Tickled Pink at Red Feather: Farm to Table in Cincinnati

Whipped ricotta 

At first glance, Red Feather might not be an obvious choice for vegetarians. And entire section of the menu is 'shells & bones." But the 'scratch kitchen' had more than enough to satisfy several plant eaters, as wells meat lovers.

Vegetarian cauliflower

While we drank our delicious cocktails, we had warm roasted olives with grilled lemon. And whipped ricotta on grilled bread with truffle honey. We might have gone sparingly on the cheese; after we finished all the bread, we still had a mound of soft, creamy ricotta. We were offered, and devoured, more bread.

Red Feather is in Oakley, a developing neighborhood close to downtown Cincinnatired. On a freezing night, the place was packed, but we had a relatively quiet table in the corner. There's a chef's table and an inviting bar.

Unique menu

Roasted beets with arugula

Brussels sprouts and broccoli sounded good except they were served with pig's ears. That's a hard pass. But the excellent salads included one with roasted beets, honey yogurt and baby arugula, and a simple greens salad with pine nuts and shallots.

My husband and I shared the spiced cauliflower with barley, which had an intense sauce. We also had the excellent scallops, on a parsnip puree with trumpet and maitake mushrooms. I could have had the mushrooms and puree as a main course and been thrilled.

Scallops

There were a coupe of fish dishes and enough interesting cocktails and wines by the glass that I could definitely return.

My friend was disappointed in his $73 steak, but it was cheerfully replaced with an $18 burger that he loved. (And we were paying, so were happy not to pay for that giant hunk of meat).

Farm to Glass: Farmers & Distillers

Impossibly delicious: the Impossible Burger

The very urban Washington, DC, does not seem like a place for fresh produce. But Farmers & Distillers goes one step further than farm to table cuisine. Here, you can have farm to glass.

The restaurant works with a local distillery for its own alcohol, including Founding Farmers Rye and Founding Farmers Gin. They also have local beer.

Everything here is made from scratch, from the bread to the fresh donuts. They even have their plates made for them. And though the emphasis is on comfort food, there are plenty of vegetarian options.

In fact, there was a whole meatless section. And the Impossible Burger was an option. [Oddly, it cost more than beef].

There are also pizzas, pastas, and lots of salads.

The Farmers & Distillers plates

I had the cauliflower steak, which came with creamy cheesy grits. It also had roasted heirloom carrots, and a tasty green sauce.

Both my husband and daughter had that Impossible Burger. All burgers come with fries, cole slaw, pasta salad or house salad. On a homemade brioche bun, of course.

The 'Baby Macs' is a great deal. The burger comes with cheese, special sauce and a shake. Or a beer. Not bad for $15. Or $16 for the veggie version.

Homemade vegetarian dumplings

We didn't need our appetizer, sweet potato dumplings, but they were delicious. But we were too full for dessert.

Next time I'm in Washington, DC, I plan to tour the distillery. And return for breakfast.