word’s pretty much out by now that the clintonville northstar’s up and running, but if any establishment’s ever been deserving of a second mention, it’s this place.
4241 n high st.
there was a test-run, lunch offering on 2/25 that had a line of short-north proportions snaking out towards the front door (the only form of payment being accepted that day was “patience”), followed by a soft opening on 3/1.
lunch and dinner’s currently being served 7 days a week, with breakfast service rumored to be starting in or around april.
as reported by cmhgourmand, the interior does indeed exude the same “coolness” and “spartan elegance” of the short-north location, though it’s certainly not a carbon copy and there are a few tasteful twists: rather than the fused plywood table- and counter-tops of the original, here the surfaces are a cool-to-the-touch concrete or concrete-ish composite; there are lengthy booth-like tables to accommodate larger parties; and whereas the design of the original utilized planks of plywood, slate, and salvaged terrazzo — strikingly simple — the materials here are… different, but no more complex. call it a variation upon a theme. (the taste-makers over at gra+d who helped conceive the first location are behind this design as well, if i’m not mistaken.)
lastly — and most important, of course — there’s the food: greens, bowls, flatbreads, sandwiches and burritos. remarkably fresh, always delicious.
though i missed the event personally, co-founder kevin malhame was a recent panelist at osu’s executive-education breakfast-club where the topic of the morning was green business 101; and the cafe uses as much locally-grown, organic product as possible. northstar’s a member of 1% for the planet; and the malhames — both together and separately — are, by all accounts, industrious and civic-minded members of the columbus community. a true boon.
welcome to clintonville, northstar. can’t wait for those ricotta pancakes….
