romantic Cincinnati restaurant with vegan/vegetarian options?

[cincinnati chili]

I'm going to be in town with Mrs. Chili, and would like to take her out for a nice dinner.

She doesn't eat any animal products.

A couple years ago we did China Gormet, but would prefer to do something different. There's obviously lots of great restaurants in town, but I'd prefer to offer her more than a plate of pasta with marinara sauce on it.

Also, I'd prefer to go on the late side (after 8pm, maybe as late as 9) on a Saturday night. My preference is to go within 15 minutes of Clifton. Downtown, Kentucky, Hyde Park are easy. When I go to the West side of town I get lost.

Any ideas?

[REDblooded]

here's a winner...

http://www.cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.d...502020346/1047

[paintmered]

Go to Tink's Cafe if you want good dining. Not a huge selection of vegan meals, but looking at their menu, they have some options....and live jazz.

http://www.cincinnati.com/dining/tinks/

It's located in the gaslight district.

[cincinnati chili]

thanks for the help

[vaticanplum]

The Comet in Northside is in no way romantic, but it has the best burritos ever. Good live music too.

I think Maya's Dionysus in Clifton is the standard for good vegetarian there...heavily Greek-influenced, obviously, but not completely. Cincinnati also has suprisingly good Thai and Indian food. I know a lot of vegetarians who love Shanghai Mama's downtown; I'm not big on Chinese, but I am vegetarian and can always find something to eat there.

I'll ask around...I know some foodies here who will have better suggestions than I do.

[DoogMinAmo]

The best meal I had recently was at Nectar in Mt. Lookout. They had some vegetarian options, but I had the lamb and it was AMAZING. Also, the sushi bar Aqua a couple buildings up the street is the hottest night spot in the city. There are a couple resaturants in Northside that are great, I would recommend Slims especially. Boca, Kona Bistro, and Pho Paris in Oakley would also work, but ar pricey.

[paintmered]

The Comet in Northside is in no way romantic, but it has the best burritos ever. Good live music too.

I think Maya's Dionysus in Clifton is the standard for good vegetarian there...heavily Greek-influenced, obviously, but not completely. Cincinnati also has suprisingly good Thai and Indian food. I know a lot of vegetarians who love Shanghai Mama's downtown; I'm not big on Chinese, but I am vegetarian and can always find something to eat there.

I'll ask around...I know some foodies here who will have better suggestions than I do.

It's not my style, but I've heard nothing but good things about Maya's Dionysus.

Also, for real Italian pasta, look no further than Biagio's Bistro on Ludlow. I cannot recommend that place enough, especially for an earlier date.

[Redsland]

Well, I’m no grass-munching sissy, like your wife is, so defer to the members of the granola crowd for a truly informed opinion. That said, I can at least point you in a couple of directions.

First, right there in Clifton is Ambar India. This is the place that all of the leaf-eaters rave about. However, I would not classify it as “romantic,” which is what you said you were looking for. The dinning room is a big, dingy room and the service is perfunctory. The food, however, is very good.

Right around the corner is Clifton’s best restaurant, Tink’s. If you’re looking for a romantic meal in Clifton, this is the place to go. Nice ambiance, live music on the weekends, and good food. Since it’s in Clifton, I’d bet dollars to gluten-free donuts that the restaurant offers vegetarian choices, but I have no idea what they may be or how extensive the selection is. Call first to verify.

Also in Clifton, among other places, is Skyline Chili, where my fur-worshipping friends used to enjoy the occasional black bean burrito.

Branching out, and again emphasizing “romantic,” there’s a place called Boca. This place used to be located in Northside, where it had a number of vegetarian options. It has since moved to Oakley Square, overhauled its menu, and gone to a prix fixe structure, so I do not know how vegetarian-friendly it is anymore. However, it was named Cincinnati’s best fine-dining restaurant by Cincinnati Magazine two years ago, and it is one of the city’s hottest see-and-be-seen spots. The restaurant has two sides. The formal dining room, and a more casual trattoria. Both offer the same food, which is excellent. If you’re looking for a night on the town, this would be a great place to start, followed by bar-hopping in Oakley and/or Hyde Park. But call ahead to find out how vegetarian-friendly they are first. And keep in mind that even if the menu is limited, the chef/owner, David Falk, is one of the city’s top two or three chefs, so he’ll certainly be able to spontaneously prepare something Peta-friendly, if necessary.

