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New Columns appear each Tuesday. 20JUN06 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. |
 CAJUN CHICKEN SALAD: Really, there is grilled chicken under all the romaine, kalamata olives, smoked cheddar and buttermilk chive dressing. Silvana Hildebrandt does the showcasing.  REVIEWER'S CHOICE: Panko crusted baked brie served on toast points with a sundried cranberry relish. |
20JUN06 Thom's Building New Lunch Bunch With Modest Pricing QUICK BITE: Thom's on Grandview is the latest name for a Grandview area restaurant in a location that has had more flops than a flounder out of water. This time around food professionals are in charge: Owner Thom Coffman with executive chef Rob DeTillio overseeing the seven-day kitchen. Just for record the building has gone through this roster of names: Bill Lutz's Grand Vu, Kyle Katz's Magnolia and Braddock's with a series of management teams.
The way to make judgments on a new restaurant is to lunch with a bunch of people who make the noon hour run at least five days a week. I went that route a week ago by spending a couple of hours at Thom's On Grandview. It is so pleasant to associate with people who do not brown bag or do dashboard dining. In a very civil setting, white linens, huge napkins, proper porcelain, spotless glassware, shiny silverware. My big plus: To enhance the white napery, Thom's serves hot tea in ceramic pots. The six of us ordered something different. When a person lunches out 50 weeks a year, that person is accepted as something of an authority. Example: John Witsel. He's familiar with chicken salad. Thom's chefs created a Cajun-seasoned grilled chicken. As a rule, anything Cajun tends to be overdosed with a hot ground peppery dusting just to keep Paul Prudhomme's Cajun faith. Not the case at Thom's. Witsel was asked if he could distinguish the listed smoked cheddar or the oily nature of kalamata olives. "Very much so," he replied, adding, "this is the best (chicken salad) in Columbus." Jo Ann Woolf, another rover-around-town when it comes to new eateries, opted for the Louisiana pepper steak. Usually, the first question has to be about the peppercorns. Are they whole, meaning something like bb shot? Yep. Silvana Hildebrandt violated Rover Group rules: Cajun chicken salad sounded too appealing so she doubled up on Witzel by ordering the same entrée.
Reviewer choice: Panko crusted brie, baked, served with sun dried cranberry relish. And any restaurant owned by the proprietor of The Clarmont, has to have walleye on the menu. By common law it has to be served with a cornmeal dusting. Fulltime golfer Neal Brannon, something of a professional when it come to fried fish, bit. Since he does not talk with a mouth full, assume a thick filet of this domestic white fish passed muster. It was served with a chili mayo on a fresh seedless bun with hand cut fries. THE MENU: Thom's lunch bill of fare manages to touch all taste bases: seven sandwiches, all under $10; nine entrees, one being an omelet for all who require anything egg to activate vital signs; a batch of small plates, one of which cries out for a try out, the lobster roll, $12; and an appealing list of desserts. I shall return. Thom's offers a bourbon peach cobbler and a rum cake, both with designated drivers. HOUSEKEEPING: Thom's on Grandview, 1470 Grandview Ave., reservations 614-487-5719; seats 78; all non-smoking; lunch Monday-Friday; dinner nightly with valet parking. by Doral Chenoweth 614-538-1822 |
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