After a great folk concert that filled our soul, my friends and I decided to search something to eat so we could fill our tummy as well. I've taken my friends Earth Goddess*, Granola Girl*, and M.D. Girl*'s suggestion to try Rossi, a busy and swanky bar/restaurant located on, where else, High Street.
When we arrived there around 9:00-ish, the small restaurant was packed with people. We got seated at the bar but it was so loud and we had to shout at each other in order to carry out a conversation. The menu was full of fusion flavor, and some combination was quite interesting. We've decided on two appetizers, which was the tuna tostada and trio of bruschetta, and each ordered different entrees. I had their pistachio crusted salmon, MD Girl ordered the pork tenderloin, and Earth Goddess and GG ordered the filet mignon.
The tuna tostada had black bean puree, Rossi's salsa, rare seared tuna, and some microgreen on top drizzled with balsamic vinegar. The combination was quite good and it actually made me crave Mexican food. The trio of bruschetta had a more traditional bruschetta, and two alternative flavored bruschetta. The traditional one had tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil on top with balsalmic vinegar, and it was delicious. The tomato was marinated with the vinegar so it was soft and flavorful, along with soft mozzarella and basil, I don't think I'll ever get tired of this combination! One of the alternative flavored bruschetta as rock shrimp and mild garlic cream, and it was quite delicious as well. I admit that I do LOVE garlic, and everything with garlic just taste that much better. The third one, however, was not so good. It had prosciutto paired with white bean puree, which is an odd combination. It was pretty bland, but I will give the chef credit for trying new things.
My pistachio crusted salmon plate had also braised broccoli rabe, lemon cous cous, and pomegranate and molasses vinaigrette. The lemon cous cous was great, and the braised broccoli rabe was seasoned perfectly. But the pistachio crust was a bit salty, so it made the thinner part of the salmon a little bit too salty. The molasses vinaigrette was very sour for some reason, so my whole entree experience was like "oooh, great broccoli rabe and... OH, sour vinaigrette... (>wink< >wink<...)" and "ooh, great cous cous, I can really taste the lemon... OH, sour vinaigrette... (>wink< >wink< >wink< >wink>...)" The overall dish was OK, but the chef did made a point of tying in citric flavor into different ingredient.
MD Girl's pork tenderloin had the most interesting flavor, I think. Because the pork tenderloin was grilled and the sauce was a Kahlua sauce. It tasted surprisingly good and had a little BBQ flavor too. I also had to give MD Girl credit for trying new things and I was very happy to see she had become more foody adventurous! Earth Goddess and GG's filet mignon was very buttery and, I was told, "melt in your mouth". The filet mignon, however, was the only dish that stayed in the traditional route and paired with mashed potato and sauteed spinach. The traditional combination is always a good choice since it's tried and true formula. And this actually gives a non-fusion flavor taster a dish that they can enjoy when they come to Rossi.
The overall rating for Rossi is 3.25 out of 5 on my yummy scale. It is definitely a hot spot for late night outing on the Short North. I've also decided that I should probably write some food critiques outside of short north so my blog can cover more geographic area in Columbus.
If you want some sassy, trendy socialization, please go to Rossi, located at 895 N. High St. Columbus, OH 43215.
*NOTE: The names appeared in this critique has been changed for privacy reasons. The names were made up by their owners, and you'll have to ask them why they picked their alter ego. Thank you.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Little Shop of Heaven in Pistachio
Saturday after my yoga class, I felt great and relaxed but thought I was missing something. That something turned out to be sugar, which is why I decided to go to Pistachio.
Pistachio is a small shop dedicated to great dessert (just the way I like it!). Tucked away from the busy High St., Pistachio's location can be a little hard to find. But once I've found the location, it's like finding a secret garden, except all the trees grows delicious dessert instead of flowers.
When I went to Pistachio, the staff was very friendly and very helpful at explaining each dessert and their ingredients. However, the decision was tough because anything and everything looks so good! I must have had two hairs turning gray when I was trying to decide which one to try. At last I went with an exotic citricy flavor and ordered their Yuzu Chiboust and my boyfriend a Pistachio Mascarpone Cheesecake.
