cincinnati imports

next event: happy hour at the crazy fox on 6/23

2011-06-01T18:38:00.001-04:00

Join Cincinnati Imports for a Happy Hour at the Crazy Fox Saloon on Thursday, June 23 from 6-9 pm. The Crazy Fox is located at 901 Washington Ave., Newport, KY.

A mainstay of the Newport area, the Crazy Fox is well known as a comfortable neighborhood place where all are welcome. Please note: Crazy Fox is non-smoking inside, with smoking available on the patio.

Specials for the evening include:
* Thursday night is Well Night with discounts on all mixed well drinks
* Happy hour includes specials on many drinks.

The Crazy Fox does not serve food, but there are several restaurants that deliver to the bar.

All are welcome! Cincinnati Imports Happy Hours are low-key, and it's a fantastic way to meet new people.

Free parking is readily available on the streets immediately surrounding Crazy Fox.

next event: happy hour at mayday on 4/27

2011-04-11T21:10:00.000-04:00

Time	Wednesday, April 27 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Location	Mayday 4227 Spring Grove Ave Cincinnati, OH

More Info	Join Cincinnati Imports for a Happy Hour at Mayday. A newcomer to the Northside scene, Mayday has quickly become a mainstay. Mayday serves up a great mix of top-notch beers, food, music, and eclectic events. Mayday is offering some great specials until 9 p.m., and they have excellent gourmet hotdogs (with vegan options). Specials include: * Dog n Draft--any dog, any draft for 7.75 * $4 mini bottle of wine All are welcome! Cincinnati Imports Happy Hours are low-key, and it's a fantastic way to meet new people. Parking is readily available on the streets immediately surrounding Mayday

thanks for coming!

2011-03-22T12:00:00.001-04:00

thanks to everyone who came out last night! we had a ton of new faces and lots of returning imports too. it was perfect weather and motr was really accommodating. check the facebook page for pictures. we will be announcing our next event soon.

next event: happy hour at MOTR on 3/21

2011-02-22T16:58:00.006-05:00

Join Cincinnati Imports on Monday, March 21 from 6-9 p.m. for a Happy Hour at MOTR Pub at 1345 Main Street. MOTR Pub is a newish bar and restaurant specializing in local music--they also have great beer and food.

All are welcome! Cincinnati Imports Happy Hours are low-key, and it's a fantastic way to meet new people.

MOTR is extending their awesome happy hour prices to 9 p.m., and they have great food, as well (with vegetarian options). Monday night has a $3 martini special, while Happy hour prices include:
$2.5 on select Draft
$3.25 Wells
$4 Wine

Please be sure to RSVP either in the comments or on our Facebook event page in order to get a bracelet for the extended drink specials from 8-9 p.m.

Parking is readily available on the streets immediately surrounding MOTR.

If you have questions, please post them to the comments, and we'll answer them. We hope to see you then!

guest post from alex shebar of yelp

2011-01-14T18:37:00.005-05:00

“There’s nothing to do in Cincinnati. It’s so boring. This town sucks. You suck. Everything about this place sucks.”

Seriously, don’t you just want to roundhouse kick those people to the face? If I hear one more person tell me that there’s nothing going on in Cincinnati, I’m taking it into my own hands ... feet … something *KaPow!*

Ok, granted, Cincinnati is not a city like, say, New York. You’re not going to walk outside and have eight awesome things handed to you. Here, you sometimes have to search for a fun event, a new restaurant, a cool bar, a funky shop or whatever you want to do on weekdays and weekends. It can be kind of a pain.

So let me make that search a little easier for you.

Hi, I’m Alex! (all together now: “Hi, Alex!”) I’m the relatively new Community Manager for Yelp.com here in Cincinnati. I’m also the guy who did the Watch This movie project last year (with the help of my amazing girlfriend), where we watched all of the AFI’s Top 100 movies in a year including screenings like King Kong on Fountain Square and Indiana Jones at The 20^th Century Theatre.

I’m also a Cincy Import (having been here for about two years now and being part of the group for almost as long) and I love this city. I love that I get to now rep it for a living. Seriously, awesome.

(editor's note: alex and his girlfriend allison met through cincinnati imports at our covington pub crawl! they are our first, and only as far as i know, love connection. but it could be you next!)

Ok, so, Yelp. You haven’t heard of it, or you’ve sort-of heard of it but haven’t used it. Not a problem. While Yelp is monstrous in cities like Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and others, we’re only really getting started here in Cincy. Still, the information on Yelp will open up this city to you in ways you never expected.

Yelp gives you real reviews for businesses from real people. So let’s say you’re looking for Cincinnati’s best hamburger, or vintage clothing shop, or grocery, or park or literally anything you do everyday. You can use Yelp to find what other people are talking about and loving – or what they’re hating and you may want to stay away from. Then, of course, you can add your own reviews to these places to give your own opinions.

But, of course, that’s not all! When exploring the site, you may see some nice red badges on some people’s profiles (maybe even your friends.) They’re part of The Elite Squad, and have written the best reviews on the site. Once a month, I throw a party for the Elites with free booze and free food at great locations around Cincinnati – bars, cafes, art galleries, music clubs, bowling places, you name it. It’s just another way for Yelp to show new things this city has to offer to you.

Plus, it’s all free. Free to use, free to write reviews, free to become an Elite. Yelp will never ask you for any money to do anything, so that’s all kinds of nice right there.

Seriously, Yelp really is great for a city and even better for the people living in it. Give it a shot and let me know what you think. I’m here to answer any questions you have or help you out in any way, and I’m pretty nice … my mom thinks so at least, so I’ve got that going for me.

SYOY (See you on Yelp!)

Alex Shebar

@YelpCincy / @AlexShebar on Twitter

Yelp Cincy on Facebook

next event: happy hour at mecklenberg gardens on 1/10

2011-01-03T21:44:00.002-05:00

Join Cincinnati Imports for a Happy Hour at Mecklenburg Gardens on Monday, January 10 from 6-9 pm. Mecklenburg Gardens is a classic spot near the University of Cincinnati. Mecklenburg Garden is a historic restaurant with a great selection of German beers and authentic German food.

All are welcome! Cincinnati Imports Happy Hours are low-key, and it's a fantastic way to meet new people.

Cincinnati Imports has a private room, so come early and spend the evening with us and with a fantastic list of beers.

Parking is readily available on the street in front of Mecklenburg Gardens.

Join us!

next event: happy hour at the lackman on 11/18

2010-11-09T17:39:00.001-05:00

It's been a while, but Cincinnati Imports is back! The group for people who are new(ish) to Cincinnati is holding its next happy hour from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18 at The Lackman Bar at 1237 Vine St., the newest spot on the revitalized Vine Street corridor. All are welcome, even if you're a Cincinnati native. Cincinnati Imports Happy Hours are low-key and great ways to meet new people.

Lackman's fantastic happy hour will be extended until 9 p.m. for Imports, and it includes the following specials:

$2 off drafts
$2 domestics
$3 imports
$3.50 microdrafts
$5 wine
$3.50 calls
$2.50 wells

Parking is available for $2 one block away at the secured Gateway Garage at the corner of 12th and Vine. Or you can park on the street for free.

Hope to see you there!

next event: cincinnati imports gateway quarter tour on 7/30

2010-06-28T09:44:00.007-04:00

sorry this image is so small! i have been messing with it for 10 minutes and this is the best i can do.

after the tour, we will be exploring the art galleries and stores in over the rhine during final friday. we hope to see you all there!

welcome to our new organizers!

2010-06-15T10:03:00.003-04:00

as you know, we have been looking for new people to help us organize events. we got some responses and had a meeting last night. we would like to welcome rick, dale, and mark to the circle of cincinnati imports organizers!

they will be working to help us think of and plan new events (it is a huge job), post on the blog, and think of new ways for this group to continue to be fun and dynamic.

they will be introducing themselves on this blog soon. welcome to all of them!

p.s. if you have any interest in helping us with organizing, please email us at cincinnatiimports@gmail.com or leave a comment on our facebook page. thanks!

cincinnati stories on visualingual

2010-06-14T15:51:00.001-04:00

check out visualingual today for some hilarious stories about maya's experiences as a cincinnati outsider. my favorite is where she is on the bus. i think we have all experienced moments like these.

watch indiana jones at the 20th century theater... free!

2010-05-19T21:48:00.004-04:00

have you heard of watch this? if not, you are missing out on a great opportunity to meet people. watch this is a group created by alex and allison who (dramatic pause) met and fell in love at cincinnati imports! awww.

their love child is a project in which they watch all of the AFI's top 100 movies in the year 2010. that means they watch two movies a week, every week, usually at different fun places such as take the cake, sitwell's (we had an event with them not too long back), 5chw4r7z's apartment, etc. it is a great way to meet people and it is friendly for families/nondrinkers/etc. so that should make some of you very happy.

alex and allison have public showings of every movie and then they blog about it. everyone is welcome. and next wednesday, 5/26, at 7:00, they are doing it up big. the movie is indiana jones and the raiders of the lost ark and they are showing it at the 20th century theater in oakley. for FREE. how awesome is that? you will get to see a movie you never thought you would see on the big screen, meet new people, eat snacks and drink beer (if you are into that). for FREE. (well the snacks and beer are not free but you know what i am saying). still, mostly FREE. you can't beat that. did i mention this is FREE?

i will be there and i hope you will too. if you can't make it, be sure to check their blog (link is above) for other dates and times they are showing movies. it is a creative, fun project and you are guaranteed to meet some interesting people. and it is FREE!

In need of organizers

2010-04-25T11:32:00.002-04:00

We are looking for some fresh blood to help us organize Cincinnati Imports events. Liz, Lauren, and I feel like we are out of ideas and want to incorporate more people into planning events and helping us keep up with the blog. We have had a very successful 16 months and want to continue hosting events and bringing new people together. If you have an interest, please email us at cincinnatiimports@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you!!!

Next Event: Watch This! and Cincinnati Imports Unite

2010-04-08T19:21:00.003-04:00

What a great turn-out at our last event at Arnolds! So our next event is coming up at the end of this month. We are joining forces with WatchThisBlog for a screening of The French Connection at Sitwells on April 24th, 2010 at 7pm.

Here are the food and drink specials:

FOOD SPECIALS:
Conversation Cheeseplates for Two
Swanky Franks (beef hotdogs wrapped with cheese and bacon)
Vegan Sloppy Josephine (Vegan chili hoagie)
Brie Snack (apples, brie, honey and walnuts)
Cheese Grits
Fruit Bowl
Delicious dips (hummus, sundried tomatoe chutney and rockamole) with pita

DRINKS SPECIALS:
Special prices on beer and group price on EKU Pilsner Kegs (25$ for 5 liters)
50 cents off liqour and $1.00 off beers
Special Persephones Epiphany (pomegranite pistachio blended cocktail)

Alex has also posted info here: http://www.watchthisblog.com/post/459238783/import-these-films.

We hope to see you guys there!

thanks to arnold's for an awesome event last night!

2010-04-01T22:17:00.003-04:00

we had a huge turnout and a great time at arnold's last night. not only were they kind enough to provide us with complimentary appetizers (a huge spread including meatballs, a fruit tray, chips and salsa, spinach dip, etc.), but they also let us in on the special jameson's tasting they were offering that night... also for free! it was so much fun and lots of new friends met and old friends reconnected.

i forgot my camera but fortunately there were many other people taking pictures, including metromix, 5chw4r7z, and maureen. click the links to see their photos. thanks for coming everyone! and stay tuned for information about our exciting april event with watch this! (it will be on friday, april 23 if you want to mark your calendars).

Exciting Arnold's update

2010-03-16T18:06:00.003-04:00

Our happy hour at Arnold's on March 31 just got even more awesome. The Jameson Irish Whiskey ambassador from Ireland will be at Arnold's that day and we're getting a free Jameson sampling out of it! Four kinds of Jameson -- Jameson, Jameson 12 Year Old, Jameson 18 Year Old and Jameson Gold -- will be presented on a mat with descriptions of each one, and the ambassador will be walking around, talking to people and answering questions. This will all take place on the second floor, which we'll have to ourselves. Cincinnati Imports and imported Irish whiskey...sounds like a perfect evening!

our next event: happy hour at arnold's

2010-03-05T09:08:00.001-05:00

this month we are finally heading down to over-the-rhine, one of cincinnati's most historically and architecturally significant neighborhoods. (note: i have been corrected that arnold's is actually downtown, not in otr, but i am leaving the link anyway in case you want to learn about the neighborhood). we will be having a happy hour at cincinnati's longest running drinking establishment, arnold's. if you have never been to arnold's, you are in for a treat. it is historical and full of all kinds of cincinnati pictures and memorabilia, and has a really nice courtyard.

another great thing about arnold's is the food. ronda, the owner, has recently in the past couple of years started working in the kitchen and the menu has gotten better and better. we are very lucky because ronda has agreed to give our group free appetizers so you can try some things out for yourselves.

event details:

where: arnold's bar and grill, 210 e. 8th street (map here)
when: wednesday, march 31, 6-9 p.m.
food specials: free appetizers
drink specials: 50 cents off all drafts and domestic bottles, $4.00 off all pitchers, $2.75 well drinks, $4.00 glass of house wine, $7.00 half carafe of house wine
parking: free at meters on the street after 6 pm, or else there is a parking lot across the street from arnold's that costs a few dollars

here is arnold's history from their website for anyone who is interested.:

The two buildings that now house Arnold's Bar and Grill were built in 1848. 210 East 8th Street first housed a barbershop and the other building, 208, first housed a feed store. Simon Arnold opened his saloon in 1861 in the same room you enter today. The room is essentially the same as it was then and continues as the oldest bar in the city of Cincinnati.
The bartenders are different, women may enter through any door and the cost of a beer has changed slightly. During prohibition a kitchen was added and Arnold's was converted to a restaurant. The second floor living area became dining rooms and Elmer Arnold lived on the third floor.

Legend has it that he left the bathtub on the second floor to be used for bathtub gin. The bathtub became somewhat notorious and remains today (without the gin). Three generations of the Arnold family lived upstairs and operated Arnold's for ninety-eight years.

Since then Arnold's has had only four other owners. The current owner, Ronda Androski purchased the bar from long time employer Jim Tarbell. Over the years Arnold's has achieved and maintained a wonderful reputation for good food served in friendly surroundings at moderate prices. Throughout most of its history it served primarily as a daytime saloon and restaurant. In 1976 Mr. Tarbell added a dinner program; and opened the now treasured courtyard (downtown's first outdoor dining in several decades). All of this continues today and with it's wonderful sense of history and cultural diversity Arnold's has secured an important niche in this beautiful city.

if you want to learn even more about arnold's history and events, check out ronda's blog, eating at arnold's and more. we hope to see you on march 31!

(all photos courtesy of arnold's facebook page)

Cincinnati Beerfest: Discount tickets for Imports!

2010-03-02T13:06:00.003-05:00

Wikipedia’s definition of beer: “Beer is the world's oldest^[1] and most widely consumed^[2] alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea.^[3] “

I know that we at Cincinnati Imports often promote events involving beer and that some of you may or may not like that, but here is another event that is coming up and is guaranteed to be a lot of fun. In fact, we have secured a discount on tickets for Cincinnati Imports.

Cincinnati Beer Fest is MARCH 26-28, 2010 at the Duke Energy Center.

If you are interested in attending, you can purchase tickets on their site (www.cincinnatibeerfest.com) from March 15 --March 18 and receive a $5.00 discount. The discount is only available to Cincinnati Imports during this 3 day period. The code for our group is "Imports".

