Michael Mina Pub 1842

Pub 1842 is Michael Mina's pub, located in the MGM Grand The District shops. The San Francisco chef with a global empire makes classic bar fare here with modern twists and a few Mediterranean accents. The bar has a decent selection of beer and great cocktails to enjoy with the burger-centric menu.

The restaurant is named for the year pilsner was first brewed. The grill is a sight to behold, lowered by a pulley system over a roaring flame. The atmosphere is sports bar with a refined spin.

The hummus is served with grilled pita and about any fresh or pickled vegetable imaginable. It had great roasted garlic notes.

The falafel burger is speared with pepperoncini and pickles and dressed in tzatziki sauce. The house fries are fried in duck fat, but vegetarian fries are available by request.

Flavors Eatery

College campuses are always an obvious spot to find unhealthy eats in the form of fried, greasy food consisting of any and all kinds of fatty, carnivore-pleasing slop. Luckily for students at Capital University in Bexley, Flavors Eatery offers fresh, healthy fare that separates itself from the empty calorie pack.

Flavors is a small chain with locations in Bexley, Centerville and West Chester (between Dayton and Cincinnati). The menu has many vegetarian options, including wraps, pizza, salads and smoothies.

The decor at Flavors screams Key West, even in the winter, with surfboards and other decorations on the bright yellow walls. Service is friendly and quick. Prices are all less than $10.

I sampled the roasted veggie wrap because of the recommendation in Columbus Alive. Broccoli, squash, red peppers, carrots and onions are roasted and stuffed into a wheat wrap with brown rice, black beans, garlic sour cream, cheese and lettuce. The taste is fresh and delicious. It is served with chips and salsa. I also got a side of hummus, which was creamy and redolent of dill.

Other vegetarian options include cheese quesadillas, pizzas made with plain cheese, mixed veggies or Greek toppings, veggie sub sandwiches, Gardein veggie gyros, and fresh fruit smoothies.

Flavors has a limited selection of alcoholic beverages, including Ohio craft beer and wine. The Bexley location is closed Saturday and Sunday.

Flavors is a great option in Bexley for those who want to support a small company with a focus on healthy dining by way of local produce. Food can be enjoyed in the restaurant, at home or on the patio.

Flavors Eatery

Sedeo Cafe

Sedeo Cafe, another of the panoply of fine dining establishments in Powell, is named for an Old Latin word that means to sit, relax and enjoy. While the food was delightful, some aspects of the service sat and relaxed a little too often, preventing me from fully enjoying the experience.

The restaurant is a little off of the main drag in Powell. I ate there close to when the place opened, and had a very good experience. The fare consists of American classics with impeccable presentation.

The Web site touts Sedeo's ability to prepare food based upon vegan or vegetarian dining requirements. The printed menu is fairly limited in vegetarian options. It might be advisable to call one day ahead of your reservation in order to allow Chef Alonzo Horn to prepare the best possible options for your vegetarian dining pleasure.

Sedeo Cafe has gotten fairly good reviews from Columbus Monthly (Columbus' best new restaurants), the Columbus Dispatch and ThisWeek News. The reviews were excellent in highlighting Sedeo Cafe's high points and equally adept at showing off its flaws.

I started with the spring salad (pictured above), which was made from mesclun, dried cranberries, candied pecans, Maytag blue cheese and a shallot-balsamic emulsion. The dried cranberries, cheese and dressing provided an excellent foil to the greens.

The main course was a chef's special. It was a tomato stuffed with rice on top of a bed of barley with sides of carrot, seered zucchini and green beans. The barley was so delicious that it might have been a better tomato stuffing then the rice, which was rather plain.

The service was friendly and attentive. The wine list was decent if short of spectacular. There was a big problem with serving temperature of the vino. The malbec, pinot noir and syrah were all excessively chilled, and the Australian muscat (which I ordered as an after-dinner drink) was definitely not made to be drunk before dessert.

Sedeo is a fine establishment that needs to iron out a few of its problems before they are considered to be the best of the best (or even the best of Powell). Check out the pictures below.

