The Beautiful Meals I Had in Cincinnati...

The emptiness in Cincinnati is the kind that swallows footsteps. There's not much to do here. Doing requires effort — eating does not. A friend told me he knew where the good food was. That was enough. And so I arrived without a plan, without a list.🌆 1️⃣ Abigail Street The mussel broth was so good we asked for more bread, wiping the plate clean as if washed. An octopus leg lay over hummus, a few crispy beans crunching between teeth — a reminder you're still alive. The clams? Best forgotten. One can't be pleased with everything — just like life.🍽️ 2️⃣ Roji Behind a door you'd never find, someone was shaping sushi. Lunch was simple, almost blunt. (3 hand rolls + 3 nigiri) Too much lemon, the seasoning heavy, as if afraid you'd taste the fish itself. But one slice of madai stayed quiet, and the chutoro was generous with its fat. 3️⃣ Sotto We waited in line to go underground. Goat cheese and honey — a love story retold a thousand times, until hazelnuts barged in, creating a thrilling triangle. Olive‑oil‑poached tuna melted like Mediterranean sunlight on the tongue, a duet of oils dancing. Two pastas arrived, steady as an old lover’s embrace. Yes, this place deserves its fame — deserves waiting at dusk for a meal that feels like a date.✨ 4️⃣ Tea & Bowl But the most real was a bowl of laksa near campus.🌆 Southeast Asian cuisine — a feast for all five senses. Assam Laksa whispered secrets of tamarind and shrimp paste, its broth simmered with mackerel, ginger flower, lemongrass, a dozen spices. Sour, spicy, savory, fragrant, sweet — all at once, like life itself: complex and intense. The herbal scent of bak kut teh smelled like a humble, safe childhood home. The roti was plain, but dipped in curry, it could swallow the whole night.🍽️ My friend asked how the trip was. I said, I ate a few meals. My stomach was full. And the city didn’t feel quite so empty anymore.✨ #BeautifulMeals #RestaurantsIWontForget #OasisInAFoodDesert #LoveForWesternFood #HiddenGems #CincinnatiEats