Cap City Fine Diner and Bar

Website: Cap City Diner

Design:

Callie: The Design of CAP city is very open. The kitchen is open. the bar is open, there are very few walls. The colors lean towards red black and chrome. It all comes across as very modern retro. I enjoyed it quite a lot. We went on New Years Eve and it was packed, and was a little loud for my tastes. However, from a design perspective it was the kind of restaurant that I could really see myself hanging out at.

Brad: It was a very subdued color scheme. Not too loud which I like. I also really liked the lighting as it wasn't too bright or two dark. It was a nice level of dim. The style of the place changed depending on where you were sitting. A very old school feel but there were parts that felt like sitting in a diner while the part we sat at was more of your typical old style restaurant feel to it. It was a neat design. The place was far too loud though. I pretty much gave up on trying to talk after the first 10-15 minutes.

Service:

Callie: The restaurant was packed and our waiter was phenomenal. We received our appetizers and our entrée very quickly and he was quick with the refills. The new wait staff trend seems to be disappearing for 20 minutes during the meal, but he was always just around the corner and very attentive.

Brad: The service really shined here. The waiter was extremely helpful and kept up with the refills. He was a very pleasant person to have as a waiter. The food came out rather quickly and the staff in general seemed friendly and eager to help.

Food:

Callie: Mediocre. Very, very mediocre and for the price of the food, unacceptably mediocre. The highlihgt of the meal was our appetizer. Two gigantic pretzels cheese and mustard sauce for dipping. The cheese was missing something, but the pretzels and mustard were delicious. For an entrée I ordered the spicy chicken rigatoni. It was all heat and no flavor. I’ve never had a spicy dish like that before. Usually I like spicy because it means lots of spices. This dish made my mouth burn and tasted like nothing. The chicken was chewy, and honestly a little gross. I ended up avoiding it and just eating the pasta, that tasted like nothing.

Brad: This is where it all falls apart. We got the soft pretzels for an appetizer. The cheese was uninteresting but the honey mustard was really good. I then ordered a hamburger with fries as my meal. It wasn't very memorable. My food wasn't bad or anything, it was just lacking in taste and character. I got roughly halfway into it when it just seemed like more trouble than it was worth to continue. The french fries were fairly bad though. They were hard on the outside and cold mush on the inside. Just not pleasant at all to try and eat. I had about 4 before I couldn't struggle through anymore. I can think of a large number of places, some even being fast food, that I would rather eat a hamburger at. I've said previously, if you can't do a hamburger right, I won't trust you with something more complicated. I will give them one positive word though, the meatloaf looked really good.

Other Patrons:

It was New Year's Eve when we went so I don't know if it's really fair to judge them in this area. There were a lot of children which I immediately chalk up to being a negative in any restaurant. Nothing ruins your meal quicker than kids crying and being disruptive. The people next to us were really annoying as they were being extremely loud and made what little conversation we attempted almost impossible. But again, it was New Year's Eve and most likely not the regulars in attendance.

Final Thoughts:

Two words: Giant disappointment. We went because of the name, we were excited because of the decor and appetizer, but the meal itself really ruined this experience for us. I doubt we will ever go back. The price of the food is to high to continue to have such a luck luster experience on a possibly fruitless quest to find SOMETHING on the menu worth eating. 2/5

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Ange's Pizza

Website: Anges Pizza

Design:

Callie: I’ve only been to the Noe-Bixby location. You really don’t want to eat in there, but it is good enough to pick up your pizza and go. 4/10

Brad: It's a pizza place so design really doesn't play in very much. The one on Noe-Bixby is hard to get in and out of due to the parking lot location but Karl Rd. and Gahanna are easier to get into. I'm just going to give this an N/A due to the fact that it's a pizza place and design isn't important to me.

Service:

Callie: I have never had a problem with the service. The staff is always friendly and food is always ready. 8/10

Brad: The pizza is usually ready pretty quickly. I can't think of anytime that we've shown up and it's not ready yet. On the rare occasion we've gotten delivery, it's always been here in less than 30 minutes. The pizza is always hot and feels like it just came out of the oven. Your dine it experience will vary by location. The one on Noe-Bixby is a little iffy but the one on Karl has good service and is meant to be a dine in place. 8/10

Food:

Callie: Ange’s is my second favorite pizza. The sauce is not too sweet and not too harsh, the crust is just sweet enough and the cheese is always cooked perfectly. 10/10

Brad: Ange's is probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite pizza place in the Columbus area. I've never gone too fancy with their pizzas. I usually get cheese or pepperoni. You get a generous amount of pepperoni and it's got a nice bite to it. The pizza also has a smokey quality to it. This isn't as noticeable when the pizza is hot but if you put it in the fridge overnight or let it hit room temperature it becomes more apparent. I would recommend getting extra sauce when you order here. That's personal preference as I like my pizza saucy. 10/10

Other Patrons:

Brad and Callie: From what I've seen, the patrons all seem to fall between late 20s to early 50s. It's a pizza place so you don't really interact with anyone.

