Ham Sandwich Indicted!

One of the tough parts about my part-time "job" as food blogger is trying to keep up with the assorted dining events here in Columbus. ....Yes, you're right, it's exhausting, but I do what I can to keep you all informed. Last night (courtesy of Mama Ham Sandwich) I had the privilege of attending the Taste of Dine Originals event, proceeds from which went to the Buckeye Ranch . Fifty restaurants, multiple wine merchants, local breweries, and our two fantastic distilleries ( Watershed and MiddleWest ) supplied small bites and beverages to an enthusiastic and hungry crowd. Every restaurant had at least two, if not more offerings, both savory and sweet. Some of the stand-out dishes included a gussied-up "S#!t on a Shingle" from Alana's--shredded beef shoulder on a tender, buttery focaccia-type bread, and spicy shrimp and grits from G. Michael's. Basi Italia offered up mini serving spoons of a spring pea puree topped with Parmesan cheese, and the f...

It started out simply enough: a group of friends with a standing Thursday night date at Buffalo Wild Wings for boneless chicken wings, a few beers, maybe some trivia. Over the course of the year, significant others came and went, but the core group--the Killa B, Big Country, and the H.S. remained. As the summer progressed, the group expanded to a few more regulars (V.Z., Doc Vince, Eddie-O, E.N.), and at the same time the group decided (ok, fine, yours truly, the restaurant geek, decided) that while the discounted boneless wings at BW3s were great and all, it was time to branch out. And with that, the Thursday Night Drinking/Dinner Club (TNDC) was born. Initial forays into other ports-of-call were simple, and stayed close to the sports bar/pub food genre: Brazenhead, King Avenue 5, Grandview Cafe. As the only female of the group for some period of time, and taking into consideration the Killa B's profound affection for BW3s Terriaki sauce, I had to work slowly. It became clear,...

A few nights ago, the family and I enjoyed a fantastic meal at the newly re-opened Whole World Natural Bakery Restaurant in Clintonville. Unfortunately, I'm a terrible blogger (sorry friends), and forgot to take pictures of any of the actual dishes--just two cookies that I saved and ate the next day for lunch. (Which, for the record, were delicious!) Did you know that Whole World is Columbus' oldest vegetarian restaurant (founded in 1978)? Their lengthy menu includes appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, and pizza, all made with fresh veggies in small batches. The daily soup options for the evening I was there included African Peanut, Gazpacho, Unstuffed Green Pepper (a rice-stuffed green pepper, deconstructed into soup form), and Verde (chunks of tender potatoes in a puree of five green veggies.) Among their daily entree items were Truffled Penne & Cheese, a Potato & Brie Quesadilla, and a Red Lentil Burger. I went with the Verde soup--dark green (MUST be healthy...

Dear Nopa , Hi. So, it's been just over a week since we last met, and I'm still thinking about you. In fact, I think about you almost daily. I realize that we've only had our one date, but I really think we (well, you) have something special. I knew that our relationship was off to a good start when I called and made reservations a couple of weeks before our date. Your hostess was incredibly nice when we spoke on the phone--I didn't get that "oh, you're not from around here" attitude that you sometimes get from fancy restaurants when they realize you have a non-local phone number and are not famous/powerful/a restaurant critic. She even said she'd do what she could to get us in at the Chef's Table--four seats right there in front of the kitchen, in the middle of the action. When D and I arrived for our date, Nopa, it was immediately clear that you were the coolest kid on the block; your suitors were literally coming out the door. Never mind that, h...