CMH Gourmand – Eating in Columbus & Ohio

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A Tale of Two Trailers: Slabadabado BBQ and My Snappy Wagon; The Street Food Phenomenon

Posted by CMH Gourmand on August 17, 2010

Street food has exploded in Columbus this year. To recognize, catalog and spread the gospel of these tasty trailers and carts the usual suspects from TacoTrucksColumbus have created Street Eats Columbus. I have included two recent discoveries below as a sample of what you can expect to read about.

So what is the deal with these mobile food vendors? Is this hipster culture trying to make it’s mark in the capital city or gringos trying to catch up with Taco Trucks? No. Mobile vending has been a part of our national culture since the 1800’s and mobile food has been a pathway from small business to mainstream success for decades. Twentieth century immigrants to America used hot dog carts as their ticket into the world of business ownership instead of wage slavery. In our current economy, the advantages of low overhead and minimal start up costs paired with the ability to move to more profitable locations when needed can mean the difference between success and failure. These businesses are on our radar now because going the brick and mortar route is not a viable path for most start-up business people in the current market so they are putting their ideas on wheels instead of in a strip mall. People are going to the past to find something that can be profitable in the present. This is just a smaller package for the American dream, on wheels. I will be writing frequently about the mobile food trade in the next year and may have a suprise for you in the spring……..

904 South Sunbury Road
Near North Road and Hoover Dam
Located in between Classic Pizza and Old Dutchman Bait and Tackle
(Open April to October, catering the rest of the year)
Slabadabado on the web
614.425.2609

Hours:
Wednesday and Thursday
11AM-7PM
Friday and Saturday
11AM-8PM
Sunday
11AM-5PM

Finding good BBQ in Columbus can feel a bit like the quest for for the holy grail. More often than not, the best BBQ is found on a cafe de wheels with a smoker in use or nearby. The second I pulled into smelling range of Slabadabado I knew I made a good decision.

The trailer has a small menu which focuses on the basics. Brisket and pulled pork sandwiches and ribs. The sides include classic BBQ sidekicks: baked beans, green beans, Collard Greens, Mac & Cheese, Cole slaw and French Fries. You can get a fish sandwich and chicken fingers as well.

The crew at Slabadabado know their ‘cue with years of experience behind smokers and grills. They cater on the off season. In my experience the best food comes from cooks with nicknames and Slabadabado delivers here too. Uncle Fred is proud of his fair and his fresh made sauces. Fred has four sauces to choose from – mild, spicy, mixed and Frank’s (which seems to have a strongs Frank’s Hot Sauce flavor and aroma to it).

Both sandwiches and all of the sides have been sampled. The buns are fresh and lightly steamed kaiser rolls which serve as a great base for BBQ and sauce. The Brisket is perfectly cooked with just enough fat for flavor bit no so much to be greasy. The pulled pork was close to award winning as well. All of the sides were pleasing to the palate. The baked beans get some extra points for having big chunks of bacon and a mix of beans (Kidney, red and black?). All in all you can have a great meal for $10 or less. There are a few tables at the bait store where you can sits down to eat if needed or your can motor up to Hoover Dam and eat by the water. This BBQ is worth the drive.

Another item of note, to the point of being very notworthy, this mobile vendor takes credit cards (Visa, Mastercard and Discover).

Parking lot of Columbus Gold – 5411 Bethel / Sawmill Center

Hours:
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9 PM to 2:00 AMish…maybe later depends on business at Columbus Gold

Something about Street Food and Strip Clubs seems like a good fit. Maybe it is the availability of $1 bills for change. Regardless on where you land on that statement, I think a thanks is deserved to Columbus Gold Gentleman’s Club for giving a new businessman a chance.

Raafat is the proud owner of My Snappy Wagon. It is called Snappy because service is quick. Raafat is of Egyptian roots with sidetrips in other countries and states before he landed in Columbus. He has years of restaurant experience. While working for others he has always dreamed of having his own business. In early July 2010, he opened his cart to the world.

His menu is diverse as his background: subs, Gyros, hot dogs, Chicken Tacos, Hamburgers, salad and a few fried sides – okra, jalapeno peppers, onion rings and fries. Snappy Wagon is a one man show with Raafat grilling away. His signature item is Snappy Fries: a plate of crisp, golden fries with ketchup, BBQ Sauce, malt vinegar and gyro/Snappy sauce. This is the perfect late night snack combining grease, carbs and a variety of flavors to wake up your taste buds. Raafat makes the snappy sauce himself so the ingredients are a trade secret.

