DINING OUT
LOVE LETTER
Butchery meets fine dining in Hyde Park. — A K S H A Y A H U J A
W
HEN I TOLD A FEW FRIENDS ABOUT THE CONCEPT BEHIND DEAR Restaurant & Butchery, with its in-house butcher shop, all of them said, “So it’s like ‘Deer,’ the animal?” The actual concept behind the name, as General Manager Cole Liegel explained to me, is that the restaurant is a kind of love letter from the team to the guests, to Hyde Park, and to Cincinnati. Liegel and his partner, Austin Heidt, who is also a sommelier and director of the wine program, are both Cincinnati natives who left the city to work at prominent establishments around the country, including Thomas Keller’s iconic French Laundry. Now, both of them are back home
to share some of what they’ve learned. And they are not the only talent Cincinnati has gained. My wife, who is an enormous Top Chef fan, immediately recognized Dear’s Executive Chef Brian Young. “He’s the meat guy!” she exclaimed and recalled a famous episode in the Louisville season where he served pork while standing in a hot tub. It was on this show that Young met fellow contestant and Cincinnati chef Caitlin Steininger of Cooking With Caitlin fame. Young, who is a New England native, began spending more time in town, and both of them—now married—are working at Dear. (Steininger is the head pastry chef.) Occupying the old Teller’s spot on Hyde Park Square, Dear is two establishments in one. Off to one side is a full-service butchery that sells housemade sausages, wine, coffee, sandwiches, and take-and-bake offerings. On the other side is a grand two-story restaurant, beautifully tiled and appointed. Animals, 7 8 C I N C I N N AT I M A G A Z I N E . C O M J U LY 2 0 2 1
FYI
Dear Restaurant & Butchery 2710 Erie Ave., Hyde Park, (513) 321-2710, dear-restaurant.com Hours Restaurant: Dinner Wed– Sun 5:30–11 pm Butchery: Wed–Sun 10 am– 6 pm Prices $9 (Sunchokes with Dukkah)–$96 (Short Rib vol au vent for two) Credit Cards All major The Takeaway Deep farmhouse flavors meet fine-dining elegance.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEREMY KRAMER
