Columbus Foodie

Taste & Create: Shortcut to Mushrooms: I’ve participated in...

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:21:00 -0400

Taste & Create: Shortcut to Mushrooms:

I’ve participated in the Taste & Create event on and off for years now. Basically you cook something from another blog, while they cook something from yours. By luck of the draw, I almost always seem to get paired up with vegetarian blogs. While it still leaves me with a ton of options, I’m sure it completely narrows the choices for the other party. This time around, it was the Shortcut to Mushrooms blog. Sorry about the delay in getting this up, I got a bit distracted with school starting.

Cooking from a vegetarian blog means that I inevitably end up making a side dish of some sort, and this was no exception. The only thing I did differently was to use a green bell pepper instead of red, because that was what I had on hand. It had an interesting flavor to it. It was a bit spicy, a bit starchy, a bit salty, but definitely a nice side dish. Would have been even better with fresh corn off the cob. Next time around, I may think about incorporating some maple into it somehow.

Corn Pudding
recipe from the Shortcut to Mushrooms blog

Mix in a bowl:
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 slightly-beaten egg
1/4 cup milk
Big handful of grated sharp cheddar cheese
Black pepper to taste
(You won’t need salt using canned corn, but might if you use fresh corn)

Sautee in butter until tenderish:
A few tablespoons each of:
Minced onion
Diced red bell pepper
Diced poblano pepper

While still cooking in the pan, add to the veggies:
2-3 tablespoons of hush puppy mix (or flour w/ some added seasonings if you’d like, or just flour)
Mix well to coat the veggies. Let the flour brown a little.

Allow the cooked veggies to cool a bit.
Mix them with the stuff in the bowl

Pour all of this into a buttered glass baking dish.

Bake in a 325 degree preheated oven for at least 30 minutes. Check for the consistency you like. It may take up to an hour to cook in a deeper pan (or if you want it to be more chewy-licious and golden-brown on top).

Let cool as much or little as you want. This is great hot, room tempurature or cold (but admittedly, I like corn more than most people!)

A Moment of Silence…: Until next year, my dear friend. I shall...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:47:13 -0400

A Moment of Silence…:

Until next year, my dear friend. I shall miss you horribly.

Summer Squash Scramble: Summer Squash Scramble with Fresh...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:46:52 -0400

Summer Squash Scramble:

Summer Squash Scramble with Fresh Tomato
recipe from “The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook” by Dr. Arthur Agatston

3 large eggs
1 tsp. chopped chives
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. canola oil
1 small summer squash, halved and thinly sliced into half-moons
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, finely chopped

In a small bowl, beat eggs, chives, salt and pepper until well combined. In a medium nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add squash and onion, cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to brown, about 8 minutes.

Add egg mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until eggs are set, about 2 minutes. Spoon eggs onto 2 plates and sprinkle with tomato. Serve warm. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 180 cal, 12g fat, 2.5g sat fat, 11g pro, 8g carb, 2g fiber, 390 mg sod

SE Ohio Edition: Miller’s Chicken: OMFG. If we hadn’t already...

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:10:42 -0400

SE Ohio Edition: Miller’s Chicken:

OMFG. If we hadn’t already been on our way back to Columbus when we dug into the bucket 10-15 minutes later, we would have turned the car around and gone right back and got more of everything. This, quite honestly, is THE best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Completely moist meat, with almost a dual layer of fried skin – not the way you normally think of fried chicken, but instead a cracklin’-like layer of skin, followed by another layer of fried skin underneath. It was crisp, but not by being artificially breaded. KFC, eat your hearts out. Paul said it was pure torture on that ride home – between hearing the “crunch crunch” of my teeth savoring the skin, the sound of me smacking my lips in happiness, and the way the fantastic smell filled up the car, he darn near pulled over a dozen or more times not content to let me feed him some now and then as he was driving.

