eat & drink

Summer is possibly best celebrated with drinks on the patio; an activity to wash away the day’s doldrums of paperwork, yard work — any kind of work — for a bit of revelry. As the sun hangs low in the evening sky and sweat beads on your beverage of choice, patio imbibing is the festive respite many demand this time of the year.

It’s my job to go to happy hours. But, to be completely honest, this gets repetitive because many happy hours offer the same specials. Occasionally, I come across one that goes above and beyond the rest. This is one such happy hour.

Borgata Pizza Cafe is an under-the-radar restaurant that should be brought up in “hidden gem” discussions. Skillfully catching floppy, high-tossed dough-discs for nearly four years now, this hard-working family operation doesn’t cut corners — not when slicing its pizzas into pie pieces, not when scratch-making its own crusts, sauce, meatballs, pastas and so on.

Grandview’s Local Cantina is a Mexican restaurant and bar that makes its bones by keeping things simple, but appropriately fun. The interior is characterized by roadhouse tchotchkes — license plates, hubcaps, sombreros, Polaroids and various aviary statuettes — and a mustachio theme. It all goes perfectly with Local Cantina’s self-described “taco truck with bar stools” vibe.

As I’m sure many have noticed Clintonville (specifically the few blocks between Crestview and Midgard roads) has become Columbus’ best new beer haven with The Crest Gatropub, Savor Growl and Studio 35.

In a scenario befitting far-fetched fiction, Buffalo, New York radically changed our country’s dining habits. Yeah, that unlikely “trend-setting” city began the hot-sauced chicken wings craze still raging all over these United States of Gourmet-rica.

Rosé wine: intriguingly blush-colored and seemingly suitable for spring drinking, but often overlooked.

The Crest Tavern was a beloved watering hole in Clintonville for decades, and with the complete overhaul — from the food and the drinks to an impressive interior and exterior renovation — the Crest Gastropub is born with the potential to become even more beloved. There’s a reason the place has been packed since it opened a few weeks ago.

A small stretch of Indianola Avenue has become a destination for discerning beer drinkers thanks to welcomed renovations at Studio 35, the Crest Gastropub and Savor Growl (formerly Weber Market). Each are longtime Clintonville businesses that underwent substantial transformations, including ramping up beer offerings.

Changes are foaming up at the Columbus Brewing Company, and they are all good. Not so good is the “Lucky us, construction season is in bloom” obstacle course currently separating diners from CBC. I’m strongly advising you not to let these minor detours deter you from enjoying CBC’s great-outta-the-gate weekend brunch.

Many were anxious to see how The CGS Group — a partnership known for the downtown nightclub scene, originally with Long Street District and then Park Street — would approach a beer-focused bar in The Pint House.

The nostalgic embrace of the grilled cheese sandwich is etched on the DNA of countless Americans. This crispy and gooey classic has a childhood-retrieving power that can transport eaters back to carefree after-school snacks, a quick sick-day comforting from a loving mother, maybe even the first thing someone learned to “cook.” No wonder a goodly number of drinking establishments capitalizing on such squishy memories sell on-the-cheap grilled cheese specials to enhance their booze-pouring bottom lines.

Portia’s Cafe defies first impressions. Though in lockstep with severe dietary restrictions, this new, strictly vegan enclave in Clintonville (it’s also raw food-friendly plus gluten- and GMO-eschewing) serves a cuisine that’s widely accessible, lively and inventive. In a similar vein, I realized that the Bach cello suites beautifully mourning during my initial visit were anomalous for such a bright and cheery restaurant (maybe they were just randomly on the radio).

Star Lanes Polaris is more than a bowling alley. The open space is divided into the usual bowling alley trappings — bar and restaurant, bowling lanes, pool table and shuffleboard, a game room — only the difference is panache. Every bit of Star Lanes is upscale, especially compared to its bowling alley brethren.

Smoked meat fans, rejoice!

Also: Mixed drinks will be served this year.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo by gobbling authentic — and cheap! — tacos in Columbus is remarkably delicious and easy these days. Yeah, we’ve come a long way since hamburger meat lining a sad Doritos-type “shell” squirted with “salsa” from a foil packet constituted Mexican food in this town.

Photography’s loss is our carnivore community’s gain. Though he’s assembled a great crew now, this makes-me-moan-like-Homer-Simpson sizzler of seductively oak-and-hickory-smoked, low-and-slow artisanal barbecue retains the vision of one no-nonsense man — James Ray Anderson.

Sometimes, white zinfandel can be a gateway wine. But when it’s the wine you can’t get past, one of two things can happen: You’re perfectly fine with it, or you wish you could expand your palette just a bit.

Clad in a pirate-jesting apron, “Captain Cook” (aka Brian Thornton) brings a sense of humor — plus a degree from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago — to the mostly one-man OH! Burgers.