Tonight I was checking out all the nightlife venues in Downtown Cincinnati, and I had a pretty cool thought as I was watching a fat chick run across the street and into a bar: Cincy’s nightlife ain’t so bad, or at least not nearly as bad as I had been thinking over the past few years. The fat chick running was reminiscent of many nights in Auckland, and while Cincinnati is far from an entertainment nirvana, seeing long queues outside of several places well after midnight is a major improvement over the desolate streets I remember from a few years back (for my NZ audience, please keep in mind all bars/clubs MUST close at 2:30am - just slightly after you’re enjoying the first cocktail of the evening;) Maybe I’m just not remembering clearly, but in any case, I’d like to modestly upgrade my opinion of Cincinnati’s nightlife compared to what I’ve expressed in the past.

The reason for my little research project was to find potential places to work while I’m in town and to develop some local contacts for my little business project. Shoutouts go to Bang for the classiest club with the most attractive people, Below Zero Lounge for the grooviest vibe, and Havana Martini Club for the most lively atmosphere with its live Latin music.

Another promising venue was Mr. Pitiful’s with its very stylish interior design and friendly staff. Unfortunately though, Mr. Pitiful is living up to its name a little too much because it was almost totally empty at primetime on Saturday night. The owner used tomorrow’s Super Bowl as an excuse, but this didn’t seem to be a factor for all of the other places I went. I’m betting its less-than-desirable location in the Main Street district (the not-so-nice part of town) has more to do with it. From what I’ve heard, Main Street is really in the shitter at the moment, but from what I’ve read, this may be (and hopefully) improving in the near future.

It’s nice to know there are some fairly decent places in town good for an occasional distraction!