Existential Eating #38

If you have any suggestions or ideas for future Existential Eating strips, please email or comment below.  Sadly, our current collective imagination will run dry.  If its related to food, it can be the topic of an Existential Eating comic strip.  Just share your idea and Ramsey will do his best to draw it up (probably, someday).

Existential Eating #37

If you have any suggestions or ideas for future Existential Eating strips, please email or comment below.  Sadly, our current collective imagination will run dry.  If its related to food, it can be the topic of an Existential Eating comic strip.  Just share your idea and Ramsey will do his best to draw it up (probably, someday).

Existential Eating #36

If you have any suggestions or ideas for future Existential Eating strips, please email or comment below.  Sadly, our current collective imagination will run dry.  If its related to food, it can be the topic of an Existential Eating comic strip.  Just share your idea and Ramsey will do his best to draw it up (probably, someday).

Dinner Out @ Via Vite

We'd had a restaurant.com coupon for a while for Via Vite, and a 7:30pm concert:nova show at the Mercantile Library last night was a perfect opportunity to eat and then walk across the square to the event.  I'd heard mixed reviews, and now that I've been I'd say I'm not surprised.  There was nothing terribly wrong, but nothing excitingly right either - par for the course.

The Food:  We ordered the grilled asparagus salad to share, and then two pasta dishes - pappardelle and tortellini - for our mains.

The asparagus comes with roasted beets and goat cheese.  The presentation was nice, but that was probably the best thing.  Salt was helpful on everything we had, and in general there just wasn't much flavor popping from this plate.  Shame on us for ordering asparagus out of season, I suppose, and thankfully if you put enough goat cheese on anything it can't be horrible (and they do give you a lot of goat cheese).

We ordered the pappardelle in part because it was house-made (only a couple of the pastas are), and it comes with Italian sausage the waitress said is from Findlay Market (I'd guess Kroeger & Son's, but can't say that for sure).  It was a "pasta e fagioli," which basically means that it's got beans in it, something that I would have liked to have known initially (I just Googled it) because, try as I might, I just am not that big of a fan of beans as a main component of dishes.  There were big cherry tomatoes that had been cooked with the sauce as well, and they were one of my favorite things.  The pasta was cooked well, and overall the dish was solid, but the flavors just did not pop at all for me.  I was hoping for more.

The tortellini was another "fresh" pasta option, and it was my preferred dish.  It was very creamy, as the menu noted, and had sundried tomatoes and basil.  The tortellini were filled with what I believe was ricotta cheese, but I didn't ask so can't be sure.  The pastas were delicate and the cheese sauce was very savory.  I'd say it was a couple notches above a good macaroni and cheese (the creamy cheese sauce reminded us of mac & cheese), but again, nothing special.

The Ingredients:  There is a quote prominently on the menu from the chef saying that they "never take shortcuts and import the finest products that Italy has to offer."  I wonder where they get their tomatoes?  Seriously though, nothing on the menu about local or organic ingredients.

The Story, Setting, & Service:  The space is quite nice - open, well put together, modern and sharp without being over-the-top.  Windows onto the square are a plus, except that when seated next to the window we were cold the entire meal.  I'm generally a warm person, so if you're a cold person, definitely ask for a table away from the glass.  Service was fine, nothing notably good or bad.

If you planned ahead and got a reservation outside or upstairs overlooking the square on a busy day, I think that could be pretty cool.  On this night, it didn't add much since it was dead - in large part due to the fact it was very chilly out.

The Last Bite:  I'm not sure what I'd order if I went back - maybe try the penne with bolognese, which the waitress said was good and there are some other good reviews about.  But, realistically, I don't think we'll go back.  There are plenty of places in the same price range where I'm confident I'll get a better meal, and while Fountain Square is an understandable draw - especially if you have someone in from out of town - it's just not my thing.  Disappointing but true, this was probably our only visit.

Existential Eating #35

If you have any suggestions or ideas for future Existential Eating strips, please email or comment below.  Sadly, our current collective imagination will run dry.  If its related to food, it can be the topic of an Existential Eating comic strip.  Just share your idea and Ramsey will do his best to draw it up (probably, someday).

Lunch Out @ T.J.'s Korean Restaurant

I walked by this place on Court Street the first time a week ago and then did a double take before stopping to go in, look at the menu, and ask the lone patron how it was.  He said great - with a look and a tone like he'd stumbled upon something that only he knew about and he was very happy about.  I was on my way to a different lunch spot, otherwise I would have tried it on the spot no question.

Today my friend/colleague and I stopped in for lunch and I am so happy this place exists!  I've lamented for a while not having a good, affordable Korean place in town - and it seems like this is going to fill the void.  Sung and Riverside are both great, but they're also both pretty expensive for an "everyday" meal.  I haven't been to Bento Korean (I've heard mixed reviews unfortunately), so that's on my list to try as well.

