Spagio's = weaksauce...well sorta. - Spagios

Betty and I were craving some yummy lobster bisque so we decided to stop off at Spagio's and this time order some real dinners instead of the pizzas that we had last time. For those who didn't read our first trip there -- Betty and I declared Spagios to have a truly wonderful lobster bisque soup that was pretty much bonkers. Their pizzas were very tasty as well but this visit we wanted to put their menu to the test and decided to order some entrees as well. I did not document our lobster bisque soups this time -- but rest assured...they were what we thought they were...certified yums-in-my-tums.


from their menu: Grilled Diver Scallops - Diver Scallops wrapped in Applewood smoked bacon and perched atop a flour tortilla with avocado-tomato salad, freshly squeezed lime juice and fresh herbs $28

from their menu: 8 oz Choice Beef Tenderloin served with Aged Gouda potato soufflé , haricots verts with shallots and bacon $25

After a great experience with the soup we were eager to try our dinner entrees...unfortunately...they did not deliver. The scallops were cooked well but had a somewhat bland taste not mention that I failed to grasp the concept of the flour tortilla. It was like I ate an expensive bland scallop tostada. The tastes did not jell together for me especially for as much as this meal cost. They say everything tastes better with bacon -- but it was work to finish the meal. Just say no to this entree. Betty had the beef tenderloin and it failed to deliver as well. The sides were slightly tastier then wedding food and the beef tenderloin -- though strong in taste was underwhelming. I had a bite to confirm the inevitable weaksauce edict. The kicker was the bill. The food was way to pricey for the lack of execution and taste-euphoria. Betty and I decided in the future we will stick to Spagio's lobster bisque, bread, appetizers and pizza and pass on their dinner entrees which just don't make the cut hence...Spagio's=weaksauce...well sorta -- because we'd still go back there -- this in contrast to Deepwood.

the truth about jekyll and hyde park grill...

Betty and I have been eating out way too much but there always seems to be something to celebrate or some new restaurant to try. This was the case Tuesday when Betty and I celebrated our 2nd Bearniversary. We were debating Thoms on Grandview or Hyde Park Grille and ended up deciding to try Hyde Park up in the Short North. We got there early -- i guess the restaurant does not open until 5PM -- and had a happy hour martini. Good blue cheese olives but something was off with my gin martini. Betty's was very tasty. Their happy hour menu is quasi-interesting in that everything on the left hand side of their menu is half off. We decided to try their scallops. As we waited at the bar -- our seats became available and were were taken to our patio seats which line High Street. I had some usual dining anxiety at first about downtown patio dining and it's proximity to the street and car exhaust along with potential heavy drafts that blow your napkin or menu across the street -- as had happened at Barrio Tapas -- but we were on the inner row of patio seats so all was good. I wanted to try a number of menu items to take in everything Hyde Park had to offer since we had recently been hitting up a number of fine dining steak joints including Eddie Merlots and Fleming's. We also ordered their sashimi tuna and lobster bisque as appetizers. Betty and I both decided to get petite filets and split a side of Gruyere gratin.


bread and butter

Bread was good. You get 2 different kind of bread rolls and a number of "everything" covered crackers.



scallops

Betty and I were so hungry when these came out I forgot to take a picture of the plating. These were very tasty cooked perfectly like butter served with a blue cheese walnut sauce. The serving was small however and I was glad we got the happy hour price on them for $5 rather than $12.95.



lobster bisque

I had to try this lobster bisque after loving Spagios. This soup was pretty good but seemed to have a strong cheese base that overpowered the rest of the flavors. I think pre-Spagios lobster bisque -- I would've enjoyed this more but Spagios has set the bar perhaps too high.

sashimi tuna app with wasabi oil and sriracha

When this came out i wondered where the other half went. I was perhaps a little disappointed with the tuna though nothing was noticeably wrong with it. Again I couldn't help but notice the small portions. This in contrast to other places where servings seemed larger and packed more taste punch. The sauces were boring to me but I love tuna so let's say I quasi-enjoyed this.


petite filet medium

Steak was tasty but was a little over cooked for me. I still enjoyed it though. As Betty and I were discussing the meal I wondered if perhaps I should start ordering my steaks medium rare because I also thought Fleming's also overcooked my steak.


potatoes gruyère gratin

Betty and I split this side and it was very rich and tasty. Complemented our steak perfectly. Again...I have a tendency to compare dining experiences and restaurants with one another...and I was hoping that Hyde Park might have some bold side comparable to say Flemings Chipotle Mac and Cheese. Betty and I really enjoyed our meal and it was fun to hang out in our old stomping ground to celebrate our Anniversary but at the end of the day with a pretty sizable bill we weren't so sure if we'd come back to Hyde Park Grille unless it was for drinks and apps or unless you're buying. ;)

her name is Bar-rio and she dances on the sand...

Not sure if it was work or something else in the air but I had the get-out-and-eat-bug this week. We decided to finally try Barrio Tapas after striking out at Banana Bean Cafe off of Whittier which we learned was closed on Mondays. We ordered a number of items from their seemingly delicious eclectic menu.


We started off with a pitcher of sangria which was half off for happy hour for $12. The idea that someone might drop $24 for a pitcher was shocking to me. Sangria was so so -- not even in the same ballpark as Barcelona's. The bread with the butter and spiced oil was nice but we only got 3 slices of bread. Come on now.

