Guest Blog: Downtown: J. Gumbo's Down Home Cajun Cookin

My friend John Sauter and I have many good food memories together.  John was first introduce me to Tai's Asian Bistro, and its heavenly pad thai.  John would also introduce me to other local Columbus spots (Zuppa and its chicken salad).  Unfortunately, last week, John and I had a terrible, terrible experience at J. Gumbo's. 

Here is John's take:

I wanted to love J. Gumbo's.  As a frequent visitor of New Orleans, and lover of Cajun food, I was excited when I learned last summer that a "Cajun restaurant" was opening up on Gay Street.  

Cajun food, for the uninitiated, is a rustic cuisine that often combines seafood, meat, and rice with 'the holy trinity' - bell peppers, celery, and onions.  Many dishes begin with a roux, flour and hot oil whisked together until chocolate brown.  The 'trinity' is then added, along with stock, and the preparer's choice of meat or seafood.  It is, in a word, delicious.  Simple, easy to prepare comfort food.

J. Gumbo's claims to serve "down home Cajun cookin'." Most diners order the "Big Bowls," which feature a variety of stewed meats (chicken, primarily) served atop a large spoonful of white rice.  A taste of their offerings, however, reveals that their food is as authentically Cajun as Chipotle is authentically Mexican.  But authenticity aside, J. Gumbo's fails at putting out even semi-decent food.    

I cannot recommend a single dish on their menu.  The most disappointing dish was the namesake - the gumbo.  Any Cajun restaurant worth its salt should have a respectable gumbo.  Yet at J. Gumbo's the dish I received was a watery, oily mess.  Instead of seeing heaping mounds of chicken, sausage, okra, and other vegetables poured over white rice, I saw a bowl that looked of dirty water.  There was so much oil mixed in the water I wondered if I was looking at a miniature version of the Gulf Coast, post-oil spill.  I was only able to find two wafer-thin pieces of sausage in the entire bowl.  The shredded chicken was just as sparse.  And the taste?  Horrid.  It tasted burnt, saturated with heavy spices and lacking any body.

Bourbon Street chicken, a dish not actually found on Bourbon Street, but instead in mall food courts - made an appearance on the menu.  As did the Bumblebee Stew, a dish similarly unauthentic.  The Bumblebee Stew consists of canned corn (LOTS of it) mixed with a few black beans and stewed tomatoes over rice.  The canned taste of the corn was overpowering.  It tasted straight from a can, and it looked like baby food.  

 

 

The two chicken dishes I tasted were just as bad.  The Voodoo Chicken (try finding this dish at Galatoires, or Commander's Palace!) was little more than pulled chicken, stewed in an insanely hot tomato sauce, poured over rice.  The heat was so overpowering it took away any complexity the dish might have had.  Similarly, the Drunken Chicken had the same problem, only with an incredibly overpowering garlic taste.  

 

 

Those few dishes are about as expansive as the menu gets at J. Gumbo's.  While most diners receive their main course atop rice, J. Gumbo's gives the option of receiving it in Po' Boy form, and, worse yet, in a tortilla.  Yes, tortillas in a so-called Cajun restaurant.  

Seafood, a staple of Cajun cooking, is woefully underrepresented on J. Gumbo's menu, appearing only in the Etouffee.

If you're a lover of true Cajun food, stay away.  However, if you're satisfied with your local mall's Bourbon Chicken offering, and don't mind your taste buds being assaulting with waves of spicy or garlicy flavors, this one's for you.

Downtown: Plantain Cafe

Plantain Cafe is a little slice of Cuban heaven in Downtown Columbus.

Located on Gay Street, which seems to be the new Restaurant Row in downtown, Plantain Cafe doesn't just cater to the Downtown workforce, it is open on Saturday's as well.

Last week, I ventured to Plantain Cafe with a coworker of mine who happens to be of Cuban descent -- definitely a great measure of authenticity.

