Castello Banfi and Black Creek Bistro

May 7, 2010 – 2:17 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Black Creek Bistro, Restaurants

Wednesday, May 12, 2010. Please join us as we welcome spring with a very special dinner paired with the exceptional wines of Italy’s Castello Banfi hosted by Mario Cardillo. We’ll start with a gathering reception

at 6:30, with dinner following at 7:00. Dinner will consist of four courses all perfectly complemented by the fine hand-crafted wines from Castello Banfi of Tuscany. $65 plus tax and gratuity, reservations required. All wines will be available for purchase after dinner at state minimum retail.

Menu
A Welcoming Toast of Maschio del Cavalieri

Prosecco

di Valdobbiadene

Appetizer

Spring Asparagus and Roasted Beef Bundles

with Herbed Cheese

Housemade Basil and Roasted Red Pepper Mozzarella Pinwheel Served on Warm Ciabatta

Banfi 2005 Chianti Classico Riserva

Salad

Grilled Asparagus, Roasted New Potatoes with

Soft Poached Egg, Fresh Seasonal Greens,

Basil Vinaigrette and Parmigiano-Reggiano

Castello Banfi 2008 San Angelo Pinot Grigio

Entrée

Braised Boneless Leg of Lamb with Pistou Vegetables and Housemade Fried Mushroom Ravioli

Castello Banfi 2004 Brunello di Montalcino

Dessert

Zabaglione with Rhubarb and Seasonal Berries

Vigne Regali 2008 Rosa Regale Brachetto d’Acqui

Really Surprise Your Mom: Plan Ahead!

April 27, 2010 – 4:28 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Restaurants

Mothers come in all shapes, sizes, and styles, but it’s a fairly universal law that they don’t want to be in the kitchen on Mothers Day, so think Originally for Sunday, May 9. The Dine Originals members have all sorts of special offers and hours planned ~ just utilize the links on this site to each restaurant for details. Whether it’s a drive to the Inn and Spa at Cedar Falls, or a brunch in your own neighborhood, make a celebration of the occasion!

April 22nd - An Evening of Fabulous Beer and Food

April 12, 2010 – 9:08 am Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Cotter's Restaurant, Restaurants

Cotters has teamed up with Columbus Brewing Company to bring you an educational (and tasty) evening of fabulous beer and food on their fabulous patio!

On April 22 from 6-9pm, you can enjoy 5 Brews from Columbus Brewing Company along with 5 courses from the Cotters chef! The CBC Brew Master will be on site to explain each beer, and General Manager, Reed Woogerd, of Cotters will explain each dish.

Check out this menu!
Pale Ale and Cider poached Prince Edward Island Mussels
Brown Ale Onion Soup
IPA battered Brats with spicy creole mustard and tomato jam
Stout Braised Short Rib with gorgonzola mash
Porter and vanilla bean banana beer float

Tickets are just $30 per person and can be purchased the evening of or in advance by calling 614.221.9060. Reservations are strongly recommended as seating is limited.

Taste of Dine Originals

April 5, 2010 – 3:45 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Features

Just once a year, all 43 members of Dine Originals Columbus get together under one roof to celebrate the bold tastes of independence. This year we are throwing open the doors at the Smith Brothers Hardware Building on Thursday, May 13 from 6 until 9 pm. No corporate recipes from the home office in Kansas City, no chef who has been rotated in from Tim Buk Two to “straighten things out” and no owner whose livelihood isn’t on the line when they welcome their guests in the front door each and every day.

Our Taste of Dine Originals has become an annual gathering for those of you whose values run to loyal, local, and authentic.  Our chefs look forward to the fun all year ~ they use the forum to riff off one another like wildly talented jazz musicians.  They cook, and they swap tales, and they revel in face-to-face time with their customers. Have a question about a favorite dish at DeepWood?  Here is the chance to ask about it.  Want to have a cowgirl brunch for your sister’s 40th birthday?  Chat with those crazy kids from the Surly Girl Saloon.  Want to see how a James Beard Foundation Chef of the Year nominee makes it happen?  Stop by Rigsby’s Kitchen’s station and see Kent Rigsby in his glory…drinking a little wine, serving up a rare treat, and taking it all in.

With 43 member restaurants, half a dozen wineries, a martini station, valet parking, and a silent auction loaded with “This-isn’t-your-PTA-auction items”, the value in the $100 ticket is obvious.  Your admission will benefit both Dine Originals Columbus and The Buckeye Ranch.  One of our restaurateurs is a psychiatrist at The Buckeye Ranch (can you say “Super Hero”??) and forged this partnership years ago.  We’ve grown to not only respect the work The Ranch does, but to love them for the difference they make in our community.  They fix what we can not allow to be broken.  Our children.

Call your sitter. Organize the people you most enjoy going out to dinner with. Use this to dazzle someone as a first date. Present tickets as the perfect gift to any foodie you adore. But purchase your tickets today; the events sells out.

Taste of Dine Originals 2010. May 13 @ Smith Brothers Hardware.  Let the mouth watering begin!

Happy Hour at Barrio with CD101

March 17, 2010 – 2:13 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Barrio Restaurant, Restaurants

Stop by the Barrio Restaurant on March 25th for Happy Hour with CD101. Click here for Barrio’s Happy Hour details!

Local Matters

March 15, 2010 – 1:16 pm Posted by Katharine Moore

Filed under: Restaurants

Thanks to all of the great eaters who happily emerged from the hibernation of our harsh winter in time to celebrate Dine Originals Week. While some may scout for crocuses poking their green sprouts out of still crisp winter soil to be certain that spring will, in fact, come around, Dine Originals people find that assurance in the buzz of a busy restaurant. And you can’t hide those patios. We all know they’ll be scrubbed down and reopened sooner or later.

Each of our 42 member restaurants made a commitment to share the profits of the event with Local Matters. This remarkable organization has a broad range of programs…when their founder and director, Michael Jones, came to us at the beginning and explained the that the mission of the organization is to make sure that children and adults know where their food really comes from and what healthy, wholesome food is; to support our communities need for better access to healthy, local food and healthful ways to prepare it; and to entice our local farmers to grow more local food while helping them make a living wage while they do it, we knew these were like-minded people and that Dine Originals could be an important component in their outreach efforts. Check them out at www.local-matters.org. Our goal is to have all of our supporters get behind this community-changing initiative.

As the season does begin to shift, our chefs are hunched over writing tablets and computer screens developing plans to infuse their menus with springtime flavors. The globalization of cuisine and climate-controlled indoor farming may mean that most ingredients are no longer seasonal, but the members of Dine Originals have the flexibility and the resources to capture the essence of the coming spring. The focus of our menus will evolve from showcasing winter’s rustic flavors to highlighting the best of spring’s produce and the fresh fish of America’s rivers. Think early spring peas. Salmon. Asparagus.

It’s early. I’m pushing. I know. But as the season of Easter and Passover comes around, you’ll be ready to benefit from some early sourcing and aspirational planning.

See how simpatico our efforts and the programs of Local Matters are?

Dine Originals Week!

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

Filed under: Restaurants

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!