Photograph by Catherine Viox
Much of the develop that comprises the Mediterranean compact plates at Abigail Street—Dan and Lana Wright’s expanded “Mediterranean wine bar”—comes out of a hatchback. Each week, sellers like “Farmer Sallie” and “Farmer Eli” pull up to the back of the hip Over-the-Rhine eatery, pop the hatch, and unload their verdant wares. Abigail Street’s menu, hardly ever totally preset (nevertheless never hope the fattoush or wooden-grilled octopus to go anywhere), depends on what they deliver in.
That menu, a collaboration in between the core team and Government Chef Joe Bedel, functions some of the freshest and most vibrant plant-based mostly dishes in Cincinnati. The most notable of these choices and the ideal dish I have experienced all calendar year is the Moroccan Spiced Broccoli.
Photograph by Catherine Viox
Chef/Proprietor Dan Wright conceived this dish with former Chef de Cuisine Yousef Shtiewi (who is now the Wrights’ culinary director) as an answer to the roasted Brussels sprouts that have develop into obligatory. Lengthy stalks of perfectly charred broccoli are seasoned with berbere and a contact of sugar to mood the bitterness from the char. A miso-tahini sauce adds umami, so that all 5 primary flavors can be had in each individual bite.
Photograph by Catherine Viox
When the plates are modest, the flavors at Abigail Street are massive and bold. Dwelling-produced pita is puffed up to the sizing of a soccer ball and dusted in za’atar, a smoky Lebanese spice blend that incorporates thyme, dry oregano, and sesame seeds. The kefta, abundantly spiced wood-grilled minced beef (some variations consist of lamb), gets an acidic burst from the accompanying blistered tomatoes.
Photograph by Catherine Viox
Even the cocktails below are suffused with aromatic Center Jap flavors. Ras al Hanout syrup introduced fall flavors of cinnamon and cumin to the Le Souk, a frothy bourbon cocktail. (Sure, even the drinks improve seasonally.) While Abigail Street has been slinging cocktails and compact plates for additional than 10 decades, it even now feels like the freshest cafe in OTR.
Ideal Dish 2023: Abigail Street’s Moroccan Spiced Broccoli
Photograph by Catherine Viox
Broccoli haters, we dare you to attempt a bite and appear absent unchanged. Served with berbere, sesame seeds, miso, and tahini.
1214 Vine St., Above-the- Rhine, (513) 421-4040, abigailstreet.com
See the comprehensive 2023 Best Dining establishments list below.