Zen & Now

On Bridgetown Road in Cheviot there is an old house that has been transformed into a coffeehouse. There are Christmas lights strung out front that stay on all year, and a patio in front surrounded by tufts of pampas grass. This is Zen & Now, the best coffeehouse on the west side.

Inside, the chairs are uncomfortable, but the coffee is good. Teenaged kids hang out here most nights, usually on the patio where they can smoke. It is a relaxed and eclectic atmosphere and everyone is welcome. There is usually a tv on, works from local artists on the walls, and a video poker game in the corner. Local musicians play on Friday nights.

When I first had kids, this place was an oasis for me. I could bring the baby if I needed to, or leave her at home and enjoy some time away where I could sit and read without pressure or expectation. I am a sucker for a creatively flavored latte, and Zen & Now avoids the usual mistake of making them too sweet. I still visit regularly, especially on summer nights.

The Friendly Stop

The Friendly Stop in Glendale is a tiny little bar in an upscale, historic community independent of Cincinnati. The bar is deliberately unfashionable, and refuses to join the rest of the city in many ways. It is cash only, accommodating cashless patrons by installing an ATM. Ohio's anti-smoking laws appear not to have touched the place: last time I was there, it was still full of smoke. The walls are decorated with license plates and there are only a dozen small tables or so.

So why go to the Friendly Stop is you are not a neighborhood pubdweller? For the garlic burgers and onion rings, of course. The best onion rings in Cincinnati are served right here. If you are brave and don't plan to sit close to anyone for a day or two, the garlic burgers are great, too. A garlic burger is a hamburger topped with several cloves of garlic. It is not easy on the breath, but every now and then I feel a longing for one.

East v. West

Cincinnati has a natural east-west divide that natives take very seriously. West-siders tend to view east-siders as hoity-toity yuppies who value appearances above substance. East-siders tend to view west-siders as clueless proles unable to appreciate the finer things in life. And the always objectionable Marge Schott dismissed the stereotypes with: "The bills are on the east side; the money's on the west."

I am not a native and I have lived on both sides, so I claim impartiality. I have noticed that there are fewer independent restaurants with good food on the west side, but restaurants on the west side are much more reliably kid-friendly. Before Ohio passed its anti-smoking law, the west-side restaurants were also smokier. When we looked for a house to buy, it quickly became apparent that the most affordable family housing was on the west side. And once we moved in, I was exasperated how difficult it was to find some recipe ingredients at west side grocery stores. Bean sprouts and pate (I'm not sure how to add the accent mark) are not from Mars.

The significant element to the east-west divide is not cultural differences, which are really very minor, but the reality that east-siders and west-siders almost never cross the great divide of Mill Creek or Colerain Avenue or Vine Street to enter each other's neighborhoods.

My next door neighbor has lived in Cincinnati for sixty years and can tell me in detail about the history of a given house or empty lot, but ask him about any major landmark in east-side Hyde Park, and he looks baffled. My husband goes to a book group in east-side Clifton, and suggested that one evening they could meet three miles down the road at a west-side location. His fellow members decided against it because the west-side was "too far away and too confusing."

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Cincinnati cartoonist Jim Borgman drew a series of cartoons about Cincinnati's own east-west divide, imagining our wall being torn down so east-siders and west-siders could finally meet. And once they met, they joined together at last...

to rebuild the wall.

Playhouse in the Park

I don't go to the theater much. I would love to, but I can't afford it. When the choice came down to have another child or having a little extra money, we've always chosen another child.

So I was thrilled when I heard on the radio last summer that Playhouse in the Park was giving away vouchers for a free ticket. I called and gave my address, and in a few weeks I got a voucher in the mail along with the schedule for the season.

I'm sure the idea was to give away a voucher for one ticket so that the recipient would also buy another ticket. But as you will find out if you read this blog for long, I am cheap. I am also a stay-at-home mom who is delighted with a chance for a free night out alone. ALONE is a beautiful word to stay-at-home moms.

So I looked over the season and decided to see Dracula. I am a sucker for vampires. Oh. I really did not intend that horrible pun. Sorry. Please don't leave.

If you have never been to Playhouse in the Park, it is definitely worth a visit. The theater is inside Eden Park, the centrally-located city park that also contains the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Krohn Conservatory. The park is wooded and hilly, with fountains and flowers and playgrounds. It is a beautiful place.

Spaces in the theater's parking garage are sold with the season tickets, so the helpful voice on the phone explained that I would need to arrive early enough to find alternate parking. There is a free, public lot along the street below the theater and it was nearly empty when I arrived. I crossed the street and climbed the long flight of stairs cut into the hill up to the theater. It was a lovely walk on a fall evening.

The Playhouse is divided into two theaters: the Marx Theatre and the Thompson Shelterhouse. The Playhouse has a bar and a coffee bar that offer drinks for two hours before performances. I had a Long Island Tea for $6. The last night of a play's run at the Marx Theatre also includes a free buffet, so I unexpectedly got dinner with my show (the desserts were uninteresting, but the mushroom marsala soup was wonderful).

The Playhouse contains many different levels reached by stairs, with a few tables and chairs at each level. This meant that even though I knew I was eating with 100 other people, in my little spot I was never around more than twenty. But heaven help you if you leave your table for long - don't expect to get it back.

I don't want to get too unnecessarily detailed, but I will mention that it was nice to be in a theater that had, ahem, facilities adequate for so many people.

The play itself was fun. Dracula is a familiar story and people expect it to be played a certain way, and the cast did not depart from that. There were a few unfortunate attempts at British accents, but one actor pulled his off quite well. I was particularly impressed with the actor who played Dr. Seward, who moved around the stage as comfortably as though it were his own living room, which it was supposed to be. The play even had a couple of floating special effects, which I did not expect.

I don't see plays very often, so I have no idea when I will be back to Playhouse in the Park, but I am very glad I made it at least once.