Om Nom Nom: Skillet

The boy and I have had a tradition for the past year and a half or so of going to brunch on Sundays whenever he's not working, and trying to find a new place each time (sometimes we go to tried and true favorites. I'm IN LOVE with Banana Bean Cafe and the corned beef hash at Best Breakfasts and Sandwiches in Westerville is to die for!) This weekend we went to Skillet in German Village (which, coincidentally, is where Banana Bean Cafe used to be, before it moved to Greenlawn). Skillet is a pretty cool little (and I do mean little. There was enough seating for 30 people, tops) place, and you get very cozy with your table neighbors and they focus on locally sourced, seasonal food. Our waiter was friendly, and the food was pretty dang good! There was about a half hour wait, but that's what you get when you combine a tiny restaurant with delicious food and the weekend brunch rush.

I had the house-smoked Andouille sausage gravy and biscuits, with a side of polenta with goat cheese and maple syrup, and Danny had the mac & pulled pork. Danny said that his was good, and I'll just have to take his word for it. The fact that I can't tell you myself how delicious his food was is pretty unheard of, because 1) I ALWAYS eat off his plate. There's just something about someone else's food that makes it more delicious than your own! 2) I was too busy shoveling food in my mouth that he even commented about how quiet I was being during the meal. It was almost like I had never eaten food before!

As to the biscuits and gravy...I have to be in the mood for those, because that's a whole lot of heavy food, especially when it's hot outside. But it did not disappoint. The gravy was spicy and creamy, with little pieces of andouille. There were two scrambled eggs hidden under the gravy, like "Boom! Gotcha with a shot of extra protein!" And the biscuits were something called "bird's head buttermilk biscuits." I don't even know what that means, but what I do know is those birds flew right into mah belly!

Now, I love polenta. And I also love goat cheese. I'm a little wishy washy about maple syrup, I could really take it or leave it. But the combination of the three was nothing short of spectacular...complete with jazz hands. The polenta was creamy, the goat cheese was tangy and the syrup gave it a bit of melty good sweetness that made each bite dance over my tongue. Bliss. Sigh...

We're always on the lookout for a new brunch spot, so if you have any ideas, shoot 'em my way! I think next week, we'll try Wildflower Cafe in Clintonville!

Om Nom Nom: Babushka's Kitchen

I like to eat...a lot. I love trying new restaurants, and all different types of food (with the exception of offal meat - can't get past the fact that it's made of organs- and especially tongue. I'll be damned if I taste something that can taste me back.) Now that I've sufficiently queased myself out, I'm going to cleanse my mental palate with memories of the glorious lunch I just had!

So, I went to this place called Babushka's Kitchen, a Polish heritage restaurant. "Babushka" means 'grandmother' in Russian, and this restaurant definitely has some comfort food, that evokes feelings of being at grandma's house. I've driven past it a few times and never stopped in. I didn't have anything going on this afternoon and was kinda just driving aimlessly around and I drove past it again. My tum started grumbling and I realized that it was well past the lunching hour, so I figured, why not? After driving around the block to figure out where the hell the parking lot was, I finally made it inside. Nice, big airy rooms, order at the counter and find yourself a seat. They even have a family room where you can bring a framed photo of your  own babushka and they will add it to the wall. Pretty run-of-the-mill, right? Right. Until the food came and blessed my mouth.

I ordered the Gatherer's Platter, which included a golabki (pronounced go-womp-kee, according to the menu), a potato and cheddar pierogi and a side dish. The golabki was stuffed cabbage with some ground meat, and a magical mix of herbs and spices, covered in tomato gravy, and my side dish was sauerkraut with dumplings. And if you don't know what a pierogi is, we might not be able to be friends anymore... (in case you don't know, it's a dumpling traditionally filled with mashed potatoes and a mix of other ingredients, such as cheese, onions, or ground meat, and often fried or baked in butter and served with sour cream. It's dough with potatoes and cheese. What's not to love about this?!? But now that you know what pierogi are, we can go back to being friends again :-D)

Oh. My. God. The golabki was a perfect balance of savory from the meat filling and sweet from the tomato gravy. The sauerkraut was deliciously tangy with a little sweetness and the dumplings cut through the tang with razor sharp precision. And the pierogi. The glorious, pillowy, mouth-wateringly delectable pierogi. The dough was slightly chewy with a slight crunch from the frying. The potato filling was like Mom's mashed potatoes with small chunks of melty cheddar cheese. And the grilled onions and sour cream were the perfect accompaniment to offset the richness of the potatoes. I could have gotten chunky applesauce instead of sauerkraut for my side dish, which would have been even better with the pierogi. And it was all served with a dinner roll (I could have gotten rye bread, but I was afraid it would overpower the flavors of the rest of the food.)

This meal was so good I ruined my shirt. Of course a little of the gravy from the golabki splattered on my shirt. I mean, whenever saucy tomatoes are involved, it's pretty much a given that it will end up on me. But in addition to the splatter-back, I somehow got the gravy all over my arm and inadvertently rubbed it across my side. In a white shirt. Obviously. But this food was so good, I don't even give a shit about the shirt. I'll hit it with some Shout when I get home. And if that doesn't work, fuck it. It makes me look pregnant anyway. I'm not letting a sauced up white shirt ruin the glory that was the Gatherer's Platter.

Next time I go back, I'm getting the Chicken Paprikash. Or maybe the homemade fresh kielbasa. Oooh, or what about the potato pancakes?? And I'll definitely have to try a dessert, which also looked delicious. Aw hell, I'll just have to come back a few more times to get through everything on the menu...