Things to do in Ohio
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Skyline Chili
Don't worry - you can keep your clothes on for this experience, though you may want to loosen your belt. A 'five-way' in Cincinnati has to do with chili, which is a local specialty. It comprises meat sauce (spiced with chocolate and cinnamon) ladled over spaghetti and beans, then garnished with cheese and onions. Although you can get it three-way (minus onions and beans) or four-way (minus onions or beans), you should go the whole way - after all, life's an adventure. Skyline Chili has a cultlike following devoted to its version. There are outlets throughout town; this one is downtown.
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Johnny Mango
The Caribbean-influenced food and drinks are as flavorful as the interior is colorful. Mr Mango has a hearty vegetarian selection along with his meat dishes, all begging to be complemented by tropical drinks like sangria or Cuban mojitos (rum cocktail). Try the killer french fries made of plantains.
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Winking Lizard Tavern
This hugely popular pub-grub outlet, named for its caged iguana, is a logical downtown stop before or after a sporting event (Cleveland is a serious jock town with three modern downtown sports venues).
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Cincinnati Museum Center
Two miles northwest of downtown, the Cincinnati Museum Center occupies the 1933 Union Terminal, an art-deco jewel still used by Amtrak. The interior has fantastic murals made of Rookwood tiles. The Museum of Natural History (adult/child three to 12 years $8/6) is mostly geared to kids, but it does have a limestone cave with real bats inside. A history museum, Omnimax theater and children's museum round out the offerings. Discounted combination tickets are available. Parking costs $5.
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Lola
Famous for his piercings, Food Channel TV appearances and multiple national awards, local boy Michael Symon has put Cleveland on the foodie map with Lola. The lunch dishes are the most fun, say coconut-and-lime-tinged scallop ceviche or the showstopper - an egg-and-cheese-topped fried bologna sandwich.
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Carew Tower
- Cincinnati, USA
- Sights › Tower
Get a bird's eye view from the world's tallest standing pre-WWII tower. The 49th-floor observation deck has a fine art deco interior and affords magnificent views. You can look across the Ohio river to Kentucky or gaze down on Cincinnati's architecture.
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Graeter's Ice Cream
It's a local delicacy, with scoop shops around the city. The flavors that mix in the gargantuan, chunky chocolate chips top the list.
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Tommy's
This is a neighborhood standout, with a broad, veggie-heavy menu; don't miss the Mary Lynn spinach pie.
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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, aka the 'Sexiest Zoo in America,' has the country's highest rate for successful breeding. It's famous for its gorillas, white lions and rhinos, and is located 3 miles north of downtown. Parking is around US$7.
The city zoo is internationally known for its collection of endangered species, though it has the dubious distinction of having been the last place a passenger pigeon or Carolina parakeet ever drew breath. The zoo's gorillas and white tigers have been making up for the sad past by producing a record number of babies in captivity.
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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum is more than a collection of memorabilia, though it does have Jimi Hendrix' Stratocaster, Janis Joplin's psychedelic Porsche and Ray Charles' sunglasses. Interactive multimedia exhibits trace the history and social context of rock music and the performers who created it. Why is the museum in Cleveland? Because this is the hometown of Alan Freed, the disk jockey who popularized the term 'rock 'n' roll' in the early 1950s, and because the city lobbied hard and paid big. Be prepared for crowds.
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National Museum of the US Air Force
The huge National Museum of the US Air Force is at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 6 miles northeast of Dayton. It's got everything from a Wright Brothers exhibit and Sopwith Camel (WWI biplane) to a Stealth bomber. Don't miss the annex with its collection of presidential planes; a free shuttle bus takes you over to the hangar (which you'll need a passport or driver's license to enter). Expect your visit to take three or more hours.
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Clyde Museum
Still further west, on US 20 and surrounded by farmland, is Clyde, which bills itself as the USA's most famous small town. It got that way when native son Sherwood Anderson published Winesburg, Ohio in 1919. It didn't take long for the unimpressed residents to figure out where the fictitious town really was. Stop at the Clyde Museum in the old church for Anderson tidbits or at the library, a few doors down.
