Top 32 Foods Is Cincinnati Known For

When we think of foods representing cities, we often think of Paris or Rome. However, Cincinnati, Ohio, has many foods which are unique to it, making it a special place for many. What are some foods Cincinnati’s known for?

In terms of food, Cincinnati is best known for its Cincinnati Chili, LaRosa’s Pizza, and steaks. Additionally, Cincinnati has many famous sweet treats, like Graeter’s ice cream or United Dairy Farmer’s milkshakes. Lastly, Grippo’s is Cincinnati’s most famous chip and snacks food.

Continue reading this article if you want to learn many more types of food Cincinnati’s famous for, as well as some special occasions where you can enjoy that food, like Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati.

See the top things Cincinnati is known for here.

1. Cincinnati Chili

Rich and Flavorful Cincinnati Chili — Local Favorite: Cincinnati Chili Delight

One of the most well-known, if not the most known, food in Cincinnati is the chili that is even named after it. What makes Cincinnati chili unique are additional ingredients used in making it, namely: cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Cincinnati chili is sweeter than ordinary chili.

Because Cincinnati chili isn’t as thick as your average chili, they’re poured over spaghetti or hot dogs rather than served separately and used for dipping food. Additionally, Cincinnati chili’s cooked in one go – so raw meat is cooked with the rest of the ingredients instead of frying the meat first and adding it to the mix.

2. Graeter’s Ice-Cream

Since its foundation in 1870, Graeter’s ice cream’s been truly a unique ice cream experience in Cincinnati, Ohio. What makes Graeter’s ice cream special is its density and high-quality chocolate chips mixed in with the ice cream. Currently, Graeter’s offers 42 ice cream flavors.

Besides many ice cream choices, Graeter’s also offers many ice cream cakes and pies. So, if you’re not a fan of ice creams on their own, you can always have an ice cream cake that’s perfect for a birthday party.

3. Greek Gyros

Savory Greek Gyros Wrap. — Mediterranean Flavors: Greek Gyros Treat

Cincinnati’s famous for countless restaurants or fast food places offering Greek gyros, which are pieces of stacked meat slowly cooked as they rotate on a metal rod. The meat is topped with some vegetables, like onions or salad. Chicago Gyros and Dogs is a famous place in Cincinnati with this food.

4. Frisch’s Big Boy

Another food Cincinnati’s famous for is Frisch’s Big Boy burgers. They’re truly unique Big Boy burgers that can’t be found in other Big Boy franchises because Frisch’s uses its own tartar sauce. Apart from the Big Boy, Frisch’s offers Bad Boy and Super Big Boy, just to name a few.

If you’re not the biggest fan of burgers, Frisch’s offers other meals, such as:

Sandwiches
Breakfast meals
Pies
Chicken
Soups and Salads
Desserts.

5. Milk Shakes at United Dairy Farmers

Cincinnati prides itself on its United Dairy Farmers’ milkshakes, and there’s a good reason for that. Milkshakes at United Dairy Farmers are malted. Because of the malt, milkshakes aren’t as sweet; they’re much creamier and contain more nutritional value.

Milkshakes at United Dairy Farmers aren’t that expensive, even though they’re famous all over Ohio. The prices range from $3.29 for a regular size to $4.39 for the “giant.”

According to their website, some of the United Dairy Farmers’ milkshake flavors include:

Vanilla
Peanut butter
Caramel
Mocha Cappuccino.

6. Buckeyes

Irresistible Buckeye Chocolate Treats. — Sweet Traditions: Buckeye Delights

Buckeyes, small fudge balls made from peanut butter and chocolate, can be found pretty much anywhere in Cincinnati as they’re a favorite local treat. One of the most famous ice cream shops in Cincinnati – Graeter’s – sells buckeyes for $24.95.

Ohio, in general, is home to the Ohio Buckeye tree. However, buckeye fruits are often toxic, so they shouldn’t be consumed, but the name of the sweet fudge balls does come from the tree because of the resemblance between the fruit and the treat.

7. Putz’s Ice Cream

Cincinnati’s Putz’s Creamy Whip is one of the most well-known and loved places for whole families to enjoy their Sundays with the famous Putz’s ice creams. Putz’s is almost always filled with customers because of their tasty ice creams and because they’re open only from Spring to Fall.

Putz’s Creamy Whip’s famous for its cones, but there are also numerous other ice cream offers available, including:

Sundaes
Banana splits
Cyclone
Ice man and Ice lady.