Another signature item is his Philly Steak Sub. Any east coaster would look sideways and snort at the sight of this sub and proclaim it is not a true Philly sub, but if one thinks of Philly as a huge horse of a sandwich instead of Philly the city then this title is accurate. The sub is big, smells great, looks great and has plenty of steak heaped on it with lettuce, tomato, grilled green peppers and onions, mushrooms, cheese and gyro/snappy sauce. The photo below does not do the sandwich justice but the security guard at Columbus Gold swears by it and so does one of the customers standing in line with me who reports having had four or five of these to date.

Raafat is very proud of his food and his chance for a piece of the American dream. If you are out late at night in Northwest Columbus, drop in to see him for a sub and Snappy Fries. If you do not have a bunch of singles or need the cash for something else have no fear, My Snappy Wagon takes credit cards.

Raafat also knows a bit about presentation. For each foil wrapped treat he creates a bit of street art by forming one end as either swan or scorpion tail, I am not sure which but it does look nice.

Posted in Columbus, culinary knowledge | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Meeting Mr. Meatball

Posted by CMH Gourmand on August 8, 2010

Our fair city has a fair share of surprises hidden throughout town. Columbus is very much a city of assimilation and blending, people come and stay because it is a nice place to live. We have a few neighborhoods named for ethnic enclaves of the past (German Village, Italian Village) but these areas lost their ethnic flair many decades ago. There are still a few secret spots that cling to a bit of our unassimilated past. One of these places is Mr. Meatball.

The store is off the beaten path, in an area that is a little beaten down but the destination is well worth the trip. Mr. Meatball is a wholesaler that produces meatballs, Italian sausages, ravioli, pastas, sauces, and more for Italian restaurants throughout the state. If you are in an Italian restaurant enjoying the homemade meatballs, there is a good chance you are enjoying the creation of Mr. Meatball on Cleveland Ave. not Mama Donatelli in the back kitchen. There is a small shop area in the front of the business stocked for walk in customers. In addition to the above meaty treats, the store carries some hard to find items such as Pizelle irons, Italian Cheeses, Orange oil, Anise oil, Latte di Vecchia (Maraschino Cherry) and some other treasures more often found in Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Youngstown.

Phil and Dottie Gullatta are the owners. Visitors are likely to catch Phil at the front counter more often than not. Dottie makes fresh Pizzelles for sale throughout the year. Whenever I pop in, I usually grab a bag of meatballs and a package of sausage. I have found the sausages to be very good and the meatballs come in very handy for parties. Mr. Meatball also carries a selection of heat and serve dinners including wedding soup and gnocchi which can come in handy in a pinch.

A small showcase by the cash register features various cooking utensils and instruments. Most of the ancient items are brought in by customers looking to find a home for a bit of history before they leave with a bag or twelve of meatballs. There is some other history in the store as well. A line up of family photos going back generations sits on top of the canned goods cabinets to add a sense of home to the homemade meatballs.

There is a serving of mystery at Mr. Meatball as well. This meaty tale goes back many years. A plaque on the wall states “Meatball Capital of the World“. I asked Phil about this but he could only tell me that it came with the store when he bought it years ago. Legend has it a customer gave it to the previous owner. Could it be that Columbus is the Meatball Capital of the World? This will require some research so stay tuned.

Mr. Meatball
3716 Cleveland Ave.
614.471.0700
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
Saturday 10am-2pm

Mr. Meatball and Italian Foods website

Posted in Columbus, markets | Tagged: | 4 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

Posted in Columbus, restaurants | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

