CMH Gourmand

Yerba Buena is Back….Again.

cmh gourmand — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:17:11 +0000

Not unlike the Terminator, Yerba Buena keeps going down for the count and then comes back from nowhere. When I last check-in in with Carlos and Carolina about the fate of Yerba Buena in Spring of 2012, the trailer was for sale because they were too busy with a new restaurant and an even newer child. But last week I saw the trailer back in the old spot. I called the restaurant, left a message….No response. And today….it was open. Yerba Buena is the mobile version of El Arepazo which means great food within walking distance of my house. El Arepazo started as a stall at the Latino Festival – then became a restaurant and then a second restaurant. The trailer has a really good run in 2011 but then ran in to some problems with their location.

Carlos and Carolina Gutierrez are the husband and wife owners of the restaurant. You can follow their story at the El Arepazo Facebook page.

The mobile menu mirrors the restaurant menu and is the same as the last time the trailer was working. Items include arepas (corn cakes), plantains, chorizo, empanadas and assort Latino beverages.

Yerba Buena
4490 Indianola Ave
Clintonville (about five blocks south of Morse Road)
Facebook
Wednesday to Saturday 3:30 pm to 8:30 pm (based on previous experience, these hours will change).
And please note: CASH Only, no credit cards.

(Note: Yes this is largely recycled content – my belly was full when I visited to confirm hours today).

Filed under: Clintonville, Mobile Food Tagged: Yerba Buena

Value Meal / Defining Old School: Back to T.A.T

cmh gourmand — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:36:41 +0000

It has been a couple of years since I visited TAT Ristorante di Famiglia. No surprise that nothing has changed at this classic eatery but my appreciation of the place has grown. Due to a craving for Midwestern Italian comfort classics and not being able to think of many restaurants in town that really deliver the goods, I did two back to back visits to TAT.

There was a golden era of restaurant dining in America from the 1950′s to the 1970′s. Booths were big, so was the hair. The economy was good and dining out became a common habit instead of an occasional custom. In particular, Italian restaurants were trending high after America’s appetite for the fare changed after World War II. Think of the movie Big Night, well think of the feel of a place, not the cuisine, Primo would have gone ballistic looking at The TAT menu. To set the scene, there was a time when most of the staff in a restaurant was from the same family, when you would have the same server every visit, when there really was a family recipe and something cooked from scratch in the back by grandma and when customers wore fine garments for fine dining.

The above might be referred to as “Old School”. I was trying to think of places that were true “old school in Columbus. I could not think of many. To many, old school might mean old-fashioned, out dated or inauthentic cuisine. To that I say hooey. Old School has its place especially for natives of the Midwest who were reared with this as our model for “exotic” food. There is something more than comforting in regards to comfort food. For some, there is a lot of comfort that comes from cottage fries, chicken livers and cottage cheese on the main menu. TAT still feels like stepping back to 1978 or even 1958. On my visits, I looked around and saw neither the customers or staff had changed since my last visit in 2011. I could not spot a server under 50. Most of the customers are families that interact with staff like they have been coming here for decades and probably always ordering the same thing. There is something nostalgic about this type of atmosphere and again, something comforting about this culinary time capsule. They don’t make them like this anymore and they probably can’t. I hope that all of these elements can carry on as the 4th and 5th generations of the Carrova family take over the front and back of the house. And I hope the children and the grandchildren of the current customers keep coming back to preserve this culinary classic. On my first revisit, I saw several older couples dressed in suit and tie or cocktail dress. The clothing may have been a bit worn or out of fashion, but I admired the dedication these couple made to make a night out special. I also saw a couple of kids come in for prom, also dressed to the nines, who came to TAT for a special night and special meal. I struggle to paint the scene in words but trust me that no other place in town can replicate this environment. I also observed that the older couples were wrapping up their early bird specials and I resolved to check that out myself on my next visit.

