Not too busy to cook, but definitely too busy to post much about cooking. I just had a work contract kick in, and between that and my other activities, posting here in any great detail is not likely to be happening. This contract is only about three weeks long, but if my bank account is lucky, I'll have more work in August. This work thing really cuts into the free time.
This past weekend, however, I ate some really fabulous food in Columbus, Ohio.
Now why would anyone from Ann Arbor Michigan want to visit Columbus not during football season? Origins is in Columbus. So is a great camera shop. And a scant block away from the convention center is the North Market, a wonderful collection of stores and restaurants that happens to include Firdous Express, a wonderful North African/Mediterranean restaurant. Joe had the spicy chicken tagine (not as spicy hot as the sign claims), and I had a very tasty melt-in-your-mouth lamb stew with saffron rice topped with pinenuts. Yum. North Market aslo features Jeni's Fresh Ice Creams, one of the USA's top ice cream stores, where you can sample such amazing flavors as salted caramel with toasted almonds, chocolate curry, chocolate cayenne, lavender and wild berry, passionfruit, strawberry and basil sorbet, mango, and the list of unique (and familiar) flavors goes on. And the really wonderful thing is that there are yet more restaurants and shops to forward to checking out next year.
In the convention center, on the edge of the good but ordinary food court, is the amazing peanut store. I don't know what it's called, but if you're in the Columbus convention center, you don't need a name. Just ask to find the food court, then ask where you can get the peanut butter shakes. In addition to the shakes (said to be marvelous by others I've talked to), they sell an evil-ly delicious confection of popcorn coated in caramel, peanut butter, and chocolate.
Also in the Columbus area is the Indonesian restaurant Taste of Bali. Now we can't get Indonesian in Southeast Michigan, and Joe adores Indonesian food above all other cuisines, so of course we had to go. A group of six of us went, and five of us handed the restaurant a pile of money and ask them to put together mongo-large custom rijstaffel. (The sixth was a vegetarian, so he ordered on his own.) I have pictures, and when I have time I'll post them.
Our experience was not nearly as good. Fresh from our first Indonesian food experience in Amsterdam, we came home to Columbus, Ohio, frantically looking for an Indonesian restaurant and found Taste of Bali. We went there, ordered one of their rice tables, and were pretty disappointed. The meat was terribly overcooked, the shrimp were mostly breading, and the sauces, including the peanut sauce, were kind of bland. The fish was the only really good thing on the plate.
Posted by: | September 09, 2006 at 10:47 AM
(Kitchen Chick's husband here)
It's sad to hear that they've gone downhill. They were never as good as the places we've been to in Amsterdam, but what you're describing sounds far worse than what we experienced two years ago.
Posted by: Joe | September 09, 2006 at 12:21 PM
I went with a couple of American friends the other night. Being an Indonesian myself, who loves to entertain my friends with Indonesian food, my assessment of the food there might sound skewed to you.
My friend, whom I've been 'feeding' with dishes both authentic or infused with Indonesian flair, got excited when I told him there's an Indonesian restaurant in Columbus. So along with his sister, who isn't familiar with the food, we settled on 3 different rijstaffel boxes: vegetarian, adventurous, and spicy lover.
My dinner companions found the food were alright, but I find them a bit too sweet, the kind of cane sugary sweet instead of what it should have been, that is palm sugar. This cane-sugary sweetness was particularly obvious in the Gudeg. But the most disappointing dishes were the Sambel Goreng Kentang, or fried diced potatoes in spicy sauce, which was dry, and the Special Salad, which dressing was too weak on a not so fresh bunch of iceberg lettuce. I wished it was Gado-Gado, our version of salad with peanut sauce, instead of salad that doesn't look or taste Indonesian at all.
In general, if someone asks me to go there, suffice to say I'd rather go to Bangkok Restaurant on Refugee Rd for a tastier and heartier chow.
Posted by: Rina | January 06, 2007 at 04:41 PM
The store is called "Krema Nuts". Jeni's uses it for her Thai Chili ice cream too.
I love to get a small scoop of the Belgian Chocolate, and the Thai Chili, which I affectionately have dubbed the "spicy buckeye". I'm working on making a chocolate peanut butter icecream recipe of my own right now!
Posted by: Susan | September 15, 2007 at 03:47 PM
Thanks for the culinary kudos to Columbus - this is a great food town. Krema Nut Company is the oldest continuous maker of Peanut Butter in the country and you can do a tour of their factory (on Goodale Ave) with free samples.
Columbus is also the Ice Cream Capital of the USA - in addition to Jeni's we have Denise's, Graeters, and much more.
In addition to three AAA 4 diamond restaurants we have a host of great places like Alana's, Starliner Diner, Betty's, Basi Italia and more.
Posted by: CMH Gourmand | March 11, 2008 at 10:06 PM
I went last night for the first time and was thrilled with most of the food I tried. Of course I have never been to Indonesia! Or had Indonesian food before...that I know of.
I ordered the Special Set 3 - Spice Lover. I was not thrilled with the telor belado, a hard boiled egg in chili sauce but I am getting a whole order of the rendang daging the next time I go there... I had to drink a lot of water with the meal. I am happy I have left overs...
Posted by: Maureen McCabe | June 29, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Hi, I want to get the word out there that now there's an Indonesian market in Columbus: TANAHAIRKU Indonesian Market. It's located at 3333 N. High St., just one block south of N. Broadway and High. We carry exclusively Indonesian products, ranging from grocery items to fairly traded merchandise of non-Bali origin. Visit our website at www.tokotanahairku.com. Thank you.
Posted by: Jack | January 29, 2009 at 11:18 PM
Wow! We're definitely going to go there next time! Thanks!
Posted by: Joe, Kitchen Chick's husband | January 30, 2009 at 11:01 AM
I went to Taste of Bali last night. One of my indonesian friends brought me there. I think the place is nice and the food is great. I order set 3 (spicy lover) love it..especially with rendang and chicken rujak. the egg is spicy and kinda sweet for me and taste ok..also my indonesian friend order vegi pancake it was DELICIOUS!! i would recomend, you guys try it..and i tried the dessert called "durian" wow..it smells but taste really good..I will definitely come back!!!
Posted by: johnatan | May 30, 2009 at 02:59 PM
We will celebrating Indonesian independence..
Event: Live music, Traditional dance, games, and FREE FOOD sampling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When: August 15, 2009 at 6 PM
Place: Taste Of Bali
2548 Bethel Rd
Columbus, Oh 43220
614-459-7230 (call for reservation)
Come and Join Us..Free Food…
Posted by: Taste of Bali | July 21, 2009 at 03:45 PM
i went to taste of bali on sunday and they have lucnh buffet now. The lunch buffet is on weekdays and sunday only. they have alot of seafood..their buffet is different from chinese and india buffet. i like their shrimp with mayonnaise sauce. I would recommend for those who never try it. also, they have new website www.tasteofbaliohio.com
Posted by: johnatan | September 23, 2009 at 11:44 AM