Photos: yogurt on my mind

I’ve been on a bit of a yogurt kick lately. It’s a simple breakfast to make at home, it breaks up the monotony of cereal and toast, and depending on how you dress it up, it can pretty healthy. I generally enjoy a base of Greek yogurt topped with granola, maybe some fruit, and honey. I prefer using Greek yogurt as a base, because it provides more of a blank slate. Flavored yogurts are good, but I prefer something that’s not as loaded with sugar, etc. But yogurt is one of those simple dishes that doesn’t even require a recipe; you can accidentally make a breakfast parfait by spilling the contents in a bowl.

In the midst of this kick, I was sent some samples of Müller yogurt to try. Müller is a European company making their way into the American market via Quaker. They sent me samples of four different types: three of the Corner yogurts, which are plain or Greek yogurt with additions like blueberries, caramelized almonds, and chocolate malt balls, plus a cup of fruit mix-in.

In general, I liked all four, with a preference toward the Greek Corner. It’s hard not to like the sweet toppings in particular, between the almonds and the chocolate balls, and the fruit mix-in was as good as any fruit yogurt I’ve tried. But again, I love the blank slate of Greek yogurt, and the Müller brand provides some interesting alternatives to blend in.

What about you? Any favorite brands or mixings of yogurt you make at home? Give me some combinations to try!

(Disclosure: Müller provided the samples of their yogurt. Opinions are my own.)

Photos: a burrito named for Yours Truly

It’s been a blog-long dream of mine to get breakfast dishes named after me. And I’ve had a couple temporary wins: Nick’s wings and waffles at The Best Breakfast & Sandwiches, for instance, or Pancakes With Nick at Sunny Street Cafe during National Pancake Week. And now there’s the perfect marriage between my work at Ohio State and my love of breakfast: the breakfast burrito at Sloopy’s Diner in the Ohio Union will be named after yours truly next year!

Yup, that’s the face of a guy excited about having a burrito named after him. Life achievement: unlocked! The dish is assigned during the 2013-2014 academic year. It was revealed at a small Wizard of Oz-themed ceremony in the Ohio Union. Hence the Dorothy.

The face of victory. The burrito is doused in salsa, cheese, and the tears of my enemies.

After the ceremony they held a small reception at Sloopy’s where everyone got to taste the Sandwich Club entries. There’s a great line-up overall! The named burrito will officially be on the menu at the start of the next school year. If you want to visit Sloopy’s (which offers a good breakfast for a day wandering around campus), here are their stats:

Sloopy’s Diner
Inside the Ohio Union
1739 N. High St.
http://ohiounion.osu.edu/dine_and_shop/sloopys

Photos: Taste of Dine Originals

Taste of Dine Originals is this week Thursday! Hosted by the members of Dine Originals Columbus, the event raises money for Buckeye Ranch.

I’m sharing some of Mrs. Bfast w/Nick’s photos from last year’s event to give you a taste of what you can sample. The event is a showcase of some of Columbus’ best and brightest in the culinary world.

Expect all sorts of delicious treats and drinks.

Tickets are $100, but it supports a good cause. And you’ll get to eat and drink your way through an amazing Columbus culinary tour the whole evening.

Event details:
Taste of Dine Originals
Thursday, May 9, 6-9pm
Capitol University Field House
670 Pleasant Ridge Ave.

Dempsey’s Restaurant | Columbus, OH

Dempsey’s Restaurant (Facebook / @DempseysDaily)
346 S. High St. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 586-0511
Open daily 7a-11p (bfast served till 10:45 Mon-Fri, till 1pm Sat & Sun)
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.

Dempsey’s has been on my radar since they opened about a year ago. Finally, after of year of following their regular updates on Facebook and watching them thrive, we made it out on a Saturday morning. I’ve been interested in Dempsey’s, well, a.) because they serve breakfast, but also b.) they’re a downtown restaurant that’s serving breakfast every day of the week – not just weekdays – and right now early morning Saturday breakfasts downtown are hard to come by.