The salads were nearly as good. If I had known how good, I would have opted for more than just a small potato salad and individual sized macaroni & cole slaw.

I’m notoriously particular about macaroni salad, but theirs was quite solid. Not cloyingly sweet like most.

Ditto with the cole slaw. I like my cole slaw to have a finer chopped texture rather than long shreds, and this did not disappoint.

No matter where else we go, this *will* be a stop on our next visit. It’s even good cold.

If you’d like to go: Miller’s Chicken, 235 W. State St, Athens, OH 45701, 740-593-6544

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Banana Bean Revisited: Our waitress...

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:10:40 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Banana Bean Revisited:

Our waitress had punched our order in wrong on the computer, so instead of getting what I ordered, I was served the Enchilada omelette. I sent it back immediately, so I can’t tell you how it tastes, but just figured since it made it to our table I may as well take a pic of it before it went back to the kitchen. It looks good enough that I may order this in the future.

Paul ordered Grandaddie’s Chicken and Waffles, which would have been really good had there been more of the apricot syrup – the waffles are dense enough that they needed the extra moisture. The underlying flavor was solid, though – especially the chicken, which would be fantastic on a salad of some sort. With that one minor modification, this dish would have gone from “meh” to good.

I went with the North Shore Seafood Omelette. While there is a decent amount of seafood in this dish, the flavor fell a little flat for me – the sauce it’s served with doesn’t really pop, or bring out the natural sweetness of the scallops or shrimp. With some minor modifications to the seasoning/sauce, though – this one could be a contender.

We’ve been having fairly good experiences at Banana Bean Cafe since they’ve moved to Greenlawn, but I think they’re going through a tweaking process with the new menu. Hopefully a little bit of constructive criticism will help them refine what is a solid menu into a fantastic one.

If you’d like to go: Banana Bean Cafe, 340 Greenlawn Ave., Columbus, OH 43223, 614-443-2262

Farm Fresh and Local Produce 8/15/09

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:10:21 -0400

Farm Fresh and Local Produce 8/15/09

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Cafe Corner: Their deal this week...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:01:40 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Cafe Corner:

Their deal this week wasn’t amazing (2 sandwiches + 2 desserts + 2 cans of pop or bottled water for $20.09). It’s not much different than if you had bought these items a la carte, and in some cases, the Restaurant Week special was more expensive. To make it a good deal, we both went with pricey sandwiches.

Paul’s choice was this huge Country Egg Sandwich (normally $9.95), which is definitely big enough to share – each half of the sandwich is like a sandwich unto itself. It puts fried eggs, roasted garlic, walnut pesto, cheddar and prosciutto on a nice hearty old world bread, which is then grilled. This, my friends, is the breakfast of champions.

I went with what I pretty much always go with when I eat at Cafe Corner, the Turkey Goat Cheese Wrap (normally $8.95). This is my favorite thing to eat here – it’s just a really good sandwich – think a nice turkey, goat cheese, mixed greens, and raspberry vinaigrette salad condensed into wrap form. Extremely refreshing in hot weather, that’s for sure.

Drinks and desserts weren’t much to write home about – they paled in comparison to the delicious snickerdoodle cookies I had the first time around. They were almost an afterthought after those big sandwiches.

We really enjoy Cafe Corner as a regular stop, and definitely wanted to give them some Restaurant Week love. Their sandwich prices aren’t cheap, but they’ve got some pretty creative combinations going on. Stop in and give them a try.

If you’d like to go: Cafe Corner, corner of 3rd & Pennsylvania, Columbus (Harrison West), 614-294-2233

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: The Worthington Inn: All different...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:01:10 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: The Worthington Inn:

All different kinds of danish, which I didn’t try because my strategy at buffets is to not fill up on carbs, and to concentrate on getting a lot of protein in. They sure looked good, though.

Smoked salmon with all the fixings. I’m not usually a big fan of smoked salmon, but theirs was quite yummy.

