CMH Gourmand – Eating in Columbus & Ohio

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Archive for the ‘wine’ Category

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Comfest!!!!!

Posted by CMH Gourmand on June 22, 2007

Comfest!!!!!!

Shake it Up

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!)

Comfest wines

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.

Surly Girl Saloon

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 »

I Like Alana’s A Lot

Posted by CMH Gourmand on February 19, 2007


Alanas

Alana’s (Food and Wine)
2333 North High Street
614 294 6783

Alana’s website

When the local media list the best restaurants in Columbus we always see Handke’s, The Refectory, M and the most recent flavor of the week. A name often falling off the radar is a restaurant that has equal pedigree – Alana’s. Since opening in 1999 it has built a great reputation with local gourmets, gourmands, gastronauts, foodies, and others that have a passion for food.

Alana Shock seems to be an artist at heart and this is reflected in the creativity of the cuisine and in the décor of her restaurant. While her background does include art – it also includes experience as a chef for Emeril Lagasse in New Orleans.

Alana’s is housed in an old house just north of the University District. The outdoor patio is busy in the summertime although the view of COTA buses passing by may be less than ideal. The inside is brightly colored and features art from local artists on display for sale. A small, comfortable wine bar is located in the back. The servers are professionals who care about the food and the service they provide. The atmosphere is informal but you can expect the extras you would find in a fine dining establishment. Diners can usually expect to see Alana popping out of the kitchen to check on guests and she will sometimes offer a small taste of what she is working on.

I wish I could list some suggested dishes however the menu changes constantly since the focus is on fresh seasonal ingredients that are locally obtained when possible. These are the things you can expect everytime: a choice of exceptional soups; new and innovative cocktails; an impressive wine list; an array of tempting selections on the cheese plate (from Curds and Whey) and several entrees that will make it hard to choose just one. Desserts are always exceptional and when paired with ice cream – expect it from Jeni’s. There are always plenty of vegetarian and vegan offerings as well as mouth watering meats for carnivores.

For the sake of example here are a couple selections from a recent menu:

Roasted Ruby Beets and Watercress with a Baklava of Feta, Pistachios and Cashew Drizzled with Fig Balsamic


Duck Breast with Kabocha Pumpkin Polenta, Collard Greens and a Bing Cherry Demi Glase

For fun and education – Alana’s offers Degustation Dining . Before you freak out – this is just a fancy term for a sampling menu. Typically, this is presented as several small presentations of favorite dishes paired with specific wines. If this sounds interesting call ahead and see what Alana has in mind.

Alana’s is not cheap, two people can expect to pay about $80 to $100 or more if you pick an expensive wine but it is worth it.

Alana's parking

Alana's on Urbanspoon

Posted in restaurant reviews, restaurants, Vegetarian Friendly, wine | Tagged: | 4 Comments »

Wine Bar @ Worthington La Chatelaine

Posted by CMH Gourmand on December 13, 2006

La Chatelaine French Bakery & Cafe
627 High St
Worthington

614.848.6711

La Chatelaine Web site

I drive by La Chatelaine on my way home from work.  It was just a place that blurs in with other places on High Street – I know it’s there but it just blends in the background and I forget about it.  But one day, I saw a sign –

It stuck in my mind, registered… and I let it kick around for months.  At the beginning of December after a nice meal at Old Bag of Nails, I dropped into La Chatelaine at 6:50 PM, to take a peek.  I was still there 2 hours later.

It was a slow night.  Val Wielezynski, the owner, noticed my friend and I poking around and invited us to take a seat and sample a beer he liked.  Then, he asked us to sample a great raspberry beer.  Then we ordered a couple beers and spent the next two hours talking with Val about the wine bar, his family’s long route to Columbus via Belgium, France, Africa, Texas, Colorado, Cleveland, etc.; philosophy, American culture, and so many other things.  It is a rare thing now to have that “neighborhood/neighbor” connection with a business and that is what Val is aiming for.

I think he hit it.

For 2007, the plan is a monthly wine tasting – focusing on a region of France and the wines that are produced there.  Mix in some history, some culture, and some cheese for good measure.  Should be a good time. I am going to make a point to drop in.

Posted in bakery, restaurants, wine | Leave a Comment »

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