Dempsey’s occupies and long, thin space on South High Street, just north of the intersection at Mound, right around the corner from the excellent brunch at Jury Room. The space has been lovingly renovated to preserve the feel of an older downtown bar, one where you might find attorneys seeking solace after a busy session at the county courthouse across the street.

This is just the type of space I love. On a long brick wall hang photos chronicling Columbus’ history. A big, beautiful wooden bar on one side. Intricate tile floors. It’s big enough while still feeling comfortable and cozy.

They’re a full-service coffee shop, too. Order up shots of espresso or cappuccinos to go along with your breakfast.

Which is just what we did: they make one good cappuccino there. Pillowy foam, rich espresso.

I went for a regular coffee, served in a tall glass with a mug of chilled cream. Dempsey’s serves coffee from Impero in Short North.

While the menu isn’t off-the-charts innovative, it still features a solid line-up of breakfast classics and enough variety to please everyone. We ordered from all four corners of the menu and really, really enjoyed every dish. First, the mushroom lovers’ omelet, made with fresh mushrooms, Swiss, and onions. Balanced blend of ingredients, cooked just right. Served with a side of toast (we picked rye) and their redskin potatoes, which were soft and well-seasoned (thank goodness – so many breakfast potatoes are served under-seasoned) without being mushy.

Grandma Dempsey’s steel cut Irish oatmeal. Cooked properly, again without being turned to a bowl of mush. Served with cream and brown sugar. Very hearty. If you’re stopping by the restaurant for a quick breakfast, this is a good bet. And this dish fits with the Irish theme of the restaurant.

Facing a good line-up of pancakes, we had to order one for our boys. We opted for the chocolate chip pancakes: three thin but fluffy flapjacks packed with chips and drizzled with more chocolate. Impossible not to like.

My eye was immediately drawn to the hash and eggs. It takes their redskin potatoes and substitutes the corned beef with a slow-cooked brisket. Served with a side of toast and topped with two perfectly poached eggs. This dish really hit the spot with me. Good size portion to match the price, very tender brisket, seasoned well, beautiful eggs. I’m adding this to my list of go-to breakfast dishes around town.

All in all, we were very pleased with the total package of breakfast at Dempsey’s. Everything seemed on point: the service, the prices, the quality of the food, the atmosphere, the hours. I think Dempsey’s has joined the list of regular spots for our Saturday breakfasting or to take out-of-town visitors.

Colin’s Coffee | Columbus, OH

Colin’s Coffee (Facebook)
3714 Riverside Dr. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43221
(614) 459-0598
Open daily 6a-3p
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Friday, April 18, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.

These days, you hear a lot of people talk about the local. Shop local. Eat local. Buy local. Support local. But what does that mean? Sometimes it’s geographically defined, sometimes it’s by municipal borders, sometimes it’s more of a mentality. I’m fully in support of it. I think local isn’t the only way to go – there’s a lot to enjoy and support globally – but I think there’s a great power in meeting and supporting and interacting with the local, in turning what is usually a business transaction into something personal and human. All across Columbus there are many opportunities to shop local. In this case, supporting local means supporting a guy named Colin.

Colin Gawel is known to many in the Columbus music scene. He’s long been a mainstay of local music, playing in the bands Colin Gawel and the Lonely Bones, as well as Watershed, which was the subject of a recent book by one of its band members.

On top of his busy touring and playing schedule, Colin owns and runs a coffee shop in Upper Arlington, right at the intersections of Fishinger and Riverside. It’s the epitome of the local coffee shop, and he runs it that way. Signs in the windows and on the walls plainly state, “Friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks.”

The shop is ideally situated on the corner of a small strip mall. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in plenty of light to the long, thin space. There are rows of tables, good music playing (you would expect that), a shelf of books to borrow, and free wifi. Everything you want in a coffee shop, minus the corporate ownership.

For our mid-morning snack, I opted for two Colin’s Coffee signatures. The first is the McRoy Breakfast Sandwich. It’s about as simple and loveable as you can get: egg, cheese, and bacon on a Block’s everything bagel. (Side note: Colin also serves locally made scones that arrive on Wednesdays. We missed out on them, visiting on a Friday.)

