Local author Cheri Brinkman contacted me after she saw a copy of Lost Tea Rooms of Downtown Cincinnati. She was surprised that I hadn’t included the Seven Hills BBQ recipe from Shillito’s that she had offered.
I replied saying that I hadn’t included it because I hadn’t seen either the Seven Hills BBQ or the very fondly recalled Seven Hills (loose meat) Sandwich on any of the Shillito’s Tea Room menus that I uncovered and because I had been told from Shiliito’s insiders that those sandwiches had only been served in the Coffee Shop on the First Floor.
Cheri wrote back that she definitely remembered both sandwiches on the Tea Room’s menu back in the mid1960’s through the mid- 70’s. She ate there a lot then because she was a store model and even a “Suzy Snowflake” during the holidays, and both of those sandwiches had been favorites of hers. She added that what made the BBQ special were the cheddar buns. “Those are still hard to find in the local bakeries. Sometimes Servatii has them, and sometimes you can find them at different Krogers”.
With this new information, I’m pleased to be able to offer the following recipe from Cincinnati and Soup: Recipes from the Queen City and Soup and Great Soup – Mac Guffin Productions 2010- All rights reserved: Reprinted with permission of the author.
7 Hills Bar-B-Q Sandwich
1¼ pounds ground beef (or 1 pound vegetarian chub)
¼ cup diced onion
1/8 cup diced green pepper
½ tablespoon dry mustard
½ tablespoon cider vinegar
¾ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper
- Brown ground beef over medium heat, stirring to break into small pieces, with onion and green pepper.
- Sir in mustard, vinegar, ketchup and sugar.
- Cook over low heat 30 minutes or until liquid is reduced as desired.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve on cheddar cheese buns (or top with grated cheddar cheese on an onion bun.)