Dining

Long time readers know about my fond memories of the Galaxy Cafe which closed years ago. Starliner Diner and The Explorer’s Club have Galaxy connections in their kitchen DNA. So when I heard that Jerry Burgos, co-founder of the original Galaxy Cafe and long time driving force at the Starliner Diner, was opening a new place I was curious to see how this new restaurant would compare to my memories. Jerry sold his share in Starliner about four years ago but wanted to come back into the business of owning a restaurant and running a kitchen. This new incantation in the Galaxy Universe opened in mid-November. Long time fans will find the elements they associate with the name. The fare will be comforting to Starliner and Explorer’s Club fans. Most of the dishes are southwestern/Cuban themed eclectic classics. The decor is a hodgepodge of folk art, flea market and cool cookie jars mixed with bright walls and black and white checkered ceiling tiles. Jerry has teamed up with his wife Jenny and a small staff to add the Galaxy to the dining choices of Hilliard.

Although The Explorer’s club in Merion Village is not a vegan restaurant, they have for the last two years honored the vegan community with a special vegan menu in November (wish I would have known this sooner both times!). This year, they are featuring: tempeh tots, caramelized pearl onions and mushroom au gratin, vegan pot roast, vegan cabbage rolls in addition to their usual vegan options on their menu of plantains with a mango habanero chutney, root vegetable pancake sandwich on fresh baked house bread and a hearty bowl of tempeh chili. I’m drooling over the prospects of their December menu as it is a “best of” compilation of the year’s menu that will also be featuring a vegan quinoa patty and chocolate peanut butter cup pie made with coconut milk cream (OMG!). I’m hoping they will add the sweet potato fritters with raspberry jam to that menu because I was in love with those last holiday season. They source locally for many of their menu items and organic items are a future goal of the restaurant. Explorer’s club has enough seating to support large groups when necessary. They are located at: 1586 S High St. Columbus. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

I’ve written about O’Reilly’s before. My feelings about the pepper burger are well-known. And other than a pepper burger, a side of sweet potato fries and an interest in their daily specials I have never tried, I had little more to write about this favored dive bar. That is until I tried their wings. I am not sure how the wings escaped by roving eye. Well, actually, I know how they escaped. I don’t have much ardor for wings. I find them frequently disappointing. In our city, I can not think of many wings worth the effort. Roosters are pretty good. Barley’s Smokehouse brines, smokes and grills their wings, it is a lot of extra work but the end result is very good. I did have wings at the original Anchor Bar, I liked those, as much for the tradition as the taste. I can’t think of any other wings that have made an impression.\ If you know of a place that does serve really good wings, let me know. So a few words about the wings at O’Reilly’s. They are sold by the pound. They are large and meaty. They are deep-fried to a fine crispness. And they are densely breaded. The breading holds the sauce to the wings, so that it clings to the entirety of the surface.

I have had a while to peruse North Market Cookbook – Recipes and Stories from Columbus Ohio’s Historic Public Market. It is written by Michael Turback, a well-known food-focused writer. The forward is written by former Dispatch food editor, Robin Davis, the writer of the first North Market Cookbook. There are no surprises in this book – it provides a quick history of the market and recipes from many of the vendors, growers and personalities of the market. Local chefs and mixologists contribute to book as well. What I like the best about the book – it is constructed to survive a kitchen or getting crushed on the couch with a slick cover and fold outs front and back for marking pages. There are over 100 recipes to choose from in six major areas: soups, small plates, salads and sides, main dishes, desserts and ending with beverages and cocktails. The best way to use this book is to turn to the back and look for the names of your favorite purveyoI have had a while to peruse North Market Cookbook – Recipes and Stories from Columbus Ohio’s Historic Public Market. It is written by Michael Turback, a well-known food-focused writer.

If you are looking for some vegan comfort food, Till Dynamic Fare has you covered. They do a vegan mac and cheese (cashew based) with smoked tofu that makes this vegan’s heart sing! Till takes pride in their ingredients for being; “bio-dynamically produced, organic and local first.” Not only have they grown many of their ingredients in their on-site garden, they “know their farmers.” Fresh and creative has always been their signature, regardless of whether they were exclusively vegan (formerly known as Dragonfly) or with a mixed menu now known as Till. They almost always have a vegan soup/chili option and at least half of their homemade ice cream (right now it is mint chocolate-chocolate chip, rum raisin and lemon pumpkin seed brittle) selection is vegan. You can always find vegan dessert too! I’m about to go and try their decadent vegan Black Forest Trifle: Chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, dried cherries, passion fruit custard with coconut ice cream! They do magic things with passion fruit. When you want something vegan, seasonal, savory and hot, or sweet and cool, you can find it here.

