LTHForum.com

Hello LTHers,

I took an impromptu trip to Cincinnati this weekend to cheer on my beloved Chicago Cubs. I booked my downtown hotel room Wednesday night and got in my car Friday morning. Cincinnati was a great town, very beautiful with the riverfront (I have never been), but very busy this weekend because there was some sort of music festival going on.

I did have some time off when I wasn't watching baseball, so I took some of the recommendations I read about on the forum. I did get to try Skyline and Gold Star chili 4-way with onions and while I did enjoy both, I have to sheepishly admit that I might like Steak N Shake's chili mac supreme a bit better. Maybe it's the sweetness, maybe it's the nostalgia (I went to school in Bloomington-Normal, home of the first SnS). Some native Ohioans might find it to be sacrilege, but hey, it's what makes the world go 'round, no?

Friday night's game was delayed due to the rain and I was cold and wet, so afterwards, I went to a small downtown cafe called Shanghai Mama's, whose kitchen is open to 3 am on the weekends. I ordered potstickers and some shrimp wonton soup to go. The wontons were firm and shrimpy and the broth very well balanced, but I did not like the egg noodles that were in the dish. They had a strange aftertaste to them and were a bit too al dente for my taste. The potstickers were very well flavored (I've waxed poetic about potstickers here), but strangely enough, they were covered in a quasi Chinese bolognese sauce, spiced with ginger, soy, chili flakes and thickened with corn starch). A pretty decent meal that hit the spot and warmed me up.

Saturday morning I visited Jungle Jim's and almost missed the international section, which is a bit hidden and past the registers. I had to walk around the front part of the store three times until I figured out where to go. The cheese and deli section is incredible and I was sad I didn't have a cooler (but I had a game to attend that night). I did buy some interesting British items, including Wine Gums (my favorite candy), South African peri-peri curry, and an interesting little packet called "Chip Shop Curry", much like the McCormick gravy packets they sell at the Jewel. I am addicted to dipping my 'chips' in curry sauce, especially at the Celtic Knot in Evanston. I decided to buy this little packet purely for curiosity's sake.

One place I didn't see mentioned on the forum was the Findlay Market, a public market and farmers' market in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. The market is set up with a free standing market house that has meat markets, grocers, bakeries, and soul food catering businesses. Outside there are produce sellers, merchants, soap makers, etc. Off to the north side there is a farmers' market with many local farmers, most from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. I got to talk with many of them and sample their produce. Nothing really beats an organic cherry tomato. There was a meat market that had a grill set up outside so they could grill and sell their own sausages. I had a surprisingly fantastic slice of thin crust pepperoni at a small Italian deli called Bella Luna. Along the south side of the market, I noticed a storefront called Mr. Pig, where I could smell the sweet smoky smell of real barbecue. Even though the pizza slice was delicious, I was kicking myself for not seeing the Mr. Pig sign earlier. Findlay Market is a real gem in this town and I sugget people to check it out if they are visiting on the weekends (I believe it's open Wed-Sun)



I found out that the orignal Pacific Moon Cafe has now closed and reopened up across the Ohio River in Newport, Kentucky at Newport on the Levee, a new entertainment complex, complete with 20 screen megaplex, aquarium, and chain stores. It's basically a glorified mall, but the view of the riverfront makes up for it a bit. I intended on visiting Pacific Moon for some post-game sushi and dumplings, but arrived to find a line of girls in sparkly tank tops trying to get in and someone collecting cover. Apparently it was salsa night and the restaurant transformed into a club. I'm not sure what the vibe or the food was like at the old location, but this is what I call Asian Fusion Disco (much like Sushi Wabi). Maybe they have good food, but I can't help but get the distinct vibe that I am not cool enough to be dining there.

All in all, I had a great trip, the Cubs won 2 out of 3 and as of right now, they are 1/2 game out of first place. Cincy was a great town and I am looking forward to going back. Oh and by the way, the food at the Great American Ball Park is terrible.

Skyline Chili
http://www.skylinechili.com/index.php

Goldstar Chili
http://www.goldstarchili.com/

Shanghai Mama's
216 E 6th St
Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 241-7777
http://www.shanghaimamas.com

Jungle Jim's info in above posts

Findlay Market
1801 Race Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 665-4839
http://www.findlaymarket.org/index.htm

Bella Luna at Findlay Market
(513)381-LUNA

Mr. Pig
109 West Elder
Cincinnati, OH 45210
(513) 651-2251
http://www.mrpig.us

Pacific Moon Cafe
1 Levee Way, Suite 2125
Newport, KY 41071
(859) 261-MOON
http://www.pacificmoononthelevee.com

Sharona

ps. Sorry I don't have pictures, my camera is a bit wonky at the moment

I haven't been to Pacific Moon since they changed locations....my apologies! I believe that Shanghai Mama's and Pacific Moon have the same owner, so you didn't really miss anything. Findlay market is awesome...like you said, a true gem in that city. Glad the trip went well (although you DID miss Dewey's right there in Newport!!)

