CMH Gourmand

Culinary Discovery & Misadventures in the Ice Cream Capital of the World (Columbus)

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Latitude 41: Changing the Attitude on Downtown Dining

Posted by cmh gourmand on June 2, 2011

Some say Downtown Dining is dead. Others loath downtown, fearing one way streets, parking meters and the search for a parking spot without an obscure towing ordinance. If you are ready to change your attitude on these matters then it is time to try out Latitude 41. This restaurant is “all that and a bag serving of chips (with sea salt of course).

To the casual observer, Latitude 41 might have some elements going against it. It is downtown. It is in a hotel. It does not look like a restaurant from the outside and it takes a bit of side stepping to get to the dining area when arriving. These are all trivial. Three facts trump these concerns. The food is phenomenal, the service is most often superior and valet parking is three bucks.

Why does bargain valet parking make a difference? If it can woo me, then it can woo you too and let you do the right things which would be dining here frequently. As a rule I do not engage in valet parking. This is due to long-established history of frugality. I will often drop off my guests and drive around searching for free parking while they enjoy the services of the restaurant. Such is not my case at Latitude 41. For three dollars, I leave my car at the door and walk in like a rock star. I don’t have to worry about finding a place to park and having change for a meter. I don’t have to worry about the weather on the way back to my car. Doing the math, $3 may be less than I would put in a meter since my average stay for dinner usually exceeds two hours. If you are doing dinner and a show downtown, this valet deal is a steal. It is a little touch but it makes a big difference. Use the money you save to tip your valet.

Simple touches and a subtle approach to all things are the hallmark of Latitude 41. The kitchen crew and front of the house team are dedicated to executing everything well from your greeting to presenting your bill. The enthusiasm and authenticity of manager Roger Vivas is infectious. He welcomes as many diners as he can and makes a sincere effort to get to know his customers by name. The customer focus is shared by his staff. I have visited six times this year. In addition to having my favorite servers Tiffany and Sarah to help me with my selections, Roger always makes an effort to check in when he has time and truly makes me feel welcome, often adding a cocktail suggestion to his greeting.

I am a bit biased about Chef David Maclennan in part because I have had a few beers with him in our off hours. However my true bias comes from the respect I have for his food first focus. David does value good presentation however all of his dishes have real substance. This is simple fare with a twist or an upgrade instead flair and a gimmick. The food is locally obtained when possible and Chef Dave is in the process of planting a rooftop garden to supplement is locavore fare. Chef is also open to having some fun with his food such as Brezel pretzels served with house made cheese sauce and rabbit pot pie made on a double dog dare.

An excellent introduction to what Latitude 41 has to offer comes in four course and six course tasting menus. This is the opportunity for the kitchen to show their cooking chops in several signature plates. The selections vary but most often several are pulled from or inspired by the current menu. If on the fence between six courses or four, opt for the larger and ask your companion go with the smaller version. Another excellent first encounter can be had by attacking the menu via the artisan flatbreads and small plate selections. Some of my favorites from the current line up are the Lobster Mac and Cheese (includes orechiette, mascarpone, truffle oil, parmesan and tuile) as well as their two styles of fries: the hand-cut fries served with truffle, parmesan cheese, spicy house made ketchup and malt vinegar aioli or the Frenchie Fries featuring idaho wedges covered with beef bourguignon, farm style cheese curds and a soft poached egg. Think of the later as poutine on steroids. When available, mussels are a sure thing. It is not uncommon to ask for extra bread to scoop up the “broth” left on the bowl when finished.

The atmosphere of the “house” is refined and relaxed. Jeans are as common as a three-piece. Service reflects this approach as well. Servers are friendly but professional in tone and offer just enough attention without being distracting or interrupting the good conversation that comes with a meal. The bar is a comfortable spot for solo diners although your host or hostess does a wonderful job choosing just the right spot for a table for one. Plenty of window seats allow visitors to watch the coming and goings of downtown Columbus along Third Street. Latitude 41 unveiled their outside patio this spring. It is small area that seats about twenty along East Gay Street. There are a few burners placed outside for warmth and cozy ambiance at the tables. A growing following is choosing the Latitude 41 happy hour as a great excuse to stay downtown past quitting time.

Downtown Dining is not dead, it is growing. In addition to Latitude 41 several other “pioneers” including Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails, Little Palace and The Jury Room are carrying the flag to get our citizens back in the habit of taking a break from the suburban parts of our city to support the growing urban culture of downtown.