Yuzu, for people who aren't familiar with it, is a type of Japanese citrous fruit that has a flavor of lemon and grapefruit. Yuzu has a stronger flavor than lemon or lime, and the flavor is unique because it also has a type of floral sent to the fruit. Pistachio captured the Yuzu flavor extremely well in the chiboust (which is pastry cream lightened with Italian meringue and stabilized with gelatine). Along with some appricot honey glaze drizzled on the side, it is just pure heaven!
While I was enjoying the chiboust, my boyfriend was scruffing down his cheesecake. And when I turned around, his cheesecake was gone. GONE!!! So while I would love to give my two cents on how the Pistachio Marscarpone Cheesecake tasted, I can't, I just can't!
Pistachio gets a 4.25 out of 5 on my yummy scale, and it is definitely a treat to go over there in a relaxing Saturday afternoon and enjoy the delightful desserts. Pistachio is located on 680 N. Pearl St. Columbus OH 43215. www.pistachiosweets.com
*NOTE: I didn't comment on the presentation because it is so gorgeous that I just can't describe it using plain word. So I took a picture so you can enjoy the visual stimulation.
Abbracci, Thy Name is Great Steak.
Ever since my horrible experience in Hyde Park on High St. (more on that in the later post after I'm over my first traumatic experience), my expectation for steak house has shrank to very low. So when my boyfriend suggested we should try Abbracci because it looked "swanky from the outside" didn't exactly put me in a happy mood. Despite my inner objection and frustration, I've decided that we should still go try it and adventurous and let my taste bud and tummy be the final judge.
When I first stepped into Abbracci, the familiar sound of Monk swirled around the restaurant, which made me relax and started to look forward to the food. Our waitress was very friendly and very helpful on deciding which dish we want. I was also mesmerized by her earring because it was very pretty. (Later she told me she found it in Target and we had a little conversation on how we both love Target. Anyways...) Deciding what to order was a challenge because everything looks so damn good! We've quickly decided on the appetizer, which was rosemary grilled shrimp and sausage, but I was torn between the tournados with spinach and parmesan risotto or the sea scallop special of the day. At the end, I just can't turn down risotto because I'm a risotto whore, so I went with the tornedo. My boyfriend went with the NY strip au poivre.
When the appetizer came, the shrimp and sausage was skewered on a rosemary stem, held together by polenta cake and surrounded by roast red pepper sauce and a little balsamic vinegar. The sausage also flavored with rosemary, and when combine it with the sweet shrimp and the roasted red pepper sauce, it was like walking into a rosemary garden, but in your month. The polenta cake provides a good finish to the dish and cleanse the palate a little bit until the next course.
The tournados was very much influenced by Italian flavored and was presented napoleon style with fresh mozzarella and beefsteak tomato, and the whole thing sat on top of the spinach parmesan risotto with a little bit of balsamic vinegar and basil oil sprinkled on the side. The tournados were cooked in a perfect medium, and the meat was aged perfectly so the fillet is meaty, juicy, and very tender. The fresh mozzarella layered underneath the tournados absorbed the meat juice and gave it more body to the soft texture and flavor of the mozzarella. Along with the beefsteak tomato and combine with basil oil and balsamic vinegar, they gave the fillet more definition and flavor than just "meaty". The risotto was also seasoned perfectly! The creaminess of the risotto and spinach resonance with the smooth flavor of the mozzarella and rounds out the dish.
The NY strip au poivre was presented in a very simple presentation - garlic mashed potato with cognac demi-glaze, top with one ginormous peppercorn crusted NY strip. The NY strip was also done perfectly, and I have never tasted such a tender NY strip. The peppercorn crust gave a kick when you bite into the steak. The sharp contrast between the tender steak and peppercorn worked extremely well, especially paired with cognac demi-glaze. The glaze was buttery and smooth, which lowered the sharpness of the peppercorn a little. The dish was done extremely simple, but extremely good. Unfortunately, all the good food left me no room for dessert, so I guess I'll just have to come back for another round on a later day!
