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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 »

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 »

Brickstreet BBQ Festival and the Ohio BBQ Triple Crown

Posted by CMH Gourmand on June 16, 2010

I recently traveled with @cmhtobias to Marietta to serve as a judge for the Brickstreet BBQ Festival. This was a very good event and an exciting time for BBQ enthusiasts in Ohio. This was the second year for the festival. In the first year, there were eight cook teams. This year there were thirty-nine entrants and a prize pool of $10,000. Cook teams came from as far away as Ontario, Florida and South Carolina. Attendance was good. There were many other events coordinated with the BBQ contest including bands, food vendors, bike rallys and more. Proceeds went to the Colony Theatre which is being renovated.

Teams must compete in each of four categories: Chicken, Pork (butt or shoulder), Ribs and Brisket. Teams are typically tending their smokers and/or grills for twenty four hours straight and need to make sure they have at least six judge worthy samples for each category at the designated time. On occasion, I have seen teams race an entry to the turn in table with seconds to spare.

I am a Kansas City Barbeque Society Certified BBQ judge and this was a KCBS certified contest. As a certified judge, I had to take a training class and must swear an oath before judging each contest. (The oath is not that I will eat as much BBQ as possible.). The judging is a double blind process. Cook teams are each given a number. They bring their entries to a turn in point. Here their entries are given a different number so that the judges have no idea what teams they are judging in each category. While this is a good way to ensure fairness it also guarantees heartbreak for judges because if we have an exceptional sample of BBQ, we do not know which team to go to in order to beg for more.

Each type of BBQ is rated in three areas: appearance, taste and tenderness. Each category is judged on a scale of two to nine. A two is considered inedible. A nine is considered perfect. The baseline is a six. An entry can be disqualified for several reasons.

Judges are given water and crackers and cannot discuss any entries until the judging sheets are turned in. We cannot make faces if we get a mouth full of gristle or spit out something that still has fuel on it so as not to influence other judges. Rating food is a subjective process but KCBS makes it as objective as possible which is good for the cook teams who are competing for cash prizes and invest a lot of time and money to compete.

leftovers

This year, the Buckeye state has an Ohio BBQ Triple Crown. This consists of three KCBS sanctioned events. A prize is awarded to the team that competes in each contest and scores the highest number of overall points. The two other contests are in Kettering and Nelsonville.

So, yes, this is an exciting time to be a BBQ eater or cooker in Ohio. In some years Ohio BBQ contests have numbered none or one. I had to take my BBQ judge class in Indianapolis because none were offered in Ohio. I had to go to Indiana and Wisconsin just to have opportunities to judge when I first hit the circuit. This year, there are three ranked competitions and at least two judges’ classes were offered. These are all good things for BBQ and Ohio.

This better year of BBQ wraps up at the Ohio Smoked Meat Festival in Nelsonville on October 16th and 17th. This competition has been the premiere (and sometimes only) competition in Ohio for years. The competition will be fierce and the BBQ will be spectacular.

I want to give a couple quick shout outs about Marietta. I stayed downtown at the Lafayette Hotel. This historic hotel was canine friendly and located within walking distance of everything I wanted to do including a trail that follows the river (for relaxing and scenic walks). The Marietta Brewing Company (recently reopened) was just down the street to provide quick access to local microbrewed post BBQ beers and house made root beer. The Marietta Wine Cellars also recently reopened after being a victim of arson. It is now located next to a bowling alley which is a good pairing especially if one is impaired from a tasting. I also discovered Old Town Bakery that has a palate pleasing selection of pastries. Marietta has a lot of offer food, history and nature lovers. There is also a Gutzon Borglum sculpture in the riverfront park downtown.

Borglum sculpture

Posted in culinary knowledge, events, Ohio | Tagged: | 2 Comments »

When Worlds Don’t Collide: Taco Trucks Columbus and Columbus Alive

Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 22, 2010

Quesadilla and tacos at Taco Nazo

The Taco Trucks Columbus team recently spent a weekend taco trucking with G.A. Benton, Becky Zimmer and Jodie Miller from Columbus Alive. We had a great time together eating tacos, tortas, tostadas and more at six of the best street food vendors in Columbus. It is always a pleasure to introduce someone to a new taco truck experience but it is even better when the people you are with already “get it” and do not need to be coaxed, encouraged or begged to step outside their culinary comfort zones. The Alive crew are experienced eaters who were more than glad to engage in exploration with us.

Jodie and Becky at our third stop

At Don Pedros, order of operations: Photograph Panbazo, Eat Panbazo

It was also rewarding to step back from the experience at times. There are some activities that are inherent to food writing, including: taking a lot of photos before the eating ensues, ordering as many items as possible to share so a menu can be explored in depth, endless questions for our cooks and hosts, telling stories of restaurant adventures past and present and the eventual breaking point when you try one taco too many. This is not a venture for the wary, inexperienced or the non-committed. Having a group of experiential food explorers on the team was fun. It brought back memories of the first weekends of exploration when Taco Trucks Columbus was born in 2009. I had forgotten what it was like to hit three or more trucks in an afternoon. While sharing our stories with GA Benton I was able to relive some of the best days of the past year. We were also able to introduce our Alive colleagues to Quicho, Lydia, Grace and other friends we have made during our taco traipsing. Food brings people together like a melting pot and it can coax people with different opinions and experiences to the same table.

before......

