I visited Cincinnati for a couple of days during the summer. I have a friend who lives there, and he has the same kind of love and enthusiasm for his adopted hometown as I do Pittsburgh, so it was about time I went and checked out the city for myself.
On my first night, we went to
Nada, a trendy downtown joint, for Mexican and margaritas. I had heard good things about Nada before so I was looking forward to trying it out. My friend and I split two orders of
tacos: shrimp and pork belly and both were fantastic.
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| Pork Belly Tacos |
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| Shrimp Tacos |
On my second night we dined at Nada's sister restaurant,
Boca, which happens to be my friend's favorite restaurant and had recently relocated to its current downtown space, right next to Nada. I somewhat wish I had taken photos of the interior of Boca because it is elegant and luxurious with an old-world charm (you can find some professional photos
here). Over a bottle of fancy wine, my friend and I split the signature
Caramelized Brussels Sprouts, topped with scallops, which were nicely done. I also had the
Mediterranean Sea Bass, served with a bouillabaisse sauce, braised leeks, and mussels. The sea bass itself was pan roasted to crispy goodness. The service at Boca, like its food, was also top-notch.
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| Caramelized Brussels Sprouts |
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| Mediterranean Sea Bass |
Before leaving Cincinnati, I made a stop at
Findlay Market, an awesome public market in Over-the-Rhine. There, I found my favorite place in Cincinnati:
Colonel De Gourmet Herbs and Spices. Talk about a kid in a candy shop! Colonel De carries an impressive (500+!) collection of spices, herbs, blends, rubs, salts, and more. Many of these products I have never even heard of, and some are the shop's own creations. The Colonel himself was there—great guy, by the way—and I spoke with him for some time about recipe ideas. I only picked up a handful of items that I knew I could use, but I would really love to try out some of his specialty spices sometime in my recipes, once I figure out how to use them. Luckily, Colonel De offers online shopping.
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| Colonel De |
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| Colonel De |
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| Colonel De |
All in all, it was a lovely visit to Cincinnati with good food, good company, and a really good find!
