As simple as the concept is, I really love restaurants where you can just assemble a really good sandwich or bowl with a ton of delicious veggies. And I don't mean just plain, raw veggies you can buy from the store. I mean fancy things: roasted garlic, pickled beets, sauteed mushrooms, charred corn, etc. I LOVE all these things individually, but it would take me 100 years to make them all, $100 to get the variety, and they'd turn bad before I had a chance to eat them all.
Brassica has the option of a pita or salad and tons of delicious toppings. I went with a pita sandwich with brisket, hummus, pita chips, cukes & radishes, sweet beets, feta and special sauce. And it was delish. That's partially due to my excellent taste, but also due to the really great flavors of each individual item.
I also tried the minty pink lemonade, which was refreshing. All in all, a really tasty meal that I would eat again and again.
Grade: A
Katzinger's Deli is a long-running New York-style deli in Columbus that serves up 80 different kinds of sandwiches.
"Our kitchen prepares almost everything on our menu from scratch (though not our fresh, crusty European style breads which are delivered daily from Mediterra Bakehouse in Pittsburgh). Our sandwich line makes and serves every sandwich to order – and more than one in four of them have our home cooked and sliced to order corned beef! Our salads, side dishes, soup and desserts (and even our hot dog buns!) are scratch-made from original recipes created by our food loving staff – and the food is beyond delicious!"
I ordered delivery from here: the 32 - Andy's Got Another Job: Smoked turkey, honey ham, scallion cream cheese, tomato, Honeycup mustard on rye. And a side of potato salad. Plus a pickle.
The sandwich was large - even the half! Stacked with a few inches of meat and slathered with some honey mustard. I could do with half the amount of meat, so there is a better balance of ingredients, but it was indulgent, filling and very tasty. The potato salad was a nice side - always a bit indulgent. And the pickle just adds a nice punchy flavor to cut through the fat.
Grade: A
While I don't get to the mall in Charleston often, I did make a special trip there recently to try out the new "Mexican Grill."
The counter-service restaurant is located in the food court and has photos of the popular dishes you can order. That's probably helpful for those who aren't familiar with the options - or even for those who don't read well or have another communication issue. More places should do this.
I ordered the Arroz Con Pollo - it's likely one of the items most commonly ordered, so it's a good benchmark.
First, though, were some fresh chips and salsa. I could tell the chips had just been pulled from the oil - you could see and hear from the kitchen. The salsa was average.
The chicken was plentiful, but the only cheese was mixed in with the rice, and I could've gone for a lot more. Not bad, but not the best version I've had. Next time, I'll ask for more queso on the side.
Grade: B
Our favorite cyptid - the Mothman - hails from Point Pleasant, which I will take any excuse to visit. I firmly believe they are ripe for some really great restaurants.
When Ichiban 2 opened, I took the opportunity to check it out. The pan-Asian restaurant has everything from sushi rolls and hibachi dinners to yaki udon and Chinese food. You can order right online and have everything ready when you arrive.
I ordered some of the crispy crab wontons and the Ichiban roll - their namesake: shrimp tempura, spicy kani, seaweed salad, crunch w. soy paper, topped w. spicy mayo eel sauce.
The wontons were standard. I think I'm in the minority here when I say I'm not crazy about the crispy ends and just want the filling. So I tend to gravitate toward a different shape that limits the crispy edges - but, this had substantial filling and it was good.
The sushi roll was a bit different - with the pink paper and seaweed salad inside. I enjoyed that it was a little bit of a twist on something familiar; the texture became a bit soft and I like when there's variation. It was good, and I'd eat again - just nothing totally out of the box. But a decent option for town.
Grade: B
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