Cuisine: Japanese

5776 Frantz Rd., Dublin OH 43016
614.889.1275

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Yoshi’s is reputed to be a popular restaurant destination for the Japanese folks living in town, and we expected to find enjoyable food. Spoiler alert – all true.

What we didn’t expect, though, was to be so thoroughly entertained by the proceedings.

A bit of background – we’re lucky to be able to rely on a friend fluent in all things Japanese (thanks, KC) for help with evaluating what dishes we should try. As such, we walked into Yoshi’s with a good deal of knowledge of the more unusual options on their menu.

So, long story short, we ‘order like the Japanese’. Or so said the perplexed hostess, prior to asking if we’d lived in Japan.

Before that, our waitress did a double take on a few of our requested dishes, politely explained what they were, and went to some effort to verify that we actually wanted them.

While we ate, we occasionally felt 3 or 4 pairs of eyes on us, as if to suggest, ‘they ordered it, but will they really eat it?’

If this sounds intimidating, it shouldn’t. All was smiles, conducted with a good natured curiosity and genuine concern for our experience. It culminated with Yoshi himself, on the other side of the sushi bar, peppering us with questions, offering up specials and tips on ‘off the menu’ items, and showing off some of his more exotic sushi preparations.

Maybe we have an odd sense of fun, but fun it was. We left with big stupid smiles on our faces, smiles smudged with things like this:

That, in the image above, is onsen tamago. Reminiscent of an oyster shooter, this very soft boiled egg is served chilled and topped with a little seaweed and a light dressing. We were advised to slurp it down in one go, and very much enjoyed the how the soft egg white yielded to reveal the wonderfully custardy yolk.

The tako wasabi was one of the plates that, upon ordering, raised eyebrows among the staff. It’s a simple dish – raw octopus marinated in wasabi and salt. It was, at best, moderately chewy, and tasted mildly of the ocean. Even the kick of the wasabi was surprisingly mild. It all came together beautifully, and we loved it.

We also loved the moro q – strips of cucumber served with a nutty and deeply savory miso relish. It’s a great example of how two simple ingredients can sing when they’re so perfectly matched.

Then, we took Yoshi up on his offer to taste the daily special, shishito peppers filled with a shrimp pate and tempura fried. Think green pepper but subtler, shrimp flavor but denser in texture, and a pleasant contrast between crunchy and chewy.

Finally, we were let in on a secret – Yoshi’s often prepares a few servings worth of okonomiyaki. It’s not on the menu, and not always available, but it is emphatically worth asking about. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake filled with shredded cabbage and (in this case) small bits of octopus, and topped with an okonomiyaki sauce, a mild Japanese mayo, and bonito flakes. Yoshi’s version was easily the best we’ve ever tried.

Yoshi’s also offers a wide variety of noodles, including soba, udon, and ramen.

Cuisine – Indonesian/Pan Asian 

787 Bethel Road - 614.326.3778
Website - Facebook

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Last year when Taste of Bali closed, it seemed as though Columbus was suddenly lacking for Indonesian food. Happily, we’ve come to find that was not the case – Lily’s offers it, and it’s our distinct impression that it’s superior to it’s lapsed competitor.

The restaurant, which occupies the old Hometown space on Bethel Road, is run by an Indonesian family. Although they are hedging their bets with sushi, Chinese, and Thai, it’s primarily the small but well chosen range of Indonesian dishes on the menu that’s the real draw.

Acknowledging our lack of expertise in Indonesian cuisine, we invited some Indonesian exchange students to accompany us to Lily’s, where we ordered one of every dish from their homeland. Each dish was fully dissected, analyzed and graded – these guys knew their food, and would go off on long (and invariably fascinating) tangents describing in minute detail the proper preparations of each dish and how they relate to the cultures of their regions of origin.

The best dish, according to our Indonesian critics, was the empal marinated fried beef steak which is sweetened with brown sugar and coconut and flavored with coriander. It is served with rice, a mild curry soup, and house made sambal; a curry paste made with dried shrimp paste. The beef was a little chewy but had a lot of flavor and was deemed by the Indonesians to be a real taste of home (’99% like home!’, one exclaimed).

The soto betawi, a beef soup reminiscent of a mild Thai curry, was also deemed to be very authentic (’95%!’). It is served with rice, chips and belinjo (aka melinjo crackers). We learned that soto betawi is soup of the Betawi people, from around Jakarta, and that many regions of Indonesia have their own distinctive soup.

