ELLA: Eat Local. Love Art.

That’s the concept behind Ella, New Albany’s newest restaurant and bar serving up contemporary American cuisine. The restaurant, which is attached to New Albany’s awardwinning Hayley Gallery, features artwork from over 50 local artists. Hayley Savage, founder of Hayley Gallery, and Amy Schottenstein, general manager of Ella, came together to create the exciting restaurant concept.

“Amy was passionate about food. She talked about reducing her carbon footprint, sourcing from local farmers and serving creative, chef-inspired dishes,” said Savage. “Soon Ella was born.”

According to Savage, local art and local food may not appear to go hand in hand, but they really do. “Many art buyers I come across are shocked to discover the caliber of art being produced right here in Ohio,” she said.

Schottenstein drew the parallel to local sourcing, recognizing that consumers wanting to eat local are also looking to learn more about local art. The concept has come a long way. Not only are Schottenstein and Savage working directly with local producers to source ingredients, but they collaborate with artists to bring local works into the restaurant.

Executive Chef Travis Hyde was brought into the picture after Savage met his wife at a local art benefit. Formally with Z Cucina in Grandview, Travis describes his style of cooking as a cross between “Italian cuisine and American homeboy.” Capitalizing on the highly sustainable local food trend, Hyde has created unique menu choices such as Ella’s Beet Salad, Pan-Roasted Local Amish Chicken, Pan-Seared Lake Erie Walleye and Sherry Molasses Pork Wings.

“I’m a pork fanatic. Anything pork on the menu is me—pork wings, chops, cut in house, anything I can throw bacon on,” Hyde said.

One taste of the Creole-Spiced Pork Loin and you’ll share in his passion. The pork, which is sourced from the OSU Agricultural Department, is rubbed in Creole spices, served with roasted garlic whipped potatoes, blue crab sautéed green beans and a spicy hollandaise.

According to Savage, you’ll know what’s fresh and in season based on Ella’s menu specials. “Seeing Amy buy off the truck and work with the local farmers is inspiring,” Savage said. “We truly are farm-to-table"

Diners at Ella are encouraged to stroll through the gallery before or after dinner, while enjoying a favorite beverage. “The idea is to put art from the gallery in the restaurant—not only for atmosphere but to drive the ‘local’ concept home,” said Savage. “We want people eating in the restaurant to visit the gallery and people visiting the gallery to stop by Ella for a meal.”

What’s Next Ohio and the Electronic Music Festival

When you think of great electronic music in 2012, one of the cities you aren’t likely to think of is Columbus. Many associate places like Los Angeles, Miami or Las Vegas with the electronic music scene, but What’s Next Ohio is helping to change that perception.

On January 14, a number of local electronic groups and performers hit the Newport Music Hall for a local event that garnered some national exposure. Newport is certainly a legendary venue for Columbus, and letting up and coming artists from the local scene is rare. Many of the showcased electronic artists hail from the area, beginning their trade in dorm rooms, apartments and their parent's garages.

With the music hall being right in the heart of the Ohio State campus, the event drew plenty of attention from OSU students. Electronic and dance-centered music has certainly risen in popularity, thanks to the attention it receives on college campuses throughout the country, which made the location of Saturday’s event all the more important.

The Columbus area is said to be quite renowned for having a great underground electronic music scene, but up until now, that scene has stayed largely hidden. With events like What’s Next Ohio, college students got to hear some great local artists and learn more about the people who have been putting music into the local electronic scene for quite some time.

By: Melinda Carter

Melinda Carter is a creative writer from the University of Texas El Paso. As an aspiring journalist she specializes in writing about travel destinations and tourism.

Wine Down with Chris Dillman

Thanks to Edible Columbus, I recently got the opportunity to sit down with Chris Dillman, our local wine aficionado.

Chris has passed the Advanced level of the Court of Master Sommeliers certification program, is one of only two Master Sommeliers candidates in Columbus and is arguably one of the most sought-after beverage directors around.

For the past year, Dillman has been running the wine department at Upper Arlington’s new Giant Eagle Market District. After a career in restaurants, it’s a change he’s adapting to.

I was curious to learn what Chris recommended this winter – at a price point we all can afford. I wanted to share his picks at Columbus a la Mode, but learn more by checking out my complete article in Edible Columbus’s Winter Issue.

Casteller Cava | $9.99

2010 Charles Smith Wines Kung-Fu Girl Dry Riesling | $11.99

2010 Bodegas Abonica Rua Valdeorras | $9.99

2010 Domaine de Barroubio Minervois Rosé | $11.99

2009 Messmer Pinot Noir Trocken $16.99 for one-liter bottle

2010 Berger Zweigelt $14.99 for one-liter bottle

Sweet As Honey - Brothers Drake Fine Mead

In ancient Babylon, a bride’s father supplied his new son-in-law with all the mead, or honey wine, he could drink in one lunar month—hence the term “honeymoon.”

(I think the term “hangover” was coined shortly thereafter).

Mead, which is wine made from honey rather than grapes, is an unfamiliar drink to many. Yet here in Columbus a local meadery is brewing up some pretty incredible blends that would make for quite the honeymoon, Babylonian or otherwise.

As part of my gig with Edible Columbus magazine, I recently got to check out Brothers Drake Fine Mead, located in the Short North.

You can read the complete story here, but I thought I'd "pour a taste" for my a la mode LOVERS...

Originally started by brothers Eric and Woody Drake, is located in Weinland Park just outside the Short North. As the sole developer of mead in the Central Ohio area, Co-owner and Head Mead Maker Woody Drake is always looking to educate people about the unique flavor you find in mead.

Now, with a new location and a new tasting room, the folks behind Brothers Drake have the opportunity to introduce locals to a drink they probably haven’t heard of.

