CMH Gourmand – Eating in Columbus & Ohio

Dining, Donuts, Dives and Diatribes

  • Recent Comments

    Marines Michalowski's avatarMarines Michalowski on Spain Restaurant
    Steve's avatarSteve on Columbus Pizza History: A Slic…
    Sharyn Smith Skelton's avatarSharyn Smith Skelton on Columbus Pizza History: A Slic…
    Linda shaw's avatarLinda shaw on Ding Ho, Wor Sue Gai: Columbus…
    BoomerGenX's avatarBoomerGenX on SKY Gourmand: The Cooker is Ba…
    Betty's avatarBetty on R&M Bakery – Newark…
    scottalberts's avatarscottalberts on Columbus Pizza History: A Slic…

  • Categories

  • Top Posts

  • Archives: August 2006 to Now

Archive for the ‘Ohio’ Category

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

CMH Podcast….unleashed!

Posted by CMH Gourmand on February 23, 2008


OK – the new podcasts are a little rough and certainly no Splendid Table or This American Life – but for the sake of learning about technology….. a Podcast was born. I think each one gets better. I finally broke down and bought a nice USB headset to improve my sound quality which I hope you can hear in episode 5 <the Beer Episode>.

Columbus Food

We are open to harsh criticism or nice feedback because we aim to improve. The mission of Columbus Foodcast is to learn about podcasting and to have fun. In the process we hope you learn about local food in Columbus and Ohio. Trust me – I can not stand the sound of my voice so I know this is not a star vehicle for me. Heck, you can hear my dog Toby barking in episode 4. If you want to be a guest star or contributor – let me know – the more – the merrier. If you have an idea about a topic for an upcoming foodcast – e-mail away!

Episode 4 is the best of the bunch, my friend Kevin Cordi, a professional storyteller tells a tale of a restaurant we hit very late at night in his hometown of Akron, intertwined with our collective memories of food. Kind of a “This American….Lunch”.

We are listed in iTunes. Search for Columbus Foodcast in the iTunes music store or follow this link:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=274971060

Posted in Columbus, food, Ohio | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Chicago Tribune on Cleveland, let’s get Columbus on the List!

Posted by CMH Gourmand on January 17, 2008


Linked below is a recent article on Cleveland from the Chicago Tribune. This is worth a read for anyone, especially Mike Symon and Michael Ruhlman fans. Cleveland is getting recognition as a culinary city….hmm, recall my earlier post on Columbus vs. Cleveland.

I invited the Chicago Tribune writer to Columbus – hopefully your posts endorsing Columbus as a restaurant town will convince the Tribune to bankroll her trip here. If you were selling our city as a culinary hot spot – where would you take someone if you only had 48 hours……

Here is the article.

Chicago Tribune article – Cleveland?!?

Thanks to Saucisson (saw-SEE-sohn) ((is French for sausage)) Mac for passing this on.

Where would I take someone? – Graeters, Denise’s and Jeni’s – I am still pushing Columbus as Ice Cream Capital of the World (as cool as Indie Art Capital, right?). Pistachia Vera for some cookies. Breakfast at Starliner Diner and Banana Bean, lunch at Thurman’s or the North Market or Betty’s or Northstar, dinner at Alana’s, CBC, Rosendales or so many other choices. And a late night pizza at the Rossi. Hmm – I guess a visiting writer would need more time or at least an openness to doing some hobbit style second lunches.

Posted in food, Ohio, restaurants | 4 Comments »

Columbus vs. Cleveland; Zagat zips by Columbus

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 »

Mail Order Cheese, Chocolate and Brownies… oh my!

Posted by CMH Gourmand on December 2, 2007

Dedicated readers may recall my run to Amish country a few months ago. I drove by a sign for Steiner Cheese (a place I had never sampled) but I did not have time to check out their store because I was trying to get to Pearl Valley Cheese before closing time. Shortly after this cheese trip, I read that Steiner won several awards at the Ohio State Fair for their cheeses….drat.

I could not let this missed opportunity slip by but alas, I had no time to drive back. I did some research and found I could order online.

Steiner Cheese

I ordered the Farmer’s Cheese, Aged Cheddar and Aged Swiss. All three were great. The pricing was reasonable even with shipping added in. The Aged Cheddar was my favorite and the two pounds I ordered did not last a week.

I should mention that Pearl Valley does mail order as well. I tried them out a couple years ago and they did a fine job. The only downside with them is they sell in gift packs online.

On a related note, at about the same time I ordered from Steiner, I ordered chocolate from my favorite mail order chocolate company – Bissingers.