Lots and lots of crispy bacon. This bacon piggy was in hog heaven!

A really delicious, moist, stuffed pork loin with a fantastic gravy. I know apple figured into it somewhere (either the stuffing or gravy), but it lent a sweetness that was just pure porky perfection.

Other items that you can see on my plate: a respectable eggs benedict, shrimp with cocktail sauce, an okay salad, an underwhelming and dry chicken marsala, equally underwhelming potatoes, and the best darn prime rib I’ve had in ages.

More about that prime rib. It was absolutely perfect. Everything about it. The perfect level of doneness, the nice crispy flavorful outer edges, the thickness of the cut, the wonderful creamy horseradish sauce and the jus it was served with. I went back for seconds, and got 2 pieces instead of one. Yes, I love prime rib that much. The only thing that would have made it better would have been some Yorkshire pudding on the side ::drool:: Also on the second round, I got made to order Belgian waffle topped with raspberry sauce and miniature semisweet chocolate chips, that aforementioned veggie omelette, loads of bacon, and some cheese. I quite literally cleaned my plate, and had I had room in my belly for more, would have gone back for thirds.

Paul showed a bit more restraint than I did, playing it safe with the eggs benedict, some salmon in a red pepper sauce, potatoes, that wonderful pork and some bacon.

I think you can tell from his second plate how much he loved the pork. And after trying a bit of my prime rib, he had to get some of his very own.

So many choices for dessert. Although only one thing really caught my eye on the way in.

We both had a piece of this neapolitan cheesecake. I’m not sure if it’s house made or not, but it was definitely good. Paul wants me to try to make my own version of this here at home.

Needless to say, we truly enjoyed both experiences at The Worthington Inn, and hope to return again soon. I’m glad our misconceptions of the place were proven wrong.

If you’d like to go: The Worthington Inn, 649 High St., Worthington, OH 614-885-2600

Galaktoboureko: Galaktobourekorecipe courtesy Allrecipes 6 cups...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:00:49 -0400

Galaktoboureko:

Galaktoboureko
recipe courtesy Allrecipes

6 cups whole milk
1 cup semolina flour
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, melted
12 sheets phyllo dough
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar

Pour milk into a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the semolina, cornstarch, 1 cup sugar and salt so there are no cornstarch clumps.

When milk comes to a boil, gradually add the semolina mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and comes to a full boil. Remove from heat, and set aside. Keep warm.

In a large bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed. Add 1/2 cup of sugar, and whip until thick and pale, about 10 minutes. Stir in vanilla.

Fold the whipped eggs into the hot semolina mixture. Partially cover the pan, and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish, and layer 7 sheets of phyllo into the pan, brushing each one with butter as you lay it in. Pour the custard into the pan over the phyllo, and cover with the remaining 5 sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter as you lay it down.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top crust is crisp and the custard filling has set. In a small saucepan, stir together the remaining cup of sugar and water. Bring to a boil. When the Galaktoboureko comes out of the oven, spoon the hot sugar syrup over the top, particularly the edges. Cool completely before cutting and serving. Store in the refrigerator.

Farm Fresh and Local Produce 8/8/09: But this – this will make...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:00:29 -0400

Farm Fresh and Local Produce 8/8/09:

But this – this will make me come back down to Athens again. If this is the only thing I get, it was worth the 90 minute trip each way. Crumbs Bakery’s Veggie Pizza, a thick crusted (for a good reason!) slab of yeast goodness, topped with all manner of veggies and cheeses. If it grew in the ground, it’s in there, and topped with cheese. Oh. My. God. We scarfed this in the car, and went back to look for more and were so sad that they had sold out that quickly, as they did with most of their goods.

Did you all know that Crum’s sells down there too? Neither did I.

One of the places I was told to absolutely not miss was Integration Acres, with their fresh goat cheeses. We got a selection to take home with us, because we were totally impressed with nearly all the samples.

