If you like eating out in the United States, Ohio is the place to be. With three major cities and numerous smaller ones, it’s simple to get a nice bite to eat anywhere in the state.
Some will advise you to visit Cincinnati because of its chili. Others would advise you to visit Cleveland since it has the finest sports team in the nation. Arnolds in Columbus serves delicious egg sandwiches.
Nevertheless, many people are unaware that these cities, as well as the whole state of Ohio, have amazing cuisine that surpasses whatever other US cities have to offer- Ohio food is genuinely that diverse and outstanding!
You should not be anxious since Ohio is located in the heart of the American Corn Belt. With its rich history and diversified people, this state provides considerably more than grain.
Ohioan cuisine has a strong German and Polish background, with items from both nations appearing in a variety of surprising recipes.
Visiting other places in Ohio? Check out our other tasty guides:
- 15 Best Cleveland Restaurants
- 13 Great Must-Try Ohio City Restaurants
- 11 Must-Try Tremont Restaurants
- 10 Must-Try Toledo Restaurants
- 20 Best Restaurants In Cincinnati
- The 10 Best Restaurants In Cleveland OH
- Best Tremont Pizza Restaurants
The Best Ohio Cuisine
Buckeye Sweets
Buckeye candy is virtually only available in Ohio and is formed from a peanut butter combination that has been partly coated in chocolate.
The Buckeye State derives its name from the Buckeye tree, which is native to the state and a source of sweets.
Anything closer to Cleveland is considered superior candy, but if you enjoy the flavor of Buckeye peanut butter, fill your snacks bowl with this Old Fashioned Buckeye Candy.
Nonetheless, calling it candy may be an exaggeration. This famous Ohio treat may be found all around the state and changes with the seasons. They taste similar to other peanut butter-based sweets, but are significantly bigger and sweeter.
Lemon Shaker Pie
Lemon Pie, also known as Ohio Lemon Pie, is made with lemons, sugar, and eggs and resembles a lemon curd or custard once prepared.
The pie is generally served warm and has a flaky crust on top.
Ohio Lemon Pie is a rich, buttery, flaky, and not too sweet pie that people either adore or despise. Lemons, sugar, and eggs are used to make the filling. Also, the lemon peel is not strained! As a result, your pie has tiny scratches of lemon peel throughout it.
Chili from Cincinnati
From the heyday of American chili parlors in the early twentieth century, the term chili has been associated with Cincinnati. Yet, the history of Cincinnati-style chili started before World War II, when it was radically different from its present shape.
It is a Cincinnati-style chili meal prepared with thin beef chili that is often served over spaghetti and topped with shredded cheese. It is also done with hotdogs on occasion. It’s one of the region’s most popular meals; residents of Cincinnati and the surrounding area will know it immediately away.
Cincinnati chili is famous for its distinctive preparation method. The spicing is done with a restricted number of ingredients, but the taste makes up for what the dish lacks in diversity.
It is critical to recognize that Cincinnati chili is not a form of chili; most people refer to it incorrectly since they are used to Tex-Mex or other varieties of chili.
Goetta
If you reside in Ohio, chances are you’ve had goetta at least once. However, no, there are other ways to consume it. Well, it still contains steel-cut oats and ground pork.
Goetta is a favorite dish in Cincinnati and around Ohio. This unusual cuisine is typical for individuals who have lived in the region for some time and is sometimes served with syrup, ketchup, applesauce, or even eggs.
Others like trying goetta when they visit local German-American eateries and bakeries.
If you’re acquainted with scrapple, goetta is quite similar to that!
Kielbasa
Sausage has been a mainstay of the Polish population in Ohio for over a century. Sausage, which had almost gone out of favor across all ethnic groups in Ohio, is currently making a return.
or even veal (youll find sausage links that are all one kind of meat or another in most markets). Kielbasa is a huge, meaty sausage prepared traditionally from pig, beef, and veal.
Before being smoked, this excellent cocktail wienie is brined. It is often served on a sandwich with sauerkraut, mustard, and dill pickles in Ohio’s eastern counties.
Pierogi
Pierogies are a Polish delicacy that are traditionally cooked in butter with onions and loaded with potatoes, sauerkraut, minced pork, or cheese filling.
Hundreds of Poles visit the United States each year, yet few Americans have tasted or even heard of this Polish cuisine.
In reality, it is not well recognized that pierogy is the plural version of pierogi.
Chicken from Barberton
Barberton chicken or Serbian fried chicken is fried chicken from Barberton. Before being fried in fat, the chicken parts are removed from the entire bird and breaded in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs.
Belgrade Gardens, a cafe built during the Great Depression by Serbian proprietors Manojlo Mike and Smiljka Topalsky, was the first to serve this fried chicken dish.
Smiljka prepares and fries the chicken, which has its origins in Serbian cuisine and was passed down to her from her mother.
Head of a Roasted Pig
When tourists visit The Greenhouse Pub in Cleveland, Ohio’s Tremont neighborhood, they are struck by the impressive-looking roast pig head entrée.
It’s a traditional meal that tastes fantastic. Yet, it might be a little intimidating when you first see this meal, which I enjoyed since it was so unique.
This gorgeous entrée is finished with tangy BBQ sauce over soft brioche buns, scrunched-up yellow mustard seeds on top, and a piece of pigs ear.
Sandwich with Shredded Chicken
Shredded chicken sandwiches are popular in Ohio’s northern and central areas. Cooking and shredding chicken is followed by cooking it in chicken broth or condensed chicken soup with flour, bread crumbs, or crushed potato chips.
The mixture is seasoned with black pepper before being served on hamburger buns. Sandwiches were popular in the 1960s, appearing on school lunch menus, dairy bars, and religious celebrations.
Anybody can prepare creamed chicken and serve it with buns or biscuits since it was created from leftover old and tough chicken flesh.
Polish Lad
The Polish boy sandwich in Cleveland is made with kielbasa sausage, coleslaw, fries, and barbecue sauce on a bun.
In the 1940s, a restaurant proprietor called Virgil Whitmore is claimed to have produced Polish boy by mixing smoked beef sausage and other restaurant components.
Polish boy is still popular today, but with various modifications, such as adding pulled pork to the already massive sandwich.
Synopsis of the Top 10 Ohio Dishes
When it comes to cuisine, I don’t believe you can compete with Ohio. Despite its small size, the state offers a lot to offer for a weekend escape.
Ohio is also a fantastic spot to buy locally produced and organic fruits and veggies due to its abundance of rich farmland.
As a result, you may choose between visiting huge cities (Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus), historic places, or a bridge that crosses the whole state. You will return if you know where to eat and where to go.