Best Dishes in Columbus

I have lived in Columbus more than half of my life and throughout the years I have a growing food & dishes that I think are the best in the city. So without further ado, here they are. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comment.

The list will be in CATEGORY - RESTAURANT - NAME OF DISH

East-Asian Food

• Tofu Dish - Happy Dragon (Livingston Ave) - Pipa Tofu
• Hand-made Noodle - Jiu Thai (Bethel Rd) - Beef Stretch Noodle
• Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup) - Buckeye Pho (Bethel Rd) - Pho Dac Biet
• Phad Thai - Bangkok (Refugee Rd) - Phad Thai
• Salt & Pepper Squid - Panda Inn (Bethel Rd) - Salt & Pepper Calamari
• Spicy Diced Chicken - Coco's Grill (5th Ave) - Hot Spicy Chicken (extra crispy)
• Dumplings - Sesame Sea (Muirfield Dr) - Firecracker Wontons
• Pork Chop - Sun Flower (Sawmill Rd) - Crispy Ribs
• General Tso Dish - General Tso's Restaurant (Godown Rd) - General Tso's Beef
• Sushi Dish - Akai Hana (Old Henderson Rd) - Any Sushi
• Chicken Wings - Yau's Bistro (N High St) - Spicy Wings
• Spicy Pork - Happy Dragon (Livingston Ave) - Jalapeno Pork
• Pork Belly Dish - Little Dragon (Morse Rd) - Mecai Pork
• Crispy Whole Chicken - Pacific Eatery (Kenny Rd) - Crispy Chicken

Latin Food

• Pastor (pork) Taco - Los Guachos Taqueria (Godown Rd) - Pastor Taco
• Fish Taco (fried) - El Arepazo (Pearl St) - Fish Taco
• Empanada - El Arepazo (Pearl St) - Pork/Beef Empanada
• Latin Sandwiches - Si Senor (Lynn St) - Chicharrón Peruano
• Huevos Rancheros - Star Liner Diner (Cemetery Rd) - Huevos Rancheros
• Chiliquiles - Star Liner Diner (Cemetery Rd) - Chiliquiles
• Cheese Empanada - El Manantial Latino (Hudson St) - Cheese & Pineapple Empanada
• Pork Belly Taco - Nada (Nationwide Blvd) - Crispy Pork Belly Taco

Western Food

• Classic Calamari - Eddie Merlot (Polaris) - Sesame Calamari
• Pork Belly - The Market Italian Village (Summit St) - Braised Pork Belly
• Chicken Wings - Rooster's - Chipotle Garlic Wings
• Gyro - Yanny's (Cleveland Ave) - Small Lamb Gyro
• Pizza - Benny's Pizza (Marysville) - BLT Pizza

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Restaurant Review: Basi Italia

Helen and I went to an Italian restaurant for her birthday called "Basi Italia". In short: it was probably the best Italian food experience we've had. Highly recommended. We are looking for opportunities to return there.

It is located in Short North area, on Hihgland St. Click here for map & other reviews.

The place is small. I don't think there is enough room for 25 people inside. But, they have a pretty nice outdoor setup - so there is more room outside. It is a more intimate setting and small.

Must get: the zucchini appetizer. We picked it because it was unique on the menu and how we did not regret. It was awesome. It is julienned zucchini with pecans tossed with light vinegar based oil with sliced cheese. Extra yummy.

For entrée,  I got the special for that day, which is ravioli two ways with 2 different sauces. Best ravioli I have ever had. I even forgot the name ... but it was a special thing, so not on the menu.

Helen got the seafood pasta and it was excellent. Good (not huge) portion with plenty of scallops, shrimps, and clams.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our experience there and certainly will return! -- read more and comment ...

Food Deals, Tips, and Tricks

In this post, I thought I share some of the food deals, tips, and tricks that I found to be beneficial for me - and of course these food joints are the ones I frequent. I am pretty sure there are more out there - if you know those deals, tips, and tricks, let me know in the comment section and I will try them and add them into this post with credit to you.

