The Suisse Shop

Where was The Suisse Shop when I was choosing wedding cake? The answer is: Polaris Parkway, where they've been located since 2003, quietly dominating the Columbus wedding cake market. And actually, wedding cake is just one thing they've perfected. Perfection is the name of The Suisse Shop's game and as much as it sounds like hyperbole, all of The Suisse Shop's offerings are flawless. They hit a magical point of balance with each product, never being overly rich or cloying texture while still offering an amazing flavor profile.

In The Suisse Shop's nearly 27 year history, European pastries have been their specialty, offering an authentic product made with the highest quality ingredients available. We sampled a beautiful array of cakes, pastries and cookies during our visit, here are a few of my favorites:

Chocolate Decadence Torte - This comes as close to chocolate cake perfection as one can get. The cake has a delicate texture with deep rich chocolate flavor and the butter-cream frosting's impossibly smooth texture make for the perfect finish.

Pumpkin Walnut Pound Cake - Normally, i can take or leave things that fit into either the "pound cake" or "pumpkin" categories, but this was really tasty. The pound cake highlighted the delicate flavor of the pumpkin, allowing the spices to play a supporting role in the background - right where they belong.

Sugar Cookie - The sugar cookie is the bar by which i judge baking. so simple and yet so easy to get wrong. The Suisse Shop's sugar cookie is just slightly chewy, having the perfect amount of body that plays well against the light and heavenly icing. Not one hint of the overly sugary "so sweet it will make your mouth ache" some sugar cookies can be guilty of (I'm looking at you Cheryl's Cookies).

Suisse Almond Torte - If The Suisse Shop had a signature item, this would be it. And signature worthy, it is. The pure, rich flavor of natural almond really translates in this torte, providing a rich background for the raspberry filling, which sings on top of it all.

What impressed me about The Suisse Shop was the painstaking and impeccable detail that goes into creating their product. Only the best ingredients are sourced from around the globe (you won't find any crisco in this kitchen), recipes are researched and perfected (sometimes for years!) before they hit the cases and quality and consistency are never compromised. Another thing I love about The Suisse Shop is that their products are priced appropriately. What you're paying a fair price for is quality, not pretension or trend. Five inch versions of their tortes, called "Cute Cakes" are available for $15. Speaking of trendy, Columbus Monthly named The Suisse Shop's cupcakes the best in Columbus, and considering the competition, that's no small feat.

And even though this gem just recently hit my radar, The Suisse Shop has plenty of loyal clientele who have been worshiping them for years. Seasonal orders for pies and cookies book up quickly, so if you'd like to serve The Suisse Shop goodies this Thanksgiving, you should get on the phone now. Pictured (from top, clockwise): Chocolate Chip Cookie, Princess Bar Cookie, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie and Coconut Triangle.

The Suisse Shop
2119 Polaris Parkway
Columbus, Ohio 43240
614.846.5102

*This review was completed upon request for Columbus Underground. Thanks for asking me, guys!

the thurmanator

mark lyle has done it again. on saturday, march 28th at three in the afternoon, mark lyle "the human vacuum" consumed two entire thurmanators with all the fixings. showing up with his requisite bottle of sports drink, he bellied up to the table and got it done. for those not familiar with the thurmanator, it is (from the bottom up): bun, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle, hot peppers, 12 oz burger, bacon, cheddar, another 12 oz burger, sauteed onion, mushroom, green pepper, ham, american and provolone cheese, and a bun to top it off. this monstrosity is served with a huge pile of greasy thurman's fries. even half of one thurmanator is enough to bring a grown man to his knees. here's a shot of mark with the first thurmanator:mark never ceases to amaze. keep an eye on my twitter feed for announcements on when he'll strike again.
a word of advice to anyone who would like to tackle a thurmanator (or any of thurman's other delicious offerings) be prepared to wait! thurman's popularity has grown exponentially since the man vs. food episode featuring the thurmanator aired.

thurmanator announcement

mark lyle, the human vacuum, will attempt to set a record for "most thurmanators eaten" at thurman's this saturday at 2:30pm. come down and cheer him on, or watch my twitter feed for live coverage.

dagwood record conquered!

much to my horror and amusement, mark "the human vacuum" lyle has beaten the dagwood world record.

