Goetta, which rhymes with feta, is as much a Cincinnati signature dish as five-way chili. A distant relative of scrapple, it is a loaf of pork mixed with steel-cut oats, sliced and fried in butter until crisp-edged and moist within. Historically, it was a way of stretching a minimum amount of meat to feed a large family and in that form, just about every part of the pig could be used. Today’s best scrapple is made from higher-on-the-hog cuts, preferably shoulder. It is listed in local cafes as the fourth breakfast-meat offering (along with bacon, ham, and sausage), but also can be enjoyed on its own in a sandwich.
Hathaway’s Coffee Shop
Hathaway's is a civilized urban coffee shop serving inexpensive lunch counter meals, including the scrumptious Cincinnati specialty breakfast meat, goetta.
Tucker’s
Tucker's is an urban hash house that cooks the old-fashioned way: buys meat from a local butcher, peels potatoes for hash browns and cooks everything to order.
Eckerlin Meats
Eckerlin is an old-time Cincinnati butcher shop that mostly sells meats to cook at home. But you can get a goetta sandwich, and Eckerlin's goetta is the best.
Camp Washington Chili Parlor
Camp Washington makes the best 5-Way chili in Cincinnati. Open round the clock, it also offers great chili-cheese Coneys and mile-high double-decker sandwiches.
