I had another taste bud satisfying weekend with trips to two restaurants that I have not been to before: Katalina's Cafe Corner and Aloha Hawaiian BBQ & Asian Bistro.
Let's talk about
Katalina's Cafe Corner first. Katalina's is this tiny little white building situated on the corner of West Third Ave. and Pennsylvania Ave. in Victorian Village. The building is very small and cramped and definitely does not seem like it was initially meant to be a restaurant. There isn't much inside seating either but there are plenty seats outside for when the weather is lovely making it a great place to eat in the warmer, sunnier months. My parents were in town for the day so why not try another new restaurant? I remembered seeing an article about Katalina's in one of Columbus' dining magazines, Crave, and have always wanted to give it a whirl. Nadya also recently had lunch there with a friend and both found the food to be delicious. My parents, Nadya, and I arrived at Katalina's around 1pm on Saturday and the place was packed! All the seats were taken inside, but luckily a group of people sitting outside under the sun got up to leave as we were making our way in. It was a good thing it was nice and sunny out and unusually warm for mid-February. My mom ordered the 3rd and Penn (pastrami, swiss, spicy mustard, mayo, and sauteed balsamic onions grilled on marbled rye), my dad ordered the Classic Reuben (corned beef, swiss, sauerkraut, and russian dressing grilled on marbled rye), Nadya ordered the Figs & Prosciutto (kalamata figs, prosciutto, provolone, balsamic reduction, and white truffle oil grilled on old-world loaf), and I ordered the Chimichurri Steak (roast beef, sauteed onions and mushrooms, provolone, topped with house-made chimichurri sauce on a toasted roll. And of course we had to order the Swedish Pancake Balls filled with Nutella to share. After waiting an excruciating 40 minutes or so we decided to make our order to-go. The clouds rolled in and we were all starting to get cold. We were hoping the food would have arrived sooner to warm us back up, but it didn't. After another 10 or so minutes we received our order and headed for home as fast as we could. We were all starving. The food was definitely worth the wait. It was soooo good! All of our sandwiches were tastier than tasty and the pancake balls dissolved in our mouths. We wanted more! Even my mom finished her sandwich, which she rarely does. I can't believe I haven't been to this restaurant before! Aside from the terribly long wait, one million thumbs up for the food! Sorry for the lack of pictures. I'm pretty sure I will make a trip back there again and I will be sure to take some pictures then.
That same evening Nadya and I carried out some Aloha Hawaiian BBQ & Asian Bistro for dinner. If we had not put in a 9-miler beforehand we probably wouldn't have eaten out again on the same day. Although the 9-miler was kinda miserable (Nadya ran circles around me and then left me in the dust), I'm kinda glad we did it because we were rewarded with more tasty food. Since we were too lazy and tired from our run, Nadya and I decided to call in a carry-out order. Looking at the menu, the dishes were split up into Hawaiian meals and a mix of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese meals. I'm not quite sure how authentic their "Hawaiian" menu is, but we wanted to try it anyway. So, we ordered the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken and Beef Combo, the Chicken Katsu, and the Spam Musubi. When we arrived to pick up our food there were no other customers there and we started to second guess our decision. But, the place was recommended to us by my sister who, like us, has been spoiled with lots of good food. So it can't be that bad. The restaurant is setup like your standard order-at-the-counter Asian joint. The place was very clean and the workers at the counter were very pleasant and nice. Driving back home, the aroma of the food filled the car and started making us even more hungry. Once back, we opened up our carry-out containers and BAM! Although very simple, the food looked delicious. The Spam Musubi consisted of a slice of Spam over rice and wrapped like sushi. It was delicious although it could use a little less rice. I'd say half the amount of rice would be perfect. I think too much rice covers up the tastiness of the Spam. For some that may be a good thing, but I LOVE Spam, so less rice for me please. The two entrees were served over lettuce with a side of steamed rice and a side of macaroni salad. I didn't care much for the macaroni salad, but everything else was delish! The sauces used on both entrees were tasty, the quality of the meat was pretty darn good, and the portions were quite large for the price. Our first experience with Aloha Hawaiian BBQ was excellent. Our post-run hunger may have added some taste to our meal but I would like to think that it didn't. We'll be back for sure! Maybe I'll try the Loco Moco next time...
 |
| Spam Musubi (Mmmmm Spam...) |
 |
| Hawaiian BBQ Chicken & Beef |
 |
| Chicken Katsu |
No comments:
Post a Comment