Popular with foodies and art lovers alike, this yearly exhibition examines the mouthwatering world of food as demonstrated by the culinary inspired creations of local artists and top chefs from across Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. The Art of Food celebrates that food can be a complete sensory experience and explores the ways in which food comprises an art form.

The opening reception for The Art of Food will take place Friday, March 2 from 6pm-9pm in the Carnegie Galleries.

During the opening, attendees will have the opportunity to sample the delicious creations of more than twenty of the area’s top chefs while feasting their eyes on the culinary-inspired artistic works of artists Eric Brass, Leah Busch, Marisa Dipaola, Sayaka Ganz, Sandra Gross, Jeffrey Hayes, Matt Kotlarczyk, Pam Kravetz, Jim Merz, Carla Morales, Sara Pearce, Kim Shifflett and Jacquelyn Sommer.

“This is a fun exhibition to put together,” added Seitz. “Among the artwork on display this year is a fish market comprised of fish made from Jell-O, replicas of plated dinners made entirely of deflated balloons, whimsical collages and intimate oil paintings, and even models wearing culinary themed dresses inspired by the turn of the century.”

Cost to attend The Art of Food opening reception is $50 for non-members and $35 for members in advance; $60 for non-members and $45 for members at the door.  More than 600 guests are expected to attend the opening.

Tickets are available through The Carnegie Box Office, open Tuesday through Friday, Noon – 5pm, online at www.thecarnegie.com, or by phone at (859) 957-1940.

Admission to The Art of Food is FREE after opening night and open to the public Monday, March 5 through Friday, April 13, 2012. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm, Saturday 12pm – 3pm.  (Please note The Art of Food will be closed Saturday, March 3, 2012.)

Want to win tickets to The Art of Food opening reception?  We’re giving away 2 tickets to the March 2 opening (valued at $100).

There are two ways to enter….

1. Simply leave a comment telling us what you choose as your favorite food.

2. For a second chance to win, head over to Facebook and “Like” The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center (host of The Art of Food).  Then come back here and leave a second comment saying you did that.

We will choose 1 winner (at random using Random.org) on Monday, February 27,2012. This particular prize is a pair of  tickets to The Art of Food opening reception

Pesky details: Each ticket will admit one.  We will email the winner at the email address provided. The winner will have 12 hours to get back to us to claim the prize. If we don’t hear back from the winner within 12  hours we will choose a new winner. No purchase is necessary.

Greater Cincinnati’s Home and Garden Show will make the Convention Center bloom starting February 25.  Whether you’re looking for some new decorating ideas or planning a renovation, this is the show for you.  At the Home and Garden Show you’ll find a wide array of beautiful landscape & interior designs, specialty companies, remodeling specialists, manufacturers, retail stores and contractors…  and lots of inspiration!

Here’s a link to our post from last year: Day 292 – the Home and Garden Show 2011 (remember that the dates found on that link are from last year)

This is one of my favorite shows.  I take my camera and snap shots of lots of ideas – everything from home improvement ideas to gardening layouts.  It’s a great way to get inspired.

The Home and Garden Show (plus the Garden Market) is at the Duke Energy Center with show dates and times of:

• Saturdays (Feb. 25 and March 3): 10:30am-9:00pm
• Sundays (Feb. 26 – March 4): 10:30am – 6:00pm
• Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 27, 28: CLOSED
• Wednesday thru Friday (Feb. 29 – March 2): noon – 9:00pm

Congrats to our winners: Lisa, Sherry, Theresa and Darlene. You all have an email from me in your inbox!

We have 4 pairs of tickets to give away for The Home and Garden Show!  Here’s how to enter:

Enter to Win:

There are two ways to enter….

1. Simply leave a comment telling us what your next home improvement or decorating project might be.

2. For a second chance to win, head over to Facebook and “Like” The Home and Garden Show page.  Then come back here and leave a second comment saying you did that.

 

We will choose 5 winners (at random using Random.org) on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012. This particular prize is a pair of  tickets to the Home and Garden Show.  The tickets will be mailed to the winner.  The tickets will be mailed out as soon as we get the winner’s address.

