Foodletter Eats: Great Chilaquiles at Tio's, Aracri's Sausage Rolls & Food News
In food news, Columbus chef Avishar Barua appears tonight on The Food Network, Bethel Road adds a ramen shop and more.
All-Day Breakfast Tip: Get the Chilaquiles at Tio’s Diner
By Erin Edwards
Tio’s Diner on South High Street seems like a place you’d only find in America: an all-day breakfast spot serving traditional Mexican fare (and burgers!) in a former classic American diner.
And I can’t think of a more comforting plate of food than the chilaquiles at Tio’s. We were tipped off about Tio’s (1881 S. High St.) chilaquiles prowess by Miguel Bautista, Joya’s chef de cuisine, who told us they were his favorite in town.
On my visit, nicely soggy tortilla chips doused in a piquant verde sauce came topped with pitch-perfect scrambled eggs—runny eggs aren’t my thing, but by all means go for it.
The verdes sauce was fresh and wonderfully tart with the right amount of heat. The huge portion was made even huge-r thanks to a supporting cast of excellent refried beans, rice and a thin strip of grilled steak. In this food writing business, we try to practice portion control—but sometimes you meet a plate so addictive that all bets are off. This was one of those times.
The Tio’s menu is extensive, with breakfast served all day, so I’m eager to make return visits to try the tacos, enchiladas, carnitas and—surprise—pupusas. Let’s be real, though: It will be tough not to order those chilaquiles again.
Find It:
Tio’s Diner
1881 S. High St., South Side
614-444-7590
A Sausage Roll Find at Aracri
By Bethia Woolf
I have a confession to make: I spend too much time on Reddit. While I often vanish down rabbit holes about obscure topics, every so often I stumble across something unexpectedly useful.
About a month ago, in the /Columbus subreddit, a post titled “Living in Downtown Columbus for 6 Months Now: My Initial Takeaways” caught my eye. One of the poster’s observations was that “the guy that serves pizza (maybe the owner) at Aracri is always super grateful for anyone’s business.” That didn’t especially grab my attention—but a follow-up comment did: “Their pizza is fine, but you’re making a mistake by not getting the sausage roll at Aracri.”
That single comment drew 162 upvotes, with plenty of others chiming in agreement.
As a Brit, I’m more than usually interested in sausage rolls and pride myself on having a finely tuned radar for them—so the idea that there was a sausage roll in Downtown Columbus I’d never heard of was intriguing. Aracri Pizzeria (51 E. Gay St.) , after all, isn’t new. The owners have been serving New York-style pizza in Columbus since 1992. Another confession: I’d never actually eaten there (or at Café Napolitana, as it was formerly known). Clearly, that needed to change.
So, I went to investigate.
The sausage roll at Aracri is nothing like a traditional British sausage roll. Back home, a good sausage roll means seasoned sausage meat wrapped in buttery puff pastry—crisp, flaky and irresistible when done right. Aracri’s version, by contrast, is something else entirely–perhaps best described as an Italian, or maybe Italian-American, take on the idea. It’s a flavorful Italian sausage loosely wrapped in pizza dough, with melted cheese, onions and peppers, served alongside a rich marinara sauce for dipping. It’s not the sausage roll of my homeland, but it’s certainly a delicious one in its own right. (For the record, the garlic knots looked excellent, too.)
At lunchtime, Aracri operates as a slice shop (sausage rolls included) while evenings bring the full menu which includes pasta dishes as well as pizza. There’s also a small bar offering beer and wine, with happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
While it may not have satisfied my craving for a taste of Britain, that Reddit thread did lead me somewhere worth discovering. And sometimes, that’s exactly what the internet is for.
Other non-British sausage rolls in Columbus:
The kielbasa and cheese kolache at Kolache Republic
The frank roll at Belle’s Bread
Pigs in a blanket at Club 185
Find It:
Aracri Pizzeria
51 E. Gay St., Downtown
614-224-3013
News & Happenings
Around the Columbus Food & Drink Scene
Tonight at 8 p.m., you can tune in to “Bobby’s Triple Threat” on The Food Network to see Columbus chef Avishar Barua compete against three chef “titans.” The chef-owner of Joya’s and Agni will compete for $25K, with chefs Ayesha Nurdjaja, Michael Voltaggio and Brooke Williamson trying to stop him. Barua is no stranger to The Food Network. In 2023, Barua appeared on “Beat Bobby Flay” and emerged victorious over the celebrity chef in a head-to-head competition.
Matari Coffee, another Michigan-based Yemeni coffee shop chain, has entered the Columbus market. Matari’s first Central Ohio location just opened at 3001 Olentangy River Road. Visitors can expect Yemeni-style chais, espresso drinks, non-alcoholic “mojitos,” honeycomb pastries, Dubai chocolate tarts and more.
Kamil’s Uyghur Cuisine has closed inside Dayou International Market, which is really unfortunate given that Kamil’s was Columbus’ only Uyghur restaurant and we really enjoyed their food.
Kyushu Ramen is set to open a third Central Ohio storefront, this one at 784 Bethel Road in Olentangy Square. The ramen shop’s two other locations are in Grandview and Lewis Center.