People love round numbers, and as I glance at the calendar, I realize that one such number (10) is approaching for my blog.

A lot has changed since that very first post in May 2014, where I related why I didn’t start the blog right after my move to Ohio. As I wrote then:

At that time, I had played with the idea of a blog, with the general theme of California-raised dude learning about what Ohio had to offer and writing about it as he experienced it. But when I thought hard about it, I realized I would be writing with the visitor mentality.

I felt I like I needed at least one year to observe my new home, to absorb the new environs, and then process the experience through my mainly California-centric filtered-brain.

Original Post, The 614ortyniner Blog

Nowadays, this blog focuses more on what’s outside Central Ohio than what’s here, but for good reason. As a far more versatile way of reporting findings (especially first impressions,) my Instagram has taken over the local reporting aspect of my social media. Back when my blog focused on local eateries, I felt I should wait at least three visits before visiting (this aspect helped lead to the couple years of delay in starting the blog.)

With this impending anniversary, I thought a return back through the archives would be fun, starting with this post on the places we miss the most from the local area.

As I was reviewing the archive, I realized that our list is not going to match up with a consensus Top 10 overall places missed in the metro, especially on the restaurant front. Some places we simply never got to visit (Kihachi, The Blue Danube, and Alana’s, to name a few) and others we just had a single visit or two, such as Salt and Pine, The Worthington Inn, and Jack’s Diner.

Also, since this is my own version of a Top Ten, I figured on some categories with multiple entries were warranted for reasons I’ll go into below.

With that said, here’s our top ten places we miss, in no particular order:

1) Baba’s – This SoHud location at the corner of Summit and Hudson has had its share of restaurants, but many people are still enamored with the years that Baba’s put into the space. Owners Dan and Caroline Kraus have never been shy in sharing the joys and struggles in the food business, and for awhile, one hoped they had found their final destination every time you held one of their decadent sandwiches (I still think they have put out the best breakfast sandwiches ever in the metro) in your hands.

2) The “Asian” Contingent – For as large as Columbus is (the latest 2024 census shows Ohio’s capital city as 13th in the nation in population), the fact that a local publication still had a “Best Asian Restaurant” category throughout the 2010s was distressing enough. The fact that P. F. Chang’s won this poll as regularly as it did added to the misery (I even wrote a blog post on this somewhat distressing phenomenon.)

While the scene has expanded greatly from the last decade, Columbus was hardly a place that held only a few “Asian” restaurants in the 2010s – people in the know could find various Asian country cuisines from Indian to Vietnamese to Korean to various regions of China.

Hong Kong House was one of the two reliable places in the metro for Sichuan cuisine and was a perfect venue for group meals. Meanwhile, Indochine Cafe in the Whitehall area sported Vietnamese and Laotian dishes, but the one that kept us coming back was their Go Thit Bo, a wonderful mix of grilled beef, sweet onion, chili pepper, herbs and lime that ate more like a entree than an appetizer. Last but not least, Westgate Thai was an oasis in metro generally not known for this cuisine. A true hole in the wall type eatery, we were happy to have tried to try the fully-powered spicy versions of dishes like khao kaphrao khai dao (we learned the husband of this husband/wife duo who ran the eatery performed some careful editing about spice levels due to some overzealous spice requests) before they ended up closing for good.

3) Sassafras Bakery – We can’t argue with what took over this bakery’s space (Joya’s, which has become quickly a favorite with us and others, and whose chef Avishar Barua has just been announced as a James Beard Award semifinalist) but we still miss AJ Perry’s long-running Sassafras Bakery in this quaint Old Worthington downtown space. The donut muffins were the staple baked good, but in reality you couldn’t really miss with anything they displayed on their shelves, from pies to seasonal galettes to lunch cafe menu items. Owner Perry has moved on to more delicious destinations, joining the C. Kreuger’s team and their gourmet cookie creations.

4) Bono Pizza – Hulk Smash! If you liked green (and we did), you’d like this pie, but really, a lot of the fun of ordering pizza at Bono Pizza was trying to think of which of their Naples-style pies you hadn’t had yet. An added bonus to Bono was the hint of mystery – owner Bill Yerkes led something of a nomadic life to bring his pizza vision life, spending time in Italy to perfect the craft and then moving around from unlikely place to unlikely place (usually not by desire but rather by necessity.) The “Menage a Trois” deals (three pies for the going rate) were always the go-to here, and waiting and watching the pies bake (especially at their 5xNW location) made for an unexpectedly interesting experience. Despite plans to relocate again from their last brick and mortar, Bono dissolved into a delicious memory with the death of Yerkes in 2020.

5) The Venue Contingent – All three of these venues are still technically around, but it is the previous iterations that we dearly miss.

Allison Chapman’s Igloo Letterpress still offers their fine letterpress products for people in the metro online and at select locations around the metro, but it was their brick and mortars located at both the Snow House and downtown Worthington that we always felt the need to stop by whenever we were in the area. We looked forward to their appearances at local festivals and events/classes at their printing facilities, which offered a arts-and-craftsy hands-on opportunity for members of the public.

