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I saw it on cable news one day… the local news the next.  The price of rice has gone up and there is rationing  I mean limiting at some stores. 

I bought a 10 pound bag of basmati rice for a family a couple of years ago as a Christmas present but kept it when I realized they had a 40 pound bag.  They’re  big basmati rice eaters…. they finished their 40 pounds loooooong before we finished the 10 pound (I bought it partly because I loved the fabric bag with a zipper top it was in… very pretty packaging.) 

This past Christmas this family gave me a 2 pound bag of basmati rice. 

The supply of some rice is a global problem according to a Busineess Week Article.   The news  just hit the US  media this week??? 

The Columbus Dispatch today has an article that local “big box” stores are limiting ” “Stores limit purchases of big bags of rice.”  I bought my big bag of rice (which lasted almost a year?  or was it two years?)  at Spice World on Worthington - Galena Road, an Indian Market.  I have bought basmati rice at Kroger before… I have never even been in Costco or a Sam’s Club so the limiting is probably not going to affect me.

According to the Columbus Dispatch article local restaurants are affected:

“Allyson Chang, owner of three Asian restaurants in Columbus, hopes the hike in rice prices doesn’t get steeper. She buys about 1,500 pounds of rice per week for her three restaurants: Hunan Lion on Bethel Road, Hunan House on E. Dublin-Granville Road and Kobe on Morse Road.

Last week, she paid 25 percent more for every 50-pound bag of rice. That’s the steepest increase Chang has seen in her 20 years running restaurants in Columbus. “

According to the Columbus Dispatch Chang said menu prices will not go up.

Lunch today “Bisible Bhath” over leftover basmati rice from last weekend.  Bisibele Bhath is a “spiced and cooked rice & lentil” dish, a prepared meal imported from India (bought at Spice World) according to the package.  In the Columbus Dispatch article in today’s paper it says :

“Retail experts said there is little evidence of “panic” hoarding by the public. As of now, it appears restaurants and smaller retailers have been buying up most of the stock on the expectation that prices will continue to rise.”


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706 N. State St. Westerville Ohio 43082

We finally visited the Westerville Las Margaritas in the ice and snow last night… and I was disappointed.

Maybe it was the anticipation of hearing from so many people how great Las Margaritas is…

Maybe because it was a Friday in Lent so we were looking for something on the menu without meat…

Maybe it is a matter of personal taste…

The chips were blah. The salsa was bland.

Las Margarita’s chile relleno is battered so I could not try it…

My vegetarian enchiladas were ok…

I brought my charra beans home. I tasted them… Maybe after I eat the charra beans I will have changed my mind…

We’ll go back and try Las Margaritas again. We’ll give it a second chance.

Columbus Mexican Restaurants… breaking news

Columbus Mexican Restaurant Poll

I went to a real restaurant last weekend…. and I am shy about blogging about it. Of course I am not a food blogger. I don’t take a camera to dinner with me… by real restaurant I mean it was not fast food, it was not a chain… there were not chips and salsa on the table. I had forgotten how good the food at the Polaris Grill is.

I have been to the Polaris Grill a number of times, just not lately. I’d forgot that Polaris Grille was a “55 Restaurant” The only one that is left? I had forgot about the 55 Salad until I saw the menu… I had a filet… it was good but my taste buds were singing “Same Old Lang Syne” for that 55 Salad…. and still are.

I believe I was only at 55 on the Boulevard once or twice… same for the 55 at Crosswoods. Four of us at the business dinner at Polaris Grill last Saturday night had gone to the 55 on the Boulevard about ten years ago…

The address of the Polaris Grill is 1835 Polaris Parkway, Columbus Ohio 43240. Sitting on the exit ramp from 71 north you are right in front of the Polaris Grill so it has to be off of Pulsar Place or Orion off Polaris Parkway… doesn’t it? Going through that area so often but not going to the restaurant in maybe four or five years we knew it was there but where? There is a sign for the Polaris Grill just south of the Steak and Shake… they also have a Polaris Parkway address… I don’t get it. Map for Polaris Grill.

What’s the best barbecue in Central Ohio?  I read a post from one of the local food bloggers that Smackie’s on Cleveland Avenue is great.  Someone else I talked to said it was horrible.

Talking to someone from the part of the world where W. Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio intersect… or there abouts she was raving about the new Shanes Rib Joint at Polaris.  She said it was “more Southern.”

Shanes Rib Joint - More Barbecue in the Polaris Area 

Hoggy’s Polaris Area

Add your favorite Central Ohio place for barbecue under “other”  if it’s not on the list.  Say where it is located if you can, please.