Thurn’s Specialty Meats: Summer Cookout Specialists

Posted by CMH Gourmand on July 21, 2010

If you are going to grill meat at some point this summer and you care about the person(s) you grill for then you need to make a trip the Thurn’s Specialty Meats – commonly know as Thurn’s. For long time residents of Columbus a journey to the butcher shop of the Thurn Family is kind of a rite of culinary passage. Thurn’s is an amazing place for many reasons. It has been a family business in Columbus since 1886 – yes as in 124 years. The fourth generation of Thurn’s took the reigns in 1988. It is rare for a family business to survive one generational transfer let alone four, but they keep chopping away. To say that the place is “Old School” is an understatement. Most of us have not have exposure to a true butcher shop – this place is the real deal – they cut, chop, cure, smoke and do all things meat processing in their no frills shop. The employees wear collared shirts and ties. You could believe you were in the 1950’s or 1960’s looking around the unassuming and low key place. Their key to success is superior service. If you need a special cut or some advice, they will take care of you. There is an ancient cash register behind the counter but Thurn’s does not use it. Nor do the gentlemen and lady in the aprons take Amercian Express…or Visa, Discover or Mastercard. Orders are figured out on paper or a calculator and payment is in cash or check. Priceless.

There is a long display case that is often close to cleaned out late Saturday morning. It is full of all types of encased meats and an uncanny selection of what seems like all things carnivore. For example, bratwursts include: mild, hot, garlic, Sweet Italian, Smoked Pork, Cincinnati style and Smoked Teriyaki. There are over twenty varieties of sliced meats including non so household names like Schinken, Mustard Tongue, Thuringer, Souse, Head Cheese and Blood Sausage. These guys smoke their own meats and keep adding, instead of subtracting from their range of butchery.

Other selections include Ohio Cheeses, ham salad, homemade beef jerky and seasonally, Goetta.

The counter includes a diagram of a pig and at Thurn’s, you can get any cut from the pig possible. A new addition is smoked pork bones which were recently field tested by @CMHTobias.

Writing about the place and posting photos can’t do Thurn’s justice, just go, and go early.

Thurn Specialty Meats
530 Greenlawn Ave
(almost) Southside (Greenlawn exit on SR 71, exit to the west)
614.443.1449
Thursday and Friday: 8am to 6pm
Saturday: 7 am to 1pm
Thurn’s on Facebook…really!

Posted in Columbus, culinary knowledge | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

July is National Ice Cream (Capital of the World) Month: This Week is Beer Float Week

Posted by CMH Gourmand on July 19, 2010


This post is really just a repository for a few leftovers that are not quite postworthy, but combined do create a theme.

The subtitle of CMH Gourmand is “Ice Cream Capital of the World”. I still be believe that. Put anyone in my company for about four to five hours and I can prove my statement with tasting and commentary.

Ice Cream Capital of the World Exhibit #47
Where the people have Beer Floats with an Ohio made ice cream.

In honor of National Ice Cream Month, I declare this Columbus Beer Float Week.

The Hills Market is serving up Beer Floats on Wednesday (July 21st). The Hills hosts many great eating events on their veranda, this is one.

The Hills is pouring five different floats featuring Ayars Family Farm Ice Cream (new, from Mechanicsburg, Ohio) and a variety of stouts, lambics and unique beers that bode well with ice cream. The floats are $1.75 each or you can try a flight of five for $7.50. Floats will be poured from 5:30 to 7:30 pm as part of the Harvest Happy Hour.

Bodega in the Short North is also featuring Youngs Chocolate Stout with Jeni’s Salty Caramel Ice Cream. Food historians may quibble in the future, but it will be noted in the record that the widespread use of and advocacy for Beer Floats began in Columbus in early 2008. Clearly some type of visionary genius was the guiding hand for this populist delicacy.

Ice Cream Capital of the World Exhibit #48
A city which can support a growing Independent ice cream empire.

Jeni’s Ice Cream declares Ice Cream Independence

It was tea in 1773 and now there is a call for ice cream independence in 2010. A flyer to this effect was seen in the Short North.

Among the ice cream rights that we have: creaminess, fresh ingredients and the pursuit of deliciousness. These are civil rights I can support. On a side note Jeni’s was also granted a code variance that will allow it to open a location (within walking distance of Gourmand Manor) in Clintonville as early as September. Unlike the tea party, there will be no swarms of residents dumping ice cream into the Olentangy we will be licking it all up.

In Other Jeni’s news, Jeni Britton Bauer has been selected as a Central Ohio Terra Madre delegate. Her supplier of milk cream for ice cream base, Warren Taylor from Snowville Creamery has also been selected for Terra Madre as well. There has been some question about Columbus having the ability to compete on the national food scene. As if being the Ice Cream Capital of the World was not enough, our community as well as the the farmers that supply our artisans and chefs will be sending nine people to Italy to talk food at Terra Madre. That is a big deal.

