I'll just give my top ten favorite places to eat and drink.
1)
First a plug for my favorite haunt- Arnold's. It's on E. Eight street, on the other side of downtown from where you are at the Holiday Inn. It's an OLD bar- quaint, eclectic, and owned by a friend of mine. They have outdoor dining, great music (but not so loud that you can't hear) and good food.
Info about Arnold's
2)
Zip's on Mount Lookout Square. Best hamburgers in town in a cool part of the city.
3)
Skyline- Clifton.
Everyone says go to Skyline, but you have to go to this one, up near UC, in the "gaslight" district. Have a threeway, then stroll over to Graeters for about 1500 calories of the best damned ice cream you'll ever taste.
4)
Or try
Aglamesis, the other great ice cream parlor in town. It's every bit as good as Graeters, IMO.
5)
For a real Cincinnati Breakfast, take a cab up the hill to Price Hill Chili. Give the
goetta a try.
It ain't fancy, but you won't have to eat for the rest of the day.
6)
Findlay Market is in Over the Rhine, north of downtown. Go there and look for Mr. Pig. He has a barbecue stand on the south side of the market. Caution: Findlay Market is an oasis of culture in a rough neighborhood.
7)
Scalea's
This place is actually named for a family from "Little Italy" in Cincinnati, a neighborhood named Fairmount that is really no longer Italian at all. The Scalea family owned a store there and used to sell authentic breads, and you could get a meal cooked for you there by the owner's wife. Andyway, the family isn't involved with the restaurant, but the food is out of this world.
8)
Barrelhouse Brewery
Great beer, lots of fun to hang out there. Feels a lot like an old fashioned beer hall to me.
9)
Hap's Irish Pub .
No frills, no fake irish accents. If you hear one at Hap's, it's the real deal. Lot's of non-Irish there, now, but the feel of the place is blue collar.
10)
Dewey's Pizza .
WOW. This some of the best 'za you can find anywhere. It's California style. They also have a good beer selection.
Have fun.