Some cities get all the hype: New York City, San Francisco, Dallas… But how about Cincinnati? With all due respect, do the majority of people put the Ohio city on their travel bucket lists? They should! And this new book, Secret Cincinnati: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, by Kathryn Witt, tells us why.

Designed like a scavenger hunt including fun facts, Witt helps travelers discover things about Cincinnati the way typical guidebooks do not. The author has us making our way around the city in very doable outings, experiencing a wide variety of sites, sounds, and flavors. It’s full of little-known treasures just waiting to be discovered.

There’s a Lucky Cat Museum in Cincinnati. Why? You’ll just have to find out.

Here are some interesting Secret Cincinnati facts I learned:

1. Cincinnati is home to many firsts like owning a major railroad, and development of the first polio vaccine, for example.
2. It was an abolitionists’ gathering place and one important building’s remains can be found in parks, landscapes and monuments all over the city.
3. The city was named Best Walking City in Ohio and ranked 20^th in the nation in Prevention magazine. Many of the “secrets” in the book are located close to each other in downtown or in parks and greenspaces so you get to experience that walkability.
4. In the toney Hyde Park neighborhood, among mansions, sits a folly of a home, the Mushroom House, with undulating shake shingles. It’s not to be missed.
   

   What’s the deal with the Mushroom House?

Seeing as how RealFoodTraveler.com is a culinary travel e-zine, naturally, we honed in on the foodie aspects of Secret Cincinnati. We asked Witt for her recommendations:
Video Archive (Page 192): The video store is actually a front for a secret speakeasy that also shares a courtyard with a great barbecue restaurant. Read how you get in – it’s pretty amusing.
Arnold’s (Page 40): It’s a Cincinnati landmark and, if you like TV tie-ins, was the setting for Kathy Bates’ Harry’s Law.
The Symphony (Page 156): The restored townhouse has Maestro-inspired guestrooms, an intimate bar and tasting room for fireside bourbon tastings. The restaurant serves contemporary, New American cuisine based on locally-sourced ingredients.
Frisch’s Mainliner (Page 56): It’s is an institution there, a classic, owned by Dave Frisch of Big Boy renown. (You know, swoopy-haired, overall-wearing boy statue!)
The Party Source Spirits Library (Page 110): The volumes in this library are numbered in ounces, not pages. Check it out.

Ready to explore? Kathryn Witt and her publishers at Reedy Press were gracious enough to provide us with a copy of Secret Cinninnati: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure to give away to one lucky reader.

You can always purchase the book right here, using our exclusive Amazon link. 

The Secret Garden in Cincinnati.

RealFoodTraveler.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn a small amount of  advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com while providing convenience for the reader.

Hungry for more? See other travel books and cookbooks reviewed on RealFoodTraveler.com, here.