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By The Delightful Mateo, on August 15th, 2011
152 E. State St. (Corner of State and Fourth)
Monday – Friday open 7AM, Saturday open 11AM, Sunday closed.
Phone 614-221-9980
Website: ColumbusTownDeli.com
Just a block away from Market 65, C-town Market & Deli is a place I wanted to check out for a while, being enticed by the signboard out front advertising a $1.99 breakfast special. It took me several weeks to get to it, though, because I was enthralled by Market 65′s patio and when I would go downtown I couldn’t resist that place. But one morning recently I was going to Yellow Springs to go bike riding, and wanted to grab breakfast quickly as I passed through downtown Columbus. I also wanted to save money. So I finally made it to C-town.
On-street parking at the meter right by the deli is convenient. There is a lot of variety available, with some attractive, healthy ingredients either cooked hot or a bunch of cold sandwiches already wrapped and ready to go. Not a lot of seating, since the business seems geared mostly to a grab-and-go business, or for delivery to nearby offices and hotels, but there are several tables inside and some outside on the sidewalk.
It’s not a great patio, but it’s decent food that is not expensive. I got the special, and it was in fact $1.99. The coffee was another $2, so my breakfast total was about $4. Fancier sandwiches are available for about $6. I say this place offers good value.
By The Delightful Mateo, on June 13th, 2011
65 E. State St
Phone: 614.564.6565
Open at 7:30am Monday through Friday - Closed Saturday. Closed Sunday.
http://www.marketsixtyfive.com/
Good coffee. Nice breakfast wraps, and you can have them add your choice from a selection of great ingredients. See http://www.marketsixtyfive.com/#create.
This is one of my favorite places to sit downtown, across State Street from the State House, on the patio by the fountain.
I went with two friends, we all had variations of the breakfast wrap, and we all liked them very much. I was surprised at how delicious it was. I wondered out loud, “What makes it so good?” and my buddy said “They would say it’s because it’s all local and all that.” Hmmm… well, whatever … it’s really good.
Three of us, total came to just under $20. Good value!
By The Delightful Mateo, on May 3rd, 2011
Espresso Yourself Music Cafe
50 W. Olentangy St., Powell, Ohio 43065
Phone: (614) 436-7100
Breakfast hours: Tuesday – Saturday: 9AM – 3PM
Sunday: 1PM – 5PM Other hours in evening
Website: www.EspressoYourselfMusicCafe.com
SEE MAP
This was a pleasant surprise! I came to the place reluctantly. Driving past the old church building in Powell, and seeing the “Espresso Yourself” sign out front, I somehow got the impression this was going to be a pink, frilly, antique store tea parlor. I passed it by, but when the restaurant down the street was closed, despite the two large “OPEN” flags by the front door, I was too hungry to drive to another burg. It seemed destiny was leading me. I’m glad I was wrong. I like this place.
Not pink and frilly – it’s casual, eclectic, and woody. Not old-maidish, but more like some 60′s hippy turned an old church into a hip coffee house… yes, it put me in mind of Alice’s Restaurant. Actually, it reminded me of the old Victorian’s Midnight Cafe.
There are panini sandwiches and pastries, check out the menu on cafe’s website. I didn’t get a good look at it because when I first stepped in I saw a sign for the special of the day and immediately decided that’s what I wanted: a Swiss Farmhouse quiche, with shrimp, harvarti, sweet red peppers, and sweet onion. ”It comes with fruit or salad.” I got the fruit.
The quiche was delectable. The texture was light, the taste was delicious. The fruit was fresh and good and substantial. I think this guy cares about his food!
The coffee was dark and strong and very flavorful, just the way I like it.
The cost for the this delightful breakfast was less than $10 each for two of us – about a nickle less than the cost of some other places’ dreary disappointments. Pretty good value here.
By The Delightful Mateo, on April 26th, 2011
The Pancake House
129 W. Schrock Rd
Westerville, OH 43081
Phone: (614) 898-6500
View MAP
Mon – Sat:6:30 am-2:30 pm Sun:8:00 am-2:30 pm
Hardly noticeable, tucked into the corner of the Westerville Plaza, along Schrock Road, the tiny joint might have gone unseen if it weren’t for the bandit signs along the sidewalk. As a place to eat breakfast, it’s also hardly noticeable. To sum it up in one word, it was mediocre.
The place just opened in December, so it’s been here long enough to get settled in, but it’s new enough that it ought to be more than just middling clean. Middling decor goes with the middling menu selection of the usual Midwest breakfast items: pancakes, a couple of omelets, breakfast sandwiches, steak and eggs, and so on.
This is a no-risk menu. No risk of anything exciting, no risk of excessive seasoning, or too much flavor. The food wasn’t terrible, it was just uninteresting and very bland. Oh, there was something rather bad – the corned beef hash. It’s the same dogfood-like hash that sits on the shelf at lots of diners that aren’t very concerned with how good their food is. The cook came by the table to ask how the food was, and since I had just remarked to my friend about the hash, I told the cook that I didn’t like it very much. His response was to tell me I was wrong. ”Oh. Sorry. I get lots of compliments on it.” Really? That’s hard to believe, except that people in Westerville do tend to be nice and polite.
My friend had The Works omelette, and considering that it had lots of different ingredients, he expected it would have lots of flavor, but he was disappointed. The food in the pictures looks pretty good, but the taste was pretty much the same as eating the pictures.
Coffee was OK. Service was attentive, to say the least, and the coffee cups were kept full. A lot of people probably enjoy service this friendly and chatty.
The total for our two breakfasts came to a few cents shy of $20. There was plenty of food, as far as that goes. It just wasn’t very tasty. Value? If you’re after quantity, it’s probably average value. Other than that, I wasn’t very pleased.
By The Delightful Mateo, on March 29th, 2011
Virginia’s Port Side Cafe
6515 South High Street
Phone: (614) 409-9888
Click here for MAP
Larger on the inside than I expected, Virginia’s Port Side Cafe pleasantly surprised me in other ways, too. It’s brighter and cleaner than a lot of truck-stop style cafes, and it’s cheerfully decorated in a kind of country decor, but not oppressively so. I was also surprised when the food came out and it was on two plates because there was so much of it!
The food, typical Midwest cuisine, was prepared skillfully and tasted good. It also looked good. Service was attentive and quick. The server brought the check out with the food, which I have always thought would be great because once I’m done I like to get out. So that was another pleasant surprise.
Coffee was decent diner coffee.
My friend and I each got the Southern omelet, which is the most expensive omelet on the menu – most of the omelets are around $6. The omelets were very large, and stuffed with lots of fillings. They came with toast and potatoes, which were accommodated on a second big platter. Gravy is offered if you want it – I got mine on the side.
Pancakes, breakfast sandwiches and so on are also on the menu. There is steak and eggs available in a few variations, including one with a T-bone. So yeah, this is an nice, old-fashioned, country-fried, truck-stoppy, steak-and-eggs diner with large portions and good service.
I guess if I’d read the UrbanSpoon comments, I wouldn’t have been so surprised. 97 percent of the people who voted there, including me, voted, “I like it.”
Breakfast for the two of us was $20. You could get plenty stuffed here for less. I think this is a good value, especially if you like country truck stops.
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Just south of Columbus, on Rt. 23, here’s the sign.
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Plenty of parking for cars and tractor trailers.
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Cheery place, with lots of room.
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Good thing there’s plenty of room on the tables!
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Lots of fillings in these Southern omelets.
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Potatoes were good. I got the raisin toast.
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Plenty to choose from…
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…typical Midwest diner food, nicely done.
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