Last night I went to my first Columbus Underground event, a clambake and shrimp boil at the newly opened (and long awaited) second Banana Bean Cafe location.
I am a big fan of the Banana Bean Cafe but I don’t make it there very often because German village always seems further away than it really is and it is so small that you need a reservation for brunch. The new location (Greenlawn Ave) is much larger and seems like a great space (should have taken a photo). The building was previously the tavern on the lawn and the Banana Bean will now have a liquor license and longer opening hours. There is also plenty of parking. The old (Whittier Ave) location will only be open for weekday lunches and the new location will be the weekend brunch destination. I hope to check it out soon.
The banana bean staff said that they were expecting about 35 people and ended up feeding 70, which probably accounted for some of the delays for food, but the patio was spacious enough and the drink specials kept people happy. It was fun to see some of the flying J dinner crowd and meet some new faces.
This was my first clambake, so I am not sure how the food really compares. For those of you who are not veterans of such an event it comprised crawfish, clams, corn on the cob, red skinned potatoes, onions, shrimp and andouille sausage, with some bay seasoning and served with salad, garlic bread and cocktail sauce. Tasty – especially the sausage. It was safer getting your food while it was still light. By the time the last basket came out, after dark, the limited candlelight meant that it was a bit of a lottery what you were picking up with the tongs. I think Patio lighting might be one of the snagging items.
There was a lot of anticipation for the grilled scallops. I am not sure how many people realized that they would be served for dessert, with grilled pineapple, marinated raisins and rum sauce. The raisins tasted like christmas, the scallops were beautifully cooked and the pineapple was succulent but somehow the combination didn’t work for me.
September 27, 2008
i was super impressed with the dessert scallops…i too was wondering how they were going to pull it off as a desert. i found it to be absolutly decadent and savored every bite. thank you for writing it up and posting the pictures.