GIVEAWAY: TASTE OF THE WORLD



CincyWhimsy is giving away two tickets to Taste of the World on Saturday, November 9!



To enter, "like" and share this Facebook post of our new Livin' In The Cin photo challenge, then capture your own #happy moment and tag it #LivinInTheCin!

A winner will be selected on Sunday, November 3. 




Celebrating their 10th Anniversary, the annual Taste of the World will take place at Newport Aquarium to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Presented by The Party Source, the retailer's many beverage distributors bring their best wines, beers, and a variety of spirits for guests to enjoy. Roughly 700 people mingle about the aquarium each year, tasting the many offerings of food and beverage.

Local restaurants will satisfy guests with samplings of some of their most popular dishes. In the Top Shelf room, Chef David Cook and Master Mixologist Molly Wellman will delight guests with a sampling of drinks for a more refined palate, as well as a lounge-style atmosphere away from the crowds downstairs.

General Admission tickets are $100 each, and an exclusive, Top Shelf experience can be yours for $150. 

OTR MALICE BALL

Looking to spook some fun into your Halloween? The Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce is hosting The Malice Ball at Christian Moerlein Brewery this Saturday, October 26. Themed the Brewers' Mascarade, guests are encouraged to dress up in dark and elegant masquerade attire. Feeling creative? Craft a costume to resemble a historic Cincinnati icon, such as a beer baron.

Photo courtesy OTR Chamber



Don't have a costume? Don't fret. The evening will feature makeup, styling and masquerade masks by MUJO Studio. Plus, enter the costume contest for a chance to win an overnight stay at 21C Museum Hotel.

In true brewing fashion, The Malice Ball will feature drinks crafted by Japp's and Bakersfield bartenders, plus food from Holtman's Donuts, Lucy Blue Pizza, Ollie's Trolley, Lackman, and Bakersfield. A night of entertainment will ensue, with dance performances by Pones Inc., music from DJ Matt Joy,  and an eerie photobooth!



Photo courtesy OTR Chamber



The Malice Ball: OTR Brewers’ Masquerade takes place this Saturday, October 26, 2013 from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. at 1621 Moore Street in Over-the-Rhine. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Proceeds from the Malice Ball benefit the Over-the-Rhine Chamber’s Business First Grant Program.







PIADA OPENS IN HYDE PARK

Cincinnati got its first taste of Piada this month, which opened up in Hyde Park Plaza in the former location of T.G.I. Friday. This will be the first of two southwest Ohio locations the Columbus-based restaurant will open, the second coming soon to Mason.

 

Following the popular walk-the-line style of fast casual restaurants, Piada is best described as an Italian version of Chipolte.  Their three customizable entrees include a giant bowl of salad, a giant bowl of pasta, and the Piada, a thin, stone-grilled wrap brushed with extra virgin olive oil and stuffed with everything from pasta to grilled meat and fresh vegetables.



My friend Maureen first introduced me to Piada while visiting Columbus, and we were delighted to find out one was opening close to home. I've been back three times since the grand opening of the Hyde Park location, each time ordering the same thing. One of the chefs even offered me a complimentary Piada stick with dipping sauce just so I would try something different.

My favorite is the pick two, a similar concept to Panera Bread. Instead of a giant bowl of food, the pick two provides two smaller portions of soup, salad, or pasta. I go with the pasta and salad pairing, with fried calamari as my protein and load both up with an assortment of vegetables, feta and Parmesan cheese. Six sauces, both hot and cold are available for the pasta, as well as five salad dressings. The pomodoro is my go-to pasta sauce, and I often crave the creamy Parmesan dressing for salads.


Pick Two: Salad and Pasta with Calamari

Can't decide? Get a Piada stuffed with pasta AND salad!


In addition, Piada also has Italian sodas on tap, a sweet treat to compliment your Sicilian meal. The best part of all, each epic meal will only cost you $9.00.

Piada is open from 11:00am - 10:00pm seven days a week.

CINCINNATI STREETCAR VEHICLE REVEAL

The City of Cincinnati hosted a public reveal of the vehicle design renderings and color scheme of the much-anticipated streetcar. Mayor Mallory welcomed the crowd of over 100 supporters who packed into the Christian Moerlein Brewery. The color scheme was selected by a group of 20 community members who provided a recommendation based on aesthetics, fade resistance, and being easy to maintain. Mayor Mallory and City Manager Milton Dohoney then made the final decision.

