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The Powell area keeps getting new restaurants. The latest is Local Roots, a pleasant, family-friendly place with fairly straightforward dishes.
Appetizers tended to be good. I liked the tender and almost crisp calamari with a sweetish chili sauce—as well as the breaded and deep-fried hot balls (with mozzarella), the mouth-searingly hot jalapeño poppers and, in particular, the loaded crispy potato chips topped with gorgonzola, good bacon and an “alfredo” sauce.
The wings were luscious: plump, cooked right and covered in a bright orange and delicious sauce (with celery and a fine blue cheese dip). As a bonus, according to our server, dressings for the appetizers were all made in-house, and they did indeed seem to be a cut above.
Salads were OK. The spinach version, topped with lots of stuff, including dried cherries, almonds and goat cheese, was dressed with a pleasing citrus vinaigrette. The Roots Nicoise disappointed a little: cold hunks of hard egg, marinated parsnips, onions, carrots and more that somehow lacked flavor. The chopped salad had a nice mix of greens and slices of avocado and green apple, but the effect was dulled by rolls of cold, flavorless turkey.
Entrees tended to be good. I liked the scallops with spinach fettuccine and a tasty chipotle cream sauce plus corn, black beans and tomato bits. I tried the New Age fish and chips both ways, grilled and fried. Each was good enough, affording plenty of cod and roasted redskins. The mushroom ravioli lacked flavor, despite what they called a mushroom medley cream sauce.
But I was wowed by the half rack of outstanding baby back ribs (evidently you have to ask for two orders to get a full rack): meaty and close-to-falling-off-the-bone tender—yet still crisp, with good texture, in a fine sauce. And the scalloped potatoes flavored with shallots that accompanied them were even better.
If you don’t want a whole entree, Local Roots gives you a number of sandwich, pizza or calzone choices. The Original Submarine was disappointing; the name led one to expect an old-fashioned delicious sub bun full of Italian groceries. What I got instead was an ordinary American roll. That and its contents were still edible, of course. The Bigger Burger was good enough, but bland, with OK fries.
Pizza and calzone were fine. I sampled both the Carnivore Bliss and the Omnivore Heaven varieties. There was lots of meat—Italian sausage, bacon, pepperoni, ham and meatballs—but somehow they didn’t taste particularly Italian.
If you like an adult beverage, Local Roots will please you. The cocktail menu had quite a few that were new to me, and I liked the ones I tried. A rosemary gin and tonic was just what it sounds like, a small sprig of rosemary instead of lime, and it worked, bringing out the natural sweetness of the drink. A concoction called Nuts and Berries was delicious and also sweet.
The beer menu was of considerable interest. I sampled Old Leghumper and was amused by the lascivious dog on the label; the beer was OK, too. And I found a new favorite, which was listed as Samuel Smith Organics ESB (which usually stands for Extra Special Bitter, a style of less-hoppy pale ale). It was clean, tasty and slightly sweet, and served way cold.
Local Roots
15 E. Olentangy St., Powell
602-8060
Atmosphere: Casual.
Recommended dishes: Loaded chips, wings, half rack of baby back ribs, scallops with spinach fettuccine, scalloped potatoes side dish.
Price range: Appetizers $6-$11; soups and salads $3-$9; pizza and calzones $6-$20; sandwiches $7-$9; entrees $12-$19.
Hours: Sunday 10 am to 9 pm, Monday through Thursday till 10 pm, Friday and Saturday till 11 pm, Sunday brunch 10 am to 2 pm.
Service: Pretty good; young and enthusiastic.
Reservations: Supposedly only for six or more. But ask.
Rating: ***