We thought the ‘marinated fried chicken’ was good, with a nice crispy skin and still moist meat, but we learned that American chickens are much fatter than Indonesian chickens and in our friends’ eyes the plump American could not compete in flavor. The Belcan and Indonesian fried rice and the rendang were given passing grades. One complaint was that the rice was not spicy enough, but the server let us know that next time we could order it Indonesian style – extra spicy.

In a nod to Lily’s other offerings, here’s a gratuitous shot of their delicious, cracklin-tastic roast pork.

Cuisine – Japanese

1168 Kenny Centre Mall  Columbus, OH 43220
614.451.7110

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It’s no secret that, in the US, we tend to twist the cuisines of other cultures around to suit our tastes, often to such a degree that that they end up bearing a questionable resemblance to their origins. On occasion, I’ve wondered what a Japanese person must think when encountering cream cheese in a sushi roll, or a Chinese person might think of General Tso’s chicken.

If I had to guess, it’s probably something similar to how I felt while perusing the wares at Belle’s Bread, a pastry shop and cafe geared towards the local Japanese population. From cod roe spaghetti to curry donuts to mac & cheese ‘gratin’ spiked with shrimp and served in a bread bowl, Belle’s is a quick trip to a European/American culinary uncanny valley.

Belle’s scrupulously tidy and immaculately clean interior suggests a vague French theme as filtered through a Panera lens. All staff are spiffily dressed in pressed white shirts and – I kid you not – berets, and are impeccably polite. Baked goods are wrapped individually and proudly displayed, while jewel-like single-serving desserts glisten and tempt from behind the glass of a long row of refrigerated cases.

The delightfully bizarre selection in the bakery section overwhelms with options, the first of which is – sweet or savory? As in, a pistachio tart, or the one with the hot dog in it that looks like it has a ketchup drizzle? Chocolate eclair, or a donut filled with chicken curry (picture below)?

Almost regardless of your pick, you’ll encounter an extremely light and fluffy white bread-like pastry base that has very little flavor of its own. We’re told this is a Japanese preference, and as such it leans heavily on the fillings, toppings, and the like to carry the experience. This can be pleasant on its own merits, but one can’t help but imagine the reaction of a Parisian to the sacrilege of patisserie-perfect appearing goods sporting the base texture and flavor of Wonderbread. One notable exception was the danishes, in particular the pear-custard version – the pastry was delicious and the custard sublime.

Moving on to the savory dishes, the curiosities fail to abate. The Neapolitan spaghetti was a reasonably enjoyable bowl of noodles and red sauce, though the hotdog slivers within added little beyond question marks. The smoked salmon sandwich was absolutely gorgeous in a scaled up British tea snack sort of way and featured a clever use of avocado, but the salmon flavor was strangely muted. The aforementioned gratin was essentially mac & cheese, light on the cheese though rich and creamy in the extreme and dotted with bits of shrimp. It’s offered in a bread bowl, just in case you need the extra carbs.

Perhaps most intriguing was the Japanese spin on beef bourguignon called hayashi rice – tender beef, mushrooms, and onions smothered in a rich wine sauce served alongside rice. Rich, savory, and emphatically comfort-foody, this dish – essentially a stew – speaks directly to the Midwestern soul.

The single-serving desserts struck sweet chords left and right among our table of tasters, with the chocolate mousse cake garnering unanimous praise and the impossibly light and powerfully mango-ey mango mousse finding fans among the mango lovers. The fig tart was also well received.

And then there’s the soft-serve green tea-flavored ice cream, and the self-serve yakisoba noodle sandwiches, and… well, I could go on, but won’t. If you have an open mind to novel twists on familiar favorites, check Belle’s out.

Cuisine: Singaporean/Malaysian/Asian
5320 N High Street, 43214
614.880.9887
merlionnoodleandrice.com

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Merlion is a new Singaporean restaurant that has opened with considerable buzz in the Graceland area of North High street. Much of the excitement surrounding it is due to the fact that Merlion offers dishes from a couple of cuisines (Malaysian and Singaporean) that have hitherto been unrepresented in the Columbus dining scene. Rightly or wrongly, the Singaporean owners felt that they couldn’t rely on their national cuisine alone, so the menu includes a mix of more recognizable Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian dishes as well as a few Singaporean and Malaysian specialties. We hope that they will add more Singaporean dishes in the future when they are more established.

Over the course of three visits we have been able to try quite a few of the menu items. There is one dish in particular that we would recommend (and it’s the dish that got a hearty thumbs up from our Malaysian friend) - Char kway teow mee. This is a dish of flat rice noodles stir fried with light and dark soy sauce, Chinese sausage (lap cheong), bean sprouts and some bok choi. We would recommend ordering without egg (which is apparently the more traditional version of the dish).

