“What’s in Ohio?” “There are no good food places in Ohio.” I’m tired of hearing these kind of statements, especially from people that have never been to Ohio a day in their life. I’m aware that Ohio gets a lot of flack for just existing (and ngl, it works for my own benefit), but it really isn’t much different than other places and actually has a wide diversity of different food, museums and other cool things to do depending on which city you’re in. Today, I want to share a little snippet of the food and drink places that are super cool here in Ohio. While I can’t speak much about other cities, I’ll be sharing some from my home city of Cincinnati, so that if you’re ever in town, you have a few ideas of where to try!
Saturday Morning Vibes
SMV is a black owned cereal bar! Walking into this cute place, you’re immediately faced with a wall of cereals and many of the Saturday cartoons from your childhood. As expected, you are given a wide range of cereals and combinations to choose from, however the options do not stop there. SMV also offers breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast options, and also various specialty coffee and cereal drinks. This spot is perfect for an early morning brunch with friends or even a solo venture as sit back and watch cartoons with your breakfast!
Cafe Mochiko
This location is a 2-for-1 hidden gem. During the early day hours, this place serves as a café that sells a rotating menu of Japanese inspired pastries and treats; but in the evening, the pastries go away to make room for their dinner menu (also Japanese influenced), which you can only enjoy in-store. Their food choices can range from an early morning Ube Himalayan Croissant to their dinnertime Katsu Sando. However, no matter what time you decide to go, you’ll be in for a pleasant experience.
Sleepy Bee Cafe
A local chain of restaurants throughout the city, Sleepy Bee Cafe provides a cozy, homey experience when you go in to enjoy a nice breakfast. From personal experience, Sleepy Bee is a good place to get some work done or even just page through that novel you’ve been reading when you need a change a scenery from your everyday office. They are also very sustainability minded and much of the delicious food you’re served from their restaurants and sourced from local farms and vendors. For maybe a slow and easy weekday morning, Sleepy Bee Cafe is an excellent choice.
The Milk Jar
Milk Jar offers many sweet treats for your enjoyments. From Thai ice cream, to bubble tea to different cereal bowl dishes, they offer a little bit of everything! Milk Jar is enjoyed best on a nice hot day when you having a craving for something cold and sweet, but they do also serve a couple of hot drink options as well if that’s what you’re looking for instead. All of their locations off a cozy experience that is great for that cute friend date or even just a solo daytime adventure! No matter what you crave, I’m sure there’s something for you at Milk Jar.
Taste of Belgium
This bistro offers an amazing waffle recipe from a Belgium native. With a mix of the traditional Belgium style and American style of dishes, Taste of Belgium offers a beautiful selection of tasty cuisine, from the earliest breakfast dates to the evening dinner meals. Starting off as a small storefront at the local Market, ToB now serves a wider range of patrons with their several restaurants throughout the city!
Qlicious
This cute spot offers a ton of milk tea drinks and desserts! Created by founder Jerry Liu, this location strives to offer more authentic and tasty pastries and drinks that remind him of the food from his childhood. They also offer seasonal treats during the various traditional holidays, like mooncakes during the Mid Autumn Festival. If you’re in the mood for something sweet, Qilicious is a nice, satisfying choice!
Decibel Korean Fried Chicken
I’m sure by now many of you have heard of Korean fried chicken. It’s good, it’s crunchy and kind of addictive. Decibel is no exception to this at all! They offer pretty sizeable portions (often I have to take my leftovers home lol) and they also have small snacks/sides like Korean corndogs and bulgogi egg rolls. For the veggie lovers, they serve a vegetarian option as well, so you’re not at all being left out of the experience! Sitting down with a plate of chicken and waffle fries from Decibel provides a satisfying experience that has made it a popular location in the city.
Catch Me If You Can
This place is actually quite new to the area and is also black owned! This cute restaurant serves a myriad of Southern-inspired comfort foods. This location offers items like the everyday double-deckers for lunch to the fried fish dinner that’s perfect for that Friday night. They also serve items like chili cheese fries, which is a staple of Cincinnati cuisine if your looking for something authentic to the area. While still new, Catch Me If You Can has quickly became a staple to the local community.
Hopefully this will have given you a few ideas of places to try whenever you find yourself within the city of Cincinnati, or at least not have such a negative opinion about Ohio food options. Also remember that this is only for one city! Other places like Columbus and Cleveland also have so many cool, diverse restaurants to try out.
It took like two months for me to push this one out oof. First, I needed more pictures, then I got too lazy to write and then it was something else, hopefully you already know how that goes. But finally, here it is! And here we are! Thank you once again for coming back and reading my tangents and nonsense. And shout out to my discord homies who, with one VC, became the main reason I even finished it now and not later. Bye!
Sundai Paper 
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