Important Business Dinner - See You at Tip Top!

Last Friday night Katie & Elaine took one of our favorite restaurants in all of Columbus - Tip Top. Tip Top is a small bar on Gay Street in downtown Columbus where you can get good drinks and good eats. All the food is good, but they are especially famous for their sweet potato fries. If you like sweet potato fries - this is the place for you. What makes the sweet potato fries so yummy is the spicy mayo sauce that comes with them. Not too spicy, but delicious when dipped with a sweet potato fry.

We went to Tip Top with Alison, Kate & Derek from work before heading down the street to CCAD to judge final projects in one of their 3-D design classes. We all started off with drinks - beer for the ladies and a rum and diet for Derek. Katie and Alison had Original Sin and Kate and I had Bell's Oberon. For my second beer I had Lindeman’s Peche/Peach. IT WAS FANTASTIC. I love anything peach flavored - and to have a peach flavored beer! I was opened up to a whole new world that night. 

For appetizers we ordered sweet potato fries, of course, and corn fritters, housemade fritters of corn, peppers and spices, topped with a dollop of sour cream. The corn fritters were awesome, and lucky for me no one else really wanted them - so obviously I helped myself. Wouldn't want those babies to go to waste would we? 

For dinner Kate and Katie got one of our all-time favorite Tip Top meals, the avocado-Honey-Shallot chicken salad on a pretzel roll bun with sweet potato fries. I had the mac-n-cheese, rotini noodles with sauteed poblano peppers, red onion and corn tossed in the creamy cheese sauce. Derek had the Smoked Salmon Fritters, smoked salmon, risotto, herbs and cheese lightly breaded and fried, served with Dijon-horseradish dipping sauce and Alison had the Tonya's Herbed Goat Cheese Salad, goat cheese rolled in fresh herbs and lightly grilled served over mixed greens with tomato wedges  and their own balsamic vinaigrette. 

Tip Top, as always, was delicious. We are never disappointed when we go there. If you are looking for an intimate but fun atmosphere and a good meal with drinks - Tip Top is the place to go!

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

So far in 2012 Katie and Elaine have been reading like mad women. Be it the cold weather or just the fact that we have realized it's not necessary to watch every episode of Sex in the City 300 times, we have read a lot. One story we have both been practically obsessed with is The Hunger Games.

For those of you who haven't joined this band wagon - The Hunger Games is a 3 part book series about a girl named Katniss who must save her family from starvation. Every year the capitol picks a boy and girl from each of the 12 districts to compete in what is called the Hunger Games, a competition where  children literally fight to the death, and the last one standing then becomes the winner. Katniss has a little sister, Prim, who gets chosen as the representative for their district, District 12. She can not possibly let little Prim compete because she knows Prim will get killed. Katniss volunteers to take her place, along the way falls in love, and goes on to (SPOILER ALERT) win the Hunger Games.

Because we were so consumed in the books we just had to see the midnight showing of this baby, so our friend Krysti Kalkman rounded up a group of friends to watch at the Arena Grand Movie theater. For those of you who might be confused, Arena Grand is downtown - NOT on OSU's campus. I may or may not have gotten them a little mixed up. Luckily Katie was there to save the day so we wouldn't be late to the movie. We also met up with many work friends who had also planned on seeing the midnight showing at Arena Grand: Cheryl Forcina, Anna Bonevac, Mollie Wells, Phokeng Dailey, and Sara Kreinberg.

Arena Grand was just that - GRAND. The theaters are multiple levels and you get to pick your exact seat. Also, if you are interested, this is one of the few theaters in the Columbus area that you can drink alcohol at while you watch your movie. $14 bought us a great view and a complimentary popcorn. The movie was incredibly close to the book, which as anyone who has read a book and then seen the movie knows this is usually not the case. Hunger Games was awesome and Arena Grand was great. For anyone who lives downtown, this would be a fantastic spot to walk and go see a movie on a nice night this summer. And always remember, may the odds ever be in your favor.

Double Happiness, Double Happy Birthday

On Friday February 17th, a group of friends came together at Double Happiness to celebrate the 29th anniversary of JMG's birth (whose true identity will remain known only to those who know him). After hassling and harassing Katie all day at work, she finally agreed to join in the festivities - and boy oh boy was she glad she did!

