Restaurant Widow

This Just In!!!!

I have just recorded my first podcast!  I will be posting it very, very soon.  It answers a request that a few of you made when I posted my survey a few weeks ago.

This Just In - The Latest in Restaurant Gossip

Wow.  I might have a spot working for page six.  A whirlwind of phone calls led to sources telling me that Chrissie Hynde (of the Pretenders) will open a VegiTerranean restaurant in the Shorth North.  There is already one location of the moderately-priced Vegan restaurant at the Northside Lofts in Akron, OH (which, by the way, is Ms. Hynde's hometown).  Maybe that's what will take over the old Coffee Table/8 Bar spot?

Chinese Grocery Treats

Every other week or so, I make a pilgrimage to several Asian markets around the city.  Besides the condiments and the cheap bones for stock-making, I love to peruse the aisles of cooking utensils and kitchen gadgets.  Yesterday, I was on a mission for two things: palm sugar (finally found it at CAM, where I should have gone first) and ABC brand Tropical hot sauce (unsuccessful, although I did get sweet & spicy).  A few discoveries were made along the way.

I was recently reading about Chinese herbal medicines, and the pictures of the herbs in the book looked so outrageous I couldn't imagine where anyone would find such things in Columbus, but I discovered that the Sunrise Asian Grocery store on Henderson (at Reed) has a ton of Chinese medical herbs, even Monkey Head Mushrooms (Husband got really excited at first, hearing only "monkey head").  So, if you have any interest in Asian medicines, you should give them a visit.  They also have all manner of bones for stock-making, at very reasonable prices - pork, beef, and poultry, as well as chicken feet (which are great for making stock - don't worry, we'll talk about that soon).

At Columbus Asian Market (aka CAM, at Bethel & Olentangy), I have frequently wondered about their prepared foods; for awhile, they were making a full lineup of Chinese dishes served hot, but now they serve mostly take-home foods which are made at the store and are then available for you to take and reheat.  You can buy such delights as pig's ears (which are actually quite tasty), tripe salad, and various salads.  I have occasionally purchased the bbq pork to take home and add to stir fries and the like, and their duck looks amazing, but yesterday I decided to finally try their sticky rice balls and tea eggs.

The rice balls are so beautiful I was really sad that my camera battery died before I could take a picture of one; banana leaves surround a triangle of very sticky (sweet or glutinous) rice and are tied with string.  The rice encompasses a generous portion of their very good roasted pork.  I could only eat about the forth of the rice, but the pork was really great.  These make a nice light lunch or snack, and they cost $2.

I liked the rice ball a lot, but I loved the tea eggs!  Husband wouldn't try one (not really a hard-cooked egg person), but I thought they were delicious.  The perfect snack for a salt lover like me.  Tea eggs are eggs which are boiled to about medium hard, then the shells are cracked (but left on) and the eggs are boiled again in a salty liquid of very strong tea.  When you peel the egg, the white egg has a distinctive marbling from the tea mixture (you can see a picture here; alas, the camera thing). The result is a rich, salty and savory snack - it's amazing how the flavor permeates the entire egg down to the very center of the yolk.  The eggs are 50 cents.

of related interest: a survey of my favorite groceries.

Things to do in Columbus::February 13th Edition

Well, tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  Hopefully you all have dinner reservations (don't forget to tip your server who isn't spending the evening with their significant other) or some other festive event planned.  Maybe you're cooking for your sweetie?  Whatever you're doing, bundle up!

