At this time, Eater returns to Cincinnati to reply one burning query: The place ought to I eat proper now? Enter the Eater Heatmap, a roundup of the eating places drawing the largest crowds and probably the most buzz at this very second.
To carry you this listing of “it” eateries within the metropolis of Cincinnati, we tapped Grace Yek, a neighborhood meals author and educator. “The revitalization of Over-the-Rhine that started greater than 10 years in the past helped to launch a meals renaissance that’s grabbing the nation’s consideration,” Yek says. “Increasingly, we’re seeing cooks from the larger cities transfer right here. In the event you’re an formidable chef in New York, D.C., or Chicago, why wouldn’t you launch your restaurant in Cincinnati? The town continues to be comparatively inexpensive and family-friendly, and there’s a real sense of camaraderie among the many cooks.”
1. Noodle & Scorching Pot 巴蜀滋味
Wedged in a sleepy strip mall in Cincinnati’s northern suburbs, this spot is hopping with followers craving scorching pot. Homeowners Yuke Qiu and Jennifer Niu spare no expense on the soups that make up the menu’s spine, sourcing them from a chef in Qiu’s hometown in China. The chef creates seven completely different bases with hard-to-find elements, then packages and ships them to the restaurant. The “9 packing containers spicy” soup, for instance, consists of chunks of beef fats, amplifying warmth and taste. Among the many 80-odd decisions of elements to dunk into the new pot, the “one meter-long lamb” stars, with thinly sliced natural lamb arrayed on a picket paddle.
2. Tortilleria Garcia
Followers are displaying up in droves to this new fast-casual spot in Faculty Hill, the second location of Tortilleria Garcia in better Cincinnati. Proprietor Omar Garcia faithfully recreates the meals he grew up consuming in Michoacán, Mexico, together with tacos, tamales, rotisserie hen, and burritos, however his tortillas are the actual MVPs. Every single day the cooks press recent masa from boiled corn. The tortillas have grow to be such a factor that clients should buy packs of them individually. Prime off a meal with selfmade aguas Mexicanas like hibiscus tea, pineapple water, and horchata.
3. The Lonely Pine Steakhouse
Route 66 and roadside steakhouses are alive and properly on this nostalgic, counter-service cease in Nice Ridge. Lonely Pine is embellished in a mixture of midcentury decor and rugged accents from the American Southwest. The steaks, dry-aged in home, are the predominant course right here. (Don’t search for hen or fish.) The restaurant is the newest manufacturing from guardian firm Gorilla Cinema Presents, identified for its daring thematic bars akin to Tokyo Kitty, a downtown karaoke spot normal after Misplaced in Translation, and the Overlook Lodge — the group’s first bar, impressed by The Shining, subsequent door to Lonely Pine.
4. Karrikin Spirits Firm
At Karrikin, you may see spirits within the making earlier than ordering a glass. Home-made gin, vodka, and rum make the quick hop from the working distillery to the bar, the place they grow to be particularly fairly cocktails. Karrikin additionally sports activities a full kitchen, topped by a wood-fired grill, the place chef Jared Bennett balances the complete taste of live-fire cooking with high-end sensibilities, turning domestically sourced elements into memorable small plates. Clear winners embody scallops served with pickled inexperienced almonds, charred fennel, peas, and asparagus, and beet latkes with dukkah, scallion, and creme fraiche. A grand chandelier and eclectic furnishings within the lounge space assist tame the cavernous 30,000-square-foot area.
5. Department and Night time Drop
The restoration took greater than two years however the once-vacant Central Belief Financial institution department in East Walnut Hills has discovered new life as a high-end restaurant. Whereas the constructing’s artwork deco design and stately inside trace at its previous, the emphasis as of late is squarely on food and drinks. Government chef Shoshannah Anderson’s menu is refined and international however at all times grounded. The meals ranges from Israeli chickpea salad to diver scallops with pork stomach, roasted radish, and orange curd. Pair dinner with themed cocktails just like the Cosigner or Belief Account, or head downstairs for a nightcap on the Night time Drop bar within the venue’s cozy basement.
6. Social OTR
At Social OTR, you may eat high-end meals and refill on a socially pushed mission. The restaurant employs interns from the Findlay Culinary Coaching program, creating alternatives for the group’s underemployed residents, together with these grappling with poverty or felony data. The menu ranges from snacks to massive plates, together with decisions akin to bacalao croquettes and charred octopus. The Alley at Social, the restaurant’s second bar and eating area, additionally gives blissful hours to encourage group engagement.
7. Vacation Liquor Bar and Forty Thieves
Powerhouse couple Dan and Lana Wright simply expanded their restaurant empire with a no-frills bar linked to a walk-up Center Japanese street-food counter. Conveniently located by the streetcar cease at Liberty and Race, the counter gives a low-key model of the Wrights’ upscale Center Japanese-inspired restaurant, Abigail Avenue. Whereas the offshoot, Forty Thieves, skews extra informal than its older sister restaurant, Dan Wright’s exact culinary abilities nonetheless shine in killer shawarma, falafel, succulent grilled hen, and shakshuka. Over in Vacation Spirits, a big U-shaped bar floats in the midst of the area like an island, from which bartenders serve a menu of slushy drinks and novel cocktails. Arcade video games, pool tables, and a big out of doors patio make the bar-restaurant combo a straightforward alternative on this neck of Over-the-Rhine.
8. Wódka Bar
Since 2012, Sarah Dworak has garnered a loyal following at Babushka Pierogies, the Findlay Market retailer the place she serves dumplings filled with tasty fillings each conventional (potato-cheddar) and kooky (lentil Cincinnati chili). With the fantastically bedecked Wódka Bar, Dworak brings much more of her Japanese European heritage to Over-the-Rhine. The placing outsized, backlit stained glass window hanging over the bar shines down on different old-world design components like wealthy wooden paneling, velvet upholstery, and deep jewel tones. The restaurant and bar makes a speciality of house-infused vodkas and Japanese European bites akin to caviar puff pastries, smoked salmon and herring, and pierogies, in fact.
9. Zundo Ramen and Donburi
Slurp-worthy bowls make Zundo the brand new go-to for ramen in Over-the-Rhine. The restaurant’s conventional 14-hour broth, together with flavor-amping elements like pork stomach and soft-boiled egg with custardy yolk, underpin the ramen choices, just like the stellar tonkotsu. In the meantime, donburi decisions vary from pork katsu to curry to unagi. The big collection of sake pairs completely with something from the standout meals menu.
10. Crzy Monk
Step inside Crzy Monk and step out of the ridiculous tempo of life. Huit Restaurant Group opened this restorative, pan-Asian restaurant simply across the nook from the Aronoff Heart for the Arts and simply up the block from the group’s Chino-Latino sensation Lalo. Within the stylish but informal area, diners calm and heart themselves with dishes like Mom Earth Salad. That’s simply one of many inventive, playful gadgets on the vegan and vegetarian menu, which additionally consists of choices like a bao-wich and a Cleaning Noodle Soup that sports activities honeydew and vegan mock ham.
