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Posted by CMH Gourmand on May 1, 2013
This is post number 500 for CMH Gourmand. While you may know something about me, I know nothing about you. That hardly seems fair. Please take a few moments to do the poll below and I’ll share the results in the future.
Here -> is the link, tell me what you think. There are ten questions, one involves pizza and another discusses donuts.
May 2nd Poll update:
I am surprised by your pizza choices.
Posted in culinary knowledge | Leave a Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 30, 2013
The two surging trends in the Columbus Food scene for the last two years have been microbrewing and microrestauranting – in the form of food trucks. The exponential growth of both has been staggering. In the case of microbreweries as well as specialty beers stores and bars focusing on locally and regionally brewed beer, the number of businesses tapping into this trend has at least quadrupled since 2011. As for Food Trucks, although some have asked if this is a fad that is jumping the shark, the evidence shows this trend has shown no sign of going off the road at the curve. My observation indicates our choices have grown by nearly ten fold in the last couple years.
Some of the elements these two microenterprises have in common include: a desire to own a business, to be able to create something unique to the owner/brewer/team, a focus on local ingredients as well as supporting other local businesses and a sense of contentment of not having to be all things to all people and to not have to dumb down quality for the additional opportunities of being on more shelves or serving more people at more locations. Such is not the case for all owners…some food truck owners view their business as a pathway to a restaurant or other food business. Some Microbreweries have an eye on additional products or markets, but for the most part, the people behind these businesses are happy to have a sustainable business that allows them to earn a living and create something that is a reflection of themselves and their values.
The pairing of these two businesses is a natural fit. The costs of adding a full kitchen to a microbrewing enterprise is daunting. The challenge of finding a location to park and serve to a captive audience that has a reason to stick around and access to amenities like tables, chairs and bathrooms is helpful to a food truck. The trucks need a place to set up. The breweries need food to help draw in customers and to keep their customers on site longer. The marriage of these two types of independent businesses is a marriage that is destined to last.
In the early days of mobile food, bars and food trucks established a quick bond. St. James Tavern, Dick’s Den and a few other watering holes were quick to see the advantages of having fresh food to serve to their patrons…good for the bar business. Access to a set location is key, though maybe counterintuitive, to most mobile food businesses. While not mobile, the expansion of Mikey’s Late Night slice to Woodlands, the Newport and other bar venues was critical to the growth of that business and to the success of the businesses Mikey and Company paired themselves with.
Geoff Towne at Zauber Brewing Company was the first to pair microbrew with regular scheduled appearances by multiple food trucks. What started as growler pours at lunch or dinnertime grew into larger monthly events. We can expect to see more of the same from Zauber in 2013.
At the dawn of this year, Seventh Son Brewing Company started a similar pairing but what makes the place unique is that the layout and design of the brewery, bar and space was with the intention of having food trucks on site on a regular basis. Currently, Seventh Son hosts mobile food Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday and Sunday lunch and brunch service are in the works. Seventh Son just started to offer their own beers to the public in April. In addition to their own brews, the bar maintains a focus on local and regional beers and spirits. These pair perfectly with the food truck offerings. All in all the combination of location, beer and food makes Seventh Son a Hipster Heaven and acts as an anchor for the growth of the Italian Village neighborhood. This is a partnership where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. More than two types of businesses benefit, the community does as well with the addition of more food choices in a neighborhood lacking them and on the end there is a stronger community.
Now for a photo tour of Seventh Son.
Customers can see the brewery in action as they walk through the front entrance.
The open space of the main bar provides quick access to food trucks and an easy view of 4th Street.
The rear bar area is a bit more intimate and can be used as event space or for spillover traffic.
The large outdoor patio has plenty of tables, quick access to the inside as well as to the food trucks in the parking lot and a fire ring to allow to space to continue to be cozy in the frigid late fall and wet early spring of Columbus.
Posted in beer, Mobile Food | Tagged: Food Trucks and Microbrewery, Italian Village Columbus, Seventh Son, Seventh Son Brewing | 1 Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 28, 2013
If there is something wrong in your food truck world, who you gonna call? MikeGyver!
Who is this Mikegyver and why he is respected more than Chuck Norris and MacGyver combined? Read on.
Mikegyver, aka Tyvek, Metal Mike and Bearded Mike is known in other parts of the world as Mike Lauletta. He first came to the attention of the mobile food community while picking up some hours at Dinin’ Hall where he was known as Dinin’ Hall Mike. This was a convenient gig for him because he uses studio space at 400 West Rich so in between creating metal works, crafting Rube Goldberg style devices and working on various artistic outreach projects, he could hop over to Dinin’ Hall to help out and make a bit of spending money.
