Barcelona for Restaurant Week

I have written a few times in the past about the merits of my favorite neighborhood restaurant Barcelona. They keep up the good work with a nine-course vegetarian degustation for Restaurant Week that features a wide range of tapas that should please a wide range of palettes.

Barcelona offers their everyday selection of cocktails, tapas and entrees during Restaurant Week. The nine-course tapas degustation is served in three waves with an accompanying glass of house-made red sangria that is soft and pleasant (unlike the majority of punchbowl cocktails passed off as sangria by restaurants).

The restaurant has a great atmosphere which includes a great patio that opens when the weather warms up. The service is attentive and friendly.

The first three courses were a tomato mozzarella salad, almond gazpacho and smoked chickpea hummus. The cheese and oil in the salad were divine. The tomatoes tasted pleasant but looked a little rough around the edges. This was, however, about the only complaint I could register about the tapas, so I'll get it out there first before I start heaping praise on the rest of the meal.

The almond gazpacho was absolutely amazing. The terminology "gazpacho" applies to this soup mostly because it is cold, and it also probably describes some of the vegetables in the soup. However, the almond gazpacho contained no whole veggies. Instead, the soup starts with a garlicky outburst that is roped in by a rich, nutty undercurrent that grows on you with every spoonful. I adored this soup, although I would challenge people with an iron stomach to try and eat an entire bowl of this because it is inordinately rich. Thanks goes out to the degustation portions.

The smoked chickpea hummus adds an extra flavor element to Barcelona's delicious hummus. The smokey flavor adds a deeper finish to an almost perfect dip. It is an intense flavor that lingers long after being swallowed.

The second round of tapas included a cous cous dish, deep fried artichoke hearts and sauteed mushrooms. The mushrooms were shitakes cooked until they were tender enough to fall apart in your mouth. This dish was the first that functioned completely as a side dish.

The cous cous had elements that were Spanish with Middle Eastern and Indian notes filling in the spaces. The cous cous was served cold with raisins, olives, garlic cloves and dried cherries. The spices and raisins gave the dish a Mediterranean flair, and the sweetness and garlic seemed vaguely Indian to my palate. Whatever the influence, the dish was delicious.

The fried artichoke hearts were served in the classic papas bravas fashion--with a side of ailoi. The ailoi was flavored with jalepeños, and the spices bring a great deal of panache to the dish.

The third wave of tapas included grilled asparagus, sauteed spinach and potato chips and blue cheese dip. The asparagus consisted of huge stalks grilled in olive oil and served with shaved parmesan.

The potato chips are deep fried sweet and blue potato slices with a creamy Roquefort dipping sauce. The blue cheese adds richness to the chips, and the salt creates a mouthwatering sensation. They are savory and comforting.

The sauteed spinach is cooked in olive oil with pine nuts, golden raisins and shallots. The dish had an earthy character that was brightened up by the golden raisins, and the pine nuts gave it a nice crunch.

I also got a chance to sample the Spanish cheese plate. It wasn't part of Restaurant Week, but it did provide a satisfying conclusion to the festivities. The cheeses were served alongside marcona almonds and quice paste. The cheeses were manchego (a whole-milk cheese made from sheep's milk), Cabra de Romero (a goat's milk cheese flavored with rosemary) and a soft, very ripe Spanish blue cheese that I am unable to name. The cheeses were great. I nominate the rosemary goat cheese as the grand champion of the cheese plate.

Barcelona is one of Columbus' top restaurants. Restaurant Week should give diners a great shot to sample nine different dishes for a reasonable rate.

Barcelona Restaurant Week

Handke's for Restaurant Week

Last night, I reaped the bounty of Dine Original Columbus' Restaurant Week at Handke's Cuisine in the Brewery District.

Handke's has long been a destination restaurant in Columbus. I haven't eaten at Handke's since Chef Asa Rodriguez took over the kitchen from former captain Hartmut Handke. Throw in the benefit of the $30 restaurant week menu, and it's a hard proposition to resist.

The atmosphere at Handke's is stunning. The dining area is an old beer cellar with stone walls. The service is prompt, attentive and friendly.

The cocktails were interesting. The signature martini is actually an absinthe cocktail. The wine list features many old and new world selections at a variety of price points. By-the-glass selections include the delicious Heitz Cellars Zinfandel and Cuvaison Carneros Pinot Noir, as well as a Schloss Zell Spatlese.

My first course was a cream of white asparagus soup. The soup was reminiscent of a potato cream with layers of asparagus, green herbs and black pepper. It was outstanding.

My main course was gnocchi plated with grilled zucchini, squash and cherry tomato in olive oil and basil. The flavors were perfectly understated and strikingly delicious.

