When Cindy and I spent some time in Cincinnati this last spring, she wanted to go to the famous Montgomery Inn for barbecue. She said that she saw something about Montgomery Inn either on The Food Network or on the Travel Channel and wanted to check it out.
Montgomery Inn has a couple three locations, but we went to the Boathouse location down on the riverfront just south and east of downtown Cincinnati. We got a table with a window view of the Ohio River and across into Kentucky. Here's a picture of the place at night looking north across the Ohio at the restaurant.
The place kind of reminded me of a tourist trap - they had a gift counter that included their Montgomery Inn barbecue sauce, shirts and other stuff. And they were herding people in and out of the place right and left. But it was nice, but pretty loud in there.
I had the ribs/pork chop combination. Cindy had a pulled chicken sandwich. It was... OK. It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't the "World's Greatest Ribs" as they tout themselves. The sauce was pretty sweet and almost too thick - something that I never thought I'd hear myself say as I usually do like thick sauces.
I thought the prices were a little high, as well. But all in all it was not the worst, but certainly not the best I'd ever tried.
I have a friend, Tony Jobe, who grew up in the Quad Cities and who now lives just outside of Cincinnati. He told me one time, "You know how you can't figure out how people who grew up in the Quad Cities like Harris Pizza so much? Well, I can't understand how people who grew up in Cincinnati like Montgomery Inn so much. It's not that good, and it certainly isn't as good as other places I've tried."
But it's famous enough that it is a destination for many people who come to Cincinnati. It's always busy, so figure on a wait if you go at night.
Parking is available out front, including valet parking. All major credit cards are accepted. It's worth a visit.
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