Blogging Backlog

This is my 100th post and I planned do something ‘special’ but really this is just a long overdue round up. I’m going to start with an apology for having had an unplanned hiatus and proceed with a synopsis of the last few weeks. I do have some exciting news – my blog is being included in a list of the best Columbus food blogs. I certainly have been busy, and you won’t be surprised to know that that has included quite a number of splendid food events and some delicious dinners. I haven’t been cooking much recently, except for copious batches of soup, the most recently favorite of which has been Heidi Swanson’s porcini mushroom soup. I have to admit I thought it was greatly improved by a generous glug of Madeira and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.   

I have been working on an academic project on taco trucks in Columbus and have been spending my weekend cruising the city with my co-conspirator CMH Gourmand. There will be a lengthy post on taco trucks in the future, but if you know of any taco trucks we should include in our search please let me know. I am developing quite a taste for tongue (lengua)!

The first of many many taco photos

On the subject of offal, I had a wonderful dinner at the Refectory a couple of weeks ago, the highlight of which was a sweetbread lasagne with celery root and whole grain mustard. All of the food was excellent but also of note was my companion’s perfectly cooked and tender veal. 

Sweetbread Lasagne

One of the food events I went to recently was a wine and cheese tasting at Hills Market, the first in a series and in this case focusing on Ohio wines and cheeses. Six wines, six cheeses with each cheese also being used to create an hors d’oeuvre. 

This year I forsook the Super Bowl, for a food event that I couldn’t resist: one of the monthly ‘Too many cooks’ series at Wild goose Creative. This month featured Jennie Scheinbach from Pattycake Bakery.

Jennie Scheinbach

Jennie taught us how to make amazing vegan toll house cookies and focused on different ways of substituting eggs. We had a toll house tasting feast trying out all the various different egg substitutions and Jennie explained the pros and cons of each method: silken tofu, ground flax seeds, commercial egg substitute, baking powder and oil. At the bakery they use a combination of ground flax seeds in water and processed silken tofu to given the optimal combination of moisture, softness, binding and texture.  Jennie was very convivial and shared anecdotes about founding the bakery in her home, over five years ago, and its subsequent growth and move to its current location in Clintonville.

Somewhere I have been a lot recently, and which has become a firm favorite is Details, a bar off-shoot of Rosendales. You can read a very full account of Details on CMH Gourmand.

Tuna Tar Tar Tacos

My list of favorite things at Details increases every time I go and is now almost half of the menu: Tuna Tacos, the chorizo chili with avocado butter and plantain chips, light as a feather pork rinds (like piggy pop-rocks), the succulent old-fashioned sandwich and the blondie, evocative of cinnamony apple crisp topping. Chef Drew is talented, creative and passionate about his food. He is happy to explain the hows and whys of his mastery and demonstrate his gadgets, such as the amazing anti-griddle. The creation which has really stolen my heart is his smoked maple syrup which I am happy just to sit and sniff.

Another staple is On-the-Fly , with the falafel still my go-to. The empanadas are perfectly portable and today I had a pureed carrot and black bean empanada that was to die for. 

Other recent highlights have been the chopped salad at Northstar – I had forgotten how good it was (lettuce, cabbage, almonds, applewood smoked turkey, bacon, blue cheese, apple with North star’s homemade foccacia and house-made dressing); Tom Yum at Bangkok on Refugee Road; Korean squid and barley tea at Diaspora on High Street (handy for campus); Jeni’s influenza sorbet (whiskey, ginger and fruit juice – has to be a winner) and sticky buns from Pattycake bakery.

A couple of recent discoveries have been the Banana Leaf Restaurant on Bethel Road, with its excellent indian-vegetarian lunch buffet, which includes a choice of  lassi and enough delicious food to have you rolling out the door afterwards; 

excuse the camera-phone photo

and Kickstart coffee in the Short North, which won me over with free coffee on the snow day. I love the space and the friendly service was a bonus.