...after

There is some talk of bad blood between newspapers and bloggers or a war between print and electronic media. In my experience that is not the case in the capital city. We may use different media but our aims and means are the same. Our joint mission is to educate people inside and outside of 270 about the incredible diversity and quality of food Columbus has to offer. This is not propaganda we are prophesying, this gospel is true and we want all of you to believe it. In the case of taco trucks, we have had a hand from The Dispatch, Fox 28, Channel 6, The Big Bass Brothers, and others – we might not be on the same team, but we play the same game and we observe good sportsmenship in the process.

The article about our adventures should be in Columbus Alive on April 29th. If you want to share in the taco tour experience, join us on April 24th for a tour of the best of west side.

The Latino population of Columbus is expected to reach 10% in the 2010 census. Their culture and cuisine adds to the richness of our community. Columbus has about thirty taco trucks at the present compared to zero in Cleveland, a handful of Gringo/fake out Taco Trucks in Cincinnati and few, if any, in the rest of the Midwest. These mobile food vendors are uniquely concentrated in the capital city which shows the diversity and depth of cuisine our city has to offer to visitors and residents. Come join the team.

al pastor y pina a la Los Guachos

Posted in Columbus, culinary knowledge, events, tour | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

House Wine U Graduation Day

Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 7, 2010

my first i-Phone photo, twelve wines sampled during week 12 of class

On Tuesday night I graduated from House Wine U(niversity), a prototype twelve week wine course taught by Donnie Austin the owner of house wine. House Wine is a retail wine store and wine bar in what is known as the Worthington Corner across from Worthington Inn.

Here is a copy of the e-mail I received about the class before I enrolled. I’ll use Donnie’s words for the background:

For the two years since we’ve opened, I’ve had many inquiries about wine classes and wine education in general. As you have purchased wine from House Wine, we feel like we’ve been able to share our passion and knowledge.

We are excited to bring you House Wine U., a 12-week wine education program to teach you what you need to know about wine to take your wine appreciation and enjoyment to another level. The classes will cover all the major wine regions around the world and enhance your “romance of the grape.” You’ll be among a small group to taste and talk wine with me, with a format of education and open discussion. By the end of the program, you will have tasted more wine than you ever imagined.

Our program is something new for Columbus and we think those participating will come away with a more intimate connection with wine. As I’ve learned more about wine in recent years, I’ve had a passion to share my knowledge and the setting for House Wine U. is the perfect environment. This program for novices who want to learn wine or seasoned wine drinkers who want to learn more.

Week 1: The Basics – Whites and Bubblies
Week 2: The Basics – Roses, Reds and Fortifieds
Week 3: Wines of the USA
Week 4: Italy 1: Tuscany
Week 5: Italy 2: Other Great Wines
Week 6: France 1: Bordeaux and Burgundy
Week 7: France 2: Other Great Wines
Week 8: Spain 1: Rioja and Sherry
Week 9: Spain 2: Other Great Wines and Portugal
Week 10: Germany 101: Riesling
Week 11: Australia/New Zealand
Week 12: Argentina/Chile and South Africa

Starting in January, our class of nine met each Tuesday at 6 PM to explore the world of wine in the back corner of House Wine. Fortified with Stan Evans crackers and cheese, we tasted, sipped, dumped and occasionally pounded pours of seven to nine wines. We received a handout at the start of each class describing the region we would cover and how wine is produced, defined and grown in that area. Students left with more knowledge about a region and the wine styles it is known for as well as the grapes that give the area it’s trademark appellation. Questions from my classmates included history, hot picks, industry trends and insider stories from the world of retail wine. The class is perfect for wine novices who are afraid of wine snobs as well as intermediate wine drinkers that are looking to expand their range of tasting knowledge beyond standard grocery store picks. It was a good value in comparison to other wine classes I have taken. I learned about a lot of French and Italian wines and was given an opportunity to sample vintages I would not have considered before. I also found a Rose I liked, which I did not think could happen. Donnie plans on offering the class again, perhaps in the fall.

I do want to give a quick shout out for Donnie and House Wine. Donnie is active in the community, especially in Old Worthington. He has worked hard to expand events to promote the area and his fellow independent business owners. Donnie has partnered with the Worthington Inn to create a new wine dinner series which is a good value and a good way to learn about wine pairings. Donnie also has a small but deep collection of microbrews in the shop as well which serve as the foundation for beer tastings.

What I like most about House Wine is the self serve wine pourer. You buy a card which gives you access to twelve select wines then you can decide if you want a taste, a pour or a glass. This allows customers an easy way to sample an expensive wine they know they will never buy or take a risk on a value wine they were not sure they wanted to buy.

More information on house wine
644 High Street
Old Worthington
614.846.WINE
house wine

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

Gourmand in the Gourmet Ghetto

Posted by CMH Gourmand on March 21, 2010

Alternate Titles:
OAK Gourmand
Back to Berkeley
Why hasn’t Jim moved yet?