I'll try it this weekend,

I've been going the past few times to Mr Herbs in Hebron Kentucky near the CVG airport. Located 1677 Petersburg Rd. Mr Herbs does a number of different kinds of fried fish as well as a pretty darn good BBQ.

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I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.

So I went to Alabama Fish Bar last night, for ease of location it is located on the corner of Race and Liberty. Not exactly a neighborhood that suburbanites are probably comfortable with.

They only have three kinds of fish (cod, ocean perch, whiteing), no other types of seafood not that the name of the place would lend one to believe there might be, but being a Chicagoan and being able to choose shrimp, oysters etc, it was disappointing not to see anything but fish.

I tried the cod and ocean perch, the cod was definitely the better of the two but the breading is on the extra extra extra thick side, full of grease as well, which would lend me to believe the fryers are not as hot as they should be.

Being spoiled by fish frys in Northern Wisconsin, I can't say Alabama was worth seeking out, if you are in the area and are craving fried fish, give it a go, otherwise pass.

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I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.

Though it's been decades since I've eaten at either, I'll second Walt's, and I'd go there over the Montgomery Inn for more of a "go native" experience - IIRC it's very old-style Kentucky. If you want to experience a bizarre diner (the food isn't bad) try The Anchor Grill, 438 Pike St, Covington, KY a 24-hour pre-hangover place.

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No guts, no glory.
http://www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtails
http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/

While munching on my favorite brisket in the North @ BBQ Revue, I was talking with a local who mentioned Walt's as being his favorite for ribs
Walts Hitching Post
3300 Madison Pike
Ft. Wright, KY
(859) 331-0494

He also gave high marks to the following place, apparently the owner/chef is from Louisianna, I'm curious if anyone has been.
Here is a local paper review: http://www.cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... 80338/1047

Knotty Pine on the Bayou
1802 Licking Pike
Cold Spring, KY 41076
(859) 781-2200

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I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.

So, next Saturday I'm in Cin city. What do you guys recommend?

_________________
"The best revenge is living well"

Ethinic? American fare? Price range? Got a car? Taxi? Public transport? Staying downtown? Suburbs? Want to stay close to where you're staying or do you want to go on an adventure? Any food allergies or other dietary concerns? How about just strong likes or dislikes?

A few more details and you'll get some better answers.

Buddy

You absolutely must eat the amazing hand-made French-pot Graeter's ice cream, especially the flavors like Mocha Chip and Black Raspberry Chip, composed with rich dark chocolate chunks.

The hottest chef sensation in town is Jean Robert, whose empire you can check out here:
http://jeanrobertgroup.com/
I particularly like the Bistro and Lavomatic, which is in an old laundry mat in a complex (and vexed) artsy district amidst one of the city's poorest neighborhoods.

For an unparalleled shopping experience, especially if you can bring back by car the phenomenal cheeses (Krause's) or super reasonably priced middle eastern imports (Dean's), visit the year-long, indoor-outdoor farmer's market:
http://www.findlaymarket.org/

The concept and cuisine here are also great:
http://slimsrestaurant.com/

Let me know if you have specific neighborhoods of interest, or price brackets, or whathaveyou.
Enjoy!

Pretty decent ribs - http://www.montgomeryinn.com/

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"A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do."
-- P. J. O’Rourke"

The one place I remember from a trip 3+ years ago that was worth returning to was Glendale Gaslight Cafe. It's in an old house that's been converted to a restaurant.

We must have been there for their Tuesday Lobster night. You had to order them in advance, but we lucked out and a party had just canceled their reservations, so we got them.

http://www.glendaleohio.org/restaurants.html

Great suggestions. As for more guidance, I have a car, will travel anywhere and am not particular regarding price or cusine.

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"The best revenge is living well"

The best meal that I had in 2008 was in Cincinatti.

To be fair and old friend is the chef de cuisine but that being said I will always be harder on him!

Restaurant is BOKA and is located in Mount Adams neighborhood I believe.

