A Culinary Tour of Southwest Ohio, pt. 1

Without the provisions to travel, I go on a culinary quest in my own backyard.

The following is the first part in a series of planned articles. Inspired by a brief exchange with a fellow Substacker, I’ve decided to take a culinary tour of the region in which I live since I have no money to travel abroad. My usual reviews will be interspersed throughout the summer, as well. Enjoy.

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The Taste of Cincinnati

This culinary arts festival started way back in 1979, making it the longest running food festival in the country. It’s also one of the largest. It has been held every Memorial Day weekend since, except 2020 because of the pandemic. According to VisitCincy.com, the 2023 Taste of Cincinnati had 77 total vendors including restaurant booths and food trucks and was attended by over half a million people across its three-day run.

The festival has Cincinnati staples like LaRosa’s Pizzeria, which turns 70 this year, and Gold Star Chili - a rival to the famous Skyline Chili. But it also has lesser-known restaurants, which makes it a great place to discover something new or a creative spin on something classic. To give you an idea of the range of possibilities, here’s a short list of what I saw (a full list can be found on the Taste’s website):

• Afro-Caribbean Eats

• BobaCha (tea)

• Catch-A-Fire Pizza

• Deme Kitchen (Asian food)

• Eddie’s Southern Style BBQ

• El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant

• French Toast Heaven

• Little Trolley Donuts

• Mama Afrique Nigerian Cuisine

• Off the Hook (seafood)

• Stone Bowl Korean and Ramen Restaurant

• Twisted Greek

Each year a handful of participating food vendors are given the “Best of Taste” award prior to the festival. Awards include best appetizer, best entree, best side dish and more. Winners then advertise their award to entice passersby to stop at their booth. A list of the 2024 winners can be found here. The festival also offers a range of fun activities, like caricature portraits and live entertainment.

The Tickle Pickle booth.

My first stop was at the Tickle Pickle restaurant because with a name like that I had to try it. Its menu has music-inspired names like Britany Spears fried pickle spears and Buns n’ Roses sliders. My favorite name was Goetta Van Fleet. Goetta, by the way, is a Cincinnati favorite; a loose sausage made from pork, beef, steel-cut oats, onion, garlic and a slew of other spices. It’s typically eaten for breakfast. 

But I had to get the Pearl Jam slider, a small hamburger topped with jalapeno jam and caramelized onions among other things. I love jalapenos, though they don’t love me. My only regret is gobbling this burger up before getting a picture of it.

My second stop was Thai Express. But it wasn’t planned. A storm was rapidly moving in, and I overheard festival staff telling vendors to shut down. I hurried to the nearest vendor and took whatever was readily available. And that was a chicken Khao Soi. Never heard of it, and I butchered the pronunciation, much to my embarrassment. Damn, was it good.

chicken Khao Soi at Thai Express.

With the vendors now shut down due to the storm, my Taste of Cincinnati experience this year was tragically cut short. There were so many other foods I wanted to eat, too. On the upside, the participating restaurants are all local, so it’s only a matter of looking up their address and making a visit. Also, it's cheaper to patronize the physical restaurant. Festival prices are always jacked-up, and while $8 per item might not seem like a lot, with nearly 80 vendors it quickly adds up.

This concludes the first installment of my Culinary Tour of Southwest Ohio series. Next time I will revisit some of my favorite places. Highlights include fish tacos down by the river, egg on pizza on top of the world and the best way to spend a Wednesday night.

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