Due Amici | Columbus, OH

Due Amici (Facebook / @dueamici)
67 E. Gay St. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 224-9373
Open Mon-Sat, 11 am - 11 pm; Sun, 11 am - 9 pm (brunch served Sat & Sun 11 am - 4 pm)
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 1:00 pm

IMPRESSIONS: Due Amici is one of the anchor restaurants in the still-budding section of Gay St. downtown. This strip of restaurants, hotels, and shops is defying the difficult lack of crowds downtown outside of the Monday to Friday working hours. Due Amici is known for producing some high quality Italian fare throughout the week, but one of their big weekends draws is, of course, their brunch.

Their space is a classy update of an old downtown building. I've always been a fan of the big wooden floors, tall ceilings, and huge brick walls. The restaurant is split into three sections.

You enter in the middle, with the hostess stand, waiting area, and bar. The bar's nice and swanky-looking: big mirror, house-made flavored spirits in progress. To the right of this room is a smaller room for private rentals.

To the left is the main dining area: booths, tables of all sizes.

ATMOSPHERE: Despite the more sophisticated atmosphere, Due's brunch still has a pretty casual vibe. We saw families with kids of all ages, sport coats and blue jeans, all mixed in a very talkative buzz.

FOOD: The brunch menu features a pretty wide selection. I would say it's vegetarian-friendly, but there's definitely more big meat dishes. But they've got everything covered: appetizers, pizzas, traditional breakfasts, salads, pastas, seafood, plus bigger entrees. We sampled a mix of things. They have a special deal on selected items (at the top of the menu) that lets you choose an entree plus a brunch drink (Bloody Mary, Bellini, or mimosa) for $15. Pretty sweet deal for the amount of food and drink. We tried a couple. The first was the asparagus and mushroom frittata. The eggs were nice and moist, as were the vegetables and mushrooms. Came with a side of hash browns, which are diced and nicely browned. A little hard to eat with a fork, but the flavor's all there.

We also took a stab at the breakfast pizza (not part of the $15 deal). Features bacon, sausage, cheese, roasted tomatoes, with an egg on top. We took our server's suggestion and ordered the egg over easy so we could dip the pizza slices in it. I was a big fan of the whole pizza, especially the sausage and tomatoes. Nice freshly-made crust, too. And definitely best with a dipping egg.

My favorite bit of the meal, however, was the Due Brunch Burger. It's a standard burger with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and cheese, but adds a fried egg, basil aioli, sandwiched between two halves of a toasted English muffin. The burger was very well constructed. The egg yolk is medium, so it doesn't run. The real highlight, however, is the 1/2 pound of black Angus beef. I just can't describe it adequately - it's delicious, grass-fed beef, very flavorful, cooked medium. One of those bites that you take that just stops you. Maybe it's been too long since I've had some properly treated beef, but this burger made us both say "wow." Seriously, one of the best burgers I've had in Columbus.

Another favorite for Due brunch fans is their Bloody Mary cart. Get your customized Bloody Mary made table-side.

We let the server recommend ours: she used their house pepper-infused vodka, tomato juice, clamato, horseradish, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes. Garnished with pickle, celery, lemon, and banana peppers. I'm not a huge fan of Bloody Marys, so I'm far from being the expert, but ours was refreshing and delicious. It's such a big mix of flavors and textures that it's bound to complement at least one of your dishes.

Plus there's just the fun of watching the Bloody Mary construction.

SERVICE: The service matches the casual atmosphere. You can banter with your server, they make suggestions, food comes out quickly. Great conversation with the server handling the Bloody Mary cart.

OVERALL: Good, good brunch. Nice pricing, whether you want to go big with steak and shrimp, or you want a deal with the $15 special. Upscale-but-casual atmosphere. High quality food, especially that burger. Good for families (our 2-year-old did fine). A definite reason to head downtown on the weekends.

