Grandview: Stauf's Coffee Roasters

Stauf's Coffee Roasters ("Stauf's") is located in the heart of Grandview.  An institution on Grandview Avenue, I must say.

Apart from smelling like heaven when you enter (so many varieties of coffee beans you can grind and enjoy),  Stauf's also offers a selection of sandwiches, and breakfast on the weekends.

Before I had my air condition installed in my apartment, I would keep cool up at Stauf's, enjoy a nice cup of light roast, and receive a sort of coffee zen in the atmosphere.  However, after talking to the friendly staff, I realized I did not try any of the food that Stauf's makes in house.  So, I decided to give it a go.

I really do love black bean burgers, and fresh burgers are hard to find here -- most are frozen patties that taste gross like.  So I was pretty excited when the friendly chef at Stauf's told me that he makes the black bean burgers personally, and is experimenting with different recipes.  I gladly obliged and sampled a black bean burger (with spicy fries, obvi):

This was a pretty big burger.  Like, just the size of North Star's, if not bigger.  I could really smell the spices used to season the burger.  Garlic, cumin, it even tasted like there was a little garam masala.  The burger really did not hold well together -- but that is perhaps a good sigh, since the burger isn't stuck together with artificial gum or food adhesives.  The chef told me that the recipe is in the works, but it was very flavorful.  Perhaps, it could have used some pickles, red onion, or some sort of mayo/mustard to kick it up a notch.

The spicy fries were great though -- way better than Cup o Joe's for sure (even though Stauf's and Cup o Joe are like cousins, right?)

CONCLUSION: Stauf's is a great place to go for coffee, and now has a great menu to dive into.  I really want to go back for breakfast some weekend, if I can avoid the rush.

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.