnati, Ohio early next year. We are flying out there for a week in middle October house hunting and a little site seeing. We'd like to learn the area, the sites, the history, so we have a good idea of where we'd like to live. We have young children. What sites would you see to learn about Cincinnati? Also we'd enjoy some advice on the best places to eat.

volcanogirl

My husband grew up in that area; he still goes nuts for Graeter's ice cream, Montgomery Ribs, and Marion's Pizza. Also Skyline Chili, which I think is funky because they put it on spaghetti, but it's tradition I guess! The ice cream really is amazing.

Reese

Restaurants:
Jeff Ruby has a string of steakhouses around the city that are fantastic!
Montgomery Inn for ribs!
Skyline Chili-it's an acquired taste if you weren't weaned on it like me!
Graters ice cream- black raspberry chip is to die for!
Larosa's & Deweys have good pizza!
Cincinnati has a nice zoo, Kings Island amusement park, National history museum that has a children's museum.
The city has several options for plays and concerts and we have wonderful festival throughout the year!
Good luck with your move!

volcanogirl

Yes, Montgomery Inn - that's the name - thanks, Reese! My husband is also a big nut for the Reds and loves their new stadium. He still talks about Kings Island!

momn3, there's a company that will ship Cincinnati food straight to your door if you'd like to try any of it. Some of our relatives ordered it for us, and it had the ribs, sauce, ice cream, chili, etc. all packed in dry ice. Pretty fun! And I agree that the Black Raspberry Chip is the best!

momn3

Oh....thank you for the advice. Is it easy to get tickets to a Reds game or do I need to plan now? It sounds to me like we should cautiously try the Skyline Chili...is "skyline" a place or the name of the dish?

lincasanova

you will probably want to join the zoo as a family.
the have a great summer program my kids went to for years.

you will meet a lot of people at the ballet and opera commitees if that is of interest to you.

drive the queen city tour from your car. follow the crowns around the city for a beatiful car tour.

go watch the private jets and propeller planes land at lunken field, rte 32, and have a nice meal there.
loads of fun.

also a nice park there. great bike trail for miles around those woods.

there is a new tea house on kellogg avenue that is supposed to be cute.

hyde park square.. good food, graeters ice cream and loads of young families early evenings.

volcanogirl

Skyline is the name of the restaurant. I think it's so crazy, but they all love it. I'm from Texas, and when my in-laws sent us this stuff in the mail, I heated it on the stove and was going to eat it like chili, and my husband said I had to put in on spaghetti - what?! Then of course, he had to take me to the restaurant when we were visiting up there. It's kind of like a quick almost fast food experience. You can put it on either spaghetti or on hot dogs, and then they put on all this other stuff like beans, onions, cheese, etc. Actually, it's pretty good with all that other stuff on it - LOL. They call it 3-way, 5-way, etc. depending on how many toppings you get.

Not sure about the Reds season this year; they weren't doing very well last time I checked, so their season may not be going that late into the year. I think it will probably end in September, but if it goes longer, definitely try to catch a game. Good luck with your move!

momn3

I didn't think about the season being over then. What about other sporting events? Football, Hockey...even some college sports or dirt track racing? The ballet was a great idea as we have a little dancer in the family. Maybe a children's production or something. Again, food ideas are great...and educational. Thank you.

SAnParis

You won't have any trouble getting Reds tix until they get some pitching. UC is there as well as Xavier for college basketball. UC is down a bit right now but both teams play in great conferences. You're also in close proximity to Louisville & Lexington + Turfway Park is right across the river (if you like the ponies). Snowrooster lives there, she can also help you out.

Beatchick

Hi, I work in Cincinnati and live near here and have written up a bunch of tips on the city on VT if you care to take a gander:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/5dc15/ce4bb/

One of the reasons I moved here 12 years ago is because it IS such a great place for kids. Some of the things that drew me:
*Cincinnati Zoo
*Toyota/WEBN fireworks on Labor Day w/e
*Children's Museum at Union Terminal
*TONS of parks (supposedly, Cincinnati & Paris, France top the world's cities for more green space per square mile)

Graeter's is good, but Aglamesi's in Oakley is AWESOME.

Your kids will probably love Serpentine Wall down by the river.

volcanogirl

If the Reds season is over when you go, you might want to check out a Bengals game. Have fun!

SAnParis

Bungals tix may be a bit harder to get (depending on who they are playing). You may want to plan ahead a bit there.

coolcamden

You may need to go to the local jail to see the Bengals players. J/K.

LLindaC

y'all are misbehavin. Your young tots will enjoy the Newport Aquarium. Also fun is the german restaurant down on the Levee with the oompah band. Good news, Cincinnati is smoke free. Newport/N Ky is not.

SAnParis

That would be the Haufbrau Haus, modeled after the one in Munich.

Reese

Aglamesi's ice cream is awesome! They have a location in Montgomery too! It's funny, I know alot of people who have lived here forever and have never had it!
We don't have major hockey team, but I think we still have the Cyclones and the Mighty Ducks.

Reese

Also wanted to mention that in Mason, OH they have ATP tournments each summer and they had a big volleyball tournament there recently.
Also Cincinnati has alot of golf courses around town if you like that!
Also if you have a little dancer in the house, Music Hall has the Nutcracker production every year and that is a big hit!

Beatchick

Hey Reese!

"Aglamesi's ice cream is awesome! They have a location in Montgomery too! It's funny, I know alot of people who have lived here forever and have never had it!"
I know! We'd lived here 10 years before we'd ever heard of Aglamesi's (and this from my favorite waiter at my favorite restaurant, Bistro JeanRo) even though Mr. Connolly's best friend lived in Oakley!

Also, I 2nd (or 3rd) Dewey's Pizza. A word of caution, though, the best Dewey's, IMVHO, is located in Oakley and the worst is in Clifton. It seems the manager at the Clifton location wanted to argue with me that artichoke leaves (and not the heart) were what people preferred on their pizzas. He actually told me they throw the artichoke hearts away, can you believe that?

I may have lived in eastern Kentucky for 18 years but I'm originally from California, and honey, I *know* vegetables.

After a few visits to the Clifton location we decided never to go back (and I work at one of the hospitals nearby so it's a low-down dirty shame that they aren't better). The Oakley location, however, has never let me down.

And I also second Reese's suggestion of the Jeff Ruby restaurants. He and Jean-Robert de Caval have a lock on the best Cincinnati restos. For my 30th birthday, Mr. Connolly wowed me with dinner at Jeff Ruby's first location, The Precinct. It was even written up in a Vogue article about the best steakhouses in America (to my recollection only 8 made the list). The mister didn't care for the ambience as he felt the tables were too close together so the next one we tried was The Tropicana, located on Newport-on-the-Levee right across from the Hofbrau Haus. There the seating is much more loosely arranged, the food is still perfect and dress code is a bit more relaxed.

Took my mom to The Tropicana in May and she said it was one of the two best dining experiences she'd ever had! Just a few days later Jeff Ruby made the news when he ousted O.J. Simpson from another of his restaurants! Mr. Simpson claimed it was due to racism but Mr. Ruby averred that he'd served and greeted O.J. many times but felt that the book O.J. had just written was too disrespectful so out he went. Needless to say, my mom regaled her friends back home with the story of her dinner.

basingstoke2

Is German Pizza still there? Their Reuben Pizza was unforgetable.

Reese

Hey Beatchick!
I've only been to Dewey's at Harpers Point, but it has always been wonderful and they have really good salads!!
I haven't been to Tropicana, but I've been to the Precinct, Carlo & Johnny's & his restaurant at Belterra and the man knows his steak!


I've never heard of German pizza??