A lady who lunches at Covington, Ky’s Otto’s: whatever you want them to be! [classic article]

Covington, Kentucky’s Otto’s is on the historic Mainstrasse, a funky little street. The town is on the Ohio River, a footbridge across from Cincinnati. During pleasant weather — and they have lots of it! — there’s seating outside. Their motto is, “A bistro. A bar. A café. Whatever you want us to be.” I wanted them for lunch! I was very glad to be hosted to be able to experience it.

The sit-down lunch — they have a whole boxed lunch menu for picnickers or busy executives, I suppose — has a mix of modern salads and sandwiches, along with Southern favorites with a modern twist. It was hard to pick from a few local-type favorites, including Otto’s Kentucky Hot Brown, Otto’s Cast Iron Burger and also, fried green tomatoes. In the end, I tried Cathy’s Tomato Pie with tomato, fresh basil and chopped green onions, topped with cheddar spread and then baked to order. It was very rich and cheesy — but in a perfect, more lunch-like portion. Tomatoes were still growing in Kentucky when I was there a couple of weeks ago.

I had it with a sweet potato/corn soup, topped with herby pumpkin seeds. It had a savory, not a pumpkin pie/Thanksgiving taste.