dagwood lore: the dagwood challenge began when a customer ate the dagwood in 13 minutes and then finished it off with pie. the next milestone came when one josh matko finished it off in 6 minutes. then in march 2008, a valiant young group of columbus underground guys took the challenge as a group. thanks in no small part i'm sure, to the internet infamy of the columbus underground group, the dagwood was subsequently featured on man vs. food. then, flying under the radar, an unnamed amateur swooped in and beat the 6 minute mark by 30 seconds, raising (or is it lowering?) the bar to 5.5 minutes.

and so we arrive at present day. mark "the human vacuum" lyle is ready to kick off his pre-retirement tour, his "adventure in gluttony", by beating the dagwood record. driving to the ohio deli, i was nervous. i wasn't sure it could be done. and i didn't want mark to fail. and i wasn't sure just how bad the carnage would be.

the waitress brought out the dagwood, mark settled in and was off to devour the dagwood. he quickly disassembled the sandwich and the meat was gone in under 50 seconds. he spent less than 2 minutes each on the bread and then fries and in just 4 minutes and 44 seconds, it was all gone.

mark finishes off the deli meat

and when it's over, he takes a victory lap with two pieces of chocolate cream pie

notice the gaping whole on the wall of champions -it's where mark's record will be posted

a 4 minute, 44 second record is an auspicious start to his pre-retirement tour and i've got to admit, i'm hooked. mark is a fierce competitor, entertaining to watch and extremely gracious. i'm looking forward to more adventures in gluttony.

think you can eat a dagwood in under 6 minutes?

mark "the human vacuum" lyle does. and he's going to prove it at 2:30pm this saturday, march 21st.

as a refresher, the dagwood is a monster of a sandwich, containing 2.5 lbs of deli meat and accompanied by a healthy portion of fries. but the real kicker is the bun. it's huge and it doesn't go down easy. you have 30 minutes to eat the whole thing, and if you prevail, you get your picture on the wall and a tshirt that reads "i defeated the dagwood".
when foodie friends from columbus underground decided to tackle the dagwood, only 7 out of 11 could meet the challenge, the best of them finishing in 12 minutes.
and while i have my doubts that this record can be beaten, if anyone can do it, that person is mark.
i'll be tweeting it, so tune in!

the ohio deli and restaurant
3444 south high street
columbus, ohio 43207

i heart competitive eating

i love competitive eating. it's a real spectacle. it's exciting and a little disgusting to watch. and it's fun for the whole family.
there's a feeling of empathy all spectators feel for professional eaters that doesn't exist in other competitive sports. i don't have any idea what it's like to get tackled, score a home run or slam dunk a basket ball. but everyone knows what it's like to eat too much, and witnessing people eat past the boundaries of sane and safe consumption is a horrific thing of beauty.

so when mark "the human vacuum" lyle (ranked 5th in the world according to AICE)announced he would be setting out on a pre-retirement "adventure in gluttony", i knew i had to watch.

as a warm up to defeating such behemoths such as the dagwood and the thurmonator, this weekend mark entered in an all you can eat coney contest put on by the dublin skyline chili.

the contest:
30 minutes
as many coneys as you can eat
no vomiting
the winner gets free skyline for a year (52 certificates for a 3-way & coney)
$20 entry fee goes to a local food pantry -way to go skyline!

mark came out swinging, polishing off 12 coneys in the first 14 minutes:
the crowd immediately began to buzz as people realized mark wasn't your average competitor:
one contestant was especially cute, and a fierce competitor to boot!:

about 20 minutes into the contest, it became apparent that mark would be the winner. he slowed down a bit and watched the runner up, who was stalled around coney number 10. mark was feeling good, speculating that he thought he could probably do 25 coneys if he needed to.
when it was all said and done, mark won by putting down 15 coneys. the runner up ate 11 coneys.

after being awarded the "free skyline for a year", he graciously gave it to the little girl who did such a great job of competing earlier.

i've got to say, this was a really fun event. the kind folks at skyline did a great job putting it on and raised $265 for a local food pantry. it was nice to meet mark and chat with him a bit. i'll be following up shortly to talk more about the IACE, mark and the details of his next conquest.