It was here that I saw the first shell beans of the season.

One of the prepared food stands, Ali Baba’s, has absolutely wonderful beef & potato kofte. We’re planning on going again this weekend, and hope they still are selling these.

And we saw a lot of stuff that’s available to us locally here as well. Like grapes, although they seemed to have more selection there.

While it’s not practical for us to go to Athens every week, we were so impressed that we’ll be going at least a couple of times a season. Including tomorrow. More about that later.

Event: Taste the Future 2009

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:41:18 -0400

Event: Taste the Future 2009

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Katzinger’s: Unfortunately, just...

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:47:09 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Katzinger’s:

Unfortunately, just like spring, we didn’t have much luck with the free pickles – this is usually my favorite part of eating at Katzinger’s, but this time around, the dills were way beyond salty, and the garlic pickles were barely pickled at all.

The deal this time around was 2 Sandwiches + 2 Salads + 2 Desserts from the choices on the menu for $20.09 (or $10.04 for one of each).

For what it’s worth, my sandwich was very good. Nice big pieces of turkey paired well with sweet caramelized onions, the tang of blue cheese, crisp slices of Granny Smith apples, all tied together with a balsamic dressing and then grilled. My salad, however good, was quite a bit underdressed, so Paul ended up eating since I have trouble eating salads that are on the dry side.

I absolutely loved my dessert, a dense, almost ganache-like flourless chocolate bar with toasted pine nuts and fleur de sel sea salt. I love the combination of sweet and salty, and this was one of most successful executions of this that I’ve encountered.

Paul chose the Pulled Pork Sandwich with caramelized onions and white Vermont cheddar on an onion roll. This was a great sandwich, and the roll added texture that it definitely needed. Paul also opted for the mesclun mix, and his was dressed adequately. His dessert was a pumpkin pie bar with caramel pecan topping, which tasted just like Thanksgiving.

Before we left, we got the one sandwich that we hadn’t tried a la carte. The Roasted Eggplant sandwich, which pairs roasted eggplant slices with fresh mozzarella and house made tomato jam which is then grilled on fire bread. Quite savory and spicier than expected, this is the perfect choice for vegetarians, because it doesn’t compromise flavor for a second.

We weren’t disappointed with our choices at Katzinger’s – it’s somewhere we don’t eat at nearly enough. I’m hoping we’ll return soon – with all the celebrations for their 25th anniversary coming up in October, hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

If you’d like to go: Katzinger’s Delicatessen, 475 S. Third Street, Columbus, OH 43215, 614-228-DELI

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: The Top Steakhouse: The one benefit...

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:46:49 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: The Top Steakhouse:

The one benefit to Restaurant Week being held in September vs. being held in March is that almost all of the restaurants we’ve visited have their patios open. The Top was no exception – I love eating out there because inside, it’s so dark you can barely see your food. Outside, you get to see how beautiful the presentation is under the full spectrum of daylight.

The Top’s menu for Restaurant Week is virtually unchanged from March’s menu – with the exception of one of the desserts, it IS the same. Not a problem, since we were so incredibly pleased with our meal in March. And in a twist of fate, we had the same server, too. We were thrilled that Emily remembered us, along with some of our preferences during that meal.

Every meal at The Top starts out with a relish tray. We love this, as unusual as this seems.

We loved, loved, loved the bread basket that night – fluffy pillows of honeyed yeasty deliciousness that we couldn’t get enough of. This may be part of the reason I filled up so quickly, even though we only had 2 rolls each. They were served with a soft whipped butter that spread so easily and melted slightly into the still warm rolls.

For his appetizer, Paul chose the escargot. Neither one of us had ever had escargot before, and we both absolutely loved them. The snails themselves are reminiscent in taste and texture of a really earthy mushroom, and they are swimming in a garlic-butter-cheese combination that totally rocks. Once you’ve plucked the escargot out, you dip the accompanying toast into the garlic butter to soak up the evilness that is the combination of all the flavors.