The Singapore laksa is a mild yellow curry flavor  noodle soup with chicken and tofu. It is enjoyably soothing but perhaps lacks the heat and spicing that is normally associated with the dish.

Another mild curry dish is the Malaysian curry chicken with potatoes. We enjoyed the flavor but beware of the bones – this is chicken butchered Asian style.

One of the weekend only dishes is bak kut teh (the name translates as meat bone tea), a meaty soup with pork ribs, intestines, meatballs, tofu skin and fried tofu. The broth is sweet, fatty and flavored with 5 spice. It is also served scaldingly hot. It’s pictured on the menu as being served with youtiao (fried dough) but none was evident.

The other weekend-only special is Hainan chicken rice. A Singaporean dish of boiled chicken that seemed popular during our Sunday visit.

The restaurant is very small, and on our last Sunday visit was packed. Be prepared to wait at busy times or plan to take out.

Cuisine: Japanese

2800 Festival Lane (near corner of 161 & Sawmill)
614.766.7733
website

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As is often the case in quality Asian restaurants in Columbus, Ba Sho shows different sides of itself to different people. Should you not be conspicuously Japanese, it tends to provide the menus that show you the items they assume you’ll prefer. Though this may be frustrating, it’s worth keeping in mind that it’s intended as a courtesy.

And, should you be Japanese, an extensive a la carte (small plate) menu also shows up. One that, until recently, was only printed in Japanese, and even now may be a bit difficult for gaijin to get their hands on.

Don’t relent. At minimum, you’ll want the option of ordering from this menu (front, and back). It’s a big part of what makes Ba Sho distinctly different from every other sushi joint in town.

For a great example of this, see their salt-grilled (shio-yaki) items. Both the salt grilled tuna collar and yellowtail collar exhibited a wonderfully crispy char on the outside that concealed the almost creamily tender flesh within. The similarly prepared and distinctly non-rubbery ika-geso (below) has become my new favorite squid dish in town.

Ankimo (monkfish liver with daikon, ponzu, and green onions) is considered one of the great delicacies of Japan. Since Ba Sho is only the second restaurant we’ve encountered in Columbus to carry it, we had to try it.

We’re glad we did. With pleasantly mild overtones of both liver and fish, it was both firm and velvety, and was well accompanied by the tart tang of the citrusy ponzu.

The above represents the highlights of our orders from the a la carte menu, though much remains to be explored. Andrew Zimmern-style curiosity seekers may find additional interest in the natto, fermented squid, and grilled blowfish (fugu) skin.

On a visit with a Japanese-speaking friend, we were told of an off-the-menu dish well worth noting – kani zosui (crab & rice soup with egg, mushrooms, scallions, seaweed, shown below). Though it’s traditionally consumed when ill, we’d gladly partake of its deeply savory comfort-foody qualities on most any occasion.

Ba Sho has an abbreviated lunch menu featuring bento box specials, noodle dishes and katsu (fried panko crusted meat) options. Among those we’ve tried, all were perfectly fine and largely consistent with what you’d find at most Japanese restaurants in town.

Japanese restaurants in the US tend to lean towards being bright and somewhat upscale, but Ba Sho takes a more traditional route. The relatively dark, highly divided, and clean but somewhat cluttered space makes for one of the most genuinely Japanese restaurant environments we’ve seen outside of Japan. The space, plus liberal use of the a la carte menu, amounts to a short, delicious trip to the East.

Cuisine: Ethiopian/Eritrean
4720 East Main St
Columbus, OH 43213

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With eye-poppingly large dishes lined with injera bread and a finger food approach to eating, Ethiopian restaurants are an experience. Among the Ethiopian restaurants we’ve tried in town, Dukem is an experience.

This is, in no small part, due to its multi-functional nature – it’s a restaurant, a bar, a music venue, and a pool hall of sorts. In short, it’s an Ethiopian hang-out, and if our last visit is any indication, a popular one.

A quick digression on the pool hall element, as it’ll no doubt capture your attention upon visiting: there are two tables, neither of which have adequate space around them for what might be considered traditional pool playing (no stick room!). No worries, though – they tables were being used to play a game that appeared to be somewhat like bocce, and required only the use of the hands to launch balls close to others on the table. We’ve been told it’s called ‘billiardo’.

