In January 2010 Adam Easterling decided to start his first businessventure in the already crowded downtown lunch trade. Adam took a gamble, but he felt that if he took classics, gave them a fresh spin and used the best ingredients, his sandwich shop would succeed where others have failed. A year and a half later, and with a faithful following, his business at 633 Main St. is doing great.  

Skinny Pig? Seriously? That’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one! That was the conversation playing in my head as I drove up to Skinny Pig, the latest restaurant venture of Joshua Steven Campbell, who is well known by many area foodies for his restaurant Mayberry and store Mayberry Foodstuffs.  

For about a quarter century, Harry Stephens has been a fixture on the Tristate dining scene. Since 2003, Stephens has owned the wonderfully eclectic Bella Luna (4632 Eastern Ave., Columbia-Tusculum, 513-871-5862), and just over a year ago he opened View in the Edgecliff Building in East Walnut Hills.  

Bellevue Bistro is a quaint, unassuming café that blends in with the independent shops along historic Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue, Ky. Or at least that’s what I thought before going there. The small breakfast and lunch restaurant (313 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue, 859-581-5600) packs a big menu, big flavors and a big ego.  

The Symphony Hotel and Restaurant is quite the Cincinnati secret. Tucked away on 14th Street, adjacent to Music Hall, the hotel began as a mansion in 1871, built by a local music instructor and was later converted into the current hotel and restaurant. Dining at the Symphony makes you feel, well, fancy.  

A few years ago, one of the best things about visiting other cities was exploring their food truck options. Not only do they almost always have really good, cheap and fast food, but they provide a great option for talented chefs to show off their creations to the public without the massive expense of a storefront restaurant. Now, thanks mainly to the efforts of Councilmember Laure Quinlivan, we actually are seeing an explosion of food trucks here in Cincinnati.  

Opening a restaurant in our current economic condition is bold. Opening a restaurant in our current economic condition when you’ve never owned or managed a restaurant before is doubly bold. Charlena (Cee) Calloway and Michael Daniels think they have what it takes to succeed with Stuffed on Vine, and I must agree with them.  

Anyone who’s spent much time in the Clifton area knows Biagio’s Bistro (308 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, 513-861-4777). Since opening in 1999, Biagio’s scooter — almost always parked in front of the restaurant — has become as much of a Ludlow Avenue fixture as the bistro itself.  

I buy asparagus at the grocery store fairly often, and I’ll generally throw in an omelet or in a tangle of veggies and pasta. Not too exciting. Last week, though, I stopped at the Farmer’s Market in Bellevue, Ky., and grabbed a little bundle of purpley-green spears from one of the farm stands. As I was putting it away in the fridge later, I rinsed off a piece and nibbled off the tip. Incredible!  

Trattoria Roma, which for years was directly across Walnut from the Aronoff Center, recently moved around the corner to join the new Cincinnati Restaurant Row on Sixth Street. Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of the old Trattoria Roma, but my opinion has changed after a couple of visits to the new location.  

Downtowner Bawe Shinholster is a busy man — especially when I spoke to him just after Jeff Ruby’s Walnut Street Grille opened for lunch. The Grille, which has been hugely successful with dinnertime guests, opened to a pent-up crowd of lunchsters who couldn’t wait to try the new sandwiches, sides, and salads.  

I don’t think Muslim extremists “hate us for our freedom,” as George W. liked to say. I think the hatred is directly related to our eating habits, specifically our gratuitous, flamboyant consumption of pig meat and organs. While some might react to the thought of putting any filthy pig meat in their mouth with the dry-heaving disgust most people experience when seeing a dog mindlessly eating its own poo, the crack-like hold pork products has on American consumers emboldens food manufacturers to continue making endless variations of pig products.  

Here’s a good problem to have: There are so many fabulous little places out there to find Cheap Eats in Cincinnati that narrowing down the choices for the Dining Guide just about drove me crazy. I had a few arbitrary rules. No chains were allowed, not even local chains. Sorry Skyline!  

Food trends usually arrive in this town long after they sweep other cities. Blame Cincinnatians’ tendency to be skeptical and critical. But every now and then amongst all the bust there is a boom. Sometimes the perfect storm of an ailing economy, creativity and a helpful public servant come together. What the hell are we talking about? Food Trucks!  

Anyone who reads CityBeat’s dining section knows that we try not to cheerlead for restaurants unless they truly deserve it. We’re honest in our assessments, and that’s what gives our dining section credibility. One thing that’s part of our dining coverage’s philosophy, though, especially under my watch, is that we lean towards local. There are so many great locally owned and operated restaurants here in our fair city that I don’t need to encourage you to spend your dining dollars at big chains.