View from the UC Berkeley campus

There are a few places in the world I would be quite content to reside full time: Melbourne Australia, Kaikoura, New Zealand, Portland, and Austin. The geographic point which may be the most viable for my lifestyle is the section of Berkeley known as the Gourmet Ghetto. On my latest sojourn, I took residence in this neighborhood to reacquaint myself with old favorites and to discover a few new ones.

Michael Pollan is a respected writer that lives and works in Berkeley, California. I agree with his writings and concepts. However, on my latest trip I discovered an inconvenient truth. As a result I must say to Mr. Pollan – YOU LIE! The Omnivore’s Dilemma is not about how we should approach eating food in a system that has become over industrialized and is in fact is often creating food that is food in name only. Mr. Pollan’s writings are fine food for thought and discuss a path we must incorporate into our lives sooner instead of later. However, his idea of an Omnivore’s Dilemma is not accurate nor accurate to his own surroundings. The true problem, in the very city where he lives, is this: How in the hell does one decide where to go to eat? With only five days to incorporate 3-6 meals and snacks per day, how could I be expected to constantly make Sophie’s Choice level decisions about my next meal. The Bay Area is my heaven with the Gourmet Ghetto being my Garden of Eating.

On my previous trip to Berkeley, I made many discoveries which resulted in being overwhelmed and paralyzed by writers block. I tried to write about my adventures but for the most part I could not articulate the depth of my experience there – as shown by the feeble attempt linked here. I was hard pressed to even get photos posted of my favorite places.

This time, I will merely to attempt a cliff notes version of my trip and endeavour to mention a few things that may be handy if someone opts to replicate my excellent adventure. I think you may understand why this is such a daunting task for me. Please note, you are likely to develop a repetitive stress injury just by clicking on the links in this field report.

First, a note about getting to my destination. I love the San Francisco airport. It is clean, efficient, well designed, offers good food options, displays wonderful art and has an excellent aviation library/mini museum. I have passed through SFO numerous times on my way to the South Pacific (including one eleven hour layover). However, if you are going to be bouncing around the Bay Area the better airport option is Oakland.

Flights tend to be cheaper going into Oakland. Weather tends to be less of a factor there as well. There is a shuttle which will deliver passengers to the Oakland Coliseum Bay Area Rapid Transit station for three dollars. BART is awesome. The Downtown Berkeley station is just a few stops away so total Berkeley to airport door to door time is 30 to 60 minutes depending when you board BART. My entire holiday was planned so that I was no more than a 30 minute walk and/or BART ride to my dining destinations. This was my first iPhone powered trip so I had a BART map and timetable loaded in my palm or pocket for perfecting my transit plans at any moment and according to any whim.

My base of Bay Area operations was the Downtown Berkeley Inn. This small hotel is located in the heart of Berkeley within one minute of three movie theaters and an excellent thrift store (Crossroads Trading Company), a two minute walk to the BART station and the edge of the University of California at Berkeley campus and easy access to farmers markets, microbrews, bakeries, restaurants, groceries and hippies.

On to the food (finally).

Gourmet Ghetto and North Berkley

Where to begin? Shattuck is the street serving as the epicenter of culinary Berkeley. Those places that were not dined at were stared at longingly. I studied the menus and/or asked questions of staff to help me decide and conquer during my next time in town. Here are the places I did go to.

The Cheeseboard Collective
This worker owned enterprise offers superior breads and an assortment of over 100 cheeses. Their cheese counter and knowledge of their Cheesemongers are among the best in the country. When you walk in take a card with a number and wait your turn at the counter to sample cheese. While you are waiting, grab some bread so you can make all of your purchases at once and have the option of snacking on bread and cheese when you leave.

The top attraction at the Cheeseboard and their neighboring pizza outlet is the daily pizza special. Each day one pizza choice is offered to the public and the masses consume it until there is no more. On Friday and Saturday expect long but fast moving lines (one choice allows for very quick turnaround time) and be prepared to try to deal with no pizza if you arrive late in the production window. Is the pizza good? Absolutely, I would say it is among the best in the country – perfect crust and the finest ingredients. The pies offer no frills. They are served in plain natural cardboard boxes with a recycling station designated for the empties by the door. The dining room area fills quickly as does the grass median in the middle of Shattuck lined with impromptu picnickers munching on perfect pizza.

Here us an insiders tip just for you. Pass the grass strip and pop into the Epicurious Garden across the street. Additional entrees and drinks can be acquired here. There is a tea gardenesque dining area here that is perfect for a mixed pizza dinner (I opted for a mole enchilada as an appetizer). There is also a publicly accessible restroom here which is rare in a community wary of the homeless population. The garden is a destination itself for a relaxing eating space. Among the many culinary choices are cooking classes if you have the time to sign up for one.

