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

Skillet- German Village

Every time I talk to people in Columbus about breakfast joints someone always mentions Skillet and how amazing the food is. They second that with and I had to wait 30-45 minutes to even get a table though. I’m not a fan of waiting around for a table anywhere and I usually don’t get up early enough on the weekend to make it before the crowd. On this Saturday though for some reason I was up early and decided I better make use of this rare occurence by making a visit to this popular German Village eatery. Walking into Skillet is like walking into someone’s living room. No wonder people wait so long, there aren’t many tables, but sometimes I enjoy the small feel.

I’m a sucker for Biscuits and Gravy, so after a quick look at the menu and spotting it on the menu my decision was made. The Andouille Sausage Gravy and Biscuits ($9) consists of a house smoked andouille in a spicy cream gravy over a couple of buttermilk biscuits with two scrambled eggs on top. Sounds like a lot of food and trust me it was. I also noticed a lot of dishes with the crispy pan-roasted fingerling potatoes ($4), so I decided on a side of those also. 

Potatoes are potatoes and the name sounds weird, but these had some nice spice to them and were overall really good. I would recommend trying one of the dishes that include them. When the waitress put down the plate I knew I was in for a challenge with the biscuits and gravy. It was a good amount of food and I’m not one to leave anything on the plate. The gravy had a nice spice to it, but I enjoy the heat so I even added a couple splashes of the house hot sauce. The biscuits were also really good and you could tell they were fresh.

The scrambled eggs were a good touch too. I wasn’t even able to finish the whole dish it was so much food. It was really good though. Some people have asked me to compare this biscuits and gravy to the one at Knead. They are really two different flavors because Knead’s has a slight sweet taste. I am going to be a politician for a second and say that they are both really good. It is the truth though, I would eat either of them in a second. I recommend you get out and try both and let me know which you think is better.

Until next time, remember that good things do happen before 10am on a Saturday and Skillet’s biscuits and gravy are worth the couple of hours less of sleep. You’ll want a nap later after all the food anyways.

Cheers!!!

www.skilletruf.com

Cafe Corner- Victorian Village

You’ll find Katalina’s Cafe Corner in the wonderful Victorian Village neighborhood. I’m a little biased as it is the neighborhood where I lay my head to sleep, but still it’s pretty sweet. Cafe Corner is one of my favorite brunch places, when I’m willing to shell out some dough for some quality food and it was Easter, so I figured why not. The price of the food is really the only down fall for Cafe Corner because the meals are always amazing. The patio is also a huge plus during the spring and summer months. Something about eating outside just makes everything better.

I had heard some chatter on twitter recently about the Latin Pancake balls, so I had to give them a try on this visit even though they would put me back $8.95.  They give you a choice of either Nutella or Strawberry preserves filling. I of course went with Nutella because I just love that stuff. Nutella is a usually forgotten about gem that I wish was more used by restaurants.  For those of you that don’t know what Nutella is “You better ask somebody!”, anyways it is a hazelnut spread; think peanut butter, but with hazelnuts instead. The pancake balls are also served with some sweet and spicy bacon. Usually the dish only comes with 6 pancake balls, but the cashier must have thought I was cute because as you can see I got 7 :). These things were amazing though. There wasn’t too much nutella and the balls were surprisingly really moist. Hold on that sounded bad lol, but you know what I meant. The real Vermont maple syrup made a huge difference too, much different from Aunt Jemima. Now lets move on to the amazing sweet and spicy bacon. I usually enjoy my bacon really crispy, but it was a little less well done. The flavor though was great. This dish definitely didn’t disappoint and I understand now what all the chatter was about. The friend I was with ordered the Breakfast Tacos and even though I didn’t taste them they just looked amazing so I decided to snap a pic.

I can’t eat here too often or I’ll be broke, but when I get the urge for some fantastic food I’ll definitely be back.

Until next time, remember to never ever forget about Nutella. Actually feel free to go out and buy a jar right now and bake me something :).

Cheers Mate!!!