Java Broad-side: Bottoms Up and Third Way Cafe

Columbus's vigorous coffee scene has headed west in recent months
down Broad Street, one of the city's historically main thoroughfares

For those in the know, the Columbus coffee scene continues to steam as vigorously as milk for a latte drink, prior to and ever since the well-respected Sprudge Media Group's listing Ohio's capital city as one of its Five Underrated Coffee Cities. Just in the past several months alone, a bevy of local favorites, from Fox In The Snow, Roaming Goat Roasters, and Stauf's either opening new locations or on the verge of expansion.

Of course, the places to grab a lovely cup of java around here tend to be concentrated in select neighborhoods, with the Short North, German Village, and Downtown being prime hot spots. But I personally like to the opportunity for a good cup of joe filter out to lesser served parts of the metro, as I found out headed toward parts west on Broad Street during recent travels.

South x Southwest (Pt. 2): Creme Clouds and Gringas

A metal die-cut plaque details the family roots of Columbus' Merion Village

As mentioned in my previous post, my coffee at Das KaffeeHaus was meant to put some caffeine into the system to get me fully awake for the day. It also had a secondary purpose of slowing me down so I could digest the rich Beehive Bite sweet treat that I had acquired from My Old World Bakery, an old-school neighborhood shop located in Southwest Columbus. By the time I departed the space, I was ready for some more exploring the city's south and west sides.

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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Do the Dog: Dirty Frank's West

Long before the coffee shop came into its own as a neighborhood hangout, the local hot dog and sausage joint has and still acts in that capacity for many communities. Back in my childhood, that role was taken up by Sac's in the city of Vallejo. Another worthwhile option of the many in the Bay Area is the venerable combo of Rosamunde Sausage and Toronado Bar in the Haight-Ashbury of San Francisco. Folks can grab one of Rosamunde's tasty items and take it next door to pair with one of Toronado's excellent draft offerings.

Dirty Frank's, a member of Elizabeth Lessner's Columbus Food League (CFL) restaurant group, has been providing their versions of this American staple in the downtown Columbus area since 2009. They recently staked out a second location in the Westgate section of the hard-luck Hilltop neighborhood, and it seemed to be the perfect place for an uncomplicated but tasty late lunch on a day where I was criss-crossing through the metro.

The bar space, reflecting its 1940's-era roots, invites you to ease on up and take a seat

The exterior of Dirty Frank's West gives absolutely no clue to the colorful, kitschy interior blending artwork of mostly 80s and 90s sports and music icons (done by Lessner's brother Thom) on the walls of a bar originally built in the 1940's. Unlike its downtown elder sibling, there is a lot more space within; the space in and of itself seems to be ideal for hanging out with family or friends and settling in for an hour or two of chowing and chatting, with local music (as proudly proclaimed on the menus, Dirty Frank's ONLY plays local music) providing background rhythm.

Cold cuts? No! Just some of artist Thom Lessner's works on the walls of Dirty Frank's West

Hot dogs by nature are infinitely customizable, and Dirty Frank's doesn't skimp on the options. The basic menu offers several wiener options (including veggie) cooked up steamed, ripped (I.e. fried) or charred (butterflied and grilled) with poppy seed bun or a carbo-friendly lettuce leaf.

One can customize your own toppings or choose from a multitude of colorfully-named combos, including the "Puff the Magic Popper" with jalapeños, cheddar cream cheese and bacon bits, and the neighborhood-related "Mariann's Westgate Dog", which sports cheddar cheese over a combo of bar cheese, pretzel bites and brown mustard. All these items are priced quite reasonably from $3 to $3.50. Premium dogs with more exotic ingredients (e.g. The Hot Bollywood adds mango chutney) and/or bacon will cost you a little extra, but are still pocketbook friendly at $4 to $6.50. I went for one of the Seoul Dog ($4) in this category: the Korean Kim Chee paired up with a standard dog, bracketed with tater tots (any place with tots gets an extra check mark in my book), made for a satisfying combo.

Soothing my Seoul: the Seoul Dog with Tots, plus just a hint of your dog options

Along with tots, Dirty Frank's has standard (regular hand-cut fries, mac & cheese, sriracha slaw) and not so standard (Boston baked beans and fried leeks) sides. A focused set of adult beverages is available along with your traditional pop and related liquid refreshments, as well as dessert options from a select group of local sweet treat purveyors such as Johnson's Real Ice Cream and Food For Good Thought, for example.

Like all CFL restaurants, Dirty Frank's West has supported their surrounding community with their "Community Partner Days"; at this location, many have been centered around support of nearby John Burroughs Elementary School.

From all indications, it appears the surrounding neighborhood has embraced Dirty Frank's arrival. Whether the restaurant can be that anchor that sparks an overall turnaround in the area is still to be seen, but the fact that CFL has given the area a chance is notable in and of itself. At the very least, it allows all residents of the metro area two places to drop by Dirty Frank's and do the dog (with tots, of course.)

Dirty Frank's West
2836 W Broad St (Westgate)
Columbus, OH 43204
(614) 824-4673
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