Cuco's

Sis, Kate, Angie and I headed to Cuco's for Kate's birthday this Monday. Her birthday was the 14th, but we went this week after our Somali tutoring that night.

I told Kate we'd go somewhere she'd never been and Cuco's qualified.

It's pretty good straightforward Mexican food. If you're in the area, check it out, but I don't see any need to make a special trip; El Vaquero is better.

Cuco's does serve fish tacos, though, which I love, but after having the Tilapia at El Arepazo, they were only so-so.

On the upside, it's 100 times better than Coco's!

El Arepazo!

This restaurant was officially brought to my attention by Miranda and it's FANTASTIC.

It's a little hole-in-the-wall Venezualan place on Pearl Alley just south of Gay St.

I had the Talapia and it was the best fish that I have ever eaten. Ever.

Angie had something and Jen had something else. The important thing here is that it was excellent and inexpensive and the fish is really, really good!

Oodles

So, it's not a great restaurant, but I read that there will soon be one in the Market Exchange District. (That's Main Street between 71 and Grant)

This means that, when I finally move back to my favorite part of town, I can eat mediocre noodles anytime I want!!

You can read more here.

CoCo's Grill

The following is the transcript of an actual visit to Grandview's CoCo's Grill:

Me: I would like an order of crab rangoon
worker: uh, we are out
Me: Ok, can I get a chicken egg roll then?
worker: we are out of those too
Me (to Tanya): Maybe you can get a spring roll
worker: we are out of those too
Tanya: You may want to change the root beer, it is just water
worker: we are out of root beer

Make your own decision, but I say CoCo's Grill is out!

Nazareth Deli?

Well, next time you're on 161 and want Greek, go the other way...to Cleveland Ave....and hit the Nazareth Deli. Best...gyros...ever.

Best ever? We should investigate this claim.

Al Ameer: The Review

I visited on a Saturday during Ramadan, so it was dead. I assume it was because of Ramadan, but I don't know. There was one other couple there half of which was a headscarved lady chowing down on arabic goodies, so maybe not everyone was as observant of the holiday as I thought they should be.

Anyways, the food was pretty good. The falafel is head and shoulders above Firdous, but the falafel sandwich is on pita bread, so I wasn't happy with it.

Angie had some chicken stuff which was OK. We both enjoyed the hummus and the tabouli.

All in all it was only alright.

Time to add a new joint!

Al Ameer

"This is another one of those gems tucked away in the many soulless strip malls around Columbus. In a strip mall behind another strip mall east of Cleveland Ave on 161 is the new Al Ameer Arabic restaurant. It has all the familiar Middle Eastern staples like humous and shawarma (similar to an gyro), which I tried and were very tasty. The humous was smooth with no grittiness, while both the regular and chicken shawrma are also highly recommended and come in large portions. There's a bit of a wait since everything is made to order so you know it's fresh. The staff is friendly and I'm betting they have the best Arabic dessers in the city when it comes to quality and the large selection. I really liked these sweet fried dough balls that were drenched in a syrup I that got, but I don't know what they're called. If you're not familiar with Arabic sweets, they don't skimp on the sweet part. This place has solid Arabic food, is reasonably priced, and has plenty of desserts you probably won't find elsewhere. The disco ball hanging in the middle of the room is an interesting touch."