on a side note, i really spend much more time on twitter than blogger these days. i'm mostly tweeting about & twitpic'ing what i eat with other random thoughts thrown in. i've been (and will be) tweeting the food events i attend. so if you don't tweet, give it a try and check me out.

the dagwood challenge

edit 2.13.09: i'm bumping this post to the top because of the comment i received last night. if mark is willing to allow me to document his efforts, i'm happy to return from hiatus. there's nothing that fascinates/horrifies/turns me on, more than competitive eating.

the premise is simple: eat a sandwich in under 30 minutes and you get a t-shirt and your picture on the wall.
simple, unless the sandwich is this monster:
behold, the dagwood from the ohio deli and restaurant. consisting of a whopping two and a half pounds of meat, a huge bun and accompanied by a hearty pile of fries. jim from cmh gourmand met the challenge and blogged about it here. his feat of strength and endurance got the folks at columbus underground talking and soon an event was born.

shortly after the competition began, we asked the waitress who held the record for eating the dagwood and she brought us this picture. 6 minutes?!?!?
11 competitors began this challenge, only 7 finished. sufficed to say, this was an amazing spectacle.

after finishing his sandwich, the fries and a piece of pie, this guy got a bloody nose. you heard it here: the dagwood may cause internal bleeding. jim, sporting his third "i defeated the dagwood" shirt.

the victors.

the ohio deli and restaurant
3444 south high street
columbus, ohio 43207

gone fishing

other priorities in my life are competing for my time - and winning. so for now, i'm closing up shop. maybe inspiration will strike when the growing season starts.
until then,
h

rad dog meatless gourmet hotdogs

i love street food. and i love hot dogs. so when i heard about a new vegetarian hot dog vendor in town, i had to check it out.
rad dog veggie hot dogs doesn't disappoint, i think this is as good as vegetarian hot dogs get. a friend and i ate our dogs on a high street bench and thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace in the old lunch routine.
rad dog offers kraut, chili or peppers & onions for toppings in addition to the standard ketchup, mustard and relish. they also offer blue sky soda (made with real sugar!) and delicious vegan cookies from pattycake bakery. yummy, cheap, healthy and fun! rad dog moves around town, so check out his website to see where you can catch him.

sweet summer treats

often life gets too busy for me to visit my parents in western new york as often as i'd like. however, the fourth of july is one holiday i try never to miss. when i was growing up, christmas and the fourth of july were the two holidays our entire family got together. both holidays are filled with great food traditions and memories, but the fourth is my favorite for one reason - cherries. i have really fond memories of picking cherries with my mom and grandparents as a child, memories i've been lucky to recreate as an adult.

so this year when my parents and i loaded into the car and drove out into the country in search of u-pick cherries, the news that almost the entire sweet cherry crop had been destroyed by hail came as a big disappointment. but we were determined to pick something, so we headed out to find the next best crop that was in season - raspberries.
we found raspberries to pick and in one fun, sweaty and sticky hour, we picked about six pounds. we ate a good bit while picking and back at the house, about a pound was turned into raspberry sauce and eaten over ice cream and the rest went onto cookie sheets to be frozen and then stored in bags for enjoying later.
the cherries, strawberries (and corn, peas and tomatoes) were purchased at the farm stands we stopped at along the way to locate a farm that offered u-pick raspberries. - a tasty price we were happy to pay. this cute little robin's nest was right in the middle of a large raspberry bush!

the hulk

when i want something yummy, easy, good for you, and satisfying, this dish really fits the bill. i usually make "the hulk" pasta on sunday evening and parse it out for lunches that week. i call it "the hulk" for two reasons: as a tribute to a bonotogo pizza called the "hulk" that is topped with green toppings and because this is a really nutritionally dense dish that will make you as strong as the hulk.

the hulk pasta

1 lb whole wheat pasta (or barilla plus, which i prefer)
1/2 lb frozen edemame
1/2 lb frozen broccoli
1/2 cup prepared pesto (i like trader joe's)
pecorino romano

cook pasta, with 4ish minutes left, add broccoli and edemame to pot. drain and return to pot. add pesto. top with pecorino romano when serving.

akai hana wakes me up in the middle of the night

here it is, my kryptonite - the sweet potato tempura roll at akai hana. i know it's not hardcore, but i don't eat sushi to be a bad ass. you'll never see me order uni. yuck.