The Chef/Owner did time at Charlie Trotters among other restaurants but is now focused on a rustic italian menu. My friend came in from Babbo previous to working here also.

When you go ask for Chef Jeremy and tell him Newman sent you, maybe there will be a free Bourbon!

Good eating

To be clear, the restaurant is Boca and it's on Madison Road in Oakley. I dined there a few months ago. It's very good, especially an amazing scallop and braised brussel sprouts dish, but would find itself outpriced if located in a city, like Chicago, with more high-end competition.

FYI to above, Jean-Robert de Cavel recently left the restaurant group that bears his name. For the most part, all of the restaurants are still open (Lavomatic, Jean-Ro), but he is in process of opening up a new spot.

If in Cincy for one night only and looking for high end food, I would maybe venture to Nicola's in Over-the-Rhine for excellent Italian. But, Cincy is not really much of a high end dining city. There are numerous places for [real] BBQ [no offense to Montgomery Inn, which I love for nostalgia and sauce, but boiled ribs are not actually BBQ], fried chicken and burgers that are on par or exceed the quality of similar places in much larger cities, however.

Cincy's geographic and demographic position as the country's northern most southern city or southern most northern city, and its pork-packing roots and German heritage make it something of a meeting place of cooking styles. Some old gems do exist. Plus, there is an increasing number of mid-priced non-chain restaurants open in Cincy (Slim's, Lavomatic, Hugo, Mesh)

Here's a recent blog post discussing and criticizing Cincinnati Magazine's recent Top 10 Restaurants issue: http://winemedinemecincinnati.com/?p=793

-Simon
fmr. Chicago, now Cincy

Where to eat while visiting the queen city

Hi,
You might have better luck with the search function if you spelled "Cincinnati" properly, but I know the search results here can be challenging. Off the top of my head I recommend the following, but if you have some more specific desires re price, neighborhood, cuisine, let me know:

Findlay Market, a 19th century market house in continuous operation, with great farm produce and old school German cheese stands with selections to rival many of the best cheese shops (though at much better prices). Lots of tasty prepared foods too. It is a pretty fascinating cultural crossroads, because it's in one of the more economically depressed corners of town, which used to be a German neighborhood, and is still called "Over the Rhine". The market draws shoppers from the neighborhood, as well as people from other parts of town looking for great deals on great food, as well as chefs and fancy foodies, so it's a real cross roads of race, class, etc.

http://www.findlaymarket.org/

Original, nineteenth century artisan ice cream, hands down the best I've ever had, multiple locations:
http://www.graeters.com/

Tasty sandwich shop in the fun Northside neighborhood:
http://www.meltcincy.com/

Newly renovated (reopening tomorrow) excellent Bistro:
http://bistrojeanro.com/

Elegant and creative:
http://www.boca-restaurant.com/

Thank you for the help.

Spelling is not my strong suit. Appreciate the help in making our trip unique.

plbr

Until recently I hadn't had a genuine bowl of Cincinnati chili. I'd had chances to stop at Skyline outlets in other cities but passed them up, waiting to have my first bowl in the Queen City. A few months ago PIGMON and I found ourselves in Cincinnati on a Sunday evening and, honestly, there weren't a lot of choices other than chili. I had done a little research and settled on the Clifton branch of Skyline that many seem to have a high opinion of. The sign alone made me certain we had come to the right place.







I'm not the biggest fan of plain Skyline chili (too much cinnamon and not enough other spices) but I thought somehow the whole mess worked pretty well when a plate of 5-way is all stirred up. I usually don't care much for chili mac so this surprised me. I won't be madly craving Skyline but I was pleasantly surprised by the restaurant and product.

Later that evening we went to Chili Time for another dose.







Their chili has a much different spice profile, with the cinnamon dialed down considerably. By itself, I preferred this chili to Skyline's but somehow I didn't think it worked as well when mushed up with mac 'n' cheese. Go figure.

We had a bit of a frustrating time food-wise in Cincinnati. Sunday evening/Monday morning is not the best time to visit.


Alabama isn't open on Sunday and we had to leave before it opened on Monday.




I was looking forward to visiting Findlay Market but it's not open on Mondays. From their website it looks like they're open every other day.

I had my heart set on some goetta for breakfast and Tucker's seemed like the ideal place to get it. Unfortunately it didn't open at 9am as the sign promised.



I really enjoyed a stop at Coffee Emporium though. Comfortable space, nice people, good coffee. An impromptu tour of their roasting room was fun.

