Dirty Franks- Downtown

Oh the hot dog palace it is. This is definitely not my first time visiting Dirty Frank’s in downtown Columbus or even my first time writing about it. I do recall last time I wrote about it though I was more on the side of it being just an average place. Well, I had a much better experience this time around which was refreshing. It didn’t hurt that it was a Monday night and I didn’t have to wait 30 minutes to get a seat. There was also some pretty entertaining karaoke.

When I read the menu at Dirty Franks I always get excited because the hot dogs all sound so good, but then I usually find myself a little disappointed because they only taste alright. I went with a couple of selections this time that have gotten good recommendations from others, so I felt pretty confident in my choices. Even though I am not usually a fan of Pittsburgh (I will explain later), I went first with the Lara’s Pittsburgh Princess dog, which came topped with fries, malt vinegar and cole slaw. The second selection was Amy’s Big Boston dog which was topped with baked beans, cheese and onions.

I was really happy with both of my selections. I had to add a little bit of mustard to the Boston dog and some sriracha to the Pittsburgh dog, but they both were really good and I would order them again. The sweetness of the cole slaw paired with the vinegar and the spiciness of the sriracha made it my favorite of the two. There are still plenty others for me to try that sounded so good. Most dogs are around $3 a piece. Now let me explain my Pittsburgh comment. Everytime I am driving down the highway and get cut off by a car it never fails that they have a Pittsburgh Steelers sticker on the back. It’s not bad enough that you win all those damn Super Bowls, but you have to cut me off on the highway too. Ok, off my soap box and back to the taste buds talking.

I’m going backwards in  eating order, but I also had the chance to try the Fried Leeks appetizer. One of the folks I was with explained a leek as a huge green onion, which is a pretty accurate description.

The taste was overall pretty decent, but it was a little disappointing because most of what I was eating was just the breading. The leek pieces were cut really thin and didn’t stand out much. It was a decent app, but not sure I would order it again.

Excited to get back to Dirty Franks soon to give some of the other dogs a try and experience some of their unique adult slushies.

Until next time, in the words of the great Harry Carey. “If you were a hot dog, would ya eat yourself?”

Cheers!!!

www.dirtyfrankscolumbus.com

Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill- Grandview

I’m going to be brutally honest, when I left my house to head out for something to eat, Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill was not the planned destination. Jason’s Deli in the new Grandview Yard complex was the planned spot for dinner, but they decide to close at 4pm on Sundays, so Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill it was. I had never been and hadn’t really heard much about it either. I always thought it would just be an OSU shrine that just happened to have a kitchen. I was really in the mood for a salad on this night, so I was happy to see that there were a few good sounding salad options on the menu, all about $9. I went with the Club Salad with pulled rotisserie chicken. The mixed greens were also topped with bacon, avocado, chopped egg, blue cheese and tomatoes tossed in a garlic buttermilk dressing. Along with the salad also came a pretzel breadstick, yum. As soon as this thing hit the table I knew it was going to be good. Most salads are usually very stingy with the toppings, not this place. There was a huge mound of chicken and all of other toppings overflowing the bowl. It was a struggle to mix the salad without stuff spilling over on to the table. Once the mixing task was complete though this salad was just exactly what I was looking for, the salad was huge. This might have been the first time I’ve had a salad with rotisserie chicken on it, but it won’t be the last because everything on this salad just tasted amazing together. I couldn’t even finish all of the salad and I still left full. I snapped a shot of the oven with the chickens to prove that it was real. I was really surprised with how good my salad was and how good the other food around me looked. The wait staff was also good, but there was one thing that just drove me nuts in this place, the music. I seriously think they were purposely picking the most random tunes to annoy me. They were easy to hear because the place was quiet empty during my visit and I just kept finding myself thinking what in the world are they playing. Let me just name a few of the artists, Whitney Houston, Boy II Men, Christina Aguilera and All 4 One. I felt like I was at a High School Prom circa 1994 and that definitely doesn’t go with the sports bar feel. Other than that if you’re an OSU fan you’ll love this place as they do have some pretty cool memorabilia.

I won’t be back to check out the memorabilia or the tunes, but I will be back to explore the rest of their menu.

Until next time, remember don’t discount a restaurant’s food just because of the exterior or theme.

Cheers!

www.buckeyegrill.com

Tip Top Kitchen- Downtown

Since starting this whole blog thing I frequently get people asking for restaurant recommendations and one of the places I always tell them to add to their list is Tip Top Kitchen in downtown Columbus. Tip Top has become one of my favorite places because of the downtown location, chill atmosphere and great tasting food. Tip Top is one of the few places in the actual downtown area that is casual. I mean how can you not like a place that gives you discount PBR just for riding your bike??? The menu is a unique take on your normal comfort foods. I started this meal off with the Hell Salad made up of mixed greens,  spicy giardinara, shredded mozzarella and housemade buttermilk ranch dressing. I couldn’t pass on this as I have never heard of a salad with giardinara on it. It is usually just served on italian beef sandwiches and is very similar to the hot peppers Potbelly’s uses on their sandwiches. The salad was really good. The giardinara added a nice spiciness and the ranch cooled it down a bit. As you can tell from the picture though there was quite a bit of ranch, so I could have done with a little less. A decent sized portion for just $5 I would definitely recommend trying it. Usually I just throw the piece of bread to the side, but for some reason I decided to try this one and am I glad I did. I think it was just a simple piece of toasted whole wheat bread, but for some reason it tasted really good, so try it don’t toss it. For the main dish I went with one of my favorite dishes around, the Pot Roast Sandwich with sweet potato fries.

The pot roast sandwich is served on a pretzel bun with swiss cheese and yellow mustard and the fries are served with a housemade southwestern sauce. I am a huge fan of this sandwich because it is loaded with lots of slow cooked beef and those flavors combined with the pretzel bun and fresh cheese go great together. The sweet potato fries are also really good and not too overcooked or thick. A lot of the time when I get sweet potato fries they are more like potato wedges and there is just too much sweet potato for me in one bite. The southwestern sauce helps offset some of the fries’ sweetness too with its’ spicy flavor. All of that food for just $15 is a pretty good deal. I definitely left stuffed. I will for sure be back for another visit I just have to convince myself next time to try something new on the menu, but that is tough with the pot roast sandwich being that damn good.

So I will tell you as I tell the people who ask me for restaurant recommendations, get out and try Tip Top Kitchen. You won’t be disappointed.

Cheers!!!

www.tiptopcolumbus.com