Latitude 41
in the Renaissance Hotel
Corner of 3rd and Gay Street
Downtown
614.233.7541

Posted in Gastronomic Stimulus, restaurants | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Rusty Bucket Wrangles Rogue Root Beer

Posted by cmh gourmand on March 27, 2011

I get many incredible offers. Most come from people in African countries that will give me millions of dollars just to help transfer some money from their country to ours to cut down on paper work and avoid hassle for the estate of a deceased relative with a horribly misspelled name. Some offers come from Russian mail order brides and maybe related to that, it seems that there are some medications I should be taking, I that I can get cheaply. Maybe I should consider the mail order bride option.

The type of offers I would like to get would include: Hey, you are awesome and resourceful and blindingly creative, here is a job that does not suck; or yes you really should write for us, starting now, because you are not boring or pretentious. These offers don’t come and years of trying for them have not yet been productive.

So when the Rusty Bucket asked if I wanted to drink root beer and get some remuneration for my trouble I was curious. I read further. It seems that said root beer was Rogue Root Beer. That fact changed no thanks to yes, pretty please PDQ. As fate would have it, I had Rogue Root Beer in PDX (Portland) recently which was a highlight of five days that were a low point.

I get an interesting array of offers from the food industry that tempt my wallet and threaten to stretch the scope of my blog and my ethics. I almost always say no. The Rusty Bucket offer was perfect. I knew I liked the root beer. I did not know I could get it in Columbus so that knowledge was a gift to me. Rusty Bucket is a locally owned company and aligned with Cameron Mitchell Restaurants so I could support them without hesitation. I knew I was going to rush out for root beer anyway so for the price of gas and a mug of root beer – game on! Yes, I will write for root beer so here we go.

It seems that if you are planning on going Rogue, Columbus is the place to do it. Rusty Bucket charmed this Portland-centric purveyor of tasty drinks into sending most of it’s product line here for serving. This is unique for Columbus and Ohio and the Midwest and most of the country for that matter. The only other states that have Rogue Root Beer are Oregon and Washington. You can pretend you are in Portland while sitting inside 270.

I am not a big pop drinker (we say pop in Columbus, accept it, move on). I NEED to have a coke with pizza to complete the experience. However, I am an absolute sucker for a good Root Beer. I have invested a good deal of time searching for the perfect root beer experience. I found a few that are worth traveling for – Virgil’s Root Beer and Sioux City Root Beer were my brews of choice.

Why might you want to make the effort to try Rogue Root Beer? Because they make it right and because Rusty Bucket pours it right. Rogue approaches their root beer with the same attention to detail and devotion they invest in their craft beers. Their root beer is made with 100% pure dark brown sugar. It has a nice dose of Sassafras. This is draft root beer, served from a tap into a cold, frosted mug with just a bit of foaming head. It may be the most perfect root beer experience in town. Visions of childhood bike rides to the Clintonville A&W drive-in come to mind when I take a sip. To appeal to the child in you or the child tagging along with you, Rusty Bucket also offers kid sized mugs and root beer floats in both sizes.

If you want to completely go Rogue, Rusty Bucket serves several Rogue beers on draft. You can also sample Rogue’s other roguish spirits including Dead Guy Whiskey, Spruce Gin and White Rum. A daily drink special involves soaking a giant chunk of pineapple with brown sugar, vanilla beans and Rogue white rum, then adding some ice and more rum. Yum.

On Tuesdays, a featured drink is the Rogue Spruce Gin Gimlet. I had not been to Rusty Bucket for a while so I decided to try out multiple locations in my root beer research. For your first Rogue run I suggest trying out the Lane Avenue location and hoping that Katie is tending bar when you walk in. She knows all things Rogue and can talk you through your choices while you enjoy a frosty root beer.

Posted in bar, beer, beverages, culinary knowledge, restaurants | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

Taqueria Mercado: Fairfield, Ohio. A Good Goat Taco is Never Too Far Away

Posted by cmh gourmand on March 15, 2011

I had one sole purpose for frequenting Fairfield, Ohio (the greater Cincinnati area one) – Jungle Jim’s. It is the best grocery store ever. I have never written about it because they do not allow photography. However, there is a Mexican Restaurant 1.4 miles down the Dixie Highway that is worth your time when visiting Fairfield and may be worth the drive without the Jungle Jim’s detour side trip.

