Columbus Restaurant Week 2014: Flatiron Bar and Diner

Who wants to cook dinner on a cold and dreary Monday?  I'm pretty sure the correct answer is no one.  So of course Chris and I strategically planned our restaurant week visit last week to Flatiron on a Monday to combat the cooking issue.  Our friends Emily and Rob joined us for an evening of comfort food to the excess!

After a busy Monday we started with cocktails.  I got a Classic Vodka Martini, up with a twist, this was smooth and delicious.  I don't know why but I've been into the more simple and classic martinis lately.  Enough with the fruit loop triple berry sugar this and that I want less frills and higher quality!  Maybe its the winter weather making me feel not as festive?  Who knows.  Either way I don't mind where this new cocktail liking is headed, it feels very vintage and swanky if I do say so myself!

Classic Martini, up with a twist

Chris got the Sazerac made with rye whiskey, peychaud and agnostra bitters with an Absinthe rinse also served up.

Sazerac

We were a little early so once Emily and Rob got there and we started chatting I missed my photo op of their cocktails but they got a French Martini and an Old Fashioned of which they enjoyed.  We all ended up doing some version of the prix fixe Restaurant Week menu which ended up being super filling!

To start Em and I had the Egg Comfortage, a medium boiled free range egg on a bed of southern greens and toast topped with baconized pimento cheese sauce.  This was delicious.  I could have ended the meal right there I was so pleased!  I was a little worried how all the flavors would meld together but they sang in great harmony!

Egg Comfortage

Chris got the Hawaiian Bread Buns to start, which was comprised of three sliders: sorghum glazed pork belly, pickled shrimp with fried mirlitons and ravigote sauce and chicken confit with shaved brussel sprouts and a bourbon cranberry jam.  I snagged a bite of the chicken confit and it was very good.

Hawaiian Bread Buns

Next was Oxtail Soup with Fried Gnocchi with pickled pearl onions for one half of the table. Housemade Sauerkraut and Potato Cake, smoked pork over a toasted caraway applesauce for the other half.  I think the resounding reviews were that these were okay but nothing to write home about.

Oxtail Soup with Fried Gnocchi

Sauerkraut and Potato Cake

Final course was House Corned Beef with smoked tomato jus, schmaltz potato salad and creamed kale for half the table.  The corned beef was delicious and it was a very generous portion, most of which I ended up taking home (that made great corned beef sandwiches for another dinner that week).  I enjoyed the creamed kale, Rob wasn't so much a fan though so I think its something that's more for kale lovers like myself.  The potato salad was good, a great hint of mustard made it less boring than your typical potato salad.

House Corned Beef

The other half of the table went with Chicken and Waffles, maple bacon hush puppies, buttermilk fried chicken, sriracha aioli and candied pecans.  Emily and Chris said it was good but Chris said it didn't quite compare to his true southern C&W experience.  They would have liked a sweet syrup served with it since the hush puppies didn't have much of a maple taste but they said the chicken was very good.

Chicken and Waffles

We were stuffed little piggies by the last course came around so we decided no dessert for us.  We lingered a bit to digest and enjoy the ambiance of the little building.  It's very interesting and you can read on their website how it has become a Columbus icon with its unique architecture and history. 

You walk in and are greeted by the bartender behind a beautiful mahogany bar that has some scattered high tops adjacent to it.  As you continue in to the restaurant you walk past what I'm pretty positive is the kitchen itself or at least a main food prep station which is kind of cool walking past as food is being plated. Then you get to the cozy dining area that is painted a dark brown with dim lighting for a speakeasyish feel. 

The service was great, our server was very nice, accommodating and attentive.  Overall we had a generally good experience.  Since it is a comfort food focused menu it makes for a rich dinner but would be good for a little diet splurge.  I liked the off the beaten path feel plus the free parking right behind the building is a plus in the chilly weather!

So we are off to Michigan this weekend for Chris' cousin Noah's gymnastics meet.  We are so excited to see him tumble and flip around!  Then of course Sunday is the Superbowl so we will enjoy that when we get back.  Some pretty new shoes arrived on my doorstep yesterday so I'll be sharing the newest addition to my shoe family next week!

Have a great weekend!

Cheers!
Steph