P is for paletas and pops, pastries, pies, pierogies

P

paletas and pops, pastries, pies, pierogies

Coconut Pride Pops from Rime Time Tim Johnson | Columbus Monthly

Paletas and Pops

Whatever you call them, popsicles are universal in their capacity to produce joy. Diamonds Ice Cream is a treasure on the city’s Northwest Side, offering a dizzying collection of Mexican treats and paletas, ranging from Oreo cookie to chamoy mango. At Dulce Vida Ice Cream Factory, which now has a Short North storefront, customers are treated to a rotating cast of paletas and more than 40 ice cream varieties, as well as snacks like walking tacos and mangonadas. Rime Time’s handcrafted ice pops bounce from flavors like avocado to cookie milk to 10-spice chai, depending on the season. You can purchase its pops at the new Center Street Market in Hilliard. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for Steven White’s cart, J-Pops, which serves gourmet ice pops at local farmers markets and events.

Pastries from Pistacia Vera Tim Johnson | Columbus Alive

Pastries

Central Ohio is awash in excellent baked goods. Start with Pistacia Vera, where James Beard Award semifinalist Spencer Budros and team craft unforgettable croissants, French macarons and much more. The Japanese bakery Belle’s Bread, which serves chocolate cornets, melon rolls and more, was named one of the best bakeries in the country by Food & Wine. The nationally recognized coffee shop Fox in the Snow Café, which moonlights as a rustic-style bakery, makes top-notch fruit galettes and cinnamon rolls among other goodies. For authentic Mexican pan dulce like conchas, churros and guava turnovers, be sure to bookmark the hidden gem Spicy Cup Bakery & Café (formerly Panaderia Guadalupana). Not to be forgotten are Dan the BakerLa Chatelaine French Bakery & Bistro and the home bakery Pâtisserie Lallier, whose French pastries can be purchased online or found at the Clintonville and Worthington farmers’ markets.

Granddads Pizza Tim Johnson | Columbus Monthly

Pizza may be the largest cuisine category that exists in Columbus. The city boasts a mind-boggling number of chains, like homegrown Donatos, as well as mom-and-pop pizza joints. Where to start? For square-cut, Columbus-style pizza, look to Massey’sGrandad’s and Rubino’s. Fans of Neapolitan pizza can’t go wrong with Harvest Pizzeria, Brooklyn-based Paulie Gee’s or owner Nick Gore’s seasonal pies at GoreMadeYellow Brick Pizza serves memorable pies and great beers in Olde Towne East and, soon, Franklinton. It also serves a fine redux of deep-dish pizza from bygone Tristano’s. Maybe the year’s most anticipated opening is “speakeasy” pizzeria Wizard of Za, which will launch a brick-and-mortar in Clintonville in 2020.

Pierogis from Pierogi Mountain Jodi Miller | Columbus Monthly

Pierogies

For authentic Eastern European fare like grandma used to make, head to Hubert Wilamowski’s eatery in the North Market, Hubert’s Polish Kitchen. The hearty menu includes hand-made pierogies, cabbage rolls, kielbasa, goulash and more. Pierogi Mountain recently opened its own brick-and-mortar eatery Downtown on Grant Avenue. The spot is known for its hand-crafted pierogies, many of them vegan, as well as chicken paprikash, mushroom stroganoff and more. At Romashka Euro Deli in Linworth, visitors will find a variety of Russian and Eastern European grocery items. Right beside the grocery is Red Square Grill, a new food truck that serves a small, rotating menu of scratch-made Russian/Uzbek delicacies such as plov, shashlik, samsa and, yes, pierogies.