Days 98-99 (August 8-9): Cincinnati, Ohio

Highlights from a quiet two days in a noticeably clean city, for the downtown core in any event:

- Patti Smith had an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Arts. It was meant to reflect upon the passing of her close friend Robert Mapplethorpe some 20 years ago, by exploring the four themes of affliction, Cremation, remembrance and transformation. I did not get that progression in the pictures and items displayed; it was, however, interesting to see several of the items mentioned in Smith's book 'Just Kids', her memoir of her formative years in New York City and of her friendship with Mapplethorpe. The final element of the exhibit was a recording of Smith reading 'The Coral Sea', a collection of poems she wrote to honour Mapplethorpe, played in a dark room with images projected on two screens. It was quite powerful.

- It happened to be Restaurant Week in Cincinnati; some 20 or so restaurants were each offering a three-course table d'hôte for $35. I had dinner at one of the participating restaurants, Local 127, a rather nice looking establishment that seeks out and uses locally-sourced ingredients. I opened with a sweet onion soup with loin bacon, shallots and smoked hot sauce, where unfortunately the hot sauce overshadowed the other elements. My entrée was goat meat balls and vegetables with mint and chili-sesame oil, a much more successful dish which married the different elements and did not hide their individual tastes.

- I spent some quality time at Arnold's Tavern on 8th Avenue East. Arnold's is a 150+ year-old establishment, which right there is awfully cool. The walls are covered with antique signs and memorabilia. They have a good number of local craft beers on tap. I particularly enjoyed two beers by Rhinegeist Breweries, a small brewer from Cincinnati, especially the Rarity, an IPA.

- Ohio is the 14th and final state I am visiting on this little jaunt I am on. Overall, I have visited 26 states and have travelled through seven others, including Kentucky where it turns out the regional airport serving Cincinnati is located.

- No turkeys were harmed in the writing of this blog post.

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.