The second signature was the Deluxe Coffee. It’s $2.50 for any size. Colin said he created it after watching customers dumping sugar and creamer into his coffee, thus masking the flavor and overloading the drink. Instead, he added the Deluxe to the menu: he steams milk into the coffee and adds dashes of vanilla and cinnamon. The drink is lightly sweetened and doused with a little milk, while still being distinctly a cup of coffee. I recommend it.

And that’s about all there is to the shop: a comfortable atmosphere, a welcoming owner, good coffee and good eats. Colin’s Coffee is the epitome of the local. Almost any time you’re there, you’ll be talking to the owner as he makes your coffee or your sandwich. Even for the short time we sat in the shop, I watched Colin greet numerous customers by name and chat with them.

Colin’s makes me think of the now-gone Coffee Table in Short North. I lived across the street from the Coffee Table for a couple years and miss it sorely. There’s something a little imperfect (in a good way) about it, the way it has the character that’s lost through slick corporate advertising and branding. If Upper Arlington is your area, make Colin’s your regular coffee shop; if not, make sure you stop by for a Deluxe when you’re in the neighborhood.

The Diner | Powell, OH

The Diner
240 N. Liberty St. (map it!)
Powell, OH 43065
(614) 846-8550
Open Mon-Sat, 7a-2p; Sun, 8a-2p
Accepts cash & check ONLY
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Friday, April 12, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.

Once in a while there are little whispers on the wind. Have you heard? There’s a new diner in town. This is when a breakfast blogger dons his traveling cloak, pulls on his boats, grabs his walking stick, and goes on an adventure. In this case, he trekked his way up to Powell – not quite as far as Mount Doom, but a small journey from central Columbus nonetheless.

The Diner – which is as straightforward of a name as you can get – is in a small stretch of stores a couple blocks north of downtown Powell. The space used to house the Grace Diner and briefly a place called Jodi’s Home Cooking, but has now been nicely renovated and brought to life again. The restaurant is one simple room, with a five-seater counter and about eight tables.

When we arrived, we found the diner half full, which is a great sign. Our server told us they’ve been in business for two months, and they seem to be drawing a steady crowd. Another good sign of a healthy diner: the regular “old guys” who are sitting at the counter. That’s when you know a diner has truly taken root in a community.

One of the first things I heard about the diner was that they served goetta. Yes, goetta. If you’re a native of Cincinnati, then you recognize this as a piece of home. If you’re a non-native, or you’ve just never heard of it before, goetta is a dish created by German immigrants in the greater Cincinnati area. It combines meat scraps (usually pork) with oats, spices, sometimes onions, then is sliced and fried.

And yup, there is is on the menu.

First things first, though, before we get to the goetta. For my 1.5-year-old I ordered some scrambled eggs and toast a la carte.

My sister-in-law ordered the Diner Special: eggs, home fries, meat, and toast. None of this was astounding, but it was exactly what you’ve come to know and love from a good diner breakfast.

I was feeling a little off-the-hook, so I went for the Big Breakfast: two eggs, meat, home fries, and toast. Eggs and toast were just fine, potatoes were appropriately crispy (my 1.5yo ended up stealing most of mine), although they could have used a little more seasoning. Of course I chose the goetta as my meat. This was actually my first time having goetta, so I’m not sure how this version stacks up to the popular Glier’s brand out of Cincinnati (although one of the cooks did say they get their goetta straight from Cincy). The patties were a little thinner than I expected, but they still packed a flavorful punch. The outside was nice and crispy, while the inside was a tad chunkier than the scrapple I’ve tasted. I got a sense of bigger chunks of meat plus the oats, and I know I saw onions in there. I couldn’t identify all of the spices, but it was enough to differentiate from a standard breakfast sausage.

