Week 8: BrewAsana at Moerlein Brewery

It has been a couple of years since I last took a yoga class, so when I heard that Karma Hot Yoga was holding free yoga classes on Sundays at the Christian Moerlein Brewery I knew I had to give it a try.

Moerlein Brewery entrance

I was mildly worried that I would not be able to do yoga anymore; the balance on my right side has been sketchy since I had foot drop two years ago. After having spinal surgery fourteen months ago, I went through six months of physical therapy in order to regain muscle strength, to strengthen my core and to reestablish my balance. Of the three, balance is the one still giving me grief.

My friend Kathy and I made our way to the brewery not really knowing what to expect. It was the second week of class and we were pleasantly surprised to see how well attended it was. I'm guessing there were roughly 75 or more participants, so many they were unable to fit everyone into the main beer hall, people spilling out into the foyer and hall.

Get there early to stake out a good spot

The class was fun and although I was unfamiliar (or had forgotten) some of the poses, I surprised myself by being able to do them (well, the balance poses on my right side were wonky, but that is OK) and was even more surprised by how much I got out of it.

In past yoga classes I never really learned the proper breathing techniques. No so with Karma instructor Kara Pelicano. She really stressed the fine art of breathing properly when moving through the sequences and as a result I felt totally energized, reinvigorated and focused by the end of class.

I am already looking forward to next week!



BrewAsana happens every Sunday from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Christian Moerlein Brewery, 1621 Moore St., Over-the-Rhine.
If you go: Bring your own yoga mat and water bottle. After class, the brewery offers a $1 discount on all beer for participants.

Week 7: Faux Ferocious

So I got massive excited last month when I learned Nashville's Faux Ferocious were playing MOTR. First of all because, as I've mentioned previously, MOTR shows are always free - and free is what this blog is all about. Secondly, MOTR's got a fairly chill, relaxed vibe and the staff are friendly and awesome and most of the time the punters are not douchebags, which is a definite plus. It also is gets points for being only a few blocks from our house. Within staggering distance, so to speak. Not that we were, mind, but just saying.

MOTR: A slice of Rock & Roll heaven

The main reason for my excitement, of course, was the band itself. Their self-titled album was a favorite of mine last year and while not everyone's cuppa tea, they certainly push all the right buttons for me.

The hubs suffers my taste in music stoically, but not quite enough to be dragged to MOTR on a Saturday night, even it if was possibly the balmiest Saturday night in February I've ever witnessed in Ohio. Cheers, El Nino! You so cray, but we loves ya anyway.

My cohort in crime for the evening was Lauren, who is always up for adventure and is damned fun to be around. We wandered over to the bar at 10 p.m. and grabbed a couple of pints just as the opening act, Mark Zero and the Cavemanagers, took the stage. Honestly we were a bit unsure if dude was just up there noodling on his guitar or if the show had actually begun, eventually realizing that yes, there was also a drummer up there. 

They were ... different. I'm not gonna knock them because heck, I'm too much of a wuss to get on stage and do what they did. I'll just say I bet I could clear the room quicker than they did, but not by much. That said, I found them delightful in an early-Half Japanese/Jad Fair sort of way, but when I mentioned that to Mark after the show he had no clue what I was on about. Dear MZ, school yourself on Half Jap. You and Jad have things to discuss.

Mark Zero and the Cavemanagers

A few songs in, Lauren and I went into MOTR's back room and got a table away from the band's line of sight so they wouldn't see us wincing. Just a teeny wee bit, but yeah. Their cover of the Shangri-La's The Train From Kansas City had to be heard to be believed. 

Out of tune covers: These faces happen

Anyway, while we were sat there the Faux crew were drifting about and it must have been guitarist Jonathan Phillips and drummer Reid Cummings' lucky night because they found a twenty dollar bill on the floor, just lying there ripe for the taking, which they did. But not before being complete Tennessee gentlemen by showing it to us and asking if we'd dropped it. And we were honest enough not to lie. 

It could have been such a beautiful friendship.

Faux Ferocious in the house

Except they did an hour long set and failed to play "What I Become," which is a fantastic tune and probably my favorite of all their songs. When the set ended I assumed they were going to take a break and come back. Then I saw bassist Dylan Palmer packing up his gear - not putting the guitar on a stand but back into its carry case - so I went up and asked if they were doing a second set and he laughed at me and said, "Uh, no." When I pointed out they hadn't played "What I Become" he was somewhat taken aback (and possibly impressed, but maybe not) and said, "Aw man, we were just gonna play that!" Which was a lie, because if they were gonna play it, they would have played it. So I gestured toward the stage and told him to get his arse back up there and play it, but he wouldn't. 

Friendship over.

It could have been such a beautiful friendship

As we left the bar we ran into blistering guitar god Jonathan outside and I gave him shit about not playing the song, and he laughed until I called him a bad name, to which he said "F*** you" to me (not very Tennessee gentlemanly, really) and then we laughed some more and I told him it was their best song and as we were walking away he called out, "I promise we'll play it next time!" and I told him there may not be a next time.