Posted in beer, Columbus, ice cream | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

GPMS: Season Two, Session One. A Hot Dogpalooza with a serving of Colin Gawel & The Lonely Bones

Posted by CMH Gourmand on July 4, 2010


The Goodale Park Music Series (GPMS) was the sleeper hit of the Summer of 2009. The premise is simple. On six Sundays a great band played in the Goodale Park Gazebo for free. People showed up, threw down their blankets and enjoyed the music. It was a community event and a community grew out of the event. A small group of people brought food to share at the first performance. Word of mouth as well as comments on Columbus Underground grew informal food sharing to a bona fide gourmet potluck. An increasingly larger group of people prepared high end fare (or in my case Hounddogs pizza (the box stained the quilt of Community Personality Lauren Wilson) and Pattycake cookies) to pass around each week. Strangers shared food while sharing their love of great local music. It was like Woodstock but with one band, no camping and less geopolitical consequences. You can get a sense of the event in my post from last year.

The core elements of the series return this year – six bands, six Sundays and come as you are for free. The music starts at 12:30 pm and plays on until 2 pm. People will start to stroll in around noon.

Each week a local food blog pairs with a local band and presents a theme to guide potluck participants. The aim is to match the theme of the cuisine with the genre of music, but feel free to bring any item you would like. All you need to do is to bring yourself along with water (it is hot, stay hydrated) and your own tableware. I am teamed up with Colin Gawel and the Lonely Bones. Lifelong locals like myself will know Colin from his Watershed days. His music can not be typecast, but for the purposes of our potluck we have classified it as Americana / Ohioana. Bring along a classic American or Ohio picnic dish to share if you care.

In honor of the inaugural session of this summer’s series and because it is National Hot Dog Month I am bringing at least 105 Five-Star Hot dogs to grill and give away to the masses.

Five Star Hot dogs are made in Cleveland and are used by my favorite hot dog hangout O’Betty’s in Athens. Using the power of the Magnificent Jill Moorhead from Hills Market, Leo Dick and Sons is donating two jars each of Stadium, Bertman’s and Dick’s Horseradish Mustard to the cause. Visitors can decide which Cleveland ballpark mustard they prefer – Stadium or Bertman’s. Local favorite, Buckeye Mustard will also be available for hot dog dressing. Tony Packos from Toledo has pitched in a few products. I will bring whatever other hot dog toppings I can scrounge. I may have a few veggie dogs to share as well since it is also National Veggie Hot Dog Month. My pals at Pattycake Bakery will let me use their pop up tent to shield me from the elements if needed.

My aim is to recreate an annual party once held at Gourmand Manor, called HotDogPalooza. I would grill multiple types of hot dogs so my guests could use multiple garnishments to recreate regional hot dogs such as Chicago Style hot dogs and Hillbilly Hot Dogs

Hot Dogs are an American icon. National Hot Dog Month includes National Hot Dog Day. Hot Dogs are Haute cuisine nowadays, perhaps you have heard of a local Hot Dog Palace called Dirty Franks which has refueled the resurgence of tube steaks.

If you are looking for inspiration for hot dog toppings try the links below.

Downhome example of Hillbilly Hot Dogs

West Virginia (Hillbilly) Hot Dog Blog

National and International Hot Dog styles

There are many ways to keep track of the bands and potlucking at The Goodale Park Music Series this summer.

GPMS on Facebook

GPMS on Twitter

GPMS discussion on Columbus Underground

And for planing purposes, here is the schedule. All bands take the stage at 12:30 pm.

July 11: Colin Gawel & The Lonely Bones

July 18: The Mooncussers

August 1: Quartet Yumbambé

August 8: The Spikedrivers

August 15: fo/mo/deep

August 22: Flypaper

Come to Goodale Park to support the series, enjoy yourself and see what we have on our plates.

