Little did I expect that my favorite eating experience of the year would be in Columbus. I'd been there a few times before and managed to find a few interesting places as well as some not so worthwhile. About a year ago I stumbled on the
alt.eats.columbus website, an invaluable guide to the more obscure and interesting side of Columbus dining. If you're spending any time there you can't afford to miss these reviews.
One of the places that caught my eye was
Foodie Cart but we were unable to find the cart during a visit toward the end of last year. It turns out that in April, Foodie Cart morphed into Fresh Street, occupying a shack in a parking lot next to an art gallery. The menu changed with the move; takoyaki and okonomiyaki replaced Japanese-style crepes.
Fresh Street is run by a young couple, Kenny Kim and Misako Ohba, who besides being terrific chefs, exude an amazing enthusiasm for what they're doing. I had a blast talking with them during two visits in one day (it was that good).
During our first visit Misako was making a batch of takoyaki so we got to watch a meticulous artist at work. Batter is poured into concavities of a hot cast iron takoyaki pan and octopus (tako) bits or other ingredients are added. She was also making a corn version and used kernels freshly sliced from the cob.
Then more batter is poured on to cover the added ingredients.
Once the batter sets, it gets scored with sharp awl-like utensils.
Each dumpling-to-be is separated and turned so it cooks uniformly.
The turning process is repeated over and over to yield evenly browned spheres.
Once the takoyaki take on a dark color, they are plucked from the griddle, placed in a bamboo boat and dressed with takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, dried laver and bonito shavings.
They taste as good as they look. The best takoyaki I've had. My only slight quibble is the quality of the katsuobushi could be a bit better. Part of the fun of eating takoyaki is watching the bonito shavings dance in the heat. But when you remember the $5 cost ($1 less with the dancing discount) for a serving of 8, you realize this is hardly a valid criticism.
We also had the pork belly okonomiyaki topped with yakisoba. We were told the fried noodle topping is popular in Japan but not terribly common here. As the okonomiyaki griddle is in the back we didn't get to watch it being cooked but the resulting "pancake" was truly beautiful.
In the close-up you can better make out the fried noodles sitting atop the base of batter-encased shredded vegetables. This tasted even better than it looks. Great stuff.
They serve interesting beverages including iced barley tea and ramune (with a lesson on how to dislodge that marble).
Not too many sweets on offer but we tried a lychee snow cup with condensed milk, appropriate for the hot day.
After judging the
Family Heirloom Recipes at the Ohio State Fair we rushed back to Fresh Street to try something else before they closed for the day (the building becomes a mini-pizzeria in the evening). This time we had a bacon-avocado okonomiyaki.
Different flavor profile but just as good. Simply beautiful cooking.
I love the Chicago dining scene but sometimes it takes a visit to somewhere like Columbus to make you realize how deficient we are in some areas. I actually spent a bit of time trying to convince Kenny and Misako they should consider moving to Chicago.
Addendum: Shortly after our visit, they received a new crepe griddle they had been awaiting so they're back to doing what made them so popular when they ran Foodie Cart. They are very active on Facebook and Twitter so you can get the latest information there. If you find yourself anywhere near Columbus you really ought to visit.Fresh Street (formerly Foodie Cart)
1030 N High St
Columbus OH
Mon & Wed-Fri 1130am-530pm, Sat-Sun noon-6pm, closed Tue
http://twitter.com/#!/freshstreethttp://www.facebook.com/foodie.carthttp://freshstreet.tumblr.com/Edited for spelling and to slightly alter title.
Last edited by
Rene G on September 14th, 2011, 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.