Cincinnati Beerfest is taking place March 26, 27 and 28 at the Duke Energy Center. The first-ever Cincinnati Beerfest celebrates the Queen City’s brewing tradition and brings together unique tastes from around the world, along with local favorites. The event offers unlimited sampling of more than 120 different beers, entertainment and hometown foods all in one place. The event will also directly benefit the local community with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Freestore Foodbank.

upcoming events: bockfest + cincinnati rollergirls

2010-03-01T11:12:00.008-05:00

don't have plans this weekend? well you do now. get your ass to bockfest, the best and most awesome beer festival in cincinnati (and anywhere else). if you want to know more about bockfest, click on the link above or check out my post about it from last year.

here is a very interesting enquirer article about cincinnati's fascinating beer history. i am so obsessed with this. did you know that back in the 1880s vine street alone used to have 137 beer gardens on it? and in case that was not enough, you could take one of five funiculars up the hill to clifton where there was a whole other beer garden district. pubs used to offer free lunches to anybody who bought a beer, and beers were only 5 cents. can you imagine how awesome cincinnati was back then? unfortunately prohibition destroyed everything. jerks.

the awesome prohibition resistance tour is going to be showing people around some of the abandoned breweries this weekend, and i am going to be giving one of the tours. unfortunately the tours sold out weeks ago, but if you are still interested in seeing some cool architecture and historical landmarks in the old brewery district, you should check out the over-the-rhine historic church tour on sunday, which has not sold out as of right now anyway. and you still get free beer tickets with that tour too.

other than the tour, there are all kinds of fun things happening over the weekend. lots of bars (even some that are usually closed) will be open all weekend. the kauffman brewery at 1621 moore street (which is normally just closed up) will be the location of bockfest hall. there will be a parade starting at 6 pm leaving from arnold's and going up to bockfest hall, and on saturday night is the always hilarious sausage queen competition. and in case you don't feel like trekking all over, there will be free shuttles going around all weekend. it does not get more awesome than that.

in other non-beer related news, the cincinnati rollergirls are about to start up their season. as most of you know, our very own lauren (aka miss print) is on the team. in case you haven't already, you can check out lauren's other blog, roller derby diva.

the first bout will be on saturday, march 27 against the san diego derby dolls, and i am sure it will be a great time as always. bouts are held at cincinnati gardens and start at 7 pm. tickets are $10 and you can buy them here or from your favorite rollergirl, or just at the door the night of the bout. for the first couple of hours after the doors open, pbrs are only $1 (oops, there i go with the beer again) and you can buy them 2 at a time so you can just stock up and nurse them throughout the match if you are cheap like me.

after every bout, the team has an after party, and this year they are taking place at molly malone's in pleasant ridge. roller derby is competitive, hilarious, and so much fun to watch, and draws a big crowd. you should definitely check it out if you haven't already.

guest blog: How easy is it to date in cincinnati?

2010-02-23T15:50:00.004-05:00

If you asked people what their #1 complaint about Cincinnati is, most people would say “everybody hangs out with people they went to high school with”. If they’re single, their #2 complaint likely is “it’s so much harder to date here than it is in other cities”.

Having talked with friends in many other cities, I can tell you that they say the same thing about their hometown too. Dating in general isn’t easy in 2010. We’re working more hours, living further from the city, spending more time conversing and relating with our friends on Facebook and Twitter…it gets very easy to keep hanging out with the same group of people, going to the same bars and hangout spots, and next thing you know it’s been weeks or months since you’ve met anyone new and interesting.

The good news is that, if you’re willing to venture outside your comfort zone, there are plenty of places you can go (other than cincinnati imports, but you’re already coming to those events anyways) or things you can do in town to meet people who share some of the same interests that you do, and might be able to introduce you to a few new experiences along the way.

Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Support the arts – When someone mentions the local arts, your first thought is probably of shows at the Aronoff Center or Taft Theatre. But there’s a lot more going on than just Broadway productions and big-name performers in town. The Contemporary Arts Center is always hosting unique exhibits in their facility. If you’re into alternative or smaller plays and productions, the Know Theatre has a schedule packed full of them. Fringe Fest is coming up in May, which gives you the opportunity to see over 20 plays and art exhibits for a low price. Cincinnati also has a great opera and symphony if you’re interested in those as well.

Get political –Political campaigns tend to be staffed by young, single workers, and run on a limited budget, so they can always use free and competent labor. You may get asked to do a lot of grunt work and tasks you’re not totally comfortable with, but you’ll have the security of knowing that anyone you meet there already holds the same political beliefs that you do. Plus the work hours usually run pretty long, so if you’ve already got a ready-made group of people to go have a drink with. If you want to find a candidate to work for, check with the Hamilton County Democratic or Republican Party, or Tea Party, websites. Or if none of the candidates appeal to you, there are plenty of other groups to get involved with, like the Young Democrats and Republicans, Drinking Liberally, and the Southwest Ohio Libertarians.

Go online – If you think online dating is only for desperate people, think again. Online dating doesn’t have the kind of stigma that it used to. If you don’t believe me, find ten of your friends that have been single in the last five years, and ask them if they’ve tried an online dating service – at least eight of them will say they have, even if they might only tell you in private. It doesn’t take too much work, other than writing an appealing summary of yourself and posting a couple flattering photos, to meet doctors, lawyers, teachers, and all sorts of interesting local people. Services like Yahoo, Match, and eHarmony all have a large pool of locals to meet.

Live a dog’s life – If you already have a dog, and you’re not taking him/her to a dog park regularly, you’re depriving yourself of a great opportunity to meet some new people (and your dog would appreciate the chance to play with other four-legged friends as well). You know you’re going to meet someone that’s compassionate towards animals and is committed to caring for them, and both of those are plusses. Cincinnati Magazine recently published an article about all of the dog parks in town, and what to look for in each one. A word of caution for those looking to get a dog strictly to meet someone of the same or opposite sex: dogs are serious business, so take the time to know what you’re getting into before you take the plunge and get a puppy or rescue dog.

Volunteer – By volunteering, you not only meet new people, but you’re also performing a service for the community. You can find organizations associated with the city, your church, or any number of organizations. A comprehensive list would be way too long to include, but organizations like Give Back Cincinnati, Habitat for Humanity, and United Way are great places to start.

Get with the band – Sure, you’re not going to meet many people – at least in any meaningful way – at a Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga concert (and whether you’d want to is a completely different discussion). You’re far more likely to enjoy seeing a more eclectic band, like Jake Speed and The Freddies or You, You’re Awesome, at a bar like Northside Tavern or The Comet. Or if a national act like Ani Difranco, Carbon Leaf, or She Wants Revenge is more your thing, the 20^th Century Theatre, Southgate House, and the Madison Theatre (ok, the last two are in northern Kentucky, but still…) are great places to see them. They have bar areas where you can congregate before and after the show. Also, the 20^th Century is available to rent for weddings, so if you do meet the perfect person there, you’ve already found the perfect place to exchange vows. City Beat and Zipscene both have up-to-date schedules of what’s going on at all of these, as well as many other live music venues in town.

This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list, but it should give you some ideas on where to get started; only you can know what’s 100% right for you.

No matter what route (or routes) you decide to take, make sure you go into it with the idea that you just want to meet some new and fun people to hang out with. You’ll enjoy yourself more, and you’ll appear more accessible for other people to want to get to know you. Even if you don’t meet that special someone right away, you’ll make some new friends. And you never know when one of them has a cute friend they’d like to introduce you to.

**A big thanks to this anonymous guest blogger for his/her perspective**

happy birthday to cincinnati imports

2010-02-11T18:40:00.014-05:00

thanks to everyone who braved the snow for our one year anniversary party at oakley pub last night! we had a lot of new people and also many familiar faces. we had a great turnout and everyone got a chance to chat with new friends and enjoy some cheap import beers. here are some photos from the event...

to all our readers and fellow imports, thanks for all of your support this past year! we look forward to lots more fun in the future. it has been an amazing year and we have met so many great people from this little experiment. we can't wait to see how our second year will shape up.

Cincinnati - Home Sweet Home???

2010-02-09T20:50:00.003-05:00

What does it mean to call a place home? I recently realized that Cincinnati is the longest place I have lived in my life, a whopping 6 years and 8 months. When I moved here in 2003, I never dreamed that Cincinnati would be a place that I would settle down. I really didn’t think I would live here all that long, maybe 2-3 years but certainly not 6-7 years. I remember telling my friends that Cincinnati was not the city for me. I was used to the southeast and the Midwest didn’t really feel like it suited me all that well. But the truth is, I didn’t give the Queen City a chance….at least not at first. Cincinnati natives that I have been friends with over the years often remind me how closed off I was to the city, but they have been pleasantly surprised by my shift in thinking --- now that I acknowledge I actually like the city. In fact, I found a great job, fell in love with a little house with lots of character, and discovered a great group of friends.

So, why am I bringing all of this up, you might ask? The truth is, I never know how to answer the question, “Where are you from?” Do people want to know where you grew up? Where you currently live? Where your family currently lives? What your country of origin is? Where you think you will spend the rest of your life? For the past 6 years, I have always answered by saying “North Carolina” because this is where my family lives and where I lived for many years (Charlotte, Durham, etc.). Recently, however, I find myself hesitating and wanting to say that I am from Cincinnati. I can hear my friends’ chins hitting the ground as I type those words. I am not sure when this will be the “right” answer for me but living here is feeling more and more permanent to me. I think that stems from making new discoveries about what the city has to offer. People, events, restaurants, and places in town that I really enjoy make me like this city more and more. I feel like I am always learning about new opportunities/events in this city that help me find my place. In the past couple of years, volunteering with Give Back Cincinnati or Beerfest, ice-skating (e.g. falling on my ass) on Fountain Square, attending the Secret Artworks event, or participating in a CSA with Turner Farm enable me to now call Cincinnati my “home.” So, where do you call home and why?

downtown vs. the burbs

2010-01-29T15:30:00.004-05:00

i know i already said it, but i love cincinnati re-adventure. it's a blog with a cincinnati imports perspective from a cincinnati native. many of our imports are actually natives to the area and i love meeting people who are both from here and open to meeting new people and learning more about their city.

today i found a great post by a guest blogger over there called in defense of the suburbs. jennifer, the guest blogger, talks about why she likes living in the suburbs and how she is sick of people who judge her negatively based on where she lives:

Why, then, do I read so many blog posts, news stories and message board comments that angrily assume that my zip code determines my love for or loathing of Cincinnati? If I'm to believe everything I read online, I'm a scared suburbanite and a silly sheep. I cross the streets to avoid other races. I am blind to the small business owner's plight and the beauty of Porkopolis. Oh, please.

Why do so many people feel the need to bash where I live? Most responses to my answer when asked are to the effect of "Why the hell do you live all the way out there?" Or worse, people are surprised by my love of museums and festivals and by my knowledge of local history when they discover I'm not a city dweller.

My answer to these jeers is this: I live all the way out here because I like it. I frequent Downtown because I like it too. The two are not mutually exclusive.

when my friend denise was visiting from new york a few weekends ago, she commented that she was surprised at how well-informed everyone she met was about local politics and issues, and how so many people were so insistent their neighborhood was the best. i thought it was interesting to hear her viewpoint, as someone who really knows nothing about cincinnati.

denise really liked all the different areas of town that we visited (downtown, otr, hyde park, oakley, northside, clifton) and i think it is important for us to remember that all areas of the city, and the suburbs, have cool things to offer. for example, i love west chester and mason because although it's mostly strip malls and manicured lawns, you can find some of the best food in the city up there because of all the foreign p&g execs living up there. and if you want laotian food, you'll find that in anderson. indian hill has a full on farm with some of the best eggs you will ever eat. ok these are all food related (sorry) but that is what i know about.

the point i am trying to make is that i think we should remember to look closely at all areas of the city before writing them off because there are a lot of hidden gems in all areas of cincinnati. we already have enough trash talking that goes on between the west side and east side... i hope we don't turn into a place that divides itself up even more.

share your cincinnati imports success stories

2010-01-24T15:34:00.004-05:00

As we prepare for our one-year anniversary happy hour at the Oakley Pub & Grill, we've been thinking back on all the events we've had in the past year and wondering what's come out of them. Have any of you become really good friends with anyone you've met there? Found a new job? Fallen in love? Decided Cincinnati isn't so bad after all? We were hoping that some or all of those things would happen when we started Cincinnati Imports, so we'd love to hear if they have. And if you have any other feedback you'd like to give us, please do!

our next event: one year anniversary happy hour at oakley pub

2010-01-22T14:51:00.003-05:00

happy one year anniversary to cincinnati imports! our first event was at oakley pub & grill last february. to celebrate this momentous occasion, we are returning to where it all started. we hope you can all join us on wednesday, february 10 from 6-9 pm for lots of fun, old and new friends, and imports (both people and beers).

here are the specials:

$2.75 import beers
$2.00 bud and bud light
$5.50 burgers (and oakley pub has awesome burgers)

parking at oakley pub is really easy... they have a big lot both next to and behind the bar, or you can park for free on the streets after 6.

here are some pictures from last year's event there to get you all fired up. we hope you can make it!

meeting people + helping haiti

2010-01-22T11:29:00.005-05:00

there are some cool events coming up which are both fundraisers for relief efforts in haiti and great ways to meet people. the first is a fundraising party on saturday hosted by the restavek foundation, a cincinnati-based organization whose mission is as follows:

The Jean Cadet Restavek Foundation was founded in 2007 by Jean-Robert Cadet to bring an end to child servitude in Haiti. The Foundation provides direct relief and education opportunities for children in restavek, advocates for these children throughout Haiti and raises global awareness of this horrible system, which takes advantage of the poorest of the poor. The Restavek Foundation was officially named a Clinton Global Initiative commitment in September 2009 for grassroots preventative work in Haiti. Jean-Robert Cadet has been featured on or interviewed by the United Nations, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360?°, among many others.

the party will be on saturday from 6-11 pm at the stetson square clubhouse (which is right near UC). you can find out more info about the fundraiser on their facebook page.

on sunday, green papaya is hosting a fundraiser for haiti. all day (12:00 - 9:30), 100% of profits from sushi purchases will be donated to the red cross's relief efforts in haiti. i love sushi (and theirs is really good) so you know i will be there. again, you can find info on facebook.

there are lots of other events going on right now to raise money for haiti. please feel free to list them in the comments.

our next event... we need ideas

2010-01-20T09:49:00.003-05:00

hey everyone, we need some suggestions for a location for our next happy hour. we had several ideas for locations but have not gotten a positive response. the happy hour will take place on a week night between about february 1 and february 12.

we would like to go somewhere we have not been before. it has to be a bar that can accommodate our group size (usually about 70 over the course of the night, max number is about 40-50 there at any given time). please leave your ideas here. thanks!

bockfest is coming up

2010-01-13T13:34:00.005-05:00

i just wanted to give an early shout out to bockfest, which will be happening march 5-7 this year. i wrote a post about it last year, so you should check that out if you have no idea what i am talking about. bockfest is basically a weekend-long festival of beer and silliness which takes place in over-the-rhine. it is very low budget and lots of random, hilarious things tend to happen as people listen to music, watch the parade, and drink way too much bock beer.

i guess they need to update the logo

one cool way to get involved and meet people at bockfest is to volunteer for the prohibition resistance brewery tour, organized by the otr brewery district. this is a tour of the old breweries in over-the-rhine. it is very popular and costs $30. here is a description of the tour from the bockfest website:

Each tour will start at Bockfest Hall, where participants will learn about the Brewery District and then travel to the Clyffside Brewery (also known as the Mohawk, Sohn, and Red Top Brewery). Here, a multimedia presentation will take participants back to 1888, when Cincinnati was one of the brewing centers of the country and beer was the backbone of Over-the-Rhine. We'll continue our tour past the remaining breweries on Brewer's Boulevard with such storied names such as Jackson, Moerlein, Lafayette, and Hudepohl. The next stop will be the Kauffman Brewery, where we'll hear about Cincinnati's beer barons and explore the massive subterranean lagering cellars under the building. A brief walk past the typical working class Italianate tenements will explore the typical Over-the-Rhine resident's life in 1888. The final stop will be the Crown Brewery (also known as the Schmidt Brothers Brewery). Here we'll learn how Prohibition closed most of the Cincinnati breweries and dealt a devastating blow to Over-the-Rhine. This tour will include a visit to the recently rediscovered and reopened lagering cellars and tunnel underneath McMicken Avenue, which have been sealed off for 50 years and never before opened to the public.

i have heard the tour is awesome but it's a little out of my price range so last year i volunteered instead and it was really fun. volunteering just opened for this event and i recommend that you sign up asap if you are interested... the slots fill up fast. and actually if you want to go on the tour, you should buy your ticket soon because it does sell out. click here to volunteer and here to buy tickets.

Pachinko = Success

2009-12-15T09:48:00.014-05:00

Thanks to everyone who came out last night. It was so nice seeing those of you who frequent our events and those of you who were new! Here are a few pics I borrowed from Shannon. Thank you Cincinnati Women Bloggers for co-hosting and organizing.

awesome new-ish blog

2009-12-09T16:42:00.002-05:00

i just stumbled upon a really cool blog that i thought you guys would like. it's called cincinnati re-adventure, and it's about the adventures of a girl who has lived in cincinnati her whole life but is trying to rediscover it.

here is some info from her first post:

I am Erica Minton, and I am burnt-the-eff-out of Cincinnati.

Was. Was burnt-the-eff-out.

I'm 26 and I've lived here all of my life-- even college only took me as far as Miami University (<1hr away). I felt that I'd done it all, seen it all, eaten it all, met 'em all.

Of course that wasn't true. While I'm living in a suburb I've definitely outgrown, the moment I really tried to piece together a social life I was inundated with options and opportunities that I'd been blind to before.

So I'm re-adventuring Cincinnati. This is the blog where I'll share my rekindled love for the Queen City, Porkopolis, the home of the first baseball team and chili that ain't chili.