Taqueria Mercado is not just a restaurant but a one stop shop for most things Mexican including a small grocery store (tienda), a bakery (panaderia) and a meat counter. Breakfast is served daily and includes fresh squeezed orange juice and six sumptuous Mexican egg dishes which can also be converted to torta or burrito form on request. They make the best Huevos Rancheros that I am aware of in the State of Ohio. Si es la verdad.

Tacos are served Mexican style with no dumbing down for the Gringos. The meat selections would make any Columbus Taco Truck fan envious (carne asada, al pastor pork, barbacoa, carnitas, chorizo, tripe, saudero and Lengua (tongue). The lunch/dinner menu includes all the standards: burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, etc. as well as some unexpectedly good vegetarian options, several shrimp dishes and exceptional house dinner plates.

For first time visitors, I suggest working as a team by ordering as much as possible with at least some initial intention of sharing. The House Special includes grilled chicken, grilled shrimp and well-seasoned Mexican rice covered in the house white Mexican cheese dip. Get the cheese dip on something, on everything if possible. Many of the entrees are served with fresh, steaming hot tortillas which will need at least five minutes to cool down. Chips and salsa costs money here – which might come as a shock to some that are used to gringoized Mexican chains but what Taqueria Mercado has to offer is well worth $1.50. The chips are delightfully fresh and not mass produced. The salsa is spectacular and served in a large bowl. It was so good, I considered taking some to drink as shots later. There are several squirt bottle sauces at the table as well, they are equally good and immensely edible and drinkable.

Speaking of shots, I should give a shout out to the Margaritas. The large house margarita on the rocks is very good. It has a latent, stealthy slam-dunk drunkenness power that should not be unobserved or underappreciated. I am glad a had a designated driver and that I opted not to buy anything during my somewhat impaired first thirty minutes at Jungle Jim’s.

Last and not least, I will bring the weekend specials to your attention. Taqueria Mercado got goat. Good goat. Very good, goaty, well-cooked goat. On Saturday and Sunday you can order goat tacos, a platter of perfectly cooked goat meat or goat soup. Or you could get Menudo, aka, Tripe soup. Taqueria Mercado also offers a daily special during each weekday including authentic favorites such as huaraches and pozole.

Desserts are made in house at the bakery. The Tres Leches is tasty. I have not sampled much Mexican fare in the Cincinnati metro area but I will go head and say this is probably the best in that city. I have sampled just about every Latino fueled restaurant in Columbus and based on that extensive research I can say that Taqueria Mercado is as good as the best Columbus has to offer. The restaurant is worth the drive to Fairfield if you want to eat great Mexican food at a very good price.

Taqueria Mercado
6507 Dixie Highway
Fairfield
513.942.4943
Monday to Sunday 9:00 am to 9:30 pm

Posted in restaurants, Road Trip | Tagged: | 2 Comments »

Little Palace: Like at First Bite

Posted by cmh gourmand on January 4, 2011

Driving by Little Palace, one might think it is an old Chinese restaurant – wrong. Since it is located next to hipster hot spot Dirty Frank’s Hotdog Palace, one might think this place is dead – dead wrong. The (newer) owners of Little Palace have a track record of making me happy with their menus (Club 185. Del Mar, The Rossi and distant, former cousin Press Grill as exhibits A, B, C and D). I appreciate Little Palace retaining the historic neon sign and name. I also appreciate that the owners are creating a destination downtown business which is good, not just for improved dining options and increasing parking meter revenues but because a commitment to downtown is important for our city.

The space has served Chinese, Greek and classic American fare over the decades. As homage to a previous palace, gyros remain on the menu. The remainder of the menu is largely Italian (mostly Philly style) featuring a few favorites from the sibling restaurants in the Little Palace family. The décor is dark and woody with low light and a more subdued vibe than their next door neighbor. There is a Mad Men feel; you could envision Don Draper popping in for a respite after chasing tattooed bobby sockers at Dirty Franks.

With a sign that implies Chinese and a menu that is a bit eclectic, you might wonder if Little Palace has an identity crisis. I assure you that the palace is finding its own groove. A signature drink is their Italian Lemonade Cocktail – the ingredients escape me but the contents were pleasing to my palate. The bar is well stocked with liqueurs for cocktail connoisseurs as well as draft and bottled beer options for those wanting a microbrew pour.