Talk about a blast from the past. Other than MCL Cafeteria, I can’t think of another eatery that can dish out the array of offerings that TAT can for their Early Bird Special. It is featured 3:30 to 6 pm Tuesday to Sunday. The entrees are reduced portions of customers favorites from the regular menu. However, for $10.95 this is a real feast. The four course meal included an appetizer (often soup), salad, an entrée and a (scaled down) dessert, often a slice of homemade cake. Bread (with crackers) and butter service is included as well. I am often asked by younger folks about a family friendly place they can take their grandparents, kids or more “conservative” eaters. This is the place and this is the meal that will fill that void for old school, “safe” eating in the capital city. The food is good, the atmosphere is unique and the experience is priceless.

And now for some bonus content. While I was there, and having been identified as a regular by having visited twice in the same month, I was given an insider tip about breakfast at TAT. Longtime readers know that I view breakfast as my fifth favorite meal, so I did not check this out, but maybe you will or one of our Columbus Breakfast bloggers. Photos below are my pictorial contribution to your breakfast knowledge.

Filed under: restaurants Tagged: TAT, TAT Restaurant, TAT Ristorante di Famiglia

How To Find Food A Truck in Columbus

cmh gourmand — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:02:22 +0000

One person that responded to my poll a few weeks ago requested less about food trucks. Two people said they wanted to know more. How about if I just let you know how to find them on your own?

(Below is from a page I wrote for one the other websites I write for: Street Eats Columbus).

So you are looking for a food truck but can’t find one? What to do? Here are your options.

Food trucks are mobile in concept but such is not always the case. Almost all of the Taco Trucks in Columbus are stationary and keep standard hours – you can find most of them at Taco Trucks Columbus.

One of the most famous of Columbus Food Trucks is not mobile at all – and it started as a trailer. That would be Ray Ray’s Hog Pit.

However most street food vendors….are on the streets going from location to location looking for people to feed. In Columbus the business model for most mobile food owners is to schedule locations to serve lunch at Monday to Friday then supplement with a few evening locations as well as festivals and events on the weekends. These trucks look for corporate lunch locations with the goal to serve fifty to one hundred customers in a two-hour period as long as they have the permission of the property owner and the business site.

In the evening, they look for business sites that have a second or third shift of hungry workers or a bar with some patrons in need of a snack or two. Dick’s Den, Seventh Son Brewing and St. James Tavern host food trucks one to three days per week.

You can try twitter to find a food truck – if you know what the twitter address is and if they continually tweet where they are serving. This is not practical for most people nor is it helpful if you do not know what truck(s) you are looking for or want to look for.

The same can be said for Facebook. While many vendors post where they will be for the day or the week, if that is all they post the content soon becomes boring. Plus, with recent changes to Facebook you may not be able to find these posts in a timely manner. And again, you need to know the truck exists….to find it. Another downside, most people can’t access Facebook from their workplace computers….so finding a truck at lunch can be a struggle.

There is a website called Ohio Food Truck Finder which lists many of the twitter feeds for food trucks in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and elsewhere – this can be a good way to see much of the variety of vendors but it is not a complete listing and food trucks that throw in the towel or take a long hiatus are often in this stream as well.

The same group also coordinates mobile vendors for lunch at ten plus Ohio State University Medical Center locations. You can find a schedule -> HERE.

And HERE is a map of sites. The vendors currently serve lunch at most sites Monday to Friday.

App(lication)s exist to find food trucks. Some have come and gone (Hungerly) and others have come and fizzled (Eat Street, Roaming Hunger and Street Food (Columbus)). The only app / finder worth your time is (and it should continue to get better) Street Food Finder. What makes this the best? It works. It meets the needs of the Food Truck owners because it is easy to use and saves them time. It is good for customers because it is good food food truck owners, so there is actually current information on Street Food Finder which makes sure information is there to look at and easy to put to use. The creator of Street Food Finder lives in Columbus and consulted with Food Truck owners and Street Eats to make sure his product met the needs of everyone. It started as a chicken or the egg situation: if the owners don’t put information into StreetFoodFinder then customers won’t us it, but food truck owners had to be OK with putting in information when no one was using StreetFoodFinder so that people could see that it does work. Make sense?