Tennessee gentleman. Blistering guitar god. Promise keeper?

But we all know there will be.

Because they are awesome. It's what they've become.

MOTR is open seven days a week.

Always 21+.

Always free!

Week 6: Contemporary Arts Center

This weekend kicked off a "love gift" of free admission for the next three years at the Contemporary Arts Center, courtesy of endowments from The Johnson Foundation, The 50 and Macy's. We decided to join the fray and visit, since the date coincided with the launch of Do Ho Suh's new exhibition, Passage, as well as the current exhibits of Robert Mapplethorpe: After the Moment and Pia Camil's Skins.

The CAC is a non-collecting museum without a permanent collection, so all exhibits are temporary and ever-changing. Twenty-five years ago the museum was at the center of an historic controversy when then-director Dennis Barrie brought Mapplethorpe's The Perfect Moment exhibit to staid, conservative Cincinnati. Hamilton County prosecutors charged Barrie and the museum itself with obscenity - the first time criminal charges had been levied against a museum in the United States. For an excellent in-depth of the story, read this Washington Post article.

As an aside, prior to the ruckus created in Cincinnati, I saw some of the controversial Mapplethorpe photographs during an exhibit at my alma mater, Wright State University, called Andres Serrano/Robert Mapplethorpe: You Decide, which ran Feb. 23-March 16, 1990. The university's art center warned visitors there was controversial subject matter, and I honestly cannot recall anyone getting their knickers in a twist over the show - and Serrano did the Piss Christ thing, which to me seems a bit more heretical than a bullwhip up the jacksie, but what the hey. I'll just say it takes a lot more than that to offend Daytonians. Am I right?

Sadly, photography was prohibited in After the Moment, so we are unable to entertain readers with selections from the showcases of hate mail the center received. You'll just have to go to the CAC and read them yourself, if possible. Trust us, it's worth it! It was also heartening to see the stories, editorials and editorial cartoons penned by Enquirer colleagues past and present, who rightly saw the case as a First Amendment issue and did the city proud with their fine work.

Mexican artist Pia Camil's exhibit consisted of some works in wood, copper and ceramic, as well as some messed up pieces of clothing (skins, if you will), which visitors were encouraged to try on. Why not?

Portrait of the author in a Camil "Skin"

We both really enjoyed seeing Korean-American artist Suh's exhibition, a series of life-sized fabric replicas of places he has lived. The attention to detail is astonishing and well-executed.

Do Ho Suh's Blueprint, thread embedded in cotton paper

Do Ho Suh's "Boiler Room, London Studio," made of polyester fabric and stainless steel tube

Detail of Suh's Boiler Room, London Studio

Information on Boiler Room, London Studio

Suh's stairway. So lifelike people wanted to climb it

One room featured various home fixtures rendered in polyester fabric and steel tubing, including this bog

and this sink

and this oven

No home is complete without heating!

Detail of the radiator. Very similar to the ones we had in our Newport home

Do Ho Suh's "Reflection"

A close-up shows the intricately sewn detail of "Reflection."

The Contemporary Arts Center is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Monday and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday. See After the Moment and Skins through March 13, 2016 and Passage through Sept. 11, 2016.

Week 5: CincyStorytellers: Beyond the Kitchen Door

This week I went solo to The Phoenix for CincyStorytellers: Beyond the Kitchen Door, a night of great stories from some of the finest chefs and restaurant entrepreneurs in our fair city. I say "solo" because the hubs wasn't feeling it and stayed home, but I'd already made plans to meet up with neighbor (and celebrity chef) Marilyn Harris in The President's Room bar at The Phoenix, and afterward I hit up The Enquirer's VIP room with coworkers before venturing into the grand ballroom for the big event.

The Phoenix

The Phoenix is an impressively restored former gentleman's club, built in 1893 by renowned Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford. It houses a restaurant, bar and several event rooms for weddings, rehearsal dinners and other special events.

Stained glass along the stairwell inside The Phoenix

 Polly Campbell, food writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, hosted the capacity crowd event. She opened the program with a poignant story about the change and tragedy her grandmother experienced as a pre-teen and how she learned as an adult to cook the dishes that reminded her of happier times. 

"Food has the power to bring us to memories." - Polly Campbell

Enquirer food critic/reporter Polly Campbell 

Matt Cuff, owner of Just Q'n, grew up in Cleveland with his grandmother, mother and three sisters. He learned a lot about barbecue from his grandmother, but manning a grill wasn't what he wanted to do with his life. He planned to be an astronaut and attended Tuskeegee to learn aerospace engineering. When he found he didn't meet the height requirement for astronauts, he added another major to his studies: physics. After graduation he landed a job with GE Aircraft and came to Cincinnati, but found that working in a cube farm wasn't for him. So he experimented with recipes, spices and sauces until he had met his wife's challenge of making BBQ "worthy of people paying for it." His restaurant in East End is wildly popular. Later this year he is opening a second location in Walnut Hills, across from Kroger.