Meanwhile, the historic Hoster Brewery is also still around but well on the way to redevelopment; its beer is also getting another go-around with the opening of a taproom near the airport. While the redevelopment was inevitable, much of the character and history that made these buildings a favorite for me as a guide for Columbus Food Adventures will be lost forever. I always found it a bonus when we could sneak our tour-goers into Via Vecchia (a natural winery located inside Hoster before the redevelopment) to peek inside what used to be their ice receiving facility. We feel fortunate to have received a deep dive inside the old space via a special Columbus Landmarks event in 2019.

Finally, The Commissary, a crowdfunded effort headed by Kate Djupe, captured the energy of a burgeoning Columbus food scene. We still remember all the events we made it to there, including the Block Party, the first Commissary Knife Fight (a reality-style competition between two locally renowned chefs), special pop-up dinners, and food demonstrations (I really should try to make the dumplings that Helen from Helen’s Asian Kitchen demonstrated for us one of these days.) The facility remains operational under new management as the 1400 Food Lab.

6) Explorer’s Club – Part of our excitement every month when Explorer’s Club operated their brick and mortar in Merion Village came in the e-mail box, when the food exploration theme for the next month was revealed. Even if we didn’t choose to go that route, their Latin-leaning breakfast and brunch options were more than enough reason to make a longish trip across the metro. Nowadays, the Explorer’s Club food truck can be found plying their trade through catering and appearances at various breweries and events around the metro (try their excellent Mofongo and Cubano sandwiches if you have the chance.)

7) The Food Truck Contingent – Prior to the changes that the COVID-19 lockdown brought to the city, Columbus and its food truck scene was just as vibrant as any in the Midwest, with the Columbus Food Truck Festival (now in its 13th year) as a tangible sign of that enthusiasm. In many ways, the 2010 craft beer boom proved to be a perfect partner; our interest in craft beer allowed us to explore many food trucks that sadly no longer ply their trade, including the Indonesian-focused Aromaku (beef rendang and lumpia…mmmm), Kenny’s Meat Wagon (some of the most tasty meat-based sandwiches in the area), and Mya’s Fried Chicken (not something I think of as a food truck item, but one that Mark Tolentino made work, with an occasional Filipino food pop-up to boot.)

8) Double Comfort – While our spicy heat tolerances have been worn down by the wares of time, places like Double Comfort scratched that itch quite nicely with their Southern-inspired fare (that fried chicken…mmmm.) This eatery gave us more to look forward at Halloween with their “Hell-O-Ween” spicy food eating challenges. Perhaps most importantly, owner Mary Lyski built in a charitable aspect (hunger relief) to her endeavor; while she closed the restaurant in 2017, her mission continues on in a line of hot sauces that have won their share of awards.

9) Surly Girl – At one time, Liz Lessner’s Columbus Food League restaurants, including Betty’s Fine Food & Spirits, Tip Top, The Grass Skirt, Dirty Frank’s, The Torpedo Room, and The Jury Room, were both trailblazers (setting up shop in lesser-desired neighborhoods) and places you wanted to be, with their mix of solid food, interesting decor, and fun atmosphere. Lessner eventually moved on from these restaurants (this Columbus Monthly article from 2015 provides a detailed summary of what proved to be a tumultuous departure) and for us, her Short North located Surly Girl is the one we miss the most. Aside from its Southwest-inspired menu fare, the restaurant’s pirate/saloon mashup decor, intimate without feeling too crowded interior, and their staple cupcakes put this at the top of our list to take out-of-towners.

10) The Craft Brewing Threesome – as alluded to above, the craft beer boom of the 2010s were heady times for beer lovers, and Columbus’s scene proved just as vibrant as any. Contraction seems to be the word for the scene as we reach the mid-2020s, as public tastes and focuses in alcoholic beverages have changed and the eventual oversaturation of the craft beer market takes place – notable departures have been far more of the newsmaker (in Columbus area alone within the past half year, Rockmill, Holy Trinity, Smokehouse, Random Precision, Sideswipe, and Buzzsaw, have either shut down or are in some limbo status) than new arrivals.

Out of those who have left the scene prior, Four String Brewing encapsulated an attractive “get it done by any means necessary” vibe, perhaps best exampled by the repurposed franken-brew setup from dairy tanks that owner Dan Cochran cobbled together at their original Grandview taproom location. While they did expand into a larger facility eventually (things looked bright until 2018 when the brewery unexpectedly shuttered; after a comeback with their Hilltop Lager ended up going nowhere, the expanded facility is now home to the Homebrew Academy) it is this original taproom that we fondly remember the most, a comfy spot to get together with friends and explore a whole array of the area’s food trucks.

