CMH Gourmand – Eating in Columbus & Ohio

Yogi’s Hoagies

Let us begin with a study of sandwiches and sandwich culture. Sandwiches are ubiquitous. However in Central Ohio we don’t display the same love of John Montagu’s creation as Philadelphia, most of the northeast coast, any place In Australia I have roamed or for that matter much of the English-speaking world. These locales celebrate sandwiches by placing a mom and pop sandwich shop on nearly every corner slinging out infinite combinations of breads, cheeses, meats and vegetables. In these hallowed sandwich spots, purveyors further define their wares with terms like Submarine, Torpedo, Grinder, Hero and Hoagie. A Hoagie in particular, can trace origins to Philadelphia,, specifically to the residents of the Hog Island area. In Columbus, we never seemed to connect with a sandwich sub-culture unless you count chains like Jersey Mikes and Jimmy Johns. We do have an a few exceptions to our oddly obstructive approach to getting sandwiched.

These are two Yogi’s Hoagies in Central Ohio. One is in Westerville. The second is on Morse Road, in the Woodward Park neighborhood. Doing some rough calculating, I determined that I have driven by this location a minimum of 500 instances in my lifetime, more realistically, probably well over 1000. I never dined there once, although I’ve been to the Vietnamese place next door at least thrice.

While doing some research on Westerville for a project, I came across both listings for Yogi’s and notices the Morse Road Yogi’s had over the top rating on all of the food based rating sites. How could I have missed this place? Looking at the menu, I spied that had the word “Original” in the company name and the notation of 1977. Again, how could I have missed this place. Then as I dug deep into the menu and observed an overwhelming array of selections I determined I was not going to miss this place again.

Finding myself determined to right my error in eating, I felt an obligation to Yogi’s to really give it a detailed assessment in case my first selection was not the business at it’s best. For any situation involving my level a research which means eating the amount of food suitable for five hungry adults I try to take at least one person with me to split sandwiches. My reluctant assistant, or the Boo Boo Bear to my Yogi on this task (to fill up my Pic-a-nic Baskeet) was the notorious Grumpy Old Man.

(Note, while checking if this is a correct spelling of Boo Boo I came across this description on said bear: “Boo-Boo is Yogi Bear’s constant companion, and often acts as his conscience. He tries (usually unsuccessfully) to keep Yogi from doing things he should not do, and also to keep Yogi from getting into trouble..”. The Grumpy Old Man may not be my constant companion and rarely keeps me out of trouble but he does try to restrain by consumption).

On our first recon mission to Yogi’s our selections were the Franken-Hoagie, the Super Italian Hoagie, Chicken Noodle soup and a Chicken Salad and Cheese Bagel Sandwich allowing a diversity of items to be properly evaluated.

The chicken noodle soup was house made. It was just OK. I think it needs a stronger broth base and would have benefited from several more hours in a crock pot. These limitations combined with a smaller serving for $2.99 took this off my list of items to try again.

The chicken salad in the bagel sandwich was really good. It had good chicken flavor and a nice balance of mayonnaise and seasonings without being too wet or too dry. I’d try it again but next time in a hoagie format. The bagel was fairly generic and bland. It would have benefited from toasting to add a bit of flavor and to create a stronger barrier to any soaking from the chicken salad.

The Super Italian Hoagie features salami, ham, cheese with lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, olive oil and oregano. What adds the Super to the name is extra meat and cheese. This was a good sub and very filling in the 8-inch version. I think the regular (non-super) Italian version would not have had enough mass for me.

The menu item which most intrigued me was the Franken-Hoagie described as “a Monster Hoagie, filled with Salami, Ham, Turkey, Roast Beef & Provolone with Tomatoes, Banana Peppers, Onions, Olive Oil, and Oregano! Use At Least Two Hands!” This was my favorite of what I sampled on the first scouting mission and I would gladly return for this sandwich even though I was able to eat it with just one hand.

After the eating was over, I had an opportunity to sit back and observe my surroundings without being distracted by lunch meats. The set up of Yogi’s is a time warp to the late 1970’s when the establishment opened. The knick knacks and bric-a-brac on the walls are a hodgepodge of pop culture nostalgia of the 1950’s and 1960s. Any independent establishment in 1970’s Columbus I can recall (vaguely) showcased the same type of decor. There is a mix of beer cans, John Wayne photos, toys and a wooden paddle noted to be from Mister J. Allen, Room 304 at North High School. In the background music played from an old juke box with selections such as Elvis Presley, The Chi Lites and Albert Hammond.

A significant bonus point is awarded to Yogi’s for chip diversity. There is a rack of potato chips to select from as sides for many menu items and some daily specials. These are from harder to find Ohio potato chip makers Jones and Grippos.

I’ll dish out some historical notes on the business. It opened April 1st 1977. The current owner was the manager there for eighteen years before taking over as owner. The website notes that this is the Original Yogi’s Hoagies so the location in Westerville, which has similar signage, must be a remnant from empire building in the past.

On subsequent trips other I tried a few other items. I was intrigued by the pizza options offered. One is a French bread pizza which brought back memories of the 1980’s. I also spied Roman Pizza. There are several different definitions and interpretations of what this means in the world of pizza production. (I would defer to this definition as definitive). In the case of Yogi’s I’m not sure of the pedigree of their pizza. It reminds me of school cafeteria pizza. The crust, sauce and cheese were seemingly disconnected – all are present but they do not seem to intersect or co-mingle with each other, it was easy to remove the entire cheese layer from each slice with no effort.

Pizza at Yogis

I also tried the Garlic Steak (patty) Hoagie. The Garlic was strong, very strongly infused in the bread. If you feel compelled to get this selection, request cheese, maybe a lot of cheese.

I tried the meatball sub. It was above average, for this selection, I would also suggest requesting it with extra cheese and perhaps asking them to cook it longer.

All in all this is a good family owned business worth visiting. My survey and assessment indicates commonalities in each visit. The bread is always fresh. I’m not sure where they source their bread from but it is not Auddinos. The standard sandwich sizes are 8 inches or 16 inches so servings are substantial. The service is friendly and the prices are fairly fair for the quality and quantity received. The only item I would rush back for would be the Franken-Hoagie based on my visits to date but there is a lot more on the menu I have not tried. If you find a great item not covered in this review let me know.