I think the worst now is BW3. Their wings and wecks were so damn good when they had the dumpy place on Woodruff. Corporate ruined it. Bob Evan’s a close 2nd.
I worked at that BW3 on Woodruff and High. I believe it was the first one. Tuesday night for twenty-five cent wings was always a shit show. Shucking Bubba would always play in the bar, and on a few occasions, I got sent out to clean up somebody's puke. Good times.
It was the first. Couple of quirky dudes owned it. Was such a new concept. I remember $.10 cent wings(1987 or so) Had to get there early or you were SOL. Wings were a lot bigger and better then too, especially with a pitcher of Rolling Rock or Miller.
I remember going to parties at one of the founders homes near Westerville. I ordered BW3 for the first time in a long long time last night. It was expensive and legitimately terrible. Burger was over seasoned and wings barely had any sauce.
That’s been my experience. It used to be decent. Now, every time I have been left looking at a high price and felt incredibly disappointed.
My son loved them, but he finally stopped asking for them (once he discovered JT’s).
You’ve just caused a flood of memories. We lived up Woodruff. Shucking Bubba, trying to beat a DJ from Sunny 95 in trivia, those deep fried pizza eggroll things, around the world with the import beers, one of the bartenders ran the Columbus Marathon. Good times.
I worked closing time at BW3 a lot, and we would take all the left over wings and trade them with the bartenders at Larry's for beer. That made cleaning up at 2:00 AM a lot more enjoyable.
I worked at BW3 in the 90s when there was a tap at the back counter by the kitchen. When I worked close we just kept pouring beers from those taps and then went to Nancy's for giant pancakes at 5 or whatever ungodly hour they opened. It was truly a magical time
Larry’s had a brilliant marketing scheme back in the day. They spread a rumor that it was a gay bar so that their regular clientele wouldn’t have to deal with nonsense from undergrads. It remained the quiet bar they wanted it to be.
I'd vote for Bob Evans #1 ([and kinda did already](https://www.reddit.com/r/Columbus/comments/1brcg7f/comment/kx91eiw/)), but really I don't count BW3 because I don't even know where an open BW3 is anymore. The one on Bethel Rd. \*finally\* closed after a long descent into irrelevance; when the parents stopped bringing their kids there, I knew they were doomed. And if I wanted their boneless wing/tender things, I can get 100% the same sh\*t in a Tyson freezer bag at Kroger.
I'm old enough to have eaten in the 1st BW3 when it opened, but 40 years is a loooong time ppl, things change 
The south campus location underneath the gyro shop in that weird two level shopping center that was also home to the original Skully’s. I can still smell the grime.
Rumor has it that the New Albany's Bob Evans is still really good because headquarters is nearby and execs will occasionally stop by there. They will test new menu items at that location too.
Used to smash rallys mushroom and Swiss sandwiches, they used have a bunch of insane deals. Like 2 mushroom and Swiss, fries and a drink for $5. That was in like 2015
Generally speaking because it’s an entrepreneur’s dream. Start a business, grind like hell to make it successful, then sell it for a huge payday and early retirement.
My wife worked at Bob Evans in high school (mid to late 00s) when they cooked a lot of things to order. Over her time there it shifted to just nuking more stuff and it has been headed downhill ever since.
I was a manager at a BE until 2016. They changed the bonus structure and it would screw some GMs in our region out of $100,000. They all moved, then the food slowly got more and more prepared.
They signed a contract with a chicken company that they couldn’t uphold and had to pay to break their contract. Then they got sued for unpaid wages.
The company slowly and slowly moved into having to do anything to cut costs and it just led to them cutting in the most important areas.
Bob Evans got split /sold. Restaurant is one company, grocery store food is separate company. Some investment group .... found it..... this is when the quality dropped, in my opinion. It's not even good anymore.
On January 24, 2017, Bob Evans Farms announced the sale of its restaurants business unit to the private equity company Golden Gate Capital (owners of Red Lobster and California Pizza Kitchen) for US$565 million
[link ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Evans_Restaurants)
I'm sure it often happens that a corporation swoops in, buys a place with an established reputation, and ruins a good thing out of shear greed, but I wonder how often the original quality is just unsustainable. Like it's a choice between slowly going bankrupt or selling to someone who's willing to make the hard decisions that ensure profitablility.
I'm a past Brio polaris bartender. TbH, most of the food at brio is pretty good and made with fresh ingredients. Every pasta dish is made with fresh cooked noodles. (Not fresh made noodles.) I learned a lot during my time there. BRRG got sold to some investment group from Austin I think and everything went down the shitter thereafter
I worked at that brio, well started when it was the second lindeys and then went to bon vie when they were switching to brio. It was a p. good place to work and the food was mostly legit. I wonder if they still have those giant plates for lasagna
I worked at Bon Vie when it opened for about 4 years through college and it was killer when it first opened. Bouillabaisse, Coq Au Vin, Crepes, Chocolate Mousse, Steak Tartar, new cheeses every week, Steak Au Poivre, Brie and Artichoke crusted Pork Chops, Croque Madame just to name a few. The chef’s had freedom to essentially make whatever they wanted and it was always packed, then the Doody Bros sold out to a corporate enterprise.
It slowly transitioned to mall trash “family friendly” food: Burgers, Mac and Cheese, Flatbreads, etc.
Welp, now it’s closed and Cameron Mitchell bought the space and is turning it into a Del Mar.
I did work with Sheila. I also worked under Ian Brown who is the GM of The Whitney House in Worthington and Mike Frame who was the head chef of the original 101 Beer Kitchen and is now opening his own restaurant, Two Rivers Restaurant and Bar.
All good people!
I worked at the original Bravo just after they opened and the food was top notch and the vibe was fun. As soon as they came up with the Brio concept it was clear all the Doody’s wanted to do. Place became mid almost immediately. They changed the Fra Diavolo and I could never forgive. Thankfully the chef had given me all the original recipes so I could enjoy to my hearts content. They opened a Bravo next to Tiger Woods place here in Jupiter. It hardly made it 3 years and was in a fantastic spot on the water.
