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Posted by CMH Gourmand on January 8, 2008
Becke Boyer of Columbus Foodie and Rosie of Bitchin in the Kitchen with Rosie have used MeetUp to start a local restaurant / foodie dining out group. I have attended two events and both were enjoyable. You get to meet new people, try out a new place and talk about food – sound good?
Click on the link to the right for a few details on the MeetUp.
We did Dim Sum at Lee Garden near Sawmill and 161. Next time… Blue Nile, Spain Restaurant, Hometown Buffet… who knows?
Posted in Columbus, food, restaurants | Leave a Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on December 30, 2007
Posted in Columbus, culinary knowledge | 3 Comments »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on December 12, 2007
A little debate has popped up on Chowhound. Which city has better food – Columbus or Cleveland? I can name 20 places in either city that can hold their own against any east or west coast eatery. Columbus can be prone to strip mall chain restaurants and can fess up to a culinary disability in the burbs – but CMH is a great restaurant town. Go support your city and your state, speak up for Columbus without dissing Cleveland on Chowhound.
I received my 2008 Zagat America’s Top Restaurants in the mail recently. Zagat raters get rewarded with a free guide from time to time in exchange for submitting restaurant rankings and pithy comments. The new guide covers 1,415 restaurants in 42 cities and metro areas. The guide lists pages of restaurants in Cleveland and Cincinnati but not a single Columbus restaurant.
Hmm…. Columbus is the 15th largest city. Columbus is larger than Cleveland and Cincinnati. And at least a few people outside of 270 have heard of Alana’s, Basi Italia, Handke’s, The Refectory, Rosendale’s, Rigsby’s and many more well known restaurants. How about local treats like Jeni’s Ice Cream, Denise’s, Just Pies, Pistacia Vera….
Posted in Columbus, Ohio | 3 Comments »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on November 18, 2007
And now for something completely different.
Last Thursday, I met up at the Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails with Lisa from Restaurant Widow, Heather from Sopressata and Becke from Columbus Foodie so that we could finally met each other in person. We started a discussion about food blogging with Kevin Joy from the Columbus Dispatch. Keep your eyes peeled for an article about Columbus food blogs. I think Heather, Lisa, and Becke do a great job so I was honored to be included with their group.
Afterwards, Lisa, Heather and I went to the new Media Cafe at COSI for a meeting on Social Networking (blogging and similar technologies) and ways to build community in Central Ohio using blogging as a tool to encourage community communication. The event was hosted and faciliated by WOSU and COSI. We had a varied mix of bloggers as well as people from OSU, OCLC, Walker Evans from Columbus Underground and many others. We shared some great ideas. The group looks forward to growing this concept of helping people in all Columbus communities connect with each other while sharing information and taking action on community projects.
Here are some sources for more information
So on a personal level – what would you like to see on this blog and the other food blogs in Central Ohio?
How about using a blog for your community – such as Clintonville, Worthington or Grandview – to create a connection within your community – if you blog it…will they come? Or what about a community of like minded people that want to take action… recycling, local issues, etc.
We can easily disconnect from people with all of the electronic buzz in our lives from cell phones, computers, blackberries, etc. – but we can also figure out ways to reconnect too…
Definitely take a moment to check out the other food blogs I mentioned – we are not competitors – we are collaborators with a passion for sharing our love of food.
An update based on our second Social Media Cafe meeting on December 10th – Urban In Fill
Posted in Columbus | Leave a Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on October 17, 2007
The Short North has a lot going on all the time. It might seem inaccessible or even too cool for some people. Such is not the case. Here are a few tidbits that might improve your Short North experience.
Beat the crowds and find a convenient parking space
The best days to hit the Short North are Sunday and Tuesday. Sunday promises free parking meters and some decent chances at finding an easy parking spot. A few places might be closed or open later in the day – but for the most part all of the Short North is open to you. Tuesday nights are basically dead – you can hit almost any restaurant in the area without reservations or a long wait. In the restaurant biz – the freshest food day is often Tuesday – after Monday deliveries. The main challenge is finding a place for lunch on a Saturday – (Betty’s and Rigsby’s will cover you.) And another time – Short North on an OSU game day…. better odds for an open table.
