Columbus Foodie

I was pretty exhausted by the time I got off the plane yesterday, so rather than go home and cook, I suggested to my husband that we stop in somewhere to eat. I missed him dearly and wanted time to catch up, and also because I was craving something with a bit more panache and flavor than I’ve had the past week. Originally, I was thinking along the lines of a nice steak. We had to drop off my sister in Delaware, so we figured that we’d stop off at the Branding Iron for some steak and baked potatoes. Wrong. Either it was closed for the day, or it’s closed permanently. We couldn’t find any signs that told us either way.

Since we were working our way down 315 anyway, I suggested Cameron’s - we had been there previously and liked it immensely, and their menu is just what the doctor ordered. We arrived fairly early, and beat the dinner crowd. I was quite pleased, because the hostess sat us somewhere that had a lot of natural light, always a plus in my book.

Cameron’s American Bistro is what I would consider upscale casual - more upscale than say, Cap City Fine Diner, but definitely a lot more casual than M or Columbus Fish Market or Mitchell’s Steak House. Either way, actual table linens and glasses were a welcome change from the styrofoam boxes and deli paper I’ve been eating out of all of last week.

Every table receives a loaf of Cameron’s fantastic sourdough bread, still warm from the oven:

along with one of the more unique presentations of “garlic butter” that I’ve seen - a whole head of sweet and mild roasted garlic along with a small ramekin of sweet butter.

For appetizers, my husband and I decided to split a salad and some soup. Bear in mind that the following two pictures are half portions of what you normally receive, as our waitress was kind enough to split it for us before serving.

The Chop Salad ($5.95) is one of their new menu items, described as “asparagus, corn, hard boiled egg, smoked bacon, gorgonzola, red onion, grape tomato and golden balsamic vinaigrette.” We opted to leave off the asparagus, because while I like asparagus, my husband does not. It’s not what I’d consider a “traditional” chop salad, but the flavors worked well together; I was worried that the gorgonzola would overwhelm everything else, but the mild gorgonzola that they used lent creaminesss rather than an overwhelming medicinal kick.

We also chose their soup of the day, Parnsip Soup, a creamy root vegetable puree with a velvety mouth feel. As served, it was a bit sweet - too sweet for both of our tastes, but a turn of cracked black pepper turned this sweet soup into a savory one which we both enjoyed. It was garnished with a bit of braised short rib, which was excellent - I really wish they served the short ribs as an entree unto itself.

Since I was in the mood for steak, for my entree I chose their Steak “Benedict” ($24.95), a layered concoction consisting of three (in order) green onion potato pancakes, applewood smoked bacon, sauteed spinach, tender filet mignon medallions, lump crab and hollandaise sauce. The dish was finished with squiggles of olive oil and a sweet balsamic reduction. The presentation was spectacular, and the individual components of the dish complemented the medium rare filet. This dish is meat, side, and veggies all in one, and just the right amount of food for an entree.

My husband chose the Lamb Porterhouse ($23.95), perfectly grilled jumbo lamp chops served with sauteed red cabbage and spinach, parnsip and Yukon Gold potato gratin, and a red wine reduction. I was hesitant to try it because I’m not a lamb person, and discovered that I don’t dislike lamb - just badly prepared or overcooked lamb. I was a bit jealous because his entree had the “in your face” steak flavor I desired, and coupled with the sauce it was just glorious. The other components of his entree were also very good, especially the gratin which was quite creamy and very cheesy.

We both had cleaned our plates, but I was the only one in the mood for dessert, and chose my usual “go to” dish if it’s on the menu, classic creme brulee ($5.95). This one in particular really hit the spot because it was served with berries, which I usually add a la carte if possible because I love the combination of the sweet vanilla custard with the somewhat tart berries. This one also came with a lovely butter cookie, and the presentation was quite impressive. My husband wasn’t able to resist the call of the creme brulee, and did manage to sneak in a bite or two.

Overall, this is a place we can see ourselves returning to time and time again, as it usually offers great food and a decent price, with competent (albeit slow at times) service. It’s equally great for dates as it is for business dinners and family gatherings (although, I need to note - not the best choice if you have kids - I didn’t see anything on the menu that would appeal to them, and loud kids would particularly stand out). They are open for dinner hours only, so bear that in mind when making your plans. I’d have to say that this is probably the favorite one of the Cameron Mitchell restaurants, with Cap City a close second.