I interviewed Mike to find out how he became a mobile food icon.
“I got my start on a food truck from Laura Lee, chef/owner of Ajumama. We met at Dinin’ Hall and she needed some part-time help on her truck. I have a lot of experience cooking in restaurants, everything from steak houses to authentic Louisiana Creole.” After working on Ajumama, Mike started to work with other food trucks based at The Food Fort including OH! Burgers and That Food Truck. In addition to cooking and working the window, Mike has also helped clean out trucks, repaired damaged equipment and assisted with updates and modifications to design. In between that, he also started picking up some hours working with a caterer based there. There are countless Mike’s involved in the Columbus Mobile Food scene so to keep this Mike straight from Pizza Mike, Mikey’s, Mike and Other Mike from Flattop Pizza, Mike G and countless others….Mike was initially known as Bearded Mike. As his skills became more renown and in spite of the fact that he does not have duct tape holstered to him, an astute individual started to call him Mikegyver so the moniker stuck.
So what else does he do? “When I’m not living the dream working on a food truck, I am a sculptor. Mostly work in Cast Metal and Concrete, but no material is off my pallet/palate/palette. I can make anything you can imagine.”
I asked Mikegyver a few questions about what he has observed and learned in the Food Truck world.
Any interesting observations about the Food Truck world?
All I can say is if I had a dollar for every time a food truck owner told me ,” don’t tell anyone else this, but ….”
Any advice for food truck customers based on what you have learned?
Read the whole menu before you ask any questions and of course we take credit cards…. it’s the future.
Any Advice for Food Truck owners based on your experiences?
My advice for truck owners, if you are in it for money quit now. And don’t let anyone push you around. It is your burden/business so be open to advice but do what you want.
Being the hired gun / High Plains Drifter / Lone Ranger of the Food Truck world, if someone needs your services, how do they contact you? Is there a Mikegyver signal like Batman?
If someone would like to contract my services my email is Mikesinside@gmail.com
Posted in Behind the Counter, Gastronomic Stimulus, Mobile Food | Tagged: Mikegyver | Leave a Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 25, 2013
A few months ago I was invited to ManBQue. A what the what? Man – B – Que. Simply put this is a gathering of men who want to celebrate and extol three things: Meat, Beer and Rock n Roll. This month I was invited again by Chef Ed Kowalski. I looked at the ManBque website, read his pitch and decided I may have to give this a shot. I have sampled Ed’s culinary work in several places over the last couple years so I knew I would eat well. And, I was honored, this was an invitation only event. I was uniquely qualified for invitation because I am a man.
A few disclaimers and notations before I begin. Most of my friends are women. The few male friends I have, while valued, would, like me, never be accused of being high-test, testosterone manly men. I can’t speak for them but for most men of the Midwest I must be an absolute conundrum. Well, a manly man would not use that word, he would probably just grunt or something. I just never fit in with roaming herds of males. What are some of my failings: OSU Buckeyes….who cares, sports – meh, cars and muscle machines – I drive a Subaru, playing lots of blood and guts video games – nope. Sporting a ball cap, driving a pick up truck, while wearing jhorts and engaging with other dudes in horse-play….is not something I can pull off. I never adapted to being in the pack. I dropped out of Indian Guides because it was too structured. I did a Fraternity rush my junior year of college and just could not drink the Kool-aid. The only man based group I have ever been associated with on a long-term basis is called Nerd Night which involves watching TV and eating pizza with a female librarian. There is one exception to this long history of lack of manliness. You might call this a fling. For two years I was a member of the Loyal Order of the Moose. I joined so I could eat a really good $2 hamburger and play pinball during lunch time and then walk back to work in two minutes. I was often the only one there. Now don’t get me wrong, I like the ladies but I don’t hang out at the Stitch and Bitch classes or watch Grey’s Anatomy. I have never been one to run with the herd. Usually, I just saunter off in the other direction and do my own thing. The only really macho thing I can say about myself is that I am an Appalachian Porch Hound Trainer.