Sedeo Cafe

Cameron's American Bistro

While there may not be a cornucopia of choices for vegetarian diners at Cameron's, the classic American establishment, which is the flagship of the Mitchell restaurant empire, carefully selects and prepares dishes that are so yummy, you'll probably forget that you were limited in your menu options.

Cameron's menu changes seasonally. They always seem to offer a vegetarian entree alongside one or two vegetarian appetizers. The latest menu had dead animals in all of the salads, which was a mild disappointment, but they made up for it with great first course options like the goat cheese beignets (pictured above), served in a tomato coulis and basil oil with ricotta cheese. They were savory, tart and delicious.

My main course was the bistro vegetable plate, which came with a breaded eggplant Napoleon in goat cheese, roasted red peppers, oven dried tomatoes, broccoli raab and artichoke hearts in a cilantro pesto sauce. The presentation was artfully executed, and the course was very good.

The bread comes with a whole roasted garlic clove to spread with the butter. I love love love roasted garlic with fresh bread, and the Cameron's rendition is no exception.

The wine list is solid if unspectacular, consisting mostly of basic varietal wines from the Left Coast. It seemed to me as if they could have fleshed out the beverage options in a better fashion in order to keep up with the dynamic kitchen fare. Nonetheless, I had to deal with an A to Z Pinot Gris, the Chalone Pinot Noir and a 20-year Fonseca Tawny Port. There is also a reserve list with more trophies from the Pacific coast.

The service was attentive, sharp and efficient. While they worked well during my early dinner hour, they may have been stretched thin when the place filled up closer to 7 p.m. It would have been difficult to maintain this level of service if the server was helping twice as many people.

There weren't tons of options for vegetarians, but the limited selection I tried was still very good. Mitchell's kitchens are always very talented, so I'm sure they could work around any dietary restrictions that aren't covered by the pre-existing menu items if they were given advance warning.

Check out the pictures below.

Cameron's

Manhattans

Unfortunately, I was lazy and didn't take my camera to dinner at Manhattans last night. You are just going to have to deal with my descriptions and memories, plus the picture I took of my to-go box.

Manhattans is owned by the same person who was in charge of the last establishment. The old place, Tirado's, was named for owner Rudy Tirado, and it featured soups, sandwiches, salads and ice cream in a fairly disorganized interior.

Manhattan's is a huge upgrade stylistically over its predecessor. The interior is stylish, clean and classy. It definitely shows a keener eye to detail than the slapdash Tirado's did.

The menu is classic American bistro fare, with soups, salads, pasta and a cornucopia of appetizers. There are a few vegetarian items that are clearly marked, including the vegetarian pasta, which consists of a linguini base topped by mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, squash, onions, broccoli and red pepper in a reduced sauce with notes of red wine and garlic. I didn't inquire, but this seemed to be a vegan dish...check with the staff to be sure.

The entree also came with a choice of soup or salad. The house dressing was a smoked ranch that was interesting if slightly less than traditional. I probably would have preferred something else as a dressing, but the salad was at least well made.

I started with a pepper jack queso dip which was served with a mountain of tortilla chips. This dish came highly recommended by the jovial man at the bar who extolled the dish's beguiling character.

Manhattans shows far more promise than the last venture did. It isn't a place with tons of vegetarian options, but there are options for vegetarian diners that are well made and presented. The wine list is also small but features a few nice choices.

The staff was attentive if not exceptional. The place filled up quickly after 6 pm Friday night (as you'd expect it to do), and there was also a fairly sizeable bar crowd. My original intention was not to dine here, but it was a pleasant surprise.

There is also another location in historic Delaware, Ohio if you prefer your dining a little bit country rather than a little bit rock and roll like it is in uptown Westerville (the virtual Bacchanalia capital of Franklin county).

New Brew Review

Beer, more so than wine, has a great variety of seasonal periods that bring forth a varied selection of brews at specific times of the year. On the heels of the release of Great Lakes Christmas Ale (my official mark for the beginning of the holiday beer season), here is a review of the latest and greatest seasonal (and other) beer offerings.

