Columbus Iconic: Whither The Lettuce Wrap?

Iconic eats?  P.F. Chang's has made it three years in a row topping the
(614) ColumBest Reader Poll for "Best Asian Restaurant"

I acknowledge that the winners of many of media-sponsored reader polls are as much about name recognition and popularity as it is food quality when it comes to restaurants. That is certainly case with the fairly recently released 2019 edition of the (614) Columbus 2019 ColumBest poll.

But some results just sort of make you shake your head, and perhaps none does it more for me than the now three-year run of P.F. Chang's winning the "Best Asian Restaurant" category in the in the (614) ColumBest poll, claiming the top spot in 2017 when previous winner Haiku closed its doors in late 2016.

Conventional wisdom would make you think a national chain like P.F. Chang's (which has its origins in California in San Francisco and, later Beverly Hills) shouldn't be coming close to placing in these types of polls. Columbus's culinary scene has made wonderful strides over these past three years, with burgeoning coffee, craft beer and now distillery scenes (the latter sporting some great food components); the increasing emergence of upscale and creative eateries; and an increasing palette of international cuisines in general. This evolution has garnered its fair share of national notice - prominent media outlets like Food & Wine, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and Forbes have featured the city in the past six months alone.

It's Easy To Trace The Trucks of My Cheers

The meat smoker located next to the usual location of Ray Ray's Hog Pit,
named "Best Food Truck" in Columbus Alive's 2019 "Best Of" poll

Last July, I wrote a series of blogposts examining Columbus's tendency to vote national restaurant chains in at the top in various local-media-sponsored "Best Of" polling events. One of the earlier polls in the cycle is the version hosted by Columbus Alive, which I found fared well in terms of local restaurant representation compared to other local media brethren. I thought it would be worth a look to see how the recently released 2019 edition fared compared to 2018.

The two outsider chains (Five Guys and Cooper's Hawk) which earned top spots last year held serve in "Best Fries" and "Best Wine List", respectively. However, local representation actually went up via a few simple and welcome tweaks, namely to the "Ethnic Eats" categories. The best tweak in my opinion banished the outdated "Best Asian" category: separate categories for Korean, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and Ramen join Sushi to offer a more comprehensive view at this aspect of the area's culinary scene.

Similarly, the splitting of the Indian/Nepalese category into two separate categories (a reflection of the continued growth of the latter) proved to be a positive change, as well as the addition of the African Restaurant category. The promotion of this latter, very under-the-radar segment I feel is vital in lifting Columbus's culinary profile to never-before-seen heights.

Break The Chains of Love: A Look At "Best Of" Lists (Part 2: Ohio in the House)

The Art-Deco style "Guardians of Traffic" totems provide an
eye-catching sight for those on Cleveland's Hope Memorial Bridge.

As noted in my previous post, a news story on Taco Bell being named this country's "Best Mexican Restaurant" gave me a story idea about "Best Of" lists and how often outside-the-area chains appear on these lists.  Part 1 of my series  focused on three local Columbus-based reader polls from some of the major media sources here, where I found a decent amount of chain love, including a couple of head-scratchers that named P.F. Chang's as "Best Asian" and Chipotle as "Best Burrito."

It only seemed natural that Part 2 of the series would stay within the Buckeye State and focus in on Columbus's largest state neighbors. Would we find similar results in cities of similar stature (namely, Cleveland and Cincinnati) or cities of more modest size (Dayton and Toledo)?  As you might have judged from the picture above, we're going to start with a city that has gained quite a bit of prominence in the national scene in Cleveland and work counterclockwise from there.

Break The Chains of Love: A Look At "Best Of" Lists (Part 1: The Locals)

With a new location in Pittsburgh, the popular Columbus-based Condado
now rates as a small but growing restaurant chain.

Certainly, a few eyebrows were raised when most media outlets reported that Taco Bell was voted as this country's Best Mexican Restaurant for 2018. Discounting the fact that only six restaurant chains were eligible for this voting category, and that the actual designation was "Brand of the Year", the "Best Of" list is pretty a common thing you'll hear in the news, from nationwide media powerhouses down to the small town publications that you might find in the clutter of the local coffee house.

While these lists feature everything from businesses, events and even celebrities, one thing pretty much universal in these lists is a food and drink element. While sometimes it's strictly limited to the opinions of the publishing staffs, most of these "Best Of" lists have a vox populi element, where the public can put in their proverbial two cents into the process.

Unsurprisingly, Columbus is a metro area large enough to have several such "Best Of" lists, and unsurprisingly, these lists have a large food and drink component to them. And in certain cases, the ultimate winners of various poll categories have caused some consternation and head-shaking among certain readers, especially when a chain restaurant is nominated for the top spot.

Takeout Pizza of the Month: Pizza House

Opened up in 1961, Columbus institution Pizza House keeps chugging
along in the somewhat hidden Salem Village neighborhood

Keeping with my intention to do a takeout pie/cold pizza test from a previously untried Columbus-area pizza place roughly once a month, my attention turned to a Columbus institution in the Salem Village-located Pizza House on East Lincoln Avenue.

Atmosphere: Established in 1961, Pizza House is considered a Columbus institution with its Columbus-styled thin-crusted, square-cut pizza. As I pulled in and tried to get a gander of the place, I quickly saw many people walking out of the carry out door with pizzas-to-go. Considering that this was later in the evening on a day I wouldn't expect a brisk takeout pizza business, I took this as a very good sign we would be getting something tasty soon.

Pizza House has two separate doors for carry out and for the main dining area. A quick glance at the main dining area in the carry out area showed this main dining space in all its 1960-era glass-block glory. The carry out area itself is visually interesting, with numerous media clippings touting Pizza House's great tasting pies as well as governmental proclamations congratulating the business on reaching their 50th anniversary. Other than pizza, Pizza House offers a variety of subs and sandwiches as well as Italian standards such as lasagna and ravioli. Gluten-free versions of their baked ravioli and small-sized (10") pizzas are also now available.

A peek at the glass-block nirvana that is Pizza House's dining room
plus some of the sights you'll see in their carryout area

Pizza (hot): We decided on our first visit here, we should go with the "pizza that started it all" and go with their "All The Way", basically a piled-high everything pizza with an option to use substitute their "old-world pepperoni" for their regular version (of course, we took this option.)

I noticed a good heft to the box when I carried it out of the restaurant, and we we got it home, we found that Pizza House wasn't kidding when they said "piled high." The old-world pepperoni provided a slightly different a slightly saltier and chewier profile than the typical variety.

The "All The Way" lived up to the name, full of delicious toppings

The pizza was plain and simply scrumptious, and the large size meant plenty of leftovers for the next day's lunch.

Pizza (cold): Pizza House's pizza isn't quite as enjoyable in its cold form compared to others I have had, I discovered. Nothing specific really (it wasn't like it was inedible) - perhaps it was the sheer level of toppings that hindered its cold pizza potential. Whatever the case, I think leftover slices of this pie are best popped in the oven for a good reheating.

Future Visits: Pizza House has definitely made our select consideration takeout pizza list, especially when we're not in the mood to think about it too hard, and definitely look forward to sampling their other pies.

Pizza House
747 E Lincoln Ave (North Side/Salem Village)
Columbus, OH 43229
(614) 885-3121
Facebook     Website