Deals:
Restaurants.com: Several times a year, Restaurants.com has excellent deals with their discount code. I bought several coupon for $25 off for certain restaurants for only $3 per coupon, some for $4 (depending on the deals). Be on the look out at fatwallet.com or deals.woot.com for coupon code.

Roosters: on Olentangy River Rd chain, they have appetizers deal on Tuesdays. So each Tuesday they will give you a discount on one selected appetizers. For example, last time I went there, it was $1.07 for an order cheese sticks (has 5 sticks in it).

Qdoba: On Tuesday nights, kids eat free at Qdoba. If you are a Qdoba card holder, get double points on Friday. If you go to the one in 5th ave, they give free chips if you come after 8pm - for any day. Students can have a $5 meal - any day.

City Barbeque: Buck-a-bone Tuesdays. So instead of paying $17.99 for a full slab - pay only ~$12. Some stores have $4 off a sampler Mondays.

Applebee's: 1/2 Price Appetizers with any beverage purchase from 10 p.m. to close. At the bar from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (dine-in only. excludes sampler).

Tips & Tricks:
Chipotle/Qdoba:

• For "more" portion in your fajita/burrito without bursting your tortilla, as for bol/naked with tortilla on the side - no extra charge!
• Chipotle will make quesadilla for you - even though it is not on the menu
• Order a Quesorito in Chipotle - a hybrid of quesadilla and burrito.
• You can get half/half (i.e. chicken and steak) for your meat selection - and pay only for the more expensive price
• You can get "double meat" and pay extra $2 (nore really sure about the price - but should be close)
• At Chipotle, if you are ordering salad, you can add fajita onions/peppers with no extra charge

BD's Mongolian Barbeque:

• Instead of paying the full buffet price ($13.99 I think), you can elect to go once ($8.99 - LUNCH only). For most women, this is usually enough, if not - or if you are a man - read the next point.
• Now, there is a trick on how to arrange your ingredients in your bowl so that you can have plenty (I am mean PLENTY) of food by just going once. The key is to put your vegetables on the bottom and the meat on top - so that the vegetables will get pushed to the bottom by the meat therefore allowing more room. In detail, follow these steps:
  1. If you do not want vegetables, skip to step 2. Get your empty bowl and go to the vegetable section right away, skip the meat for now. Get your vegetables, try to arrange them neatly and allowing an empty opening in the middle.
  2. If you do not want seafood, skip to step 3. Go to the seafood section. If you have vegetables, put your seafood in the opening in the middle of you bowl. If you do not have veggies, arrange them however you want, but try to be neat.
  3. If you do not want carbs, skip to step 4. Go to the carbs section. Get your noodle/pasta and try to arrange them neatly. These "arrange neatly" thing is important but don't be OCD about it. Just make sure they are packed and not overflowing.
  4. Now go the spices section, get the "cooking" ingredients. What I call the "cooking" ingredients are the items that you want to be cooked along from the beginning with your veggies, meat, seafood. For the ingredients that will go later, I call them "sauce" ingredients. So in this step, go get your "cooking" ingredients; usually something like garlic, ginger, some spices, etc - depending on your style and recipe. Don't want to go crazy here, since you can always add them later in the "sauce" - I usually just get minced garlic in this step.
  5. Go back to the meat section. Whatever you do, put beef/steak last - since it is usually sliced thinly - so you use is as a "roof" to hold everything together. Get your meat - in the order or smallest to largest - then put beef strips last.
  6. Now, assemble your sauce. Depending on how much you got to pile on your bowl, you may require more than 1 mini-sauce-bowl to hold your sauce - which is alright. Put your food bowl and on the sauce counter and assemble your sauce, spices, and condiments. 
  7. CRUCIAL STEP - if the cooking area is crowded, make sure you look and pay attention to where do you think you will be lining up at - and go there ONLY WITH YOUR FOOD BOWL, leaving the sauce bowl(s) behind on the sauce counter. If you are not on the cooking counter directly (someone is in front of you with their food being cooked), put your food bowl on the counter and then go back to the sauce counter to get your sauce. If necessary, go get egg(s) as well and go back to your spot in the cooking line and put your sauce bowl(s) and egg(s) on the cooking counter.
  8. Now wait for your turn ...
  9. Pay attention to your food being cooked and tell the cook about your preferences (sauce now/sauce later, egg now/later, etc). When it's done cooking, make sure the cook put your food in the yellow bowl, NOT the blue bowl. Blue bowl is for repeats, so you will be charged full buffet instead of the single. If for some reason, you got a blue bowl, go back to your seat and tell your server about it - that you only went once with 1 ingredients bowl and don't want to be charged full buffet (this only ever happened to me once).