Posted in Columbus, events | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

a la alt.eats: Mardi Gras Ice Cream

Posted by CMH Gourmand on June 25, 2010


Ladies and Gentlemen, RSS Feeders and Google Reader users, Twitter followers and lurkers, allow me to introduce you to alt eats Columbus. A taste of the project is shown below. The website launched in March and has accumulated sufficient examples to allow visitors to get a sense of what it is all about. Our collective mission is to seek out and discover the immigrant kitchens and hidden cuisines of Columbus in places beyond the well beaten path. The Taco Trucks Columbus team added a few more scouts to our group to help us eat, explore and elaborate on the diversity of eateries in the capital city.

(alt eats entry below)

Cuisine: Ice Creams of the World

1947 Hard Road (Intersection of Hard Road and Smokey Row)
Monday to Sunday 1 pm to 9:30 pm / 10:00pm in summer months.
Closed for a period of time in the winter.
614.766.2020

Click here to map it!

There is an ice creamery in our city that is beloved for having fascinating flavors made from unusual combinations of non traditional ingredients. The owner of this little ice cream shop started scooping her exotic creations in 2000 and quickly grew a loyal following. This is not the story of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. This is the tale of Mita Shah and Mardi Gras ice cream. Mita has always enjoyed cooking and making special Indian dishes for her relatives. She also likes to experiment with flavors. She created a mango ice cream recipe which she gave to the owner of a nearby ice cream store. Mango rapidly became a customer favorite so the owner asked Mita if she wanted to work for him. She told him she would rather purchase the business when he was ready to sell, and was later given the opportunity to buy Mardi Gras. She kept the name while changing the recipes of many of the traditional homemade flavors.

Mita has created a United Nations of ice creams. In addition to the standards, she offers several flavors based on Indian desserts, a few with Asian leanings such as lychee or green tea and several obscure or forgotten regional ice creams including Blue Moon (a very blue, vanilla based ice cream). She has a repertoire of 200 flavors, scooping 48 at any given time including (depending on ingredient availability) at least 16 international flavors.

Mardi Gras has an unlikely location, buried in a strip mall on the Northwest side of Columbus. Over ten years a loyal customer base has developed at a place that is way off the radar. The walls are lined with photographs of happy customers. A cricket team comes in for a traditional round of Sweet Rose milkshakes before matches.

Customers bring her recipes and ideas for her to try out. One customer brought her a recipe for Spumoni that was passed down from her Italian grandmother. Mita is constantly searching for authentic ingredients and dries her own fruits so she can create flavor profiles that meet her high standards. She teaches her employees to take special steps to store and cover the ice cream to preserve freshness and flavor.

Unique flavors such as Kesar Pista (a mix of saffron, almonds, pistachios and cardimum) are balanced out with flavors such as Rum Raisin or Highlander Grogg. Mardi Gras has something for everyone with kid friendly soft serve options, candy toppings, sugar free and fat free options. There is even a flavor with noodles in it, that one is staying a secret until you try it. The staff gladly offer as many samples as one needs to make a decision since there are so many new options to choose from.

Popular flavors include: Mango, Sweet Rose (it really has the aroma of a rose), Ginger (not too intense, but full of flavor), Anjeer (Fig), Guava and Roasted Bananas. Mita’s more exotic flavors combine a balance of subtle and intense tastes while allowing one to taste the true essence of the main ingredient. Tasting notes for the Falooda Kulfi (a combination with Iranian, Pakastani and Indian roots that includes pistachios and rose water) were: “intensely floral, creamy, sweet aroma, like sticking a nose in a flower“. Mardi Gras makes a party of flavors and tastes which allow one to explore the world via an ice cream cone.

Posted in Columbus, culinary knowledge, ice cream | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

COMFEST: A PERSONAL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Posted by CMH Gourmand on June 23, 2010

Comfest weekend is upon us. It will be hot. It will probably rain. There will be good music, good food and interesting people watching.

Take a lot of water and drink all of it.

I had a refresher alcohol server training for Comfest so I can tell you this fact: you will be carded with rigor and every alcohol law on the books will be observed strictly. Alcohol sales fully fund Comfest, any remaining profits are given to the community via grants. If Comfest loses their alcohol permit, then Columbus loses Comfest.

Please see the other signs below to help you prepare. Don’t drive – take the bus or ride your bike.


Posted in Columbus | 1 Comment »

First Fridays: Pirohi and Cabbage Rolls

Posted by CMH Gourmand on May 10, 2010


Some things are predestined.

I was predestined for Pirohi/Pireogi (Pierogi to you and me).

