Cincinnati is a booming Midwestern city with a progressive food culture that delights people with simple tastes and cultured gastronomes alike. Nicknames like Athens of the West, Little Paris, and Porkopolis point to the diverse dishes one of Ohio's most populous cities is famous for. The hardest part of being in Cincinnati is deciding where to eat next! Whether you're a local or enjoying a Cincinnati getaway, make sure you sample some of the culinary creations that put this city on the nation's food map.
Cincinnati's first residents were German immigrants. You can taste their influence in the city's favorite breakfast food, goetta. These early residents made their pork sausage go further with the addition of oats. Cooks season the mix with spices and fry it on the griddle. It's then ready to serve, often with eggs or between two slices of bread.
Sometimes described as fried mush, goetta might not look the most appetizing. But what it lacks in aesthetics it makes up for in flavor. You can boost the taste with savory condiments like ketchup or mustard. If you've got a sweet tooth, try your goetta with apple butter, grape jelly, honey, or syrup. You'll find goetta at Cincinnati's favorite breakfast spots including Park + Vine or Taste of Belgium.
Chili is popular across America, but you won't find chili quite like Cincinnati chili anywhere else. A Macedonian immigrant apparently created this dish when his usual Greek food failed to impress the city's large German population. The locals liked it so much that it's become a local institution.
The ground beef is especially fine and seasoned with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cumin, nutmeg, and Worcestershire sauce. There's also usually plenty of cheese on top for flavor. You'll find Cincinnati-style chili on top of spaghetti or small hot dogs called coneys. Unless you ask for them, Cincinnati chili doesn't have onions or beans either. When you do, your “three-way” spaghetti plate becomes a four-way or a five-way, depending on the number of additions you make.
Cincinnati has around 200 chili parlors. Many of them belong to the Skyline and Gold Star chains; locals argue constantly about which one is better. If you prefer independent eateries, try Camp Washington Chili or Empress Chili. Whichever chili parlor you choose, make sure you grab a bib from the waitstaff. Cincinnati-style chili is notoriously messy!
Grilled Chee Donut
Tom & Chee's grilled Chee donut put this eatery on the map. The coverage this humble dish received on "Shark Tank", "Today", "Man v. Food Nation", and "The Chew" helped its founders Trew Quackenbush and Corey Ward expand their operations from a single Fountain Square pop-up to a multi-state chain. However, it all started here in Cincinnati, so you don't want to get yours anywhere else.
So, is the grilled Chee donut worth the hype? In a word, yes. The mild cheddar cheese center balances the sweetness of the glazed donut beautifully. Gets yours at the local Tom & Chee on East Court Street.
Turtle
A turtle is another genius food invention made right here in Cincinnati. The brainchild of Andrew Gomez, a turtle is a riff on a classic tortilla. He takes the tortilla then jams it with meat, beans, rice, lettuce, veggies, salsa, and sour cream. But he doesn't stop there. A tostada layer for crunch and some cheese on top for extra flavor completes this spicy local creation. Look at yours side-on and it certainly looks like a stuffed turtle shell, hence the quirky name. Get yours at the original Gomez in Over-the-Rhine or the newer Walnut Hills cantina.
Buckeyes
These aren't the nuts that grow on Ohio's state tree, but sweet treats made to resemble them. Sweet buckeyes are round pieces of peanut butter-flavored fudge dipped into dark chocolate to form a nutshell. The top center is usually left bare to create that distinctive buckeye look. Shop for buckeyes at Haute Chocolate and Winans Chocolates + Coffee.
Speaking of sweet treats, we couldn't leave Graeter's ice cream off our list. While you'll find ice cream in every city across the country, none of it is quite like Graeter's. Even Oprah Winfrey is a fan!
Founded in 1870, Graeter's is a local institution. The staff make the ice cream from an egg custard base using a recipe passed down through generations. Once pasteurized, the mix is set in a two-and-a-half-gallon French pot and spun in frozen saltwater. The distinctive process makes the ice cream extra thick and extra creamy. In fact, it's so thick that workers hand-scoop it into every tub.
Graeter's enhances its ice cream with real flavors that just taste better. The creators use large chips of gourmet chocolate in their chocolate ice cream. Their fruity ice creams feature real pureed fruit sourced from the Willamette Valley and the Pacific Northwest. You'll also find real nuts in the butter pecan and real sandwich cookies in the cookie & cream. Watch out for the Graeter's Food Truck or try this famous ice cream at one of the 18 Graeter's Ice Cream parlors around the city.
Speaking of sweet treats, we couldn't leave Graeter's ice cream off our list. While you'll find ice cream in every city across the country, none of it is quite like Graeter's. Even Oprah Winfrey is a fan!
Founded in 1870, Graeter's is a local institution. The staff make the ice cream from an egg custard base using a recipe passed down through generations. Once pasteurized, the mix is set in a two-and-a-half-gallon French pot and spun in frozen saltwater. The distinctive process makes the ice cream extra thick and extra creamy. In fact, it's so thick that workers hand-scoop it into every tub.
Graeter's enhances its ice cream with real flavors that just taste better. The creators use large chips of gourmet chocolate in their chocolate ice cream. Their fruity ice creams feature real pureed fruit sourced from the Willamette Valley and the Pacific Northwest. You'll also find real nuts in the butter pecan and real sandwich cookies in the cookie & cream. Watch out for the Graeter's Food Truck or try this famous ice cream at one of the 18 Graeter's Ice Cream parlors around the city.
Smiley Face Cookies
If you aren't watching your figure, double down on the sweet stuff with a smiley face cookie. These cheery sugar cookies are signature items at Busken Bakery. The yellow icing face which covers each one should have you grinning from ear to ear. Parents love buying these cookies for their kids, but most can't resist munching on a few themselves!
Busken Bakery has been in business since 1928, so you can feel confident their smiley face cookies taste as good as they look. You'll find them at Remke Markets, Kroger, UDF, the Busken Bakery food truck, and the local Hyde Park and Springdale bakeries.
Now you've learned about the best local bites in the Cincinnati, OH area. With so many unique food options and restaurant choices available, we're sure you'll never run out of gastronomic fun. But let us know: did we forget any great bits of local fare from our blog post, or did we cover it all? Should we add another plate to our post? Get in touch by completing this form. We'll be sure to add your recommendation to our list!
