Meatloaf Mondays & More at Ashbrook Distillery and Grill
In today's edition, we recommend a pub grub destination in Ashville, Ohio.
This Pickaway County Spot is Becoming a Favorite Destination for Bar Food
By Andy Dehus
A friend group of mine has met up weekly on Mondays for over 15 years now, and in 2021 an acute case of COVID-era cabin fever led us to take the show on the road. Since then, we’ve visited just about every small town restaurant within a 50-mile radius of Columbus that’s open on a Monday. Several have become return favorites, with Ashbrook Distillery and Grill in Ashville prominent among them.
It’s not because of the name. We still cannot make any sense of how “distillery” enters the picture, even though that’s what first lured us. Queries returned vague ramblings about local distilling heritage from some employees, and “I don’t get it either” eye rolls from others. Don’t go expecting Watershed or Middle West.
Set that curious quirk aside and what you’re left with is a solid bar run by friendly people serving well-made bar food favorites with some really satisfying and intriguing highlights.
Such as the meatloaf with the smoke ring, for one. It’s a Monday night special and a force of nature. Called the “meatloaf platter” on the chalkboard, it’s an inch and a half thick, dare of a slab, topped with cheddar cheese, three bacon strips and housemade bourbon barbecue sauce, all sandwiched inside of two pieces of griddled white bread.
The first bite caught my attention, and the second led me to poke around the platter. The loaf slice was surprisingly pink around the edges, and clearly not from undercooking. When the line cook across the bar had a pause in the action, I prodded him over what made the meatloaf so good.
With a deep belly laugh he said, “When I was a kid, my mom made terrible meatloaf! I wanted to do it right.”
“Is it … smoked?” I asked. An affirming nod and closed lipped smile suggested that’d be about as far as I would get.
Fair enough—let the dish speak for itself.
The moist, meaty, smoky-but-not-too-smoky meatloaf is as good as any I’ve ever had, and the barbecue sauce is a clever replacement for the usual ketchup glaze. The cheese and bacon could be seen as overdoing it, but they certainly don’t get in the way of the unrepentantly excessive good time this dish was meant to be. It’s a top tier way to break a diet, and an even better way to make yourself start thinking about one.
Ashbrook also fires up the smoker for its wings. My friend group’s wing aficionado has tried them over a number of meals and, while he’s noted some inconsistency, he says that when they’re good, it’s hard to find better.
Burgers, sandwiches, salads and a quirky range of bar apps (such as fried pickles, Hillbilly Calamari and deep-fried pepperoni) round out the menu. Our limited experiences with the rest of the menu have returned no reactions below: “solid.”
If the mood to escape the city strikes, Ashbrook is a highly recommended pub grub destination in Pickaway County that has something for just about everyone.
Find It:
Ashbrook Distillery and Grill
22 Long St., Ashville, OH
740-983-6400
Notes
Around the Columbus Food & Drink Scene
The iconic Upper Arlington diner Chef-O-Nette (2090 Tremont Center) is poised to reopen after an extensive renovation under its new ownership. Mike Purdum, founder of Old Bag of Nails, purchased the 70-year-old restaurant from its previous owner Harlan Howard in early 2024. Chef-O-Nette will welcome customers once again on Friday, June 20.
This weekend, Grandview’s The Twisted Vine (1816 W. Fifth Ave.) will celebrate the grand opening of its long-awaited expansion, dubbed The Twisted Vine II Wine Bar. The new wine bar will serve 20 different wines by the glass, plus Coravin pours, craft beer and cocktails. From Thursday through Sunday, Twisted Vine II will host a series of special wine tastings. Check the shop’s Facebook page for a schedule of events.
Counterbalance Brewing is now open at 5055 Dierker Road, replacing Somewhere in Particular (SIP) Brewery. One of the partners behind the new brewery is Luke Sherrill, a co-owner of Derive Brewing Co. in Clintonville.
Multiple news outlets report that the Bexley mainstay Cafe Istanbul (2455 E. Main St.) appears to have closed. Attempts to call the restaurant have gone unanswered.
need to know more about hillbilly calamari!
I hope they offered you a handsome sum to put “dare of a slab” on their menu.