I have driven by Rice Bowl a few times in my day. It is located at the intersection of South High Street and SR 104. The sign looks like it is from the 1960s but it turns out it is circa 1991. The Rice Bowl has a long history on the south side. It has existed with three owners and two locations since 1962. Rice Bowl 3.0 is a family affair that has operated the restaurant for a few decades. Judging from the outside and the location, I did not have great expectations for the Rice Bowl. However immediately upon entering I had a good feeling. Looking at the menu, I had a very good feeling and, starting with the egg rolls, I knew that I had stumbled into something very special indeed. You can not judge a book by its cover nor a restaurant by its mailing address. So let us begin with the egg rolls. The lowly egg roll rarely gets much respect mainly because they are typically reheated frozen fare. The eggs rolls are made from scratch at the Rice Bowl and are hand rolled each week. They are filled to capacity to the point of being stuffed. The exterior is soft and crunchy and does not disintegrate with a light bite. The sauces are also made from scratch.

Latitude 41 offers fine dining downtown at the Renaissance Hotel, and one of the things that caught my attention (years ago) about this restaurant is that they say what they stand for on their signage. Fresh. Natural. Organic. Local. In fact, some of their food is so local it is actually grown on site. Their team knows what a vegan is (surprisingly, this is still confusing in 2013 in some restaurants) and even better, they just happened to be serving vegan roasted pumpkin soup as a starter and the perfect starter or a fall evening. The chef, Dean James Max and his team are certainly capable of ensuring vegans can have an exceptional dining experience there; mine included a remarkable, earthy, fusion pizza with lemon curd, shitake mushrooms, figs and greens and a robust mushroom risotto. Their menu is seasonal, changes daily and is a great example of ensuring all customers have all options, even dessert. Open daily for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and located 50 N 3rd St. http://www.latitude41restaurant.com/

Nasir Latif has a long history in the Columbus Mediterranean restaurant business. He stepped out for a while but came back with Lavash several years ago. He planted a fast casual restaurant in south Clintonville and it has been a huge hit, especially with me since, it opened. I will mention a few things I really appreciate about the place: great daily specials, very good vegetarian and carnivore friendly offerings and a wide selection of baked goods, many from Nanak Bakery. I have enjoyed each meal from a simple shawarma to any of the daily specials. However, I never visit without ensuring I get a serving of hummus with a side of their freshly made pita bread. Hummus is one of the basic staples of any middle eastern restaurant but not all are created equal. The Lavash hummus blends ground chickpeas, tahini sauce, lemon juice, garlic and extra virgin olive oil in just the right proportions. The balance of all of the flavors mixes together in just the right proportion and pairs perfectly with the pita bread. Lavash pita is thicker than what you typically encounter elsewhere.

Pattycake bakery is one of the most precious gems of the Columbus vegan community. Their sticky buns (Saturday’s special only) are one of my few but true addictions. Whether I want to impress non-vegans or a hungry hoard of 300 Vegans 4 Independence, it is with Pattycake, because everyone deserves dessert. What makes this place so special even surpasses the decadence of delicious; it is made with true love for the people, the planet and the animals. Everything is 100% vegan (strives for organic and GMO free ingredients, serves gluten-free, soy-free, raw, locally produced kombucha and soy and almond milk), their sweets are delivered locally by bicycle, they have distinguished themselves in the Columbus food market as a worker-owned cooperative and an unstoppable force of awareness to the dire consequences of the horizontal fracturing (aka “fracking”) process running rampant in our region. When your sweet tooth strikes or if you are a restaurant that has no vegan dessert options, meet your new best friend or path to adding a star for socially just options to your menu. Open everyday! Mon-Fri: 8-7, Sat: 9-6, Sun: 11-4. Located at: 3009 N.

Not to be confused with Whole Foods (although, ironically they were both established in 1978 and have similar philosophies in serving whole food meals) Whole World is Columbus’ oldest completely (lacto-ovo) vegetarian restaurant, and they are very, vegan friendly. If you are a fan of Reuben sandwiches, Whole World has a delicious vegan Reuben. Their scrumptious menu is made from the freshest ingredients and includes; made-from-scratch soups and breads, daily specials, salads, specialty sandwiches, pizza (with either regular or soy based cheese) and an awesome (affordable) array of baked goodies. Almost every menu item can be made vegan, and they even offer whole wheat crust for the pizza if you so desire. They are located in Clintonville and open for lunch (11am) and dinner (8pm during the week and 9pm on Sat) every day except Mondays and offer a hearty brunch on Sundays from 10am to 2pm. It is a wonderfully whole world of delectable satisfaction as a vegan to find vegan pancakes and vegan French toast with a tall glass of orange juice available here on Sundays.