Seeking unique, low-end in Cincinnati

[dimsumfan]

Going to be at the University of Cincinnati in a few days and looking for something interesting, unique, local, low-end, etc. in that area. Nothing pretentious, please. Looking forward to your ideas - thanks!

[shengcai]

Going to be at the University of Cincinnati in a few days and looking for something interesting, unique, local, low-end, etc. in that area. Nothing pretentious, please. Looking forward to your ideas - thanks!

←

Skyline Chili is quintessential Cincinnati fare. It's a local chain founded in 1949 by a Greek immigrant. Their specialties include 3-ways (which is spaghetti topped with chili and a mound of finely grated cheddar cheese....4-way = add beans or onions...5-way = add both) and cheese coneys (which is a hot dog topped with chili, mustard, onions, and a good helping of cheddar cheese...notice a trend here ). I think there are several around the UC campus.

A disclaimer for you -- I've tried introducing non-locals to Skyline in the past, and I've had more failures than successes at converting them into Skyline fans. That having been said, it definitely satisfies all of the criteria you listed, and it is an eatery that is near and dear to many Cincinnatians, including myself!

[ronnie_suburban]

If you have time, you should hit Jungle Jim's International Market. It's not exactly a restaurant but it's definitely a food-lover's destination.

shengcai's post above about Skyline Chili was definitely true for me -- I didn't really like it very much. It was too sweet for my taste and tasted like Greek spaghetti sauce. A transplanted friend of ours who lives in Cincinnati said the same was true for him . . . for a short time. He tried it once and didn't like it. He tried it a second time and still didn't like it. A week later found himself craving it now he eats it about once a week.

=R=

[MichaelB]

Going to be at the University of Cincinnati in a few days and looking for something interesting, unique, local, low-end, etc. in that area. Nothing pretentious, please. Looking forward to your ideas - thanks!

←

Just off campus is Floyd's a hole-in-the-wall eastern Med place. Terrific roast chicken, hummus, baba ganouche, lima bean salad. You get the picture.

[cbarre02]

how about slim's up on the northside

[ronnie_suburban]

how about slim's up on the northside

←

Normally, I would not provide feedback on someone else's suggestion but on my one visit to Slim's for brunch this past summer, I thought it was remarkably pretentious; so much so that the experience still stands out for me. It's certainly a unique place and the food was distinctive, although not all of it for the right reasons.

I'm sorry to be so negative.

=R=

[LAZ]

If you have time, you should hit Jungle Jim's International Market.  It's not exactly a restaurant but it's definitely a food-lover's destination.

shengcai's post above about Skyline Chili was definitely true for me -- I didn't really like it very much.  It was too sweet for my taste and tasted like Greek spaghetti sauce. 

←

Emphatic agreement on both counts.

Jungle Jim's is absolutely not to be missed. Plan on spending several hours. It's huge.

You can't really equate Cinti chili with anything anybody else things of as "chili" ... except for the sauce on Detroit-area Coney dogs.

I haven't been to Cincinnati for a couple of years, but I used to be a regular visitor. Besides Jungle Jim's, my must-visit list always included:

Blue Gibbon, a Chinese restaurant that serves the best orange beef I've ever eaten, excellent sesame noodles and other good stuff.

Graeter's or Aglamesis Bros., local ice-cream parlors that make their own ice cream using a small-batch process, and also their own chocolates, including that lesser-known Cincinnati specialty, the opera cream, and the Ohio State candy, the buckeye.

[dimsumfan]

Thanks. Flights were delayed and I was miserably delayed, so I didn't really get to dine anywhere. Next time!