A Tour, A Taste, and a Toast to the World

After months of planning, the 2012 World Choir Games are about to begin in Cincinnati. From July 4-July 14, 2012, Cincinnati will welcome 360 choirs from 48 countries to compete and perform in 23 musical categories. Yes, this is the Olympics of choral singing and will bring thousands of visitors to the region. As Cincinnati does so well, we are rolling out the red carpet for our guests. And what better way for visitors to get acquainted with Cincinnati than through one of the numerous tours taking place throughout the area?
American Legacy Tours will offer their popular Queen City Underground tour as well as a multitude of other walking tours. The folks at Queen City History will lead "Saloon, Cellars, & Sin" tours from Cincinnati's oldest bar Arnold's. There will also be Pedal Wagon tours and Segway tours.
We think we've got a winning tour at Findlay Market, too. Not only are we offering a walking tour at this historic landmark, but we also include tasting with an optional toast to the world at the conclusion. A $15 ticket for our 90-minute Taste the World at Findlay Market tour includes stops at the stands or shops of six specialty merchants. For an additional $5, we'll add on a wine tasting at Market Wines or two ice cold beers from the OTR Biergarten.
Limited transportation or worried about parking? We've got that covered, too. We've arranged a 14-person "Singing Van" from United Shuttle to transport visitors from Washington Park to Findlay Market for our Taste the World tours. The van will also stop at Pendleton Art Center, home of the world's largest collection of artists under one roof, where visitors can browse the studios and meet the artists. Hop on board in front of Music Hall and enjoy the ride around Over-the-Rhine to see history and progress together in the largest, most intact urban historic district in the United States.
Now that's something to sing about!

Upcoming Taste the World at Findlay Market Tours:
Thursday, July 5     4:00-5:30 pm
Friday, July 6         2:00-3:30 pm
Saturday, July 7     2:00-3:30 pm and 4:00-5:30 pm
Sunday, July 8      12:00-1:30 pm and 2:00-3:30 pm
Tuesday, July 10   4:00-5:30 pm
Wednesday, July 11  4:00-5:30 pm
Thursday, July 12   4:00-5:30 pm
Friday, July 13   4:00-5:30 pm

Reservations at www.cincinnatifoodtours.com or call 513-602-5602 for more information.

Board the Singing Van in front of Music Hall. Shuttle service starts one hour before first Taste the World tour of the day and runs continuously from Music Hall to Findlay Market to Pendleton Art Center to Gateway Quarter. Minimal fee. Call 513-515-2893 for specific details.

When in Rome...

Although it may seem like everyone is buzzing about it lately, the World Choir Games are definitely a point of interest for me. When I was a sophomore in high school at Winton Woods, I was lucky enough to travel to China in WWHS's Varsity Ensemble to sing at a Choral Prelude to the Beijing Olympics. It was an eye-opening, life-changing experience for all 46 students that went, and I can relate to the excitement the choral students all over the world that are able to travel to Cincinnati are feeling.
Like us, many of them are going to see things they have never seen before, hear genres of music they didn't know existed, and, most importantly, taste things they have never tasted before.

Real Chinese food is not like Chinese takeout in the states. Don't get me wrong, we had some fabulous meals (I especially enjoyed the ceremonious breaking of a duck's neck next to the dinner table), but my picky-eater-high-school-self was a little tired of white rice at every meal for 10 days. Surely the visitors during the choir games will taste food that they love, hate, and will never be able to duplicate. Which do you think will be which? For me, in China, I loved the meal comprised of 12 different kinds of pot stickers and dipping sauces, hated a few mystery meats, and will never break a duck's neck at my dinner table. I have a feeling there will be a lot of hamburger-lovers, a few Skyline-haters, and hopefully a lot of defining, unique culinary experiences during the choirs' stay in Cincinnati.

Written by Emily Cooper

Potato Salad Blues

As advertised, I'm heading the blog posts for the summer. While I do love me some good, old-fashioned South Carolina cuisine, I'm always excited to return to Cincinnati and quench my Skyline, Dojo Gelato, and Tom & Chee cravings. Beyond just the great food I can go grab in this city, I look forward to all the things I can whip up in a "big girl kitchen" (the stove in my on-campus apartment last year took literally one hour to boil water). It is torturous to be subscribed to the Food Network magazine and not be able to make anything in it for five issues. So I'm catching up. And it doesn't hurt to have parents that can deliver whatever obscure fruits and vegetables I need on demand.

When I do cook at school, I am often inspired by the one and only blog that I actually read and subscribe to: Big Girls Small Kitchen. It is made for people like me, who really, really like food but don't have the space or funds to go all out every night. The blog itself is quite user-friendly; you can find recipes by course, ingredient, season (great for shopping fresh at Findlay), dietary restriction, and about a million other filters. I found a recipe on there today that got me thinking... which brings me to the topic for the week: potato salad.

Potato salad usually is not good. You go to a summer cookout and it has been sitting on the table for like six hours and you're like, "Dang, I wonder how long mayonnaise can stay out in 85 degree weather until it becomes toxic". I attribute my instinctive avoidance of the potato salad entirely to those kinds of cookouts. But it doesn't have to be like this.

The geniuses at BGSK have created a potato salad that is... wait for it... mayonnaise-free. It is definitely something you want to add to your summer potluck repertoire. The guests will thank you. Especially if the guest is me.