Final Thoughts:

Brad and Callie: I said it earlier but Angie's Pizza is my 2nd or 3rd favorite pizza place. I literally can't think of a time where I've ever gotten a bad pizza from Angie's. Any excuse to eat at Angie's is a good one for me. Check out their website listed at the top of this article to find the nearest location to you. You won't regret it. 10/10

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Spoon Me

Location: 4691 Morse Road Gahanna, OH 43230

Website: Spoon Me

Design:

Callie: Spoon Me goes for simple, white with bursts of color. There are fun shaped stools, a long booth and a 2 table sand chairs. 9/10

Brad: I guess this is what you would call modern minimalist. You have the counter, some tables and a tv. There really isn't much to the place. That's not a bad thing unless it's busy. 8/10

Service:

Callie: This is a self serve yogurt restaurant. They also make smoothies. I have gone both routes and have never had an issue with the staff. They are always present and never obtrusive. 10/10

Brad: It's self serve. You pick which flavors you want, add your toppings and then they weigh your cup and tell you what it cost. There are some incentives to this, if you're the name of the day or you hit a certain weight, your Yogurt is free. There's also a punch card system so the 10th cup of Yogurt is free. 10/10

Food:

Callie: The yogurt is delicious. The flavors are perfectly balanced and the toppings provide a wide array of choices. My personal favorite is Pineapple yogurt with strawberries and Trix. Yum! 10/10

Brad: This can be hit or miss depending on the trip. The flavors change day to day. So one day you might go in and have 7 flavors you really like and some days you might have 1. It's really luck of the draw but in my experience, there are almost always at least 3 flavors worth your time on any give trip. The pineapple, vanilla, root beer float, cotton candy, orange and cookies and cream flavors are all really good. The only flavors I actively dislike are the Skinny Minny flavors. Those are the lower calorie ones and they just never seem to be that good. The toppings are diverse, you'll find several things worth putting on your yogurt. 10/10

Other Patrons:

Brad and Callie: The other patrons vary by the time of day and time of year you go. During the summer, tons of high schoolers, at 9 pm on a weeknight in the spring, mostly older people. Honestly, the other patrons are only annoying when someone is holding up the line. If people are being annoying, the car is always a good option for eating your yogurt.

Note: Four Square people, Mayors get a discount at Spoon Me. So check in and see if you can steal the crown!

Final Thoughts:

Callie: Brad says he's never seen me so excited about ice cream, and he's right. I love the wide array of delicious options at Spoon Me. I've never had a bad flavor and if we lived closer you could find me here every night. 10/10

Brad: We find ourselves constantly making excuses to get to Spoon Me. I think we probably go at least twice a month and back to back visits aren't unheard of from us. I think this might be our favorite place to grab a snack. There's a certain joy for both of us to going here. This is really a biased review because I love the place so much but I'm going for a perfect score. If I could only go out to a single place for food, it would probably be here. 10/10

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Genji Go

Location: 6535 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg, OH

Design:

Callie: The parking is minimal, ten parking spaces at the most. The seating is also limited. As the name implies, Gengi Go is set up for take out. There are two tables inside, two tables outside, and a counter with a few stools. 5/10

Brad: Very tiny parking lot. Be quick and hope it's not rush hour. Main St. gets really busy and it can be tough to get back on the road if you're taking a left. Inside is pretty much a line that serves you. There's maybe 6 tables total in the place. Honestly, the design is pretty bad but it's functional and this place is about function. It gets you in and out with your food quickly and easily. 4/10

Service:

Callie: The restaurant itself has a Chipotle set up. You pick your ingredients as you walk down the line. the staff are always friendly and I’ve never had any issues with my order being messed up. The cashier has never forgotten the yum yum sauce. The highlight of the service is how you pay. They swipe your card on a tablet like set up and then flip it around so you can sign. 9/10

Brad: You're served by an assembly line to get your order out. You walk up, place your order and it wanders down a line of people that fill it. They write your order on the lid and you can see them adding, so you have a chance to correct when needed. This is where the place shines. I've at most maybe stood in line about 7 minutes. They have this down to an exact science and they get people in and out as quickly as possible. As mentioned above, they use a tablet for you to sign with your credit card and it's pretty nifty. 10/10

Food:

Callie: The food is Japanese Steak house. It’s all pre made so you don’t get to choose how your steak is cooked. That’s really my lone complaint. The food is always good even when it’s over cooked. You can choose between yum yum sauce and ginger. I always get double yum yum. You can’t beat the price however. For Japanese steak house food it’s about $12 a meal. 7/10

