Barcelona - German Village

So my tour of German Village continues. We did Girls Night Out at Barcelona because I had heard they had a really nice patio. Once we got there I found out that one of my friends hadn't had a good experience there in the last four times he was there. The building was very interesting, as we passed through to go to the patio. A thought we should have re-thought since it was so hot and buggy out there. We sat down and ordered a nice red wine. The waiter started off very friendly and offered us bread service. We chatted while drinking wine, eating bread and swatting gnats. I wanted to try the crab flatbread appetizer and got a salad as well. A filet with potato puree and green beans and a caesar salad and the fish taco appetizer were ordered by my dinner companions. The waiter walked away and a busser walked by and cleaned up the bread plates. The waiter came back to ask my friend how she wanted her filet cooked. Strike one according to her. She ordered it Medium. The waiter came back and said he was sorry about forgetting our bread service (although he hadn't). Strike Two. It was becoming pretty clear that we were not a priority. The entrees arrived and the filet was served well done. My flat bread was soggy which makes me think it was done first and waited on the filet meal to be overdone. They did make an attempt to bring another entree to replace the overcooked filet, but at this point, we had written the place off. The waiter turned a bit snarky by the end of the meal. So, we left with a bad taste in our mouths and with one of us saying, "I told you so." The evening wasn't a complete wash, since we stopped at Denise's ice cream on the way home.

All in all - Barcelona isn't worth the money. Maybe go for the wine only and the ambiance of the dining room only. But I highly recommend Denise's Chai Tea Ice Cream. We should have just had ice cream for dinner!

Lindey's - German Village

I went to Lindey's on July 13th with my family to celebrate my parent's wedding anniversary. Lindey's was my brother's choice, but I had actually been to their location in the Polaris Mall (which is now gone). I hadn't really eaten an organized meal at Lindey's, but instead, had eaten off of appetizer-type buffets. Luckily we had made reservations for Saturday night, and I would suggest it if you go as well. There are a lot of tables, but they filled up quickly. Parking was a pain as well, but if you are used to the German Village, you will probably be fine with it. Lindey's does have valet if you get tired of driving around in circles.

We sat, ordered drinks and heard about their daily specials. I ended up with a tomato salad and the Caribbean Shrimp Pici Pasta. The pici pasta is made fresh daily per the waitress. I was very happy with the salad, but how can you mess up tomato wedges and fresh mozzarella. The pasta had a lot of shrimp, more than you usually get at restaurants. The pici pasta I was not wild about. For those of you who don't know what Pici pasta is please click here. If you took the minute to read that link, my pici pasta was not like this description at all. The pasta looked like a little kid in the basement was being paid to make "worms" out of dough. The pasta was tough and chewy and very hard to eat with a fork or spoon. I finished my dinner with a piece of Key Lime Pie that was delicious. Some other entrees that were ordered that night were the chopped salad, Honey Glazed Duck, Portobello Mushroom Ravioli, Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes and Sauteed Veal Medallions. While no one really complained about any one thing, the biggest issue was the quality for the amount of money. The service was very good for us. We did see a table get doused with water though. Maybe it was the guy's first day!

All in all, I would go back to Lindey's. I would not write off the restaurant because the pici pasta wasn't so good. Definitely give it a shot.

Mezzo - Gahanna

Wow! I obviously hadn't been to downtown Gahanna in a while. The new Creekside development is very nice. Mezzo is only one of the new restaurants that has taken up occupancy in Creekside, but it happened to be the one I visited. We sat inside due to the rain that evening, but they do have a nice covered and uncovered patio. The menu had something on it that I think everyone would like. While we waited for the rest of our party (side note: who never showed up by the way) we snacked on some bread with balsamic and oil for dipping. The balsamic prompted us to order a nice red wine. My dinner companion ordered the La Casa Insalata, while I ordered the Caprese. Her salad was delicious, the spiced walnuts were fantastic with the apples and dressing. Definitely a salad I will get next time if I can tear myself away from the Caprese which is my ultimate favorite and I was not disappointed by Mezzo's version. For our entrees we ordered the Pollo Marinato and the Grigliata Mahi Mahi. Both came with polenta which I forgot how much I liked. My dinner, the Mahi Mahi, was just enough food, while the Chicken was two breasts and offered my friend the opportunity for leftovers. For dessert we opted for the Jeni's ice cream even though the menu had a bunch of desserts worth ordering!
Everything was so delicious that time flew by. I can't wait to go back!!