Started off with the tuna ceviche and both versions of their empanadas.


tuna ceviche with base of lime, basil, siracha

The plating of the meal was the best thing about the ceviche. The lime was too overpowering and I failed to understand what they were trying to do with the taste. The popcorn I could care less for. The radish salad and plantain were tasty but it's not a good sign when radishes are trumping tuna.

crab, almond, goat cheese empanada with corn, pico, avocado puree

I really wanted to enjoy this but it tasted bland to me.


beef and bean empanada

I enjoyed this empanada a bit better but I couldn't really make out the bean that was with it. Beef was alright. Both empanadas had tasty puff pastry but in the end I would've been happier eating a Chili's southwestern eggroll.

At this point I found myself uninspired by the food but wanted to try more of the menu -- good for Barrio Tapas -- but bad for this month's credit card bill. We ordered the watercress & goat cheese salad along with the scallops wrapped in serrano ham. I'm glad we explored the menu. The salad was tremendous and the scallops were delicious as funk. Definitely some of the best scallops i've ever tried -- not no parkay -- not no margarine -- strictly butter -- strictly butter.


watercress & goat cheese with sour orange mojo, pistachio & goat cheese tostada



scallop and serrano ham with mango sherry vinaigrette, cilantro puree

When all is said and done Barrio Tapas is an alright place: a pricey menu with some tasty gems, a great dining environment and a prime downtown location. If we go back it'd be more of a stop off for a drink sort of place while out on the town.

Barcelona...asi asi...

Still feeling hit by the cruise vertigo/virus but not wanting to act like anything was abnormal we made reservations for Saturday night at Barcelona. I was excited because we had a friend coming into town and I remember liking Barcelona last time I was there probably over a decade ago. We were excited by the Restaurant Week special that consisted of 9 tapas + a glass of sangria all for $30. That's a deal considering the last time I was there our bill for 10 people came to about $700. That's probably why it's been so long since I've been back there.
I tried unsuccessfully to capture the menu on my camera yet again but what you see below was the best part of the meal which was the sangria to the right and the first 3 appetizers.


hummus and flatbread, almond gazpacho, and tomato & mozarella

The sangria was tremendous. I've historically not been much of a sangria person but this sangria was tasty not overly sweet and had some bite. I like it lots and would definitely try it again in larger quantities. The hummus to me was standard. The flatbread tasted a little stale to me. Betty and our friend thoroughly enjoyed it. The almond gazpacho was something i've never tasted before and though pasty was very tasty. The tomato and mozarella was simple and very delicious.

At that point i got tired of taking photos on my camera as i was bumped a couple of times by folks because we were packed tightly in and also because the very act of taking photos was disruptive to our table conversation.

The rest of our meal was pretty so so consisting of: a mushroom-sausage dish that was bland and greasy, a chicken and manchego croquette that tasted like a generic wedding appetizer, an overcooked rubbery scallop, another generic salmon salad, lukewarm pathetic meatballs with a bland creamy side sauce, and then pretty tasty asparagus with overcooked shrimp. If I seem lackadaisical it's cause I honestly could care less for the remainder of our meal.

Part of the appeal with Barcelona is the dining atmosphere and feel of the place. You don't feel like you're in the midwest. We had a lot of fun chatting it up and talking about the food that we didn't really care that it wasn't great. Typing up all these posts is making me fret my credit card bill for this month which has yet to come

Restaurant Week Kick Off at G. Michaels Bistro...

Wow I'm really behind in my posting!

So Monday March 9th was the day I was feeling very dizzy from cruise vertigo but not enough to not want to hit up Restaurant Week.

Our first stop was G. Michael's Bistro. This was our first time eating there so we were excited.

After some debate Betty and I both decided to get the same thing: The seared jumbo scallop with beets in a chive cream sauce for the appetizer:


You can see from the above pictures that my vertigo carried to my photography skills.

The scallop itself was delicious and very tender. The beets though somewhat tasty in small amounts overtook the flavor. I loved the chive cream sauce but there was not enough to go around. This was my first time trying beets and they are not my favorite.



The chorizo-stuffed, bacon-wrapped short ribs with mashed potatoes, green beans and au jus. Again I apologize for the picture. The presentation of this meal was a bit overwhelming. I was kind of like where do I begin. My sister had gotten me excited about short ribs but I never really new what it was. Everything was tasty and the short rib was like an ultra-tasty-tender rib but with no bone. My only complaint was that there was too much salt for my tastes - between the chorizo, bacon, au jus, potatoes. All this being said -- would I order the short rib again? Yes.

Because I have no clue how to use my camera the picture for dessert did not show up but dessert was pretty delicious. I got the creme brulee with berries and betty got a toffee cake with toppped with a whiskey sauce. I am not sure if creme brulee is supposed to be served warm but ours was cold yet crispy. The cake was good but slightly dry

This was a great first night back to Columbus. G. Michaels seems like a nice place. I was surprised about how big it was with the 3 different settings: bar area, windows area, and then closed off dining room. I will say it was slightly strange hearing the kitchen folks bicker about how they were running out of short ribs. Everyone must have heard how tasty they were.