Tour of Downtown Living

For today’s Tour of Downtown Living, all the relevant entities put their best foot forward. It makes sense, of course. It’s like putting on your nicest suit for a job interview. But, it can be a bit misleading as well.

Today I’d like to give a shout-out to the OTR businesses that are open on weekends, slowly courting and growing their clientele and helping to make this neighborhood such a great and convenient place to live. On Main St., we’ve got Courtyard Cafe, Kaldi’s, and the already-beloved Iris Book Cafe. Cue and Mixx Ultra Lounge are on that street as well.

There’s Coffee Emporium on Central, which serves a tasty Saturday brunch. I especially love to walk past and see Tony roasting coffee beans. Around the corner is Below Zero Lounge, and around the corner from that is the Lucy Blue Pizza Window. Nearby is Rhino’s. The Ice Cream Palace on Walnut St. serves up great, wait for it, ice cream. Vine St. has Venice on Vine and Lavomatic. A few blocks up Vine is Tucker’s, not to be confused with [other] Tucker’s. Bar 1132 is an early-morning option, and Ollie’s Trolley and Alabama Fish Bar are perfect whenever you’re in the mood for something substantial.

I’ve probably missed a few spots; feel free to add them in the comments.

People say that no one lives in Over-the-Rhine, but of course that’s not true. There may not be very many people [residents or visitors] on any average weekend, but those who are here get hungry and thirsty, and we very much appreciate keeping our money, and satisfying our weekend needs, right in our neighborhood.

Oh, and also? Don’t be troubled by the ur-banality of this stencil:

Over-the-Rhine boasts a good deal of street art and tons of vernacular typography. Today, you might be distracted by the stencils, balloons, and map-wielding gawkers. Come back another day and spend some time wandering around to get a better feel for the neighborhood.