Peets
I am a coffee snob. By which I mean, I am a snob about not being controlled by a need for coffee. I do have addictions: eating too much and being hypervigilant searching the ground for loose change ($2.18 so far this year). I drink about one coffee per month, usually some girly, frappy, whip creamy concoction. However, I love the smell of coffee and I respect the history of the beverage. That being said, before there was Starbucks, there was Peets. And before Peets, it appears that American coffee was crap. I always have two or three Peets when in the Bay. The Peets at Shattuck and Vine was the first I sipped their brew and it is the location of the first Peets ever. The backroom has a mini museum of the company history including a short video to watch while waiting for your order. The regulars and irregular hippie types have been hanging out at this location for up to forty years and make for good people watching.

Vintage Berkeley
Across from Peets is a wine shop. The selection is not huge but there is a well thought out variety of wines to choose from, weekly tastings and some of the best wine notes in the business. The staff are friendly and if you are looking for wine to go with your meal or a snack, this is a convenient place to fill that gap. The building is a former pump house which seems appropriate for a wine business.

Saul's brisket sandwich with au jus

Sauls Deli
Saul’s Deli has all of the characteristics of an old school deli. Saul’s has a fifty plus year heritage of Kosher cuisine. The owners also respect the history and tradition of authentic deli’s, a rear wall is lined with old, framed menus of some of the most renown delicatessen’s of North America. Of course there is a Berkeley twist here: smaller portions, local sourcing of organic meats, Acme bread, homemade natural creme sodas and such.

Triple Rock Brewery
This microbrewery serves selections of their own beers as well as an array of regional, national and international beers. A popular Thursday happy hour special is a one liter bottle of their Monkeyhead beer which is high in alcohol content and low in cost. That is what I chose.

Jupiter
Triple Rock was good. Jupiter is better. This is interesting since the owner of Jupiter was the founder of Triple Rock Brewery. The atmosphere and beers are a little more heavenly here. The food is good as well, including the wood fired pizzas.

Moving from breweries to bakeries. There are two exceptional choices on Shattuck.

Virginia Bakery
Make sure not to confuse Virginia Bakery with Virginia Cleaners which is just a few blocks down the street. This bakery was founded in 1934 and continues to focus on a foundation of traditional baked goods. Virginia Bakery proves that old school basics can keep all generations happy. I enjoyed each item sampled here. The best was a Belgian coffee cake.

Masse's Bacon and Maple Macaroons

Masse’s Pastries
The variety and the presentation of the pastries in this small shop is amazing. The quality of fancy baked goods and the creativity of the flavor combinations continue to content the masses and even make the Yelpers hard pressed to find fault in this culinary find. And yes, Bacon and Maple macaroons – WOW!

Walking far away from Shattuck but still focusing on incredible baked goods I made may way down University Avenue to the far west side of Berkeley for a return to the finest diner in the world. As you might surmise, this place impresses me. So much so that I will eat breakfast (my fourth favorite meal) here.

Bette’s Oceanview Diner and Bette’s to Go
While I was hard pressed to articulate my impressions of my first trip to Berkeley, there was one place that I was able to get into print. I was able to channel the special qualities of Bettes so well that it got the attention of Jane and Michael Stern. I had met them in Nashville and passed my Bette’s impressions on to them as soon as possible. They loved the place too. You can read all of our impressions in the link above. On this trip I had another great breakfast and had room for what I missed from before – macaroons. The woman who bagged my Chocolate Espresso Twinkie promised that each bite would provide five minutes of bliss. It took ten seconds to consume. It did make me very happy for at least ten minutes.

What else does Berkeley and the Gourmet Ghetto have to offer… a lot, including a Thursday (North Berkeley) and Saturday (in the heart of downtown) Farmer’s Markets.

In addition to Berkeley and North Berkeley, I also took some BART fueled field trips to explore the Bay Area. My first dining detour, was two stops away. I don’t like to backtrack when I travel, so I decided to take BART to El Cerrito Plaza which is just two stops away from downtown Berkeley. Before I started the 15 minute walk along the Ohlone Greenway I saw a See’s Candies and dropped in to pick up a few samples as emergency supplies for the journey.

The trail took me to the middle of Solano Avenue in the heart of Albany. The area is a more suburban extension of Berkeley; more yuppie than hippie but still equally food focused. Walk to the far west end of Solano Ave, up the crest of a slight hill and you will see a great view of the bay. Solano Avenue is crammed with all types of eateries including: Nepalese, Himilayan, tons of Thai, incredible Indian, an old school hamburger and ice cream diner, two toy shops, high end Vegetarian/Vegan and more food options. If you walk to the far east end of Solano, you are technically back in Berkeley and definitely near one of the top ten pizza places in the country.

Zachary’s
My first meal of day one was at Zachary’s in the form of two slices. I walked about 35 minutes to get there and I was able get a table which is a rare thing. My last full meal of the trip was at Zachary’s as a carry out deep dish pizza. Zachary’s Chicago style pizza in slices, as a whole pizza or deep dish has won every pizza award in the Bay Area for over a decade and in spite have having a full plate of choices, I had no doubt I would eat here twice. On the walk back to the main drag of Berkeley there are plenty of places to plop down to eat a slice of pie (one good place is Live Oak Park). You can also walk through a tunnel and explore the side streets on the way back to the center of the city.

