Columbus has two Four Diamond restaurants

COLUMBUS — Two Columbus restaurants, M at Miranova and The Refectory, have received the AAA Four Diamond Award for 2018, the AAA announced Wednesday. M has received the award each year since 2006, while The Refectory has maintained the award continuously since 1995.

Four other Ohio restaurants were among the 2.1 percent of U.S. restaurants that receive the Four Diamond rating for their quality, creativity and ambience.

The others are Boca and Nicola’s in Cincinnati, and Lola in Cleveland.

Cincinnati’s Orchids at Palm Court is the only restaurant in Ohio to receive the Five Diamond award, AAA’s highest rating. cuts had raised the prospect for solid growth and continued interest rate increases.

The minutes of the Fed’s Jan. 30-31 discussions showed that the officials were more optimistic about the economy than they had been in December. They noted a stronger U.S. and global economy as well as expectations that the Republican tax cuts enacted in December would boost growth.

The minutes said “a majority of participants noted that a stronger outlook for economic growth raised the likelihood that further gradual policy firming would be appropriate.”

The Fed held rates steady at the January meeting, which was the last to be led by Janet Yellen before her term as chair ended this month and she was succeeded by Jerome Powell. Last month’s meeting preceded the stock market plunge in early February and the budget deal in Congress that will boost spending on military and domestic programs by an additional $300 billion over two years.

Some economists have suggested that the market turbulence and the prospect of higher federal debt — and higher bond yields — might make the Fed more cautious about raising short-term rates.