Cincinnati Peoples, You're Lucky For Goetta, For The Rest Of Your Cherished Foods...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

. . . blow, I’m sorry to say, IMHO.

As I note, goetta single-handedly redeems your cusine.

But:

I just finished a bag of Montgomery Inn “BBQ” potato chips. I could barely choke it down (but manful efforts availed much). It is true to the actual Montgomery Inn “BBQ” ribs I have eaten, which is to say, nasty as all Hell. There is a distinction between “barbecue sauce” and “bad ketchup” but someone has forgotten to tell Mr. Montgomery that. The third ingredient in the chips is sugar, which should be enough to warn anyone this is going to be bad.

And Skyline Chili – similarly nasty. God forbid any spice should accidentally get into your watery sugar-tomato soup before you pour it over limp noodles.

LaRosa’s pizza – hey, I had an idea – wait for it – you know, a pound or two of sugar would make that bland sauce really tasty.

Graeter’s Ice Cream – well, it’s hard to ruin ice cream, but I can’t taste the difference between Graeter’s and a mid-level supermarket brand.

There’s nothing wrong with having bad food, I guess, but what gets me is the zeal with which Cincinnatians exalt this mess. As witness my consistent theme, I guess my problem is that the Cincinnati palate apparently exalts sweet over savory, even in foods that I think are almost definitionally savory in their essence.

Except, God bless them, for when they make goetta. Okay, you can live.

2

I agree with ya on the goetta. Good stuff. The skyline chili is well, kinda nasty… I mean, cinnamon, served over spaghetti? That just ain’t right folks. The ice cream is kinda good. Then again, with the exception of some particulary oogy peppermint ice cream I once ate, I don’t have problems with anybody’s ice cream.

3

I can almost forgive the cinnamon. I think it’s indirectly a Greek thing and it can be a legit twist on “Mediterranean.” The Greeks who invented the Texas Weiner Dog in Paterson, N.J. include cinnamon or allspice in their sauce – but they also make it spicy and thick, not cloying and watery.

4

De gustibus et cetera, but I think Skyline chili is wonderful stuff.

Graeter’s, though…I never understood the appeal.