ThisWeek Community Newspapers Reynoldsburg
June 23, 2011
Page C1
The Beat Arts, eats and fun in central Ohio
FAB 5 By Jim Fischer
jfischer@thisweeknews.com “We’re the young gen1 eration …” Well, we all were, once. Doesn’t mean that we can’t still have a little fun celebrating the 45th anniversary of The Monkees. Of course, when The Beat was the young generation, we watched the TV show, bought and listened to the records, took our sandwich to school in the lunchbox — heck, we tried to wear the clothes, or at least something like them. As an adult, we’ve had the pleasure of interviewing both Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork, two of the three original Monkees, with Davy Jones, that infrequently still make these treks to remind folks that “We may be coming to your town.” As in, Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Friday, June 24. Tickets are $40/$42. Call 1-800-7453000. got to be there, 2 so You’ve beat it down to the lawn at Chemical Abstracts Service Saturday, June 25, for a thriller
“The Music of Michael Jackson”
of a show as the Columbus Symphony Orchestra presents “The Music of Michael Jackson” at Picnic with the Pops. Aided by a full band fronted by singers James Delisco, Kelli Reisen and Felecia Barton, and conducted by Larry Baird, the CSO will pay tribute to the King of Pop on many of his best and well-known songs. Tickets are $20 for adults and $8 for children age 3-14. For tickets or other information, call (614) 228-8600. Kenny Chesney is the
3 embodiment of the American Dream. Armed with a dash of talent and an unquenchable desire to succeed, Chesney became a star. Heck, he’s not even confined to “country-music superstar” any more — he has transcended into
pop culture fixture. A n d while his career in Nashville began with a songwriter contract, he’s largely using s o n g s penned by others, meaning he’s making some good, albeit behind-the-scenes, people some money — like Matraca Berg, who, prior to her concert here last month, admitted to The Beat she is often plagued by selfdoubt. Berg co-wrote Chesney’s latest single, a duet with Grace Potter titled You & Tequila. Chesney plays Crew Stadium Saturday, June 25. Tickets are $94.50-$62.50. Call 1-800-7453000. Umphrey’s McGee is a genuine prog-rock band, the 4 musical test-tube baby of the Dixie Dregs and King Crimson. The Chicago sextet is equally adept at changing time signatures and the occasional pomp and circumstance as it is at ripping off groovy vocal harmonies. Improvisation is a staple of the UM live set. Tickets for the band’s Sunday, June 26, show at Lifestyle Communities Pavilion are $20/$25. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears (as perfect a name for a stompin’-good blues-soul outfit as you’re likely to find) opens. Call 1-800-745-3000.
Tim East5 on,For playing a gig in Columbus is coming home. The singer-songwriter isn’t a native, but he credits Columbus as his artistic crucible, where he “went to my first gigs” and “influential record stores.” Oh, yeah, he also forged his now-considerable reputation as a Tim Easton and the Madison Square Gardeners will play the Rumba writer and performer in Café Friday and Saturday, June 24-25. JP Olsen and the Malefactors central Ohio, both as a of Good Wealth will open. Tickets are $10. Call (614) 268-1841. solo artist and a member ganda label. of the oft-recalled The Haynes Boys. “The business side of things really takes up Since then, Easton has indulged his admitted wanderlust, making his home in such locales as your time,” Easton confessed. “It’s confounding New York City, Prague, Paris and Los Angeles. to me still. I’d rather hang out with my friends He now calls southern California’s desert high and play music, but you’re pretty much forced country home, although he told The Beat that, to do it.” He shifted much of his commerce operation to despite adding a daughter to his family and the benefits of putting down roots, he’s not convinced TimEaston.com, and this way, he said, “people at least know they’re dealing directly with me.” he’s settled down just yet. While working the business side of things for Easton said the setting is allowing him to get a lot of work done. The Beat is inclined to agree, Beat the Band, Easton recorded an album of new given he’s releasing two albums this summer and solo material, literally out by a campfire. Dubbed touring, amid the duties of fatherhood and home/ Since 1966: Vol. 1, the record is, in fact, all new material, although he admitted, “I like that peoland ownership. “I guess I’m a workaholic,” he said. “I seem ple might think these songs are old.” The title is derived from the practice of some to get busier and busier as I get older, and the computer, which was supposed to make our lives businesses, in particular those he encountered on easier, has only made it more hectic and busy.” a recent tour of Japan, to highlight how long Easton’s new Beat the Band record was made they’ve been around. “I’m not in my 20s any more, although I still with a crack group of musicians he dubbed The Freelan Barons and with whom he