Category Archives: Restaurant

Tea Zone

Posted on March 21, 2011 by | 3 Comments

korean food columbus, korean bakery, tea, shaved ice
Cuisine: Korean
5025 Olentangy River Rd
http://www.teazonebakery.com
614.326.0489 or 614.582.2409
Hours: 10am-8pm (9pm on weekends)

Click here to map it!

It may be Tea Zone by name, but it’s a bakery/cafe/restaurant/tea shop by nature. The address is also a little confusing – they’re tucked away deep in a strip mall, between Gallo’s Tap Room and Micro Center off Bethel Road.

Tea Zone’s offerings struck us as largely bakery-centric with Korean-style bread and pastries as well as cakes to order. The pastries range from kimchi rolls (surprisingly sweet and very good) to piggies in blanket (a hot dog in a slightly sweet bread base) to sweet pea and red bean paste (both enjoyed). There is a large variety, especially earlier in the day.

korean bakery columbus

There are three traditional low tea tables, set on a raised wooden platform with a submerged area for your legs to dangle. Not unlike a Japanese tatami room, you must take off your shoes. There are also some regular tables and chairs and a brisk take out business.

Tea Zone’s food menu is limited and includes popular Korean dishes such as bulgogi and bibimbap (not stone pot). While the bibimbap was fine, the bulgogi was far from the best in town. Each came with soup, salad and kimchi. You can also order udon, cold noodles, spicy seafood with rice even spaghetti with garlic toast.

korean food in columbus, tea zone

A pot of tea (shared between two) is $4.25 and comes with some little Pocky-esque cookie sticks. There are over 20 teas to choose from and Tea Zone also serves bubble tea, smoothies, hot chocolate, juice and coffee. Most of the teas are loose leaf, although I did notice some herbal tea bags. Our Pu-er tea came in a scoop accompanied by a flask of hot water and a 3 minute timer.

korean tea columbus
Perhaps one of the best reasons to go to Tea Zone is for the bing soo, a Korean shaved ice dessert (although it is listed on the drinks menu). Tea Zone offers 3 varieties: fruit, regular and green tea. We opted for the regular. It is a large dish of shaved ice topped with condensed milk, sweet red bean paste, tapioca pearls, fresh and canned fruits, and ice cream. The fruit option has less red bean paste and the green tea option has green tea ice cream.

Korean shaved ice, tea zone, columbus

Bing soo is similar to other shaved ice desserts found in Asia. Tea Zone’s version is definitely large enough to share. It is quite sweet but refreshing and would be wonderful on a hot afternoon.

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Posted in Bakery, Korean, Restaurant

Reethika

Posted on December 27, 2010 by | 8 Comments

reethika indian restaurant columbus ohio
Reethika
Cuisine – Indian (Hyderabadi)
Federated Blvd., just east of Sawmill
614.659.0889
http://reethikacolumbus.com/

Click here to map it!

Reethika (pronunciation – think ‘Ithaca’ with an ‘R’ in front) perhaps isn’t quite as flashy as some of the other new Indian restaurants in Columbus, but their Hyderabadi home-style food is very noteworthy and the welcome is warm. They opened quietly at the end of November but the location, between the two large Indian markets on Sawmill, guaranteed they wouldn’t go unnoticed for long.

Reethika indian restaurant columbus ohio
The friendly owners are Mr and Mrs Reddy, and Reethika is named after their daughter who also works in the restaurant. They family hails from Hyderabad, a large city in Southern India.

Reethika Indian restaurant columbus
Reethika offers an $8.99 buffet for lunch, which is comprised of more interesting dishes than we’re conditioned to expect. Buffet items change daily, though all come with an order of fresh (and excellent) chapatti.  A separate section of the buffet contains chutneys, raita and dessert. The chutneys are exceptional and are obviously freshly made.

sheek kebab at reethika columbus
Dinners have been equally good, and many of our favorite dishes so far have been the appetizers. The seekh kebab was a standout, extremely flavorful and well seasoned; the tandoori chicken wings (unusually and deliciously deep-fried), Manchurian cauliflower and the mirchi pakoda, green chilis deep fried in a crunchy spicy gram flour batter. Pakoda is an alternative spelling of pakora. The palak pakoda was extremely light and crisp.

indian food in columbus ohio

Of the entrees the green chicken curry is notable. A complex mix of spices and herbs, hard to pin down but vibrant in color and flavor.

The mutter paneer (fresh homemade cheese cubes cooked with peas) was well above average and the paneer was nicely browned. Reethika caters well for vegetarians with five vegetarian appetizers and nine vegetarian entrees.

They have plans to offer idli and dosa at the weekends and there are often daily specials.

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Cafe Kabul

Posted on July 5, 2010 by | 7 Comments

Cuisine: Afghan

2831 Olentangy River Road
Mon-Thurs, 11am – 10pm, Fri-Sat, 11am – 10:30pm, Sun, 12pm – 10pm

Click here to map it!

