A confluence of news in recent weeks confirms my sense that we’re seeing a seismic shift in the nature of dining out. In February, a who’s-who of local and national chefs celebrated their beloved friend Jean-Robert de Cavel, who was the last remaining tie to a highly formal and classically French mode of fine dining in Cincinnati. Later that month, noted Southern chef Vivian Howard announced in an op-ed for The New York Times that she’d closed her influential restaurant in rural North Carolina, fatigued by the unsustainable pace and financial picture of the restaurant business. Then, Cincinnati shined in the James Beard Award nominations, with recognition going to Jose Salazar and Mita’s, Jeff Harris and Nolia, and chefs Elaine Uykimpang Bentz of Cafe Mochiko, Francisco Alfaro of Mid City Restaurant, and Hideki and Yuko Harada of Kiki.

The Beard nominations especially point to a new phase for restaurants, with tightly focused menus and casual atmospheres, neighborhood places where the food is really, really good. These chefs are staying in well-defined lanes yet executing at a very high level. All over the Ohio Valley, we’re seeing new ways of running a restaurant: collaborations and pop-ups, food halls, counter service instead of table service, limited prix fixe menus, and bodegas that combine chef-created casual dining with food markets. It almost seems quaint to think of the restaurant experience exclusively as a white-tablecloth-and-sommelier night out.

Local food professionals are applying the same creativity to running their businesses as they do to preparing incredible dishes. They have to. The traditional restaurant model has been broken for a while now, and the postpandemic tight labor supply and high food costs may have shattered it for good.

Restaurants like Boca and Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse still offer that luxury dining experience. Even David Falk and Ruby offer takeout and meal kits. As patrons, we have to shift our habits, too: to welcome experimentation, to celebrate quality over excess, to extend generosity to the people who cook and serve our food, to value local ingredients.

In This Issue:

Notables: Tony & Pete’s, Dayton Oh; Urban Stead, Cincinnati Oh; Wyoming Meat Market, Cincinnati Oh; George Washington Carver Farm, Yellow Springs Oh
Features: Technique: Dress it Up by Bryn Mooth; The Learning Garden by Cedric Rose; Permaculture Evangelist by Hannah Purnell; A Place of Their Own by Bryn Mooth
Recipes: Cup by Cup by Jennifer Kramer-Wine
Last Word: Blake Robison by Bryn Mooth and Michael Wilson
On the Cover: Sourdough pizza crust with spring toppings, photo by Julie Kramer

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