We've Got Five Years, What A Surprise: Kolache Republic

One of my first blog posts ever was related to Kolache Republic, the cozy little shop lying where German Village and the Brewery District meet, that had by circumstance become our launch spot for special trips to the south.  Their hand-sized kolaches, a pastry of Czech origin that my spouse had first discovered during a stint in Texas, paired up with coffee (brewed from Cafe Brioso beans, in this case) was just about the perfect travel food.

This initial blog post was written right around their first anniversary as a brick-and-mortar operation. And while their celebration of their fifth anniversary this week may not truly be a surprise (I couldn't help toss in the Bowie reference), how they reached it might be a bit surprising.

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.

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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