Modest House: Bangkok Grocery and Restaurant

As regular readers of my blog may note, my spouse and I have no hesitation gravitating toward spicy hot dishes and cuisines. Add to that a relative of ours with roots in Thailand, and we do like to keep a specific eye out for some good Thai cuisine.

Columbus isn't really what I would call a Thai cuisine hotbed, and it became less so when one of our favorite restaurants overall, Westgate Thai and its collection mouth-burning heat combined with multi-note flavor profile dishes, decided to call it a night. We still miss Westgate terribly, but thankfully Southeast Columbus' Bangkok Thai has helped soothe our loss a good bit.

The Capsaicin Chronicles (Pt. 1): laa gòn and chôhk dee, Westgate Thai

Alas, the spicy and delicious concoctions of Westgate Thai are
soon to disappear to the public at large in a matter of days

As one may have figured out from other posts on this blog, my spouse and I do have an appreciation for hot and spicy foods. We feel fortunate that we have been able to seek and find plenty of opportunities in the Columbus area to push our abilities and test those tolerance levels. Even more rewarding is that many of the dishes we have sampled have not simply been one-note heat bombs but rather flavorful, well-made preparations.

Such is the case with Westgate Thai, a little eatery hidden in the back of a market which was written about just a few months ago in this blog post. Similar to Hot Chicken Takeover, a place also known for their spicy fried chicken (and written about in this blog post), Westgate Thai's dishes come at adjustable spice levels. Gary, the husband and co-owner of the restaurant, makes sure everyone knows that these levels go from one through twelve, and that most people find level four a bit too hot.

We had no such compunctions, so we asked for a nine on our dishes. However, we suspect that we may not have received that heat level based on some reader feedback which stated that Gary usually doesn't give you the requested burn level until he gets to know you better. Even with that possibility, the burn level on these dishes was still quite pleasant; however, the play of the heat with the sweet, sour and tangy profiles we received in our dishes was the real revelation here. These dishes were definitely a step up from dishes from other Thai restaurants we've tried so far here, thanks to the expert hand of Gary's wife, Westgate co-owner and chef Mali,

I figured I would be writing a revisit post a couple years from my original writeup, but alas, the march of time leaves no one behind, and Gary and Mali have announced their retirement from the restaurant business come the end of this week. We made sure to sneak down there at least once again on what seemed to be a sinfully slow Monday evening business-wise a week ago or so.

 

Perhaps the little insider's info we received about toning down spice levels was confirmed on this visit. Despite us saying we had done a level 9 on our first visit and were ready for the proverbial full monty of 12, Gary gave us a little bit of a wondering stare and marked down a level 10 on our orders of Pad Thai and Yum Woon Sen. Mali herself came out during the middle of our meal to check how we were doing, encouraging us to up the spice level with the assorted chili oils on our table if we felt like adding some heat (and who are we to say no to the chef?)

Again, we received a pleasant burn with these two dishes, and the fresh ingredients and seesaw of flavor profiles that were evident on our previous visit's dishes were present here as well. My spouse's Yum Woon Sen, with its bean thread noodles and hunks of protein (here, beautifully cooked shrimp and ground pork) reminding a bit of the mish-mash of ingredients that go into Filipino pancit and its bihon noodle base. The Thai fried egg rolls we ordered as an appetizer also reminded me quite a bit of the Filipino renditions, save for the nicely spicy dipping sauce.

It may have been a brief flirtation (we ourselves will try to get down there one more time), but it was a fruitful one for us with Westgate Thai. We both wish Gary and Mali the very best, and encourage anyone who can to make that trek down to their back-of-the-market eatery to pay them one more visit for delicious Thai eats.

Westgate Thai
3201 Sullivant Ave (Westgate/Hilltop)
Columbus, OH 43204
(614) 725-5660
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Into The Second Decade: Northstar Cafe

The exterior of the Beechwold location of Northstar Cafe; this mini-chain
has been making its mark in the Columbus dining scene since 2004

One particularly notable detail with any restaurant is their menu prices: is the money that you are paying worth what are you getting in the food, service and atmosphere? Coming from the Bay Area, I became acutely aware of the cost differences between similar restaurant items between the two regions; in general, the lower cost for many products and services here in Central Ohio has become one of the things I have really grown to appreciate.

This is one of the reasons why my first visit to Northstar Cafe stuck in my mind: as I glanced through their menu, I can remember saying to myself, "Wow, these are close to Bay Area-type prices."

