fbpx

Road Trip: Cincinnati

September 14th, 2009    •  by Bethia    •   12 Comments »

IMG_5408

Following the success of our Cleveland road trip, we decided that it was time for a food filled excursion to Cincinnati. This time we weren’t following in the footsteps of Anthony Bourdain, but we did have some great suggestions via comments on the Cleveland post. Thanks to the readers who were so forthcoming with ideas.

IMG_5383

For those of you who know me, and or Cincinnati, it is probably no surprise that I wanted to check out Findlay Market, Ohio’s oldest continuously operated market. Findlay Market is in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood and encompasses the market building and the surrounding colorful storefronts. The market is smaller than the North Market but has more raw ingredients and less take-out meals, with less of the food court feel of the North Market. I was on the search for Goetta and with the number of competing butchers it was easy to find.

IMG_5375

Goetta is a Cincinnati specialty, similar to scrapple but made with oats instead of cornmeal. It has a coarser, more grainy texture than scrapple and (in my opinion) less seasoning. Continuing on the meat theme we also stopped at Kroeger and Sons who stock more than 30 types of sausage including sausages made from duck, bison and even camel. There are a number of delicatessens and we found some interesting cheeses, meats and some great pretzel buns from Servatis.

We couldn’t resist the enticing gelato from Dojo Gelato. They had a number of interesting flavors including (tastes just like it sounds) malted milk and a cinnamon scented churro, that was the favorite in our group.

IMG_5379

Another highlight in the market was Colonel de Ray’s Herbs & Spice and Everything nice. The staff were extremely helpful letting us taste and smell all sorts of salts, sugars and spices, telling us about their provenance and talking about what each one can be used for. Luckily for us it was a fairly quiet afternoon and they had more time to chat and we took full advantage of the opportunity to linger. I came home with a couple of treats: bourbon barrel smoked sea salt and truffle salt (which is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G on popcorn).

IMG_5380

Next stop was Terry’s Turf Club, proclaimed by the Restaurant Widow to be the best burger in Ohio. Terry’s is a little off the beaten track, out on Eastern Avenue but definitely worth the drive.

IMG_5388

I loved the Americana decor, with the vintage signs and coolers, the peanut shells on the floor and the obvious pride in the food. It’s quirky but it feels authentic – it’s what TGI Friday’s aspire to.

terrys

So, on to the burger. I can’t claim to have eaten nearly enough burgers to be able to judge whether this was the best burger in Ohio, but I can tell you that it was really good. Cooked to order with all manner of interesting options, it was juicy, meaty and had a bun that was up to the job. The bun was soft yet sturdy and despite all that juicy goodness it never got soggy. The bun was from Shadeau Breads somewhere to check out on my next trip to Cinci. Actually I think a full day’s bakery tour might be necessary with Servatis, Bonbonerie, Bonomini and Shadeau all on the agenda.

terrys_burger

Have you ever been to a burger joint that serves foie gras or jamon Iberico de Bellota? Or that offers halloumi and lump crab as a cheeseburger topppings? Also worth mentioning was the beer, cocktail and whisky selections. Terry’s has something for everyone, from fast food addicts to food snobs.

IMG_5417

The burgers are substantial and left us feeling satisfied but stuffed. It was time for a walk and we headed to Mt. Adams to admire the view. Mt Adams is a quaint neighborhood with narrow hilly streets and panoramic views, that almost fools you into thinking you are in San Francisco. You can see over the river into Kentucky, and sad to say that was all the temptation we needed to make our next stop The Party Source.

IMG_5411

For those of us living in Ohio with its prohibition-esque liquor laws, The Party Source is the Bali Ha’i of liquor, calling us over the border to purchase from its fantastic range of beer, wine and spirits, including many that are unavailable on the ridiculously restrictive Ohio approved liquor list. Unsurprisingly, being in Kentucky, it has a great selection of bourbon and rye and it is also has an impressive range of single malt scotches. I will admit to spending most of my time in that aisle.