Lineage Brewing also reflected another aspect of the 2010s craft beer wave; homebrewers giving it a go as professional brewers. Founded in 2015, the name reflected the co-owners (Mike Byrne and his wife Jessica, Carey Hall and Jessica Page) and their roots in the Clintonville neighborhood. For us, their taproom became a new place to meetup with friends and attend community charitable events, as well as a place to grab a beer after a hard week at work, often with one their excellent hand pies. Sadly, COVID-19 took its toll on Lineage and helped cause its closure in April 2022. Thankfully, the excellent Combustion Brewing out of Pickerington saw an opportunity and took over the taproom soon after in August of that year.

Finally, I will note a bias towards Kindred Artisan Ales: my brother-in-law worked there as a co-head brewer when the Gahanna-located opened up in mid-2016. However, I remember the initial energy about the brewery’s opening, as it was the first in the area to have a extensive focus on barrel-aged and sour beers. Even now, some of my late brother-in-law’s creations are sitting in our beer cellar and are still drinking nicely. Their taproom proved an equally lovely place to get together with friends and family for a pint or two.

That year of 2016 proved to be within the prime years of the Columbus craft beer scene. The Columbus Ale Trail had been birthed the year prior and was back bigger and better than ever. The Columbus Craft Beer Alliance, an outgrowth of the Grandview Craft Beer Alliance, had obtained non-profit status the year before, and was alive and well. They would host the third year of the High Gravity Hullabaloo (the last one, unfortunately) and a number of Summer Session and donuts and beer events in upcoming years.

Internal issues led to the demise of Kindred (my brother-in-law moved on to the head brewer position at Granville’s Three Tigers Brewing, which he held until his untimely passing from cancer in 2019) but for those few years, I felt like the future was limitless for this brewery and the industry in general.

Honorable Mentions: AJ’s Cafe sported a veteran of the industry (Ajay Kumar, formerly of Taj Mahal Restaurant) and lunch items which separated themselves from the Downtown Columbus crowd with an Indian spice kick ||| Ambrose and Eve held tons of promise, and the meals we had there (even the takeout fried chicken during the COVID-19 scramble days) showed the talents of the two chefs behind the venture (Matthew Heaggans, who is now with his brick and mortar version of Preston’s: A Burger Joint, and Catie Randazzo, who is now sowing fertile ground in the Los Angeles culinary scene). Its two years in existence felt far too short, but the fact that it made the list here speaks volumes ||| Speaking of Randazzo, her Challah! food truck and her Jewish-takes on comfort food join the Indian-street food creations of Horn OK Please and the plethora of pierogi varieties of Sophie’s Gourmet Pierogis as our food truck honorable mentions ||| Cosecha Cocina featured a well-renowned area chef (Silas Caeton, who has moved on to the destination-worthy Lox Bagel Shop,) excellent brunch and cocktails, and a salsa that drew raves from none other than celebrity chef Alton Brown ||| While the Sichuan-oriented Fortune Restaurant and Filpino/baked goods/coffee focused Red Velvet Cafe aren’t in their original forms, they have evolved into new concepts. It did take a lot longer for the former to come back (the newly opened Chuan Jiang Hao Zi) compared to Krizzia Yanga, who transformed her downtown coffee and sweets cafe into the very successful Filipino-cuisine-focused Bonifacio in the 5xNW neighborhood ||| One of the many Columbus-area eateries (including Till Dynamic Fare and Dragonfly V) by chef Magdiale Wolmark, Izzy and Mo’s Luncheonette was perhaps the most accessible of those ventures, featuring Jewish-inspired deli goods and one of the best coffee drinks we’ve ever had in their Tahini Mocha ||| Scrambled eggs may not normally draw raves, but the version that Didier Alapini produced for his Olde Towne East located L’Appat Patisserie and Cafe were simply divine. This was a place where slowing down and savoring their creations was always the best option ||| Perhaps its location just slightly off High Street led to be a curse for Laughlin’s Bakery, whose owner Jonas had been an opera singer in his past life. Regardless, the baked goods this pop-up turned brick and mortar produced rivalled any that were produced in the metro during its five year run ||| So many farmers market vendors and pop-ups come and go, it’s hard to keep track of all that we’ve sampled over the years. However, a few came to mind in terms of wishing they were still around, so a shout out to Companion Bagel, Honeykiss Bakery, Peanut Butter and Jenny, Uncle Giant, and Tupelo Donuts ||| Lastly, the apparent end of the run for local independent/alternative radio station CD 92.9 will arrive on January 31. To paraphrase a Monty Python line, they’re not dead yet, but there’s no indication that they’ll survive this close call. For my thoughts on the matter, please check out this post on Medium.com

(Addendum: I should mention Westerville’s Best Breakfast and Sandwiches in my honorable mentions. They were one our first places that was high on our rotation of places for brunch and breakfast. The fact that Delaney’s Diner has done a great job of replicating what this eatery produced has cushioned the sting of their loss quite a bit.)