Anne’s birthday was earlier this month, so to celebrate, I took her out to Black Creek Bistro. We’ve heard many good things through the grapevine and were planning on going for my birthday earlier this year until something came up.
First things first… one thing you must know about Black Creek Bistro, is that it’s probably THE most locavore-friendly restaurant in Central Ohio. The owners of the restaurant are also farmers with a property in Canal Winchester about 20 miles away. They raise their own animals, grow their own heirloom vegetables and herbs, and most impressively, use the food scrap from the restaurant as compost for the farm. They also recycle their vegetable oil to power two farm trucks. They’ve got dozens of other ways that they partner with local organizations, most of which can be found proudly listed on the backs of the menus in the restaurant.
Anyway, on to the food!
Our reservation was for 7pm, and our waitress kindly offered to let us take part in “last call” on the Happy Hour menu (which ends at 7pm) to give us reduced prices on drinks and appetizers. We each had one of their Washington Apple Martini drinks, and the Crab Cake appetizer. We also had some delicious warm bread served to us. Everything was tasty as expected.
Anne decided to order a Caesar Salad and small plate of Scallops, which were seared and flavored with cocoa and an apple chutney. I had a small bite, and was impressed with the subtle flavor of the cocoa. I thought they would tasty too “desserty” for an entree, but they proved me wrong.
I chose the Beef Short Ribs, served with veggies (squash if I recall correctly) and mashed potatoes. It was good, but I think I still like the dish at Latitude 41 just a little bit better. The meat was nice and tender, but I think the sauce had something in it that I don’t like (maybe fennel?). Still, a wonderful meal. Extremely filling too. I could hardly finish the whole thing.
We were going to skip out on dessert, since we had some Jeni’s at home in the freezer, but the owner Kent Peters was floating around checking on tables and stopped to chat with us for a bit. He proudly was showing us a new article about the restaurant in one of the local magazines (I think Columbus Monthly) that featured their farm, and had a cute photo of his son with it. You could tell that Kent was the type of guy who loves his job, and wants to share his passion with the whole community. He insisted that we try a light dessert and rushed off to get us some complimentary Pear Sorbet with Candied Asian Pears on the side. I am a HUGE fan of the Pear Riesling Sorbet at Jeni’s, and I have to admit… this might have been a little bit better. The pear texture was there, the sweetness was perfect, and the candied bits might have just made it my new favorite sorbet in Columbus. Not that I’m going to give up on Jeni’s though. Much of Black Creek’s menu is seasonal, so this flavor may not even be there as of now.
I don’t usually mention the bill in a review like this, but I think it’s worth noting that our final tab was a mere $60 for all of this. I would have expected to pay twice that in a different restaurant. Hands down one of the best values I’ve had in awhile. And I thought eating local food was supposed to be an expensive habit?
Speaking of deals… I have to wrap this up by mentioning the “Bistro Features” deal that Black Creek offers. Monday-through-Friday they serve up a variety of special selections at a $10 price point. They start serving these special dishes at 4pm and sell them until they run out (which I’ve heard is usually around 7pm). So if you opt for an early dinner on a weeknight, you can get in and out with a $10 entree in addition to the happy hour specials. Does it get any better than that?
every time Adriana and I have been there, everything has been fantastic. as much as I’ll miss the Music Hall, I’m glad Kent and company will be using the space for the greater good of the community and the city by doing what they do so well.