Taking it To The Street (Taco)

Maybe it’s just me, but my experiences with the old school, traditional Mexican Taco Truck can be summed up thus:

1. I’ve never had a bad meal with a long-established traditional taco truck
2. Even an average meal at a taco truck rates as a satisfying meal

As time has marched forward since my move to Ohio, I've collected a lot of photos and notes on a fair number of the area's taco trucks. This is by no means definitive or even close to a sampling of every truck that's out there, but I figured it was time to wipe the plate clean, so to speak, and knock out a blog post on what I've found.

A flight of beer from Mare Island Brewing, which pays homage to the blue-collar
workers and servicemen who worked at Vallejo's former Naval Shipyard

My first foodie-style venture I actually wrote about was indeed a taco truck crawl, roughly a dozen or so years ago. Traveling through Vallejo, a traditionally blue-collar town centered around its Naval submarine shipyard, taco trucks are a perfect fit for the area. Based on my samplings, the trucks here averaged higher than those you might find in other more well known cities in the Bay Area (more on that below.) In fact, continual good experiences with taco trucks throughout the area influenced one of my food choices on my first visit into Columbus in 2007.

Donuts and Development: Buckeye Donuts

The snapshot of the ongoing redevelopment of High Street next to
Ohio State University from earlier this summer

As you may have noticed, the students at Ohio State University are back. What had been a slow drip earlier in the month became a full cascade of youngsters last weekend, as almost all university freshmen and sophomores (who, with rare exception, are required to live on campus with recently enacted university policies) arrived into town to move into their new living quarters.

What some of those newcomers may not realize is that the High Street corridor that abuts the campus has been undergoing an ongoing longer transformation to "promote a vibrant, mixed use environment within a multi-block district centered at 15th Avenue and High Street", according to Campus Partners, an organization created by The Ohio State University in 1995 to "spearhead the revitalization of the urban neighborhoods around its Columbus campus."

Admirable goals, for certain.  But to this observer, the glossy sheen of new storefronts and chain-rich storefronts and luxury apartments to come has sucked and will continue to suck the distinctive character of the area to close to nil.

4 Years, 6 Months and 9 Days in the Life of...G. Michael's Bar & Bistro

Like its resident eatery G. Michael's Bar & Bistro, Columbus' German Village
neighborhood has hints of a horse-oriented lifestyle scattered about

One general guideline I have about restaurant-related posts is that do my best to get more than one lone experience. However, exceptions do exist: one of the main ones comes in relation to vacation excursions, where a second visit may never be in the cards and my general impression may persuade or dissuade you to visit yourself.

The other main exception lies in fine-dining experiences, where another singular experience may be all we get (as my spouse and I observed, we are a decidedly unfancy couple in general.) For example, we felt the tasting menu of Delaware's Veritas Tavern, which my spouse and I agreed has been one of our best dining experiences in Central Ohio, was definitely worth a shout out (with Veritas' upcoming relocation to Downtown Columbus, we're definitely aiming to make a return visit,)

Sangria in the Rain: Barcelona

For my spouse and I, this is around the time of year where we indulge a bit more due to various personal landmark days. Last year we allowed ourselves to experience the excellent tasting menu of Veritas Tavern in Delaware, Ohio. This year, we made a visit to one of those places that for some unknown reason we hadn't made it back to ever since my relocation to the Buckeye State - Barcelona, the longtime tapas-oriented standout in German Village.

Barcelona was an eatery we experienced firsthand during a Columbus Food Adventures tour of the area. At the time, we got to taste the creations of Chef Paul Yow and, unlike our previous stops, felt closer to a meal than a sampling. We enjoyed everything from a panko-crusted crab-stuffed salmon with a cherry gastrique to their house made hummus with an assortment of veggies to their baby spinach salad replete with Marconi almonds and feta cheese. While the chef had changed since that initial visit (Yow moved on to establish the Korean-leaning Hae Paul in downtown, with sous chef Jacob Hough receiving promotion to Executive Chef), the Spanish-oriented menu had not. It was as good a time as any for us to get ourselves reacquainted.

Alt Eats Galore - Columbus Food Adventures, and a Sidney Surprise

A month ago, I was honored to be mentioned in a posy written by longstanding local blogger CMH Gourmand in regards to local blogs worth following. In my little summary/questionnaire that I filled out for the post, I mentioned that in terms of overlooked area restaurants, I thought the African restaurants were as a whole overlooked, and that we needed ourselves to start exploring that part of the Columbus culinary world.

Well, we got that effort off to a fine start when we were invited by Columbus Food Adventures to join them on a tour that was actually on our "next-to-do" list: the Alt Eats Tour.

As regular readers of my blog may know, my spouse and I are big fans of the Columbus Food Adventures food tours, run and owned by Bethia Woolf and her husband Andy Dehus. Founded in 2010, the tour company continues to thrive, adding a Downtown Old Worthington walking excursion this year to a diverse selection of tours that combine sampling of the city's tastiest treats with history, both in terms of the featured restaurants as well the surrounding neighborhood.