While I was tracking down a new Taco Truck on the Northeast side, I passed by the sign above. I quickly spun around (legally) and took a photo for future reference. I knew that I had to experience what this hand painted sign had to offer. Last Friday I dropped in on First Fridays and I was not disappointed.

Arriving in the parking lot, I was not sure which of the three buildings to enter. The parking lot was empty and I saw no signs of life. I rolled down my window and then the aromas of ethic cabbage fueled food embraced my senses pulling me to the building in the rear.

Walking inside the auditorium, I was immediately at peace and found a wide, but depleted supply of homemade eastern European foods waiting for me on folding tables with handmade signs. The outside sign said “while supplies last” and they were not kidding. At that halfway point of 5 PM, a few items had sold out and several were down to just one or two remaining. I grabbed what I could gather in my arms and zipped to the counter to pay. That is when I discovered that I was short on cash reserves. I asked the friendly, long bearded priest in black, Eastern Orthodox Catholic style robes to guard my horde as I headed back to my car to empty it of change so I could pay for most of my selections.

First Fridays has been at tradition at the church for three to five years depending on which volunteer you ask. The next one will be on June 4th. These are canceled when the Friday falls during a major holiday weekend so this food emporium only happens about ten times per year.

Below is a list of what the all volunteer kitchen staff cook up for sale (subject to change).

Cabbage Rolls 6 for $8
Fri-Pie – Deep fried fruit filled pie
Pirohi (Sauerkraut, Potato and Cheese, Prune, and Sweet Cheese) for $5 for a dozen (frozen)
Halushki (cabbage and noodles)
Ukrainian Red Cabbage Slaw
homemade pies, cakes, cookies
Walnut, Poppyseed and Apricot Rolls

I sampled the cabbage rolls and found them to be very good. These are sold hot and can be eaten in your car if you can’t wait. A few days later I took the pirohi for a test taste with the usual suspects. We found them to be good and the prune pirohi bordered on great. It was noted that preparation was the key to a good pirohi experience (instructions for frying, microwaving, and baking are included with your order) and that some extras – salt, sour cream and lots of butter were essential.

Where to find these ethnic delights:

St. John Chrysostom Church
“The Kitchen” – Ladies Guild
5858 Cleveland Ave.
Columbus (Near Northeast intersection of SR 161 and Cleveland Ave)
614.882.6103

Since there were several items I did not get to sample, I welcome your review of any of the items you have tried out.

Posted in Columbus, Vegetarian Friendly | Tagged: | 3 Comments »

Around My World in Eight Days: May Madness

Posted by CMH Gourmand on May 9, 2010

I woke up Sunday morning to a messy house, a mess of e-mails and my loyal dog looking at me like I was a stranger. It has been a long month and I am not even at the 1/3 mark. I have reconstructed the last week or so, what a (fun) whirlwind.

Saturday May 1st was the Market to Market Ride. It was a huge success in spite of a significant rain storm. I was honor bound to go, the consequences of not riding would have been unbearable since the following people would have relentlessly taunted me: Mary Martineau of the North Market, Jill Moorhead from the Hills Market, a Hungry Woolf, Ray “I’ll taunt you until you ride” George and the rest of the usual suspects. I had intended to ride with the Pierogi King of Columbus but his tire mysteriously blew out on him right by his house. The advantage of a rainy day was the route of the ride was relatively pedestrian free so dodging and swerving was at a minimum. Thanks to Jill, Mary and their volunteers for a great event.

Jill had just returned from the Philipines so in the Moorhead style, she was also hosting a Kahiki tribute dinner at the Hills Market (for 340 people) that evening at 6:00 PM. It had stopped raining by then and everyone had a good time – including me after two signature Kahiki mystery drinks served by the mystery girl. Jill was on her feet for 15 hours running two events. Again good job Ms. Moorhead

I did Taco Truck reconnaissance Sunday. On Monday, Taco Nazo catered 480 tacos for my workplace on behalf of our diversity committee. My wage slave work world and other worlds have nothing in common so I sweated it a bit as these worlds collided and I struggled with not being in control of the event but instead watched (mostly) from the sidelines. Everyone survived including me. That evening, Johnnycupcakes was in town at Pattycake Bakery on stop 25 of their back to basics suitcase tour. The hipsters had turned out in droves so I went inside the bakery to hide. Inside, I had a chance to speak with Johnny for quite some time. He was impressed by his first impressions of Columbus. Bear from Slow Food and I gave Johnny a few dining suggestions. I was happy to see that Johnnies crew went to Rigsby’s for lunch the next day. Rigsby’s is a favorite lunch spot for me so I was pleased that my tip was enjoyed by some hip out of towners.