I went with my eternal favorite at The Top, the French onion soup. I’ve been known to stop in for this soup alone. Imagine a slightly boozy, beefy broth, chock full of sweet caramelized onions and croutons, and topped with melted cheese. Theirs is easily the best version of this dish I’ve had.

For the salad course, Paul went with the House salad, which tops salad greens with all manners of veggies, blue cheese, and an Italian dressing. Simple, but delicious.

My Caesar salad could easily be an entree unto itself. Mounded high on a dinner plate (yes, that is not a salad plate!), the crisp romaine lettuce is tossed in a mayonnaise-based creamy Caesar dressing, croutons, and Parmesan cheese. With the addition of a little salt and pepper, it was very satisfying. So satisfying that I got full about halfway through eating it. I realized then I should have passed on seconds on those rolls.

We both went with the Surf & Turf for our entree – in both cases, the lobster was slightly overdone and the steak was very underdone (I like mine still mooing, essentially, and it was less done than that). Paul sent his back to the kitchen to be refired, which they did without question, and it came back out perfectly the second time around. Since I was taking my steak and potato home to eat later, I chose to have mine boxed as is, so that when I reheated it later, it would be done to medium rare.

Not part of Restaurant Week, but my husband absolutely had to have the Potatoes au gratin side – he’s had this before at Taste of the Independents and loved it.

For his dessert, he chose the Funnel Cake with ice cream and fresh strawberries. Fair food kicked up a notch, this was like an ice cream sundae on steroids.

I went with a classic creme brulee, and found it amusing that Emily had remembered what I said last time around about the sugar not cracking properly if you do it in advance of dinner service. This time around, it was absolutely perfect.

I’ll never, ever turn down a meal at The Top – and to dine there with a discount? Bonus!

If you’d like to go: The Top Steakhouse, 2891 E. Main Street, Columbus (just east of Bexley), 614-231-8238

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Banana Bean Cafe: And they’ve really...

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:59:20 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Banana Bean Cafe:

And they’ve really fleshed out the back patio, it’s got loads of character now. Love the outdoor grill.

And I love the tables they built, the decorations, and the paint job that matches that on the front of the building.

As an aside, one thing I don’t love is the fact that the Ohio smoking ban doesn’t extend to the back patio of the place – when we started our meal, there was no one else out there, but by the time we left, there were 3 cigarettes and a cigar going at a table near ours, and we had to get out of there because the stench was really starting to get to us. I’m usually fairly tolerant of smoking, but not so much when there’s so much of it going on that it affects the taste of my food.

Banana Bean Cafe has great drink deals – they offer $2 margaritas all day long, and I always get one or two when I eat there. Although not the best margarita I’ve ever had, it’s pretty solid, and pretty strong.

And if you get there during happy hour (4-6PM), one of the perks is a free basket of freshly fried chips and a nice spicy salsa.

Even though it’s not part of the Restaurant Week menu, Paul opted to get a cup of their Cuban Black Bean soup ($3) a la carte – he enjoyed it so much during the last Restaurant Week, that he wanted it again today. This is a hearty, stick to your ribs, full of flavor soup, which if one had gotten as a bowl, would be a meal unto itself.

For our starter, even though there are tons of new appetizers on the menu, we got one of our old favorites – the YaYa’s Eggplant Fries (normally $7). You can’t really tell these are made out of eggplant, as they’re just savory and crunchy on the outside, while moist and non-descript on the inside. They normally come with a spicy but sweet chile dipping sauce, but we love tempering the heat of the chile sauce with a small cup of the creamy Ya-Ya sauce.

