Restaurant Widow

Brown Bag Deli

People have been telling me to go to the Brown Bag Deli every since it changed ownership a few years ago, and I finally made it.

I really have been missing out.

I selected the Brown Bag Sub for Husband, and because he usually eats for the day in one setting, selected the whole size.  Half was sufficient; the whole sub is enormous.  It has pastrami, cappacola, salami, hot pepper cheese, and Italian dressing on a large, good sub roll.  Since I was in transit and it wasn't going to get to Husband for awhile, I chose to have it cold, which was fine, but I think it would be even better toasted.

For myself, I chose the Mohawk Stroller - turkey and roasted red peppers on a cheddar herb roll with sprouts and basil pesto.  This might be one of the best sandwiches I have had in a very long time.  Not only were the ingredients inside the sandwich tasty, balanced, and of high quality, the roll was superb.  I don't know from whence these rolls come, but whatever bakery it is, does a mighty fine job.  Half was good for me, and I saved half for eating at the end of a busy Thursday night - it was still tasty after sitting in the cooler at work for 7 hours!  (I apologize for the poor picture quality)

I chose two kinds of potato salad for sides - a traditional mustard potato salad, and an amazing smoky potato salad, with bacon and smoked cheese.  Things almost came to blows over the smoked potato salad (just kidding); it is that good.  The traditional potato salad was also tasty, but the smoky one was so different it kind of overshadowed.  This might rival Banana Bean's Shrimp Boil potato salad as my favorite in town.  Have I mentioned how much I love potato salad?

At any rate, I suggest you find yourself struggling for a parking space in German Village, at the corner of Mohawk & Whittier.  Brown Bag also offers carryout dinners (today's is marinated flank steak over spinach), which you can pick up on your way home and server when you get there, as well as catering.  And, if you need a cupcake fix after lunch, Bakery Gingham is right next door!

info: Brown Bag Delicatessen 898 Mohawk St in German Village 614.443.4214 

In Which Lisa the Waitress Finally Tries Soup from Northstar

Anyone who has been reading my site for awhile, or who knows me, knows how much I have taken Northstar to task for not having soup available.  So it was funny when they finally started making it a few months ago - I receive a flurry of emails and text messages, pictures from iPhones and everything "Lisa!!  Did you know Northstar has soup now?!!!"

Thanks, faithful readers.  It took me awhile to get to Northstar to try out their new soup, and in the meantime, there was a lot of hubbub over the fact that the new soup sold for around $8 a bowl.  Could it possibly be worth it?

This past Saturday, for no particular reason I can think of, I was getting ready for work and then realized it was 3pm, I was ready for work, standing at the bus stop, when I realized I was over an hour ahead of time.  I decided to stop off at Northstar for a little pre-work lunch and email answering.

By the way, a cup of soup is available for around $5.  I ordered a veggie burger with a cup of soup instead of salad and a coffee.  I think there might be a slight discount when ordered this way, because my total was $15.  It is a little high for lunch, but if you consider I can only eat half of the veggie burger at once, and have the other for a mid-shift snack, then I suppose it isn't so bad.

The veggie burger was good as always; I really love the Northstar burger.  How about the soup?  The soup was good.  Made from canned tomatoes and dosed with a good bit of olive oil, the soup tasted nice and tomato-ey.  It was topped off with lots of crumbled toast bits, a little scoop of lightly spiced olive relish with basil and Parmesan.  It was a tasty soup.  Was it worth the price tag?  I'm not sure.  $5 does seem a little high, but it is a good soup.  Even the best Sicilian tomatoes are only about $3 per 28 can, and that's retail, at a specialty shop.  A 28 ounce can would made around four 4 ounce servings, with reduction factored in, so with toast and peripheral ingredients figuring $1 per serving (which is high), even at $3 a can, we're looking at around a 500% markup (400% profit), or a food cost of 20%.  I will admit, that does seem a bit greedy.  I haven't seen the bowl of soup size, so I can't say if it's worth $8 or not.  But, keep in mind that I calculated these prices based upon retail, and Northstar is paying wholesale for their ingredients.  Of course, I didn't factor in the labor, either, and considering there are always around 6 cooks in the kitchen, I'm guess that is mostly what you are paying for.

