Local organic food restaurant continues to keep customers and their stomachs happy.
by Jane Eskildsen
When entering North Star Cafe, customers are greeted with bustling workers and tasty, organic, and pricey foods. Established in 2004, this restaurant provides meals for anyone from high school students to the elderly. North Star cafe is located in the Short North in Grandview, in the Easton Town Center and in Clintonville.
North Star’s small dining area somehow accommodates for the large influx of customers that dine around lunchtime. The restaurant is dimly lit with single light bulbs swinging over two person tables. Music is upbeat and mostly derives from iTunes top 40 alternative list, with songs from Coldplay and Grouplove.
During the lunch rush there is mostly college students swagged in hipster glasses. The wait is much longer than any of the patrons expected with at least a 15 minute wait in line to order food. After ordering, one has to wait for a table to free up and be cleaned. Then one can expect a 20 minute wait for the food to be served to them.
The organic and vegetarian foods suit the stomach perfectly. Arriving for brunch a customer can expect a biscuit freshly cooked with scrambled eggs, if they aren’t vegetarian, with a topping of crispy bacon falling apart across the bread. If the customer is dining for lunch they can get a soup and salad combo, both filling and healthy. The soup is topped with croutons and mozzarella cheese. The salad is dressed with the perfect amount of Caesar. There is also baked almonds and grilled butternut squash that surround the leaves. If the customer wants a larger fill, they can order the North Star burger, also known as the veggie burger, famous for is rice and beats substitute for meat. Although expensive, this burger is far from the cheap greasy burgers from fast food restaurants.
Even with the harsh lunchtime flood of people, the employees help out. They clean and bus the tables fast and without fuss. They are friendly and welcoming, even though they have probably cleaned those tables ten times each.
Although the food is on the expensive side, the quality of it far exceeds the price. The money also is put forth to enjoyable service and even though the line is long there is a smile at the end (and some delicious freshly cooked food).