For my brunch item, I went for one of the new menu items, the BB Ranchero (normally $12), which consists of two fried eggs, grilled tortillas, house potatoes, black beans, sweet fried plantains, avocado mash, Mexican crema, and red hacienda sauce. While the serving size was substantial (but mostly potatoes, unfortunately), and the flavor fairly solid, this one didn’t quite resonate with me – I’m not sure if it’s that it seemed to be missing something (meat? heat? not sure), or because the potatoes seemed to overwhelm the dish and drown out the other flavors, or if because the tough tortillas made eating it unwieldy, but I probably wouldn’t order it again.

Paul’s choice, the Lobster Hash (normally $15), another new brunch item, absolutely was the bomb-diggity. An almost insurmountable mountain of griddled lobster, red bliss potatoes, two poached eggs, and a green chile hollandaise, this dish was flavorful, spicy, and downright decadent. We did notice, after the fact, that it was completely missing the simple salad it was also supposed to come with. Not that he would have had room for it in his belly, mind you. As it was, he had to take a good portion of the hash home with him.

There are tons of new dishes on the new menu, which has only been in effect for a few weeks. With the spectacular bargain that Restaurant Week offers, run, don’t walk, to give one of the 7 new (in addition to the 8 existing) brunch items a try at a great discount. We’ll probably be going back ourselves before the week is up – I have my eyes on the North Shore Seafood Omelette (an open faced griddled omelette with scallops, gulf shrimp, and blistered vegetables sauteed in a garlic butter tomato sauce), while Paul is all geared up to try the Grandaddie’s Chicken and Waffles (buttermilk fried boneless chicken breast with an almond scented Belgian waffle and apricot honey syrup).

If you’d like to go: Banana Bean Cafe, 340 Greenlawn Ave., Columbus, OH 43223, 614-443-2262

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Pistacia Vera: I’ve always been...

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:59:00 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Pistacia Vera:

I’ve always been impressed by the beauty and simplicity of the store. Everything looks so darn appetizing that I guess it’s a good thing that the Restaurant Week menu is a set one.

And what a menu it is – a sampling of almost all the great stuff on their menu for $20.09, designed to be a dessert and hot beverages for two (or one very hungry, very sugar tolerant person).

And here’s a picture of the selection. You get to choose what macarons and pate de fruit you want – since their menu will be changing for fall in a couple of weeks, we picked summer flavors like Strawberry Rose and Raspberry. For the pate, we chose Cherry Kirsch and Strawberry Lychee. Everything here is so decadent and rich, I had a hard time finishing my portion of the dessert.

So, if you’re on the way home from one of your other Restaurant Week visits, don’t hesitate to stop in, even if you’re not hungry at the moment. Because if you’re not in the mood to eat in their charming boutique? You can have the lovely ladies pack it in a package to take home with you instead.

If you’d like to go: Pistacia Vera, 541 S. Third Street, Columbus, OH 43215, 614-220-9070

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Milo’s Deli: Upon walking in, we saw...

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:35:04 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Milo’s Deli:

Upon walking in, we saw that the Dine Originals special was prominently displayed. We went around the side to order, talking to the slightly standoffish but otherwise helpful cashier. After paying for your order, you seat yourself, and wait for them to call you.

The special this week is 2 Milo’s Reubens, 2 side salads, 2 drinks and 2 cookies for $20.09. While this is very similar to their regular price (you can buy the sandwich/side/drink combo normally for $9.75), it is one heck of a value for the amount of food. Both Paul and I left there absolutely stuffed. The Milo’s Reuben that was the centerpiece of both of our platters was one of the better ones I’ve had – good meat to bread ratio, nice combination of meats (corned beef, turkey and pastrami), nicely grilled, hearty rye bread that had properly chewy crust, and good balance among all the other toppings. It is very similar to the sandwich offered by a well known deli in town, but at a fraction of the price. The sandwich is a static offering during Restaurant Week, but there are quite a few other choices otherwise – about 6-8 different types of drinks including fountain soda, several different potato and pasta salads to choose from for your side, and about 6 different types of cookie.