The Big Breakfast also comes with your choice of three pancakes or two slices of French toast. I’m more partial to French toast, especially when you have the option to order it deep fried. Why just batter French toast and throw it on the flattop when you can go full force and fry it?! There’s a lot to like about French toast like this; as my sister-in-law said, it tasted like funnel cake.

Our food did take a little while to come out – maybe because they had to deep fry my French toast? – but I later found out that the owners were out of town, so perhaps it was someone newer at the grill. Still, the wait wasn’t horrible and the food was comforting and filling.

So what do you think? Goetta aficionado or not, I think The Diner is worth checking out, at the very least to support a locally owned business and help establish a diner for this part of town.

Village Crepe | Pickerington, OH

Village Crepe (Facebook / @Village_Crepe)
21 N. Center St. (map it!)
Pickerington, OH 43147
(614) 833-1111
Open daily 8a-2p (also open Fridays 5:30-8:30p for dinner)
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 11:00 a.m.

Aha! Finally, with a Saturday morning free we made our way out to to Pickerington, just outside of Columbus, for breakfast at Village Crepe. The experience was exactly what I expected it to be, and I mean this in the very best way. I’ve had the opportunity to write about the restaurant for (614) Magazine a couple years ago, so I had a good sense of what to expect when finally visiting, and the food, decor, service, all it matched what I had in my head. Sometimes it’s nice to be surprised, and sometimes it’s great to get exactly what you want.

Village Crepe is so named because it sits at the center of Olde Pickerington Village, a small intersection of shops and restaurants and a tiny village green. The restaurant sits at the corner; the space is bright with a big wooden floor, an open kitchen, and lots of tables. It wasn’t quite as busy as I expected for a Saturday, but a steady flow of customers still came and went.

I asked for an orange juice, and received probably the fanciest regular orange juice I’ve ever been served. I was given a glass bottle of fresh squeezed OJ and a champagne flute. My wife, meanwhile, ordered the coffee; they just announced they’ve begun serving roasts from Cafe Brioso.

The menu understandably features the crepes. You can expect to find about six sweet varieties and three savory ones, plus a rotating special. The sweet crepes include variations on fruits, cheeses, and honey, while the savory ones include herbs, cheeses, vegetables, and meat. If crepes are your thing (or even if they aren’t), you’ll find at least one you like on the menu. Crepes can be ordered as singles or doubles; we ordered four singles so we could try different things. First, the lemon curd, ricotta, and honey crepe. The ricotta is a nice blank slate to combine tart lemon with rich honey. The whole thing is drizzled with blackberry sauce.

On the savory side we sampled the ricotta and spinach crepes. The savory crepes are made with an herbed crepe batter, which is very flavorful. This one was then filled with ricotta, romano cheese, and spinach, all in a nice proportion. It’s topped with a little more cheese – just the right amount without drowning it – plus chunks of tomato and fresh garlic. This one was a real winner in our book.

Back to the sweet… the salty caramel combination is a big hit with central Ohio anyway, so we had to try the salty caramel crepe, too. This crepe is very well balanced, between the cream cheese and caramel filling with a dash of sea salt. They nailed the flavors here.

And then one more savory with the four cheese crepe. Again the herbed crepe, this time stuffed with a very good mix ricotta, romano, goat cheese, and gruyere.

For our boys we ordered off the kids’ menu. There are crepes on the kids’ menu, too, but we wanted to try something different, so our eyes were immediately drawn to the fried PBJ&B sandwich. It’s essentially a peanut butter, jelly, and bananas sandwich dipped in French toast batter and fried. Our boys love Nutella, so we actually swapped the PB for it. Needless to say, our boys devoured it. Even though I was dining on crepes, I was jealous.

Of course, our children are in the process of eating us out of house and home, so we couldn’t order just one plate of food for them. Enter the scrambly eggs: cheesy scrambled eggs with toast, homemade sausage, and homemade preserves. The sausage was particularly good – I stole most of it from my 1.5-year-old. (Shhh…) The thick patty is well seasoned and a bit spicy. And a note on the preserves, too: Village Crepe makes all of theirs in-house, so look for rotating selections throughout the year. We tried the strawberry and peach preserves – both delicious.

