a night out downtown

very unfortunately we are losing our good friends jenn and mark to the great state of wisconsin (really, guys? what's there besides cheese and the packers? oh, ok, i guess mark's family, but whatever). what an excellent excuse for a dinner downtown with no-holds-barred drinking. the location? nada.

caipirinhas and mojitos all around

the caipirinhas are fabulous. ok, i don't have any basis for comparison, but i like them an awful lot, especially the passion fruit. and i just feel hip drinking them in such a swanky, happenin' place like nada.

my spanish lesson for the evening was that "dos equis" means "2 x's", not "2 horses". i began to wonder what the 2 x's are for. porn rating? did the original brewer have 2 ex-wives? no. the beer was originally named siglo xx, to celebrate the dawning of the 20th century. the name was changed after the turn of the century.

slider topped with tiny mexican flag

tacos

fantastically delicious sopes

tinga poblana

all the food was incredible, especially the short rib sopes. the meat was so tender and flavorful. no stringiness! nada is a satisfying experience every time i visit. their desserts are also quite wonderful. brian and i shared the chocolate cake topped with bananas foster gelato (mmm...) and jenn and mark had the churros.

warm chocolate cake

looks like bacon, but, nope, those are churros

as we meandered around fountain square after dinner, our nostrils caught the ripe and rich scent of horse manure.i have lived in cincinnati my whole life and never taken a carriage ride through downtown. and you know what? it's fun. our driver, fred, was sporting wrangler jeans and was a wealth of information about the buildings in downtown. his carriage softy played a soundtrack of louis armstrong and we cruised through the city pulled by oreo, the aptly named horse (if i'm not mistaken, that's caballo in spanish. look how much i've learned!).

oreo and jenn make up, shortly after he blew snot all over her arm