The Men Who Sell Hot Dogs (and more)

Location:

Village Coney

418 E. Whittier St.

Columbus, OH 43206

(614) 445-9633

Finally a place where I can get a damn chili dog and it doesn’t involve dog-food-esque ingredients from a can!

Bradley, Brad, and Nick Martensen, along with Jon Graham, run this cute little joint down in Columbus’s German Village on the south side of downtown.  It’s nestled between old houses and surrounded by tree and brick-lined side streets.  Started in 2001, I’ve heard that it was once a failing burrito shop (sources needed).  Regardless of the building’s past, the future looks as bright as yellow mustard for this happy hot dog heaven.

My time today was limited, and I honestly spent more time catching up on the last ten years with Nick, who I went to high school with, than I did eating.  I opted to order their original village coney ($1.75!!) and a side of homemade coleslaw ($2.00).  The dog was charming – coney sauce, mustard, onions (plenty of each topping too, my lil wiener friend was barely visible under all that goodness) on a nice fluffy bun, and it was scrumptious.  The coleslaw was also a good-sized portion, no carrots (yay! I loathe carrots!), dressed in a poppy-seed creaminess.  I was pleased with my total bill, for who can take leftovers home after only paying $3.75 for the entire meal?!  Amazing.  The menu isn’t just limited to hot dogs, oh no!  They have burgers, salads, fries, tots, onion rings… the list literally goes on and on.  I’m very interested in trying the Cleveland dog with a side of fried mushrooms.

Village Coney is quite small, tiny in fact, but it oozes charm all over the sidewalk.  They have outdoor seating and 5-6 tables inside, and in the half hour I spent there about six customers came & went.  I can imagine this place probably gets pretty packed!  Brad & Nick’s older brother Chris painted the whole inside, including a mural of Schiller Park and featuring his original artwork with prints available for sale.  Places like Village Coney are some of my favorite places to visit and frequent.  They are 100% neighborhood, a wee little gathering spot for good food and great conversation.  Even though this restaurant is fairly far from my place, I have a dog now and we need excuses to get to a park… Village Coney just happens to be right around the corner from one!  Next time I go back I’m going to take an empty stomach and fill it up as full as I can.

Overall Scores: (1-5, 1 being lowest, 5 highest)

Cleanliness: 4

Value: 5

Accessibility: 3 (street parking, small signage)

Friendliness: 5
Menu: 5

Happy (belated) Easter!

Location:

Dimitri’s

1830 Snow Rd.

Parma, OH 44130

(216) 741-3399

Dimitri’s in Parma has been in the Midtown Shopping Center at Broadview & Snow for as long as I can remember.  Nearly every time we go to Cleveland to visit family, especially for holidays, Dimitri’s is on the list for the main meal.  It’s an older place, smack dab in the middle of a strip mall, but when you walk through the doors you’d never guess what awaits you inside.

The atmosphere is dim due to old school wood paneling and oil cloth table covers, although there are lamps and lights everywhere.  This place is always crowded and they have what seems to be the smallest foyer ever in the history of foyers.  Once you are on the way to your table, however, the vastness of Dimitri’s can be shocking.  There are tables down the middle, there are booths on the sides, there are more tables in the back and past that, in the way-way-way back, is what may have been a banquet room that now has more tables.  In the very center of the restaurant, in view of every table (except the way-way-way back tables) is a giant chalkboard listing the daily specials.  Oh, and I forgot to mention!  In the very front of the place is a tiny bar with a few TVs where you can sit & wait for your table or just hang out and have a drink.

This year for Easter myself, my parents, my aunt and my uncle went to Dimitri’s for Easter.  They had a special Easter menu featuring chicken, pork, ham, steaks, and fish/seafood.  For one price (depending on your choice) you received drink, soup, salad, entrée, and dessert.  Total price for the five of us was $81.06, not including tip.  That’s roughly $16/person, not bad for a full course meal!  The portions are huge, even the salad and soup are pretty big, and endless rolls were available as well.  I had the chicken paprikash with dumplings, a dish that Dimitri’s is known for, and it was delicious.  My father and uncle had a pork roast with mashed potatoes and stuffing, my aunt had the chicken paprikash as well, and my mother had fried pork roast with home fries and escalloped apples.  The salads were standard, lettuce/tomatoes/onions/croutons, the soup was chicken noodle with plenty of veggies and big fat egg noodles, the rolls were breadsticks or plain dinner rolls, and the desserts were a choice of Boston cream pie, rice pudding, lemon meringue, sherbet, chocolate cake, or coconut cream pie (plus more, but I really can’t remember them all!)  The only complaint I had about the whole experience was that they seemed to be slightly understaffed for such a big day.  Our waiter, Mike, was very good but he had at least 5-7 tables to serve by himself (including drinks/delivery/orders/etc) and I really think they should have had more people walking around to refill drinks, bring more rolls, clear out dishes, etc.  Mike did a really great job despite his heavy load though!

By and large, I’d say that no matter the occasion, day, time or year, Dimitri’s is always a good choice.  The prices are reasonable, the servings are huge, and the staff is beyond friendly.

Overall Scores: (1-5, 1 being lowest, 5 highest)

Cleanliness: 3 (it’s clean but it’s starting to get pretty run down, especially the restrooms)

Value: 4

Accessibility: 5

Friendliness: 5

Menu: 5

(The very last picture was supposed to be the chocolate cake, but my mom inhaled it so fast that I barely had time to get a pic!  Mmmm... cake...)

Holidays, Shmolidays...

I went to visit family in the Cleveland area for Easter and I am currently working on an article for that restaurant.  Also in the works is a visit to Village Coney in German Village which is owned by a high school friend, his brother, and his father.  I recently landed a new job with crazy different hours at a swell little bistro in town so I have to get used to my new schedule and work out time to fit everything in... plus I got a dog...  Hahaha!  So be patient, more posts are coming!

Summer Series #2 - The Greener Grocer

Location:

The Greener Grocer

North Market

59 Spruce Street

Columbus, OH 43215-1622

(614) 223-1512

Started in January 2008, The Greener Grocer highlights local and artisan foodstuffs from small farms and manufacturers, including fruits and vegetables, maple syrup, flour, honey, grains, milk and more. Their main goal is to emphasize farm to table produce and to educate the “city folk” on regional products and to make these products readily available.

The Greener Grocer is located directly inside the double doors to the North Market on the east side of the building.  Upon entering, a wide array of beautiful fruits and vegetables immediately draws you to their spot in the market.  Peppers, grains, tomatoes and more line the produce displays, and on the shelves you will find homemade preservative-free peanut butters, honeys and maple syrups.  There is ground cereal available as well as natural puffed wheat and bulgur to name just some of their grain selection.  There are several types of mushrooms and squash, fresh eggs, and Snowville Creamery milk.  All their 

products are of such high quality that most of them don’t even look real.  Walking up to The Greener Grocer is like walking up to Mr. MacGregor’s Garden – I was just waiting for Peter Rabbit to hop out from behind the bushel baskets!

Overall Scores: (1-5, 1 being lowest, 5 highest)

Cleanliness: 5

Value: 4

Accessibility: 5

Friendliness: n/a, there were no employees around when I went

Menu: n/a, but the selection of goods is awesome

Check out The Greener Grocer here.

Update

Went to the North Market today to get pics and info for my summer series.  I took 130+ pictures so it's going to take a minute to get everything arranged and get the articles written.

Til then, buen apetito!