No matter what your nationality, if you drink beer, you think about Oktoberfest. Many breweries from Deutschland to Denver brew a seasonal marzen-style beer in honor of the festival celebrating the old wedding of King Ludwig. In Denver, the spirited Flying Dog Brewery features Dogtoberfest, a domestic beer made from Vienna malts, German hops and the freewheeling spirit of the gonzo brewery. The beer is amber in color, possesses a rich malt character with notes of cereal grain and citrus balanced out by a complimentary hop finish. As with most Oktoberfest brews, this beer is easy to drink in large quantities.

The other big-time beer event in the fall is the hop harvest. Many breweries release special ales to celebrate the freshest possible hop character in beers. Sierra Nevada marks the hop harvest with the release of Harvest Fresh Hop Ale. This brew is made with freshly picked "wet" hops and is redolent of the conical beer bittering agent in both flavor and aroma. The piney, floral scents and the drying finish showcase the 8,000 pounds of hops used in the limited release brew.

Warrenville, Ill.'s Two Brothers Brewing celebrates the hop harvest with the Heavy Handed I.P.A. This is a great operation tucked in the western suburbs of Chicago, and this uber-I.P.A. changes yearly (and even by batch) based upon the hops and the vintage. Most of what the Ebel brothers touch turns to liquid gold, and Heavy Handed is no different. This is a great beer. One of the other neat things about Two Brothers is the Brewer's Coop, which offers tons of home brewing materials, if you want to get beer directly from the source rather than from your corner liquor store.

Not all of the beer consumed in the fall needs to be seasonal in order to be interesting. Sometimes, being made to age makes a brew interesting. Few beers have the long history of cellar dwelling that accompanies Fuller's Vintage Ale. The recipe of the beer changes annually, and the beer is made to be aged for eons. This year's bottle conditioned beauty is made from Maris Otter malted barley, Fuggles, Target and Super Styrian hops and the specific Fuller's yeast strain. It definitely needs bottle age because the malt is tightly wound and massive. The beer is at least two years from being fully integrated, but it will drink magnificently from 2010 to 2020. Stash a few of these away and wait patiently for the rewards to come.

Another vintage brew in a crown colony made to be aged in the ale from Australia's finest brewery Coopers. The Extra Strong Vintage Ale is also bottle conditioned. This beer takes on yeast characteristics rapidly, and becomes lighter as time passes. It has a raisin and oatmeal flavor, and can be drunk with or without the substantial yeast deposits in the bottle. On the plus side, Coopers also comes in fantastic 12.7 ounce bottles. While it is a good quality beer, it is too expensive at $16 a six pack, so keep the cost in mind.

Oregon is a hotbed of craft brewing, and Full Sail is one of the many greats in the Pacific Northwest. The newest limited release from the Mount Hood brewery is the Limited Edition Lager, a clean, refreshing golden beer made with bottom fermenting yeast and aged to a refreshingly perfect, clean continental pilsner. This is a beer that shows off the talents of this Oregon mainstay.

Further down the coast, Lagunitas brewed up the Lucky 13 Red Ale in honor of their anniversary. This is a ruby American strong ale with intense fruit notes and hints of caramel, mint and brown sugar. This 8.2 percent alcohol by volume beer is well made. While not the most showstopping offering from the Petaluma brewery, it is nonetheless interesting enough to sample once.

No offense to Germany, but in my humble opinion, Belgium is the beer capital of the world. Belgium is the only place where you can get Trappist ale, an ale prepared by monks from specifically licensed breweries. Orval, the original Trappist ale, was founded in the 11th century. This was the first bottle conditioned ale made in this style that still exists today. It is dry and yeasty, with a fat midpalate tasting of wheat, citrus and apples, and it has a long, complex finish. Try this beer, because it is the original example of a world classic.

Not all Belgian beers are Trappist ales. There are multiple beer styles in the country, and only the properly licensed producers are Trappist. Many other beers are made in this style are called Abbey ales. St. Bernardus is one of the best of these breweries. Although not officially a Trappist ale, the beer has monastic roots. They produce doubles, triples and quadruple ales. The Abt 12 has 10.5 percent alcohol, and it displays notes of plums, wheat bread, cinnamon, clove, citrus and leather. This beer has so much alcohol that it might put you down for the night, so drink this monster with care.

