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The meat and potatoes (top) and apple and onion pizzas at Element Pizza Bar.
Michael A. Foley/MAF Photography
Daniel Lunsford loves making pizzas, which is why he and his wife, Dawn, opened Element Pizza Bar, 250 N. Third St., last fall.
The couple “wanted to have a combination of Midwest, Ohio-style ingredients, as well as more traditional Italian ingredients,” he explains. One popular pizza includes potatoes, while another features roasted yellow onions, Granny Smith apples, Parmesan and olive oil. About the latter, Lunsford says, “It’s kind of our riff on a savory apple pie.” (They also offer eggplant chips as an appetizer.) He says he does most of the cooking with a friend, and “we try to add a twist on everything we do.”
Element is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday.
News bite
The Jury Room is delivering, says co-owner Elizabeth Lessner. The full food menu is available from 11 am to 6 pm every day, and C.S. Courier will make deliveries via bicycle. “We love that it’s a green way to get food to customers by saving fuel,” says Lessner.
The delivery boundaries are north to Fifth Avenue, south to Greenlawn Avenue, west to Jones Avenue and east to Taylor Avenue. Lessner says this service will help get food to “under-served neighborhoods such as Franklinton and the King Lincoln District.”
Openings
Powell resident Chris Tsirigotis opened Don Christos Pizza, 10259 Sawmill Pkwy., in November to offer pies that remind him of his native New York.
Tsirigotis, who also owns an art gallery, Columbus Art Connection, says his wife, Jenny, makes soups for the shop as well. (A few options include chicken tortilla, lasagna soup, cheesy broccoli potato and corn chowder.) Salads, subs and wings are available, too.
“We’ve created a wonderful ambience for people,” he says, adding that unless the Buckeyes are playing, guests will hear the sounds of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Tony Bennett as they dine.
There’s a drive-thru window, he says, and an outdoor patio that he plans to open in the spring.
Don Christos is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.
Burt Dhira and Joe Fojas opened Papaya Street Grill, 3512 W. Dublin-Granville Rd., in early December.
Fojas says the menu at the fast-casual restaurant is inspired by Caribbean and Hawaiian cuisines. Items include a guest’s choice of a noodle, rice or salad bowl, with chicken, beef, pork or tofu. A variety of housemade sauces are offered, including a lemongrass vinaigrette, ginger/garlic and sweet chili, to name a few.
The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner.
A new burger joint is taking over the former Restaurant Hama space at Easton Town Center. Flip Side, 3945 Easton Station, is expected to open by early February, says chef and owner Shawn Monday. (He opened the first location in Hudson, Ohio, where he also owns One Red Door, a fine-dining restaurant.)
The menu will include more than a dozen gourmet burgers, including tuna, beef brisket, lamb and turkey, and Monday also will offer fish and chicken sandwiches.
In addition to a full bar, there will be 20 craft beers on tap—mostly from Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The space seats 150 and will be open daily for lunch and dinner.
And stay tuned. . . . Monday says he’s opening a second Flip Side near downtown this year.
Loose Goose Tavern & Grill, 668 Grandview Ave., opened in mid January, says managing partner Zack Zonker. The menu is “American fare, bar-style food with a culinary twist,” he says, adding there will be 11 volleyball courts, a beer garden and patio that can seat almost 200 people, as well as entertainment throughout the week, including bands, deejays and karaoke.
Walter McNabb, who helped open Cook Shack Bar-B-Q, which closed last year, is the executive chef. The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner daily.
Updates
Hayley Savage now owns an art gallery and a restaurant in New Albany. Ella (Eat local. Love art) opened in early December, she says. (Savage co-owns the restaurant with Amy Schottenstein.)
Menu items include a steak fry salad, butternut squash ravioli, braised beef short ribs and a
The restaurant, 266 E. Main St., is adjacent to Hayley Gallery, which moved from a nearby site. In fact, there’s a door connecting the two spaces, and guests are encouraged to mingle in the gallery and enjoy a cocktail while they wait for a table. “I love creating this synergy between food and art,” she says.
Ella is open for dinner Monday through Saturday.
Meet me at: Z Cucina
Rick Ziliak, owner of Z Cucina in Grandview, is a survivor, warding off a double whammy that threatened to shut down his restaurant two years ago.
The first assault came in January 2009 when a fire destroyed most of the buildings in the same complex as Z Cucina. Although the restaurant sustained minimal damage, the clean-up caused access issues and he had to overcome the perception the fire consumed his business. At the same time, he already was tackling the challenges of running a restaurant during a recession.
“We thrived on loyalty,” he says, without hesitation. When family, friends and patrons asked how they could help, he told them to eat at Z Cucina as often as possible.
The buildings destroyed by the fire have since been rebuilt, and Ziliak feels as if he’s found his stride at Z Cucina, which features Italian and Mediterranean dishes. “I wanted a neighborhood restaurant with a culinary edge,” he says. (Columbus Monthly named Z Cucina the best new restaurant of 2005.)
Ziliak, a guitarist who used to play in several local bands, says that when he arrives at the restaurant, opens the door and flips on the lights, it almost feels as if he’s onstage again.
Z Cucina is open for dinner Monday through Saturday.
