One of my favorite places for brunch in Columbus, OH is Northstar Cafe with an in house bakery and organic selections. At each location, you will find a wall of magazines to enjoy why you sip organic trade coffee and enjoy their prepared from scratch dishes bursting with flavor. A few of my brunch favorites include their mushroom fritatta oozing with roasted mushroom, sweet onions, and gruyere cheese served with rosemary potatoes and a fresh biscuit with preserves that will have you drooling; their cloud nine pancakes made with ricotta cheese and topped with bananas and real maple syrup.
Recently I have been choosing their house made chopped salad typically made up of apple smoked turkey, bacon, blue cheese, avocados, almonds, and apples served with their cafe vinaigrette. However, I don't eat meat so I swap out the turkey for crisp silken tofu and leave out the bacon. Trust me when I tell you this salad will not disappoint!
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| Northstar Cafe's Chopped Salad with Tofu |
July 24th, 2013 Barcelona
One of my favorite times of the year is when Columbus hosts Restaurant Week. On the weekend before it begins, I am glued to the computer looking up every menu and weighing all my options of different meal combinations. I usually have an out loud struggle with myself which involves my fiance nodding his head and patiently waiting until I make a decision (and yes I realize this behavior is rather quite dramatic). This year in particular I decided on Barcelona, a spanish inspired restaurant off Whittier St. in German Village. Although we had lived in German Village for about a year prior, we had never been to Barcelona and have only heard good things, not to mention they had a variety of choices during Restaurant Week. Upon entering, we were greeted immediately by pleasant staff. The atmosphere was a mix of fine dining and casual; which in my opinion is the perfect mix. The tables were covered in white; however the mood was very laid back and energetic with bright art and blown glass. Unfortunately it was raining, and we were unable to sit outside on the patio; which only means we may have to make a trip back!
Now, on to the meal; the prix fixe meal included starters, main entrees, and desserts. As my starter, I chose a roasted beet salad with creamy goat cheese, pistachios, and a honey balsamic glaze. As my entree, I chose pan friend crab cakes over a creamy potato hash with corn and lima beans topped with friend leeks. Finally, as my dessert I chose the carrot cake. If I had to choose a favorite course in this meal, it would have to be the pan friend crab cakes (although it was hard to choose because I really enjoyed them all). The crab cakes were cooked crispy on the outside without the added greasy feel and creamy on the inside. The potato hash was creamy and rich in flavor with a butter like texture that mixed well with the corn and lima beans.
So next time you are out in German Village I highly recommend grabbing a spot at Barcelona for their small plates or entrees! Sadly, I was too caught up in my meal to take a picture so you may just have to take my word for it!
August 2013 Harvest Pizzeria
Our first adventure in Hunger Games was Harvest Pizzeria tucked away in German Village off 4th street. Harvest Pizzeria uses Ohio farms to provide their customers with farm fresh inspired food. The ladies and I started with the Butterhead salad which included bright and fresh beets, creamy goat cheese, toasted pistachios, and creamy buttermilk dressing. To follow up our salads, we split their Spicy Yuma pizza (sans the chorizo for myself). I love spicy ingredients, which made this pizza right up my alley! The flavorful crust was topped with a chipotle tomato sauce with rich gouda, spicy and fresh jalepeno, corn, and roasted red pepper. These combined flavors offered a punch to your mouth with the perfect amount of heat. I was so busy enjoying the pizza, I had almost forgotten to take a picture for you all!
While we weren't able to try other pizza flavors, the menu was dripping with mouth watering ingredients including almond pesto, truffled mushrooms, spicy giardiniera, and ocean clams to name a few. A German Village pizza must!
