Breakfast Via The 415: Tasi Cafe

Being nestled off the main traffic pathways of the Short North
hasn't hurt Tasi Cafe's popularity one bit
Living three decades in the San Francisco Bay Area, I've grown attuned to people in this area who have connections to my former stomping grounds. On one of my early visits to the Columbus, a brunch date with my spouse brought me (unknowingly at the time) to a Short North institution whose origins more or less came from the city by the bay..

As detailed in this Short North Gazette article, Anastasia Rigsby (or Tasi for short) spent her childhood years growing up in San Francisco. Her experiences as a youth with her restaurant-owner father gave her a feeling she would go into the restaurant business long before a chance meeting with her future husband Kent at his pioneering Short North restaurant Rigsby's Cafe gave her a channel to bring that notion to life in her namesake cafe, Tasi. The pair has expanded their eateries since the cafe's opening in 2008, adding the Short North-based Eleni-Christina Bakery (which provides all the pastries to the cafe) as well as their newest venture, the Bexley-based Zoe Cafe.

Interestingly enough, this somewhat off-the-main-drag location in the Short North at the corner of Brickel and Pearl gave me the vibe of a neighborhood-type place I might find in San Francisco during my first dining experience there. In terms of a local comparison, I found Tasi eventually reminding me as a slightly less expensive but slightly more conventional take on what Northstar Cafe brings to their diners.

Not much has changed with Tasi's general interior atmosphere,
operations, or popularity since my spouse and I made our first visit here
Despite new eateries arriving in the neighborhood since Tasi's opening and the general increase in brunch/breakfast service by area restaurants in general, Tasi has remained popular with neighborhood denizens. This fact, along with the rather cozy quarters within this brick-lined space (warning: the practice of diners "reserving" seats at empty tables before they place their orders at the counter is really frowned upon) makes having time to burn, a willingness/ability to go during off-peak hours, or a desire to take something to go a must for non-neighborhood visitors.

Not much has changed either with the ordering process: diners queue up at the counter (on our latest visit, staff seemed to be making a conscious effort to take no new orders until seats open up, which wasn't always the case on earlier visits) to place their orders. When things are busy, visitors to Tasi have plenty of time to peruse the length-of-the-room breakfast and lunch chalkboard menu above. Once an order is placed for those dining in-house, Tasi adds a colorful touch by giving you a placard representing a particular dog breed to place on your table instead of the usual numbered tiles.

Along with regular menu items like the Pastrami Hash (upper left), Tasi's
specials like the Chorizo Frittata and Crabcake Benny with Asparagus
have provided us many tasty options to pair with our cup of java
Tasi's entree items for breakfast (which is served all day) and lunch are typically priced at $10 or less and cover the gamut of crowd-pleasing choices from Fish Tacos to Frittatas, Cubano Sandwiches to Challah French Toast, and so forth. We've learned that the specials often are quite good, such as the Crab Cake Benny we ordered on our last visit. Sides to supplement your meal are as varied as the entrees, ranging from the usual (sausage,bacon and fries) to the more novel (Potato Latkes and Zucchini a la Grecque, zucchini slices simmered with various herbs and spices.)

Beverages circulate around the usual coffee variations (Lavazza is Tasi's preferred coffee of choice), as well as pop, tea and water; a small selection of adult beverages (beer, wine and cocktails) is also available to diners. Tasi also makes a point of featuring local vendors, including some from the nearby North Market (North Market Spices and North Market Poultry) and milk shakes featuring Bexley-based Johnson's Ice Cream.

Tasi Cafe
680 N. Pearl Street (Short North)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 222-0788
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