Another thing I’ve never felt compelled to mention before in a restaurant write-up is anything about anything related to the restrooms, but, as an interesting cultural observation, here I go: since Ethiopian food is eaten with the hands, you might find yourself waiting for awhile for the sink. As in, waiting while observing ‘the doctor is now fully prepped for surgery’ levels of hand hygiene from the people in front of you. As everyone tends to eat from one plate, it’s certainly the respectful thing to do for the group you’re eating with.

Having now dutifully washed my own hands, lets talk food.

“What are they having over there?” is one of our go-to questions of a server when trying a new place. In is instance, it was the Dukem Special – a mix of beef (we’d guess pieces of flank steak), peppers, onions and tomatoes served over tangy injera bread with sides of iceberg lettuce, hot sauce, and mustard. The injera-lined plate came out separate from the beef mix, which was sizzling in a pan and scooped atop the injera at the table.

When ours came, all we could think was ‘fajitas’ – replace the injera with tortillas and the dish would be a dead ringer. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, as the beef was flavorful and had a nice char (though was cooked to the somewhat expected African level of ‘well done’) and the injera flavor is pleasant with the beef.

We also tried the Awaze Kulwa/Tibs, which was another beef dish cooked in a spicy red sauce. While the last dish vibed Latino, this was pure Ethiopian/Eritrean through and through. Awaze is a paste based on Berbere chili/ spice mix. Very enjoyable, and consistent with what we’ve had at other Ethiopian restaurants around town.

A recommended dish to start with is the mahberawi combination plate which comes with a sample of several of vegetarian dishes, your choice of Kulwa/Tibs or Awaze/Kulwa Tibs and the usual ample supply of injera.

Final thought – while Dukem was very friendly and accommodating, it seems to exist as something of a refuge for it’s Ethiopian customer base from their day-to-day life of immersion in American culture. To go there is to be welcomed, but it felt, to me, as though we were ever-so-slightly disrupting an almost sweetly pure by-Ethiopian-for-Ethiopian environment. I wouldn’t let this dissuade you from going, but I’m tempted to suggest you proceed with some additional degree of sensitivity to your surroundings.

Cuisine – Chinese

1070 E. Dublin Granville Rd. 43229
614.987.5121
website

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In a nutshell, there are 3 things worth knowing about Helen’s:

1) They serve some great Chinese dishes including soup dumplings, the first we’ve encountered in Columbus.
2) As good as Helen’s is, it promises to get better in some interesting and exciting ways.
3) Well… we’ll leave #3 to the end of this write up.

Regarding point #1 – Dumplings are a distinct specialty of the house. There are quite a few on the menu – shao mai (AKA shu mai),  boiled pork, shrimp, and vegetable varieties, and steamed beef.  All of these were enjoyed, with special nods going to the boiled beef dumplings and the Shanghai style shao mai.

But the dumpling we came for was the xiaolong bun (aka xiaolong bao, and spelled either way they’re the aforementioned soup dumplings). They’re the rage in Chinatowns all over the US, and some in our group of 6 had been craving them since visiting China and trying them there. An uneasy mix of anticipation – I want a good soup dumpling! – and dread – these are going to be a disappointment, aren’t they? – lingered at the table.

Xiaolong Bao - Soup Dumplings

And then they arrived. To my eye they didn’t look like anything special, but then again, from my perspective Chinese dumplings rarely do. They’re delicate, and partially filled with a broth, so great care is required in moving them from the steamer basket to your plate without puncturing the wrap and creating a leak. The pros in the group took a small bite out of the wrapper, slurped from the rich broth contained within, and… declared Helen’s soup dumplings a winner.

It’s easy to see why. The broth is unfathomably rich and delicious, and the experience finishes with eating the wrapper and the pork-sausage-like nugget within that’s been marinating in the broth. Absolutely memorable, and a steal at 10 dumplings for $7.50.

Having more than satisfied our dumpling desires, we moved on to a few of Helen’s other dishes. Her crispy pork pan-fried noodles were deemed an excellent example of the genre, and the Chinese broccoli dish made for a satisfying counterpoint to all of the richness that came before.

On to #2 – Good as it already is, Helen made a point of letting us know that her restaurant is a nonetheless a work in progress. House-made noodles are an anticipated addition, Chinese hot pots are a promised future offering, and even dim sum may be in the cards. Some of these additions sound as though they’re related to the impending arrival of Helen’s husband from China.

Alright, now for #3. It a point that seems silly to make much of, but once inside it’s something that’s hard to ignore. Helen’s occupies a large and meticulously clean stand-alone space… that clearly was previously a strip club. Mirrored walls, a stage, and some curious lighting are clear indicators of the building’s previous purpose. Once seated, this may strike you as curious, entertaining, or perhaps even vaguely unsettling, but it won’t go unnoticed and it’ll very likely lead to some lively dinner table conversation.

