Ten Fabulous Firsts of 2022

The restaurant industry's outlook seemed more hopeful in 2022, even as the lingering global pandemic attacked the supply chain, prices and inflation. Most of us have long since tossed the masks and rolled the dice with Covid-19, stepping into crowded restaurants, settling into our seats and cozying up to neighboring patrons in closed spaces with liberal abandon.

"Nothing to see here," we're all thinking, even as we, our friends and loved ones continue to be stricken with --and sometimes succumbing to-- the virus.

With that laissez-faire spirit in mind, we tried more than 150 restaurants in 2022, 40 of which were first-time visits.

The following are our top ten favorite firsts of 2022:

Bee's Barbecue

5910 Chandler St
Cincinnati, OH 45227
513-561-2337
Website

The wondrous smell of smoked meats slammed into our nostrils with the force of a truck as we stepped inside Bee's small space in Madisonville. Brendan Hague, the brother of the Dutch's in Hyde Park chef, had periodically fed diners at his brother's establishment before setting up his carry-out shop here. BBQ meats can be purchased by the half-pound or pound, including smoked turkey, brisket, pulled pork, spare ribs and more.

We tried the turkey and pulled pork plates, each of which come with two sides. Both were smoky, accompanied by a spicy, tomatoey BBQ sauce. The mac and cheese was creamy; the collard greens featured a nice ratio of pork, onion and greens, and the three-bean "sticky beans" was a spicy, pleasing baked bean variant.

Chaykhana N1 Uzbek Cuisine

9536 Cincinnati Columbus Rd Ste 15
Dimmick Plaza Shopping Center
West Chester Township, OH 45241
513-755-0596

Armed with a general ignorance of Uzbekistan and Uzbeck cuisine, we visited Chaykhana N1 in West Chester, not knowing what to expect. We should have expected supreme deliciousness, because that's what we received.

The Samsa hand pie appetizer was hot, flaky and filled with a hearty blend of chopped lamb, onion and spices. The borscht soup was refreshing, with hints of dill. The Lagman soup featured hand-pulled noodles with beef and assorted Asian vegetables, reminiscent of some of the Chinese hand-pulled noodle dishes we've enjoyed.

Ché Empanadas y Más

3009 O'Bryon Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
513-918-3006
Website

The owners who brought us Ché; Butcher and Barrel; and Pampas Argentine Gastropub opened Ché Empanadas y Más in O'Bryonville last year. Front-and-center are their renowned lineup of more than 10 empanada varieties, served with chimichurri and a pepper relish.

There are also several sandwich and smash burger options, unique salads and some tasty appetizers, like the huevos rellenos (Argentine deviled eggs) and their tartas, which are satisfying little meat pies with a quiche-like consistency.

Daylily

3751 Eastern Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45226
513-321-1039
Website

Daylily, Chef Jose Salazar's New York-style bodega/coffeeshop, opened to exuberant fanfare in Cincinnati's Columbia Tusculum area this year, offering a short-but-eclectic lunch and breakfast menu to pair with its Deeper Roots coffee offerings.

The broccoli rabe sandwich is easily one of the most unique (and tasty) of its options, along with a very "legit" Cuban sandwich, with all its pressed, porky, pickly, mustardy goodness. There's a nice covered patio out back and patrons can browse through the diminutive grocery isles for some unique finds.

Il Gusto

3936 East Galbraith Road
Cincinnati, OH 45236
513-493-2500
Website

Doni Dervisholli and Baton Emini have parlayed their combined 15-years of restaurant experience into a truly outstanding Italian restaurant in Deer Park. Il Gusto opened in early 2022 offering an impressive selection of pizzas, pastas, stromboli, calzones and subs.

Our baked ziti and chicken parmesan dishes were excellent, and we were quite impressed with their ample calzone and stromboli options. Il Gusto's addictive, fresh-baked garlic rolls will protect patrons from even the heartiest of vampires.

Olla Taqueria Gutierrez

302 W. MLK Jr. Blvd.
Covington, KY 41011
859-261-6552

Olla Taqueria gave us one of our first bites of the now ubiquitous birria tacos, filled with adobe-stewed meat and dipped in the meat's vibrant-colored fat before being fried on a pan. The variety of authentic Mexican tacos, fresh salsas, guacamole along with its burritos and quesadillas make Olla Taqueria a welcome addition to Covington.

Rosie's Italian

300 E 7th St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513-381-1243
Website

This restaurant was once called, "Rosie's Cocktails and Pies," and featured Trenton-style pizza. The concept was expanded in 2022, with a new menu and a new name: Rosie's Italian. The restaurant is brought to us by Chef Anthony Sitek, who also owns Crown Republic, Five on Vine, Losanti and Crown Cantina.

Rosie's intimate dining room and its rib-sticking pastas are a highlight, with some appetizers and entrees borrowed from Crown Republic's present and past menus. And there's still a few of Rosie's original Trenton-style pies available to those who enjoyed the previous iteration of the restaurant.

Soul Secrets

1434 Vine Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513-721-7685
Website

What began as a Findlay Kitchen catering business in 2018 has evolved into one of the best soul food restaurants in the city. The Over-the-Rhine location features fried chicken and fried fish platters, vegan Salisbury steak, chicken pot pie and mushroom dinners and rotating entrees and combos like shrimp 'n grits, chicken and waffles, meatloaf and more. Portions are generous, prices are reasonable and the hospitality is warm and welcoming.

Symposium

2835 Woodburn Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45206
513-204-9759
Website

When we couldn't snag a table at Mochiko (again) due to the crowds, we retreated to the inviting, pleasant surprise that is Symposium. The coffee shop and wine bar, owned by two veterans of the Boca restaurant group, offers an abbreviated menu of truly impressive lunch and dinner fare, included the Croque Monsieur and a very elevated chicken salad sandwich special. The strawberry ricotta toast plates on sourdough bread whizzing past our heads looked wonderful, and the blueberry scones were tasty treats to cap off our successful lunch.

Tuba Baking Company

517 6th Ave
Dayton, KY 41074
859-835-2171
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If there's one thing I'm most intimidated by my heritage, it's all the heavy German food that no doubt killed off half my family well before their time. So it was with great relief and a sense of enlightment that we stumbled upon Tuba Baking Company, which offers some menu items that, comparatively speaking, are as light as a (pretzel-engorged) feather.

The stand-outs for us included the Flammkuchen, a razor-thin, pizza-like flatbread of sourdough rye and spelt topped with speck, thinly-sliced onions and creme fraiche as well as the seasonal, house (haus?)-made spatzle bowls topped with veggies and featured proteins.

And then there's the Laugenbrotchen, five piping-hot, wondrously salty pretzel balls, which were easily the best pretzels we'd ever had.