Travelling Foodie Raymond Cua takes you on special food, and drink journey around your home region.

By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor

On this prolonged vacation, its time to depend on our blessings — and in addition to getting a glimpse of what the remainder of the world is aware of about us now, due to the Travelling Foodie, Raymond Cua, who spent 4 days in Covington, consuming and consuming his method across the area.

Cua, who relies on one in Toronto, based the Travelling Foodie, a journey and lifestyle digital journal, in 2014 — and since then has explored the world. BLINK introduced him to the Larger Cincinnati area. He stayed at the Coppin Resort, which he extremely recommends, and sampled some particular foods and drinks. He wrote about his experiences and in addition shared critiques, videos, and photographs along with his legion of readers.

Travelling Foodie options detailed journey guides and itineraries, eating places, native delicacies, recipes, issues to do, and lodging. It’s imaginative and prescient for “individuals to appreciate the wonder on this world we reside in and get a style of what it has to supply in points of journey and nature, meals and drinks, and lifestyle and occasions.”

As he says “he travels to eat — and eats to journey.”

It’s particularly good to see ourselves as others see us.

With Cua’s permission, I’m sharing particularly what he needed to say about Northern Kentucky:

Style meals distinctive to Cincinnati Area

Most individuals are shocked to be taught that the Cincy Area has its native meals.

German and Greek immigrants have introduced their delicacies and created dishes to adapt to the area.

Foodies won’t wish to go away Cincy Area without attempting these iconic dishes just as the Cincinnati chili, goetta, and buckeye candies.

At Anchor Grill, you may attempt different goetta dishes together with a goetta omelet.

New York Occasions meals critic Helen Rosner listed Anchor Grill’s double-decker GLT (Goetta, Lettuce, Tomato) as probably the greatest issue she’s eaten within the decade.

This 24-hour diner was named the greatest diner in Kentucky by Meals Wine Journal.

At Gold Star Chili, you may attempt different dishes of the enduring Cincinnati chili from chili salad and loaded chili cheese fries to cheese coneys (hotdog sandwich with chili) and the traditional 3-Method (spaghetti, chili, and shredded cheddar cheese).

If it’s your first time, I like to recommend going large and getting the 5-Method which is the 3-Method plus beans and onions for the total Cincinnati chili expertise.

Kentucky Bourbon

Did you even go to Kentucky in case you didn’t have bourbon?

Kentucky is the Bourbon Nation in any case.

And Northern Kentucky is the North’s Gateway to Bourbon Nation.

Within the Cincy Area, Northern Kentucky makes it straightforward so that you can get pleasure from Kentucky Bourbon by having The B-Line.

This NKY self-guided Bourbon Path is comprised of 5 Craft Distilleries, 8 Bourbon Bars, and 6 Bourbon-centric Eating places, together with Coppins at Resort Covington.

In case you’re a bourbon or spirit lover, you must go to New Riff Distilling in Newport, probably the greatest craft distillery in Northern Kentucky and an award-winning anchor of the Kentucky Bourbon Path Craft Tour.

At New Riff Distilling, they not solely serve bourbon but additionally rye whiskey and gin.

Additionally, they have some distinctive and specialties whiskeys just as the New Riff Winter Whiskey made with malted oat and chocolate malt, and the Balboa Rye Whiskey made with a neighborhood heirloom grain (balboa rye) grown by their corn farmer in Indiana.

For the total expertise, I extremely advocate doing their Bonded Tour, which features a tour of the distillery and a tasting of six New Riff whiskeys from straight and single barrel to bourbon and rye.

Keep and dine within the Greatest Resort in Kentucky

In search of a place to remain in the Cincy Area?

Named the Greatest Resort in Kentucky by U.S. Information and World Report, Resort Covington is conveniently positioned in downtown Covington.

This boutique resort is positioned within the historic Coppin’s Division Retailer and pays homage to its namesake restaurant Coppin’s Restaurant and Bar.

I stayed at their Coppin King, an enthralling 350 sq. ft room with a Flat display screen LCD, a stocked mini fridge, in-room security, and a desk.

