Black Creek Bistro

I tried the power lunch today during a friend's lunch break after I had finished my shift. We tried Black Creek Bistro near Broad Street and Parsons in downtown Columbus.

Black Creek Bistro is an extension of the Black Creek Heritage Farm, which is operated by the restaurant proprietors. The farm raises heirloom vegetables, herbs and even (yuck) the animals that are served at the bistro. They support local produce and sound environmental practices including recycling and use of green energy to power the farm.

The restaurant occupies the space that used to be Elemental Wine Bar. They offer both a lunch and a dinner menu. Since I only ate lunch, I am less familiar with the dinner menu. The lunch items were fairly priced--nothing was more than $10.

The typical pattern (although the menu does change seasonally) is for the menu to have one vegetarian entree and appetizer along with salads. The lunch menu is slightly more sandwich-heavy than the dinner menu.

The limited choice of veggie items may be appealing to some who want the chef to craft the best possible dish with the freshest items, or a curse if a vegetarian doesn't care for the only vegetarian choice on the menu. Luckily I was not one of the second group of people.

I tried the parmesan ravioli in a tomato cream sauce with grilled portabello mushrooms and freshly grated cheese. It was a reasonable portion rather than the typical massive restaurant pasta tub that is served by less discerning establishments. The presentation was marvelous, and the rich tomato sauce tempered the smoky, grilled notes of the sliced mushrooms.

It is possible that the chef would be kind enough to make something else for a vegetarian who didn't want to get locked into the one vegetarian item on the menu. Obviously you'd have to check with the staff first.

The interior is understated, and the tables leave a comfortable amount of room for diners. The artwork was varied and vaguely depressing (think drab statements in black and white photography).

Black Creek Bistro has a small, fairly priced wine list, and a cool list of beers and cocktails. There is a small bar area with a decent amount of space for walking and talking.

The service was fairly good. The only misstep was that it took 15 minutes for the server to get to the table, which put a big kink in my lunchbreak-ing friend's plans. The server was attentive and helpful after the fact. He may also have had problems because two servers were all that was covering a brisk lunch business. I won't give the service a thumbs down, nor will I give it needless adulation. If it were a basketball player, it would be Bostjan Nachbar. That's the best way I can describe it.

I didn't take my camera with me. Luckily Restaurant Widow took all sorts of pictures there, so you can leave vicariously through her pictures and report about the dead animal dishes they serve at Black Creek plus the one vegetarian item. The other benefit is that the review is not of a power lunch, so it probably gives a greater array of details. I should get some pictures the next time I go back. If you want to see for yourself, they're open six days a week pretty late.