Hearty, high-quality sandwiches are the calling card of East Market's The Butcher & Grocer
Ask a counter server at The Butcher & Grocer food stall, 1600 Oak St., in the East Market about what’s inside the house-baked breads of the eatery’s standout sandwiches, and you’re liable to hear a lot about farm-fresh Ohio ingredients. Whether such a recitation makes you proud to be in Ohio — or just hungrier — it will convey a deep commitment to quality.
That focus on top-notch ingredients characterized The Butcher & Grocer when it opened in 2016 as a Grandview Heights specialty-foods shop offering pasture-raised local meats, artisanal cheeses and flavorful in-season vegetables. With Cleaver, the couple-doors-down, excellent 2020-launched restaurant, the store began branching into eateries that cook with those high-end groceries.
As a food-hall operation, The Butcher & Grocer’s three-month-old East Market stall (a similar sibling is slated to open in New Albany in the fall) is less ambitious than Cleaver. Considering how good its food is, though, it seems underpublicized.
Hisham's Food truck: Hisham's Food a mobile feast for South African cuisine in Columbus
While trying to find its (about) dozen-item menu on The Butcher & Grocer’s social-media sites, I read more about the company’s available groceries. I suppose that’s understandable, but the hefty, lusty and delicious fare that’s cooked to order in the historic East Market deserves more attention.
That’s why I’m recommending that you visit this sleek, small food stall (four counter stools are offered, but there’s ample indoor and outdoor market seating).
If you like Cuban sandwiches, you’ll be in hog heaven there ($15). Within a splendid house-made telera roll griddle-toasted to audibly crunchy was plenty of thinly sliced serious ham and lightly smoked pulled pork flattered by melted Gouda, bracing house pickles and smoked grainy mustard. This adds up to a major contender for best Cubano in Columbus.
When I released the turkey sandwich ($16) from its butcher-paper wrapper, the good-looking and enormous creation had me thinking it was a beauty and a beast. Texas-toast-like, panini-griddled, properly sweet house-baked challah was loaded with: turkey that was miles above that watery supermarket stuff; irregular hunks of scene-stealing, smoky slab bacon; sharp cheddar; sweet sauteed red onions; tangy and minty green goddess dressing house-made with Greek yogurt.
Hopewell & Grace: From the farm to your arms, Hopewell & Grace supplies locally sourced heat-and-eat meals
The hot dog ($8) in an impressive house-made brioche bun was as much of an overachieving outlier as that turkey sandwich. It starred a garlicky and juicy all-beef wiener that was far bigger and better than most frankfurters, and which arrived appealingly textured like a deep-fried “ripper.” Its effective garnishes: grainy mustard plus pleasantly idiosyncratic house giardiniera made with minced cabbage and chopped, Chicago-style “sport peppers.”
Following a server’s suggestion on one visit, I opted for a Smashburger special fashioned with house-ground beef ($9). That recommendation led to a quarter-pound of juicy, fresh-tasting seared meat tucked into another lovely bun with avocado, melted cheese plus battered-and-fried jalapeno chips.
The fries deserve status as the signature side — and a gigantic serving of the golden-brown, extra-crispy, freshly cut, twice-fried spuds is only $5. Among the cooler-stored premade dishes I tried that constitute most of the other sides, the local-greens-forward market salad was good but uncharacteristically puny for the price ($8).
Better values included the chunky and mustardy potato salad ($5) and a steal-of-a-deal heirloom tomato salad ($3) with cucumbers and onions.
I know what some of you are thinking: OK, this place sounds great, but does it have tacos? One order is currently offered, but the three sold for $8 were so well-made that even though the eatery had just run out of a main ingredient — house chorizo — they still rocked. That’s because in addition to onion and cilantro, the expertly toasted soft corn tortillas held fragrant minced “Oaxacan” black beans (not soupy, just delicious) and, as a chorizo replacement, the pulled pork I’d enjoyed in the Cuban sandwich.
I’ll be eager to compare those terrific improvised tacos with the place’s standard chorizo tacos on one of many upcoming visits.
The Butcher & Grocer Kitchen at East Market
Where: 1600 Oak St., Near East Side
Contact: 614-454-MEAT, eastmarket.thebutcherandgrocer.com
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays; closed Mondays
Price range: $6 to $16
Ambience: sleek food stall in the East Market with quick, personable service
Children's menu: no
Reservations: no
Accessible: yes
Liquor license: no
Quick click: Hearty, delicious and affordable sandwiches made with house-baked breads and high-quality fillings are the calling card of this new spinoff of The Butcher & Grocer, but don’t sleep on the fries or tacos.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The Butcher & Grocer at East Market offers tasty sandwiches and more
