Short North: Basil

Two summers ago, I lived in apartment at the corner of High and 4th Avenue -- the current site of the Jackson development.  When I was there, the happenin' place to go was the Surly Girl (which is still awesome), Skully's (Ladies 80s-- holler), and the creepy-now out of business-potential molester's-goody boy drive through.  I always hoped that this side of High street would develop, and with the Jackson finally being developed it's really coming into fruition.  Now, across the street from my old place and next door to Skully's, is Basil.

Columbus does have its fair share of Asian restaurants.  And, on High Street, there are plenty (Lemongrass, Haiku, Nida's and now Basil).  However, Basil has really given the space a face lift.  Deep, dark wood floors, a beautiful bar, and intimate seating.  I had read in the Dispatch that the owners of Basil had very successful restaurants in Chicago, so I have always been eager to go.  I think Basil has been open for quite some time, but I just haven't made it up there, even though it's several blocks away from my apartment.

I went to Basil for lunch to partake in the lunch special (I am such a sucker for lunch combos).  A choice of soup, an appetizer, and a lunch special for $7.50.  Since this is was my first time, I decided to make it more special to decide whether or not I'd return.  I took a friend of mine that also enjoys Thai food, and we ventured up to try it out.

I started with the Tom Ka soup.  A coconut broth, with mushrooms, lemongrass, onions, and cilantro.  I was afraid that the flavors wouldn't be pungent but this broth was delicious.  I could really taste all of the flavors in the soup, and the lemongrass was delicious.  I really enjoyed the soup, and it would be the perfect cup of comfort on a cold day -- I'd say that it compares to/is on the  same level as the Lemongrass soup at Lemongrass, which is my standard for soups.

The next lunch choice is an appetizer.  I looked around what other people were getting, and there was a variety of food out on the floor.  I asked the waitress what was the best choice to make, and she recommended the crispy roll.   A crispy rice wrapper with chicken, vermicelli noodles, sprouts, in this tangy vinaigrette.  The combination of flavors really worked.  And, the ground nuts on top added a nice contrast.  

(on a side note, it's interesting how many items are used in Thai and Indian cooking...the vermicilli noodles, cilantro, ginger, garlic...)

For my entree, I ordered the pad kee mow, aka, the drunken noodle.  My first experience with drunken noodle was in Bethesda, Maryland.  I worked on Capitol Hill for a summer, and my sister was in DC at the same time as well.  She loved this restaurant in Bethesda for the drunken noodle dish and introduced me to it.  It was pretty fantastic, and that really set the bar in my mind for drunken noodle.  Drunken noodle is composed of wide noodles in a spicy-sweet-basil sauce, and a variety of vegetables, and meat or tofu.   I had mine with shrimp, and ordered it spicy.  It was still pretty sweet, but the spice really hit at the end.  As far as drunken noodles in Columbus go, it was one of the better I've had.  And the portion size was excellent, perfect for lunch, although I was really stuffed after two bites of my crispy roll.

My friend had the red curry with chicken.  It is his standard at Thai restaurants, so he always orders it when he goes to a Thai restaurant for the first time.  Basil also offers the option of brown rice, which is great and refreshing for people trying to eat less white rice.  My buddy thought that the curry got better with time; at first bite, it was very chalky, but after several minutes of sitting it improved.  I thought that corn starch may have been added to make the curry thicker, which is unfortunate -- why add a thickening agent?

CONCLUSION: Basil is excellent and a nice addition to the neighborhood.  Although the service was a little slow, the presentation was beautiful and the flavors were great.  Also, Basil is this weekend's Groupon, $10 for $20 worth of food, and it goes until Sunday.  Go buy it!

Short North: Marcella's

Marcella's is an Italian restaurant in the Cameron Mitchell's family of restaurants.  If you've never been to a Cameron Mitchell's restaurant, you're really missing out, because it is truly a great dining experience every time.

There are two locations: one in the Short North, and another at the Polaris mall.  I particularly like the Short North location because:

1. it is within walking distance

2. it is prime for people watching as it is in the middle of the Short North

I've never had a bad meal at Marcella's.  The specialty is small plates: pizzas, pastas, cheese plates, and desserts.  Marcella's goal is for diners to share their meals, to not limit themselves to their entree.

Entrees are generally available; I would recommend one of the special pasta dishes, usually the risotto special is pretty good.  There is also an extensive selection of wine which can be ordered by glass, half liter, and full bottle.

Last week, Columbus had its first taste of spring, and it was a good night to go out to eat and for a stroll in the Short North.  I walked up to Marcella's and met some friends for dinner.