"BBQ is about community, family, friends, neighbors. I don't do BBQ. I am BBQ. It is what God has made me to do." - Matt Cuff, Just Q'n

Matt Cuff - owner of Just Q'n

Sharon Butler, co-owner of Bonbonerie in Hyde Park, talked about how, when she was a child, she attended a business function with her parents in Minnesota and how enamored she was with the beautiful pastries and desserts on offer - until she actually bit into one of them. She aspired to create food as tasty as it is pretty. After studying art at University of Cincinnati's DAAP (Design Architecture Art and Planning), she fell into baking at a local restaurant where the coconut pie was home made - as in, cracking whole coconuts, draining the milk, scraping the pulp out and roasting it in the oven with condensed milk "and that's just the start of the pie!" She learned well and was soon baking pies and cakes for Cincinnati's oldest downtown pub/restaurant, Arnold's. Butler believes that dessert is the highlight of a meal, turning even the mundane into a special occasion. It is why she adds rosebuds to the top of brownies and why doilies are put into each bakery box. It's these simple but elegant touches that sets Bonbonerie apart from the pack. 

"Oftentimes desserts and pastries that are beautiful don't taste like they look. The promise of something beautiful also needs to be delicious."  - Sharon Butler, Bonbonerie

Sharon Butler - co-owner of Bonbonerie

Corey Ward, his wife and another couple had the simple but great idea to sell grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup to ice skaters on Fountain Square, but the site organizer (3CDC) wasn't playing ball. Ward didn't give up. He kept sending emails and eventually got a meeting...where 3CDC still said "no." But then another vendor pulled out and Tom+Chee was in. Within one year they went from a small tent on Fountain Square to their first sit-down restaurant. After a successful showing on the TV series Shark Tank, Tom+Chee now operates 35 restaurants in 16 states.

Corey Ward - co-founder of Tom+Chee

Possibly the funniest chef/owner of the night was Elias Leisring, who kept the audience in stitches for much of his allotted time. Eli's BBQ also got its start on Fountain Square, in a tent next to Tom+Chee. Elias decided to enter the Blue BBQ challenge at Findlay Market, which is a pretty big deal in the barbecue world. He and his partner set up a small affair with a smoker and a grill. Other competitors brought truckloads of equipment. Not long into the challenge, Eli's ran out of smoked pork with a line of hungry diners "stretching all the way to Lexington," so he dashed into the market and bought "every pork chop they had." They made pork chop sandwiches until those also ran out. And from there their famous BBQ Hot Dog was born. Taking a page from Skyline Chili's book, Eli's serves the dog topped with coleslaw, pork crackling and sauce. He admitted that sometimes the restaurant will intentionally run out of this special delicacy, just so they can watch the reactions of the customers.

Elias Leisring - owner of Eli's BBQ

Michelle Brown, executive chef and owner of Jag's Steak and Seafood, talked about what it is like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry, and how she got her start in the restaurant world by parking cars at The Banker's Club. She said the first time she stepped into the Banker's Club kitchen she knew she was "home." It took a lot of perseverance for the chef to take her on board, but he did and she has repaid that mentorship by mentoring other would-be chefs, especially women. Girl power!

Michelle Brown - executive chef and owner of Jag's Steak and Seafood

Todd Kelly, the executive chef at Orchids at Palm Court inside the art deco masterpiece Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel, admits that after living and running restaurants in San Francisco, the dull gray sky and concrete buildings of the Cincinnati skyline were a real letdown when he visited the city for a job 10 years ago. It wasn't until he stepped into the beautiful art deco dining room that he was knocked out and knew he wanted to be part of it. Under his guidance, the restaurant has returned to its former 1931 glory. They now boast 5 pastry chefs, 3 full-time butchers, they make inhouse their own sour butter, cure their own ham (from pigs raised to their specifications), have their own cheese-making business, installed beehives on the roof to raise their own honey and more. For the restaurant's 85st birthday, Kelly recreated the entire menu from the original grand opening gala celebration. His efforts have not gone unnoticed. Orchids is the only restaurant in Ohio to earn the AAA Five Diamond Award. It has also earned four stars from Forbes Travel Guide, and Kelly won the USA Chef of the Year in 2011-2012 from the American Culinary Federation.

"We create flavor profiles by making things the old-fashioned way." - Todd Kelly

Todd Kelly - executive chef of Orchids, and food and beverage manager of Hilton Netherland Plaza

 All in all, a wonderful night for foodies and those who love the city of Cincinnati. If you missed this special event but would like to hear the chefs in their own words, the podcast is here.



The next Cincy Storytellers, Living and Dying, happens 7-9 p.m. May 4 at The Phoenix.