Cincinnati, Or Close Enough: Part 1, Friday Night

     My daughter Theresa and her husband Phill  live in Sharonville, Ohio, a  pretty, woodsy northern suburb of Cincinnati.
    It recently occurred to me that every time I  visit them we always end up hanging around Sharonville or the nearby pastoral 'burbs without ever venturing into the city. 
    So I decided to drive down for a visit this past weekend and I proposed that this time we actually do Cincinnati...whatever there might be to do, of which I knew nada when I made the proposal.
     I was, however,  assured by Theresa and Phill that that there was in fact stuff to see and do in Cincy and that seeing and doing some of it over a weekend would be a splendid plan.
     I arrived at Theresa and Phill's place on Friday evening.

  Theresa in their backyard,

...with their kitty, Dory.

     Soon after our Cincinnatarama weekend began.
    The first activity they had planned  was a visit to Jungle Jim's, a massive supermarket that carries grocery products from all over the world.
    Though  the Jungle Jim's we visited is located at the suburban Eastgate Mall and therefore not technically within the city limits of Cincinnati,  it still is considered a must-see Cincinnati attraction.
    And so we did go to see it, but first we stopped for dinner at another suburban location of a Cincinnati tradition,  La Rosa's Pizzeria, also at the Eastgate Mall: 

    ...where we shared an awesomely delicious Florentine Focaccia pizza, which is described in the menu as: "4-cheese blend, Italian spices, red sauce and buttery garlic sauce, mushrooms, spinach, roma tomatoes and green olives",  though Phill had them toss some cappacola ham on his half of the pizza.

    It was a four-star pizza.  A work of art.  If you ever make it to La Rosa's at the Eastgate Mall outside Cincinnati I highly recommend the Florentine Foccacia pizza.
   Basking in the warm  inner glow that follows a  supremely satisfying meal,  we headed down the mall where we easily located  Jungle Jim's with its distinctive marquee and entrance:

   And equally distinctive interior:

    And restrooms:

    Which are optically deceptive:  the "port-a-potty" doors actually lead into  very nice, spacious restrooms.
     Jungle Jim's bills itself first and foremost as an international market, and that it is:

The durian is the fruit from Asia that supposedly smells like rank garbage when you cut into it but it has a big following anyway.  No accounting for tastes, huh?

---

    But there are also  all the other standard American supermarket departments, some on a grand scale:

    The candy department. This is just part of the Pez dispenser department.

The fresh seafood section. (Okay, I am aware that these critters are alive before we eat them, still I'd prefer not to be reminded of it.  I much prefer buying them  already packaged and wrapped in plastic).

      The pastry section and the cooking supplies department, to name a few.                
      And then there are the fanciful touches to be found throughout the store:

  Like the fun-house mirror in the candy department,

...the little movie theater,

...the tasting bar in the alcohol section where folks come to hang out on a Friday night,

...and first-class airplane seats for tired folks like Phill and Theresa to take a little break before heading to the checkout.

  
    Amazingly, with all there was to purchase at Jungle Jim's we managed to leave the store without buying anything.  I guess there was nothing from any part of the world that any of us actually needed.
    And so went the first leg of our Cincinnati - or, surburban Cincinnati, so far - tour.
    Tune in tomorrow for our foray into the city.
    But which city? ;)