Challah

Challah is a regular participant in the Food Truck Food Court at the Columbus Commons, and it pops up regularly at other spots around town. The ladies behind Challah prepare fresh comfort food rooted in Jewish cuisine, particularly the kind from Eastern Europe.

There isn't a ton of options available for vegetarians from Challah, but there is a meatless sandwich and side dish on the menu. The bread is good enough to make sandwiches a must-have from the truck.

There were differences in the bread for the tomato sandwich on separate visits. The interior with heirloom tomatoes, Emmental cheese, endive and mayonnaise is a perfect marriage of ingredients for a summer sandwich. The sweetness of the tomatoes amplifies the richness of the cheese and the spice in the greens in perfect synergy.

The latkes, served with sour cream or apple sauce, are made with thin ribbons of potato. It is a superior side to the somewhat ordinary cole slaw.

The cart handled a high volume of business well with minor timing flaws. Staff capably handled vegetarian questions and fixed all service issues. 

Murray's Cheese at Kroger

The cheese selection at Kroger just got better with a new New York City import.

Three central Ohio Kroger Marketplace stores are going to partner with Murray's, NYC's original cheese shop, to add variety to Kroger's specialty cheese case.

To showcase its first Murray's in the area, Kroger hosted a blogger tasting at the Sawmill Road location this past Thursday. Disclosure: the wine and cheese in the tasting were provided free of charge. I was also given a bag with cheese and the Murray's Cheese Handbook. Like most cheese shops, Murray's will let you taste just about anything in the case.

The event was an introduction to Murray's, its history and its approach to cheese. While this is the first Murray's in central Ohio, others have recently opened near Cincinnati and Dayton.

Murray's organizes its cheeses by flavor (mild to sharp), and then by category (soft-ripened, blue, et al.). There are a ton of classic imports, as well as big-name American cheeses from all over. The Ohio cheese selection is currently limited, but Nathan Aldridge, the manager presenting the tasting, expressed an interest in carrying more as he becomes more familiar with Buckeye State producers.

Despite the local shortcoming, Murray's really does offer a great selection of cheese. Some of the stars of the tasting included the fresh Vermont Butter & Cheese Company's goat cheese, a crumbly, soft mild cheese with a light clean flavor. The fromager d'affinois is a soft-ripened goat cheese with the flavor of triple-cream cheese like St. Andre (it's actually a double-cream) and an unctuous texture that practically runs down your arm. The Pleasant Ridge raw cow's milk cheese had a funky herbal flavor that finished with bright citrus notes. The black label Cambozola is a blue cheese that's mild enough to win over those who hate blue cheese, and complex enough to make moldy cheese fans come back for more.

The staff is extremely knowledgeable about cheeses, as would be expected at an operation carrying Murray's name. They should be able to find a cheese for every palate. Like most cheese shops, Murray's will let you taste just about anything in the case. Vegetarians take note: Murray's lists the enzymes used in all of the cheeses, allowing vegetarians to avoid cheeses made with animal rennet.

While the first Murray's is open in the area, two more should open by year's end. The Brewery District Kroger and the Dublin Kroger on Hospital Drive will look much like the Sawmill location. The Brewery District Kroger might offer a little more cut-to-order cheese than the other two because of its layout.

It will be interesting to see how Murray's fits into the gourmet scene in central Ohio. While Murray's is a high-profile name in the industry, Whole Foods, The Hills Market, Katzinger's, the Giant Eagle Market District and Curds and Whey in the North Market have pretty formidable cheese selections, too. It will make great cheese more accessible to those who live near these Kroger locations, but will the Murray's name and approach be enough to draw people from outside the stores' vicinity who shop at these other area cheese providers?

Capitol Cafe by Milo's

Capitol Cafe is the restaurant inside the Ohio Statehouse. It is run by the folks from Franklinton's Milo's Deli.

Much like Milo's, Capitol Cafe specializes in sandwiches, salads and deli sides. Orders can be enjoyed inside the Statehouse as well as in the form of a take-out order.

The vegetarian sandwiches are a veggie panini and a cold tomato mozzarella pesto sandwich. Those who don't eat eggs should note that Capitol Cafe's salads are prepared with hard boiled eggs, which can be held on request.

