10 Best Restaurants in Columbus 2012: DeepWood
The menu at DeepWood reads like haiku. Each item gets the same meticulous treatment: a one-word title and a brief, staccato description.
An example:
GROUPER
Olive oil poached.
Sweet corn ravioli. Corn shoots.
Blistered grapes. Pistachio pesto.
Lemon-thyme sauce.
It could easily come off as gimmicky, but it’s perfectly appropriate for the city’s most imaginative food.
Springing from the mind of Chef Brian Pawlak, DeepWood’s menu is filled with masterfully whimsical takes on classic American dishes.
Like, instead of a pork chop, Pawlak does a personal pig roast. The four-part masterpiece includes barbecued baby back ribs with deep-fried mac and cheese, mortadella crostini, pork tenderloin with ham hock-broth-lacquered carrots, and a shank-to-jowl cake.
My only pause with DeepWood is the decor. The majestic tree rising from the center of the dining room is pretty neat, but otherwise the perpetually overlit, white-walled dining room comes off as new construction. This food deserves better.
Photos by Tim Johnson
DeepWood
511 N. High St., Short North
614-221-5602
Hours: 5 p.m.-close Monday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-close Tuesday-Friday, 5 p.m.-close Saturday
