3420 Indianola Ave, 43214;  Phone (614) 262-2233

(Click for map)  Website: http://www.wildflowercafe.biz/

See breakfast menu online.

On a special day because I was setting out on a day trip with my best friend, we wanted to go to breakfast someplace we knew we liked.  It was easy to choose the Wildflower Cafe.  Since it has been more than a year since I visited this place and wrote about it, I thought it would be suitable to write about it again – sort of see if it’s still as good as ever.  It is.

We enjoyed delicious, healthy, fresh, attractive food for only slightly more than the cost of going to a mediocre diner, and a lot less than the cost of up-scale, uptown, up-sell trendy foodie places.

Good coffee – better than average diner coffee.

It’s a homey place, kind of like eating in a large farmhouse kitchen.  There’s outdoor seating.

I enjoyed the Huevos Rancheros.  I rolled up the black beans and eggs and salsa in the warm corn tortillas – ruining the beautiful presentation, maybe, but having a lot of fun.  My friend had skillet scrambler and added salmon to it.  The salmon added $2 to the bill, but even with that the whole cost was about $20 for both of us.  You could pay less for breakfast, but it wouldn’t be as good.  This is a good value.

(If you want to see the pictures full-size, click on them, then click on them again.)

1335 Dublin Road, 43215

Phone: 832-2404

Web site: http://gordonsgourmetofcolumbus.com/

On the West side of Dublin Road between Fifth and Grandview, it’s not very noticeable so you’ll have to look for it; it’s a small place with eight tables inside and some seating outside.  It’s nice and clean, and this morning there was alternative rock music playing on the speakers.

There are seven breakfast sandwiches available, and a few side dishes.  The sandwiches are $4.95.  I had the Western and a side order of hash browns and a cup of coffee.  My total bill was just over $7, which seems to me to be a fair value.

I enjoyed my breakfast.  I would say it was about average quality, though I got a psychic impression that they wanted to be terrific.  If they are aiming for terrific, they missed, but really it’s not bad.  Except for the “hash browns.”  They’re not actually hash browns, they are sort of very-short-cut french fries – that is, they are french fries that are chopped into short pieces and then deep fried.  Mine this morning were very much over-salted so that I couldn’t eat them…  and I don’t have a problem with salt.  If they weren’t so over-salted they would be OK, but they still wouldn’t be hash browns.

The sandwich was OK, but again, not as great as I think the restaurant people were going for.  It was pretty bland, with no seasonings or toppings, and the bread, which is probably fine for a ham or turkey sandwich, didn’t quite stand up to the job for an omelet sandwich; the moisture from the scrambled eggs sogged it up a little too much.

The coffee was strong.  I had trouble deciding whether I liked it.  I do like strong coffee; but there’s more to good coffee than making it strong.  I added milk and sugar and it seemed a little better.  I guess it was a little too bitter for my taste.  Opinions vary on coffee.

Overall, this is not bad, it’s just not special, not a regular diner, not a special atmosphere or terribly impressive food, but it’s an adequate breakfast if you’re in the area and there’s not much else nearby.  It’s better than McDonald’s.

1144 N High St, 43201

Phone: 291-8512

A tiny, classic diner with stainless steel counters; no tables or booths. Outside it looks like it’s falling apart, even with the improvements and paint put into it over the past year or so — you shouldn’t seen it BEFORE they spruced it up! It’s cleaner inside now.

You’d think the place would be cheap from the looks of it.  It’s not particularly cheap.  But it’s a fair value because, hey, the food is good.

The coffee is decent diner coffee; maybe a little better than average.

I got the spinach omelet with tomato, onion, and mushroom.  The veggies were plentiful and fresh, even the mushrooms.  It was delicious.  It had real cheese on it, and in it.

The potatoes were very tasty.  The toast wasn’t artisan, but it wasn’t crap either; it tasted good.

Friendly service from both the waitress and the cook.

The bill was added up wrong today; when I looked at it it said $12 – that would have been too much.  I pointed it out and they added it up again, and it came to $9, which is a decent value.

If you like classic, neighborhood diners, this is a place you’ll want to have experienced.

17 S. High Street, Downtown, 43215

Phone: 224-1976

Breakfast Monday – Friday 7AM to 11AM

5 other locations in and around Columbus, see them and see the menu on Potbelly’s website at

http://www.potbelly.com

Good coffee (Starbucks).  Cheap breakfast — $2.99 for a breakfast sandwich.

I had the Bacon, Egg, Lettuce and Tomato.  It was pretty good.

The coffee was $1.55, so my total was $4.85.  Pretty good value.

Nothing very special, but not a bad breakfast grab.  I ate at the one on High Street, across from the Statehouse.  Nice view of the sidewalk, but no WiFi.

1428 Polaris Parkway, 43240

Phone: 4330441

Website: http://www.mimiscafe.com/

SEE MAP

Very nice, atmosphere, upscale and classy.