Two Tuesday night special spots
The Rossi
895 North High Street
614.299.2810
This is the closest to true NY style pizza I have found in town. The toppings are top notch. The bottom crust is thin and might collapse on you if you do not do the classic NY fold before your first bite. The end crust is slightly crisp and chewy – perfect. The Rossi is more bar than restaurant, but this means you can get quick service if you hit this spot late on a weeknight, especially after 9 PM on a Tuesday. Mix in a mojito and you have a perfect night for $20.
793 North High Street
Columbus, OH 43215
614.298.1601
Richard Rosendale is a culinary star. He has been a chef in some of the finest kitchens in Europe and the United States. He is team captain of the 2008 US Culinary Olympic Team. He has won over 40 national and international culinary medals. He was named 2005 Chef of the Year. And, he opened his first restaurant ever, in Columbus. Good call Richard! If you want to sample the food and the atmosphere on the fly – slink into the bar on a Tuesday or Wednesday night around 8:00 PM and try out the bar menu. Lamb Slyders and fries…not bad.
Matt, the man behind the bar at Rosendales, also has some good beer tastings in the works. One will be on October 25th at 7 PM – with a tasting of 30 American Microbrews with some light appetizers. This one does require a reservation. Cost is $30.
Posted in bar, Columbus, culinary knowledge, restaurants | 1 Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 20, 2007
The media love affair with Jeni’s continues…..
Jeni’s Ice Cream was featured by the Food Network on Unwrapped on September 10th 2007. I know the feature peaked a lot of attention because I received 321 hits on my blog the next morning and most of those were views of my posts about Jeni’s. Unwrapped recycles episodes frequently, so check the Food Network site for future repeats.
The third Jeni’s location opened recently in the Short North. The address is 714 North High Street. Jeni’s has now come full circle. Old fans will note that Jeni’s first foray into the world of ice creaming was Scream Ice Cream in the mid 1990’s, in a location not too far (North Market) from the new High Street scoop shoppe. The original Jeni’s at North Market is still scooping it out!
Posted in Columbus, ice cream | 1 Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on August 29, 2007
Tommy’s Diner
914 West Broad Street
614.242.2422
Tommy’s is a downtown destination filled with a continuous flow of steady customers. The décor is quintessential of the 50’s and 60’s with lots of likenesses of James Dean, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and other hallowed Hollywood stars hanging out (on the wall) mixed in with other nostalgic items and neon signs. This is a classic American diner with bouncy booths, a U shaped counter with stools, black and white checked floors and a retro sign outside.
Tommy Pappas, is the owner, he knows his many regular customers by name. Tommy is more likely to be at the front register– greeting people as they arrive and checking on them as they leave but he still slides behind the grill when he can if he is not mingling around to mediate the banter between servers and patrons at the counter. The servers are very friendly and some can be a little sassy.
Tommy and company behind the grill
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are served from 6 AM to 3 PM each day. In addition to a large menu of typical diner fare, there are several varieties of gyros as well as lamb and feta enhanced entrees – reflecting Tommy’s Greek heritage. Best bets can often be found among the 5 – 6 daily specials that can vary from corned beef and cabbage to Grecian chicken. Other favorites include old-fashioned milkshakes and house made rice pudding.
The food gets you to the door and the fun and friendly staff that treat you like family keep you coming back.
Diner of the stars?.. Kathy Pappas, Tommy, Marilyn, and the King
Tommy minding the till…
Corned Beef and Cabbage – a daily special
Tuna Melt with Curly Fries
Posted in Columbus, Diners, restaurant reviews, restaurants | Tagged: Tommys Diner | Leave a Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on July 3, 2007
Amazon.com has nothing to fear from me, but here is a serving for your summer reading program.