The photo of the chocolate did not come out so well. However, this is a photo of 1 pound of chocolate. If you order from the catalog at select times of year, Bissingers will send you a free pound of chocolate – Milk or Dark. I have tried different things with this free chocolate over the years, but my favorite thing to do is break off a piece of dark chocolate (I don’t bother with milk chocolate) and spoon on some chunky peanut butter. The best regular catalog item is the Almond Nut Bark. Bissingers Chocolate is among the best dark chocolate I have tried anywhere. They are based in St. Louis (I discovered them while there for work) and trace their roots to French chocolate making in the 1600’s.

A final find. Dayton’s Dorothy Lane Market does mail order – which for me means mail order Killer Brownies. If you place an order, say Sandie – via the Gourmand sent you.

Posted in cheese, chocolate, culinary knowledge, Ohio | 2 Comments »

A Trip North – a cheesebarn, Westside Market, “Big Fun” in Coventry and more

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 27, 2007


I recently headed to the Greater Cleveland area for a social call. The weather was perfect and I had some spare time so some sumptuous culinary detours were incorporated into my journey.


For decades, the sign for Grandpas Cheesebarn on I 71 has taunted me. I never had time to stop to check the place out and I became convinced it was a tourist trap. Or so I told myself. It is at exit 186, near Ashtabula. The cheesebarn is a short 500 feet from the interstate so I figured I could drop in for a peek.

I loved it. Grandpa’s has all types of free samples of cheese as well as fudge, pickles, and other treats. They also serve sandwiches and such. They sell a vast array of trinkets and knicknacks. You should block out at least 30 minutes to look around and you might even want to grab lunch here. Grandpa’s has a wide variety of high quality cheese and other foodstuffs to purchase, so if you need a goumet gift on the fly – this is a good place to go.

Grandpas Cheesebarn


The next stop was Westside Market in downtown Cleveland.

Westside Market


The Westside Market is an old school market with about 100 vendors selling cheese, produce, pierogies, fresh meats, baked goods, ethnic specialities from around the world, and all types of artisan foods. This a must visit for people that are even mildly interested in food.


Due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up having a great Cambodian meal next door (instead of feasting on the goodies inside the market) at:

Phnom Penh

1929 West 25th St

216.357.2951

Wandering across the street, I discovered –

The Bier Market

1948 West 25th St.

216.344.9944

 

This bar serves a huge variety of Belgian and other hard to find beers. In October, a restaurant will open in this building with a chef returning from Michael Symon‘s venture into NYC – expect great food and great beer from here in the near future!

My next stop was in Coventry for a very rushed reunion tour of the culinary, toy, book, and antique treasures located on the main drag in this little burg. The two highlights were Big Fun for cool retro toys and Tommy’s for cool veggie friendly food. Tommy’s has the bonus of having a small book store connecting to it.

Big Fun

1827 Coventry Rd

216.371.4386

For more info on things to do in Coventry, check out –

Coventry via Wiki

And for Cleveland fun, it really does ROCK….still…

Cleveland Resource for Fun – Scene Magazine

Posted in food, markets, Ohio | 1 Comment »

Fun at the Ohio State Fair.. In Search of the Perfect Lemon Shake Up

Posted by CMH Gourmand on August 5, 2007


I made a sojourn to the Ohio State Fair, I try to go once per decade. I really enjoyed myself this year, so I may change up to once every five years. I am a sucker for fair fare – elephant ears, funnel cakes, fair fries, and deep fried anything (in particular snickers and twinkies) – the Ohio State Fair has plenty of all that. I spied several food vendors that had signs stating as seen on Food Network.  I’d love to see Nigella Lawson at the fair!


This year, I was on a quest for the perfect lemon shake up. I am a super sucker for shake ups in the summer so with the hot, hot heat of Saturday – I was on a mission, I could not sip enough of these.

The first sampled was at Big Jeff’s Original, billed (on their sign) as the best at the fair. The stand is strategically located near the center of the midway. The one I sampled was light on the ice.

Shake it up

Shake up number two was at the stand run by JP’s Ribs. This one was the cheapest – $1.50 compared to the $2.00 standard. The shake up I was served was a bit watery. This stand is to the east of the Coca Cola Coliseum.

My third for the day was the best. The Marshall family has a berry farm that keeps them busy all year long. Since 1969, they have come to the fair to peddle their shake ups with raspberry or strawberry added in for an extra 50 cents. I opted for the lemon shake up with a raspberry twist. I was a little disapponted that the raspberry component was a spoonful of raspberry preserves (from their farm) – what I was hoping for were some real raspberries – but it shook together well. It turned out the be the perfect mix of lemon, ice, sugar and water. This was my Lemon Shake Up Best of Show for this year. This stand is located near the 17th Street entrance. I counted about 15-20 Lemon Shake Up opportunities at the fair – so if I missed the mark – let me know.

Other items of note at the fair.

