Shopping in Dayton

Boston's Bistro and Pub takes beer seriously—17 taps pour a rotating selection of global craft brews, and the beer list teems with more than 100 bottles. A beer garden gives its brews a place to roam outdoors, and an onsite brew school teaches beer enthusiasts the finer points of brewing while instilling etiquette and charm into rowdy porters and stouts. Owner David Boston balances this passion for beer with his family's Hungarian heritage, serving a bistro menu of traditional magyar kolbasz sausage, pork kraut, kosher soft pretzels from Rinaldo's Italian bakery, and Zwack slaw and incorporating European meats and cheeses into paninis, pizzas, and spinach salads.

David Boston and his pub trace their history back through the coal mines of West Virginia and the factories of Ohio, en route to West Dayton, where in 1927 David's ancestors set up their own business, the Ole Time Bar, on Fifth Street. Boston's Bistro and Pub is the family's latest culinary enterprise, now carrying the torch for fine, frothy brews and Magyar delicacies for more than 30 years.

Shrouded in the winter’s frigid cold and the Northern Lights’ ethereal beauty, the residents of the titular small town in Almost, Maine fall in and out of love during nine loosely linked vignettes performed by Sinclair’s ensemble cast. Written by John Cariani, the play thawed Off Broadway hearts six years ago in a debut that drew the New York Sun to herald it as a tale of “love in the time of frostbite.” Each of the short pieces chronicles two characters who lament love lost or revel in budding romance and long johns magically overflowing with $5 bills. In one scene, a young woman carries her broken heart in a balled-up paper bag she clutches to her chest. In another, a married couple lobs verbal jabs and emotional roundhouses at each other while looking for a missing shoe. Many of the mini plays skewer reality with a fantastical lance, the enchanted devices often directing the characters' precarious ventures of the heart. The mysticism of Almost, Maine is further reflected by the colorful history of Blair Hall Theatre, rife with supernatural stories, ghost sightings, and actors with sparkling smiles that cast no reflections.

Chaos Room's theater-sized gaming experience immerses players in video games without having to undergo painful pixilation procedures. Take a seat in the video game theater and spend two hours ($14) competing against friends or Internetnemies on one of the theater's 14 high-definition, 12' by 18' screens. Chaos Room's games selection is constantly changing to offer the latest and greatest in multimedia entertainment, with recent Wii, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 titles including Halo 3, Rock Band 2, Madden 2010, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011, and Wii Mario Kart. Feel the sensation known only to Brooklyn plumbers and sound barrier-shattering cerulean hedgehogs as you X+R2+joystick-swivel-to-the-left your way to gaming glory.

Like a pep rally full of mannequins, Flyer Spirit sports an everlasting display of school pride, drenched in University of Dayton red and blue. The school’s colors, insignia, and name bedeck apparel that ranges from Under Armour workout wear and hoodies by Gear to ties for alumni get-togethers and especially fancy football games. In addition to wearable UD spirit, visitors find their fill of accessories, such as pot holders and ceramic dog dishes, as well as Greek merchandise and progenitor-pleasing parent-oriented items.

The Shopping Bag’s owner and founder was inspired to begin her online boutique by memories of her grandmother's “gift closet,” which was always filled with an eclectic array of knickknacks that she doled out on special occasions. Those gifts always perfectly suited whomever they were meant for, something The Shopping Bag attempts to replicate with its diverse selection. Home and fashion accessories dominate the ever-changing inventory and include such unique items as beaded necklaces and skull-shaped cupcake molds. Mustache paraphernalia provides an homage to quirky facial hair, with customers able to purchase mustache-adorned straws, mustache-shaped temporary tattoos, and personal appearances from Hall and Oates’s John Oates. Home chefs can accentuate their art with spice rubs or Stonewall Kitchen baking mixes, and shoppers looking for kids’ gifts can choose from a selection of toys, sunglasses, and clothes.