An additional contact within the room was having two tokens for complimentary espresso on the Artisan Espresso Bar within the Resort Covington foyer.

You’ll additionally wish to dine at Coppin’s, probably the greatest eating place in Covington, for some hyper-local dishes just like the Farmer’s Omelette.

Take pleasure in farm-to-table eating

Farm-to-table eating has grown as individuals turn out to be extra all for realizing the place their meals come from, and the Cincy Area has loads to supply.

Whenever you dine at farm-to-table eating places, it’s not solely about consuming what’s contemporary and seasonal, you’re additionally supporting the native farmers and growers that produce them.

Chef David Willocks and designer Wendy Braun put Newport, Kentucky onto the culinary map with their farm-to-table restaurant The Baker’s Desk which was in each USA At present and Eater Journal’s record of Greatest New Eating places within the US.

The Baker’s Desk began as an easy idea of being a brunch restaurant that makes use of native produce and makes 100% of its bread and has transitioned right into a dinner restaurant serving Prix Fixe eating solely.

However don’t fret as a result, in October 2021, they opened an off-the-cuff neighborhood spot, a bakery, cafe, and pizzeria, simply throughout The Baker’s Desk so you may nonetheless get pleasure from their farm-to-table choices for breakfast and lunch.

At The Baker’s Desk Bakery & Pizzeria, all of the bread are made with natural, stone-ground, entire grain flour, and so they function as native flour solely.

With all of the bread and kitchen setup, it was a pure extension to make pizza which provides them an option to incorporate native produce from their farmers.

Whereas in Cincy Area, you positively must-try their farm-to-table pizza (the dough could be very flavourful by itself!) and deal with yourself to some ethereal fluffy doughnuts.

Imbibe in uncommon spirits older than 50+ years

Cincy Area is house one of the vital distinctive liquor outlets I’ve been to.

Whenever you step inside Revival Classic Spirits, it’s actually like a museum for impossible-to-find vintage spirits and spirits from a bygone period.

You’re feeling as if you’re in a Willy Wonka store however for uncommon spirits.

In this case, Willy Wonka is co-owner Brad “Dusty” Bonds, America’s foremost classic spirits collector and one of the vital passionate individuals I’ve met for spirits.

Revival Classic Spirits can be female-owned with co-owner and Covington Metropolis Commissioner Shannon Smith, which is kind of refreshing to see in a male-dominated business.

“We store in individuals’ trash and make it your treasure,” says Brad whereas exhibiting to me dusty previous bottles of whiskeys from the 30s and 40s.

The oldest I noticed of their assortment is an 1870 rye with a deteriorating cork leaving a low crammed rye as most have evaporated.

What’s wonderful about Revival Classic Spirits is, whereas eating places and bars cost extremely for classic spirits, Revival makes these uncommon spirits very accessible and inexpensive to the frequent particular person.

At Revival, you may attempt a classic 1986 Jim Beam pour for $5, or an uncommon Cuban cordial from the 30s for $25 per half an ounce (the place it may cost a little within the whole lot elsewhere).

You’ll be able to spend hours simply sitting at the bar, having fun with a classic spirit tasting surrounded by uncommon spirits while chatting with Brad.

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Different locations of a word in Cincinnati

Cua positively received round. He additionally made the particular word of Larger’s Ice Cream, the legendary however closed Maisonette dwelling on using Boca and its elegant advantageous eating French Restaurant, Knox Joseph Distillery, the one female-owner distillery in Ohio, and Salazar Restaurant and Ghost Child underground bar in Over-the-Rhine.

He mentioned, “What I liked is how the Cincy Area has distinctive attributes and choices from a culinary perspective. There are greater than sufficient locations to maintain any traveling foodie pleased for a very long time, particularly with all of the spirits concerned.”

Cua “had such an enjoyable and scrumptious time” on the journey to the area, understands he simply “scratched the floor” and hopes to return.

He despatched his readers to the meetnky website so they may be taught much more about what Northern Kentucky has to supply.

You must in all probability test it out, too — there is all the time new issues to be taught concerning the place you reside and love.