The veggie panini is made with multicolored peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese. The soft white bread showed nice press marks. This is a solid sandwich.

The salads are huge. The Greek salad was piled with Feta cheese and black olives. The giant bowls, while aesthetically pleasing, sat clumsily on the table.

There are televisions tuned to television news at the Capitol Cafe, befitting its political setting. There is a surprisingly large amount of seating in a space that looks small on initial examination.

Lexi's on Third

Lexi's on Third is the newest sibling in the Danny's Deli family. The youngest sister features a bigger menu than its predecessors served in a brisk fashion befitting a Downtown breakfast and lunch spot.

The menu at Lexi's is far more vegetarian friendly than the menu at Danny's. There are meatless salads, a grilled cheese sandwich, a veggie wrap, an egg salad sandwich and a Luna Burger in addition to a bevy of side dishes.

Lexi's squeezed in a decent amount of seating into the restaurant. In addition to the dining room, there is ample seating on the outdoor patio. They also serve alcohol.

The veggie wrap is stuffed with avocado, mushroom, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheddar and Swiss cheese with sun-dried tomato pesto and Italian dressing. The synergy of flavors works harmoniously well together.

In terms of the side dishes, the onion rings had a fantastic crunch but were served in too small of a portion. The potato salad looked unappetizing served from an ice cream scoop, yet it was deliciously subtle with a bright mustard tang that proves that looks can sometimes be deceiving.

The most impressive part of the experience at Lexi's was the speed at which they delivered lunch. Although I was 10th in line, it took less than 30 minutes from standing in line to walking out the door with a full belly. The rapid delivery of high quality sandwiches should endear Lexi's to area workers.

Lexi's on Third

Ohio Deli and Restaurant

Ohio Deli is a Columbus establishment made immortal by Man v. Food. In the episode, Adam Richman takes down the Dagwood challenge, a sandwich made with a pound and a half of lunch meat with a side pound of fries and a pickle. It must be eaten in 30 minutes.

However, this is a vegetarian blog. So I figured that I would take one for the team and figure out what a vegetarian eats at a restaurant famous for having giant deli meat sandwiches.

Surprisingly, the Ohio Deli has an expansive, diner-esque menu. While there aren't tons of meatless options, there are a couple of meatless salads, sides and sandwiches available for those looking to avoid the physiological damage of the Dagwood challenge.

Vegetarian options include a few breakfast items, a house salad, fruit salad, stuffed tomato, French fries, onion straws, mozzarella cheese sticks, poppers, grilled cheese, and a veggie burger.

The French fry/onion straw combo comes with a side of (anchovy-less) remoulade sauce. The Mayonnaise-based side add a creamy, tart accent to the crispy fries and onions.

The veggie burger was average at best. While it was described as a patty made with black beans and veggies, they failed to mention that it was frozen and made by Boca burger (or one of their ilk). The bun is ample and fresh. Overall, it's a passable sandwich considering its price point. Order this or the grilled cheese if one of your unhealthy friends decides to undertake the Dagwood challenge.

Ohio Deli at least caters to vegetarians. While the meatless fare isn't great, since it's cheap and soundly made, it will do in a pinch.

Ohio Deli

C-Town Market and Deli

C-Town Market and Deli is a bodega in Downtown Columbus that has a full-service deli. It is a convenient option that offers a couple of choices for vegetarian diners.

The staff prepares a number of salads and side dishes that are stored in a deli case. The choices included hummus and crudités, tabouli, cous cous salad and chick pea salad.

The chick pea salad contained tri-colored chick peas and corn in an herbed-orange vinaigrette. The dressing was bittersweet and slightly excessive. Other than that minor complaint, the salad was successful.

While the veggie burger was excellent, I had a minor problem with the nomenclature of the dish. The sandwich was made with portabella mushrooms, hummus, roasted red peppers, mixed greens, cucumbers, corn and red onions on a Kaiser roll. While I loved the sandwich, I would have called it a portabella burger or a roasted portabella sandwich rather than a veggie burger. Despite its descriptive deficiencies, the sandwich was well made and flavorful.

C-Town Deli is able to make a cold veggie sandwich in addition to the hot veggie burger sandwich. Diners are also able to build-their-own sandwich with a variety of breads, cheeses, veggies and condiments.