As they say, don't trash the 'Nati. ...At least not until you've given it a fair shake.

the writing is good and her adventures are interesting. i recommend that you check it out. and feel free to share in the comments your own cincinnati adventures that others might enjoy.

cincinnati imports/cincinnati women bloggers holiday happy hour

2009-12-01T15:52:00.002-05:00

it's time for our next event, just in time for the holidays! join us and our co-hosts cincinnati women bloggers for a night of fun and new friends at pachinko's on december 14:

Happy Holi-daze Happy Hour

Hosted by Cincinnati Women Bloggers & Cincinnati Imports

A holiday social (media) gathering

benefiting the Welcome House in Covington

Monday, December 14th

6:00-9:00 p.m.

Pachinko

424 W 6th St
Covington, KY 41011-1316

you must rsvp to this event! to do so, please click here and register for as many tickets as you like. it is free to get in, but we are requesting a $10 donation from each person to go to the welcome house in covington. in exchange for your donation, you will get drink tickets and snacks.

we hope to see you all there!

Guest Blog: Seven Ways to Remain in Cincinnati for 10+ Years

2009-11-01T11:25:00.001-05:00

My biggest goal when I moved to Cincinnati was to leave it as quickly as possible. That was in 1998.

I was so miserable living in Cincinnati that each time I drove into town—always on 71/75 North or 74 West—I cried at the sight of "Cincinnati" on the green signs.

Whenever I traveled to other cities or states, I'd apologize for being from Cincinnati, or say I was a rural Indiana girl. (Somehow that had more charm when people mistook me for a New Yorker.)

I blame this early behavior on 3 things:

1. When I brought an old flame to Cincinnati for a visit (of whom I was deeply enamored), he ripped the city to shreds as I showed him my favorite haunts.

2. I felt that Europe was superior to the United States, aka Continental superiority complex that afflicts recent college grads who tour Europe.

3. Native Cincinnatians' own self-loathing.

I couldn't put my finger on this third point until I started dating. Every native Cincinnatian I met, even though still living here, was desperate for the day when he'd leave.

Studies show that it's our relationships that contribute most to our happiness. (Read up on what makes us happy at the Brazen Careerist:
[http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/08/03/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-be-happy-hint-your-sex-life-matters-more/])

Which leads me to my list of 7 ways to remain in Cincinnati for 10+ years:

*1. Be in a committed relationship with someone who can't leave Cincinnati. *A year after I arrived in the city, I was committed to someone working on a master's and then a PhD at UC. I stuck it out, thinking once he had finished school, we'd be free to leave.

*2. Find a job that's your passion.* When looking at your happiness, the two biggest factors are job AND relationships. If you go into work every morning for the paycheck alone, Cincinnati won't be enough to keep you here.

*3. Uncover the neighhorhood(s) you really connect with.* I first resided in Hyde Park/Oakley, like many newcomers. Then I spent a long time in Clifton due to the UC relationship. I did not like Clifton at all, and it only exacerbated my desire to leave.

In 2007, I moved to Northside, then later to Over the Rhine. I can't imagine leaving OTR for as long as I remain in Cincinnati. I treasure the weekend morning walk to Coffee Emporium, the Cincinnati skyline, the greasy napkins and chicken bones cradled curbside. I know the people, the establishments, and the best of the best. It contributes to a feeling of home.

*4. Travel often.* My job takes me to diverse places to speak and network. I also enjoy traveling around the world (see one of my daring excursion tales here: [http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/2008/11/29/OnBeingOneOf100000PeopleStrandedInThailand.aspx]).

The more I wander away from home, the more I appreciate what Cincinnati has to offer, its cost of living, and its relaxed pace of life.

*5. Enjoy the arts.* I'm currently a Business on Board student, a Fine Arts Fund program that trains and places business people on arts boards. While I already knew that Cincinnati has a vibrant arts scene that far surpasses cities of similar size, I've learned additional statistics that make me proud to say I live here. (Did you know that Cincinnati ranks No. 1 in its number of community theatres in the United States?)

*6. Embrace the loving familiarity of staying put.* Indiana writer Scott Russell Sanders wrote about this phenomenon poetically in his book /Staying Put/. I can get nearly anywhere in greater Cincinnati without a map. I can detour with confidence. I know the exact location of new stores and restaurants because they're taking the place of old establishments I used to frequent. I understand the significance of annual events and what they'll be like (and if they're worth attending). I have deep relationships with the people here. I breathe with the City.

Then I travel to relieve boredom and remind me what I love about home.

*7. Realize others can take pleasure in being miserable no matter where they are. *You know who these people are. And if they drain your energy, it's time to find a new circle of friends. And Cincinnati Imports is here to help.

Jane Friedman is the publisher and editorial director of Writer's Digest (a division of F+W Media). She has a blog about authorship and the future of publishing at There Are No Rules [http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules], and you can find her lifestream at JaneFriedman.com [http://www.janefriedman.com]

thank you to the 5chw4r7z's - another successful event

2009-10-12T11:37:00.005-04:00

Thanks to everyone for coming out on Friday night! We saw both familiar and new faces and it was great that some of you who have been trying to come to our events finally made it out! Also, a big shout of to the 5chw4r7's for hosting and throwing an excellent bash on the tweetdeck! Check out some pics: http://5chw4r7z.blogspot.com/2009/10/cincinnati-imports-hosted-by-5chw4r7z.html

Cincinnati Splash Dance Surprise

2009-10-01T14:23:00.005-04:00

Has everyone seen this video? You might even recognize a few Cincinnati Imports if you look closely.

http://www.fineartsfund.org/blog/2009/09/surprise-splash-dance-video.html

Update: 5chw4r7z's deck party extravaganza

2009-09-30T20:55:00.001-04:00

Thanks to those of you who have RSVPed for 5chw4r7z's deck party, Friday October 9th. We look forward to seeing you all there. We have had such a great response but unfortunately, we are now capped out for the party and are no longer accepting RSVPs. For those of you who RSVPed on the facebook page but did not send an email to the Cincinnati Imports email address (cincinnatiimports@gmail.com), please contact us asap to determine space.

I hope 5chw4r7z knows what he has gotten himself into :)

rain rain go away - REDS GAME IS AT YOUR DISCRETION

2009-09-20T12:01:00.003-04:00

For those of you who signed up to go to the REDS game this afternoon, it looks like the game is still going on. However, I am sure many of you do not feel like sitting in wet seats for the entirety of the game. Liz and I will likely not be there because neither one of us wants to sit in the rain. We just wanted to give you the update so you are aware. If you decide to go, have a great time!

UPDATE: if you go to the game and have not picked up your tickets yet, they will be at the will call window.

upcoming event: open house at the 5chw4r7z condo

2009-09-16T20:36:00.004-04:00

yes that's right, fellow cincinnati imports bob (aka 5chw4r7z) and erin marie (aka don't call me mrs.) have very generously offered to host our october event at their amazing condo downtown. you will need to rsvp for this event to get the exact location. for obvious reasons, they don't want their home address published on the blog and facebook page.

as if their amazing offer of hosting were not enough, bob was also able to somehow hook us up with a free keg from christian moerlein! so no need to worry about bringing drinks, unless you want something besides beer (or if you just want to give a gift to our very kind hosts).

here is a photo taken from their awesome deck to get you all fired up about going to their place

here are the details:

date: friday, october 9
time: 7 - 11 pm
location: the 5chw4r7z condo
to rsvp: please email us at cincinnatiimports@gmail.com with your name and the number of people coming with you, and we will give you the address.

hope to see you there!

We Love Cincinnati Bumper Stickers!!!!

2009-09-09T12:16:00.005-04:00

Is it just me or have you seen a bazillion We love Cincinnati bumper stickers lately? Well, I did a little research today and discovered that "the "We Love Cincinnati" bumper stickers started as a grassroots effort from Crossroads Community Church in Oakley." They printed 20,000 stickers and distributed them to church members and local businesses to hand out. The church also has a website where people can post what they love most about Cincinnati......

Regardless of religious/spiritual belief, I think it is great that someone is leading the effort to shed positive light on the city. So Cincinnati Imports, what do you love most about Cincinnati? Tell us!!!!

are you new to cincinnati imports?

2009-09-03T23:09:00.003-04:00

if so, first of all welcome. we are a very low key, totally grassroots group meant to connect people of all ages/backgrounds/races/ethnicities/lifestyles/etc. in the area who want to meet new people. originally we started with the purpose of helping people who are not from here meet each other, but there are so many locals who have been interested in our group too. that is awesome, we welcome everyone to our blog, facebook group, and events.

if you want to find out a little more about us, check out the links on the right side of the blog under the section titled "what we are all about." the section below that lists our next event where you can come and meet us and lots of other fun new people.

if you have any ideas for this blog or any events, or if you are interested in contributing (possibly as an organizer or a guest blogger), please feel free to let us know at cincinnatiimports@gmail.com. thanks for checking us out and we hope to meet you soon!

reminder: you must buy tickets for the 9/20 reds game by 9/4

2009-08-31T10:43:00.002-04:00

just a reminder to anyone who is planning to go to the reds game on september 20: you must buy your tickets for this event by september 4 (this coming friday).

to buy your tickets:

You can use Paypal. Please pay $9 for each ticket you wish to purchase to Amy Cribbs at:

acribbs@zslaw.com

using the "Send Money" tab of Paypal. If you have trouble, let Amy know by email and she will send you a direct invoice. She will have your tickets at the Blogger Will Call near the kiosks at Great American.

more info can be found on the evite, or if you have questions just let one of us know. you can email us at cincinnatiimports@gmail.com. see you on sept 20!

Main Strasse Delivers for the Cincinnati Imports

2009-08-29T21:25:00.016-04:00

We hope you had a great time meeting approximately 70 people at the Covington Pub Crawl last night. There were many old and new faces and it was great meeting all of you! Here are some pics from last night....

Don't forget the Covington Pub Crawl TONIGHT!

2009-08-28T09:11:00.006-04:00

Just a friendly reminder that our next event is tonight in Covington. We have a wonderful line-up of bars for the pub crawl. We hope to see everyone there. Please join us at anypoint during the pub crawl. Times that we will be at each location are listed below.

Bar 1: Fat Shannon's Pub and Coffee House (A)
Location: 641 Main St. - Covington
Time: 7:00 pm
Drink specials: $1.75 domestics and $3.00 UV flavored vodka shots

Bar 2: Strasse Haus (B)
Location: 630 Main St. - Covington
Time: 8:00 pm
Drink specials: $1.50 domestics and $2.00 wells

Bar 3: Cock and Bull English Pub (C)
Location: 601 Main St. – Covington
Time: 9:00 pm
Drink specials: $2.00 domestics/$2.00 wells

Bar 4: Pachinko (D)
Location: 424 West 6th Street - Covington
Time: 10:00 pm
Drink specials: $2.00 domestic drafts and $3.00 Washington Apples/Red-Headed sluts

Check out the event details here: http://cincinnatiimports.blogspot.com/2009/08/covington-pub-crawl-august-28-2009-at.html

fun event this weekend (besides the pub crawl)

2009-08-27T12:31:00.006-04:00

in case friday's covington pub crawl is not enough fun for you this weekend, be sure to also check out the emery jam which is being held on saturday. this is a fundraiser for the give back beyond cincinnati trip to guatemala, and it is a great cause.

the emery is a little known local theater that give back has helped to restore, and they have a great lineup of music for the event (500 Miles to Memphis with The Sundresses, Kristen Key, and Eclipse). this will also for sure be a fun way to meet new people. tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.

Cincinnati is Oktoberfest-obsessed

2009-08-27T09:22:00.006-04:00

Photo from Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati courtesy of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber

If you're new to town, you might not realize that (a) the first Oktoberfest around here starts in August and (b) there's at least one Oktoberfest every weekend through early October and only one that's actually in October. (The reason? People think October is too cold here. Never mind that September can be disgustingly hot!) Heck, I've lived here for almost six years and I didn't even know that until I started looking into it for this article I wrote for today's Enquirer.

I'm sharing the story not to shamelessly self-promote myself, but to give an example of how sometimes it takes a (relative) newcomer to recognize the things that make Cincinnati cool and unique. As far as I could find, no other city really comes close to having that many Oktoberfests. There are even at least three at churches, complete with beer and gambling, which never fails to amuse me. The first Oktoberfest here is the Germania Society Oktoberfest this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so you can check that out after you go to our happy hour Friday night. And if anyone is feeling really ambitious and wants to check out all the Oktoberfests and guest blog about it, please let us know!

Covington Pub Crawl: August 28, 2009 at 7:00pm

2009-08-25T11:34:00.018-04:00

Are you ready for our second pub crawl event? Our last pub crawl on the Westside was a tremendous success and we hope to see you all this Friday at the Covington pub crawl. Liz, Lauren and I have hooked you up with an excellent set of pubs/bars in this area. All the bars have decks or patios, so here's hoping to good weather on Friday. Details are below:

Bar 1: Fat Shannon's Pub and Coffee House (A)
Location: 641 Main St. - Covington
Time: 7:00 pm
Drink specials: $1.75 domestics and $3.00 UV flavored vodka shots

Bar 2: Strasse Haus (B)
Location: 630 Main St. - Covington
Time: 8:00 pm
Drink specials: $1.50 domestics and $2.00 wells

Bar 3: Cock and Bull English Pub (C)
Location: 601 Main St. – Covington
Time: 9:00 pm
Drink specials: $2.00 domestics/$2.00 wells

Bar 4: Pachinko (D)
Location: 424 West 6^th Street - Covington
Time: 10:00 pm
Drink specials: $2.00 domestic drafts and $3.00 Washington Apples/Red-Headed sluts

Directions to Main Strasse (Covington) from I-71/I-75:

1. Take I-71/I-75 South towards Kentucky
2. Take the 5TH STREET exit, EXIT 192, toward COVINGTON/NEWPORT (0.1 miles)
3. Take the KY-8 ramp toward COVINGTON (0.1 miles)
4. Stay STRAIGHT to go onto W 5TH ST/KY-8 E. (0.2 miles)
5. Turn RIGHT onto MAIN ST/US-127/US-25/US-42. (0.1 miles)

Parking: You should park anywhere along West 6th St or Main St. There is also a parking lot behind Pachinko if you get there early enough.

We look forward to seeing you there! Join us at any point in the pub crawl....

more garrison keillor love

2009-08-19T10:47:00.007-04:00

i mentioned before that on a prairie home companion, garrison keillor had done a really funny monologue on cincinnati when the show came to riverbend back in june. well i just found out that there was also a poem that he wrote about cincinnati on the show. here it is (copied from here):

Cincinnati poem

We're in Cincinnati and it's good to be here
In a city of pork and a city of beer.
Old beer signs everywhere you walk:
“Good Old” Brucks, Brenner's XL Pilsener, John Hauck
Barbarossa, King Gambrinus, or Crown.
You eat you some Pork hocks with leeks and garlic cloves, you need beer to wash it down.
Similarly, to go along with a pint of beer, you need more than a pretzel
You need Pork Meatloaf with brown gravy and spaetzle.
A big pork sandwich and something to drink,
Geisbauer, Bierbrauer, Linck.
Nothing chintzy
Here in Cincy.
Like it or not, Cincinnati was not vegetarian.
It went for pork shanks with bread dumplings and a pitcher of Bavarian.
No lemonade, no cranberry juice, no apple cider,
But a big mug of Weber's, Lackman, Jackson, Mohawk, Gerke, Burger, or Foss-Schneider.
And all of the pig was used, even the snout
To make Bierwurst, Mettwurst, Bratwurst, piled high with sauerkraut.