The overall experience was excellent, and it ranked 4 out of 5 on my yummy scale, and Abbracci is definitely a great alternative to the traditional steak house. Abbracci is located at 511 N. High St. Columbus, OH 43215. http://www.abbraccirestaurant.com/
When I first stepped into Abbracci, the familiar sound of Monk swirled around the restaurant, which made me relax and started to look forward to the food. Our waitress was very friendly and very helpful on deciding which dish we want. I was also mesmerized by her earring because it was very pretty. (Later she told me she found it in Target and we had a little conversation on how we both love Target. Anyways...) Deciding what to order was a challenge because everything looks so damn good! We've quickly decided on the appetizer, which was rosemary grilled shrimp and sausage, but I was torn between the tournados with spinach and parmesan risotto or the sea scallop special of the day. At the end, I just can't turn down risotto because I'm a risotto whore, so I went with the tornedo. My boyfriend went with the NY strip au poivre.
When the appetizer came, the shrimp and sausage was skewered on a rosemary stem, held together by polenta cake and surrounded by roast red pepper sauce and a little balsamic vinegar. The sausage also flavored with rosemary, and when combine it with the sweet shrimp and the roasted red pepper sauce, it was like walking into a rosemary garden, but in your month. The polenta cake provides a good finish to the dish and cleanse the palate a little bit until the next course.
The tournados was very much influenced by Italian flavored and was presented napoleon style with fresh mozzarella and beefsteak tomato, and the whole thing sat on top of the spinach parmesan risotto with a little bit of balsamic vinegar and basil oil sprinkled on the side. The tournados were cooked in a perfect medium, and the meat was aged perfectly so the fillet is meaty, juicy, and very tender. The fresh mozzarella layered underneath the tournados absorbed the meat juice and gave it more body to the soft texture and flavor of the mozzarella. Along with the beefsteak tomato and combine with basil oil and balsamic vinegar, they gave the fillet more definition and flavor than just "meaty". The risotto was also seasoned perfectly! The creaminess of the risotto and spinach resonance with the smooth flavor of the mozzarella and rounds out the dish.
The NY strip au poivre was presented in a very simple presentation - garlic mashed potato with cognac demi-glaze, top with one ginormous peppercorn crusted NY strip. The NY strip was also done perfectly, and I have never tasted such a tender NY strip. The peppercorn crust gave a kick when you bite into the steak. The sharp contrast between the tender steak and peppercorn worked extremely well, especially paired with cognac demi-glaze. The glaze was buttery and smooth, which lowered the sharpness of the peppercorn a little. The dish was done extremely simple, but extremely good. Unfortunately, all the good food left me no room for dessert, so I guess I'll just have to come back for another round on a later day!
The overall experience was excellent, and it ranked 4 out of 5 on my yummy scale, and Abbracci is definitely a great alternative to the traditional steak house. Abbracci is located at 511 N. High St. Columbus, OH 43215. http://www.abbraccirestaurant.com/
Friday, April 21, 2006
UPDATE: Restaurant Address
People have been asking me where are the location of these restaurants, so I've made updates for the restaurant address on previous blog. So check it out!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Molto Squisito Cafe Del Mondo!
Today I've decided to escape from the cafeteria food and out to one of my favorite lunch spot, Cafe del Mondo. The cafe's location is on 1885 W. 5th Ave. and tucked in a small strip mall that has pointy roof. The reason this place is one of my favorite lunch spot is because their menu item are made fresh daily and they have different specials depending on which day of the week I get there. And nothing, I mean nothing, beats fresh baked bread and soup!