Columbus Food Adventures' Coffee Tour

The Columbus Food Adventures Coffee Tour is definitely
worth keeping an eye out for when it is scheduled.

I have been a big fan of Columbus Food Adventures (CFA) and the myriad of culinary-oriented tours they provide of the area's metro scene. In fact, my spouse and I have been on enough of them to fill out one of the culinary passports they give tour-goers at the end of excursion entitling you to a free tour, and we are most definitely looking forward to scheduling that in the near future.

While organizing my computer files recently, I just realized that the latest tour we took with CFA, the Coffee Tour, was one I had not written about. Although it has been a couple months since this early December tour, I did want to write up a little something on it because, similar to previous tours with them, we along a friend of ours from out of town very much enjoyed this excursion.

I will start by saying this is one of CFA's more unique tours in that it covers one very specific item: coffee. This one item, however, has gained Columbus' renown for over the past few years. The coffee-oriented website Sprudge listed Columbus in its 2014 "5 Underrated Coffee Cities" and local roaster Crimson Cup was designated "2016 Macro Roaster of the Year" by industry magazine Roast. The coffee scene has also become a tourist attraction as well, with the folks at Experience Columbus creating the Columbus Coffee Trail that provides out-of-town java enthusiasts a fun way to seek out the area's best caffeinated concoctions.

Gringas en Gahanna: Los Guachos

The front of Gahanna's edition of Los Guachos

I was cruising the northeast side of the metro after a good solid bike workout looking for a combination of two things: something that would kill some time before I had to pick up my spouse and some unfussy replenishment for dinner. I initially focused on the Easton area: perhaps a burger at Flip Side would sate my cravings, or perhaps sampling a grilled cheese at the newly opened Melt in the Easton Gateway area.

Then I remembered Gahanna wasn't too far away. Gahanna's restaurant scene has been growing by leaps and bounds with places like El Arepazo, The Barn at Rocky Creek, Superchef's and 101 Beer Kitchen recently or due to setup shop in town. I did a little quick research on my smartphone to see what I could find and uncovered a surprise.

Los Guachos? In Gahanna? Perhaps it's because I live a lot closer to their original brick-and-mortar location on Godown Road in Northwest Columbus that I was not aware of this lovely fact. But now that I knew this, my destination was set.

Los Guachos' Gahanna sports a brighter and seemingly
larger space than its Godown Road cousin, but the
decor and food remain the same.

Opened in September of 2013 in a strip mall off Morse Road just outside I-270, this second brick-and-mortar for one of Columbus' most well-known Mexican eateries basically brings the decor and style of their Godown location into what seems to be a slightly bigger and brighter space. Not surprisingly, televisions broadcasting Spanish-language channel programming (in this case, a Liga MX  soccer game) were available for patrons to watch. And yes, all those creations that have made Los Guachos a favorite of many are here for the ordering as well.

All the items typical of almost all taquerias (the pickled vegetables and array of salsas/sauces) and unique to Los Guachos (their unique red onion/habanero/soy sauce blend) are also here for diners. Last year's Columbus Food Adventures Taco Truck Tour brought my first exposure to the latter combination, something my spouse and I wouldn't think would work but does so brilliantly (in fact, we have often composed our own version for garnishing many of our home-cooked Mexican-style meals.)

Los Guachos' meal garnishments, including their unique blend of
sliced habanero peppers, red onions and soy sauce, were heavenly
on my order of gringas, volcanes and juanas.

Their famous Gringa, accompanied by their delicious al pastor de trompo, melted cheese, pineapple, onions and cilantro on a crispy grilled flour tortilla was a must, but I wanted to do some venturing on items I hadn't had the chance to try yet. The Volcanes essentially was a mini-quesadilla of sorts, while their Juana is something of an open-faced double-tortilla. The proteins that accompanied these creations (the suadero (beef brisket) and lengua (beef tongue) were well prepared; the latter was one of the better versions I've experienced.

In a way, this experience here pretty much cements the thoughts that crossed my mind when I first bit into that Gringa from Los Guachos' anchor taco truck in the Hilltop area of Columbus. Los Guachos' brick and mortar locations produce really good versions of their various offerings. But there is something about their mobile setup that kicks their creations to a higher level.

By all means, drop by Los Guachos' locations in Gahanna and Northwest Columbus and visit them often. But if you do make their brick-and-mortar locations your primary destinations, by all means supplement these visits with an occasional visit to Sullivant Avenue and their original taco truck (more currently closer to a taco rig.). Order some of your Los Guachos favorites from there; if you're lucky like my spouse and I, you'll reach that brief nirvana of mind-blown status.

Los Guachos
1376 Cherry Bottom Road
Gahanna, OH 43230
(614) 471-4717
Facebook    Website

Other locations:
5221 Godown Road (Northwest)
Columbus, OH 43235
(614) 538-0211

3990 Sullivant Avenue (Hilltop)
Columbus, OH 43228
(614) 493-1874

Szechuan Samplings: Hong Kong House

Hong Kong House has brought Szechuan dishes to Northwest Columbus

As I briefly mentioned in a prior post on a trip out to China Village in California, my spouse and I have discovered that Szechuan restaurants were not too common in the Columbus metro area. We both have come to love the ma la combination of Szechuan peppers and hot chilis that are typical of the cuisine, and our go to here has typically been Fortune Restaurant on Olentangy River Road.

