We traveled to Cincinnati today. The main reason for the trip was to go to IKEA, but we couldn't leave until we had dinner at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, The Montgomery Inn in Montgomery, Ohio. Lucky for all you Columbus people, The Montgomery Inn is expanding to Dublin and is slated to be open in the Spring of 2009. The countdown is on.
Obviously, this was not the first time I had been to the Montgomery Inn, but I feel compelled to write a review since there will be one in Columbus very soon.
The Montgomery Inn is know for their ribs and barbecue sauce. You can actually buy the ribs and sauce at grocery stores now, but I recommend going to the restaurant. It is so much better. This is not a restaurant for those of you wanting/needing to watch your waistline. This is a restaurant you save up calories to go to. There are probably some healthier options on the menu, but I can never get passed the ribs section of the menu. If anybody stumbles upon a healthy option, please let me know.
Tonight, after a long afternoon of IKEA shopping we started with an appetizer order of Onion Straws. Very thinly sliced sweet onions, battered, fried and served with warmed barbecue sauce. The menu says it would serve 2, but it truly had plenty to serve 4-5. Had I noticed further down the menu, they have an appetizer called "Straws and Chips" which would include the aforementioned Onion Straws and the Saratoga Chips, which are delicious homemade chips also served with warm barbecue sauce.
Our 2nd course was salad and they were huge; much bigger than I remembered. Romaine and iceberg lettuce, shredded carrot, tomato, cucumber, croutons, onions and dried cranberries. The dried cranberries, while are a favorite of mine, did not belong in this salad. They just didn't fit.
On to the entree. I wisely ordered the petite order of ribs, which was about 4 ribs. Each entree comes with a choice of side: onion straws, saratoga chips, baked potato, baked sweet potato, broccoli, veggie of the day, mac and cheese, fries or some sort of Mediterranean salad. Since I had already eaten my fill of onion straws, I opted for the baked sweet potato which comes with cinnamon butter. The ribs fell right off the bone as usual and were smothered in sauce. The potato was also very tasty. Other orders around the table were the Order size ribs which is about 8 ribs, Ted's Platter which consists of pulled pork, sliced brisket and about 5 ribs and finally the Ribs and Chicken which is a 1/2 roasted chicken and about 5 ribs. Everyone else absolutely rolled out of the restaurant completely satisfied and overstuffed. I, on the other hand, was nice and full, but not uncomfortable. Just enough.
Needless to say we did not get dessert tonight. Maybe some other time.
My only other comment about tonight's meal was the service. We walked in off the street at 6pm and had to wait about an hour for a table which we kind of figured would happen and were fine with since they have a fully functional bar that occupied our time. However, the table service was VERY slow especially for four people who were famished. Our drink glasses sat empty too long between refills, and just ordering in general seemed to take too long. It seemed as though our server was gone for long periods of time before we would even see her in our part of the restaurant. It was very strange. Typically service at The Montgomery Inn is impeccable, however, tonight was not the case. I can only hope that this is not a trend for the Columbus branch.
When The Montgomery Inn does open in Dublin, I do hope you all give it a try because the food is never a letdown. Just be sure to wear the official rib bib so you don't show the world where you ate that day!
1.31.2009
1.23.2009
Elevator Brewery & Draught House - Downtown Columbus
So two posts in one day! I know, its crazy and probably shouldn't be expected, but I did go to two places today that I had never been before. So here it goes.
The gang proposed dinner tonight at Elevator Brewery and Draught House downtown on High Street. I had never been there before, so I was interested of course. Although it didn't seem like we needed to, we made reservations. This is rare for our group, we tend to decide at the last minute where we are going and then have to wait forever for a table. So, big steps were made today!
Anyway, two of us arrived early and ordered a few beers. I ordered the Heifer-weizen complete with a shot of raspberry liqueur. It was good, but pretty sweet. I don't mind sweet beers sometimes, but I know that doesn't fair well with true beer connoisseurs. My partner in crime ordered the Procrastinator Dopplebock. If you like Guinness, then the Dopplebock would be right for you. I took a sip and it was good, but polar opposite from my Heifer-weizen. Two more of our party arrived and ordered the Dirty Dick's Nut Brown Ale and some sort of Bourbon beer that I can't remember the name of. No one was disappointed except for the 5th member of our party who mistakenly also ordered the Dopplebock and didn't like it. So, I ended up finishing that one for him. So after what seemed like a millennium, the waitress came and took our order.
These were the orders around the table: Bott Burger, Calamari, Champagne Brie, Vegetable Strudel, Thai Grilled Tenderloin Salad, Aztec Chicken Chowder, Cornbread Stuffed Chicken. The appetizers (Calamari-2 orders and Brie) didn't come out together. The Calamari was very good and had some sweet and spicy chili sauce tossed on it. It wasn't chewy or rubbery at all. The brie was average. There was a lot more "salad greens" and phyllo dough than actual brie. So far, I haven't had a brie appetizer any better than the one at Eddie Merlot's. So on to the review of the main dishes. The burger was big, but according to the consumer, "didn't have much taste." I didn't hear anything bad about the Vegetable Strudel. The Thai Salad was a bit on the salty side. The Cornbread Chicken was nothing to write home about.
All in all, the beer is better than the food. The food is overpriced for what we considered to be average at best. I hear the desserts are tasty, but we didn't indulge this particular evening. So, in summary, go to Elevator Brewing for the beer and dessert and eat dinner somewhere better.
