Columbus Eats! Columbus Restaurants: A Foodie Crowd-Sourced List

So the BF lives in Columbus. Although it I'm sad to not see his smiling face daily, it presents an opportunity to explore the food scene in our Capital city.


About a month ago, I tweeted for recommendations for good resties in Columbus, Ohio.


HOLY. SHEET.


People responded with so many reco's that I had to create a Tumblr list.

So now, I'm eating my way through Ohio's Capital City on a bi-monthly basis. 

My original list of restaurants was comprised of eleven Columbus restaurants; now, with recommendations of friends and fellow foodies like you, the list has grown to twenty-five restaurants! Tumblr isn't the greatest platform to update a list, so I'm transitioning to the list over to the blog and have named it ... the Columbus Restaurants: Foodie Crowd-Sourced List!  Yeah.... I'm in marketing.  

The first five I've visitsed are included below. Moving forward, I'll post Saturday C-Bus Crowd-Sourced Saturday review.

Columbus Restaurants: Foodie Crowd-Sourced List is comprised of five pieces of info. 

First: the restaurant name.

Second: the number of tweets I received recommending the restaurant. To have made the list, it had to be tweeted at least once. 

Third: the type of restaurant (Should you head there for lunch? Date night? Tuck in for a cocktail?) 

Fourth: when you see "DONE!" this means...um...I've tried the restaurant! A review follows. 

Fifth: a review focused on two elements - food (duh) and atmosphere. 

Columbus Restaurants: The Foodie Crowd-Sourced List 

1. 1.      Northstar (4 tweets) BRUNCH – DONE!
   Food: Sweet potato and turkey hash with poached egg. SO SO good. A little salty which I loved. 
   
   

   Atmosphere: Sit upstairs at the Eton location - incredible people watching. Rocking indie music playlist pumps through the entire place. Sang along to more than one song while eating. I’ll be back to this spot.

   
   

   

   
   

   
   
   2.      North Market (2 tweets) MARKET SHOPPING / BREAKFAST / LUNCH - DONE! 
   Food: Over 30 vendors, with everything from prepared Polish food to pre-packaged spices. Breads, waffles and tea selections were my favorite stands. Mostly prepared / ready-to-eat foods. If you’re looking to make a meal from scratch, don’t go here. 
   Atmosphere: Saturday afternoon = packed with people, all friendly, twenty and thirty-somethings. Clean.
   

   

   
   
   
   
   3.      Starliner Diner BRUNCH - DONE!
   Food: Cajun-style cuisine kicked down a notch. I tried a breakfast taco special and it was tasty but nothing I’d write home about. There was a “Mexican” French toast that I saw come out to another table which made me instantly regret my taco choice.
   Atmosphere: We had a 20 minute wait at 11am on Sunday – prime-brunch-time. Service was quick and efficient and the place prides itself on collections star-shaped clocks all over the walls. Space is tight so I did get to stare at lots of others’ food. Its fun, eclectic and a hipster diner.  
   

   

   Photo courtesy of Columbus Crave Magazine

   
   
   
   
   4.      Haiku DINNER – DONE!
   Food: Salt and Pepper calamari - tempura style with grilled hot Japanese peppers. Unique, tasty. Pad Thai for a main – typically I’m much more adventuresome but I asked for a dish they’re know for and this is what was recommended. Strawberry-infused saki was my rescue to a burning mouth after I realized they weren’t kidding with the hot peppers on the side of the Pad Thai. 
   Atmosphere: On a Friday night, this was a place to be seen if you’re a hipster. We had a 20 minute wait, which gave us time to grab a drink at the bar. I’d visit this place again for sushi.
   
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   5.      Betty (4 tweets) BRUNCH  - DONE!
   Food: I tried Smoky Gravy Sausage & Biscuits ($9) from the brunch menu and it was a damn good choice. Homemade thick, flaky biscuits with a gravy made with chipotle cream, cheese sauce, & salsa with eggs and sausage patties. We walked about 10 blocks in single digits temps after this meal so it kept my arteries from clogging. Basil Bloody Mary = win. Atmosphere: This place was JAMMED at 1pm on Saturday. Its a bar atmosphere, very attentive service and relaxed vibe. We hung out for a solid two hours with no rush.
   