Late last year, I heard some word through the grapevine that Hong Kong House, home of the former Hong Kong Buffet (a place neither my spouse or I had visited), had switched to a more conventional dine-in restaurant with a focus on traditional Szechuan dishes. Of course, this knowledge merited a fairly quick visit soon after to their location at the corner of Henderson and Reed Roads to see what they had on the menu (at the time, I couldn't seem to locate a website for the restaurant.)

Upon arrival, I spied a dry-ink board with the restaurant's specials written in Chinese. I also took a look at the diners in house: pretty much every one I spotted then, along with other visitors who arrived while I waited for my order (we decided on take out on this visit), appeared to be of Chinese descent.  Chalk up two notches in the "promising" department. The main menu proved to be the third promising notch: while there was one side devoted to more standard "Americanized" Chinese dishes, the back side had a substantial number of menu items similar to what I have seen at other Szechuan restaurants.

Decisions, decisions: Hong Kong House's menu does not lack for choices

Wanting to have a comparison point, we ordered Hong Kong House's closest dishes to three of our Fortune Restuarant favorites (Dan Dan Noodles and Dry Fried Green Beans and Dry Fried Beef)  to use as benchmarks; all their dishes compared favorably with Fortune with some slight variations (Hong Kong House's green beans, for instance, were not ma la, but provided a nice garlicky-kick instead.)

Left to Right: Dry Fried Green Beans, Dan Dan Noodles and Dry Fried Beef

Another aspect to these restaurants I had mentioned in my previous blog post was how these types of Chinese restaurants were perfect venues for a group outing, especially for diners willing to go beyond the standards. My spouse and I have been good for each other in terms of our food adventurousness, and we were looking forward to sampling more of Hong Kong House's extensive menu, despite realizing this would be something of a longer-term questing.

Here's where two of the most adventurous eaters in Central Ohio enter the picture: Bethia Woolf and Andy Dehus, founders of Columbus Food Adventures as well as just this region's ultimate online resources for this region's ethnic restaurants, taco trucks and mobile cuisine (alteatscolumbus.com, tacotruckscolumbus.com and streeteatscolumbus.com, respectively.) Some of my blog posts on our Columbus Food Adventures tour experiences (all quite excellent) and ethnic restaurant visits had led to a bit of a familiarity with each other through social media exchanges. Perhaps it was only natural that when the topic of Szechwan cuisine and Hong Kong House and our desire to explore the menu further came up, they would posit the idea: "Would you like to meetup for dinner there sometime perhaps?"

Is there any other answer to this question than "Yes, we would love to?" Nope, didn't think so.

Hong Kong House's interior decor is typically Chinese-restaurant appropriate, with artwork, tchotchkes  and other appropriate flourishes that stay somewhat bit masked with the dimly lit interior, Plenty of large round tables are present, giving visual evidence of this restaurant's ability to handle large groups of people. However, there are seats to the side where a couple can have a more intimate experience with each other. A bar is also available in the back for adult beverage orders.

We were joined at dinner at one of the large round tables by several of Bethia and Andy's colleagues, almost all of them familiar with numerous Hong Kong House dishes. With all the menu familiarity from those at the table, plus the nature of the meal where we would all be sharing our dishes family-style, we figured there would be more than enough food ordered, and we were eager to sample the favorites of our gathered guests were.

Top Row: Szechwan Style Cucumber, Wontons in Hot Chili Oil
Middle Row: Spicy Diced Chicken, Sauteed Potato Shreds
Bottom Row: Water Spinach with Minced Garlic; the aftermath

For us, there really wasn't a bad dish in the bunch. Standouts for us included the Cumin Lamb, the Wontons in Hot Chili Oil (both of which seemed to be universally liked) and the Spicy Diced Chicken (which gave me fond memories of China Village's 1000 Chili Pepper Chicken). Things that would probably scare most people, such as the Dry Fried Pork Intestine and Eggplant with Salted Fish in a Hot Pot were quite enjoyable. With the richness of many of the dishes ordered, the simpler preparations such as the Potato Shreds (had a nice gingery kick) and the Water Spinach with Garlic were provided a nice break.

Equally satisfying for us was our company for the night. While my spouse and I played the role of newcomers in relation to the group, we never felt out of sorts. I am, by nature, someone who loves to observe and absorb a conversation, and the variety of topics and experiences that Bethia, Andy and their colleagues threw out during the dinner added another element to savor this night.  We definitely hope that there are future gatherings like this down the road.

Service-wise, I have experienced no issues with Hong Kong House. Our initial takeout order came out relatively quickly, and in regard to the group dinner, dishes were also delivered in relatively rapid-fire succession such that our Lazy Susan was inundated. They were also nice enough to split up the bill evenly among our party, a process that not all restaurants are wont to perform.