Brad: Let's just get it right out the way, this is a cheaper alternative to Genji. It's not Genji quality of food, if you want that, go to Genji and pay Genji prices. This is about providing you with a cheap and quick product that stands on it's own quality wise. But this is assembly line food. You have a list to pick from and that's what you get. Steak is only cooked one way and you're not going to get food cooked to order. Now, with that said, the food holds it's own and the price is right. You can escape Genji Go for about $25 if you don't go crazy on the options and that's a welcome change from a $50 Genji bill. The portions are also pretty generous and you get plenty of rice. 6/10

Other Patrons:

Callie and Brad: You don’t really have time to examine them. You are in and out in in five minutes or less.

Final Thoughts:

Callie: Gengi Go is an inexpensive alternative to its namesake Gengi. You can get your yum yum sauce craving out of your system for less. It’s quick, delicious and completely worth it. 7/10

Brad: This place kind of defies a score. It's more about a quick and fast option to the Genji flavor at an affordable price. Sure, the food isn't amazing, sure the place is a bit of a minimalist dump but sometimes you just want some yum yum sauce on rice, shrimp and chicken and don't want to break the bank. Hence, you go to this place and you leave happy. 7/10

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Northstar Cafe Easton

Location: 4015 Townsfair Way, Columbus, Ohio 43219

Website: Northstar Cafe

Design:

Callie: Northstar is very small. I enjoy the set up, the clean lines, the loft area and the outdoor fireplaces. I would enjoy them a lot more if I were not stressed about getting a table. 6/10

Brad: Seating is very limited here. Off hours are a must if you want to be able to comfortably find a table. We've gone more than once and had to stalk around for a table for a solid 10-15 minutes. The inside is nice but it's just a very limited seating setup. It's also very crammed together so getting around in general can be an exercise in frustration. The loft area looks cool but we've never been able to snag a seat up there. Honestly, the design is the biggest drawback to eating there. 4/10

Service:

Callie: You order at a cashier station upon your arrival. You are given an electronic marker that you use to check in at whichever table you choose. Your food is brought to you and cleared for you. While you do have to get your own refills, the entire process works well. We have always received our food quickly and I’ve never had to flag someone down for napkins. 9/10

Brad: You wait in line and order your food. They then give you a marker which you swipe on this stand on the table. The waitress then brings your food. The line moves at a pretty quick pace. We've been 8-10 people back before and made it through in a matter of minutes. The food always seems to arrive pretty quickly. The drinks are self serve so you don't have to rely on the waitress for anything. 10/10

Food:

Callie: Their beverage selections are unique featuring more of the old time soda. I always get the cream soda but there is also black cherry, root beer, and sarsaparilla. Which makes it like an adventure. I’ve never had a meal I did not like here. Brunch is my favorite time to go to Nothstar. Their biscuits are fresh and warm, the yogurt and granola bowl perfectly balanced, and the sweet potato hash to die for. It sounds strange, sweet potatoes, onions, red pepper and sunny side up eggs. But take my word for it, if even one of those ingredients appeal to you it is worth trying. 10/10

Brad: I don't recall the name brand of the soda selection they use. The cream soda, root beer and black cherry soda are all really good. The cola and birchwood one are okay but nothing special. We tend to go for breakfast so I get the Cowboy Breakfast. This is just a simple bacon, egg and biscuit breakfast. The bacon is amazing, the best you could probably find in a restaurant. The eggs are really good as well. The biscuits are really a strength of the meal though. You get a seasonal preserve which was black cherry. Callie usually ends up stealing part of my biscuits because she loves them so much. It's about $10 which is a great price for the quality of the food. When we've gone for dinner I've gotten the hamburger which is really good too. The beef is really juicy and good. If I had to choose though, I would pick going for breakfast. 9/10.

Other Patrons:

Familes and hipsters, Northstar brings out everyone. Be forewarned, people tend to be inconsiderate here. There can be a lack of room and people will gladly ignore you while you have to awkwardly climb over tables to get where you need to go.

Notes: Northstar uses locally grown products as much as possible and everything is organic. So support Ohio and eat here.