Some items really stand out. The Little Palace crisp chicken sandwich is easy on the wallet at $3 per pop. These small, slyder style sandwiches are sweet in their simplicity – crispy breaded chicken breast with pickle, mayonnaise and Swiss cheese. This Little Palace signature item seems to be the most mentioned menu feature on the interweb sites these days and the accolades are earned. The sandwich will never win a culinary award but it is quick to satisfy a comfort food craving and pairs well with drinking.

My award for best move on the menu goes to the $4 side of roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon. I need not say more than to provide the description. These are good and something you can tell your mom about when she wonders if you are eating well. Another major point earning property on the sprout serving meter – the bacon is house cured and damn good. Next on my list are the pizzas – there are several excellent topping choices. If you have dined on pizza at The Rossi (one of my favorite pies in town), you will notice Little Palace pizzas the same style and use the same ingredients. Little Palace does not yet execute their pizzas at the Rossi level but they are getting there so their pizzas is still better than 80% of what you can find in town.

One of my favorites from the menu comes from the sandwich selections. The Great Santini piles on soppressata (pork-based salami), mortadella (another Italian style salami with large chunks of pork fat), shaved ham, mozzarella, and giardinera pepper mix encased in a bun. This sandwich satisfies.

There is one item that is the greatest win and the biggest disappointment of the menu. I have to give Little Palace a lot of credit for offering poutine (a Canadian favorite) on the menu. Fries, gravy, cheese curds and (a Little Palace extra) shaved meat poured on a plate. What is not to like? Well, the thing is, the fries are not really fries, they are potato wedges which just does not meet the Canadian poutine code. This is a French fry fail. I mean a Canadian is likely to raise their voice or even complain if they eat this version. The cheese curds on the poutine have been very “meh” in my samplings so far (I would suggest going local and adding some Blue Jacket Dairy curds to this concoction to take it from “meh” to marvelous). That ends my poutine pouting.

Lay siege to Little Palace sometime soon. This is more than a place to park yourself while waiting to get into Dirty Franks; it is a destination worth your dining time. Actually, I would say go to both and share the wealth. (On any given day there is always room for a hot dog chaser at Dirty Franks).


(Note: Photos taken by @AmandyAnderson while I was eating)

Little Palace Food + Liquor
240 South 4th Street
Downtown
614.460.8888

Little Palace on Urbanspoon

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Dine Originals Week: Deepwood & Pistacia Vera $10 + $10 = Full

Posted by cmh gourmand on November 11, 2010

Since this is a post on menus of economy, there will be an economy of words as well. Dine Originals Week comes along twice per year with fifty plus tempting menus. When I am able to participate, I always opt for the pleasure of a Pistacia Vera sampler box. When I can, I also look for a bargain lunch. This time around, I was able enjoy a leisurely lunch a Deepwood. I even left my credit card behind for the bartender as a tip. See the Deepwood Dine Originals special lunch menu below. At the time of this post, you have Friday only to sup on the lunch or wait another six months or so for another shot. If your Friday plans are locked in don’t fret, Deepwood has great sandwiches at lunch in the $10 range all year and an excellent bar menu.

Not on the lunch special menu but always on my mind at Deepwood is a serving of their house made breads. I was happy to see the bread basket arrive to keep me company while I waited on my meal. The thin, crackery bread in the photo went perfectly with my soup. The remainder headed home for later.

Sans sandwich and soup, I moved on to the box of homemade cookies. The photo does not do the mini cookies justice but they were fresh, chewy, dense, and delicious. The box made me feel like I was carting my lunch pail home and the promise of a good cookie later made for a much better day for me.

A quick five minute drive to German Village found me at Pistacia Vera for dessert stockpile number two. Pistacia Vera is always a sure thing offering something for everyone (or everything for me in this foray). The sampler always includes one or two signature macarons as well as pate de fruit. In addition to the Pistacia Vera standards, this version included (most of these are fun to say in an exotic way): a pear ginger frangipan, mocha praline jaconde, cashew caramel (among the best ever) and a florentine.

All in all, a great value at $20 total for two places in one afternoon. You have three days left for this Dine Originals Week – go out and get some goodies.

