Inside: Northstar Cafe

As far as hip places go in our fair city, Northstar Café comes in at top of the list. Formed in 2004, Northstar has two locations—one in the Short North and a second on High Street just north of Clintonville—that cater to anyone in search of a healthy meal in a cool atmosphere.

Food: Northstar's menu is a never-dull blend of flatbread pizzas, vegan-friendly burgers and burritos, and a refreshing brunch listing.

The flatbreads ($7.50) can be prepared with or without dairy products, but always contain "hand-made organic wheat and spelt crust" that is light and flaky, with your choice of toppings. Choose from items like balsamic onions, fresh basil and goat cheese (each ingredient is $2 extra), or go for the daily special flatbread, like the pepperoni and marinated peppers flatbread ($11).

The Northstar Burger is a unique preparation of organic brown rice, black beans and beets, served with a simple salad, for $11. The smoked turkey breast sandwich is an overwhelming portion, with "locally raised, range-free turkey" piled high onto a focaccia bun with rosemary aioli and marinated red peppers (note: this can be spicy at times, but is otherwise delicious). The wild rice served as the sandwich's side is a delightful marriage of millions of flavors—corn, raisins, peppers, tomatoes, all served chilled ($10 sandwich with rice, add $2 for applewood smoked bacon).

And then there's the brunch. Northstar's brunch is one of the better ways to start a day, especially on the weekends, when it is served until 3 p.m. (served until 11 a.m. weekdays). Classics are made original, such as the mushroom frittata ($10.50)—three Green Field Farm eggs, hearth baked with roasted mushrooms, sweet onions and gruyere, served with rosemary roasted potatoes and a fresh biscuit. Or there's the Cloud Nine pancakes ($9.50)—three ricotta pancakes served with real maple syrup and fresh fruit. Or warm your heart with the Winter Four-Grain Hot Cereal ($7.50), served with local cream, raw sugar, nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

Libations:  Northstar has a broad selection of drink items, alcoholic and otherwise. The house cocktail, a ginger mojito ($7), is refreshing any time of the year, as is the fresh ginger ale, made in-house with ginger, organic cane sugar, lime juice and mint ($3.50). The café also has arguably the best iced coffee in Capital City. It's served shaken, not stirred, and comes out rich with flavor, not watered down, in a frosted pint glass. Northstar's beer ($4.50) and wine ($7) selection features options like the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and the Steltzner Claret (Cab/Merlot, Napa). 

Décor: Northstar's Short North location is made up of a spacious front room with a high ceiling and large-pane windows looking out onto North High Street, a cozy back area with a faux-low ceiling, and a fenced, open-air patio on the side. The modern interior is a soothing blend of blonde wood, orange walls, a slate-shingled bar area and separate seating sections. Sit in the front for the best people-watching spots, in the couch and arm chair alcove for easy access to comfort and magazines, or in the back for a sense of seclusion. The atmosphere of the place changes dynamically from the daytime to the evening hour, as the lighting goes from bright and plentiful to low and warm at night.

Service: The service at Northstar is half self-serve, half full-service. When you enter there is a stand greeting you with a stack of menus. Once you know what you'd like, saunter up to the counter, order it, and you'll receive a card with a number on it in return. Once you've decided which table looks best to you, stick the number card into the holder on the table's silverware container and wait for your fresh meal to be delivered. Drinks are prepared at the drink bar and are brought to tables during the slower parts of the day, but are called out by card numbers during the dinner rush.

There's always an observant manager walking around in case a guest needs anything, as well as someone to notice when plates are empty enough for removal or stomachs are full enough to require a take-out box. Whatever type of service you want to label it, it's definitely one that runs smoothly.

Crowd: During the day, Northstar is a key destination for the business people who lunch, or for the graduate students who study. The dinner hour picks up around 6 p.m., with couples, groups of co-workers and friends, and still, the studiers need to eat. Herein lies the "café" component in the name—Northstar is welcoming for people with a crowd or for people who just want to be near one.

While there's no free WiFi available for the loners on computers, there is a wonderful myriad of consumer magazines, from usuals like GQ, Paste and Yoga Monthly to gems like Under the Radar and Poetry. Let the music be your friend-the Northstar playlist bumps out The Magnetic Fields, Of Montreal, Radiohead B-sides and Elliot Smith.

Insider's tip: There is a teeny tiny parking lot next to the Northstar patio that may be impossible to park in during evenings, but is a free lot nonetheless. After 6 p.m. the lot is available exclusively to Northstar customers; before 6 p.m. the lot is limited to a one-hour time limit. 

Bottom line: Northstar is a Columbus original, and one of our favorites in the city.

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