If you’d like to go: Cameron’s American Bistro, 2185 W. Dublin-Granville Rd (Rte 161), Columbus, OH, 614.885.3663

When I asked for cheese steak recommendations, I consistently got two answers - Crown Market (reviewed here) and Main Liquor. While I kind of was already aware of the former, the latter was truly a surprise to me. After driving by and seeing a sign outside that said “Voted Best Cheesesteak in 2005″, I knew I’d have to give it a try. Bear with the limited information, because I’ve misplaced the menu and can’t find an online presence for them.

The location is smack dab in the rear part of a liquor store, and generally has the same clientele and ambiance as the rest of the liquor store; I didn’t see any seating, so this is a takeout operation only. Also, it has fairly limited hours (the deli closes at 7 nearly every night, while the liquor store stays open longer). I went in, and asked for my usual - cheesesteak with fried onions, mayo and ketchup. Preparation was fairly quick, and the price was mostly in line with what I saw elsewhere ($5.25, I believe - for a 12″ cheesesteak, as opposed to $4.50 for a 10″ inch cheesesteak at Crown). What you see here in close-up is only half of the hoagie I received:

My impressions? The flavor was good, and the seasoning was right, but the steak was chopped very, very fine - almost like ground beef, and much finer than I enjoy it; the sandwich itself was very, very greasy, and very, very messy to eat. Good, yes - but not the best. Crown Market still holds that title, hands down. As for me? I think I’m cheeseteaked-out for a while.

If you’d like to go: Main Discount Liquors and Deli, 106 S. Main Rd., Vineland, NJ

After the underwhelming filled pasta at Larry’s II failed to sate my craving for Italian food, I had avoided eating Italian all weekend in order to save my appetite for what I thought would be an ideal compromise - the Monday Pizza & Pasta buffet at the Five Points Inn. Their web site indicated that it was held every Monday from 5-9 at both the East and the West Side locations - I knew that the West Side location at Delsea & Landis had closed (not by anything indicated on the building, mind you - I kind of figured it out when I never saw any cars there), so I headed over to the East Side location way out on the other end of Landis Ave in anticipation of enjoying a buffet that I knew would be excellent, as I had it on my last visit to New Jersey.

I was disappointed to find out that the Monday buffet had discontinued a few weeks before, with no updates on the website to indicate that. Rather than waste a trip (since this location was way out of my way), I took a look at their menu to see if there was anything comparable I could choose a la carte. On their specials menu, they had a filled pasta combo ($9.95) that included 2 manicotti, 2 ravioli, and 2 stuffed shells that came with bread and butter and your choice of soup or salad.

The pasta was good, as is most pasta in South Jersey. The true test is in the marinara - their version is good but not great. I think I’ve been spoiled by the excellent pasta and marinara I’ve been getting at Carfagna’s for the past 5-10 years. It has become a benchmark to compare everything else to. But I digress - it was definitely edible. And even though I thought it was originally drowning in sauce, in the end it was just the right amount. The only thing missing was grated cheese, which unfortunately they didn’t include at all.

I chose the chicken escarole soup as my side. One of the things I’ve learned about cooking escarole into soup is that you have to add it right at the end, or the broth and everything in the soup becomes very bitter if it’s allowed to boil afterward. Unfortunately, this soup suffered that fate, and was too bitter for me to finish.

In addition, I ordered a side of meatballs and a side of sausage (price unknown, not on the menu, but I think they were $2 each side) - both were excellent - the meatballs were HUGE and flavored nicely, the sausage was left in link form and still juicy.

While it did end up costing twice as much as if the buffet was still active, it wasn’t bad - unfortunately, it also wasn’t as good as it used to be, and I’m sure there’s much better Italian to be had in Vineland. I just didn’t have enough time there to explore to find the best that Vineland has to offer. Any of you South Jersey locals have an opinion?

If you’d like to go: Five Points Inn, E. Landis Ave and Tuckahoe Rd, Vineland, NJ, 856.691.6580

After a long day of travel yesterday, I am finally back at home in Ohio. While I did thoroughly enjoy my visit to New Jersey, I am so happy to be back - living out of a hotel room and eating take out every meal for a week gets very old very quick. Although the food is great, I’m looking forward to getting some fresh produce and healthy food into my system.

The miracle of the whole thing? Even though I ate food that was horrible for me all week, I didn’t gain a pound. I didn’t lose weight, either - but I’m relieved that I at least held steady.

I’ve still got a couple of reviews of South Jersey food to write - one for Main Discount Liquors and Deli, and another for Five Points Inn, which should go up later today.

And since neither myself or my husband felt like cooking last night, we ate at Cameron’s for dinner last night, and I’ll be posting a review of that soon as well.

Updates on the other stuff (events, etc.) will be forthcoming. I’ve got a lot to catch up on. But again, I’m *so* glad to be home.