Indian cuisine has become my latest version of a Chinese takeout meal. It’s spicy, easy to share and something I’d never try to make myself. Taj India is my latest find for this new addiction, but I’m glad my friend and I decided to dine in recently. Otherwise we wouldn’t have experienced one of Taj India’s strong points: its excellent, friendly service.    

The Blue Wisp Jazz Club is both a local and national legend — a Jazz club that’s been operating for more than 30 years. Steve Schmidt, longtime Wisp musician, says that the recipe for such long-standing success is “the dedication of all the people involved..."  

Shoshannah and Doug Hafner opened Honey in 2005. They’ve always been into serving fine food in a casual atmosphere. On any night you’ll be greeted by a friendly staff and probably a soundtrack with lots of local artists in the queue. On Tuesdays you can also choose from between five $10 menu items.  

The prospect of Greek food on a cold January night sounded pretty inviting, but blublu really outdoes itself in the inviting department. We arrived at the restaurant a little on the early side for dinner, but the Nika family was already busy. Our host/server still politely greeted and seated us before dashing back behind the counter to ring up a carryout order and answer the phone.    

The idea of “pizza by the slice” has been around in major metropolitan areas forever, but it seemed a long time coming to Cincinnati — at least for anyone other than the late-night crowd. Fortunately, Downtown was recently blessed with a by-the-slice pizza option open for lunch, dinner and late night snacking: Cincy by the Slice.   

Local foodies, step down from your window ledges and rest assured that while Local 127 has moved, it has not abandoned its commitment to a farm-to-table philosophy. In fact, Chef Steve Geddes said that the move into the space once occupied by JeanRo Bistro was partly designed to make the “table” a better match to the food.   

My dad graduated from UC’s engineering college in the early 1960s. A poor kid from the South, he lived at the YMCA and regularly found himself at the dinner table of his soon-to-be in-laws so he could get a square meal. Today’s students face many of the same problems — high costs and low wages — but these days they have an embarrassment of cheap, good food choices.   

Brunch is mimosas, smoked salmon and omelets with goat cheese, right? It’s a snooty menu served at a civilized hour that accommodates hangover schedules, right? A state of mind? Right? Right? Wrong. It struck me like a lightning bolt when Kent Hugentobler, owner of Doris and Sonny’s Homelike Restaurant, sounded so confused when I called anonymously to asked if they served brunch. “Well,” he said slowly, “we serve breakfast and lunch.”   

“There’s no such thing,” the women at Glier’s Goetta in Covington emphatically told me when I called to ask if they knew anyone in town that sold vegetarian goetta. By definition, she explained, goetta has pork in it. Ipso facto, there is no such thing as vegetarian goetta.  

Everyone’s heard of The New Adventures of Old Christine (the CBS comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Pretty soon everyone will know about the new culinary ventures of Vito’s new/old chef — Leslie Richmond. Richmond has worked for Mary and Vito, the owners of Vito’s Café, off and on since 2003. She recently came back after a hiatus that included giving birth to her daughter, who is now 2 years old.