Back to the Queen City and a Huge Surprise!

There were several places I had yet to try in Cincinnati so I decided to try them out. I took a quick hour long flight from Dulles and arrived mid-morning. Tne airport serving Cincnnati is actually in Covnington, Kentucky, hence the airport code is CVG. My first stop was "Big Jay's Place", a Caribbean Soul restaurant. It's a pretty small place seating about 15. I chose the Caribbean Salmon plate As I waited for my meal, I got meet Big Jay! My meal was salmon topped with a pineappe based glaze on top of rice and shredded vegetables. The veggies were tasty but very spicy, Scotch Bonnets, I 'm guessing. The glazed salmon was delicious, sweet and bold! Jay treated me two slices of his awesome pound cake. I was able to spend some time with Big Jay and learned about Guy's visit. He told me that Guy had been in the area to help local celebrity chef, Jeff Ruby celebrate his 70th Birthday, and did 6 places during his visit.

My next stop was in the small village of Camp Dennison. The town was founded during the Civil War, as it was the site of a Union Encampment. Ths "Schoolhouse Restaurant" was buit as a two room schoolhouse just after the Civil War. For 90 years it was a achool and for the past 60 years it's been a famiily style restaurant. The dining room is an old classroom. The menu is on the chalkboard. I was given a small single table. Most of the tables are large with a lazy susan spinner in the middle. You order your main meal. All of the sides are shared with everyone at the table. First you get salad and cole slaw. When your meal comes, you get cornbread, mashed pottoes and gravy, green beans and corn. I ordered the country fried steak. First course was salad and cole slaw, both were really good. My fried steak was good, like a chopped steak. The mashed potatoes were awesome as were the vegetables. This was a lot of food! I was able to meet Chris and Beth the onwers who spent about an hour telling me all about the restauranta,Guy's visit and my travels. After they signed my book they gave a slice of their special Chocalate Penut Butter Pie to take back to the hotel, and it was delicious, peanut butter cream with a layer of dark choclate. I highly recemmend Schoolhouse.

After finishing at Schoolhouse I decided to try one more place and boy was I glad I did! "The Governor Modern Diner" is in the village of Milford. The Governor seats about 30 with a bar. I took a seat at the bar and decided to try one of their desserts. When my server saw my Triple D book and said, "So, you're ready for the show?" and I told her that they were my 943rd Triple D place and her mouth dropped. I ordered the Cranberry Orange Cske, which was really delicious but very filing. The manager, chef and several servers came over to see the book and talk with me. The manager asked if he could name a burger after me and my Triple D travels as the special for the next evening? "Absoulutley". He told me that chef and sous chefs would come up with something and would post it on Instgram the next day after 3p. I ended my frst day very full and very excited about the next day!

My second day began with a 90 minute drive to Columbus to try one place in Ohio's capital city that eluded me on my visit a few year's earlier. "Ray Ray's Hog Pit" is a food truck in the Clintonville area of the city. I arrived a few minutes before it opened and met with my friend and fellow Triple D enthusiast, Chris. He had been to 498 places when we met that day! Chris introduced both of us the "Big Al" the pit master. who was amazed at our travels. I ordered the Brisket sandwich and Chris got a Pulled Pork sandwich. My sandwich came on a delicious roll with sweet barbcue sauce on the side. The brisket was fatty and delicious. I defintey want to try Ray Ray's again. It was also great seeing Chris and trading stories of our Triple D adventures.

After driving back to the Cincinnati area I decided to stop at a classic Triple D joint. "Blue Ash Chili" serves the unique Cincinnati style chili, which has cinnamon added to the mix, giving it a bit of a sweeter taste. Blue Ash has moved into a new, larger location. It's great they can accomodate so many more diners, but it kind of lost a bit of the homey atmosphere. I loved seeing the old sign and memoribilia inside the new place. I tried one of their classic Coney Cheese Dogs and it didn't disappoint!

I checked Instagram to check the specials at the Governor and there it was, the "#943 Wagyu Bill Burger". I had to go back! When you have a burger special named for you, you have to go and try it! The #943 Wagyu Bill Burger was an 8 oz. Wagyu Beef Patty on a Brioche Bun topped with Swiss cheese and Tomatoe Jam, shredded letuce, pickles and Montreal Mayo. It was messy and delicious. I am so so humbled that they did this for me. The Governor will always have a special place in my heart!

My last day in the Queen City started by heading into the downtown area. "Lucius Q" is a very cool place. It's on a very narrow street, in an eclectic neighborhood with aprtment, shops and restaurants. They have a stage and featuring live music. Of course they feature great barbecue. The featured musician the night before my visit was one of the Lucius Q's servers. I chose to try the Three Way, a brisket based barbecue chili on top of spaghetti and topped with cheddar cheese. It was a nice break from the traditional Cincinnati chili, more of a Texas style chili with a huge brisket chunks, it was very good. I was able to meet both owners who signed my book. They told me about Guy's visit and put me on their Instagram page. One of them told me that a chef from across the street, who knew Guy recomended Lucius Q for Triple D. TThey told me their business has increased drematically since Guy's visit.

My last place on this trip was in the College Hill area. "Kiki's College Hill" is a Japanese Bistro. I was seated at the bar, and I enjyed watching the bar tender mix all the exotic drinks. My server told me the menu was like a Japanese version of Tapas. I chose Scallops appetizer and Ramen with pork belly, a hard boiled tea egg and noodles. Both were really good. The scallops were topped with a sweet chili sauce. The Ramen had a nice broth that was accentuated with the egg yolk and a large piece of pork belly. Kiki's was a nice way to end the trip.

What a great trip! Delicous meals, great restaurants and a special burger named for me! As I headed home with my Tripe D count was 947!