Roosters:

• You can combined up to 3 wings sauces without any extra charge. So if you want your wings to be in "chipotle" an "garlic" - just say "chipotle garlic" on your sauce selection when you order.

For some more food items that are not in the menu:

• Coupon Sherpa - Secret Menu Items
• Consumerist - Guide to Secret Menu Items

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Best Bang for The Buck!

One of the restaurant that I probably most frequently visited in the last 2 years is Tai's Asian Bistro. It's a small place on Lane Ave, close to OSU West Campus (click here for map). How frequent did I go? At least once a week, more likely twice a week and sometimes more. I think remember that there were times when I actually went everyday of the week, excluding weekends.

So, why? Is is that good? Cheap? Economical? Fit my taste? What are the reasons that so compelling for me to keep coming back?

Well, the blog title pretty much sums them up, but here are the details about why Tai's Asian Bistro is the best bang for the buck for me (some may not apply for you):

• The food themselves are excellent. If you are a fan of spicy food, you need to try their "Hot Pepper Chicken". This used to be Mark Pi's best, but somehow Tai's makes it better. Read for some of my recommendations.
• It's relatively cheap (between $6 to $8)
• The portion is HUGE, I meant heaping amount of food. For most people, this can mean lunch and dinner (for under $10).
• The food is also of good quality. The breaded chicken is breaded and fried fresh daily - not from frozen, the ingredients are fresh, egg rolls are fried on demand, etc.
• The place is clean, including the kitchen. You can see the kitchen right there and watch your food being cooked.
• The service is excellent. Food being cooked super-fast and if you are dining in, it will delivered to your seat. All the servers are helpful and friendly.
• For carry-out, they give you this plastic tub that is awesome and reusable. So instead of styrofoam that barely holds your food and melted easily, they use good quality container.
• If you are a student, free pop! They also serve beer if you want.
• Did I mention they are generous with their portion?

Tai's has a small selection in their menu, but for each one, they do it extremely well. I have pretty much tried every single item in their menu and in the order of how much I like them here are the top ten items to order at Tai's Asian Bistro:

1. Hot Pepper Chicken (very spicy)
2. Beef with Wild Mushroom
3. Singaporean Rice Noodle (a bit spicy)
4. Cantonese Chow Fun
5. Dan Dan Noodle
6. Pad Thai
7. Tai's Asian Chicken
8. Double Pan Friend Noodle
9. General Tso's Chicken
10. Rice Noodle Salad

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Dirty Franks!

A friend of mine told me about this "hot dog" place called "Dirty Franks" - so in the name of trying new restaurant, we went. Here are some information about Dirty Franks:

Website: http://www.dirtyfrankscolumbus.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dirtyfranksdogs

248 South 4th Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
614.824.4673
Hours: 11am to 2:30am

Food:
I think their food is great. Their menu is basically hot dogs with different styles. You can get Chicago style hot dog, hot dog with kim chee, with beans, topped with brisket, or anyway you want it (called "Your Wiener"). See their full menu here. You can substitute the franks with Polish sausage, brats, veggie sausage, etc. I have tried several of them and I like "Dog From Hell" and "Chicago" the most (out of the seven or so).

Drinks:
They have a full bar - which is nice. But, the stuff to get is the Slushes or Root Beer Floats. They use the local Jenis ice cream for their floats - which is awesome.

Price:
Relatively cheap - $3 per hot dog. So if you are only after 1 dog, side and drink water, it will cost you $5-ish. I ordered 2 dogs, a side, and pop - set me back around $10 - and went home super full.