The desserts were also great. I had the fresh raspberries, strawberries and blueberries in a tuille basket with a chilled zabaione. The clean flavor of the basket coupled with the bright fruit flavors and the richness of the zabione combine into the perfect conclusion of a great meal.

Handke's is still operating in top form. The restaurant week festivities should give people a chance to try places like Handke's even if it might normally be out of their price range. This is definitely well worth the price of admission.

Handke's

Jimmy Guaco's

Jimmy Guaco's is the new burrito joint located on the OSU campus in the storefront where Moe's was located. The menu is very much made up of classic burrito joint fare, and although the decor screams "chain," it's actually the only Jimmy Guaco's in existence.

Jimmy Guaco's (like Chipotle) offers margaritas and beer. You can order pre-fabricated burritos, or build-your-own creation.

The beans are vegetarian. Burritos are available with a wide variety of toppings, including salsa, lettuce, onions, cheese, black and pinto beans, hot peppers, olives, sour cream and fajita veggies. Grilled tofu is also available as a protein source.

The burrito is decent. It's hardly leaps-and-bounds better than most other burrito places (i.e. Qdoba, Chipotle, Baja Fresh, et al.), so they may have to beat the competition by offering more choices and/or staying open later.

Another good idea at Jimmy G's that didn't work as well as planned was the salsa bar. Chips are served as a side with a burrito, and there are five salsas available for free to add spice to your life. They include fire-roasted chipotle, tomatillo salsa, habañero salsa, fiesta salsa and another one that I have forgotten. Although the salsas were fresh, the flavors didn't pop enough to impress me. The chipotle was far too sweet and lacking in smokiness. The tomatillo salsa looked better than it tasted. It's possible that because the salsas are fresh, they may vary by the batch. I can unequivocally say that this batch was mediocre.

Jimmy Guaco's should sell fine because of its captive campus audience. However, I wouldn't make a trip back unless I had no other options (and with burrito joints more prevalent than jobs in Ohio, that's hard to do). Maybe the coupons will help take away some of the sting.

Jimmy Guaco's

Meatless News

Magdiale Wolmark, chef at the highly acclaimed Dragonfly and On the Fly, is working on a cookbook set to be published in the near future. In order to promote his work (a cookbook emphasizing garden-to-plate vegan food preparation), Wolmark has started a blog. This is an interesting concept that should be worth monitoring in between visits to the restaurants.

Also on the literature front, NYTimes food critic Mark Bittman has authored a cookbook that proposes his spin on healthy eating--the vegan-before-dinnertime diet. He was featured in a health blog post by Tara Parker-Pope.

At first I hated the idea of part-time veganism. As I contemplated the notion more deeply, however, I realized that I live by the same rules as Bittman without eating the carnivorous dinner. I bargain with myself, eating a vegan breakfast and lunch, and then I eat deep dish pizza for dinner, thus undoing any health benefit I had accrued throughout the day. So who am I to judge somebody else's diet? You'll have to check the book out yourself to see if you're buying what Bittman is selling.

Finally, local blog Hounds in the Kitchen posted vegetarian recommendations for Columbus Restaurant Week. This could come in handy.

Phat Wraps

Phat Wraps is a quick, convenient lunch spot in the South Campus area that features wrap sandwiches. The extra flair at Phat Wraps is that you get to add your own toppings and sauces at a build-it-yourself bar, allowing you to craft a wrap constructed to your own personal specifications.

The menu is Philip Glass minimalistic. There is one vegetarian wrap, and it features a grilled soy patty. I also added melted mozzarella. I didn't ask if the patty was vegan or if it contained egg or dairy. Without the patty (or with the patty if it's vegan), it should be simple to build a vegan wrap.

The topping bar is pretty nice. There is lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, chives, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, red and white onions, scallions, jalepeño peppers, limes, basil and cilantro. There is also an armada of sauces. Phat Wraps' sauces are mayo, spicy mayo and spicy chili sauce. There are also scores of brand name condiments.

I piled jalepeños, chili sauce and Sriracha on my sandwich alongside a pile of veggies. In the past, I've often found that any food can be drastically improved by drowning it in Sriracha. Try it in a stir fry or in your coffee or on your ice cream. I'm sure they'll all be delicious (as was my wrap).

Phat Wraps also is committed to the environment. The take-out containers are biodegradable, as is the disposable cutlery. The beverages are limited to vitamin water and vitamin-less water. There are also chips and vegan cookies.

The food at Phat Wraps is fun and flavorful. It's hardly a four-star destination, but you can be finished with lunch in 15 minutes and not get overloaded with trans fat and MSG.

