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

Comments

[cynthia]

the vegetarian cheesesteak at the tip top is actually quite wonderful and definitely worth trying. (I have carnivore friends who LOVE it.)

[Dave]

Soy beef, that's just wrong. Vegetarian cooking can be wonderful. It's too bad when soy things are tranformed into barely recognizable meat wannabes.

[Amy]

The soy beef is actually not bad at all. The sandwich with that and the onion marmalade is fantastic. You can't get anything quite like it that's vegetarian anywhere else in Columbus!