T.J. took our orders and was very kind and energetic.  There was a woman doing the cooking who brought us our food - she was also very nice.  We ordered "Vegetable Bi Bim Bap" (in parentheses because it also has beef in it, although that's not listed on the menu sheets) and Pork Bul Go Gi.  At $8 and $6 respectively, both had plenty of food, and T.J.'s thus propelled itself into my cheap-Asian-take-out-go-to list - Thai Express and Cilantro being my two main choices (I'm still seeking a consistent Chinese spot).

The bi bim bap comes in a large bowl with a fried egg and runny yolk - sprinkled with sesame seeds and nori pieces - on top of beautiful, separated helpings of bean sprouts, carrots, spinach, mushrooms, and beef.  All of this is on top of a mound of rice (which is not crispy as it is in the frequent variation - dolsot bibimbap, although it did definitely have sesame oil in it).  They give you a sauce on the side that is sweet and spicy and thick and brings everything together once you mix it all up.  Great flavors!  I asked if they had any tsiracha or anything for the side to spice it up even more (my friend thought it was hot enough), but I'm not sure if they understood and said no.

The pork (we split both dishes) is wonderfully juicy with this Korean barbecue-esque sauce and cooked with onions.  With rice and a small portion of snap peas and cabbage too - along with a small salad (ranch or Italian dressing options :), one pot sticker, and two bites of "T.J.s Chicken" (a sesame chicken-esque boneless bite with a thick sweetish sauce), this is an absolute steal for $6.  I thought the bi bim bap was solid, but this meat was bursting with flavor!

As if all that isn't enough, both dishes also come with a small bowl of soup - seemed like an egg drop variation.

I will definitely be back here, and probably sooner rather than later.  I want to try everything on the menu (I am posting a picture of the menu here too), but I'll certainly be getting that bulgogi again.  Get over here and help make sure this place sticks around - please!

Lunch In @ Pho Lang Thang

Count me as one of the many who waited patiently for Pho Lang Thang to open up at Findlay Market.  I had just eaten lunch prior to a trip to Findlay a few weeks back when they had a soft opening, but this weekend I knew the time had come.  I'd hoped to be wowed, or at least thoroughly pleased, by my visit, but it turns out I'm still in the boat of being patient and hopeful.  It's clear they've got some kinks to work out, and they're very new, so grace is clearly in order.

The Food:  I asked for the most flavorful thing on the menu, and the young woman at the register quickly suggested the banh mi thit nuong - a baguette sandwich with grilled lemongrass marinated meat, garlic butter mayo, do chua (pickled daikon and carrots), cucumber, and cilantro.  They asked if I wanted jalapenos and pate as well, and I went for it.  I also ordered goi cuon or "salad rolls" with sliced pork, whole shrimp, vermicelli noodles, cilantro, and lettuce wrapped in rice paper with a sauce on the side.

I hate to say it, because I wanted so much to love it, but the sandwich was disappointing.  I told them to choose whatever meat was the most flavorful, and I'm not sure if it was a mistake or on purpose, but I got mostly beef and some pork too.  Neither really stood out, so no recommendation there.  The bummer was that the sandwich just wasn't that flavorful.  Nothing popped.  Maybe it needs more of the mayo, maybe a higher ingredients to bread ratio, maybe more salt, maybe all of the above.  I put some sriracha on after I ate the first half and that helped a bit (I could barely taste the jalapenos - maybe that'll change when they're in season next year), but something was still left to be desired.

The best thing I got was the order of salad rolls.  The shrimp were perfectly cooked - not tough - and the slice of pork adds some additional weight to sink your teeth into.  The hoisin and peanut dipping sauce was pretty thick (too molasses like for my taste), and the peanuts were nearly nonexistent.  If I could have Pho Lang Thang's roll with Cilantro's sauce, I'd be especially happy.

The Ingredients:  Nothing noted about local or organic ingredients.  They do make note of some vegan and vegetarian options, which I'm sure many people will appreciate.

The Story, Setting, & Service:  Several of the initial reviews have noted this, so I guess I'm going to have to pile on.  I ordered my food at 1:20 and was told it'd be ready in 30 minutes.  That's a long time to wait for take out.  When I was told that, I thought "ok, they'll under-promise and over-deliver."  I actually waited 40 minutes.

The space they have at Findlay is quite large, with lots of tables to the right and left of the kitchen and counter.  I don't know if they have too many tables and not enough cooking space, or they haven't been well prepared (banh mi and salad rolls shouldn't require anything other than composition of pre-made ingredients), or they don't have enough staff, or all of the above.  But, they've got their work cut out for them.

The Last Bite: I think they'll get things figured out because they seemed like nice people and there plenty of good signs - a thorough menu with plenty of options, a well put together restaurant space, etc.  But, for the mean time, I'm still a Cilantro guy.  But with my office in OTR and no banh mi at Cilantro, I'm looking forward to Pho Lang Thang living up to its potential.