I had another side trip in mind. I was a housesitter during my first trip to Berkeley. In the home, there was an old poster for a restaurant called Bay Wolf. I was intrigued by the artwork but I had never heard of the restaurant. The homeowners returned the evening before I left and told me stories of the origins of Bay Wolf. They endorsed it was one of the best eateries they had tried in their thirty years of Bay Area exploration. Unfortunately, by the time I heard their tales it was too late to eat there. I was determined to dine at Bay Wolf on this trip, even if I had to go to Oakland (which is where it is at). It was an easy journey. I took BART to the MacArthur station and then walked about 10 minutes on 40th Street to Piedmont.

Bay Wolf
Bay Woolf was everything I wanted it to be. The service was great. The menu was filled with fresh seasonal ingredients and featured unique cocktails. My meal consisted of a pear Mojito, carrot soup, fresh fried oysters with goat cheese and a half serving of oxtail ravioli. I paired a Ginger Portini with a trio of housemade sorbets (Tangerine, Grapefruit and Chocolate) for my dessert. I respect Chez Panisse but with one trip to each, I give Bay Wolf the edge.

During my meal, I recalled my friend Robin lived in Oakland, so I gave her a call. She welcomed me to town by letting me know she was moving to LA in twelve hours. Conveniently, Robin was wrapping up a farewell dinner with friends at a pizza place 100 feet away. We were able to meet up so I could help her finish packing.

My time with Robin convinced me I needed to come back to Oakland to explore so I did so the next day. My first stop was at Pizza Pazza where we met the previous evening. My slice of pizza here is very good. This is also the only combination pizza shop and antique store I know of. I then started to explore Piedmont Ave. This street reminds me of the High Street strip in the Short North. Piedmont features a variety of restaurants, specialty food stores, several comic book shops, cool book stores and more.

An Oakland landmark is Fenton’s Creamery in the center of the length of Piedmont. Fenton’s is the epitome of an old fashioned ice cream parlor. It may also be the home to the creation of the orginal Rocky Road ice cream. I tried the ice cream (very good) but had to hightail it out of the front door after a quick survey since there was a birthday party of forty plus four year old children monitored by four rapidly decompensating parents.

My mission of exploration had a destination – Mountainview Cemetery. It is a bit of a walk to the top but it is worth it. The grounds lining the road to the summit are lined with almost two centuries of Bay Area history in the form of tombstones. The view from the crest is phenomenal, you can see the entire bay – both bridges, Oakland, San Francisco and everything else.

Oakland as seen from mountainview cemetery

So you may have heard about a place called San Francisco? How about a wine region known as Sonoma? I was determined to spend some time in these places as well. I added on a side trip to Muir Woods with the assistance of Extranomical Tours.

I like to take tours with small, independent companies – in addition to having a way to drink without driving this also allows me to meet interesting people from all over the country and sometimes the world. Our day tour took us to Muir Woods for an hour. Then we visited three Sonoma wineries: Cline Cellars, Kunde and Jacuzzi Wines. Um yeah, Jacuzzi, the same family that made a fortune in hot tubs. Jacuzzi was the best of the three wineries visited. My favorite pour of the tour was Jacuzzi Moscato Bianco. This choice was supported by most of our group. Jacuzzi has a Tuscanesque tower one can climb for a great view of all of Sonoma county. Jacuzzi also samples their excellent olive oils (including a jalapeno infused oil) for free. In between wineries we had lunch at the Sonoma Cheese Factory where they are happy to give out samples of cheese, fudge and gelato. On my previous trip to California I had visited Napa and Sonoma back to back. I had decided that I liked Sonoma wines and the attitude of that region a bit more. The one overlap from my previous exploration was the Cheese Factory so I was happy to drop in again to fortify myself for more wine tastings.

The tour bus dropped me off at the Ferry Building near the Embarcadero BART. There are many, many reasons to visit the Ferry Building market. I am going to list four.

Taylors Automatic Refresher
Taylor’s Automatic Refresher is a famous landmark in Napa. Fortunately for me, they have a second location in “The City”. Taylor’s serves up everything one would expect from a classic diner but there is a twist, actually, a lot of twists. Taylor’s uses Niman Ranch beef, recyclable greenware, serves Mahi Mahi fish tacos and takes their comfort food to a gourmet level.

Boccalone
The encased cured meat products sold here are so good they could tame a bear or maybe the devil himself. I arrived after the shop’s posted closing time of 6 PM but the friendly staff sensing my salami deficiency let me buy a few items they could ring up easily.

Cowgirl Creamery
One of our Ohio dairy heroes, Jen Bhaerman used to work here. Jen is now the marketing maven for milk evangelist Warren Taylor of Snowville Creamery. Jen knows cheese so if she thought the Cowgirl Creamery was worth working for then I knew it was worth eating. We were both right. This is superior cheese.

Acme Bread Company
Take some artisan meats from the salumeria of Boccalone, slice up Cowgirl Creamery triple cream Cheese and blanket with really good bread and you have: the best midnight snack sandwich consumed in the United States on March 12th 2010.

