Mac's

August 29, 2013

For stop #2 on the Short North Food Tour, I stopped in to Mac's Cafe http://www.macscafe.com/. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for loud tables full of drunk guys tonight, so this review may be biased by that. On the other hand, that may be the norm here.

I stopped in around 8 on a Thursday, found a small table too close to said noisemakers, and awaited a server. I was approached presently and brought a drink and food menu. While perusing it I had a chance to perceive part of the reason for the ratcheted-up reaction: scantily-clad too obvious women were offering "free" shots of whiskey for some sort of promotion involving a stag's antlers on a hard hat. Yeah, sign me up.

I chose the Old Chub Scotch Ale and greatly enjoyed its dark rich roasted maltiness. I also enjoyed the 8% ABV, and even though I just missed happy hour (until 8) it was still not a bad price. At $5.62, however, it was a perplexing price.

I asked about the fried green beans, which I'd seen on an online menu, but the server said they had discontinued them a year ago and that it's still requested regularly. Why do restaurants do that? Give the people what they want! Oh well...

I selected the black bean burger on grilled focaccia with pepper jack and a side of mashed potatoes. The burger was homemade, large, substantial, didn't fall apart, and tasted fine. It was accompanied by lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles, with a 1000 Island/tartar sauce like dressing (unnecessary). I give it a 4/5, mostly for its homemade-ness. Actual black beans fell out of the bun, which was okay, but not great.

The mashed potatoes were...well, mashed potatoes. Apparently they usually come with gravy, so I guess that's my fault for getting them au naturel. Still, they were definitely natural, with occasional chunks of potato. That added to the charm, but it was still fairly pasty and bland, and I added salt and pepper to make it more palatable. 3/5

The server was friendly enough but not exactly personable. The atmosphere was dark wood, Scottish guy bar, loud, sports TVs, lots of neon beer signs, and a little run-down feeling. Or was that me? Not great for vegetarians, not really my mood, and I will likely not be back for a while. Standard. 3/5 overall

Harvest Pizzeria

August 28, 2013

On this second visit to Harvest Pizzeria http://harvestpizzeriacom/ on the edge of German Village, I'd say that it pretty much lived up to my first impressions. My dining partner in crime accompanied me for a nice mid-week meal right after work. We were seated right away on the patio near the street for a nice view of operations.

Jumping right into the drinks, we ordered cocktails. My Front Porch Tea, a combination of OYO vodka, lemonade and ice tea, was frankly disappointing, especially for the steep $9 charge. It was not very vodka-y, very lemon-y, or very tea-y. Her Hibiscus Margarita was more tasty, pink, salt-rimmed, and sweeter. Still not a knockout with the alcohol, and her orange ended up in my drink for more taste. I guess we won't be getting cocktails at Harvest any more. Perhaps Curio next door mixes a potent cocktail...

I ordered the roasted red pepper hummus and it was not a huge amount of hummus, but what was there was tasty, accompanied by spiced flaxseed crackers. There were also tasty organic carrot slices. It was a good appetizer to get us going.

She ordered the full Butterhead salad and the server graciously offered to bring it on two plates. This gave us likely more than we would have had otherwise, and was a good value. Fresh goat cheese in healthy amounts topped very fresh spinach greens, beets (not many), toasted pistachios, and house buttermilk dressing (too much, really, but tasty).

We then got into the pizza and decided to create our own. They are 10-11 inches in diameter, so a nice size for two to share. We opted for the tomato sauce, goat cheese, cherry tomatoes (ripe green), kalamata olives, bell pepper, and the following freebie toppings: spinach, jalapeno, red onion, sweet corn, and garlic. With that many items, nothing was too overpowering, though the upcharge toppings I would have liked to see more of. The other downside was that the pizza was soggy in the center (perhaps due to our choice of toppings) and made it hard to pick up. Perhaps one is supposed to eat it with a fork? The outer crust was tasty, chewy, and dense.