Yes, Mayor Mallory's tie matches the light orange streetcar.

With standing room only, over 100 supporters packed into Christian Moerlein Brewery for the announcement.



While preliminary images may have hinted at the streetcar being red or light green, the official colors are white and light orange with accents of dark gray and black. A shade of orange was selected to pay tribute to the 1951 Cincinnati Street Railway streetcar, which was colored dark orange and cream. Inside, the sleek light grey walls are accented with stainless steel railings and hand straps. An inviting azure covers the seats, noted in the rail color palette booklet as Capri Blue. Side panel walls accent the interior with a matching light orange color.




In addition to learning about the colors, technical details about the vehicle design were shared. Cincinnati will have five streetcars, each with a 154 person capacity and 32 seats. Six seats fold up to make room for strollers, wheelchairs, and bicycles. The Cincinnati Streetcar is the first streetcar in the United States to be designed with curb level boarding at every stop, making it the most accessible in the nation. Curb level boarding means easy access for people with wheelchairs, visual impairments, walkers, or other mobility issues. Unlike a bus, they can enter the streetcar independently without the driver having to stop to assist them. Curb level boarding is also helpful for people with strollers, young children, or luggage.


Rendering of the streetcar on Main Street


Representatives from CAF USA, who will be manufacturing the vehicles, spoke at the event expressing great pride and excitement about building Cincinnati's streetcar as their flagship project. In gratitude, they gave away backpacks and pens to the crowd. The final assembly will take place in Elmira, New York in Summer 2014, with the first vehicle arriving in March 2015.



Representatives from CAF USA









In lieu of the upcoming Mayoral and City Council election, all pro-streetcar candidates were also in attendance for the announcement: Roxanne Qualls (Mayoral) as well as Mike Moroski, Yvette Simpson, Wendell Young, Laure Quinlivan, Michelle Dillingham, Chris Seelbach and Shawn Butler (City Council).


Mayoral candidate Roxanne Qualls receives a roar of applause at the event


City Council Candidate Mike Moroski talks with David Dawson, Co-Chair of Cincinnatians for Progress



Councilmember Laure Quinlivan talks with representatives from CAF USA





FUSIAN OPENS 4TH RESTAURANT

Cincinnati's favorite foodie entrepreneurs just opened their fourth location in three years. Since getting their start Downtown in 2010, FUSIAN has expanded to Dayton, Columbus, and now Hyde Park.




I've been a regular customer since their first location at Tower Place Mall, and followed them excitedly to their new home at 6th and Vine Street. Since then, the fast casual sushi restaurant has grown by leaps and bounds, but still continues to serve up delicious sushi with a smile.





If you have yet to visit FUSIAN, you're in for a treat. This walk-the-line style restaurant is comparable to Chipotle, except instead of burritos, you're customizing your own sushi roll. With ten kinds of protein, ten sauces, and an assortment of vegetables, the combinations are endless. Each roll comes with ten huge pieces for only $9.00. Both the quantity and the price beat out ordering specialty sushi rolls at an Asian restaurant, which average six pieces and cost $13.00.





With Oakley and Hyde Park being home to Cincinnati's largest concentration of Asian restaurants, FUSIAN will fit right in while offering a concept coined right here in the Queen City.

FUSIAN's newest restaurant is in Hyde Park Plaza in the former T.G.I. Friday location. It is open from 11:00am -10:00pm seven days a week.

URBAN CAMPOUT

The evening before the first day of early voting for the November 5th Election, Cincinnati City Council Candidates grabbed their blankets and spent the night camping out in front of the Board of Elections, Downtown at 9th and Broadway. The event was coordinated by first-time candidate Mike Moroski, with his team providing snacks, a tent, and even a reclining lawn chair.



In addition to a smorgasboard of snacks, campers enjoyed pizza from Cafe Italia and coffee from the 24-hour Starbucks, both inside the nearby casino. On Broadway, a drinkery across the street, provided restroom access through the middle of the night. Of course, there were many other alternative camping traditions, such as roasting s'mores by candlelight and closing with a bedtime story about the legendary 1855 Mayoral Election in Cincinnati.






Citizens and other candidates stopped by throughout the night, which started at 10:00PM. Most of the activity, of course, was early on with most staying for a few hours and departing around midnight. Many settled in to stay longer, heading home around 3:00AM to rest before work. Come sunrise, Moroski and six of his friends remained, lining up first to cast their ballots.