   

   Photo courtesy of Tasting Table

     
   6.      Sage American DINNER
   7.      Lemongrass (3 tweets) DINNER
   8.      M (2 tweets) “DATE NIGHT” DINNER
   9.      Level TAPAS / COCKTAILS
   10.    Dirty Frank’s LUNCH / DINNER
   11.    Surly Girl (2 tweets) BRUNCH / LATE NITE
   12.    Hounddog LUNCH / LATE NITE
   13.    Skillet (3 tweets) BRUNCH
   14.    Z Cucina (2 tweets) DINNER
   15.    Trattoria DINNER
   16.    Aab LUNCH/DINNER
   17.    Latitude 41 (2 tweets) BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER
   18.    Thurman Café (2 tweets) LUNCH
   19.    Basi Italia DINNER
   20.    Third and Hollywood BRUNCH
   21.    Bar Celona TAPAS / DINNER
   22.    Katzinger’s Deli LUNCH
   23.    Rigsby’s Kitchen DINNER 
   24.    Commonwealth Sandwich Shop LUNCH
   25.    fRESHSTREET Takoyaki LUNCH
   
   

New Orleans, Halloween and Voodoo (the Music Festival)

Halloween weekend in New Orleans? Sure, you only live once, right?

A group of twelve of us, from all of the country, flew to New Orleans for the Voodoo Music Festival, a three-day long music concert with over 5o artists, held at City Park in New Orleans.   I could go on...and....on...and...on about the incredible time I had in New Orleans over Halloween Weekend.  But I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Waiting for The Raconteurs. 

The food.

Cochon de Lait or "Pig in Milk" from Cafe Amelia, which was a fab restaurant housed in the Princess of Morocco's house. Click the pics for the Flickr set. 

Epic meal from Cochon in the Warehouse District of NOLA. They know how to use pig. 

Beignets and Coffee @ Cafe Du Monde, a NOLA institution, EST in  1862.

The culture.

Yes. They really do play music in the middle of the street in the French Quarter.

The history

Built in the 1700s. Imagine the stories this building could tell.

Katrina memorial. The far left blue pole represents the highest level of water from the flood in the lower ninth ward. 

The music
Voodoo Music Festival October 28 - 30, 2011

Crowd for Snoop Dogg performance. We were right next to that big tower in the middle of the sea of people. 

My vantage point in the crowd above for Snoop Dogg. 

The friends.

Our attempt at spelling "VOODOO" with bodies. Not too shabby. 

We had so many laughs.
We ate. We drank. We shared stories.  We made stories.
Maybe....the best word to summarize the experience is friendship. We didn't have to talk about it. It just was.
We all got it. Maybe it was the Voodoo?

I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.  Here's photo journey on Flickr. 

See you in 2012, NOLA.  

What's on your Bucket List? :: New York City with the Cavs, Part I

The term "bucket list" was buzzing around a few years back.   There were websites,  a TV show, books...



There was even a movie called....wait for it...
"The Bucket List" starring Jack-friggin-Nicholson and Morgan-friggin-Freeman!

In the movie, the two guys conquer all types of crazy adventures like drive a race car, skydive, and ride a motorcycle on the Great Wall of China.

It does make you consider your own mortality; I decided to write my own bucket list.



My list has 25 "to-dos".

Here are a few:
- Travel to Italy at least once
- Bungee-jump or sky-dive
- Ride in a helicopter
- See an NBA game at every NBA Arena in the US.
- See at least 1/2 of the Seven Wonders of the World. (For the math majors, that means I'd somehow need to see a half on a wonder...get back to me if you figure that out, please?)

In April 2011, I had the privilege of checking off TWO bucket list items when I traveled to New York City with the Cleveland Cavaliers for a business trip.

Bucket List: See an NBA game at Madison Square Garden.

• CHECK: April 3rd Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks

Knicks beat the Cavs, Knicks clinch a playoff spot 

(Although, The Knicks, have now lost 10 straight playoff games and haven't won a playoff series since 2000.)

ZOMFG! Excited!!!



MSG "Transformation Center".
The Garden is closing this summer to begin a $55M transformation.
Do this behind the scenes tour of the Transformation Center to get a sneak peek of the "After" vision for 2012!



Cavs and Knicks warm up.

Bucket List: Ride in a helicopter.

• CHECK: Tour of Manhattan via Manhattan HeliNY, departing from Pier 6 on the southern tip of the island. 
  