Filed under: culinary knowledge Tagged: Columbus Food Trucks, Find a Food Truck, Food Trucks in Columbus

North Market Apron Gala May 18th

cmh gourmand — Sat, 11 May 2013 20:38:12 +0000

Welcome to the Midwest. If it is a party, there will be food. That is what we do. Even more so if the event is a fundraiser for a good cause – your donation of money will be rewarded with a selection food and drink. Columbus is often cited as one of the most giving cities in the country, considering how frequently we are offered food for our benevolence it is no wonder our city is so giving or so fat. Our city is rife with food based fund-raisers. Almost every week features a major charity event featuring “food from Columbus’ best restaurants” with a selection of beverages. The events are for fine causes and well run. I have been to most of them as a complimentary guest or paying out-of-pocket. After a few rounds, most start to blend together…different cause, some format and same food. There is one clear exception, The North Market Apron Gala.

If you are interested in going, you can find information -> here. Tickets are $75 and I opine they are a good value for the price. The price for your ticket goes to support what the North Market does which includes but is not limited to: maintaining a nationally known destination that draws visitors from afar and many glowing articles by travel writers, cooking classes at the School of Cooking, countless events including: the Microbrew Festival, Fiery Foods Festival and the Coffee Festival, a farmers market, an artisan market and the market itself serves as an incubator for new food businesses. Have you heard of a place called Jeni’s Ice Cream?

The food is provided by the North Market vendors with the offerings changing throughout the course of the evening. Unlike other events which feature the same restaurants offering the same 2-3 tastes every year, this event mixes things up yearly and hourly. There are a few exceptions. Curds and Whey presents a gigantic table of cheeses which I hit early and often. A few other aspects make the evening special. The feel of the place is relaxed more like a block party of friends than an anonymous gala spectacle. It is an Apron Gala by the way so people wear aprons and can win prizes for having the best apron of the evening. An Apron fairy roams the aisles looking for the best aprons and tapping potential winners with her wand to let them know. The music and the beverages are local and liberally distributed. After one or two trips to other events in town I usually feel that I have “been there, done that” but the Apron Gala feels fresh to me every time.

Filed under: markets Tagged: Apron Gala, North Market Apron Gala

Ray Ray’s Chicken Wings

cmh gourmand — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:45:07 +0000

There are several questions the people in North Columbus ask about Ray Ray’s.

-Why are they just open on weekends?
-What happened to the original trailer?
-When are they going to open a restaurant?
-When will they make chicken wings again?

I have a hint to some of those questions below:

The first and third questions are answered next. Starting on or near or at least close to May 11th, Ray Ray’s opens inside Ace of Cups to serve the people more often with more menu items.

Question two – the original trailer is for sale. Hopefully, it will help someone new make great BBQ.

And the fourth question. The chicken wings are back, permanently and with a vengeance. Take a look at the menu below.

For those of you that have not been to Ace of Cups, long ago it was a bank. The former drive through window has now been converted to a walk up window for wings. The wings are sold by the pound with a choice of three sauces or rubs. And, going somewhat off the grid, the second choice from the fryer are Plantains. The dish is uncommon in Columbus but I think it will pair well with the beers and other libations at Ace of Cups.

The path of many Mobile Food chefs is to go from a menu on wheels to a cuisine under a roof. In the case of James Ray Anderson of Ray’s Ray’s, he has come full circle. Years ago, he honed his craft in restaurants, the last of which was Smackies. In 2009, he moved to a trailer and with a lot of hard work and patience he built a Columbus cult favorite. Now he is blending his two worlds to create one hell of a destination for food, music and beer.

After the lines die down and the menu is fine tuned, I am sure I will write about the wings. In the meantime, post a comment and let people know what you think of them.

Ray Ray’s Chicken Wings
2619 High St.
Clintonville, OH 43202

Post Script
Astute readers (reading after May 17th 2013, who look at one of the photos will see the word Tostones in one of the menu photos. That name last about one day when Jaime (Ray Ray) was informed that his use of the word was not the same as the traditional use of the word in Latin Culinary culture….so it changed it immediately.

