I love traveling but I also enjoy any excuse to be a tourist in my own city…..especially when it involves food. I have learned so much about Cincinnati and have grown to appreciate what we have here even more because of amazing tours that I’ve taken.
If you are looking for a tour that combines history, architecture, and food, you need to take a Cincinnati Food Tour!
Findlay Market in Cincinnati, Ohio is always a great place to shop local and observe community in action. There is constant flow a of activity going on with vendors and artisans selling their goods. The surrounding buildings also deserve attention which makes it a fun place to take pictures for a photowalk too.
I’m sharing 5 of my favorite reasons for visiting Findlay Market.
1.The History
Findlay Market has been favorite destination for generations of locals and tourists alike. It is Ohio’s oldest continuously operated public market and houses indoor vendors year round along with outdoor vendors during the warmer months.
The market opened in 1852 and still uses the original steel beams today.
The street surrounding Findlay Market also have stories to tell as detailed on their historical markers.
2. Art Deco
If you LOVE architecture, you will LOVE Findlay Market.
The buildings are absolutely gorgeous! Cincinnati has one of the largest concentrations of Italianate architecture in the country. The detail is incredible.
3. Color
The surrounding buildings have bold colors but the market also boasts of life everywhere from flowers to food.
You will also find art if you look for it.
4. Each Vendor has a story
I love talking to the vendors because they are passionate about what they carry, whether it’s produce, recipe creations, or something that they created or hand picked for their store. Each vendor takes their craft seriously and adds so much value to the Findlay Market community. Want to know where you food came from? Just ask. Many of the vendors at Findlay Market also supply for popular restaurants in our community too.
5. Great Food
It’s great to know where your food came from by talking to the people who helped create or harvest it. You can also grab a snack, a meal, or inspirations and ingredients for your own creations during your visit.
You can find out more about Findlay Market from their website.
Findlay Market is located at 1801 Race St, Cincinnati, OH 45202.
I LOVE free events and since it’s officially summer I start to think about being a little healthier. There is an event this Sunday in Cincinnati that will help give you ideas for working toward a healthier lifestyle and it’s FREE!
POPSUGAR & Simple Skin Care’s:PASSPORT TO HEALTHY SKIN TOUR!
Guests will have the opportunity to partake in various FREE activities that promote healthy living such as yoga sessions, de-stress massages, sampling healthy recipes, testing out Simple’s skin care products AND will leave with a FREE goodie bag of products!
Click here to RSVP and hope to see you there!
This summer you can find lots of activities for the family to enjoy without breaking the bank. Cincinnati has so much to offer and there is a lot you can do even if you have a smaller budget. Here are some Cincinnati staycation ideas that the whole family will enjoy.
I’m going to start with a confession. I don’t enjoy cooking unless it’s social or has a theme to inspire. Unfortunately, thinking of what to cook everyday is not festive enough for me to get inspired……but a cooking class that is social and is an excuse to try something new ……..is the perfect way to consider maybe wanting to cook a few more meals in the future. This is where Chef Dan comes in.
I invited my new friend Andi, from (lunch it punch it) to join me on a brewery tour in the heart of Over the Rhine in Cincinnati.
A few weeks ago, I joined Heather from the Food Hussy for a “Taste of the World Tour” at Findlay Market.
The tour started at Daisy Mae’s Market.
First, we sampled different jams and jellies from Yoder’s Amish Farm at Daisy Mae’s. All of them were really good. The pepper jelly might have been my favorite.
We also tried a homemade strawberry mango salsa. I would have never have thought to put those ingredients together but it was really good. The cilantro was an unexpected ingredient that added a lot of great flavor. Daisy Mae’s provides local produce when it’s in season and also tries to keep healthy produce accessible to all.
The group was divided in two and our leader was Barb. She let us know that the tour was beginning when we saw her put on the hat.
The hat also helped us locate her in a crowd of people as we moved around during the market. I did feel the urge to start a conga line and sing the “Chiquita banana” song but I resisted.
Our tour took us inside and outside of Findlay Market. Our next stop was bread from the Bean Haus. They started with coffee and then branched out to baking. They make all of their bread with the mixer that you see in the picture below.
We tried a focaccia bread with provolone and pepperoni.
They make 1500 loaves of hand formed bread a day.
During the tour you will learn a lot about the history of Findlay Market. There are 35 full time merchants who are there everyday but Monday.
We went to a nearby brick and mortar bakery and cafe next.
S and J bakery and cafe uses local ingredients for their cafe items, makes pastries and cakes, dressings in house and also makes their bread fresh daily.
We sampled their incredible chocolate mousse with blueberry.
The tour also gives you the opportunity to hear from the business owners and top employees who really give you insight to why they are so passionate about their businesses.
Barb did a great job of telling us the history of Findlay Market and the surrounding area. There is so much in this area that can be overlooked if you don’t know what to look for.
Our next food sample came from Eli’s BBQ.
I just did a review on their other location a few weeks prior. We received a generous sample of their pulled pork sandwich.
Eli’s uses a rub blended from Findlay Market vendor, Colonel De.
Our next destination was Churchill’s Fine Teas.
The owner’s wife was from London and wanted good tea in the states and always struggled to find it so they started Churchill’s. Their store carries 263 teas from all over the world.
Churchill’s Tea is sells loose leaf tea by the ounce. My sample was the lemon drop tea.
Our last food stop of the tour was Taste of Belgium.
We sampled their waffles. The Taste of Belgium’s waffles are denser than waffles that you might be used to . I’ve had their amazing chicken and waffles from their sit down restaurant location. I’ve also tried a few of their other desserts from the Findlay Market location. I don’t think it’s possible to make a wrong selection. Everything is really good.
The end of our tour offered the optional wine or beer tasting add on for $5 more.
Heather and I joined Barb at Market Wines to sample a few of the wines.
I really enjoyed the tour and the opportunity to hear the heart of some of the vendors who make Findlay Market such a great jewell in Cincinnati.
The tour gives you a great variety of food vendors and a lot of history and information about Findlay Market that most people aren’t aware of.
I’m so excited about all of the great improvements and the development happening in Over the Rhine. Our families loves going downtown. If you are a little more intimidated by the unfamiliar, this is the perfect tour for you. The vendors vary on the tour depending on availability. What’s great is that you have someone to guide you through the experience, who will also give you confidence and knowledge to not let it be your last visit to Findlay Market.
If you enjoy local foods, you have an insider giving you information of vendors who can help you enjoy or create a great meal.
You can find out more about Cincinnati Food Tours from their website.
There are some tours coming up that take place during special Bunbury Festival discount days at Findlay Market. The first date is this Thursday, May 16 at 4 pm. Guests can apply the price of their Taste the World ticket toward the 5 receipts needed to get a 20% discount to Bunbury. There’s another special Bunbury day with a tour on Sunday, May 19.
Cincinnati Food Tours also provides custom tours for groups of 10 or more–birthday parties, family reunions, corporate events, etc.
Disclosure: I was provided a complimentary tour for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
I also have some exciting news!
I’ve been given 2 basic tours ($40 value) to give away.
Congratulations to Taylor Greear for winning 2 tickets.
To Enter
Comment on this post by sharing why you would want to win the tour before Monday, May 20th at 9am. (required to enter).
*Bonus entries (comment separately for each one)
Become a fan of the adventure mom on facebook and comment here that you did.
Subscribe for email updates and comment that you did
Winner will be randomly selected by random.org and will be contacted by email and must respond within 24 hrs or a new name will be drawn. Must be 18 or older to enter and be able to drive to Cincinnati to use the passes. Winner cannot have won a previous giveaway in the past 30 days.