So as cool as it may seem to gather as a tribe and worship Meat, Beer and Rock N Roll, three things that rank high on my hierarchy of needs, it is not by my nature to do so in an organized pack. But, because I care about my readers and I have a mission to explore the world of culinary trends I was resolute to investigate the ManBque meat up which is quickly becoming a world-wide thing. On the plus side of going, the April Manbque was at Savor which is close to my house and would ensure quick access to good beer. I also knew than Rin, the Beer Knowledge Goddess of Savor would smack down any out of control mantics (man-antics) and made sure I had someone to talk to in a pinch.
I approached the location with caution. After parking, I heard the music of Bob Marley wailing through the air. I could smell smoke….of charring meat and cigars….. floating through the air. I followed these sensory clues to the back lot of Savor to find one green egg, three grills, 2 large speakers and twenty plus males from 22 to 62 engaged in grilling, eating, drinking, smoking and laughing. After taking a few more whiffs of the meats being cooked, I knew I was in the right place and my sense was I made the right choice.
Rob the vice-president of the Columbus Manbque cell, seeing I was a newbie, greeted me and showed me where the communal beer cooler was. I tracked down Ed inside Savor buying more beer. I mingled among the members and listened in on some of their conversations. I asked a lot of questions. While this is a very fraternal group it is not a fraternity-style group…well probably not, I was told there is not any hazing or odd rituals. Members do not need to wear weird hats like in the Flintstones (I was bummed about this). The most common thread I found among each of these guys was a passion to eat meat that is cooked really, really well. After Ed was done preparing some exceptional bone marrow, he as both my host and the president of the Columbus chapter of Manbque explained more about the group both locally and nationally. Each month members bring meat to cook and share with the group as well as beer to do the same. Among the feast of meats I dined on: bone marrow, pork loin, bacon wrapped chicken breast, bacon wrapped shrimp, and several cuts of marinated and seasoned beef cooked to perfection.
ManBque started in Chicago and has since expanded throughout the USA and abroad. More than just a manly meet-up, the group hallows the holy trinity of cooking meat, drinking craft beer and celebrating great rock n roll pretty seriously. Each of these three elements are respected for the skill of art and science it takes to craft them. The growth of these local ManBque groups has been expansive and is expected to become exponential after the release of a cookbook in the near future. While “no girls are allowed” this is not a he-man woman haters club. Locally there will be a mixed group meeting in June. In Chicago – there is an all female group with the same goals who have engaged in a competitive but friendly rivalry with their male counterparts. In Columbus, as the group continues to grow, Ed and company want to add in classes, special events and serve charitable causes too.
There are a few rules to the group. New members must be invited by a current member. Meat-ups occur during the week, not on weekends. At the end of the evening (this is where I started to worry about the hazing part) new members are given their ManBque name while the group stands in a circle. I think there may be something to this ManBque thing. I had to cut out early, so I did not get issued my official ManBque name but…I would go back, to the pack, to do so.
Want to learn more?
ManBque.com
Facebook
Interested in membership? Contact Ed: e.kowalski@yahoo.com
Posted in BBQ, beer, culinary knowledge | Tagged: Manbque, Manbque Columbus | 2 Comments »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 24, 2013
Pronunciation is not a strength of mine. This weakness is also creates an area of annoyance. I do alright with the English language and even better with “American”. But French and other languages I have never had any education in are a bit intimidating. Not because I am afraid to try but because I dread the smugness of people who are not content to correct like a coach but prefer to highlight the error like a superior. I respect the culinary gifts the French have given us but I dread their romance language and it’s effect on my Anglo-Saxon Tongue. When given an opportunity to use a term, I freeze, think of the two ways the term might be pronounced and pick the wrong one every time.
Such is the case for those little fried balls of dough with the French name from New Orleans that those that are better than I would pronounce Beignets. Some might offer the substitute phraseology of donut instead but the silent rage that would produce in the Dining Duder would not be worth the deferred embarrassment of using an alternate term.
That was the wind-up, here is the tip. There may be a handful of places in town that do beignets. The one I know and go to is Creole Kitchen. A mere $3 gets you a styrofoam clamshell full of these great balls of desire with a side cup of powdered sugar. My advice is eat them instantly in your car while they are steaming hot and the heat is still high enough to melt the sugar into the dough. Simple, good and cheap – hard to beat.
Posted in breakfast | Tagged: Beignets, Creole Kitchen | 1 Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 22, 2013
I am a Clintonville Citizen and I approve my own message:
There are three issues that long time Clintonvillians hold as crucibles among their neighbors.
1) The Morse-Bethel Road Connector (I am against it, I think I wrote a good letter to the editor about it years ago).