Skyline Chili
290 Ludlow Av
Cincinnati OH
513-221-2142

Chili Time
4727 Vine St
Cincinnati OH
513-641-1130

Alabama Fish Bar
1601 Race St
Cincinnati OH
513-241-2255

Findlay Market
1801 Race St
Cincinnati OH
513-665-4839

Tucker's
1637 Vine St
Cincinnati OH
513-721-7123

Coffee Emporium
Four locations including:
110 E Central Pkwy
Cincinnati OH
513-651-5483

I don't think you missed out on too much with Tucker's being closed. I had breakfast there this summer before a Reds game, the food is nothing extraordinary. I think I had a country breakfast and my wife had the pancakes, nothing that you couldn't find in any other decent diner around the country. Everyone else seemed to be getting the breakfast burritos, so that's probably the way to go.

But the neighborhood - madre de dios! That Over-the-Rhine is like a hyperbolic Hollywood version of hardcore inner city ghetto. We got there at 10 in the morning and there were already clutches of junkies stumbling around on the corners holding paper bags, streetwalkers were flagging cars (I guess they're early risers in Cinci, or at least the clientele). Garbage hadn't been picked up in a month and trash cans overflowing everywhere. I've been through plenty of Chicago's roughest parts, but this place had my jaw dropping. I read up on it later, Cinci has a pretty serious heroin problem and Tucker hires a lot of reformed addicts. Our waiter sure seemed to fit the part. Looked like he'd gone through a bad case of night sweats. So the food, eh - but definitely an experience.

Findlay Market is in the same neighborhood, a few blocks from Tucker's but probably not wise to make the walk between them. The market is one of the best I've been to in North America, can't add much more to what's been said above. Make sure you bring a cooler with, there's at least three excellent butcher shops at the market.

I am a Cincinnati native. I spent a lot of time in the Over the Rhine neighborhood as my grandparents lived in several tenements in the area and I had a delivery route in the area. My father and I used to deliver flowers from my grandfather's shop and we would get all of the inner-city neighborhoods.

If you go onto other forums, a number of real estate promoters call the OTR the next hot area in Cincinnati. There is a small area in the eastern portion around Main St. that has some nice condos (fences make great neighbors, I guess). However the other 75% of the area is little changed in thirty years. One nice spot is around Old St. Mary's Church at 13th and Clay where I attended school for a while (and where they still have German masses).

As a child, we would head down to Findley Market with my great-aunts at 6 am every Friday morning for shopping. There are a few good vendors down there and some good butchers. It is definitely a good place to stop for certain butcher shops and the like. And it is a good alternative to the Kroger monopoly. However, I STRONGLY recommend DRIVING there. The last time I walked there, I was accompanied by three Jehovah's Witnesses on a Saturday morning. And still, we encountered drug dealers. Elm and Race St. north of Court St.is a war zone where you will be offered any variety of illegal drugs.

As much as Findley Market is pretty good, it does not hold a candle to Cleveland's West Side Market or Detroit's Eastern Market is the variety of goods sold and the quality of the vendors.

I'd heard Tucker's was in a "bad part of town", but being from Chicago it's yeah right whatever and shrug your shoulders - how bad could it be on a Saturday morning? But we turned off Central Pkwy at Mohawk to turn onto McMicken and it was whoa. I'm sure it breaks your heart seeing that happen to the place where you spent your childhood.

I've seen horrific slums in Central and South America and the Caribbean, but the USA can hold its own against anybody. And that Findlay Market can hold its own against any market in North America! It's not the largest market, but I was very impressed with the quality.

Well, at least you missed the excitement:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2011 ... restaurant

Made a quick one day, one night trip to Cinci and hit up a few of the recommended spots.

First up was Pit to Plate BBQ.





The spare ribs and pulled pork were very good. The ribs were tender, but not fall off the bone, with a nice smoke and bark in spots. The pulled pork was lusciously tender and although I'm not huge on sauces, I thought the Carolina Gold sauce, a mustard based sauce went really well with it as it helped balance out the richness (I bought a bottle of the stuff to bring home). Since I rarely see beef ribs offered at BBQ places, I had to get some and they were just okay...only a few of the ribs had much meat on them while the others were mostly fat. Sides weren't anything special, but the okra and tomato like stew was surprisingly good.


Choice of 6 Sauces



Spare Ribs, Stewed Okra, Garlic Potatoes, Corn Muffin



Pulled Pork, Coleslaw, Candied Yams



Beef Ribs



The next day I hit up the Cincinnati staple Skyline Chili, opting for the Clifton/Uptown location as mentioned upthread. It was my first encounter with Cincinnati style chili, and I went with a 4-way with onions and a Cheese Coney.