I went with the combo of Reuben, Redskin Potato Salad, Chips and Sugar Cookie. The redskin potato salad is sour-cream based, with a bit of dill, and the generous portion was quite enjoyable. The requisite dill pickle was crunchy and had good flavor. And the sugar cookie was the size of a softball, and extremely moist.

Paul went with the tortellini salad, which is cheese tortellini with fresh veggies and an Italian dressing, and an oatmeal raisin cookie, which was also huge and full of traditional oatmeal raisin flavor.

The regular menu at Milo’s is huge, and we hope to go back soon to experience more of it. I was surprised that such a deli existed in Franklinton, and can see why it’s extremely popular with hospital employees. I can only hope that people won’t be put off by the location and venture over to give it a try. It certainly is worth a visit.

If you’d like to go: Milo’s Deli & Cafe, 980 W. Broad St, Columbus (Franklinton), OH 43222, 614-224-0104

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Black Creek Bistro: As they did in...

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:34:44 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: Black Creek Bistro:

As they did in the spring, Black Creek Bistro is one of the only participating restaurants that is offering four courses instead of three, but with the addition of a couple of new chefs since then, it inevitably was going to be a much easier thing to pull off. I had already made my choices before we even walked in the restaurant door.

I was glad to be able to take a couple of minutes to catch up with Chef Kent Peters, who I had not seen since Taste of the Independents. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s one class act. I have the utmost of respect for the sustainability he incorporates between farm and restaurant – to know that most of the vegetables eaten during the meal were grown on the farm made my little locavore heart happy.

Bread service (not pictured), were run of the mill dinner rolls, but they were nicely warmed and crispy on the outside, and served with a rather delicious compound butter.

To start, I chose the chili relleno, which was a fiery, roasted hot banana pepper stuffed with melted queso fresco, dipped in what tasted like a beer batter and fried until crisp, served on top of a cold ragu of tomatillos and other veggies which added a sweetness, tempered the heat of the chile pepper, and just paired wonderfully. Although the dish was at the very edge of heat level I can tolerate, it still was a starter that I’d look forward to ordering again if it were on the regular menu.

Paul chose the Tri-Color Seafood Carpaccio, in which raw tuna, scallop, and salmon was pounded thin and given a treatment similar to ceviche (with lime juice and olive oil). The roasted garlic was an especially nice touch, but I think the crostini was a bit of a distraction and not even necessary to pull this dish together.

For the salad course, I went for the Heirloom Beet Salad, which topped farm fresh mixed greens with roasted red beets and 4 different kind of heirloom tomatoes. A nice crumble of goat cheese and feta, a flavorful pesto, and cucumbers just made this a perfect example of the farm on a plate. It doesn’t get much better (or fresher) than this.

Paul opted for the Bistro Salad, which was a nice simple composed salad of mesclun mix topped with strawberries, gorgonzola cheese, red onion, walnuts and a slightly sweet balsamic dressing. While not the least bit complex, it was absolutely delicious.

My entree was a perfectly seared red snapper, paired with a triangle of au gratin potatoes, fresh spinach, and balsamic roasted red pepper relish that was studded with olives. Although I’m not a huge olive fan, the flavor wasn’t overwhelming, and just added a bit of brininess to the dish.

Paul’s entree was the most unusual dish of the evening, a Peanut Butter and Jelly Duck. A perfectly seared breast of duck is sliced, and topped with a slightly sweet berry sauce. The noodles are tossed in a slightly sweet peanut sauce. Combined, the sauces truly do taste just like peanut butter and jelly. The portion size was perfect, because this dish could easily get cloying in a larger quantity.

We both opted for the Bacon Apple Tart for dessert – it was a simple apple tart, served with house-made buttermilk ice cream, and sprinkled with crispy lardons of bacon. I love the combination of salty and sweet, and this did not disappoint. I especially loved the ice cream.