My favorite appetizer at Marcella's is the melted pecorino cheese.  Served piping hot in a cast iron dish, this cheesy bowl of deliciousness is served with nicely toasted pieces of bread, apples, and honey.  You also get a nice loaf of cold bread at the table with your meal,and I would recommend having this handy when you order the pecorino cheese appetizer, for the toast points really don't last for too long:

The apples and honey are a delicious complement and are definitely a palate cooler from the intense, bubbly, gooey goodness.

We then ordered the bruschetta.  This is the first time I've ordered the bruschetta at Marcella's.  Normally, when I go with friends, we get the cheese heaven, and many pizzas and perhaps a pasta. The bruschetta are made from the same bread as the table bread; a crusty ciabata that almost has like a sourdough taste.  On top of the bruschetta are tomato sauce, a nice scoop of ricotta/mozzarella cheese combo,a slice of salty and cold prosciutto, and a nice basil leaf on top to add a pretty color:

I wish that the cheese combo would have been warm or really cold, instead of lukewarm.  I guess I just prefer the typical tomato bruschetta.  The colors are great, but it needs to get a proper temperature, be cut into smaller pieces, or get new flavor combo.  Perhaps not tomato and prosciutto.  Or, just basil,tomato, and cheese (or is that too boring?).

I forgot to take pictures of the entrees.  I had the special risotto for the night, which was a Parmesan risotto topped with the house sweet sausage.   It was alright. I  think that the two together was a little much, and I probably should have just gone for the two separately, or just the risotto plain.

CONCLUSION:  If you're planning on a night at Marcella's in between 6-8pm, you definitely have to make a reservation.  And if you want to go on a Friday or Saturday, you best make the reservation way in advance. Oh, and the Red Sangria is amazing. and the shrimp and pesto pizza.

Short North: Press Grill

This week, many Columbus restaurants are participating in Dine Originals Week,  in which restaurants will feature a special fixed price menu for either $10.10, $20.10 or $30.10.  It is definitely a great way to try restaurants that you've never been to, or perhaps visit an old favorite that you haven't visited in a while.

So that's what I did tonight.  I enlisted the help of my friend Andy, aka Mick, aka Fergie, to venture to The Press Grill in the Short North.  Andy is one of my good friends from college, we worked on our first job together, and have shared many meals together.  One of my favorite memories from college and the 2006 campaign cycle would be having breakfast at the Olde Mohawk on Sundays with Andy, splitting the Sunday New York Times and devouring breakfast quesidillas.  Unfortunately, The Mohawk doesn't serve breakfast or brunch anymore; it was a real treat.

Anyway, tonight also happened to be the first real spring-like weather evening that Columbus has had (a much needed reprieve from the dismal winter), so it was a lovely evening to be in the Short North.  Press Grill is a local favorite; a very long bar with a few tables, a great view of High Street, and an open kitchen where you can watch your food being cooked.   Press offers many specials: 99 cent taco night, 40 cent wings on Tuesdays, Thanksgiving Dinner Night, and a steak meal on Sundays.  Tonight, however, we ventured for the Dine Originals Special.

Press's deal, for $10.10, gave a plethora of food to chose from:

1. choice of mixed green salad or wedge salad (Andy and I both went for the wedge).

2. choice of the Press Burger (Andy ordered the cow), the Chicken + Pesto Sandwich (that's what I ordered), or the mixed vegetables sandwich

3.  choice of mac n cheese (we  both ordered this), fries, or baked potato.

We ordered 5 wings each to start and this probably ruined the food consumption for the rest of the evening.  Press has some of the largest chicken wings out there and import the wing sauce directly from Buffalo--so when they say "Anchor Bar Wings," it's the real deal.  We were later informed that the sauce is pretty much butter and Frank's Red Hot, but fortunately we were being gluttonous that evening so it really didn't matter.

The wedge is pretty standard. A quarter sized wedge from a head of iceberg lettuce, house made bleu cheese (which is fantastic), bacon, egg, and some tomato and red onion.  I wish my lettuce wedge would have been a little more fresh--I think the salads were prepped earlier in the day, so they must have been sitting in the back, and mine was a little hard-tasted like raw cabbage-like.

Next, the big shabang.  Andy ordered the Press Burger.   It came with two patties, cheese,  lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, and a fried egg on top.  He said it was similar to 185's Charles Burger, except it was on a bun and had more veggies.  I told Andy he should have ordered it plain with cheese, which is the style of our former boss (we'll just call it burger a la gray ghost for the sake of anonymity), since he removed all vegetable items (and fruit, if you call tomato a fruit) from the burger.