In the center of the HER Realtors Cookbook, 15th edition there is a “Dining Guide” which HER Realtors (now known as Real Living HER) published with The Other Paper.

I believe the 15 Edition Cookbook was published in 1998, it was the 42nd anniversary of the company which was established in 1956.

The Dining Guide looks very much like what you see in The Other Paper, where they list Central Ohio Restaurants, provide the address and phone number, give a short review and then indicate the cost of food at the restaurant… with dollar signs.

It says “HER Realtors Dining Guide, An Alternative to Cooking at Home” then at the bottom it says “published in cooperation with The Other Paper. I wish I had an issue of The Other Paper to see if there is a change in how the information about restaurants is presented in 2007. I believe most of the listings would have a url listed now for a website. I think most restaurants now have a web page. Or do they?

Think the 1998 Dining Guide is totally out of date? Central Ohio is a competitive market for restaurants. They come and they go… I did not recognize the first restaurant in the dining guide although it is on Reed Rd. but I called and it is still there!

The Central Ohio restaurants in this guide are divided by type so I wanted to see if any of the Mexican restaurants listed were still in business. I think of Mexican restaurants as very competitive in Central Ohio. When I moved to Central Ohio I could only find Talita’s on High Street (Tex Mex) and Chi-Chis…. I know that’s not authentic… but at some point the Mexican restaurants in Columbus multiplied and it seemed like they come and go… I just realized a north east side restaurant I frequented is gone. Columbus Mexican Restaurants… breaking news.   Yes I know it’s not authentic, I know it’s a chain… I love the charra beans…

Who was in the 1998 Dining Guide?

• Cancun on Maple Canyon… Gone. We ate there a number of times. One time we drove up and some new restaurant was there… Cancun had good chile rellenos.

• Chile Verde Cafe - on Sawmill Rd. at Bethel, Carriage Place Shopping Center. Open! Great food made my list of my ten favorite Central Ohio Mexican Restaurants.

• Vaquero - the first two locations, Riverside Drive and Olentangy River Rd. Open!

• Estrada - on King Ave. Open! I have never eaten there…

Pretty stable after nearly a decade. Three out of four remain in business. They must be good. Does Chile Verde not have a website? Wow… I can find reviews and directories but not a site for Chile Verde Cafe. Same for Estrada… maybe all restaurants do not have an online presence except for reviews and directories…

I believe in 1998 we thought cookbooks might soon be a thing of the past… more people were not eating at home… so that was part of the reason for the dining guide.

Columbus Cookbooks FREE

Columbus Mexican Restaurant Poll

Yelp about Columbus, an obituary of dead restaurants

Quoting myself here this list was on the original Columbus Best Blog which is now known as Discover Columbus. These are my favorites… yes I mix chains with non chain restaurants… I am not a food blogger I have no taste.. I am just a Mexican food addict.

“Sep. 4, 2006 - Columbus Best Mexican Restaurants

10. El Acapulco, Worthington area, Crosswoods, 7475 Vantage Dr, Columbus, 43235

9. Don Pablo’s Mexican Kitchen - Northside, 1777 E Dublin Granville Rd, Columbus, 43229

8. El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant, Polaris area, 8715 Sancus Blvd, Columbus 43240

7. Don Pablo’s Mexican Kitchen Northwest, 3740 W Dublin Granville Rd, Columbus 43235 (at Sawmill Rd)

6. El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant, Northwest Columbus 3230 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, 43202 elvaquerorestaurants.com

5. El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant, Northwest Columbus 2195 Riverside Dr Columbus, OH 43221 lvaquerorestaurants.com

4. Chile Verde Cafe, Northwest, Carriage Place Shopping Center, 4852 Sawmill Rd
Columbus, OH 43235

3. La Casita, Northwest Columbus, 1355 Bethel Rd, Columbus, OH 43235

2. Baja Fresh, 3 Northwest Columbus locations, I lumped them together, 771 Bethel Rd, Columbus, 43214, 6510 Sawmill Rd, Columbus, 43235,1557 W Lane Ave, Columbus, 43221

1. La Hacienda Real, Northland area, 4855 Sinclair Rd Columbus, OH 43229″

That list is in no particular order EXCEPT number one is my favorite…

The dining guide has listings of Chinese food, Indian restaurants, Greek food, casual dining, fine dining and more. It is in a cookbook full of recipes.

Want a Free HER Realtors Cookbook 15th Edition with the Dining Guide? Contact me. I will not mail them but I can make arrangements for you to get one. Contact me. I have a limited number of this edition as well as the 17th and 9th editions.

Actually I have a lot of the 15th Edition. Marketing made a mistake in publishing this book… over a cherry pie recipe.