STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

HeatherLynn · Gucci

Cincinnati

travelgirl · Kate Spade

I can help with this one!

Do you know where you will be staying? If you need hotel recommendations, I would try to stay at the Cincinnatian downtown or the Hilton Netherland Plaza, also downtown. Otherwise you are best off to stay at a Marriott as they are the newest hotels around here for the most part.

I will preface this by saying that you can find great places in any city and Cincinnati is no exception (but you may have to look a little harder here!). Here are some highlights:

FOOD
Montgomery Inn (several locations but I suggest the one that is near downtown on the river-it is called Montgomery Inn Boathouse)-they serve barbeque ribs that are good but different than most ribs you have tried. You should put this one on your list though for sure!

Jeff Ruby Restaurants-There are several Jeff Ruby restaurants and all are great. You could try Jeff Ruby's downtown, The Precinct, Tropicana, Carlo and Johnny's-you can't go wrong with any of them. These are pricey steakhouse-type restaurants.

Cincinnati Chili-If you want a cheap Cincinnati-ish place, go to Skyline Chili and get a "three way". It is chili, spaghetti and finely grated cheddar cheese-very good!

Larosa's Pizza-A cheap pizza chain...they have them all over Cincinnati.
Pigall's-Downtown. This is a pricey french restaurant-nice atmosphere-great if you have an expense account!

NEIGHBORHOODS-There are lots of neighborhoods to check out in Cincinnati. Here are a few to check out:

Mt Adams-A cute neighborhood just east of downtown. Be sure to check out the cutest little bar there called "The Blind Lemon". Such a great place.

Newport on the Levee-This area is actually in Northern Kentucky right across the river from Cincinnati. Here they have a few shops, a bookstore and a bunch of restaurants (mostly chains). Be sure to check out "Shadowbox Caberet" for a fun night out (live music, comedy sketches).

Hyde Park-This is the best place to go for cute boutiques and charming restaurants. Very nearby is Rookwood Commons which is a outdoor mall which has Anthropologie, Z Gallerie, Ann Taylor, etc.

Kenwood Town Center-This is the best "mall" area. Stores here are Pottery Barn, West Elm, Trader Joes, Banana, Lacoste, Macy's, Williams Sonoma, etc.

Downtown-There is a Saks and a Macy's downtown. Other than that, not much great shopping (unfortunately).

West Chester-This is about 30 minutes North of Cincinnati but there is a brand new IKEA here if you want to check that out!

Clifton-This is where the University of Cincinnati is located. There are a few fun places to shop. There is an American Apparel and an Urban Outfitters here.

THINGS TO DO:

Museums-we have a ton of museums around here. The art museum is good and the Museum Center at Union Terminal is also good. There is also a Contemporary Art Museum and the Underground Railroad museum downtown.

Casinos-There are a few casinos within 30 miles of downtown. The best one is Belterra (but it is also the farthest).

Cincinnati Reds-baseball

Kings Island amusement park

Hope this helps! Let me know what you end up doing!

Kelly · Hermes

travelgirl basically said everything I was going to, so I don't have much to add. I do really like the Krohn Conservatory, and they are having a butterfly show through the middle of June. It's a good place to go to just spend a couple hours by yourself.

http://www.butterflyshow.com/

The Museum Center at Union Terminal (which TG suggested) is having a "bodies" exhibit through the summer. I haven't seen it but everyone's been talking about it:

http://www.cincymuseum.org/

I always find it hard to suggest Cincy nightlife. It seems like most of the attractions and cool things to check out are daytime activities. But travelgirl, I love the Blind Lemon! it's such a good, low-key place to hang out. I wonder if I've ever seen you there!

And I was at the Forever 21 in Kenwood a couple weeks ago, and there were racks of clothing with names attached. I really don't know what they meant, but one of them said "Travelgirl" on it. It was bizarre.

HeatherLynn · Gucci

Thanks so much! I think tomorrow we are taking the customer to Pigall's and next week we are going to a Red's game. I will have print this out so I can do some of these others things. I am starting to get the feeling I will be up here a few times a month for the rest of the year. =)

Kincali · Dooney & Bourke

Here are some of things I like

Cincinnati
One of our friends who used to co-own Riverside Korean just opened his own upscale Korean restaurant downtown.
http://www.sungkoreanbistro.com/

I love this place for sushi, turns into a mini club at night with music, great bar. Located in Hyde Park
http://www.belugasushi.com/

For terrific ice cream Greater's or in Oakley Aglamesis
http://www.aglamesis.com/

Right across the river in Covington:
Main Strauss(little German style village in Covington)
Chez Nora and Dee Felice

Also Riverside Korean in downtown Covington is still really good, but more of a hole in the wall and gets stuffy in the summer

travelgirl · Kate Spade

Fairlight-are you from Cincy too or do you just know the area well? If you do live nearby, maybe we all (TTara, you, me and Heatherlynn, when she is in town sometime) should try to plan a meet-up?

TTara123-we for sure need to meet up sometime since we are already frequenting the same places!

Heatherlynn-did you go to the Reds game and Pigall's already? Keep us posted and hope you enjoy your stay here!

(sorry for the weather today by the way!)

bex · Chanel

TravelGirl had some great recommedations. One of my favorite sushi places is in Mt Adams at Teak. I LOVE it!

Pigall's is awesome- are you eating at the cook's table in the kitchen? I had some hookups there for a while and would go pig out on $300+ dinners for under $50! any of Jean Robert's restaraunts are winnners in my book.

also, just a personal reflection but i have not been impressed by any of the Jeff Ruby restaurants. Although, I may be biased b/c Cameron Mitchell's in Columbus are so damn good!

let me know when you are going to be in town b/c i am going to be around a couple of times this month too!

p.s. Travelgirl- i was in Off 5th at Mills yesterday and saw several racks of Lilly Pullitzer and thought of you! you should check it out!