So, that being said, value is in the tongue of the eater.  I can't say I necessarily felt ripped off by my $15 lunch, except that I forgot to eat the other half of my veggie burger at work, and my busser ate it instead, I did feel a little let down with the soup, because I felt as though I could make an equally delicious soup at home.

I like Northstar.  I think their success has made them a little lazy in the idea department; I can't eat there as often as I'd like, because you can only eat the same things so many times before they grow old.  If there were anything I would change, it would be expanding their menu by having around 5 specials per day, and not the same specials every day.  But I suppose they might say why mess with a good thing. 

info: Northstar has 2 locations: 951 N High (Short North) & 4241 N High (Beechwold)

Imperia Vodka at Morton's Recap

The nice thing about writing about the food & beverage industry, or working in it, is that occasionally people invite you to eat and drink for free.  It's especially nice when those events include things I love like vodka and caviar (how indulgent!)

ps - if you are hosting a gin or bourbon tasting, well, those are my favorite favorites.

Ahem.  I had never been to a Morton's before, so trying an event there for free seemed like a good introduction.  As usually happens for these sort of events, Husband had to work at the last minute, so I called up good old Crumpet (you might remember Crumpet from such previous ventures as Banana Bean Cafe).

I expected Morton's to be really dark, so I was pleasantly surprised to note that it had the nice kind of mellow lighting you find everywhere in Vegas, and nowhere in Central Ohio.  Every table has a cute little pig candle on it (pictured above, behind food), and if I were still in my college days, I might have brought a bigger handbag with me so that I could stash one away.  (kidding, kidding.)

The event featured Imperia vodka, which according to the Imperia Vodka rep I met at the event, is filtered through charcoal and crystals.  Crystal filtered?  It sounds so mystical.  Like what they might drink in Dune, if there were a bar scene in Dune.  Featured cocktails were lemon thyme (yum), cucumber (yum, but too much salt on the rim), and raspberry (okay, but medicinal as it warmed), and plain old martini with olives (why didn't I try that one?  Then I might actually know what the vodka tasted like).  The cocktails were good, but as a general rule, I am against sugar syrup in cocktails.  I'm a big old lady who's been in the restaurant biz for years: just give me the vodka, sir.

There was caviar, the type of which I failed to take note, of course.  It was presented in the traditional manner, with toast points, chopped shallots, and egg yolks & whites.  I have a fondness for traditional caviar presentation, because the night Husband proposed to me, he made dinner which included this traditional caviar presentation (along with Pol Roger Cuvee Winston Churchill, how cool is that?).

Even better were the shaved filet station (very rare, yum) with lots of whipped horseradish sauce and a really tasty sweet roll, and the smoked salmon (freshly carved by appropriately snarky chef), along with a giant bowl of grated horseradish (swoon), shallots, and capers.

When the time came for door prizes, my little Crumpet won!  A bottle of Imperia vodka, a set of Morton's steak knives, and a cocktail shaker - how cool is that?! 

I was informed that, at happy hour, Morton's gives away filet sandwiches on those yummy toasted sweet rolls at the bar.  That's reason enough for me to go there.  Rumor is also, they are going to fly in the face of Morton's tradition by putting windows in front of the restaurant!?

As I was leaving, I noticed there were personalized wine cabinets lining the entryway.  You can see the wines inside, and each cabinet is labeled with its owner's name.  I got a kick out of pointing out everyone I had waited upon in the past.  I know it's old school, but that seems like a really good way to get - and keep - regulars.  I'll have to note that for any future restaurants I might open.

Thanks for the fun & drinks, Morton's!

More information about Imperia Vodka. (must be 21)
More information about Mortons.

Milano's Steakhouse

Between us, Husband and I share a lifetime of restaurant work.  Both of us had our first jobs in restaurants, and of course our current jobs are in restaurants.  We've been bussers, foodrunners, baristas, barbacks,  bartenders, cocktailers, managers, servers, hosts, I think we've both even done a shift or two in the dishtank, and I've done my own time behind the line as well.  We've worked in a Cajun restaurant, an old-school fine dining restaurant, coffeehouses, silly Italian restaurants, French restaurants, gay bars, Americana restaurants, wine bars, fine dining restaurants, steakhouses, and Amish restaurants.  One of us even interviewed to be Les Wexner's personal server.  We've probably opened more bottles of wine and asked for more steak temperatures than either of us could ever count.  We've poured more cosmos, martinis, and scotches on the rocks than most of you will ever see in your life.  We've smiled and served you with grace through food poisoning, the flu, bronchitis, sprained body parts, hangovers and exam-cramming.  We've had knockout, drag out fights with chefs and then come out smiling to sling your calamari.  We've starched countless white button-down, 100% cotton shirts and tied even more apron strings.  We've sliced our fingers open whilst opening bottles and pretended we were fine.  We've folded enough napkins to wipe the mouths of the entire city of Columbus, thrice over.  We've rolled more silverware than mouths.  We've missed concerts, plays, opening nights, parties, anything that ever happened on a Friday or Saturday.  We've missed every major holiday.  We've missed Christmas Eves, we've missed every single New Year's Eve.  We've missed every Valentine's Day.  We've missed a lot, to serve you.  Such is the life of a restaurant worker.

