Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives scouts visited The Pickled Pig in Walnut Hills in 2023 looking for places that fit Guy Fieri’s funky Flavortown formula.
Owners Gary Leybman and Libby Power waited two years for Fieri’s red Camaro and his camera crew to arrive at their place at 645 E. McMillan St. It finally came in May.
Then they had to wait two more months before they could publicly acknowledge that The Pickled Pig would be on “Triple-D” Friday, Aug. 22, at 9 p.m. on the Food Network.
“Keeping the lid on was fine, we just kept it off the internet,” says Leybman, responding to my questions by email. He posted 11 photos on the restaurant’s Facebook page this week.
“People would ask, though, because the word had spread,” he says.
“I think this is all I can say.”
The Pickled Pig is the 18th Greater Cincinnati restaurant to be visited by the Food Network star. Fieri filmed at the restaurant in May while in town to promote his Santo Spirits tequila brand he owns with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar.
Fieri also shot at two other restaurants: Cafe Mochiko at 1524 Madison Road in Walnut Hills, which aired June 20; and Camporosso, a popular Italian place in Fort Mitchell, which aired July 11.
Leybman declined to say what specialties he prepared for Fieri.
Leybman and Powers opened The Pickled Pig in 2019. They met while working together at the old Chester’s Road House in Montgomery in 2002, and reconnected in 2009.
“We have been in business since 2013. Our first product was our Smoky Bone dog treat, then we added our line of fermented pickled products, both were sold at farmers' markets and local grocery stores around town. We worked out of the incubator collective in Newport. The shop came in 2019 and we’ve been there now 6.5 years,” he says in his email.
On their website they say:
“As co-owners of The Pickled Pig, Gary and Libby bring their love of food to the table, so to speak. As a young boy, Gary loved watching and helping his grandmother cook family meals in their homeland of Belarus. Growing up in Midwestern farming country, Libby enjoyed tending garden with her grandfather and watching her grandmother prepare home cooked meals for everyone.
“At The Pickled Pig, we create one of a kind hand smoked meats, fermented delights, and dishes that evoke memories while experiencing new tastes. Flavor is the focus in The Pickled Pig kitchen! We strive to deliver delicious foods that will be unique and surprising to you. We are proud to call Cincinnati our home, our community, and we want to commune with friends, family and neighbors through our food.”
The Diners, Drive-ins and Dives series premiered in 2007. It was nominated for a Prime-Time Emmy Award in the “structured reality program” category earlier this month, the show’s ninth nomination since 2013. Fieri won a Daytime Emmy in 2013 for Guy Fieri’s Family Reunion.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1968, Fieri was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television in 2019.
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