Northstar - Clintonville

This will be a really quick review. I headed to Northstar last week. I have heard alot about the place - mainly that it has the best veggie burger in town. Their menu isn't very vast, but what they do have they do well. They have a really nice patio although the gnats were very annoying that night. I had a flatbread - the Spicy Chicken flat bread to be exact. It was delicious. I even ended up taking some home. My friend with me has had the basil chicken burrito which has become her favorite. The place has a "hippie" reputation, but I didn't even smell a hint of patchouli in the air. I wouldn't let that reputation keep you from Northstar. Its a keeper!

Eddie Merlot's - Polaris Parkway

I have been dying to go to this place since I saw the sign posted during construction. Although I am searching for that ultimate cool little locally owned place and not a chain, Eddie Merlot's was an exception. Merlot's is a small chain out of Indiana with only four locations. The building went up pretty fast and has been open since Mother's Day. I finally got the group to go tonight. We headed over at 5:30pm, and the wait staff was still arriving which makes me think that they are not open for lunch. They have complimentary valet service, but it looked like no one was taking advantage of it. I went there straight from work which was a good option because the place is pretty swanky. There isn't a dress code as far as I could find, and two friends of mine showed up in shorts, t-shirts and sneakers and were not turned away. The building is quite deceiving; it is actually quite big. There are many rooms that can be set for large groups and closed off if necessary. I would imagine that they are banking on lots of business from the newly built Hilton right next door.
Okay, on to the meat of the review...no pun intended. We were seated right away in the back of the restaurant (first good sign). We perused the menu, and even though I had been studying it for two days online I was still torn on what to get. They have an extensive wine and martini list of which I sampled a delightfully sweet Reisling. I was anxious to order the Brie en Croute. The brie arrived within puff pastry and was served with fresh raspberries, sliced apples, crackers and spiced walnuts. I can only say - delicious. We also order the Beef Carpaccio which I didn't think I was a big fan of but it was very good. Finally, we sampled the Blue Cheese Potato Chips - again...delicious. Since I knew I was filling up on the appetizers, I didn't think I wanted to order a "real" dinner. Like most good steakhouses, everything is a la carte. The sides, we were told, are big enough for two people, but in actuality could be split among three people. I ordered the French Onion Soup, which was HUGE and again, very good. I also ordered the Lobster Mashed Potatoes which can only be described as decadent. I cannot gush enough about this place. Other orders placed at the table: Lump Crab Cakes served with jalapeño sweet corn, Double Cut Pork Chop (the thickest pork chop I have ever seen!) with Macaroni and Cheese on the side, Prime Filet Mignon with Eddie's Potatoes on the side and a Caesar Salad. There were no complaints about any of the food. I was able to sample most of the items. Even though we were completely stuffed, we HAD to try some items from the dessert menu. S'mores, Warm Apple and Peach Crisp (with Cinnamon Ice Cream) and Berry Crepe arrived at the table. Even though I "couldn't possibly eat anything else" I had to at least take a small bite of each item, and I was not disappointed. All in all, the service was impeccable and quite patient with our tardy and indecisive group. My very picky friend noted that Eddie Merlot's was definitely in his top 10 of best restaurant experiences, which is saying a lot. I ended up so stuffed and felt as though I was waddling out of the restaurant two hours later.
The food was stupendous and service impeccable. Since the whole menu is a la carte, it can get quite pricey, but the food and experience are well worth the money. Like I said before, I cannot say enough good things about this place. I just got home uncomfortably full, but can't wait to go again and try some of the other things on the menu that I didn't get to tonight. Plan a nice evening with friends or pop in after work for appetizers and drinks. Eddie Merlot's should definitely be on your list!

TGI Friday's - Polaris Parkway

Good grief! It has been a while. Sorry about that, my friends and I went on a Rusty Bucket jag there for a while, and otherwise were not going to places that were new or different than ones that were already posted about. BUT, on Sunday night, my suggestion was TGI Fridays on Polaris Parkway. A quick note, the Cleveland Avenue location was banned awhile ago and actually the Polaris location was also banned, but those damn Guy Fieri commercials finally got to me. We headed over on a Father's Day evening which could be problematic, but good for us, we got in just fine. Their menu has been expanded with a collaboration with Fieri and the Food Network. Two people in my party ordered the Ahi Tuna Sliders. Typically Ahi Tuna is pretty rare, but these were fully cooked. The funniest part of the evening was that the waiter kept calling them Aha! Tuna. I ordered the Cedar-Seared Salmon Pasta which oddly was only 500 calories and 10g of fat. (yes I am still on the health-kick). I was truly pleased with the food at TGI Fridays during this visit, but the waiter was a space-cadet. He had a hard time remembering what we all ordered, and then when it was time for our bill, that was a fiasco. I wouldn't discount this location right away due to this trip's odd waiter, but be aware of this when you go. I would imagine the chance you get the same waiter is low, but if you do, I hope you have some patience.