Plantain Cafe is a very small space, maybe has seats for about 20 people, and different than its competing restaurant El Arepazo, Plantain Cafe has waitress service.  And Coca-Cola products.

We ordered tostones to start.  Tostones are mashed, fried plantains, served with a sort of garlic sauce.

I hate to say it, but I wish that the tostones were served with a cilantro like sauce El Arepazo serves.  The tostones were nice and crispy, but unfortunately a lot of the plantain flavor was lost, and it needed a sauce to help brighten it up.

Cuban Sandwich: I think a lot of places try and serve a cuban sandwich, with the basic ingredients of mustard, pickles,  a white cheese, some sort of pork, and grilled.  However, at Plantain Cafe, two types of pork are used (ham and pork), swiss cheese, pickles, and homemade mustard.  I am a huge fan of mustard, so the more the better.

For $8, this is a huge portion.  Bigger portion than any other sandwich places around.  The flavor combination was very nice.  The meat was flavored nicely, and the mustard was AWESOME.  The sandwich comes with homemade plantain chips.  These chips reminded me a lot of my father's, but I prefer my pop's.  My dad cuts the plantains circular, and then fries the bananas and seasons them nicely with chili powder and pepper.  Here, they were fried, and not season well.  But, it was a nice change to typical french fries or potato chips.

 

Ropa Vieja:  I don't eat cow, so one of my friends with me ate this dish.  Ropa Vieja is a shredded steak dish, in a tomato sauce that is served with onions and peppers.  Next to the pile of meat, is a large portion of rice and beans.  I'm told that the rice is not the wussy, uncooked kind, but the delicious morsels that melt in your mouth.  For $11, it was a huge portion of meat, probably more than you would get in a steakhouse.  

CONCLUSION: Plantain Cafe is a great addition to the downtown lunch scene.  Unfortunately, the only vegetarian option is a "sampler" of the three vegetarian appetizers.  So, probably not a place to go for the veg-heads out there.  The meal I had at Plantain Cafe is good, but El Arepazo definitely has more options (however, Plantain Cafe is uniquely Cuban, whereas El Arepazo seems to be a mix of the different Latino flavors).  All in all, it was a tasty meal and I would definitely go again.

Downtown: Barrio Tapas Lounge

Barrio Tapas Lounge ("Barrio") is an amazing little bit of ethnic food in downtown Columbus.

Barrio is owned by the same duo of Due Amici (see previous post of hatred), but Barrio is a total 180.

Set in the heart of downtown Columbus, Barrio is actually in an old Wendy's building.  and you would never imagine that you were in an old Wendy's.  Seriously.  The renovation was beautifully done.  Deep wood, dim lights, great windows that open up to let in the nice evening air, and an upstairs seating area that would be perfect for small parties.

I headed out to Barrio with my dear friend Fancy Pants,who is also a lover of all things edible.  Fancy Pants never visited Barrio, so we picked one of the first real spring evenings of Columbus to partake in some tapas plates (don't worry, it snowed 3 days later). It also happened to be a Tuesday, and Barrio has a two-for-one tapas special on Tuesday nights.  Also, I had purchased a coupon from Fudha which Fancy Pants and I learned couldn't be used in conjunction with the tapas deal, but for a separate item. Duh, paella!

When we sat down, we were greeted with a loaf of bread and two dipping sauces. A yummy, sweet butter and an oil sauce.  Fancy Pants noted that there were hints of smoked paprika in the oil sauce.

For table bread, it is pretty tasty.

Fancy and I ordered 4 tapas plates next, and an order of paella to follow. We ordered the calamari, bacon wrapped dates, fries, and crab and corn empanadas. 

Calamari:

Whenever you go to a restaurant in Columbus, the calamari is usually deep fried, with some sort of dipping sauce (sometimes Asian flavored, Lindey's has a delicious remoulade).  However, Barrio's calamari might as well have been renamed "calamari soup;" in a broth, with mushrooms and some other vegetables, and calamari pieces.

