Walt’s Hitching Post and Zinzinnati Octoberfest

Hey, y’all! This is Sharon with Tourist in your town. Before I get into this too far, I just want to thank my wonderful sister for planning an amazing birthday weekend for me. I turned 50 and she made sure I had a real celebration. She made hotel reservations for the family, dinner at an amazing restaurant, and gave me Apple Watch! How cool is that?! We decided to celebrate in Cincinnati since she lives in the area and I wanted to hop the Amtrak to Chicago. Well, the weekend we decided on was apparently a big weekend in the Queens City. There were several large sporting events AND Octoberfest, so hotel rooms were hard to come by. But she managed to find a place for us, even better it was right around the corner from Union Terminal Station – the Amtrak station.

We had dinner at a place called Walt’s Hitching Post. It’s located in Fort Wright, KY. We took an Uber from Cincinnati to Fort Wright. Our driver believed in driving fast! Walt’s is located at the end of this crazy, windy road. We were all holding on for dear life, y’all. We were safely deposited at Walt’s, thankfully.

Walt’s has an extensive bourbon, wine, and cocktail menu. While I normally drink beer, I thought I’d try something different and have a cocktail, so I got an American Mule. This is made with vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer and served in a copper mug. It’s a Moscow Mule that’s been fancied up, I guess. Anyway, it was not the best. I like it when the ginger is strong, but this drink tasted strongly of lime and that was about all. So, for my second round, I decided on a Guinness. Everyone else was very happy with their drinks. For appetizers, we shared Oyster’s Rockefeller, Bourbon Burnt Ends, and a Crab Cake. Just so you know, the prices on appetizers are for individuals, so one Oyster’s Rockefeller. If you want more, you have to say how many and understand that it is going to be more money. The Rockefeller was a bit disappointing, it had something in it that missed the mark and we could not place it. Just know that it will be different from what other places serve. They were still good and I would have them again, but they were not what I am used to. The crab cake was excellent, we each just took a small bite, since we didn’t think it through and only ordered one. There were five of us. Where Walt’s shines is their meat. The Bourbon Burnt ends -8oz beef tenderloin marinated in maple syrup & bourbon, charred and served on a skewer, were absolutely delicious. The meat was tender with a crisp exterior, and the bourbon sauce excellent.

All entrees come with your choice of potato, house salad, and salted rye bread. The salads were fresh and tasty. I opted for the house dressing, which looks like a french dressing, but it is not. It is a tomato garlic dressing that is out of this world, y’all. Alright, now I’m going to try to explain the bread. The bread is still being talked about in the family circle! It’s a rye bread that is buttered, possibly an oil, like olive oil is used here, and toasted. But toasted just enough to make the exterior crispy. The inside is still soft. And the flavor absolutely won any doubters over immediately. I’m drooling right now, wishing I didn’t live 3+ hours away. They do deliver the bread, though. My understanding is that people order it have it delivered around the US. I know what I’m doing for my husband’s 50^th birthday!

Now, down to the main event. I ordered the scallops – Pan seared & served over an Asiago crisp, polenta cakes and Borsin king crab warm salad, finished with a lemon honey dijon vinaigrette. They were cooked to perfection and that Borsin salad capped it off nicely. My mother assured me that the fillet was amazing. You can get toppers for the steaks, such as mushroom & onions, chimichurri rub, bleu cheese, garlic herb butter, and even a sunny side egg! Other options for toppers include an Oscar Topper – crab meat with a creamy sauce, or Foie Gras & Chanterelle mushroom butter. And just in case you are a burger fanatic, they have a Wagyu Beef burger on the menu! Also, ribs and chicken, and lamb!

Since it was a special occasion, we went for some dessert. I got the peanut butter pie and my sister got the bread pudding. The peanut butter pie was made the way it’s supposed to be made. I recently had one somewhere else that was mostly just whipped cream with peanut butter, it made my tongue sad. But this one was perfect. It was not so dense that it felt like an old peanut butter cup. The peanut butter filling was smooth and melted in my mouth. Perfect, I tell you! The bread pudding was pretty tasty too! After Walt’s, we all passed out in our hotel rooms.

The next day was Sunday and I didn’t leave for Chicago until Monday. My sister and her husband went to Octoberfest with me. Wow! Apparently, Zinzinnati Oktoberfest is America’s largest. It took up three full blocks! That’s 3 full blocks of beer and food! There was live music, different bands on each end. We got there before anything actually opened which turned out to be a good things, since we were first in line. We watched the band “Stays in Vegas”. They were a fun band that played classic rock. I admit that as much as I like beer, I have never been to one of these festivals. I am usually turned off by the crowds and the nightmare stories of running out of beer. So, I tend to not spend the money on them. This one had free entry and we just bought our beer at each booth. So, what beer did I have? Lots and lots of Octoberfest beers! Don’t ask me to name them. I have to admit that I did a terrible job keeping track. Food wise, I tried Goetta for the first time. I think it might be an acquired taste. If you don’t know, Goetta is a meat and grain sausage. It’s like a loaf, I guess. It is meat, ground pork or beef and oats and spices. It tasted okay. But it was very heavy. I think when I return to Octoberfest next year, I’ll pass on the Goetta. I also tried sauerkraut balls for the first time. Not a big fan of sauerkraut generally, but these were excellent! There were plenty of other options, including pretzels, polish sausage, etc.

It was a great weekend! And I thank my sister for putting it together and hanging with me! Stay tuned for the train trip and the first day in Chicago. Be sure to visit the blog and check out pics of the beautiful art deco Union Terminal Station – it really is worth a visit. They have a museum inside. It was not open when I was there. But I plan to go back and check it out. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode be sure to share with family and friends. Stay safe, stay hydrated, and pack light, y’all!