Address Book - Cincinnati

Cincinnati's restaurant revival has stretched the local repertoire well beyond sauerbraten and five-way chili. Here are three worthy destinations.

—Lisa Futterman

Boca Chef-owner David Falk cures his own pancetta and fries zucchini blossoms for a diverse Northside audience. While his rustic Italian food packs the wooden tables in the white-washed dining room, his menu also includes dishes like foie gras with black-pepper sauce, which reflect the time he spent at the city's swank Maisonette (4034 Hamilton Ave.; 513-542-2022).

Daveed's at 934 David Cook relies on excellent local produce for his dishes, like veal loin with parsnip puree and seared scallops with beet horseradish. The setting is a funky Victorian house crammed with contemporary paintings and vintage tableware (934 Hatch St.; 513-721-2665).

The Palace The Cincinnatian hotel has stood in the heart of the city since 1882; now chef Guy Hulin's superior French cuisine is revitalizing its plush restaurant. Dishes like the roasted turbot with a vanilla-scented prawn risotto and porcini-dusted carp with oven-dried tomatoes indicate there are capable hands in the kitchen (601 Vine St.; 513-381-6006).

Published November 2002