It was alright.  I think Fancy Pants and I both agreed that the sauce could have been thicker. Or, it could have been billed as a soup so hopes of actual pieces of calamari you can grab with your hand and not worry about spilling on your shirt.

Fries: they might as well have been called crack.  Seriously.

Barrio's fries are in a delicious parmesan-spice-blend with this dipping  sauce that is drinkable.  I don't know how they ended up being so damn tasty but they are.  We seriously cleaned our vat of fries, and I even had to ask for extra sauce because I ran out.

Bacon wrapped dates: dates are the fruit of the gods, and well, bacon? How to qualify bacon? The versitile,  all meal mystery meat.  Here, the dates are wrapped in thick slabs of bacon, with a sweet sauce on the outside and filled with cabrales cheese.  I feel that they perhaps are the best thing on the menu next to the paella, but they may have been a little too sweet for Fancy Pants:

The empanadas are pretty good.  A fancy version of the hot pocket.  We ordered the crab and corn empanada, and it comes with a nice sized side of guacamole.  Perhaps the guacamole can double as an additional dipping sauce for the fries?

Also, on Wednesday nights (I think) Barrio does an 8 empanada for  $12 deal.

Now: the big bang deal.  The paella.

I think every nonenglishspeaking country has a form of a rice dish.  In India we have biriyani.  Paella is Spain's, and Barrio does it very well.  Barrio's paella is a mixed paella: calasparra rice, chicken, shrimp, chorizo, calamari, clams, piquillo peppers, beautifully colored by saffon.    There are even peas in the paella, which is a nice complement.  Even though we gulled like gluttons with the tapas plates, we cleaned the dish with the paella. And, it's also delish with the fries:

CONCLUSION:  Barrio has a lot of recession friendly deals out there.  2 for 1 tapas, 8 for $12 empanadas, and $2 tacos on Thursdays.  It is a place to try foods that you definitely don't get at mainstream restaurants, and it is a cool vibe and a great place to go with friends.

Also, stay tuned for a very special double blog experience with myself and Fancy Pants.  A blending of the world. Internets Glory!

Downtown: Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace

When I was growing up, my dad was a huge fan of serving me hot dogs. Even though my mom was anti the idea, my dad used to like to cook hot dogs for me on the weekends, slice them in half, melt a slice of American cheese neatly in the middle, and place the dog on piece of toast. He would make a ketchup-Tabasco combo (I think we have 3 types of hot sauce in our fridge at home), and place some onions on top. It was a very fancy presentation and was even more delicious.

However, after a summer in India, my grandfather got me off of the hot dog kick and I never really ate them again (thankfully, my father got off the hot dog kick and progressed to cold cuts and McDonald's $1 double cheeseburgers).

The Betty's family of restaurants has three of the most popular restaurants that my friends and I frequent: The Tip Top (best variety of fries), The Surly Girl (the spicy peanut butter sandwich is delicious), and Betty's (fried plantains!). So when Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace (Dirty Frank's) opened in Downtown Columbus, it was destined to be a hit.

Dirty Frank's is in the location of the old Queen Bee, which I used to frequent during the 2006 campaign as it was across the street from the Strickland campaign headquarters, and around the corner from my office. It was amazing how quickly the place was turned around into a modern, hip restaurant.

I went to Dirty Frank's when it first opened. The great things about Dirty Frank's is that there are a variety of hot dogs: all beef dogs, brats, and both dogs and brats in veggie. Which is great for non beef eaters like me.

Today I had off work and ventured down to Dirty Frank's with my buddy Eric, aka the White Ninja (see the Unhappy Hour post). Eric is one of my go-to eating buddies and we hadn't been to Dirty Franks together, and I hadn't been there since the new menu rolled out, so we went for it. It was also the perfect day for comfort food, as it is snowing,windy, and all around miserable outside.

Eric and I ordered an order of the soft pretzels, and tator tots, in addition to our dogs. Eric went for the beef brats, and ordered the Lara's Pittsburgh Princess, which is topped with cole slaw, yellow mustard, and french fries, and a Chicago dog, with mustard, sport peppers, and pickles. I ordered two veggie dogs, one Beano, which has refried beans, tomatoes, onions, and sharp cheddar cheese, and I ordered a Lara's Pittsburgh Princess too.