I wrapped up my Bay Area adventure catching up with my gal pal the Beer Wench at Bobby G’s for four or five pints of west coast microbrew, a board game, a slice of pizza and culinary shop talk. The Wench started her site in Columbus. We met in 2008 while teaming up for a couple beer tasting events. Ashley is doing well and says hello to her friends here in Columbus. Even though she gets to experience the fooder’s bounty of the Bay Area every day, she says she misses Columbus and the can do attitude of our town. I think that is quite an endorsement and it was an interesting idea to think about as I pulled myself away from heaven.

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Nothing to do Downtown? Bite this!

Posted by CMH Gourmand on February 25, 2010

There is a trio of hysteric flawed beliefs about Columbus. These mistaken concepts are: Society ends when there are three or more inches of snow on the streets of our fair city, Columbus restaurants can’t compete on a national or world level and there is nothing to do downtown. These core beliefs are misleading propaganda that serve to diminish our civic pride. Today I debunk the third myth by sharing some downtown discoveries.

I took the day a day off from working for the man to attend to some BeerCamp administrative business with the Dispatch and the Division of Police (note: parades are expensive). In between appointments, I found I had two hours to kill on the block bordered by High Street, Broad Street, 3rd and Gay. Nothing to do…..indeed. This is what I did.

Fridays mean the Pearl Alley Market. During this time of year, the market moves inside. Granted there is a limited selection of vegetables: potatoes, potatoes and potatoes but there is plenty of locally produced goodness to buy and sample. Vendors sell meats (fresh, frozen and canned), bread, canned goods, baked goods and sundries. The space also features local art. A few photos below with give you a taste of the place, so check it out winter or summer.

A short stroll away on High Street, I spied Mr. Peanut so I decided to pay my first visit to the The Peanut Shoppe. The store sells a wide variety of nuts as well as candy and other goodies. The staff are friendly and made sure I had the best deals possible (for nut clusters buy by the pound not by the piece). The walls have several faded clippings about the history of the Peanut Shoppe past and present. The big surprise for me was the mini Mr. Peanut museum with items from one hundred plus years of Mr. Peanut product marketing.

After an hour of browsing and grazing it was time for lunch. I met one of my BeerCamp co-conspirators, the Amazing Amanda Anderson, at the equally amazing El Arepazo Latin Grill. Although this is one of my favorite places to eat, I rarely dine here due to my non downtown weekday work life and the restaurants exclusive lunchtime hours. Amanda and I were the first through the door at the 11 AM – opening time. We both relished that we would have 10-15 non crowded minutes to enjoy our excellent entrees. Everything El Arepazo offers is wonderful. I typically go with the Columbian platter (plato typical) which is a mix of most of the menu with a fried egg to boot. I was giddy from an already excellent morning so I opted out of my usual and ordered the Cuban sandwich (seen below).

In 2006 I spent a three day weekend researching the best Cuban sandwiches and Media Noche’s on Miami’s Calle Ocho. My Miami munching made my baseline for the Cuban sandwich scale of amazing. I can say that the EL Arepazo edition earned a 9.99 out of 10.

I am now going to meander a bit with a shout out for Amanda Anderson. I have hosted Pizza Grand Prix’s at Wild Goose Creative and I have attended, judged or spoken at many events there. Amanda serves as an air traffic controller for the multitude of things taking off and landing at the space and she has not yet learned to say no so while it keeps her pace a hyper version of hectic, the end result is a track record of fun food festivities that have no peer in the Midwest.

After lunch, I headed across Broad Street to Ohio State House Gift Shop for a bottle of Kinkead Ridge wine (in my opinion the best Ohio produced wine and one of the better wines in the country for the price). You can learn more about the Statehouse gift shop in my June 2009 post. This small shop buried in the basement has a great selection of Ohio wines as well as other hard to find (in Columbus) Ohio foodstuffs including the much ballyhooed Ballreich’s Potato Chips from Tiffin. The staff are knowledgeable about their products – especially the wine. In the non food category, there is a good selection of books about Ohio, many of them are hard to find autographed copies.

That is my story of two unexpected hours of leisure in downtown Columbus. I enjoyed some old favorites and made new discoveries. There were plenty of easy to find parking spaces and everything was reasonably priced. If I had been able to stay longer I could have gone to Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails for a drink or several other great restaurants such as Due Amici, Plaintain Cafe, Latitude 41………..

If you believe there is nothing to do, I have nothing more to say to you.

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Galaxy Cafe: A Story of Passion

Posted by CMH Gourmand on February 10, 2010

I am frequently asked where my passion for food came from. It was a fluke. I was born with a clean plate mentality but there is nothing in my upbringing that would grow a gourmand. My father makes a good apple cake and enjoys cooking but there is nothing about him that is gourmet. My dad’s style of cooking involves a lot of grease as well as very humble and simple ingredients from his rural roots. While growing up a big night out for us would be a trip to Elby’s or Villa Nova. The most exotic food I had encountered until my middle college days was Gouda. As for the rules of fine dining, I had no idea or training in the order of operations for forks, napkin use and etc. On an eighth grade overnight field trip involving a hotel dinner my classmates were quick to point out my lack of refinement in the art of ordering and all things service and manners – my social awkwardness extended to my understanding of anything sitting on a dining table. I grew up eating in front of a TV consuming a fairly narrow range of foods and drinking a lot of Coke. While living with a host family in Australia during a college summer abroad, I was introduced to the art of the family meal and the continental use of tableware as well as how good a fresh beet or sweet potato could be. I had my first glass of wine in Melbourne but these were just novel things and did not start a culinary life (but it did change the rest of me starting an obsession with the land down under that fueled five more extended visits and countless misadventures).

