Inside: Banana Bean Café

(Credit: Dana Stewart)

Photos:

The whole staff at Metromix.com enjoys pretty much anything that resembles a vacation, so naturally we’re quite taken by Banana Bean Café in German Village, where diners feel more like they're in Miami Beach than in Columbus.

The $2 margaritas and delicious brunch and dinner options—like Bananas Foster French Toast and the Floribbean Jerk Chicken sandwich—are the quintessential Florida mix of southern-style American food and flavors from the shores of Jamaica, Barbados and Haiti, all from the comfort of our Midwestern city.

Food: A true combination of foods from the Florida Keys and the greater Caribbean area involves matching bold flavors with a cool freshness. Banana Bean’s menu is overflowing with ideas that do just that, from the classic Bananas Foster French Toast with a Captain Morgan rum sauce and fresh berries ($10) to the Grilled Polenta Napoleon with roasted veggies, goat cheese and a smoked tomato sauce ($16).

The Bananas Foster French Toast is so beloved by regulars that it tends to run out in the middle of high brunch time, in which case we highly recommend shooting for the corn and blueberry pancakes. These are not just your ordinary pancakes—they’re made with whole corn and cornmeal, fresh and plump blueberries, and with mascarpone cheese whipped into the whole thing. Yum!

Another key to bringing a flavor of Key West to Ohio is to serve plenty of meals from the land down under, and Banana Bean does this nicely for brunch or dinner. On a recent visit, the brunch special was an omelet stuffed with spinach and fresh shrimp, all topped with shaved parmesan cheese and a mild enchilada sauce that is packed full of flavor, especially for a mild sauce. For dinner, the cafe uses similar ingredients in the shellfish and grits, with shrimp, scallops and lobster, seared spinach, creamy goat cheese grits and lobster butter sauce ($23).

Of course, there are plenty of entree options that are turf-lover and vegetarian friendly. For turf, try the French pan-roasted pork chop wrapped in ham with a winter squash and spinach saute and peach spoon fruit ($16). Vegetarians may grumble about simple salad options, but they haven’t seen the Banana Bean salad menu yet—there are at least five different options, and not one of them is boring, with toppings like butternut squash, golden pea shoots, mesclun and shaved Manchego (all salads are $8, except for the cheaper side salad).

Libations: One of the best things about Banana Bean is the incredibly diverse collection of drinks. First of all, there is an extensive list of non-alcoholic drinks to choose from that make it easy to stop by for brunch or a weekday lunch, like the Cuban coffee ($2), fresh mango raspberry iced tea ($4) or pomegranate lemonade or tea ($4).

And the menu notes that there is a full bar open to "Old School or New Trendy cocktails … don’t be shy, ask for your favorite!" It seems odd to order something basic here, considering you have choices like the Bacon Bloody Mary: made with lemon, lime, pepperoncini, cherry peppers, a kosher pickle and corn cob smoked bacon, all with Grey Goose vodka ($9).

Happy hour is from 4 to 7 p.m. weekdays., with half-off all Banana Menu items, $5 martinis and a free basket of chips and salsa. There are also some great daily drink specials, like $1 domestic bottles and $3 premium and imports from 3 p.m. to close Monday through Saturday. Banana Bean helps you to feel like you’re really on the beach, with $2 margaritas and Hemingways as well as $1 Bud Light drafts all day Monday through Saturday.

Decor: When you first notice Banana Bean Café on the corner of Whittier and Beech streets, you’ll notice a quaint brick storefront that blends in with the surrounding German Village neighborhood. Inside, however, you’ll feel like you’ve walked from the Columbus streets directly into the Florida Keys, with warm and bright colors welcoming diners into funky black leather booths and colorfully painted tables. There’s plenty to look at on the walls, with snapshots of the beach and random Floribbean memorabilia, i.e. parrot piñatas, scattered throughout the café. Really, the only thing missing from the Florida feel is actual sand.

As fair warning, the interior is tiny, and there are only two more sidewalk tables out front, so Banana Bean tends to fill up to capacity rather easily.

Service: Banana Bean is a small place, and small places have small staffs. This might be why it is difficult to determine whether or not you should seat yourself at Banana Bean and why you might have to ask for silverware, but the servers are genuinely nice and inviting. Expect a coffee refill offer just as you’re thinking you need one, or to hear about the daily specials and to actually find that you might want to order one of them. There’s nothing like sunny dispositions to go with the sunny atmosphere and fresh food.

Crowd: The crowd at Banana Bean Café is a mix of friends having a relaxing time out and families catching up. Because of the size of the seating space, it can be difficult to sit with large parties, but we’ve heard of it being done with some planning ahead. Generally speaking, everyone is pretty laid-back here, from the servers to the diners, so Banana Bean is ideal for rolling out of bed and waking up with some coffee and brunch or shrugging off the business attire and unwinding on a weekday evening.

Insider's tip: The pricing at Banana Bean Café varies drastically between the brunch and the dinner menus. For brunch, expect to spend about $15 per person, including a drink of choice. For dinner, bring a little extra cash for a bill more in the $25-30 price range.

Bottom line: Enjoy a taste of the Florida Keys right in our own backyard at Banana Bean Café, with great drink specials, unique flavor combos and getting some much needed R and R.

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