While we both have had corporate jobs with 401K plans and great dental plans, we always find ourselves back in restaurants.  We both went to good high schools and have college degrees.  On some level, I occasionally think there's a parallel us - Husband went to med school as he had planned, and I went to law school.  For some reason, this parallel us lives in Worthington.  But as I've said time and again, I don't think I would be happy as a lawyer.  Certainly I'd have more money than I do now, but would I be as happy?  I just don't think so.  There's something about not being stranded behind a desk all day which I love.  And I'm selfish enough to admit that my own happiness and Husband's happiness are very important to me.

Wow.  I have seriously digressed.  (as a sidenote, this is why writing has been a challenge recently - I've been way to verbose.)  At any rate, Husband and I were recently discussing our various lives in restaurants, and at some point, we decided we should revisit our first places of employment.  Fortunately, both are still open (I can't say that for all of the places we've worked).

It was Monday night.  I had a meeting which ran late and had errands to run, and then it was dark.  I didn't want to cook.  Husband called with an idea "I don't know if you'll go for it.  I'll tell you when you get home."  And so it happened that we went to Milano's, Husband's first place of employment.  These days, Milano's is located in a less-than-stellar part of town, in a low slung brick building. 

The interior is old-school elegantish, and by the time we had arrived at 7:30, many of the clientele had come and gone (Milano's if famous for its early bird specials).  We sat in the lounge side of the restaurant, which still houses a stage and a dance floor, where the same crooner has been covering the standards since Husband was still a skinny little high school kid with a bad attitude and a brand new smoking habit.

Our bartender had been working at Milano's for around 14 years; when guests arrived, they were sometimes greeted with a hug and talk of so and so's kids or what's going on in their lives.  Most of the waitresses here (and it's waitresses only) have worked here forever. 

So, let's start with the cocktails.  There is no extensive list of vodkas & gins here, as has been de rigueur in steakhouses for decades; my request for Bombay was denied, but there was Beefeater, and our server poured the martinis at the table, which was pretty cool:

If there is one thing old school steakhouses excel at, it's shrimp cocktail.  Ours came in those fabulous tin dishes, and the shrimp were nice and crunchy and icebox cold:

Entrees include one side and a salad.  We both opted for salads, which are no-nonsense iceberg/carrot mix with exactly 2 black olives.  I can't even recall the last time I've had an iceberg salad with no sense of irony (wedge salads fall into the ironic category).  I have to admit, they did feel like something I might be served in a nursing home:

I chose the filet with a baked potato on the side.  The filet came with bacon wrapped around it, a custom I will never understand.  It adds a bizarre flavor, and it seems strange that the filet is the most expensive cut on the cow by far, and yet, because of it's low fat content, we have to give it flavor by wrapping it in bacon.  Which is why, as any chef will tell you, it's the most boring cut on the cow.  That being said, its lack of fat and excessive trimming make for easy eating.  One isn't always up to all that negotiating around fat pockets.  The fillet was around 8 ounces, judging by the amount I took home, and was properly cooked:

Husband, wiser than I, opted for the milk-fed veal parmigiano, which was enormous and very thickly coated in crumbs.  It was topped with a nicely spiced tomato sauce and a nice topping of cheese (they even still have those same 4 canned mushrooms on top, Husband said).  There was, of course, spaghetti on the side:

We were quite full by now, which I suppose is the point of dinner.  We passed on dessert.  Husband walked around the restaurant and laughed about how it hadn't changed in all these years.  Some of the line cooks were even still there - a few of them have worked in the restaurant for 30 years or so. 