OTHER LINKS:
-> the (614) Magazine write-up on brunch spots (including Due Amici)

Cambridge Tea House | Columbus, OH

Cambridge Tea House (Facebook / @CambridgeTHouse)
1885 W. Fifth Ave. (map it!)
Grandview, OH 43212
(614) 486-6464
Open Tues-Fri, 8 am - 4 pm; Sat & Sun, 8 am - 3 pm
Accepts cash and credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N

Date of Visit: Friday, December 10, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.

IMPRESSIONS: My wife and I have a lot of fond memories of having tea in England. We've traveled there multiple times for school, and highlights of the trips include tea at The Orangery in Kensington Palace, The Pump Room in Bath, or curling up in the lobby of the National Theatre. In some ways, we're always looking to recapture those experiences back in the States. We already know that Columbus is a great coffee town, but I'm finding more and more that we're a great tea city, too. Tucked away in locations like Short North, Dublin, Bexley, and Marble Cliff are little teahouses demonstrating that there's more to tea than slam-dunking a teabag into a mug. I haven't explored many of these places, but I may not need to search much further after discovering the Cambridge Tea House.

You'll find Cambridge Tea House by heading west on Fifth Avenue, away from central Grandview. I'm actually not sure what part of town this technically is: Grandview, Marble Cliff, Columbus? It's part of a small, old-looking line of storefronts with a small parking lot. I initially thought the name Cambridge was maybe an homage to English tea, but I think the name really comes from the cross-street of Cambridge Boulevard, where the store is located.

The setting is small and intimate. Detailed stonework and brick, intricate patterns on the napkins and valance. Lots of pastoral images. There are a total of 4 booths, 4 small tables, and 1 bigger table. A small chandelier adds to the light pouring in through big windows.

A place like Cambridge Tea House brings certain adjectives to mind: quaint, cozy, dainty. And I use those nicely. The Tea House does not serve your calorie-packed, greasy spoon breakfast, but chances are, if you're headed there, you're not looking for that.

Instead, you'll find a setting that is comfortable and cozy, with a menu of pastries, quiches, soups, and other items that complement the tea service.

FOOD: First and foremost on their menu is the tea. They have a sizable tea menu, featuring herbal, green, white, black, and oolong.

And the best part about the tea service? They know what they're doing. The tea pot was served covered with a cozy, the mugs were heated, the tea served loose leaf at the proper temperature. We chose a Paris flavored black tea, which the menu says includes a blend of bergamot oil and black currant. It was just a little sweet, and a perfect complement to our meal.

The centerpiece of our breakfast was the Hot, Creamy Oatmeal. We added the fresh fruit on the side. Served with cream and brown sugar, and a side of toast and butter. Big points for presentation, as you can see.

The oatmeal is made from big rolled oats. It's thick, sticky, and a filling meal for the colder months.

My favorite of the meal were the cream scones with jam and homemade cream. The cream isn't quite like real Devonshire cream (it can't be because of different food regulations, as true clotted cream is made from unpasteurized milk), but the texture and flavor are still superb.

We also tried their quiche of the day, which was a red pepper quiche. Again, nice mix of flavors with the eggs, cheese, and peppers. Served with a side of fruit and their tea bread; that day's was a moist pumpkin.

SERVICE: Our service was very sweet and fitting with the location. It's a small crew there, including owner Mary Boesch and head chef Sarah. But they all clearly know their stuff, whether it's tea, breakfast, lunch, or other events.

OVERALL: I'm very pleased to have discovered Cambridge Tea House. The location is intimate, the details in decoration are delightful, and the food is a great match to the tea. Especially those scones; I keep thinking about those and the cream. I'm clearly focused on breakfast, but there's a lot more here: they have a promising lunch menu, they offer cooking classes and themed candlelight dinners, and best of all, they serve a proper afternoon tea. You can round out your own collection with tea, teapots, and accoutrement for sale. too.

OTHER LINKS:
-> my (614) Magazine January 2011 write-up, including Cambridge Tea House

Worthington Inn | Worthington, OH

Worthington Inn (Facebook / @WorthingtonInn)
649 High St. (map it!)
Worthington, OH 43085
(614) 885-2600
Brunch served Sundays, 11am - 2pm
Accepts cash and credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? N/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y

Date of Visit: Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.