If you’re planning to go downtown, there’s a fun, upscale-casual place called Shanghai Mama’s. If memory serves, it has a good number of choices for tofuivores, but call to verify.

Over in Covington is a neat little place called Greenup Café. In its pervious incarnation it was known as Wildflour, and it was very vegetarian friendly. It has since been bought and revamped by Cincinnati’s premier celebrity chef, Jean-Robert de Cavel. I believe he maintained a certain amount of vegetarian friendliness during the revamp, but call to verify. Also note that I would not classify this place as “romantic,” although I would call it “quaint.” If you’re going to be in Northern Kentucky, it would be a good place to start out, perhaps followed by drinks on Main Strasse. If you follow this advice, be sure to drop by Dee Felice for a drink and great live music in the tradition of New Orleans.

In Hyde Park, another of Jean-Robert’s restaurants is called Pho Paris. It is a fusion of French and Vietnamese. If Hyde Park Square is where you plan to party, this might be a good place to start. Call to verify vegetarian friendliness.

Finally, speaking of celebrity chefs and romantic dinners, the best meal I ever had in Cincinnati was at Daveed’s in Mt. Adams. Chef/owner David Cook does an exceptional job of blending flavors and has an incredible knack for pulling food off the stove at the perfect time. Again, you’ll have to call ahead to verify vegetarian options, but if you’re going to Mt. Adams, or if you discover that David can accommodate Greenpeacers like your wife, I whole-heartedly recommend this place.

[Roy Tucker]

My daughter (who works at Wild Oats and has gone all vegan and organic on me) goes to "Through the Garden" here in Blue Ash. It's on the web I think.

She and her leaf-munching friends love the place. I tell her and her friends to drop me off somewhere where I can get me a good bloody-rare murderburger.

[westofyou]

First, right there in Clifton is Ambar India. This is the place that all of the leaf-eaters rave about. However, I would not classify it as “romantic,” which is what you said you were looking for. The dinning room is a big, dingy room and the service is perfunctory. The food, however, is very good.

This Leaf Eater always hits Ambar when in town. Pho Paris is good as is the Indian and Thai place in Hyde Park next to the Irish Bar.

[M2]

She doesn't eat any animal products.

Full vegan? Yikes, that's got to wipe out most Italian places too. Pretty much all pasta's got some egg in it.

I imagine she eats a lot of Thai food.

[westofyou]

Full vegan? Yikes, that's got to wipe out most Italian places too. Pretty much all pasta's got some egg in it.

I imagine she eats a lot of Thai food.

Bangkok Bistro

Or Cumin then

[SunDeck]

You can do vegan at indian restaurants, can't you? If so, I second the call for Ambar up on Ludlow. In fact, Chili- she can go there and you can hit Skyline. She'd be okay with that, right?

Anyway, Ambar. Or is it the one next door? There are two indian places on Ludlow- one is in the building that used to be the Gaslight and other is in the place that actually started as a vegetarian restaurant back in the late 80's, Ulysses IIRC. Either way, both of those restaurants are very good and it's always fun to go there to watch the parking lot drama between them.

[westofyou]

it's always fun to go there to watch the parking lot drama between them.

Yep, hard to believe they're related.

[vaticanplum]

My daughter (who works at Wild Oats and has gone all vegan and organic on me) goes to "Through the Garden" here in Blue Ash. It's on the web I think.

She and her leaf-munching friends love the place. I tell her and her friends to drop me off somewhere where I can get me a good bloody-rare murderburger.

I totally forgot that place existed...I worked there for about two days one summer years ago, then broke my anke. They totally owe me money for two training shifts. Thanks for the reminder, Roy.