Following up our meal was admittedly more than half the reason we decided to come back: the Butterscotch Budino (squee!). It's a little pot o' heaven, with dense, sweet butterscotchy pudding topped with creme fraiche, caramel sauce, toasted hazelnuts and sea salt. Yumm! A wonderful way to celebrate the end of the day and the beginning of vacation for one of us. Alas, that was not I. Still, it was too enjoyable not to leave a nice afterglow.

Two Fish Bistro

August 27, 2013

Yes, it has been an unforgivably long time since this food and drink blog targeted at veggie-types interested in Columbus' many great restaurants and bars has hit the virtual press. But I will be attempting a Short North Food Tour of sorts over the next few months. I am working my way south on the west side of High St. from Buttles to downtown and then will work my way back on the east side, up to 5th Ave., and then back down the west side to Buttles, attempting to hit every restaurant and bar along the way. This may take more than a couple months. Chalk it up to a desire to become intimately knowledgeable with my environment. And everyone knows the Short North now is more about restaurants than it is about galleries. Ah well, that's okay with me...

So, first on the list is Two Fish Bistro http://www.twofishbistro.com/. This was a Tuesday night around 6pm, so the place was not exactly hopping...just my speed. I was seated near the windows and enjoyed the open, clean space around me. My server was pleasant and took my drink order.

The Great Lakes Oktoberfest was a nice honey amber, malty and mellow. And the $2 off happy hour drafts from 5-7 was nice. I give it a 4/5.

I ordered the Crispy Tofu Salad, a large, filling salad of fresh greens, just-right crispy outside and tender inside tofu, cucumbers, fried basil, ripe avocado, pimiento, shredded carrots, and a delicious balanced lightly creamy dressing that really pulled it all together. My only complaint? $13 is a bit pricey for a salad, no matter how big it is. And Northstar's is bigger, and I hesitate to pay that much there. I remember when salads were an afterthought and cost about $3. I just gave my age away. Apparently my heyday was sometime in the 1950s. Okay, I'm not that old. I give this salad a 4.5/5.

Because I wanted to take advantage of the 1/2 off sushi M-Th., I also ordered the garden roll. I got six pieces of sticky-rice surrounding seaweed, surrounding morsels of avocado, zucchini, and asparagus, with the requisite wasabi and fresh ginger and a splash of soy sauce. They were tasty and exactly what I expected. 4/5.

The server was helpful in pointing out vegetarian options, pleasant and attentive without hovering, so 4/5 there. And the atmosphere was inviting and light.

Overall, I give Two Fish a 4/5.

Northstar Short North

August 25, 2013

Northstar is just one of those go-to places that I find myself back at every few weeks. Partly that's because it's so close, partly because the food is so good, and partly because it's largely locally-sourced and organic. http://www.thenorthstarcafe.com/

My complaints? The cost, which is roughly double for everything on the menu from 8 years ago when they opened. I don't think the cost of inflation can justify that. And I realize this might be controversial, but more and more places now are putting a tip line on the receipt when you order at the counter. This is particulary maddening at Northstar, where since they opened they have crowed that there is no reason to tip--"there just isn't". So, what's changed? Yes, they bring it to your table and yes, they're always pleasant, even downright friendly. But really? Why has this just started at all the order-at-the-counter locales? I have a bigger beef (yes, ironic since I'm a vegetarian) with the tip thing at Jeni's. Don't get me wrong. I love Jeni's. But come on, the size of the scoops has halved in size in the past five years and the cost has increased by about a dollar a scoop. What am I tipping you for? Doing your job, which is serving ice cream? What gives? Okay back to my complaints about Northstar: the crowds, which are good for business, but bad for the diner looking for a seat. I had hoped to snag a patio table, but arriving after noon on a Sunday, I was pretty assured that was not going to happen.