Located in a light, bright space at the southern end of the strip known as ‘University City Center’, Cafe Kabul is, to the best of our knowledge, the first and only Afghan restaurant in Columbus. Open only for a few weeks as of this writing, at lunchtime it was already drawing a decent number of students and office workers from the surrounding area. It is a casual, order-at-the-counter setup, and customers are given a number to be called when their food is ready.

We started with one of the side dishes - buranee bonjon - a bed of sauteed slices of eggplant topped with homemade yogurt, tomato sauce and served with Afghan bread. The yogurt (which can also be ordered separately) was very tangy and the tomato added a little, but not too much sweetness. Pile a bit of each on some bread, and you’ll have a taste of what made this one of our group’s favorite dishes.  The bread, which I think was obi non, is thicker than pita bread and useful for scooping up yogurt and hummus.

We also tried two of the other vegetable side dishes - sabsi (pureed spinach cooked with onions and garlic) and the sauteed okra with tomatoes and onions. Both were simple dishes that were (surprisingly) mildly seasoned, seemingly with the intent of letting the fresh flavors of the vegetables shine through.  It works, in an ‘if you like spinach, you’ll like sabsi‘ manner of thinking.

The majority of the mains are dishes are familiar from Middle Eastern or Indian cuisines: seekh kebab, tandoor chicken, chicken kabob and tikka kabob. We ordered one chicken seekh kebab – spiced ground chicken formed around a skewer and grilled – with the idea of comparing it to other seekh kebabs found around town.  While it seemed a reasonable effort, others in town do it better.

The more interesting mains were kabuli pallow and peshawari chaplee kabob. The peshawari chaplee kabob (more commonly chapli) consisted of three meat patties made of ground beef mixed with freshly ground spices and grilled to well-done.  The intriguingly complex flavors of this dish were roundly appreciated, though the meat was a bit on the dry side for our tastes. As with most of the main dishes, it can be served either with rice and salad or with bread and salad. The included mint chutney was a worthy accompaniment.

The kabuli pallow (palao) is a variation on one of Afghanistan’s national dishes – Afghan style rice topped with chunks of lamb, spiced sauteed carrot strips and raisins. This dish was popular – their lamb was a thing of beauty – but at $9.49, it struck us as though there wasn’t very much of it.

Although there are no vegetarian main dishes on the menu, vegetarians could find enough to eat from a selection of the sides and appetizers. Service was leisurely but acceptable.

Having done some research on Afghan cuisine, it seems that Cafe Kabul is merely scratching the surface of the range of dishes. It’s a great addition to the University City Center but may not worth a drive across town. I hope that Cafe Kabul will offer more variety as they get established and that we will see more Afghan restaurants opening in Columbus.

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Posted in Afghan, Restaurant

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Bono Pizza

Posted on June 5, 2010 by | 15 Comments

Cuisine: Italian and beyond (pizza, crepes…)

1717 Northwest Blvd.
5xNW section of town
614.906.8646 (ToGo)
as the menu says: “of course it’s in the back of a liquor store, it’s bonopizza!”
Open: Wednesday to Sunday 5 PM to 10 PM
http://www.bonopizza.biz/

Click here to map it!

Regular alteaters may be thrown a bit off balance when trying to conceive of Bono as an alt.eats destination, but consider the case carefully: Bill Yerkes, the head ‘tosser’ at Bono Pizza is about as alternative as any human could be and Bono also meets our other alt eats criteria: off the beaten path location, authentic (with a dash of audacity) ethnic food and independently/family owned.

Bono Pizza is located in a carryout on Northwest Boulevard (almost in Grandview) in the area known as 5xNW. It features a wood fired oven and the always entertaining personality and styling of Bill Yerkes. His wife Peggy is there most evenings to take orders and take care of her customers. Bono features eighteen specialty pizzas as well as a ‘build your own’ option. All pizzas are $10 each.

Bill perfected his pizza craft during twenty odd years in Italy. His crusts and ratios are in the Italian style with all flavors balancing each other harmoniously. Italian pizza lovers have often said that the Yerkes approach to pizza pie would make any Italian proud. Bill’s non traditional half (or in his case 3/4), exhibits itself in the some of the toppings and names (Hulk, Waikiki, The Greek Boy….). Using a wood fired pizza and hand tossed techniques, the pizza may have a bit of char or not come out as a perfect circle. We like to call that real food.

A Greek Boy.....

The menu is a constant blank slate for Bill. There is a core group of pizzas and sometimes other dishes (maybe a salad, maybe a pepperoni roll) and who knows what else. Bono has offered crepes for $3, espresso for $1 and on occasion creme brulee in shot style glasses. Beverages can be obtained in the adjoining carry out.

The location is not without challenges. There have been issues with the roof and the space itself calls for some creativity for business hours after the carry out closes. However, customers get a “hidden clubhouse” feel about Bono that can be hard to beat.

Here are a few examples of the pizzas:

San Rolando
Fresh tomato sauce, pepperoni, (real – really good too) Italian Sausage and fresh Mozzarella cheese.

