I know I risk returning to work late if I eat at a sit-down restaurant on my lunch break, but sometimes I can't help it. I've had really good luck at one locally owned breakfast and lunch spot: Half Day Café in Wyoming. Their always-friendly servers seat you immediately, and the food comes out fast.   

Among the sea of strip malls we know as the West Side, Roma Italian restaurant stands out visually because of its three-story-tall illuminated signage and its inherited West Side landmark status. The familiar site might be part of the reason for the crowd that fills this home-style Italian joint right around dinnertime, but it's the extensive menu of good hearty food that will keep them coming back.  

I didn’t know what to expect from the newly re-opened ZZ’s Pizza, as I had never been to the original incarnation of the Walnut Hills eatery, which closed in 2005. On a recent rainy evening, I settled for a parking meter a little farther away than I would have liked and hoped our experience at ZZ’s would be a redeeming one.  

Green Dog Cafe is exploding on the scene and so far has been met with mixed reviews. Why? Because it’s different. Seeing as it was started by veteran restaurateurs Mark and Mary Swortwood, who also started the Brown Dog Cafe in Blue Ash and Tinks Cafe in Clifton, the decision to forgo conventional table service in favor of a walk-up counter wasn’t made on a whim.  

Sometimes after a night of imbibing several adult beverages all you want to do is spend the afternoon at the nearest pizza joint relaxing and watching some other people watch sports. So on a recent Saturday, my dining partner and I hit up the Newport Pizza Company to do just that. It turned out to be a great place.  

I love sandwiches. I’ve long felt that they’re perfect in many ways, especially as a lunch food: They’re hand-held, often incorporate all the food groups and can contain damn near any combination of ingredients you can think up.  

A slice of authentic New York pizza is hard to come by in a city like Cincinnati. Surely there is no lack of pizzerias that claim to offer a “New York style” pizza, but there is rarely agreement as to which place is the real deal. If you’ve had a true New York slice, you won’t argue when we say that Noce’s Pizzeria is Cincinnati’s latest addition that does offer the real deal.  

Grammer's recently opened beer garden and newfound classy-sexy-cool clientele, make it a historical bar that retains the character of its time while hosting some of the coolest events and parties in town. One of which is the Freddie Mercury dance party. That party is happening again this year on Mr. Mercury’s birthday (Sept. 5). Look for spandex, sequins, condoms, mustache cookies and Shannon Yoho, the event's red-afroed producer.   

Where in Greater Cincinnati can you find a beer festival one week, indoor bike races the next, weekly wiffleball games and flamboyant, sweaty dance parties in honor of Queen's Freddie Mercury all in one place? Why, Grammer’s bar of course.  

After picking up some hot sandwiches at the new World Food Bar at Findlay Market (1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-342-1968), the only sounds emanating from our table were “mmm … mmmm” followed by: “Holy shit. Let’s go tell everyone how good this is.” It’s not surprising that the food was excellent, knowing chef/owner Joshua Campbell’s extensive background working in some of the finest restaurants in Cincinnati, Florida and the Bahamas.