Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse - Upper Arlington

The Art of Elegance - Crazy Good

Let me begin this post by saying, my meal at Hyde Park was the best meal of my life (so far).  First, the waiters and waitresses are the best I have ever witnessed.  They are funny and perfectionists at the same time.  They know the menu back to front and front to back, and they are extremely nice.  Second, the dining area is incredibly elegant.  I went to Hyde Park with my family and we all enjoyed our meals to the max!  For appetizers, we ordered shrimp, scallops, and lobster mac 'n' cheese.  Yes, you read correctly, LOBSTER MAC 'N' CHEESE.  It was by far the best macaroni and cheese I have ever encountered.  We absolutely demolished the appetizers.  For the main course, I ordered Filet Mignon with two crab cakes and hash brown potatoes, which came with sour cream and caramelized onion. (I know you are salivating just by reading this, but try to stick with me before you leave to go grab some food).  The first bite of my perfectly cooked filet melted in my mouth.  It was unlike anything I have experienced with food, it blew my mind.  As you probably noticed by now, I do not have a picture for this post, and the reasoning is as follows: I was super hungry and I don't think I put down my fork for a good 40 minutes, and by that time, my plate was looked massacred.  Don't forget dessert!  I ate a warm molten lava cake, and......no surprise, it was great.
    I would highly recommend Hyde Park to anybody that likes to eat.  When eating regular meals, I never become full, just satisfied, but after eating at Hyde Park, I can say I was completely full.

My dish: Filet Mignon w/crab cakes, and hash brown potatoes       10 out of 10 

1615 Old Henderson Road
Upper Arlington, Ohio 43220

Carsonies - Upper Arlington

The Art of Italy - Stromboli Style

One of the best local Italian restaurants in Upper Arlington is definitely Carsonies and their stromboli is second to none.  It feels like home when you walk into Carsonies with pictures on the walls, great music playing, and televisions tuned to my favorite channels: ESPN, ESPN2, NBC Sports and FOX Sports (yes, I enjoy sports quite a lot).  I have eaten Carsonies many many times, whether it was for a family dinner or for a sports banquet, for which Mr. Dave Zadnik, the owner, was nice enough to cater with great stromboli.  The drinks are refreshing and I would suggest ordering one of the fabulous appetizers.  Unless you don't eat meat, there is no question that you should order the original stromboli.  When it is delivered to your table, it's as if your mom just took it out of the oven, and the smell is indescribable.        
When you go in for your first bite of stromboli, you get an instant flavor blast.  The gooey cheese, the succulent sausage, the tasty pepperoni, and don't forget the marinara sauce.  Before you know it, you are down to the last piece of stromboli, eventually resulting in a rock-paper-scissors, for the last piece.  Carsonies is a perfect restaurant for a mid-week dinner, or a big group meeting, where ordering a few stromboli's will do the trick.

Best Dish: The Original Stromboli    9.5 out of 10

   Carsonie's Upper Arlington

1725 Lane Ave

614.481.5555

House of Japan - Dublin

The Art of the Chef - Playing with Fire

Just a suggestion: If you are thinking about going to House of Japan, do it for somebody's birthday. You would be shocked at the number of times that the waitresses came out with a bowl of pineapple sorbet while beating on a drum.  Not saying it got annoying or anything, it was actually awesome.  I was there with my family for about an hour and a half, and, sure enough, there was six, count 'em, SIX birthdays.  Once you sit down at one of the rectangular tables where the grill is right in front of you, the waitress quickly collects drink orders and brings them out with mushroom soup and a side salad.  Both were very tasty, especially the soup's broth and the salad's dressing.  The broth tasted warm and refreshing, while the dressing was sweet with the taste of ginger.  I ordered filet mignon and chicken with fried rice and, as a family, we split some scallops.  Now for the best part.

Full Plate, Great Food

The chef walked out with his cart of food and repeated everyone's order.  He started out with the vegetables and shrimp and rice, which are the free appetizers.  He took an egg and spun it around on his spatula for a good 20 seconds, then took the yolk and tossed it high in the air and caught it with his spatula, and the yolk stayed in tact.
    The chefs' skills are crazy.  They are absolutely amazing.  One of the coolest things that they do is stack up raw onion rings and have fire shoot out the top.  You have to be there to see it, because it is quite entertaining.
    As for my overall meal, the chicken, fried rice, vegetables, and scallops were all great.  The filet was a sliver below great, but still very tasty.  The best bite included a piece of chicken, some rice, and some veggies, all dipped in a sauce that tasted like it was mustard-based.  The meal was great and I would recommend House of Japan to anybody.  It is a great 'special occasion' restaurant, because you usually see your food being cooked right in front of you.  My brother was very pleased that he could have his birthday dinner at House of Japan, he thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.      

