Coming from the most chili-mad city in the United States after Texas, Cincinnati chili is a popular dish made with ground meat, stock, and unusual spices such as cinnamon, allspice, Worcestershire sauce, and chocolate or cocoa. The chili is usually served over pasta such as spaghetti, then topped with a flavorful combination of shredded Cheddar, fried beans, onions, and crushed oyster crackers. With more than 180 chili joints in the city, Cincinnati takes great pride in being a chili capital. The dish was invented in 1922 by a Macedonian immigrant called Tom Kiradjieff. He opened a Greek restaurant called The Empress, which was a total failure until Tom started to serve chili prepared with Middle Eastern spices. The locals went with it, and the results can be seen even today. Chili joints started opening all over the city, with Skyline and Gold Star each creating their own mini-empire after the Empress started the chili-craze.
Cheese Coneys are a staple of Cincinnati, consisting of a steamed bun that is split and filled with a beef or pork sausage in natural casing, freshly chopped onions, Cincinnati chili, and heaps of grated cheese (usually Cheddar). Mustard is a typical condiment, although some like a few drops of hot sauce on their Coney. These hot dogs are not served at hot dog stands, but usually at Cincinnati chili parlors, well-known for their chili that is spiked with chocolate and cinnamon.
Spoonbread is a dish that is popular throughout the American South, usually consisting of ground cornmeal, milk, butter, and eggs. The whole thing is flavored with salt and sugar, then baked in an oven like a pudding. It is often served as a side dish, sometimes accompanied by gravy or various sauces. The name spoonbread is derived from the fact that the dish is typically scooped from the baking vessel by using a big spoon. It can additionally be enriched with cheese and vegetables in order to have more flavor. Regarding spoonbread's origins, Sarah Routledge links it to Native Americans in her 1847 cookbook called The Carolina Housewife, Jeff Smith says that Virginia spoonbread was a staple during the Revolutionary War in his 1987 book The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American, while some claim that it can be traced to an Indian porridge known as suppone or suppawn. Regardless of the origins, spoonbread is nowadays celebrated annually in Berea, Kentucky at the Spoonbread Festival that has been held every September since 1997.
Goetta is a sausage-like patty that is synonymous with Cincinnati, although its roots are steeped in German heritage, due to the influx of German-born immigrants in the 19th century. The sausage is commonly eaten for breakfast, and consists of pork, beef, onions, spices, and unprocessed oats. Traditionally, it is sliced and fried until golden brown, then served with eggs and ketchup on the side. What was once a humble breakfast is today a hip and glamorous dish that is sometimes even used as a hamburger topping. As further proof of goetta's popularity, there is an annual celebration held since 2004 in the Greater Cincinnati area, called Goettafest, focusing on goetta, music, dancing, and other forms of public entertainment.
Mac and cheese—a seemingly simple combination of macaroni and melted cheese—is one of the most popular dishes in the United States. The preferred American combination consists of curved macaroni pasta and Cheddar cheese, but modern varieties include vegetables, breadcrumb toppings, or gourmet ingredients such as crab, lobster, or truffles. Although it is an American staple, the dish was probably inspired by similar pasta dishes enjoyed in Italy and France. In the United States, it was popularized by none other than Thomas Jefferson. He fell in love with the combination of pasta and cheese during his European travels, and soon after returning, he started importing macaroni and had the pasta machine shipped to Virginia. Jefferson's chefs prepared macaroni and cheese and served it at his lavish banquets, and his distant cousin Mary Randolph published the first mac and cheese recipe in 1824. The dish was further popularized when Kraft placed the boxed variety on the market. Mac and cheese is a cheap, no-frills dish that could feed the whole family, and it is no surprise it has become a mainstay in American kitchens. It is the ultimate comfort food and is often listed as one of the most iconic American dishes.
Along with Banana Split, sundae is one of the most served ice cream-based desserts in the United States of America. A sundae is ice cream topped with a sauce or syrup, typically served in a bowl. The most popular varieties of sundae are chocolate caramel, butterscotch, and strawberry. Cherries, dairy cream, and nuts are the most common additions to the popular treat. Food historians still argue about the origin of the ice cream sundae, but there are three theories which remain the most popular. The first one says it was created in Illinois, where the law prohibited the selling of soda water on a Sunday. As an alternative, local soda fountains started selling ice cream sodas without the soda, leaving the customers with only syrup and ice cream, known as sundaes. The second theory says that it was invented in Wisconsin by a soda fountain owner named Ed Berners, who served ice cream topped with syrup used for sodas to his customers. Berners loved the dish and charged a nickel for it. His competitor, George Giffy, started to serve the dessert on Sundays. Once he started to make money, he changed the name from Ice Cream Sunday to Ice Cream Sundae and served it every day of the week. The last theory suggests that the sundae was first made in Ithaca, New York by Chester Platt, a drugstore owner who served a dish of vanilla ice cream, cherry syrup, and candied cherries to one Reverend John Scott, and he named the dish after the day. Regardless of its inventor, today there are over hundred types of sundaes, offered in numerous flavors such as pineapple, blueberry, banana, raspberry, or marshmallow, among others.
