I didn’t expect to end my Wednesday night locked in a standoff with a stranger over a loaf of sourdough at one of the newest eateries on Cherry Street—but honestly, it’s not that far from my personal brand. I was dining with friends at Cow and Cabbage when a fellow guest casually mentioned that only a couple loaves of Country Bird Bakery bread remained in the market, a commodity usually requiring an early wake-up and queuing in a robust line. So, I did what any level-headed food writer would do: I turned to the table next to us and (half-jokingly) challenged them to an arm-wrestling match for the final loaf. Luckily, it didn’t come to fisticuffs, and we both walked away clutching our crusty treasures. Minus the invitation to feats of strength, this casual, playful interaction with a stranger felt perfectly in character for the Living Kitchen farm-to-table experience.
There’s something about the way Lisa Becklund and her team feeds people that turns strangers into dinner party guests. At the original Living Kitchen dinners—those dreamy, multicourse dinners prepared by the James Beard nominated chef in a rural Oklahoma cabin—you always end up talking to your neighbors. Sitting at a long table, someone passes you the pickled okra, and suddenly you’re deep in a conversation about goat milk with a retired couple from Owasso. Becklund’s newest project, Cow & Cabbage—a hybrid market and restaurant on Cherry Street—extends that same Living Kitchen ethos: thoughtful food, a direct line from farm to fork, and a dining experience that invites connection.
Housed in the former Grassroots Larder space, a beautiful but blink-and-you-missed-it concept that never fully found its footing, Cow and Cabbage is a leisurely market and lunch counter by day—a place to grab a sandwich or salad from the deli case, maybe a house-made cookie (hi, lemon ricotta) then leave with farm-fresh peaches or a locally-sourced steak from the freezer. There’s no printed lunch menu; what’s available depends on what they’ve made that day. For lunch, order one of the salads for $9, get a Duo ($10) or Trio Plate ($12) for variety.
A few of the salads on rotation have been a green bean and purple potato salad, a roasted beet salad, a local gold watermelon salad, or a pesto pasta studded with green olives. The sandwiches, like the chicken salad croissant ($15) or the muffaletta ($18) come with your choice of salad from the case, too. Grab it to go or have it plated up properly with a cold drink or something caffeinated from their coffee bar. The deli case has become a new place for chef Becklund to play, since she doesn’t get to build lunch specials at her other concepts, FarmBar and Il Seme.