Polly Campbell is more than just a restaurant critic.

As the food & dining writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, Polly Campbell covers anything and everything going on in Cincinnati that has to do with restaurants and food culture. That means covering trends, and writing about food and dining events. And, yes, it means reviewing restaurants and helping people find great food in town. Polly’s bio at the Cincinnati Enquirer website says she “helps people find good places to eat, and tells stories about the people who feed us.

A sampling of Polly’s recent articles paints a picture of her work. There’s an article on the impact food delivery is having on local dining. A piece on how Cincinnati restaurant group Thunderdome creates consistently great places. Under reviews, Polly has a guide to “Ordering like a pro” at Thunderdome’s new Italian restaurant. And a wonderful year-end list of the best things Polly ate in 2019. It’s easy to understand why Cincinnati readers think of Polly as their own trusted resource for finding the best food in town. And she doesn’t disappoint.

Polly Campbell – Links & Information

Finding Your Work in Surprising Places

But Polly never set out to be a journalist, much less a food & dining writer. After all… how would someone actually set out to do that? How do you get Polly’s job? She’s asked that all the time, and the answer lies in a circuitous path. Perhaps the only real key is writing. Polly talks about her somewhat “flighty” (her word) path, and how she really did follow her passions. In her case it ended up with finding something she never would have guessed would be her dream job when she started out.

And perhaps that’s why Polly Campbell’s take on “meaningful work” is so compelling. Because she’s a living success story of following your heart, and seeing it pan out in ways you never could have predicted. Today she feels deeply the responsibility to her readers, but also the need to be cognizant of the blood, sweat, and tears restaurant owners put into their work. At the center of it is the food, and the connections we all have to, and through, food. Ultimately Polly tells stories.

Cincinnati Enquirer Dining Writer Polly Campbell, On The Distiller

Photography for this episode by the amazing Kyle Wolff.

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