On my last day in Columbus, my friend Esther didn’t know what to bring me to eat. So, in true Eating Monster fashion, I went to yelp and looked up the highest ratings/most reviewed restaurants in Columbus and ended up with Northstar Cafe. Of course, yelp never lets me down. I have to say, Northstar Cafe is amazing, and if I lived in Columbus it would be one of my favorite restaurants.
For a cafe its size, the menu was quite small. We went on a Sunday afternoon, so they were serving their brunch menu, which consisted of breakfast foods and sandwiches. Reading on yelp, it seemed that most people liked the Cloud Nine Pancakes. Everything on the menu looked delicious, especially the breakfast items. I love granola, and I like prosciutto and focaccia bread, and I like cereal too. I got the Cloud Nine Pancakes and my friend got the Sweet Potato and Turkey Hash. I think just by looking at the menu makes me want to visit my friend in Columbus again!
Three ricotta pancakes served with real maple syrup and fresh fruit
Applewood smoked turkey, red peppers, sweet onions, and two sunny-side-up eggs*
The food was so, so amazing. My Cloud Nine Pancakes really made my mouth feel like it was eating a cloud. They were the fluffiest pancakes I can remember. It came with bananas, which is always a great plus. However, the ricotta cheese didn’t really stand out; they could have left it out and I probably wouldn’t have noticed. I was expecting the pancakes to be creamy too, because of the ricotta, but that was not the case and I was slightly disappointed. But they’re still amazing pancakes that everyone should try.
My friend got the Sweet Potato and Turkey Hash. It was part of my ploy to get my friend to order it, since I wanted pancakes but I also love sweet potatoes. However, I did read on yelp that someone was talking about hash… so I assumed it was this! Although a bit salty for our tastes, I thought it was amazing. I switch between the sweet fluffy pancakes and the salty crispy sweet potatoes which made the meal so much more enjoyable. I think my friend felt that it was much too salty for her because she was eating mostly only her dish. They reminded me of the lyonnaise potatoes from Pamelas – crispy and flavorful. But I love the sweet potatoes better because the sweetness of the potatoes and the onions with the saltiness from the smoke turkey, and what I can only assume to be lots and lots of salt, made me keep on eating it. I loved it.
Although I don’t usually comment on coffee, this time I have to. If you order coffee here, they give you a mug and you get to choose your own: decaf, light roast, medium roast, or dark roast. I love the choice because I tend to dislike the bitterness in coffee. I chose the light roast, and it was really, really good coffee. It was very fragrant and I enjoyed it a lot.
I think the only downside of this cafe is that it was kind of noisy, but otherwise I loved my visit here.
the life of a eating monster 