International travel is a dream for many people, but for many reasons — ranging from time to money to finding kid-friendly destinations — it’s a lot easier said than done. If you want to experience different cultures and get out of your comfort zone without breaking the bank or making life more difficult, one way to do that is to eat at diverse restaurants serving up the cuisines of the world — and you don’t even have to leave the Greater Cincinnati area to do just that.
Certain restaurants, such as Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse and Jose Salazar’s many restaurants, and foods like Cincinnati-style chili, put Cincinnati on the map, but Cincinnati’s food scene is much larger and more diverse. The extent of that diversity can surprise even native Cincinnatians. Sure, there are Chinese, Mexican, Italian and Indian restaurants, just like almost every large city in the United States, but you can expand your horizons even further while sticking close to home.
You don’t even have to leave Findlay Market. The oldest continuously operated public market in Ohio, Findlay Market is located in Over-the-Rhine, which has at various points been an enclave for German immigrants, Appalachian migrants and the Black community, among others. With that history in mind, it’s no surprise that the market is a hub for diverse businesses. In one trip through the market and down surrounding streets, you can eat food from Colombia and Venezuela (The Arepa Place), Eastern Europe (Babushka Pierogies), the Mediterranean (Dean’s Mediterranean Imports), Vietnam (Pho Lang Thang), Jamaica (Flavors of the Isle) and more. Chacabanas, which serves Dominican and Cuban food (and the best empanadas I have ever tasted), also operated at Findlay Market before closing that location and moving to a to-be-determined new permanent location and launched a pop-up at Somerset Bar. Findlay Market’s business incubator, Findlay Kitchen, helps burgeoning restaurants and food-centered businesses get on their feet. Findlay Kitchen’s mission is to enable a thriving, inclusive community of food entrepreneurs representative of the city’s diversity. Ninety percent of members and graduates are women-, BIPOC-, and immigrant-owned businesses.
One graduate of Findlay Kitchen is Ebony Williams, owner of Flavors of the Isle. Of African-American and Liberian descent and raised in Detroit, she grew up helping her Jamaican stepfather cook. After moving to Cincinnati, she noticed a lack of diverse eateries in Cincinnati and opened Flavors of the Isle, which offers Jamaican dishes, such as jerk chicken and rice and peas alongside soul food classics like collard greens, to help alleviate the shortage.
I stopped in recently to try Jamaican food for the first time. The space is small but gorgeous, with deep blue walls that evoke the ocean. The music of Bob Marley played over the speakers. The dishes I ordered, chickpea curry and rice and peas, were flavorful and delicious and at once new to me and reminiscent of old favorites such as red beans and rice. Flavors of the Isle provided not just good food but an experience, and I can’t imagine a better introduction to Jamaican food.
Beyond Babushka Pierogies, owner Sarah Dworak brings traditional dishes and twists on the flavors of her Ukrainian-American upbringing in a variety of settings. Wódka Bar in OTR offers Eastern European light bites and cocktails based around vodka. Her newest restaurant, Sudova, serves classic Eastern European meals like rye pelmeni (meat dumplings) and green borscht (a Ukrainian sorrel soup) with modern twists. Dworak’s restaurants celebrate both history and the future, the homeland and the United States.
Neighborhoods such as Clifton and Corryville have so many diverse options that a person could get lost in the options. One such option is Baladi Restaurant & Bakery, owned by the Barazi family, who moved to Ohio in the ‘80s to escape turmoil in Syria. They brought their food traditions with them at Baladi, where they serve flavorful, fresh and delicious Syrian food alongside Syrian hospitality. Situated in a small strip of businesses on Clifton Avenue with an unassuming façade, Baladi is decorated simply with beautiful accents, and the décor perfectly reflects the food.
Often, the simple act of eating at a restaurant can tell you about the history of the country the food hails from. Nowhere is that truer than at Bridges Nepali Cuisine, a chain of Nepali restaurants with locations in Northside, Elmwood, Covington and another scheduled to open in Walnut Hills. Nepal is located between China and India, so it’s no surprise that Nepali food has influences from both countries, while also retaining its own distinct identity. The highlight of the menu is the momo, a dumpling that looks like Chinese xiaolongbao with flavors akin to Indian food. Another noteworthy dish is chow mein, which is often associated with Chinese food but was brought to Nepal by Tibetan settlers. Chow mein is also a feature of Indian-Chinese cuisine, and the last time I went to the now-closed downtown location, I struck up a conversation with a man from India who fondly remembered the chow mein he ate in Delhi. The chow mein at Bridges, he told me, was the most similar he’d ever found in the United States.
Malaysian food also has influences from China and India, alongside the native ethnic groups and many others. In addition to many indigenous Malay ethnic groups, Malaysia is home to the descendants of the Peranakan Chinese (who migrated to Southeast Asia between the 14th and 17th centuries and intermingled over the centuries with local populations), more recent Chinese immigrants and Indian immigrants. One Mt. Lookout restaurant, Sago, owned by Malaysian chef Paul Liew, showcases and celebrates this history. Dishes like samosas and vegan mapo tofu, typically associated with Indian and Chinese cuisines, respectively, sit alongside nasi lemak, a Malay meal considered the national dish of Malaysia.
If you don’t live within the city limits of Cincinnati, worry not. There are plenty of diverse food offerings in the surrounding area, from Afghan Grill (Afghan) in Liberty Township to Chaykhana N1 (Uzbek) in West Chester to Restaurant y Pupuseria Mari (Salvadorean) in Hamilton to East African Restaurant (Somali) in Florence and many more. The proximity between these places of interest makes it easy to stop by during other trips, but a taste of a new land is worth a trip of its own.
In addition to brick-and-mortar restaurants, many food trucks offer diverse, unique offerings. These offerings range from Mama Afrique, which serves Nigerian classics such as jollof rice and the best plantains I have ever tasted, to Twisted Greek, which pairs traditional Greek flavors and ingredients with modern presentations and beyond. These food trucks can be found at events like Taste of Cincinnati and West Chester’s Union Centre Food Truck Rally.
Food festivals are another wonderful way to taste the world. From the Asian Food Festival in April to Cincy-Cinco in May to AfriFest Cincy in July, one can travel around the world in just a few festivals in one summer.
The cuisines of the world are just a few miles away from your doorstep.
This story is featured in CityBeat's Sept. 4 print edition.
