It's going to be a long time before anyone is sitting here...
Folks, it's cold here in Columbus Ohio. Cold and snowy. In typical Columbus fashion, road crews seemed taken by surprise with the weather; streets in my neck of the woods still haven't been plowed or salted. Oops - I'm not here to grouse about public services (COTA did get me to work in an hour yesterday - 4.5 miles, better than I could have done myself); I'm here to discuss food. But here's the kick in the teeth:
does it ever happen to you that suddenly nothing seems to be working? My computer has stopped recognizing my MP3 player, and I've been stuck with the same 300 songs for over a week now. Everything in my house appears to be frozen - the water line to the fridge, all of the hot water to the kitchen, until yesterday my clothes dryer had ceased operations (kudos to the electric guy who showed up on time and got it fixed!), but the worst part of all is that the water line to my dishwasher is frozen! (something one would only discover, of course, when one had a dishwasher full of dirty dishes to be washed) With our predicted temperatures, I see no thaw in sight. I'm about one plate away from doing things the old-fashioned way - kettles full of boiling water thrown into the sink. Yikes.
All of this to say, I can't be forced to cook under these circumstances! Nor encouraged to venture far from home to try new things. I do, however, have a few crumbs to pass along:
- Pistachio Sweet Kitchen is moving from their charming Short North shop to larger digs in German Village. The new home will be located in the former Thurn's bakery spot at 541 S. 3rd St. This is not to be confused with Thurn's Specialty Meats, which I wrote about recently. The press release hinted they might be considering some dessert-only table service, which would be a great addition to our fair city. A fine dining restaurant had originally been planned for the space; a late summer opening is planned.
- The opening day for the much-anticipated (by me, anyway) Rosendale's restaurant is set for Saturday, March 17th. A gutsy move, as most folks open on Wednesdays to work out a few kinks before the weekend. St. Patrick's Day is always a weak day for non-partying restaurants, so perhaps it's a wise move. Pictures of the food on the website look stunning.
- Things I've eaten this week you haven't: A giant oyster. I believe it might be known as a Miyagi oyster: after a little research, I've learned the Miyagi is a Pacific oyster (imported from Japan in the early 1900s) which can grow up to 10 inches in length! Yes, that's right. 10 inches. I hope you can see by comparing it to the lemon wedge in the photograph that this is one giant oyster. It was probably as big or bigger than my cupped hand. And I have rather long hands for a girl, 10 years of being chained to a piano will do that to you. Fortunately, I was not expected to slurp this baby down raw (the thought is a little revolting, I must admit, even for an oyster lover); it was cooked over a flame at Kihachi, bathed in a little mirin. It was quite entertaining to watch Chef Endo (who prepares the hot food at Kihachi) cook these guys as they sputtered, popped, and spurted juice into the air as they were heated.
- If you are interested in learning about "Fair Trade" coffee, or just the coffee racket in general, you might hop over to the Wexner Center this week to see Black Gold, a documentary about a man's mission to prevent his farmers from going broke. It promises to be very enlightening, and will probably make you think twice about complaining about the price of coffee. By the way, one can purchase fair trade coffee at Stauf's in Grandview. The movie is being shown this Thursday and Friday at 7pm. I just might take it in myself, if I can brave the cold.
- If the restaurants where Husband & I work are any indication, you are unlucky if you haven't made your Valentine's Day reservation yet, unless you would like to dine at 10pm. Maybe you could try your hand at crafting Valentine's Dinner for yourself! Or do as Husband and I do, and celebrate your own love-themed holiday the week after Valentine's Day, when all the crowds have settled down.
