The Crafty Pint

The OG brunch crew

Happy summer, brunchers! This week, we finally all got back together, in addition to a few friends, to take you to... the Crafty Pint! Located on Dublin Granville Road, this place is a little far out, but still a cool place nonetheless.

cool chalk stuff

The Crafty Pint offers a wide selection of brunching items, from traditional breakfast to a few things that are a little more unique.

The Crafty Pint has taken the rustic industrial crafty design and ran with it. Lots of wood, metal, bandana napkins and mason jars. We chose to sit on the patio on this particularly warm summer Sunday morning, where the design aesthetic carried out. It's a cool atmosphere and makes for an enjoyable dining experience.

Ok, well anyway, let's get down to business. Per usual we'll start with drinks.

Coffee was good. Pretty standard medium roast coffee. The creamer served in little glass jars was a nice touch, though.

The mimosa was much more champagne than orange juice at this joint, but I can't complain when I get extra alcohol in the morning!

The Bloody Marys were decent. Served in regular and spicy variety, we tried both. My (Marissa) regular Mary was good, but it was... yes, you guessed it, a bit too pickley. But I just added some A1 sauce which seemed to counter the acidity of the pickliness. And in all honesty, that's part of the beauty of the Bloody Mary; it's basically just a hodge podge of stuff until you get the right taste.

Ok, on to the main event: food!

Grant: Per usual, I was drawn in by one of the southwestern items on the menu and ordered the chorizo hash. This included chorizo, cheese, and crafty potatoes topped with two sunny eggs. Crafty potatoes are a mix of regular potatoes, sweet potatoes, and some kind of purple potato thing that was actually really good. I didn't think that the sweet potato belonged in this one and kind of took away from it. It also seemed to be missing something and ended up being pretty bland. I really liked this place for the atmosphere, but the food was just ok and kind of expensive for breakfast. I guess I would say this place is worth a try, but with places like Ethyl and Tank and Hang Over Easy out there I don't plan on going back any time soon. 

Marissa: I chose to go with the Toad in a Hole... partly because it sounded good and partly because I like the name. The Crafty Pint's toad in a hole is unique in the way that rather than regular old toast, they use french toast. Upon presentation, the toad in a hole looked like a sandwich: two slices of french toast with fried eggs in the middle, stuffed with bacon and arugula served with a side of crafty potatoes. I don't like arugula so I took that out. I ate the bacon separate from the sandwich, which was my personal preference, but I'm sure if it stayed on the sandwich it would be just as good. I was pretty into the crafty potatoes... I've never had a purple potato before but I think that purple potato was the prize winner of the entire plate. It was a good meal, but was nothing spectacular.

Lil toad in the hole

Devyn: Today, the biscuits and gravy were calling my name. With the rich chorizo buttermilk gravy and cheddar biscuits this meal sounded too good to be true..and it might have been a little bit. The plate that came out sort of resembled meatballs and tomato sauce and I had to refresh myself on what I actually ordered. I was skeptical at first as the biscuits were very firm to cut with a fork but the bread and gravy together was actually pretty good. I ordered asparagus on the side so as not to be overtaken by the avalanche of gravy. Wise choice on my part. All in all this meal was ok, after tasting some of the other meals at the table I'll probably choose another dish next time around.

Other meals that were tried were the Farmhouse, which is a substantial meal made up of eggs, waffles, potatoes and bacon, and the crab cake benedict. Both dishes were successful, though the crab cake benedict was heavy on the hollandaise.

Farmhouse

Sunny side up eggs, or boobs.

Overall, the Crafty Pint is a cool place with potential. The food was good, but a bit pricey for the lack of stand out flavor.

Ratings:

Food: 2.8

Drinks: 3.2

Price: 2.5

Atmosphere: 3.6

Leaving our mark

Katalina's at Oddfellows

What's this?! 

Thats right people, the Columbus Brunch Crew is back in action!

This week we were going to take you to Katalina's, but due to some time constraints and a line out to the sidewalk, we decided to forgo the brick and mortar restaurant and head to Oddfellows Liquor Bar. Here they serve Katalina's brunch and "munch" foods from 10am - 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. 

We arrived just after 10am and were please to discover that we were the first people there and we took advantage of it!

The front windows were open to the sidewalk which was perfect for our morning brunch. The unique and colorful chairs made out of old wine barrels made for comfortable seating and primo for taking in the sights.

During its day job Oddfellows is a cool and quirky bar with so much character. The seemingly random decor all melds together to form an infinitely interesting sensory experience. This coupled with the attentive and friendly bar staff makes it a must on any Columbus bar list. 

First off, drinksssss:

We went for the classics to see what Oddfellows had to offer:

The Mimosa was great as far as they go. Just the right amount of orange juice and champagne to make a bubbly and delicious morning drink (I may or may not have had two!)

The Bloody Mary's were AWESOME. The perfect blend of peppery and tomato-ey to satisfy any bruncher. It also came with a wedge of smoked gouda and a cherry tomato skewered for your enjoyment. 

 Now for the foods:

Apparently you can't eat at Katalina's without sampling their famous pancake balls. These are little pillows of goodness that can be made with either Nutella or dulce de leche filling. They also come with a side of her "Sweet n' Spicy" bacon. Aka heaven. They also provide a cup of syrup on the side for dipping. I have to say this may have been my favorite brunch item so far on this tour. The pancake balls were light and fluffy, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Even with the sweetness of the fillings, the syrup was a great compliment to the dish. And I think it goes without saying that the bacon was tasty and perfect. It was nice to have the bacon as a break in the sweetness of the pancakes. All around a goooooood choice from this restaurant. 

Next up next is the breakfast tacos. Three tacos with egg, chorizo, green salsa, tomato, and cheese on corn tortillas. These were a great option for those looking for a little bit of mexican flair in their brunch experience. Filling and wonderfully tasty, I'm happy to report that we left with an empty plate!

Last but not least is the Katalina's Mazatlan pork and egg sandwich. I mean it when I say this sandwich is GOOD. Big slices of crusty bread with tender shredded pork, a fried egg, fresh avocado and roasted peppers. Being full from our individual meals didn't stop us from trying bite after bite of this sandwich. The nice crunch of the bread paired well with the tender meat and veggies. Definitely a must try.

All and all this was a great Sunday brunch spot. Not too busy, great seating, fast and friendly service makes Katalina's at Oddfellows a fun and enjoyable place to eat and drink. Don't forget to check out Oddfellows during their normal business hours during the week too!

Ratings:

Food: 4.5

Drinks: 4.5

Price: 4

Atmosphere: 5!