Dine Originals Week!

February 16, 2010 – 1:32 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Features

Dine Originals Week was created last year with two goals in mind ~ driving  business for our local restaurant community and spotlighting Columbus’s curiously vibrant culinary scene.

Who imagined, just a generation ago, that there could be so many innovative establishments and discerning foodies in this moderate sized city on the edge of the Midwest?!

Dine Originals Week, which has become a highly anticipated culinary tradition in record time, features 42 of Columbus’s locally owned restaurants offering special menus for $10.10,  $20.10,  or $30.10. There are no tickets or passes required. Food lovers may simply dine out at as many participating restaurants as they like during Dine Originals Week, exploring new dining opportunities or enjoying old favorites. Advance reservations are strongly recommended, as restaurants may fill up very quickly.

We happily share a portion of the proceeds from Dine Originals Week with Local Matters.  They believe that food connects us to the most important issues of our times: our health, our economy, and our environment.  It is very important to us to support this organization of like-minded people. They take the gospel of making mindful choices into Columbus elementary schools…so we feel certain there will be another generation of foodies for us to serve.

Having a strategy is never a bad idea…one devoted Dine Originals patron wrote “we always make a reservation where we know the chef (Barcelona, Alana’s, The Inn at Cedar Falls), and we push ourselves to select at least one other restaurant we’ve never tried.  Last September we had an amazing dinner on the patio at Mezzo Italian Kitchen and Wine and have been back several times. Without Dine Originals Week it would have never occurred to us to go to Gahanna for dinner!”

Another testimonial said “With young children,  we don’t go out to dinner as much as we used to, so we always make lunch dates during Dine Originals Week.  My husband and I both work downtown, so this time we plan to try DeepWood and Black Creek Bistro.  Thanks for giving us an excuse to drink wine at lunch!”

Develop your own strategy for making the most of the remarkable array of distinctive offerings.

Dine Originals Week.  Keeping it local and loyal.

A Dine Originals Valentine Celebration Anything Your Heart Desires…

February 1, 2010 – 5:00 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Restaurants

sensual
adj sensual [ˈsensuəl]
of the senses and the body rather than the mind

As America has become more food savvy, Valentine’s specials and dinners on the town have become more sensual. A recent tally found almost every one of the Dine Originals chef’s working on a Valentine menu that would be nuanced and tiered.

With Valentines falling on a Sunday this year, you have the chance to make this your favorite meal…whether that’s a long Saturday lunch, a Sunday brunch with fresh flowers and chilled mimosas, or a formal Valentines dinner.

Many of our member restaurants that are usually dark on Sundays, such as Alana’s, will be open on the fourteenth. Checking individual websites, each just a click away from our member listing, will help you with the details. Tutto Vino is hosting a reservations-only dinner on Saturday, Surly Girl will offer a three course Sweet or Surly special on Saturday and Sunday, and The Refectory has an amazing five course prix-fixe menu to linger over.

If your romance is a one-of-a-kind, celebrate your good fortune with an Original Valentine meal. Dine Originals Columbus…when a chain just won’t do.

Dine Originals Columbus Week March 8th – 14th!!

January 13, 2010 – 10:29 am Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Restaurants

For one week only, each Dine Originals restaurant will feature a special fixed price menu for either $10.10, $20.10 or $30.10

Look for the menus to be posted soon. This is a great opportunity to enjoy a new restaurant or revisit a favorite!

Pre-game and Post-game specials at Cotters

December 31, 2009 – 4:19 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Cotter's Restaurant, Restaurants

Join us on January 2nd and January 16th for pre-game and post-game specials! Before the game enjoy $2 beer specials and after the game score $4 stinger Burgers, Fried Bologna and Fish tacos. Plus Live with Frank Barbas from 9pm-midnight!

DOC + North Market Cooking Classes

December 9, 2009 – 1:48 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Features

Dine Originals Columbus is pleased and excited to partner with the North Market to host a series of cooking classes from January through May featuring more than a dozen of our chefs.

For those of you addicted to one or more cooking shows on television (or a whole network, if that shoe fits!), here is the chance to lay down your remote and get off your couch.

Susie Cork, the dynamic young woman behind Shaw’s Restaurant and Inn in Lancaster, teaches classes every Saturday at the Inn. I asked her to help me explain what happens in class that keeps people coming back. She had a wonderful observation about the social aspect…she said “Classes create a sense of community much like an old fashioned sewing circle once did. Students are with people they might not know, but with whom they share an interest. It doesn’t take long for the ice to break (especially when wine is being served) and for the sense of camaraderie to build.” Susie says she doesn’t plan to build her North Market class on January 27th around the recipes, but rather around techniques. “I try to teach technique so that any recipe my students encounter in the future will look approachable. For instance, I like for them to learn how to sauté or braise properly…how to hold and cut vegetables, etc. We go over the reasons for the techniques and often the history/origin of the recipes.”

Click here to view the current cooking class schedule.

Food & Wine with the Experts!

December 7, 2009 – 5:08 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Cotter's Restaurant, Pique, Restaurants, The Refectory

Saturday December 19, 2009 from 7-9pm

Join us for an educational evening on everyone’s favorite topic…wine

Learn about Cheese & Wine pairings: Why they work, How to pair them together and suggestions

Cooking with Wine: What to consider and examples from our current menu as well as special items that have been prepared with wine

Food & Wine: Pairing your meal with a bottle of wine, tips on what things to keep in mind when selecting a bottle of wine with dinner and examples of food & wine pairings done right

The cost is only $25 for this incredible night of delight and discovery

Sparkling Wine Tasting - 7 Wines for $10

December 1, 2009 – 2:06 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Cotter's Restaurant, Restaurants

Wednesday December 16, 6:00pm-8pm

Enjoy the holiday spirit with some bubbly! Taste 7 champagnes for just $10. Plus live  holiday music by Brian Michael Smith and complimentary hors d’ouevres!