Phat Wraps

Vegan beers

Today's Dispatch has a brief about the Vegetarian Times article on the subject of beers that are vegetarian-friendly. I have discussed this issue in the past because of my previous life in the beverage industry. The culprit identified has roots in British cask ales--a fish swim bladder gelatin used as a fining agent at the end of the brewing process. In theory, the gelatin captures the spent yeast at the bottom of the barrel, and the clear ale is poured off the top. However, it is impossible to prevent isinglass from leeching back into the finished brew.

Fortunately for vegetarians, isinglass is rarely utilized outside of the United Kingdom. It is more expensive than its non-aquatic counterparts. The article gave a short list of brewers who are vegetarian-safe. There also was an article that explained the process in greater depth. I agree with the assertion that Belgian beer is safe because they seldom fine their beers. I also agree that German beer is safe if the brewers follow the traditional standards of the Reinheitsgebot, or the German Purity Law.

Many brewers, even in England, are vegetarian-friendly. Samuel Smith uses no animal products in its brewing process. However, some of the more popular European brews have failed the test. Guinness uses isinglass as a fining agent. If you ask somebody at these organizations, it should be pretty easy to figure out if gelatin-based fining agents are used in the brewing process. I doubt they are trying to sneak it past anybody. It's just another of those odd traditions.

You can also prevent consumption of animal-laden brews by drinking Belgian beers like Orval and Chimay, German beers by Pinkus Muller and Spaten as well as American craft beers like Dogfish Head and local fave Columbus Brewing. Or you can stick to swill from Budweiser. Whether you prefer quantity or quality, all of these are vegetarian-approved.

Mellow Mushroom review

Mellow Mushroom is a pizza joint that could appear to the outside observer to be more about marketing than real substance.

There is a goofy-looking Psilocybe mushroom mascot that represents the Southern chain. The decor is faux psychedelic, and all of the food possesses a goofy nomenclature. However, when you get past the bright colors and the veiled yippie marketing ploy, you actually uncover a cool pizza joint that is as fun as it is flavorful.

The Columbus location of Mellow Mushrooms is the latest offspring of a chain from Atlanta. The 'Shroom is often located near college campuses (hence the voluminous beer and pizza selection). The delivery vehicle appears to be a Volkswagon Microbus with mushrooms painted on it.

The first Mellow Mushroom I visited was located in Hilton Head. I loved the place because their menu was exceptionally geared toward vegetarians like myself. After all, how many pizza and sub shops feature tempeh as a sandwich or a pizza topping? Any place with tempeh gets a bump in my book, in much the same way that I applaud the specific labeling of vegetarian items on the menu (I hope this doesn't give away my predispositions in rating restaurants for restaurateurs to exploit in the future...or maybe I secretly hope it does).

The Columbus Mellow Mushroom is located just east of the Polaris exit of I-71 near a couple of other vegetarian-friendly establishments (Carfagna's Kitchen and Pei Wei being the most notable). The decor features murals in the style of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" and Dali's "Persistence of Time" with the Mellow Mushroom hidden inside like Waldo, as well as artwork featuring the likenesses of artists like Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Jerry Garcia and Ray Charles amidst scores of others. There are flat screen televisions every few feet.

The beer selection is pretty nice. There are Bell's beers including Hopslam, Stone brews including the smoked porter, and Troeg's ales like Nugget Nectar as well as a full arsenal of Buckeye state favorites from Great Lakes and CBC. Mellow Mushroom also has a limited selection of wine and a full complement of liquor.

The main attraction is obviously the pizza. It is thin crust, cut into large slices in a vaguely New York style. The medium pizza is cut into six floppy slices. The toppings selections are more akin to a West Coast approach. Spinach, broccoli, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, avocados, tempeh and tofu are a few of the ingredients that seem at home at both Wolfgang Puck establishments and the Mellow Mushroom.

I sampled the Kosmic Karma, a pizza with spinach, sun-dried and fresh tomatoes, and basil atop mozzarella and feta cheese drizzled with pesto. The feta and tomatoes give the pizza bright, tangy character, and the garlicky pesto and basil shine through at the end. The crust is chewy and has a nice buttery flavor.

There are a number of other pre-fab veggie pizzas, and plenty of other toppings if those don't float your boat. There are also vegetarian hoagies including portobello and cheese, tofu or tempeh as the featured ingredient.

The starters were also great. The stuffed portobello mushroom was great, albeit a little expensive. A mushroom cap is smothered in garlic butter and cheese and stuffed with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and feta. It was served on a bed of leafy greens with a sharp vinaigrette accent.

The salads are good. Be forewarned that the Esperanza dressing that is on many of the salads is a Caesar-like dressing and it is made with anchovies.

Rumor has it that Mellow Mushroom may be looking to expand into other locations in Ohio. For the time being, Polaris is the only Ohio location.

