Merlion Noodle and Rice

Merlion Noodle and Rice is a restaurant that specializes in the cuisine of Malaysia and Singapore. Since I am a vegetarian who has never eaten the food from these countries, I decided to head up Clintonville to see what they serve to those who like to eat food without a face.

The cuisine of Singapore and Malaysia is an interesting hodge podge that combines influences from the cultures that surround them. There are Chinese, Indonesian and Indian elements to dishes, and they can be rooted in some or all of these cuisines.  

There are not a tremendous amount of vegetarian dishes at Merlion. There are five vegetarian appetizers, which include vegetable spring rolls, tofu nuggets, sesame tofu, edamame and fried eggplant. There is one vegetarian entree on the dinner menu. The hot plate tofu is prepared with pork. There are a number of traditional Chinese tofu dishes on the lunch menu.

The fried eggplant is prepared with a delightful breading that is thick and soft yet delightfully crunchy. The thick pieces of eggplant soak up the sweet and sour dipping sauce. 

The clay pot tofu is a traditional preparation of tofu and Chinese vegetables in a mild brown sauce. The triangles of tofu are tossed with onions, carrots, baby corn, water chestnuts and bok choy. The dish is slow cooked in an oven in an adorable Hello, Kitty clay pot. 

The slow cooking gives the tofu a crisp exterior with a soft interior. The vegetables are steamed during the cooking process. The bok choy in particular has a great texture that walks a fine line between supple and crunchy. The sauce has a nice flavor, but it could benefit from a little more seasoning or a greater reduction. 

The restaurant is small. It seats about 20. The staff is friendly. They speak English as a second language, so obtaining information about ingredients in dishes requires persistence.

The house-made beverages at Merlion are excellent. The soy milk has a round, clean flavor. The ginger tea is bright and herbaceous. 

While there isn't a tremendous amount of vegetarian food at Merlion, the fresh ingredients combined with exotic flavors make it definitely worth a second look.

Pera Fresh Food

Pera Fresh Food is a fast-casual Mediterranean eatery located in the old Ali Baba space on campus. As would be expected, they serve inexpensive, healthy Middle Eastern eats on the fly.

Where Ali Baba offered a full service menu that focused on variety, Pera makes a small number of healthy lunchtime standards. 

The set-up at Pera is similar to Chipotle, where customers choose combinations of rice and vegetables as the foundation of their bowl, salad or flatbread wrap. Prices are reasonable. Falafel wraps are less than $5 at select times.

 The wraps are made on lavash bread that is warmed in the oven when ordered. It can be customized with veggies, including cucumbers, black olives, onions, spinach, tomatoes and more, as well as sauces like tzatziki, hummus and harissa. The falafel lacked a little crispiness, but had a pleasant flavor. The wrap is a full lunch if a side dish is added.

The hummus has a deep herbal flavor that also picks up spice from the dollop of harissa that floats on its surface. While the hummus is good, it is difficult to eat in the shallow take-out cup in which it is served, and it is challenging to order because bread must be ordered on the side a la carte. Bread probably should be included in the purchase price.

Desserts mostly lacked character. The rice pudding was bland and mealy. The baklava was good, but wasn't fresh or house-made.

Overall, service at Pera is fast. The prices are reasonable, but considering that most Mediterranean food is inexpensive, Pera may find it difficult to stand out. A plethora of restaurants have opened in the past few years that make better food for essentially the same price. 

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?

DiBella's Original Subs

DiBella's Original Subs is a small regional sandwich chain that has recently opened two locations in central Ohio. The menu consists of fairly standard sub shop fare that is elevated by fresh baked bread and a nice variety of sandwich toppings.

Dibella's offers cheesesteaks, which takes me back to the first vegetarian sandwich I ever ate. A vegetarian co-worker of mine in the mid-1990s used to order the vegetarian sandwich from Steak Escape. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't find the Steak Escape sandwich quite as good as I did in high school. That notwithstanding, the addition of better bread and additional toppings at DiBella's adds another wrinkle to a type of sandwich I recall fondly.

There are three sizes of sandwich at DiBella's. The large is more than a foot long, served on multigrain, sesame, everything or plain white bread. Toppings like roasted red peppers add a nice punch to a sub. Subs can be ordered hot or cold.

The multigrain bread has a good flavor. I can't say no to veggies, so my sandwich had just about every veggie behind the counter.

Prices at DiBella's are reasonable. The veggie sandwich is about a dollar more than Subway's footlong Veggie Delight with superior ingredients on every level. It's definitely worth a try.    

Ajumama

Ajumama is a Korean street food cart that specializes in items that are a little deeper on the menu than simple kimchi and bibimbop. Proprietor Laura Lee makes delicious food that possesses a heart full of Seoul (soul).

The signature menu item is a pajeon, a Korean pancake with green onions and a variety of different fillings. The pancakes are made with egg; there is no vegan option.

The Nelson is a pajeon made with mixed vegetables. The veggies were different on two different visits. Both times they were prepared with green onions. There was roasted corn in the pancake on a second visit. The soy vinegar sauce gives the pajeon a salty, savory explosion of flavor.

Sometimes, a vegan rice porridge is on the menu. I have not sampled it.

The hodduk is pretty much the best dessert that I had never heard of before trying it this summer, and I am not certain how I lived this long without one. It is a soft pocket stuffed with nuts and molten brown sugar. It's hard to eat just one.

Ajumama seems to be a fixture at Dinin' Hall in Franklinton on Wednesdays this month. It can be tracked down on other days on Facebook and Twitter. 