I stopped in to try the wings on day three of operation. I found them to be good, much better than BW-3. The plantains are decent but I would pass of them the next time. I prefer the style that Starliner Diner and Explorer’s Club serve. What might I like to see on this menu to go with the wings? I vote potato chips. For a serving suggestion, I would suggest go with a rub and ask for a sauce on the side, as pictured below. The second photo is of the plantains.

Filed under: bar, BBQ Tagged: Ray Rays Chicken Wings

Mozart’s: How to Win Friends and Influence Customers/Voters

cmh gourmand — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:29:23 +0000

I have never owned restaurant, but I worked in one. I have never run a full-fledged marketing company but I have helped out more than a few. I work with a lot of food based businesses and while it is easy to be an armchair business owner or backseat marketing guru, I have formed some opinions on what works or does not work in the world of restaurant marketing and promotion. I have also watched every episode of Madmen. I see a lot of people who don’t do it or don’t do it well. Or they take a formula and try to apply it universally to all types of businesses. That doesn’t work.

This is what does work, with trial and error, practice and determination and a bit of luck and timing thrown in. You need to know yourself. You need to have a passion about your product and business. You need to know your customers and the community you serve. If you do these things and keep at it, you just might market your business long enough to have a sustainable enterprise.

I wrote earlier about the May 7th vote to allow the new Mozart’s to serve alcohol in the Beechwold community. And I described how the owners and employees approached the community about doing this. They made their campaign personal and authentic and not too pushy or preachy. I predict (less than a day before we find out) that they will win. Why, because the community already wanted this outcome but the victory was helped because Mozart’s made their case. Below you will see part of the flyer that was on my door this past Saturday. The flyer was delivered by a person, not mass mailed. It did not offer a coupon or flashy graphics or claim the end of the world if booze does not flow in our community. Take a look and see how grassroots marketing can work.

Page 1: Introduced the business and shows their history in the community. Sidenote: among the many past uses of this building was The Beechwold Tavern and many other long-term businesses.

Page 2: asks for help and shows you how to do that…if you choose.

Page 3: Who we are what is our place in your community.

Page 4: The history and an invitation to find out more.

My conclusion. Good job. In general, what helps a food business survive in the first year is to find a community (or tribe) that will support it. What helps a food business thrive after that is to stay connected to their community and to stay on the radar by supporting causes, little league teams, offering meeting space, showing up to events, helping other businesses and by being there when you are asked and even better when you are not. Best wishes in your new location Mozart’s, we appreciate your commitment to our community.

Filed under: Clintonville

An Obit. for O’Betty’s on Union

cmh gourmand — Sat, 04 May 2013 01:13:17 +0000

First before you panic or you worry that I have panicked or become distraught, let me assure you that the original O’Betty’s is still open. I found out about the demise of the “other” O’Betty’s from John, a former manager that I worked with when I was behind the counter.

I mourn the passing with a tinge of regret. During the dog days of August of 2011, O’Betty’s owner Bob Satmary and I were almost partners in opening a second location at a different site in Athens. That did not work out (actually a lot of things did not work out so well for me in August of 2011) but I was happy to see the second location open on a different spot and to see what O’Betty’s could do with a little more space for customers and a lot more room in the kitchen. In the end the place was moderately successful but not really worth the extra work it entailed according to Bob. The other, other Betty’s (the CMH Gourmand version) fell into the file of my many “What if’s” for 2011.

On the bright side he may have more free time now for another hot dog related project (perhaps with a new investor) and the 10th anniversary of the original O’Betty’s is this summer.

I guess another good / bad thing about the closing of O’Betty’s on Union is that I never got around to writing about it. I had attended the grand opening in January of 2012 as a VIP guest and had a great time that evening. I was also introduced to my Doppelganger (by report I have several) at the VIP party. This guy was described to me as the Athens version of me but with his passions directed towards music – instead food. When we met, for a brief moment we were concerned that combined our powers might either destroy or better the world. Fortunately, the world did not explode.