I don't know how to end this - Milano's is an institution on the NE side.  And it is what it is.  It's probably a great place to take your grandparents.  There's no chance of something being on the menu you haven't heard of.  It's comfortable, and unchallenging.  The service is diner-friendly without the attitude.  If the restaurant were located in a more developed area, I could actually see young people taking a shine to the bar for happy hour; the bar chairs are deep and cushy, and I think you could engage the bartender into a serious discussion about the daytime stories; the TV was tuned to Dancing with the Stars so everyone could watch Priscilla Pressley perform.

info:  Milano's Steakhouse 3105 Westerville Rd (at Oakland Park) 614.475.9199

Oh It's Such a Perfect Day

Husband and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day.  Instead, we have our own celebration of our love on February 21st, because that is the day Husband proposed to me.  And so, every year after the hubbub of Valentine's has died down, and we've helped everyone else through their holidays, we get our own.  We took the day off, and Husband even volunteered to go to Ladies Eighties at Skully's, something I love and he hates.  I let him off the hook for that one, but I did request we go to Diaspora for lunch.  I went there when they first opened, and have begged him to go back with me ever since.

It's quite possible Diaspora is the most beautiful restaurant in the (North) Campus area.  In a sea of divey, cockroach-covered holes, Diaspora is awash in soothing colors, with a soaring ceiling, giant light-allowing windows, and lots of paper lanterns:

Although they sell pig's feet as an entree (I was sure Husband would choose those), we both settled on the Dol Sot Bi Bim Bop, a Korean favorite consisting of a rocket-hot stone pot wherein rice is topped with beef, vegetables, and an egg.  It's the perfect thing for the cold, snowy day we were having yesterday.

One of the charms of dining in a Korean restaurant is the panchan, the little gratis plates of kimchee, pickles, fishcake, and whatnot which arrive at your table when you order.  Typically, if there is one item of which you are particularly fond, you can request an additional plate.  At Diaspora, our panchan consisted of 7 plates - seaweed salad, fish cake (my second favorite, below, lower right), the potato in a sweet sauce (favorite favorite; above, lower right), standard cabbage kimchee, daikon kimchee, a funny little potato salad with cucumbers and apples, and a tasty, great-textured tofu in chili sauce.  I love these little nibbles, and it's always fun to see what you're going to get.

Now, on to the bi bim bop (below).  There's the aforementioned stone pot, with a nice mound of rice.  Artfully displayed over the top of the rice are a variety of vegetables and meat - ground beef, carrots, mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, daikon, what I think are some sort of pickled fiddlehead, and slivers of toasted nori (seaweed), and of course, a raw egg (my favorite part).  I believe the proper way to eat this deliciousness is to add the mild chili sauce provided (Diaspora gives you a dish of chili sauce and a squeeze bottle of sesame oil) and stir the entire mixture together, (the heat kind of cooks the egg as it coats everything, making a sauce) and then eat it with a spoon.  I'm addicted to eating with chopsticks, so I only lightly stir, cover everything with salt (alas) and eat with chopsticks.

As a sidenote - and of course, I can't remember my source on this, but I've read that Korean cooking doesn't include a lot of salt, so one adds salt when eating.  It goes against my nature to add salt to Asian food, but here I have to.  And, I can't eat an egg yolk without salt.

The rice which maintains contact gets a nice crunchy texture which can be enjoyed throughout the eating of the hotpot and at the end.  I know it's probably completely gauche, but I like to add a pinch of leftover miso soup to the very end of the rice (very crunchy by now) and then eat it with a spoon.

I love Diaspora.  In fact, I would go back again today given half the chance.

A perfect day should include eating with chopsticks (check), going home to find Netflix delivered the next disc of Alias (check) and to find that your new shoes came days earlier than expected (check) and a nap (check).  And then, it should include a super cool event, such as Pecha Kucha (check), and then another meal with chopsticks and something I've never eaten before, such as a Snapper's head (check):

So, it was a Perfect Day, Husband.  (wait for it) I'm glad I spent it with you.

Info:  Diaspora Korean Restaurant 2118 N. High St (just south of Lane) 614.458.1141 Bonus - open late on the weekends.