toured the feel like it,” Easton said. “I’ve traveled and done Midwest prior to making the record last year in this a while now and I have a different outlook because of that experience.” Nashville. Easton’s current tour features a full-time band, “I named it that way because it felt like we were a band,” Easton explained. “We had trav- The Madison Square Gardeners, and will feature eled together and worked the songs, and I had- the entire Beat the Band record, along with a n’t had an album with a band in a long time, so smattering of older tunes. Easton said each show will include a solo acoustic set as well. I made up the name.” “I’ve been able to make a living at this because “It’s a great record, a real album, a collection of songs that go together,” he said. “It’s a very of my solo acoustic stuff, but when you make an personal record and I’m really proud of it. It might album like (Beat the Band), you want to go out not be in a bunch of Top 50 Albums of the Year and play it,” he said. “And I love playing with a list but I think, as a piece of art, it really hangs in band.” there.” Easton’s commitment to the record remained For more from The Beat’s interview with Tim Easstrong as he pursued a distribution deal, ultimately ton, read the BeatBlog at www.ThisWeekNews. opting to release it on his own Campfire Propa- com/blogs.
Umphrey’s McGee
Radhuni is more exotic, less expensive than Indian Oven Lovers of the Indian Oven — and the Oven’s a player with tons of lovers — might suddenly be motivated to stray. See, the Oven’s handsome younger brother has blown into town, and he’s just as hot as the Oven, only even more interesting and exotic. Plus — and this’ll be a big plus for potential paramours — this one sits in an easily accessible neighborhood. Located on Olentangy River Road near Ackerman, Radhuni is the attractive newbie, and its seductive cuisine and proximity to Clintonville, OSU, Upper Arlington and Grandview portend a lengthy list of future friends. Count me in. Radhuni (Bengali for a potent and popular spice) occupies a brightly colored and sleek space that’s long and narrow, completely kitschless and virtually decoration-free. Other than few large and unconventional architectural storage elements, the eye-catchers are limited to a fire-engine red, sky-high ceiling and smooth, cream-colored walls
MENU by G.A. Benton further cooled by deep swaths of soothing blue paint. Radhuni’s food is as distinctive as its appearance. Oh, sure, you can get all of those ho-hum, same-old same-olds like tandoori chicken, but what makes this place special are much rarer dishes, many Bengali in origin. For a hearty starter, target the large and excellent alu kabobs ($6.25). Considering they’re huge and un-skewered tuber croquettes (alu means potato), they’re misleadingly labeled. Considering they’re absolutely delicious — a puffy and plump quartet of crisp breadcrumbed, cumin-kissed mashers with chopped hard egg in the middle — who cares? Equally fun, if a bit greasy, were fried Indochinese treats called cabbage chick-
By Jodi Miller/ThisWeek
The Bengali lamb shank at Radhuni.
en rolls ($7). These were like handmade spring rolls jammed with cabbage and a bunch of super-satisfying, mustard seed-powered, minced curried chicken. Chicken again was uncommonly interesting in two standout features listed under House Specialties (where I
was directed by well-informed waiters.) Chickpea chicken ($13) was a bone-in half-chicken stewed in a rich split garbanzo bean base bearing an intensified, dal-like flavor. Adding to the fingerlicking party were turmeric, ginger and a blast of what tasted like that crazy (and for me, addictive) Indian condiment called mixed pickle. The roasted chicken ($14) is one of those killer dinners with a prosaic name belying mouth-walloping flavors. Another half-bird on the bone was perfectly, succulently roasted and drenched in a complex, sweet and spicy, thick and sticky sauce featuring long-cooked onions with a zingy and cardamomleavened curry kick. Moving beyond poultry, the shrimp biryani ($17) had a lot going on, also. Basically a shareable saffron rice dish, it was populated with sweet little freshwater shrimp, coconut, raisins, crushed nuts, peas and Indian aromatics. My only problem with the luscious, unctuous and falling-off-the-bone Ben-
Radhuni Address: 2895 Olentangy River Road, campus Phone: (614) 447-9760 Web: radhunicuisine.com gali lamb shank ($15) was that I wanted more. A glistening, smallish leg of lamb was slathered with a tangy, rich and vinegar-aroused gravy deepened by red and green peppers. Potatoes and rice were provided to sop up every last bit of the wonderful sauce — but if you still lick your plate when nobody’s looking, I’d understand. For a refreshing but comforting dessert, try the cool and pleasantly viscous fruit custard ($5). Healthier than it tastes, it’s tangy homemade yogurt moderately sweetened with “a touch of cream” and chopped mangoes and mandarin oranges. Sure, Indian Oven also offers that, but (shhhh) it’s cheaper at Radhuni — and there are more things to do afterward nearby.