With Hong Kong House, we can safely say that we now have two destination places for Szechuan cuisine in the Columbus area, and look forward to comparing the best of this eatery to what Fortune (or, for that matter, any other newcomer) has to offer. Hong Kong House's remake may not have appealed to those who were more in tune to the previous buffet-oriented incarnation; however, for those who are willing to venture forth a little from the norm, Hong Kong House definitely gives you plenty of what we have found to be tasty options.

Hong Kong House
1831 W Henderson Rd (Northwest)
Columbus, OH 43220
(614) 538-9288
Website

Breakfast with Dr. Breakfast: The Inaugural Columbus Food Adventures Breakfast Tour (Pt. 2)

(Note: Part 1 of this report can be found at this link)

Our tour group continued the inaugural Columbus Food Breakfast Tour, hosted by "Breakfast with Nick" blogger Nick Dekker, at a place that offered an ethnic twist on the first meal of the day.

Clockwise from Top Left: Cuco's Tacqueria sign; the Mollete Roll; Cuco's chilaquiles;
the newly installed outoor patio; a shelf of hot sauces for sale

Cuco's Taqueria: This Mexican eatery on the Northwest section of town started off over a decade ago as a market with a food takeout counter in the back; in fact, you can still pickup some assorted market items at their Henderson Road location, However, Cuco's has in roughly a decade's worth of existence emerged from those modest beginnings into a full service restaurant that is still evolving; the latest upgrades completed late this summer have added an extra dining area and an outdoor patio to their total dining space, and they have launched a food truck to introduce their eats to even more Columbus diners.

Cuco's offers the restaurant-goer the added bonus of both American and Mexican breakfast standards at fairly inexpensive prices (items range from $5 to $8.) On this day, our tour participants were treated to their rendition of traditional chilaquiles and a mollete roll. The chilaquiles, tortilla strips cooked in salsa verde and topped with eggs and cheese, were a hit with everyone; even owner Juan Martinez admitted it was his favorite dish during his chat with the group. The mollete reminded me a bit of the Stouffer's French Bread pizzas I gobbled as a kid, except freshly-made with typical Mexican cuisine ingredients.

My spouse and I had the pleasure of visiting Cuco's prior to the tour and sampled two of their other breakfast items on that visit. Our host Nick had actually considered my choice that day, the Oaxaqueña, for sampling on this tour, but decided against it. It was a wise decision: these tasty potato enchiladas, topped with a black bean sauce, with lettuce, tomato and sour cream on the side, is a definite tummy-filler and wouldn't have been the best on day already full of food. My spouse opted for the El Tapatio, a platter containing a very nicely spicy chorizo and potato mix served with two barbacoa tacos and refried beans.

Cuco's Taqueria
2162 W Henderson Rd (Northwest - Google Maps)
Columbus, OH 43220
(614)538-8701
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Clockwise from Top Left: Co-owner Hilda Garcia-Mandriotti and tour host Nick Dekker speak
to the tour group; the Barnstormer Diner sign; the unusual sight of the V-22 Osprey on the runway;
and the mini-version of their famed Gutbuster

Jack and Benny's Barnstormer Diner: This diner, located at the Ohio State University Airport along West Case Road near the Sawmill Drive corridor, had already earned a regular spot on our breakfast rotation with its straightforward yet solid diner-style breakfast fare as well as unique location before our visit this day. The various omelets, wraps and special items (like their chorizo scramble) we've eaten are all well made and reasonably priced.

But even though one might think they know a fair amount about a place on a Columbus Food Adventures tour, the hosts usually come through with more interesting insight. Here, our host Nick added plenty of such, explaining that current owners Geno and Hilda Garcia-Mandriotti, proprietors at the typically jam-packed Columbus breakfast institution Jack and Benny's, jumped at the opportunity to acquire this space when it became available, mainly due to Geno's love of flying (in fact, he earned his pilot's license at the OSU Flight School in the 1990s.) In doing so, this Peruvian couple basically brought the same menu from Jack & Benny's over to the Barnstormers space, and created a typically much more relaxed and less hectic experience for this eatery's diners as compared with its Old North Columbus-located older brother.

A neat surprise on this visit was the use of the observation tower, a feature of the airport we had not known about before, to sample our food. Members of the public can visit the airport to watch planes takeoff and land (a couple families with excited kids were viewing the planes on this sun-laden day); getting to sample the Barnstormer's signature Gutbuster and Buckeye pancake in this space made it an even more fun experience.

Jack and Benny's Barnstormer Diner
2160 West Case Rd (Northwest - Google Maps)
Columbus, OH 43235
(614) 292-5699
Facebook     Website     Yelp

Clockwise from Top Left: Auddino's Storefront; tray of chocolate chip cannoli;
Ray Auddino whips up some cinnamon twists for the tour group; the delectable Doughssant

Auddino's Bakery: This bakery, the last stop on our tour, was a complete surprise to my spouse and I in the fact that we never knew it was there. I personally had driven around that curve on Fishinger Road at the Mill Run Shopping Center many times and had never seen Auddino's storefront until the CFA Tour Van pulled into its parking lot on this day.