C-Town is a decent deli option with an esoteric set-up. It is open Monday through Saturday from 8 to 8. While diners cannot drink on-site, there is a limited selection of beer and wine available for those who make their orders to-go.

C-Town Deli

Katzinger's Deli - Restaurant Week

I started Restaurant Week at Katzinger's in German Village. Although it's a deli noted for its lunch meat creations, Katzinger's does a fantastic job of rustling up a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan sandwich options, including one created just for Restaurant Week.

The special at Katzinger's is $20.09 for two (or $10.05 for one) with a choice of sandwich, side dish and dessert. Although there is only one vegetarian sandwich on the fixed price menu, there are two vegetarian sides and two vegetarian desserts.

The vegetarian sandwich is roasted eggplant and fresh mozzarella slathered in a tomato jam with a few various greens tossed on top, served on sliced fire bread. The bread lends a rustic, smoky quality to the sandwich, the mozzarella adds a delicious creaminess, and the tomato jam lends a mildly spiced midpalate to the flavor profile. The sandwich is great.

The mesclun mix is augmented with sliced pears, walnuts, lucious goat cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette. While the salad components are stellar (especially the flecks of goat cheese, which were out of this world), the dressing was cloyingly sweet. It lacked the proper acidity to act as a foil to the other ingredients in the salad. The quality of the ingredients, however, more than makes up for the minor flaw in the dressing.

The flourless chocolate cake with toasted pine nuts and fleur de sel sea salt was a decadently rich conclusion to the meal. The notes of dark chocolate come through clearly, supported by fresh raspberries and a hint of mouthwatering sodium chloride.

Also on the topic of salt, the other bonus to eating at Katzinger's is obviously the pickle barrels. While waiting for my meal, I tried both a dill pickle and the insanely addictive garlic pickle. While garlic pickles are delicious, let me personally recommend that you not kiss anybody you love for at least a month after eating one. It seemingly takes weeks just to sweat out the garlic juice.

My older review of Katzinger's is here, and I have a few other pictures here. Whether it's Restaurant Week or not, Katzinger's Deli is always a treat for the vegetarian-inclined diner.

Katzinger's Restaurant Week

Johnson's Ice Cream at Brown Bag Deli

I trekked over to the new Johnson's Ice Cream in the side entrance of the Brown Bag Deli. Now that Bakery Gingham features Hartzler ice cream, German Village is awash in sweet Ohio dairy products.

I wrote about the cheese sandwich at Brown Bag almost two years ago. During that time period, purveyors of desserts have come and gone. It started with Bakery Gingham, which has now moved south to Thurman Avenue. It was followed by Belle's Old Timey Donuts. Those are the places I remember, although there may have been other vendors there.

Johnson's Real Ice Cream is made in Bexley. The main location features 70 flavors, while the German Village outpost offered about eight. Flavors included chocolate, three bean vanilla, black raspberry chocolate chip, cookie dough, and the delicious banana fudge ice cream as well as cappuccino yogurt. The flavors are more traditional than those at haute outlets like Jeni's.

At $2.50 a scoop, Johnson's should do a decent business cooling down Village residents at the end of the long, hot summer (also, MyColumbusOhioBlog wrote about Hartzler ice cream at Bakery Gingham, so you can get the scoop on their offerings over here).

Johnson's Ice Cream

Danny's Deli

Some places are trendy, cutting edge, or vaguely avant garde. Other places are well-worn classics. In the shadows of the Huntington Building resides a place befitting the latter description.

Danny's Deli is one of the many sandwich options designed to nourish the working class in and around Downtown Columbus. The place is always humming during business hours, which is a testament to the quality and speed with which Danny's cooks up breakfast and lunch.

Danny's in Columbus is the second location. The original Danny's, namesake of owner Danny Georges, is in Cleveland. The menu is essentially classic breakfast items and sandwiches with chips, fries, onion rings and other deep fried side dishes. They are in no way affiliated with the equally delicious Danny's Subs in Westerville.

Although the menu is laden with Dagwood-esque creations piled with layer upon layer of corned beef, there are a few options available for the meatless-eats crowd. There are a grilled cheese sandwich, a garden burger and a number of breakfast items for those who eat ovum.