• The Wexner Center will show Hitchcock's classic romantic thriller Vertigo on Valentine's Day at 7pm.  Tickets are $7.  Click to their calender for the rest of the Wex's great events.
• This Saturday is the fiery foods festival at the North Market!  Chefs and amateurs alike will compete for the best chili in Columbus (I'll be judging!), there will be cooking demos, and from 2-4, a spicy cooking class for singles!  Click for more information, including a schedule of events.
• If you are looking for a creative date alternative to the old dinner and a movie, you might consider visiting Perkins Observatory at Ohio Wesleyan; public programs take place almost ever Friday & Saturday evening, and tickets are only $6.  I haven't been to Perkins in forever, but from what I remember, there is a brief presentation describing what you'll be seeing, and then you go into the observatory and look through the giant telescope.  It's really fun and interesting.
• What could be more romantic than the ballet?  Come on boys, you know you can sit through anything for an hour and half, you know you need some culture in your life.  BalletMet will be showing Lovestruck, Ravel to Sinatra this weekend.  The program includes a mix of new performances and a few old favorites.  More info.
• The Columbus Jazz Orchestra presents 100 Years of Jazz:From Ragtime to BeBop & Beyond this weekend at the Southern Theatre (one of my favorite places in Columbus!)
• Here's another great date idea - Glass Axis has a special this Saturday for Valentine's - two students can make heart-shaped paperweights for $60, or pulled flowers for $75.  Click to their website for more details.
• Of course, the orchid forest at Franklin Park is another fantastic date idea.  Click through to Franklin Park's website for further details.
• This Week at Sur la Table: Thu 2/14 - Date Night Dinner for Two ($170, couple); Fri 2/15 - Date Night Celebrating Love ($170, couple); Sat 2/16 - Teens Chocolate Workshop (10:30 am, $59); Mon 2/18 - Ravioli Workshop; Tue 2/19 - Learning to Cook 2, frying, grilling, sauteing & roasting.  Unless otherwise specified, classes are $69 and take place at 6:30pm.  Click to their calender for more information.
• And at Whole Foods Dublin: Thu 2/15 - Romantic French Valentine's Dinner With Marc Dullin & Chef Michele Willoughby, Columbus Culinary Institute ($110/couple); Sunday afternoon, stroll the store and taste 365 products from 1 - 4pm; Monday's tasting will feature presidential favorites from 6 - 8pm; Tue 2/19, get a tour of the gluten-free products Whole Foods offers at 6pm.  Wed 2/20, get up at the crack of dawn for Yoga with Loretta (7:30am); and, Monday night, enjoy a Chinese Tea ceremony at 6pm for $5 (another fun date!)

Housekeeping Notes & Various Announcements

Readers!  I feel as though I have been so busy lately, and I've missed you!  Thanks to everyone who asked about our kitty; she is fine.  It took $200 to discover that she is completely fine, just stressed out.  So she gets a soothing kitty pheromone diffuser and a litter box on every level of the house (4)!  Our basement was lightly flooded!  Hooray!  and, we had adventures in parenting this week when Husband's 17-year-old brother was staying with us (love that kid - and I love feeding someone who eats so much)!  Everything has settled down, and I can finally sit down and pound out some updates!

• First of all, congratulations to Kelly for winning the tee shirt contest (pictured above)!  Kelly wins her choice of tee from Skreened, and her winning design will be be available very soon on tees and hopefully canvas bags!!
• If you are a graphic designer, and would like to help out a non-graphic designer, can you email me?  I want to tweak the "Gothic Girl" logo and print that on tees, too (Husband's design, can you believe it?!)
• I have recently become a board member of Local Matters!  Local Matters is a "charitable, educational and networking organization whose goal is to ensure that all members of our community have access to affordable, nutritious, fresh and local food."  I am very excited about this organization and was honored to have been invited to be on the board.  We are still in the planning stages but we hope to have many great programs and events in the future.  Michael Jones, chef and founding partner in Local Matters, is also behind the new Greener Grocer in the North Market, who will be offering more and more local produce as we get further into the growing season.  I saw it yesterday for the first time and I am very excited to have year-round access to local & sustainable foods.  There are lots of volunteer opportunities in Local Matters, and I know I have lots of readers with valuable skills - grant writing, fundraising, cooking, serving, lots!  If you are interested in volunteering, email Local Matters from their website.  They are in the process of collection potential volunteers at the moment.
• I will be judging at the Fiery Foods Festival this coming Saturday at the North Market!  Come by and say HI!  I will be judging chefs & amateurs alike.
• Lastly, I am a founding member of the first Slow Food Convivium in Columbus!  Slow Food is an organization "founded to . . . fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world."  I'm very excited to finally have a Slow Food Convivium in Columbus and am thankful for those who made it possible and asked if I wanted to be a part of their organization!  The first event will take place in mid-March.  Visit the Slow Food Columbus website for more information.  I will be writing occasional posts for the Slow Food Columbus blog, and I'll let you know when they are up.
• I'm making duck stock right now!  Talk about slow!  Stay Tuned.
• I have so many book reviews waiting!!  Stay tuned for those, too!
• I promise some food-related posts soon.

Banana Bean Cafe

About a year and a half ago, I visited Banana Bean ("The Patina of Key West") twice, and was unimpressed; however, I kept my mouth shut because I have numerous friends with serious foodie credentials (chefs, dessert makers, etc) who frequent Banana Bean.  I knew I would eventually have to give them another shot.  So my friend Crumpet, Big Lady who Lunches Partner extraordinaire, and I have tried it out twice in as many weeks. 

