Section 8 Yakitorium

Posted on December 28, 2011 by | 3 Comments

Cuisine: Japanese

482 S. Front St.
Columbus, OH 43215
614.531.0023

Open  Thursday through Saturday, 6:30pm – Midnight

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There exists, in the Brewery District, a bar with no signage. The owners seem to do little in the way of self-promotion, and the lights are dimmed to the point that you might not even think they’re open. They occupy the old Gibby’s building on Front St., and call themselves ‘Double Happiness’.

Once inside, you’ll not mistake them for Gibby’s, or for that matter, any other Brewery District watering hole past or present. Huge red lamps hang from the ceiling, and a strong East Asian vibe permeates. DJs spin on some nights, live music occurs on others. Asian beers and sake-based drinks are the bar’s specialties. The place aims for and hits ‘cool’ dead center.

The only reason we know of this place is because we know Kenny Kim and Misako Ohba, owners of Fresh Street. They, along with another partner, have struck a deal with Double Happiness, and now serve kushiyaki (and more) out of the previously dormant kitchen within. They call this new endeavor ‘Section 8 Yakitorium’.

Yakitori, literally translated from Japanese, means charcoal-grilled chicken on skewers. In the US, it’s often (mis)used to refer to anything Japanese-inspired that is charcoal-grilled on skewers, which is a range of offering that should technically fall under the umbrella term of ‘kushiyaki‘.

I mention this only to underscore one point – Section 8 is serving far more than chicken. In addition to chicken thighs, skin, wings, and meatballs, they’re also serving pork belly, pork cheek, beef short ribs, bacon-wrapped mushrooms, beef heart & kidney, and on and on. As of our last stop in, they had perhaps 13 unique skewer options, with more to come.

I fear I may have objectivity problems – I’m thoroughly enamored with Kenny & Misako, and I’m a sucker for charcoal-grilled meats. When I walked in, it went something like this:

So it made for a good reality check when I happened to talk to a local restauranteur who is well versed in Japanese street foods, and had just been to Section 8. They said that their kushiyaki was about as good as any they’d had anywhere.

Section 8 also offers ramen and rice balls, and both are seriously good. The ramen’s chicken broth sets the standard in town, and the subtle spicing and crusty grilled exterior of the rice balls make for an edifying experience.

Expect the menu to change somewhat due to availability of ingredients, time of year, and the whims of the kitchen. This has long been a big part of the charm of Fresh Street, and our general advice would be to roll with it – you might not necessarily get the thing you’ve been craving from last time, but you’ll probably discover something new that you’ll end up craving next time.

Please note that Section 8 provides vegetarian and vegan options. Skewers generally run between $2.50 and $4.00 each, and cups of ramen run $4.00 apiece.

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Posted in Japanese

Chuchay’s

Posted on November 18, 2011 by | 4 Comments

Cuisine: Filipino

6099 McNaughten Center
Columbus, OH 43232
614.566.1501

Click here to map it!

The first time we ate here, it was called ‘Noni’s’ (the sign out front still reads as such) and, to be frank, we felt ourselves to be unqualified in trying to evaluate a cuisine (Filipino) that none of us had had much experience with.

We had, however, been to our fair share of small ethnic start-up restaurants and have had the opportunity to observe the ways in which they typically succeed and fail early on. From that perspective, Noni’s was off to a good start. The space is bright (think acid green with electric orange trim), clean, and well sorted, and the service was solid. Perhaps even more impressively, when our large group ordered all of the most unusual sounding dishes off of their huge menu, we didn’t hear ‘we don’t have that today’ once. For a restaurant that was all of a couple of weeks old, that’s no small feat.

But still, what to think about the food?

Upon finishing our meal, we recalled that we had a resource in Carl Acampado, owner of Rogue Bakery and beneficiary of many a home-cooked Filipino meal. He agreed to accompany us on our next trip, though not without perhaps a slight hint of pessimism about the venture.

The oddness of returning to find a restaurant of a different name (now Chuchay’s) with a somewhat different (but still Filipino) menu didn’t add exactly serve to brighten the outlook.

Fortunately, most everything that followed that did. The space was unchanged, and the service was equally competent. Everything that was on the menu was available, and we suspect that access to the Filipino grocery a few doors down (also called Chuchay’s) is no small part of that.

We started by browsing the menu items with the suffix ‘-silog‘ – which simply means ‘with rice and eggs’. Anything before the suffix indicates the accompaniment – cornsilog is corned beef with rice and egg, longsilog is longaniza sausage with same, and if you want it with a hotdog you’ll order… you guessed it… hotsilog.

At Carl’s suggestion, we selected the longsilog. It was a great choice. My first taste of the longaniza reminded me of a perfect bite of pineapple-topped Los Guachos al pastor – Sweet and salty, porky and garlicky, and with just a hint of char. Unsurprisingly, eggs and rice accompany wonderfully.