Dirty Franks - Downtown

The Art of Classic - Tasty Dogs

(Left) The Doginator. (Right) Chili Dog

Despite the fact that parking in downtown Columbus can be difficult at times, Dirty Franks will bring back that smile.  The best hot dog that I have ever tasted was at Dirty Franks.  Just to let you know, their menu consists of 41 cleverly-named hot dogs that have such toppings as: cream cheese, tater tots, fries, tzatziki sauce, baked beans, and almost the whole kitchen sink.  Four hot dogs are bacon-wrapped, and yes, there is a create-your-own-dog option.  I ordered The Doginator and the Chili Dog.  The Doginator has a bacon-wrapped dog with beef brisket, BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, and onion rings on top.  While the classic Chili Dog has coney sauce, onion, yellow mustard, and cheddar cheese.  I chose to attack the Chili Dog first, and it was flat-out brilliant, I couldn't remember the last time I had such a classic hot dog that tasted so good (don't tell Skyline...... shhhhhhh).  The Doginator was amazing, every bite was delicious.  I would
recommend any hot dog fan to go on over to Dirty Franks.


Dish to Order: The Doginator  9.5 out of 10

Dirty Franks

248 S 4th St  Columbus, OH 43215

(614) 824-4673

Website: www.dirtyfrankshotdogs.com

El Vaquero - Upper Arlington

The Art of Authentic - Mexican Cuisine

There are two types of Mexican restaurants out there: one that looks rundown from the outside but has great food, or one that looks great outside and tastes great inside.  The latter, would be how I define El Vaquero.  I have been to El Vaquero many times throughout my life, and for my family, it has turned into a safety valve.  When we can't decide where to go, in the end, we end up at El Vaquero and nobody argues because it is great food.  There can be a line to the door and you will still be seated within fifteen minutes of arriving.  When you sit down, chips and salsa are instantly placed on your table.  But wait!! There's more.  A trip to El Vaquero is not complete without ordering at least a few cheese sauces.  The next step is to devour the chips and order your main course.  As I said earlier, I have been to El Vaquero way too many times to count, but I have a solid 4 meals that I rotate around.  First, the #148, which consists of chicken with melted cheese on top, mexican rice, lettuce, sour cream guacamole, beans, and 4 small tortillas so that you can make your own mini taco/burrito.  If you are like me, you should probably pour some of the red salsa into your tacos.  Second, if you are in the mood for beef, I suggest the #152 beef, which consists of two beef chimichangas.  Third, if you are craving pork, I would try the #36, which is a generous helping of tasty carnitas.  Last but not least, if you ate three baskets of chips, most likely you will not be in the mood for a big entrée, so order the #33 which is a comfortable quesadilla (with your choice of meat) that will fill you up and not burn a hole in your wallet.  Being a big sports fan, I love the fact that El Vaquero has the TV's set up so that no matter where you are sitting, you will be able to see one TV.  I would recommend El Vaquero to anybody that is in the Upper Arlington area of Columbus.  Although there is more than one El Vaquero, I believe that this one has the best atmosphere and food.


Dish to Order: #152     9 out of 10

El Vaquero

2195 Riverside Drive

Columbus, Ohio, 43221

(614) 486-4547

Website link: http://www.vaquerorestaurant.com/

  

DK Diner- Grandview

The Art of Creativity - Breakfast Style

Donut Sandwich (soon to be famous)

Breakfast Please!!!

When I was thinking about which restaurant to blog about first, I thought to myself, "hmm... might as well start with the first and most important meal of the day, breakfast".  DK Diner has been around for at least twenty years, and they haven't had one dull moment.  When you first drive up to the diner, it seems as though it is coming out of the trees, but once you step inside, you feel right at home with the smell of coffee and the sound of chatter.  The waiter or waitress is quick to your table with water and menus, which is a key to a well-run restaurant.  Looking over the menu, an interesting dish makes you do a double take.  Yes, it is called the donut sandwich.  It consists of a glazed doughnut cut in half (long ways) for the bun, a sausage patty, just enough cheese, and a perfectly fried egg.  The first bite is a roller coaster.  The sweetness from the doughnut is mixes ridiculously well with the flavors from the sausage, egg, and cheese.  Not to mention a very generous side of hash browns.  If you are creative like me, you probably should put some of the hash browns on top of the sausage, if you want to be adventurous.

In case you were wondering, I ate it all.  I have evidence.


Dish to Order: Donut Sandwich  9.5 out 10

DK Diner website link: http://www.thedkdiner.com

DK Diner

1715 W 3rd Avenue

Grandview Heights, OH 43212

(614) 488-5160