18 JUN 07: FIVE OVER 2.0

Some people scoff when I talk here about the "blog competition." But plenty of new blogs have developed recently in Columbus, including several for Ledger-Enquirer reporters. In fact, I think Sonya Sorich is trying to psych me out by posting all those pictures of attractive babes....

Another new blogger wrote us the other day, seeking help with one topic:

Hi Richard!

I'm new to Columbus and started doing a little writing (www.coga20.com)...

Any thoughts as longtime Columbus blogger on the top 5 restaurants in the area?

Thanks!

-

Jonathan Nery

Welcome, Jonathan - and I'm wondering if your blog called "Columbus 2.0" makes mine 1.0, and if that makes yours superior.

Click over to Columbus 2.0 and you'll find an eclectic mix of topics, ranging from local sights to fashion and design. It promises a "fresh perspective" - so fresh, in fact, that perspective is misspelled.

But anyway: Jonathan raises a thought-provoking question -- one based on an online ranking he found. Where are the top restaurants in Columbus? Several years ago, you could have counted the best on one hand - and still had enough fingers left to eat fried chicken.

I researched a story on Columbus-area restaurants for the TV news in the late 1990's, and was surprised to find big-name travel guides didn't mention many. The highest score actually went to a restaurant in a restored home near downtown Hamilton. The Oak Tree is out of business now - and why the Garden Club of Georgia didn't fight to save it, I have no idea.

Another travel guide favorite for a "Columbus-area restaurant" actually went to the Windsor House hotel in Americus. As if people in Columbus would drive one hour out of their way for a nice dinner?! I don't think that many drove to the Opelika Cracker Barrel, before the Columbus location opened.

Back in the late 1990's, downtown Columbus only had a couple of really nice restaurants. The Olive Branch on Broadway impressed me most -- but then the Olive Garden opened at Columbus Park Crossing, and customers apparently decided that was an upgrade.

The restaurant scene has improved across Columbus in the last ten years - but the bulk of that admittedly is due to Columbus Park Crossing attracting national chains. I assume Jonathan wants me to leave out places such as Carrabba's, TGI Fridays, Chili's and Cheddars - in other words, anything within shouting distance of the Staples store.

Here's my personal and quite unofficial ranking of the best local Columbus restaurants, based simply on my visits:

1. Bludau's, Fourth and Broadway. This was the only local restaurant to earn a star from travel guides ten years ago, and I'm amazed the list at that other web site left it out. It's easily the most elegant place in town - perfect for weddings, prom dinners and lobbying by Synovus executives.

2. Chef Lee's II on Bradley Park Drive. The other web site is right about this one, as the owner went all-out to create a nice dining experience -- and he resisted the temptation to put whale sharks in his aquarium.

3. Mediterranean Café, Sidney Simons Boulevard. Nice food and atmosphere, tucked inside a shopping center - and it comes across as much less egotistical than that Chop House down the sidewalk.

4. Country's; you pick your favorite location. I actually knocked it down a notch from the other web site's ranking, because it's such a mainstream popular choice. The elitist restaurant critic in me asks: if everybody's eating there, is it REALLY that good?

5. El Vaquero, Cross Country Plaza (I haven't been to the Northlake location yet). It's a Mexican restaurant which even opponents of immigration reform seem to like.

A sudden change of plans Sunday left little time for blogging, so here are some quick notes to wrap things up:

+ The Georgia Department of Education posted district numbers from the CRCT exams. They showed 31.8 percent of Muscogee County eighth-graders fell short on the science exam. So did almost 63 percent of Talbot County eighth-graders - perhaps because some parents still are skeptical about that lunar landing stuff.

+ The "Getting on Top of Life" broadcast on WAGH-FM featured Pastor/School Board member Joseph Roberson calling the Biblical figure Abraham "a thug who tried to pimp his wife," and King David "a player and a big baller." So why isn't HE teaching Bible literature classes in Muscogee County schools? Attendance might go off the charts....

+ Sumter Regional Hospital issued a statement, promising to set up the "building structure of a fully functioning hospital" with buildings supplied by FEMA. So will people waiting for them in New Orleans be entitled to treatment first?

+ Instant Message to Pepsi-Cola: I tried your new Diet Pepsi Max, which the label calls "invigorating cola." And I have to admit I had my first two-mile run Saturday night since my illness. If I'd finished the entire 12-ounce bottle, maybe I would have reached three.

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