Miriam Bowers Abbott

1 week ago | columbusunderground.com | Miriam Bowers Abbott

Wait, a whole restaurant dedicated to breaded, deep-fried pork fritters? That sounds like rural fantasy food, but it’s not. It couldn’t be more centrally located in Downtown Columbus. Also, the accoutrements of the rural fantasy, like mashed potatoes and gravy or overcooked green beans, they’re not going to be there. That’s because those sorts of sides are not typically associated with Japanese food, and Osaka Ton Katsu’s pork fritters comprise the foundation of a menu of Japanese fare.

3 weeks ago | columbusunderground.com | Miriam Bowers Abbott

The name of 3 Brothers Diner tells you a little something about the joint. As the moniker suggests, the diner is the dreamchild of three brothers, and they hail from Oaxaca, Mexico. Hence, the establishment offers something a little different from a traditional, old-school diner. It adopts more of an artsy approach reminiscent of the local Starliner tradition with warm colors and walls bedecked with an eclectic mix of elements that include kitchy signs and plates.

4 weeks ago | columbusunderground.com | Miriam Bowers Abbott

Although pizza is a core element in Osteria Pizzeria’s name, this discussion is going to need to make an immediate detour for a side mission into its sandwich department. In fact, this issue is important enough to float right up to the top of the priority list here. The pizzeria has several sandwiches on its menu, and at this moment, the matter of the Italian Sub is pressing. It’s summer, it’s sandwich season, and we live in an age in which a good sandwich is important, generally speaking.

1 month ago | columbusunderground.com | Miriam Bowers Abbott

TaKorea started out as a local ghost kitchen. While it has a neat name and an intriguing theme, its ghost kitchen status always felt like a suspicious warning sign. Too many times, cool-sounding ghost kitchens turned out to be TGI Friday’s or Chuck E. Cheese in disguise. No one wants to be duped into patronizing some alleged local project that turns out to be run by a large, faceless corporation. Okay, Chuck E. Cheese has a face. But you know what we meant there.

1 month ago | columbusunderground.com | Miriam Bowers Abbott

At one point in Columbus’ culinary history, Block’s Bagels was the champion of All Things Bagel. It had not only freestanding locations and a joint in the North Market, but it also had storefronts in local Kroger stores, like a Starbucks. Even as a big operation, Block’s maintained a certain commitment to process integrity that guaranteed a stable selection of good quality bagel craftsmanship. Over time, competition from other bagel-makers and low-carb diet trends changed the bagel landscape.