Before I get long winded, let me cut to the chase - it is time for a CU Dine Out at Hawa Russia . Lisa threw out Sunday June 22 as an option and if that does not work let's try Wednesday June 25th as a back up. Post if you are interested and vote on the date - maybe we will do both - DA or Nyet?
Getting back on track to page one of the post. A general theme - but not a directive of many but not all CU folks is supporting and promoting locally owned business because we like our city and most of us love the diversity of great dining options we have in Columbus.
It is sometimes personally frustrating that many of our fellow citizens are not aware of how good dining in Columbus is - inside and outside of 270. So, CU is a place to find out about places that live in the Culinary Underground. These places could use a little buzz.
When people visit other cities and come back, one of the first things they talk about is the cool local places they went to. If you go to Chicago, you come back talking about the deep dish pizza place you went to, or the Chicago style hot dog stand, or a cool Polish deli, etc. You don't go on about the meal you had at Cheesecake Factory. It is an OK place to eat but I can name fifty or more places in Columbus that most people have never heard of but are worth raving about.
If someone visits Columbus I want them to go home and rave about Jeni's....and Denise's, I want them to miss the Starliner Diner, dream about a Thurman Burger, tell people about a neat veggie burger at Northstar, argue about how cool of a city we are because Tip Top has a Beer, Cheese, and Cupcake tasting and how an old school place like TAT can still pack people in after almost eighty years. I want all of you to know about and appreciate these places - because we are slowly growing a really cool food culture in Columbus. We need to eat to live - it is great we can have fun doing it.
Cheesecake Factory opening a new restaurant in Columbus - good - it shows they believe in the economy of Columbus and that they can compete in a competitive market.
Hawa Russia opening - a Russian place in an area that offers a United Nations of food choices....that is really damn cool and I would like to see higher billing for the little guy starting out instead of the company that has already proven their market concept.
You all have freedom of choice - just don't forget to choose something new, different, or local sometimes to keep those choices coming.
