Columbus Foodie

When I heard a few weeks ago that BonoPizza would be making appearances on Friday nights in the parking lot of the carryout store on 3rd and Northwest, I got super duper excited. I mean, I made no secret of my love for their pizza last summer. Unfortunately, the date slipped my mind, so I remembered (with the aid of Twitter) that last night was the night, but didn’t leave the house until like 7:30 or so. I didn’t think it would be a problem, because they were supposed to be there from 5-10. When I got there at almost 8, it was darn near like a party in the parking lot, which was packed. Unfortunately for me, it was a party I was a day late and a dollar short for, as they had stopped taking orders about 45 minutes previous, when they ran out of dough. Perhaps it was a good thing, though – because I learned that because almost everyone ordered their pizzas at the same time, it took upwards of 2 hours for some pizzas to get done. And I came this–>< --close to getting towed, I'm sure, even though I was parked in a legal space. But it seemed to be a mellow crowd, who for the most part, were perfectly content with waiting as they miss BonoPizza just as much as I do.

Lucky for me, someone gave me a heads up that BonoPizza would be at Junctionview Studios in Grandview tonight, so all was not lost. Indeed, I wouldn’t have to wait until next Friday to try again and roll the dice and camp out early for pizza. I could do that tonight.

We arrived as close to the 7pm start of the event there as possible, and I think we ordered the first pizzas of the night. Bill was there with his mobile pizza cart, a new employee, and raring to go. Even though BonoPizza is the best in Columbus, part of what makes it so good is Bill’s personality. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as genuinely nice in my whole entire life.

We decided on three pizzas, none of which we’ve ever had before. We both took a chance and ordered the Berliner, which is a pizza with kielbasa, sauerkraut, and just a bit of Thai hot chili pepper which definitely made the flavor pop. We ate it piping hot while waiting for our other pizzas. Even though it doesn’t sound good, I assure you that the combination is delicious.

We also ordered a Funghi, which was topped with a delicious combination of very buttery tasting shiitakes and white mushrooms. Easily, hands down, my favorite of the evening.

The Hulk pizza put us in veggie heaven – it’s usually topped with a combination of green veggies, and todays combination of spinach, zucchini, artichoke hearts, olives, green peppers and avocado, on a pesto base, was truly delicious.

I unfortunately missed the bonding experiences of nights at the previous shop in the Eleni Christina space, but it seems like a brick and mortar location for Bono could be a reality real soon now. More details as I have them and am allowed to disclose.

But to our surprise there were other vendors there as well. I had been meaning to try Rad Dog all winter during the Rad Dog/Sticky Bun Challenges, but just about every day they were being held was far too cold for me to brave the weather. I have no idea how Tawd managed to do it himself without freezing to the bone.

The Rad Dog, a veggie beer brat topped with grilled onions, sauerkraut, and mustard, is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Had I not known, I would have assumed they were meat. There definitely is no shortage of flavor here.

It’s a little bit easier to tell with the Cowabunga dog, which is topped with salsa, chil, ketchup, and mustard. But even then, it was a texture thing, not a flavor thing. I can honestly say I like these dogs at least as much as I like regular hot dogs. Go figure.

And the biggest delicious surprise was Liberte Crepes. A crepe cart? In Columbus? Really?

We got one savory, and one sweet. The savory was filled with spinach, mushrooms, and an Ohio swiss cheese. So, so good.

The sweet? Nutella and bananas. I’ve never had the combination previously, but now that I have…watch out. Yum.

So what was originally going to be a quick BonoPizza stop turned into something that foodies dream of. A fantastic food free for all. Who’s been holding out on me?

By the way…I’m in the process of talking Paul into buying a wood-burning pizza oven for the backyard. I think it would go perfectly with the outdoor kitchen. We’ve almost reached an agreement. So who’s up for a pizza party if I can convince him it’s a good idea?