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Museum
West of Cleveland, attractive Oberlin is an old-fashioned college town, with noteworthy architecture by Cass Gilbert, Frank Lloyd Wright and Robert Venturi. Further west, just south of I-90, the tiny town of Milan is the birthplace of Thomas Edison. His home, restored to its 1847 likeness, is now a small museum outlining his inventions, like the light bulb and phonograph.
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Hocking Hills State Park
Around Lancaster, southeast of Columbus, the hills lead gently into Hocking County, a region of streams and waterfalls, sandstone cliffs and cavelike formations. It's splendid to explore in any season, with miles of trails for hiking and rivers for canoeing, as well as abundant campgrounds and cabins at Hocking Hills State Park.
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Young's Jersey Dairy
- Ohio, USA
- Restaurants › Other
Young's Jersey Dairy is a working dairy farm with two restaurants: the Golden Jersey Inn, serving dishes like buttermilk chicken; and the Dairy Store, serving sandwiches, dreamy ice cream and Ohio's best milk shakes. There's also minigolf, batting cages and opportunities to watch the cows get milked.
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COSI Columbus
COSI Columbus has been a popular science and industry museum for forty years. Exhibits range across subjects as space, the ocean and gadgets and provide plenty of scope for people of all types to find something to like. Children are well catered for by the numerous opportunities to get wet, build stuff or press a button while wandering about.
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HealthSpace Cleveland
While it's geared mostly to kids, HealthSpace Cleveland exhibits appeal to adults, too, especially the 'stress yard' and 'deli wagon' (showing how fast-food ramps up fat and sugar intake). Sneezes, by the way, can reach 100mph, and right-handed people live nine years longer on average than left-handed folks.
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Chez Nora
Its tables sprawl throughout a quaint multistory building, while its menu sprawls from chicken-and-goetta spring rolls to chilled mussels to walleye sandwiches to vegetarian pesto pasta. The rooftop bar provides views of Cincinnati's skyline (especially nice on Tuesdays with half-price bottles of wine).
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Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
The area south of Columbus was a center for the fascinating prehistoric Hopewell people, who left behind huge geometric earthworks and burial mounds from around 200 BC to AD 600. For a fine introduction visit the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, 3 miles north of Chillicothe.
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Great Lakes Science Center
The Great Lakes Science Center gives a good account of the lakes' environmental problems. It's affiliated with the William G Mather maritime museum, which was a freighter but is now a steamship museum. Also berthed nearby on the waterfront is the storied submarine USS Cod, which saw action in WWII.
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Cleveland Museum of Art
The star of the lot is the Cleveland Museum of Art, which houses an excellent collection of European paintings, as well as African, Asian and American art. It's undergoing a whopping expansion, to be completed in 2012, that will increase gallery space by more than 40%.
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Hathaway's
Hathaway's hasn't changed its retro dinette tables, or apron-wearing waitresses, since it started feeding hungry business people 30-plus years ago. Try the goetta (pork, oats, onions and herbs) for breakfast - it's a Cincy specialty. The milk shakes will please sweet tooths.
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Greenup Café
Greenup's French owner has imported the flavors of his homeland to this cheerful, bohemian bistro in an old brick warehouse. Get your croissants and croque monsieur (egg and ham sandwich) for breakfast; meatloaf hoagies and black-bean burgers for lunch; and pastries anytime.
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Bootsy's
True, it's trendy. And loud. But you gotta love a place vibed after Bootsy Collins, a Cincy boy done good as the funk bassist for James Brown and George Clinton. Check out Bootsy's gold records and other memorabilia while sipping mojitos and noshing on sushi, paella and duck tacos.
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Newport Aquarium
Newport is to the east and known for its massive Newport on the Levee restaurant and shopping complex. The development also contains the well-regarded Newport Aquarium, where you can meet Sweet Pea the shark ray, parading penguins and more.
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