Rusty Bucket - Polaris

Saturday night my husband and I headed to the newly opened Rusty Bucket on Polaris Parkway and Cleveland Avenue. We tried going last week on Sunday for lunch, but the after-church crowd hindered our efforts. Since the restaurant/bar is new, we anticipated a wait for a table on a Saturday night, and we waited about 10 mins. The restaurant and bar are open pretty late during the week and weekends, and its open until 9pm on Sundays. The Rusty Bucket has a decent menu complete with burgers, salads and lots of beer on tap and in bottle. My husband ordered the Italian Torpedo complete with french fries which is a fancy way of saying Italian Sub. In addition to the usual cold cuts that are found on an italian sub, the torpedo had a sausage patty. I asked if it was good, since he ate it in about 30 seconds, so I guess you can believe his "yes". I ordered the Shrimp Primavera. Big shrimp with broccoli, mushrooms, onion and penne pasta in a creamy garlic wine sauce. It wasn't super creamy, but there was a lot of garlic. It was very good. Our server was excellent and gave great suggestions for our meal. He was a big fan of the Reuben and the Nickel Salad. He also told us a great secret: You can order any of the their salads as a wrap. I made a mental note of that for next time. Each day they have a "blue plate special", but I couldn't tell if there were any happy hour specials. As I mentioned before, they have about 12 beers on tap and a huge handful more available by bottle. We saw the bartender making a mojito-ish type drink and was actually smooshing fresh fruit for it. Additionally, for you hairy buffalo fans, they have a huge container of pineapple soaking in some top-shelf vodka. I didn't try any Saturday, but plan to on my next visit. The Rusty Bucket advertises themselves as a sports bar, and with six flat-screen HDTVs in plain sight from our table, I would agree, but there is also a dining room that isn't in the bar and a great outdoor patio filled with fresh flowers right now. All in all, the Rusty Bucket was a great experience. I am looking forward to going there again.

Adobe Gilas - Easton

We went to Adobe Gilas on Saturday night, not by choice, but by necessity. Please know that we were well aware that we were going to Easton on a Saturday night trying to find a table. We were originally headed to the Cheesecake Factory. I waited in line to put my name on the list for 10 mins. That should have been a clue (seriously what is up with that place...they don't take reservations, WTF!?). The wait for a table for four was 1hr, 15mins to 1hr, 45 mins. I had to come back in 30 mins to get a pager. I left my name because we were prepared to wait 2 hours. So, we headed somewhere to have a drink in the meantime, and found ourselves in Adobe Gilas. We stood at the bar to order our drinks when a server walked up and said that a table for four was cashing out and we could have it when they left. We were sat and drink order taken in 10 mins. While we waited on drinks, we reviewed the food menu. Don't get me wrong, the food is at a very different level and there isn't a 15-page menu to peruse, but we did get a table within 10 mins of arriving. Expecting to only see fried, bar-type food, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw they had wraps, taco and burritos (along with the bar-type fried food). We ordered the spinach dip as an appetizer which was excellent! They had Magic Hat #9 on tap so that made half the group happy and Miller Lite which made the other half happy. I ordered the chicken veggie wrap (I am trying to eat healthy. I'm in a contest.. its a long story that doesn't belong in this blog). It was delicious. Lots of veggies that were cooked, but still crisp. The wrap was IMPOSSIBLE to pick up and eat, it was way to messy, but I managed quite well with a fork. Another member of the group ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad, which arrived in a fried tortilla bowl, which was odd, but I heard no complaints about the taste. The Grilled Chicken Sandwich was another order that turned out delicious. Their menu is limited, but hey, they are a bar. What do you expect? All in all, even though it was our second choice, it was great! I recommend it. Just don't go on Friday night when Chris Logsdon is there, unless you are a fan of cheesy guys who sing over a backing track.

Fado Irish Pub

After dinner at the Kobe Japanese Steakhouse (see previous post) we decided to hit a bar. Brio was out of the question seeing as how some school's prom was Saturday and while that crowd wasn't filling up the bar at Brio, they were taking up every available space in the lobby area. The stench of jailbait and rented tuxedos forced us to head to Fado Irish Pub. This place is tiny. Its no wonder you can't get a table here easily. Lots of nooks and crannies to tuck a group into and be forgotten about by the wait staff. We chose to hang at the bar in clear view of the 'tender. The music was a bit of a downer, but the bartender was attentive and the Guinness was cold. We didn't stay long, and obviously didn't eat, but its my understanding they have a decent menu. They have a really great patio, again, that would be nice when the weather gets better.