I got there around 12 and decided to order their special lunch deal, which is stromboli with side salad. The waiter told me that the stromboli is stuffed with capacolla, pepperoni, salami, provolone cheese, and love. How can I say no to love?! I've also had my eyes on their raspberry bread pudding, so I've decided to have a little dessert afterward.
the strombolli was baked with a crispy shell on the outside with a little cornmeal. And the inside had a soft chewy texture bread laced in between layers of different italian cured meat and cheese. The capacolla gave out a little heat with the dipping maranera sauce that sweetened the flavor, it is absolutely delicious! The side salad is a mixed green salad with green and black olives and also some banana peppers, which complimented their balsamic vinegrette well. All these plus a side of chips, my lunch today made my tummy very happy indeed. I took the respberry bread pudding back with me for afternoon snack, and the bread pudding actually have a muffin-like texture. Along with a hint of cinimmon and some reapberry jam spreaded on top, the bread pudding made my afternoon went by that much happier.
The lunch was great, and the owner stopped by and asked how the food was. He also told me that he's getting great biscotti shipped here midweek next week and they ran off the shelf FAST. I guess that decided my next week's lunch plan then. I've always had great food experience in the cafe, and it's a 4 out of 5 on my yummy scale. If you ever come near the neighborhood, definitely make a trip to Cafe del Mondo. Trust me, it's worth it!
*UPDATE: If you want to taste the perfectly prepared meat and cheese with a dash of love, please come to 1885 W 5th Ave. Columbus, OH 43212 or their other location on 659 N 4th St. Columbus, OH 43215
I got there around 12 and decided to order their special lunch deal, which is stromboli with side salad. The waiter told me that the stromboli is stuffed with capacolla, pepperoni, salami, provolone cheese, and love. How can I say no to love?! I've also had my eyes on their raspberry bread pudding, so I've decided to have a little dessert afterward.
the strombolli was baked with a crispy shell on the outside with a little cornmeal. And the inside had a soft chewy texture bread laced in between layers of different italian cured meat and cheese. The capacolla gave out a little heat with the dipping maranera sauce that sweetened the flavor, it is absolutely delicious! The side salad is a mixed green salad with green and black olives and also some banana peppers, which complimented their balsamic vinegrette well. All these plus a side of chips, my lunch today made my tummy very happy indeed. I took the respberry bread pudding back with me for afternoon snack, and the bread pudding actually have a muffin-like texture. Along with a hint of cinimmon and some reapberry jam spreaded on top, the bread pudding made my afternoon went by that much happier.
The lunch was great, and the owner stopped by and asked how the food was. He also told me that he's getting great biscotti shipped here midweek next week and they ran off the shelf FAST. I guess that decided my next week's lunch plan then. I've always had great food experience in the cafe, and it's a 4 out of 5 on my yummy scale. If you ever come near the neighborhood, definitely make a trip to Cafe del Mondo. Trust me, it's worth it!
*UPDATE: If you want to taste the perfectly prepared meat and cheese with a dash of love, please come to 1885 W 5th Ave. Columbus, OH 43212 or their other location on 659 N 4th St. Columbus, OH 43215
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
North Star points a new direction
The spring is officially here! It was such a sunny day out, and it would be a shame not to walk around in this great weather. So I've decided to go around Short North and see if I could find something interesting. A place called North Star Cafe opened not too long ago and I've been hearing good things about it, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. The bright sun and the spring air hinted that today would be a great day for a food adventure, so off I go to try out this new cafe.
The first thing I've noticed about the North Star Cafe is that it has very nice patio seating. Unfortunately, the nice weather has made EVERYONE wanted a seat on the patio, so I've decided to go inside and check out the interior design. There's a wall of different magazine available in the cafe with wide range of interest, such as in art, economy, nature, and discovery. The furniture is in simple shape and the same goes the rest of the accessories. The crowd reflected the eclectic atmosphere of the cafe and their age ranges from 20-something to 60-something. The menu is kept simple yet the items show the interesting combination of fusion flavor. Since the cafe emphasizes on their organic produce (down to the detail of "organic ketchup"), I've decided to try their Chopped Salad and my boyfriend a Chicken Basil Burrito.
