Top 10 restaurants I recommend when asked 'Where should I eat in Cincinnati?'

With the numerous James Beard Award nods it received this year and the national media coverage that accompanied it, Cincinnati is getting a lot of attention from outsiders as of late. Since taking this job three years ago, I’ve fielded phone calls from out-of-town reporters, editors, chefs and tourists, asking me about the places that best showcase all we have to offer.

While I always throw a few chili parlors and beloved local institutions into the mix, I try to focus my answers on the restaurants where chefs are flexing their muscles by serving the most innovative cuisine you can find in these parts. So, without further ado, here are the 10 restaurants that I recommend the most often.

Cafe Mochiko, Walnut Hills

You can track down good ramen in any mid-sized city these days. But the level at which Erik Bentz is crafting his gives Cincinnatians something to shout about. From shoyu to tsukemen to a ramen served in a Cincinnati chili-spiced broth, Bentz often has customers lined up out the door, eager to slurp them down. His broccoli gomae tossed in sweet sesame dressing might be my favorite side in town.

Then there's Bentz's wife, Elaine Uykimpang Bentz, whose savory and sweet Filipino pastries made her a finalist for the James Beard Award this year. Together, the Bentzs might be Cincinnati's most gifted culinary power couple.

 1524 Madison Road, Walnut Hills, 513-559-1000, cafemochiko.com.

Mid-City Restaurant, Downtown

Mid-City offers food that's unlike anything I've come across in Greater Cincinnati. Chef Joe Cheek and his team offer a shrimp boat with fresh basil, Parmesan and a Peruvian yellow pepper sauce; cauliflower tossed with guanciale, fish sauce and red miso spiked with chili crisp, and some of the best soup specials in town. (I must have eaten a gallon of the chilled pea soup they offered this summer.)

Aside from lighter fare, Mid-City also lets you go full carnivore with a gorgeous duck breast, a peanut butter burger or a meat plate of bratwurst, porchetta, franks, sauerkraut and the best potatoes you'll ever eat. Owner Mike Stankovich always takes good care of you, whether you're seated at the bar (where you'll often find me) or at a table in its warmly lit dining room.

40 E. Court St., Downtown, midcitycinti.com.

The Pickled Pig, Walnut Hills 

This is the kind of deli you might expect to find on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. But what Gary Leybman serves on this odd little stretch of McMillian Street – just before the Interstate 71 exit – is truly unique, a testament to his early childhood in Belarus, his Jewish roots and his obsession with perfecting the art of smoking meats and pickling, well, you name it.

I recommend new customers start with his pork burger with kimchi and gouda, or the smoked turkey sandwich with house-made sauerkraut and Russian dressing, before moving on to Leybman's selection of fermented deli salads and constantly changing specials.

645 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, 513-748-7114, smokedandpickled.com.

Kiki, College Hill

When Chicago Magazine food critic John Kessler reached out for recommendations before he came to town last year, I made sure Kiki was high on his list. I think he liked it.

"It’s as good as any casual Japanese restaurant I’ve been to anywhere in the country," he wrote. "Their precision-cut toro hand roll set, miraculous heap of greaseless fried kakiage veggies in curry salt, and balanced ryokucha green tea martini all thrill me."

If you've never been to Kiki, my guess is that it will thrill you, too.

5932 Hamilton Ave., College Hill, 513-541-0381, kikicincinnati.com.

Nolia Kitchen, Over-the-Rhine

Some people refer to Nolia Kitchen as either a New Orleans restaurant or a Southern-themed restaurant. But what chef and owner Jeff Harris has created on this quiet corner of Over-the-Rhine is something much more than that. Nolia Kitchen is a testament to Harris' many culinary influences, from his grandmother's cooking to the dishes of West Africa.

Along with his spins on traditional Louisiana gulf oysters and corn maque choux, Harris always provides an element of surprise every time I visit, whether it's his jerk rabbit in mole sauce or his current menu that features swordfish paired with andouille sausage or West African goat pepper pot with Dominican fried bread.

1405 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-384-3597, noliakitchen.com.

Le Bar a Boeuf, East Walnut Hills

To know Cincinnati, you also have to know the late Jean-Robert de Cavel. And while he is gone, a visit to the restaurant to which he dedicated his final days is essential.

Maitre d' Marilou Lind will always make you feel welcome, while chef Jordan Brauninger, who worked with de Cavel until his death, continues to honor Chef with dishes that range from traditional escargot and French onion soup to bacon-wrapped salmon with couscous, bitter greens, oyster mushrooms and a bright sauce vierge.

This is a restaurant that one can easily fall in love with.

2200 Victory Parkway, East Walnut Hills, 513-751-2333, lebaraboeuf.com.

Mita’s, Downtown

When recommending restaurants to people on tight schedules, I have a hard time deciding between Jose Salazar’s eponymous OTR restaurant Salazar or Mita's, since both punch far above their mid-sized-city weight. I tend to lean toward Mita’s, since it's where Salazar took his cooking to an entirely new level.

Under the leadership of executive chef Tim McLane, the tapas-style restaurant offers dishes that are meant to sear themselves into your memory: empanadas, inspired by Salazar's grandmother; a poached rock shrimp with cool and crunchy jicama, cucumbers and corn nuts; rustic papusas stuffed with sausage and refried beans, topped with fermented cabbage, and bok choy in romesco sauce.

Salazar and McLane are Cincinnati treasures, and Mita's lets you know why.

501 Race St., Downtown, 513-421-6482, mitas.co.

Abigail Street, Over-the-Rhine

Vine Street was Over-the-Rhine's original restaurant row. And after almost 14 years in operation, Dan and Lana Wright's Abigail Street is still the best place to experience it. By continuing the restaurant's mission to blend African, French and Mediterranean flavors, chef Joe Bedel offers a knockout bouillabaisse in saffron broth (one of my favorite dishes in the city), along with charcoal-grilled Mediterranean spiced short ribs. Try the restaurant's signature grilled octopus with merguez and fried chickpeas, and fried Moroccan-spiced broccoli.

While Abigail Street's excellence might be old news to some, an expanded dining room that opened last year – and a menu that continues to take chances – makes me feel like this joint is just getting started.

1214 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-421-4040, abigailstreet.com.

Tuba Baking Co., Dayton, Ky.

In a region with such a strong Teutonic heritage, you would think we'd have more restaurants that specialize in German cuisine. One place that takes Greater Zinzinnati's German roots seriously is Tuba Baking, where owner Drew Rath focuses on the cuisines of Swabia, offering his takes on chicken schnitzel, served breaded with house-made pretzel breadcrumbs and topped with mushroom gravy, and pan-seared rainbow trout in a mustard and white wine cream sauce accompanied by spaetzle sauteed with leeks and dill.

The beer selection here is especially good, featuring locally brewed versions of classic German styles, as well as a great selection of imports.

517 Sixth Ave., Dayton, Ky., 859-835-2171, facebook.com/tubabakingco.

Cafe Alma, Pleasant Ridge

Vegetarian and vegan options abound at Cafe Alma, but this leisurely breakfast and lunch spot is about much more than that. Husband and wife team Lainey and Yair Richler offer shakshuka in four variations (a green goddess version is particularly good), as well as an excellent house-made Montreal bagel platter served with lox, capers, pickled red onions, cream cheese and sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Challah French toast with pomegranate whipped cream will satisfy your sweet tooth and the turmeric latte is like a warm hug on a cold day.

6111 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, 513-620-8526, cafealmacincy.com.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The top 10 Cincinnati restaurants I recommend the most