24 Things Only People in Cincinnati are Obsessed With

Grippo’s Chips

Grippo’s is just one of those brands that are synonymous with Cincinnati and the name automatically evokes the tongue-burning sensation that accompanies their BBQ chips. While the snack food company is best known for those chips and their caked-on seasoning that (while incredibly delicious) could burn the paint off a car, Grippo’s also offers plain potato chips and other flavors like Salt & Vinegar, Sour Cream & Onion and Sweet Maui Onion. They also have a line of pretzels, popcorn and pork rinds.

Richard Jones’ Resemblance to Doug Dimmadome

It’s just uncanny, isn’t it?

Cincinnati-Style Chili

Is it chili or meat sauce? Yes. Cincinnati-style chili is not what outsiders would automatically think of when you say “chili,” but most Cincinnatians will automatically picture the thin, meaty sauce slathered over a hot dog or spaghetti. It’s not chili in the traditional chili con carne sense, being closer to a Greek pasta sauce, but it’s a core part of our identity now and there’s no escaping it. As for Cincinnati chili’s origins, we can thank the founders of Empress Chili, brothers Tom and John Kiradjieff, for delivering this culinary masterpiece to our city.

Joe Burrow

Of course we’re obsessed with Burrow – he’s Cincinnati’s golden boy. Not only did our readers pick the Bengals’ star quarterback to win our Best Of Cincinnati category for Best Overall Athlete, he also won Best Cincinnatian. It’s easy to see why though: helping the formerly flagging football team to back-to-back post-seasons (including a Super Bowl game), his bromance with team member wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, his impeccable style and the fact that he’s just an all-around good dude who has his own charity fighting food insecurity, shares the spotlight and is polite to opponents. What’s not to love?

Telling People the Roebling was the Brooklyn Bridge’s Predecessor

At first glance it might appear the Roebling Bridge is just a smaller-scale model of the massive Brooklyn Bridge, but that’s not the case. The Roebling, which connects downtown Cincinnati to Covington, is actually the older (and, in our opinion, cooler) sibling to the Brooklyn Bridge, both having been designed and built by John A. Roebling. Construction on the Roebling was completed in 1866 and, at the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Construction on the Brooklyn Bridge wasn’t completed until 1883.

Flying Pigs

Cincinnati loves its flying pigs – but why? It goes back to our roots as Porkopolis – or, basically, a lot of pigs were slaughtered here for our booming pork-packing industry. And in the ‘80s, to celebrate Cincinnati’s bicentennial, artist Andrew Leicester created the Cincinnati Gateway, a sculpture in Bicentennial Commons in Sawyer Point. The sculpture features four smokestacks with winged pigs atop each one, meant to represent the souls of all the pigs killed so Cincinnati could flourish. The concept wasn’t a hit at first with some, with pushback coming from then-mayor Charlie Luken, but Cincinnatians later embraced the flying pigs and they became a symbol of the city – from the iconic statues you can find around town to the name of our annual marathon.

Telling People We Almost Had a Subway

Cincinnatians often speak of our legendary abandoned subway tunnels so reverently that they’re almost mythical. The reality is more a sad, doomed-from-the-start tale of inflation, poor budgeting and litigation. Real work on the subway began in 1920, but inflation following World War I in the two years prior to that had raised the costs of construction and caused a shortage of materials (wow, this sounds familiar), so the city planned to raise funds to complete the subway later. However, funds ran out in 1927 and by that time, the subway construction was causing the foundations of buildings along its route to crack, so then came the lawsuits. There were several attempts to complete the subway in later years, but it wasn’t meant to be. The project was scrapped in 1948 and is now used to house a water main and optical fiber cables. It’s also a popular urban exploration spot.

Graeter’s Ice Cream

Graeter’s is a Cincinnati brand that’s so iconic even Oprah loves it and Naomi Biden served it at her wedding. Not only does the ice cream parlor offer unique flavors – especially its legendary Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip – but the ice cream itself is uniquely crafted. Graeter’s still uses the French pot method of its founder, resulting in a creamy ice cream base that’s leveled up with the addition of gourmet chocolate, which is poured over the churning cream to make a shell that artisans then break up to create the gigantic chunks you know and love.

The Cincinnati Zoo’s Hippo Siblings

Who knew hippos could be so dang cute? Fiona stole the hearts of Cincinnati when she was born prematurely in 2017 and defied all odds to survive and grow into the sassy, loveable girl she is today. And our hearts only grew when her baby brother, Fritz, joined the bloat last year.

Goetta

Are you even a true Cincinnatian if you haven’t been hit in the face by a hot oat while cooking goetta? This breakfast sausage is Cincinnati through and through, with its roots in the city’s German immigrant population in the 19th Century. Goetta is typically made with pork and/or beef, pinhead oats, onion and a combination of spices like bay leaves, thyme, black pepper, rosemary and cloves. As for how you cook it, that’s personal preference, but many arguments have broken out around Cincinnati breakfast tables over whether the goetta is crispy enough.