For the historical archives, I have included some photos below of the place you missed eating at. Do keep the original O’Betty’s on your Ohio eating bucket list, it is the best Hot Doggery this side of the Mississippi. I will miss the second O’Betty’s because on my tours of Athens the route was typically: O’Betty’s, Casa Nueva, O’Betty’s on Union, Jackie O’s, one other place at random and them coin flip of O’Betty’s Uptown or Downtown. On three occasions I was in a party which made three combined visits to both locations for a total of three to five hot dogs.

This is the Doppelganger. For the safety of the world, we could not allow our photos to be taken together or allow ourselves to be in the same GPS coordinates more than a few minutes.

The larger space allowed Bob and Company to do more things with the decor, maintaining the Burlesque theme of course.

More space meant a larger menu selection as well and a Sunday Brunch (during a brief collaboration with Jana’s)

Filed under: Athens, hot dogs Tagged: O'Betty's on Union Closed

Who Are You? And Why Are You Reading This?: A Readers Poll

cmh gourmand — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:15:25 +0000

This is post number 500 for CMH Gourmand. While you may know something about me, I know nothing about you. That hardly seems fair. Please take a few moments to do the poll below and I’ll share the results in the future.

Here -> is the link, tell me what you think. There are ten questions, one involves pizza and another discusses donuts.

May 2nd Poll update:
I am surprised by your pizza choices.

Filed under: culinary knowledge

Seventh Son: The Marriage of Microbrewing and Mobile Food

cmh gourmand — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:15:31 +0000

The two surging trends in the Columbus Food scene for the last two years have been microbrewing and microrestauranting – in the form of food trucks. The exponential growth of both has been staggering. In the case of microbreweries as well as specialty beers stores and bars focusing on locally and regionally brewed beer, the number of businesses tapping into this trend has at least quadrupled since 2011. As for Food Trucks, although some have asked if this is a fad that is jumping the shark, the evidence shows this trend has shown no sign of going off the road at the curve. My observation indicates our choices have grown by nearly ten fold in the last couple years.

Some of the elements these two microenterprises have in common include: a desire to own a business, to be able to create something unique to the owner/brewer/team, a focus on local ingredients as well as supporting other local businesses and a sense of contentment of not having to be all things to all people and to not have to dumb down quality for the additional opportunities of being on more shelves or serving more people at more locations. Such is not the case for all owners…some food truck owners view their business as a pathway to a restaurant or other food business. Some Microbreweries have an eye on additional products or markets, but for the most part, the people behind these businesses are happy to have a sustainable business that allows them to earn a living and create something that is a reflection of themselves and their values.

The pairing of these two businesses is a natural fit. The costs of adding a full kitchen to a microbrewing enterprise is daunting. The challenge of finding a location to park and serve to a captive audience that has a reason to stick around and access to amenities like tables, chairs and bathrooms is helpful to a food truck. The trucks need a place to set up. The breweries need food to help draw in customers and to keep their customers on site longer. The marriage of these two types of independent businesses is a marriage that is destined to last.

In the early days of mobile food, bars and food trucks established a quick bond. St. James Tavern, Dick’s Den and a few other watering holes were quick to see the advantages of having fresh food to serve to their patrons…good for the bar business. Access to a set location is key, though maybe counterintuitive, to most mobile food businesses. While not mobile, the expansion of Mikey’s Late Night slice to Woodlands, the Newport and other bar venues was critical to the growth of that business and to the success of the businesses Mikey and Company paired themselves with.

Geoff Towne at Zauber Brewing Company was the first to pair microbrew with regular scheduled appearances by multiple food trucks. What started as growler pours at lunch or dinnertime grew into larger monthly events. We can expect to see more of the same from Zauber in 2013.