On our first visit, the special was a catfish po' boy with mac n cheese.  The serving of both was enormous - certainly enough to feed two.  I got one to go for Husband (who doesn't "get" mac n' cheese) with the "shrimp boil" potato salad.  I took the mac n cheese home and had it for dinner, and Husband was quite fond of the po' boy.  We also tried the (white) grits with goat cheese on the side - very tasty, but needed a pinch of salt and the sweet corn crepes with pork confit; the crepes themselves were good, but the filling left a little to be desired.  The addition of some vegetables and/or cheese would have made them excellent.

We visited again this week, and were pleased to see the catfish po' boy was a special yet again.  Crumpet opted for the "Calle Ocho," which was recommended to me by a readers and I chose the po' boy (top of post), which was really great - I actually ate the entire sandwhich, minus about half of the bread (which is good, don't get me wrong, it's just that bread products can occasionally get in the way of the meat within).  The catfish is dusted in cornmeal and was perfectly fried - not at all greasy, dried out, or dirty tasting, the way some catfish can be (it does, after all, live in mud).  The sandwich was topped off with some decent sliced tomoates and shreeded lettuce.  A little spicy homamade mayo was on top, and tartar was there, too.  It had a nice kick to it.  Alos along was a tiny side of cole slaw.  The sandwich, despite all of the goodies inside, maintained its structural integrity throughout its consumption; a good sign for a slower eater like Lisa.

The Calle Ocho is a type of Cuban sandwich - it contains slow-roasted, very moist and tender pork tenderloin along with Manchego cheese (not overpowering) and a fantastic olive, pepper & caper salad.  It was really, really good.  The sandwich is built on "Cuban" bread, which here looks very similar to a small baguette, and then pressed to seal in all of the goodness, and get the olive salad to melt into the bread.  Yum.  Since I had purchased the last of the po' boys, I chose the Calle Ocho to take to Husband at work.  He ate it in about 7 seconds flat, which is not particularly uncommon with him, and also thought it was quite tasty. 

Sides (other than a little cup of cole slaw) are not included in the sandwiches (which are around $9) at Banana Bean, but are reasonably priced and are huge.  We ordered a side or the really good Shrimp Boil potato salad, which contains sweet corn and is spiced with Old Bay seasoning (or similar), and were given a side which could have easily weighed a pound - no joke.  Crumpet ordered a side of sweet potato fries (below), which are very simple - they are not battered, they are just simply fried and seasoned.

The table next to us had the red pepper and tomato soup and it looked amazing.  Another table nearby had the ginger calamari and it, too, looked very good.  There's a limit to how much one can eat for lunch, however, and we had to cut ourselves off at some point.

Banana Bean is a small restaurant.  There are about 10 tables and they are close together; in the summer time, they make great use of the sidewalks and patio.  Some people out there don't like sitting close to other tables, but I kind of like it.  For instance, the table next to us contained two nice ladies who are printmakers, which was pretty cool.  I didn't even know there was a printmaking co-op in Columbus, but there is.  And sometimes you can take classes there.  It was quite interesting.  You never know who you'll meet in a cozy restaurant.

On the wall of the restaurant is a live feed to an outdoor restaurant somewhere warm, on a beach, so if you feel like having a 30 minute vacation, or getting more bitter about how cold & gray it is here, position yourself so that you can have a view of the tourist in Hawaiian shirts drinking beer on vacation.

I'm glad I've given Banana Bean another shot.  It's really great; they serve breakfast all day, and it looks great - a few people have added yummy-looking pictures of breakfast items on the Columbus Food Group.

Desserts include crepes and sweet potato creme brulee with toasted marshmallow topping, which is outrageously sweet, but good nonetheless - definitely for sharing.  The coffee is really great, a fact which was touched on recently on Columbus Underground; I guess they have someone roast and blend it to their specs, and they do sell it by the pound if you are so inclined. 

Info:  Banana Bean Cafe 410 E Whittier St. (German Village area) 614.598.4943

Things to do in Columbus::February 6th Edition

Today's events will be posted a little bit late due to an unexpected vet visit.  Nothing serious, I hope.  I'll be back this afterlunch!

Okay, took a little longer than expected (obviously).  We've been having a little faux Spring around here, and we've been having a little flooding in the old basement.  Hooray!!  Pretty soon the kitties are going to be rowing a little canoe to get to their litter boxes. 

Listen up, boys*, Valentine's Day is NEXT THURSDAY.  Don't pretend you weren't reminded.  The time to make your dinner reservations is now.  Of course, maybe you want to be brave and make dinner for your sweetheart at home. 

As always!  If you have any events to add, please leave them in the comments.