Pesky details: Each ticket will admit one.  We will email the winner at the email address provided. The winner will have 12 hours to get back to us to claim the prize. If we don’t hear back from the winner within 12  hours we will choose a new winner. No purchase is necessary.

Greater Cincinnati’s only annual automotive industry event showcases the latest new cars, trucks, SUV’s, crossovers and hybrids available on the market today.

We really enjoyed this show last year, even though we hadno interest in buying a new car.  It’s still fun to get to see what’s out there.  Last year  they had lots of fun groupings such as a Mini Cooper area and a van that was decked out to be a rolling party on wheels!

The Cincinnati Auto Expo is at the Duke Energy Center with show dates and times of:

• Thursday, Feb. 16 – 11am-830pm
• Friday, Feb. 17 – 11am – 9pm
• Saturday, Feb 18 – 10am-9pm
• Sunday, Feb. 19 – 11am – 5pm

Congrats to the winners of tickets: Amanda, Barbara, Jenny G., Sarah L., and Nancy.  You all have an email from me in your inbox.

We have 5 pairs of tickets to give away for The Cincinnati Auto Expo!  Here’s how to enter:

Enter to Win:

There are two ways to enter….

1. Simply leave a comment telling us what your favorite car is.

2. For a second chance to win, head over to Facebook and “Like” The Cincinnati Auto Expo’s page.  Then come back here and leave a second comment saying you did that.

 

We will choose 5 winners (at random using Random.org) on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012. This particular prize is a pair of  tickets to the Cincinnati Auto Expo.  The tickets will be mailed to the winner.  The tickets will be mailed out as soon as we get the winner’s address.  Tickets may not arrive in time for Thursday night’s event.

Pesky details: Each ticket will admit one.  We will email the winner at the email address provided. The winner will have 12 hours to get back to us to claim the prize. If we don’t hear back from the winner within 12  hours we will choose a new winner. No purchase is necessary.

Some of you have known this for a long time…. but just in case you’re like me and have yet to experience it, you’re in for the best mac and cheese you’ll ever find at this place!

They serve up all kinds of mac and cheese.  Their menu actually has an entire page dedicated to it.  I ordered up the “The BBKing” Mac and Cheese which was macaroni and cheese with bacon and grilled BBQ chicken.  The cheese was rich and creamy (as I’m sure you can tell from the pictures – try not to lick your screen!).  The chicken chunks were abundant and tender.  And there was no shortage of bacon in this dish.

And this isn’t a side dish mind you – it’s a full blown meal.  In fact, there was so much of it that I took half home and split that into two more lunches!  Amazing!  And if you go to the Covington location on Mondays, it’s half price mac and cheese day (dine in only)!

When it’s warmer outside, you can enjoy the outdoor seating that surrounds the Covington location.  It’s located just south of the Roebling Bridge, a very nice little spot to sit outside.  And indoors they have quite a few spots for dining – some near the bar….

and some that are in a separate dining room.

These pictures are all from their Covington location.  They also have a location in Hyde Park,

The Keystone Bar and Grill is located at 313 Greenup Street in Covington, Ky
Connect with Keystone on Facebook 

I have always wondered what went on up behind that brightly lit window at the movies.  You realize the movie is running on a projector in there of course, but what does it really look like in there?  The Esquire Theater was generous enough to allow us into their projection room for our “End of an Era” tour.  We called it that because we actually got to go in to see their projection equipment right before they made the switch over to Sony Digital equipment.  Yep, no more projectors.  The world has gone digital.

Our tour got to climb up the stairs and venture into the large projection areas.  There were lots of projection units all around, serving movies up to multiple theaters there.

I was completely taken aback by the size of this equipment!  I guess I was expecting the projector to look more like what our teachers occasionally wheeled in on a cart!

Wyatt, the Esquire’s manager, was our wonderful tour guide for this part of the tour.  He patiently and thoroughly explained how the machines operate.  He “threaded” some film for us like he’d done it a million times and explained the parts to us – like “the brains” and the reels that spin at almost 100mph.