I tried the veggie wrap. It is essentially a well-dressed salad in a flour wrap. Lettuce, tomato, red onion, black olive, cucumber, mozzarella and cheddar cheese are crammed into a wrap after taking a bath in Italian dressing.

The sandwich is a healthy item. I completely undid all of the health benefits by ordering it with onion rings.

Prices at Danny's are reasonable. It's difficult to spend more than $10.

Danny's Deli

McAlister's Deli

McAlister's is Alabama's answer to Panera Bread. They feature soups, salads and sandwiches alongside a few other options like pizza and baked potatoes. It is a fast casual restaurant with locations throughout the Yellowhammer State (and many other states, as well).

The veggie sandwich is a wrap stuffed with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red pepper and Swiss cheese with a side of ranch dressing. It is as fresh as it is colorful.

Sandwiches come with a choice of side dishes. The vegetarian choices include macaroni and cheese, potato salad, chips, fresh fruit and applesauce.

McAlister's also features a veggie chili. It comes in a cup or a bowl, or poured on top of a platter of nachos. The chili is chock full of tomatoes and other vegetables, and it does not contain soy.

The menu also has three flatbread pizzas and a baked potato for vegetarians. The other big seller on the menu is McAlister's Sweet Tea, which comes by the glass or by the gallon.

McAllister's

Danny's Subs

I have mentioned Danny's Subs in Westerville in previous posts. But I didn't have photos in the last post. And now I do.

They make a glorious vegetarian sub at Danny's. Strict vegetarians might be put off by the one-slicer-cuts-all approach at Danny's. But really. At Quizno's, the one knife that spreads all the guacamole cuts through all the other roast beef sandwiches. It's never really as veggie as it looks. So caveat emptor.

That being said, if you can get past those things, the wheat bread is great with the banana peppers, black olives, green peppers, lettuce, onions, mozzarella and provolone cheese, oil and vinegar, spices, salt and pepper. The regular size is more than enough. The large is twice that. The staff and the owner are great people. See the photos for evidence.

Dannys Subs

Zax Deli

Now that I'm working in Lewis Center a few day per week, I decided to grab lunch at Zax Deli after reading about it in the Columbus Dispatch. The reviewer praised the vegetarian sandwich, and I can't say no to a good veggie sandwich...so here it is.

Zax might be located in Lewis Center near Powell and 23, but they keep Downtown Columbus business hours. They are open Monday through Friday 11 am to 2 pm. You will have to plan accordingly.

The $8 combo is a great deal. You get a regular sandwich, a side of either cole slaw or potato salad, a pickle, a cookie and a fountain drink. The other bonus is that you get free popcorn while you wait for your order. I took liberal advantage of that perk.

The veggie sandwich comes with cheese, cucumber, tomato, sprouts, green pepper and onion with your choice of white, rye, whole grain or croissant bread available grilled or not. The grilled whole grain bread was very tasty, as was the side of hummus that comes with the veggie sandwich.

This is a cool lunch spot that offers the convenience of internet orders on their Web site. The location is tricky to find because it is in a weird commercial/industrial park. The limited hours also make eating at Zax a trick. Despite those obstacles, they do make a fine veggie sandwich, and the sides and free popcorn make it an extra treat.

Zax

Two Birds with One Stone

I'm going to save myself some trouble and write up these two vegetarian friendly lunch spots in Victorian Village by combining them into one review. This will save you from having to read two separate posts worth of my meandering prose.

The two places are located right next to each other by the Giant Eagle on Neil. Spinelli's Deli offers all the staples of a typical deli, including the requisite vegetarian sammie--the Village Veggie (pictured above). It was prepared on focaccia bread with chipotle mayo (I held the mayo), roasted red peppers, green peppers, red onions, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and veggie cream cheese.

The menu also features a number of salads and even a vegan soup, but the sandwich is the main attraction for the vegetarian crowd. The bagels and cream cheese also look great.

Right next door to Spinelli's is Oodles Noodle and Dumpling Bar . Although Oodles offered far more selections for the vegetarian diner, I was less than impressed with the quality of the food. The interior was stylish, but the restaurant lags far behind places like Noodles and Company in terms of the quality level of the fare.