At least until the food comes out, at which point I feel confident in saying that Helen’s kitchen chops will quickly become the focus. We’re thoroughly enthused by her current offerings, eager to see what’s to come, and highly recommend checking Helen’s Asian kitchen out.

2285 Morse Road
614.475.4880

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At the end of last year we wrote “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”.  At that time the kitchen was being run by Mo, the nephew of one of Columbus’ well known Middle Eastern chefs – Nasir of Lavash (and formerly of Firdous).

Now Ginevra has transitioned again and they are serving a more Somali focused menu. Based on our recent visit and reports from Somali friends this change is proving very popular with their customers. On the night we visited the restaurant was almost full with large groups of Somali men animatedly discussing politics and soccer.

The menu is small with six entrees and four sandwiches. Entree options are lamb shank, beef or chicken steak, beef or chicken suqaar or fish steak. Each can be served with either rice or pasta. We would recommend the rice. The pasta was linguine in what tasted like jar-sauce.

The lamb shank was tender and was served with sauteed onions and a mountain of Somali rice and salad. Optional hot sauce is available. We also tried the chicken steak, suqaar and the fish steak. All were well cooked and seasoned.

As is common in Somali restaurants each entree is preceded by a complimentary bowl of soup. This is usually a mildly spiced meat based broth with vegetables. The soup at Ginevra was very good.

I don’t think a visit to Ginevra would be complete without the Somali chai which has a wonderful mix of ginger and cardamon. Our tea came in a teapot to share. I would also recommend the Ginevra special juice, an intriguing mix of dates and milk but quite delicious.

Service is friendly and Ginevra also has free wifi. Somali desserts and snacks (such as Sambusa) are available from the counter.

Cuisine: Somali

727 Georgesville Rd, Columbus, OH 43228
(614) 308-7950

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Most of Columbus’ Somali restaurants are found in the NE section of town – in particular around the Morse Road/Cleveland Avenue area – but there are also a small cluster of Somali restaurants on the West side. One of these is Kulan, situated next to Super Torta restaurant. It’s a small restaurant with a spare but clean dining room, and is worth a visit if you are looking for Somali food on the West side.

As with many Somali restaurants there are strong Ethiopian influences. We tried the Sporty dish (Ethiopian) with canjeero (anjera). It was not quite as described on the menu but came with Ethiopian style spicy beef and a bowl of mild yellow dal. $18 perhaps seemed a little steep for this meal, but it was part of a 5-person feast in which we all ended up paying $10 per person and had plenty of food as well as Somali tea and bottled water and the obligatory bananas.

The roasted goat was fine, but not up to the level of Solay‘s. The chicken suqaar (chicken stew with small cubes of chicken) was very good. Our suqaar came with a side of the more-or-less typical Somali rice (long grain cooked with some fragrant spices and served with a few sauteed vegetables).

We also tried and enjoyed the fool (pinto beans cooked with tomato, onion, peppers and spices) which is most commonly eaten as a breakfast dish.

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

3120 Olentangy River Road
Open Monday-Saturday 11am-9pm, Sunday 12-8pm

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Janet’s Kitchen is tucked into the side of the International Plaza Market, and is run by Janet and her business partner Hishim (who previously cooked at the Happy Greek before starting this venture last year). The duo hail from Syria and Egypt, and offer a variety of Middle Eastern dishes ranging from standards such as shwarma and gyro to roast chicken and lamb shank. Falafel are freshly made to order and were among the best we’ve tried in town.

We were particularly taken by the kefta kebab which was notably juicy and flavorful. It can be ordered with rice and vegetables or as a pita sandwich.

As both the lamb shank and chicken are extremely tender, Janet tutted at us when we asked for a knife, finally handing us one even though she swore that we would not need it. She was right. Lamb, chicken and other daily specials (fish fillet or meatballs are two examples we have seen) come with a mountain of rice and sauteed vegetables. It makes for a hearty meal as well as a good value. The rice was exceptionally good and unique – we were very curious as to how it was made but Janet wasn’t giving away any secrets. We’re guessing butter had something to do with it.

There are also a variety of salads and cold dishes pictured below: tabbouleh, salad shirazi (cucumber and tomato), red cabbage salad and roasted eggplant. Most notable was the garlicky, tart, roasted eggplant.

Janet’s Kitchen has two or three tables set up to dine in but is primarily set up for take out.

The market has a butcher’s counter at the back of the store and a bulk dried goods section as well as a decent range of Middle Eastern packaged goods.