After our tour of the projection area we headed down to see our movie – “The Artist”.  I’d heard great things about this movie and I knew it was getting great reviews.  What I didn’t know was that it was a silent film.  I will admit that worried me.  I sat down on the end of an aisle, just in case I was totally bored and wanted to wait it out in the lobby.  But as it turned out, I LOVED it.  The movie was a total hit and the reviews are correct – it’s a great movie.  Don’t let the fact that it’s a silent film keep you from going to see it.  It was a lot of fun and I’m really glad I had the chance to see it on the big screen (which I would highly recommend).

We actually had two groups for our tour.  One tour did our La Poste food tour first (lunch)and then saw the projection room tour followed by the movie.  And the second group saw the movie first and then did the projection room tour and then headed to La Poste for an appetizer spread.  I did both tours of course, so I got to experience lunch and evening appetizers at La Poste with our groups (Yum!).

La Poste Eatery is located right around the corner from the Esquire Theater.  It’s a very bright and airy place with gorgeous decor. They have a full service bar, lots of seating, a wine room and a separate dining area that can be reserved for private functions.

Our first tour got to enjoy lunch at La Poste Eatery.  We all enjoyed a selection from their lunch menu.  I had a wonderful veggie grilled cheese – fresh spinach, tomato and goat cheese melted all over thickly cut bread.  On the side was a simple salads of tossed greens – not much to look at but it was mighty tasty!

And the second group got to enjoy an appetizer spread.  We had mussels with a tomato vodka sauce, Pomme Frites with a dipping sauce, and flatbread with wild mushrooms and goat cheese.   Like our lunch, the spread was delicious!

This tour definitely exceeded my expectations.  Wyatt led a wonderful look into what was truly the “end of an era” and the staff at La Poste was wonderful, as was all of their wonderful food.  And do visit the Esquire Theater and see “The Artist” while it’s still there.   It was a true pleasure!

The Esquire Theater (locally owned) is located at 320 Ludlow in Clifton
La Poste Eatery is located at  3410 Telford Street in Clifton

I know that’s not a penguin but isn’t he adorable?  It’s hard to believe that guy would eat you if he was given the chance .

This year’s unseasonably warm weather has allowed us all to do all kinds of crazy things this year… like go to the zoo in February with just a sweatshirt on.  When the weatherman predicted sunny skies and a high of 60 degrees in February, I took advantage of the Zoo’s half price offer and headed down for an afternoon.

If you haven’t been to the Zoo in few years, you’re in for a treat.  They’ve remodeled the entrance and they’ve done a fabulous job.  You can now park across Vine Street and walk up and over, using thier new walkway over Vine.  Once you’re in, you’ll see a huge open paved area that they often use for festival type events (like Tunes and Blooms).

parking lot side of the walkway over Vine

I don’t know if I’ve ever ventured out to the Zoo in the winter time before.  But, after having been there this week, I would highly recommend it.  Even on a warm day and half price admission, the place wasn’t the least bit crowded.  I was able to walk right up to any exhibit I wanted to see.

I did miss the gorgeous plantings (for you out-of-towners, our Zoo has a fabulous horticultural staff).  And I did come across a number of these signs…

But, as you can see from my pictures, there were plenty of animals outside.

I could have watched the apes all day!

On a colder day, you can enjoy lots of indoor breaks at places like the Manatee house…

or the Reptile House…

And, for the first time, I ventured inside the new-ish Discovery Forest.  This building houses lots of classrooms but they do have a public area, one that reminds me quite a bit of the Krohn Conservatory… but with live animals.

As part of Penguin Days, the Zoo offers all kinds of winter related activities such as a Penguin Parade, Polar Bear Fish-cicles, Elephant Fruit Ice Blocks and more (although you need to check with them before you go to be sure they are having the activities on the day you go – my day was too warm for the penguins).

The Cincinnati Zoo is located at 3400 Vine Street
Penguin Days offer half price admission and runs through February 29, 2012 (parking is $8)
Connect with the Cincinnati Zoo on Facebook

On a recent Friday evening after dropping my daughter and a friend off at the nearby Rave Cinemas, I went around the corner to check out the Armchair Program, which this year is themed “Travel the World Without Leaving Home.”  The free programs run from 7-8 p.m. and are prompt with start and finish times.  The topic of the talk I attended was “Around the Great Lakes” with Captain Alan Lloyd.

