There is no better city guide than someone who lives there, so we asked Molly Wellmann, a local bar owner and seventh-generation Cincy resident, about her views on culture, food and drink in the city she calls home.
About three minutes after talking to Molly Wellmann, they fall in love with her enthusiasm for Cincinnati. Her ancestors here date back seven generations, so it makes sense that after 12 years as a bartender in San Francisco, she couldn’t justify staying away, so she went home and opened a bar. Then another bar. Then another one. And she can’t imagine doing that anywhere else. “There’s magic in Cincinnati. I’ve traveled a lot, but I never know what we have here. There is something in his heritage or history. It doesn’t matter who you are or what medium you come from. I think it’s inviting for everyone.”
We asked her where everyone who visits the queen’s city should eat, drink, go out and shop. Just a tip: arrive hungry. Very hungry.
EAT your heart
Cincinnati was once an enclave of German immigrants, and its legacy continues in some of the city’s long-standing restaurants. Molly is especially fond of Arnold, one of the oldest bars in the city dating back to the 1860s. “They come in and they feel transported into the story,” she says. The beautiful mahogany tray, the wooden huts and the vintage huts are just the beginning. It’s the lack of TVs that really makes her a fan. And the selection of world-class bourbon. And the terrace, open all year round, which regularly hosts groups. And the chicken dish with blueberries. And his spaghetti. And a few more things about the versatile comfort menu.
She is also a regular in Salazar with exposed brick walls and tiled floors, remnants of her historical past, and proves to be very modern. “I’m in love with what chef Jose Salazar does in the kitchen,” she says. “It takes inspiration from old recipes and integrates them into a modern way of eating—but it’s never too far from the menu. There is always something charming.”And according to his usual preferences: there is no TV. It is located in a unique cross-section of alleys and is one block from Washington Park, one of the largest public areas in the city.
If an opportunity requires madness, your choice is please, an allusion to the term that local German immigrants use with an interrogative tone to describe everything from “what did you say?”too” like that?are you really “too”?”He’s thinking completely off the overcome track,” says Ryan Santos, Molly’s boss. “His food is not molecular, but it’s close. He has worked in kitchens all over the world putting together pieces of what he has learned in a really cool way.”
Molly couldn’t call herself a true Cincinnati if she didn’t recommend Ruby’s Steakhouse, which dates back to the 1980s and now has five outposts in the area. It’s “a force to be reckoned with,” says Molly. “I keep all the steaks up to the ruby steaks. Everything here is right at the top-from the decor and food to the staff’s uniforms. There is never a time when someone says no. They always say “always”, we will work for them.’”
Discover The Regional taste
Philly has cheese steaks, New York has pizza and Cincinnati has whipped dips. And you shouldn’t leave Cincinnati without eating one. Or three. Whipped dips are the Midwest’s seasonal solution to the craving for soft ice cream. Mainly sells small nostalgic stalls all over the city and pretty much every local has a favorite that he visits frequently. Molly’s is the creamy plaster whisk that greets guests with a handwritten menu. However, do not bother to read it. Chocolate Chip Chocolate/vanilla strudel is the only thing that does the trick, Molly points out. But the city’s passion for ice cream does not end there. Another culinary highlight in Cincinnati is the French ice cream made of copper glass, and Graeter’s, which started in the early 1900s and now has 16 soda fountain-style salons in the city, is one of the best. You would be careless if you did not try the chocolate chips, which are made from large pieces of chocolate. (“No chips,” says Molly. “Pieces of chocolate!Grippos is another brand that is inextricably linked with Cincinnati. A bag of hometown potato chips is a must if you are in one of the many discreet bars in the neighborhood with a burger and a beer and if you are wherever you find a menu item with grippos in the description, be aware that it can come crushed and used as a condiment. So the locals love their own.
Make it an afternoon
Cincinnati is a city of neighborhoods-52 neighborhoods, to be exact. And with its location near Kentucky, several regions of the Bluegrass State are included in this count, including Covington, a trendy enclave in Kentucky that Budget Travel named the best affordable discovery in 2017, and Newport. Of course, it is difficult for Molly to choose her favorites, since each neighborhood has its own things to love, but every time a visitor is in town, she recommends Mount Adams, a neighborhood on a hill in the east of the city. The idyllic Eden Park is named after her, she assures. It is anchored by the Krohn Conservatory, a beautiful paradise with bonsai, a desert garden, orchards and much more, and houses the Cincinnati art Museum. There is no shortage of food and drinks, so spend the day exploring the various bars and restaurants. For something unusual, visit the Vent Haven Museum, the largest-rather the only-ventriloquist museum in the world, with 900 abdominal reflexes from 20 countries and many strange memorabilia that will make you talk.