Longsilog

The chicken adobo, often considered the national dish of the Philippines, was also thoroughly enjoyed. Soy, garlic, vinegar, and peppercorns gave a nice, slightly tangy flavor to the tender chicken.

Chicken Adobo

The lechon kawali (fried skin-on pork) was reasonably good, but may have suffered in comparison to the big flavors that came before. The skin was crispy and a bit tough, while the unadorned pork flesh below was notably mild in flavor. Not bad by any means, but a bit of a wallflower in this party of type-A tastes.

Lechon Kawali

Which brings us to the crispy pata, described on the menu as deep-fried pig knuckles (pig knuckles, the small end of the ham, are also known as ham hocks). There was no mistaking this for anything other than pork – deeply gamey pork – and it was so intense in flavor that its potency became divisive. There was very little in the way of actual meat, mostly crispy fried skin… which was OK by me.

Crispy Pata

Finally, for dessert, we tried the halo-halo, one of the few Filipino dishes I’d actually heard of before coming here. ‘Halo’ means ‘mix’ in Tagalog, and that’d seem to refer equally well to the mix of unusual ingredients and the act of mixing this layered treat up before eating it. The specifics of the ingredients themselves seem somewhat open to interpretation, but it’s fair to say that one should expect at minimum, more-or-less, the following: shaved ice, evaporated or coconut milk, tropical fruit, sweet beans, and ice cream (often a brilliantly lavender ube ice cream, not unlike taro in flavor).

Halo Halo

And that’s exactly what you’re getting at Chuchay’s. And it’s good. And sweet beans and ube strike some as unnerving ingredients… and they shouldn’t. Simply put, if you have a sweet tooth, you want this.

So, once we had chewed the last pig knuckle and slurped the last of the halo-halo slush, we asked of Carl the question that was on everyone’s mind: “Would you bring your mother here?”

“Yes”, was his unhesitating response.

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Posted in Filipino

Ginevra Cafe

Posted on November 16, 2011 by | 2 Comments

mediterranean restaurants columbus Somali/Middle Eastern/Mediterranean

2285 Morse Road
614.475.4880

Click here to map it!

In the short time it has been open, Ginevra has had an interesting evolution. It started as a Somali coffee shop offering coffee, tea, snacks and desserts but has recently expanded to offer a full lunch and dinner menu. Rather than providing a strictly Somali menu, they opted for mix of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Somali dishes. The kitchen is run by Mo, the nephew of one of Columbus’ well known Middle Eastern chefs – Nasir of Lavash (and formerly of Firdous).

somali restaurants columbus

Pictured above is the lamb shank with basmati rice,  salad,  a tomato based vegetable stew and some hot sauce. The lamb was falling-off-the-bone tender. I asked for more of the delicious tomato-saucey stew to accompany it.

ginevra restaurant

So far one of our favorite dishes has been the chicken Tawook (marinated chicken kebabs). Entrees come with a choice of rice, couscous or pasta, bread and sauce and salad. The pasta is the Somali influence showing through (Somalia was an Italian colony). The chicken, cooked on an indoor charcoal grill was also nice and tender.

morse road restaurants columbus

The gryo was another hit. Both the meat and pita were better than average and less messy than other gyros we have had. The sandwich contained tzatziki, grilled onions, lettuce and no tomatoes. We were told that we could have asked for more sauce on the side.

We have also enjoyed the lentil soup and the Somali chai. I don’t think a visit to Ginevra would be complete without the tea which has a wonderful mix of ginger and cardamon. I would also recommend the Ginevra special juice, an intriguing mix of dates and milk but quite delicious.

somali tea shop

Service is friendly and both the owner Jamal and chef Mo have struck us as being refreshingly eager for feedback on the dining experience. They are considering offering some Egyptian dishes in the future. Ginevra also has free wifi.

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Posted in African, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Somali

Tagged , , ,

Somali Famine Fundraiser Dinners

Posted on November 16, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Thanks to your support, the dinners that we organized in September to raise money for the famine in the Horn of Africa were very successful. We were able to send $2400 to the American Refugee Committee who are working on the ground in Somalia, we also introduced some new people to Somali food, connected with the Somali community and had wonderful feedback on Nadira’s delicious cooking.

fundraiser for somali famine

Sadly the famine continues to claim the lives of innocent children and we wanted to do more to support the victims of the famine. At this time of Thanksgiving when we give thanks for the food on our plates, please consider making a donation to the American Refugee Committee or attending one of our upcoming fundraiser dinners. The ARC are working very hard to improve conditions in the refugee camps and our assistance can help them to make a difference.

Here is a recent update on conditions from the ARC program director in Somalia:

“Fleeing for their life, many of the families have trekked for days before reaching Mogadishu. They left behind almost all of their household effects. They arrived in waves, populating spontaneously created internally displaced person (IDP) settlements within the city. They hardly come with containers to collect and store water, utensils to cook food, or spare clothes to replace the ones they’ve been wearing for days and weeks. Most of the temporary settlements still lack sanitary facilities. The IDPs who ended up in urban settings faced serious problems in finding proper open space to relieve themselves – in fact, women have to wait until sunset to venture out of the squalid settlements to answer nature’s call. Owing to shortage of water and the absence of latrines, many people are unable to bathe for extended periods of time.”

