When to Visit - Arts and Events

Perhaps the area's most bizarre local custom is the event known as the "Parrothead frenzy". You can blame it on singer Jimmy Buffett who, every year, performs at Riverbend Music Center. When Jimmy's in town, the town goes crazy. Locals adorn themselves in bright, flowered shirts, grass skirts and ludicrous hats decorated with just about anything associated with any of Buffett's songs. Hat-borne items include parrots, cocktail glasses, cheeseburgers, sharks and salt shakers and all because Cincinnati is where the singer began calling his fans "Parrotheads". This, for some reason, excited the local population beyond all logical understanding.

Cincinnati Dining

Greater Cincinnati has more top-rated restaurants than any other city of its size and is represented with cuisine from all over the world. There are also many venues serving traditional, regional and contemporary American food and the city is noted for its excellent restaurants, some of which are set in attractively restored old buildings, as part of a movement to capitalize on the region's abundant architectural heritage.

A local favorite is "Cincinnati Chili" which is sweet, not too hot and served over spaghetti or a hot dog then smothered in cheese. No visit to the city would be complete without tasting at least one of the area's legendary beers. Beer manufacturing is a reminder of Greater Cincinnati's strong German heritage and locally you can taste the only American beer, brewed by Hudepohl-Schoenling, to pass Germany's strict purity test (the Reinheitsgebot).

Cincinnati Tipping Advice

Restaurants in Cincinnati don't usually add gratuities to the bill, so tipping is recommended; from 10 per cent, where the food and service is acceptable, to 20 per cent, where the meal and service is excellent. Tips in taxis should be paid along similar lines. The recommended rate for doormen, parking attendants and valets is one US dollar.