Indeed, this bakery, essentially the expansion eatery of the original Auddino's that has been providing wholesale bread products to Columbus retailers at its current location since 1990 (the original bakery itself started in 1968), has been open at this location for more than two years. For my spouse and I, it felt like we had stumbled upon this place by accident on our own.

Inside, the tour group was treated to cases of all manner of delicious looking pastries; gelato, coffee and packaged baked goods are also available to diners. We found out later from Taura, the bakery's co-owner, that lunch items such as sub sandwiches, salads and take-and-bake pizzas are also available.

Tour-goers got to sample their Auddino's breakfast sandwiches on bagel or croissant bread. While these were good (much better than any fast-food version for certain,) the jewel of this visit was their famed Doughssant, a glazed croissant that head baker/owner Rosario "Roy" Auddino has been putting on the shelves since 1991 and way before the so-called "cronut" made its debut (word of warning: do not try to order the "c" word in this bakery.) This sweet treat, explained Roy, is a difficult thing to get right, but it's heaven when you do get a good batch.

This particular batch was good, real good. By this time of the tour, all of us were pretty stuffed from the other samples we had eaten, but most everyone made room for at least one piece of the Doughssant.

Roy topped off the day by giving the group an impromptu treat: a baking demo showing how he turned what were essentially dough scraps into useful (and tasty) cinnamon twists. These flaky toppers, baked up in barely over 10 minutes and fresh from the oven, were packed in a box for the group for our trip back to the start. They had cooled down just enough by our arrival to provide one more tasty reminder of a very successful inaugural Columbus Food Adventures Breakfast Tour.

And oh yeah, we will be back very soon to Auddino's...mmmmm, Doughssant.

Auddino's Bakery and Cafe
3560 Fishinger Blvd
Hilliard, OH 43026
(614) 850-0099
Facebook     Website

2019 Update: Auddino's Mill Run location closed at the end of December, 2014. However, the bakery still sells its goods from a small cash-and-carry store located at its main production facility at 1490 Clara Street in the Milo-Grogan neighborhood.

Also, Nick Dekker (aka Dr. Breakfast) has added a Brunch-related excursion to your numerous tour options with Columbus Food Adventures.  For more information regarding those, please visit the Columbus Food Adventures' website.

Breakfast with Dr. Breakfast: The Inaugural Columbus Food Adventures Breakfast Tour (Pt. 1)

CFA Food Van - check; Itinerary - check: and
Dr. Breakfast himself - check: we're ready to tour!

Ever since my move out here, my spouse and I have made the meals of breakfast and brunch our main time to get out and enjoy some time together, often in concert with doing other activities in this metro area. In addition, over our years of dating and then marriage, my spouse and I have found Columbus Food Adventures (CFA) food tours to be terrific way for both locals and visitors to this region to explore this area's culinary highlights.

Thus, it almost seemed too perfect a match when CFA announced a brand new tour hosted this area's most well-known breakfast blogger. We both were pretty excited at the prospect and jumped on the chance.

Nick Dekker, who started his Breakfast with Nick blog as "a glorified hobby" several years ago to chronicle his breakfast eating experiences, has been a main catalyst in bringing national attention to the Columbus breakfast scene, including features from media outlets such as Fodor's, New York Post and the Toronto Star. But even with the status of local celebrity, he proved to be like most any other person doing something for the first time, just slightly nervous and extra careful to make sure all everything was laid out correctly for this maiden voyage. As the tour progressed, he settled in, chatting amiably with everyone in the group, whether it be about breakfast, other aspects of Columbus' food scene, and any other topics which came to people's minds.

CFA tours typically consist of several featured eateries; tour-goers are treated to sampling of that eatery's typical offerings and receive an idea of the history of the eatery itself, often from the restaurant proprietors themselves. While it turned out that my spouse and I had visited most of the locations picked out on this inaugural breakfast tour, it is that latter history and in-person aspect that makes Columbus Food Adventures tours a step above a typical drop-in and dine experience, as it has in previously taken tours such as the Taco Truck Tour.

Overall, we had a great time on this inaugural run for the Breakfast Tour, and it looks like it will be another delectable addition to the collection of diverse tours that Columbus Food Adventures offers to the public.

Columbus Food Adventures
1-800-838-3006
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From Top Left (clockwise): Ethyl & Tank's Exterior; the Bloody Mary Bar; Mini-versions
of the Tank Pancake & Chicken and Waffles; the "Tank" portion of the eatery

Ethyl and Tank: Our first stop out of our five destinations, Ethyl and Tank, was the most recent arrival out of this group to the Columbus dining scene. This restaurant is a member restaurant of the A&R Restaurant Group; other A&R eateries include The Crest, Cafe Del Mondo, and the Fourth Street Bar and Grill. We were informed that the inspiration for the restaurant's name received its name from a now defunct Georgia gas station. In this eatery's case, this Ethyl and Tank is a mainly brick-dominated structure on the exterior, but with modern urban flourishes within its two-story tall interior. Guests enter in through the "Ethyl" side (with its coffee cafe-styled drinks and light eats) and can venture over to the "Tank" side, where you can dine in for more substantial eats or imbibe in some alcoholic beverages.

