Iconic Cincinnati Food Favorites – What To Eat In Cincinnati

Founded in the 18th century and later settled by German immigrants, Cincinnati is a classic Midwest city best known for its professional sports teams and prime location on the Ohio River. Before our visit, we didn’t know a lot about the city beyond what we learned from the classic television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.

But we knew about the Cincinnati famous food and wanted to try the two best things to eat in Cincinnati.

We quickly learned that the Cincinnati cuisine is for real. In our opinion, Cincinnati is one of the best food cities in America.

Discover more great American food cities.

Graeter’s has been owned and managed by the Graeter clan for over a hundred years, and the quality of the ice cream is a true testament to the family and its loyal customers who are willing to pay a little bit more for a better ice cream product.

Read more about our Graeter’s Ice Cream factory tour.

What makes Graeter’s Ice Cream so special?

Maybe it’s the special French Pot method that involves a labor-intensive small batch process. Maybe it’s the quality of ingredients like the real chocolate they use in every batch. Maybe it’s the wide variety of flavors and big chunks of chocolate. Or maybe it’s the extra touches like how they pack each pint by hand.

Although Graeter’s Ice Cream is available in 47 states, we recommend that you try it in Cincinnati. The factory isn’t open to the public, but Graeter’s has over 50 stores where customers can order popular flavors like Black Cherry Chocolate Chip and Butter Pecan as well as limited edition and summer bonus flavors like Key Lime Pie and Watermelon Sorbet.

Pro Tip
If you can’t get to Cincinnati, you can visit a Graeter’s shop in select Midwest cities like Chicago, Indianapolis and Columbus.

What do you get when you combine spaghetti, chili and shredded cheddar cheese on one plate?

If the concoction includes flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate, then you get the Cincinnati food favorite known as 3-Way Chili. Totally different from Texas chili, Cincinnati chili is more of pasta dish where the chili serves as the gravy.

Discover the best noodle dishes in the world.

This unique chili dish was invented in the early 20th century by Macedonian immigrants, which explains the exotic flavors. You could almost say that Cincinnati Chili is a close relative to moussaka, a Greek food staple, both in flavor and concept.

After you eat Cincinnati Chili, explore more iconic American food favorites you need to eat at least once in your life.

Nicholas Lambrinides opened the original Skyline Chili in Cincinnati and named the restaurant after the restaurant’s view of the city’s skyline. Fast forward to today, and there are now over 150 Skyline Chili locations in four states. Don’t ask us for the Skyline Chili recipe – that’s apparently a well-guarded secret.

Pro Tip
Be sure to get a York Peppermint Patty when you pay your bill at Skyline Chili. This popular American candy provides a sweet counterpoint to the restaurant’s spicy chili. If you miss out on them in Cincinnati, you can order York Peppermint Patties from Old Time Candy instead.

We later recreated the Cincinnati recipe at home in Lisbon. While it’s not a dish to eat every day, it was just as almost as great as eating it at the source.

Make our easy Cincinnati Chili recipe at home.

Why stop at Graeter’s Ice Cream and Skyline Chili when you visit Cincinnati? The city has more great food that warrants attention.

Beyond the most famous food in Cincinnati, we recommend checking out the following local Cincinnati food establishments during your visit: