New Fall Menus
Rigsby’s Kitchen
Rigsby’s Kitchen, the Short North landmark located at 698 North High Street, rolled out their Fall menu on October 3rd, and it features comfort food designed to hit the metaphorical spot each and every time. The Grilled Colorado Lamb Chops offer a double dose of the rich, gamy goodness as it’s served with baked acorn squash stuffed with lamb sausage. Pan Roasted Sea Scallops are finished with a rich bacon vinaigrette, and the Bluecreek Pork Cheeks stars local pork braised in dark beer and cider. Rigsby’s has also added Pan Fried Sardines as a starter that’s the perfect small plate to enjoy with a glass of your favorite vino during happy hour. Rigsby’s Kitchen is open Monday-Saturday, 11am-3pm for lunch, and Monday-Thursday, 4:30pm-10pm, Friday-Saturday, 4:30pm-11pm for dinner. They have a brand new website for your convenience, so check them out at www.rigsbyskitchen.com.
Milestone 229
Milestone 229, located in the heart of the downtown at 229 Civic Center Drive, is one of the city’s best spots to dine with a view, especially in the Fall, when the colors change and there’s just enough nip in the air to warrant one more drink, one more hour near the fire. You can do that as you sample their new Autumn menu which features Jason’s “Beet” Bourguignon, a rustic twist on a warm-weather classic, Double-Cut Pork Chops, and an Apple Mojito that’s the perfect mix of crisp and cozy. Milestone 229 is open Monday-Thursday, 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday, 11am-11pm, and on Sundays, they serve brunch from 10am-3pm, and dinner from 4pm-9pm. For a longer look at their menu, check out www.facebook.com/Milestone229.
101 Beer Kitchen
101 Beer Kitchen celebrated their one-year anniversary on October 1st, and to commemorate the event, they’ve introduced an Autumn menu that include Fall Faves and a few new items to titillate the taste buds. Returning to the lineup are the delicious Butternut Squash Pierogis, the Harvest Pizza with smoked gouda, figs, and proscuitto, and customer choice, the Green Chili. New items include a satisfying Monte Cristo, which is finished with cranberry jam and orange ginger mayo, spicy Wild Maine Mussels, with green curry and saffron rice, and a reboot on a Canadian classic, Duck Confit Poutine – hand-cut fries and duck confit smothered in house gravy, and topped with cracklings, cheddar and a fried egg. 101 Beer Kitchen is located at 7509 Sawmill Road, and is open Monday -Thursday, 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday, 11am-10pm, and on Sundays, from 11am-9pm. For a full look at their menu, visit www.101beerkitchen.com.
Hubbard Grille
To celebrate the arrival of Fall, Hubbard Grille, located at 793 North High Street in the Short North, has introduced daily dine-in deals for its customers. These deals focus exclusively on locally-produced food and drink, reiterating Hubbard’s recent re-commitment to promoting the best Ohio has to offer. On Sundays, it’s all-night happy hour: half off select small plates and $5 cocktails. Monday is Brussels and Beer night, which features $1 plates of crispy brussel spouts and half-off local drafts, while Tuesday is all about Ohio Natural Fried Chicken, which is only $10 for the full entrée all night long. Hump Day is Love for the Locals, where everything locally-sourced – Watershed and OYO cocktails, Chipotle-Rubbed Ohio Pork Chop, and Ohio Beef Tenderloin Medallions among other offerings – is half-priced; Thursday brings specials for members of Hubbard’s new Text Club. To join the club, fun, or for a longer look at Hubbard Grille’s specials, visit www.hubbardgrille.com.
Latitude 41
Fall lunch menus are invariably dominated by chilis and hearty sandwiches, the kind of food Midwesterners enjoy when there’s a chill in the air. Latitude 41, the posh yet accessible eatery located inside the Renaissance Hotel at 50 North Third Street, has decided to offer alternatives to those options this fall season, introducing a lunch menu filled with flavor and whimsy that still satiates the way mom’s food would. For lighter fare, there’s a Tuscan Kale and Peaches Salad with goat cheese and a saba vinaigrette, and a Fig and Goat Cheese Pizza that’s a compelling meeting of sweet and savory. The Pork Belly Madame needs few words; it’s served on brioche and topped with gruyère cheese and a fried local chicken egg. For the vegetarians, strict or otherwise, the Latitude Lunch Thyme Pita Pocket, a Luna Burger patty with all the usual Greek fixings, is a delicious option, as is the Griddle Fried Cod Sandwich, lighter than its deep-fried cousin, but equally as sumptuous. Latitude 41 is open for lunch Monday-Friday, 11am-2pm, and on Saturdays, from noon-2pm. For a longer look at their full lunch menu, visit www.latitude41restaurant.com.