Final Thoughts:

Callie: Northstar is my favorite brunch spot. It’s a novel exerperience and fantastic food. I highly recomend it. 8/10

Brad: Northstar is worth fighting the limited seating and bad design. The price isn't too bad either. I think two people could get out for about $30 with the right selections. I would suggest getting there right at 9 am on a Saturday or a Sunday. Beat the rush and this place is a really great experience. 8/10

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Inferno Burger

Location: 10503 Blacklick Eastern Rd., Pickerington

Website: Inferno Burger

Design:

Callie: 80’s. There are tvs throughout the restaurant with the videos streaming. It is very fun and very open. It is always a little too warm however . 7/10

Brad: It's very ummm... yellow... It's Inferno Burger you know so the walls are yellow and red... like an Inferno. There's a couple of televisions up that play 80s music videos. I agree with Callie, it's a little too warm for my tastes. The place is very small so my biggest advice is to try and go at off times. 6/10

Service:

Callie: The service is not great. There tends to be 4-5 waitstaff/bar tenders/ managers standing around at a time. Which would be fine, if you weren’t waiting for a refill or your food. 3/10

Brad: We've been there 3 times. From what I've seen, the service is fast and pretty good when things are slow. If it's busy, be ready to wait. The waitresses seem nice enough but they don't do a good job on refills or keeping up with you. 4/10

Food:

Callie: The burgers are delicious, and all they serve. They offer chicken, bean and angus and a variety of buns. Their unique spin is a toppings bar. The premium toppings come at a charge and on your burger when you receive it. The toppings bar is free and self service. I ordered a build your own burger. Angus, pretzel bun, blue cheese crumbles, onion straws and steak sauce. It did not disappoint. My only topping from the bar was the steak sauce and I appreciated being able to choose my own amount. Another high point was the fries. Beer battered and addictive. You only need to order one for every two people because there are a lot. 8/10

Brad: Callie mentioned the gritty details of how the place works above. I have gravitated towards the New York Burger which is awesome. It's essentially a pizza burger. There's pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese on a pretzel roll. I haven't even attempted to try another burger because it's so good. The fries are good and plentiful and you can probably get away with a single order for two people. I also appreciate that none of the toppings come on the burger. I hate when they still put all the veggies on your burger and you can still taste the onion or pickles. Yuck. The range of what you can get on your burger varies greatly. I think everyone in a group could find something to latch onto here. Overall, the food is worth the questionable service. 9/10

Other Patrons:

Callie: Runs the gamete.

Brad: The crowd seems to skew either old people or the college crowd. I've seen a few families but they seem to be the vast minority. I don't recall being overly annoyed by anyone else. You do kind of feel crammed in like sardines.

Note:

4-6 pm is Happy Hour M-F. $2 fries, beer and sliders.

Final Thoughts:

Callie: There are a lot of other burgers that I am looking forward to trying here. My only problem is the questionable service.

Brad: Inferno Burger manages to stand out in a crowded burger joint market. The burgers are great and the fries are excellent. I could see other restaurants dropping out of our routine in favor of coming here.

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Tip Top Columbus

Design:

Callie: Dark and interesting. Old architecture to look at, lots of wood and candles. 8/10

Brad: Walking into Tip Top is like walking into a building from the 30s. It revels in it's oldness as there's paintings and pictures of Columbus in previous years. The place is pretty dark and has a lot of mood lighting. 9/10


Service:

Callie: Always consistent and pleasant. The wait staff are always friendly and helpful. 8/10

Brad: Busy or slow, it feels like you're getting the proper amount of attention from your server. They always seem happy to help out with menu questions and go out of their way to let you know where your order is at. 9/10

Food:

Callie: Giant glasses for your fountain drink. You may not need a refill here and that is always a plus for me. Appetizer was Slap Your Bottom Red Bean Hummus. It was not exactly what I was expecting but it was good. A tad to spicy for me. Just a little to spicy for me. I ordered the mac ‘n cheese with sausage crumbles. It was delicious. Rotini noodles, cream sauce corn, onions and peppers. I highly recommend it. I also stole some of the shoe string fries from Brad’s plate, and they are also worth ordering. 10/10

Brad: I always get the pot roast sandwich here. It comes on a pretzel roll with a slice of cheese. This sandwich is really good. The pot roast is moist and tender. The pretzel roll is worth the extra dollar or so. It's RC Cola here and it comes in giant glasses. I drink a lot so only needing a single refill is nice. I hate having to worry about having something to drink while I eat. The french fries are also really good. This has become one of my favorite places to go to in a very short period of time. 10/10

Other Patrons:

Callie: I’ve never seen a kid there, which is a bonus if you want a meal without squawking. The crowd is diverse and we’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table.

Brad: This is the best part of eating here. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed. No one was really annoying and no kids is a plus. Really, you don't even notice the other people around you.

Final Thoughts:

Callie: Whether seeking a meal or a drink Tip Top is a friendly bar and satisfying restaurant experience. This would be a good place to try for lunch or before you see BalletMet.

Brad: Really, the biggest downside to Tip Top Columbus is the parking situation. You're going to have to pay at a meter or find one of the pay lots nearby. Parking in general is a little limited in this area. Other than that obstacle, this place is a really good experience. The place has personality, good food and a relaxed atmosphere. I can't recommend this place highly enough to you.

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