Being located right next to the Ohio State University campus, Ethyl and Tank caters mainly to the student crowd; our hosts informed tour-goers that it does try to keep things affordable for its main clientele (their menu items all range in the $10 or less range.) Along with traditional happy hours, this eatery has novel events such as build-your-own-hot-dog Mondays as well as an upstairs (free) arcade; in addition, its late night hours has made this venue a destination place for concert-goers of the famed nearby Newport Music Hall as well as anyone with late-night munchies.

Tour goers were treated to three of their specialties. My spouse and I were never into Bloody Mary drinks, but Ethyl & Tank's do-it-yourself bar, which included a from-scratch tomato juice mix, your choice of four different vodkas, and all the fixings you could want, really made our first dip into them a special one.

Foodwise, we received mini-versions of their Tank Pancakes (house-braised pulled pork layered between pancakes topped with cheddar cheese and syrup) and their Chicken and Waffles. The former blended the starchy, savory and sweet together in a uniquely tasty way and will be targeted on a future visit. The latter dish was also quite pretty good, reminding me a bit of the rendition put out by Little Skillet in San Francisco.

I had visited Ethyl and Tank once before prior to this tour and ordered their Mediterranean Scramble ($7); this was a solid scramble, with substantial portions for the price. I had thought back then that Ethyl and Tank was worthy of a future visit based on that experience; this tour visit only cemented that thought in my mind.

Ethyl and Tank
19 E. 13th Ave (University District - Google Maps)
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 947-0140
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From Top Left (clockwise): Delicious donut samples from Buckeye Donuts; effervescent owner
Jimmy Barouxis, the iconic Buckeye Donuts sign; one of the old-school menu signs inside

Buckeye Donuts: Some people might think, "Eh, it's just a doughnut shop" and dismiss this as a destination. However, there's an certain aspect attached with many of Columbus-area doughnut purveyors that makes many if them neighborhood gems, at the minimum.

Such is the case with Buckeye Donuts. This smallish store next to campus, which never closes its doors (it was joked during our visit that the staff couldn't lock the place even if they tried,) has been lovingly tended by the Barouxis family since they moved over from Greece and opened their shop in 1969.

Jimmy Barouxis, Buckeye Donuts' current owner, is probably one of the main ingredients behind its current loyal following. Inheriting the business from his father, Barouxis greeted us tour-goers, crammed in the very tight quarters of the restaurant's kitchen, with an enthusiastic smile and as if we were family (in fact, he even stopped at one point to take a couple pictures of the tour group.) His love for his business was impossible to miss in his voice as he relayed the history of his business to the gathered.

The donuts, you ask? Buckeye Donuts' rate solidly in the top tier, in that if I had a dream baker's dozen box of Columbus-area donuts, a couple of their offerings would be in that box. Thankfully for us tour-goers, the donuts were cut into smaller bits, allowing everyone to sample multiple flavors without over-gorging. For my spouse and I, the best in show went to their seasonal pumpkin spice donut, with the cake-style donuts in general (there's just something texture-wise about a well-made cake donut I can't resist) coming close behind.

If you think Buckeye Donuts is all about the fried dough, however, you would be mistaken. Barouxis stated that the business really gained a solid financial foothold when it introduced its non-donut menu items such as gyros, salads and breakfast sandwiches. With no item on the menu more than $6, those not in the mood for their fresh hot donuts have other inexpensive options available to sate their appetites.

Buckeye Donuts
1998 N High St (University District - Google Maps)
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 291-3923
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(Note: Part 2 of this post can be found here at this link)

Biking and Brunching: Pistacia Vera

Biking to your brunch destination has its benefits other than the added fitness aspect. It allows you to slow down and appreciate the surroundings of the neighborhoods you pedal through. It helps when the neighborhood is one like German Village, a place for which both local residents of and visitors to the metro area generally have a fondness. The area's charm is multi-faceted, from its history, its architecture, the residents who live there and the businesses which lay within its borders.

One of those businesses, Pistacia Vera, quickly became a favorite of my spouse and I. Their signature gluten-free macarons are still some of the most divine things I have tasted since coming here to Columbus, and their offerings have expanded greatly since they opened their doors in their current location on September, 2007 (they have since opened up a location inside the North Market this year.) 

A visit inside their kitchen during a German Village Food Tour put on by Columbus Food Adventures back in 2012 proved to be an additional treat for the both of us, as we got some behind the scenes info about their restaurant operations as well as sample their macarons to boot.

Just some of Pistacia Vera's tempting pastries

Generally speaking, Pistacia Vera's interior space has always had an inviting, relaxing vibe to me; it feels like a lazy Sunday morning no matter what day I drop by for a visit. Also, the pastries they display not only look gorgeous, but they are displayed in a gorgeous manner. Some non-food items they offer for sale also accentuate this feel, such as the simple but elegant greeting cards they sell from Igloo Letterpress.