It's a little out of season, but anything with the words "Three Floyds" on the label, you know it's going to be good. Gumballhead is a summer wheat beer with Amarillo hops. Anything these guys make is great, so don't hesitate to try the Alpha King, the Black Sun Stout, the Behemoth Barley Wine, the Dreadnaught I.P.A., the Rabid Rabbit Saison, and the Dark Lord Imperial are all top notch offerings that are not to be missed.

Nogne O Brown Ale comes from a region not noted for great beer production--Norway. This is a craft brewer that makes interesting brews from Scandinavia. Most of their beers have solid reputations. The brown ale is interesting if unspectacular. It has notes of coffee, cherries and smoke, with a thin, hot finish. This is the second brewery I have sampled from Norway after Aass, and although Nogne's beers have more character than Aass, the brown ale was fair quality at best.

The fall season sees the release of Bell's Best Brown Ale, a characterful brew chock full of flavor. The beer has a deep color, with roasted Belgian malts producing flavors of chocolate, maple syrup, malt and toasty nuts. This is another brewery that makes nothing but great beer. Bell's on the label is a sure sign of a quality product.

New Holland Brewing also features a brown ale. Their offering is called Cabin Fever and it is made with rye malt that gives the beer a deep color and a rich flavor with an earthy finish. The beer is lighter than expected, but it is very good beer for when the temperature drops and alcohol provides a little extra warmth while sitting in front of the fire.

New Zealand's premiere beer is Steinlager, a continental pilsner from Aukland. It has that funky skunky character that accompanies all green bottle beers, and it would be generally indistinguishable from any other green bottle import. Drink with care, because the longer these beers sit around, the skunkier they get.

New York micro Southern Tier produces interesting year round and seasonal offerings. One of their limited release beers is the Unearthly Imperial Pale Ale. This beer uses too much hops, and for me to say a beer uses too much hops, it indeed has to use too much hops. There is no balance. A beer can be uber-bitter and still be pleasant. This brew has an assault of pine flavors that overwhelm the palate, disabling your ability to taste it. The hops are not the best choice to use in a beer of this style, because instead of overwhelming your palate in a positive way, they succeed in drowning your palate with an overload of unpleasant bitterness.

Located in rural Oregon, Siletz Brewery bottles many of the beers available at its pizzeria brewpub. I sampled the Lovin' Lager and was greatly underwhelmed. I don't know if the bottle was old, but the beer was flat...not in terms of carbonation, but in terms of flavor profile. It had a meandering finish that was too unfocused to make any kind of statement. I'll have to sample the rest of the line to see if there is anything worthwhile in the rest of the portfolio.

That's all for now. I'll be back with more next time I get a minute. Check out the pictures below.

New Brew Review

Noodles & Company

Lunch. It's the middle of the sandwich that is the three meals of the day. While you have to eat a good breakfast in order to start the day off right, you need an equally healthy lunch in order to keep moving along through the day. After two days worth of lunch at Noodles & Company, I'm grooving along strong enough to review it in a blog entry.

Noodles and Co. is an amalgamation of cuisines that rely on noodles to starch up their daily intake of calories. Obviously, Italy and other nations that surround the Mediterranean Sea eat more than their share of pasta. However, history has demonstrated that noodles were a part of the Chinese diet as early as 3000 B.C.E. These two cultures came to the mixing pot that is America, and Americans of course created their own particular noodle delicacies.

Noodles & Company prepares Asian, Mediterranean and American food, and they are careful to be able to make just about anything according to specific dietary restrictions. Any of the dishes can be made with organic tofu to increase protein in your meal, and meals can also come with side salads or soups.

I sampled the Wisconsin mac and cheese (pictured above), made with traditional elbow pasta, creamy cheese sauce and cheddar jack cheese. The full size bowl plus drink and roll cost about $8 and was well made and filling.

I also tried a trio of Indonesian peanut sautee, tofu and green salad. The trio is lighter eating than a full bowl of food, but the variety is excellent.

The staff is very helpful selecting vegetarian choices for you, and the menu is available for takeout. Check out the pictures below.

Noodles & Company