“Basically, people don’t consider mead because they don’t know what it is,” said Woody. “We are on a mission to change that.”

It is a process he’s gotten down to a science. Since discovering his passion for mead over 16 years ago, Woody has turned his hobby into an award-winning business. Developed through a two-step fermentation process, Brothers Drake Mead can take anywhere from six months to a year and a half to complete.

Woody says that it’s all about finding the best ingredients and the right equation—what started as learning by trial and error turned into quite the science. His recipes have altered over time and, as with wine, the final product will vary based on the ingredients.

“Our goal is to be as local as possible,” said Oron Benary, co-owner and general manager at Brothers Drake. “We recently started exclusively sourcing our honey from Marysville; we’re also getting our lavender and fruit locally. Basically, we have made it a serious priority to source our ingredients closer to where we’re selling our product.”

Join the local movement and check out Brother Drake’s tasting room, which is open Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. – 10 p.m., Friday 4 p.m. – 1 a.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. – 1 a.m.

Brewed Awakening

Here’s a confession – I spend roughly $600 per year on Skinny Vanilla Lattes. Yes, you read that right. I am part of the 33 million customers that visit Starbucks Coffee each week (well, three times per week for me, since we’re being honest).

So, when asked to profile local coffee roasters for the spring edition of Edible Columbus, you can imagine how it threw off my regular Starbucks routine.

Forgot the fact that I write for a local food magazine. Forget the fact that I have a blog about local food and beverage. When it comes to local coffee, I’m clueless. I didn’t think we produced coffee in the U.S., let alone locally.

Forced out of my comfort zone, I succumbed to enlightenment – to purging my life of Skinny Vanilla Lattes and coffee ignorance. You can read all about it on page 60 of Edible Columbus Online. And in the meanwhile, be sure check out these three local coffee shops that will have you skipping Starbucks once and for all.

Stauf’s Coffee Roasters, 1277 Grandview Avenue, Grandview

Café Brioso, 14 East Gay Street, Downtown Columbus

Backroom Coffee Roasters, 1442 West Lane Avenue, Upper Arlington

Sweet Clove - Sweet Goodness

Brunch – it sounded so good when you made plans Friday night.

But come Saturday morning long lines, grumpy waiters and mediocre pancakes has you opting for Cheerios in bed rather than breakfast with friends.

Well, not for long. Set your alarm clocks people because Sweet Clove Sunshine Café just opened on Sawmill Road and it’s not going to have short lines for long.

Cord Rogers, corporate chef at The HoneyBaked Ham Company, recently launched the company’s first full-service breakfast and lunch restaurant. Sweet Clove, named after the honey used in the HoneyBaked traditional spice mixture, was piloted here in Columbus and has been so successful that six new locations are already in development across the country.

But, what caught my attention was the company’s devotion to sourcing local ingredients and the quality in menu development.

“From the cheeses we get from Ohio’s Amish Country to our meats and local eggs from right up the street, we are committed to sourcing locally when we can,” said Rogers.

In addition to the ingredients at Sweet Clove the thought and quality behind each menu item is impressive. Everything is baked fresh in-house – from the croissants made for sandwiches to the ginormous French Toast, which is baked in a high-velocity oven rather than cooked on a griddle (where extra fat and oil needs to be added for lubrication).

My recommendation? Try “The New Traditional” one of Sweet Clove’s many benedicts, offered with bacon rather than ham and served over a Pancake Muffin – Cord’s take on the English Muffin. The bacon in The New Tradition is rubbed overnight with cane sugar, spices and honey… and it is money.

The hollandaise, made from scratch every day, is the perfect compliment to the hint of sweetness from the Pancake Muffin and the creaminess of the eggs. No joke, you will feel like you’re a kid again, eating breakfast down on grandma’s farm. No worries if, like me, you’re grandma is from the city and you’ve never stepped foot on an egg farm.

Sweet Clove offers breakfast and lunch seven days a week and I promise you will find top-quality food coupled with the best customer service in town. Don’t just take my word for it either – Sweet Clove is averaging a 4.87 rating out of 5 on their comment cards. I couldn’t help but take a peek in the box on my way out the door. The one card I read simply stated, “Absolutely Amazing.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Sweet Spot – Emlolly Candy

In 7th grade Lauren Cattell received more Candy Grams than I did during the Perry Middle School Valentines Day party.

I think that's where my infatuation with receiving sugary treats on Valentines Day began. Combine that with my sweet tooth and it should come as no surprise that the quickest way to my heart is through chocolates, desserts and candy of all kinds!

Someone must have tipped Emily McCurdy and Melanie Bunstine off because I recently received a package of the most delicious chocolaty treats from the mother-daughter team that owns Emlolly Candy.

So, just in time for Valentines Day, I had to pop in their store and see what Emlolly was all about.

Located in historic downtown Worthington, right next door to The Old Bag of Nails Pub, Emlolly Candy is a delightful little shop carrying all of your favorite sweets.

The ladies of Emlolly made a name for themselves with their signature Block O Buckeyes – handmade, officially licensed “buckeyes” shaped like The Ohio State University’s iconic Block O. The adorable chocolates are an infusion of a creamy peanut butter center covered in Emlolly's signature sweet, rich chocolate.

I can’t help but think they’d make the perfect valentine for any OSU lovah.

Keep Emlolly in mind for "candy bars" at weddings and events, kids birthday parties, Ohio State tailgates or anytime you need a quick sugar fix. They have everything from an M&M buffet to vintage candy by the decade.

For Monday, I’m thinking Emlolly Chocolate Dipped Strawberries + a bottle of Sketchbook Cab = perfection. Oh, and my hubby as well, of course!