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

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

Dim Sum at Lee Garden

A few weeks I headed up the old 161 trail west to yonder city of Dublin for a bit of dim sum with my fellow Columbus Foodlovers (there's a meetup group; you should join.).  Immediately upon arriving at the restaurant the owner looked me over and said "your friends are in the back."  Hm.  Do I stick out that much?  At any rate, our group sat at 2 giant round tables with very large lazy susans (like a wooden turntable).  And the, the carts started coming.  There were 10 of us at the table, and while it was a nice group, a pleasingly diverse group, from all age groups and all nationalities, I think 10 people might be a few too many.  We decided to go back with a smaller group, this time with for (I think 6 is the magic number, just for the record).

So.  For some basics on dim sum.  Dim Sim is a brunch thing.  Saturday or Sunday mornings you head to your local dim sum-serving-Chinese restaurant (best to make a reservation, you never know how busy it's going to be).  You sit down and ask for tea, and then you beg for water; try to drink so much water they will just put a picture of it on your table.  I've never eaten a meal where I had to consume an entire gallon of water.  The tea at Lee Garden is very good, and here's a little trick our server told us - if you are ready for a tea refill, you don't have to ask, you just put the lid up on the teapot.  That's the secret signal. 

You don't order anything.  Carts and trays and steam tables begin coming around, and you make a choice based up what the server is offering.  But be careful, because if you don't plan things correctly, you will be too full when the one thing you really want goes by.  They will let you take leftovers home, though, so don't be afraid to over-order a little bit.  After you say yes to a few concoctions, tuck in:

We chose fried pounded sweet rice buns which were full of pork, tiny shrimp, and black mushrooms.  The thick rice wrapper is sweet but the savory insides and the crispy fried exterior both act as a counterbalance.

We had my favorite taro buns; the soft, slightly pink taro root flesh surrounds bits of chicken and vegetables - and the occasional bone fragment - and the whole bun is covered with shredded taro and then fried, so it ends up with a shredded-wheat kind of texture. 

Shrimp crepes made with giant rice noodle sheets, a savory and slightly spicy sauce is poured over.  These are great - a little slippery and challenging with chopsticks, but definitely more than the sum of their apparent parts.

We had chicken feet in a slightly spicy, slightly sweet black bean sauce.  My second encounter with chicken feet and I'm still not sure about them. It isn't the taste - they are very delicious - it's just the bones and the negotiating.  Once I can eat them the proper way - put the chicken foot in mouth and extract the naked bones, one by one, I think I'll like them just fine.  Then there's also that creepy feeling that one is eating a tiny little hand.  Which, of course, I was the only one to think of, and then Husband was like, great I was fine until you said that.

We had a huge variety of dumplings, and a lot of them looked the same, so I won't bore you.  We had pork shumai, which as very good, and we had two types of shrimp dumplings, one round and one moon-shaped, and they were also very good, we had a triangular dumpling with greens inside.

We had calamari in curry sauce.

We had pork ribs, which I think are more like rib caps, because each piece is a piece of bone or connective tissue surrounded by a morsel of porky goodness, and you really have no choice but to put it in your mouth, try to chew as much meat as possible off, and then extract the bone as ladylike as possible.

At some point, one of the servers decided we were adventurous, and offered us tripe & tendon, and pig's blood & scallion.  Of course, we said, giddy with our success eating chicken feet.  And that moment was when the scariest bowl of food I have ever encountered was placed before me.  It jiggled.  It had parts I have only seen in human anatomy class.  It quivered.  It mocked me.  Husband took a bite - I should mention here, that Husband is an extremely adventurous eater; he loves all sorts of innards and offal and tripe and bits - so Husband takes a bite and instantly turns completely white.  He is stuck in time for a moment, caught between the shame of spitting something out and the horror of looking at the quivering innards for another hour of brunch.  "I"  "i"  "no.  I'm fine," he insists when the moment is over, but for the next 3 minutes, his voice still sounds a little shaky.  So much for our bravado.

We did, however, try the pig's blood.  The pig's blood is formed into little cubes and then served with scallions - these scallions really tasted a lot like ramps; maybe they were Chinese chives?  I nibbled a scallion to prepare myself, and then took a little square of the blood cake.  It was refreshingly easy to eat and almost disappointingly without challenge, except the mental challenge.  It's like meaty tofu.  The texture is almost exactly like tofu.  I would probably try it again with a little chili sauce.