Anyway,  Andy worked his way through his burger and thought it lacked a certain crispiness that he enjoyed with Club 185's Charles Burger.   We got to talking for a long time and he let it sit for a while, so he enjoyed it more at room temperature.  Needless to say, Andy had a clean plate, so it was pretty tasty.   Beef lovers, what's not to love about two all beef patties with cheese? Haha!

I ordered the Chicken Pesto sandwich.  The sandwich comes on ciabata bread, with a slice of grilled chicken, bacon, cheese, grilled veggies, and homemade pesto.  The pesto was a little on the salty side.  I really do enjoy pesto, but the saltiness overpowered the natural salt from the bacon and from the grilled mushrooms.  The sandwich was pretty large, so I had half of it. Over all, it was pretty tasty.  Minus the salt on the pesto.

And now: the big deal of the main meal: the mac n cheese!!

Mac n cheese, i think, is a pretty much universal staple in American cuisine.  Rotini, elbow macaroni, shells, bowties, any shape, size, form, grain of pasta can be made into a creamy goodness of cheese, perhaps some vegetables and meat, and seasoning.

Press uses elbow macaroni tossed in a sauce made from several cheeses, then a delicious slice of American cheese melted on top.  The mac n cheese comes in sliced squares, so it is easy to dig into with your fork.  This block of cheesy goodness is tossed with pepper, and some other seasoning.  

I had to do a close up to have the full effect of the melted sliced cheese on top.  The bad thing about the mac n cheese is that it does not reheat well.  It is best to eat it at the bar, which, unfortunately was impossible because i inserted a vast quantity of food into my gullet.

CONCLUSION:  Press Grill is a great place to go with friends, on a date, or even by yourself for a bite to eat and a cool city vibe to check out.  I am definitely going to start taking advantage of the Tuesday night deal, for the "butter and red hot" sauce.

Short North: Haiku

Five. Seven. Five.

The composition of a haiku.

When you are seated in the dining area of Haiku, in the heart of the Short North, there are haikus posted by restaurant patrons everywhere. Some funny, some serious. Mine tend to be goofy and nonsensical, but clearly that is just me.

Haiku has been known as one of Columbus's finest sushi restaurants. A great outdoor dining area that is packed any given night in the spring and summer, and two dining areas inside with different vibes; tables with bench seats, one side with larger tables for bigger parties than the other.

Apart from Sushi, Haiku has many other palate pleasers, including noodle and rice dishes, chickens sauteed in a variety of sauces, and a slew of appetizers. However, the best kept secret of Haiku is its lunchbox.

It's kind of a tradition started by my friend Todd and I that whenever we go for lunch, we'll usually go to Happy Greek for salads, or if we are craving a plentiful meal, we will head to Haiku for the lunchbox. Todd is actually the first person to introduce me to the Haiku lunchbox.

For $14.95, the Haiku Lunchbox comes with enough food for two people: 3 pieces of an Alaskan roll, 3 pieces of of a California roll; a variety of tempura; seaweed salad; 2 pieces of sashimi; choice of chicken, beef, or fish; and three pieces of gyoza. In addition to all of this, you also get a bowl of miso soup and a salad with a light ginger-peanut dressing.

I personally think that the gyoza at Haiku is pretty gross. I always ask if I can trade out the gyoza for an extra side of seaweed salad. Sometimes the waitress is unwilling to budge; however, today, I was in luck.

Don't expect the chicken to be warm. It is slightly chilled, in a sweet teriyaki sauce. The chicken is grilled however, and has a nice char to it.

The tempura usually consist of: 1 onion, 1 sweet potato, 1 potato, 1 squash, and a broccoli. Really, a piece of broccoli? Who wants to shove a gigantic piece of broccoli that's battered in often times overly thick and greasy tempura batter into their gullet at lunch time?

Anyway...the tempura today were warm and crispy, but slightly overcoated. The seaweed salad was typical seaweed salad. Not heavy on the vinegar, which is nice. And I had a double order since i swapped out the gross gyoza...hopefully that added some nutritional value that the tempura depleted.

The sushi rolls were pretty typical. Nothing to report there. However, on the Sashimi, I must point out that the knife skills on the piece of tuna were really great. I wish I had my real camera, so I could have captured the detail.

As in typical fashion after a delightful Asian meal, fresh fruit was served (although in winter, Japanese Oriental Restaurant will serve dum-dum suckers instead). Here we had a nice half an orange, with once again beautiful knife skills on the fruit. The orange was sliced so that we could pick it up in individual diamond shaped sizes.

CONCLUSION: This is the best deal in town for any sushi lover at lunch time.