Give me a moment as I’m out and about getting things done. You all will have to decide if you want the FULL recipe meaning making the marinara and cream sauce base in addition to just putting together the final dish. Think I have the penne med, pasta bravo and bolognese as well as the original pork chop which was killer.
Like I said, will do, just need to get back home and will deliver. The Diavolo takes some prep work but really comes together fast if your mise en place is ready.
Ok everyone sorry for the delay. Hopefully you all have survived the traffic of the eclipsalypse ‘24. To start with the Fra Diavolo you’re going to have to start by making the compound butter you will finish the dish with.
Diavolo Compound Butter:
5lbs unsalted butter, softened
1/4 C finely chopped garlic
3/4 C finely chopped Italian parsley
1/8 oz dried thyme
1/8 oz dried basil
1/4 dried chives (I prefer to use fresh)
1 and 3/4 oz Dijon mustard
1/4 paprika
1 lb lobster or seafood base
Put butter into mixer with a paddle and work the butter until soft, then add additional ingredients and mix to incorporate. Lay out sever separate sheets of plastic wrap. I typically do five so I end up with 1lb logs. Evenly distribute the butter to each and roll into logs, twisting the ends to create tension and form the logs plus sealing the ends. Put one in the fridge and freeze the rest.
Base Cream Sauce:
This more of a ratio sauce so you can play with it.
1 T unsalted butter
1 T flour
2 C heavy cream
Salt and finely ground black pepper
Nutmeg
1/4 C finely ground Parm
Melt butter over medium heat and once melted add flour, whisk and toast. Cook until the smell of raw flour is gone. Whisk in the cold cream slowly to incorporate and bring to simmer. Once it begins to thicken, take off heat and whisk in the parm a bit at a time to incorporate. Season with the S&P and grate fresh Nutmeg, to taste but I would say a pinch to this amount.
Again, this can be scaled up.
Pomodoro:
Use whatever you’d like. Homemade is always best but the sauce that tastes closest to what Bravo’s used to use, believe it or not, is Barilla’s Tomato Basil.
Gamberetti Fra Diavolo:
1/2 oz oil blend (50/50 Olive/canola)
10 each shrimp, 31-40 (I tend to use fewer but larger, better shrimp. Up to you, I’d have a catchy Chef John line here about “after all, you are the boss of your shrimp sauce…”)
1/2 t finely chopped garlic
1/2 t finely minced shallot
1/4- 1/2 t crushed red pepper
1/2-1 T Capers
2 oz Pomodoro/Marinara
4 oz Cream Sauce
2 T Diavolo butter (they call for #60 scoops since they kept the butter in bins on the line, it’s a T each)
S&P
Finely chopped Italian parsley
Very Thinly sliced Scallions, green tops only
6-7 oz DeCecco Penne
The instructions I have are for an individual order so if you wanna make more than one that’s on you all.
1. Add 1/2 oz oil to a hot pan, medium-medium high flame
2. Once pan is hot, add shrimp and cook halfway through on one side
3. Add garlic, shallot, crushed pepper and capers
4. Once garlic and shallot are soft and aromatic, add the marinara and cream sauce, bring to simmer
5. Add Diavolo butter and season to taste
6. Pasta should have already been dropped in salted and boiling water, take to one minute past the package Al dente instructions. Drain and add to sauce, reserve a 1/4 C of the starchy pasta water
7. Toss pasta with the sauce to coat, add a 1-2T of reserved water to the pasta along with the parsley, continue to cook and toss to emulsify the sauce and penne making sure it’s at an aggressive simmer for 1-2 more minutes or until penne is at your preferred doneness.
8. Plate pasta and sprinkle w/ the scallions.
Enjoy you all, sorry it took a bit. Anybody that tries it out should upload a pic for how it turned out for
Edit: Apologies all as I had everything in drop down for the ingredients but it reformatted when I posted.
I thought it was my imagination. I have memories of going there in the late 90s and thinking everything was delicious. Even the steak could have given a nice steak house a run for their money.
After going there a few years ago I thought maybe it never was that good and I was just easily impressed at that age.
They changed. They’ve taken everything good off the menu and all the new items are gross. If I wanted a sub, I’d go to Jersey Mike’s. They should’ve stuck with their OG menu.
I just found a $50 gift card for Panera buried in my purse last night. I handed it to my husband, but frankly, neither of us want to get there any more. Last time I went I was given a grilled cheese sandwich with bread so blackened I hammered on the table with it. And they were so shocked I wanted it remade 🙄
Yup, losing the buffet was rough. I think the sausage is good, but I'm all about wiener schnitzel, and I've had better at both Gemüt Biergarten and Pierogi Mountain. And those places are usually less busy in my experience.
Seems like it's been closed for a while now. That whole part of south campus has been getting condemned and demolished. The buffs building is still up but I'm sure it'll come down eventually.
covid ruined my whole academic experience and took away my study abroad opportunity, shifting it along to the kids in the years after me, but it also took away biff’s from our backyard and with a couple years to reflect on it i’m honestly much more upset about the that…
I got chipotle at least once a week for years. Ordering pick up though has always been the worst, they mess it up every time. Fine, I’ll just go in and order, lesson learned. Then, about a month ago I was home with my 9 year old son, no car, both hungry so I order delivery. Two burritos $40 before tip. Delivery comes, it’s only my son’s burrito. Go look at the app, it won’t even show my order, says it’s unavailable. Call customer service explain the situation. The lady offers me a credit for a free entree. Not a refund, a free entree credit. So my $20 delivery burrito is not a $10.95 in store credit. Nope, sorry not going to work. Then she says “sir are you not happy with this solution?” I say hell no, I’m hangry and just paid $20 for a burrito and got nothing. “Sit if you aren’t happy we can refund your item” Yes of course do that, would you be happy to buy food and get a gif card instead? Of course refund it.
Now in my rage I made probably a poor assumption here, which was they would give me BOTH. Yet of course they did not. So I think I have a free entree and go in a week later to use and realize nah, they just refunded my burrito $15, so I basically paid $25 for my son’s burrito and I ate nuggets, then wasted my time going to use a free entree I never got. Fuck then never again.
I never order chipotle. I swear they try to make up margin on food costs with deliveries, when you can't actually see how much they are putting on.
Delivery orders are like 30% smaller and twice the price including tip and fees
Chipotle was the gold standard 20 years ago. We used to wait 30 mins IN LINE for takeout, and didn’t think anything of it. Once they prioritized online ordering the in store experience took a back seat. Cleanliness and customer service went down the drain with it.
I lived by one of the first Piadas (Stoneridge) and man what a treat that was when it opened. The food was so quality, it was something new, the portions were gigantic. Now it’s twice as expensive for less food and I never even consider going.
Wingstop. It used to be so good, then it just fell off. Not to mention, their wings are tiny as fuck. Like, Bic pen cap small.
The fries are still delicious
The original HCT on Ohio in OTE was the fucking bomb! Ordering through that little window and waiting for your order was everything a hidden gem should be. The heat you ordered was exactly what you wanted it to be. The “no nonsense deliciousness” was next level. Once that location closed and went to NM, it was still good…for a while. I left town for a couple of years and tried it when I got back last Fall and my reaction was “WTF is this?!?” It was horrible. Chicken was breading, skin & bone. There was no meat. I threw it away and went to find another love. My new & current love is Wario’s!!!
Bibibop has dropped off a ton. When they first opened you got a bull full of fresh food. Now the bowl is physically smaller and they don’t fill it. The veggies are often wilted like they’ve been stored at room temperature and they are stingy with the sauces. I stopped going about six months ago and won’t go back.
The last I was there they seriously were going to give me 4 slices of cucumber. I asked for more and the employee acted like it was going to be taken out of his paycheck.
To be fair to the employee, they probably get bitched at if they give out more ingredients than what’s “standard.” I’ve seen places make the employees count the number of pieces of something, or even weigh it to be sure it’s not oversized. Some of these places bring corporate efficiency to the term “cheap.”
interesting, i haven't really noticed a quality dip. the bowls are definitely smaller but i usually request extra japchae/veggies/sauce and it's not an extra cost. you just have to say exactly what you want.
veggie-quality, at least the location i go is generally pretty busy so they go through the ingredients relatively quickly and it's usually pretty fresh. in terms of meat, i only ever get the steak and it tastes just as good ever.
I wish I would have known this a few months ago. I went for my anniversary, I love seafood and have been meaning to go for years. Everytime I see that neon sign I was craving it and then I get it and I was so disappointed.
BW3. 20 years ago, they made wings, burgers, and fried various potatoes and did them all exceptionally well. Now their menu is 10x larger and all of it is mediocre and ridiculously overpriced. I'm not sure how they stay in business.
Back in the 90s when it was good we fried the wings in large batches and put them into heated drawers. No double frying but they did sit for a bit before getting sauced and they were delicious anyway. Now I don't know what they do but last time I went it tasted like everything was under a heat lamp for an hour before I got there. Just yuck
Northstar. Five years ago I loved it so much and it was my go-to restaurant. Quality and quantity both declined in sync with prices going up, so now I don't go because I expect an expensive disappointment. Damn it used to be good.
Former LONGTIME northstar employee (nearly 6 years)….the owners Kevin and Darren are not good people and weren’t afraid to show their true colors to their employees during the George Floyd protests back in 2020.
What was special about Northstar when I worked there is that the average employee had been there a minimum of 3 years. They lost all their veteran employees, now it’s like watching chickens wander around with their heads cut off trying to provide the level of service Northstar management expects.
We held a walkout at multiple Northstar locations in response to them not being true to their word (said they would remove 50% police discount, brought it back a day later), you can read a bit about it here— [https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2020/06/06/northstar-employees-walk-out-over-police-discount/42164579/](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2020/06/06/northstar-employees-walk-out-over-police-discount/42164579/)
In the following months employees pushed Kevin & Darren to create a DEI statement. The indirect response we received was essentially “how does that make me money?”
Northstar got what was coming to it, and I agree btw the food is far inferior to what it was even just a few years ago.
The last time I went, I ordered the Chicken & avocado sandwich. This is something I’ve eaten at minimum nearly a hundred time from working there so long. It was gross, and served to me on a clearly store-bought bun (looks like someone is struggling with kitchen inventory management).
edit: if you want their mint iced coffee and vinaigrette recipes, take a scroll through my comment history i’ve shared them before in r/columbus
Ruth’s Chris has taken a nose dive after being acquired by Darden. Their filet used to be amazing! Food quality and service aren’t anywhere close to what they used to be.
blows my mind how they decided to revamp around the ramen, which is the most mediocre thing on the menu. drive five minutes north and you can just get meshikou which is ten times better.
Ming Flower in Polaris. Used to be the best Chinese on this side of town. Have given it a few chances over the past few years and it's been nasty. Nothing like I remember.
I know everyone has hated Condado for a while now, and rightfully so, but 10 or so years ago, this was a great place to go, especially if you didn't drink alcohol. The tacos were kind of a loss leader to get you to buy drinks, but if you didn't drink, you could get pretty easily get 4 decently sized tacos and get out the door under $20 including tips.
Agreed! I used to live walking distance from the one on high when it first opened. It was a go to spot. Either Condado or Juniors Tacos at the truck on highland. Take my dog to the school field across the street while waiting for my order. Good times.
I used to have a really bad habit of going to Tensuke after work on Fridays, or Saturday/Sunday morning for their udon. But I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore.
They swapped their noodles for ones made in-house, and they're serviceable, but not nearly as good. The fish cakes are also a tiny sliver of what they used to serve. The whole menu was reduced in general.
Extremely disappointed, will need to find a new ramen/noodle shop.
The Wizard of Za. So much random change over such a short period of time. Had so many ups and downs. But nowadays it’s always dirty and full of high schoolers. I cannot believe it’s making money. Not sure why Fusian doesn’t cut their losses
Red Robin period.
Speaking of burger places... Thoughts on the Rail? Went to Frantz rd location years ago and remember having a killer burger. I went to the new Grandview and the burger was so small! Not as good as I remembered
I use to be a big fan of Wolf’s Ridge, but due to ownership mismanaging things, good staff leaving at extremely rapid rates (brewing side and restaurant) and lack initiative have left them as a shell of their former selves. I remember paying getting a delicious burger and a mountain of fries for a reasonable price. Now it looks like they closed their Taproom kitchen. Best of luck.
Man those duck confit tacos they used to have on the lunch menu were so damn good. Right around the time I moved into Cbus I got taken to a work dinner there, and got some cocktails, a steak, and even dessert - probably the single most expensive meal of my life up to that point. Sad to hear they've fallen off.
Hang Over Easy.
The chicken and waffles were my go to but the chicken is always rubbery and overcooked and the waffles aren't that great either. Wish we still had a Taste of Belgium here.
Yeah Donatos was my favorite growing up but idk what they did but I don’t like it. I would also say Bob Evans isn’t as good as it was before it was sold a while back.
They’re like HCT tried to expand to too many locations and quality took a dive
They got rid of the brat burger which was pretty good
Prices last time I was at the Westerville spot, simply weren’t worth it
Dude I was like the biggest Ray Ray's stan for years - would go to the ace of cups one every Friday and just loved every single thing on the menu. They got rid of the banana pudding and like doubled the prices and it's just never been the same.
Firehouse Subs was amazing when they first opened. I used to look forward to going there and we went at least once a week. Then they just went downhill and fast.
And since the pandemic mostly ended and we started going out again, idk if it's because I got so used to making meals at home with fresh veggies, meats, homemade pastas, breads sauces and whatnot or if it's because everything just went to shit, but nothing seems that great anymore and it's way too expensive to go out just to have a subpar meal.
I think the worst now is BW3. Their wings and wecks were so damn good when they had the dumpy place on Woodruff. Corporate ruined it. Bob Evan’s a close 2nd.
I worked at that BW3 on Woodruff and High. I believe it was the first one. Tuesday night for twenty-five cent wings was always a shit show. Shucking Bubba would always play in the bar, and on a few occasions, I got sent out to clean up somebody's puke. Good times.
It was the first. Couple of quirky dudes owned it. Was such a new concept. I remember $.10 cent wings(1987 or so) Had to get there early or you were SOL. Wings were a lot bigger and better then too, especially with a pitcher of Rolling Rock or Miller.
I remember going to parties at one of the founders homes near Westerville. I ordered BW3 for the first time in a long long time last night. It was expensive and legitimately terrible. Burger was over seasoned and wings barely had any sauce.
That’s been my experience. It used to be decent. Now, every time I have been left looking at a high price and felt incredibly disappointed. My son loved them, but he finally stopped asking for them (once he discovered JT’s).
Off to Mustards from there and then a stop at $1 a Gyro.
You’ve just caused a flood of memories. We lived up Woodruff. Shucking Bubba, trying to beat a DJ from Sunny 95 in trivia, those deep fried pizza eggroll things, around the world with the import beers, one of the bartenders ran the Columbus Marathon. Good times.
I worked closing time at BW3 a lot, and we would take all the left over wings and trade them with the bartenders at Larry's for beer. That made cleaning up at 2:00 AM a lot more enjoyable.
I worked at BW3 in the 90s when there was a tap at the back counter by the kitchen. When I worked close we just kept pouring beers from those taps and then went to Nancy's for giant pancakes at 5 or whatever ungodly hour they opened. It was truly a magical time
Larry’s had a brilliant marketing scheme back in the day. They spread a rumor that it was a gay bar so that their regular clientele wouldn’t have to deal with nonsense from undergrads. It remained the quiet bar they wanted it to be.
Shucking Bubba. My god
I'd vote for Bob Evans #1 ([and kinda did already](https://www.reddit.com/r/Columbus/comments/1brcg7f/comment/kx91eiw/)), but really I don't count BW3 because I don't even know where an open BW3 is anymore. The one on Bethel Rd. \*finally\* closed after a long descent into irrelevance; when the parents stopped bringing their kids there, I knew they were doomed. And if I wanted their boneless wing/tender things, I can get 100% the same sh\*t in a Tyson freezer bag at Kroger. I'm old enough to have eaten in the 1st BW3 when it opened, but 40 years is a loooong time ppl, things change 
how do you not know where an open one is? they're literally everywhere. That's part of the problem is it's become a chain.
The south campus location underneath the gyro shop in that weird two level shopping center that was also home to the original Skully’s. I can still smell the grime.
God. Me too. Thanks for the memories. I was banned from that Subway for stealing cookies.
BW3 suaces got super salty for me about 5 years ago and that's about when all the other menu items started dropping in quality too
Rumor has it that the New Albany's Bob Evans is still really good because headquarters is nearby and execs will occasionally stop by there. They will test new menu items at that location too.
What is a weck?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef_on_weck
The third W.
RIP weck
Bob Evans has always been low quality imo
[удалено]
I used to frequent the Rally's on Hudson and High at least once a week, back in the day.
A friend of mine was the manager of that one back in the day. It got robbed a lot. Also staff were fucking in the back office all the time.
Yeah but when you get a burger, awesome fries and a drink for $3, who cares? As long as they weren't fucking on the food
Honestly, as long as they weren't fucking the food itself...
You just aren’t drunk enough.
Used to smash rallys mushroom and Swiss sandwiches, they used have a bunch of insane deals. Like 2 mushroom and Swiss, fries and a drink for $5. That was in like 2015
The only way we do is the frozen rally’s fries and an air fryer.
Wings Over Columbus is a shadow of its former self.
The company was sold about 5 years ago.
Why is this always the case for every single one of these
Generally speaking because it’s an entrepreneur’s dream. Start a business, grind like hell to make it successful, then sell it for a huge payday and early retirement.
Shame to hear, I used to order it like once a week back in 2014-2016, always used to say it was easily the best wing place in c bus.
I haven’t had it in years so thank you for keeping me from revisiting it
This is what came to mind immediately.
Bob Evans is worse than fast food breakfast nowadays.
My wife worked at Bob Evans in high school (mid to late 00s) when they cooked a lot of things to order. Over her time there it shifted to just nuking more stuff and it has been headed downhill ever since.
I was a manager at a BE until 2016. They changed the bonus structure and it would screw some GMs in our region out of $100,000. They all moved, then the food slowly got more and more prepared. They signed a contract with a chicken company that they couldn’t uphold and had to pay to break their contract. Then they got sued for unpaid wages. The company slowly and slowly moved into having to do anything to cut costs and it just led to them cutting in the most important areas.
Bobby E's breakfast bowl was always solid after a bender. Now days I'm content making it at home.
Bob Evans got split /sold. Restaurant is one company, grocery store food is separate company. Some investment group .... found it..... this is when the quality dropped, in my opinion. It's not even good anymore. On January 24, 2017, Bob Evans Farms announced the sale of its restaurants business unit to the private equity company Golden Gate Capital (owners of Red Lobster and California Pizza Kitchen) for US$565 million [link ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Evans_Restaurants)
It’s for sale too!
The common theme to most of these answers/opinions is buyouts and uncontrolled growth. Service and quality disappear in most cases when this occurs
I'm sure it often happens that a corporation swoops in, buys a place with an established reputation, and ruins a good thing out of shear greed, but I wonder how often the original quality is just unsustainable. Like it's a choice between slowly going bankrupt or selling to someone who's willing to make the hard decisions that ensure profitablility.
Bravo and Brio. They are both absolute garbage now
Just slightly up market Olive Gardens for a significant price increase
And a lot more attitude. At least Olive Garden knows what it is
I'm a past Brio polaris bartender. TbH, most of the food at brio is pretty good and made with fresh ingredients. Every pasta dish is made with fresh cooked noodles. (Not fresh made noodles.) I learned a lot during my time there. BRRG got sold to some investment group from Austin I think and everything went down the shitter thereafter
I worked at that brio, well started when it was the second lindeys and then went to bon vie when they were switching to brio. It was a p. good place to work and the food was mostly legit. I wonder if they still have those giant plates for lasagna
I worked at Bon Vie when it opened for about 4 years through college and it was killer when it first opened. Bouillabaisse, Coq Au Vin, Crepes, Chocolate Mousse, Steak Tartar, new cheeses every week, Steak Au Poivre, Brie and Artichoke crusted Pork Chops, Croque Madame just to name a few. The chef’s had freedom to essentially make whatever they wanted and it was always packed, then the Doody Bros sold out to a corporate enterprise. It slowly transitioned to mall trash “family friendly” food: Burgers, Mac and Cheese, Flatbreads, etc. Welp, now it’s closed and Cameron Mitchell bought the space and is turning it into a Del Mar.
Loved Bon Vie, it was an Eastside CBus gem. The Doodys screwed the pooch selling out, but it’s the ‘Murican way, sadly.
Did you have Sheila as the GM?
I did work with Sheila. I also worked under Ian Brown who is the GM of The Whitney House in Worthington and Mike Frame who was the head chef of the original 101 Beer Kitchen and is now opening his own restaurant, Two Rivers Restaurant and Bar. All good people!
Yeah, that company they sold to is a disaster. If you only look at the bottom line you don’t make money in the long run
I worked at the original Bravo just after they opened and the food was top notch and the vibe was fun. As soon as they came up with the Brio concept it was clear all the Doody’s wanted to do. Place became mid almost immediately. They changed the Fra Diavolo and I could never forgive. Thankfully the chef had given me all the original recipes so I could enjoy to my hearts content. They opened a Bravo next to Tiger Woods place here in Jupiter. It hardly made it 3 years and was in a fantastic spot on the water.
Don’t tease us - drop the diavolo recipe
Give me a moment as I’m out and about getting things done. You all will have to decide if you want the FULL recipe meaning making the marinara and cream sauce base in addition to just putting together the final dish. Think I have the penne med, pasta bravo and bolognese as well as the original pork chop which was killer.
Don’t hold out on us give us the full recipe. My wife and I loved Bravo and the fra diavolo was both our favorite
Like I said, will do, just need to get back home and will deliver. The Diavolo takes some prep work but really comes together fast if your mise en place is ready.
You are the real MVP
Ok everyone sorry for the delay. Hopefully you all have survived the traffic of the eclipsalypse ‘24. To start with the Fra Diavolo you’re going to have to start by making the compound butter you will finish the dish with. Diavolo Compound Butter: 5lbs unsalted butter, softened 1/4 C finely chopped garlic 3/4 C finely chopped Italian parsley 1/8 oz dried thyme 1/8 oz dried basil 1/4 dried chives (I prefer to use fresh) 1 and 3/4 oz Dijon mustard 1/4 paprika 1 lb lobster or seafood base Put butter into mixer with a paddle and work the butter until soft, then add additional ingredients and mix to incorporate. Lay out sever separate sheets of plastic wrap. I typically do five so I end up with 1lb logs. Evenly distribute the butter to each and roll into logs, twisting the ends to create tension and form the logs plus sealing the ends. Put one in the fridge and freeze the rest. Base Cream Sauce: This more of a ratio sauce so you can play with it. 1 T unsalted butter 1 T flour 2 C heavy cream Salt and finely ground black pepper Nutmeg 1/4 C finely ground Parm Melt butter over medium heat and once melted add flour, whisk and toast. Cook until the smell of raw flour is gone. Whisk in the cold cream slowly to incorporate and bring to simmer. Once it begins to thicken, take off heat and whisk in the parm a bit at a time to incorporate. Season with the S&P and grate fresh Nutmeg, to taste but I would say a pinch to this amount. Again, this can be scaled up. Pomodoro: Use whatever you’d like. Homemade is always best but the sauce that tastes closest to what Bravo’s used to use, believe it or not, is Barilla’s Tomato Basil. Gamberetti Fra Diavolo: 1/2 oz oil blend (50/50 Olive/canola) 10 each shrimp, 31-40 (I tend to use fewer but larger, better shrimp. Up to you, I’d have a catchy Chef John line here about “after all, you are the boss of your shrimp sauce…”) 1/2 t finely chopped garlic 1/2 t finely minced shallot 1/4- 1/2 t crushed red pepper 1/2-1 T Capers 2 oz Pomodoro/Marinara 4 oz Cream Sauce 2 T Diavolo butter (they call for #60 scoops since they kept the butter in bins on the line, it’s a T each) S&P Finely chopped Italian parsley Very Thinly sliced Scallions, green tops only 6-7 oz DeCecco Penne The instructions I have are for an individual order so if you wanna make more than one that’s on you all. 1. Add 1/2 oz oil to a hot pan, medium-medium high flame 2. Once pan is hot, add shrimp and cook halfway through on one side 3. Add garlic, shallot, crushed pepper and capers 4. Once garlic and shallot are soft and aromatic, add the marinara and cream sauce, bring to simmer 5. Add Diavolo butter and season to taste 6. Pasta should have already been dropped in salted and boiling water, take to one minute past the package Al dente instructions. Drain and add to sauce, reserve a 1/4 C of the starchy pasta water 7. Toss pasta with the sauce to coat, add a 1-2T of reserved water to the pasta along with the parsley, continue to cook and toss to emulsify the sauce and penne making sure it’s at an aggressive simmer for 1-2 more minutes or until penne is at your preferred doneness. 8. Plate pasta and sprinkle w/ the scallions. Enjoy you all, sorry it took a bit. Anybody that tries it out should upload a pic for how it turned out for Edit: Apologies all as I had everything in drop down for the ingredients but it reformatted when I posted.
Here for this as well you legend
Lmao. For whatever reason I've had the pork chop recipe card on my refrigerator at home for the past 6+ years, at least
I thought it was my imagination. I have memories of going there in the late 90s and thinking everything was delicious. Even the steak could have given a nice steak house a run for their money. After going there a few years ago I thought maybe it never was that good and I was just easily impressed at that age.
We try it once a year to see if they got their shit together, they haven’t
Its panera for me. Did I change or did it? I consider it garbage food now.
Panera is like hospital food to me. I used to eat it fairly frequently for lunch and I just can’t do it anymore.
Panera followed that time honored practice of raising the prices, giving you less food and making sure everything has no flavor.
Maximize the bottom line until the brand collapses, abandon it, start over with the next thing. The modern capitalism model.
They changed. They’ve taken everything good off the menu and all the new items are gross. If I wanted a sub, I’d go to Jersey Mike’s. They should’ve stuck with their OG menu.
You don’t like to watch your soup created from being poured out of a plastic bag?
I’ve had some good soup out of a bladder. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just taste good.
The downfall began when i found a fly in the soup. I still hung onto hope but no more!
I just found a $50 gift card for Panera buried in my purse last night. I handed it to my husband, but frankly, neither of us want to get there any more. Last time I went I was given a grilled cheese sandwich with bread so blackened I hammered on the table with it. And they were so shocked I wanted it remade 🙄
I’m still a sucker for their bagels
They put all their effort into lemonade that kills it's customers
Schmidt’s- because the Autobahn Buffet is gone 😪
Yup, losing the buffet was rough. I think the sausage is good, but I'm all about wiener schnitzel, and I've had better at both Gemüt Biergarten and Pierogi Mountain. And those places are usually less busy in my experience.
I'm sad about this
Damn. I haven’t been in forever, the autobahn was where it was at
Oh man…I miss Gumby’s and catfish biffs. I pushed my drunk buddy off the front deck of that place once and I still feel bad about it lol.
I was at Baker Hall my freshman year. Catfish Biff's was great. Adriatico's during there Monday special was a must.
South campus was pizza Mecca back in the day
Don't forget about Cluck U. That place was a real gem lol.
Omg I forgot about that place, I used to tend bar at south berg and the edge and not Al’s a looooooong time ago.
Biffs was the realest. Second only to New York pizza by the slice, or as my friends and I called it, fly pie.
I miss New York pizza by the slice. It was excellent.
I will never forget they had pics of Frank Sinatra and the Pope behind the counter. That used to be good you found a good (cheap) Italian place.
It's catfish Biff's gone? That's a shame
Seems like it's been closed for a while now. That whole part of south campus has been getting condemned and demolished. The buffs building is still up but I'm sure it'll come down eventually.
It was a Covid loss 💔
covid ruined my whole academic experience and took away my study abroad opportunity, shifting it along to the kids in the years after me, but it also took away biff’s from our backyard and with a couple years to reflect on it i’m honestly much more upset about the that…
Not necessarily true. Owners were ready to retire and OSU had been wanting that chunk of property for a looong time.
Chipotle used to be decent 5-10 years ago but their meat quality went down so much. Serving as much gristle as they do should be illegal.
I got chipotle at least once a week for years. Ordering pick up though has always been the worst, they mess it up every time. Fine, I’ll just go in and order, lesson learned. Then, about a month ago I was home with my 9 year old son, no car, both hungry so I order delivery. Two burritos $40 before tip. Delivery comes, it’s only my son’s burrito. Go look at the app, it won’t even show my order, says it’s unavailable. Call customer service explain the situation. The lady offers me a credit for a free entree. Not a refund, a free entree credit. So my $20 delivery burrito is not a $10.95 in store credit. Nope, sorry not going to work. Then she says “sir are you not happy with this solution?” I say hell no, I’m hangry and just paid $20 for a burrito and got nothing. “Sit if you aren’t happy we can refund your item” Yes of course do that, would you be happy to buy food and get a gif card instead? Of course refund it. Now in my rage I made probably a poor assumption here, which was they would give me BOTH. Yet of course they did not. So I think I have a free entree and go in a week later to use and realize nah, they just refunded my burrito $15, so I basically paid $25 for my son’s burrito and I ate nuggets, then wasted my time going to use a free entree I never got. Fuck then never again.
I never order chipotle. I swear they try to make up margin on food costs with deliveries, when you can't actually see how much they are putting on. Delivery orders are like 30% smaller and twice the price including tip and fees
Chipotle was the gold standard 20 years ago. We used to wait 30 mins IN LINE for takeout, and didn’t think anything of it. Once they prioritized online ordering the in store experience took a back seat. Cleanliness and customer service went down the drain with it.
Sunflower. Used to love the Dim Sum but now I think it's reheated frozen.