IMPRESSIONS: Ah, the Worthington Inn. It is truly a Columbus institution. It's practically tied with the newly-reborn Jury Room downtown as the oldest operating restaurant in the city, since 1831. The Inn's building is as much an institution as their food. Since the 1800's, it has served variably as a house, a stagecoach stop, and a hotel, all the while operating as a restaurant in some form. Its current version maintains the food service, but the former hotel portion is now condos, and the upper floors are rent-able for private functions. On top of this rich and varied history, the Worthington Inn's Sunday brunch is consistently voted one of the best in the city. So it's time to check it out.

ATMOSPHERE: The Worthington Inn's brunch lies a little more on the formal side of things, but they manage to still keep it fairly casual. But the house itself supports the formal atmosphere. Enter the front door, and you'll find room after room of Victorian decorations, low ceilings, fireplaces, creaky floors, and plenty of old wood accents.

It's worth the trip just to wander from room to room for a bit. Seriously, some of these rooms make me want to grab a pipe, a beer, and a book, and find a big armchair.

There are three dining rooms on the main floor, plus the pub room where the buffet is laid out for you to attack.

The pub sports a nice, long bar with marble counter-tops, big mirrors, and glassware.

The Sunday brunch at Worthington Inn is popular, so you'd best make a reservation (especially with a group). It's priced at $21.95/person, and that includes the full buffet and drinks like coffee, tea, juice, soda, etc. Bloody Marys, mimosas, and Bellinis are also available. And they make every effort to use pretty high quality ingredients: Amish eggs, great cuts of meat, hollandaise made in-house, and so on.

FOOD: Let's take a stroll down the buffet line, shall we? I've had a few brunch buffets, and they can be hit or miss, but Worthington Inn seems able to avoid the major pitfalls like over-cooked food that sits for too long over the warmers. At the top of the line you'll find cold salads. Next come the veggies, such as green beans or a mixed vegetable medley.

There are also trays (not pictured here) of your breakfast standards: bacon, sausage, potatoes, and a whole tray of eggs benedict.

Every week, Chef Tom Smith and his crew create three specialties, too. The Sunday I visited they had beef ragu (pictured above)...

...potato-crusted cod...

...and bistro chicken.

At the end of the line you'll find the gigantic tray of smoked salmon and peel-and-eat shrimp. Knock yourself out.



Aside from the main buffet line, you'll find two other tables. The first features an omelet station. Custom omelets, made to order.

See? Omelets!

There's also a waffle bar...

...plus prime rib sliced to order.

The other table is for desserts, all made in-house. Cookies, pies, cakes, what have you.

This is my first plate all loaded up: the three specialties, shrimp, bacon, sausage, and potatoes, plus an eggs benny. Like I said earlier, there can be a certain blah uniformity to buffet food, but I think Worthington Inn manages to keep things fresh enough - and the crowds are busy enough - that the food tastes great and doesn't get a chance to go stale. My only complaint was the uniform eggs benedict. I'm a huge fan of a good eggs benedict, and these were (necessarily) made in large batches.

SERVICE: I honestly didn't interact with the servers that much, mostly because of the buffet style, but everyone I did encounter was nice and helpful. Just what you'd expect from from a more upscale brunch. As a side note, you may see some of the upper floors in use if you go for any of the big "brunch holidays" like Easter, Mother's Day, etc. They open up the second floor and create another buffet line to serve everyone. Then the third floor (pictured above) is available for rentals, too. Like the first floor, the upper levels are decorated in that exquisite Victorian detail.

OVERALL: Yeah, it's a very good brunch. Consistently voted one of Columbus' favorites, and while you won't get anything too funky or off-the-wall here, I wouldn't call it stodgy either. Worthington Inn has a got the full package: classy location in downtown Old Worthington, well preserved old building with lots of character, and a very popular brunch. All very worthy of a visit.

OTHER LINKS:
-> the (614) Magazine write-up on brunch spots (including Worthington Inn)