Yogi Perogi

Yogi Perogi is a Grandview restaurant specializing in the famous Polish dumpling. The pierogi at Yogi Perogi are given an international spin by owner John Wagner. The space is small; though mostly designed for take-out, there is seating for about 12 inside.

Pierogi flavors include the classic potato and cheddar, mushroom and Swiss cheese, and spinach and feta cheese. They can be ordered individually or in frozen three-packs to make at home. The pierogi on the menu are vegetarian but not vegan. There is a vegan pierogi that can be requested that does not appear on the menu. There are also salads and sometimes vegetarian soup.

The pan fried pierogi pick up a perfect texture that is delicate while being both light and crisp. The potato and cheese filling has black pepper accents. 

The spinach and feta cheese had a bright green color and a bright taste. It paired great with tzatziki sauce.

The mushroom and Swiss pierogi were earthy, and the kraut, common in Polish fare, gives the dish a more German character.

It might be worthwhile to bench the Mr. & Mrs. T's pierogi that have been festering in the back of your freezer and replace them with a pile of pierogi from Yogi Perogi. Between Hania's, Sophie's, Babushka's and Yogi, the area has been inundated with pierogi over the last few years, and these are good enough to stand out from the pack.

Papaya Street Grill

Papaya Street Grill is a fast-casual restaurant with a global menu located in Dublin. Dishes and sauces travel the globe from Thailand to Bali to Minnesota and beyond.

While the menu listed plenty of options for vegan and vegetarian diners, the counter staff was flummoxed by questions about the ingredients in particular sauces. Diners with allergies might want to contact Papaya Street Grill ahead of time. Nervous vegetarian diners could also order only vegan items from the menu if they are unable to confirm what ingredients are in particular dishes.

The build-your-own bowl entree can be built on salad, rice or noodles. Tofu can be added and a sauce can be chosen. The vegetables were limp and needed sauce to cover up the imperfections. 

While the concept of Papaya Street Grill is interesting, getting answers to dietary concerns is difficult. The food isn't good enough to make the struggle worthwhile. 

Columbus Food Truck and Cart Festival 2012

Year two of the Columbus Food Truck and Cart Fest in Columbus Commons was a great opportunity to try a pile of food trucks in one sitting. This year's festival had 35 trucks from central Ohio and beyond take part in the 10-hour event.

Since I have tried many of the other trucks before, this was an opportunity to try vendors that I hadn't encountered before. I especially wanted to try the out-of-town options.


However, I displayed local pride by trying Sweet Carrot first. Sweet Carrot is a truck that is linked with a catering company. The primary focus is weddings and business catering. 

The fried artichokes, like other dishes, were served either plain with sauce in a paper boat or on a thin corn pancake. The perfectly breaded fritters came with a chipotle aioli. 

The mac and cheese had a thick, crunchy top and a gooey, cheese sauce that held the elbow macaroni together. It was a nice portion for $4.

Sweet Carrot's dessert, was of course, carrot cake. Unfortunately I didn't get to try it.

Nosh Box is a comfort food truck from Cleveland. It was profiled in depth on Eat Street, the food truck show on the Cooking Channel.

The menu allowed for sampling since half sandwiches could be ordered. Selections included burgers, a non-vegetarian mac and cheese sandwich,  Caprese pesto panini and tater tots.

The grill marks were evident on the Caprese  sandwich bread as well as its interior. The soft mozzarella picked up smoke and sweetness from the thin tomato slices. The pesto added a garlic accent to the crispy panino.

Not Guilty is a grilled cheese and smoothie cart that parks down the street from the Burrito Buggy in Athens. They focus on local ingredients - Not Guilty is part of Athens' 30 Mile Meal program.

There are three vegetarian sandwiches at Not Guilty, as well as seasonal specials. There are also vegetarian baked goods, gazpacho, watermelon and smoothies. 

The Meigs County Red is pepperjack and colby cheese with thick Ohio valley tomato on 10-grain bread. The great ingredients make an even better sandwich. 

Inner Circle Street Food

Inner Circle Street Food makes its own vegan sausage, and it's amazing. Track this cart down immediately and put in an order.

Rich Stewart, who owns and operates Inner Circle, is a Dragonfly alum. His sausages are made without a casing, unrolled from a plastic wrap on the grill surface. The texture is firm, and the herbal flavor is clean and bright.

There were three different dogs at the St. James Mobile Monday event. The Scioto Shore Sausage is topped with sauteed peppers and onions, fig preserves and spicy mustard. The jam adds a nice sweetness to the bright veggies, and the mustard gives the sausage a spicy kick. 

The Sommerwurst was topped with leafy greens, vegan mayo, mustard and red cabbage slaw. The slaw is visually striking with vibrant color and a nice crunch.

The Sweet Caroline-uh comes with mustard, tomato jam, slaw, sweet pickles and potato chips. The haphazard combination of ingredients works well together. The vegan bun is large with enough soft pockets to hold the hot dog and its ingredients in place.

With Rad Dog hanging it up for the foreseeable future, Inner Circle should comfortably satisfy the mobile vegan hot dog cravings of Columbus.

The Green Meanie

The Green Meanie is a food truck with bright flavor to match its paint job. The menu is international, held together by the common theme of green ingredients. There is one vegetarian sandwich on the menu that can be prepared vegan upon request.

The Green Thumb is a grilled portabella flatbread sandwich with fresh mozzarella, arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocado, green onions and fresh cilantro with a creamy sauce and a pesto sauce. The mushroom was soft and smoky with an excellent texture. The sauces added a nice herbal tone to a great sandwich.

Fries with aioli are available as a side. 

The truck can be found via the usual social media suspects.