Carbonara
Smithfield peppered ham/bacon, carmelized for three plus hours with onions then lathered on a layer of Asiago and real mozzarella cheese with a sprinkling of Parmesan and “pixie dust” (that came right off the menu and not my keyboard, but at Bono….it could happen).

This pizza was created and inspired in part by the Grumpy Gourmet who has made an appearance or two at this establishment.

Here is a bit of Bono history to give the current incantation some added meaning.

The summer of 2008 was THE season for Bono Pizza in the Short North. The unconventional ways of pizza purist Bill Yerkes meshed a traditional approach to pizza (well kind of) with many non traditional elements such as a unique partnership with a Short North Bakery in a location in an alley. The enterprise should not have worked. It did. In fact it prospered. It was the darling of Short North and Victorian Village residents as well as an unofficial meeting point for Columbus Underground ilk. However, like any burning sun, it was bound to extinguish and it did in the fall of 2008.

There were attempts at rebirth. Bill came full circle with a location near his home at a site vacated by Cowtown Pizza but the site did not quite work out. Unfortunately most of 2009 was a year without a Bono Claus so the natives started to get a little restless. Bono reopened in mid 2009 and has slowly been rebuilding a following.

Alt eats specializes in some out of the way places and off the beaten path locations. For a few, the far side of 5xNW may be a bit too far. Bill does have a mobile pizza oven that can be available for events and catering (give him a call) and there is ongoing discussion of partnerships with other businesses to bring Bono to the masses on occasion. We will see what happens.

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Posted in Restaurant, vegetarian

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Apna Bazaar

Posted on May 27, 2010 by | 8 Comments

Cuisine: Pakistani/Indian

810 Bethel Road
614.326.2762
www.apnabazaar.biz

Click here to map it!

After our experiences at Luc’s, Mecca, and Arirang, we’ve come to believe that some of the best international cuisine in town is put out by pint-sized kitchens shoehorned into the corners of out-of-the-way ethnic groceries.  As such, when we were told about another grocer/kitchen combo out on Bethel Rd. (thanks, Amar), we were primed to expect the best… and we are happy to say that we weren’t let down.

Apna is located in a fun (from an alt.eats perspective) little strip mall across the street from Microcenter that is also home to Banana Leaf, a Korean restaurant, a Thai/ Vietnamese restaurant, a Mexican grocery store, and a bubble tea shop.  While Apna’s primary focus seems to be on take-out and catering, they’re also happy to serve you at a table in the back of the store that seats up to 8 people.

Apna Bazaar’s kitchen specializes in tandoori and karhai preparations.  The photo above is the tandoor oven, which we were allowed into the kitchen to admire. Another shot in the kitchen (below): making chicken samosas.

We started with tandoori boneless chicken (you can also get a leg and thigh or a whole chicken), served straight from the tandoor. Garnished with onion, lime, and with a relatively mild sauce on the side, this dish was a little spicy, far more tender than most tandooris we’ve had, and very very popular. It was altogether too quickly devoured.

Luckily for our hungry group of 8, the food kept coming. We sampled (below, clockwise from top left) chicken karhai, beef nihari, goat qorma and chicken kabab karhai.

The word karhai (or karahi) refers to both a traditional wok-like Indian/Pakistani cooking dish, and a cooking method that uses this dish. Apna offers chicken (whole or half), goat, and kabab karhai preparations. We tried the (bone on) chicken karhai – fragrant with ginger, this was one of the more mildly spiced dishes we tried – and the kabab karhai, a generous quantity of heavily spiced ground chicken shish kababs, chopped up and sauteed with onions and tomatoes.  Both were enjoyed by all, with the nod going to the kabab version.

The nihari was another crowd pleaser, a delicious rich stew of tender beef shanks cooked overnight.  Apparently a popular breakfast dish in Pakistan, Apna’s nihari was deeply flavored with cloves, cumin, ginger and cardamon, and had a heat that came on slowly and peaked impressively.

The qorma (korma) consisted of tender goat served in a sauce whose richness was similar to the nihari, but was distinctly different in flavor with plenty of cardamon and a lot of chili. Among a table full of spicy-hot foods, it was the hottest of the dishes that we tried.

The meal was accompanied by seemingly endless piles of naan bread. Apna’s naan is different than most, and is considered by our Indian friends to be more authentic – made with whole meal flour, it was lighter, crisper, less doughy and served without any butter or ghee.

Apna Bazaar also has a selection of Indian sweets including gulab jaman, laddo and halwa, but as we were too full, we managed only a cup of steaming hot milky chai.

Apna Bazaar does not provide many options for vegetarians, and with the exception of potato samosas and naan bread all of the dishes are meat based. Drink selections are also limited but include water, chai, Coke and some Pakistani sodas including the sweet and floral Pakola.

Our bill, including drinks, came to about $10 per person. The owner seemed willing and able to adjust the spice level in most of the dishes. We recommend calling ahead an hour before you want to collect your food.

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Posted in Indian, Pakistani, Restaurant

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