In short, our experience this time around was the polar opposite of our last experience, and I can now see why it’s both a media and local foodie darling. I can see myself visiting much more often, especially during the growing season.

Our server, Katie, was absolutely awesome. Engaging, friendly, non-obtrusive, and anticipated our every need without us even needing to ask.

If you’d like to go: Black Creek Bistro, 51 Parsons Ave, Columbus, OH 43215, 614-246-9662

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: G. Michael’s

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:32:57 -0400

Restaurant Week Fall 2009: G. Michael’s

Columbus Food Bloggers @ Wild Goose Creative

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:12:30 -0400

Columbus Food Bloggers @ Wild Goose Creative

Garden Update: August 2009: My red peppers, although full...

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:34:01 -0400

Garden Update: August 2009:

My red peppers, although full sized, are super slow to start changing colors. Not even a hint of changing for weeks to come.

The muskmelon is almost full sized now, and just starting to develop the webbing on the outside. I’m quite pleased at the way the vine trained itself up the trellis, and the good job the trellis is doing supporting the melon.

Eggplant, now that it’s gotten going and set fruit, is giving me a steady supply of 6-8 eggplant each week. This has to be the most problem-free thing I’ve grown all year.

What I thought was kohlrabi when I planted it is most obviously cabbage at this point. With the exception of some bug-eaten outer leaves, this is doing great.

The sweet corn is just days away from harvest (you harvest it when the corn silk starts turning brown). For some reason, I expected the ears to get a bit bigger than this.

The blueberries have looked like they’re on the cusp of ripening for over a month now, but no such luck. I think I won’t have much blueberry output this first year since the bushes are getting established.

August 13th

It seems like overnight, the basil went from not growing at all to doubling in size. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Perfect timing with all the tomatoes ripening now.

And there’s a real steady supply of Sungold tomatoes now. Good thing, since I’m putting them in just about everything. Plants are still looking good.

Cabbage is just about ready to harvest now that the center of the heads have filled out. These will be small heads, since I planted them 4 to a square foot because I thought they were kohlrabi.

I could have sworn I planted just one variety of eggplant, but I’m getting a couple of different shapes. This one is almost flat instead of round.

The last of the corn, ready to harvest. See how the silk is brown now?

The strawberry patch has really filled out, although it’s not producing much in the way of berries.

And now that I know rainbow chard regrows, I’ve been clipping it regularly. This is about a week’s worth of regrowth.

The muskmelon is almost completely webbed now, and is starting to slowly ripen.

My early girl tomato plant has been a steady producer for me, giving me very high yields starting very early on. And they have surprisingly good flavor, too.

You know, earlier when the zucchini first started producing, I contemplated getting a second plant next year for higher yields. Now that it’s producing regularly? I can see why people give away zucchini so readily.

The box in my garden I’ve nicknamed “tomatoes gone wild” is a jumbled mess of different varieties of tomatoes. I pulled all the vines outward so that I could actually have access to harvest them all once they ripen.

See? Still no hint of color change on those bell peppers.

August 14th

Big harvest day – I took the cabbage, corn, some zucchini and tomatoes. What am I going to do with 4 heads of cabbage (albeit small heads?)

August 23rd

My biggest harvest yet – for point of reference, this basket is 2-3′ long, 6 inches deep, about 18″ across.

August 27th

Another big harvest, mainly melon and ripe tomatoes.

Here’s a pic of the inside of the smaller of the muskmelons? Doesn’t it look sweet and juicy and delicious?

Stay tuned for September, which has us tearing out a bunch of tomatoes and squash plants (powdery mildew on the leaves has really done a number on the zucchini, and my tomatoes have been developing late blight), reconditioning the soil for fall and winter crops (one box will be nothing but garlic for next year, while another will be crops for winter (which I can harvest throughout winter by laying down a layer of straw to keep the soil warm enough to store the veggies and workable, and yet another will be lettuce and other greens.