The day I walked into the Galaxy Cafe was the day it all changed. I must digress with a some Columbus culinary history. The Galaxy Cafe was in Powell, well off the beaten path. This was a few years before Columbus and Delaware started to merge together and Powell was considered far away – drive 30 minutes for dinner?. Ricky Barnes was one of the owners. There was a falling out with his partner who left to open the Starliner Diner. A grill cook left to start a place called Nacho Mama’s which had a short but fabulous run fueled by fish tacos. These three places brought a new attitude and ingredients to the mainstream of the metropolitan area in the form of plantains, cilantro, black bean hummus, fusions of southwestern flavors and breakfast menus that set diners spinning on their stools. This is also the first time that I had experienced food that was intended to be vegetarian. At the time, the Galaxy Cafe was the only place in town that was quick to play alternative music, hang interesting art and hire tattooed, pierced and painfully cute artsy waitresses (sigh).

I came to know Ricky well. I was in heaven when The Galaxy opened in Grandview. The menu was the same but the specials were different and the commute was shorter. A weekly routine developed where eight to ten of my friends and I would hold court for one breakfast and one dinner or more each week in either Galaxy. As Ricky came to know us he would ask us to sample new dishes, solicit us for feedback and occasionally comp us a dessert for our loyalty. The most memorable dish from this era was homemade museli soaked in real cream that served as my morning muse many, many times.

The next development was a third entry into the Galaxy empire called Lost Planet Pizza and Pasta in the Short North. Ricky and company created thin crust pizzas with topping combinations that could not be conceived by mere mortals. An array of pastas were created that blended the favors of Asia, Italy and other diverse locales. It was about this time that Ricky started to offer special wine dinners where a distributor would come in to serve and talk about a selection of wines paired with new dishes that the restaurants were considering. These dinners were always packed with the loyalists of the Galaxy and they remain in my memory as among the best meals I have had. Lost Planet offered a weekday lunch time all you could eat pizza and pasta buffet so I was there on every state holiday (since I don’t work downtown). Ricky started to teach an occasional class/workshop at Columbus State so I took his classes and learned a little bit about cooking. I learned a lot about being fearless in the kitchen by having the courage to cook without the safety net of a recipe and the confidence to say something that was burned was intentionally charred. As with most of my interests I was frequently the sole man in the class and often the only person under 50.

Things were great and therefore it was doomed to end. The Galaxy in Powell was sold (it became the first La Tavola – which was awesome). Then The Galaxy (Grandview) was closed. For the final night – Ricky cooked everything left in the restaurant until it was all gone and did not charge a thing. The Lost Planet carried on for a while but faltered. Ricky left town to chef at a resort out west and it was the end of an era.

There was a brief rekindling of the affair when Ricky came back to Columbus and took the old Lost Planet space and reopened as Ricky’s Galaxy. The menu was a fusion of the Galaxies and Lost Planet. However, things did not click on round two. The place struggled with staff consistency and had a lot of problems with hiring enough employees. The fans of Galaxies past struggled with having to find a parking spot in the Short North when they were accustomed to free parking lots in the suburbs. There were some bright moments. The highlight was an adobo eggs and jalapeno cornbread dish Ricky had been working on. He nailed it on Sunday August 26th, 2001. It was the best breakfast of my life and I told him so.

The day after I went to Ireland with my girlfriend. During the trip I saw that first glimpse of a possibility that the woman I thought I was going to marry might not be “the one”. On the flight home one of the engines failed so the plane turned around and limped back to Ireland. As we were being herded to a hotel to await a flight for the following day we were told that the engine was fixed, a flight crew had been found and that anyone that was going to the United States had better get on the plane in 10 minutes. We scrambled back on the plane. Due to a bit of luck, I made it back to Columbus late on September 10th, 2001, one day late instead of two. Needless to say, the next day was not so great either. I knew I needed to get grounded after that much trauma so on Sunday I walked into Ricky’s Galaxy to find…..a bar, Liz Lessner behind it and that the place was now called Betty’s. In shock, I turned around and walked out. In two weeks the Galaxy had imploded and my universe had changed.

The Galaxy Cafe opened the door to culinary curiosity for me. It introduced me to the Short North, Grandview and the world outside of 270. While all of this history was being made, I was recording some of it. I compiled a tomb about my favorite Columbus restaurants called the Good Food Guide. It had a few paragraphs on each place, copies of menus and hand drawn maps. It was very low tech. I would print up batches of ten to twenty at a time to give to friends and anyone I thought would be interested. Most people were not interested. I revised it several times and added information about my favorite places in Dayton and Yellow Springs and elsewhere. There are about 100 GFG’s versions I – IV floating around Ohio. I took one of these to a freelance writing class taught by Shannon Jackson Arnold who was editor at Ohio Magazine. We hit it off so I started to write about food for Ohio Magazine – traveling all over the state in pursuit of my passion. That is the beginning of the story. I am not sure how it ends but I know I there are still many more forks in the road until I get to where I am intended to be.