Monday evening was also Nerd Night – which has occurred nearly every Monday for two years. The evening is hosted at The Pierogi King World Headquarters in Victorian Village. We gather for either a movie or several episodes of a television series, food which is frequently Adriaticos pizza and almost always discussion of our collective big and small ideas about new events and business ventures in Columbus. I consider these evenings to be opportunities for idea incubating and free focus grouping.

Don't have a T-shirt....have Mr. Cupcake sign your engine

On Tuesday, I read George Motz’s report on his hamburger hangover from his trip to the Midwest, including Columbus. I have now added a few more places to my hamburger hit list and look forward to his new book and maybe a future collaboration. I made a trip to Jeni’s Ice Cream in Grandview to try out the new Buckeye State Sundae. This might be catering to our football fanatic masses but I say cater away, I will do anything to support the pairing of peanut butter and chocolate.

Wednesday started early, meeting up with the rest of the Taco Trucks Columbus / alt eats Columbus crew to team up with Johnny DiLoretto at Otro Rollo Bakery for Cinco de Mayo. We encountered Otro Rollo while Taco Trucking. We think that the bakery fits well into the combined mission of Taco Trucks Columbus and alt eats Columbus which is: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new entrees and new cultures and to boldly go where none of our neighbors have gone before. We like working with Johnny and his crew.

That evening was a Taco Truck “meat up” at Taco Nazo. We did not promote the event very much so there was a turn out of about forty people. This was a nice break because I had a chance to just enjoy the evening and mingle with several people including Liz and Harold Lessner LaRue and Vanessa Druckman, aka Chef Druck, a newer food writer in Columbus. Here is her spin on the evening.

The night did not end there, I found myself returning to an old hangout from my high school days with some of the cyclists from our tour. After another margarita, I think that a blog post will be in order about this forgotten restaurant / character driven dive hangout.

Thursday night I was back at the Skillet Mobile Kitchen busking in some customers so Skillet will keep coming back to my part of town to feed my late night cravings for pork belly and porchetta. You can keep track of their cafe de wheels venture via twitter.

Friday, found me doing some lunchtime recon for alt eats and dinner time morel consuming at Deepwood. The dishes prepared with morels were good, the extra $14 I kicked out for the six paired wines was a great idea, but I could not finish all of my samples (that means extreme value).

Sweetbreads, risotto and morels...

Saturday was Public Media Camp Ohio at COSI. This was a great opportunity to learn new ideas and talk social media shop talk with several people from all types of media (Ohio Public Radio stations, writers, The OSU Center for Personalized Medicine, St Louis Public Radio, and more). It also put us alt-eaters in touch with a few members of the Somali community so we are looking forward to a guided meal for alt eats – there is no better way to appreciate and enjoy a meal than to share it with someone who is native to the cuisine.

Deepwood bread

Today was Deepwood with my Mom for Mothers Day. This was a rare treat because Deepwood does not typically serve breakfast. Based on today – Brian and Amber, please do it more often – it would pair well with a morning at the North Market. I also want to thank my server John for making an extra effort to get samples of the house breads for my mom. I wanted her to have the full experience and since the breads are a favorite at each of my meals, I wanted her to try some too.

So, that is pretty much how my life rolls and with a few more weeks like this I will be literally rolling from place to place.

For this coming week – here is my double dog dare. Thursdays are always a challenge in the capital city – typically there are three or more excellent events at the same time. I am going to try to pull off two.

Taste of Dine Originals is the major Dine Originals event of the year. It is an evening for the 42 independent Dine Originals restaurants to show off their best best at the Smith Brothers Building for a evening of food, drink and music. The event benefits the Buckeye Ranch.

After eating as quickly as possible at Taste of Dine Originals, I am hoping to arrive at Pecha Kucha Columbus in time for a presentation by Bethia about being a Hungry Woolf. Head out to support Bethia for all the good food, green and biking efforts she supports in the city.

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