Life, Art, Community, and Cookery: Stories and Recipes from Alfalfa Restaurant

ALFALFA Restaurant opened in Lexington, KY in April of 1973 at 557 S. Limestone and closed in October of 2021. Life, Art, Community, and Cookery: Stories and Recipes from ALFALFA Restaurant traces the colorful 48-year history of the legendary restaurant, conceived of and run by a collective of idealistic men and women who sought to create a community-oriented egalitarian workplace that would serve farm-to-table wholesome food and have a meaningful impact on its community. The book also shares 130 treasured recipes for the wholesome food and popular dishes that were served at the restaurant for almost a half-century. Contents also include the Origin Story, told through personal narratives and oral histories taken from the Alfalfa Oral History Project at the University of Kentucky.

Meet Marina Ubaldi Ritter and get a copy of their book at the 2026 Kentucky Book Festival, Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers.