Liege-style waffles inspire new restaurant
After a hiking trip to Colorado, Brandon and Aimee Harper stumbled on an unlikely obsession and were determined to bring it to central Ohio.
The Harpers are the owners of Belgian Iron Wafel Co. in the old Eleni-christina Bakery, 19 W. Russell St. in the Short North.
“We decided it was an awesome idea that needed to be brought to Columbus,” Brandon Harper said.
“Columbus deserves it,” his wife quickly added.
The Liege-style waffles are built from the bottom up, starting with a homemade-dough recipe that uses sugar pearls to give a burst of sweetness and crunch to the outside, while the inside is aerated and fluffy.
Aimee Harper consulted with an endocrinologist on a vegan, gluten-free waffle that uses assorted flours and macadamia-nut butter.
The couple even hired a bona-fide chef, Tom Brown, who trained at Johnson & Wales University and has worked in the food industry for 25 years.
The waffles come in both savory and sweet options, costing $4 to $12.
One of the sweet signature options is the carrot cake with a walnut, apple and raisin relish, maple-carrot cream cheese and spiral-cut carrots on top.
A savory choice is the bourbon barbecue pork duo, offering thick-sliced bacon, pulled smoked pork, maplebourbon barbecue sauce, green onion and a ramekin of cheddar cheese.
There’s even a flight of waffles: three tasting sizes for $15.
“We didn’t want to open something run of the mill, something that has been done before,” Aimee Harper said.
The Harpers consider the Belgian waffle the ultimate street food, wrapped in paper and easy to eat on the go.
There is seating for about 40 in the bi-level space, which has an open kitchen on the main floor and a prep kitchen in the basement.
The interior has wooden floors, exposed brick, white tile and large picture windows, a traditional design by Short North standards.
“We tried to keep the original look of the building,” Brandon Harper said.
The eatery has two new imported Belgian irons, which weigh about 100 pounds each and can turn out a total of 12 waffles every three minutes.
Brandon Harper said of the waffles, “Our goal is to serve them fresh and hot right off the line.”
A third iron is used exclusively for the gluten-free waffles, he said.
Locally based Mission Coffee Co. provides all of the roasted beans for the restaurants’ java products. Belgian Iron also offers tea, sparkling water and sparkling juice.
The restaurant is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; it’s closed Monday. The space is available after hours for private functions, the Harpers said.
For more information, call 614-947-7704.
Emerald style
Beer Barrel Pizza & Grill will open a third central Ohio location in the Dublin Green Shopping Center in Jerome Township by early summer.
The restaurant will occupy a 10,400-square-foot end unit with a 350-seat dining room.
Family-owned, Limabased Good Food Restaurants has eight Beer Barrel locations in Ohio.
Beer Barrel is known for its made-from-scratch dough and offers a thin-and-crispy style, deep dish and original crust, plus an assortment of sandwiches, salads, starters and other tavern fare.
The most recent opening of a Beer Barrel was Dec. 4 in Easton Market.
Poke place
Pokeworks, the latest venue offering build-yourown Hawaiian poke bowls, has opened at 1011 W. 5th Ave.
The local franchisee is Aaron Fu, a Columbus resident since 2004 and a brother-in-law of Pokeworks co-founder Kevin Hsu.
Bowls aren’t the only thing at the restaurant, as customers also can customize burritos, salads and kale noodle bowls.
Regular portions are $10.95, and large ones $13.50.
Pokeworks is part of an Irvine, California, company with 32 locations around the United States.
Fu said he plans to open four more locations in central Ohio.