By Amy Weirick
By Jayne Clark, USA TODAY
The link with more information is here
When considering a getaway that's focused on eating great local food, certain cities spring to mind -- New Orleans, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Columbus…
Columbus? As in Ohio? As in HQ of White Castle, Max and Erma's and Bob Evans? Yes, that Columbus.
I was there for a conference recently and had a chance to sample its vibrant culinary scene. From an innovative, multi-course pairing of food and cocktails at the elegant M at Miranova downtown, to spicy tacos campechanos dispensed from the Taco Nazo food truck parked behind a pawn shop on the north side, my visit was both eye-opening and mouth-watering.
There's a bustling food-truck scene, including 40-plus taco trucks alone. A hundred or so others dish out fare ranging from Korean hodduk (hot griddle cakes stuffed with walnuts, sugar and cinnamon) to duck confit salad.
I wasn't the only visitor who registered surprise and the range and quality of local offerings. At an event at the city's lovely Franklin Park Conservatory, a food and wine writer for a national magazine proclaimed the organic yak burger topped with bacon, fried egg, havarti and sundried tomatoes the best burger he'd ever eaten. The burger came courtesy of The Coop food truck, which was making a special appearance at the event.
A James Beard Award-winning columnist for a national news weekly raved about the yakitori lovingly grilled over imported Japanese Bincho-tan charcoal at Double Happiness in the Brewery District. (The resulting smoke in the upstairs restroom of this hip hole-in-the-wall was so thick you'd call the fire department if you didn't know better.)
"We're a great city for subverting expectations," says Andy Dehus, co-owner of Columbus Food Adventures. He and partner Bethia Woolf (who also writes a blog about the city's taco trucks) offer six different guided food tours.
By Amy Weirick
So am I. And because food tours are a great way to explore lesser-known parts of a locale, I joined Duhus and Woolf on one of theirs.
We headed off to the city's north side to a seen-better-days strip mall. There, sandwiched between a Laundromat and a Dollar General is Salam Market & Bakery. The morning ritual at this Palestinian-owned establishment involves baking savory pies – cheese and falafel, spicy chicken and za'atar. They're pillowy half moons of heaven. And at $1.50 to $2, cheaper than a fast-food breakfast. (Go early. They typically sell out by noon.)
Next stop was Mi Li Café, which, Dehus proclaims, sells the best Banh Mi (Vietnamese subs) in town. Each grilled pork, carrot, cilantro and jalapeno concoction is carefully assembled by the café's owner on a warm, chewy baguette.
Then it was off to Solay Bistro, an attractive Somali restaurant, also in the area. (Columbus has the nation's second largest Somali population. Consequently, there are a lot of West African restaurants.) Somali dishes have Ethiopian and Middle Eastern influences, with a dash of Italian. There, we sampled sambusa (meat-filled tarts), fragrant lentils, and Somali-style bread pudding with a turmeric-spiced sauce.
Innovations are occurring on the spirits front, too. At Middle West Spirits in the downtown Short North neighborhood, they're distilling unfiltered "character" vodkas and an all-wheat whiskey.
Next door, Brothers Drake Meadery & Bar dispenses five types of the honey-based drink that hasn't seen a heyday since the Renaissance.
In Lancaster, 25 minutes outside the city, the Rockmill Brewery occupies a bucolic space near the headwaters of the Hocking River. There's a new tasting room in a charmingly converted horse barn. Or bring a picnic to enjoy by the pond. Brew master Matt Barbee's Belgian-style beers are meant to paired with food – prosciutto, cheese, even chocolate.
"Wine and cheese is like arm wrestling," he says. "But beer and cheese is more like holding hands. It's smoother."
Have you happened upon an interesting food scene in an unexpected place?
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