R&R Taquera....Tacos in a Shell Station = Yummmmm

GUEST BLOGGER OF THE WEEK:  Barbi Smole

Yesterday brought great weather here in Baltimore, Maryland as well as 2 babysitters to watch our 3 kids for a few hours.  My hubby and I snuck out around 11am and headed straight for a local NY Deli specializing in housemade corned beef....sounds good right?  Yep, only they were closed for the holiday.  So, option #2 and the first time I could convince my significant other to go....off we went to the local Shell Gas Station to a little hole-in-the-wall, the R&R Taquera.

Yes, I know, tacos from a gas station.  You must be kidding, but no I am as serious as ever.  We ordered the basic, chicken, steak, pork and lamb tacos.  While waiting (long line) we meet another couple of foodies who had traveled over 40 minutes to check this place out.  Turns out the Washingtonian Magazine did a review on our local taco stand....the secret is out.  Our tacos arrived smoothered in diced onions, cilantro and marinated meat.  Corn tortillas held them all together and a mystery housemade red sauce was on the side.  Fresh lime wedges added a nice bite to each taco.  Our overall favorites....pork, chicken and then steak.  Lamb needed a bit more flavor, more than the red sauce and lime could deliver.  We dove into the tacos in the parking lot and within 10 blissful minutes they were gone.  5 tacos for the 2 of us was perfect for a light lunch and for $10 it was cheaper than McDonalds and about 1000 times better. 

If you find yourself along Rt.1 and 175 in Columbia, MD get on over to the shell station....yum, yum, yum. 

R & R Taquera

7894 Washington Blvd
inside the Shell Station
Elkridge, MD 21075

South Clintonville/North Campus takes you to the streets of Lima, Peru

We like well-seasoned food and we found it! Under the ownership & grill skills of a Peruvian spatula wizard we enjoy a recent breakfast at Jack & Benny's; Grill master Genaro Garcia Mandriotti was our host. Call him Geno....everybody does including his wife, Hilda

This Columbus dinner, located at the northwest corner of Hudson and High, has been slinging hash for years. Sit down at the dinner the guys on either side of you will probably been sitting there every morning for the last decade. The dinner is small so if you arrive fashionably late for breakfast expect to wait.

The menu is extensive for a breakfast joint....There speciality is Pancakes. Big and fluffy with a single going for $1.75. The selections include; Blueberry, Chocolate Chip, Reese's Peanut Butter, Coconut, Apple Cinnamon, Raisin Cinnamon, Cinnamon, & Pecan along with straight Buttermilk.

But your Columbus Chow Crew didn't travel this far for pancakes....we came for Diner Food! Jack & Benny's Gut Buster, Straight Gut Buster, Eggs and more. HE had Chorizo Scramble which was nicely prepared with diced Chorizo and I had Huevos Ranchero. Slightly hot, super good...good portions.

The Breakfast Standard (2 Eggs, Potatoes, Toast & Breakfast Meat is $5.99 with unlimited coffee at $1.75. The menu price leader was Sirloin Steak and Eggs @ $7.95. The service staff (alot for a small dinner) was attentive to the point of hovering....Your Crew was worried about this experience upon entering because they all where in uniform!! But the service was good. Decor was the "Ohio State Athletics" wall plaque thing.

Your Columbus Chow Crew awards this neighborhood restaurant.....3 Bellies !

Jack & Benny's Diner

Your Breakfast Alternative

2563 North High Street

Columbus, OH 43202

614/263-0242

Monday-Friday 7 am til 3 pm

Saturday-Sunday 8 am til 3 pm

No reservations, dress code or parking lots available! FABULOUS!

Breakfast Barn & Restaurant with Skill Games

A Gem! Impossible to find! It's worth the effort. This near southwest side restaurant features downhome cooking in the style of atypical comfort food....simple fare in a simple environment for a cheap price made and served by nice people.

The Ladies of the Barn

Your Columbus Chow Crew dove into this Columbus diner on a recent Saturday Morning. Once 'the other guy' finally found the joint (after calling for directions) we both ordered what we refer to as 'The Diner Standard.' Two Eggs, Potatoes, Meat (their term; not ours) and Toast. Our waitress, Joell Wilson from Adelphia OH was quick, breezy and slightly 'in-your-face.' All qualities that your Columbus Chow Crew LOVE!

Other items on the menu include a fish tail sandwich & club with fries @ $7.50 (the price leader.)

The decor can only be described as homeowners cast-off with a hint of garage sale accessories. While you are waiting for either of the two owners, Kay Crane and Ruth Mulford, to prepare your order you can kill some time at one of the four (4) skill games in the corner. Who knows you might hit a penny jackpot!

The order arrived promptly....large portions, freshly prepared and served with alittle Joell attitude. Our food tasted great...just what we where looking for in a dinner

Your Columbus Chow Crew (CCC) award this hidden gem

3 1/2 bellies.

Breakfast Barn & Restaurant

1275 Brown Road

Columbus, OH  43223

5 am til 1 pm (M-Sa)

This diner is generally in the area of the southwest corner of Greenlawn Cemetery. Reservations are not necessary and there is no dress code.

Welcome to Columbus Chow!

One guy from Laurence Harbor, New Jersey and the other, a Southsider from Chicago. Since meeting over coffee in 1977 they have travelled all over Columbus looking for the perfect breakfast place. Each with his own quality standards; yet surprisingly, similiar in what matters most. This blog is dedicated to our efforts in finding the very best in Columbus, OH breakfast joints. The Best? Food, absolutely. Unique Staff? In someways more important than the eggs! The Decor? Who cares! Just one absolute.....there is very few national chains that could qualify. Check back to see our first post....we meet every Saturday morning with that weeks post soon after. Occasionally we will venture out maybe to Granville or Cleveland or even further, who knows however the choices will be honest greasy spoons

Jersey Boy

Background:  Laurence Harbor guy. Pretty humble beginnings to listen to him tell it. How can that be, he was raised in a harbor town! He since travelled the world and has enjoyed lots of white tablecloth experiences, yet, his biggest culinary thrill is: .....Jimmy Buffs' Italian Sausage .... how about that! Throw in some New York street food (mostly pizza) and you can't begin to get ahold of what excites his taste buds. yet the favorites are diners, jersey's best! peter pak , colonial, chick's for meatball sandwiches and pete's for clams I mean steamer's awesome baby

Southsider

Backgound: Pretty humble beginnings to listen to him tell it. Grew up on Chicago Hot Dogs, eye-talian Beef and Sausage, Polish Sausage, deep dish pizza, Elliotts Donut Holes, Beverly Drive-in where he worked for two summers as a short order cook...since then he's opened and operated an award winning catering company, a real foodie, studies cook books for goodness sakes...yet, still has to have his White Castle every 6 weeks or so..

So that's the background on your Columbus Chow Detectives.

Here's are promise to you!
1. We will always give you our unbiased opinions....not always supported by the actual facts.
2. We will always be absolutely independent...we will not be unreasonablely influenced with offers of free meals, booze or companionship of the opposite sex. Yet we are mortals.
3. We won't review anyplace that we have an ownership interest in....It wouldn't make the grade.