So many regional delights, so little time.

Having lived in Cincinnati, Ohio for 3 years (89-92) I knew they had some special food treats and with a short visit there this weekend I knew I had to revisit some of these special foods. The biggest regional food item in the southwestern Ohio/northern Kentucky area is a variation on chili that is called Cincinnati Chili or probably best known by the largest restaurant that sells it, Skyline Chili. There are two main difference between Skyline Chili and your normal texas style chili, first off is the taste, Cincinnati Chili has a sweetness from what I believe is cinnamon that is reall interesting. The other main difference is that this chili is not meant to be eaten by itself out of a bowl, but rather the way they do it in Cincinnati is eat it with spaghetti noodles and heaping cheese. You order it 3-way (spaghetti, chili, cheese) 4-way (spaghetti, chili, cheese, and onions or beans) or 5-way (spaghetti, chili, cheese, onions, and beans). The other thing is coney dogs which are miniature chili dogs, and they are also very good. Skyline chili is so big in Cincinnati there are near 100 Skyline loacations in the Cincinnati metro area alone with about 40 locations in other areas. It shocks me that this product can be so huge in one area and most people in other areas have no idea about Cincinnati chili. So, luckily, we hit up a Skyline Chili only hours after arriving in Cincy for the weekend. It didn't dissapoint.

The next morning at a incredibly awesome high school football tailgate I encountered my second awesome regional delight of the weekend. Our friends were grilling this stuff called goette. It is sorta like hash but made with pork sausage and pin oats there must have been a little onion in it as well. It came packaged in a tube thing like breakfast sausage patties or something. Our cook just sliced off small patties and grilled them up. We ate the patties on english muffins, which I was told was not the normal way to do it. You normally just eat it straigh off a plate. The big debate was whether you ate it with ketchup. Some people swore that ketchup was needed, others thought that was sacirlege. Either way goette tastes good.

The next treat I encountered was Ale-8-One. I had tried Ale-8-One many years before only once or twice, but had forgot about it. Ale-8-One is a ginger ale from Winchester, Kentucky. Kentucky is home to many interesting drinks, including the similar Vernor's. I really enjoy Ale-8-One's packaging and am a huge fan of most ginger ales or brews and si it was a treat to have a second opportunity to try this beverage. On the sweeter side of ginger ales, which I normally don't prefer, Ale-8-One surprises with its well crafted formula. It is genuinely refreshing, goes down smooth, and has just a little bit of that ginger nip for you.

I have an image of some hillbilly type mixing together different potions in a bathtub or old oaken bucket to try to perfect his "GINGER'RD ALE." Well, turns out, this image in my head is just not true. Actually, Ale-8-One was created byt GL Wainscott, which is quite a fancy lad sounding name. He created Ale-8-One after being inspired by "ginger-blended recipes he acquired during extensive travels in Northern Europe." Not very hillbilly. The drink got it's name, which is officially "A Late One" (what?) via a product naming contest, which were quite popular in the 1920s The logo and and nickname were a play on words from "A Late One." The formula is still a secret today and the company is still run by Wainscott's great nephew. Man, I love a local/regional beverage.

Here is a map of where Ale-8-One is available:

My final treat for the weekend was Larosa's Pizza. The largest local pizza chain in the Cincinnati area has great pizza. There sauce is the most distinct part, a little sweeter than normal and a tinge of spicy as well. Their dough tastes fresh or more real than your national chains as it is a little crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Cincinnati seems to have more regional treats per capita than other areas I have visited and that adds to the region being a really fuun place to visit. Their regional treats all have an interesting sweetness. Oh, also, local Cincinatans favorite exclamation is "Geez Ol' Petes" and they always ask "Please?" instead of "Excuse Me" or "I Can't Hear You." Distinct dudes, distinct folks.