“After four months of sustained relief assistance by the international community, the drought and famine continues to ravage southern Somalia – and Mogadishu. Currently, there are more than 300 IDP settlements scattered all over Mogadishu. The conditions of many of these are quite squalid, crowded and with poor hygiene. The conditions are more stabilized in the major camps such as Badbaado, Rajo, and Taribunka (where ARC is working). In the latter two, many households are still without shelter, water, sanitation and food.  Many of the smaller settlements are without shelter and are not benefiting from regular food and water distributions. There is a huge gap between the resources available and the needs prevailing on the ground.”

The dinners will be held at Solay Bistro on December 7th and 14th at 7pm. Tickets are available online and are priced at $35 per person. There will be plenty of dishes for vegetarians.

The buffet style dinner will (almost certainly) include the following:

- Slow-cooked Somali rotisserie chicken
- Roasted goat
- Sabaya bread (think chapati, but better!), and injera bread (a spongy Ethiopian bread, eaten with a special spicy injera sauce)
- Beef suqaar (similar to a mild chicken curry)
- Solay’s special cardamom rice
- A selection of vegetable dishes including curried chickpeas, lentils, and cabbage
- Fata Muus (a sweet mix of sabaya, honey, butter, and bananas)
- Somali Chai

We look forward to seeing you there, and look forward to sharing some of the best of Somali food in Columbus with you while supporting a great and urgent cause.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

To learn more about Solay Bistro, see here (alt.eats), here (Columbus Alive review), or here (Urbanspoon reviews). Believe them, it’s that good!

 

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Posted in event, Somali

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Pho Saigon

Posted on November 9, 2011 by | 1 Comment

vietnamese restaurants columbus ohio

Cuisine: Vietnamese

5644 Columbus Square (part of Asian Grocery)
614.818.4499
Sunday-Thursday 9am-9pm, Friday & Saturday 9am-10pm

Click here to map it!

Pho Saigon is the third Vietnamese restaurant in the Columbus Square area. Bearing that in mind, we were pleased to see that they were offering some well turned-out Vietnamese dishes that are not only unique to the immediate area, but to Columbus overall.  The restaurant may also hold the honor of being the longest and skinniest restaurant in Columbus – it’s little more than a sliver partitioned off from one side of the Asian Grocery.

saigon pho columbus
The first thing that caught our attention was the half moon cake (banh xeo – pronounced banh SAY-oh) probably better translated as half moon crepe. This is a crispy savory crepe made of rice flour and tinted with tumeric. Apparently the name means ‘sound crepe’ due to the noise the of batter hitting the hot pan. It is filled with pan fried shrimp, pork, onion and peeled mung beans. The crepe is served with a plate of lettuce leaves and herbs such as mint, basil and shiso and accompanied with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce (nuoc mam pha). To eat it you wrap pieces of the crepe in the lettuce leaves and add herbs and the dipping sauce to taste. I loved the flavor and texture combination.

chao long savory rice with pork offal
The next unusual dish that caught our eye was chao long (porridge with pork organs). This Saigon specialty is a type of congee – a savory rice soup in which the rice is cooked until it achieves a porridge-like consistency. Pho Saigon’s version was very flavorful and we guessed that it was cooked with broth and not just water. It was topped with cubes of congealed blood, blood sausage, slices of tongue and slices of pork intestine and then garnished with thinly sliced scallions and finely ground black pepper. I promise that it tasted so much better than it sounds, and was actually very comforting. If offal isn’t your thing, you can also order it with duck or chicken. Chao long is served with pieces of light, crispy deep-fried croutons, bean sprouts, and lime wedges.

columbus vietnamese food

We also ordered the bun bo hue (Hue style beef noodle soup) which we loved. This beef soup is actually made with pork as well as beef. The broth is seasoned with lemongrass, shrimp sauce and chili, but the heat was fairly mild (you could add more). It was topped with slices of onion and cilantro but came accompanied by a plate of finely sliced banana flowers, sliced water spinach stalks, lime wedges and Thai basil.

Although the market is well established, Saigon Pho opened very recently and the menu is fairly limited. We were very pleased with what we tasted so far. Other menu items are:

Goi quan (Vietnamese spring roll)
Cha Gio (Vietnamese egg roll)
Gio dudu (Vietnamese papaya salad)
Pho Bo (beef noodle soup)
Bun Cha Gio (rice vermicelli with egg rolls)
Canh ga chien (spicy crispy chicken wings)
Goi go sen (lotus root salad)
Com chien (fried rice)
Com suon truong opla (pork chop with egg)

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Posted in Restaurant, Vietnamese