Captain Lloyd, a British transplant and his wife Jean, began their cruise of the lakes at The Thousand Islands of New York at the eastern end of Lake Ontario.  They travelled through the Trent-Severn Waterway to Lake Huron, took the Detroit River into Lake Erie and finished up their trip by cruising the Erie Canal back to Lake Ontario.  Along the way the Captain visited sites such as Toronto, the estate of George Eastman of camera fame, Manitoulin Island, GM Headquarters in Detroit, Cedar Point in Sandusky and Niagra Falls.

The talk was accompanied by his beautiful photography and great stories about festivals and parades they stumbled on along the way.  He also told brief snippets of historical fact about the area, including the Voyageurs Route taken by fur traders for the Hudson Bay Company.  I learned that Canada Day is July 1st and looks quite a bit like our 4th of July and the Great Lakes are full of cruise ships whose front ends raise to facilitate movement through the numerous locks that I had no idea were there.  I also got a great vacation idea.  I now want to visit Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron which is the largest island surrounded by freshwater in the world and has fun activities like lighted boat parades.

If you are looking for an interesting and FREE way to kick off your Friday night excursion in West Chester, one of these Armchair Programs might be just the thing.  Cookies, coffee and water are offered in the lobby to encourage attendees to socialize a bit before the presentation.  Overall, the crowd is a little older but it was really a lot of fun and I plan to return for some of the other programs.  There are four more talks planned for this winter:

Feb 10     Indigenous people of Brazil

Feb 24     Alaska

Mar 9      Tanzania – This talk is about a Cincinnati Zoo trip to view Tanzania’s wildlife

Mar 23     Heart of Bordeaux

I really encourage everyone to give one of these events a look, and afterwards, you could head over to The Streets of West Chester for dinner.

More information can be found at www.WestChesterOH.org.

Rookwood Pottery now operates out of a building just up the street from Findlay Market.  It was an easy walk to Rookwood after we wrapped up our food tour at Findlay Market.  As soon as we entered the building we were greeted by our tour guide, Jim Robinson.  Jim is a Glaze Expert for Rookwood and is also an amazing tour guide.

Jim introduced us to all of the history of the Rookwood Pottery, going back to its roots.  The Rookwood Pottery was founded by Maria Longworth (daughter of Joseph Longworth) back in the 1880′s.   The Rookwood Pottery was the first female manufacturing company in the United States.

The Rookwood Pottery that we toured is in a different building than the original (now a restaurant – you can dine in the old kilns!).  But the Rookwood sentiment still lives on in its new home (along with loads of the old molds and glaze recipes of old).  They may be in a new home but they are carrying on with the Rookwood lines… and creating new masterpieces for the future.

The picture above cracks me up because they look so serious…  The two gentlemen in the picture were jovial and fun – who knows how I got that pic!  Anyway, Jim was discussing the new Rookwood urns and telling us all about the colors and shapes and the process the pottery goes through from start to finish.  These Rookwood artists also told us about the process of restoring the old Rookwood piece (the gray piece in his hand) that has been removed from a building in Chicago.

We moved on to what I imagine to be a center for glazing experimentation.  Whatever that room is, it’s where they develop new colors and variations for the Rookwood pottery that they’re now producing.  In the picture above, Jim is explaining how they experiment with color variations.

While we were there we got to see some of the old kilns as well as some of the newer equipment.

Around each turn we got a glimpse into what the pottery looks like when it’s first getting started.  We saw racks and racks of pieces waiting to be meet their artists.

My favorite part of the tour was getting to see some of the artists at work.  I love the picture above.  He is truly pouring his heart and soul into his work.  It was very cool to watch.

There were quite a few artists at work while we were there and we all did our best to stay out of their hair.  I especially enjoyed getting to see Terence Hammonds (a local man, famous for his printmaking) at work on the Dr. Townley monkey paperweights.

