Margy Waller - It’s A Lot about the Food
In the decade that I was away – living and working on the east coast – my father took care to send me treats from some of my favorite places for food and drink in Cincinnati. In particular, he sent me Graeter’s ice cream (always including caramel – the best flavor in the world) and Double Butter coffeecake, Awakening’s cinnamon-hazelnut coffee, and Bonbonnerie cookies.
And when I visited Cincinnati during those years, I often made my way to those three spots and also to The Echo, a childhood favorite on Hyde Park Square.
My parents – who did not go to high school here, moving as adults when they were hired to play in the Cincinnati Symphony – took me to some wonderful eat-drink spots as a child and young adult. And some of their favorite places are the ones I return to again and again as an adult. When I moved back to Cincinnati the first time – after college and law school - I discovered additional options with my friends. In recent years, I visited these places when I made my annual visits.
Now that I am moving back for the second time, I’m excited to be able to eat and drink at these spots and some new favorites too. Places I’ve made a point to go already include: Arnold's, What’s for Dinner, Bonbonnerie, Awakenings, Lavomatic, Zips, and Tinks.
But there are a few places I’ll visit often because they are stuck in my memory bank from my childhood in Cincinnati and are still luscious:
1. Graeter’s – Of course, it’s the ice cream place. In the ongoing battle of local ice cream options, this is definitely my favorite. Partly that’s because there’s nothing like Graeter’s Caramel anywhere. But also, the chocolate chip options are so amazingly choc-full of Graeter’s own bittersweet and milk chunks. But it’s not just the ice cream. I have three childhood memories of Graeter’s that make it special for me. First, my mother occasionally ate ice cream from the pink and white round cartons in bed, for breakfast. (Now, I do too – it’s pretty much just like yogurt – with a little more fat and sugar…right?) Second, my parents nearly always brought Graeter’s Double Butter coffeecake home for Sunday breakfasts; my three sisters and I fought over the gooiest pieces every week. Third, as an elementary-schooler, I would take the 24 or 69 bus to Hyde Park square on Friday afternoons, visit the public library to pick up a new stack of novels, and stop at Graeter’s for a bag of candy to snack on while reading. Now that my new office is a little too conveniently across the street from that same Graeter’s location, I have to practice some serious self-control and ration my visits.
2. The Echo – Another scene of childhood memories. On Saturday afternoons, my Mother took us to The Echo before she and my Dad went off to play a concert that night. Her favorite menu item was the fried chicken with sides. Although I’ve never been a big meat eater – the Echo was the one place I would order a bacon cheeseburger, with fries and tartar sauce (in Frisch’s-land no one looks askance when you order tartar sauce for your burger). These days, I still love those burgers and also the vegetable soup that seems to be prepared just the way I remember it from my childhood. And of course, there’s always breakfast for dinner at the Echo – yum.
3. Grammer’s – When I was a kid, I thought it was a treat to play mini-adult and tag along to symphony concerts with my parents. On some Saturday nights, I experienced the extra treat of an invitation to join the after-concert gathering of musicians and friends at Grammer’s. I remember getting cake, while my parents drank something they called a “black and tan” and I listened to the orchestra gossip of the day (more interesting than you can imagine!). Grammer’s is closed for repairs right now. But when it was reopened this summer after many years, I stopped in with a friend and saw that - lovingly preserved by local-hero Jim Tarbell – it’s as sweet a place to sit and drink as ever.