2) Widening the intersection at High Street and East North Broadway (I see both sides of the argument. I sympathize with both sides of the argument. I think most of the people against it are crackpots. I think all the people for it don’t live on East North Broadway. My position. Typically neutral, but I would vote for a compromise which would be a southbound right turn lane added to the West-East lane. This would cut down on traffic and would only affect a building that is on its last legs – no trees lost, no houses hindered and hopefully a good payout the property owner for being a good citizen.
3) Alcohol Sales in Clintonville All over Clintonville. To that I say yes. Or at least mostly yes.
My mission is to discuss item number three. There was an urban legend that Clintonville was the dry part of the city. Such is not the case. For the most part the area is wet and has been for many decades. One of the oldest bars in the city is the Crest Tavern – now the Crest Gastropub. Many years ago, I did a Clintonville Bar crawl which involved drinking at 13 bars in 14 hours (with a 2 hour siesta to eat pizza and watch a horse race at my house). Since then, a few bars and several even better beer shops have been added to the mix of choices. However some areas remain dry most notably the area by my house. On May 7th, residents in Clintonville will be able to change that. I hope they come out in droves to vote yes. I will.
A much better article by a writer with better pedigree in a publication with a much larger fan base will hint at the argument I am going to proffer. Maybe people will connect the dots when the article is published or surmise the doctrine I am getting ready to preach. However, to help those that might vote before the article comes out here we go.
First let’s start with the possible reasons that people might have been against alcohol sales in the past. Clintonville is a very family oriented part of town that really hit its original peak in the 1960’s. Having watched four seasons of Mad Men, I could see why residents would have wanted to cut down on the sales of alcohol in our fair community – Clintonville would have been a Peyton Place of debauchery. In the modern era, I can say that most of the bars in Clintonville really suck – with the exception of O’Reilly’s, maybe Bob’s Bar and hopefully the brand new Crest Gastropub. I could see people wanting to hold mediocrity at bay. We have about the same number of “meh” pizzerias in the area. Just say no to more lame bars and average pizza, say yes to the chance a well crafted meal. I am sure there are other thoughtful reasons why certain areas of Clintonville were/are anti-alcohol and if you know those, please post here.
Now for why I am pro and why I hope others will be voting yes as well. The major gripe of residents of Clintonville is a lack of good restaurant choices. While a restaurant does not need alcohol sales to be successful, it really, really helps. As for me, I usually don’t drink at dinner but I observe that quite a few do. Studies show that people generally limit their alcohol consumption to 1-2 drinks with a meal. This is not enough to risk public drunkenness but it is enough to make a sizeable increase in a restaurants bottom line. Beer and wine are easy to serve and store and even easier to mark up. Many a restaurant will mark it up a lot. While a good cocktail requires a good, skilled bartender who can mix a good drink, engage in good banter with the customers, somehow not want to rip off the owner of the establishment and have the common sense and tact to cut people off at the right time in the right way – a good beer or wine just requires someone with the skill to open a bottle. Most people can do that well with the right tool and for a lower wage.
I have seen many restaurants come and go in Clintonville over the years. The one I miss the most, strangely, is G.D. Ritzey’s. Many closed because they had a mediocre product and mediocre service and that is something alcohol sales can’t fix. But to get the right restaurants and the right traffic flow industry knowledge tells us that alcohol sales is the key. It does not have to be liquor but wine and beer do help sales a lot. The profit margins on a middle of the road menu are pretty narrow and money is made in volume and turning tables quick. If you want to have a higher grade of food and the profit margins that go with it an owner needs something to entertain the common man between courses and to provide pompous Epicureans something to pontificate about….their knowledge of wine.
I have discussed Clintonville with several successful restaurant owners and business developers. What are the barriers to having the type of restaurants we want…..an alcohol permit. Part of the problem is a city buracracy that is burdensome to deal with and second part blocking the solution are a few dry districts with a few people that fear having suds near their abodes. The spot we would all like to see do well but has floundered is the spot on High Street that was: Scottie McBean and Babuska’s and will someday be Talitas. The two former eateries were “meh” – average food with some nice people that tried did not make it. Would beer and wine sales saved either of these businesses….in the long run, I think not. But the location would be much more attractive to someone to try if they could add a high mark up item to the menu. Place a strong menu driven restaurant with a few alcoholic beverages in that spot and it could do well. The demand is there. Look at Villa Nova just up the road- a bastion of middle of the road dining for decades. While the bar is not the reason for the success of the place – it has helped a lot. When the Wildflower Cafe added alcohol sales – it was the shot in arm the place needed to uptick sales in a slow economy. (Please by no means assume I am saying think Wildflower is fine dining – I might say average, but I like having the place in the community and want to keep it and others like it). The Crest Gastropub is going to help drive south Clintonville to a new level or prosperity and keep more of our dining dollars near home. I would love to see more places like that in North Clintonville as an alternative to…..nothing.
