"Great goetta. Procured at Eckerlin's Butcher Shop in the nearby Findlay Market, it is a luxurious loaf of piggy goodness. Joe Tucker slices it thin and fries it crisp, making it into eggs' best friend."
Michael Stern
"Joe Tucker's mother, age 90, sits at a back booth peeling potatoes for the restaurant's fine hash browns."
Michael Stern
"And here is Mrs. Tucker a few years ago, not too long after Tucker's opened for business."
Michael Stern
"A close view of some superb hash browns."
Michael Stern
"Here is half a vegetable omelet, plated with goetta and hash browns. The veggies, by the way, are fresh, as is the basil sprinkled about."
Michael Stern
"All are welcome at Tucker's, where neighborhood folk rub elbows with cops, politicians, locals and tourists."
Michael Stern
"Tucker's is located in a part of Cincinnati known as Over-the-Rhine. It is a spectacular 19th century neighborhood, once gone to seed but now on its way back."
Michael Stern
"A love note / job application found on the check spindle near Tucker's cash register. For privacy's sake, I have obscured the phone number."
Michael Stern
Joe Tucker gets his goetta in the Findlay Market from Eckerlin's butcher shop, which consistently wins best-of-Cincy awards for its creamy-rich version of the old German dish. It is made as a loaf; Joe slices it thin and grills it until the outside is crunchy and glistening but the interior stays succulent. Goetta may have started as a thrifty, clean-the-kitchen dish; but Eckerlin's, as cooked by Joe Tucker, is aristocratic.