The most popular food of the Southern cuisine, fried chicken is the theme of many arguments where everyone involved seems to have a favorite, be it what their mothers used to make, a cult roadside eatery, or a bygone restaurant. However, it is universally agreed that the meat must be moist, succulent, and tender, coated with a crunchy, golden-brown crust. It all started during the colonization period, when Scottish immigrants settled in the South, bringing their fried chicken recipes along. The African slaves then introduced new seasonings and spices, and the dish quickly gained popularity. Typical seasonings include salt, pepper, and hot chiles, and the pieces of meat should be edible by hand so that the consumer can bite both the crust and the meat at the same time. The birds must be fresh and smaller in size, as the meat will be much more tender and the proportion of crust to meat will be perfectly balanced. Once the chicken parts are hot, crispy, and ready to be consumed, they are traditionally accompanied by buttered biscuits, Southern potato salad, mashed potatoes, or cream gravy on the side.
First prepared by the Native American centuries ago, grits are tiny broken grains of corn that are boiled and served with other flavorings, usually as a breakfast dish, when they are accompanied by bacon, eggs, and toast on the side. The dish is popular throughout the Southern United States, and the name grits is derived from the Old English word grytt, meaning coarse meal. While some may confuse grits with polenta, there are some important differences between the two - in the type of corn, the fineness of the grind, taste, and texture. This thick porridge is usually savory, not sweet, and it is an important part of a traditional dish called shrimp and grits, which is also popular in the Southern parts of the United States.
Achicken sandwich consists of chicken, either a fillet or patty, various toppings, and bread. The meat can be white or dark meat (usually thigh meat is used when it's dark meat) and be shredded, deep-fried, roasted, or grilled; even cold cuts can be used. On the other hand, bread can be any bread, either bread slices cut from a loaf, a bun, or a roll. The chicken sandwich can be served hot or cold. Numerous variations exist, so there are also chicken wraps and open-faced versions of the chicken sandwich. Regarding origin, although Truett Cathy (the founder of the fast food chain Chick-fil-A) has proclaimed himself as the inventor, that is not true — the chicken sandwich is much older than the 1940s, and the truth is we do not know when and by who it was created. There are many types of chicken sandwiches in the US, such as Ohio's shredded chicken sandwich. Also, hamburger joints often offer chicken sandwiches as an alternative to beef. Those sandwiches are prepared the same as hamburgers and can be found on menus under such names as "chicken burger" and "chicken on the bun". But when it comes to famous variations worldwide, there are also many. For example, in Ireland, there's the chicken fillet roll consisting of a baguette filled with breaded and fried chicken. In Eastern Canada, there's the hot chicken sandwich which is a chicken sandwich covered in gravy, often accompanied by peas, and eaten with a knife and fork. And in Mexico and Venezuela, there's the pepito, a roll or bun filled with either beef or chicken and beans.
Belonging to the Brassica oleracea family, collard greens are a type of green leafy vegetable that is characterized by thick leaves with tough stems and a slightly bitter flavor that is eliminated through cooking. This vegetable has long been appreciated in the traditional cuisine of the American South, and it has been recognized as the official state vegetable of South Carolina on June 2, 2011. Even though collard greens are commonly eaten raw and can easily lend themselves to various cooking methods - steaming, frying, or sautéing - the most traditional way to enjoy them in the South is slow-cooked in water or broth along with smoky cured meats such as ham hock, bacon, ham, pork jowl, or smoked turkey wings or legs. Other common ingredients used for flavoring the greens include onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, currants, vinegar, salt, and pepper. The long braising results in tender Southern-style collard greens, without any hint of bitterness in their flavor, and drenched in an intensely-flavored broth known as pot likker. This dish has been attributed to African slaves, and it is one of the specialties that are part of the so-called soul food cuisine. Southern-style collard greens usually accompany various meat specialties, although they can also be eaten on their own, and are often served with cornbread or cornbread muffins, pepper vinegar, and sliced tomatoes. They are also traditionally enjoyed as part of the Southern New Year’s Day good-luck dinner, along with other traditional dishes such as black-eyed peas and hoppin’ John.
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For the “11 Traditional Foods You Have To Try in Cincinnati” list until May 22, 2026, 120 ratings were recorded, of which 101 were recognized by the system as legitimate.
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