What might turn this tide? Mozart’s and Vienna Ice Cafe. The owners have purchased a property near Morse Road to move into. The have a long history in our community. They are committed to the restaurant they plan to open with or without alcohol sales but they are asking Clintonville to vote to allow them to have the opportunity to serve alcohol. Their friends and employees hit the streets to ask people to sign the petition. I hope the issue passes and I hope that increases the chance of Mozart’s and any other new restaurants in the area in their the odds of survival and sustainability. It costs money to bring the issue to the table and it will cost money not to have it pass but it will cost all of us additional culinary options and opportunities if we do not open up the last areas of our community to the pursuit of happiness in the form of an overpriced beer, an overvalued glass of wine or locally produced spirit. Vote yes, to give our community hope to brighten our gray culinary landscape and help us grow our community by adding what people have said has been missing forever – better restaurant choices.
Posted in Food For Thought, Gastronomic Stimulus | 2 Comments »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 20, 2013
In the Greek era, it started as 4 tastes: Sweet, Sour, Salty and Bitter. Then is was proposed there might be a 5th taste – Umami. For a different perspective on Umami let’s defer to NPR. Some might add a 6th taste to that – Kokumi. Or maybe there are up to 13 tastes? That is a lot to think about. Keep thinking.
On many levels, I think our society and specifically our/my food community over thinks, over categorizes, over photographs and over celebrates food. This can lead to wonderful things: new discoveries, new connections and new ideas. It serves to unite people with different tastes. It also serves to subdivide us into different levels of food snobbery and elitism – not healthy, too healthy, mass-produced or militantly organic. This paragraph is just a side commentary before I move on.
The first paragraph might reflect the science of eating. A few months ago, I mentioned the next day effect. As a counterbalance to my science related post I now delve into the art of eating. What I am thinking through now might be called a pairing paradigm. Your are each familiar with this to some extent already. We defer to Sommeliers to connect the right wine with the menu of the night. We recognize the expertise of people who pair wines with cheeses (I have a chart on my refrigerator). We might consult with a butcher or fish monger to pair flavors as well.
This morning while eating cold pizza with a Cherry Coke, I had an epiphany – there are certain foods that we might not crave or might not even eat by themselves, but put them together and the combination is divine. I don’t drink much pop (yes, in the Midwest we call it pop without shame or apology). I never sit and think, “man, I would love to drink a Coke right now!” (On rare occasions, on a hot summer day while sitting on the porch, I might think about drinking a root beer in a frosted mug). But when I think about pizza, either a slice or a while pie, I would not think about eating it without a Coke product. Coke is always paired in my mind and my appetites with certain foods – often greasy and frequently Italian – hamburgers, meatball subs, Stromboli, an Italian Beef Sandwich, a Taco Truck taco. I would not consider these without a Coke, ideally a glass of fountain coke with rabbit pellet style ice or a frosty glass bottle. A common hot dog by itself….maybe. Add a great brown mustard and a perfect slightly toasted bun….that is a next level, dynamic, irresistible combination. Generic peanut butter…meh. Milk Chocolate….meh. Put them together in the form of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and I’ll eat that all day. A fresh fig with goat cheese……BAM! There are certain food items that by themselves might not do much for you, but paired together they are DY-NO-MITE! There are others combinations you would never consider having one without the other. In the Malcolm Gladwell world of connectors, they must be some term for when two foods collide and our tongues are better for it.
My question to you is what are your dynamic duos of food and what is the best term for this phenomenon.
Posted in Food For Thought | 2 Comments »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 18, 2013
Let me begin by providing a disclaimer for the Dining Duder. While donuts will be briefly mentioned in this post and they were sampled, this is not an additional installment as part of the Ohio Donut Trail Series.