Okay, we had to have just one more crepe. The owner recommended the special for the day, the espresso crepe, made with espresso in the batter and filled with cream cheese and chocolate. Actually quite fitting as an end to the meal.

We had the chance to chat with the owner Wayne Moore (in the middle above, busy at work). Village Crepe came out of his love for making crepes for his kids at home, and that same love translates clearly into the running of the restaurant. He and his staff are very friendly and welcoming, and they’re turning out an excellent product.

While we sampled quite a few crepes, there is still more to explore. The breakfast menu includes omelets, frittatas, and French toast, too, while the lunch menu adds sandwiches, salads, soup, and more. Plus, it’s spring and the restaurant has a patio. All of these are reasons to head out to Village Crepe, although quite honestly, any one of the crepes is worth the trek alone.

Lititz Family Cupboard Restaurant & Buffet | Lititz, PA

Lititz Family Cupboard Restaurant & Buffet
12 W. Newport Rd. (map it!)
Lititiz, PA 17543
(717) 626-9102
Open Mon-Sat, 6a-8p (bfast buffets served Mon-Fri, 6:30-11:30a; Sat, 6-11a)
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? N/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 9:00 a.m.

Anywhere you find yourself in Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch country, you are bound to find the one or more of the large “Dutch-cooking” family restaurants. Across Ohio we have a handful of Der Dutchmen in addition to more stand-alone country cookin’ restaurants. If you’re traveling with a large group (like we were), then these restaurants are a godsend because they have huge seating areas, plenty of food that is restocked constantly, and servers that are accustomed to big families. Seriously, we walked up on a busy Saturday and asked for a table for 15 and the host didn’t even blink.

One of the bonuses of finding an Amish-cooking restaurant: the donuts. You will generally find them in a restaurant and in a separate bakery space. They are soft, generously frosted, cream-filled delights, most likely because they’re made with lard.

Prepare yourself for gratuitous breakfast buffet pictures ahead. There’s no easy way to capture the full buffet experience, with its stacks of plates and steaming trays and busy lines. So I snapped pictures of everything. They had all the standards: pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast.

Plus the buffet version of French toast: sticks.

What’s more interesting are the interesting regional specialties like pan pudding, cornmeal cakes, and chipped beef.

What did draw our attention were the nutty cinnamon rolls. This is one of those rare moments when a buffet’s consistent heating of the food really pays off. The constant warmth keep the rolls soft and sticky, and the blend of cinnamon, sugar, and walnuts really hit the nail on the head.

And if you’re in eastern PA then you need to have some scrapple. I was pleasantly surprised by the buffet scrapple. It was fried crispy without getting soggy, and it was seasoned well. Of course, if the scrapple is going to be good anywhere, it had better be in eastern Pennsylvania, buffet or not.

Yessssssss! There were those donuts at the buffet, too! Worth the price of admission alone.

Plate #1. Covering the basics, plus some cornmeal cakes and chipped beef gravy.

Plate #2. French toast sticks, regular French toast, scrapple, and a cinnamon roll.

The Lititz Family Cupboard doesn’t stand out too much from similar restaurants, but it served our purpose and had a few bright spots. The servers were super on-the-spot, the buffet was stocked quickly, and it served up plenty of comfort food. It would be a great start to a day exploring Lititz, just named Budget Travel’s Coolest Small Town in America!

Beyond Breakfast: Penn State Berkey Creamery

What goes best with a little BBQ while you’re on the road in spring break? Ice cream! And if you happen to be on the road anywhere near central Pennsylvania, your best bet for ice cream has to be Penn State University’s Berkey Creamery.

I know I know I know… I’m a blogger from Ohio, I teach at THE Ohio State University, Penn State is supposed to be a sworn enemy, blah blah blah. Columbus does ice cream well – we do it very well – but ice cream has been proven to transcend cultural, geographic, national, and yes, sometimes religious boundaries. So while we have lots of ice cream to be proud of in central Ohio, we’ve got to acknowledge the excellence of Penn State’s ice cream program. After all, our very own Jeni of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams attended Berkey Creamery.

