Monday, July 1 – Sunday, July 7
The Week in Skin: When I was a kid, we ate fried chicken pretty frequently and I think one of the reason was how much my Mom really like to eat the skin and suck on the chicken bones. Long after I thought I’d eaten as much as possible from my own serving, my Mom would have taken the remnants off my plate (and my brother’s) and gone to work on her favorite part of the meal.
This week I ate dinner at Libby’s Southern Comfort in Covington where one of the appetizers is breaded and fried chicken skin. Just skin. Holy smokes. It’s so delicious. I hope the origin story is of the chef’s Mom reaching across the table for skin.
Also, no lie, Libby’s is legit great food. The fried oysters were the best I have had in Cincinnati. The breading is light and crispy, the same they use on their chicken and the chicken skins. The service is friendly and laid back. The cocktails, like the Cheerwine Slushie are fun and well-balanced. Good stuff.
The Week in Caves: The Cincinnati Museum Center is in full swing after its two year renovation, and one of the exhibits they brought back is The Cave. Modeled on area caves, its an old-fashioned museum exhibit that you walk through looking at stalagmites and such, twisting your way up and down a two-story path. I vaguely remember it from school trips to the old Cincinnati Natural History Museum and it was fun to wind through it again.
By the way, some of the turns are tight. It’s easy to see people were way smaller when the Cave made it’s appearance over 60 years ago.
The Week in America – Part 1: Northside is Cincinnati’s weirdest neighborhood, a description I think the majority of residents would wear proudly. Their Fourth of July Parade is a stand-out event of free expression with pops of color, bikes, bands, politics, costumes and several dance groups bringing funk and joy to Hamilton Avenue.
The Week in America – Part 2: United State’s Women’s National Soccer Team. Megan Rapinoe. Cincinnati native Rose Lavelle! Win!
The Week in Jukebox Failures – Part 1: I never had strong feelings for the singer/composer Randy Newman. I like many of his songs but feel like maybe I’m not understanding the majority of stuff I hear from him. He’s been writing for over 50 years and has a lot of music out there, not a lot of which, as sung by him, is widely known. Weirdly this week, at the nearly empty Comet bar in Northside, Randy Newman songs played almost continually for the hour or so we were there. No one fessed up to the Randy Newman binge.
The Week in Jukebox Failures – Part 2: I’d like to think the same musical jokester was in Knockback Nat’s on Sunday where it was fun to hear the old Herman’s Hermit’s song Henry the VIII I Am, a song so catchy it’s sung at summer camp. I wasn’t as thrilled to hear it the second time, and even less thrilled to hear it a third time. No one fessed up to the Henry the VIII binge.
The Week in Rodents: On Friday night at TJ Maxx a kid brought in his hamster (as one does) who took the opportunity to bolt into the 26,000 square foot store/habitrail. The mom and kids thought us associates could find and retrieve Heidi the Hamster in a timely manner. I appreciate the vote of confidence in us associates who aren’t always capable of even putting the right size marker on a clothes hanger. Anyway, Heidi had a new home ala Ashley Judd in Where the Heart Is for a while. Then, smart little thing, she began making fleeting appearances near the front door on Saturday afternoon until a soft-hearted associate lured Heidi into a box for the trip home. Awwww. Someone make a movie already.
Nothing Ever Happens on My Street 