LFM: Barrel 44

How's the week treating everyone?  I wasn't too pleased to look outside and see snow again but I suppose that pesky Pennsylvania groundhog was right!  Let's spice things up with a Local Foodie Moment in spite of the little rodent.

Recently we got dinner with a group of our friends to celebrate one of them moving to Columbus (yey!).  After looking through the options for a Saturday night for a larger group we landed on Barrel 44 on High Street in the Short North.  The recently relocated friend likes whiskey and most of the people in our group like whiskey so it was a bit of a no brainer.

So being the unique creature I am, I was the only one who doesn't like whiskey in a group of whiskey drinkers at a whiskey bar.  What do people like that order?  Enter the Dirty Burn Martini.  This martini was a spicy twist on a classic Dirty Martini, made with pepper infused vodka and served with a pepperoncini and an olive.  I'm not sure why but I've been gravitating towards Dirty Martinis lately, I blame my bestie Holly, she started it!  Anyways, I really liked the spice of this and it was a perfect cue up for my dinner.

By the way, they do have a very good cocktail list with liquors other than whiskey so even if you aren't a fan you'll find something you'll like.

Chris ordered a julep of some sort, I wish I could tell you what all was in it but I forgot to take notes.  He liked it, said it was nice and refreshing but a little sweet.

Our friend Sandra was sitting next to me so she helped me blog (thanks Sandra!).  She ordered the New Old Fashioned which again I can't really tell you what's in it because I'm a silly that didn't take notes.  In our group of friends we always pass around our cocktails for others to try (if they are interested), sometimes people end up liking others' drinks more than the ones they ordered.  In this case, it was Chris and Sandra so they switched drinks and were very happy they did!

I ordered a small 44 salad to start.  It had a great mix of greens, dried cherries, candied pecans, hearts of palm, goat cheese and beet curls with a burgundy vinaigrette.  Typically I don't get too worked up over a salad but this was very yummy, well dressed but not soggy, and the toppings all added great depth of flavors.

Chris, along with three others at our table, ordered the Whiskey Chicken Sandwich.  This was grilled chicken, with cheddar cheese, smoked bacon and special housemade whiskey glaze, with a side of fries.  Everyone seemed to really like it!

I ordered the Mojo Chicken Flatbread, adobo spiced chicken, with black bean jicama salsa, grilled red peppers, queso fresco, cilantro and a citrus mojo glaze.  This was very good, I'm a big sucker for jicama in salsa, it adds a great crunch and texture!  Kudos to Barrel 44 for even using it, its not common and I love it!  There's so many toppings on the flatbread that its a little tricky to eat but still all the flavors were very well paired.

Service was a little slow but we had read that in reviews beforehand and we didn't really have anything pressing to go to later so it didn't bother us.  The restaurant itself is unique in that it has three parallel rooms of tables ranging from high tops to regular dinner tables.  It seems like they use this technique to accommodate larger groups when necessary while still giving other diners a private dining feel.  The website tells of the building's history as a speakeasy so the owners kept that vibe throughout the restaurant with dim lighting, darker walls, etc.

Overall we had a good meal and liked being on the north end of the Short North where there's still options of bars to go to after dinner (and some parking available) but not right smack dab in the middle of the hustle and bustle (The Cap and The Hub areas can be such a zoo!).

The Oscars are this weekend, yey!  Chris and I have a busy day planned for Saturday with wedding prep so it will be nice to snuggle in on Sunday for the glitz and glam of the Academy Awards.  Stay tuned for my review of the red carpet!

Cheers!
Steph

Local Foodie Moment: The Pint House, Short North

Well we are in the home stretch in our new restaurants of 2013 list!  (I know, I'm a little behind but it's been a hectic few months!)  The day after Christmas, Chris and I typically recoup from all the travel and crazy of the holidays so cooking dinner tends to be low on the priorities list.

We decided to try The Pint House in the Short North.  Since it was the day after the holiday and it was a little earlier, about 6pm, it wasn't crowded so we found a table right away.  Chris' brother and our friend Joe decided to join us.  We had heard a lot of good things from our friends that have been to Pint House before but they warned us it gets pretty crowded in the evenings.

The restaurant has an industrial look with exposed brick and garage doors separating the two main rooms but they have some interesting details that make it unique.  As you walk in there is a waterfall wall with a painting behind it, upon closer inspection you realize the waterfall element is actually beer taps.  This serves as the backdrop for their photo booth which turns a causal dinner into a goofy string of photos with friends!

Beer tap waterfall!

We decided to split the Short Rib Nachos, tortilla chips topped with beer braised short ribs, black bean corn salsa, beer cheese sauce, diced tomato, jalepenos and drizzled with sour cream.  These were delicious, the short rib meat was nice and tender and the beer cheese sauce was awesome, definitely an elevated version of nachos!