For those of you don't know who the great JMG is, he is the boyfriend of former dinner guest and current co-worker Brittany Kress. At first sight, Double Happiness was pretty hard to find - therefore there was no first sight. It is located in the Brewery District of Columbus, across the street from Shadowbox Theater. It is a bar, but you can order food there as well - but because we were just celebrating the birthday, we only got drinks. The on-tap beer selection was quite limited, but it did have a unique variety of choices. Being at an Asian inspired bar, I decided to go with an Asian inspired beer, Sapporo. Katie went with one of her all-time favorite beers, Hornsby.

A few fun facts about this night, we were joined by many co-workers including Cherise, Sara, Alison and Phokeng. Also, because JMG is such a big deal there was a live DJ, Envelope. Katie and Elaine had a great time enjoying the Asian decor, spending time with friends, and listening to awesome music. If you want a Double Happy Birthday - Double Happiness is the place to go!

Happy Birthday Momma Kalkman!

After a much anticipated return, we are back!

A few weeks ago Katie and Elaine ventured out into the cold to try Milestone 229, a new restaurant on the Scioto mile, and for the first time in the history of the blog we were out to celebrate! Friend and co-worker of ours, Krysti Kalkman, invited us to dinner for her Mom's birthday. The entire group included: Krysti and her boyfriend Jake, Krysti's mom, their friends Andrew and John, Elaine, Katie and our friend Gillian.

The night we chose was possibly the coldest day of winter thus far, but we immediately decided if we liked the restaurant we wanted to come back in the summer. Milestone 229, which has a large patio, overlooks the Scioto River and shows a very picturesque view of the city.

To start off the celebration, we each ordered our drink of choice. Most went with wine, but a few opted for beer. The menu was fairly large and full of many choices. Jake, Andrew and I each got the Roasted Gerber Chicken Breast: Ohio free-range chicken with mac ‘n cheese, skillet green beans and savory gravy. IT WAS DELICIOUS, and we would all order it again if we come back. Katie and Gillian went with the Skillet Mac ‘n Cheese: double-smoked hickory bacon, diced tomato and scallions. Krysti ordered the Grilled Barrel Cut Sirloin: a thick center cut steak with three potato hash, skillet green beans, whiskey steak sauce and Gorgonzola butter. Krysti's mom ordered the Blackened Mahi Mahi: dirty rice, braised collard greens and spicy tomato butter, not to be confused with the Maui Maui. Last but not least, John ordered the special of the night which was a fish fillet with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes.

Everyone LOVED their dinner and cleaned their plates so we could get dessert. Andrew and I ordered the Pumpkin Cheesecake with gingersnap crust, pecans and rum caramel. IT WAS TO DIE FOR. I am quite the cheesecake connoisseur, and this might have been the best cheesecake I've ever had. Katie, Gillian and Krysti's mom had the Pecan Pie Bread Pudding with caramel sauce and Johnson’s triple bean vanilla ice cream. I'm not much of a bread pudding fan, but the girls loved it. And Krysti and Jake split the Rich Chocolate Cake served with a small jug of milk. It was the biggest piece of chocolate cake you've ever seen!

Milestone 229 was delicious and definitely gets the stamp of approval from Katie and Elaine take Columbus!

Dirty Dogs and The Dirty-D

This week Katie and Elaine took Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace, joined by former guests Gillian Curcio and Anita Shankar. From this point on, our view on hot dogs has been changed forever! Dirty Frank's is part of the Liz Lessner family of restaurants in downtown Columbus. If you remember, a few weeks ago Katie and Elaine took Betty's, which is also a part of this group. Her other restaurants include: Tip Top, Surly Girl and The Jury Room.

Dirty Frank's, like Betty's, is a very small restaurant with very limited seating, and would be pretty tough to eat there with more than a group of 3 or 4. According to our sources, DF's is always packed so we were warned to get there early. Lucky for us, we had to work late and were able to sit right down. Like our trip to Betty's, as soon as we got our order in the place filled up and there was a long wait for tables. These Liz Lessner places sure are popular with the late night crowd!

The menu at Dirty Frank's was overwhelming - we had no idea there were so many ways to top a hot dog! After taking so long that our waiter may or may not have been a little annoyed, we finally ordered. Tots and fried leeks, which are onion straws without the fried batter, to start. Gillian ordered the Cowgirl Carmen: hot dog topped with meat coney sauce, cheddar, & crushed Fritos. Anita got The Classy Lady vegan style: hot dog topped with cheese sauce & crushed potato chips. After long debate, Katie went for the West Virginia Slaw Dog: hot dog topped with coney sauce with creamy slaw & onion, and I decided on the Razzle Dazzle: hot dog topped with cream cheese, grilled peppers & fresh onion.

