Two Rivers Restaurant & Bar
With so many restaurants popping up around Columbus, keeping up is a lot of work! We nailed down another new eatery this week when we headed to Two Rivers Restaurant and Bar in Powell. Chef Michael Frame is well known in Columbus for creating the menu at 101 Beer Kitchen before creating his own vision and opening up Two Rivers. His new restaurant focuses on a menu filled with made-from-scratch foods and locally sourced craft beers. After letting them settle for a few weeks, we headed to check out this new restaurant.
Situated at the end of a strip mall, we took advantage of their covered patio during one of our few cool days. After being greeted with water, we had to delve into an appetizer to get a feel for the place. The spring mushroom tart caught our eye, and we had to try it. The crust was flaky yet firm and had a bit of sweetness cut by the mushrooms’ savory flavor. The icing on top, quite literally, was the balsamic glaze that added another hint of flavor. Aside from the seasonal soup, it was the best way to start the meal. Everyone has had tomato soup or maybe even a tomato bisque. However, the new seasonal tomato soup was absolutely delicious. Josh had to stop eating it so I could have the soup I had ordered! The soup leaned toward a bisque and had cheese throughout, giving it a depth of flavor; cheese makes everything better.
I was trying to be healthy, so I just had a Caesar salad with no added protein. Josh’s mom went for the strawberry spinach salad and loved the addition of the strawberries. She couldn’t get over them, having never had them in a salad before. Josh’s meal was by far the favorite. A twist on a cheeseburger: this one had the influence of French onion soup with caramelized onions and three cheeses. What impressed us most about the burger, though, was the meat patty itself. It was expertly seasoned, and we all had to try a bite. I could have eaten it with only the burger and bun, and that’s saying something!
After we ate, we chatted with Chef Michael to hear how the first few weeks have been. They have had bountiful compliments about their poutine appetizer and fried chicken dinner. (I will return when I’m not trying to be healthy and try a more fun dinner!) He also started working on making the inside room have less echo so it’s not so loud, which was one of the pieces of feedback they’ve gotten from guests. We love it when an owner listens to what their patrons say and runs with it! Next time, we will go for dinner instead of lunch and partake in a drink and some yummy comfort food!
