"Over the years, Cincinnati has earned a reputation for conservatism and keeping to itself, especially regarding food, but that's changing. Old favorites like cinnamon-scented chili on spaghetti, ice cream with huge chocolate chunks and old-fashioned German butchers selling goetta, brats and metts are being rediscovered--and in some cases re-created. A similar urge for experimentation and innovation from restaurants, farmers' markets and food producers is bringing new energy to the city's tables. Gathering the stories of the pioneers and the entrepreneurs of the past and the present, Enquirer food critic Polly Campbell unfolds how Cincinnati's history has set the table for its menu today."--Amazon website.

“The comprehensive guide offers a glimpse into the lives of Cincinnatians throughout history, through the lens of food.” —Cincinnati Magazine Over the years, Cincinnati has earned a reputation for conservatism and keeping to itself, especially regarding food, but that’s changing. Old favorites like cinnamon-scented chili on spaghetti, ice cream with huge chocolate chunks and old-fashioned German butchers selling goetta, brats and metts are being rediscovered—and in some cases re-created. A similar urge for experimentation and innovation from restaurants, farmers’ markets and food producers is bringing new energy to the city’s tables. Gathering the stories of the pioneers and the entrepreneurs of the past and the present, Enquirer food critic Polly Campbell unfolds how Cincinnati’s history has set the table for its menu today. “Whether it’s a plate full of cinnamon-scented chili on spaghetti, or skillets frying up goetta, or other uniquely Cincinnati staples, Campbell’s book will leave your mouth watering for a taste of home.” —WVXU News

Discover how the Ohio city’s unique dish came to be, how it gave way to legions of chili parlors, and how it become a million-dollar industry. Cincinnati is certainly judged by its chili. Some claim it’s not even chili, but those are just fighting words to natives who have developed the crave. Cincinnati is a long way from El Paso, and our chili is not Tex-Mex style. It is a unique blend typically served as a three-way: over spaghetti and covered in shredded cheddar cheese. From its 1922 roots with the Slavic-Macedonian immigrant brothers Kiradjieff in a burlesque theater, Cincinnati chili has become a million-dollar industry supporting 250 chili parlors. Many chili parlors have come and gone, but a few familiar names remain: Dixie, Camp Washington, Gold Star, Price Hill and Skyline. This is their amazing chili story.

Cincinnati is the home to food inventions, rivalries and restaurants that stand the test of time. The Queen City boasts the invention of both Cincinnati chili and goetta. Mecklenburg Gardens, Arnold's, Izzy's and Scotti's have all operated for over a century. The French restaurant Maisonette was the epitome of fine dining, and Wong Yie's Famous Restaurant took Chinese cuisine from street fare to an exotic experience. Busken Bakery and Frisch's vied for Cincinnati pumpkin pie supremacy by taking digs at each other through billboards and redecorating a Big Boy statue in Busken attire. Author Dann Woellert explores the most iconic eateries, the German influence on Queen City food and what makes dining so unique in Cincinnati.

A tour of the Queen City's rich heritage One of the oldest cities in the Midwest, Cincinnati has history in its bones. In the 1800s, the city was often styled the "Paris of America" due in part to ambitious architectural projects like the Music Hall, Cincinnatian Hotel, and city hall. Many of these historical structures still exist. The city also has sundry links to American presidents, whose stories can still be seen if you know where to look. Thriving destinations like Over the Rhine and Findlay Market provide glimpses of Cincinnati as it once was and how it is today. Offering something for native and visitor alike, author Robert Schrage leads a trip through the past and present of one of the nation's most historic cities.

This cultural history of Cincinnati explores how a love of books and reading transformed Ohio’s Queen City into a bibliophile’s paradise. Since its founding in 1788, Cincinnati has been home to lovers of books and reading. The early settlers swapped books with one another. By the early 1800s, civic leaders were envisioning the creation of a public library, and in 1814, the Circulating Library Society was founded. Other libraries followed, as did bookshops and stationers. These early social developments were followed by literary industries. Soon, printing and publishing made Cincinnati one of America’s centers for the book trade. Ault & Wiborg became one of the world’s largest manufacturers of printing ink, while the Strobridge Lithography Company produced the lion’s share of circus and show posters in the Western world. Author and rare book archivist Kevin Grace chronicles the centuries-long literary evolution of Cincinnati, a city that now boasts a thriving community of poets, playwrights, authors and booksellers.

"Cincinnati loves goetta. Since its arrival with nineteenth-century Germanic immigrants, this humble dish has evolved from peasant staple to ubiquitous delicacy. Once upon a time, Cincinnatians found goetta mostly in neighborhood butcher shops, in Over-the-Rhine's so-called Goetta Alley and through Sander Packing, its first commercial producer. Now hungry locals scarf it down at diners and white-linen establishments alike and in everything from egg rolls to Reuben sandwiches. Tracing goetta from its Germanic origins and its first stop in Greater Cincinnati to its largest commercial producers, Queen City Sausage and Gliers, food etymologist and "Goettevangelist" Dann Woellert explores goetta's history in the city that made it regionally famous"--Back cover.