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PICing at my Food

Posted by CMH Gourmand on November 27, 2009

We are what we eat. And when we eat out we are also subject to what restaurants, grocery stores, mobile vendors and others do to what we eat. The Columbus Department of Public Health keeps this in mind by offering two classes for food workers. Once class is a two day program called Serve Safe that covers all aspects of food safety, involves a test and for those that pass the test, results in food safety certification. The second class is called PIC (Person in Charge) which is for Managers, shift leaders, etc. that are in charge of overseeing food operations at events, business sites and restaurants. The PIC class is four hours and free. I choose the PIC class.

The class was attended by a wide variety of business owners who are very motivated to ask many questions. I learned a lot in four hours from a food business perspective as well as information I would want to know in my home kitchen. As customers – we want food businesses to have this type of training to protect our health and to save us from poorly cooked and handled food. As I food writer I want to know all sides of the story and this is one way to do it.

The topics covered included: FBI (Foodborne Illness), FATTOM (Food, Acidity, Temperature, Time, Oxygen, and Moisture), cooking and storage temperatures, setting up and using a three compartment sink, proper thawing techniques, and about fifty other things.

I was also able to meet and speak with some of the health inspectors that I have come to know (via e-mail) while I spent the past year learning about Taco Trucks.

Here are some handy links from class:

Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code

Columbus Color Coded Inspection Signage

Food Protection Program

Board of Health Restaurant Inspection Results

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Ravenhurst Champagne Cellars and Feast of the Boneless Fowl

Posted by CMH Gourmand on November 8, 2009


Ravenhurst Champagne Cellars
34477 Shertzer Road
(Intersection of Yoakum and Shertzer, just off SR 31)
Mount Victory
937.354.5151
web page – work in progress
Call to check on tasting dates
(Take SR 33 to SR 31, Turn at Yoakum Road, located at the intersection of CR 342 and 343)
When open, hours are: Friday – Noon to 7 PM; Saturday – Noon to 6:00 PM

I made my first trip to Ravenhurst a few months ago. It is exactly one hour from my Clintonville Chateau. This year I have made an effort to learn more about Ohio wines and was intrigued to find a winery near Columbus. There are over 100 registered wineries in Ohio but only a small number make wines exclusively using their own grapes grown in their own soil. Ravenhurst is one of these wineries. Most Ohio wineries are located near lakes and rivers for the benefits bodies of water give to the growing of grapes. Ravenhurst’s geography is a bit of an anomaly but it works well for the unique fruit forward flavors of the wines. These seemed to be ample reasons to visit so it was time for me to hit the road.

The climate and soil of Ohio can be a terror on the terroir of an Ohio wine. At Ravenhurst, they used ingenuity to turn the tables in their favor. By drilling down four plus feet into the clay infused soil of the region, the vines are given a protective sheath to protect them from harsh Ohio winters.

Ravenhurst produces about a dozen styles of wine. About one half are champagne style wines including an interesting Petit Rouge which blends Pinot Noir and Chambourcin grapes. Ravenhurst also pours and produces a few white, red and dessert wines. Tastings are offered on select weekends.

Ravenhurst wines have won a fair share of domestic and international awards. Distribution is limited to the winery, a place you may have heard of called the Refectory, The Plaza Inn in Mt Victory and the Mt. Victory Drive Thru.

Feast of the Boneless Fowl Menu

Owner C.A Harris is an experienced chef as well. Ravenhurst hosts several cooking demonstrations / dinners paired with their wines during the year. Chef Harris cooks and instructs while guests drink, eat and learn. I headed back to Ravenhurst on November 7th for the Feast of the Boneless Fowl. Chef Harris showed us how to deconstruct a turkey to make a boneless Thanksgiving feast. We watched on as he deboned, stuffed, (forcemeat) and sewed up the turkey for cooking. The cost of the class paired with a meal and several pours of wine was $29.95.

The finished product moments before consumption

Chuck Harris and his wife Nina are joined by Jonda and Richard Anderson as your hosts at the winery. Tastings are a relaxed affair. The people behind the counter are knowledgeable about their wines and how pair them. Jonda in particular was helpful, loaning me $4 so I could buy a bottle of the Grand Cuvee after I realized I had left my credit card at home and found my funds were limited. (I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a $38 bottle of champagne today….). Guests also receive the wise counsel and company of the house dogs – Zeus and Hera.

Zeus

Hera

It is an easy and pleasant drive to Ravenhurst via SR 33 and 31. You could also take a variety of backroads up as well (such as SR 257), which I do on occasion to remind myself that Ohio is still farm country. I found the Feast of the Boneless Fowl to be a good value and well worth my time (as are the wines).

Posted in culinary knowledge, Ohio, Road Trip, wine | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

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