Kobe Japanese Steakhouse

Wow - It's been a long time since I have posted. So its 4pm on a Saturday and I am having a hard time finding a table at a restaurant at Easton at 6pm for eight people. Imagine that. I actually had one restaurant tell me that for eight people I need to plan WEEKS in advance. Obviously these people do not know my group of friends. We cannot plan more than minutes in advance. Anyway, after a handful of restaurants laughing at me, Kobe Japanese Steakhouse on Morse Road, accepted my challenge. Kobe is your typical Japanese Steakhouse-style restaurant. Large tables fashioned in a U-shape around a hibachi. Their chefs do the same hokey tricks, the knife banging around, the onion volcano, the shrimp-tossing etc, etc. They also give you a crap-ton of food. Kobe also offers a wide range of sushi, if you are into that type of thing. A few sushi-snobby people in my group ordered the sushi and were very pleased. This means a lot, because they are rarely pleased. The other thing Kobe has going for it is atmosphere. While they have the same type of seating, the decor is a step above House of Japan or the Japanese Steakhouse. They have an extensive bar and a super chic outdoor seating area. We didn't get a chance to sit out there since the weather Saturday was rainy and cool, but it would be quite a swanky place to hang when the weather warms up. All in all we had a great experience. If you have never been to a Japanese Steakhouse-style restaurant I wouldn't suggest it for a first date and the fire isn't always a hit with young children, but if you have raucous group that you don't mind hearing only part of conversations, Kobe is a good place to go.

Hooters - Polaris

So a few coworkers wanted to go to Hooters a while back. We went the Friday of the "Blizzard of '08". Three girls rode in one car (we got there first), and the straight guy and a girl and guy (who celebrate an alternative lifestyle) were in the other car which arrived second. The three of us girls walked into the restaurant filled with orange shorted girls and every blue-collar male worker in a 15-mile radius. I swear as we were being seated the music screeched to a stop and every eye in the place was on us. I have never been a huge fan of Hooters' food, but can't really pass up a chance to go to someplace know for their cheesiness. The service was excellent and the food was predictably breaded and fried. We all got "lunch punch" cards and figured we could make this a regular thing. Fast forward a few weeks to today. We went today to the same Hooters. It seemed less skeevy than the first time, but unfortunately the menu was the same. I would like a show of hands of who has ordered oysters at a Hooters and lived to tell about it.... anyone?... That is what I thought. Anyway, the girl brought our 5 of 6 of our plates. 15 minutes later, the one plate still wasn't out. Someone ordered dessert. Finally the dessert and the chicken tenders/fries came out. Anyway, two hours later, we were heading back to work. If its up to me...Hooters - Polaris is on "the list" due to service and food.

Gallos Tap Room - Bethel Road

I have been frequenting Gallos Tap Room on Bethel for a few weeks now. They are sponsoring a volleyball team I have been playing with. We go there after the game to celebrate or drown our sorrows. They have alot of televisions, pool tables but the place is pretty small. The beer menu is nicely eclectic as well as the food menu. They may have the best tasting Blue Moon on tap. I had burnt myself out on Blue Moon last summer, but got one at Gallos that was really good. I consider myself a connoisseur of grilled cheese sandwiches. You might as well know that typically I am a purist... cheese and bread. I don't like my grilled cheeses muddled up with tomato or bacon. However I will add a few pieces of ham once in a while. Back to Gallos, they have the BEST grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had at a restaurant. It is crusty bread grilled panini-style with cheddar and provolone. With a side of their granny smith cole slaw, it is even better! I am a fan of Gallo's. I would probably avoid it during any sort of OSU sporting event.. even the semi-final NIT game packed the bar. Definitely a great little hang-out!

Max & Ermas - Polaris

Max & Ermas and I have gone way back. I have had good experiences and bad experiences and we still eat there quite frequently because typically its a predictable experience. Once in a while our service etc is so bad that we put a location on "the list". "The list" is of places we will never go back to. We have at least one location on "the list" right now: Henderson Road. We actually stood at the front desk waiting on someone to seat us or even acknowledge we were there for 5 mins. The Polaris location has always been a predictable experience. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either.