Beers with distinguished names like Butcher & Weidmann and Windisch-Muhlhauser
To give a sense of dignity to the drunken carouser
City of suds and city of swine,
Some greasy goetta sausage and a glass of Christian Moerlein,
Or Little Kings cream ale

Beer by the bottle, the barrel, the hogshead, and the pail,
Golden brown glasses of beer with nice big heads
And Hudepohl-Schoenling, Cincinnati's finest, hu-dey “Hu dey think gonna beat them Reds”
It was the national capital of beer.
In 1890, they produced a million barrels a year.
Old breweries along McMicken Avenue on the hill north of Liberty Street,
Making beer out of water, yeast, sugar, plenty of hops, and wheat.
Oh in Cincinnati there was lots to do:
You had a Hudy and a Pork cordon bleu.
Cincinnati was a regular culinary riot.
How sad to be on a diet.
What a terrible loss.
To miss out on the roast pork loin with beer sauce.
And it is politically incorrect
And you may object
To my saying so, but I suspect
Something joyful and boisterous and profane
Was lost when we decided to abstain.
A man sitting down to pork braised, roasted, fried, boiled, battered, with a glass upraised,
A man who is a little fried himself and his eyes are glazed.
That may have been the night he became your daddy
Here in Cincinnati.

i just get a total kick out of his perceptions of cincinnati. he thinks this place is ridiculous and obsessed with pork and beer and kind of backwards, but he loves it. that is pretty much how i feel about it too.

places to meet people: give back cincinnati

2009-08-18T20:22:00.005-04:00

i can't remember if avani or i have posted about give back cincinnati before, but i just wanted to give it a shout out as an awesome way to meet people. if you have not heard of it, it is an organization focused on providing volunteer opportunities, mostly to the "young professional" demographic (sorry to put that in quotes but you guys know how i feel about that phrase) but there are plenty of people both older and younger than that age group who participate as well.

i was just talking to a friend the other day who was asking whether give back was a good way to meet people. i realized that i don't think we have actually talked about it on here before and so we totally need to. if you are interested in meeting people while doing volunteer projects, give back is definitely for you.

every event is set up so that you can just sign up, do the event, go to an after party or bar (if you want), and then you are on your way. you are not required to make a long term commitment to anything, although you can go to as many events as you like. most things are free or pretty cheap which is also awesome. everyone is really nice and friendly and you will definitely make new friends.

coming up in the next couple weeks there are two really cool events. this saturday is the give back challenge which is a scavenger hunt where you will go around the city with a team looking for clues and doing trivia (i think). i am not sure what the prize is, but who cares? then next saturday there is the emery jam, a fundraiser at the emery theater, which give back has been working to restore for the past several years. that event is to raise money for the trip to guatemala this fall.

that brings up another great thing about give back... they do volunteer trips every year through give back beyond cincinnati, which are another great way to get to know people. avani and i went on the trip to new orleans this year and it was awesome and we did some really good work and met a lot of great people. and let me tell you after you spend a week sweating your ass off and barely sleeping, you get to know people pretty well. give back also does an international trip every year. you do have to pay for these trips, but it is totally worth your money and your time because you are having a lot of fun, connecting with lots of new awesome people, and doing something that you can feel good about.

looking for something to do on the weekends?

2009-08-07T17:17:00.006-04:00

i just wanted to give a quick shout out to the (somewhat) new enjoy your weekend feature that maya has been doing over on buycincy. it's a short roundup of some of the highlights of things going on in cincinnati each weekend, and she posts them every thursday. i really like her selection of things because a) it's not too long (i get confused and distracted looking at the pages upon pages of choices on other websites) and b) it's well chosen.

this is a great weekend to be living in cincinnati because there are so many options for fun things to do, including the cincy blues fest, second sunday on main, cincinnati guerrilla queer bar, the western and southern financial group women's open, taste of colerain (thanks to donald for the tip on that one), the fiery furnaces (and some other bands i have never heard of) on fountain square, and glier's goettafest. and if you don't mind a little drive, head up to the ohio state fair in columbus for all the fried buckeyes, carnies, and animal husbandry you can handle (added bonus: you can check out the cincinnati rollergirls in action there on saturday). oh and for the shoppers out there, the new cincinnati premium outlet mall is having its grand opening this weekend too.

i am really excited because i have a couple friends in town visiting and there is so much to do. i hope everyone has fun this weekend! if you can't find something to do, then that is your own damn fault.

guest blogger... from a northern kentucky native

2009-08-02T12:46:00.003-04:00

When Claire invited me to Cincinnati imports, I didn’t think twice about attending, and now I’m so glad I did. Cincinnati Imports has allowed me to meet many new people, and several of whom I would now call good friends. I can’t believe the number of fun, interesting, and genuinely friendly people I have met recently through this group.

Have faith, imports…there are domestics like us that are ready and willing to expand our social circles and dispel those stereotypes of exclusivity away from at least some of our native population. And I realize those stereotypes exist for a reason-I myself can’t stand the “high school” question so often discussed while out on the town. Who cares?! I’m with you on this one, guys.

As a native of Alexandria, KY I have also felt oddly disconnected from “Cincinnati” life, although just a hop and skip across the river we were doing pretty much the same thing. I was raised on Glier’s goetta on Sunday mornings, and consider it a rich part of my local and German heritage. The first job I held (and one of my favorites, I might add) was in an Empress Chili parlor. My childhood summers were filled with catholic festivals and trips to Kings Island. I even saw Pete Rose hit his record breaking hit as a tiny tot in person.

But the point is, despite my inherent Cincinnati-ness, I still felt like somewhat of an outcast in this tri-state bubble. Cincinnatians didn’t seem to want to claim me (“you are NOT from Cincinnati, you’re from NKY!”), and I couldn’t quite relate to the farm culture of early Alexandria (“Oh my God, they’re going to roast that pig on a stick?!”).

As I lay here in bed at 2:30 a.m., I have quite a flurry of nervous but excited butterflies in my stomach that are keeping me from sleep. I will be signing the papers to close on my first home, right here in Covington, KY tomorrow morning. At first, it felt like an uncertain commitment. It felt like I was getting engaged to someone I knew I wasn’t meant for. Or that I was submitting to an old ball and chain, and now all the potential for out-of-town living possibilities were over. I was essentially going to be married to this place for life, and no more fun for me. How predictable, right? Girl grows up in NKY, goes to school in KY, gets a job in the same school district she was educated in, and now settles down in NKY.

But now I see it differently. I am glad to be here, making new friends, participating in new organizations, and exploring new parts of this area that I never knew. I spent my childhood and young adulthood fantasizing about ways to get away from Cincinnati, but right now there’s no place else I’d rather be. We’ve got a good thing going here, and I’m proud to say this is what I call home.

(do you like these guest posts? do you want to write one? email us at cincinnatiimports@gmail.com)

hofbrauhaus recap + save the date

2009-07-22T23:14:00.009-04:00

last night was awesome! we had a great time at the hofbrauhaus and there were a lot of new faces which was great, and also a number of people who had been out with us before. it was so fun seeing everyone and luckily the weather was perfect. avani counted 60 people at around 7:30 and about 15-20 more people showed up after that so it was an excellent turnout. here are some photos:

as promised, metromix also showed up and took some pictures... here's a link if you want to check those out.

i'm not sure if the hofbrauhaus staff reads this blog (ha), but thanks to all our servers for being so accomodating of our group and doing like 90 billion separate checks.

haven't had enough cincinnati imports? well mark your calendars... we are planning a covington pub crawl on friday, august 28. details and locations are still being finalized but we'll let you know the plan in the next few weeks.

don't drink and/or tired of all these events at bars? well then we will see you at the reds game on sunday, september 20! we are co-hosting this event with cincinnati women bloggers and new media cincy. here's how to buy your tickets:

Please pay $9 for each ticket you wish to purchase to:

acribbs@zslaw.com

using the "Send Money" tab of Paypal. If you have trouble, let me know and I'll send you a direct invoice. I will have your tickets at the Blogger Will Call near the kiosks at Great American.

and stay tuned for details on a really fun event we'll be doing in october... details are still a secret!

(all photos courtesy of ashish)

the new york times <3 cincinnati

2009-07-17T10:57:00.002-04:00

if you haven't already, check out this awesome new york times article about all the cool things to do during a weekend in cincinnati. from the article:

WITH the quiet momentum of a work in progress, Cincinnati is finding an artsy swagger, infused with a casual combination of Midwest and Southern charm. The city center, for decades rich with cultural and performing arts venues, now offers a renovated Fountain Square area and a gleaming new baseball stadium with views of the Ohio River. Efforts to transcend the damage from several days of race riots in 2001, which nearly decimated the city’s Over-the-Rhine district, are slowly progressing. Transformations are taking place in surrounding areas — as well as across the river in the neighboring Kentucky cities of Newport and Covington — with their cool music venues, funky shopping outlets and smart culinary options.

yay for cincinnati appreciation! also, good job nytimes... it seems like they really took the time to get to know and appreciate our city.

guest blogger... Cincinnati: The Natives Talk 1

2009-07-15T11:56:00.005-04:00

today we have a post from a cincinnati imports member who is actually from the cincinnati area.

"My friend Avani told me about Cincinnati Imports and I was thrilled. I finally had the chance to meet people in this area who, quite frankly, were not “Cincinnatians.” Before the locals get up in arms, I should explain that I actually grew up in this area, in a small town out in BFE, about 20 minutes south of here.

Yes I do enjoy skyline from time to time and have been known to play a few games of corn hole, however, I never really felt like I fit in here when I was growing up. It is nice to see that it might not be entirely attributable to the customary teenage garbage that most of us encounter.

Early on I couldn’t relate to people who lived here. Some of them had never left the tri-state area and I traveled frequently overseas to see my dad. This is not to say that because they hadn’t traveled that I felt I was above them. Quite the contrary, I only wanted to be like them, born and raised in the same small town where everyone knew at least a dozen people with my last name.

This was not the case for me as I moved to this area from California. People in my neighborhood and community thought that my family was weird, my mother in particular, who was Berkley educated, very liberal, and boisterously opinionated. Needless to say I was mortified when she would show up sans make-up in off brand clothing attempting to talk politics with the other cheerleader moms. Why couldn’t she just shut up and talk about the carpool?

However, as much as my mother hated living here and felt out of place, I could hardly convince myself that I was any different. By the time I was 15, like every other adolescent girl, I decided that I hated my mother. I hated her for moving me to this stifling, conservative, bible thumping area and I was bound and determined to get the hell out of here.

So 10 years later-I am finally getting my wish. I am approximately three weeks away from moving 8 hours away to Athens, Ga to attend graduate school. The irony of it all is that I find myself oddly sad to be leaving this place that not long ago I so hated. Living here as an adult has been pretty cool. I met a lot of interesting people and I discovered places to go in the area that I had never been to as a kid or teen growing up here.

It’s been helpful associating with people who are actually interested in meeting new people and not just hanging out with the same incestuous group weekend after weekend going to the same places and doing the same old shit. Despite its inadequacies (and there are plenty) I learned that Cincinnati is really not all that bad and can actually be rewarding, especially when you surround yourself with good people. I am even planning my wedding which is going to be here in Cincinnati, something I never thought I would want to do.

Most recently it hit me that my opinion of this city had really changed to a more positive one. I was flying in from Boston and instead of dreading arriving in good old CVG, I felt a sort of comfort upon seeing a huge tacky gold star chili billboard welcoming me home.

Oh and I really do love my mother."

(do you like these guest posts? do you want to write one? email us at cincinnatiimports@gmail.com)

happy hour at the hofbrauhaus on july 21

2009-07-13T18:31:00.004-04:00

hey everyone, just a reminder that our next event will be a happy hour at hofbrauhaus in newport on tuesday, july 21 from 6-9 pm. we have reserved space on the patio so assuming it is nice outside, that is where we will be. if it is raining, look for us inside.

location: hofbrauhaus is located across the street from newport on the levee, at the corner of 3rd and saratoga streets in newport. from cincinnati, take 71 or 75 south to 471 south. go across the bridge and get off at the first exit in KY. follow it around and turn left at the first light, then another left at the light after that. at your third light, you will be facing hofbrauhaus. if you are coming from the south... ummm... google maps it? i don't want to get you guys lost.

parking: you can park for free in the lot next door or, if it is full, you can park either in the garage underneath newport on the levee (it is only $2 during the week) or for free on the street if you get a spot without a meter (the meters end at 12 am). there are some spots with no meter over on 5th street, but check signs because some areas require a parking sticker.

specials: unfortunately hofbrauhaus refused to give us any special deals for our group. boo. however, we can still take advantage of their regular happy hour specials (which is some kind of a discount on their beer, i can't remember what). they also have a full menu for anyone who is hungry.

for new people: we don't have a sign or anything, so just look for the group wearing name tags. everyone is always super friendly and will introduce themselves to you right away. we are looking forward to meeting you (and seeing the people we have met before)!

Guest blogger: I am a cincinnati import. Cincinnati is my home.

2009-07-05T21:03:00.003-04:00

Well liz totally busted me for not posting anything of substance on the blog for a while. Since I feel like I haven't had any major opinions or been two steps behind liz in posting something media related, i thought the next best thing was to listen to what other cincinnati imports might have to say. We are starting a new series of posts from guest bloggers who have something to say about this city. The guest post today is from a friend of mine and liz through our book club. She is good peeps...see what she has to say below. Also, if you are interested in sharing something with our group and want to write a guest blog, please let us know.

"I am a Cincinnati Import. Cincinnati is my home. I couldn’t always say that. It was hard at first. I moved from New Jersey 4 years ago. Jim’s job brought us here. We thought Cincinnati was the end of the Earth. Wow, culture shock. My Mom would always ask me why we didn’t just move back home. Thing is, New Jersey wasn’t our home either. It was where we grew up, but we never stayed long enough as adults to make it ours.

During our first year in Cincinnati, we found much to complain about. Nothing was as good as back East or so we told ourselves. That, and the fact that I couldn’t find a job. Turns out you need to know someone in Cincinnati to even get a job. Step one was clear: meet people. I immediately went to Craigslist and found a book club made up of Cincinnati transplants. This was the only way to stay sane and ensure employment. Something finally came along. One of the girls in the book club told me about a job opening at her office. A non-profit, exactly what I was looking for. From there it has been relatively smooth sailing, at least for my career.

Other things have been a little more challenging, like finding friends and learning the different neighborhoods (and the high schools and personalities that go with each). It has taken time for sure. I wouldn’t recommend this City for the faint of heart. As a graduate of Rutgers University, I was really familiar with what was dubbed the “R U Screw.” I am sure everyone knows what I am talking about. It is basically the red-tape or the unpleasant bureaucracy of a large institution that always screws the little guy. I sometimes feel like Cincinnati is one big “R U Screw.” But if there is one thing I am learning by living here, it is to stick it out and embrace the City.

Truth is, I love Cincinnati. I love the restaurant scene. I love how easy it is to go anywhere- no traffic, no lines. I love how close we are to other cities. I love how cheap everything is like houses, restaurants, bar tabs (relative to NJ). I love the pork. I love the Arts scene. I love the weather. I love the Parks. I love the small town feel and neighborhood pride. I love that you don’t need to buy advanced tickets for events. I love that you don’t have to make reservations for dinner (or dress up). I love the geography – the seven hills, Ohio River. I could go on and on, but I won’t bore you. Sure, I know it is a strange place, but it IS my home."

In case you want to know some good places to explore on the weekends, here are my top 10:

Findlay Market

Red River Gorge

Loveland bike trail

Yellow Springs

Cincinnati Nature Center

Museums ( Freedom Center, Museum Center, Art Museums, Wright Patterson Air Force Museum)

Cincinnati Zoo

Chicago – Megabus from downtown is super cheap

Festivities (Blues Fest, Opening Day, Midpoint, to name a few)

Nearby Cities – 2 hours in any direction and there are endless possibilities

Saturday at the Reds Game: Details below

2009-06-30T09:20:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone,
I wanted to go ahead and post details of the September REDS game event, which we are doing jointly with cincinnati women bloggers and new media cincinnati. The game starts at 1:10 pm on Sunday, September 20. Tickets are $9 each for our group and we will be located in Section 529, which yes is considered the nose-bleed section, but is conveniently located near the $1 dogs and cheap beer. Who could say no to this?

Click on this link to RSVP and purchase your ticket through paypal:
http://tinyurl.com/RedsBloggerDay

UPDATE: you can also buy your tix from amy at the hofbrauhaus happy hour on 7/21.

We hope to see you there. Nothing says summer like baseball, hot dogs, and beer!

this just in: OTR is the scariest neighborhood on earth

2009-06-22T21:16:00.008-04:00

before i actually write this post can i just ask if you guys are sick of hearing from me? because i know i am. leave cranky comments here if you want more from lauren and avani. come on, step it up ladies! the internet is tired of me.

and now back to my own personal soapbox. in case anyone missed it, here is a crappy new report that came out today announcing that over-the-rhine is the most dangerous neighborhood in the country. i clicked on that link, took one look at the map outline, and immediately ignored the damn thing because even a newbie like me knows that is not an accurate geographical depiction of OTR so why even bother reading the report.

in order to combat this ridiculousness, 3CDC put out the following press release today to clear things up (thanks to brian for passing this along):

Statement from 3CDC in regard to the study by Location Inc, published today on AOL.com on the 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America.

The study released today regarding Over-the-Rhine (OTR) focuses on approximately 20 square blocks, some of them not even located in OTR and is based on data that is more than two and a half years old. In fact, reported crime through 2008 in the area of OTR south of Liberty Street, known as OTR Gateway, is down 37% since 2004.

OTR is 110 square blocks and includes several neighborhood districts including OTR Gateway, centered at the corner of 12th and Vine streets. This area, and other OTR census tract areas, was not part of the study.