That interior lazy Sunday vibe was fine, but with the crowd inside, we were more than happy to take our sweaty selves to the outdoor seating and enjoy the neighborhood views. We were doubly looking forward to this visit because, up until this ride, we had never sampled the brunch menu for Pistacia Vera. After a good solid ride, we were eager to ease back and spend some time savoring our selections. 

After perusing the menu, the Mrs. and I ended up at opposite ends of the spectrum meal-wise. She went for something lighter by choosing their Smoked Salmon Tartare whereas I opted for their Emmentaler Croque (both dishes were $11.)

The excellent Smoked Salmon Tartare with greens and croissant

My croque, which consisted of a brioche with smoked ham, emmentaler and a mornay sauce (a side of greens and dijon was also included) was very well done, quite savory, and pretty darn filling (I was definitely glad that we did not need to speed off anywhere right away to allow me some digestion time.)

However, the winner of the two dishes in our minds though was my spouse's salmon tartare, which is saying something for me in that I generally am not all that much into seafood. All the ingredients (crème fraîche, cucumber, tarragon, lime, lemon and cracked pepper) worked wondefully with the salmon and was the perfect spread for a freshly baked croissant. I would order it myself on next visit should they still have this item on their brunch menu.

The addition of a couple of iced coffees (Pistacia Vera uses their own signature blend created by pre-eminent area roaster Cafe Brioso) on this bike and brunch was the perfect topper on our latest visit to one of Columbus' finest institutions.

2019 Update: Pistacia Vera has expanded beyond their original German Village location, setting up a branch at the North Market in the Arena District.

Pistacia Vera
541 S. 3rd Street (German Village - Google Maps)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 220-9070
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¡Vámanos! Columbus Food Adventures' Taco Truck Tour

Eat, drink and explore? Why, yes! thank you very much

Columbus Food Adventures (CFA), founded in 2010, has offered people a way to dig deeper into the burgeoning Columbus' food scene via their food tours. These tours are generally structured around a common food theme (desserts and meat offerings, for example) or are geographical in nature. For example, their excellent German Village Tour, the first CFA tour Mrs. 614orty-Niner and I partook in, offers not only delicious samples of the area's food but also historical perspective on this prominent neighborhood. My spouse (no, I'm not jealous) has also taken their excellent Coffee Tour, which provides a retrospective on coffee as a whole as well as the up-and-coming coffee scene in this area.

Andy, our knowledgeable CFA tour host

Spending three decades plus prior in Northern California, I got very familiar with Mexican cuisine in general. Much of it was based in more north/northwest Mexican regions (Zacatecas, Guanajuato and Sinaloa, for example) but I was thrilled when a place that was atypical (e.g. the Yucatan) would open and I could expand my perceptions of this country's overall cuisine. My spouse's interest in these street-level eats has also been opened up during her visits to the Bay Area and our trips to various mobile purveyors there.

Since moving to Columbus, we really hadn't done much sampling of this area's Mexican offerings, a fact that has been a bit disappointing to both of us. For me, the surprise of having so much in the way of this cuisine out here made it even more of a bugaboo for me. The Taco Truck Tour, a birthday present for my spouse, allowed both of us to explore that world together.

Andy, co-founder of the business along with his wife Bethia, turned out to be our host for the taco truck tour. He was an engaging host, providing solid knowledge of how this scene was established in the Columbus metro area and descriptions of the foods we were sampling. He also was more than happy to answer questions related to the tour as well as other Columbus food-related topics (and yes, there were plenty of those during our tour.)

Before we left, Andy explained that while there are two main areas for taco trucks in the metro area, the taco trucks on this tour were all generally based in the southwest portions of the metro area. Our first stop, La Popular, was representative of both what you get at a typical taco truck and the typical street taco.

The baseline street taco and menu at La Popular

Indeed, La Popular's menu reminded me of the typical taco truck menus back in the Bay Area, with perhaps a more comprehensive list of proteins than most (I was familiar with all of them except the jamon (ham.)) Everything that I knew to be typically in their street taco was here: two corn tortillas with the protein (in this case, barbacoa), plus diced onions, cilantro, and an assortment of sliced veggies. The barbacoa was quite tender and tasty, and everyone had the bonus option of sampling four different salsas rather than the standard red and green offerings (the avocado salsa was uniquely flavorful, but my spouse and I enjoyed them all.)

The spectacular Los Guachos, their glorious gringa, and a unique habañero add-on

Our next trip was to the granddaddy of the Columbus taco truck scene: Los Guachos. We quickly found out that the recently upgraded Los Guachos is really more of a taco trailer than a truck, a gleaming silver diner-like structure stationed in the parking lot of the La Boom nightclub. This is no accident: some of the more popular acts in the Mexican music world perform at La Boom and Los Guachos provides throngs of concert-goers the perfect opportunity to sate their hunger pangs.