Waffle House - Polaris Parkway

Before I get started on this post, I need you to know that I was at this Waffle House at 3am on Saturday morning and may have been ingesting alcohol-filled drinks earlier in the evening. I had only been to the Waffle House one other time in my life, 22 years ago. After that first trip to the Waffle House, when I was in the 4th grade, I vowed to never go back. I can only blame myself for being weak at 3am and allowing my vodka-impaired brain to let the words, "Okay, I'll go to the Waffle House," fly out of my mouth. Enough history and excuses, on to the review. The House was busy at 3am, but we sat ourselves right away. After perusing the menu for a few minutes, the four of us ordered enough food to feed eight people. I went the safe route and ordered a grilled cheese. How can you screw up a grilled cheese, right? And for $1.90, I was satisfied with my choice. It was nice and buttery/salty/cheesy and really hit the spot. My friends ordered breakfast food: waffles, eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns and grits. The food came out at all different times, which was strange. The grits came out first, more than a few minutes earlier than anything else. The only complaints I heard was that the bacon was extremely salty, and I can attest to this since I tasted it after being asked to about one-hundred times. When it came to paying the bill, I had to pay with a credit card. The phone line and the credit card processor were on the same line. The credit card processing would stop when the phone rang (which oddly happened a lot in the middle of the night), so it took a little longer to pay with a card. All in all, it was decent food for a 3am, alcohol-induced visit. I don't know if I would ever go there during the day.

Clancey's Pub - Delaware

I went to Clancey's Pub in Delaware to take in some live music and have a few drinks with friends on Friday. The band, Three Ton Toad, was set to start at 10pm so we arrived around 9:30. It was all on-street parking, but we found a spot pretty easily. There was not a lot of people in the bar yet, maybe 20 at the most. We headed to the bar to place an order and noticed that there was only one bartender working. I could foresee this being a problem when and if the bar picked up. The bartender was not particularly fast when the bar was mostly empty so she was definitely going to be a problem later. Anyway, the music was good and we didn't have to pay a cover, but I wouldn't stray from a beer or easy-to-mix cocktail because they don't have many liquor options from what I could see. I mistakenly ordered a margarita on the rocks, and they used table salt to salt my glass. I switched over to vodka and 7Up because I figured it was less difficult to screw up. A friend of mine ordered an apple martini that was VERY strong, but another friend's Amaretto Sour was downright awful. I didn't get carded when ordering any of my alcohol-laden drinks, which sadly has been happening a lot in the last few years, but a friend of mine was carded when ordering a Coke. There was a fair amount of advertising around the bar for "the first shot made for two people," the suck and blow shot. We vowed to order one later in the night and promptly forgot to...hmm, maybe next time. The bar is evidently an 18+ bar because a large handful of Ohio Northern students began filtering in at about 11pm, and most of them had large x's on their hands. It was generally a fun bar, but the clientele before 10pm and after 10pm is very different. Outside of the live music, they do have a few pool tables, pinball and arcade games if that interests you. I don't spend a lot of time in Delaware, but I would probably go back to this bar only if I knew that my friends' band was playing there.

Murphy McFlips - Polaris Parkway

So I visited my local Murphy McFlips tavern on Thursday late afternoon. While they don't have any spectacular happy hour specials, they did satisfy the thirsts of my coworkers. They have your "normal" selection of domestics on tap and the bartender on hand Thursday, Monica, makes a strong cocktail. The bar isn't all that large, so they don't really have servers. The bartender did try to attend to our group until the bar got alittle busier and she couldn't get out to take our orders. She was the only one working. McFlips has a Irish theme, but outside of some leftover St. Patrick's Day decorations, you wouldn't know it. If you are into games, they have darts, pool and foosball, and if you are a smoker, they do have a nice patio. I noticed a juke box, but didn't get a chance to see what was on it besides the classic rock that kept playing. They didn't serve food from what we could tell, but there is a pizza joint next door. All in all, I would go back.

Introduction

My name is Carie and I have bad restaurant mojo. The idea for this blog came from a visit to an Applebee's in Cincinnati, Ohio. After a mediocre experience, my husband and I joked about how the server would respond if we told her our experience that night was, "predictable." We didn't know back then that I attract the worst service, seating and sometimes even food when we go out to eat. So I have wanted to do a blog for quite a while where I can write about my experiences at restaurants whether good or bad. I have since moved to Columbus, Ohio. I am married and have a fun group of friends that we go out for dinner with quite often. Whether its just me and my husband, or a group of 6-8 of us, if I am at the table, we have a higher chance of something going horribly wrong at the restaurant. Seriously... its becoming quite a joke among the group. Columbus, Ohio is full of chain restaurants, so we go to mostly mid-priced chain restaurants. I will do my best to be as detailed as possible about my experiences. Thanks for reading and come back soon.