It is unfortunate and intellectually dishonest that the entire neighborhood was labeled in such a negative way. The fact is, $84 million has been invested in OTR Gateway since 2004 and new home owners and business owners are investing in the neighborhood. This past Saturday, a 5K run and day-long Summer Celebration arts festival brought about 2,000 people to the corner of 12th and Vine to shop, eat and listen to music. The only problem was that some of our vendors didn’t anticipate such a large crowd and ran out of food.

this is just the kind of bullshit that people who do not live here read about cincinnati and makes them scared. but worse than that, this is just the kind of bullshit that keeps actual cincinnatians in the suburbs and out of their actual city.

for more on this absurd report, check out queen city discovery, urbancincy, queen city survey, and 5chw4r7z. i am sure other bloggers will have something to say about this too in the next few days. if you want to learn more about OTR, check out urbanup's history and photographs.

when i moved to cincinnati, the first place i lived in was an apartment at 14th and broadway. when i told my new coworkers where i lived, they freaked out. i thought it was a beautiful, interesting neighborhood and never once felt even remotely threatened at any time wandering around at all hours of the day and night. to this day i truly do not understand the fear so many people have of OTR, and i cannot help but suspect that the problem is rooted more in racism than anything else.

what about you guys? are you afraid of over-the-rhine or do you love it, or are you somewhere in between? what have your experiences been with this fascinating, history rich, drama filled corner of the city? and getting to the bigger question... gentrification: good or bad?

upcoming events

2009-06-22T11:02:00.003-04:00

mark your calendars for some upcoming cincinnati imports events:

tuesday, july 21: happy hour at hofbrauhaus from 6-9 pm
sunday, september 20: reds game with cincinnati women bloggers and new media cincinnati, i think the game starts at 1

we will also be doing an event in late august sometime. leave a comment here if you have any ideas or suggestions on what that should be. thanks and we look forward to seeing you all soon!

expressing cincinnati's personality

2009-06-17T22:44:00.008-04:00

drew wrote an awesome, very thought provoking post recently on why cincinnati has a hard time attracting and keeping non-natives in the area. i'm so behind in my google reader posts that i just caught up on his blog today.

drew's theory is that cities that are very successful at attracting people to move and stay there do so through some kind of unique vibe or personality, which people want to experience. drew thinks you can't just take what other cities have and try to copy it here, you have to figure out what is unique to your city and then work on promoting that. he thinks that cincinnati's unique personality is in its amazing historical architecture.

i think drew is on to something here and so do the many commenters on the post. the other day i got off exit 5 off of 75 and drove along mitchell avenue towards o'bryonville. has anyone ever done that drive? it's the border between north avondale and st. bernard and the houses are ridiculous. huge, sprawling mansions. but they are mostly falling apart. i have never seen anything like it. crazy huge brick homes, shady trees, rolling lawns... all in some state of shabby disrepair. i could not stop staring. how could these amazing houses be so poorly cared for?

the reason is the same as what drew is talking about... people just don't appreciate the city, and without new people coming into the area and staying, there is no dynamic energy (and no money) to change and keep things moving.

maya left several comments which brought up a number of issues. some of the things she is thinking about:

does she love cincinnati more than cincinnati loves her? and if so what does that mean?
is it a good thing or a bad thing that we have so much capacity to discover and create here in cincinnati?
why is there such terrible media coverage of all the awesome art, music, and creative projects going on in cincinnati, and how can that be improved?
why is so much of the effort to promote cincinnati driven by corporate interests, and how does that affect the overall success of the effort?

a lot of the issues that drew, maya, and other commenters bring up connect with the questions and issues we think about over here at cincinnati imports. the whole "loving cincinnati more than it loves you" thing is something that i feel a lot. i like and appreciate so many aspects of the city. yet after three years of living here, i still feel that i would not even be missed if i left.

i think a major part of the reason why it is so hard to feel like the city cares about you is because it is so hard to feel like the people who make up the city care about you. a lot of this, in my opinion, goes back to the whole insular cincinnati attitude, embodied everywhere you look (garrison keillor's cincinnati opening monologue, anonymous's tired refrain of "go back to michigan," the fear people have of going to the west side, etc.). cincinnati's identity is so deeply rooted in its history and traditions, and its citizens' identities are so entrenched in who they know and what they are used to, that it is extremely difficult to really become a part of cincinnati if you have no connections here. and then you are left feeling like the city really does not care about you.

i am constantly challenged by living in cincinnati in ways that i have never experienced in other cities. living in new york was very difficult for me, but the reason there was simple: at the end of the day, i just did not want to be a new yorker and in fact did everything i could to avoid ever being thought of as one. however, i really would like to be a cincinnatian and i devote a lot of time, energy, and effort to getting to know and appreciating the city. i feel like i do everything i can to be a part of it here and still i can't break past these invisible walls of whose parents know who and who went to high school with who.

drew says, in the comments on the post, "I think there are many here who care more about the city than the city cares about them. Why should we have to try so hard? Shouldn't it be easier?" i agree with drew. i do think it should be easier. but i think i know why it isn't. it will never be any easier until somehow people start opening their minds and their hearts to new people. by that i mean no more relying solely on high school and family networks for professional and social connections as an adult. people need to reach beyond that. i don't know how that will happen though. but i am trying to do what i can.

i've spent so much time on the first question that now i don't want to bore you by rambling about the others. so leave your thoughts in the comments. i am very interested to hear what you guys have to say.

garrison keillor gets it

2009-06-14T12:06:00.002-04:00

did anybody go to a prairie home companion at riverbend on friday? i'm listening to it on the radio right now and garrison keillor just did an opening monologue on cincinnati and it's hilarious in its accuracy. i don't know if he has any connections here but he hit cincinnati on the nose. east side vs. west side, the fact that people never leave cincinnati, the hard time people have moving here and trying to meet people, is cincinnati southern or northern, etc. i bet he reads cincinnati imports... hahaha.

it's not online yet (probably because it is currently on the radio) but it will be here soon so definitely check it out if you missed hearing it.

cincinnati drivers

2009-06-04T21:05:00.004-04:00

is it just me or do people in cincinnati drive different from anywhere else? i have two examples in mind. first of all, nobody uses turn signals. i can't stand it when i am sitting here waiting for a car to go by while i am at a stop sign only for them to turn right. thanks a lot, i got to wait around and wait for you for absolutely no reason. it happens constantly. what the hell?

the other thing that annoys me is the cincinnati driver's refusal to use the left lane for passing. how many times have i sat there and ridden someone's ass who is going like 55 in the left lane. come on, there are plenty of other lanes for you to use, what is the problem? is it really that much fun to hang out in the left lane?

i am from michigan where everybody drives 80+ on the expressway. i do not understand this desire to drive really slow and bring everybody else down with you.

does anybody know adam singer?

2009-05-27T11:26:00.002-04:00

check out the last word column in cin weekly today. adam singer writes:

What high school did you go to? What parish? I'm asked these questions every time I hit the scene...My name is Adam, and if I look familiar to you, chances are you still don't know me. I'm new blood to Cincinnati, working on my third year, and I just want you to know your city puzzles the bejesus out of me.

sounds like somebody needs cincinnati imports!

p.s. hurry up and vote on what our next event should be! only a few days left to vote and right now it's a tie between a reds game and the hofbrauhaus...

poll: what should the next event be?

2009-05-17T16:33:00.002-04:00

please take the poll on the right side of the blog to let us know what you would like the next event to be. it will probably take place in mid to late june.

update: here is a cin weekly article and a metromix article about the ludlow bromley yacht club since some people don't know what it is. or you can just ask @geekjames to give you details...

westside bar crawl = awesome

2009-05-16T13:22:00.012-04:00

thanks to everyone who came out last night for the bar crawl! somewhere between 50 and 60 people showed up over the course of the night and it seemed like everybody had a great time exploring the night life of cheviot. we had a great crowd with a lot of new faces and it was so much fun.

here are a few photos:

bar 1: luckey's

bar 2: 2nd street saloon

bar 3: cheviot sports tavern

bar 4: rootie's

bar 5: the black sheep

the rest of the photos can be found in the photos section of the facebook page.

in other news, you may have noticed that we have been a little short on content on the blog lately. the thing is, we feel like we have said a lot of what we have to say about life in cincinnati and it has been hard to come up with new topics.

we think it would help to have some more voices on this blog, other than just your comments (which are always awesome). so we would like to see if any of you are interested in contributing to the blog. our ideas are:

interviews of cincinnati imports
other contributors to the blog
semi-regular updates from imports about fun events, neighborhoods, places to eat, etc.
anything else you can think of

if you are interested in contributing to the blog, please send us an email at cincinnatiimports@gmail.com with your ideas. we are totally open to anything. also, if you have a guest post that you have been dying to write, feel free to email it to us and we will post it to the blog.

thanks guys and it was so much fun seeing everyone and meeting all the new people last night!

Westside Pub Crawl-May 15

2009-05-10T17:56:00.031-04:00

The event you have been waiting for: Westside Pub Crawl in Cheviot on May 15, 2009 starting at 7pm. We hope to see you all there. Below are details for the event. Basically, we will be hitting 5 bars within walking distance in Cheviot starting at 7pm. We will rotate bars every hour until we get to the last bar, the Black Sheep, which has food, a band and a DJ. Lauren, Liz, and I visited all the bars last week and everyone was super nice....so for those of you who are scared to visit the west-side, don't be, it will be much fun. Dress casual :)

Bar 1: Luckey’s Irish Pub (A)
Location: 3722 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211, 513-662-9222
Time: 7:00 pm
Drink specials: $0.50 off all drinks

Bar 2: 2nd Street Saloon (B)
Location: 3703 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211; 513-389-1900
Time: 8:00 pm
Drink specials: $3.25 Jeremiah Weed Lemonade (sweet tea vodka and lemonade)
$1.50 16 ounce domestic drafts

Bar 3: Cheviot Sports Tavern (C)
Location: 3613 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211; 513-661-9464
Time: 9:00 pm
Drink specials: $1.50 domestic drafts

Bar 4: Rootie’s (D)
Location: 3609 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211; 513-481-0200
Time: 10:00 pm
Drink specials: $3 Stella drafts

Bar 5: Black Sheep (E)
Location: 3807 North Bend Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45211; 513-481-6300
Time: 11:00 pm
Drink specials: TBD
Food: $2.00 pizza slices and snacks
Band/Music: Less than Zero and DJ

map of the bar crawl route

Directions to Cheviot from downtown (Vine Street):
Get on W. Central Parkway/US-42 S (0.2 miles)
Turn slight right onto Central Parkway (1.6 miles)
Left onto Western Hills Viaduct (0.6 miles)
Straight on Harrison Ave (4.6 miles)
Estimated Time: 18 minutes Estimated Distance: 7.13 miles

Directions to Cheviot from I-71:
I-71 to Exit 8B (OH-562 Norwood Lateral) (3.5 miles)
I-75 S towards Lexington (3.5 miles)
I-74 W towards Indianapolis (1.7 miles)
Exit 17 (Montana Ave) (0.2 miles)
Left on Montana (2.0 miles)
Right on Harrison Ave (0.9 miles)

Parking: You can park anywhere along Harrison between these bars. There is also a free parking lot across from Luckey's and one next to the Black Sheep

another cool upcoming event: a gift that keeps on giving

2009-04-29T16:10:00.003-04:00

Give Back Cincinnati is having a fund-raiser (see details in image) at Jefferson Hall on May 8th, 2009. This is to raise money for a trip, where approximately 140 people will take 1 week of their vacation time to build houses for victims of Hurricane Katrina. These volunteers include both Liz and myself. Even after several years, many people continue to struggle in New Orleans and any money we can raise to support the volunteers going would be appreciated. So what does this require of you? Nothing except showing up and drinking! One entrance fee covers several beverages and a night of fun.

upcoming fun events

2009-04-21T10:36:00.012-04:00

hey guys, here are a couple upcoming events which sound fun and great for meeting new people and enjoying cincinnati.

Xavier University Graduate Student Assocation hosts: Spring Charity Ball to benefit the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation

Friday, May 1 st 2009
7:00-10:00 pm
Cintas Center (Shiff Family Conference Center side)
Tickets reserved in advance are $10.00 by emailing gsacharityball@yahoo.com OR $15 at the door
Dress is semi-formal

The night will include dancing, music by DJ Dave Lotz, light refreshments (Xavier catering service) and raffle prizes. All donations will go directly to the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. The Xavier Graduate Services offices has covered the cost of hosting the event.

if you have any questions, you can contact them at gsacharityball@yahoo.com or go to the event's facebook page.

The Ohio River Way Paddlefest

Celebrate, promote and protect the beauty of the Ohio River at the 8th Annual Ohio River Way Paddlefest on Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27, 2009. Come to Cincinnati to enjoy two days of paddling, education, entertainment, competition and camaraderie. Registration for Paddlefest 2009 is now open! Click here to register for Paddlefest http://ohioriverway.org/paddlefest/register/. they also have a facebook page.

avani and me with friends at paddlefest 2008... lauren continues to remain elusive

paddlefest is an awesome event. i went last year and it was one of the most fun things i have done in cincinnati. you sign up for a canoe with a friend and then you canoe from coney island (way out east for those of you who don't know) to sawyer point downtown. then afterwards there is food, music, etc. it is so much fun. i have to be in a wedding in chicago that weekend and i am so sad i have to miss it. i really recommend you all check it out. if you want to do it, you should sign up asap because they do run out of canoes. you can also kayak if you want.

by the way, please let us know how you guys feel about these event postings. we were debating whether people wanted us to do this or not. leave a comment if you like or don't like them. thanks!

save the date: westside bar crawl

2009-04-13T21:56:00.004-04:00

this is it, the event you have been clamoring for! get over your fears and come with us to explore the great unknown on the other side of 75.

Date: FRIDAY, May 15, 2009
Time: 7pm
Place: Westside bar crawl in Cheviot (bars TBD)

For those of you who may have been nervous to trek over to the Westside before, here's your chance! We look forward to seeing everyone there. Details of the event (e.g., which bars and where they are and what time we will be at each one) will be posted soon.

we will let you know when we finalize the plan!

to blog or not to blog.....

2009-04-12T22:12:00.003-04:00

When Liz and I started Cincinnati Imports, the blogging phenomenon had clearly become as common as morning coffee, but to me, it was a whole new world that I had never really been a part of. I have several good friends, including Liz, who blog regularly and I read their blogs on an occasional basis but I have to say, I was definitely intrigued by the notion of starting Cincinnati Imports through this type of vehicle.

Since November 2008, I have learned quite a bit about the blogs of Cincinnati and have come to recognize that blogging is, in and of itself, one type of social networking that likely brings people from all walks of life together. People blog about anything and everything, including food, politics, what they do on a daily basis, losing weight, family and child antics, restaurant reviews, reviews about art, stores, etc. The list goes on and on and on and on and on….you get the picture! Some people choose to reveal their identity while others stay anonymous. Some bloggers reveal a lot about themselves personally while others only focus on their topic of interest. Psychologically speaking, I wonder how these things come into play when trying to “meet” new people or feeling like you belong to a city or community.

On the flip side, a blog can have hundreds and thousands of readers. Those readers may choose to comment or not and if they comment, they can choose to be anonymous or have an identity. I remember the first time an individual who shall remain nameless, mostly because I don’t remember her name, approached Liz in this manic way to tell Liz how much she loved get in mah belly and how Liz was famous. This was mind blowing to both Liz and myself but it has become a regular occurrence for her given her multitude of blogs, including this one. Who knew that people could become locally famous from their blogs?

At our first Cincinnati Imports event in February, I realized that 30-50% of those who attended had blogs themselves, which lent itself well to starting conversations and people actually putting names, faces, and blogs together. However, I have to say, given how new I was to the blogging world, I felt really left out when someone would introduce themselves and their blog and I had no idea what they were talking about. This led me to wonder whether the blogging community can be one of two things: 1) welcoming to those who belong to it but 2) intimidating to newbies. What is required to have respect in the blogging world? Also, is blogging and/or commenting on other people’s blogs a good way to meet new people? What are your thoughts? Ultimately, this blog has been a wonderful way for us to start this group and I hope that people have enjoyed both reading, commenting, getting involved, and potentially meeting new people through our events. However, one has to wonder whether the world of social networking through the internet, including things like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs increases or decreases face-to-face contact?

We're famous

2009-04-08T10:48:00.003-04:00

CiN Weekly interviewed Liz and Avani for today's issue in a feature called "Blog of the Month" and ran the same fabulous photo that appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer article a couple of months ago. It's also on page 32 of today's issue. (I'm enjoying seeing how long I can go without being interviewed or photographed--I like to break news, not make it.) If you're reading this blog for the first time, welcome and keep checking back for details on our next event!

some fun upcoming events where you can meet people

2009-04-04T11:42:00.006-04:00

we have heard about a couple fun events coming up that could be great ways to meet people in cincinnati.

first is the opportunity to volunteer for the cincinnati fringe festival. here are the details:

The 2009 Cincinnati Fringe Festival is coming up May 27 - June 6
This is the sixth year of Fringe, can you believe it!
Check out the new website and the festival line up at www.cincyfringe.com.