Short North: The Burgundy Room

One of my favorite things about Columbus is Gallery Hop. The first Saturday of every month, the Short North comes alive, where hundreds, if not thousands of people, eat, drink, visit the galleries, and roam up and down high street.

The best part about my new apartment (besides not paying any utilities) is that I live two blocks from High Street, and can easily walk to the Short North and partake in Gallery Hop.

Saturday night, my friend Sarah and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, The Burgundy Room. Snowmageddon did not stop us from having an enjoyable Saturday night. The view from the Riffe Center on Friday:

The Burgundy Room is located almost in the heart of the short north. Deep, wood floors, a long bar, and multiple rooms make up the restaurant. There are a large variety of wines, in addition to various beers and cocktails. There is valet parking, for you non-Short North residents.

The Burgundy Room is known for its great tapas menu. Mussels, truffle fries, beet dip with toast points. However, The Burgundy Room recently changed its tapas menu, and Sarah and I just had to try it.

Sarah ordered the wine for us, a great bottle of pinot noir, "The Innocent Bystander."

We ordered a couple of tapas to start. I was addicted to the former truffle fries with basil aioli, so I tried the House Cut Parmesan- Rosemary Fries with Garlic Aioli:

Sarah sprung for the Beef Carpaccio with Horseradish Aioli, Cornichons, Pecorino Romano and Lavash Crackers (See, I told you I'd recruit a beef eater!!):

The fries were amazing. Fresh, hot, thick sliced. I thought the Parmesan rub may be overly greasy, but it was delicious. However, I wished the aioli could have had more spunk. Perhaps maybe the basil aioli could make a return to the fries. I clearly wasn't complaining:

Sarah loved the carpaccio. However, she could have done without the peppers.

We had to try the next two menu items. Roasted Asparagus with Poached Egg, Pancetta, Garlic Chips & Porcini Hollandaise and Duck Corn Dog with Fennel Slaw and Blood Orange Marmalade.

Corn dogs, really?!

When the server brought out the asparagus, he told us that the asparagus would change our lives.

Omg, he wasn't kidding!

The asparagus was perfectly cooked. Tender, yet firm. The porcini hollandaise, i could drink it! and the egg was perfectly poached, it tasted like butter. So, so good. Our waitress told us that the garlic chips take the chef forever to make, and I can imagine why; seriously, not even a quarter of an inch thick, perfectly crispy. I could eat this asparagus every day:

Uhh--corn dogs. I love corn dogs. However, most corn dogs are made from beef hot dogs, something I obvs don't do. These were made from duck:

The actual duck was pretty mild to the taste; I think it was only lightly seasoned with pepper, it wasn't very spicy. The corn bread surrounding the duck

was delicious, crisp, and not soggy. The corn dogs came with a nice slaw that was different from most; it was nice not to be sogged down with mayo.

Since we were already being gluttons, we sprung for dessert.

Sarah went for the Carrot Cupcake with Ginger Crème Anglaise, Saigon Cinnamon Ice Cream & Candied Walnut:

And I went for the Dark Chocolate Mousse with Fresh Berries and Whipped Cream:

I will probably get the carrot cake cupcake if I get dessert next time I'm there. The mousse was so-so, but I wanted to try something different than Sarah, and the creme bruele was rum flavored, so that didn't really scream "delicious" after the rich meal we had.

CONCLUSION: The Burgundy Room is great for girls night, a quick bite alone, a meeting spot with a group of friends, and would definitely be a great date spot. Next time, I will not eat before I go and have 2 orders of the asparagus.

Out-of-Order Review: Sushi Rock.

Okay, I know that the plan was to post my restaurant reviews by geographic location in Columbus, but last night, I had dinner at Sushi Rock, and thought it was appropriate to report my thoughts.

Sushi Rock is located on the Cap in Columbus. Housed in the space formerly occupied by Liu Pon Xi, I have heard as much as $1 million was spent on its renovation. The vibe is pretty cool; dark floors, fluorescent lights, the bar has a very non-Columbus feel, although the bar stools are pretty uncomfortable.

I went to Sushi Rock the first week it opened, and was pretty disappointed. I was with two of my former bosses, both who enjoy sushi very much, and thought: the rolls were very large; not rolled neatly; the calamari was cold; and the service was pretty poor. I've also read pretty dismal reviews, on sites such as Columbus Underground, detailing some similar experiences to mine.

My girlfriends and I had a dinner reservation for Saturday evening. I feel that a party of six is pretty standard for a Saturday night, so I was glad that reservations were accepted. In typical girl fashion, we were running slightly behind; there was slight worry that we may lose our table, but as I entered the restaurant, it wasn't very crowded. This isn't surprising given the poor reviews received and the rumored bad reputation.