New Yabo’s Tacos touts chef-inspired fresh menu Classically trained by some of the best chefs in the country, Scott Boles has changed culinary directions, to say the least. On June 17, Boles and partners Brent King and Greg Debbe opened Yabo’s Tacos in the former Giammarco’s Pizza & Pasta site at 7097 state Route 3 in Westerville. But it’s not just any taco joint, Boles said. “I have my standards,” he said. They include beef and pork shoulder, each braised for 12 hours in a signature blend of spices. The fish tacos, made of cod loins, are topped with an ancho chile aioli. Yabo’s offers three distinct, homemade sauces: Serrano-lime (hot), chipotle (medium) and “Sissy” (mild) with a base of tomato and chiles. Each is offered tableside and for retail sale. Noth-
ing is frozen. “It’s still slow food,” Boles said. “It’s from-scratch preparation.” Yabo’s menu is pretty straightforward: tacos and burritos, using either white corn or flour tortillas, plus rice bowls and wraps. Aside from braised meats and fish, the menu offers grilled steak, shrimp, chicken and vegetables, and sautéed ground beef. Several salads topped with house-made dressing, plus a white bean and chicken chili and a vegetarian soup round out the menu selections. The 3,000-square-foot interior seats 75, with an additional 50 on the patio. The place has a full liquor license. (Giammarco’s has since moved down the street.)
Boles acknowledges the existing rivalry in the fresh-Mex market from taco trucks, Mexican restaurants, Chipotle, Qdoba and newcomer Hot Head Burritos, which has plans for at least a dozen stores in the Columbus market. “I expect us to see more competition in the future,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ve got a jump on them.” The partners have plans to open five more Yabo’s in the Columbus market. With inexpensive fare, beer and lots of TVs, they’re going after the sports-bar segment of the industry. Boles received an associate’s degree in hotel and restaurant management from Northeastern University and an associate’s degree in culinary arts from Bunker Hill Community College. He considers his top mentors to be Jim Berrini, former personal chef for President John F. Kennedy, and Arthur Bucceri, chef at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston. “I suppose what they taught me the most are the lessons of technique,” Boles said. “Technique is key, giving you a style that’s your own and hopefully different and stands out more than other cooks.” Working mostly in resorts across the country, and owning two restaurants of his own, Boles said hasn’t been an active chef for more than 15 years. His life after the restaurant business included everything from being a district manager for a vending-machine business to hawking cell phones to joining the corporate world. But nothing had to do with food. He cooked for many charity events and taught cooking classes to keep fresh, but the restaurant business kept tugging at his apron strings. But he didn’t want to live in the kitchen, something required in a full-service restaurant. By Chris Parker/ThisWeek “Now I’m having a different kind of fun,” he said. Greg Debbe, Scott Boles and Brent King have partnered to open Yabo’s Tacos, a quick-serve restauThe restaurant is open for lunch and dinner hours rant that serves Tex-Mex fare with a Southwestern flair; at 7097 state Route 3 in Westerville. daily. For more information, call (614) 212-4090.
www.ThisWeekNews.com/foodandwine Wine Wisdom author Roger Gentile says the screw top is not the enemy, as evidenced by its use in the impressive 2009 D’Arenberg Stump Jump Shi- Roger raz. Gentile
Wendy Hunsinger
The versatile burrata is perfect for summer snacking, cheese guru Wendy Hunsinger says.
Recipe of the week
Tasmanian king salmon, courtesy of Bradley Balch of Tucci’s.
Figs Café & Bakery is now a catering outfit. The Northwest Side restaurant, specializing in international cuisines, just didn’t get the anticipated foot traffic, so walk-in dining is no longer accepted, owner Florence Isatu Gbaya said. Figs is at 5230 Bethel Center Mall. For more information, call (614) 556-9385.