You’ve heard it before, volunteering is a great way to meet new, fun & interesting people while supporting great non-profit organizations.

So we’d like to get you all together for a Fringe Volunteer Happy Hour with snackage and cash bar with drink specials to say thanks for the all the support the past five years. If you haven't volunteered in the past with us, but want to see what it is all about & volunteer this year - come on out! We'll have the volunteer website up so you can sign up early for your favorite spots!

We’d also like to offer you Amazingly FREE tickets (while supplies last) to Know Theatre’s Thursday April 9 preview performance of the satire Vigils following the happy hour.

Check out the Vigils trailer, Catch this bitter sweet, dark comedy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5oKz_fhKvc

Who: YOU and any friends who want to sign up to volunteer this year!!
What: Fringe Volunteer Happy Hour
When: Thursday April 9 6:30 – 8 p.m. (show starts at 8:00PM)
Where: Know Theatre of Cincinnati 1120 Jackson St.
How: The Fringe Volunteer Happy Hour with snackage and cash bar don’t require a reservation.

If you want to see Vigils please call 513.300.KNOW (5669) or send an email to: Alex @ akesman@knowtheatre.com with “Fringe Volunteer Vigils Show Reservation” in the subject line, in the email tell him your best phone number and how many tickets you would like to reserve. Tickets are limited so reserve early and let us know if you need to cancel a reservation.

next is the madisonville education and assistance center (MEAC) spring benefit, which is going to be a wine tasting. details:

MEAC UnCorked: Sauvignons in Spring
April 30th 7pm – 10pm
At the Columbia Center – 3500 Columbia Parkway

Join us for MEAC Uncorked, a wine tasting event to benefit the Madisonville Education and Assistance Center. The event features a wine tasting led by Mike Rosenberg, local wine expert and nationally renowned author of The Naked Vine (www.thenakedvine.net), followed by a blind wine tasting contest of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. You are also invited to enjoy lite bites from local restaurants and the cool sounds of the EastSide Jazz Duo.

Blind Wine Tasting Contest – How It Works
Gather a team of one to three people. Each team must bring two bottles of wine, one bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and one bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s only one catch… to help us prove good wines can be affordable, each bottle of wine must cost no more than $15! During the event, guests will sample each wine in a blind tasting. Guests will then have the opportunity to vote for their favorite white and red wines. The winners will be determined by popular vote and the winner of each category will receive a prize valued at $100.
How to Register
Register your team online at www.meaconline.org or call 513-257-3879.
• Registration is $15 per team member
• Registration is limited to the first 200 guests

both of these sound really fun and will probably draw a wide range of interesting people, both imports and non. i am not going to be able to make it to the MEAC event, but i am hoping to do the fringe festival.

happy hour recap

2009-04-02T23:18:00.009-04:00

northside tavern was rockin last night! here are a few photos courtesy of westender:

overall i think we had around 45-50 people show up (we were counting much less carefully this time). some people had been to other cincinnati imports events and there were also a bunch of newbies. it seemed like everyone had a great time and i definitely got a chance to meet some new people and catch up with some i had met before. northside tavern had tons of great drink specials and the bartenders were awesome as usual.

thanks to everyone who came out. it was so much fun to meet everyone i talked to last night. and to the ones i did not get a chance to meet, i hope we can chat next time.

more photos can be found on 5chw4r7z's blog.

we will be planning our next event soon. meanwhile, stick around and we will post soon about a few cool non-cincinnati imports events we have heard about recently which seem like good places to meet interesting new people.

don't forget: happy hour on wednesday!

2009-03-29T11:00:00.003-04:00

date: wednesday, april 1, 2009

time: 5:30 pm until whenever
place: northside tavern
location: 4163 Hamilton Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45223

parking: on the street or in the lot across the street

rsvp: via comments please

drink specials: $3 draft pints, $2.75 well liquor drinks, $3.25 call liquor drinks and $3.75 glasses of wine until 8 pm

we hope to see you there!

my current thoughts on the limits of social organizations in cincinnati

2009-03-22T11:50:00.011-04:00

it was great meeting everyone who came out to the roller derby last night! we had about 20 people show up, some new and some old, and it was a blast. lauren and the rest of the rollergirls kicked ass and won both bouts. $1 PBRs didn't hurt anything and i think a great time was had by all.

in other news, i have been spending a lot of time lately thinking about all the different ways of meeting people in cincinnati, and why they do not generally meet my needs. recently i was invited by cin weekly to participate in a panel they were having to try to figure out new ways to reach out to readers and planning for the development of the new to cincinnati section of their website.

i was really impressed by the focus and concern the cin weekly staff has for making cincinnati more accessible to newcomers to the city. one issue that seemed to be a theme at the meeting was how to get the word out to people about all the different things that are happening in cincinnati. everyone who participated in the panel (about 10 people total) agreed that there is a lot to do in cincinnati, but we had differing opinions on a) whether those events are well publicized and b) whether there was enough diversity in types of events and groups.

my perspective is that yes, there is a lot to do out there, but publications like cin weekly, zipscene, and metromix mostly only focus on one specific type of events... social and networking events for economically and professionally stable young professionals. i find that citybeat generally has more diversity in terms of the types of events that it publicizes, but it also tends to not be as comprehensive.

i don't know exactly how many people on the panel were from cincinnati, but i got the feeling that probably at least half of them were originally from here (or not too far away). i also think i was the only person on the panel who worked in the nonprofit world... everyone else seemed to be a business, financial, or marketing type person. and i was the only even remotely ethnically diverse person on the panel (i am half lebanese), as far as i could tell.

i really appreciate cin weekly's efforts to reach out and try to find out what its readers really want, but i think that most of the people who were on the panel are people who already regularly read cin weekly and like the kind of events it publicizes. there are a million young professional (aka "YP") organizations in this community, which are a great way of meeting people, but what if you do not fit in with the young professional demographic, either in terms of age or culturally, economically, ideologically, etc.? there really is not a visible way for you to meet people in cincinnati.

so what exactly is a young professional? let's consult the internet. the following definitions are taken from various national young professionals organizations' websites:

"A young professional is simply a goal-oriented individual between the ages of 21-39 with a mind set to pursue a career path."
"A general definition is someone in their 20s or 30s who is working."
"A young professional is anyone who makes a living in a professional environment. Our members are artists, teachers, lawyers, investment bankers, account executives, etc."
"In recent years, the service and technology industries and small businesses have surpassed manufacturing as the driving force of our economy. This has led to a wide array of creative and unique employment opportunities, most of which are being filled by individuals under the age of 40. This growing force of young people now beginning to enter and dominate our nation’s workforce is recognized as the Young Professional."

these definitions are accurate, but i don't think they are comprehensive. i think a young professional, at least in cincinnati, is someone who:

has a full time career in specific, generally money-focused, industries
tends to value networking (which i define as being somewhat superficial, based in communicating certain information and statistics about oneself with others) over relationship building (which i define as being more substantive and emotionally risky than networking, involving sharing personality quirks, ethical values, and controversial opinions)
is educated to at least the level of a college degree
generally (and i am totally stereotyping here, i admit it) physically presents him or herself in a fairly conservative, business casual fashion

based on the people i have met at the two events we have had so far, i think that the non-young professional feeling of our group is a major reason why cincinnati imports has resonated with people. the people who have come to our events have had a variety of jobs, many of them creative, or physical, or nonprofit, or otherwise non-business related, and some haven't had a job at all (either because they are students or because they are unemployed). many have had serious non-career creative pursuits. we have had a wide variety of ages, races, ethnicities, and geographical backgrounds. at cincinnati imports events, people open up readily and share things about themselves on a deeper level than "what do you do" and "who do you know." our events are cheap and focused on getting to know the city and each other.

ever since we started this blog, we have had such an amazing response that we knew we hit on some kind of a previously unmet need in cincinnati. i have been thinking a lot about what exactly what that need was. i think what we have found is that there are many people in this city who want to meet people and socialize, but for whatever reason are not, or not solely, interested in young professionals events. cincinnati imports has been a way to connect those people.

ok, enough out of me. what are your thoughts?

Reminder: Roller derby this Saturday!

2009-03-18T22:25:00.008-04:00

You probably don't need a reminder about this, but I'm giving you one anyway: The next Cincinnati Imports event is the first Cincinnati Rollergirls bout of the season this Saturday night at the Cincinnati Gardens. There should be a good crowd of Cincinnati Imports folks there, as 25 people have RSVP'd to our Facebook event that they're going (although some of them are rollergirls) and 31 more have said they may be attending. We're expecting a big crowd, so I highly recommend that people get there when the doors open at 6 p.m. so you all can find each other and get good seats. Also, I just got word that $1 cans of PBR will be available from 6-7:30 p.m., so you'll obviously want to make the most of that time.

In other exciting news, the after-party will be at Grammer's (the Cincinnati Rollergirls' biggest sponsor), so even if you can't make it to the bout, feel free to meet up at Grammer's afterwards, starting around 10 p.m. or so. It's a cool, old, historic bar at 1440 Walnut St. in Over-the-Rhine with a big parking lot on Liberty Street, and it features a variety of German, local and craft beers (as well as PBR, in case you don't get your fill at the bout).

A few other things that might be useful to know before Saturday:

-The bout is a double-header. The Cincinnati Rollergirls practice together as one team, but shortly before game days, our coaches divide us up into two teams, sort of like a varsity and JV team. Our varsity team is called the Black Sheep and our JV team is called the Silent Lambs. (There's a long and not very interesting story behind those names.) Both Cincinnati Rollergirls teams will be playing Saturday night against two teams from Knoxville, Tenn.'s Hard Knox Roller Girls. I'm on the Silent Lambs, and our bout is first, so please get my attention if you see me wandering around afterwards. Just look for my jersey -- my skater name is Miss Print and my number is 95.

-Roller derby Wikipedia entry (fairly comprehensive and accurate, as far as I can tell; the Cincinnati Rollergirls are members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association and play by its rules, which are explained here)

-Animated roller derby explained video (I primarily play the position of jammer)

If there's anything else you're wondering about, just leave a comment and ask!

do Cincinnati Imports want to get involved?

2009-03-12T10:43:00.004-04:00

Over the course of the last month, we have received several requests/opportunities for our group members. Although Liz, Lauren and I have agreed that we would try to remain an independent group who never "sell" you anything, I thought it might be nice to tell you about 2 opportunities for Cincinnati Imports members. If you want to become involved and meet new people, these might be potential avenues. So here goes....

1. Cincinnati Magazine - Amy Knueven (aknueven@cintimag.emmis.com) of Cincinnati Magazine emailed us because she is writing a feature article for the 2009 Cincinnati USA City Guide and was looking for some interview subjects and thought our group members might provide some great insight. She stated that the "general theme of the article would be “My Cincinnati,” and will focus on comparing the experiences of newcomers and long-time residents." I think this could be a really interesting experience if you guys want to get involved. Her email is listed above so if you have an interest, please contact her. Her deadline is the end of March and she told us it would only take 10-15 minutes by phone or in person (whatever works for you).

2. The Flying Pig Marathon - This marathon is well-known around the country and brings much attention to the city of Cincinnati. If you are interested in volunteering, the Flying Pig volunteer coordinator encourages you to volunteer to be a Course Timer. She states that "our timers work in pairs or trios at each mile marker along the course reading out times, pace, expected finish time, and encouragement to the runners. Getting into the Pig spirit never hurts either. We can pair the volunteers or they can request a specific partner. I have other volunteer options too if interested." So, if you are interested, please get in touch with Mary E. Enzweiler (Volunteer Coordinator, Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, 513-721-PIGS; mary@flyingpigmarathon.com).

Okay-so i promise we are not trying to pimp out our members but thought this might be 2 interesting ways to get involved or feel more connected to Cincinnati.

cool things to do in cincinnati: bockfest and guerrilla queer bar

2009-03-08T23:34:00.004-04:00

it was a very eventful weekend in cincinnati and i hope you all were able to take advantage of everything that was going on, or at least some of it. the big thing of course was bockfest, which was pretty much a blur of beer soaked awesomeness for me.

i had never been before and in case you are wondering, bockfest is a yearly, grassroots-ish bock beer festival here in cincinnati. it happens the first weekend in march and unfortunately the website is not loading right now otherwise i would just cut and paste a description here, but instead you will have to suffer through my meager display of bockfest knowledge. it takes place in over the rhine, and there is a parade with goats and beer, and there is a sausage queen contest and a home brew competition and tours of old breweries and lots of music and sausages and beer and german culture. it's great and if you missed it, don't worry... just put it on your calendar for next year.

the other fun event that i want to tell you guys about is guerrilla queer bar. i had not heard of this until friday when "sidd finch" from centsinnati (who still owes me a guest blog post... ahem) told me he was going to it and i thought it sounded awesome. here is a description (fortunately their website is working):

CGQB is a happening that occurs every FIRST FRIDAY. Inspired by similar events in other cities, it is a night where the cincinnati queer community "takes-over" a typically straight bar. Transforming it, for one night only, into queer-fantastic. If you'd like to get on the list so you can receive the top secret message that includes next month's location, email cincinnatigqb@gmail.com or join the facebook group.

we here at cincinnati imports thought we were doing well when we had almost 70 people show up at our first event. well guerrilla queer bar had over 100 at their first event. you just can't argue with that. think about the best time you have ever had partying at a gay club, and now imagine that scene at the lodge bar. it was so much fun and also hilarious. the best part to me was that everything just went so smoothly. i had been picturing freaked out frat boys standing by the sidelines and glaring, but nothing like that happened. everybody just danced and partied and had fun, and i met lots of new people.

now in case you are thinking to yourself, "that sounds great liz, but i am straight," never fear! i can tell you firsthand that the guerrilla queer bar crowd is more than happy to have you. cincinnati imports = not just for cincinnati imports. guerrilla queer bar = not just for queers. all you need for either one is a desire to go out and meet people and have fun.

Next happy hour: April 1 at the Northside Tavern

2009-03-05T22:53:00.004-05:00

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: The details of our next happy hour! We'll meet at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1 at the Northside Tavern at 4163 Hamilton Ave. in Northside. If you've never been there before, you're in for a treat. The Tavern attracts a mix of hipsters and Northside residents (that's not always redundant) who go there to take in its unpretentious atmosphere, drink cheap beer, play pool, worship at the Elvis shrine, feed the amazing jukebox and/or enjoy free live music (there's never a cover). What was once a sometimes uncomfortably crowded bar in a turn-of-the-century building has probably doubled in size thanks to the owners' decision to open up back room with shiny wood floors, a second bar and a stage. Plus there's a lovely outdoor courtyard with lots of seating and fire pits, so here's hoping the weather's nice that night.

More important info: Happy hour runs from 5-8 p.m. on weekdays and features $3 draft pints, $2.75 well liquor drinks, $3.25 call liquor drinks and $3.75 glasses of wine. There will be music in both the front and back rooms that night, but it doesn't start until 9:30 p.m., and it's free if you decide to stick around. And if you're hungry, you can grab a bite to eat at the reasonably-priced Hideaway right next door to the Tavern, behind the courtyard. I just ate there for the first time last month and it was delicious.

By the way, this will be our general plan of action going forward: Regular happy hours mixed in with other optional events, like the Cincinnati Rollergirls' home opener on March 21. (Not that our happy hours are mandatory, but you get my drift.) Hope to see you there!

mark your calendars: upcoming events!

2009-03-02T21:46:00.002-05:00

it's the moment you've been waiting for. that's right... it's time for more cincinnati imports fun!

on saturday, march 21, we will be going to cheer lauren (aka miss print) on in the roller derby.

meet us in the entrance lobby at cincinnati gardens at 6:00 pm. tickets are $10 at the door and there will be $1 beers from 6-8. if you can't get there until after 6, don't worry... just buy a ticket and come look for us.

the derby starts at 7 and the rollergirls will be having an after party at a bar (location to be decided) which everyone is invited to go to.

for more info about the cincinnati rollergirls, see their facebook e vent page or their website.

and thanks to everyone's helpful input on our poll, we are also planning another happy hour on wednesday, april 1. the location is still being finalized. stay tuned to the blog for the details in the upcoming weeks.

we can't wait to see everyone at our next events!

weird cincinnati things: "where did you go to high school?"