IMG_5420

Our final destination was Jungle Jim’s International Market. Jungle Jim’s is a grocery store, but it is unlike any other grocery store – and it is legendary. It is somewhere I have been hearing about since I moved to Ohio.

IMG_5427

It is hard to describe Jungle Jim’s. You can start with statistics:

6 Acres of food
50,000 international products
1,400 hot sauces
78 Olive Oils

and go on and on… It may be the only grocery store that offers tours – or food safaris. It also offers cooking classes and has a theatre that shows a movie about the store.  It has award winning restrooms, a monorail and countless attractions that would be more at home in an amusement park. These include animated figures, full size trucks, cars, boats and animals. It is vast, mind boggling and insane, along the lines of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

Jungle Jim’s have a large selection of English foods and one of my purchases was a large bottle of Ribena. I resisted buying too much more but there is temptation galore. You aren’t allowed to take photos inside the store, so you will have to imagine all of this craziness for yourself…. or go there and check it out.

IMG_5421

It was a fun day, and just like our trip to Cleveland it whetted my appetite to go back and explore more of Cincinnati, try some chili and fit in a trip to the American Sign Museum. If you have other food recommendations for Cincinnati, or for other day trips in Ohio, please let me know. I hear that Tony Packo’s in Toledo is somewhere I should experience at least once.


12 Comments to “Road Trip: Cincinnati”

  1. I really enjoyed going on the Cincinnati trip. I’m craving for more of those sesame seed pretzel buns. They were fantastic.

    My favorite stop down there was the Colonel De Ray spice shop in the Findlay Market. We brought back over a dozen different spices and meat rubs to try. The cinnamon and orange infused sugar has been great in tea. Have not tried the bourbon barrel vanilla sugar yet.

    If those sound interesting to you, then you gotta check that place out.

    ‘Til the next road trip!

  2. How long does it take to get from Columbus to Kentucky? I see that you won’t need any whiskies from ‘Royal Mile’!

    • hungrywoolf
      September 14, 2009

      It takes under 2 hours. I’m fairly sure that Royal Mile Whiskies has a better selection, but sadly it’s too far for a day trip.

  3. Oh, Bethia, I love me some gaetta! It was the best thing to come out of my mom’s 4th marriage – love of gaetta 🙂

  4. Glad you tried Terry’s Turf Club — had my first experience there this summer and thought the burgers were great.

    Suggestions for next Cincy trip:

    Myra’s for lunch (UC area) http://myrasrestaurant.com/

    Cumin for dinner (Hyde Park) http://cuminrestaurant.com/

    Nectar for brunch
    http://www.dineatnectar.com/menus/index.htm

    Happy eating!

  5. Hey the next time you’re in the ‘nati, I second the Myra’s recommendation, its one of my favorite restaurants. You can’t go wrong with the homemade soups, cold sesame noodles & baba ganoush.

    I also recommend you check out the Northside neighborhood, where you will find a foodie paradise – the NY Times just raved about this neighborhood during a recent visit
    http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/north-america/united-states/ohio/cincinnati/overview.html

    The Comet has the best burritos around, plus over 100 beers & quite an eclectic jukebox – http://www.cometbar.com/

    Melt
    http://www.meltcincy.com/
    The Hideaway
    http://www.myspace.com/jldemar
    Slims
    http://slimsrestaurant.com/
    Honey
    http://www.honeynorthside.com/
    Take the Cake, their cupcakes & really anything they make is the bomb
    http://www.takethecakecincinnati.com/

    • hungrywoolf
      September 16, 2009

      Andrea and Karen – Thanks for the great suggestions. I hope I have an excuse to go back to Cincinnati soon!

  6. I’ve heard of Findlay Market, it has a great reputation. You didn’t climb over the top of the Purple people bridge? (I didn’t)

  7. I bought the large bottle of Ribena too on my first visit to JJ 🙂 as well as a bar of crunchie…mmm..

    • hungrywoolf
      September 20, 2009

      You can buy Crunchies (and other British chocolate bars) in Columbus at World Market.

      • Thanks for the tip. I just found that out last week when I was shopping their food section for the first time..and they have real smarties too!

Leave a Comment to AL

Book Now