Hot eats late after a cool performance

So my new buddy Shawn over at Cincinnati Arts blog just updated (he gives credit to his intern for the html legwork) his Eating After the Show page. I have to tell you, I've been using this resource for a while now, ever since I found it about six months back.

It's got detailed listings of the hours of operation of the kitchens of various food-serving establishments in and around downtown. He even just added a new section for Clifton/University Heights.

The page is part of a number of pages on CincinnatiArts.com that are designed to help break the ice for the arts-uninitiated, including info on convenient eating after an evening performance, what to wear to certain types of arts events, etc.

They could probably go a step farther and add a page on parking, but that's a bitch to maintain so I understand if they don't - I'm sure it's hard enough keeping the restaurant list up-to-date. I bring up the parking only because I hear people bitch about parking downtown more than any other complaint - and honestly, parking downtown is a breeze, most people are just STUPID and don't pay attention (I'll save this for another rant another time).

Cincinnati Arts is part of a group of websites by Enjoy the Arts, a great organization that helps get people into the arts by providing various memberships that get you free and discount tickets to tons of cool stuff all over the area. It used to be just for students, but these days there's a membership level for every age group. I highly recommend getting one - you save a ton of money and find out about lots of cool sh*t you wouldn't normally hear about!
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Tapas = Ripoff

So I was dragged to yet another Tapas bar, this time Latitudes Cafe in Anderson Towne Center. Like the word Bistro, I have come to know that the real meaning of the word Tapas is "very little food for lotsa money."

The decor was, well, midscale modern, but they didn't do much to hide the fact that they're in a plaza. Take out the bar and the booths and the room could have just as easily been a chic shoe boutique.

The food looked appealing on the menu - even though it seemed to be priced high, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt - with what sounded like some really unique selections.

The $4 salad was so small it looked like it was the uneaten leftovers from someone else's plate, with barely enough greenery to cover the five-inch dish.

I thought I'd try the crabcakes, but they were pitifully small, dry and tasteless. I didn't even finish them, my friend did - but he covered them in some dipping sh*t that he had with one of his dishes. Did I mention the service was pitiful as well?

I also had the Lebanese chicken kabobs. When they arrived the "kabobs" were two dried up, shriveled pieces of chicken approximately a quarter inch in diameter and about four inches long. The sauce was a scarce puddle in the corner of the plate and the "chutney" what was supposed to come with it apparently consisted of a few sprinkles of diced cilantro under the pathetic chicken straws.

I shared a few other dishes with my friends, but nothing was filing or particularly tasty. My portion of the bill (with no alcoholic beverages) came to about $25 before tip and after pitching in on the other dishes I shared. I left feeling so hungry that I almost stopped at the chinese take out next door.

Never again. I try to avoid Anderson any way, as there's nary a locally-owned restaurant on that side of the Little Miami, so I figure by the time I get out that way again it'll be replaced with some national chain anyway, and for once (the gods forgive me) it may be a step up.
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