• Don't forget thie Saturday, the 9th (besides being  my mom's birthday - Happy Birthday MOM!!!) is another winter Farmer's Market in Worthington! at the Griswold Center, 777 N. High st, just north of 161. 
• I will, once again, recommend the orchid forest at Franklin Park.  Someone whose crafty blog makes me feel as though I'm not doing enough with my time has been, and documented.  Click through to Franklin Park's website for further details. (HINT HINT, boys, this is a very romantic place, especially if your Sig. Other doesn't even know it exists; they will certainly think you are amazingly fantastic.)
• Spike Lee will be interviewed at the Wexner Center February 12th, as part of the monthlong celebration of Lee's winning the Wexner Prize.  Tickets are $12, and the Wexner bookshop is a great place to buy something completely unique for your sweetie.  Click to the Wex's website to see everything else they have going on.
• The Ohio State University's College of the Arts has taken over 10,000 square feet of the old Lazarus building downtown to use a launching pad and gallery for their students.  This seems like a great idea to me, and hopefully will give people an excuse to get downtown every once in awhile.  February 8th is the grand opening, click for more information.
• Here's another great date idea - Glass Axis has a special this Saturday for Valentine's - two students can make heart-shaped paperweights for $60, or pulled flowers for $75.  Click to their website for more details.
• This Friday kicks off a new exhibit at COSI - Goosebumps! The Science of Fear!  Learn why our bodies react the way they do to fear.  More info.
• What could be more fun than a cooking class with your sweetie?  This week at Sur la Table: Fri, 2/8 - Paella Party with Mike McCauley; Sat, 2/9 - Perfect Pies & Tarts with Dena Logan (10:30) & Be My Valentine with Sheri Lisak (2pm, $49); Mon, 2/11 - Hearty Soups for Cold Winter Days with Mike McCauley; Wed, 2/13 - Mastering Risotto with Mike McCauley; Thur, 2/14 - Date Night Dinner for 2 with Mike McCauley - Fri, 2/15 - Celebrating Love with Mike McCauley.  Unless otherwise noted, classes are $69 and take place at 6:30pm.  Click to their calendar for more details.
• And at Whole Foods Dublin: Monday's free tasting (6-8p) is Sweetheart's Delight!  Chocolate, aphrodisiacs, gifts and more; Thursday the 7th is a free singles event - Tango & Tapas from 6p - 9p, with free tango lessons and tapas; Friday's Friday after Five will benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation, with all proceeds going to this year's Race for the Cure.  Monday the 11th, celebrate Chinese New Year (the year of the Rat, not quite as fun a them as last year's year of the pig, alas) with the owners from Sun Tong Luck restauran on Bethel road.  Learn traditional recipes.  $40.  Click to the WF Dublin calendar for more information.  Wild Oats/Whole Foods OSU will have the same tasting on Friday.  That's the only upcoming event listed so far; click to their calendar.

*disclaimer:  RW, without getting political, supports all relationship variations and feels that everyone has the right celebrate in their own way - single, man + dog, crazy woman + cat (remember, RW herself would be this woman if not for Husband, and is still only one dangerous step away), whatever.  As a general rule, RW does not herself support Valentine's Day, but does support others' rights to celebrate the holiday. 

Think You're Ready to be a Sommelier?

A few of you might know that Husband is in the midst of attaining his Master Sommelier certification.  He has notebooks full of notes, stacks and stacks of wine books, and about 10,000 notecards.  Every so often, I'll pick up a handfull of notecards and start quizzing him.  And laughing at myself in the process.  There have been a few times when, upon hearing about his studies, people have very flippantly said "yeah, I've been thinking about doing that," so we thought we'd post a few questions Husband uses to test himself.  Not trying to show off or anything, but there's a reason there is only one Master Sommelier in Columbus (and he doesn't work at a restaurant, but he is probably influencing the wine you drink, nonetheless) and it takes a lot of hard work to get to the point where you can list every single appelation in Burgundy (there are over 500).

See how many you can answer without Google.  Be honest, and then Google, and learn something.  I'd love to see how many my cork dork friends and readers can answer!!  I will post the answers on Thursday.

1.  What is the main grape of Cacc'e Mmitte di Lucera?
2.  What region's grape bin is known as a Gonc and how many litres of juice does it hold?
3.  What is the main grape of Bull's Blood of Eger?
4. What AOC of Alsace utilizes Savagnin Rose and what is the local name for this grape?
5.  What are the two red wine-only appellations of the northern Rhone?
6. What AVA is shared by Texas and New Mexico?
7.  Which German wine region produces some of its "German" wine from grapes that grow in France?
8. Which Portuguese region utilizes the nearly extinct Ramisco grape?
9. Australia's Shoalhaven Coast and Hastings River specialize in what French-hybrid grape?
10.  What is the primary indigenous white grape of Lebanon?