Los Guachos has gained much local and national acclaim for their al pastor, which is essentially marinated pork that wrapped around a vertical rotisserie spit and slowly cooked. The al pastor is simply sliced off when needed for preparing an order.

My Bay Area experiences prior had been mainly with spicy al pastor and at places that did not use a pineapple on the top of the trompo to add carmelization to the meat. The sweet tang in Los Guachos I had from their brick and mortar location at Godown Road really caught me off guard, and I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. However, a positive experience at another taqueria (Charritos, as referenced in this blog post) where a pineapple was utilized in the al pastor cooking convinced me that I owed Los Guachos a second chance. This second chance came in the form of their gringa, a variation on a quesadilla where a toasted flour tortilla is covered in grilled, caramelized cheese, with onion and cilantro on top of the al pastor.

Oh, my! This al pastor was completely different from what I had the first time. I did get a hint of sweet in the crispy bits, but the predominant profile was savory, juicy and just plain good. I peered closer at the trompo holding the al pastor and saw what looked to a gas jet flame at full force cooking and crisping up the surface. This setup is pretty much the optimal one, something that their location on Godown or almost any brick and mortar can't duplicate (our host Andy tended to agree with me, saying he didn't find the al pastor quite as tasty at that location either.)

Another interesting aspect is their large bowls of sliced vegetables and a habañero slaw (slices of those hot peppers mixed in with sliced red onions and soy sauce) that adds a unique complement to anything that you might order from Los Guachos.

Taqueria San Angel: Frying up the cecina and their tasty tlayuda

Afterward, we moved basically across the street to visit one of the newcomers to the local scene: the Oaxacan-based Taqueria San Angel. Again, my prior Charritos visit came into play here, as they had some Oaxacan specialties that I was eager to try at a future date. Luckily for me, one of those specialties, the tlayuda (something of a Mexican pizza or flatbread) was on our sampling docket. San Angel's version sported a black bean paste (black beans are a staple of Oaxacan cuisine) and was topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and cecina, thin strips of beef that reminded me of the Filipino tapa meat I ate as a youngster. The tlayuda was tasty, but the real highlight for the spouse and I was their horchata. Unlike most versions around the area, San Angel's was the real deal, made by soaking rice for a prescribed amount of time, straining the liquid, and adding what seemed to be cinnamon and maybe even some nutmeg. This drink was nicely refreshing on what turned out to be a hot and humid tour day.

The menu at Mr. Grill, spicy veggies, and a gordita done right

By the time we got to Mr. Grill, which according to our host was the oldest operating taco truck in the Columbus area, many of the tour-goers' stomachs were getting close to full. Still, that didn't stop most of us from enjoying Mr. Grill's version of a gordita, a grilled masa shell filled with meat (in this case, carnitas), lettuce, tomato and chunks of queso fresco. This was obviously way better than any version advertised by a certain fast food chain I shall not mention here, and I finished mine off no problem. If I had my druthers, I would've grabbed some of the pickled jalapenos and carrots (always a treat whenever I found them at any Bay Area taco trucks) but I wanted to save room for the final two stops.

Finishing off with Las Delicias and their Mexican nieve ice creams

Back home, I was very familiar with paleterias (one of my favorites, La Michoacana, was a frequently visited destination on the way home) but not so much with nieve, a Mexican water-based ice cream that Las Delicias served. Based on the flavors that were available at the time plus our host Andy's advice of the flavors he liked in order of preference, my spouse went with his recommended nuez (walnut) and I went with the middle-of-the-pack vanilla just for something different. Andy's preferences turned out to be good reference: we both enjoyed the nuez the most. The nieve itself for both our choices was something akin to a very lightly-flavored, finely textured snow cone placed on a regulation ice cream cone.

La Plaza Tapatia: Everything Mexican you can want and then some

Back in the Bay Area, stores like Seafood City in Vallejo or 99 Ranch Market in Daly City were places where I knew I could find just about anything Philippine-oriented within along with an assortment of other goods. La Plaza Tapatia basically is the same style store with a Mexican focus. Products were all well arranged and plentiful, the produce aisles looked like they held quality products, and the butcher's area was bustling with many customers. In addition, anyone with a massive sweet tooth could get that fulfilled a few times over with their rather extensive candy section. Finally, a restaurant that serves food beyond the typical taco truck offerings is also on the premises and is a favorite gathering place for numerous people. After some browsing around, we ended up with more hydration in the form of Mexican soda pop, often found at many taco truck stands.

Columbus' culinary offerings are well worth discovering, and CFA offers a concise, knowledge-filled and, most importantly, fun way to explore various aspects of this diverse world. We highly enjoyed our second tour together with CFA, look forward to taking in another tour sometime in the future, and recommend their tours to visitors and locals alike.

2017 update: Columbus Food Adventures has expanded its tour line to include Breakfast and Brunch tours with famed local blogger Breakfast With Nick and a walking tour of Old Worthington and Grandview.  For more information, please consult the following social media links or give them a phone call at (614)440-3177.
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