We were seated immediately, in a corner booth overlooking the Columbus Convention Center. Our waiter was prompt taking our drink orders, but there was about a 7 minute wait for the drinks. The drink menu was pretty pricey; it was less expensive to order a glass of prosecco than a glass of white wine. Most wines averaged at $8-10 per glass, and the bottles were very expensive.

We ordered a calamari appetizer, and three of us ordered a seaweed salad. The calamari came in a round wooden dish, and this time, was warm and crisp. The sauce was sweet and spicy, but the calamari were not coated in the sweet glaze, as is the calamari across the street at Hyde Park. The seaweed salad was neatly presented in a square glass bowl; however, for a scoop of seaweed, I thought $7 was a little ridic.

We all decided to order different rolls: spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, philly, rainbow, plain ol salmon, an eel roll, and some pieces of sashimi. One person at the table ordered a Filet Mignon with lobster mashed potatoes. We ordered another round of drinks, this time, it took about 10 minutes to receive them (again, the restaurant is not very crowded).

The Filet Mignon arrived to the table before the sushi. Like substantially before. Like enough time for some of the ladies at the table to go outside for a cigarette as soon as the filet touched the table, come back, and the sushi just arriving upon sitting back down down.

I'm not a cow eater, and one reader pointed out this may be a problem in efficiently reviewing restaurants, so guest commentators would be welcome...I digress.

Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but a filet has to be placed to flame, right? And sushi is raw fish, wrapped in rice and a wrapper with spicy mayo or cream cheese stuffed inside/on top/all around, right? So, wouldn't it make sense that the majority of the food arrive at the same time, perhaps the sushi before or immediately after the steak, not approximately a 7 minute delay? Keep in mind, the restaurant is not full!

Anyway, the presentation of the sushi is pretty neat. The sushi comes on a marble slab that the floors are made of (hence the "rock" name I am guessing, like Cold Stone Creamery, etc).

The nori on all of the rolls was pretty tough to bite into. Normally, I am able to bite sushi into two pieces if the roll is big (I learned after an unsightly incident one Christmas break at Nagoya in Catawba Island, after choking and then being advised by a fellow patron to take "small bites, dear.") The rolls were pretty tasty; the shrimp tempura roll and the rainbow roll were the most difficult to eat. I know that the goal was to make them "big rolls;" however, do you really want the rolls to be so big that the patron takes a bite, and then have to quickly eat the rest of it and risk choking, or, have all of the delicious contents fall out because the patron has to use her fingers to assist her in ripping the nori on the bite because it's so difficult to bite into...

The sashimi pieces looked so-so. Although I didn't try them, they did not look as fresh as those served at Kooma or Japanese Oriental Restaurant.

The filet migon: The cow eater at the table ordered a filet migon, medium rare, with bleu cheese crumbles. After taking her first bite, a big "mmm!" was rendered; she has had steaks in various high-class steakhouses, so I suppose that it was satisfactory in satisfaction. When the smokers went to smoke again (cow eater is a smoker), the nonsmokers and I pounced on the ginormous pile of lobster mashed potatoes left on the plate (she finished her steak).

I love me some potatoes. Obviously, they have zero nutritional value, but there's something about the creamy deliciousness that only a potato can provide. As I scooped some potato goodness up with my chop sticks, I was kind of disappointed; they tasted like boxed potatoes! I mean, potatoes are cheap! You can go get a big bag at the Kroger for not a whole lot of dollars! I kind of tasted hints of lobster in my few bites, but did not get any actual chunks. If it were me getting the meat dish, I probably would have gone for the truffled mac-n-cheese.

Again, during the eating time, we ordered several more rounds of drinks, and the waiter became progressively slower. He picked up one or two more tables, but he seemed to disappear constantly. I didn't see him at the bar, or at the sushi bar, or walking around in the back (and those of you that have dined with me, you know I have a pretty good ability of finding people in crowded places). So, maybe he was in the kitchen whipping up some boxed taters.

At the end of the meal, the bill ended up being about $353. For 7 rolls, 1 order of sashimi,1 steak, 1 side of lobster faux potatoes, 3 apple martinis, 2 glasses of sauvignon blanc, 4 glasses of prosecco, 3 bud lights, and 4 vodka redbulls....I didn't think it was too bad.

CONCLUSION: I will probably give Sushi Rock another chance. After seeing the numerous complaints on other blogs and via word of mouth, I would have hoped that the service would be drastically improved. Our waiter was nice enough, but he was just really out of it, and not very attentive. I love calamari, and if the calamari would have been cold and soggy, I would have been rage filled.