Short Rib Nachos

I ordered the Black Bean Burger although I'm not vegetarian, sometimes I don't mind eating like one!  This was served on a brioche bun topped with housemade BBQ sauce, avocado mango salsa with a side of fresh cut fries and their housemade beer brined pickle.  This was super yummy and I honestly didn't miss the meat at all, the burger had a great texture as well as nice flavor to it.  The fresh cut fries were great, served with some malt vinegar and it was just perfection.  So many places claim to have fresh cut fries but they tend to be a let down, this is NOT the case at Pint House.  The beer brined pickle was good but I don't really discriminate, I couldn't really taste any difference in taste with the beer brine.

Black Bean Burger

Chris got the Beer & Cheese pizza, bacon, caramelized onion, cheddar-jack cheese and beer cheese sauce.  The flavors were great but it was pretty rich so it might have been better paired with a salad to cut it a bit or as a dish to share alongside something else.

Beer & Cheese Pizza

Service was good, a little discombobulated at times though.  One girl started serving us, then another came over then we finally told them they were both waiting on the same table and they managed to sort it out.  The food runner from the kitchen tended to be a little snippy for my liking and a smidge sarcastic.  Joe ordered a fish sandwich, on the menu said it was served with lettuce, tomato and onion.  When the runner brought it out there was no lettuce, tomato or onion so Joe asked why it wasn't on there.  The runner replied that it just depends who makes it if it gets made to menu specifications, ummm excuse me?  I'm no genius here but that's some bad PR for your restaurant that you openly admit inconsistency.  Either way Joe had to ask for his sandwich toppings before being able to enjoy his meal.  Maybe they were understaffed with the holiday, who knows.

Overall we had a good time, the food was good and the guys loved the vast beer selection and the cool vibe.  We definitely won't mind returning in the future!

Tonight is the Luke Bryan concert with some girlfriends and I'm SO excited!  A little fun with friends and some LB is just what I need to help me forget this cold weather.   (I know, I live in Ohio, it's part of the job description but about this time every year I'm ready to move south for the winter!)  Saturday is the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards, hopefully I'll get to watch, I'll be sure to report the fashion yey's and nay's and maybe post a little red carpet snack!

Cheers!
Steph

Bonus LFM: Bakersfield

That's right friends, a BONUS Local Foodie Moment!  To add to the bonusy goodness its another taco place!  I'm not really sure why this restaurant didn't end up on Columbus Crave's New Restaurant List this year but maybe they had enough Mexican restaurants already on the list.

Anyways, my friend Asha and I wanted to get together before the holiday madness so we made a dinner date to try this relatively new Short North eatery. Even on a Monday night the place was packed!  We cozied up to the bar, on their oversized stools, and had some very yummy fare!

I ordered a margarita (back to that "when in Mexico" mindset), it was nice and tart, served in a quaint Mason jar.

We ordered the chips and guacamole since we didn't know if the tacos would be very filling or not.  Bakersfield serves their chips warm (YUMM), their guac has great lime flavor and is a little on the chunkier side.  I love a guac with a lot of lime so I was a very happy camper.  Asha and I agreed the chips serving is far too big, if they used smaller baskets and refilled them with warm chips when you got low it'd probably be a better set up.

We each got two tacos (but they actually brought out an extra hence why there are five in the picture).  They serve them on pizza pans altogether.  Asha got the Short Rib, braised short rib, queso fresco, crema, pickled onion, cilantro and radish and the Cochinita Pibil, achiote braised pork, pickled red onion, habanero salsa and cilantro.  I got the Rajas (veggie), poblano, fresno, bell peppers, ejotes chihauhua, queso fresco and cilantro and the Short Rib.

Cochinita Pibil on the left, Short Rib in the middle, Rajas on the right

I LOVED the Rajas taco, it was a little acidic but the peppers were really fresh and all the flavors together were delicious.  We both agreed the Short Rib was good, nice a tender, good flavor and good toppings.  Asha said she wasn't totally in love with the pork but as you can see from the picture they stuff their tacos pretty well so they ended up being plenty filling.

Like I said before it was packed on a Monday night so its definitely a popular spot!  The service was good, there was a couple miscommunications but I attribute that to it being noisy and hard to hear (the bartender asked if I wanted salt on my marg or not, I said no, he still put salt on the rim, he also put in an order for an extra taco for Asha that she didn't ask for).  But the atmosphere is cool, old western movies play on large TVs, stools made out of saddles were placed around some of the high top tables.  Service was pretty speedy, but like I've mentioned in previous Mexican LFMs the cuisine is pretty easy to churn out at a fast pace.  Overall we had a good meal and I definitely wouldn't mind going back!

Well Christmas is drawing closer and closer!  Who's ready?!  This little blogger is a bit behind this year, still struggling to get everything done!  Like last year we are all over the place visiting family and friends this holiday season so my blogging may fall a little behind.  If I don't get another post up before Christmas I hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday!

Cheers!
Steph

Local Foodie Moment: Philco Bar + Diner

And the new restaurants of 2013 checklist continues!  Like I said in my last post, my parents were in town this weekend for the football game so on Sunday we went to brunch at Philco Bar + Diner in the Short North.  This was quite a hit amongst the crowd but I wouldn't really say its ideal for a large group (we had seven) since its a small place and their largest table more comfortably fits six but we squeezed in and we were glad we did!

