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Finneytown Restaurant Big Jays Place to Appear on America's Best Restaurants

Big Jays Place also recently appeared on an episode of the Food Network's hit show, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives.

Nov 3, 2023 at 12:48 pm

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Photo: facebook.com/bigjaysplace

Big Jays Place, 930 Hempstead Drive, Finneytown

A Finneytown eatery that recently appeared on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-In & Dives is getting more attention as it prepares to host a visit from another show.

Big Jays Place is best known for its Caribbean soul food and dishes like the oxtail, of which Mayor of Flavortown Guy Fieri said, “If you don’t like oxtail, come here for the Oxtail Conversion Program.” Now, the restaurant will get a visit this month from America’s Best Restaurants (ABR), a national media and marketing company that focuses on bringing attention to local, independently-owned restaurants.

ABR will bring its roadshow to Big Jays on Nov. 17, where it will highlight popular dishes and interview owner Jason Howard about the restaurant’s place in the community. The show says menu items that may be featured include Big Jays’ Rasta Pasta (Caribbean jerk chicken with pasta in alfredo sauce), the Soul Food Plate (jerk chicken, mac & cheese and collard greens) and the Caribbean Plate, which is jerk chicken, salmon, or shrimp, with cilantro rice and sauteed ginger cabbage.

Originally from Bond Hill, Howard went to Texas to pursue a marketing degree but soon switched to culinary school. He opened Big Jays Place as a New York-style deli in Over-The-Rhine in 2016 but moved it to Finneytown as the pandemic began and rebranded as a Caribbean soul food restaurant.

“When I was little, I loved to cook, spending hours in the kitchen with my grandmother,” Howard notes in his DoorDash biography. “Today, I’m still that little kid playing in the kitchen; I love experimenting with different flavors and textures, taking inspiration from Italian food culture to create my own recipes.”

ABR says it will announce the episode’s premiere date on its Facebook page at a later time, and viewers will be able to watch on its website, americasbestrestaurants.com.

Big Jays Place, 930 Hempstead Drive, Finneytown. More info: facebook.com/bigjaysplace.

Slideshow

25 Restaurants Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Within Driving Distance of Cincinnati

Big Jays Place930 Hempstead Drive, FinneytownSeason 38, Episode 1Big Jays Place in Finneytown offers a menu bursting with flavor from its Caribbean comfort food dishes, like the Soul Food Plate, featuring jerk chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens and cilantro rice, or the half-pound Jerk Burrito, which comes with a choice of shrimp, jerk chicken or salmon. But what Big Jays is best known for is its oxtail, which Fieri got to try on his visit, saying, “If you don’t like oxtail, then come on down here to the oxtail conversion program.”

Lucius Q1131 Broadway St., PendletonSeason 37, Episode 9Sporting a modern industrial vibe, Lucius Q’s mission of “peace, love & BBQ” aims to bring everyone together with the help of their menu of authentic barbecue, Southern-style sides and a variety of craft beers, cocktails and spirits. The meat comes from Avril-Bleh and is smoked low and slow over oak and cherry wood. Fieri tried the BBQ joint’s Cincinnati-style brisket chili — which made him admit that now whenever he eats chili, he craves pasta with it — and the Pendleton Porker sandwich.

Taste of BelgiumMultiple locationsSeason 21, Episode 6Taste of Belgium’s Vine Street location was visited by Fieri and a few of his family members, though the restaurant has several locations across Cincinnati. The eatery offers authentic Belgian-style dishes with an American twist, but it’s best known for its signature Belgian waffle, which Fieri truly loved.

Island Frydays2826 Short Vine St., CorryvilleSeason 21, Episode 4Island Frydays is the definitive restaurant to break out of culinary monotony, featuring authentic Caribbean cuisine made by former University of Cincinnati football captain and Jamaica native Leo Morgan. Though the restaurant has a petite and unassuming interior, they pack a whole lot of flavor. Their Carribean jerk chicken and spicy snapper were approved by Fieri on the show.

The Governor231 Main St., MilfordSeason 37, Episode 10Milford’s The Governor diner feels like a bit of Over-the-Rhine out in the suburbs. With subway tile, industrial decor and a walk-up window — where you can grab a boozy slushie to-go to enjoy in the DORA district — the menu offers modern fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are salads, soups, a fun invention called the fromelette (basically a giant frittata) and sandwiches, like the Asian-inspired chicken, the Governor Tso, which got the approval of Fieri.

Kiki College Hill5932 Hamilton Ave., College HillSeason 37, Episode 11Kiki College Hill features a menu of not-your-typical Japanese cuisine crafted by chefs Hideki and Yuko Harada. The menu features favorites like the seafood ramen, house-made kimchi, a poke bowl and chicken karaage (fried chicken). But Fieri got to try the pork gyoza, which he called “fantastic.”

Senate1100 Summit Place, Blue AshSeason 21, Episode 6Senate features delicious, glammed-up hot dog creations, plus appetizers like oysters, poutine and roasted marrow bones. While Fieri visited the former Over-the-Rhine location, you can still get much of the menu at the restaurant’s newer location in Summit Park.

Click to View 25 slides

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About The Author

Katherine Barrier

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she oversees the digital and social media strategies, edits web and print content and writes for the dining and arts...