We even got to see a few things that are still under wraps at the Rookwood Pottery… too secret to even mention here.  We ended our wonderful tour in the Rookwood display store which was a wonderful way to get to see some of the finished products.

Be sure to check out our Upcoming Tours often as we do intend to offer this tour again!

Thanks to Tim Jefferies of Moving Pictures Photography for taking pictures on our tour!

See this entertaining live multimedia seminar plus a Q&A with Cesar and change the relationship with your dog forever!

Fans and dog lovers alike will be inspired by the simplicity of “Cesar’s Way” as he reveals that the secret to happier, healthier relationships between humans and their canine companions starts with transforming ourselves.

Cesar Millan will be at the Taft Theater on Sunday, February 5th at 7pm
Click here to order your tickets.  You can get $5 off your ticket if you insert our coupon code: PUPPY (online only)

We have a winner – congrats to Suzanne!

We have a giveaway!  Enter to win a family four pack of tickets for this show!

Here’s how to enter:

Simply leave a comment telling us why you’d like to go to see the show.

 

Pesky details: We will choose one winner (at random using Random.org) on Tuesday, Jan. 31,2012. This particular prize is a 4 pack of  tickets to see Cesar Millan at the Taft Theater on Sunday, February 5, 2012.  The winner can pick up his/her tickets at the Taft Theater’s Will Call window on the day of the show.  Each ticket will admit one.  We will email the winner at the email address provided. The winner will have 24 hours to get back to us to claim the prize. If we don’t hear back from the winner within 24 hours we will choose a new winner. No purchase is necessary.

Umbrellas in hand, 30 of us braved the rain and cold weather and headed out to see all that Findlay Market has to offer.  The Findlay Market portion of the tour was actually a “tasting tour”.  We stopped by at 9 different Findlay Market vendors to sample all kinds of their great specialties.

We started the tour off with hot coffee samples from The Bean Haus.  We then made our way to Fresh Table (pictured above) to sample three of their salads.  Chef Meredith served their salads in little lettuce wraps – definitely a nice touch.  After that we made our way outside to visit Daisy Mae’s Market, a year-round vendor that sells fresh produce.  They served up piping hot bowls of Minestrone soup, made with vegetables from their stand.  Daisy Mae’s Barb gave us all the recipe and they even offered to put all the veggies together for anyone who wanted to take them home for supper.  I bought that combo and made the soup tonight.  It was delicious!

We then headed to Dean Mediterranean Imports where they sell all kinds of oils and spices and teas… and whatever else you might need from spots all over the world.  Dean’s did an informative olive oil tasting for us.

We made a stop at one of my favorite Findlay Market spots – Skirtz and Johnston.  They make everything from scratch there and it’s so evident – all kinds of breads, pastries and desserts.  They also serve meals and have an indoor dining space.

Next up = Gramma Debbie’s Kitchen for some tasty chicken meatballs.

And then it was on to Mama Lo Hizos, a new vendor for the inside portion of Findlay Market. This spot is owned by the same folks who do the Kettle Korn outside.  Good stuff all around.  For the tour they served us loaded nachos… Yum!

We headed back outside for our last two stops.  Churchill’s Fine Teas served us four different hot teas samples.  They sell loose teas from all over the world as well as all kinds of tea-related items.  They have gorgeous and delicate tea cups, tea pots, and everything else you might like to make yourself a wonderful cup of tea.

And the last stop at Findlay Market was a tasting tour stop that all of our pets appreciated – Pet Wants.  They handed out samples of their “made to order” pet foods.  We got to browse through all of their pet supplies as well.  It was a fun way to end our food tour!

Many thanks go out to the Findlay Market vendors who participated in our tour: The Bean Haus, Fresh Table, Daisy Mae’s Market, Dean’s Mediterranean Imports, Skirtz and Johnston, Gramma Debbie’s Kitchen, Mama Lo Hizo, Churchill’s Fine Teas, and Pet Wants.

Findlay Market is located at 1801 Race Street

And thank you to Tim Jeffries who took pictures for us on the tour! Many of the shots seen in this post are from Tim.  You can see his work at Moving Pictures Photography.