At the Berkey Creamery, it’s not just all ice cream. There’s sherbet, there’s cheese, and there are sticky buns from the local diner.

In recent years the Creamery moved to a new space in the new Food Science Building. From what I barely remember of the old space (I only peaked in once), this is spot is bigger and more open. One corner of it is run like a good old fashioned convenience store, but a majority of the space is dedicated to the ice cream.

Like any established ice cream shop, the Berkey Creamery has its share of famous flavors, like Peachy Paterno, Coconut Chip, and Mint Nittany. One of the more well known – and my personal favorite – is the Death By Chocolate.

Death By Chocolate isn’t a really complex flavor, it’s just really, really great chocolate ice cream. It’s rich, it’s not over-the-top sweet, and it’s served in a generous heaping cup.

We also “sampled” the cookies & cream and the peanut butter swirl.

I’ve always had a soft spot for cookies and cream. It’s one of my go-tos at any ice cream parlor. The chunkier, the better.

This would be a great way to go.

Aside from eating ice cream on premises, we also visited with the purpose of loading up a cooler with half gallons. The creamery features an entire wall of freezers loaded top to bottom with ice cream, and they’ll pack it on dry ice for you.

For ice cream lovers or for casual travelers, the Berkery Creamery is a must-stop in central Pennsylvania. And don’t be intimidated by the campus location: it’s easy to access and a nearby parking garage has half hour spots dedicated to Creamery visitors.

If you want to visit:
Berkey Creamery
119 Food Science Building (map it!)
University Park, PA 16802
creamery.psu.edu
See also on Facebook and @PSUCreamery

Beyond Breakfast: Gio’s BBQ

Spring break yielded some culinary adventures for us, as we trekked across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. What about a little bit of road food?

The best road food shows up in the most unexpected places. In this case it was a barbecue joint… inside a gas station… a little ways outside State College, PA at the intersection of routes 970 and 322. If you’re traveling to or from Penn State on the western side, chances are you’ll pass by this gas station. And when you do, you can stop for lunch.

The building itself is half gas station convenience store and half restaurant. Dead center is the counter with hand-written menus on bright orange cardstock. The moral here is not to let the simple exterior fool you: this food goes far beyond the typical gas station Slim Jims and overcooked hotdogs. The wafting smell of smoky barbecue and the small army of cooks in the kitchen tell you that locals and travelers alike keep this place busy, and for a reason.

Case in point: the beef brisket sandwich. Smoky and flavorful, sliced thin and piled on a bun with cole slaw and a Carolina-style sauce.

The pulled pork sandwich smothered in sauteed veggies.

The half rack of ribs with a generous mound of pulled pork hidden below.

The ribs were a tad on the dry side but smoked appropriately. They pulled apart easily and were sauced without being drowned. In other words, the meat was given a chance to shine, rather than having its flaws hidden by slopping on the condiments.

A small beef brisket platter. All of the sides were done well, but the side of sauce with each dish really stood out to me. It was rich, tomatoey (that’s a word, right?), and surprisingly tangy. Made for excellent dipping of said sliced brisket.

We caught the restaurant before a big lunch rush, but even so there were always 2-3 people at the counter, getting BBQ in-house or to-go.

Gio’s sells their sauce, too. A big sign above the display boasts of the awards they’ve won. Side note: maybe I don’t know BBQ well enough, but sometimes awards for BBQ seem like Grammy’s. So many people are awarded so many different prizes that I don’t know if it really counts for something. Not that I’m holding this against Gio’s in particular. Just making an observation.

Overall, a worthy stop if you’re trekking up and around the foothills of central Pennsylvania. Gio’s knows their audience well, with specific signage to address Penn State aficionados.

If you want to visit:
Gio’s BBQ
2829 Woodland Bigler Highway (map it!)
Woodland, PA 16881
(814) 857-714
giosbbq.com