The presentation of the vegetarian ma po tofu was sloppy. The tofu and veggies were slapped on a bed of rice without care as to symmetry. The veggie egg roll was overloaded with the taste of old oil.

Perhaps I will have to go back and give the place a second try. There are a number of other vegetarian items on the menu, and perhaps I tried the only two bad items on the menu. Something tells me that this is not the case.

After my lunch rendezvous in Victorian Village, I'm going to have to say that Spinelli's is indeed the vegetarian dining champion of that shopping plaza. Oodles Noodles was vegetarian friendly, and the decor was sharp, but I left wanting something more. You can look at my pictures as evidence of Spinelli's victory and Oodles' defeat.

Ooodles of Noodles-Spinellis Deli

Deli in the Alley

Hidden beneath the urban landscape of downtown Columbus, amongst the tall buildings and multiple endless construction projects, is an aptly named establishment Deli in the Alley. The place is now under new ownership, and the new staff still offers a tremendous number of vegetarian sandwiches along with chips, side salads and coffee, tea, pop juice and smoothies.

Deli in the Alley is tucked away in the alley on Lynn Street. The place is worth searching out, especially since they offer a great variety of options for veggies and carnivores alike.

I tried the three cheese panini, a grilled cheese sandwich made from cheddar, swiss and mozzarella cheeses, roasted red peppers and tomatoes on sourdough bread. Think of it as a grown-up version of a childhood favorite.

There are many other vegetarian sammies. The garden wrap is hummus and a cornucopia of vegetables held together by a tortilla. The Greek wrap is similar, with no hummus and plenty of feta and creamy dressing. The veggie panini has red peppers, alfalfa, spinach and portobella mushrooms with vegetarian deli spread griddled on ciabatta bread.

The sides are also delicious. The pasta salads look great, the vegetable salads are nice, and the potato chips are better than the Frito Lays products available at Subway. My other favorite characteristics of Deli in the Alley include the McCormick salt and pepper grinders on the tables and the eco-conscious glassware derived from corn. How cool is that?

Check out the pictures below, and make sure to travel through the back alleys to find one of Columbus' most fun lunch spots.

Deli in the Alley

Katzinger's Delicatessen

If the question was, "Are delis and vegetarianism mutually exclusive?", I think I might know the answer and exactly where it's at.

Delis aren't your typical go to spot for vegetarian dining. Katzinger's, however, located in German Village, doesn't go the route of most sandwich shops that offer one nondescript slab called the veggie sandwich. Katzinger's instead has six varied vegetarian and vegan sandwiches that beat the tar out of the assembly line products that you get at Subway and Quizno's.

The place also stocks gourmet food items, including olive oils, spices, salts, pasta sauces and other foodstuffs, some of which were available to sample. There are also two pickle barrels filled with garlic and dill pickles to sate you while you wait for your order. (Warning: the garlic pickles were no joke. They weren't sorta garlic pickles or kinda garlic pickles. They were like slathering your insides with garlic pickles, and I'm still breathing fire as I type. Plan accordingly.)

But back to the sandwiches. Sandwiches are available in small and large sizes, and come with the options of many different sides. I tried Fred's Jazzy Pita Treata, a vegan offering that consisted of hummus, cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes and kalamata olives in a pita. The menu also lists Franklin's Kibbetz, made of Katzinger's fresh mozzarella, pesto and tomato grilled on sourdough bread, and The Good, The Bad and the Lawyer, a farm bread sandwich grilled with marinated portabella, oven roasted vegetables, and spinach, amongst other choices.

Side dishes include chips, salads, and one of my personal favorites, potato latke served with sour cream or apple sauce. You also shouldn't leave before checking out the fantastic cheese selection at Katzinger's. They have piles of imported and domestic dairy, including a limited selection of raw milk offerings.

Like most places with a long history, the word has gotten out about Katzinger's. The place is so famous, the fried Twinkie President Bill Clinton stopped by while campaigning to have a sandwich named after him (and devouring a few of them before he left, no doubt). You can tell from his gut that Clinton was no stranger to good eating.But as for yourself, you should definitely plan to spend a few minutes in line there, because it is well worth the wait.

Check out the pictures and check out the place.

Katzinger's