the sweet potato roll consists of radish sprouts (cute and tasty!), spicy mayo (yes please!) and sweet potato tempura (does it get better?) just thinking about it starts a powerful craving. it's such a pleasing combination of tastes and textures. the sweet and crispy potato plays perfectly against the creamy spicy mayo and the slight crunch and bite of the radish sprouts.
here's a peek at akai hana's party boat for four. who doesn't love a boat filled with sushi and delivered to your table? the service and atmosphere at akai hana are great, just be sure to call for a reservation if you'd like a table on the weekend.

akai hana
1173 old henderson road
columbus, ohio 43220
614.451.5411

tweet!

for a few months i've been twittering, so if you'd like to tune in to what's on my mind 24/7, check me out: http://twitter.com/sopressata

twitter is a microblogging site that i almost exclusively update via my smartphone. it's what i'm thinking and doing in 140 characters or less, which is almost always food related.

cafe lola

working downtown, i start to salivate every time i hear of a new restaurant opening within walking distance of work. so when cafe lola popped up as part of the nbc studios extravaganza at broad and high, i had to check it out. adding to my anticipation was the news that cafe lola is a kevin ames restaurant. past ventures of his are two places i still miss: frezno and dagwoodz.

cafe lola does a great job of serving speedy, straightforward cafe food. lunch offerings are expansive, covering sandwiches, quesadillas, pizzas, salads and soup. and while the menu, atmosphere and service may not the swankiest in town, they really seem to have lunch down to a science. service is quick (study that menu before you get in line or you'll wind up stammering and staring up at the huge menu like i did) and food is brought out to your table when it's ready. i chose the turkey, roasted red pepper & provolone panini and wasn't disappointed. the bread was perfectly toasty and the turkey, veggies, and cheese were fresh, tasty appropriately warm and gooey. i had a side of the pasta salad and found it to be decent.

other items on the menu i've made a mental note to return to try: blt pizza (kryptonite!), italian sandwich, spicy thai noodle salad, and the grilled lime chicken pizza.

patio seating will be a treat when it opens, cafe lola is in the heart of columbus' ever improving downtown.

cafe lola
12 e. broad street
columbus, ohio 43215
p 614.754.8804

annual salmon roast at the hills market

even though salmon is not my favorite protein, the idea of a fresh fish being grilled for hundreds about a mile from my house was too good to resist. and i'm a sucker for food events. so the husband and i jumped in the car, met a friend at the hills market and got into a line that stretched almost to the end of the shopping center. the line moved quickly and hills had ingeniously set up product demos the entire way. the salmon sandwiches are served with the hills coleslaw and an onion sauce, both complimented the salmon well. this was a tasty sandwich! the aroma of the grill, the beautiful sunshine, live music and relaxed family picnic atmosphere really added to the experience. we chatted with the young men grilling the salmon, who told us the aroma of grilled salmon seeped into their pores enough that they didn't plan any dates for the couple of days following the roast. thanks for your sacrifice guys, it was well worth it.

the hills market maintains an excellent website where you can get tips on future food events (like wine tastings), read about featured products and all sorts of other tasty tidbits.

the hills market
7860 olentangy river road
columbus, ohio 43235
p: 614.846.3220

i heart sauce cartel

sauce cartel is a fantastic local purveyor of hot sauce. i've gushed about them in the past and here's a review of two of their best sauces:

green wave
this is a great sauce. it is so enjoyable i’d suggest that sauce cartel start selling it in at least 10 oz jars. the peppery notes are the first thing you’ll notice upon smelling green wave, they hit the pepper just right in this sauce with both jalapeno and black pepper prominently featured. the second thing that I noticed about green wave was the slightly sweet taste of pineapple. the lighter citrus flavors of pineapple are the perfect foil to the darker, more complex pepper of the jalapeno. for those who don’t want to hurt themselves when eating hot sauce, this is great. you get a nice middle-of-the-tongue heat that just builds slightly the more you eat. as tempting as it is to eat directly from the bottle, i really wanted to use it in a way that highlighted the excellent flavors. using the green wave, i came up with this recipe for fresh pineapple salsa:

pineapple jalapeno salsa

2 cups diced fresh pineapple

1/3 cup diced red onion

¼ cup diced jalapeno

¼ cup chopped cilantro

juice of 1 lime

2 tbs green wave sauce

locura mayan
locura mayan really highlights sauce cartel’s flair for flavor. these guys aren’t afraid to make a really mild sauce, the complex flavors stand on their own, with no need to hide behind a million scoville units. this sauce has a savory, smoky aroma, but that’s just where locura mayan begins. the balance between the smoky and sweet is what really stands out about this sauce. in the background there’s the magical complexity of sun dried tomato and the slight bite of vinegar. my husband commented he’d love to pour it on a chipotle burrito. hey sauce cartel – want to wholesale to chipotle?