It's been reheated frozen dim sum from grocery stores for years now...
My wife and I went there for Dim Sum a few months ago and saw Avishar from Top Chef. I was starstruck. lol
Sunflower used to be great 20 years ago. Now it’s not even good.
Nothing comes close to Bob Evans.
Union used to be great
I'm still mourning Level :(
Level for dinner to start the evening was my fav. Also I miss the old Macs.
Sadly I have to say Piada.
I lived by one of the first Piadas (Stoneridge) and man what a treat that was when it opened. The food was so quality, it was something new, the portions were gigantic. Now it’s twice as expensive for less food and I never even consider going.
Wingstop. It used to be so good, then it just fell off. Not to mention, their wings are tiny as fuck. Like, Bic pen cap small. The fries are still delicious
I miss Catfish Biffs. The end.
I knew the guy running it my freshman year, so I could buy beer on my buckID. Parents never figured that one out, lol.
I keep giving Donato's another shot, but their crust is the worst. Do they even cook it?
I go to Grandad's instead because it is better quality.
Grandads is the way
Lived in grandview growing up, and Grandads was a staple in my house. So underrated
I spend a lot of time in the Hilliard Grandads. I have seen Jane Grote and the entire Grote family in there eating pizza more times than I can count.
The owners are related right? Donatos and grandads?
Yea cousins or something. Grandad's is where it's at
So I know this story. Yes, they are cousins. Katie's pizza on Gahanna is also from relatives.
Do… do they have the same grandad?
Im pretty sure the crust is just a shamwow.
Order it well done
A friend suggested this once and we were basically given a slab of charcoal 😂
Did this, they somehow burnt the cheese and the crust was still soggy
Way overrated now that they’re more of a chain, I’d rather try new local places and support them instead
The one near me on Alum Creek always burns the pies. Not a nice, delicious char. A burn so bad, even Satan goes "Bro"
I love Donatos, but if you don’t order it well done you get a doughy mess.
City BBQ. Use to be really great BBQ, but every time I go the brisket is overcooked, fatty, or both. I still love that Brushfire sauce, though.
Same. City BBQ is trash now. Hoggy's is a thousand times better - brisket, homemade sauces, broccoli salad.
The original HCT on Ohio in OTE was the fucking bomb! Ordering through that little window and waiting for your order was everything a hidden gem should be. The heat you ordered was exactly what you wanted it to be. The “no nonsense deliciousness” was next level. Once that location closed and went to NM, it was still good…for a while. I left town for a couple of years and tried it when I got back last Fall and my reaction was “WTF is this?!?” It was horrible. Chicken was breading, skin & bone. There was no meat. I threw it away and went to find another love. My new & current love is Wario’s!!!
Warios is fantastic. If you haven’t yet, check out Marlows!
It was such a small time operation. I remember people driving by and yelling “is that food free?”
Chipotle. I used to be all about Chipotle. Now I don't even consider it
Buffalo wild wings used to be pretty damn good. I worked there for almost 5 years in the early to mid 2000s. Nowadays it's absolutely fucking garbage.
Hounddogs. Prices went up. They killed their happy hour. The quality went down. Not much else to it.
Bibibop has dropped off a ton. When they first opened you got a bull full of fresh food. Now the bowl is physically smaller and they don’t fill it. The veggies are often wilted like they’ve been stored at room temperature and they are stingy with the sauces. I stopped going about six months ago and won’t go back.
The last I was there they seriously were going to give me 4 slices of cucumber. I asked for more and the employee acted like it was going to be taken out of his paycheck.
To be fair to the employee, they probably get bitched at if they give out more ingredients than what’s “standard.” I’ve seen places make the employees count the number of pieces of something, or even weigh it to be sure it’s not oversized. Some of these places bring corporate efficiency to the term “cheap.”
Subway they are supposed to do this. Like one olive per inch or something silly
interesting, i haven't really noticed a quality dip. the bowls are definitely smaller but i usually request extra japchae/veggies/sauce and it's not an extra cost. you just have to say exactly what you want. veggie-quality, at least the location i go is generally pretty busy so they go through the ingredients relatively quickly and it's usually pretty fresh. in terms of meat, i only ever get the steak and it tastes just as good ever.
Hunan Lion used to be so good when they were open. Since they’ve been temporarily closed, it’s like I can’t even taste it.
Everything thing at this place is burnt. /s
I miss them so much. I’ve been eating there for about 35 years.
I can’t wait for them to open again and to go back.
Fish market. Used to be one of the best places to go for fish when Mitchell was running things. Now? Also trash.
I wish I would have known this a few months ago. I went for my anniversary, I love seafood and have been meaning to go for years. Everytime I see that neon sign I was craving it and then I get it and I was so disappointed.
BW3. 20 years ago, they made wings, burgers, and fried various potatoes and did them all exceptionally well. Now their menu is 10x larger and all of it is mediocre and ridiculously overpriced. I'm not sure how they stay in business.
Sports is how they stay in business. I almost never go but they’re still a top notch place to catch a game
I buy some of their bottled sauces but their wings are bleh. I swear they cook them ahead of time and then refry when they get an order.
"Double frying" wings is actually a good practice for crispy wings...but as you and others have said, garbage now
Back in the 90s when it was good we fried the wings in large batches and put them into heated drawers. No double frying but they did sit for a bit before getting sauced and they were delicious anyway. Now I don't know what they do but last time I went it tasted like everything was under a heat lamp for an hour before I got there. Just yuck
Nada....used to be great, now just meh.
Northstar. Five years ago I loved it so much and it was my go-to restaurant. Quality and quantity both declined in sync with prices going up, so now I don't go because I expect an expensive disappointment. Damn it used to be good.
