At first glance, Coltivare looks like another modern restaurant and bar in a city with a deliciously outsized food scene for its 31,000 residents. The fall menu includes mulled cider glazed chicken with whipped brie and fried shallot ($25), autumn pasta with house-made fettuccini with smoked beet cream sauce, spinach, winter squash and chevre cashew crumble ($22), and a brisket sandwich with coffee-rubbed beef and whipped goat cheese ($16).

But Coltivare is also a mini-college campus, a nexus for about 100 students who are studying four different programs: farming, wine marketing, hotel management and culinary arts. "This is the hub where it all comes together," said Jason Sidle, director of operations at the culinary center. "All the students filter through here."