Cincy must eats?

Hey all -

I am headed to Cincy tomorrow for a long weekend with an old friend. Any must eats? We are staying in Covington, about 1/2 mile from the Levee. I've been to Hoffbrau Haus, and love the pretzels. Any recommendations for places to eat and drink? We're mid 30's and wouldn't mind mixing it up with the ladies a bit either...

Have enjoyed eating at Greenup Cafe in Covington. 308 Greenup Street. Open for breakfast and lunch only. Lunch is good and breakfast has an excellent corned beef hash.

http://www.greenupcafe.com

Claddagh Irish Pub is located in Newport on the Levee. A great place.

http://www.newportonthelevee.com/directory/detail.aspx?id=11

Friday - Ladies Night, drink specials - $2 bottles, $2.50 mixers and $3 grape and cherry bombs! Spinning DJ, city view dance floor and beer pong. NO COVER! 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. 21 and up

Saturday - Live Music, 9 p.m. Different bands every week

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7231

Two doors down from Greenup Cafe (which is indeed very good...my kids went crazy for the pastries) is Chalk, also part of the Jean Robert group. $32 three-course prix fixe. It's an exceptional value for elegant, well-prepared food. The menu changes, but when we were there the duck confit was a stand-out. They also have duck fat fries available as a supplement, and they are outstanding.

Comedy Anchor Grill option. If you follow 42 on in to covington you'll pass right by the Anchor around, oh, pike street or so. It's really only good if you've been hitting the mainstrausse and it's early in the morning, and you need greasy food.

Go hit Findlay Market in OTR and try some of the foods they've got there. It's an awesome little market that has a couple of really good storefronts, and some good food being cooked in the markethouse. Ms Helen's breakfast is good stuff.

For good pub grub, I really like the Cock & Bull English Pub in Mainstrasse in Covington.
http://www.mainstrasse.org/node/18

Menu:
http://www.theenglishpub.com/documents/menu.pdf

Two doors down from Greenup Cafe (which is indeed very good...my kids went crazy for the pastries) is Chalk, also part of the Jean Robert group. $32 three-course prix fixe. It's an exceptional value for elegant, well-prepared food. The menu changes, but when we were there the duck confit was a stand-out. They also have duck fat fries available as a supplement, and they are outstanding.

I should make a note (for anyone not aware of it...) Jean-Robert de Cavel is no longer associated with his former partners nor any of the restaurants he was part of or that bore his name.

Feel free to Google it, but from what the press published about it; sounds he and his investors/partners had a very nasty split in both vision and business.

Last I heard he is now "chef in residence" at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College’s Midwest Culinary Institute. Refer to article here.

Just a heads up. My husband's business is there and we've enjoyed many places in and around Cinci. FYI Covington is not smoke free, but all places in Cinci are. It makes a HUGE difference. Try Jeff Ruby's new place Bootsy's.

eat ethnic food. the Kibbeh at Andys is great. Not to mention, you can get better indian food in Cincy then in Chicago. Sushi at Jo An in Florence (crazy authentic Japanese - bankrolled by Toyota execs)
.....If not....Melt in Northside is really good. Layed back and farm fresh. At first i thought it was a bite off of a friends restaurant in Cleveland. But has truly turned into a local fav. you have to get a double decker from J&J's on Glenway. (and for the record - in my opinion - Glenway ave hosts the best Sandwich shop, gyro, cinti chili and chinese take out in Cincy.)

And the skinny on Jean-Robert (JR as we refer to him) is that he will continue to collaborate with Midwest Culinary on the Symphony dinners but has taken over a restaurant space in Downtown Cincy across from The Garfield Suites. Going to be simple foods. As I am close to the situation I wont comment on the state of split between he and "them." but I will say that JR is in a better situation and he will be a sole proprietor in the new venture.

If you find yourselves up on Mt. Adams in Cincy, you should check out The City View Tavern. It's a dive bar with great views of Cincinnati and burgers. Imagine The Bambi Bar on a big hill.

Here's their site. It's kind of annoying. You have to click on the door to the left to enter. Check out pictures of the deck.
http://www.cityviewtavern.com/bar.html

Mt. Adams also has a lot of pubs & restaurants. All within walking distance once you find a place to park. If you haven't been there, imagine Bardstown Rd. perched on top of a hill.
http://www.mtadamstoday.com/clubs/index.html

Thanks for the heads up on Jean Robert; I had no idea.

I stand by the restaurant though; it's an extraordinary value.

I am not in the restaurant business, though I did work in it briefly. I am always struck by the level of animosity and the number of fallings-out people have in the restaurant business. Someone is always going through an ugly breakup of some kind. The stakes in the business I'm in are much higher, and I don't see nearly the level of fighting. Strange.

[Robin Garr]

Mt. Adams also has a lot of pubs & restaurants. All within walking distance once you find a place to park. If you haven't been there, imagine Bardstown Rd. perched on top of a hill.
http://www.mtadamstoday.com/clubs/index.html

I haven't been there for years, but I used to love Mount Adams and felt it was one of the very few places where Cincy really dominated Louisville. It was almost like a little bit of a San Francisco neighborhood dropped onto the Cincinnati riverside.

I hit the Montgomery Inn last Monday to wind-up my Al Jarreau-Bengals game weekend. Great views and good food.

Jean-Robert will be opening 'John-Robert's Table' located at 713 Vine St. in downtown Cincy sometime around early December according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. For now, Virgil's Cafe (located just east of Newport) would be one of my top picks for dining in Northern KY. It has been top rated under the category or 'Neighborhood Gem' on OpenTable's website for some time now and every time I go Matt never fails to impress me. If you are looking for something romantic, I would give 'Bouquet Restaurant & Wine Bar' on Main in Covington a try...beautiful, intimate decor and Stephen's food is fabulous.