Our food writer’s recommendations, mural tour, today’s top stories

The seared duck breast with grits, wild mushrooms, fava beans, baby carrots, spring onion, dried cherry compote and sauce poivrade, at Le Bar a Boeuf, in Walnut Hills.

Good morning, this is Keith Pandolfi, food and dining writer for The Enquirer.

In the past few years, several food writers from the likes of Food & Wine magazine, Chicago magazine, Saveur magazine and the New York Times have reached out to me asking where in Greater Cincinnati they should eat.

While it sounds like a simple request, it can be daunting. I always ask if they are looking for more chef-driven spots that speak to our city’s culinary prowess, or places that make Cincinnati, well, Cincinnati. If it’s the latter, I’ll always mention such local institutions as Arnold’s, the Blind Lemon, Herb & Thelma’s, Zip’s and, of course, a few of our best chili parlors. But if it’s the former, I have an entirely different list.

Today, I’m sharing 10 of the restaurants I currently include on that list. From a casual Northern Kentucky spot that serves innovative German cuisine to what I think is the best French restaurant in town – these are the places I love to share with food writers, editors and tourists.

Click or tap here to see the list.

What else you need to know Thursday, Oct. 26

🌤️ Weather:High of 77. Warm with periods of clouds and sunshine.

🎨 Cincinnati mural tour: Walk through history (and drink beer) on Walnut Hills tour.

🦃 ‘It’s all about the community’: Price Hill Thanksgiving Day Parade returns for 2023.

👻 Ohio’s ‘most haunted town’: 3 spooky sites in Waynesville.

🏀 Bob Huggins: Former Cincinnati, West Virginia basketball coach has a new job.

Before you go: This one’s for coach

Norwalk, Ohio – hometown of football legend Paul Brown – unveiled a brand-new park last week in honor of the Hall of Fame coach.

As a focal point of the park, the co-founder and head coach of both the Bengals and Cleveland Browns is depicted in a bronze statue with his signature fedora.

Click or tap here to read more about the project.

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