There are two bakeries with the name Kennedy in Cambridge, OH. One is located in downtown Cambridge and looks like a classic small town Ohio Bakery from the 1920’s to 1940’s. I thought that was on the only one. I was wrong. While on my way to the 25th Annual Ohio Bigfoot Conference, I happened to drive by the other Kennedy Bakery while looking for an ATM. Looking at the exterior, I wondered if it was an abandoned building or a converted flea market, but curiosity got the best of me as is my nature, so I pulled into the gravel driveway to investigate. Based on the locations having different websites and my intuition, I do not think the two Kennedy Bakery locations share anything other than a name, at least in the present.
I was still not convinced this was an actual bakery. Through the windows I could see many things that did not look like baked goods. However I saw this (see below) and decided I would venture inside anyway. Against the better judgement of my Designated Diner for the trip I proceeded through the door. Afterall, only thirty minutes earlier we had visited Donald’s Donuts in Zanesville so other than exploration, there was no need to dine on more donuts.
Walking in, I spied a lot of used restaurant equipment on shelves. Then I saw display cases of McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys and others similar trinkets. If the old Hobart mixers on the floor had not caught my eye I would have done a quick about face….but then, I saw a man walk out with an overflowing box of buns. I headed opposite the direction he was going and found shelves of discount baked goods (some looked like they might be from Valentine’s Day or Easter). At this point, I continued on.
Walking by more showcase encased Happy Meal Trinkets, I finally found the Bakery part of the building. Having visited a few too many bakeries in my day, I can say that the length of area that the display cases of baked goods at Kennedy’s is more expansive than anything I have encountered in my days. However, I was hindered by a couple or more circumstances. I was saving my $22 of cash for the Bigfoot Conference. The Designated Diner continued to look at me with the expression of “Oh my god I can’t believe we are in yet another donut place after having the best donuts of my life at Donald’s Donuts what is this dude’s problem.” In emoticons that would be written as :-(crap. And, I was not hungry. Not in the slightest. What was a fella to do? Then the game changer happened. I saw a sign that said: Pepperoni Rolls and Meatball Rolls. Press on young Gourmand. Press on.
Walking back and forth looking at the displays at Kennedy’s it is quickly confirmed that this is indeed a “Full Line Bakery”. Among the items noted were: cookies, cakes, pies, Gingerbread Houses, various breads, bagels, donuts, fried pies, giant blue fish shaped cookies and on, and on, and on. A few donuts were purchased. There were no fewer than twenty varieties to choose from, including some infrequently witnessed flavors. There was a small sample tray for trying bites of donuts. Later in the parking lot, we did try a few and they were respectable, not Ohio Donut Trail noteworthy, but respectable. I was most intrigued by the Raised Glazed donut. Interesting, very interesting. I pressed on.
Then my attention was caught by a sign for Paczki. Huh? What is that you might ask? It is a Polish pastry in the spirit of a donut but not quite a donut. In one of the most lightly populated counties in the fair state of Ohio. In an area not cited for a large Polish population or enclaves of Poles and possibly, not so open to diversity in general, this place had Paczki. Not just one variety but six….maybe more, the place is big, there could have been Paczki hiding anywhere. And then I saw the sign.
In my head I heard (I don’t often hear voices, but when I do they are always in an accent), in the style of DeNiro. You want Paczki? I’ll give you some #*^%$#* frickin’ Paczki. I did not try one. I was too full. I continued on and found the pepperoni rolls. One was purchased and then sampled by myself and the Designated Diner. The DD has only had one pepperoni roll ever and that was from Omega Bakery at North Market so this entry stood no chance. I have consumed a much wider range of the Hillbilly staple so I was inclined to evaluate this pepperoni roll on the wide spectrum of the genre. It was wretchedly horrible. I had hoped that the proximity to West Virginia might add a certain terroir to the pastry, but alas no.
There is another shout out I should give this place in the arena of full line bakery. Some of you who grew up as one of the 99% may be familiar with the staple of McDonald’s and Hostess (RIP?), the fried pie. Rarely seen outside of a fast food franchise, Kennedy’s had enough to feed a small army or militia. The flavor choices of the fried pies was more extensive than the Paczki’s (at least fourteen flavors counted) including lemon, peach and blackberry. I would be interested to see what the Kennedy version of short line bakery would offer.
My final thoughts? I did not sample enough to know if this is or is not a place I would want to go. I can say, it is not just a bakery, it is an adventure. And now, for the first time ever, a new feature: “When Blogs Collide”. Near the bakery, in an overgrown lot, located in a pile of rubbish, I found this. Will I go back? I think so. Why might you ask? First to try a fried pie and second because in addition to offering what seems like 1001 types of baked goods the place has over 1 million milkshake flavors.