Deepwood
511 North High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-2009
614.221.5602

Pistacia Vera
541 South Third St
Columbus, OH 43215
614.220.9070

Posted in desserts, restaurants | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Yellow Springs Roadtrip: Winds Cafe and Bakery

Posted by cmh gourmand on September 19, 2010

Sometimes I go where the wind takes me. More often, I get a notion to roam and fall back to some sure things that I know will ensure my roadtrip is satisfying. Yellow Springs is just under one hour southwest of Columbus. It offers a lot of indoor and outdoor activities to keep me occupied. If I have time to sit down for a meal while I am in town, I go to the Winds Cafe and Bakery. Most people just call it The Winds.

So why is the Winds a slam dunk? It offers superior food: fresh and when possible local and organic. It has ambiance – if you need romantic, the Winds can pull that off. If you just need to soak in some air conditioning and some cocktails in jeans after a hike – you will not feel out of place here. There is counter service in the bakery area when you just need to grab something and go. If you just happen to be passing through town and find that you are not hungry at all, drop in for any of their baked goods. You will be glad during the drive home or the next day.

I am going to lead with “place” instead of food for once. The cafe could be described a quaint in the nicest possible way. There is a definite French bistro atmosphere inside. The wooden tables and chairs are mismatched but lovely. The walls are painted in varied colors to create different spaces in the same room. There is a random mini wall with a window in the center of the dining room which creates private space for the tables on either side of this mock wall. Flowers adorn each table, local art is on the walls and everything has the aura of being in place for decades. The bathrooms would best be described as “really nice” featuring tiled floors, artsy yet practical sinks and several nice touches. There is no wasted space in the bathrooms. These lavatories are not cramped – yet somehow just a precise use of space. Usually I just pay attention to whether a restaurant keeps their bathrooms clean, here, for whatever reason the bathrooms leave an impression. Um, moving right along.

The menu changes monthly/every two months to reflect what is in season so I will focus on the items that stay constant as well as the general types of meals you can expect. There are always daily specials. The menu is mostly Old World, with frequent nods to France as well as many new world twists. The Winds provides a bread service featuring a mix of several breads from their in-house bakery with many entrees. If bread is not part of your meal, order some with butter. The breads are varied, always fresh and exceptionally good.

The restaurant always has an array of salads to choose from. The Tuscan bread salad is a standard. It is a mix of tomatoes, sweet onions and peppers dressed in red wine vinegar and olive oil. Olives and mozzarella are tossed in then broiled with chunks of bread. Other salads with seasonal items and high end ingredients can be expected at all times.

The French style breads the bakery produces serve as perfect bases for lunchtime sandwiches. Anything with ham will be a best bet. Being a Yellow Springs eatery, there is always at least one vegetarian friendly sandwich mixing multiple vegetables with one or two cheeses. A standby lunch offering is the Brown Bag. The Winds take on Chicken Salad goes like this: chicken poached with wine, lemons and peppercorns. The chicken is mixed with a variety of vegetables, mayonnaise and and a touch of curry and served on a bed of greens. Not too bland for a brown bag. While I have dined at the Winds countless times, I have never had dinner there. The dinner menu takes many of the lunch items from the day and adds additional small and large plates. I suggest reservations for dinner especially on Friday and Saturday.

On the other hand, I have had brunch almost as often as lunch at the Winds. The Winds is hard to beat for brunch. The kitchen takes their all-stars from the lunch menu, adds in above average standard breakfast fare such as pancakes, eggs and home fries and then the chefs create some unique Sunday specific items to make the day special. Omelettes are worth their plate space here. These are made with local, organic eggs and cooked French style on iron pans. The biscuits are memorable as are the buttermilk pancakes. Reservations are suggested for brunch especially when the weather is nice.

In addition to the restaurant and bakery, the Winds has a wine shop next door with an impressive stock of wines to choose from. Their standard menus are supplemented and enhanced by a three course Prix-Fixe menu, special wine dinners/event/special meals on a regular basis and bistro menus that run for three days at a time each week. The desserts and cocktail options vary as often as the regular menu and have the same great quality. The long list of cocktails includes Caipirinhas and other less common tastes. The desserts include Blackout Cake which is a tribute to Ebinger’s Bakery in Brooklyn.

As you can read, the Winds has a lot to serve visitors and it will require more than one trip to fully explore all this restaurant has to offer.

