Columbus Monthly / November 2010 / Warm up with salsa fever

 Email  Print

Warm up with salsa fever

Sláinte!

Claddagh Irish Pub unveiled more than a half-dozen seasonal cocktails this fall, according to Stefan Channels, bar manager of the downtown location, 585 S. Front St. He says they’ll be available at the Polaris location, 8745 Sancus Blvd., as well. Here’s a sampling. (Each is $7.50.)

• Pumpkin martini: Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlua, pumpkin schnapps and cinnamon schnapps mixed with ice, shaken and strained into a brown sugar-rimmed glass.

• White chocolate martini: Smirnoff Vanilla mixed with Godiva white chocolate and creamer.

• Orange blitz: Smirnoff Orange mixed with triple sec, orange juice and a splash of grenadine, mixed with ice, shaken and strained into a glass with an orange wheel.

News

Bristol Bar owner Todd Anderson has been burning the candle at both ends. Anderson, who also owns Lumiere Candle Co. in Grandview, says he wants to focus more on his day job. That’s why he’s handing the reins of Bristol, 132 E. Fifth Ave., to friend Jeff Mathes, owner of downtown restaurants Barrio and Due Amici. Anderson says he still owns the building and the business, but is giving creative control to Mathes. The result is Bar l’étranger, which will have replaced Bristol in October if all goes according to plan.

A new happy hour at Cotters Restaurant at the Arena, 200 W. Nationwide Blvd., includes $2 domestic bottles, $3 domestic drafts and half-off appetizers Monday through Friday from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, says assistant manager Jonathan Jusino. The restaurant temporarily closed in early September for tax issues, but reopened a few weeks later.

Just Off Main, 1371 Hentz Dr. in Reynoldsburg, got new owners in mid August, and general manager Katie Hamad says that the list of specials is going to be quite extensive. In addition to a daily happy hour from 11 am to 7 pm that features $1.75 domestic bottles and $2.25 import bottles, the bar puts on “Power Hour” each day from 5 to 6 pm, which includes $1 domestic bottles and $2 wells. Each day of the week offers a different shot for $3, and domestic beers are $1 while the Buckeyes are on the football field. Additional highlights include two-for-one margarita Monday, $2 imports on Tuesday, karaoke on Thursday, Massey’s pizza on Friday and $3 Long Islands on Saturday.

Openings

Joe’s Original (formerly Average Joe’s) opened a new location at 6477 Pullman Dr. in Lewis Center in late August. Derek Rapkin, general manager of the Dublin site, 3880 Hard Rd., says there are all kinds of specials at both spots, including 39-cent wings and $10.50 domestic buckets on Monday, large two-item pizzas for $6.99 and $2.50 for import bottles on Tuesday and daily deals offering 20-ounce drafts of Coors Light for $2 and flavored Skyy Vodka bombs for $5. There also is a discounted beer and liquor of the month. Happy hour is daily until 7 pm and includes 50 cents to $1 off all drinks.

Bodega owner Collin Castore and business partner Jen Burton plan to open the Barrel and Bottle at the North Market in the space formerly occupied by the Grapes of Mirth. The pair says it’s going to offer around 250 wines and 150 beers by the bottle and also several beers on draft for customers to carry out in growlers. The owners say they’ll have a permit for tastings, but not for bar-style consumption, and plan to open in mid November.

Before its 2007 closing, the Nut House, 2159 N. High St. just north of Lane Avenue, gained a reputation for being a rowdy joint. Multiple media reports during that time documented underage drinking, noise complaints, fights and public urination. This summer, the Tipsy Bar opened in the space, and general manager Jon Winland says the venue is going in a different route. Unlike the Nut House, which was an 18-and-up bar, Tipsy will only cater to the underage crowd on Thursday’s college night. The weekly lineup also includes techno and country nights, among others. Happy hour is Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 pm, when patrons can get $5 pitchers, $1.50 domestic drafts, half-off appetizers and $5 burgers and fries. Monday nights also feature 25-cent wings and $1 domestic bottles.

Salsa fever

One way to escape the November cold is to surrender to Salsa Fever in the upstairs lounge at La Fogata Grill, 790 N. High St. Each Friday, for $10, estudiantes de la salsa are led by professional dancer Carlos “El Hiperactivo” Rubio, who’s been teaching the Latin dance—as well as bachata and meringue—for more than 10 years.

Oddly enough, it was in Milan, Italy, during his senior year of high school that Rubio developed his love of salsa. “I was not going to let an Italian dance a better salsa than me, being Puerto Rican,” he says.

After the two-hour class ends at 10 pm, open dancing goes until 2:30 am, and a $7 cover is charged to those who did not participate in the class. (There is a cash bar next to the dance floor.) Dayra Vazquez says she used to watch from behind the bar, where she tends during salsa nights. When she finally stepped onto the dance floor, she says, “I was not actually bad.” She estimates that 75 to 200 people show up each session—“just a variety of people,” she adds.

In addition to La Fogata, dancers can catch Latin fire in the back room at El Vaquero, 3230 Olentangy River Rd., each Thursday, where an introductory salsa class is taught from 7 to 8 pm, followed by open dancing until 10:30. It’s free if you present your dinner receipt.

And Mynt Ultralounge, High and Vine streets, hosts Spicy Salsa Tuesdays, with lessons from 8 to 9 pm, followed by open dancing.

—Ben Zenitsky