That said, the food rocks. The fresh-squeezed orange juice is amazing. I was in Florida for a week years ago and never did find fresh-squeezed. Ironic. The simple salad is always tasty and satisfying. It's fresh and just enough. Northstar, while not exactly experimental in their variety, at least does what they do well. And the roasted yukon potatoes with rosemary were tasty and filling; just the right start to a beautiful Sunday off in Columbus.

Seventh Son Brewing Co.

August 25, 2013

Summer, the time to hang out on patios as much as possible and soak up the atmosphere, and maybe some alcohol while you're at it. Thus did I find myself at Seventh Son http://seventhsonbrewing.com/ a few nights ago with my prime drinking buddies. Those of you who know me know I'm not exactly the Iron John kind of guy who goes out with other men and howls in the woods, but I will say this was a high-octane affair. I mean the alcohol, of course.

We met up at the corner of Fourth Ave. and Fourth St., a kind of new hub of hip activity. The converted garage comes complete with roll-up doors, revealing a massive concrete bar and pleasant, cool servers. There was no food on premises, but a food truck sat dutifully nearby.

I started with the Rabbit something (hey, I was drinking and it just says Rabbit on the receipt) Farmhouse Ale and it was a pleasing Belgian-style beer with a nice ruddy amber color. Nice balance of hops and mellow. This was a 5% beer, so nothing too potent, but nice for a beautiful Sunday evening out with the guys.

Next came the Oubliette, which I must say earns its name. For those French-challenged out there, this comes from a word meaning "to forget" which is quite a-propos (yes, that's French too) considering the 10.2% whopping effect of this darker, richer, very tasty quaff. And to make this even more interesting, an oubliette was a medieval dungeon with only an opening in the roof. Get it? Those French connigits (I mean knights) throw you in and forget about you. This was a much more pleasant experience.

We ate on the patio at narrow picnic-type tables and had a fine evening of it. Ah, camaraderie (French) and beer! Bien sur!

Alana's

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Alana's

8/23/13
Ah, Alana's! She is always known for her local, natural, individual approach to fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere. I managed to get a prime porch seat with my date under a fern after the heat of the day had cooled to a comfortable temp with a nice breeze.

We were treated to a vegan amuse bouche that was simple and tasty, but technically required more than one bite. I'm not complaining, though.

I was quite disappointed to learn from our pleasant server that Alana would not under any circumstances alter her famous Tomato Stack to be vegetarian. Taking out the crab meat seems like a no-brainer, but I have unfortunately found in the past that, though Alana's claims to be flexible for vegetarians, the reality is actually quite far from that.

We ordered the savory martinis, apparently all the rage now, but when they came we were underwhelmed with both their weak flavor and weak alcohol. My Tomato Martini with basil was just bland, both flavor-wise and in its potency. Same for my partner's Cucumber Martini. Honestly, Jeni's cucumber water has more cucumber essence than this. And at $9 apiece, they were very disappointing.

Next came the soups. My Tomato Soup was fine...fresh, tomatoey, and tasty enough, but it didn't knock my socks off. It included a few croutons. My partner's Chicken Soup was by all accounts also fine.

When our main dishes came, she enjoyed her Risotto du jour, and I was treated to a very fresh Simple Salad. It was a bit too simple for my taste, however. The greens tasted freshly-picked, so kudos there. But the dressing was nearly nonexistent and consequently lacking in much-desired flavor. There was also some shaved parmesan, so that helped some.

I ordered the bread, something which used to be free, but is now $2. It was tasty and fresh, but nothing to write home about.

None of the desserts appealed, but after-dinner drinks sounded good, so we imbibed. My date's Irish coffee was apparently drinkable, but lacked whipped cream. I believe that is a required ingredient of Irish coffee. And my True Spirit, mixing many liqueurs with coffee, was potent, but surprised me with its coffee, which was not clear from the menu.

Overall, a much more enjoyable evening meal on the patio for the company than the food and drink, but it will not prevent return attempts.
http://alanas.com/