8. A Hot Dog and a Root Beer From the Root Beer Stand

The Root Beer Stand in Cincinnati is located on Reading Rd. Sharonville, and it offers the famed footlong hot dogs. Add to that their root beer, and you get one of the most memorable food-related experiences in Cincinnati. However, they’re not open during the winter and reopen in March.

You can’t leave Cincinnati without trying the Root Beer Stand’s famous Timmy Dog ($7.25). According to their menu, this hot dog comes with the following:

Chili
Cheese
Onion
Mustard
Hot Sauce
Ketchup
Relish
Slaw
Kraut.

9. Glier’s Goetta

Cincinnati’s been home to Glier’s Goetta for more than 70 years, and its products are well-known all across Ohio. They’re perfect for picnics and BBQs with your friends and family. Additionally, Glier’s Goetta comes as sausages or patties and can be found in every larger store.

Let me just mention a few of the Goetta products they’re offering. They have:

Turkey goetta
Hot goetta
Goetta bun links
Goetta bites
Goetta patties.

10. Busken’s Smiley Face Cookies

Busken’s Smiley face cookies are not only delicious, but they look amazing. They’re perfect snacks for kids and adults. They’re small pieces of shortbread glazed with colored icing in the Smiley face pattern.

Busken’s famous for their Smiley face cookies, but they’re not the only colored cookies they have! You can choose everything from Boosken Halloween cookies with a pumpkin pattern to Cincy Tigers that just look amazing.

11. Blue Ice Cream

Another item on this list that’s completely unique to Cincinnati is the Blue ice cream that you can find at Kings Island. This soft-serve ice cream comes with a blueberry flavor, and it’s a must for everyone visiting Kings Island, although the ice cream can be found in other places as well.

12. Grippo’s

Grippo’s is a snack company that is headquartered in Cincinnati and is one of the city’s favorite brands.

This company has specialized in chips, pretzels, snacks, dips, and spices since 1919. Additionally, they’re made with no added preservatives, making them fresher and tastier than other snacks out there.

13. LaRosa’s Pizza

There are many pizzerias in Cincinnati, but none like LaRosa’s. What distinguishes some of LaRosa’s famous pizzas is their secret family recipe sauce, that’s thicker and sweeter than other sauces. However, not all pizzas come with secret sauce, so make sure you order the Original Deluxe.

But LaRosa’s doesn’t just stop at ordinary pizzas. They’ve introduced “Crustless Pizza Bowls,” and with the original deluxe option, you can even choose five toppings to go into your crustless pizza.

The other two crustless pizza bowls include:

Chicken Bacon Ranch
Plant-based crustless pizza bowl

14. Beer

Beer is one of the hallmarks of Cincinnati, Ohio. The reason is that there are several very successful breweries in Cincinnati, including the four most famous ones: Christian Moerlein, Mt. Carmel, MadTree, and Rhinegeist. Therefore, beer in Cincinnati’s an absolute must.

In an informal questionnaire that was done by Cincinnati.com, the people of Cincinnati were asked to choose their favorite beer. The ultimate winner was Rhinegeist’s Truth IPA, followed by MadTree’s PsycHOPathy IPA.

Truth IPA is available all year round, but Rhinegeist offers even more beers that are only available during certain seasons.

15. Oktoberfest

After Munich, Germany, Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati is the largest Oktoberfest festival in the world. It’s held every September, free of charge, and is kid-friendly. Since it’s a German-heritage festival, there’s a lot of beer and traditional German food.

16. Ribs

Cincinnati offers countless BBQ restaurants specializing in preparing ribs.

One such restaurant that’s famous even outside Cincinnati is the Montgomery Inn. Their fame comes from their secret herb and spices mix, which they rub onto the meat. You simply need to try it.

17. Steak

Cincinnati has some of the greatest steakhouses in the country, namely Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse and Tony’s Of Cincinnati. Their New York Strip stakes are the most memorable meals you can have. These two steakhouses come with a hefty price attached to them, though, but it’s all worth it.

18. Mexican

There are hundreds of Mexican restaurants and food shops in Cincinnati, and choosing the best is difficult. Some of the most well-known restaurants include Nada, Maznute Taqueria, and Mazunte Tacos. Mexican food in Cincinnati’s characterized by its Mexican origin but also creativity in recipes.

19. Goetta

Due to its strong German heritage, Cincinnati’s famous for its goetta, a German breakfast sausage made of meat, grains, and spices.

The most famous goetta producer in Cincinnati’s certainly Glier’s Goetta, which has developed numerous types of goetta. Butcher shops that sell good goetta in the city include Eckerlin’s Meat and Gramma Debbie’s Kitchen.

