Foodletter Eats: Ribs at Meat Moot & a Brownie Baking Competition
What we've been eating lately around Central Ohio, plus local food and drink news.
Meat Moot Offers Great Proteins in Debatable Portions
One visit is never enough to get the full picture of a restaurant, but it’s generally enough to get the lay of the land. The gist of our experience at Hilliard’s new outpost of the Istanbul-based barbecue chain Meat Moot, located at 3708 Fishinger Blvd., is this: It offers pretty great halal protein preparations and one of the strangest, most customer-unfriendly paths to ordering that man has ever invented.
Half of the menu seems to consist of smoked meats (lamb and beef) sold by the pound. The other half seems to offer discrete beef and chicken dishes, some of which are also listed as being sold by the pound (but according to our server aren’t actually sold that way).
Clarity is not the menu’s strong point.
You’d expect to be able to order meats that are listed “by the pound” in 1-pound increments, but—in practice—it seems like you aren’t supposed to. Best I can gather, the kitchen portions your order in whatever way makes sense to them, and you’re expected to be happy with the amount that comes out—as well as its cost.
For example, when our table ordered the smoked beef ribs, the server returned shortly from the kitchen to tell us that we’d be served a little over 2 pounds of it. Or roughly $94 worth of beef—for two people, at lunch. After far too much weirdly contentious negotiation, I managed to convince the server that we only wanted to share 1 pound.
Thankfully, that hard-won pound of beef ribs was delicious, featuring a great crust-and-sauce combo with flavors that successfully riff off an intriguing variety of barbecue traditions. The meat quality was solid, appropriately smoky, and its texture was as close to perfection as you could hope for. Truly unique and truly enjoyable.
The bewildering battalion of accompanying sauces, however, seemed like seven opportunities to make a good thing worse, and the included sides and trimmings ranged from likable (golden rice, garlic cloves) to perfunctory (iceberg lettuce salad, refrigerator-cold potato chunks and instant whipped potatoes).
The “moot” in Meat Moot is Arabic slang for “to die for.” I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s not without its suffering.—Andy Dehus
May’s Columbus Baking Classic Brought Together Brownie Bakers, Tasters
“Competition, Community, Charity and Above All Baking” is the tagline of the Columbus Cookie Classic, a community event series founded in 2025 by two of my friends who are award-winning amateur bakers, Tania Peterson and Liz Martin. Both enjoy entering baking competitions and felt there were too few opportunities for Columbus bakers to compete and connect.
The duo’s first competition in 2025 featured chocolate chip cookies. Based on feedback, they added a second annual competition, this year focused on brownies. Going forward, the pair plans to host two competitions each year: the new Columbus Baking Classic, for baked goods other than cookies, and the existing Columbus Cookie Classic, devoted exclusively to cookies.
The goal of both competitions is to celebrate Columbus’ most passionate amateur bakers. They are designed as a fun, creative and engaging alternative to traditional state and county fair contests, complete with ribbons, prizes, bragging rights and plenty of community spirit.
Competitions are judged by a panel of professional bakers, and a People’s Choice Award is voted on by attendees who purchase tasting tickets. One hundred percent of tasting ticket proceeds are donated to charity; the Baking Classic competition, held on May 17, raised $1,200 for community partner Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS).
Sixteen bakers entered the May brownie competition, and the entries showed a surprising range of variation. Judges Gabby Corpus from Sweet Ghost, Betsy Tiano from Angie’s Rainbow Cookies and Katie Passo from Rose Dough Donuts selected first, second and third place winners. Congratulations to Rachel Fenton (first place), Kelly Simmons (second place) and Koku Asamoah (third place), and additional congratulations to Sarah Garrabrant, who took home the People’s Choice Award.
If you’re an avid baker who thinks your chocolate chip cookie recipe could be a contender, the next competition is Nov. 8, with entries opening in August. And if tasting is more your speed, keep an eye out for tasting tickets.—Bethia Woolf
Notes
Around the Columbus Food & Drink Scene
Old Hilliard’s Legacy Smokehouse (3987 Main St.) is set to close for good at the end of the month. According to news reports, the decision follows a co-founder’s health scare. Legacy, which started as a Merion Village food trailer in 2017, specializes in Central Texas barbecue. The Hilliard location opened in late 2018 and was forced to temporarily close in 2023 following a fire.
The oft-viral matcha spot Matcha Me has expanded from its original location in the University District to the Short North. Doors opened today, May 22, at 14 E. Lincoln St. (just behind Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams). The cafe offers drinks such as flavored matcha lattes, einspänner lattes, chai lattes and seasonal drinks.
This weekend, the Mexican brunch spot Orale Guey Cafe Bar & Grill will unveil its second location, this one in Worthington. The restaurant at 1175 Worthington Woods Blvd. will debut this Saturday, May. 23, at 11 a.m. Unlike Orale Guey’s original location at 3415 E. Broad St., the Worthington storefront will serve dinner in addition to brunch.
Thanks for featuring our Columbus Cookie Classic event! It's been a lot of fun to meet so many talented bakers.