Philco used to be Phillip's Coney Island so they pay tribute to its previous tenants with coney and corn dogs on their varied menu.  Their menu consists of classic diner eats with a modern twist.  This restaurant is also owned by the group that owns Little Palace, El Camino Inn (LFM post on that coming soon!), The Rossi Bar + Kitchen and Club 185.

With seven diners we had quite the selection of plates!  Chris got the Biscuits and Redeye Gravy, buttermilk biscuits with andouille sausage and smoked paprika gravy.  Chris is a biscuit and gravy lover so I asked how it compared to others he's had.  He said it was good, great flavors but different in that the gravy didn't have sausage in it.  The sausage was sliced and layered on top of the biscuits then scrambled eggs on top.

I got the Breakfast Risotto, rice with fresh cream, roasted pecans and honey.  This was very good, not too sweet, it definitely hit the spot after a challenging 90 minute yoga class!  I would have liked some fresh fruit or jam with it but given the season I understand not having fresh fruit available.

My fellow yogi and gal pal Kourtney joined us and she got the Roasted Turkey Sandwich, roasted turkey on wheat with sprouts and pesto and a side of their fresh cut fries.  Kourtney said the sandwich was delicious and just what she wanted after our yoga class.  And the fries were fantastic!  I snagged a couple so I can attest.  Truly what fries should be, thick cut, properly seasoned and cooked just right!

Mitch and his friend Amanda got the Traditional breakfasts, pancakes, eggs and bacon.  Mitch cleared his plate at lighting speed so I'll venture to say it was good.

My mom got the Steak and Eggs, steak served up with a bloddy mary aoili, home fries and two sunnyside up eggs on top.  She said this was very good, she liked the bloddy mary aoili because it added a hint of tartness to the steak.  I gave the steak and aoili a try and Momma was right, great balancing of flavors!  She also liked that the eggs were placed on top of the home fries because she likes weird things like her food touching.

Daddy got the Baked Grits with scrambled eggs on top.  Again, good reviews!  The dishes everything was served in were cute and unique, it added a little classic flare.

We got an order of hushpuppies as well as a coney dog for anyone who wanted to try.  Daddy and I wanted to test the coney sauce since my Gramps was a coney sauce king!  So we wanted to see how Philco's stacked up.  It was a good coney dog, it seemed like they ground their meat a little finer but it had decent flavor and they didn't skimp (as you can see from the picture).

Those that tried the hushpuppies seemed to like them especially with the sauce they are served with.

Overall the service was good, the atmosphere was pleasant and the food was great.  We all left ready for a post brunch nap!  Next time you're in the Short North for breakfast, for brunch or even lunch or dinner, give Philco a try!

This review is featured on urbanspoon!

With the holiday this week Chris and I will be traveling so this is probably it for me this week!  Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!  And as I always say, gobble till ya wobble!  :)

Cheers!
Steph

LFM: Betty's Fine Food and Spirts

A Local Foodie Moment for your Friday friends!  Like I said in my last posts I've just been having so much fun being a local foodie that I've got a backlog of restaurants to share!  Chris and I had dinner with two of our Miami friends at Betty's Fine Food and Spirits.  We had been at a local Miami chapter event and decided to grab a bite after.

We landed on Betty's as it seemed like a decent price range and was close to where we were.  Let's just say all parties were very pleased with their selections and we'll be going back!

I took a little snapshot of their unique menu design

It was a Thursday so it was cocktails for all!  I decided to try the Solstice made with Watershed gin, blackberry syrup, lemon juice and champs.  YUMMM!  This was very delicious and incredibly refreshing!

The Solstice

Apparently Chris was still on his love for Fried Chicken kick after our Wake Forest trip (see life altering chicken and waffles experience here) so that's what he got.  I snagged a bite and it was very tastey, just the right breading and crispyness.

Fried Chicken

I tried to be a little more diet conservative and got the warm three mushroom salad, I know it doesn't sound like much but YUM!  It takes a lot to get me jazzed up about a salad but this was perfection.  The flavor from the mushroooms, goat cheese and tomatoes made it so I didn't even need to use the dressing.  And they didn't skimp on the goat cheese, as previously mentioned that is one of my BIG restaurant salad pet peeves!

Warm Mushroom Salad with Chicken

It's a smaller restaurant and doesn't have much signage out front so it's easy to miss when driving by.  But the atmosphere is great, lots of pin up pictures on the walls which the boys just loved!  The service was great, very friendly and very helpful with menu choices.  Like I said previously it was reasonably priced and worth it!  I referred my brother and dad when they were looking for a Short North place to grab a bite and they really liked it too!  What I liked most about Betty's was they have a great brand but they don't over do it with marketing (funny coming from a marketing girl, right?).  They put out good food with good service and leave it at that, kind of refreshing if you ask me!



Happy Friday!  I hope all the wonderful mothers out there have a great Mother's Day!  I can't wait to get home to celebrate some of the great ladies in my life!

Next, bacon recipes!  I know I promised these before but its been a hectic week.  On tap is bacon onion marmalade and crockpot bourbon baked beans, stay tuned!

Cheers!
Steph