Atmosphere and Service:
The place is kinda small and packed during lunch hours. So if you are planning to come for lunch, come early (like before 11:30) or late. For dinner, it is still packed, but not as bad. Decoration is kinda funky/artsy - which is - depending on your taste - could be weird or cool. I personally like it. Service is superb, my drink is never empty, meal is fast, and my server is friendly.

So, check them out!
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Not on The Menu: Quesadilla at Chipotle

Last night I went to Chipotle for dinner with my wife and son. There were like 5 or 6 people a head of me in the line - so I took my time to ponder what I want to order.

When it was about just 2 more person ahead of me, I saw the lady behind the counter did something I have never seen before in Chipotle - she put cheese on the tortilla then fold it and put it on the tortilla press/warmer.

Then the next guy - the guy who is directly in front of me - said something like this "Same thing - chicken quesadilla." After hearing that, I reread the menu on the big board again and again and again - and I was pretty sure that quesadilla was not on the menu.

So now, it was my turn to order, I ordered my half chicken and half carnitas salad and then I said, "Can I have a small cheese quesadilla for my son?" As I was expected, the lady said, "Sure. Just cheese?" and I replied back "Yes, just cheese."

As I walked down and selected my choices of salsa, sour cream, and cheese, I glanced back at the menu trying to find the word "quesadilla" - but it was nowhere to be found. Then at the cashier register, the cashier lady punched the buttons and I briefly saw that there was an entry for my small chicken quesadilla - it was also in the receipt - for $1.00. I am not sure how much the big quesadilla is or if you add meat to it.

So there you go, Chipotle has quesadilla - btw the small cheese quesadilla is great for kids!

Some Chipotle tips & tricks:
1. If you are getting a carry out, order online!
2. Instead of getting a fajita wrap, get a fajita bol WITH tortilla on the side. On the bowl, you can get extra stuff without the fear of tearing your tortilla. Plus it is not as messy and easier to bring home if you cannot finish it.
3. You can get half & half meat. So you can get chicken & steak or steak and carnitas, etc. They will charge you for the higher price ($0.50 difference I think between chicken and steak/carnitas).
4. You can get more than one type of salsa. So get corn salsa AND verde AND the hot salsa if you want - or nay combination thereof.
5. If you are ordering a salad and feel that it is kinda small - so add stuff to it (but no beans or rice). I usually add onions/peppers and salsa combination.
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Hot Chicken Chowder

I made spicy chicken chowder last Saturday and it turned out great. The (already awesome) original recipe is from the food network - by Paula Deen and I put my own twist into it - although the main essence is still the same.

Here are some of the changes I made:

• From the original recipe, it calls for 2 large onions. I used 3 large onions.
• Instead of all poblano peppers, I used a combination of poblano, cubano, and jalapeno - and I left some seeds in to give more heat. If you want - you can roast the peppers first, make it even tastier.
• Instead of 3 quarts of broth, I only used between 2 and 2.5 quarts. This will render thicker soup (depending on your taste, you may or my not like this). If you prefer thinner soup, you can use 3 quarts like the original recipe says.
• Since I love cilantro, I added more to it during serving time.
• If you want - you can add corn to it.

Now here is the kicker ... it tastes even better the second day - so my advice is to make it at night and eat it for lunch the next day! Get a cuban bread and you are set!
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The Deli Boys

I have been working from a downtown location for more than a year. Located on High St., nearby the arena, I have plenty of lunch option everyday. When I started working here, my supervisor hooked me up to this sandwich place called "The Deli Boys". Ever since then, just like a sandwich addict, I keep coming back - at least once or twice a week.

The Deli Boys have been there since early 2006 - located @ 2 E Long St., Columbus, OH - 43215. Their phone number is 614-621-1444. You can call ahead for carry out order or for catering order.

The price is pretty good - ranging from $3.75 for an Italian sausage on a hoagie to $5.50 "Heavy-weight" - a big all meat hoagie sandwich. They also have some basic salad menu, thin pizzas, and soups/chili. You can get a combo with chips and soda - which they serve Pepsi products. There is a daily special everyday - and so far the best special for me is the portabella chicken sandwich.