  
  Our pilot flew a helicopter for the NYC Police on 9-11. He was a fantastic tour guide, dipping the helicopter on its side shortly after he requested everyone to yell "MAMA!" Appropriate. I'll always think of our pilot and his sharing of the 9-11 experience firsthand.

G-I-D-D-Y.



Priceless.





"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!"





Central Park (taken leaning over Joe, the guy on my right, allowing me to snap this photo. Thanks, Joe!)


Needless to say, the experiences were breathtaking.

In case you're wondering, no I didn't cry on this trip, like I did in Cali last month.

I snapped photos as much as I could to share the experience.  After about half-way through the helicopter tour, I put my camera down and just savored the moments.

When I picked my camera back up, it was just in time to learn that the Titanic (yes, THAT Titanic) was scheduled to dock in NYC. When it never arrived, the dock was left open in memoriam.



You can view all the photos from this New York City trip on my Flickr stream here.


Sidebar: I avoided pics of my food this trip.  Honestly, I love food more than I love taking photos. And by "taking photos", I mean snapping a few quick pics with my Droid. Check foodspotting!
I hate those a*holes who whip out a Canon Powershot with a handheld stage light mid-meal. I try to be discreet and snap a pic only when I feel something's worth remembering and sharing. I won't ruin others meals. Oh, PS to those camera douches: just eat the food and enjoy it!


I'll post travel and food tips from this trip in a separate post.


Back to the moral of this post:
What's on YOUR bucket list?


Have you checked off anything off your list?


If so, how did you feel when it was completed?
 
If not, what's stopping you?
 
 
Here's to YOUR bucket list.


xo -
g





I want to go to there. ("There" being California, of course.)

I've always said growing up in Cleveland makes you a bit more scrappy than the average American - resilient, if you will.  Personally, I can attest 65% of my scrappiness stems directly from surviving a multitude of Cleveland winters. That alongside my Catholic school education.

Forbes Magazine ranked Cleveland as Worst Winter in America, amongst the other dubious "worst city" titles that 'rag has bestowed upon us in their "rankings." This worst winter title, however, is one I may agree with Forbes.


Yes, Cleveland winter is rough.

"Cleveland snow" by smalltower
Great stuff. Here's his Etsy shop.

Thermal-clothes piercing wind, lake effect snow and a general lack of sunshine forces us to seek refuge and comfort in the simple things in life.  In the end, it makes us all a little tougher and wiser.  Genuinely, who has cat litter, a shovel, emergency blankets and power bars in their trunk as a standard by age 24?  Any Clevelander will have the aforementioned,  plus new tunes to jam out during the 3-hour "I'm going to leave early to beat the traffic" pre-storm traffic jam. (Or those like me, who have all of the above in their vehicle and still scrape ice off the car in 6" stilettos.)

Even the grittiest Clevelander and Midwesterner gets to that point by late February...near-desperation with a pang of terror each time you hear a snow truck drop its plow. When the forecast mentions another snowstorm after three months of frigid fights with Mother Nature, you cling to sanity and briefly consider how quickly you could cash in your car / house / 401K / children for a one-way ticket to Turks and Caicos.





Yes, Jim, we all agree.


Thus, I've begun an annual "I want to go to there" trip in late February and early March. Destination:  Anywhere with temperatures at or above 60 degrees, plus an above average chance for sunshine.  I highly recommend you consider a "I want to go to there" trip if you live in a state in which the weather constitutes little to no sunshine for over 90 consecutive days.  Consider it a mental health necessity.

If your budget won't allow travel, consider an overnight stay to Kalahari (America's largest indoor water park) or a spa trip that specializes in sun lamps and a heated pool. Shoot, if you have to, Jersey Shore-it one day: hit a tanning bed for 10 minutes just to get some UV rays. (I do not condone tanning beds or Jersey Shore.)

This years' "I want to go to there" trip brought me to California.  Despite a blizzard and cancelled flight out of Cleveland, along with snow in San Francisco (first time in 37 years, hurrah!) I made it to the West Coast and back. Visit with friends, laughs, lots of food and - God Bless the USA - sunshine.

Without further ado, I present the "I want to go to there" photo journey.
Turn off the lights, view in full-screen (click "show info" at the top right for locations, albeit my goofy commentary) and here's to some sunshine reaching out to you.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beautyfoodie/sets/72157626085148537/show/