As weird as these combination's were, we loved them all! It was a unanimous decision that Dirty Frank's is Katie and Elaine Take Columbus' favorite stop so far. The food was delicious and INSANELY CHEAP. What started out as a cold, tired Tuesday night turned into a fun night with friends out on the town.

Also, I know you all have probably been DYING to hear about our trip to UD this past weekend. Turns out we had such a good time catching up with friends and visiting our favorite hot spots from the old stomping grounds that we didn't take very many pictures. Here are a few though - enjoy!

Hello Restaurant week!

Hello Restaurant week! Call us trend-setters because apparently this idea of "trying new Columbus restaurants" is catching on quick! You should have seen our 9-person entourage last night as we tackled yet another Columbus hot-spot—Martini.

What better way to kick off the night than with a round of drinks (very strong drinks might we add)! Most of the group opted for wine, but two of us ordered their signature Martinis. The Pineapple Finlandia, pineapple upside down cake in liquid form... yum, came with fresh pineapple slices, whereas the Modern Martini, Martini's take on the classic dirty martini, came with a heaping serving of gorgonzola stuffed olives. HEAVEN. Our advice - order it EXTRA dirty... otherwise it will be EXTRA strong. You have been warned.

After drinks came the bread, and who doesn't love a restaurant that offers you endless amounts of focaccia and olive oil? It even came with pesto dipping sauce which was DELICIOUS! Ok, now on to the best part... the menu alone was impressive and full of a variety of foods, but because of Restaurant Week we were also given the option to pick from their Prix Fixe Menu... a three course dinner including an appetizer with two main entrees. Between our party of 9, 3 ordered off the Restaurant Week menu.

First up, ROUND 1: Elaine opted for bruschetta, while Brittany and Gillian chose the Martini Salad. A few others went for a more traditional ceasar salad with croutons that literally tasted like little pieces of crunchy heaven.

And onto ROUND 2: Elaine decided to try the Butternut Squash Tortellini, while Brittany and Gillian went for the Veal & Spinach Ravioli. The girls said both entrees were delicious, and next time Elaine is back all she's getting the Butternut Squash Tortellini - IT WAS THAT GOOD!

Now time for ROUND 3: Melyssa, Anita and Katie all ordered the Pennette alla Vodka, while Erin went for the Chicken Carbonara. Brittany and Gillian ordered the salmon, Elaine got lasagna. Kate had Chicken Parm, and Jackie ate the Chicken Picatta.

When you get 9 girls together, 7 of which work together at Victoria's Secret, panties and push-ups are bound to enter the conversation sooner or later. After a night full of work-talk, friend-talk, school-talk, and of course boy-talk, we decided to head our separate ways. Katie and Elaine took Martini's and LOVED having so many dinner guests.

We haven't decided where we're going next week, but Dirty Franks has been thrown out as a definite possibility. Also - breaking news as of last night post Katie's martini - this weekend Katie and Elaine will be taking DAYTON! Check back for posts from our road trip!

Our First Adventure!

Outing #1 was an absolute complete success! Tonight Katie and I went to Haiku, poetic food and art, in the Short North for one of our favorite foods - sushi. Before even arriving at the restaurant we had a pleasant surprise because Miss Anita Shankar decided to join.

Katie and I both ordered wine, riesling for Kaite and a malbec for myself. Anita went for something fun and got the champagne cocktail. We all tried it - pretty tasty (but STRONG)!! After ordering we went to the usual topic of conversation, reminiscing about our glory days at the University of Dayton. We talked out former roommates, places we lived, and how mild our alcohol consumption has become. Call us old ladies - but we are now very happy with our glasses of wine.

When the food arrived it was time to DIG IN! Katie ordered the dancing eel, Anita splurged and got both the sweet potato tempura and squash tempura, and I had the specialty spider roll. It was delicious and scrumptious, so we decided Haiku is definitely a place to revisit. Haiku has a patio, so this will definitely be somewhere you can find the three of us come summertime.

Check back next week when Katie and Elaine take Betty's!