The last time I had the pretzels, they were a little on the hard side, and perhaps had too much flour. I am a sucker for soft pretzels. Every time my mom and I go to the mall, we stop at Auntie Anne's and share a pretzel. The pretzels today were hot, soft, and had a great flavor. The

pretzels come with a cheese sauce, and a Sriracha mustard, which is delicious.

Here are Eric's dogs.

I love potatoes. I love tater tots. There are a lot of great tot locations in Columbus. Latkes, aloo parathas, french fries, mashed baked, twice baked, give me some taters! Dirty Frank's are not greasy, crispy, and we ordered them doused in cheese sauce and bacon. Amazing.

And here are mine.

I love the Beano. The refried beans have a nice kick, and the raw tomato/onion combo are great. However, I wish the cheese would be melted. I understand the appeal of unmelted shredded cheese on items (tacos, etc), but Maybe a little more warmth on this dog could do it some good.

Lara's P squared: I really don't know how i feel about this dog. All of the components on their own are delicious, but I don't think that this combo needs to do it. There needs to be something more spicy. I don't think balsamic vinegar would do the touch. Or Sriracha. Something. I wasn't a fan. It was pretty bland.

Luckily, the White Ninja agreed.

CONCLUSION: I really like Dirty Franks, a lot, and I will definitely be back. I really need to work my way through the menu, and branch out from always getting the Beano. I wish they would have veggie coney dog sauce, however, because I think a veggie coney dog would be delicious.

Downtown: Flatiron Bar & Diner

One neat thing about living in Columbus is the ability to see beautiful architecture. Apart from The Statehouse, there are a lot of homes and buildings from the 1800s that have been beautifully restored. The Flatiron Bar & Diner ("Flatiron") is fortunate to be in such a building. The Flatiron's website states that its namesake comes from the Flatiron Building in New York City.

My friend Sarah first introduced me to the Flatiron back in 2006. Since she knew I had a love of spicy food and good calamari, she thought it would be be a good place to take me. When we were working together, we'd often go to the Flatiron for lunch. I haven't really frequented since, maybe once last year.

So, in the theme of Fat Tuesday, I asked my other friend Sarah (I guess Sarah is a popular name among my friends!) to go to Flatiron with me for a good meal. She lassoed her boyfriend Todd to assist us in this culinary challenge (he is a foodie as well, so it wasn't very difficult haha).

We went to the Flatiron on Friday night for a late dinner. Since we were all famished, we ordered a sampler of appetizers.

I for sure had to get the calamari. The calamari are lightly dusted in cornmeal, fried, with a delicious remoulade sauce. We also ordered a Crab and Corn Cake with a Spicy Ancho Chile Mayonnaise; a Roulade of House Smoked Salmon Creme Fraiche, Capers and Red Onion with Cucumber and Baguette, and Cornmeal Fried Oysters with Tangy Remoulade Sauce.

The cornmeal on the calamari and the oysters is not thick at all. It provides a nice coating with a good crunch that doesn't leave a greasy feeling. And the remoulade is seriously drinkable-- not too heavy on a mayo taste with a nice heat.

I had higher hopes for the salmon combo, however. I guess I really enjoy Bodega's a lot, which is covered in red onions and capers. I was hoping that Flatiron's would have the same great flavor combinations. Maybe some more capers, or some red onion instead of the heavy creme fraiche.

The main course: Sarah ordered the half slab of ribs:

and Todd and I both went for the Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich. The BBQ is North Carolina style. I've never been to North Carolina, nor have I really had North Carolina style BBQ outside of the Flatiron. Nevertheless, the pork is in a spicy mustard sauce. However, with our fries, Todd and I both went for the Sweet and Hot style, with Balsamic Vinegar, Red Pepper Flakes and Vermont Cheddar.