Our server did a good job of suggestive selling by asking right off if we’d like to start off with a cappuccino, which sounded good so we got it.

We ordered juice, which was fresh-squeezed and quite good.  I don’t think I’ve ever had fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice at a restaurant before.

I had a carrot muffin, which was delicious.  I also had the Crab and Avocado Omelette, which was also delicious. I had a side order of corned beef hash which had good flavor; I liked it, even though the corned beef was ground finer than I prefer.

Johann had the Mixed Berry Pain Perdu (stuffed French toast).  He enjoyed it very much; I tasted it and thought it was great. He got some good sausage with that.

This is a place I recommend for breakfast.  It’s not a unique, local place, but it’s a very good breakfast experience.

Our total this week for two: $28.90.  It’s not cheap, but it’s a good value.

OOPS!  THIS RESTAURANT IS NO LONGER OPEN FOR BUSINESS

4421 Broadway, Grove City, 43123

SEE MAP

Open Daily 7 to 2

The article in the Dispatch this week, about the opening of this reincarnation of Western Pancake House, really caught a lot of people’s attention, it seems.  The place was packed when I got there about 9 this morning.  The staff was overwhelmed, they were already out of blueberries and buckwheat and a couple of other items. Though it was clear that everybody working there  was way deep in the weeds, they seemed to handle it well and kept it together like pros.

(The Columbus Foodie was there, too, and wrote a thorough review with lots of great pictures.)

It’s a small place, with about a dozen tables, a counter with several stools, and a square counter in the middle of the restaurant, with chairs all around it.

There are plenty of variations of pancakes with different toppings, and the usual eggs and bacon type of breakfast items.

I had the Spanish Omelet, which turned out to be some scrambled eggs rolled up with salsa inside and salsa on top. It wasn’t bad, but I don’t think I’d order it again. The omelet came with pancakes, which tasted fine, though they seemed a bit…  tough?  Can pancakes be tough?  I guess they can.  (I was hoping they’d be something super-duper, but maybe my expectations were too high. )

I also has a side order of hash browns, and a side order of sausage.  The hash browns were OK, the sausage was all right. The sausage was cooked in the oven.

The guy next to me had French toast that looked great, but I didn’t ask him how it tasted.

I think the coffee was a little better than average diner coffee.

My total was $12.77, maybe slightly on the high side, but maybe it’s fair considering I had two side orders.

4051 Main St., Hilliard, 43026

Phone: 876-2649
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Formerly Mel’s Diner. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, pretty typical diner breakfast food.

I had the steak and eggs. The steak was ribeye, but it wasn’t very good. I must say, though, the potato cake was delicious.  If you eat here for breakfast, I do recommend the potato cake. Other than that, I’d say the food was average quality diner fare.

My friend had the cranberry-walnut pancakes, and says they were not bad, although they tasted like the usual pancake mix and didn’t have enough cranberries or walnuts.   The hash browns were OK.

I tried the biscuits and found them to be nothing special. They were served with ersatz, supposed-to-be-butter-substitute that was awful.  When the server asked how everything was, I said I didn’t like the fake butter, and she brought me some real butter and said that they always have butter in the back but you have to ask for it.

The coffee was terrible; weak and flavorless.

At $26.24 for two people, this was a poor value.

On the “cap,” 600 North High Street, 43215

Phone: 225-1536
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Brunch on Sunday only – opens at 10 AM

Nice place to sit outside and eat breakfast on Sunday morning, while watching the High Street scene in the Short North.

Brunch buffet. Food and service both good.  Good coffee.

$11.95 per person – good value.

65 East State St, 43215

Phone: 220-5600

Menu: http://www.sanfranciscooven.com/menus/COLBinder1.pdf
SEE MAP

Breakfast pizzas.  Delightful outdoor seating area across the street from the Statehouse.

Good coffee.

I had the Lombard Lorraine Pizza, with egg, bacon, spinach and Swiss Cheese. My buddy had the Sausalito Sausage Pizza, with egg, sausage, scallions and cheddar cheese.  Mine wasn’t bad, but my buddy’s was better.  You can also choose from a wide variety of toppings to create your own pizza, which would probably be best of all.

There are also pastries and breakfast sandwiches available.

It’s a great place to sit and read the paper in the morning.

$3.29 for a breakfast pizza.  Pretty Good value.

2932 E Broad St,  in Bexley, 43209

Phone:  236-1959

‎SEE MAP

The epitome of a neighborhood diner, Frank’s is very small, warm and cozy, with plenty of regulars chatting away,  and typically Midwest food. People really like this place.

I enjoyed my experience here very much.  The eggs tasted fresh, the smoked sausage was tasty, the toast was good. The home fries were shredded very, very thin – I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so thin. It took me a couple of bites to get used to it, but I really liked them.

Average diner coffee.

At less than $7.50 for my breakfast, it’s a very good value.