Right Now Downtown

HEAR YE, HEAR YE!

The Market is getting a wee bit smaller as the weather turns cold, but there is still plenty to do and see.  Many vendors are adjusting their businesses accordingly.  One of the food carts is serving piping hot pea soup.  Delicious!  One of our favorite musicians, Bob Piascik, strolled the alley a bit as he played, encouraging a dance party among vendors and visitors alike.  Cupcake Susie made perfect fall cupcakes this week, spiced apple cider and pumpkin honey almond!  Café Brioso always brings plenty of hot coffee that smells so enticing you can’t pass it up.

If you have been down to enjoy the Market this season, then you have probably noticed our fantastic Market staff.  They are always on hand to help and have done a marvelous job with everything from directing traffic when a car has to pass to tents flying away in the wind to capturing it all in pictures.  They are also the reason the Market is continuing.  The Winter Pearl Market has found a location (33 N. Third Street) and is set to begin after the summer Market is over, but we need everyone to come and support it!  Hope to see you soon!

I love the chill in the air!  Especially with the Cafe Brioso coffee smell wafting down the street, along with pumpkin spice crepes!  It was a glorious fall day at the Market.  This week I stocked up on vegetable.  Everything is so ripe and looks fantastic!  I don’t know who found purple vegetables in the first place, but I love them, and more importantly, my kids love them.  We got purple bell peppers that taste just like the green variety but come in a color more appropriate for princesses.  Let’s face it; princesses can’t eat your average colored vegetables.  I also got arugula, spinach, tomatoes, banana peppers and zucchini.

I stopped by Zapico Foods this week to sample their sauces.  This place has it all!  Owner Mike tells of his grandmother making these recipes a hundred years ago for the family, and teaching him about growing his own vegetables to put in the recipes.  These sauces and dressings are all made and packaged at The Ohio State University.  He makes a rich tomato sauce, a balsamic dressing and a smoky barbeque sauce, all at a very reasonable price.

The Vintage Vamp has beautiful jewelry.  Her things have such an exquisite look about them, like you would belong in an old movie while wearing them.  If you like her style, she does custom work as well.  Definitely worth checking out while you are at the Market.

See you next time!

LAUNCH INTO DOWNTOWN

Have you seen all the big heavy duty trucks and bulldozers moving dirt around the site where the new Bishop’s Walk condos will soon be?  It’s enough to put five-year-old boys with their Tonka trucks into a deep trance, but soon it will be dreamy for those who want to make downtown a lifestyle.

Phase Two of Neighborhood Launch is officially underway and 14 additional residential units will be available before long.  In case you were teetering on that beautiful wrought iron fence out front of the first phase, we wanted to give you the Top Ten Reasons to Consider Making the Plunge with Bishop’s Walk.

10.  You can grab your witches brew and head to the Neighborhood’s very own Halloween Party and solve the Clue Mystery Murder.

9.  Plan your own grand celebration next to the fountain in the courtyard… or toss your significant other in if he/she is getting on your nerves.

8.  Rumor has it that you might even find Sugardaddy’s connections close by, and who couldn’t manage with a little more of those scrumptious pieces of heaven?

7.  Live and play and maybe even work downtown.  You’ll be one of the cool kids now.

6.  You are a mere 53 seconds away from the best cup of coffee in the Midwest, maybe the world.  Repeat after us… Café Brioso.

5.  When you want to unwind Monday after work, Due Amici fills Gay Street with live jazz music and the wine is nothing to sneeze at either.

4.  Ditch your keys – everything is in walking (or biking) distance.  Think of the money you can save on car insurance, which leaves more change jingling in your pockets for drinks at Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails.

3.  Impress your partner when you arrange for a horse-drawn carriage to pick you both up for a night on the town.

2.  Save tons of time and support local businesses when you buy farm-fresh produce from area farmers in Pearl Market.

And the number one reason you should consider the cool digs at Neighborhood Launch – you can roll out of bed a half hour before you need to be at work downtown, throw some gel in your hair and still get to your desk with time to spare.

DOES A SUB BY ANY OTHER NAME TASTE AS SAVORY?