September 2013 M Restaurant
Sometimes amazing food comes at a higher price tag, and thats why happy hour is a fantastic idea; you can eat at top notch restaurants and experience some delicious food without breaking the bank. For our second Hunger Games adventure, that is exactly what we did at M. M is hidden off Mound St. in downtown Columbus, OH and is housed in a business plaza of sorts at Miranova Place. Upon entering Miranova place, I felt as though I had accidentally entered a hotel or conference center; however lucky for me one of the people I was meeting ushered me over to where the restaurant was located. Stepping into M was a different experience than the cold exterior with high ceilings and white curtains. Happy hour was only held in the bar area and the area itself was very inviting with small tables and big chairs to evoke conversations over specially crafted cocktails. The happy hour menu offered cocktails and wines at half price and discounted sushi, burgers, scallop appetizer, and shrimp cocktail. I immediately honed in on the sushi and since I could not decide on just one roll, I ordered two; the spicy tuna roll and the spicy scallop roll. The sushi was served on a square black and perfectly crafted to an art piece on the plate which made me drool upon arrival. Both the spicy tuna and spicy scallop roll were creamy and flavorful upon every bite and although my stomach could have probably stopped around half way through my brain was on a different page. Another in the group ordered the scallop appetizer and was pleasantly surprised by the balance and mixture of the corn bread with the scallops and corn emulsion. I think we all agreed that our second adventure was a success, 2/2!
October 2013 Till Dynamic Fare
I love farmhouse style decor; there is something about the bright colors against rustic inspired furniture that gives me a feeling of nostalgia. If I had it my way, my whole house would be decorated in this theme as I go about my city way of living. So imagine my inner happiness when I walked into Till, with its bright blue mason jars filled with fresh flowers on top of large wooden tables (which the server informed us was built by one of the former bartenders; even better!). Till is tucked in a small building off King Ave, across the street from Hamptons on King; making it a perfect stop for students walking home from class. The menus were served on what resembled recycled paper (and that might be the case but I forgot to ask) and included unique appetizers, salads, burgers, pizzas, and entrees. The menu also offered craft beers and dare I say it...wine on tap! (and at this moment I am instantly upset with myself for not trying). Since they support and gather produce from local farms to provide quality food, prices were slightly inflated, but my meal was well worth it. I had an inner war with myself trying to choose between the veggie burger and cashew crusted tofu served with vegan mac and cheese. In the end, my curiosity won out and I went for the cashew crusted tofu with vegan mac and cheese; and with my luck a friend ordered the veggie burger while the other ordered the catch of the day (blackened salmon a top a creamy risotto).
I must say I am pretty picky about my tofu since I have had my share of slimy and mushy tofu at restaurants; but I was pleasantly surprised by the firm texture accompanied by the crispy outer layer. The mac and cheese had a hint of heat and was a perfect accompaniment to the tofu, reminding me of good old fashioned southern food with a twist. As we passed around our plates, I was able to taste an amazingly cooked blackened salmon and veggie burger (and although the veggie burger was good, I was happy with my decision for the cashew crusted tofu and mac and cheese). If you get a chance to visit OSU campus area, Till should be on your list of places to stop by.
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| Cashew Crusted Tofu with Vegan Mac and cheese |
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| Blackened Salmon |
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| Till Veggie Burger with Roasted Potatoes |
I am excited that more and more areas in Columbus are having winter farmer's markets inside. I love the idea of buying more local foods to support our farmers and our community; plus they always have exceptional produce that large grocery store chains just can't beat. What is even better is that there are more restaurants opening up that prepare locally grown food; one restaurant in particular (and was our spot for the December 'Hunger Games') being Ella restaurant + bar located in New Albany, Ohio. The name of the restaurant, Ella, stands for eat.local.love.art and this meaning is evident in not only their food, but their decor as well. Ella is connected to an art gallery that showcases local artists and includes items such as paintings, handbags, jewelry, and all natural beeswax candles. The restaurant itself also is decorated with art for sale by local artists. During the winter season, Ella offers seasonal menus with the winter menu showcasing seasonal vegetables such as winter squash and includes dishes such as Autumn Risotto (roasted butternut squash with a fried over easy local egg, walnuts, and leeks) and Hazelnut crusted Trout (served with potato, fennel, and apple hash finished with a grain mustard sauce). After scouring the menu for ten minutes or so the table and I came to a decision on our orders; mine being Panko Crusted Butternut Squash with seared Blue Jacket Gretna cheese, brussel sprout and orzo sauté, pesto, and micro greens. The squash was cooked to perfection with a crisp and flaky outer layer and melt in the mouth center paired with rich and garlicky pesto topped with a slightly salty and buttery non-meltable gretna cheese. After sticking my fork into the other girls' dishes, I am confident that mine was the best at the table. Not only was the food incredible, but the service was great too and the atmosphere is one that I would recommend to others. Check our more of their menu at http://ella-restaurant.com and enjoy!
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