The gang proposed dinner tonight at Elevator Brewery and Draught House downtown on High Street. I had never been there before, so I was interested of course. Although it didn't seem like we needed to, we made reservations. This is rare for our group, we tend to decide at the last minute where we are going and then have to wait forever for a table. So, big steps were made today!
Anyway, two of us arrived early and ordered a few beers. I ordered the Heifer-weizen complete with a shot of raspberry liqueur. It was good, but pretty sweet. I don't mind sweet beers sometimes, but I know that doesn't fair well with true beer connoisseurs. My partner in crime ordered the Procrastinator Dopplebock. If you like Guinness, then the Dopplebock would be right for you. I took a sip and it was good, but polar opposite from my Heifer-weizen. Two more of our party arrived and ordered the Dirty Dick's Nut Brown Ale and some sort of Bourbon beer that I can't remember the name of. No one was disappointed except for the 5th member of our party who mistakenly also ordered the Dopplebock and didn't like it. So, I ended up finishing that one for him. So after what seemed like a millennium, the waitress came and took our order.
These were the orders around the table: Bott Burger, Calamari, Champagne Brie, Vegetable Strudel, Thai Grilled Tenderloin Salad, Aztec Chicken Chowder, Cornbread Stuffed Chicken. The appetizers (Calamari-2 orders and Brie) didn't come out together. The Calamari was very good and had some sweet and spicy chili sauce tossed on it. It wasn't chewy or rubbery at all. The brie was average. There was a lot more "salad greens" and phyllo dough than actual brie. So far, I haven't had a brie appetizer any better than the one at Eddie Merlot's. So on to the review of the main dishes. The burger was big, but according to the consumer, "didn't have much taste." I didn't hear anything bad about the Vegetable Strudel. The Thai Salad was a bit on the salty side. The Cornbread Chicken was nothing to write home about.
All in all, the beer is better than the food. The food is overpriced for what we considered to be average at best. I hear the desserts are tasty, but we didn't indulge this particular evening. So, in summary, go to Elevator Brewing for the beer and dessert and eat dinner somewhere better.
The Pub - Polaris
I had lunch at The Pub at Polaris today. The Pub advertises itself as an authentic British pub, ironically the parent company is right out of jolly old... Cincinnati? Anyway, the decor looks authentic and the food seems to be British-y enough. The servers all wear kilts... men and women. Of course the womens are far shorter, which is probably a good thing. My server was very friendly and we chatted about the kilts, he said he didn't mind wearing it. He offered up some menu suggestions. Since it was a lunch with people I work with, I chose to forgo the alcohol drinks. I will have to go back to review that part later. They do have an extensive beer and single-malt scotch list. They do have a happy hour from 3-7 weekdays and Quiz Night on Monday nights with 1/2 off fish and chips. Sounds like fun. The server told me that last week's quiz night ended up in a three-way tie and the winner was determined by arm wrestling. An important detail to note, they do not serve lunch Monday-Wednesday, they open at 3pm on these days, and it didn't look like they had a separate lunch menu.
I arrived at 11:30 and was seated right away, so quickly in fact, I thought business must be pretty bad right now since the place was mostly empty. I was seated far from the door, which, if you have read past reviews, is a good thing. I have a theory that the first seat inside the door is the WORST seat in the restaurant: poor service, drafty, etc. So, so far so good.
I ordered the Roast Beef and Cheddar Toasted Panini, it came with a small on-plate mixed green salad with viniagrette and chips (or steak fries if you are from Ohio). It seemed like the food took a while to get to us, but everything was hot when it arrived. The sandwich was delicious! Other orders at the table were the Bronzed Fish sandwich, Pub Wings, and Chicken and Chips. Everyone raved about the food. There must have been four servers waiting on us. We never had an empty glass and dishes were cleared very quickly. By the time 12:30 rolled around, the restaurant was nice and crowded.
I definitely suggest trying out The Pub. Its up at Polaris by the new Barnes and Noble and Cheesecake Factory. If you are used to eating in the Polaris area, you will not be shocked by the prices; its not the cheapest place to eat, but the food is good and the ambiance is also nice. I assume once spring/summer hits, there will be a nice patio to relax on.
I arrived at 11:30 and was seated right away, so quickly in fact, I thought business must be pretty bad right now since the place was mostly empty. I was seated far from the door, which, if you have read past reviews, is a good thing. I have a theory that the first seat inside the door is the WORST seat in the restaurant: poor service, drafty, etc. So, so far so good.
I ordered the Roast Beef and Cheddar Toasted Panini, it came with a small on-plate mixed green salad with viniagrette and chips (or steak fries if you are from Ohio). It seemed like the food took a while to get to us, but everything was hot when it arrived. The sandwich was delicious! Other orders at the table were the Bronzed Fish sandwich, Pub Wings, and Chicken and Chips. Everyone raved about the food. There must have been four servers waiting on us. We never had an empty glass and dishes were cleared very quickly. By the time 12:30 rolled around, the restaurant was nice and crowded.
I definitely suggest trying out The Pub. Its up at Polaris by the new Barnes and Noble and Cheesecake Factory. If you are used to eating in the Polaris area, you will not be shocked by the prices; its not the cheapest place to eat, but the food is good and the ambiance is also nice. I assume once spring/summer hits, there will be a nice patio to relax on.
2009
Well 2008 is over and I ended last year with a less than stellar blog performance. I vow to do better this year. In fact, I will be eating lunch at The Pub at Polaris today. A review will be posted shortly.
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