Sparkiling wine list

Toso Brut
-Naveran Vintage Cava
-Ehrhart Cremant d’ Alsace
-Schramsberg Mirabelle Rose
-Delamotte Brut
-Vietti Moscato d’Asti
-Gagliardo Villa M Rosso Brachetto

Hors D’oeuvres

-Almond salad with honey vinaigrette in a fried wonton, topped with seared sea scallop
-Vegetarian Ceviche with jicama, mango, hearts of palm, sunchokes, coconut milk and blood orange juice
-Poached pear with sweetened mascarpone served canape style in puff pastry with a white balsamic-brown sugar drizzle
-Boursin stuffed crimini mushrooms

A Week of Winners!

November 12, 2009 – 11:02 am Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Features, The Refectory

I guess its time to accept that my east coast roots have been transplanted firmly in Columbus, Ohio…when I think about winners, I find I picture a steer at the Ohio State Fair with a big blue ribbon around its neck!

Dine Originals Columbus is all about winners this week. We drew from a data base of almost 6,000 subscribers (using a neat trick at www.Random.org) and identified Marit Hanson as the winner of our new website launch promotion that provides $1,000 in gift certificates to the luckiest girl in Columbus, Ohio.

Marit, an advertising agency employee and wedding invitation entrepreneur, said “I am thrilled to win the $1,000 Dine Originals Columbus gift certificate. I signed up for the mailing list so I could be “in the know” when it comes to the latest restaurant news and deals. I never thought I’d win (but I’m glad I did)! As a small business owner myself–and food lover–I can’t wait to eat my way around Columbus…literally.”

We also had a thrilling moment when the Columbus Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Council named our board president Kamal Boulos as the Small Business Owner of the Year at a luncheon on Tuesday. There were a number of other very successful business owners nominated, and this is only the second time in 25 years a restauranteur has received the prestigious award. Kamal’s stewardship of the nationally recognized Refectory is a study in authentic leadership and generosity of spirit. We couldn’t be more pleased for our colleague.

And then we had the fun of getting together with ten lucky CD101 listeners who were the lucky callers over a week’s campaign, to have an incredible meal at The Refectory with the most insightful wine lesson I’ve ever heard. Random guests who became instant friends over a lovely mea;, while enjoying the humor of the CD101 Morning Crew.

There wasn’t a blue ribbon to be found…but it was a joyful week of recognition, good fortune, and lucky stars.

Pique Your Appetite

October 8, 2009 – 9:21 am Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Pique

While there was endless discussion about the need to “create” an identity for Columbus in recent years, an amazing community of food aficionados took shape and the city became characterized as a haven for foodies. Central Ohio has become a thriving center for independent restaurants, community gardening, the slow food movement, and innovative programming that ensures children are taught to chose healthy, nutritious food. We have an extraordinary public market, dozens of farmers markets, and a member-owned natural food market unmatched in the Midwest. The American Community Gardening Association is headquartered here, Columbus State’s culinary program is outstanding, and Local Matters offers three synergistic programs to succeed in their mission: Farm to Fork, Urban Agriculture and Local Food to School which brings nutrition education to pre-school and early-elementary students.

Almost in tandem a collection of reporters, bloggers, columnists, and critics stepped in to cover the developments, trends, accomplishments, and disasters. So if every media outlet in town is writing about food, restaurants, the business of the hospitality industry, and the best and worst of the Food Network’s programming, what do we plan to cover here? The Dine Originals Columbus community of independently owned restaurants.

I’m going to write about why being mindful of where you spend your dining dollars is important, I’m going to profile great brunch destinations, which dining rooms have worthy art exhibits, tell you where to go load up on carbs before the Columbus Marathon, and who in black check pants might be available for dating. Well, I haven’t really cleared that last one with the Board of Trustees, but it seems to me to be a potentially valuable service. I have 40 member restaurants to gather information from…there isn’t a single week of the year that isn’t loaded with tapas competitions, happy hour offers, chef’s table specials, and tastings. In the last month we’ve seen tastings of chocolate, wine, scotch, olive oils, cheeses, champagnes, and Ohio-farmed shrimp. I don’t toss at night wondering where I’m going to come up with column content!

So, welcome to www.DineOriginalsColumbus.com. You have arrived at a useful place if you have a soft spot for those exceptional dining establishments that make things from scratch, on premises, and rely on local products made with that artisan labor of love. You’ve found a community of like minded people if you are more apt to head to the neighborhood pub with local brews on tap than one with all of the stock national favorites. No doubt your tastes are as varied as could be, but then so are our 40 locally and independently owned member restaurants. If you are eager to savor glorious new things and if your favorite menus tend to serve as an almanac of seasonal produce then we’re likely to be a good match! From Katzinger’s and The Burgundy Room to Banana Bean and Rigsby’s Kitchen, our members approach dining out from 40 different approaches, but there are commonalities; nobody seems to feel the need to pull any tricks; our members just focus on making each serving a dish of high quality with deep flavor.

If you end up visiting often, it probably means you are a food enthusiast, you are more ardent than the average bear about your dining choices, and you have developed an appreciation for the taste of independence.

I look forward to piquing your appetite and your interest.