A must do at the fair is a journey to the Dairy Products building to see the Butter Cow and to get a big heaping serving of fresh ice cream in a bowl. Also of note, several awards for best Ohio cheese went to Guggisberg and Pearl Valley (both mentioned in an earlier post). The top winners were Ragersville Swiss Cheese and Steiner – so now I will be on a quest to find those out in Amish Country.

A quick shout out to the Tracey family. Their Coney stand has been at the fair for over 50 years now. I wrote a short article mentioning them in 1998 for Ohio Magazine so I am glad to see them going strong.

Posted in beverages, Ohio | 3 Comments »

More Amish Cheese Please!!!!

Posted by CMH Gourmand on July 25, 2007


I make a run to Amish Country at least once per year. My mission – cultural appreciation, nice scenery, antiques, fresher air… all possible reasons. I go for cheese, anything else is secondary. You can’t throw a cow without hitting a cheese factory in Amish Country. Here is my lowdown on three of the best.

Ohio Barn

This barn is in pre Amish country – in Utica, near Velvet Ice Cream.

cheese place

First stop is Guggisberg Cheese Factory – which was my first taste of Amish cheese years ago. You can buy their rounds of baby swiss at most Kroger stores but this spot is still worth a visit. The factory is located in Charm which is quintessential Amish Country – buggies on the road and Amish peddling all kinds of things by the side of said road. You can get a variety of free samples at the cheese store. There are also good prices on popular Guggisberg cheeses. One of the best deals and the most adventuresome is the variety bag of different samples, usually including some of their less popular cheeses and bacon bit cheese. Mmmm – bacon. Guggisberg is small and a bit cramped. It usually is crowded – so plan on some extra time to maneuver through on the weekends.

tower of chesse

This is the cuckoo clock tower at the Guggisberg factory – part of the Swiss aura you will find throughout this part of Amish Country.

 

Heini's Mural

Continuing with the Swiss motiff here is one of the murals at Heini’s Cheese Chalet.

 

Heini’s has the largest selection of cheese and the largest number of free samples – probably about 60 types. There are three freezer rows to walk through and all of the sampling is self service using toothpicks. It can feel a little bit like you are part of a herd of cattle, but the variety is good and during the week – there is not much of a crowd. You can also sample a variety of fudges and other products here as well. Don’t get discouraged when you see the line – not everyone is standing in line for the cash register – most are just stocking up on free cheese.

Heini’s large complex also has a store with all types of food and food related products as well as a deli/sandwich counter. This is a little off the beaten path in Millersburg but worth the effort. If you use back roads when leaving – you can avoid most of the backlogged traffic in the center of town (on Saturday and Sunday). Hey English, if you are looking for cookie cutters shaped like the 50 states – this is where to find them.

 

Kauffmann’s Country Bakery

Kauffman’s Country Bakery is located across the road from Heini’s. It is stocked with excellent breads, cookies, cakes, pies, and all kinds of fresh Amish foodstuffs. If you need bread to go with your cheese – this is the place to get it.

 

Pearl Valley Cheese Factory

Pearl Valley is my favorite place of the three. Pearl is not always on the map and it is very off the beaten path (on SR 93 between Baltic and Fresno) for most of Amish Country. This is a very plain operation – nothing fancy – no costumes, no Swiss towers, and no flash like their competition. It is all about the cheese here. The staff are friendly and they do not hold back on the samples or sage cheese advice. You can usually expect to find a charity bake sale going on here during the summer to support a local school or organization. On my last trip here (July 2007) – I arrived 10 minutes after closing and they still let me in and offered samples even though they had put everything away for the day. That was impressive even after a long day of cheese chewing. They do a good mail order business as well. I really like their aged Cheddar and Colby cheeses.

 

Pearl Valley

Posted in cheese, culinary knowledge, food, Ohio | 5 Comments »

Sundae Drives – Three Ice Cream Road Trips

Posted by CMH Gourmand on May 28, 2007

Spring and summer inspire road trips on hot days. Here are three great ice cream shops within a one-hour drive of the capital city in case you need some fresh scenery and cold ice cream.

Tom’s Ice Cream Bowl
532 McIntire Avenue, Zanesville
740.452.5267
www.tomsicecreambowl.com
(Closed every Monday)

(70 E to the State Street Exit in Zanesville)

Tom’s is tucked away in a residential neighborhood. The staff is decked out in white hats, white aprons and black bow ties. The interior looks untouched since it opened at the current location in 1950. Tom’s feels like a Soda fountain from the past. Bill Sullivan bought the business from original owner Tom Mirgon in 1984. A portrait of Tom still watches over the business from a spot just above the soda counter. You can also get a good sandwich, Ben Heggy’s chocolates and Tom’s famous roasted redskin peanuts to go with your ice cream (which is often served in a big soup bowl). In 1998,Tom’s was listed as one of the nation’s 10 best ice cream spots in USA Today.