2009-02-26T08:34:00.007-05:00

ok, we have skirted around this issue long enough so let's just put it out there. we, and by "we" i mean "i," think it is weird that people from cincinnati always want to know where you went to high school.

i moved here from new york where nobody went to high school there and even if they did, you wouldn't have heard of it. but in michigan, where i lived before that, nobody ever asked me where i went to high school unless they had first asked me what city or part of the state i was from first. it was not assumed that you were necessarily born and raised in that area.

things are different here. before, i always thought the questions were supposed to go like this:

what's your name?
where are you from?
oh really? where in _______?
no way, me too! where did you go to high school?

but the assumption here in cincinnati is that the middle questions are unnecessary. it is just a given that you are from here. i don't blame cincinnatians, this is what they are used to. but on a general level, i really think it reflects the insular nature of the city. no wonder so many people aren't that welcoming to newcomers to the city... they don't even realize there are any!

my weirdest "where did you go to high school" experience happened a few weeks ago. i was out with my friend beth and some of her friends. beth's friend matt is from dayton. as in, not cincinnati. here is how the conversation went:

matt: hi, i'm matt.
liz: hey, i'm liz.
matt: where did you go to high school?
liz: uhh... farmington.
matt: where?
liz: it's in michigan.
matt: oh.
beth: matt, what the hell? you aren't even from cincinnati!

poor matt has clearly fallen victim to cincinnati syndrome. he wanted to know where i went to high school, even though i would not have gone to his high school even if i was from here! it was hilarious.

my question: is this just a cincinnati thing? or do people do this in other places and i just don't know about it? if so, how do those places compare to cincinnati in terms of their general openness to outsiders?

cincinnati imports is in the enquirer today

2009-02-24T12:42:00.001-05:00

here is the link to the article online. welcome to all our new readers who found us through the newspaper, and thanks to lori kurtzman for the great article!

a must-try cincinnati game

2009-02-23T13:27:00.003-05:00

we recently received an email telling us about a game one of our cincinnati imports inadvertantly invented. this was so funny, we had to post it. he/she has chosen to remain anonymous, otherwise, we would give credit where credit is due...

"Ok, so I have this little game I invented to have fun with Cincinnatians. I will tell you the story of how it all started first. I was out with some friends one night and we ended up at the after hours party, of course my friends being from Cincinnati went to high school or grade school with everyone at the party and I was left trying to make small talk with people I don't know. So I go into the restroom and I am using the facilities and I look down and there is mail sitting on the counter. Why is there mail in the bathroom? I have no idea, but I read the address (to try and figure out what street I was on) and it had the persons full name on it. So later I am standing in the kitchen drinking a beer and this girl comes up to me and asks who I am. ( not in the "It's nice to meet you" way more like the "who are you and why are you in my house" way) I look at her and say, "Oh my God. Are you Beth Jones?" (name changed to protect the innocent) She looks at me for a second and says yes, then I dropped the "I think we went to grade school together!" Instantly she says she remembers me because she doesn't want to look like a jerk. You have no idea how much fun it is to do this. Just try it! After that I would just walk up to random people and say "Hey didn't we go to grade school together?" Every single one of them "remembered" me instantly. It was great. I even had people coming up to me a week or two later and say, hey that they remembered me from the party, and from grade school.""

Now, I have to say, this may not work for someone like me (e.g. Indian woman) but who knows, it might just be worth trying.

agenda 360 regional action plan

2009-02-17T17:59:00.008-05:00

i am trying to muddle through the 936 unread posts on my google reader (which i've gotten down from "1000+" where it was last night) and i came across this post on urbancincy. the post is about the report and recommendations recently unveiled by agenda 360 (a "regional action plan") which appears to somehow be connected (i think) with the cincinnatiusa regional chamber ("the largest and only regional business network of nearly 6,000 member companies").

ok yeah so i really have no idea exactly what i'm talking about. my brain is functionally incapable of handling concepts along the lines of "initiatives" and "workgroups" and "priorities" and "visions" etc. i just don't really get what all that means or how it applies to anyone's life.

but anyway, from what i can figure out, agenda 360 appears to be some sort of set of goals which a bunch of important (i'm assuming) people came up with which they are actually going to (i hope) put time and resources toward(s?). most interesting to me is the following goal, as described by urbancincy:

Including all and working to create a welcoming community to which all people of all backgrounds and views are embraced and their differences are used not to divide, but to be used in the foundation for a community's success.

wow. is it possible that cincinnati natives actually realize that this area is not especially welcoming to people who do not fit into the traditional been here forever, german/irish, christian, straight, married, still hang out with my high school friends mold? and are they really committed to changing that? or is this just some kind of PR lip service?

i searched the site and could not really figure out what was next for this group, now that they have had their big unveiling of their report. i'm lazy but i finally convinced myself to check out the report, after facebooking for a while, in order to see what their specific plans are. here are some interesting portions:

from the inclusion section:

WHAT IT IS

We must create a welcoming community in which all people are embraced, they have an equal opportunity for success, and their differences are the foundation for the community's successes.

WHY IT MATTERS

Regions cannot be successful in attracting talent or new jobs if there are great disparities in tolerance and economic condition. Right now, Southwest Ohio has too big a gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.

WHERE WE ARE

Today we are battling both the perception nationally that we are not open for business to all and the reality locally that many people feel discrimination due to their race, ethnic origin, income level, sexual orientation or gender.

Hispanics, African Americans, and gays report they don't always feel welcome here. We still have a racial divide. And people of color, persons with disabilities, and others have fewer opportunities for achieving economic independence here than in other cities.

i totally agree that many people of many non-traditional-cincinnati groups are not really fully included here. so what are they going to do about it? well one thing they say they will do is to work towards increased access to health care. i can't argue with that. but this, on the other hand...

A Commitment to Inclusion

The Greater Cincinnati Commitment Alliance, a consortium of 20 organizations committed to the inclusion of persons of all human differences, is seeking citizen signatures for the "Greater Cincinnati Commitment."

Launched by Cincinnatus and BRIDGES for a just Community, the short-term goal is to obtain 25,000 signatures from people of all ages and walks of life who will pledge to work on behalf of an inclusive, equitable and just community for all who work, play and reside in our region.

dude... a signature pledge? are you kidding me? waste of time. yawn. i'm annoyed. frankly, i feel like the cincinnati imports happy hour did more to create inclusion in cincinnati than any number of signatures on a piece of paper ever will. and all we did was show up at a bar and set up some drink specials. seriously.

i am sure some of you guys know much more about agenda 360 than i do. what is it really all about? is anyone who reads this blog involved with it? is there a real, legitimate, workable plan here or is this just more talk?

vote on the next event

2009-02-17T11:10:00.001-05:00

thanks again to everyone for coming out. several of you have asked what our next event would be and to be honest, we have no idea. in the spirit of keeping everyone involved, we would love to know what you want to do next. please visit our poll and vote....

cincinnati bloggers with the real scoop on our first event

2009-02-16T21:58:00.004-05:00

so you have looked at the pictures on this blog, read the comments on facebook, and checked out the cin weekly photo gallery, but you are still not sure. was the cincinnati imports happy hour really that fun? and should you, anonymous internet reader, bother showing up for the next event?

well don't take our word for it. find out from local bloggers 5chw4r7z, laura, jeff, and allison. all of them, incidentally, are cincinnati imports. no, i am not paying them. i have no money.

more posts and future event news to come once we recover from the hangover that's still not quite gone from thursday night...

happy hour = success!

2009-02-14T09:50:00.002-05:00

here are some photos from the happy hour on thursday night:

thanks to everyone who came out. we had a great time and with almost 70 people showing up, it was a total success! it was great to meet all of you. it was amazing to see so many people who were open to meeting others and making an effort to introduce themselves and start up new conversations.

we will be planning our next event to take place in the next month or so. please feel free to leave us comments or send us an email about any ideas or suggestions you have for the group. thanks again everyone!

Hey, it's Lauren now. I got to the Oakley Pub at about 6:15 Thursday night and couldn't get over how many people were there, and that everyone was already totally engaged in animated conversation. It was so cool to keep hearing the question "So where are you from?" throughout the evening and to discover the surprising connections that so many people had (i.e., I found out that several people went to college in the same town I did). And even when the answer to that question was "Cincinnati"--there were a number of natives there--it didn't matter: What mattered was that they were interested in meeting new people too. I was also happy to see how diverse the crowd was in terms of age, race and status--couples attended as well as singles. I left feeling happy, proud and determined to keep this momentum going. We can't do it without your help, though--let us know what you want to do next and we'll make it happen!

CiN Weekly photo gallery

2009-02-13T09:58:00.003-05:00

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the happy hour last night -- we couldn't believe how many people were there! More from Liz, Avani and me soon, but for now, see if you ended up in CiN Weekly's photo gallery!

Even Lincoln had a hard time here

2009-02-12T10:21:00.005-05:00

From a front-page story by Howard Wilkinson in today's Cincinnati Enquirer:

You could hardly blame Abraham Lincoln, after his visit to Cincinnati in
September 1855, for saying he never wanted to come back.

"You have made my stay here most agreeable; and I am a thousand times
obliged to you," the lanky lawyer from Springfield, Ill., told the family who
hosted him in Cincinnati for a week.

"But in reply to your request for me to come again I must say to you I
never expect to be in Cincinnati again. I have nothing against the city, but
things have so happened here as to make it undesirable for me ever to return
here."

OK, so that was 154 years ago, and he didn't actually live here, but it's still nice to know that those of us who have ever felt that way are in good company, right? Anyway, it's an interesting story and you should read it, and I'm not just saying that because I work at the Enquirer. Looking forward to meeting everyone tonight!

reminder: happy hour on thursday!

2009-02-09T11:10:00.001-05:00

Date: February 12, 2009

Time: 5:30ish
Place: Oakley Pub and Grill

(a local bar on Oakley Square)
Location: 3924 Isabella Ave

Parking: Behind OPG or in the parking lot behind Klossons and Animations or on the street

RSVP: via comments please

DRINK AND FOOD SPECIALS:
Specialty pizzas - $6.00; Any 12 oz bottle imported beer - $2.75; Well drinks - $3.50

meeting people-Beerfest in Covington

2009-02-08T18:45:00.004-05:00

Are you a fan of beer? Want to try 100 samples of beer? well, then my friends, Midwest Winter Beer Festival is for you. a few friends of mine, including liz, and i volunteered last night at the 2nd annual beer festival in covington, ky at the radisson hotel sponsored by cork n bottle. i have to say that this was one of the most interesting and fun nights i have had in the city in a long time. i was serving belgium beers which is a plus since this is my favorite type of beer. my beer table was busy with constant "customers" for 4 hours straight. i met some really cool people, both local and non-local. in fact, we invited some of the attendees to our first cincinnati imports event, so hopefully, we will see a few friendly faces there.

there is nothing like a little free alcohol to bring a group together. no pretense, just a general love for beer that brought strangers together. i really think that shared experiences like this one, where there is a purpose and social component can be a really great way to meet people. i also think that serving the beer, instead of being a guest, gave me an outlet to "do something" while also naturally allowing me to meet new people. now mind you, by the time 11pm rolled around, there were quite a few "i love yous" and "you have to hang out with us" and "we have a room upstairs for people to party in" being thrown around, but in general it was a lot of fun to meet so many new people, both older and younger, beer novices and experts, imports and exports.

i will definitely be volunteering for this event again next year....and for those of you who visited my table 10-15 times for the kasteel rogue and delerium tremens and nocturnum, i hope to see you again next year!

meeting people... generally

2009-02-07T10:45:00.010-05:00

one topic on my mind a lot lately, partly because of cincinnati imports, has been the nature of making friendships as an adult. when i was younger and in school type settings, it was really easy to meet people and develop close friendships. even in law school, where most of my classmates were arrogant jerks, i still met people i liked (mainly outside of law school) and became close to them.

as many complaints as i have about the years i spent living in new york (and trust me, there are a lot), one thing i never had to worry about was meeting and getting to know new people. i was constantly expanding my circle through friends, friends of friends, and people i met through school, internships, volunteer work, and social events. it's not that i liked everyone i met, but i was always getting to know new people and i felt that my social circle was interesting, dynamic, and ever growing.

in addition to that, it seemed that it was easy to (eventually) get to know people really well and feel comfortable around each other. if i was at home and bored, i always had roommates and other people i could call to just come over and hang out. we didn't have a plan. we just bummed around. it was like hey, i'm not doing anything, we may as well not do anything together. a friend recently wrote on her blog about this phenomenon:

So, anyway, one of the things we were talking about last night was our deep desire to have a group of comfortable friends, the kind of friends where you can just stop by after work and chat, or go over and have pizza and watch TV on a week night, or invite them to your house at the last minute without feeling the need to clean up or plan anything. We’ve both moved around quite a bit in the last 10 years, with school and jobs, and so it’s been hard to establish and keep these kinds of friends. I hypothesized that this what most people are looking for but that like us, everyone is insecure and at our age, everyone has too much of their own bullshit going on to reach out to new people, and so that if this is what we want we have to make the effort. E agreed. But we both realized that this was like me agreeing with myself , so I thought I’d put it to you guys- are people just waiting for someone to reach out? Is it possible to cut through the crap and start a comfortable friendship as a 30-something married person? If so, how do you do it? Please, let us know, our brain is curious and we’re hungry for pizza.

i read this and i totally knew what she was talking about. now i am neither 30-something nor married, but i feel the same difficulty getting the friends i have in cincinnati to be at the level of comfort that my past close friendships were at.

my question is not whether people want this, because i am pretty sure people do. or at least i do, and some people i know do, so there are people out there. what i want to know is how do we do it? it can't be forced. if i'm not that comfortable around you, i can't just fake it and pretend i am. that will just annoy me. but i would really like to get past this point of everything feeling scheduled and every social event feeling like... a social event.

the only person i have ever known in cincinnati who i really felt comfortable with on the level of just showing up and hanging out was my friend emily, and i think the reason for that is because we had been roommates for a while. i went through a series of nut case roommates so i have kind of sworn that off for a while. so how to develop that level of comfort with people?

i realize that some of my current friends are going to be reading this and may feel hurt or confused by what i am writing. i'm not writing this post to complain about the state of our friendship, because i really like all my friends and i do not take them for granted. i am just trying to explore this and get some thoughts from readers out there.

here is my hypothesis. earlier on in life, people were:

more emotionally open
not married or otherwise occupied
less busy
less tired

but things have changed. first, we are all busy with our jobs and possibly significant others and/or kids and just generally managing our lives. in addition, many people are, for whatever reasons, much less open to people generally. we are set in our ways and know what we like and don't like in our friends. we also have had friendships turn sour and want to avoid that if possible. it's easier and more time effective to just spend time with the people we already know, or by ourselves.

however, i think there is another level to this. i think a lot of people my age in cincinnati (and this may be the case in other places too, but my only personal adult frames of reference are cincinnati and new york) have a very specific idea of what they "should" be doing with their lives and having a big group of friends that you just bum around with does not fit into that (unless they are friends from high school, that is). making lots of new friends to just come over and bum around is not what they are "supposed" to be doing, so they don't. there is a huge social pressure in this city (and again, probably others, but definitely not new york) to get married, own property, have kids, etc. so even if that is maybe not what people really want (or at least, not the only thing they want), they do it anyway because they think it's what they are supposed to do.

i don't mean to imply that anyone who makes the choice to live a socially traditional lifestyle is making the wrong decision. people should live their lives the way they want to and i don't know what is right for anyone other than myself (and even then i am not sure i know). what i am saying is that i think that in a socially conservative city like cincinnati, there is an additional layer of difficulty (beyond being busy and tired and emotionally guarded) for people who want to make close friendships as adults. and that is that we are living in a place with a pretty rigid social structure which really does not have a place for us.

as bleak as this post might sound, i don't feel depressed about it. one of the reasons i wanted to start cincinnati imports was to address this issue, if only by creating a place to have a dialogue. so what do you all think? why is it so hard to develop really close, comfortable friendships as an adult in cincinnati? and what can we do to change the situation (if anything)?

book clubs: to read or not to read?

2009-02-01T20:44:00.005-05:00

HOW TO START A BOOK CLUB, SORT OF: i wanted to find a book club in cincinnati and searched craigslist to see if there were any that looked interesting. i joined one by adding myself to an email list and participated for about 5 months. after that time, the organizer moved, leaving everyone behind. only 2 of us were left who attended regularly....so, we decided to start our own new book club and drop all the slackers who never showed up. once again, craigslist was the winner....through this, we had 2 new members. within a couple of months, our four members each invited one more member leading to our current group of 9 (liz, beth, emma, krishna, avani, dawn, laura, emily, and brandy: NOTE-celia moved away).

i really like our book club because everyone does different things and has different interests and we all bring something to the group. our book club in its current form has been going for over a year now. we always do things together outside of book club, and have developed close friendships with each other. although i didn't really like the book club that much at first (there were close to 40 people who were members, and no one was really that committed to it), i stuck with it just to try to get to know people. my perseverance was worth it and now i have a great group of interesting friends. i think book clubs can be a great way to meet and get to know new people, but your experience will depend on the group size and dynamic. but there is nothing stopping you from starting your own book club if you don't find one you like.