where could i be...?

other priorities are hogging up my time. i'll be back soon, i promise.

veggie soup

i've been craving veggie soup and came up with this hearty version this weekend:

veggie soup

2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
2 handfuls of baby carrots
18 cups vegetable stock
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 package frozen spinach
1 lb shelled edamame
1 tbs basil
1 tbs oregano
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 package harvest grains blend from trader joe's

dice onion, carrots and celery and saute in olive oil until softened in large stock pot. add all remaining ingredients except harvest grains and simmer for 40 minutes. add harvest grains and simmer for at least 20 more minutes.

i really like the edamame in this soup. they retain their texture and add a great boost of nutrients. the harvest grains from trader joe's consist of israeli couscous, yellow lentils, orzo and quinoa. any other healthy grain, like barley for example, would do for substitution.

i heart northstar

northstar cafe offers the perfect warm-you-up treat for cold winters days: hot chocolate and a raisin oatmeal cookie. the northstar's hot chocolate is so rich and decadent, i could make a meal of it. it's topped with cold, dense whipped cream and bits of dark chocolate covered in cocoa powder. so good!

fiery foods festival

i've been anticipating the fiery foods festival at the north market for a couple of weeks and it definitely didn't disappoint. we started by sampling products from sauce cartel, urban chefs and montezuma brands. now, i like hot food but don't really go for anything that could be classified as "stupid hot". i favor distinctive flavors with good back of the mouth heat. sauce cartel sells hot sauces that use a variety of fruits for flavor and sweetness that were really excellent. plus, the guys from sauce cartel positively ooze passion and excitement for their product. we picked up some green river sauce, made with pineapple and jalepenos. we also bought some soulicious wing sauce from urban chefs that had a great balance of heat, vinegar and smokiness.

next stop was cajohn's, for whom i've got a deep and abiding love. i sampled "the world's hottest chili" made with the the naga jolokia (scoville rating of 1 million!) i think the chili tasted good, but all i can really recall is my mouth burning for about twenty minutes after i sampled it. taking a break for lunch we had some pho ga from lac viet, a dish that never disappoints. don't miss the house-made chili sauce in the red quirt bottles. after lunch we attended "a chilihead's perspective" given by joe from the hot zone, a blog devoted to hot and spicy food products and chilihead culture. he talked briefly about the naga jolokia (pictured), the scoville rating system, chilihead culture and the online chilihead community. the "wings of fire" hot wing eating challenge was by far the high point of the day. a riveting mix of pain, testosterone, intestinal fortitude, endurance and sheer will, this competition was a real spectacle. presided over by the fine folks a cajohn's, there were two competitions. the rules were thus: contestants could surrender at any time by holding up a "surrender" sign or by taking a drink. for each round they had three wings to eat in 90 seconds, a 2 minute wait until the next round of three wings came out, with each round of wings getting successively hotter. among the hot sauces used for the competitions were: ignite, cojohns, ace, talon, and sauce 10. for the final round, a plate of ten wings covered in sauce 10 was placed in front of remaining contestants. whoever ate the most wings in 3 minutes was crowned the winner. halfway into the competition competitors' eyes were bulging and blinking, sweat glistening on their foreheads. in the last round of the competition, the guy i had pegged for the winner got sauce 10 in his eye and faltered. he did resume eating but the gentleman in the foreground of the picture below ended up winning the first competition.a contestant throwing in the towel:

the second competition was pretty fierce with representatives from the hot zone and sauce cartel competing. unfortunately, gary from sauce cartel dropped out: which left two competitors at the very end to be crowned co-champions. as joe from the hot zone limped away, guzzling a pint of milk, i heard him say "i think i saw god". now that my friends, is some fiery food.