Foodwire
News for your belly
By Amy Fisher |
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J. Gumbo's (31 E Gay St.), a Kentucky-based Cajun and Creole restaurant, opened downtown this past July. Just down the block (77 E Gay St.), a small sign in the window reads, 'A taste of Cuba coming soon - Plantain Cafe.'
Sushi Rock, a Cleveland original, has moved into the former Paul Liu's/Bluefish area on the cap (570 N High St).
Kogen's Far East Fare (9711 Sawmill Rd.), a member of the Mark Pi's restaurant group, opened its doors last month in Powell, serving over 40 sushi dishes, as well as Thai curry, Korean-style ribs, and an expansive drink menu. You can also watch either large screen televisions or your chef making your sushi. Grand opening festivities will be held Aug 3 - 9, with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday the 7th at 11 a.m.
Sysco, a national food purveyor for restaurants, has started to supply local produce to local restaurants. Everyone desperately wants a marriage such as this to birth something holy. I, however, am a pessimist. I will be watching closely to see if this, like most great and well-meaning ideas, is crushed by consumer apathy and bottom-line price gouging, resulting in another soulless and empty marketing concept.
Bristol Bar (132 E 5th Ave.) is scheduled to complete renovations and reopen by August. Along with the new digs, the Thursday - Saturday valet service will be returning.
Things are looking up for O'Shaugnessey's Public House (401 N Front St.), an Irish pub and restaurant. After nearly a week with their liquor license suspended, attempts to expedite its reinstatement look like they have paid off.
"It's been killing us," said Joe, a bartender. He blamed the snafu on "human error," saying that the license renewal process had simply been neglected, and that other rumors concerning the suspension were untrue.
Since this is a slow food news month, you should take this extra time to acquaint yourself with slow food organizations around Columbus. Good places to start are groups such as Local Matters (local-matters.org), Slow Food Columbus (slowfoodcolumbus.org), and Local Food Columbus (localfoodcolumbus.wordpress.com).
Local Roots (15 E Olentangy Ave.) will be holding a ribbon cutting of their own; the locavorian restaurant, also with a location in Powell, will celebrate their grand opening on Monday, August 10th. The owners plan to serve primarily locally produced comfort foods. Their big day will feature a buy-one-get-one-free deal on their 10" pizzas.
Originally Published: August 1, 2009