I thought everything was okay and I'm glad I tried it, but I can't say it's absence in Chicago has me terribly upset. Would I eat it again? Yes. Would I go out of my way to do so? No.

Next up was Graeter's ice cream, which also has many locations, but one was conveniently located just down the block from Skyline. Ordered a scoop of their signature Black Raspberry Chip and a special Buckeye Blitz which is chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cookie dough and chocolate chips.



Now I love ice cream, so pretty much all ice cream to me is awesome, but I must say this was really damn good. Graeter's method of pouring hot fudge into the cold ice cream results in huge chunks of chocolate which when combined with their high quality ice cream base makes for some really good eats. The raspberry chocolate was good, but the Buckeye Blitz was just insane. If you are in the Cincinnati area, do yourself a favor and go to Graeter's.

Before heading back to the Chi, I decided to stop at Jungle Jim's, which is a gigantic food mart that is self described as a "foodie paradise." I had high expectations for this place and at first those expectations were not met. Yes they had a HUGE and varied selection of cured meats, cheeses, liquor, etc. but I didn't see much that one couldn't find at places like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or a Binny's, and seeing Boar's Head deli meat didn't do much to wow me. My initial reaction was this is a cool store but I can find most of this in Chicago. Then I hit the international side of the store, and damn if my impression didn't change. Presented with row after row of products from every imaginable part of the world, I spent a good hour walking around in wide eyed wonderment and could have spent hours more if I didn't have anywhere to go.















It's difficult to put into words just how ridiculously amazing I ended up finding the store to be, but for some perspective, that last picture is just a portion of their hot sauce selection. On the other side of that wall was another wall of more hot sauces, which didn't even include the hot sauces that were interspersed amongst the international food aisles. I ended up buying a few hot sauces, some Asian branded fruit flavored beef jerky, Mang Tomas sauce, Chiu Chow chili oil, banana sauce, some bottles of malta, chili pepper chocolate, and a few other things. If I had a cooler, I would have bought some of the frozen meats I saw such as Filipino longanisa. In summary, Jungle Jim's has pretty much everything and anything and you need to go there if you are in the Cincinnati area. If at first you are a little bit underwhelmed, keep walking as the store just never seems to end and you will be continually amazed at everything there is.

Overall, it was a short but good trip to Cincinnati and I even got to stop at a Chick-fil-A on my way back home for a spicy chicken sandwich.

I've been doing some Cincy research since I'll be there for two conferences in the next year, and ran across Graeter's at Whole Foods in River Forest today (they're also at Treasure Island). The mocha chip was rich and flavorful without being cloyingly sweet - we dig it. Looking forward to having it in the home context soon.

Meijer carries Graeter's now as well. I'll be in Cinci in August with my daughter. For me, Jungle Jim's is a must. For her, Kings Island--which is bearable to me because Skyline and Graeter's both are food vendors there.

Sunset foods carries graeters too. Kroger in cincy has carried it for years, and they went national with it recently. Since there are no krogers in Chicago, various other stores can sell it. So far the quality seems to have held up.

-Will

Bumping this thread in hopes of recent intel. I used to visit Cincinnati on a regular basis but I haven't been there for a number of years. I'm planning on attending a meeting there later this month, and while I have my old favorites, I'm wondering what's new.

I'll be based in Sharonville.

_________________
LAZ
Dining Chicago
Index to LTHForum Recipes, 2004-2008

This place is new and getting lots of love; I think the chef has some Chicago pedigree but can't recall what it is:
http://senatepub.com/

Summer is a glorious time to visit Findlay Market, which has been written about upthread.

I have had two pretty great meals at A Tavola right next door to Senate. They have very good wood-fired pizza. For someone used to the finer versions in Chicago, it won't blow your mind, but you would still enjoy it.

A steak house seems like an unimaginative choice, but we ate at Jeff Ruby's downtown about a month ago and it was the best meal I've had in a steak house in ages. They just absolutely nailed everything, from the room to the service to the cocktails to each course of the meal was perfection. I've been disappointed by more than one steak house that dropped the ball - you just expect excellence with something this simple, and these guys delivered. Plus it's walking distance from the major downtown hotels, which is nice.

Nada is about a block away from Jeff Ruby's. Haven't eaten there yet but have heard good things about it. We walked past and people were spilling out the door. If popularity is any indicator they must be doing something right.