Winds Café
215 Xenia Avenue
937.767.1144
Winds Cafe on the web
Winds Cafe on Twitter

Posted in Ohio, restaurants, Road Trip | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

My Lonely Lunch in Spain (Restaurant)

Posted by cmh gourmand on September 8, 2010

(Note. This location in this post closed and a new location opened in 2011)
76 Powell Rd (High St. / SR 23 and Powell Road)
Lewis Center, OH 43035
(740) 548-6900

Spain Restaurant might be described as simpatico with Don Quijote. Both share comic-tragic elements as part of their characters but their stories are inspiring. Spain is a Spanish restaurant on an epic quest to avoid being forgotten. It has many strikes against it. One of the owners committed suicide in the restaurant years ago (he was a kind man and great host; I spoke with him several times). The location is best described as horrible – hidden inside the lobby of a Best Western Hotel, hard to reach corner along a forgotten commercial strip. In spite of this, Spain remains open despite a poor economy, poor location and no PR (see my November 2006 post).

Manager Andres Casal remains on duty like a loyal Rocinante or Sancho Panza. He is quick to acknowledge regulars, always cheerful and very committed to good service. He often works in multiple roles during the days – manager, server, bartender, bar-back, janitor and jack-of-all-trades. If you know un poco espanol, he will indulge you and seek out your company for practice.

On a recent Friday, I dined in for lunch. I was the only customer present for my entire meal. There were no signs of previous patronage nor did I see any new faces coming in as I was leaving. Andres reports that lunch is chronically slow but dinner can be brisk at times. Bewildered and disoriented hotel customers expecting to come in for a diner style hamburger as well as local Latinos coming to salsa on Saturdays visit the restaurant.

If you enjoy quiet, full service lunch without having to wait for a table, Spain may be your destination of choice. Tuxedoed servers will bring you a menu with a selection of 10 plus entrees. Prices are as low as $5.95 for a sandwich. Tables are outfitted with linen tablecloths and napkins. I typically select a booth with a view of the hotel lobby for distraction. I also choose to go all out for lunch and order the most expensive item, Paella Valenciana. For $11.69, I get more than what I paid for.

The first course is soup of the day with a basket of hot fresh dinner rolls served with a tennis ball sized mound of whipped butter. Each meal also includes a plate of carrots, green beans and Spanish fried potatoes (think of thick, sometimes chewy but always crisp potato chips). The paella is served in a traditional Paella pot. The Valenciana style includes: saffron rice cooked with onions, bell peppers, olive oil, garlic, sea salt (quite a bit) and peas with mussels, shrimp, clams, scallops, chicken and Chorizo. The meal is filling and can easily serve two gourmands or four typical eaters. Dessert can be ordered as well but I rarely have sufficient stomach space. When available, I have found their flan and tres leches to be divine.

If you have a free afternoon during the week and you would like to indulge yourself while giving a nice restaurant some much-needed company, please drop in to Spain.

Spain Restaurant
888 E Dublin Granville Rd
(161 and Huntley Road – hidden in the Best Western Hotel)
614.840.9100
Lunch:
Monday – Friday 11:30 am – 2 pm
Dinner:
Monday – Thursday
5:00pm – 10:00pm
Friday – Saturday
5:00pm – 11:00pm

Posted in restaurants | Tagged: | 7 Comments »

First Bite: Piada Italian Street Food

Posted by cmh gourmand on September 1, 2010

Piada Italian Street Food debuted to Columbus on September 1st. Owner Chris Doody has the street credibility to purvey street food after years of success at Lindey’s, Bravo, Brio and Bon Vie. The concept has been in the works for over a year and he could be seen on site opening day reviewing and fine tuning last minute details. Although the grand opening was low key, turn out on day one was high.

The restaurant is located in Upper Arlington, not too far from the OSU west campus. In holds a corner spot in a retail strip with a few other restaurants. The exterior is restrained but does have a pick up window (not a drive thru – the restaurant is very clear about that). The comparisons to Chipotle cannot be avoided, visitors and reviewers from now to whenever will most likely compare these two. The models are similar – fast, fresh food with high quality ingredients you can choose. Consider Piada an Italian Chipotle with a twist. A really good twist.

Pictured above is a piada and a (part of) a Piada Bread stick. Pictured below is an unfolded piada.