Mellow Mushroom

Athens Trip

I have spent a little time in Athens. In previous posts, I have written about general good vegetarian eateries in Athens, Ohio Brew Week (in two parts), Star of India, Purple Chopstix, Avalanche Pizza, Salaam (which is slowly but surely changing locations), Mistretta's, and half a million posts on Casa Nueva. It will be half a million and one when I'm finished here, but first I'll cover a few other favorites lurking in the Appalachian foothills.

I stopped into Donkey Coffee on Washington Street. Donkey is pretty much the cream of the Athens coffee crop. The varietal coffees offer as much quality as the espressos, cappuccinos and the other coffee beverages. The food is also from a series of local establishments and tastes delicious when washed down with hot coffee.

I never thought to go to O'Betty's Red Hot in Uptown Athens before for one simple reason...I'm a vegetarian, and O'Betty's is a hot dog joint. Then one afternoon, I saw my vegan friend coming out of O'Betty's, and I thought I had busted him. It turns out they have a vegan hot dog that can be prepared in a variety of ways. I went with the Salome (pictured above), a Chicago-style veggie dog delicious enough to make the Superdawg go vegan. It comes with nuclear green relish, yellow mustard, tomato chunks, onions, sport peppers and celery salt.

And of course, I always have to go to Casa Nueva every time I'm in Athens. Casa Nueva is a locavore's delight, with seasonal offerings that highlight the regional bounty. The infused vodkas are amazing (coffee and vanilla bean infused soy milk white Russians, anybody?). The cocktails are great. There are many local brews, including Athens' own Jackie O's and Marietta Brewing.

I started with the guacamole and chips. The guacamole won Casa's annual Guac-Off (where a local recipe becomes part of the menu after a vote), and it was made with avocados, cilantro, lime juice and local cayenne peppers. It was tasty. I also got the broccoli, cheese and fresh sage soup. Instead of being a goopy Velveeta broth with soggy broccoli strewn throughout the dish, Casa Nueva's version of broccoli cheese soup was in a vegetable base with huge chunks of broccoli, sage leaves, onions, carrots and sprinkles of organic white cheddar, served with a side of corn bread. The soup was flavorful, understated and comforting.

My entree was a winter seasonal enchilada. It was skin-on mashed potatoes with melted white cheddar cheese and a four-chili relish in a corn tortilla with onions and marinated peanut tofu in a garlic black bean salsa. Yes, it was even better than it sounds.

I also rolled past a few other veggie favorites in Athens (Big Mamma's Burritos and the Veggie Mamma Grande, the Burrito Buggy and the black bean and rice burrito with tofu, Bagel Street Deli and the steamed bagel and tofu sandwiches, Brenen's and the multitude of veggie soups and sandwiches, and the Pita Pit's falafel pita with hot sauce and tzatsiki). I have to stop in a few more times before I finish school. I'll add some more updates, and I'll definitely order an Avalanche Pizza Veggie Boulder sandwich on a return visit.

Athens Trip

Royal Rasta Redemption

Royal Rasta Redemption is a little hole-in-the-wall spot that you could easily drive past in your hurry to get out of the seedy neighborhood on North Cleveland Avenue in which it is located. But by driving past, you'd miss this tremendously healthy (and vegetarian-friendly) gem.

3R (Royal Rasta Redemption) prepares all of its food ital. Ital is the rastafarian equivalent of kosher. Food is prepared without artificial colorings or flavors. About half of the menu is vegetarian.

There is limited seating in the restaurant for about 20 people. Most orders are take-out. The staff is very friendly and very Jamaican. Prices are also reasonable.

I tried two vegetarian soups. There was a mildly seasoned vegetable soup with potatoes, peas, carrots, mushrooms and tomatoes. It was bright, fresh and flavorful. The peanut stew was a heavenly concoction that was similar to oatmeal with a rich peanut undercurrent.

The vegetable tofu featured pan-seared bean curd in a spicy curry sauce atop a bed of cabbage, red peppers, green peppers and carrots. The tofu and veggies are delicious. I found the flavor to be somewhere between the Caribbean and Indian subcontinents. It was delightful. Unfortunately, the red beans and rice side dish was relatively bland and unexciting. However, the tofu more than made up for it.

3R is in a rough neighborhood. You can drive down the street and visit C.R.A.C.K.House Ministries if you don't believe me. But if you're in the area and you don't mind trying to blend in with the locals, Royal Rasta Redemption is well worth the price of admission.

Royal Rasta Redemption

Columbus Underground Vegetarian/Vegan Podcast

There is a podcast on CU about vegetarian and vegan Columbus. It features Tawd Bell of Rad Dog, Jennie Scheinbach of Pattycake Vegan Bakery and Cristin Austin of Dragonfly (moderated by Walker Evans).