New Orleans To Go

It keeps on truckin', even with a sit-down space

Placing Orders at New Orleans To Go

      Eight years ago this week Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the gulf coast, forever changing the lives of millions.  LaToya Foster was one of those who left her beloved city to settle in Cincinnati.  WIth a passion for creole cuisine, she met her husband, Randy Filson, and together they started

The Candidate: Redford’s Finest?

A cool, laid-back political comedy that turns dark and cold

     Friends have asked, ”Have you seen any good movies this summer?”  Neil and I have had to really think because we can take or leave superhero movies and there haven’t been a lot of compelling indies and we missed Fruitvale Station – our fault since it was at The Esquire for three weeks.

It seems strange to say that “Yes, I’ve seen a really good movie that’s about American politics and it’s as compelling as it probably was when it was released in 1972.”  That would be

RED DOG * BLUE DOG

Cute dogs, pithy political statements, 

each side given its due in a darling book
by Chuck Sambuchino

Chuck Sambuchino at Books on the Banks

     I attended Chuck Sambuchino’s lecture at Books on the Banks last year and he shared smart, sensible advice in a witty manner that could have gone on for another hour at least.  So, to try and say thank you, I bought RED DOG * BLUE DOG:  When Pooches Get Political.  For some stupid reason, I

Cyndi Lauper’s Kinky Boots

Turning to the commercial theatre, 
Lauper scores a triumph

Dexter Joins the Kinky Boots Cast

     Kinky Boots won six Tony awards in June including Best Musical and Best Score in a headlong battle with the British musical Matilda.  It’s tough to find out much about a show from the Tony broadcast.  Though it’s usually the most entertaining

Kanpai Japanese Steakhouse

It comes to the party smartly dressed and well-equipped

The Kanpai Sleek Dining Room

      Finding a lunch spot that has fresh cuisine with fast, sit-down service can be a challenge.  There are a few in Blue Ash…Through the Garden and Foster's come to mind, and now a Japanese steakhouse.  They're not usually on my short list, but Kanpai elevates the competition by offering a menu

Ellen Forney’s Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me – a graphic memoir

A graphic memoir that pops the romance of crazy artists

     Marbles stunned me when I was reading it because, by being a graphic memoir instead of a literary autobiography, Ellen Forney pulls the reader into the vortex of bipolar mood disorder with an immediacy that is simultaneously funny and unsettling.  She begins by

Katalina's Cafe Corner

A little Victorian Village corner in Columbus with lively, local color and great edible fare

Dexter Checks Out the Chalk Board

      The perfect formula for a coffee house, in my opinion, starts with a personality to emphasize its individuality and service that supports that quality.  Of course, the coffee must be great (something that's overlooked often times in the effort to

Blue Jasmine

A Streetcar Named Desire 

for the Economic Downturn

     Last year, I wondered whether Woody Allen should retire after the mediocre To Rome With Love.  I retract that assertion after seeing Blue Jasmine, his best drama (with a couple of nervous laughs) since Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).  The basic set-up is an older, desperate sister forcing herself on the ambivalent hospitality of a younger, more outwardly normal sister.  Yes, it’s Streetcar and Woody himself parodied that iconic character in Sleeper (1973).  When Neil and I saw a production at Know Theatre many years ago, I said, “I hadn’t realized that Blanche was totally nuts at the beginning until this.”   

The Glamorous Life Back in New York

     Blanche DuBois has been romanticized in the academy because of her lyrical manner of speaking and elegant storytelling.  Allen smartly avoids this fallacy by cutting between Jasmine’s (Cate Blanchett) current hanging on in San Francisco and her glamorous past in New York City, married to a crooked mogul (Alec Baldwin).  Instead of talking

Natalie Maines: Mother

A great singer whose first solo album disappoints

The Dixie Chicks in 2003

     Natalie Maines possesses a big, clear, keening voice that is inimitable.  She was the front woman for The Dixie Chicks, the last superstar female-centric band.  They began as a country group and immediately crossed over to enormous mainstream pop success after other female artists like Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and LeAnn Rimes had led the way.  Unless you lived under a rock in 2003, you know

The Palace at The Cincinnatian

Excellent food, mature service, 

charming surroundings combine 

for a purr-fect experience

Dexter Takes a Special Seat at The Palace

     During last week’s restaurant week, Neil thought we should try one of the mostly downtown establishments.  Some offered $35 menus/couple while others offered $35 menus/diner.  We thought, what the heck, we’re not going on vacation anywhere soon so let’s look at the high fliers.  The menu at The Palace featured choices from the actual menu, but there weren’t any