What is a piada? – It is a thin, Italian flatbread dough, made with organic flour. It is round and slightly larger that a large tortilla. The dough is cooked quickly on a hot grilling stone to crisp and bubble before your eyes. The piada is passed down an assembly line where you can add a variety of ingredients. And the end of the line it is folded over into a burrito style breaded package.

The ordering is broken down into a five step process with signage to guide your path. The first choice is to order a piada, pasta bowl or chopped salad bowl (um, the name of the place is Piada, how was I not going to get that). The next step is decide if you want strands of angel hair pasta added to your piada (sure why not). Then it is on to select a grilled items for the innards: chicken, steak, Italian Sausage, Salmon (yes, really), Italian Meats (Sopressata, mortadella and porchetta…oh yes) or seasonal fresh vegetables. The first two meats are cooked in a blend of rosemary, garlic and lemon. Step three – pick a sauce: Pomodoro, Diavolo, Red Pepper Pesto, Fresh Basil Pesto or Parmesan. This is followed by a choice of salad dressing, vegetables and cheeses. You can make a dagwood of a piada with little effort.

Side options include: a Piada stick – a long (about 1 foot), thin freshly baked bread stick with a variety of fillings served with dipping sauce, artichoke and spinach dip, Calamari, side salad or soup. The final choice is a beverage which include Italian sodas and Peroni beer.

The ordering process is straight forward and fast. The quality of the ingredients is impressive and everything was fresh. The interior is cool, blending the essence of Chiptole and Northstar with a European, IKEA meets rustic feel. The block wood tables in particular caught my eye and I think I may take one home as part of my next carry out order. The motor scooter logo should be fun for Piada play with over time although there are no plans for scooter piada delivery (bummer).

I think Doody and company have a winner here. I definitely enjoyed my first bite.

Piada Italian Street Food
1315 West Lane Ave
Upper Arlington/Columbus
614.754.1702
Piada website

Piada Italian Street Food on Urbanspoon

Posted in Columbus, restaurants | Tagged: , | 8 Comments »

The Summer of Skillet: Skillfully Executed Rustic Urban Food

Posted by cmh gourmand on July 26, 2010

Skillet is a family affair. Angela (mom), Patrick (son) and Kevin (dad) Caskey call the shots at this Ingredient Driven, Comfort Food with an Edge dining destination. The Caskey’s know their way in the restaurant business due to their connection Banana Bean Cafe (the original Banana Bean was housed in the confines of Skillet World Headquarters) and many other restaurants. They all have their roles. Dad creates the concepts. Father and son execute the concepts – without doing the same to each other and mom keeps it all together by keeping the focus on the customer while the boys are playing with their food.

Gourmand's Skillet Rule #3, always get a pancake to share on the side

Skillet started slow in the late fall: small menu and short hours. The plan was a soft opening…not happening when the food enthusiasts of Columbus are awaiting your arrival. The buzz on Skillet was fast and furious. The Foodarazzi desire local food, seasonal ingredients, simple preparation without pretense and lots of pork. Skillet delivered. In fact, Team Caskey and Skillet sizzled with support from the likes of: the Press; Columbus Foodie; Hungry Woolf; Columbus Foodcast and Columbus Underground.

So as you can see and read, it was a good winter and spring for Skillet. But wait there is more. On Earth Day, Skillet launched their mobile kitchen to take comfort food to the masses. Skillet on wheels hits the road with three to four dishes which can be prepped and cooked on the fly. The mobile kitchen has most frequently appeared in the parking lot of O’Reilly’s Auto Parts in Olde North Columbus (at N. High Street and Hudson). The adventures and appearances of the mobile kitchen can be followed best on twitter at: @SkilletRustic. Columbus is quickly growing a diverse and strong mobile food scene with Skillet on the crest of the wave that will probably hit with tsunami force next spring.

So with all of this activity what are the gang at Skillet doing…expanding their hours by adding a few evenings of service at the restaurant and by moving from counter service to servers, or at least exploring that possibility. They make their own hot sauce for sale too.

Mobile Pork Belly Quesadilla

In the first few months when this was a three person show, Patrick was acclimated to 18+ hours days of foraging, prepping, cooking, serving and closing the restaurant. They have a few staff on board now, which allows him to spread the gospel of porchetta sandwiches to the streets of Columbus.

