At the West Side's Phillipi Food Hub, Carnitas and So Much More
Plus, we pay a visit to a Columbus gem: Krema Nut Co.
In this post:
A cluster of food trucks on the West Side offers an impressive showcase of Latin American culinary traditions.
Behind-the-scenes at Krema Nut Co.
One of our favorite events, TASO’s Turkish Food Sale, takes place this weekend.
At the Phillipi Food Hub, Carnitas and Much More
By Andy Dehus
Picaditas from Puebla. Chilaquiles from Nayarit. Pupusas from San Salvador. Carnitas from Michoacan. Baleadas from Honduras. Dominican fried chicken. Cool, refreshing micheladas and agua frescas. Freshly fried churros and steaming champurrado. You can find all of these—and much more—in one place. And as you may have already guessed, it's not the Polaris Mall food court.
Let's call it the Phillipi food truck cluster. Located at the northwest corner of Broad Street and Phillipi Road, right where Georgesville sheds its name, this collection of mobile vendors feels like nothing short of a festive slice of Latin America plopped down onto an easily overlooked West Side parking lot.
Bethia and I first learned of this location in 2020, when we heard tales of a weekend carnitas merchant generating a lot of buzz among Mexican West Siders. Upon arrival, we found a single taco truck nestled in the corner of a large parking lot, surrounded by perhaps 40 customer cars.
That truck was Don Chava, and its signature carnitas were prepared with a distinct (and in Mexico, a widely revered) slow-cooking technique that closely resembles confit (a method often referred to as ‘Michoacan style’). One taste of the resulting salty, fatty, porky goodness, and you’re spoiled for anything else that dares to share the name.
Now, four years later, Don Chava’s runaway success has spawned 10-plus distinct mobile kitchens with offerings spanning large swathes of Mexican and Central American cuisine (plus some Caribbean), all anchored by a Mexican bar.
It’s a scene; a rollicking hub of community and an unvarnished showcase of Latin American culinary diversity. A scene where outsiders are welcome, but one that rewards a traveler’s demeanor of relaxed curiosity far more than the tourist’s desire for easy wish fulfillment. A place where Spanish reigns supreme, and rushing is for people who are somewhere else.
If those caveats don't dissuade you, then my advice would be this: Every item I’ve listed in the first paragraph is worthy of consideration, but exploring beyond and making the experience your own is an equally valid approach. (That’s what we’ll be doing next time we venture there.)
Except for the carnitas. Definitely try that!
Please note that vendor days and hours vary greatly, but almost all are open during typical restaurant hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Many of the trucks are cash only.
Meet the Makers
Behind the Scenes at Krema Nut Co.
By Bethia Woolf
There are a lot of local products that are beloved in our house, and one that is always on hand is Krema peanut butter.
You may be familiar with Krema’s store on Goodale Boulevard. Perhaps you have stopped in to purchase buckeyes, bulk nuts or for a peanut butter milkshake or sandwich. Krema no longer offers public tours, but we were lucky enough to get a behind-the-scenes tour from owner Brian Giunta.
The Krema Nut Co. has been in business since 1898. The business initially produced mustard and spices but began to manufacture peanut paste (a very different product to today’s peanut butter). Over the years the business has evolved, but it remains the oldest continuously operating peanut butter factory in the country.
Most commercial peanut butters are made with the more common runner variety of peanuts but Krema uses only fancy grade Spanish peanuts for its peanut butter. The smaller, red-skinned Spanish peanuts (which Krema primarily sources from Oklahoma and Texas) are known for their robust flavor. They also have a slightly higher oil content, which adds to the peanuts' flavor when roasted.
Krema can produce up to 2,000 lbs. of all-natural peanut butter a day. The peanuts are first dry-roasted in a machine that looks very much like a coffee roaster. Once cooled, the peanuts are skinned and then the hearts (the little nub at the end of the peanut) are removed. Giunta explains that the heart can cause a little bitterness, so they take the extra step to remove them. The final process is grinding the peanuts. There is no added salt, sugar or hydrogenated vegetable oils, just a single ingredient. Seventy percent of the peanut butter Krema sells is the creamy variety, but the company also offers crunchy and spicy options.
Even though you can no longer tour the facility, there are large windows that allow you to watch the peanut butter-making process from inside the shop. You’ll often see Krema’s small team busy frying, roasting and grinding, especially as we approach the busy holiday season.
Krema’s Kitchen, an onsite counter offering a variety of peanut butter sandwiches and milkshakes, will close for the season on Nov. 2. If you haven’t tried one of Krema’s peanut butter milkshakes, I highly encourage you to visit. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until January for your milkshake fix. Opinions are split in our house as to which is the best flavor—buckeye, peanut butter and jelly, and spicy peanut all have a champion in our family.
The kitchen hours are 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Notes
Around the Columbus Food Scene
The Turkish American Society of Ohio (TASO) is holding its annual Turkish Food Sale from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, at 2885 W. Dublin-Granville Road. The highly anticipated community event features a broad array of Turkish foods such as kibbeh, döner kebab, stuffed grape leaves, baklava and much more. Get there early before they sell out.
Clintonville Deli and Layered Brew, which operate out of the High Street Kitchens commercial kitchen, announced that they will be relocating to Franklinton. The new Franklinton Deli is expected to open alongside Layered Brew later this year at 132 McDowell St., near Land-Grant. Customers can expect sandwiches, salads, soups and sides along with iced coffees, espresso drinks, teas and other refreshments.