The Chopped Salad is made from a mixture of spring lettuce with some shredded cabbage, which adds extra crunch to the flavorful salad mixture. It also includes smoked turkey, crumbled blue cheese, toasted almond, sweet Washington apple, croutons, and their house vinaigrette. The vinaigrette combined with the blue cheese and spread its flavor all around the salad without over powering the delicate flavor of the lettuce. The sweet apple complements the blue cheese very well, and, with a bite of the toasted almond spreads warm and toasty aroma in my mouth, I can definitely appreciate the extra freshness brought by the local organic produce. The smoked turkey was well flavored, but the smokiness overwhelmed the pallet and covers up all other flavors with it. So the smoked turkey can only be taken smaller bite at a time. The Salad also came with rosemary bread, which is a great way to round out the flavor after the meal.
The Chicken Basil Burrito is flavorful as well. The chicken was tender, along with some grilled veggie, well cooked brown rice, and a hint of basil to bring an extra kick to the burrito. The salsa included in the burrito burst the flavor of plump tomato and slight sharpness of the onion. The jalapeno pepper in the salsa give a kick and brightened the flavor of the burrito.
The overall experience was pretty good, and of course the nice weather helped too. I would rank the North Star Cafe a 3.5 out of 5. And the food tastes even better under the nice warm sun!
*UPDATE: If you want to taste the freshness that fills your body AND soul, come to North Star Cafe on 951 N High St. Columbus, OH 43201
The first thing I've noticed about the North Star Cafe is that it has very nice patio seating. Unfortunately, the nice weather has made EVERYONE wanted a seat on the patio, so I've decided to go inside and check out the interior design. There's a wall of different magazine available in the cafe with wide range of interest, such as in art, economy, nature, and discovery. The furniture is in simple shape and the same goes the rest of the accessories. The crowd reflected the eclectic atmosphere of the cafe and their age ranges from 20-something to 60-something. The menu is kept simple yet the items show the interesting combination of fusion flavor. Since the cafe emphasizes on their organic produce (down to the detail of "organic ketchup"), I've decided to try their Chopped Salad and my boyfriend a Chicken Basil Burrito.
The Chopped Salad is made from a mixture of spring lettuce with some shredded cabbage, which adds extra crunch to the flavorful salad mixture. It also includes smoked turkey, crumbled blue cheese, toasted almond, sweet Washington apple, croutons, and their house vinaigrette. The vinaigrette combined with the blue cheese and spread its flavor all around the salad without over powering the delicate flavor of the lettuce. The sweet apple complements the blue cheese very well, and, with a bite of the toasted almond spreads warm and toasty aroma in my mouth, I can definitely appreciate the extra freshness brought by the local organic produce. The smoked turkey was well flavored, but the smokiness overwhelmed the pallet and covers up all other flavors with it. So the smoked turkey can only be taken smaller bite at a time. The Salad also came with rosemary bread, which is a great way to round out the flavor after the meal.
The Chicken Basil Burrito is flavorful as well. The chicken was tender, along with some grilled veggie, well cooked brown rice, and a hint of basil to bring an extra kick to the burrito. The salsa included in the burrito burst the flavor of plump tomato and slight sharpness of the onion. The jalapeno pepper in the salsa give a kick and brightened the flavor of the burrito.
The overall experience was pretty good, and of course the nice weather helped too. I would rank the North Star Cafe a 3.5 out of 5. And the food tastes even better under the nice warm sun!