After a while, they will get you know you (they take your name on every order) - which shows an honorable degree of hospitality. Overall, combined with their charming hospitality - their sandwich is also great, toasted perfectly every time and hand delivered to your table as soon as they are ready!

My favorite menu item is the "Chicken Philly" sandwich. It got a good amount of jalapeno peppers, delicious grilled chicken breast, bell peppers, cheese, and mayo. Combined with a side of Jalapeno chips - it gives you plenty of heat to keep you awake for the rest of the afternoon. The bun is toasted perfectly every time, fresh lettuce, peppers, and melting cheese - yuuuummmmyyy! Their thin pizza is also good - if you are into thin pizzas.

If I am not mistaken, now they also have cup cakes everyday. It used to be on some special days - but it is everyday now. Good cupcakes with nice icing! Also available is frozen yogurt - the lemonade flavor is awesome.

I have tried every single sandwich menu available @ The Deli Boys as well as their pizza menu - and I like all of them (I like some better than others - like the chicken philly) - but the point is that I have never had a bad lunch there. Well, if you are in the area, check them out - they are open @ 7am, M-F.

The Deli Boys
Monday - Friday @ 7am
2 E Long St.
Columbus, OH - 43215
614-621-1444
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Pumpkin Patch!

Jon, Helen, and I went to the pumpkin patch last Saturday. It was fun - a bit cold and windy - but fun overall. Sky was gorgeously blue in the morning. The patch that we went to was at Dublin (take 33 west, exist @ Post) - so it was not that bad of a drive from our house. We went with a bunch of friends (and their kids) - so we have a big group.

Once we got there, we got several options ... we can walk on our own to the area (which is about 10 minutes walk - not bad at all) - OR we can take a hay-ride. Since Jon has never been on a hay-ride, so we opt for the hay-ride.

Here is Jon sitting on an unused tractor while waiting for our hay-ride:




This is inside the wagon - there were about 20-something people inside the wagon, so it was packed. I sat across Helen and Jon and able to get this shot.


Once we got to the area, it was a free for all ... we can pick any pumpkin we can find. Most of them are bad though or too big. After searching for about 45 minutes or so, we finally found one that is big but not too big and one that is small enough for Jon to hold.


On our walk back to the weighing area - there was an area where it was filled with small size pumpkins. So we played around a little bit there and try to find some small pumpkins for Jon - or he was trying to find for his own.


It was fun and we enjoyed it - although warmer weather is more desirable for next trip. We ended up going home with 4 pumpkins (1 large one and 3 small ones).
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New Appliances

My electric range needs replacing ... Two of the ranges (the bigger ones) don't even work now and the rest are only working half the time. Oven still works great, but not the range. It is an old GE range and it is screaming for replacement.

My dishwasher is also broken. The water outlet is broken so sometimes there will be a "pool" of water on the bottom. If the water is left there, it will become a bacteria sweet spot - so we have to keep using the dishwasher periodically or cleaning the bottom and removing the water - which is a pain. We try to have it fixed but the parts are hard to find and expensive - almost as much as buying a new one.

So when the company I work for announce that we will be getting our bonuses, we are off to our search for new appliances: dishwasher, electric range, and a matching hood/vent.

Electric Range
For one reason and another, we decided to go with Whirlpool as our chosen brand of appliance. For our electric range, we wanted to go with "coil" instead of the ceramic glass cooktop - because we found that the coil "heats" better. Since we cook on regular basis, coil seems to be a better option. Plus, the ceramic glass is expensive to replace if it is damaged (could be $250 or more) - even though it is really really easy to clean and certainly looks better. The model that we went for is Whirlpool RF263LXS. We also got the vent/hood for it: RH3730XL

Dishwasher
For the dishwasher, we also went stainless to match with the range and the hood: DU1055XTS.

So what kind of "heavy duty" cooking are we doing on our range? Well, my wife cook almost everyday and about once a week we host a bible study group at our house on Saturday. So more often than not, the heaviest use of our range is on the weekend, where our friends and us must cook for our bible study group (abour 20 people).