I HAVE NEVER HAD FRIES LIKE THAT AND I WILL CONSTANTLY GET THEM AGAIN. OMG! I mean, balsamic vinegar is already the nectar of the gods. The tang from the vinegar, the spice from the flakes, and then the cheddar adds a nice sweetness.

I do love my spicy food (being Indian and all) but all of the combinations ended up being a lot for my poor little esophagus to handle. I'm still experiencing some heart burn.

On to dessert: Sarah ordered the apple pie special:

I had the chocolate special for the night, chocolate cheesecake:

And Todd had the Bread Pudding:

I gotta tell ya, I should have gotten the bread pudding. Custard Bread Pudding with Bourbon Anglaise and Shaved Chocolate. OMG. This comes out warm. All delicious like. The anglaise gets in every single crevice of the bread. It was so good, that after I polished off my cheesecake, I finished Todd's bread pudding.

Sarah's apple pie was pretty good, too :)

CONCLUSION: I will get my fries Sweet and Hot every time, and will get the bread pudding. Perhaps two orders.

Downtown: Due Amici (aka, the un-happy hour)

I really do love Due Amici.

Due Amici is in the perfect spot downtown. The deep woods, dim lights, white table cloth, and long, bar make Due Amici a cool vibe, along with the upbeat music played in the background. I love the owners, as they always gave me great deals when I used to host Blue Cocktail Progressive Mixers there in 2007.

Located on Gay Street, it is so conveniently located from Cap Square, and is a great place to go for a business lunch, a fundraising dinner, or a quick drink with a friend after work.

Which is exactly what I did yesterday. I met my friend Eric (aka, the White Ninja to some of you) for a quick drink after work. Eric works downtown, and I do too, so we like to meet there for a good glass of red wine and maybe some snacks.

Which leads me to the point of this post. I saw on twitter and facebook how Due Amici has a new happy hour special. Here are the links:

Twitter

Facebook

So, it clearly says, 2 for 1 bar apps/bar menu items from 4-7 Mondays-Fridays. So needless to say, I was pretty excited.

I meet Eric at the bar. Now, I noticed that when Barrio, Due Amici's sister restaurant opened, that a lot of the good wait staff went along with the new, exciting restaurant (I'm sure I'll get to Barrio at some point). Now, at the bar on weeknights, is a bartender whose personality resembles Styrofoam, and who is not very friendly.

Eric had been waiting for me for about 10 minutes, and had just gotten his glass of wine when I sat down. It took me about 5 minutes to get a wine menu, and then another 5 minutes to place my order for my measly glass of red wine.

We order an appetizer; calamari. Due Amici's calamari is fried, with various vegetables, and a marinara sauce at the bottom. Seriously, it's nothing like Lindey's, or Hyde Park's. Anyway, it hit the spot and was pretty good-- I forgot to take a picture.

NOW....time to my reason for referencing the power of social media. I ask the bartender, aka Lurch, to order another appetizer because I saw on Twitter, that appetizers are two for one.

He told me that was only for the day of Snowmageddon.

REALLY? Because when you look at the Twitter and Facebook page, it says NOTHING about being valid for Snowmageddon day only.

So, I pull out my Blackberry (well, I pick it up off of t he bar) and while probably embarrassing the White Ninja, I reference Lurch to facebook and twitter, where he proceeds to tell me I'm wrong again.

Fine. But it clearly says different!

Five minutes go passed, and Lurch comes back. He says that he'll give us another appetizer because of my "Twitter mistake." White Ninja asked Lurch if he was responsible for the Twitter, and Lurch informed him it was "some girl" that was "wrong" because the special was for the "snow day only."

Lurch hooked us up with a spinach artichoke dip:

It was pretty garlicky. The toast points were crisp, and there was definitely more cheese/cream than spinach/artichoke.

CONCLUSION: IT was a pretty unhappy hour. Maybe I love the actual Due Amici over Due Amici's food. But Lurch really has got to step up his attitude.