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

By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor

On this prolonged vacation, its time to count our blessings — and also to get a glimpse of what the relaxation of the world is aware about us now, many thanks to the Travelling Foodie, Raymond Cua, who invested 4 days in Covington, ingesting and ingesting his way close to the location.

Raymond Cua (Photograph delivered by the Travelling Foodie)

Cua, who is centered in Toronto, established the Travelling Foodie, a journey and way of living electronic magazine, in 2014 — and given that then has explored the earth. BLINK brought him to the Larger Cincinnati region. He stayed at the Coppin Lodge, which he really endorses, and sampled some specific meals and drink. He wrote about his activities and also shared opinions, video clips, and images with his legion of viewers.

Travelling Foodie features specific travel guides and itineraries, dining establishments, regional delicacies and recipes, and factors to do and lodging. Its vision is for “people to notice the splendor in this environment we are living in and get a style of what it has to offer you in aspects of journey and mother nature, meals and drinks, and life-style and functions.”

As he suggests “he travels to take in — and eats to journey.”

Its especially great to see ourselves as other individuals see us.

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

Taste foodstuff distinctive to Cincinnati Area

Double Decker GLT with chips. (All pictures compliments of the Travelling Foodie)

Most individuals are amazed to study that the Cincy Location has its own local foods.

German and Greek immigrants have brought their delicacies and developed dishes to adapt to the region.

Foodies will not want to leave Cincy Area without the need of hoping these iconic dishes like the Cincinnati chili, goetta, and buckeye candies.

At Anchor Grill, you can try out various goetta dishes like goetta omelette.

In truth, New York Occasions meals critic Helen Rosner stated Anchor Grill’s double decker GLT (Goetta, Lettuce, Tomato) as one of the very best items she’s eaten in the 10 years.

This 24-hour diner was named very best diner in Kentucky by Food stuff Wine Journal.

At Gold Star Chili, you can try distinct dishes of the iconic Cincinnati chili from chili salad and loaded chili cheese fries to cheese coneys (hotdog sandwich with chili) and the traditional 3-Way (spaghetti, chili and shredded cheddar cheese).

If it’s your initially time, I advise going significant and get the 5-Way which is the 3-Way in addition beans and onions for the total Cincinnati chili practical experience.

Kentucky Bourbon

Did you even stop by Kentucky if you did not have bourbon?

Kentucky is the Bourbon Nation just after all.

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

In the Cincy Area, Northern Kentucky will make it effortless for you to delight in Kentucky Bourbon by having The B-Line.

Do not miss out on New Riff Distillery in Newport

This NKY self-guided Bourbon Path is comprised of 5 Craft Distilleries, 8 Bourbon Bars and 6 Bourbon-centric Dining establishments, together with Coppin’s at Resort Covington.

If you are a bourbon or spirit lover, you have to pay a visit to New Riff Distilling in Newport, one particular of the most effective craft distilleries in Northern Kentucky and an award-profitable anchor of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour.

At New Riff Distilling, they not only serve bourbon but also rye whiskey and gin.

They also have some distinctive and specialties whiskeys like the New Riff Wintertime Whiskey created with malted oat and chocolate malt, and the Balboa Rye Whiskey made with a regional heirloom grain (balboa rye) developed by their corn farmer in Indiana.

For the full knowledge, I hugely advise undertaking their Bonded Tour, which contains a tour of the distillery and a tasting of 6 New Riff whiskeys from straight and solitary barrel to bourbon and rye.

Keep and dine in the Finest Resort in Kentucky

On the lookout for where to keep in Cincy Area?

Farmer’s Omelette— smoked ham, aged cheddar with beef fast breakfast potatoes.

Named the Finest Lodge in Kentucky by U.S. News and Globe Report, Lodge Covington is conveniently positioned in downtown Covington.

This boutique hotel is positioned in the historic Coppin’s Department Store and pays homage on its namesake cafe Coppin’s Cafe and Bar.

I stayed at their Coppin King, a charming 350 square toes space with Flat display screen Liquid crystal display, a stocked mini fridge, in-room safe and a desk.

An more contact in the home was acquiring two tokens for complimentary coffee at the Artisan Espresso Bar in the Lodge Covington foyer.