What could be more patriotic for the 4th of July than reading American Food Writing. For the Columbus connection, the editor is Molly O’Neil, formerly of our fair city, in particular, Clintonville. And for the Gourmand connection – the book spans 250 years of all types of writers telling tales of food with 50 recipes mixed in for good measure. Some of the writers are obscure and some of the topics are a stretch but this book reinforces that as a country, we were obsessed with food long before blogs. Classics bites in the book include H.L. Mencken on hot dogs and M.F.K. Fisher on oysters.
M.F.K. (one of the great food writers, was a popular female culinary literary figure from the mid-20th century) has a great quote about food which Molly O’Neill pops into the introduction.
“People ask me: Why do you write about food, and eating, and drinking?”….. “The easiest answer is to say that, like most humans, I am hungry. But there is more than that. It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food, and security, and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one with the others. So it happens that when I write about hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it…and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied..and it is all one.”
Actually – pages xxi to xxiii nail on the head why I eat and why I write about eating and why eating has been my constant passion and writing is the means to keep that passion from consuming me or at least a diversion to make me pause from eating for a while.
Maybe we will have a virtual book club on this book? Post away!
On second thought, Amazon.com may want to fear me. The Columbus Metropolitan Library has 10 copies of American Food Writing.
Posted in Columbus, culinary knowledge, recipes | Leave a Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on June 22, 2007
Comfest is my favorite festival in Columbus. One of thing I look forward to each year is volunteering at the Wine Booth. Being a wine booth volunteer is the best gig at Comfest. It is a legacy to hold on to once you make it on the wine booth team. I am going to miss my Saturday crew this year – but I will be pouring on Friday at my customer service oriented booth.
More Wine Booth information:
For the last 13 years, Natural State Wines has provided a variety of natural and organic wines to Comfest’s two wine booths (we usually serve 7 ounce cups). The selection of wines this year was: Honeyrun Blackberry (served chilled – a crowd pleaser for 4+ years), Frey Biodynamic Chardonnay, Orleans Hill Syrah, Nuevomundo Cabernet-Malbec, Badger Mountain Riesling (another crowd pleaser), and Bodegas Iranzo Sangria. (Post Post – Thanks to everyone visiting the Park Street Wine Booth from 8 PM to 11:30 PM on Friday – we had a blast, wiped out our stock and earned $150 in tips for charity. I have a new appreciation for bartending Friday nights!)
If you have never attended to Comfest – go. If you have never volunteered for Comfest – do it this year, 4 hours of light labor gets you a T-Shirt as well as food and beverage tokens. And those Comfest T-Shirts come in handy – see below.
Open from 11 am-2 am every day. Surly Girl recently expanded their menu as well and kept the Frito Pie.
As a volunteer thank you this weekend – volunteers that wear your COMFEST T-SHIRT (from any year) get you a FREE cupcake with any purchase Friday – Sunday.
A little bonus tease from Surly Girl for volunteers-
“Will it be banana cupcakes with peanut butter icing? Yellow cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting? Double chocolate with a cherry on top? You gotta come in to find out.”
Posted in Columbus, wine | 1 Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on June 19, 2007
BW-3 will open a new OSU Campus (Mega-sized) location at the corner of Lane and High on June 25th. There will be promotional events for the first two weeks so expect some good freebies. The new place is gigantic and includes a second floor patio with a view of north campus.
Word of mouth from the staff at the Clintonville Northstar (aka Northstar North) – we should expect outdoor dining soon. (Post Post – June 30 – The tables are now in use) The tables are being custom made. The same materials and design is being as the inside tables so a fine table, like a fine wine – takes time. I’m looking forward to dining under the stars with a burrito later in the summer.
Posted in Columbus, restaurants | 1 Comment »
CMH Gourmand - Eating in Columbus & Ohio 