And then came my favorite, the sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf.  I don't know what I love these so much except of course the presentation, and then the lotus gives the rice a rich and earthy flavor.  The rice surrounds a variety of meats; this time it included pork, shrimp, and dried shrimp, along with scallions.  These rice balls are so good I could eat one for lunch every day.

And so was my most recent dim sum experience at Lee Garden.  A friend recently went to Sunflower and gave them the edge over Lee Garden, so we'll have to try that one next.  And, to any enterprising Chinese cooks, I think a dim sum spot around campus or even close to the Short North would be an amazing hit.  You'd have to start serving at like 3am, though, but you can close at 1.  I promise I'll be there on opening day.

Here's another bonus for Lee Garden - they serve food until very late.  So if you're looking to get away from the jerks who hang at your local after-work spot, go to Lee Garden for some late night Karaoke and plates of Chinese broccoli.  And maybe some crispy duck.

Info:  Lee Garden  2685 Federated Blvd Columbus, OH 43235614.754.1525

Brief Reviews

I suppose you can tell from my recent posts that we haven't been doing a ton of interesting dining out or cooking in recent days.  Why?  You might be asking - well, for anyone who doesn't work in restaurants or retail, this time of year in the restaurant business can be a little hectic.  And it's cold outside.  It's really, really cold outside.  All I want to do is put on some jammies, preferably of the fleece variety, wrap up in my favorite fleece blanket (thanks, sis!), and curl up on the couch with a few cats and my current book (which is the Golden Compass trilogy, thanks for asking).  I might want to whip up some real hot chocolate (the good stuff, made with chocolate shavings, milk, and a stick blender) or some canned soup, but that's about all.  I am a total hibernator.  If I could hole up until March, I would.  Unfortunately, those freaks at Citibank seem really determined to get their mortgage payment every month, so that isn't an option.  YET. 

At any rate, we are still eating.  And I thought I would be remiss if I didn't discuss a few things about which I didn't write full reviews.  Some of these things might get full reviews in the future, just for the record.

1. Husband and I have been taking a fair number of meals at Betty's lately.  We've had a bit of off-and-on with Betty's.  First of all, I love the interior.  It's probably one of my favorite bar interiors of all time.  But I had a few lackluster experiences awhile ago, and we've been "off" Betty's for awhile. In the meantime, I really liked Surly Girl a lot - definitely my favorite bar interior of all time.  This comes from a girl who, when she was single, had a decorating theme similar to "neo brothel," in which I purchased loads of velvet furniture at auction - at one point, I had a fabulous purple mohair 30s sofa, a pink chair, an orange chair, a green ottoman with dingleberries, and a pink ottoman with gold legs (all velvet).  It was fabulous.  Unfortunately, Husband (then Boyfriend) informed me that he would no longer move the purple mohair sofa.  EVER. (it was very heavy).  And then my cat clawed all of the chairs and the ottomans were wobbly.  And, when we were married, I tearfully watched my brothel melt away.  Now I have very boring taupe colored microsuede from Macy's.  Which was much more expensive than my auction furniture.  The cats don't like to skritch at it, but it's far less stylish.  Listen closely, and you can hear Husband laughing.  And talking about how much he HATED that purple sofa.  Hm.  This isn't what we're hear to talk about, is it?  OH!  So, Betty's.  Okay.  So a few weeks ago, we went with friends after work.  Here's my first Betty's tip: read all of the signs.  Under no circumstances should you EVER seat yourself if the sign is turned to "please wait to be seated."  We didn't even notice the sign, and strolled in and seated ourselves, and then we had to be scolded by our server.  You've been notified.
   
   So.  That first night, I tried the spring rolls, which were very tasty, and Husband had the Southwestern salad, which he ate in 4 minutes flat.  And then, the next night, he admitted he wanted the Southwestern salad again.  So that was probably a month ago, and I think we've been eating at Betty's after work about 3 times a week.  I'm quite fond of the Betty's Best salad, which loads on bleu cheese, cheddar, bacon, sunflower seeds, sprouts, and who knows what-all, along with a grilled chicken breast.  I also like the blackened catfish, which is appropriately spicy. 
   
   The other nice thing about Betty's is their beer selection - they always have great beers on tap, as well as creative cocktails.  They might not pour the best Sapphire martini in town, but they do have $1.75 pints of PBR.  And I don't say that because I'm the hipster sort.  I just get tired of paying $5 for pints of the "good" stuff.  Sometimes you just want a pint of something refreshingly simple and a generously poured $5 shot of Basil Hayden on the side.  Your postwork boilermaker never tasted so good. 
   
