Universal Grille (909 Vine St., Downtown) has a new chef, new menu and new dining room. According to owner Peter Laffoon, "The vibe is what we like to call grown up, not stuck up." Laffoon also not  

On a recent Sunday afternoon, as the Cincinnati Pride parade made its way along a sun-baked Hamilton Avenue in a riot of color and, um, ill-fitting black leather, I stopped in at Portofino's in Nor  

The fifth annual 7 Days for SIDS fund-raiser kicks off a week of events starting on Monday, including Chefapalooza at the Midwest Culinary Institute Tuesday. Chefapalooza offers live cooking demons  

Leaving behind its small Court Street storefront, Javier's Mexican Restaurant (100 Eighth St. at Walnut, Downtown; 513-381-3287) has moved to a much larger corner space, where it's now open for brea  

When Poppies Deli was in its heyday, Michelle Lightfoot was something of an urban legend -- not "crocodiles in the sewer" urban legend, but an "I want to tell everyone I meet to eat there" urban le  

The Greater Cincinnati Originals (GCO) will hold their annual event, the Original Spring Mix, on May 9 at the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State College. The chefs from the Cincinnati ch  

New Orleans To Go (139 W. Kemper Road, Springdale, 513-671-2711) makes the best of its angular, strip-mall space, dressing it up with gold, green and purple paint, feathery masks and glittery beads.  

Over-the-Rhine is gearing up for a restaurant renaissance. Maureen Godshall, current operating partner of Neon's, and Michael Spalding and Roula David, owners of Vinyl, last week announced plans to  

Lunch doesn't usually start with someone in a suit opening a door for me. But that was just the beginning of the pleasant surprises fresh (36 E. Fourth St., 513-421-1020) had in store for me. The   

The Cincinnati International Wine Festival (www.winefestival.com) kicks off March 23 for two days of tastings and related wine fun. Grand Tastings will be held on Friday and Saturday at the Duke En  

The origins of elegance can be illusive. Is it waitstaff that serves from the left and takes from the right? Bone china and Riedel glassware? Unpronounceable menu names? Expensive ingredients? What  

The Place There's a new chef in the house -- or should I say houses? The Palace has a new executive chef, Romuald Jung. Chef Romy will begin introducing patrons to his new winter and spring men  

The new year brings lots of new dining news in town. Pho Paris, Jean-Robert de Cavel's Vietnamese-French fusion restaurant, is moving from Oakley to Covington at the end of January. They'll be in t  

The Westin is sporting a new look these days -- Ingredients (21 E. Fifth St., downtown, 513-852-2740) has sprinkled some pizzazz in the hotel's lobby with its modern furniture and gourmet-to-go conc  

In his Essay on Boiling Spring Water (circa 1570), T'ien Yiheng wrote, "Tea is drunk to forget the noise of the world." Knowing this, Essencha Tea House (3212 Madison Road, Oakley; 513-533-4832; loo