Kennedy’s Cakes and Donuts
Website
75 Southgate Parkway
Cambridge, OH 43725
740 439 2800
Bonus Content: What happened after the bakery? Being unable to get into the Bigfoot Conference because it was sold out, it was decided to drive a mere 100 miles away to Athen’s to dine at O’Betty’s. Along the way we attempted to visit the Shenandoah Museum (closed), attempted to find the Shenandoah crash site (secretly hidden in the area I believe Deliverance II will be filmed in), stopped at Marietta Brewing Company for a root beer, found an Indian Food Truck from Parkersburg serving students in Marietta and finally dined at O’Betty’s – the best hot doggery in Ohio. And you wondered why the Designated Diner would ever glare at me with a :-(crap.
Posted in bakery, Ohio, Road Trip, Travelfoodalogue | 2 Comments »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 12, 2013
So here is the thing. Well one of the things. While the whole concept of mobile food is being on the move, if an owner wants business people need to find the truck or cart. The best way to do that is to pick a spot, go there consistently for set hours, “train” the community to seeing you there and wondering what you do. Then with some luck, a lot of marketing, a good product and plenty of word of mouth….maybe you get enough business to keep going there. Investing that much time and risk into one spot is a lot to ask a new business and being stationary is contrary to mobile food right? Maybe not.
Someone on the move in the mobile food community is Rosa Huff, the owner of Crepes a la Carte. Full of Chutzpah and ideas she often a whirlwind of chaotic energy. She and her husband own a computer business at Sharon Square, a small retail strip right on the line between Worthington and Columbus….actually the line runs almost exactly in the middle of the parking lot. Long ago, Sharon Square housed a pizzeria. There is a hard to see walkway in the middle of the building which has an arcade feel to it. Rosa’s mind started to churn and she wondered…”maybe I can set up in the parking lot and serve my own community”. She tried it out on the late fall/early winter of 2012 and took the winter off to tweak the concept.
OK let’s track back a paragraph to this sentence Investing that much time and risk into one spot is a lot to ask a new business and being stationary is contrary to mobile food right? So how about teaming up with other mobile vendors to get more attention and building a following for the spot by offering a diversity of foods and making sure the hours that are committed to the community are covered. Somewhat unique to the world of business is mobile food, at least in Columbus. Most food trucks and carts view themselves as a community, not hardcore competitors but collaborators. It is their job to grow their own business and one of the best ways to do that is to make sure that like-minded businesses do more than survive, they need to thrive so they can be sustainable and legitimize the “brand” of mobile food. So with all this being said, Rosa looked for someone to partner with to build her concept in 2013 and she choose Matt and Lyle from Swoop.
Together with some other guest star mobile fooders, they have been quietly growing the Sharon Square Food Arcade over the winter. I contacted Lyle from Swoop to get some scoops on what is going on now and what we can expect to see in the future.
What is the current schedule for Sharon Square Food Arcade?
We are currently opening on Tuesday and Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm as follows
4/16/13 TBA
4/17/13 Ajumama
4/23/13 Cheesy Truck
4/24/13 TBA
4/30/13 Paddy Wagon
5/1/13 Kenny’s Meat Wagon
How many vendors are there now? Are there plans to expand the number of vendors?
We have 9 vendors but would like to expand that if possible its just a matter of making sure everyone involved has a good experience.
Are there plans to expand the number of days or times of service?
Right now we like the hours of 6pm to 8pm for dinner. It is a good second shift for any mobile vendor to tack on a few extra dollars to a lunch day. We also know how hard it is on the body to be in the truck or standing in the sun for too many hours so that will probably stay the same.
In May we will probably introduce Fridays and Saturdays (Saturdays probably extended lunch hours 12pm to 3pm)
What inspired the name?
There is an old arcade in Sharon Square that is hopefully a part of the future of the pod (maybe a place to go inside and eat during the hotter/colder months) Ultimately if the old arcade never becomes of use to the pod we still like the name a lot!
How did Swoop get involved?
Rosa and her Husband Tom have a computer shop in the strip mall and live nearby and became very conscious of the fact that the food in the area needed a little more variety and because of Rosa’s connection to mobile food she saw a very easy way to give her neighbors and friends new food to try (bring the restaurants to them!). Swoop! wanted to add a couple more dinners to their schedule in the winter months and saw this location as perfect place to test for a future pod. Swoop! boosted the mobile food awareness for the neighborhood and now that its getting warm wants everyone to share in the square (get it Sharon Square…share in square).
How can people find out more about the Sharon Square Food Arcade?
Facebook: facebook.com/5594NHigh
and email inquires: Sharonsquarefoodarcade@gmail.com
Anything else that you want to add?
We brought out the food that we felt best fit the feedback we got from the neighbors but we encourage everyone to like the Facebook page as well so that we can continue to poll everyone and schedule the vendors that the people in the area want the most and in turn create a place for mobile food to always have a good and profitable service.
Note: You may see the lack on Swoop in the schedule and some TBA’s. The Swoop Food Truck was hit by a car in early April and will be out of commission for a short while, in the meantime, they may make some appearances in food cart form so people don’t suffer lackofswoopitis.
Where to find the Sharon Square Food Arcade:
5594 North High Street (1 mile south of SR 161, 1 mile north of Morse Road)
Columbus not Worthington….but almost
Posted in CLOSED, Gastronomic Stimulus | Tagged: Sharon Square Food Arcade | Leave a Comment »
Posted by CMH Gourmand on April 10, 2013
The donut scene is heating up. We mentioned Destination Donuts last time. A few local restaurants including Deepwood and Latitude 41 have dabbled in donuts on occasion and we have a few other folks in the research and development stages…..or so they say.
The pathway to donut pioneerdom is not always intentional, it sometimes the mother of invention. But before we go down that rabbit hole, let’s profile the man behind the donut. First thing you should know about Brian Thornton from OH! Burgers he is a classic food trucker. He epitomizes and balances the qualities of a pirate, handy man, entrepreneur and kitchen rat. He went to culinary school but his undergrad was not so culinary and he thinks as much as a chef as he does an engineer. He worked on the line at the Refectory and worked in an office in a factory. There are some polarities involved for sure. Oh, did I also mention, he is known as Thor.
When I first met Brian he said he was going to do a food truck. I lot of people tell me that (as I told myself as well). He was not sure how it would pay for it, but he would figure it out. Shortly thereafter he bought the defunct Hot Pita Truck (I did not think anyone would do so on more than a few occasions) and transformed it into OH! Burgers. If you have ever seen the old movie PT 109, where the ragtag crew first sees the beat up old patrol boat and then works on it to get it shipshape then you can understand my observations of Brian and his food truck. He tinkered and rebuilt, reconfigured and tweaked and eventually got it on the streets. His approach towards mechanics and the culinary arts are about the same: 1/2 mad scientist and 1/2 wizard.
His menu is simple, burgers and sweet potato chips. I experienced his scientific approach to chips over the winter of 2012. He kept at them. Changing one thing, then another, trying multiple variations until every aspect of the chips were what he wanted and then he stopped. Then he worked on sauces for the chips. The weird science of OH! Burgers continued when the concept of pickles crossed his mind. He learns, tests, tweaks, tests and refines. In a couple of weeks we had a wide variety of pickles.
Then one day we were discussing other things he could do with sweet potatoes (he had a lot of them) and thought fritters might be a good offshoot. The fritters (they were good) became sweet potato donuts after short time. Then sweet potato donuts became more traditional donuts with flour instead of sweet potatoes as a base. The exploration continues. “What if I try this………”, “Today I found a really good flour so I changed up recipe” X to X+1…. Alton Brown and Galileo would be equally proud of this approach to culinary investigation. However, OH Nut donuts in one form or another or both are here to stay on OH! Burgers.
When can you find the latest refinement to mobile donuts? Brian often serves a three donut combo (one of each flavor) from the OH! Burgers food truck. On occasion, he takes over the back section and one fryer in the Ajumama Food Truck to pair his donuts with Ajumama’s Korean comfort street food.
What types of donuts can you expect to sample? Bacon, Fruity Pebbles and mini M & M’s are frequent toppings. Krema Spicy Peanut Butter has appeared a few times. The current “money” donut has Tequila in the dough, a vanilla glaze on top and lime zest for flavor and fun. That is a winner. Watch for more “research and development” in donuts and more from OH! Burgers and the mighty Thor.
As as side note, the infamous CMH Tobias has assisted in the donut review process. See below.
Photo 1: OH Nut sighted
Photo 2: OH Nut requested
Posted in culinary knowledge, donuts | Tagged: OH! Burgers, OH! Nuts, Thor | Leave a Comment »
CMH Gourmand - Eating in Columbus & Ohio 