I was in Cincinnati and the surrounding area for about 4 days, but they were action packed. Back and forth from the hotel to the festival, with breaks that were short but sweet and left little time for drifting and exploring. But my husband and I had some downtime to explore before the CMF/P&G Beauty day, so we planned accordingly. We had maybe a day and a half to ourselves to do whatever we wanted. In order to see as much of the city as possible, we decided to walk from Covington to Cincinnati, crossing the bridge and heading to the Over-the-Rhine area.
Photos by Steve Yursik
It was about a 45 minute walk from our hotel to the OTR area. Over-the-Rhine is an urban historic area that has been revitalized and transformed. There are many boutiques and restaurants, and we passed many cool murals and outdoor artworks along the way and in the area.
Interesting area, definitely on the come up.
While in Covington and Cincinnati, we ate at the following restaurants – here’s a brief breakdown of them all.
Coppins – chic bistro downstairs in Hotel Covington with inventive and potent cocktails, and a fun outdoors setting and I definitely recommend the fried green tomatoes.
The Eagle Food and Beer Hall – renowned fried chicken spot, often there’s a line out the door but maybe you’ll be like us and get lucky on an early afternoon! We had thoroughly enjoyable service from Dawn. The collard greens and spoonbread were delicious and there are also hearty, great salads to choose from. The fried chicken is excellent and comes served with spicy honey.
Graeter’s – venerable ice cream brand that’s called Cincinnati home for over 145 years. My husband loves their black raspberry chocolate chip! Visit their local locations for flavors they don’t sell elsewhere. It’s a super cute traditional ice cream shop with a great selection if you’re a fan of chocolate chips (if you’re not a fan, you’ll be disappointed. I think everything they make includes chocolate chips).
The Gruff’s – cute deli/pizzeria themed after The Three Billy Goats Gruff, because it’s located right by the bridge! Nice outdoor al fresco space. Here I tried the local specialty known as “goetta,” which Wikipedia describes as “a meat-and-grain sausage or mush of German inspiration that is popular in the greater Cincinnati area. It is primarily composed of ground meat (pork, or pork and beef), pin-head oats and spices.“ Sounds funky, but it wasn’t too bad.
Braxton Brewing Company –popular and lively local brewery for those into the craft beer scene, inventive and unusual beers and a friendly bar scene.
Taft’s Ale House – an ale house in a church that was constructed in 1850. My husband loved this place!
Our visit to the area was brief and there were several other places we wanted to get to — everyone kept telling us to visit Sotto and Boca for delicious, innovative food. Next time!
These were the places we visited on our brief visit to Covington KY/Cincinnati OH. Where else should we have gone? Let me know, for next time!
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