Kristina "What a crazy random happenstance!" B.'s Profile

3 points:

1) It's a pretty standard Mexican bakery.

2) The items I got were fine. Decent to good. Nothing to OH-MY-GEEZUS write home about.

3) I'd buy pastires from this panaderia again if I was in the 'hood but I wouldn't drop everything I was doing to make a special trip.

A friend of mine -- we'll call him Lukas (it just so happens to be his real name, doncha know) -- lived in Boston for a month or so and ate at F&R one afternoon. He and I took a trip to Boston back in June and of course, Lukas insisted that we eat here. Sure, why not?

FAJITAS: Meh. We got a fajita platter (there were three of us) and we were able to eat 2 fajitas a piece. Not bad, but not great. There was minimal, semi-bland meat on the hot plate. There were, however, tons of onions. Tons! We made it all work, I guess.

RITAS: Meh. I prefer them to be on the rocks but I think pitchers only came in frozen form. Psssht. Strawberry ritas, 2 pitchers. We felt pretty good. They weren't the best but definitely not the worst. Actually, come to think of it, I might have enjoyed them more as time went on. Hmmm. I wonder why... It probably had something to do with the multiple tequila shots Lukas and I took after our other friend left. Doh.

We were at this establishment for awhile and the people were really  nice. All in all, a good experience (mainly due to the company of great friends + intoxication) with food and drinks that were semi-ok to ok.

Ze end.

Tortas from the woodburning oven...

Music, sweet music. Rick Bayless is the composer and the choriqueso torta (homemade chorizo sausage, roasted poblano, artisan jack cheese, tomatillo salsa) is his symphony. Dee-lish.

The setup inside is a bit small and can be construed as cramped, yes. Whatever. I got a seat when I went in (5:10pm, day 2 of opening week) and experienced minimal line-waiting time. It's hit or miss anywhere you go. I mean, haven't you been to places that were busy one day and not so busy another? Yes, you have. It's called get over it if you want good food.

Please remember to also try the almendrado (choco-shot + almond milk) as well as the Mexican choco-hazelnut cookie. My mouth is currently watering. Gah.

Small place, low prices, big flavors. I had the chicken chawarma wrap and let me tell you, it was delicious. My friend and I split the fattoush salad (diced tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, crack toasted pita bread, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, mint and summack) and that, too, was delicious. Two thumbs up. I'd definitely eat both items again.

Most memorable/interesting part of the experience? The show we were forced to watch on tv. It was some financial crisis show about people who were in debt and were being given advice on what to do with their homes and such. Debt-talk makes chawarma taste spectacular.

Dark chocolate truffle cookie.

Now that I have your attention, let me list the top 5 reasons why I love Northstar:

5) Sweet Potato and Turkey Hash -- Who doesn't love a good hash? And with turkey and sweet potatoes? A healthy one, to boot. The flavor is awesome.

4) Location -- Most of my friends live in the ShoNo so this place is uber convenient for everyone. I lack a car when I come visit and it's so easy to just walk there on a lazy afternoon.

3) Mushroom Frittata -- The mushrooms taste so good alongside that gruyere. Mmmm. And the rosemary potatoes? Ugh. The best part, though, is the biscuit. It's always so flaky and wonderful.

2) Northstar Burger -- I once ate my cold, leftover burger remnants in an airport at 8am. Best breakfast ever. The patty is made from organic brown rice, black beans and beets, the cheese is white cheddar and the croutons in the side salad are garlicky and delicious. This is not just an amazing vegetarian burger, it's an amazing burger overall -- period.

1) Dark chocolate truffle cookie, duh. Made fresh daily.  :)

I would like to quote Mitch H. for a moment, if I may...

"I was lucky enough over the summer to have a cup of the limited edition canteloupe flavor, and I'm still dreaming about it."

Perfectly phrased. I tried some at the High Street location and fell in love. LOVE love.

To end this, I would like to state that Mitch and I crashed North Market to get some on a separate occasion and as the guy handed us the cups, he mentioned that we just got the last two scoops. Luck be cantaloupe sorbet tonight. :)

I've been here on three separate occasions so I'll Reader's Digest each one separately:

1) Stopped in for a drink on the way to Barrel 44. My drink was fine. My friend's was bad. I don't even remember what it was but they screwed it up somehow. I think it was supposed to be a screwdriver but ended up tasting like ass. Meh.

2) A friend of mine did stand-up here (PS -- He was great!). I liked the setup. It was in the back and kinda cozy. Tables and chairs close together, a lineup of comedians to the right...good times overall.

3) Came here for lunch. Got the roasted turkey melt -- roasted turkey, bacon, shredded cheddar and poblano mayo on toasted whole wheat. My side was the cornbread stuffing. Both were pretty dang tasty. They had just opened about 5 minutes before we walked in so the service was fine. Didn't wait long for anything (obvi).

I like this place. It's been consistently decent to good and I would have no problem coming back. Say hi to your mother for me, alright?

I just checked out the NEW MENU! and don't see the item I ordered on it anymore. That's ok, though. If my sandwich was any indication of things to come, I'm in for a future treat.

I came here on a Friday with my friend Justin. He picked me up from Hyde Park (happy hour, what what?) so it was just about dinnertime. The place was not horribly packed and we had our choice of seats. Justin informed me that the margaritas were on special for 2 bucks. It's called I had three. Don't judge. The menu item that we both ended up ordering to chase our margaritas w/ was a typical cuban sandwich (I see a variation on the menu but I don't remember mine having an olive salad on top). So. Good. The sweet potato fries were also amazing. I recommend you order some.

We pretty much closed the place down. We kept talking and talking and talking and after awhile, we looked around and noticed that all the patrons were gone. Our server told us that they were closing up but said that we didn't have to rush. Our food was gone, the bill was taken care of and we weren't in the way at all. How sweet! Some places will just kick you out (which I am not offended by. When it's closing time, it's CLOSING TIME!). However, we appreciated that she let us hang around a bit longer.

This place is cute, cozy and tasty and I would definitely hit it up again the next time I'm in Columbus, which is every month. Again, don't judge.

This place was dead when we came in. First thought -- maybe it's so empty because the food is bad. Oh well, I had a gift certificate that needed to be used.

I ordered the chuletas fritas (fried pork chops) and they were pretty good. The arroz con gandules was ok. It was a little more bland than what I'm used to. Edible, nonetheless. My dining partner had the pechuga de pollo relleno de yuca en salsa de mango piña y tostones (chicken breast stuffed with yuca, wrapped in bacon w/ mango pineapple sauce & tostones). He enjoyed it. I sampled a tiny bit and it seemed tasty enough.

About 20 minutes before we checked out, some people came in to dine. A larger group. I'm guessing this is more of a late-night place. Some friends have told me that they have live music on occasion so now it all seems to make sense.

All in all -- it was fine. I enjoyed the food and the scene. I'd come back if I had a gift certificate. Otherwise, pass. I've had better for cheaper.

I can't even talk about this place. But I will.

The players: Jorge, Whitney, Mitch H. and myself

Meal plan: Dinner

Drink of the evening: wine

Atmosphere in 3 words: dark, trendy, chic

Menu: I'm going to do my best at recalling everything we ate. *ahem* Here we go...

- Potato & Goat Cheese Pierogies w/ caramelized onions & truffle creme fraiche
- French Onion Soup Dumplings
- Duck Confit Empanadas w/ blood orange sauce
- Stone-ground Blue Corn Crabcake 'Corn Dogs'
- Social Mac & Cheese w/ chorizo & ovendried tomato
- Moo Shu Chicken w/ red cabbage slaw, house made crepes, Thai chile peanut sauce (I think...? Mitch H. definitely had something moo shu-esque)
- Grilled Pizzetta  w/ fresh mozzarella & grana cheese, ovendried tomatoes, roasted garlic & hot chile oil
- Kobe Beef Burgers

Feelings on the food: I want to cry. Yum. French onion soup bites? Crab cake corn dogs? Ugh, so good. And the kobe beef burgers were to die for.

Final thoughts: I highly recommend this place, especially if you want to take me with you. No, really.