Downtown Cincinnati Restaurant Week is next week
Three courses for $35 (or in some cases two dinners for $35) at a bunch of Downtown restaurants is the deal for the 4th annual Downtown Restaurant Week. It runs from August 6-12.
These are some of the best (and some of the most expensive) restaurants in town: The Palace, Orchids, Local 127, Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse; Morton’s, Nicola’s and a one of the newest and most most popular: Moerlein Lager House.
Over the Rhine is represented by Nicola’s, Lavomatic and Mixx Ultra Lounge.
Also: Palomino, Nicholson’s, Boi Na Braza, Washington Platform, Trattoria Roma, Campanello’s, Arnold’s and Istanbul Grill.
There are more restaurants than there are days, unfortunately, so you’ll have to choose.
See the menus at www.dodowntowncincinnati.com
Homemade ice cream shop opens on Vine Street
A new ice cream shop opened on Vine Street — and they’re going homemade. Hello, Honey is doing house-made, preservative- and artificial flavor-free ice creams.
On top of the ice creams (no pun intended), they’re also doing waffles, honey toast (bread, butter, honey and ice cream) and various sundaes.
633 Vine Street (the old Red Squirrel location). 513-977-0300.
Menchie’s to open in West Chester soon, Fairfield later
West Chester will have Greater Cincinnati’s second Menchie’s frozen yogurt location when it opens at 8177 Princeton-Glendale Road later this month.
Owner and operator Jim Hach is also working on opening another Menchie’s location in the shopping complex in Fairifield that currently features Jungle Jim’s. That yogurt shop is not expected to open until sometime in October.
Overall, Hach wants to open five Menchie’s locations in Greater Cincinnati.
Currently, there is one location in Cincinnati at 6360 Tylersville Road in Mason.
513-229-0920, www.menchies.com
Hot Head Burritos adding location in Hamilton
Hot Head Burritos is set to open a new location in Hamilton next month.
The fast-casual Mexican chain will open in mid-August at 1384 Main St., in the new strip mall next to Texas Roadhouse on the west side of Hamilton.
Kevin and Zachery Ketring own the store, the 14th Greater Cincinnati Hot Head Burritos outpost.
OTR fish shack/oyster bar eyeing late August opening
The Anchor, the new urban fish shack and oyster bar in the works in Over-the-Rhine, is tentatively set to open in late August.
Owner and chef Derek dos Anjos said the build-out is still underway, but he’s hoping to have a soft opening the week before Labor Day at 1401 Race St., across from the newly renovated Washington Park.
Shanghai Mama’s adds alcohol
As of last week, the downtown Chinese restaurant is again serving alcohol.
Having renovated and opened in early July after a fire last fall, the recent menu update includes new seafood selections, homemade soups and more vegetarian and gluten-free items joining the popular noodle dishes.
216 E. 6th St. 513-241-7777; www.shanghaimamas.com
Son of Beast to come down
Kings Island is taking apart its Son of Beast roller coaster – and will need to figure out what to do with 53 concrete pilings, about 6,000 feet of steel track, 50,000 pounds of nails, 225,000 bolts and 2.25 million board feet of wood.
Those were the components that made up Son of Beast, which was heralded as the world’s tallest, fastest and only looping wooden roller coaster when it opened in 2000.
But now, after safety and operational concerns mothballed the ride in 2009, the coaster is slated for demolition later this summer.
In news releases and a Facebook posting last week, park officials announced their decision to dismantle the ride.