20. Montgomery Inn Barbecue Ribs

Cincinnati’s Montgomery Inn is well-known in the city and in the whole state of Ohio for its barbecue ribs, which are smoked for about two hours. These pork ribs are then covered in Montgomery’s BBQ sauce, making them unique – and available for $15.99!

You’ll often find their Rib King Salad on your menu, and it’s usually as a first course. However, if you order three courses ($39), you’ll not only get Ribs King Salad, but for the second course, you can choose between a slab of ribs or a combination of ribs and chicken (among other things).

21. Chilli Cheese Dog

Cincinnati’s own Chili Cheese Dog is a combination of a hot dog and Cincinnati Chili. The hot dogs are placed in the buns, and then Cincinnati Chili is poured over the hot dog. The final step is to add cheddar cheese. This fairly simple (yet delicious) meal is one of the hallmarks of this city.

Unlike the ordinary hot dogs we see every day, chili cheese dogs usually take a long time to prepare – anywhere from around 40 to 60 minutes. This is because the finely chopped beef in Cincinnati chili needs to cook properly together with the sauce.

Therefore, you first need to prepare Cincinnati chili, and right at the end of that process, you can fry some hot dogs, which usually takes about five minutes.

There are hundreds of fast food shops that make Chili cheese dogs, including Skyline Chili and Lucky Dog OTR.

22. Cincinnati Sausages

Another instance where German heritage is felt in Cincinnati, apart from beer and goetta, are sausage producers and sellers. Some of the most-known sausage producers in Cincinnati include Blue Grass Quality Meats, Brewcity Sausage, Eckerlin Meats, and Queen City Sausage.

23. Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits and gravy are one of the favorite meals of people living in Cincinnati. Over the years, Cincinnati has perfected numerous gravy combinations and recipes. If you’re visiting Cincinnati, make sure you visit Boomtown to get the full biscuits and gravy experience.

24. Cincinnati Style Breakfast

Cincinnati-style breakfast can be a unique experience for many. People living in Cincinnati usually like to start their day with goetta, which is the perfect breakfast sausage. Also, many people like to add Cincinnati Chili and Cheddar cheese to their breakfast.

25. Chicken and Waffles

Chicken and waffles is a tasty meal popular in Cincinnati, and many restaurants offer them on their menus. Some people even pour maple syrup over their chicken and waffles.

Popular restaurants in Cincinnati with chicken and waffles include The Echo, HangOverEasy, and Taste of Belgium.

26. Fruity Pebble Pancakes

If you’re visiting Cincinnati, don’t miss out on fruity pebble pancakes. These sweet and colorful pancakes, glazed over with maple syrup or some icing, are a perfect breakfast material for the whole family. Visit HangOverEasy and have a taste of their Fruity Pebble pancakes when they’re available.

27. Bloody Mary

In Cincinnati, Bloody Maries aren’t just ordinary drinks – they’re a form of creativity that’s present in bars and restaurants all across the city. Bloody Maries in Cincinnati come with many garnishes like shrimp, olives, kale, or even cinnamon rolls.

28. Rainbow Mimosa

Another strong and liked beverage in Cincinnati, apart from various beers and Bloody Maries, is Rainbow Mimosa, which you can find in many places in the city. HangOverEasy is particularly known for its Rainbow Mimosas, and customers love to drink them occasionally.

29. Cornbread

Many people in Cincinnati will tell you there’s nothing better than having Cincinnati chili with some cornbread.

Cornbread is a traditional meal and a must in the city. There are many restaurants in Cincinnati that serve amazing cornbread, and some of them include Allyn’s Cafe and Just Q’ in BBQ.

30. Collards

People all across Cincinnati like to have collards as side dishes when they’re out eating. Moreover, many restaurants in the city have dozens of recipes with collard greens. A popular favorite is fried chicken with a side of collards and other vegetables.

31. Grits

Another dish that’s well-liked by the people of Cincinnati is grits. When prepared correctly, they can be amazing main dishes.

Some restaurants, such as Tony’s Of Cincinnati, prepare grits with shrimp. On the other hand, Eli’s BBQ prepares amazing cheese grits.

32. Grilled Cheese

Many restaurants in Cincinnati have perfected grilled cheese sandwiches that come in many combinations and with multiple types of cheese.

The Eagle is Cincinnati’s favorite when it comes to grilled chase. Once in Cincinnati, you can order grilled cheese with fries, tomatoes, and much more.