Café Napolitana
Café Napolitana, located at 40 North High Street, has been a popular downtown lunch spot for well over 20 years. Now, they are poised to be your new favorite happy hour watering hole as well. Café Napolitana recently added alcohol to their traditional Italian lineup, having finally secured the licenses necessary just around 3 weeks ago. The bar itself has been part of Café Napolitana’s layout for 2 years, and now, customers can belly up to it for wine, beer, and the hard stuff. There are currently 5 taps and over 20 bottles of beer available, including Elevator Brewing, Great Lakes, and Bell’s. Customers can also choose from 5 varieties of wine. The staff is currently working on a new drink menu, so stop by and see what’s new at one of downtown’s oldest spots (and check out their new awning!) For Café Napolitana’s complete menu, visit www.cafenapolitana.com.
Fall Events & Specials
Hal & Al’s
Pumpkin Beer is a symbol of the season. For many, it marks the launch of football season, and for others, it’s the only time of year to enjoy the peculiar flavor of hops meet gourd. Hal & Al’s, located at 1297 Parsons Avenue, will host a Pumpkin Beer Tasting on Tuesday, October 15th, from 4pm till 11pm. Because of the early tapping this year of a lot of pumpkin ales around town, some of your favorites may already be in scarce quantity. They’ve hoarded several assortments at Hal & Al’s, so come see if you can still wrangle a pint of some of the most popular varieties from Southern Tier, Smuttynose, Brooklyn Brewery, Rivertown, North Peak, Tommy Knocker, and Brew Kettle, among many others. There will also be pumpkin-themed grub available to accompany the tasting experience. For $18, customers can sample 12 beers, including Thirsty Dog’s Pumpkin Porter, and take home a souvenir pint glass. This event also counts in The Great Pumpkin Challenge where regulars can earn a custom pumpkin hoodie with choice of saying on the back. For more on this, and for a complete list of available breweries, check out www.facebook.com/halandals.
Azteca Mexican Grill
Azteca Mexican Grill, which opened in Powell last year at 3962 Powell road, recently opened a second location in Dublin, so popular was their take on Southern Mexican fare. The new store sits at 5925 Sawmill Road, at the site of a former Iacono’s Pizza, and to officially celebrate the grand opening, Azteca’s is hosting a fiesta, complete with a Mariachi band, on October 17th, from 6pm-9pm. Proceeds from this event go to benefit the Crew Soccer Foundation which uses soccer to help at-risk youth through education, field development and healthy living. The menu at Azteca Mexican Grill may resemble the ones at other Mexican eateries around town, but the flavor doesn’t. Southern Mexican cuisine prefers chicken and vegetables over beef, and corn tortillas are a standard part of every meal. Plantains and black beans also abound the menu, so for something familiar, yet divergent, stop in at Azteca’s today. They open daily at 11am, and close at 10pm Monday-Thursday, 10:30pm Friday-Saturday, and 9pm on Sundays. For a complete look at their menu, visit www.aztecamexicangrill.net.
Max & Erma’s
October is National Cookie Month, and to mark the occasion, local chain, Max & Erma’s, has introduced a new Snickerdoodle Cookie to its menu. The cookie is fresh-baked, served warm, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. On Free Cookie Wednesdays, diners will get 2 free cookies with the purchase of an entrée. They are also for sale all week long, and customers can buy a baker’s dozen of the cookies (you can mix and match with Max & Erma’s other flavors – Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate Chunk) where $1 from the proceeds go to benefit the Ronald McDonald House, an organization that provides homes away from homes for families of ill children. Max & Erma’s is still your place to get a great burger, let your kids eat for free on Tuesdays, and enjoy pitchers of Margaritas and $5 munchies during happy hour. For a longer look at Max & Erma’s menu, visit www.maxandermas.com.
Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweeties
On Friday, October 11, Sugardaddy’s is officially relaunching their Brownie Caramel Apples, a Gala apple dipped in hand-made caramel, and rolled in either Sugardaddy’s brownie or blondie bites, and dipped in chocolate. It comes with a knife that serves as the handy handle, as well as a tool to aid in the consumption of the sweet treat. Customers will be able to indulge in two decadent flavors: Auburn, with chocolate chunk brownie pieces, and Cinnamon Blonde, covered in white chocolate, with cinammon blondie crumbs. Brownie Caramel Apples will be sold at Sugardaddy’s location across Central Ohio for $11. Not in the mood for a caramel apple? Then try Sugardaddy’s latest blondie offering, Pumpkin Pie, which is an outrageous cross between pumpkin pie spice and shortbread cookie texture. For a list of Sugardaddy’s locations, visit www.sugardaddys.com.