You are going to also want to dine at Coppin’s, one of the ideal dining establishments in Covington, for some hyper-regional dishes like the Farmer’s Omelette.

Take pleasure in farm-to-table dining

Farm-to-desk eating has grown as individuals grow to be much more intrigued in realizing exactly where their food items arrives from, and the Cincy Location has a great deal to present.

When you dine at farm-to-desk dining establishments, it’s not only about consuming what is contemporary and seasonal, you are also supporting the community farmers and growers that make them.

On the desk at Baker’s Desk: BTB BLT, Summer season beans, Orchard Fruits, BLINK Cocktail

Chef David Willocks and designer Wendy Braun put Newport, Kentucky into the culinary map with their farm-to-desk cafe The Baker’s Desk which was in each Usa Today and Eater Magazine’s listing of Ideal New Eating places in the US.

The Baker’s Desk began as a simple concept of currently being a brunch restaurant that uses local develop and will make 100{0b5b04b8d3ad800b67772b3dcc20e35ebfd293e6e83c1a657928cfb52b561f97} of their bread, and has transitioned into a supper restaurant serving Prix Fixe dining only.

But never fret for the reason that, in Oct 2021, they opened a casual neighbourhood place, a bakery, cafe and pizzeria, just throughout The Baker’s Table so you can however love their farm-to-table alternatives for breakfast and lunch.

At The Baker’s Table Bakery & Pizzeria, all the breads are built with organic, stone-ground, full grain flour, and they characteristic regional flour exclusively.

With all the bread and kitchen area setup, it was a normal extension to make pizza which presents them a way to integrate regional make from their farmers.

Even though in Cincy Location, you certainly must-consider their farm-to-table pizza (the dough is incredibly flavourful on its very own!) and address yourself to some ethereal fluffy doughnuts.

Imbibe in exceptional spirits more mature than 50+ decades

Cincy Region is house to one of the most one of a kind liquor retailers I have been to.

Enjoy ‘old’ bourbon at Revival — with Brad Bonds

When you action within Revival Vintage Spirits, it’s literally like a museum for unattainable-to-discover antique spirits and spirits from a bygone period.

You truly feel like you’re in a Willy Wonka store but for exceptional spirits.

In this circumstance, Willy Wonka is co-proprietor Brad “Dusty” Bonds, America’s foremost vintage spirits collector and one of the most passionate people I’ve fulfilled for spirits.

Revival Classic Spirits is also feminine-owned with co-owner and Covington City Commissioner Shannon Smith, which is very refreshing to see in a male-dominated marketplace.

“We store in people’s trash and make it your treasure,” suggests Brad even though exhibiting me dusty previous bottles of whiskeys from the 30s and 40s.

The oldest I saw in their selection is a 1870 rye with a deteriorating cork leaving a minimal filled rye as most have evaporated.

A exceptional handle. Jim Beam 1986 Harp Seal with Little one Seal Whiskey

What’s astounding about Revival Classic Spirits is, when eating places and bars cost hugely for classic spirits, Revival helps make these uncommon spirits extremely obtainable and cost-effective to the popular individual.

At Revival, you can consider a classic 1986 Jim Beam pour for $5, or a scarce Cuban cordial from the 30s for $25 per fifty percent ounce (in which it could expense in the hundreds elsewhere).

You can devote hrs just sitting down at the bar, experiencing a vintage spirit tasting surrounded by unusual spirits although chatting with Brad.

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Other destinations of take note in Cincinnati

Cua unquestionably got about. He also created special notice of Greater’s Ice Cream, the famous but closed Maisonette residing on by way of Boca and its stylish high-quality eating French Cafe, Knox Joseph Distillery, the only feminine-proprietor distillery in Ohio, and Salazar Restaurant and Ghost Newborn underground bar in More than-the-Rhine.

He said, “What I truly beloved is how the Cincy Area has one of a kind characteristics and choices in a culinary point of view. There are much more than enough areas to retain any travelling foodie pleased for a extensive time, in particular with all the spirits involved.”

Cua “had these types of a enjoyable and mouth watering time” on the trip to the region, understands he just “scratched the surface” and hopes to return.

He sent his visitors to the meetnky website so they could study even extra about what Northern Kentucky has to offer.

You really should in all probability examine it out, too — there are normally new matters to learn about the area you live and really like.