Gimme a hoagie and fries, po’boy and dirty rice, sub and kettle chips, burrito and salsa or a sandwich with a side salad.  Does it really matter what you call it?  Aren’t you just cravin’ to fill the hungry spot deep down in your gut so you can get on with your day?

Call them what you want, Downtown Columbus has some tasty sandwich options for the lunchtime crowd.  Perhaps you are searching for a gut buster in an effort to erase the mood from that three-hour meeting that you managed to escape without cramming your pen through your co-worker’s ear.  OK, that may be drastic, and you probably work in a fabulous office and simply need to refuel to keep going the rest of the day.  Regardless, a myriad of two-fisted sandwiches wait right around the corner for you, and here are just a few that bring a smile around the noon-time crowd.

Hop on down to W.G. Grinders in the basement of 250 E. Broad Street and rustle up some buffalo chicken on a bun.  No need to mess with the bones here, ’cause you’re just gonna skip right to the good stuff, rounded out with spicy wing sauce, mozzarella, gorgonzola, red onion, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing.

Try Cafe’ Brioso’s fresh mozzarella sandwich with garden-ripe tomatoes, Brioso’s own lettuce mix, house basil aioli on their made-from-scratch foccacia.  It is kick-you-in-the-head good, but carnivores don’t despair because there are plenty of meaty options to choose from too.  Round it out with an iced coffee, and you will fly through the rest of your day. 

Just down the street J. Gumbo’s spices things up with some Cajun fare.  Their mouth-pleasing stick-to-your-ribs Voodoo Chicken Po’Boy will scare away the hunger and keep the 3 p.m. vending machine call at bay while you bang through the rest of your to-do list.

Plan on a feast if you want to head to Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails for their specialty slow-roasted beef and Swiss cheese sandwich on a toasted pretzel roll, and make room for the sweet-potato fries.  They’re totally worth the extra half-hour on the elliptical machine once you get home.

Yum is what is on the menu at Plantain Cafe’, and did you know that they are now open seven days a week?  Try their classic Cuban sandwich – it’s loaded with roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles – enough to share if you are so inclined.  And the plantain chips might just send you to the moon. 

Three locally-owned restaurants anchor down Pearl Alley and offer up great sandwich options.  Ringside Cafe’ puts forward heavyweight Oscar De La Hoya – a half-pound patty with roasted red peppers, provolone and roasted garlic aioli.  The sub takes on a Latin flare at El Arepazo with the fish burrito.  Baked tilapia, rice, black beans and more fill up this 12-inch wrap, and don’t forget the famous cilantro sauce.  Just walk into Cafe’ Napolitana and your nose will lead you to all kinds of delectable Italian possibilities.  Depending on the day and your mood, the chicken parmesan or meatball sub will hit the bull’s eye.

Got a hankerin’ for a New York-style deli?  Broad Street Bagels and Deli makes it easy for busy schedules and takes orders online.  Lots of options abound so you can get something made to order, pick it up and still make that 12:30 p.m. meeting.

Get the Skinny at Potbelly Sandwich Shop where you can find a lighter sampling of ham, turkey or portabella mushrooms or maybe you want to head right to the Wreck that will load you up with salami, roast beef, turkey and ham with Swiss cheese.

The more restaurants offering great sandwich options listed, the more that come to mind.  So don’t let this roll hold you back.  If we tried to list them all, you’d be here reading until the next edition of Right Now Downtown appeared in your inbox.  So, venture out, try a few and let us know your favorite.

JOIN US AT PEARL MARKET

Hello, I am Erin Addington of Auntie Bellum Goods and I am taking over as Market Maven this year!  That means I have a great excuse to hang out at the Pearl Market all summer and sample a bit of everything.

The Market got off to a successful, if somewhat soggy, start.  Luckily, the vendors are made of sterner stuff than most and were out in full force.  Standing at Broad Street and looking down this normally mundane alley and seeing all the color and life in the middle of downtown was fantastic!