   Info: Betty's Food & Spirits 680 N. High St in the Short North 614.228.6191
2. We had Oodles for lunch the other day, and it was pretty terrible.  I went once when they first opened and then sort of forgot about it, even though I do my banking next door.  I just thought I would share that with you.  We had a tasteless, dry as dust Mongolian beef made with the worst quality of stringy, gristly meat I think I've ever had, and a greasy, vegetable-lacking lo mein.  Lackluster spring rolls and a strange, very eggy "hot" and "sour" soup were along for the ride.  I was really bitter at having spent $20 on that lunch, and wished fervently I had braved the North Market at lunchtime and gone to Lac Viet.  I was really excited about Oodles before they opened, but it disappoints. The tagline is also a misnomer - "Noodle and Dumpling Bar," because they don't have a large selection of noodles or especially dumplings.  Save your  money. 
   
   The thing I found strange about this is that so many people have commented to tell me they don't like Coco's, which is kind of around the corner from the Victorian Village Oodles.  After our lackluster Oodles lunch, Husband today suggested we give Coco's a shot - gristle-free Mongolian beef, zesty pork with jalapenos, and sticky sweet spicy General Tso's chicken (I know, it's American, it's not Chinese, blah blah BLAH.  I still like it).  Better yet, it was $18 for three entrees.  I only ever claimed it was good, cheap Chinese.  And it still is.

Brunch at L'Antibes

Lobster & Potato Gratin with Sunny Side up Egg

Brunch lovers, rejoice.

I probably receive more requests for breakfast and brunch suggestions than anything else.  Except complaints about my lack of burger posts.  I'm only one girl, people!!  One girl on a waitress' salary!!

Okay, so you are looking for brunch.  You want to sit and relax.  You don't want to cook your own waffles, you don't even want to watch someone make your omelet in front of you, with your own chosen ingredients. You want to sit and have someone take care of you for a change. If you're anything like me, you are still recovering from the worst night in restaurant land (Saturday) and the Sapphire martini you consumed to erase the memory.  Now, every time I've written about how miserable Saturdays are in the restaurant business, I always get emails asking why they are so terrible.  I hardly ever write about work, but I'll fill you in now, since so many of you have asked.  Ask any server (who's done it for awhile), and they'll tell you the same thing: I'll happily take a Tuesday over a Saturday eight days a week.  Here's why: normal people go out to eat during the week.  Weekends are saved for special occasions.  Weekdays are for regulars, weekends are for tourists.  Weekends are for guests whose eyes pop at the prices on the menu, even though they are clearly printed outside the restaurant, to save us all from this uncomfortable situation.  Saturdays are long.  Really long.  You're more likely to work with people you don't like (not me, of course, I love everyone), because all week long you've been able to convince management to get this or that person to take the night off, either so you don't have to deal with them or so that you can make all the money.  On a Tuesday, you can wait on 4 good tables and make $200 without breaking a sweat.  Saturdays, you run your little tushy off (seriously, I wear a pedometer: slow Saturdays average 7 miles) and at the end of the night, you have $175.  Saturdays typically don't end until around 12 or 12:30 am, and then, when you get finally clock out and replace your Danskos with your Simples, hike up the street and order your post work cocktail - just when you think you've eluded all of your coworkers by going to your usual secret Saturday night martini spot, they hunt you down and find you, determined to pick over that little thing which irritated them at 7pm.  It's enough to spoil even the finest gin & olive combo my favorite bartender can shake up.

When I worked in the corporate world, I remember Fridays being similar.  Unlike my bosses, I wasn't allowed to cut out early; I had to stay until the bitter end and frequently put out the fires they left smoldering in their wake.  I remember friends calling and wanting to go out, but all I wanted to do was drive home as fast as possible and hug my sofa for four hours.

Wow.  I don't even remember why I'm here.

Oh!  Of course!  Brunch.  So, the only thing worse than getting up early enough for brunch is getting up early enough to work brunch, which is why you should always overtip your brunch server.  I'm talking, 30%. I can guarantee you: they do not want to be there.  At all.

Okay, so now we've covered how to tip at brunch.  Let's talk about how to eat.