We do not use the oven as much - which is why probably the oven is still in good shape. As Asians, most of our food are deep fried, stir-fry based or soup based - which means that almost all the cooking is happening on the cooktop instead of in the oven.

We ordered these last weekend and they will be shipped within this week. I hope they work as long as my old appliances are, for years and years and years.
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How to smoke ribs

Smoking ribs is not easy and I have done it several times now with progressing tastiness. So, hopefully this post will help you when you decided to smoke some ribs. When done right - it is super awesome!


My style is dry rubs and slow moist smoke. Others like wet-rub better, some like baking it in the oven for simplicity/speed, etc. Feel free to take my way and tune it to your liking.
Ingredients:

• Baby back or loin pork ribs


• Dry rub spices - you can get these from the store or make your own. I bought several from Sam's Club and combined them to form my own rub


• BBQ Sauce - I bought mine from Sam's Club and modified it to create a spicy bbq sauce by adding some honey and chipotle tabasco

Tools:

• A good charcoal grill - mine is like this and something like this would be better.


• Hickory wood chunks (not chips)


• Apple wood chips


• Wood chips metal tray


• chimney smoker - click here to see photo and video demo of using it


• Hickory Charcoal - I use Kingsford Hickory charcoal


• A bucket (13 gallons or larger - large enough to soak the wood chunks)


• Ribs rack (if needed)


• Vegetable oil (or any kind of cooking oil)


• Oven/grill thermometer

Preparation: (do this in order to save time)

1. Soak wood chunks in water for at least a day - so do this step a day of two before the actuall cooking/smoking


2. Ribs must be close to room temperature as possible. If yours is frozen, let it thaw to room temperature.


3. Brush your paper with some cooking oil and use that paper to light up your charcoal in your chimney smoker - and don't touch it again until the charcoal is ready (usually about 10-15 minutes)


4. Rub the ribs and let rest for about 15 minutes at room temperature


5. Put charcoal in grill, as far away as possible from where you're going to put the ribs. I usually put my ribs near the grill's chimney and put the charcoal on the other side.


6. Arrange the charcoal to stay as close to each other as possible (not spread around like regular grilling)

Cooking/Smoking:

1. Once the charcoal is set, start putting wood chunks on top of charcoal. At this point, you should not need any more charcoal - just keep adding wood chunks to maintain heat and smoke


2. Don't put your ribs/meat yet. Put your thermometer in the grill at the area where you are going to put the meat and close the grill. After 2-3 minutes, get a reading. If you have somewhere between 160F to 190F, you are doing great. If you have less or more, you want to work up/down to that temperature.


3. Once you have a consistent temperature, start putting your ribs. On my grill, I only use a half of the cooking surface and leaving the other half open (including the area directly on top of the fire. Since my ribs arrangement will make the ribs closer to the heat cooked faster, I plan to rotate them consistently during the smoking period.


4. Put apple wood chips in your wood chip metal tray and put it directly on top or near by your heat source/fire. I usually put mine on the rack on top of the fire. This will put more smoke (and also combine apple wood with hickory) but since it is using DRY wood chips, it cannot touch fire directly, but it needs a strong heat source.


5. Ribs in the grill, put thermometer on top of ribs, and make sure smoke are coming out from your wood chunks and no direct fire touching the ribs.


6. Every 45 minutes, glaze your ribs with BBQ sauce and rotate them if necessary to ensure even distribution of heat to the ribs. Also replenishing wood chunks to maintain temperature. Check your wood chips, make sure they are not on fire but still smokey.


7. After 4 hours, you should have a fairly good smoke flavor in your ribs. I usually go 5.5 hours - so at this point, you can proceed to the next step or wait another 1.5 hours. Most of the time, waiting is really worth it ... unless of course you are absolutely really hungry or pressed on time.


8. Once the smoking is done (4 hours or more), place your ribs on top direct heat in your grill. In my case, I just put the rack back on on the fire side and move my ribs there. Do this for about 2 minutes on each side while glazing them back and forth on each side. Keep doing this for about 3 times to bring your ribs up to temperature.


9. Next step is to consume your ribs! enjoy!

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