Awesome Food, Drinks at Thai One On At Mayberry

Just a quick post to note that Chef Josh Campbell of Mayberry did it again this past Wednesday night, putting together a terrific dinner of Thai food.

My friend and I sat with Julie and Terry. Julie will have pictures and a more thorough review up sometime soon, no doubt. Through the meal, Julie would say intelligent things like, "The herbaceous quality of the dish gives it a subtlety that's exquisite." I, on the other hand, would occasionally take a break from shoveling forkful after forkful of delicious food into my mouth, gasp for air, and grunt, "Food good. Me like."

By now, everyone knows that I love Josh and Mayberry. The guy can just flat out cook. But Wednesday night was my first encounter with Molly Wellmann, and that deserves a few words.

She'd prepared four drinks for the Thai-themed dinner. The one I chose--perhaps the least adventurous option--was a Thai iced tea. It was prepared with Thai tea, coconut milk, and Kraken rum. (I managed to avoid saying it during dinner, but I'll say it now: Release the Kraken!) It was a terrific drink, with just the right balance of liquor. I'd not had Kraken rum before, and it was an excellent choice for the iced tea.

Julie and Terry already knew Molly, so she came over near the end of the meal to chat. Molly was not at all what I'd expected. Having heard about (but not having met) Molly and knowing how "in" she is right now, I'd imagined her as one of those people who is so cool or hip as to be aloof. Nothing could be further from the truth. She was warm, engaging, and disarmingly charming. And I found out what the difference between a "bartender" and a "mixologist" is. It's not simply that a mixologist makes awesome drinks (although Molly certainly does!). It's the depth of the mixologist's knowledge of her craft. At one point, Terry asked Molly about absinthe. Molly took off on an extended riff about the history of liquor, distillation, and wormwood. Molly speaks about drink-mixing with the knowledge and passion that I can only hope I display when I talk about the law.

I've got to catch up with Molly when she's tending bar some day to try her Manhattan. Or anything else she'd care to mix up, for that matter.

All in all, an extremely successful event for Mayberry. If you're not following the World Food Bar on Facebook (and thus learning about their planned special evenings), you're a fool.

Welcome Home Christian Moerlein

Beer drinkers, OTR supporters, Cincinnati fans, today is huge! The Cincinnati Business Courier reports that Christian Moerlein Brewing Company will start making beer in Over-the-Rhine within a year.

Hannity Rains on "Tea Party"

Schadenfreude is not just a word it is a reality.

I'm not sure what to make of FOX News, however. I doubt they were pissed that Hannity was violating every rule of Journalism by appearing at the Cincinnati "Tea Party" event. I think they were more pissed that FOX News wasn't getting a cut of the gate. No money, no Hannity. No midwestern crack-posts are going to be Hannity's pimp. FOX News is the pimp for all of the Right-Wing media whores, and don't you forget it, Cincinnati!

CAC: The Event - May 22nd

Get more info at: www.contemporaryartscenter.org

Tweetup for Tarbell April 21st at Neon's

Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to have fun? Do you want to drink beer? You can do all of that and more on April 21st from 5:30 to 9:00PM at Neon's where everyone can show their support for Jim Tarbell by attending a Tweetup for Tarbell event. You will have the opportunity to meet Jim and interact with people who support his campaign. This gathering is organized by a group of independent minded Twitter users who have met Jim and appreciate the experience he brings to everything he does. Just so you know, outside of paying for your own drinks, there is no charge to attend.

Former Cincinnati Vice-Mayor Jim Tarbell is running for Hamilton County Commissioner and needs your support and your vote in the Democratic Primary on May 3rd.

Jim is a strong advocate for smart development in all of Hamilton County, but Jim understands the importance of development in the City of Cincinnati. Jim will work to get the county budget in order and establish a tone throughout the county that inspires cooperation, not conflict.

Please come out on Wednesday April 21st from 5:30PM - 9:00PM to Neon's Unplugged, 208 E. 12th St.,Cincinnati, OH 45202.

The Main Event???

While on my Saturday morning walk I saw to my surprise a couple of signs in the windows of 835 Main Street. They read:

The Main Event
Opening on or Around
April 15th

This location was formerly Guido's Corner Tap and before that it was Lava. I've done a search on-line, but found close to nothing.  I saw some reference to a possible liquor permit transfer at that location in City Council records from late last year, but that was it. Via word of mouth I've heard it is being opened by the people who run the Subway bar, which is slated to close with the rehab plans of the Metropole.

If anyone has any additional details, please chime in.

Silence at the Enquirer

In this week's CityBeat, Kevin Osborne references the Enquirer's recent action in turning off the comments on the on-line news article about the St. Xavier High School football player who fell to his death from a hotel balcony while on Spring Break in Florida.

What Kevin may not know and what the Enquirer management will not come out and report is that they have changed the overall policy on stories about deaths. If you check on the following article Monday shooting victim dies, you will see that the option to comment is not included. I don't know exactly what stories qualify for this new no-comments policy, but there clearly is some type of policy in place.

What I will "speculate" has happened is that the Publisher of the Enquirer got wind of the comments on the stories about the St. Xavier student. She didn't like that and she pushed for the policy change because it affects someone she cares about.

It took the publisher to either be lobbied by people she knew or she knew the kid herself to notice the kind of comments that flood the Enquirer website.

Kevin's points are not lost on this at all. The Publisher had let countless comments about he deaths of kids from OTR and other inner-city neighborhoods, younger than this St. X student, killed for making mistakes, flood those articles. It took the death from the right socio-economic circles to get her attention.

Why she's not making the policy change public is the surprise. Or is it? Does the Publisher know that making an announcement about the comments policy change will only point to obvious motivation it took for her to act? I would guess the Editors and Staff of the Enquirer and Cincinnati.com would really like to announce this policy change. I don't think any of them want people to think they are only silencing the hate-filled comments about Suburbanites. I will surmise a silence ploy is the chosen tack. Say nothing and wait for it to blow over. I don't think that's going to work. To use another cliché, the bell can't be unrung. It is time to announce the policy change and maybe get new software to make commenting less anonymous and less offensive to everyone.

I'm only speculating here, but If I can figure this out, anyone can.