Have fun!

Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails

*I am having some trouble loading my pictures; I will try again tomorrow.  If you can't wait, you can see them on my Flickr page, where they have no problem.*

Last week in an extremely rare event, Husband & I had a Saturday night off from work (sorry, coworkers).  Our final destination was the Palace Theatre, so after a little discussion on where to have dinner, we settled on Tip Top.  We met our friend Crumpet there, who is extremely fond of their pot roast.

The Tip Top has lots of great cocktails which are mostly whiskey-based, so we stupidly decided to start off with gin.  The bartender apparently did not know how to make a Bombay Sapphire up with nothing in it.  The matter was quickly settled, however, and the martinis arrived tasty and as ordered. 

Our server was charming - she was very sweet and joked around with everyone, and even defended the horrifying-sounding "soy beef."  (I'm sorry vegetarians, but really - soy beef?  I can't even begin to describe the images that conjures.)

After I had ordered my catfish po' boy, I saw an amazing-looking salad walk past, but it was too late.  But I"m getting ahead of myself.  First up, it is absolutely imperative that you order the eggplant fries at the Tip Top.  I know, I know, the sweet potato fries are delicious, too, but the thing about the eggplant fries is that they are so surprisingly amazing.  I know you're skeptical - Husband was very skeptical - but just try them.  I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but these are really something.  They come with a cocktail-like sauce and what Crumpet calls the "state soup of Ohio," ranch dressing (New Yorkers).  (But this one purports to be house made and is tasty - who are we trying to kid, ranch is still tasty.)  At any rate, try the eggplant fries (pictured at the top of the post).

I opted for the catfish po'boy (above), nicely dusted in cornmeal and then fried, of course, along with a side of mashed potatoes (choice of chicken or beef gravy - imagine!).  The sandwich was huge; I could barely eat half (fortunately Husband was along to bat cleanup).  The mashed potatoes were homey and tasty, and who doesn't love to get gravy (I don't care if it's homemade or from a jar, I love gravy of any sort.  Husband had the roast beef and provolone, with plain old fries.  It was a large sandwich, with generous portions of beef and cheese.  Husband said it was good.

Crumpet had the pot roast - no surprise there.  Everone who tasted it proclaimed that it was "just like mom used to make."  It should be apparent that there is no skimping on the portions, here or otherwise (doesn't really make sense without the picture, sorry).

So, it should come as no surprise that after all of those big portions, we decided to have some pie.  There was only one flavor - apple and blackberry with crumble topping.  It was very tasty.  Well, there was a hard crust instead of an ethereally flaky pie crust, but I'll forgive them that.  There's something about a niced slice of pie that just can't be beat.  The mere act of ordering a slice of pie recalls some image of a neighborhood diner, where wizened old men come in to shoot the breeze with each other, harrass the waitress, and have a slice of pie and a cup of coffee.  It's wholesome.

As with all Liz Lessner joints (Betty's, Surly Girl), there is a great selection of beers.  I had the Hennepin, which is available on draft. 

The decor of the Tip Top is dedicated to Ohio memorabilia - our table featured an ancient picture of the Circus House (which is at the SW corner of Buttles & Dennison in Victorian Village); it was taken so long ago that Dennison was a broad street - no sidewalks necessary - filled with horse & carriages.  It was pretty cool to see something so familiar and yet so strange at the same time.

The Tip Top is a gem in the otherwise rather listless downtown area at night.  Don't let the dark facade steer you away - the interior is warm and charming, the food is generous, reasonably priced and hearty, and the service is casually low-key.  A great first date spot.  The Tip Top is open daily for lunch & dinner.  Here's a secret for parking - there are meters on Pearl, and while most people will circle endlessly, searching for a spot on Gay, and almost no one goes down Pearl, looking for a spot there.

Info: The Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails, 73 E Gay St. (downtown) 614.221.8300

Tidbit

So.  It was my friend's birthday on Groundhog's Day, so I got him a Dark Chocolate Moscato Bombe at Pistachia Vera.  Or course, no trip to Pistachia Vera is complete without a treat (or three) for oneself.  I chose this Yuzu Cream (yuzu is a very tasty Japanese citrus) and Huckleberry graham crumble.  Wow.  So nice and tart, with just a nice slightly sweet crumble.  And, I just have to say, the folks at Pistachia are so nice.  I called that morning, and besides being friendly, they said they'd have the personalized cake for me in under an hour!  I just love those kids.

Update - just wanted to let you know, since there was a question about it, they will be having seating on March 1.  Someone I know will be very happy!

Pistachia Vera, 541 S. 3rd St. in Columbus (German Village) 614.220.9070