A World of Surprises at Safina
Plus, we have three dining recommendations for early voters.
In this post:
We visit a gas station restaurant in Northland.
Early voting this month? Here are three dining spots to check out nearby.
A new butcher takes the reins at North Market Downtown
Global Cuisine
A World of Surprises at Safina World Restaurant
The Northland eatery has built a steady business by going beyond Somali fare.
By Erin Edwards
One of the most interesting restaurants in all of Columbus is located at a Shell gas station at the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Morse Road.
While customers fill their cars at the gas pumps outside, the Somali-owned spot called Safina World Restaurant (4431 Cleveland Ave.) welcomes a near-constant flow of customers. Boxes of to-go containers stack the walls, while patrons sit at a smattering of tables or counter seats facing a flat top grill. Breakfast, lunch or dinner—from 7 a.m. to midnight—Safina has something for everyone.
One Safina cook tells us he used to work in a Greek restaurant in New York City. A native of Gambia, he moved to Columbus to find work when the pandemic hit. We watch as he dips a ladle into a large metal pot near the register and offers us Styrofoam cups with the Somali porridge, called mushaari or boorash. Slightly sweet but spiked with black pepper, the oatmeal is one of Safina’s most in-demand offerings. The nutrient-rich porridge is filling and therefore a popular suhoor breakfast, the pre-dawn meal that is consumed before fasting during Ramadan. Here, the porridge is offered all day, every day.
Looking for something beyond oatmeal? No problem.
Though Safina was recommended to us as a Somali restaurant by an Uber driver—categorization doesn’t suit Safina. Several large video menus display Safina’s unique offerings. Yes, there are Somali-style pasta dishes, sambusas and chicken KK, but also a wide range of global eats. Think: pancakes, French toast, egg scrambles, quesadillas, burritos, wraps, subs, jollof rice, fufu, plantains, fried catfish, fried chicken tenders, loaded fries and more.
Most of the menu follows a pattern. You pick a protein (chicken, salmon, beef or lamb) and then pair it with a generous accompaniment of cabbage, injera, plantains, rice or pasta. Drinks range from chai and Vitmo to juices like mango, watermelon and ginger.
Though large menus are usually a sign that a restaurant has no clear point-of-view, Safina’s dizzying, global menu tells a very American story.
In the 1990s, the U.S. saw a surge of Somali refugees fleeing civil war in their home country. Today, many Somalis in Columbus have either been in the U.S. for 30 years or grown up here. Tastes have changed, says Safina’s owner Mohammed Osman, noting that the younger generation has grown up with tacos, burgers, wings.
“We love our cultural food, but it sometimes gets old,” Osman says. But if you follow a halal lifestyle like many Somalis do, you don’t just go to Chipotle, he adds. In opening Safina in July 2020, Osman wanted to create that go-to spot for quick, comforting food that would match whatever the mood—be it beef burritos or beef suqaar.
During one trip to Safina (which means “vessel” in Arabic), we sampled Somali pasta, salmon with rice, chicken KK (a dish featuring strips of Somali flatbread in a tomatoey sauce) and lamb with injera. The pasta is Osman’s favorite dish on the menu, and our table made quick work of it, too.
On another visit, we arrived too late to try the breakfast offering of beef with malawah (sweet, crepe-like Somali pancakes), which was sold out. Instead, we ordered a lunch of fried catfish with jollof rice, a sizable chicken chapati wrap and loaded fries (like poutine minus the cheese curds). It’s not easy to find great catfish in Columbus, but Safina’s version is served piping hot, the meaty fish tender.
Safina gets very busy around 2 or 3 p.m. after the midday call to prayer at local mosques. We recommend going between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. if you want to avoid a long line (but get there earlier if you want to enjoy malawah).
Another pro tip: After your meal at Safina, stop in at the adjacent convenience store where you’ll find fresh Ethiopian injera for sale. And don’t forget to fill up the gas tank on your way out.
Early Voting Eats
By Bethia Woolf
There’s nothing I like more than making an errand more appealing by adding a food stop as a reward. Dropping someone at the airport? Great excuse to get some tacos at Tacoriendo Movil. Trip to the BMV on Kenny Road? Pick up some sushi at Tensuke Market or a treat at Belle’s Bread.
If you’re heading to the Board of Elections on Morse Road for early voting in the next few weeks, you're in luck. There are a wealth of great dining options nearby, including Nepali, Chinese, Korean, Somali and other cuisines.
Here are three of our favorite spots:
Huong Vietnamese (1270 Morse Road)
Huong has been a longtime favorite of ours, and they serve one of the standout phos in the city. The family-run restaurant is one of the few places in Columbus that offers a vegan pho option, too. Some of my favorite dishes there include: chạo tôm (shrimp cakes on sugarcane skewers) either as an appetizer or eaten over vermicelli noodles; bánh xèo (Vietnamese rice crepes eaten as lettuce wraps); and chè trôi nước (a sweet mung bean dumpling dessert). Make sure to check out their specials menu as well, and note that Huong is closed on Tuesdays.
Xochimilco Taqueria (2632 Morse Road)
Xochimilco is one of the standout taco trucks on the North Side. As well as offering handmade tortillas and a wide range of taco meats, they also have a good selection of vegetarian taco fillings such as flor de calabaza (squash blossom), huitlacoche (a type of corn fungus also known as “corn smut”), nopales (cactus paddles) and champiñones (mushrooms). Another speciality are the truck’s guisadas (stews and homestyle dishes). I’d recommend espinazo de puerco en salsa verde, costilla de puerco en salsa roja or the bistec con papas a la Mexicana.
Ranchero Kitchen (984 Morse Road)
One of the well-established Salvadoran restaurants in Columbus, Ranchero Kitchen is also handy for a Morse Road BMV visit. While you can’t go wrong with a platter of their pupusas, we also love the colorful yuca frita–fried yuca with chicharrones, salad and pickles. Or try one of Ranchero Kitchen’s generous entree soups, such as the hen and vegetable soup which comes with a side of roast chicken.
Visit the Franklin County Board of Elections to view the early voting schedule.
Notes
Around the Columbus Food Scene
Macelleria North Market Butchery made its debut last week at North Market Downtown. The new butcher’s counter is run by Phillip Clary, owner of Bexley’s Macelleria East Side Butchery. The shop’s initial hours will be 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Tickets are now on sale for Macelleria’s first pop-up dinner at the North Market, taking place Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.