Columbus Dining Guide Feed

Festival: Greek Festival

By Jesse Tigges — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:09:37 GMT

Besides promising the best gyros of any festival this year, the Greek Festival is a great way to spend a day over the long weekend - with Greek dancers and singers, cooking demonstrations, cultural exhibits and cathedral tours throughout four days of festivities.

Restaurant review: Greek Corner

By G.A. Benton — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:52:02 GMT

I find it comforting that nowadays in Columbus Greek restaurants are about a drachma a dozen.

Movie review: "Get Him to the Greek"

By Brad Keefe — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:37:55 GMT

Russell Brand's Aldous Snow was the breakout of the 2008 post-breakup comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." His on-the-wagon rock star was the embodiment of everything you didn't want your ex-girlfriend to date, until he somehow became a likable man-child.

Review: Nazareth Restaurant & Deli

By G.A. Benton — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:33:49 GMT

The owner of Nazareth Deli and Restaurant -who obviously has a larger-than-life personality - has placed a near life-size cutout of himself cracking up and waving a baseball bat near Nazareth's entryway. This stands just past the "no tunic, no sandals, no service" sign and nearby another bat that's been enshrined.

Review: Pita Hut

By G.A. Benton — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:42:28 GMT

You know how some restaurants make something you like so much that you wind up ordering that same old thing every time? Pita Hut was such a place for me.

Lucky $13: Olive Tree Mediterranean Cafe

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:00:33 GMT

Lucky $13: Shish Kebab Express

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:59:59 GMT

Brunch season: Anna's

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:30:37 GMT

Anna's modest Dublin strip-mall digs are enlivened by a smile-inducing, large-scale model of a thatched-roof Greek windmill. Encompassing that conversation piece is the requisite Grecian whitewash accented with bright splashes of Aegean Sea blue paint.

Menu: Olive Tree Mediterranean Cafe

G.A. Benton — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:18:46 GMT

The Olive Tree in Hilliard is your basic Greek, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean joint that serves Israeli wine and makes one of the most unusual and best moussakas in town.

Menu: The year in dining

G.A. Benton — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:22:19 GMT

As 2009 prepares to hang the "closed" sign on its 365-day notched door and 2010 gets ready to open up shop, I thought it was an appropriate time to take a mini-inventory of some of last year's more prominent restaurant openings and closings. What follows is not an exhaustive list, but it did make me feel exhausted just looking over all the terrific new food I tried and all the old friends I'll surely miss.

Menu: Lavash

G.A. Benton — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:57:15 GMT

It's no secret that Lavash is at the top of the casual Middle Eastern restaurant heap, because that lively and popular Clintonville spot is often teeming with regulars (like me) during mealtimes. But what many people don't realize is that Lavash is actually two coexisting businesses.

Pick-up Artist: Hellas Grill Express

G.A. Benton — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:43:16 GMT

There was precious little about the exterior trappings of Hellas Grill Express to suggest it'd ever be a restaurant worth recommending. Aside from a Greek-themed awning, I'd say "humble-looking" almost seemed too kind to describe the outside of this tinier-than-tiny shop attached to a Grandview carryout and occupying the former Cowtown Pizza space.

Go Fest: Greek Festival

Jesse Tigges — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:42:18 GMT

Mention the Greek Festival to a foodie and they'll immediately swoon. And yes, the authentic gyros and baklava will draw you in, but the lively and boisterous Greek music, dance and cultural exhibits will keep you there. Opa!

Pick-Up Artist: Ali Baba

G.A. Benton — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:04:18 GMT

Lots of Pita Hut fans - and I'm among them - like to get their shawarma to go. That's because, ambience-wise, the Hut is a cheerless little dive best described as bare-bones. So though the food is certainly fun, the place is not.

A la Carte: Anna's Restaurant

G.A. Benton — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:45:16 GMT

With all this great weather, I'll bet you've been getting in your fill of delicious grilled-out food, haven't you? Because, come on, who doesn't love a big-old backyard barbecue? Well, I'll tell you who: how about the poor schnook who gets roped into doing all the cooking? In case that's never you, let me set the scene.

Flaming foods: Easy Street Cafe

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:20:20 GMT

This suitably named convivial place is plastered over with the kind of wacky (and not) posters, photos and bric-a-brac that bars in this German Village neighborhood have become known for. Easy's solidly good food leans toward the diner and comfort zones, but it leans that way with a heavy Greek accent.

A la Carte: Happy Greek Red Snapper

G.A. Benton — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:23:15 GMT

An overtaxed foil wrapper was straining to contain an overflow of ingredients. I took that as a good sign. But as I was planning my method of attack - because planning was necessary for a sandwich like that - it occurred to me that the mammoth aluminum-bound munch sort of resembled an Olympic torch.

Sandwich Guide: Chicken Kabob Sandwich

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:13:16 GMT

I recommend getting this sandwich on the Middle Eastern burrito-like lavash bread, as it's given a good toasting and offers more interesting texture and less meddlesome bread than the puffy pita.

Bargain Binge: Aladdin's Eatery

G.A. Benton — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:16:18 GMT

Once upon a time in the land of Clintonville, a shop called Aladdin's was the only Middle Eastern game in town. As the solitary local provider of sit-down-service shawarmas, it was quite frequently packed and remained so for over 1,001 nights.

Vino File: Think Greek

Brittany Kress — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:14:16 GMT

Wine was considered a way to sanitize drinking water back in ancient Greece. Three parts water to one part wine was the way to drink to your health, said Constance Begue, wine director at Hills Market.

Bar profile: Jimmy V's Grill & Pub

John Ross — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:47:16 GMT

The southernmost branch of the local Jimmy V's franchise just shouldn't work: an Albanian family serving Greek food in German Village.

Menu: Lavash Cafe

G.A. Benton — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:29:17 GMT

The shawarma wars have started on North High Street. Firing the first spinning meat torpedo across the bow of its obvious target and competition is Lavash - and it's caused quite an aromatic explosion.

Menu: Mykonos Taverna and Bakery

G.A. Benton — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:37:28 GMT

Concerning the new Mykonos Taverna in Gahanna, my impressions have ranged from first and very good to mixed. Don't get me wrong, I like the place, but after my initial dinner there, I was ready to proclaim it a new favorite.