At the dawn of this year, Seventh Son Brewing Company started a similar pairing but what makes the place unique is that the layout and design of the brewery, bar and space was with the intention of having food trucks on site on a regular basis. Currently, Seventh Son hosts mobile food Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday and Sunday lunch and brunch service are in the works. Seventh Son just started to offer their own beers to the public in April. In addition to their own brews, the bar maintains a focus on local and regional beers and spirits. These pair perfectly with the food truck offerings. All in all the combination of location, beer and food makes Seventh Son a Hipster Heaven and acts as an anchor for the growth of the Italian Village neighborhood. This is a partnership where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. More than two types of businesses benefit, the community does as well with the addition of more food choices in a neighborhood lacking them and on the end there is a stronger community.

Now for a photo tour of Seventh Son.

Customers can see the brewery in action as they walk through the front entrance.

The open space of the main bar provides quick access to food trucks and an easy view of 4th Street.

The rear bar area is a bit more intimate and can be used as event space or for spillover traffic.

The large outdoor patio has plenty of tables, quick access to the inside as well as to the food trucks in the parking lot and a fire ring to allow to space to continue to be cozy in the frigid late fall and wet early spring of Columbus.

Filed under: beer, Mobile Food Tagged: Food Trucks and Microbrewery, Italian Village Columbus, Seventh Son, Seventh Son Brewing

Profiles in Food: Mikegyver!

cmh gourmand — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:17:55 +0000

If there is something wrong in your food truck world, who you gonna call? MikeGyver!

Who is this Mikegyver and why he is respected more than Chuck Norris and MacGyver combined? Read on.

Mikegyver, aka Tyvek, Metal Mike and Bearded Mike is known in other parts of the world as Mike Lauletta. He first came to the attention of the mobile food community while picking up some hours at Dinin’ Hall where he was known as Dinin’ Hall Mike. This was a convenient gig for him because he uses studio space at 400 West Rich so in between creating metal works, crafting Rube Goldberg style devices and working on various artistic outreach projects, he could hop over to Dinin’ Hall to help out and make a bit of spending money.

I interviewed Mike to find out how he became a mobile food icon.

“I got my start on a food truck from Laura Lee, chef/owner of Ajumama. We met at Dinin’ Hall and she needed some part-time help on her truck. I have a lot of experience cooking in restaurants, everything from steak houses to authentic Louisiana Creole.” After working on Ajumama, Mike started to work with other food trucks based at The Food Fort including OH! Burgers and That Food Truck. In addition to cooking and working the window, Mike has also helped clean out trucks, repaired damaged equipment and assisted with updates and modifications to design. In between that, he also started picking up some hours working with a caterer based there. There are countless Mike’s involved in the Columbus Mobile Food scene so to keep this Mike straight from Pizza Mike, Mikey’s, Mike and Other Mike from Flattop Pizza, Mike G and countless others….Mike was initially known as Bearded Mike. As his skills became more renown and in spite of the fact that he does not have duct tape holstered to him, an astute individual started to call him Mikegyver so the moniker stuck.

So what else does he do? “When I’m not living the dream working on a food truck, I am a sculptor. Mostly work in Cast Metal and Concrete, but no material is off my pallet/palate/palette. I can make anything you can imagine.”

I asked Mikegyver a few questions about what he has observed and learned in the Food Truck world.

Any interesting observations about the Food Truck world?

All I can say is if I had a dollar for every time a food truck owner told me ,” don’t tell anyone else this, but ….”

Any advice for food truck customers based on what you have learned?

Read the whole menu before you ask any questions and of course we take credit cards…. it’s the future.

Any Advice for Food Truck owners based on your experiences?

My advice for truck owners, if you are in it for money quit now. And don’t let anyone push you around. It is your burden/business so be open to advice but do what you want.

Being the hired gun / High Plains Drifter / Lone Ranger of the Food Truck world, if someone needs your services, how do they contact you? Is there a Mikegyver signal like Batman?

If someone would like to contract my services my email is Mikesinside@gmail.com

Filed under: Behind the Counter, Gastronomic Stimulus, Mobile Food Tagged: Mikegyver