*UPDATE: If you want to taste the freshness that fills your body AND soul, come to North Star Cafe on 951 N High St. Columbus, OH 43201
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Monday Night Sushi...at Shoku
I've heard about Shoku's half-price sushi from my friend and have decided to give it a try. I'm fairly picky when it comes to sushi because I was subjected to fresh and great sushi growing up in LA. I've tried Shoku before for lunch, and their bento box is only so-so. But since this time was going with a bunch of friends, I guess the food would taste better because of the flavor added from good company. It turned out that only the rolls and specialty rolls are half-price. My beloved nigiri still stayed at regular price. That was a bummer because if you wanted to taste whether the sushi was fresh, you had to taste the fish in their birthday suit and unaltered so you could truly tell the delicate flavor and texture different fish provided. But being a bargain lover, I wasn't going to argue with their price and ordered their Budda roll, which was their tempura roll top with tuna and spicy mayo, and a Rainbow roll, which was the California roll top with assorted fish. My boyfriend also ordered their Grandview roll, which is spicy tuna roll top with avocado, and a crunchy roll, which is tempura roll sprinkled with fried breading.
The fish on the Budda and Rainbow roll had only so-so quality and the fish was cut very thin. But Shoku was great at hiding flaws using overpowering flavors such as frying and spicy mayo. Unfortunately, those technique not only robbed me from truly enjoy the fish flavor, but also made rolls of different kind taste pretty much the same. I tried one of the Element roll that my friend ordered, and the fish inside the roll was half cooked and resulted in fishy smelling roll. The rice in the Element roll was packed too tight, so the harder texture of the rice was not complemented by the crunchy texture on the outside.
The overall food experience was ok for the price that you paid. I would give it a 2.5 out of 5. However, my dinner experience was enhanced because I had great companies and also met some new friends. So the moral of the story is if you want to try a restaurant that you are not sure of the food, bring a bunch of your friend so at least you'll be guaranteed a good time!
*UPDATE: If mediocre sushi is your thing, please come to 1312 Grandview Ave. Columbus, OH 43212
The fish on the Budda and Rainbow roll had only so-so quality and the fish was cut very thin. But Shoku was great at hiding flaws using overpowering flavors such as frying and spicy mayo. Unfortunately, those technique not only robbed me from truly enjoy the fish flavor, but also made rolls of different kind taste pretty much the same. I tried one of the Element roll that my friend ordered, and the fish inside the roll was half cooked and resulted in fishy smelling roll. The rice in the Element roll was packed too tight, so the harder texture of the rice was not complemented by the crunchy texture on the outside.
The overall food experience was ok for the price that you paid. I would give it a 2.5 out of 5. However, my dinner experience was enhanced because I had great companies and also met some new friends. So the moral of the story is if you want to try a restaurant that you are not sure of the food, bring a bunch of your friend so at least you'll be guaranteed a good time!
*UPDATE: If mediocre sushi is your thing, please come to 1312 Grandview Ave. Columbus, OH 43212
Monday, April 17, 2006
Welcome to my foody world
Hello there,
This is my first blog entry and I would like to tell you why I'm starting this blog. I'm a food lover but I refuse to pay more than $5 for crappy food. And I think no one should subject to crappy food because you should take care of your taste bud just like a delicate flower. And once your taste bud is happy, your tummy is happy. Once your tummy is happy, your brain is happy. And once your brain is happy, it puts out happy chemicals throughout your body. See the amazing chain reaction when good food happens to you?!
This blog is mainly based on Columbus, OH simply because I live here now. I will add in occasional addition blog entry on other restaurants outside of Columbus if I'm on travel as well. Please feel free to share your food experience here with others, and please share your good AND bad restaurant experience so everyone will be wise to choose a tasty restaurant and be happy and full!
This is my first blog entry and I would like to tell you why I'm starting this blog. I'm a food lover but I refuse to pay more than $5 for crappy food. And I think no one should subject to crappy food because you should take care of your taste bud just like a delicate flower. And once your taste bud is happy, your tummy is happy. Once your tummy is happy, your brain is happy. And once your brain is happy, it puts out happy chemicals throughout your body. See the amazing chain reaction when good food happens to you?!
This blog is mainly based on Columbus, OH simply because I live here now. I will add in occasional addition blog entry on other restaurants outside of Columbus if I'm on travel as well. Please feel free to share your food experience here with others, and please share your good AND bad restaurant experience so everyone will be wise to choose a tasty restaurant and be happy and full!
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