My friend Jenn always has new restaurant ideas up her sleeve when I come into town to visit. Columbus, Ohio is a bustling city with many food choices. And while it can be a bit difficult for me to find something to eat, there is always a go-to plate or salad on a menu somewhere that is safe. Salad is always my fallback.
On my last trip into Columbus to see The Monkees in concert, my friends and I went out for a pre-concert meal at The Rusty Bucket in Bexley, Ohio. It’s a tavern of sorts, and I knew that fish and chips would purchased by at least one of my friends. After all…that’s her go-to meal. After perusing the menu, I decided on their Veggie Burger, which is a crispy black bean burger, served with Provolone cheese, roasted red pepper relish, romaine, and a lemon basil aioli. I ordered mine without the bun and the server asked if it was an allergy or a preference. I told him it was an allergy and he nodded his head and wrote that down. With our orders in, we set into discussing the excitement of the upcoming concert and then I excused myself to use the restroom. While I was gone, our waiter apparently repaid a visit to the table and inquired as to what exactly my food allergies were. My roommate was in our small group, so she took care of that explanation and upon my return, she informed me that she alerted the waiter that I had a gluten-intolerance. Nice of this place to ask to be on the safe side. No sooner had I retaken my seat, the waiter reappeared with a gluten-free menu and told me to choose another side item as he and the chef didn’t feel confident serving me the normal side of fries that come with the burgers. This, to me, meant the potatoes share a frier with the breaded fish and chicken, and therefore rendered them a problem for anyone with a gluten allergy (let’s not go into the fact that this would also make them non-vegetarian!). I was in the mood for a starch, and at the waiter’s suggestion, chose the mashers (mashed potatoes) instead. I thanked him profusely for checking and for ensuring my safety when it came to my food allergy. Bonus…I now know that the Rusty Bucket has a gluten-free menu should I return in the future.
Needless to say…I was impressed!
Food arrived shortly after and I was quite happy with the black bean burger at first glance. It looked perfectly cooked with the Provolone cheese melted down over it. The vegetables were tucked to the side for me to do with as I cared. And the mashed potatoes looked whipped up perfectly…light and fluffy. Just the way they should be.
I wasted no time digging into the meal. Chopping up the vegetables, I spread them out on my plate and then cut up the veggie burger into bite-size pieces, adding them to the bed of veggies. I dolloped a bit of the aoili (mayonnaise) onto the spread and took my first bite. The burger had a slight spice to it, which I loved. Black bean burgers totally need a kick of something to keep them from being bland, and this delivered that much needed punch to the flavor. The outside was crisped to perfection with the inside the perfect soft consistency you want with a black bean burger. Pairing it with the lettuce and peppers made the perfect conglomeration of flavors. In other words…it was yum!
I sampled the mashed potatoes next and was so impressed with the texture of them, I had to share bites with my friends. Light, and whipped to perfection. You could tell they were made from real potatoes, without the heavy clumps (although I don’t mind those either!). Lightly seasoned, the mashers at the Rusty Bucket are the perfect substitute for the fries, if you are in the mood for potatoes. They aren’t overly salted, which I appreciated because I don’t salt my mashed potatoes at home and a lot of times restaurants overkill the salt on their sides of mashed potatoes. But these were pure perfection. A heavenly cloud of potato-bliss!
We polished off our plates and I made a point of once again thanking my waiter for double-checking on my food allergy before serving me something. Not many restaurants would do that. But since the Rusty Bucket has included a gluten-free menu into its line-up…well…no wonder they double-check on such things. I admire that in any restaurant and I hope more take that into consideration in the near future.
Amazing dining experience at the Rusty Bucket. The food was typical sports tavern fare, but done well. The added bit of security for me made this trip worth it. And I would be happy to return for another meal here anytime.
The Celiathlete 