If one glances through Northstar Cafe's philosophy on its website, you get a hint of why these price points are high for this area. As co-owner Kevin Malhame himself details in this Columbus Underground interview regarding Northstar's sister restaurant Third and Hollywood, their focus on "values-oriented ingredient purchasing" as well as the sheer number of purveyors they regularly deal with boosts their costs higher than the typical restaurant.

Northstar has signature elements throughout its three locations,
as exampled here in its Beechwold location

Northstar Cafe now sports three locations around the Columbus area, starting with their recently remodeled Short North location in 2004, followed by their Beechwold and Easton Mall locations. Of these three, my spouse and I have dined at the latter two locations.

Certain design and functional elements are commonplace among the three locations: signature-style coffee dispensers to cleanly formatted one-page menus; the racks filled with various magazines, and baked goods near the cash register, typically with their time of baking posted. All locations also offer outdoor seating; Easton adds on a fire pit with their location, while the patio at the Short North location appears to make for an ideal people watching location. Easton also is the largest of the three locations, offering double-decked seating and a nicely-flowing interior space and an opportunity to see their kitchen in action.

Tipping had traditionally never been required at any of the Northstar locations, as the service has always been order-at-the-counter. Technically, it still is not a requirement (the ordering system has not changed) but the option to tip restaurant staff has been opened up to diners. This policy when implemented led to initial confusion and perhaps even a touch of resentment for long-time customers, especially in light of the generally higher menu prices.

Northstar Cafe's Easton location offers double-decked seating
and a much more open view of the kitchen to diners.

Overall, we've found Northstar Cafe has a swath of items that rate between three to four stars on a scale of five. Their flat breads are a favorite of both me and the spouse; I also have been pleased with their Fish Sandwich (a grilled Barramundi filet topped with lettuce, red onion, tomato slices and aioli accompanied by hand-cut fries) and their Chicken and Avocado Sandwich.

We are both somewhat wary of non-authentic takes on ethnic dishes, but my spouse found a winner in their Pad Thai off the dinner menu. And while we are both not a fan of beets, their Northstar Burger (a blend of organic brown rice, black beans and beets, accompanied by white cheddar, kale, pickle and a tomato slice as well as a side salad) is another standard go-to for my spouse.

A collection of Northstar Cafe menu items (clockwise from top left)
The Sweet Potato and Turkey Hash, Pad Thai, Sweet Basil
Burrito, and their Cloud Nine Pancakes.

Breakfast/brunch-wise, their Cloud Nine Pancakes and their Housemade Granola (one of the cheapest options on their menu) are always on my personal consideration list along with their baked goods. But it is their Sweet Potato and Turkey Hash (a blend of Applewood-smoked turkey, red peppers, sweet onions, sunny-side-up eggs) that we agree may be their best dish; it is in fact my spouse's de facto selection for breakfast or brunch nine times out of ten.

With that said, there are a few items that we found just a little lackluster. The lunch/dinner-oriented burritos are not our favorites: their breakfast-oriented Big Burrito with its combo of eggs, sweet potato, black beans and salsa has a zing that I believe their lunchtime Thai and Sweet Basil Burritos could use. Their Square Meal is a healthy mix of black beans over brown rice with sautéed peppers, onions, avocado, cheddar cheese and corn tortillas, but again lacks that zing that the veggie-oriented Northstar Burger gives you.

Beverages are available across the gamut but are targeted to a select few brands for categories such as beer and wine. One notable change has been with the coffee, with the switch from Columbus-based Backroom Roasters to the beans of North Carolina's Coffee Culture a couple years back. Since the change, the coffee has tended toward a subtler-tasting java with more floral and fruity notes.

So that question posed at the beginning of this post still remains: is the money that we are paying at Northstar Cafe worth what we are getting in terms of food, atmosphere and service?

For us, that answer remains yes, though I admit I did a second take on our last visit when I saw certain menu prices had crept toward, if not slightly over that $15 mark. Along with Northstar Cafe's food sourcing philosophy, we appreciate the consistency of their preparations and service: we've never had a dish served to us that was defective (too salty, too cold, etc.) and we've always had friendly service from staff members, including an unexpected comp or two without asking for such.

I can certainly see the other side of the higher-price equation, however, and signs are there that this is becoming an issue for more and more people. Only time will tell whether this particular aspect, a byproduct of Northstar Cafe's food-sourcing philosophies, will prove to be a drag on that formula of success that has fueled this eatery for more than a decade.

Northstar Cafe - Beechwold
4241 North High Street
Columbus, OH 43214
(614)784-2233
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Northstar Cafe - Easton
4015 Townsfair Way
Columbus, OH 43219
614.532.5444
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