So why is all of this rustic, urban food so good? Because it is simple. Because it is ingredient driven (which means you make what you can make with what is fresh, local, and in season so that the food shapes the menu not vice versa.) And because the people that cook the food can see your reaction to it when you eat it – that is an incentive not to muck it up and to keep pushing for better everything. The menu changes fairly frequently, so I will not torture you with mouth-watering descriptions of menu items you may never have. You will have to take my word for it and you can take a peek at the Skillet website as well as watch their twitter feed for what they have cooking.

So why is this the summer of Skillet? Simple – experience and variety are teaming up to knock things up a notch or three. The Caskey’s have been at the ingredient driven menu game for almost a year now so they have worked out any kinks. Summer is the season of ingredients. In the early days of Skillet the mainstays of the menu were pork (no complaints), seasonal produce (Ohio has some limits in the winter time) plus what they had pickled, canned, foraged or McGuyvered. It is now open season for creativity, a time of endless ingredients and maybe some greatest hits from the boys in the kitchen. Therefore, I am excited for what the summer holds. Caskey’s please park the mobile kitchen at my Beechwold address.

But wait there is more. Columbus likes to have positive national exposure for our food community and we recently got it by having Skillet on the PBS documentary, Breakfast Special (with Rick Sebak). I wish my fair city had the passion about our excellent food scene that it has for OSU Football, if so, we could be national champions in the restaurant arena as well.

Skillet
Rustic.Urban.Food
410 East Whittier Street
Schumacher Place
Skillet

Skillet Rustic Urban Food on Urbanspoon

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Si Senor: Yes Sir, it is good

Posted by cmh gourmand on July 18, 2010

With a name like Si Senor, I was wary. Well, very wary of what might lie inside. I envisioned low end, Mexican fast food. I was pleasantly surprised. Si Senior is not your typical Mexican restaurant, because the owners are from Peru. It is not a Mexican restaurant at all. The restaurant has only been open a few months but has quickly become a downtown lunchtime standby. Things have been going well enough for the family business to move into a larger space just next door to their original location. Now that they have elbow room and can fit more than one employee behind the counter, Si Senor is looking forward to making some expansions in the menu as well.

The cooks behind the counter have taken the friendly format of a sandwich and with a bit of slight of spatula, slipped in a phenomenal palate pleasing fusion of Latin flavors. A lot of work goes into the ingredients before serving. The cooks smoke and roast all of their meats. They make nearly everything from scratch in house such as avocado mayonnaise, jalapeno relish, and Chimichurri dressing. They also make refreshing smoothies with fresh mango, pineapple and papaya.

The owner is joined by his wife and brother as well as a few others. All have extensive restaurant experience and were ready to make the jump into the business as owners instead of manager and cooks. They enjoy the direct connection they have with customers since the small space allows the cooks to see diners eating Si Senor creations from their vantage point at the grill. As with any new business they are looking to add items to the menu and work out the best way to serve their customers – which may mean a change to table service in the future.

Meatloaf Sandwich with pasta salad

For now, the focus is on making under a dozen sandwiches and a few salads. I tried the Chicharron Peruano a sandwich with Peruvian style fried pork shoulder served with pickled onions and sweet potato mayonnaise on a ciabatta bread. I also sampled the Meatloaf Sandwich – a mix of chorizo and ground beef with poblanos, onions, tomato jam (chutneyesque) and manchego cheese. I liked this very much.

I wish I had room for the the Latin style turkey breast club (roasted turkey, Applewood bacon, avocado mayonnaise and more) and the Peruvian style chicken salad (pulled chicken, pineapple, celery, walnuts, and potato sticks).

Tres Leches

I did have room for an absolutely divine Tres Leches cake made in house. The cake was rich, dense and creamy with all the milky goodness that good tres leches can deliver. It also has a nice layer of vanilla icing which added to the flavor of the cake.

I enjoyed chatting and talking shop talk with the owners during the downtime. It turns out they are cousins of the other Peruvian family I know in Columbus – the Garcias of Jack and Benny’s fame. Due to customer feedback and demand, Si Senor is now open Saturdays from Noon to 4 PM. They are offering one traditional Peruvian entree/meal of Saturdays to show off their family favorites and share their culture with the community.

While the set up is for quick service, the atmosphere is a bit more upscale with a lot of thought and effort invested in making the dining area comfortable and relaxed.

Si Senor
20 East Long Street
Downtown
614.227.0070
614.227.0071 (fax orders)

Posted in restaurants, sandwiches | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

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