Cincinnati Tour Ideas

So I’ve been on vacation for a few days – but where have I been? CINCINNATI! I had friends come in from out of town and have been showing them the city. So I had to show them my favorites of Cincinnati – within reason – they have a five year old – so every place had to be kid-friendly!

So here’s my Tour of Cincinnati!

Day 1: RuThai’s in Mt Lookout & Graeters
Well they got here late – so all we had time for was dinner. RuThai’s is a little Thai joint on Mt Lookout Square. I had my usual sushi (Berron & UK rolls) and my friends tried the Spicy Fish (my personal favorite dish on the menu) and the Pepper/Onion Chicken. A good time was had by all! The Spicy Fish was definitely a hit as was the restaurant overall. It’s cute, quaint and local! Don’t forget – it’s BYOB – my friend looked over and said “Hey – they just pulled beer out of their bag!” After dinner – we headed to Graeters in Hyde Park for some ice cream. How can we not?

Day 2: Habanero – Newport Aquarium – Party with friends
We’re not early risers – so breakfast was at home…then we hit Newport. Habanero was the only place open and it was okay. I’m just not a fan of Habanero. I had a bad date there – guy wore a fanny pack – can’t recover from that. I had nachos and they were just eh – and most of the time – I love Nachos. I really wanted to take them to Deweys but they didn’t open until Noon. Aquarium was fun – I’d never been – great place to take a little boy. The party at my friend’s house was great of course…

Day 3: Kings Island – LaRosa’s – Zips
Well – with a 5 year old – you have to go to Kings Island! That’s always a fun time and thankfully – they aren’t big ride people – so we had a good time and didn’t leave sick to our stomachs! Now for lunch – if you’re at KI – you have to do LaRosa’s – I mean – duh! It’s just better at Kings Island! Monday was no exception – always yummy! Then an afternoon of rides passed us by – we got wet on the log ride and had a blast. Then we headed home for a nap – and once we woke up – our bellies were ready for Zips! We covered the menu there – turkey burger, cheese burger and even a GIRTH burger! Of course – everybody was happy with Zips – I mean – how can you not?

Day 4: Echo – Zoo – Montgomery Inn
Finally, we woke up for breakfast! I decided the Echo was a fun place to go – Waffle House is more Cinci but hey – I wanted to class it up a bit! We had a great breakfast – it was fun and the pancakes were great!!!! The zoo was great fun as well – I love the polar bears! (p.s. you can’t feed the giraffes yet – but you can see them!). For dinner, the troops went to Montgomery Inn because you have to go there! We chose the boathouse for the view and were able to eat outside – it was really peaceful and a great place to have dinner with a little guy. He could look at the water and the sites. Also – eating outside was nice – the inside was very crowded and very loud.

Day 5: Shopping – Deweys – IKEA – Pirates Cove
Amy wanted to shop – so we hit Rookwood…nothing too exciting. I did get some new shorts! W00T! Kenwood Deweys was a good spot for lunch – we definitely loved the pizza! Then we toured the latest Cinci attraction – IKEA! Fun fun fun! I got an ice cream scoop, a fold away table and a curtain bracket – ONLY AT IKEA! Then for dinner, we went to Pirate’s Cove. If you’re unfamiliar with PC – it’s the only floating restaurant in Cincinnati! It’s located on the marina with the Four Seasons on Kellogg near Coney Island. The food is mostly fried and nothing spectacular – but the ambiance is fun. There’s a band every night at 630 – so you’ve got music, water, floating, drinks, fried food and fun!

Overall – a great vacation for my friends and a mini-vacation for me!

So what do you think of my tour of Cincinnati? Where did I miss?

(p.s. I know I know – no Skyline! I know my friend Amy – she’d hate it – so we skipped it.)