Columbus suffers from a lack of brunch spots (here's the point where you can feel free to email me - if there's some superb brunch spot I don't know about.  NO buffets - I know I know, the Worthington Inn, the Hyatt on Capital Square, blah blah blah.  I am a server.  I want service on my day off), so when I heard that the new owner of L'Antibes was going to offer brunch - a $15 prix fixe brunch, no less - I simply had to check it out.  It was made even better when a trusted foodie friend went and said it was, indeed, incredible.  L'Antibes menu is small and well-considered.  There are a few things which make brunch great: fantastically prepared eggs, boar bacon (one of the finest of the bacons), and butter.  Lots and lots of butter.

First of all, L'Antibes does not yet have a Sunday liquor license, so there will be no mimosas with your brunch.  I see this as a benefit: I've had too many brunches which turned into $150, hours-long affairs (some of which, I kid you not, went right into dinner), so it was kind of refreshing to know that I would go to brunch and spend precisely $15, plus tip.  No temptation.  Coffee and juice are included in the price, which features 2 courses, plus a small fruit cup for dessert.  A pretty fine deal, if you ask me. 

First course option is a cheese plate or toast points with creme fraiche and ligonberry jam.  All four of our party opted for the cheese plate, which consisted of about one ounce each good goat cheese and two cream style (Brie-like) cheeses.  All were good.  The main course allowed for the option of poached eggs with Hollandaise and puff pastry, quiche du jour (there were vegetarian and meat options), lobster potato gratin with egg, or French toast.  So few offerings, but solid.  Really solid.

Our friends chose the poached eggs with spinach & Hollandaise.  Of course, everything is good when covered in Hollandaise.  The eggs were perfectly poached to pour their golden yolks over the plate; friends thought the Hollandaise was too butter and not lemony enough.  I took a bite and got a big hit of lemon early, but it did finish with a really buttery flavor - who am I to complain?  I hardly ever have the opportunity to eat Hollandaise (I prefer to portion my calories to more than one meal), so I'm probably not the best judge.  I still thought it was good:

Husband chose the quiche with wild boar bacon, which will change all previous notions regarding quiche.  This was ethereally, impossibly creamy, solid yet light - an almost creme-brulee-like texture.  It really left you with nothing to say.  There was no overcooked egginess, a lightly browned top, just a tall, almost quivering wedge of deliciousness.  It almost looked like a cheesecake when we saw one walking past; I'm not sure the picture does it justice, as it was about 2 inches tall:

I (wisely) selected the lobster and potato gratin topped with a sunny-side up egg (pictured at the top of the post).  Wow.  The gratin consisted of small cubes of waxy potatoes and lots of sweet lobster chunks, topped with bread crumbs and the aforementioned egg.  The sweet and savory lobster flavor was so intense, I surmised the potatoes might have been poached in lobster stock.  I appreciated the chef resisted the urge to subdue the flavors with tons of heavy cream, something I might have expected in a gratin.  I'm sure there was lots of butter involved, but overall, the effect was not overwhelmingly rich, just intensely lobstery and delicious.  And, of course, I will eat anything covered in a fried egg, especially here, where the gratin relied on the egg yolk for a little richness.  It was heaven
 
Dessert was a small and refreshing dish of sliced seasonal fruit, coated in just a pinch of vanilla syrup.

Service was very efficient, quick, and knowledgeable; a little formal, which is fine with me.  It adds to the value.

I was in the old L'Antibes space once, and thought it was a little austere - our friend compared it to the worst banquet room in a cheap hotel - but the new owner, Chef Matthew Litzinger (who, by the way, came out to visit all the tables and see if we liked everything), has spruced the place up a little bit.  They have even added a little bar in the smaller dining room, which seems to be a charming place to enjoy a snack and a nice glass of wine.

So, for all of you whining about the dearth of good brunch spots, run, don't walk to L'Antibes.  Don't expect an endless buffet or a gut-busting, belt-undoing platter of gravy-covered standards.  But, should you leave feeling a little moreish, don't forget that Jeni's is right around the corner...

By the way, L'Antibes has also begun serving lunch.  It might be the only place in town where one can have duck liver pate on their lunch hour.  Sounds perfectly fine to me.  Look for a L'Antibes revisit in the very near future.

Info:  L'Antibes (which, by the way, is pronounced lahn-TEEB, not lahnteebS) is located at 772 N. High Street (although it faces Warren) in the Short North.  614.291.1666.