UPDATE August 2020: Blunch has CLOSED.
Blunch | Facebook | IG: @blunch_clintonville
2973 N. High St. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43202
(614) 641-7501
Open Mon-Fri, 7a-2p; Sat & Sun, 7:30a-2:30p
Visited: Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 12:30p
Everything I’ve seen (and written elsewhere myself) about Blunch begins with the typical acknowledgement: the name. Yes, it’s a place called Blunch. Not to be confused with Drunch. The name is difficult to get around, and while you might question why the owners chose it… well, we’re talking about it, right?
And say what you will about the name, but they first get your attention with it, and then they keep it with a thoughtful and kinda fun menu, plus a colorful decor featuring the work of local artists.
So if the name has stopped you before, it’s time to get over it and head to Blunch. Oh, and put your name in with the host, because there’s a wait.
If you’re not familiar with the advent of Blunch, it’s a colorful breakfast-and-lunch eatery that’s opened in the little Clintonville plaza that includes Lineage Brewing, Condado, Lavash, and Growl. That stretch has become quite the happening place, and while Clintonville enjoys a Northstar and a couple great diners, we haven’t had anything quite like Blunch until now.
Blunch’s breakfast-heavy menu leads off with a full espresso bar and a round of cocktails. We ordered a foamy cappuccino – it was decent – and a solid Bloody Mary that boasted an appropriate amount of spice.
The starters menu features Rosie’s Zeppole – essentially Italian donuts. Think crispy, misshapen beignets dusted with powdered sugar and arriving with a cup of chocolate sauce. The donuts were good enough that they didn’t need the sauce.
One of the early winners was the B-Deviled Eggs. Classic deviled eggs properly seasoned and drizzled with Mike’s Hot Honey (which should become a standard condiment in your home).
We had heard tell of the eggs benedicts and the corned beef, and we found both in one go. I appreciate that Blunch offers the option to mix and match half orders in several of their dishes. For instance, if you can’t decide between the four benedicts, you can choose the corned beef benedict and the smoked salmon benedict. Both were spot-on: nicely seasoned, great hollandaise, properly poached eggs. Would gladly order again.
Same with the pancakes. If you can’t choose from the three flavors, you can order the pancake flight with one of each: sweet potato with toasted marshmallows, bananas foster, and lemon blueberry. All three were nicely done.
The breakfast burrito is well executed, too. It’s a flour tortilla wrapped around chorizo, scrambled eggs, potatoes, black beans, cheddar and jack cheese, pico de gallo, and a jalapeno ketchup with a serious kick.
If you really can’t decide, there’s also the garbage plate, a platter stacked with potatoes, mushrooms, scrambled eggs, chorizo, bacon, cheddar, a Cajun sauce, and a side of toast. It was good enough that our six-year-old tucked in with knife and fork and devoured it.
One of my favorite details at Blunch is the murals done by local artists Stephanie Rond and Adam Hernandez. It’s a wonderful blend of their styles. And one mural features another Columbus artist, Lisa McLymont, as a subject!
Shameless plug… you can learn more about them at ColumbusMakesArt.com. (Gotta plug the day job, right?!)
Blunch seems to have hit on something. There’s almost always a wait on weekends. We learned that you can call ahead to put your name in, which left us waiting only a few minutes for our table.
But I’m glad to see a fun cafe like this thriving in Clintonville, and I’m hoping more people are willing to get blunched.