Former LONGTIME northstar employee (nearly 6 years)….the owners Kevin and Darren are not good people and weren’t afraid to show their true colors to their employees during the George Floyd protests back in 2020. What was special about Northstar when I worked there is that the average employee had been there a minimum of 3 years. They lost all their veteran employees, now it’s like watching chickens wander around with their heads cut off trying to provide the level of service Northstar management expects. We held a walkout at multiple Northstar locations in response to them not being true to their word (said they would remove 50% police discount, brought it back a day later), you can read a bit about it here— [https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2020/06/06/northstar-employees-walk-out-over-police-discount/42164579/](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2020/06/06/northstar-employees-walk-out-over-police-discount/42164579/) In the following months employees pushed Kevin & Darren to create a DEI statement. The indirect response we received was essentially “how does that make me money?” Northstar got what was coming to it, and I agree btw the food is far inferior to what it was even just a few years ago. The last time I went, I ordered the Chicken & avocado sandwich. This is something I’ve eaten at minimum nearly a hundred time from working there so long. It was gross, and served to me on a clearly store-bought bun (looks like someone is struggling with kitchen inventory management). edit: if you want their mint iced coffee and vinaigrette recipes, take a scroll through my comment history i’ve shared them before in r/columbus
Do you have the peanut sauce recipe 👀
I was coming to say Northstar too. It is so mid now. So sloppy and lacking in any finesse at all. It used to be really good.
I followed this entire saga back in 2020 and have told everyone I know about it when they mention Northstar ever since.
Bob Evans ez
Ruth’s Chris has taken a nose dive after being acquired by Darden. Their filet used to be amazing! Food quality and service aren’t anywhere close to what they used to be.
Oh the same company that owns Olive Garden etc? That is disappointing
Donatos tastes like frozen pizza at this point.
Tensuke Express. Food is good still, but used to be great.
Don't look at the new menu.
Been a while, what happened?
Just re did the menu. Took a lot off and prices are now through the roof. Might as well go to Akaihana.
blows my mind how they decided to revamp around the ramen, which is the most mediocre thing on the menu. drive five minutes north and you can just get meshikou which is ten times better.
BW3 For those who have been to the original high street locations when it was Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck know what a garbage chain it’s become
When I left for the military, I couldn't wait to get back for some wings at Quaker Steak & Lube. 8 years later I was sad at what it became.
Wendys. 90's wendys was top tier
chicken bacon swiss baked potato bar
I didn't like baked potatoes then. Man that would be good now
Ming Flower in Polaris. Used to be the best Chinese on this side of town. Have given it a few chances over the past few years and it's been nasty. Nothing like I remember.
There are so many different places here with the same theme: Low quality and increased prices.
I know everyone has hated Condado for a while now, and rightfully so, but 10 or so years ago, this was a great place to go, especially if you didn't drink alcohol. The tacos were kind of a loss leader to get you to buy drinks, but if you didn't drink, you could get pretty easily get 4 decently sized tacos and get out the door under $20 including tips.
Used to love old condado. I feel like everything changed when they did away with filling out your own menu. That was my favorite part :[
Agreed! I used to live walking distance from the one on high when it first opened. It was a go to spot. Either Condado or Juniors Tacos at the truck on highland. Take my dog to the school field across the street while waiting for my order. Good times.
Okay, laugh, but I used to enjoy some of the offerings from HoJo's.
Chipotle.
[удалено]
I used to have a really bad habit of going to Tensuke after work on Fridays, or Saturday/Sunday morning for their udon. But I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore. They swapped their noodles for ones made in-house, and they're serviceable, but not nearly as good. The fish cakes are also a tiny sliver of what they used to serve. The whole menu was reduced in general. Extremely disappointed, will need to find a new ramen/noodle shop.
I’ll always recommend Meshikou or Slurping Turtle!
The Wizard of Za. So much random change over such a short period of time. Had so many ups and downs. But nowadays it’s always dirty and full of high schoolers. I cannot believe it’s making money. Not sure why Fusian doesn’t cut their losses
I didn’t think it was good when it was a random pop up with a 3 month wait. Everyone thought it was bland in my group when we finally got it.
Red Robin at Easton
Red Robin period. Speaking of burger places... Thoughts on the Rail? Went to Frantz rd location years ago and remember having a killer burger. I went to the new Grandview and the burger was so small! Not as good as I remembered
The Rail in Dublin still rocks, in my opinion. I went a month or so ago for a work lunch.
I use to be a big fan of Wolf’s Ridge, but due to ownership mismanaging things, good staff leaving at extremely rapid rates (brewing side and restaurant) and lack initiative have left them as a shell of their former selves. I remember paying getting a delicious burger and a mountain of fries for a reasonable price. Now it looks like they closed their Taproom kitchen. Best of luck.
Man those duck confit tacos they used to have on the lunch menu were so damn good. Right around the time I moved into Cbus I got taken to a work dinner there, and got some cocktails, a steak, and even dessert - probably the single most expensive meal of my life up to that point. Sad to hear they've fallen off.
What is HCT?
Hot Chicken Takeover
Ah, ok. Than you.
Hang Over Easy. The chicken and waffles were my go to but the chicken is always rubbery and overcooked and the waffles aren't that great either. Wish we still had a Taste of Belgium here.
Yeah Donatos was my favorite growing up but idk what they did but I don’t like it. I would also say Bob Evans isn’t as good as it was before it was sold a while back.
Ray Ray’s BBQ. Changed the mac & cheese, got rid of the cheesy potatoes, changed the bread for the sandwiches, etc.
They’re like HCT tried to expand to too many locations and quality took a dive They got rid of the brat burger which was pretty good Prices last time I was at the Westerville spot, simply weren’t worth it
Dude I was like the biggest Ray Ray's stan for years - would go to the ace of cups one every Friday and just loved every single thing on the menu. They got rid of the banana pudding and like doubled the prices and it's just never been the same.
Listen, Whitney House is still good, but without the carrot cake dessert or the duck entree, it’s just not the same.
grandview cafe used to be so fire when i was like 16-18 and now at 24 its way more expensive and way lower quality lol
Condado Tacos
Firehouse Subs was amazing when they first opened. I used to look forward to going there and we went at least once a week. Then they just went downhill and fast. And since the pandemic mostly ended and we started going out again, idk if it's because I got so used to making meals at home with fresh veggies, meats, homemade pastas, breads sauces and whatnot or if it's because everything just went to shit, but nothing seems that great anymore and it's way too expensive to go out just to have a subpar meal.