 

Velvet Ice Cream, Ye Olde Mill
11324 Mount Vernon Road, Utica
1.800.589.5000
www.velveticecream.com
(SR 62 N to SR 13)

Since 1817, several different mills have stood in the stone foundation of Ye Olde Mill. (One downside to the location, the Mill has a tendency to burn to the ground most recently in 1986 and 2004). The Mill has always served as a meeting place for friends and families in the area. The Dager family understands the importance of tradition; they have been making ice cream since 1914. Velvet chose the Mill to be the symbol of their company. You can see the mill on each container of Velvet makes. The Ye Olde Mill is open from May to October. Tours of the ice cream factory are from 11 AM to 3 PM. The Mill also serves as the hub for the annual Utica Old Fashioned Ice Cream Festival which is Memorial Day Weekend.

Young’s Jersey Dairy
6880 Springfield-Xenia Road, Yellow Springs
937.325.0629
www.youngsdairy.com

(I 70 W to SR 68 S)



Young’s is a family entertainment destination, which would have made P.T. Barnum a bit jealous. The cornucopia of attractions includes: a farm-themed eighteen hole miniature golf course, a driving range, batting cages, farm animal petting barn, a full service restaurant, bakery, gift shop, and a corn maze. However the biggest attraction is ice cream, sometimes more than 3000 gallons per week is served. Much of the ice cream ends up in the Moovelous Milkshakes that consist of two to five dips of rich French Vanilla. All of the standard flavors are available as well as some farm themed creations such as Cow Patty – chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and other goodies mixed in. Considering Young’s started as a 10 x 10 room for selling milk to the public in 1958 – no need to cry over spilt milk at Youngs…but a dropped scoop of ice cream – would be a very sad event.

Posted in ice cream, Ohio | Leave a Comment »

Random Roadtrip Idea – Jungle Jim’s

Posted by CMH Gourmand on December 9, 2006

Jungle Jim’s International Market is the best food store I have ever been to. It is located in Hamilton, OH, just outside of Cincinnati.

It has entire aisles devoted to specific countries, a small movie theater that continuously shows the Jungle Jim’s story, free samples, the best cheese department anywhere, etc. If a food item exists – Jungle Jim’s probably has it. The Asian section has multiple rows. There are exotic fruits and vegetables you have only read about. So if you have a foodie to buy for or just need to mix it up – then is is a good road trip. Do an add on of a visit to the Montgomery Inn, a Cinncinnati Chili parlor, or some other Cincinnati attraction and you have a great day trip. Very much worth the trip from CMH!

Jungle Jim’s Market

Posted in markets, Ohio | Leave a Comment »

Avalanche Pizza

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 24, 2006

While trolling around in Athens, OH I drove by Avalanche Pizza and noticed the place was voted best Pizza in Athens 4 years in a row. When I got home I did a little research and found their site –

Avalanche Pizza

(Update 10/12/07 – The Lancaster location is closed). (I did have take out from the Athens location in June 07 – it was mighty good)

Lucky for me, they have a location in Lancaster, OH and I was going there to help some friends move into a new apartment. My friends were kind enough to reward the moving team with a variety of Avalanche Pizzas.

The topping combinations Avalanche offers are impressive. Listed below are the descriptions of three of the pizzas I sampled.

Crouching Kimchi, Hidden Chicken
This oriental creation starts with our Secret Marinara sauce and a half pound of mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Then we add Roasted Chicken, Korean Kimchi, juicy Mandarin Oranges, crunchy Cashew Halves, and finish it off with a swirl of General Tso’s Sauce.

Ted Nugent “The Nuge”
This gives Meat Lover’s a whole new meaning! We pile Genoa Salami, Peppered Pastrami, Roasted Chicken, Italian Meatballs, Premium Bacon, Pepperoni, and juicy Ham on top of our signature marinara sauce, melting mozzarella and tangy provolone cheeses.

Pesto Chicken Pizza
Roasted Chicken, lean Bacon, fresh Roma Tomatoes, crunchy Cashew Halves, sweet Asiago Cheese, and swirls of Basil Pesto. All atop our secret Marinara Sauce and special blend of Mozzarella and Provolone cheeses.
All the pizzas were good. The toppings are top notch. The crust and sauce were a bit above average. The Crouching Kimchi, Hidden Chicken was a love or hate experience. I loved it – others hated it. But all tasters were able find something they could rave about.

Avalanche has been featured on the Food Network and won “Best Pizza in the USA” at the 2004 World Pizza Championship in Salsomaggiore, Italy. If you are in Lancaster or Athens it would be worth the effort to pick up a pie.

Posted in food, Ohio, pizza, restaurants | Leave a Comment »

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »