CMH Gourmand – Eating in Columbus & Ohio

Deal 1: Dine Originals 25% off Oct 9 to 12, Deal 2: 50% off

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 30, 2009

Hmm – 25% off food on Dine Originals Restaurants during Columbus Day Weekend. If you have never been to Alana’s, Basi, G. Micheals, Cafe Corner, Betty’s, Rigsby’s, etc. – this is the time to do it.

Columbus Days with Dine Originals and Experience Columbus

Ok, deal number two – not many choices left – but as I write 50% certificates are available for L’Antibes (great lunch destination), Milo’s Deli (also a good lunch spot and related to Tommy’s Diner) and Maca (tapas in Powell).

Dine Originals 50% off certificates for the 3rd Quarter of 2009

Posted in restaurants | Leave a Comment »

Passing Time at the Paw Paw Festival

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 20, 2009

I have spent a lot of time in Athens County this year and have come to know many of the food folks of the area. I was able to see many of these people come together (again) in support of and as participants in the Ohio Paw Paw Festival. Our friend Chris Chmiel from Integration Acres is an integral part of the Paw Paw festival and it was a pleasure to see the event well attended on a beautiful fall day.

So what is a Paw Paw? It is Ohio’s official native fruit. More information on the Paw Paw can be found here – Paw Paw (via Slow Food Ark of Taste). The Paw Paw has become a forgotten food in the last two generations. It was once well known and part of the foodways of Ohio. Paw Paw’s are found in song and literature and for many of us the songs have been our only exposure we have had to the fruit.

My friend Hungry Woolf spent all of Saturday at the festival as a judge (4 1/2 hours) and you can read the whole play by play of the day at her blog check on or after September 21st.

Paw Paw Judges included Hungry Woolf, Barbara Fisher (Tigers and Strawberries) and Scott Bradley from Zoe

Warren Taylor (wearing hat) from Snowville Creamery with his infamous pedal powered ice cream maker

Posted in events | Tagged: Ohio Paw Paw Festival | 4 Comments »

A Night of 1000 Tacos 1.0 (September 18th)

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 20, 2009

The first Night of a Thousand Tacos was September 18th. Most of the Taco Touristas were on bicycles for a 20 mile round trip ride of four Taco Trucks located on or near Cleveland Avenue. We also had two scooters and 4 cars. Another (bigger) Night of 1000 Tacos will be on October 9th.

Go to Taco Trucks Columbus for more details on A Night of 1000 Tacos past and future. We raised about $200 for the Mid Ohio Foodbank and introduced many people to their first, second, third and fourth Taco Truck experiences. The next Night of a Thousand Tacos tour will also include the movie Three Amigos at Studio 35 and prize giveaways.

We had a great response from the Taco Truck owners. Taco Nazo in particular went all out to welcome us for the first Night of 1000 tacos. We were greeted with two homemade cakes, free beverages, discounted tacos, balloons and a lot of smiles.

Here are a few photos from the night.

Welcome from Taco Nazo

One of two cakes Taco Nazo made for our group

Cooking tacos and tortas and more.

Ordering at Don Pedro's Taco Truck....about 11:00 pm

Denise - Community Relations Director at Don Pedro's and 2nd Grade student

Thanks to everyone that came out for this event. If you want to learn more about Taco Trucks – come join us on October 9th, check out the Taco Trucks website or send me an e-mail.

Posted in events | Tagged: Night of 1000 Tacos, Night of a Thousand Tacos, Taco Trucks in Columbus | Leave a Comment »

Dine Originals Restaurant Week II: Wrap Up

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 14, 2009

Another Dine Originals Restaurant Week has come and gone as of Sunday. Conversations and observations at Alana’s, Deepwood, Cafe Corner, G. Michaels and Pistacia Vera indicate is a was very busy week. I ran into Diane Warren from Katzingers on Sunday who said the same. That being the case, we can hope for two more restaurant weeks in 2010.

I wrapped up my week with Cafe Corner and Pistacia Vera.

Cafe Corner to go, two sandwichs, two apples, two desserts (two cans of coke: not shown)

Cafe Corner was my value pick of the week. For $20.09 I was able to order two sandwiches, choice of chips or apple with each, two desserts and two drinks. Looking at regular pricing that saved me at least $4 if not more. One of the sandwiches I ordered was the Tapeno which was featured in the Bon Appetit April 2009 issue.

My other sandwich choice, which I experienced to be even better was Fig and Prosciutto (dried calimayna figs, prosciutto, provolone, balsamic vinegar and white truffle oil on good crusty bread served panini style). It is a very filling lunch for two or a couple meals for one.

(front view)

I have started a Restaurant Week tradition (I have done it two out of two times so it counts now) by getting the Pistacia Vera tasting menu late Sunday afternoon. The selections never disappoint. It is a great way to end Restaurant Week – more dessert!

(top view)

I am looking forward to the new Dine Originals Columbus Restaurant Week tradition and hope this remains a twice yearly event.

Cafe Corner
1105 Pennsylvania Ave.
Harrison West / Victorian Village
614.294.2233

Pistacia Vera
541 South Third St
German Village
614.220.9070

Posted in events | Tagged: Dine Originals Restaurant Week | 1 Comment »

Crabill’s Hamburgers, Urbana

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 13, 2009

Crabill’s Hamburgers
727 Miami Street
Urbana
937.653.5133

There are several different routes you could choose to head to Crabill’s in Urbana, each will take you through small towns, past farmers stands and involve at least one major freeway. The one way trip will cost you an hour and a quarter or slightly more of your time. The journey is worth the effort for a taste of hamburger history.

burger balls become small hamburgers

Three generations of Crabill’s have used a special spatula to smash small hamburger balls into mini hamburgers since 1927. The first burgers were cooked in a hamburger buggy. As business grew a small six seater stand became Crabills. This hamburger hangout took a brief respite for a few years but was brought back in the tradition of the original. The third generation of Crabill’s opened as Crabill’s on Wheels and used the momentum to rebuild the business to open the new stand. The location today is not the original but it does have the six stools from the much smaller 1929 edition of Crabills.

sit on history

The menu is as small as the building. Choices include hamburgers, cheeseburgers, double burgers (suggested), chili dogs, a few other items and homemade pies. There is a drive through window which does a brisk business all day. The true Crabill’s experience involves finding an open stool inside and watching the hamburgers grilled in front of you from the counter.

There is an old school approach to hamburger toppings that goes back to the 1920’s: mustard, relish and/or onions. In 1990, ketchup was added as an option. Burgers are ordered, grilled quickly and dressed right in front of you. A typical experience is to order a few, love them, observe that they seem to disappear quickly and then order a few more. There are several regular customers that just walk in and are served without ordering because their tastes are so well known to the staff.

Chili Dog

For the sake of diversity, I also sampled a chili dog. Homemade chili is served (Ohio style) on a slightly toasted bun with a bit of sear to the hot dog. In my opinion, that is the proper approach to hot dog creation, not bad for a place with an eighty plus year history of “hamburgering”.

There are also other traditions here. Large scale consumption of hamburgers as in 33 hamburgers in 45 minutes in 2007. The owners and staff are friendly and clearly have fun doing what they do and interacting with their customers, neighbors and friends.

classic combo: cheeseburger and bottle of coke

Posted in hamburgers, pies, restaurants, Road Trip | Tagged: Crabills | 5 Comments »

Fast Note: Farm to Table Dinner, Farm to Table Festival and Scotts Community Garden Campus

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 13, 2009

The Franklin Park Conservatory launched the Community Garden this weekend as part of the Farm to Table Festival. . The garden includes an apiary (honey and bee cultivation), a community garden common, a Chef’s Allee (with some wonderful outdoor cooking space and a wood fired oven), and gardens. Community gardening is becoming more popular in Columbus as attempts are made to reconnect us with the food we link and help some underprivileged communities gain access to seasonal, fresh foods. The Community Garden Campus is a wonderful use of space.

I had the privilege of attending the Farm to Table Dinner Friday night thanks the generosity of friends. It was an amazing dinner featuring all Ohio wines and local foods cooked by many volunteer chef cooking teams including my friends Colleen, Bethia and Mary. My favorite pre-meal snacks were a Jeni’s ice cream float and a slice of wood-fired pizza created by Jim Budros with his cooking cronies Steve Stover, Rich Teripak and friends.

On Saturday I worked the Slow Food booth answering questions about Slow Food Columbus while sampling paw paws and ground cherries (forgotten Ohio foods). Based on these two days at the Community Garden I do get the impression that many of us are wanting to reconnect with the food we eat by knowing where it comes from, who grows and/or cooks it. And more people are wanting something that tastes farm fresh instead of microwave refreshed. These are good things.

Posted in food | Tagged: Franklin Park Conservatory Community Garden Campus | 1 Comment »

Athens: Farm to Table Tour – September 12th

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 9, 2009

The information below was sent to me by Kirsten Graham of Kirsten Graham PR. It is a pretty cool event that features the best of Athens area farmers and restaurants. I have eaten at many of these restaurants and visited some of these farms so having all of these people in one place is pretty amazing. This also pairs nicely with the Field to Table event at Franklin Park Conservatory this weekend.

All of the content below is a direct copy from an e-mail.

TOYOTA HYBRID FARM TO TABLE TOUR
Toyota’s Farm to Table Tour Heading to the Athens Farmers Market to Celebrate the Connection Between Farmers, Chefs, and the Local Community on Display at the Market

WHAT:
12 local beloved chefs are paired with market farmers to highlight the bounty of locally grown food and product available at the Athens Farmers Market. The chefs will prepare special tastings showcasing their partner farm’s fresh ingredients and visitors will have the opportunity to sample the chefs’ creations while also learning more about the market vendors, their products, and how to buy and eat seasonally.

Toyota will also provide interested market goers with the opportunity to take a ride in the 3rd Generation Prius or a 2009 Highlander Hybrid.

WHERE:
The Athens Farmers Market is located at 1000 East State Street.

WHEN:
The event starts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 12, 2009 and concludes at 1:30 p.m. the same day.

CHEF/FARMER PAIRINGS SCHEDULE:
Pairings subject to change

TENT 1:
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Scott Bradley of Zoe Fine Dining + Gillogly Orchards

10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Sandy San of China Fortune + Yankee Street Farms/Mitch’s Produce and Greenhouse

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Doug Weber of Rhapsody + Chowdery Farms/Gillogly Orchards

Tent 2:
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Michelle Wasserman of Casa Nueva Restaurant and Cantina + Shew’s Orchard/Shade River Organics/Green Edge Organics/King Family Farms/Companion Plants/Snowville Creamery

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Kevin Hurst of Latitude 39 + Chowdery Farms/King Family Farms/Green Edge Organics

12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Ryan Stolz of O’Betty’s Red Hot + Integration Acres/Chowdery Farms/Green Edge Organics/Crumb’s Bakery/Athen’s Own/Shew’s Orchard

Tent 3:
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Hilarie Burhans of Restaurant Salaam + Integration Acres/Shade River Farms/Sassafras Farms

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Bee Vacca of Heaven’s Oven + Arnold Farms

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
John Gutekanst of Avalanche Pizza + Rich Organic Farms/Chowdery Farms/Starline Farms/Yankee Street Farms

Tent 4:
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Jana Durham of Jana’s Soul Food Café + Rich Organic Farms

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Barbara Fisher + Harmony Hollow/Green Edge Organics/Rich Gardens Organic Farm

12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Jade Mu of Lui Lui + King Family Farms/Shew’s Orchard/Sassafras Farms/Green Edge Organics

EVENT BROUGHT TO ATHENS FARMERS MARKET BY:
The Toyota 3rd Generation Prius and 2009 Highlander Hybrid

Posted in Athens, events | 1 Comment »

Nelsonville: The Flying Dog with a side of Snowfork Cafe

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 7, 2009

(Sorry both of these places are closed)

Flying Dog
99 Watkins Street
(on SR 33)
Nelsonville, OH
740.753.3647 (DOGS)

I have driven by the Flying Dog for at least two years on my various trips to Athens for fun and for work. I figured it was a just a local bar in a spot that has been a string of short lived restaurants. While Nelsonville is small, it is prone to traffic jams at certain points in the day such as evening rush hour heading north out of Athens or when an old junker with a maximum speed of 36 miles per hour decides to lurch along on SR 33. On one of these days I decided to pop in to the Flying Dog to use their restroom. I spied Elevator Beer on tap as I walked in which inspired me to sit myself down on a stool and sniff around to see what this place was about.

I noticed friendly staff that seemed to know their customers well. I also noticed an assortment of hot dogs on the menu including a fried dog, Boston (BBQ sauce and baked beans), Texas (BBQ sauce, Cole Slaw and pickle), West Virginia (chili sauce, cole slaw, mustard and onions) and a Chicago dog.

The fare also includes wings, chicken, sandwiches and an assortment of sides. The eclectic menu borders on the exotic with items including Poutine and a Caprese Panini.

Sitting at the bar I struck up a conversation with a loquacious gentleman. We talked food, travel, traveling for food and the food scene in Nelsonville. As it turned out I was speaking with the owner Steve Holtel (whose business card lists him as an “economic slave”).

I asked him about the menu and the restaurant since both had turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me. Steve has owned the site for years and watched several restaurants fail. He finally decided that he would own and operate the restaurant and offer the things that he liked to eat and hope that others did to. So far his choices are paying off. He is active in his community and the dollar dog days/daze on Tuesdays help build a following for the rest of the week.

It is hard to pull myself away from my Athens choices but the Flying Dog is with a drop in instead of a drive by.

Snowfork Cafe
161 East Canal Street
Nelsonville, OH
740.753.9990

Just a block down on SR 33 a new restaurant opened in August at a site that had been empty for years. The place serves up typical Midwestern diner fare such as Country Fried Steak, a Fishtail sandwich, and Open Faced Roast Beef. What caught my eye was the pie. Some beautiful pies are on display in the pie case. I was told the three generations of women that work in the cafe make pie using old family recipes passed down for years. They make good pie.

Even on the way to my culinary heaven of Athens, I still have to stop and look around..... I never know what I might find.

Posted in CLOSED, hot dogs, restaurants, Road Trip | Tagged: Flying Dog Nelsonville | 4 Comments »

Too Many Bloggers at Too Many Cooks, Sunday September 6th

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 4, 2009

Anyone interested in putting a face with a blog? Your chance is this Sunday.

Nick Dekker from Breakfast With Nick, Rose Rings from Bitchin’ in the Kitchen, Dave Scarpetti from weber_cam and Dave’s Beer, Bethia Woolf of Hungrywoolf’s Food Blog, Becke Boyer from Columbus Foodie, my minion Zach from Columbus Foodcast and I—will be at Wild Goose Creative – Sunday, September 6, at 7 p.m., to talk about what we do, why we do it, and where we like to go to eat. We are bringing food as well. I will be crafting chili, Dave is making bread, Zach is baking beans and that is just a sample from the e-mails I have seen zipping around all week.

Who, What and When: above
Where: Wild Goose Creative – 2491 Summit Street, Columbus, OH 43202

Cost: $5

Postscript:

About 35 people showed up. The bloggers brought: Marmite cheese twists, Chocolate chip cubes, a yummy peanut square, 10 bean baked beans with pork, empanadas, Puerto Rican style pork with rice, vegan chili (kitten free), Venison Chili and Nick Dekker’s toast, egg and other stuff concoction (the name escapes me). Upcoming big food event at Wild Goose Creative is Pizza Grand Prix IV on October 18th.

Posted in culinary knowledge, events | Leave a Comment »

Win a $25 Dine Originals Gift Certificate!

Posted by CMH Gourmand on September 3, 2009

Karen Simonian from Dine Originals sent me a gift certificate for $25.00! However, the certificate is not for me – it is for one of you. Here is a list of Dine Originals Restaurants where the certificate can be redeemed. The only downside is that you can not use this for Dine Originals Restaurant Week specials.

So here is the deal. Tell me about the best restaurant(s) you tried during Restaurant Week via e-mail to (CMH Gourmand) no later than high noon September 16th. The best story gets the certificate and if you want – I will post your story here – with a byline or anonymous if your prefer.

Those without a story can e-mail as well, if I don’t get any stories – I will just select a person at random.

The restaurants have their restaurant week menus posted on the Dine Originals website. The fixed price meals are $20.09 or 30.09. This an opportunity to try something new and/or experience a favorite place for an exceptional value.

I have looked over the menus to plot my own meals. If you are looking for suggestions I think that Alana’s, Black Creek Bistro, Burgundy Room, Deepwood, and G. Michaels have the menus to beat for the week. But you really can not go wrong with any of them. The more adventuresome may want to go out of town to Shaws in Lancaster or the Inn at Cedar Falls.

Odds of winning are pretty darn good – so do it.

Posted in events, Gastronomic Stimulus | Tagged: Dine Originals Restaurant Week | 4 Comments »

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