-liz

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO JOIN A NEW BOOK CLUB: when my cousin asked me if i was interested in joining her book club, it was the perfect time. i was looking for something new, several of my good friends had just moved away, and i finally had some time to read for pleasure again. i was interested but wanted to know what the first book was to make my final decision. i certainly didn't want to join a book club with a special interest in romance novels or self-improvement. the first book was "the glass castle"-a memoir that piqued my interest enough to say yes to joining this book club. so, meeting a new group of women who already know each other can be an intimidating situation, but i put on my red badge of courage and attended the event at celia's house. immediately upon walking into celia's house, i relaxed because all the women appeared friendly, were drinking wine, and noshing on homemade goodies that everyone brought to the meeting. by the time i left that night, i realized we had only discussed the book for 20 minutes but spent so much time just getting to know one another.

i truly appreciate belonging to this group of diverse, intelligent women with so many interests and goals. hanging out with this group of women, both for the purpose of reading books but also for going out to eat, seeing movies, etc. has opened me up to participating in events that i may have never known about. one year later, i am not sure what i would do without the women of my book club! now, as liz has mentioned, it is important to find the right the book club for you (or start one). there was an interesting article in the nytimes about finding the right book club (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/fashion/07clubs.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=book%20club&st=cse).

-avani

cincinnati imports... it's not just for cincinnati imports

2009-01-31T13:40:00.007-05:00

i have been getting a lot of comments lately along the lines of "cool idea liz, cincinnati imports seems great, but i am from cincinnati" and so i just wanted to make sure that it was clear that we totally welcome everyone who is interested in cincinnati imports regardless of where you are actually from.

what we are tenatively planning to do is continue to write this blog about our perceptions, experiences, and thoughts on this crazy city that we live in, and then also have fairly regular meetups. we are thinking sometimes happy hours and sometimes "get to know cincinnati" type events. maybe reds games, chili parlor crawls, hikes in local parks, that kind of thing. we are thinking we will have an event probably once a month, but we'll have to see as we go along.

we definitely are open to ideas so if anyone has anything they want to suggest, please let us know. we are really looking forward to meeting everyone at the happy hour and getting things going. and again, everyone is welcome regardless of whether you are new to cincinnati or not. we just want to be a way to connect people who want to meet others and get to know more about cincinnati.

Dissing Cincy

2009-01-30T18:18:00.010-05:00

The most-commented story on Cincinnati.Com for the past couple of days has been this one: "Officials boo survey that dissed Cincy." (I love that the word "dissed" was used in a headline.) It's about a survey by the Pew Research Center showing that only 13 percent of 2,260 people surveyed said they want to live in Cincinnati – ahead of only Cleveland and Detroit. Denver, San Diego and Seattle topped the list, and the five least popular cities were in the Midwest.

This doesn't surprise me at all. Most people in other parts of the country don't grow up thinking, "I want to live in Cincinnati/Cleveland/Detroit/Minneapolis/Kansas City someday." I think even Chicago is a destination city mainly for people who already live somewhere in the Midwest. But city and state officials quickly became defensive about the survey, saying that Cincinnati has lots of great things about it and we just need to promote it more. I think there's some truth to that. But no matter what they do to make Cincinnati seem wonderful and amazing and not conservative and not 10 years behind the times, it won't change the fact that it's in the Midwest. And for that reason and that reason alone, many people would never want to live here. I think there's a feeling of isolation associated with living in the Midwest, and as someone who grew up on the East Coast, I totally get that. Also, the weather is clearly less than desirable. It's cold and gloomy in the winter and hot, humid and air-polluted in the summer. Case in point: This photo I posted on my Facebook page the other day, taken from a 19th floor conference room of the Enquirer building. One of my high school friends, who now lives in San Francisco, left a comment saying, "I'm so glad I live on the West Coast."

Although I grew up in a tiny, oft-mocked state, it was just one to three hours away from Philadelphia, New York, D.C., the beach, etc. (One potential state motto for Delaware that was half-jokingly kicked around for a while was "Close to where you'd rather be.") I've had many friends and family members visit me in the five years I've lived here, and I would say that their reactions can be summed up in two words, spoken with a hint of surprise: "It's nice!" But no one has ever expressed a desire to actually live here. Sure, we have great food, an impressive arts scene, cool events, pretty neighborhoods and parks, pro sports teams even if they happen to suck right now, a reasonable cost of living, etc. But so do lots of other cities (except for maybe the reasonable cost of living part).

I think what local officials, employers and people in general really need to work on is coming up with ways to make people who are new to Cincinnati feel less isolated (and of course, newcomers should make the effort to get to know the city and its people too). There have been efforts to reach out to newcomers, but I don't know how successful they've been. Maybe Cincinnati Imports will help. Because even if we don't live in Cincinnati for the rest of our lives, it'd be nice if it felt like home while we're here.

About me, by Lauren

2009-01-28T00:05:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone! Thanks to Liz for introducing me, and to her and Avani for allowing me to join the Cincinnati Imports blog. I just thought I'd introduce myself before next month's happy hour since you already know a bit about the two of them. So here goes:

1. I moved here in November 2003 to take a job as the pop culture reporter at the Cincinnati Enquirer. I grew up in Delaware (the state, not the town that I quickly learned is near Columbus), went to Ithaca College in Upstate New York and lived and worked at a newspaper there for five years after college. When I tell people this, they seem to remember only the New York part and often end up thinking that I'm from New York City, which I suppose makes me seem like even more of a novelty here, so I usually don't bother to correct them.

2. I knew a grand total of one person here when I moved here, not including the guy I moved here with. When we broke up, I suddenly realized I had basically no friends except the person I knew when I moved here and a few acquaintances from work. This led to an entertaining series of attempts to meet people on Craigslist and a couple of dating websites (I'm no longer on any of them, so don't bother looking) and by attending random events around town, with varying amounts of success. I'm not going to share those stories here or anywhere else online anytime in the near future. You'll just have to wait for the memoir.

3. In early 2006, I joined the Cincinnati Rollergirls, the first all-girl roller derby league to form here, even though I hadn't roller-skated since I was a kid and had never played a team sport in my life. I hated gym class and had my nose in book for most of my childhood. But I had read a lot about roller derby making a comeback in other cities and got hooked on the short-lived reality show "Rollergirls" on A&E. I've always been fascinated by subcultures and I just thought roller derby looked totally awesome and fun. The Cincinnati Rollergirls would take anyone, regardless of skating ability, when they were first starting up, so that's basically how I got in. I'm now going into my fourth season with the team and although I'm no superstar, I can hold my own and I'm a zillion times better than I was when I started. The team is now nationally ranked and we've gotten lots of local and even national media coverage, including on a SportsCenter piece last year for which I was interviewed, crazily. (The producer had found my Roller Derby Diva blog on the Enquirer's site). Through roller derby, I've met 50+ awesome women whom I never would have met otherwise, and to be perfectly honest, I probably would have left Cincinnati a long time ago if it weren't for them.

Anyway, even if I didn't skate myself, I'd still tell you to go see a bout (game) at the Cincinnati Gardens because they're tons of fun. (Girls hitting each other on skates! Crazy names! Dollar drafts! Free parking!) And by the way, it's a totally real, unscripted sport, and there's actually a lot of strategy involved. Here's a nice piece on the Rollergirls that In the Tank, a documentary news show on local PBS affiliate CET, did on us last year. (You'll see me looking all disheveled and sweaty.) Our first home bout is March 21 – save the date!

So, after five years, I still have a love-hate relationship with Cincinnati. I love its neighborhoods, architecture, ridiculously affordable housing, museums, arts scene, locally-owned shops and restaurants and places to see live music, just to name a few things. But it still frustrates me that probably 95 percent of the people I meet here were born and/or raised here. I don't have anything against people who live in the same city where they grew up; it's just that, like Liz, I've found that many of those people don't feel the need to make new friends because they already have lots of friends here. And maybe I'm a little jealous, too, because those people's families usually live only like 20 minutes away (it takes 20 minutes to get anywhere in Cincinnati, if you haven't noticed) and most of my family lives 10+ hours away. I don't think I'll ever feel completely at home here unless I end up raising a family here, and if and when that happens, I might want to be closer to my own family too. (Though I have no desire to ever move back to Delaware. Sorry, Mom and Dad!)

So I guess that's why I wanted to get involved with Cincinnati Imports (I sent Liz, whom I already kind of knew from reading Get in Mah Belly , a breathless e-mail after I discovered this blog). I felt exactly the same way she and Avani did – that there had to be more of us out there, and that even if we had nothing else in common, we'd at least be able to talk about and explore how weird and cool Cincinnati is at the same time. So I'm looking forward to doing that, and meeting some of you next month!

our first event of the year...actually ever

2009-01-26T22:29:00.011-05:00

Date: February 12, 2009

Time: 5:30ish
Place: Oakley Pub and Grill

(a local bar on Oakley Square)
Location: 3924 Isabella Ave

Parking: Behind OPG or in the parking lot behind Klossons and Animations or on the street

RSVP: via comments please

DRINK AND FOOD SPECIALS:
Specialty pizzas - $6.00; Any 12 oz bottle imported beer - $2.75; Well drinks - $3.50

welcome lauren!

2009-01-26T22:22:00.001-05:00

we are branching out and adding a third contributor and organizer to cincinnati imports: lauren of roller derby diva. thanks to lauren and avani we also have a new look. i am not good at knowing which colors go together. however i am good at clicking buttons on blogger. together we can take on the world!

weird cincinnati things: goetta

2009-01-25T13:04:00.005-05:00

when i first moved here and i started going out to brunch, i saw this weird thing on the menu called goetta. (for those of you not in the know, it is pronounced "getta.") i asked people what the hell it was and got weird answers:

"it's kind of like sausage, sort of"
"it's meat and oatmeal mixed together"
"i think it's intestines or something"
"don't ask, just eat it"
"i have no idea but i love it"

i decided to do what any curious out of towner with an internet connection would do... i wikipediaed it. wikipedia says:

Goetta is a peasant food of German origin that is popular in the greater Cincinnati area... While goetta comes in a variety of forms, all goetta is based around ground meat combined with pin head or steel cut oats. Usually goetta is made from pork shoulder or "Cali", but occasionally contains equal parts pork and beef. Goetta is typically flavored with bay leaves, rosemary, salt, pepper, and thyme. It contains onions or, occasionally, other vegetables as well.

While similar to scrapple in that it contains a grain product and meat for the purpose of stretching out the meat over several days, goetta looks very different. Scrapple is made with meal while goetta uses steel-cut or chopped oats. The oats in goetta are much coarser than the fine powder used in scrapple, and add texture to the dish.

once i found out what it was, i thought it seemed like a very strange food product for a bunch of applebee's loving midwesterners to be so crazy about. (sorry, i know all of you cincinnatians do not love applebee's.) there are a good number of people in cincinnati who have never even tried sushi, yet they are crazy for this haggis-like innards and oats food product?

and when i say crazy for, i mean crazy for. there are two goetta fests each summer, one in newport and one in covington. at these goetta fests, and pretty much every other fest over the course of the summer in cincinnati, goetta is served in more forms than you could even imagine. goetta balls, fried goetta, goetta on pizza, goetta with eggs, goetta chili, goetta sandwiches, and even goetta fudge. yes, i am telling you, people who will not even be in the same room as a california roll will gladly down piece upon piece of pork and oats covered with chocolate. welcome to cincinnati!

i am a very adventurous eater and already had a special place in my heart for haggis after a trip to scotland back in college so i wanted to try goetta as soon as possible once i heard about it. my first experience with goetta was the goetta avalanche at mokka in newport. this is an english muffin piled with scrambled eggs, melted cheddar cheese, and fried goetta. it was absolutely delicious. i loved my goetta and wanted more! since then, i have become almost as much of a goetta freak as native cincinnatians... however, i still have not tried the goetta fudge. one day...

bottom line: goetta is damn tasty i recommend you goetta out there and try it asap. har har har.

save the date

2009-01-22T11:25:00.005-05:00

wow, we are so amazed by all the interest and posts on here! it is great that there are so many of you guys out there who are interested in our little project. i just wanted to let you all know before your calendars get full that we are planning our first event as a happy hour after work on thursday, february 12. location TBA but please save the date! we can't wait to meet all of you.

take our poll!

2009-01-20T13:38:00.001-05:00

just a note for all the google reader fans out there who don't actually check our blog's website... we have a poll on the left that we would like you to take. we are trying to figure out how people found out about cincinnati imports (so that we can figure out what are the best ways to keep spreading the word). please take a second and do the poll. thanks!

Back from India with a vengence

2009-01-18T15:20:00.003-05:00

So after being gone for 3 weeks, it is hard to re-enter life as I knew it in the U.S. Top 5 things I missed about the US and indirectly Cincinnati:
1. Toilet paper
2. Western toilets
3. Highways that do not involve sharing a road with camels, donkeys, rikshaws, pedestrians, trucks, and cows

4. Alcohol (I was in a "dry" state in India for 8 days)
5. Internet related things

I am so happy to see that so many people have become interested in Cincinnati Imports. Liz and I are planning our first event and will post details soon. As soon as I am completely back to this timezone, I will post some more.

cool things to do in cincinnati: the american sign museum

2009-01-17T12:01:00.004-05:00

avani and i were talking about doing a new feature on this blog where we occasionally highlight fun things to do in the area. i think we should try to highlight things that are a little off the beaten track, since new people to the area will likely hear about the bengals and the reds and the art museum and all that pretty easily. i am also feeling super lazy (it's noon and i'm still in bed) so i'm just going to copy this post about the american sign museum from my other blog:

one of my favorite things about cincinnati is all the little hidden gems. i love that some of the absolute best things about this city are things that hardly anyone even knows about. when i lived in NY and i discovered something awesome and new and secret, it either got overrun within days or else shut down just after i discovered it for some strange reason usually related to some type of health code violation.

essex studios, which i will get to writing about in this post eventually, i promise. hang in there, readers!

however, in cincinnati that's not the case. my favorite little hidden spots in this city usually remain that way even after years of me raving about them to anyone who will listen (examples: mt. airy forest, king wok, irons fruit farm, mammoth coffee, CAM, la mexicana, etc.). i like that about this city. except for the fact that places are always closing. that sucks.

laura at the entrance to nirvana, i mean the american sign museum

other things that are better about cincinnati than NY (in case you are feeling down on your city):

barbecue
tacos (i am not kidding, finding good tacos in NY is almost impossible)
rent prices (and home buying prices too i guess)
hiking/canoeing/rafting/camping/etc.
terrorist attack threat level
ikea accessibility
baseball ticket prices and overall game watching experience
ratio of good to bad thai restaurants
trees

things that are better about NY than cincinnati:

too many to list

sorry to depress you, readers. but i do like living here, you know that! well sometimes anyway. i guess the point is that every place has its pros and cons.

signs: way more awesome than i ever realized

back to the point of this post though which is a couple hidden cincinnati gems... essex studios and the american sign museum (conveniently located inside essex studios). for months now i have been meaning to make it to one of essex studios' art walks, which happen four times a year. this is a weekend when essex studios opens to the public to come check out the artists' work and sip wine and munch snacks and be all leisurely and art-appreciative. if you have ever been to the pendleton art center for final fridays, it is pretty much the same idea as that.

i highly recommend that you make it over to the next art walk, which will happen december 5th and 6th from 6-11 pm. i hear friday nights are the popular night for this, when it gets really crowded and there is live music and all that. but i am a grandma and generally cannot make it out very late on friday nights, so i went on saturday with laura and krishna.

signs can be funny too!

we totally enjoyed ourselves and saw some cool art and met some fun people and ate and drank some tasty snacks and beverages. i did see this one photograph i really wanted but it was out of my price range... boo. the art walks are free, which is totally not out of my price range... yay!

one of the highlights for us was getting to stop into the american sign museum. i had read about this place in a citybeat review or something a while back, and i was like "signs? whatever. how interesting can that be? yawn." readers, i was WRONG. signs are awesome! did you know that there is a whole magazine about signs that comes out every month? it is called "signs of the times." what i am trying to say is that signs are interesting and people care about them!

here i am catching up on all the latest sign industry gossip

if you would like to visit the american sign museum, you can either stop in during the art walk next time, or you can schedule a tour with the owner, who i met. he is an awesome guy who just loves signs. his whole family is in the sign business. he told me that most people have my feeling about signs (that is, that they are boring) but that once they visit and learn about signs from him, they are totally into it. just check out all the photos sprinkled generously throughout this post. am i right? awesome! tours are 1.5 hours long, cost $10/person, and can be scheduled whenever.

you too can take cool photos like this if you visit the sign museum

more sign museum trivia:

the american sign museum is the only sign museum in the entire country
ok, i forget the rest of the trivia i was going to write here

back to the point, which i seem to keep losing: visit the sign museum, and essex studios, asap!

note: all photos in this post were taken by laura. thanks laura!