Butler County Staycation

Cancel your weekend plans, we’re going to Butler County, Ohio.  Trust me, if you love food, cheese, or booze, you will not be disappointed.  Bold statements, but I say them with confidence because Butler County is home to the original JUNGLE JIM’S INTERNATIONAL MARKET.  Jungle Jim’s is a food mecca, a foodie paradise, a food-filled extravaganza.  A theme park of food.  Honestly, I’m not sure there are enough adjectives to fully depict how cool this place is.

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A bit of background.  Jungle Jim’s opened up in the 70’s by owner James O. Bonaminio, “Jungle” himself.  From what I gather, Jungle is a pretty interesting guy and a collector of all things weird, particularly components of old theme parks, which he likes to showcase in his store.  Case in point, Jungle Jim’s has an old monorail outside, which they are hoping to eventually get up and running for visitors to ride from the store to the event space.

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Weekend in Butler County: What to Eat!

Though I’m originally from Ohio, since moving to Columbus last year I find myself realizing I don’t know much about this state.  Outside of the major cities, there are a surprising number of nooks and crannies to explore.  This is great news because traveling locally is budget-friendly, and we all know how I feel about budgets.  We knocked one cranny off the list a few weekends back when we ventured down to Butler County.  It’s less than a two hour drive from Columbus, a bit outside of Cincinnati.  Butler County includes several communities that are worth checking out, including West Chester, Hamilton, Oxford, and Liberty Township.  A great way to get a lay of the land is to follow the Donut Trail, which features ten local donut shops (only one of which spells it “DOUGHNUT”).  If you’re interested in hitting up the trail, you can download a trail passport here.

I like to eat my doughnuts for dessert, so we took a more savory breakfast route.  Our first stop was Hyde’s.  If you’re looking for a homey, locals-approved breakfast joint, this is your place.  Established back in 1946, Hyde’s has the feel of both a diner and a cafeteria, complete with colorful booths and swarms of senior citizens.  Hyde’s isn’t fancy, and they are proud of that fact.  Their website boasts that most of their customers are regulars, many of whom eat at the restaurant once or twice each day.

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The breakfast menu has all the basics covered:  eggs, omelets, hotcakes, biscuits and gravy, and even freshly fried bologna.  They also make cream pies in-house with flavors changing daily.  Pie for breakfast is encouraged at Hyde’s.  Overall, homey, comfort food at a great price gets my two thumbs up.

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If you’re looking for something a little on the fancier side, you can’t go wrong with Northstar Cafe.  Though we have a few Northstar Cafes in Columbus, I’d never had their breakfast! The Liberty Center location is beautiful, with a large bar, gorgeous open kitchen, and a sweeping wooden ceiling.  Liberty Center is a a cross between a town center and an outdoor shopping area; this area of the county looks particularly modern and new.

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The format at this Northstar is the same as the Columbus locations–guests order at the counter and dishes are brought to the table by servers.  I was stoked to see Counter Culture coffee brewing (one of my favorites from NC)!  For breakfast, I had the mushroom frittata, which has hearth baked roasted mushrooms, sweet onions, and loads of Gruyère plus crispy breakfast potatoes.  I definitely recommend this dish.

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