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New Columns appear each Tuesday. 04JUL06 Doral Chenoweth writes about the business of restaurants and the food industry in the Columbus, Ohio, Metro area. Reader comments are welcome by telephone. 614-538-1822. Email the Grump: thegrumpygourmet@wowway.com Send food stuff here: iPLATE@grumpygourmetusa.com Send weird stuff here: alferd_e_packer@wowway.com E-mail messages must include name and telephone for a reply. |
 DAVE ROEBUCK: He's in the food business with a major firm, but his hobby is one that takes him out dining - nightly. He may go casual one evening, to a fine dining experience the next. Periodically he will be doing Internet forays for this Website. |
04JUL06 RATING: + + + + (Out of five) 3949 Trueman Blvd., Hilliard, Ohio New Carrabba's Gets FAVE Nod From Restaurant Pro (NOTE: This review by Dave Roebuck is presented in Monday, July 03, 2006 what has become known in media circles as the Kover Format - shorts, briefs, quick scan reads for the busy reader.) Information: 614-771-1653 (No Reservations) HOURS: 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday; 4 to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 4 to 11 p.m. Friday; 3 to 11 p. m. Saturday. www.carrabbas.com Quick Bite: Chain Italian a big notch up from Olive Garden; a part of OSI Restaurant Partners, aka Outback Steakhouse. Traditional Italian fare prepared scratch in-house; soups, salad dressings, desserts all made on premises. What a concept in these days of manufactured chain foods. Housekeeping: New style building for the chain; older stores such as one at intersection of Polaris parkway and I-71 are overly planted with a garden on the roof; not your typical free stander; spotless restrooms clean, well tended. Menu: Traditional Italian, heavy on the pasta, large portions serve double duty considering that there is a sufficiency to take home for a next-day serving. Pay attention to the soups, always the traditional minestrone, a chicken based offering and some days a third for variety. Take note of the salads: All romaine, no iceberg, a big plus there. Reviewer's FAVES: Appetizer of fried calamari with spicy Italian peppers in a lemon butter sauce; fresh bread service with top quality virgin olive oil for dipping; and the aroma of hot pizzas from a nearby table, the latter to serve as a reason to return. From the entrée side, chicken Parmesan composed of two halves of breast pounded thin and coated with seasoned bread crumbs, topped with a pomodori (tomato) sauce and melted mozzarella. My guest fave: chicken marsala, grilled breast topped with mushrooms, prosciutto. Note to chefs: Give a heavier smack or two when pounding the chicken. It needs to be thinner. The check, please: Two entrees, $14.88, $7.99 for calamari; Sangria, $4.79; service was the 20 percent sort. |
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Rose & Thistle closes Rose & Thistle, 1200 Chambers Rd., the British pub-themed operation that occupied basement-level space that originally was the Aspen Inn, later the Club Crocodile, has locked down. the place opened March 13, 2002. The original partnership of John M. McKay, Robert T. Lane and Steven Hitchens bought the then 30-year-old Aspen Inn in January, 2002. They closed it to remodel with a Scottish-Brit theme. Reviews were modest. The Dispatch's Jon Christensen halved his five-star limit, liked the mulligatawny soup and potato croquettes; rapped the fish and chips for being "tired" with "freezer-burned fish inside the rather dense batter." In Rick Hauck's short run as Club Crocodile, the end came as an act of God - to quote Hauck. He opened up one day and the rains came. After lunch, his employees were trying to stack equipment atop tables and the bar. A flash flood in the creek a few feet down the adjacent ravine put a foot of water in the place. Hauck, co-owner of the highly successful Hyde Park steakers here, managed to walk away. Plans for the restaurant are unknown. |
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4 Shot, 2 Dead in
Mexican Eatery So much so for tonight's plans: Two men were killed and two others hospitalized when an unknown gunman fired shots around 2 a.m., July 2, in the Mexican restaurant, La Hacienda Real, 4865 Sinclair Rd. in Columbus. 
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by Doral Chenoweth
614-538-1822
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