Cafe  Brioso is the perfect way to start the morning and on opening day, they were featuring their Panama blend.  The coffee aroma floating down the alley was warm and inviting.  The next stop on my list was Cliff the Plant Guy.  I am excited about buying plants from growers who start them.  Cliff made the drive up from Athens with beautiful flowers and quite a variety of vegetable plants.  I spent under ten dollars and got basil plants, broccoli plants and some portulaca to brighten up my garden.

My favorite part of the Market is always lunch.  I went with an old favorite, Nellie’s Samosas.  Samosas are a triangle shaped pastry filled with meats and/or vegetables with aromatic spices woven through, served with chutney on the side.  I also tried a sample of their new tandoori chicken, which was delicious.

As luck would have it, my booth is right next to Susie of Let Us Eat Cupcakes, also known as My New Best Friend.  These are not your average cupcakes with a bit of icing smeared on the top; they are more like little drops of heaven.  I had mini strawberry pomegranate cupcake.  They had a sweet, fruity filling, with a large dollop of creamy strawberry icing and topped with pomegranate seeds!  She also had some dark chocolate and raspberry which is on my list for next week.

And that ends my adventure for the day.  Come be a part of the Market with us next time!

Pearl Market Opens 2010

LEAVE THE LUGGAGE AT HOME

Close your eyes, lean back and imagine yourself at an outdoor cafe’ along the side streets of Paris.  Can you hear the French accordion music waft out the doors of the restaurant along with the smell of freshly baked bread?

No need to cash in your greenbacks for Euros just yet.  Alfresco dining is offered all around Downtown Columbus, and Gay Street is a great place to kick off an international expedition.

Leave the passport at home and head to Due Amici.  The European feel of this outdoor dining experience may leave you wanting to study Italian.  Sit down and relax with a superb glass of wine, and you don’t even need to worry about the exchange rate.

Is Cuban fare your thing?  Check out Plantain Cafe’, but make sure to save room for the plantain chips.  You will never look at another bag of Lay’s the same way again.

The coffee is roasting at Cafe’ Brioso, and you’ll have a hard time choosing among all the freshly prepared sandwiches and salads.  Those crunchy little handmade croutons are about as close to heaven as you need to be.

Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails celebrated their three-year anniversary last week.  Honor the milestone with a cold one and big plate of sweet potato fries.  Go ahead, throw in a pot roast sandwich if you dare.

Is your stomach growling yet?  We haven’t even hit J. Gumbo’s for jambalaya, and Latitude 41 builds delicious meals around fresh ingredients purchased right here from local merchants to create a meal that you won’t soon forget.  Rendezvous Cafe’ is nestled across the street and offers a wide assortment of delicious stews, sandwiches and salads.

If that’s not enough, just around the corner Pearl Alley plays host to burgers at Ringside, pizza at Cafe’ Napolitana and Latin cuisine at El Arepazo.  Wrap it all up with a Drunken Chunky Blondie at Sugardaddy’s or loosen your belt and head on down High Street for even more options.  Let us know your favorites.

THE PERSNICKETY LIST

Sure, it’s time for peace on earth and goodwill toward men; AND goodwill toward women… and all that other stuff.

It’s also time to make a list.  Downtowncolumbus.com has a list: a persnickety list.  It’s a little collection of things we fussy, nitpicky downtown-lovers would like in our stockings…

1.  Diamond studded lids for El Arepazo’s bottles of green sauce.  While a rubber band and kitchen wrap gets the job done, the insanely addictive stuff is worth of a high end topper.

2.  Speaking of high end, how about an Eggs Benedict with truffle oil and foie gras?  Would be an excellent in-house offering to team with Cafe Brioso’s gourmand-pleasing coffee.  Heck, even and egg sandwich would feel special when teamed with their magical morning brew.

3.  The Statehouse needs some sturdy, all-weather Astroturf.  It’d be maintenance-free (saving taxpayer dollars) and strong enough to support the roughest match of kickball.

4.  For The Jury Room, we wish for a bottomless bowl of their bean-free chili.

5.  For the rest of us, we wish for free parking downtown.  Yes, we believe in holiday miracles.

Jingle Bells… Free Fridays has a very nice ring, don’t you agree?