This is the only truly vegetarian-friendly eatery in town. Uriah (owner and chef) is bursting at the seams with personality. He is so much fun to watch and listen to. He is the only chef so the food takes a good 45 minutes when he's busy, but the entertainment of listening to Uriah talk to everyone else around makes the time fly. During the wait we were fed beer bread with olive oil to dip in (YUM!) and then came out the garlic bread with Uriah's famous St. Diablo jellies - garlic, jalapeno and cayenne. Delicious!!! We bought 2 jars to take home. Most of the dishes are made with homemade fetuccini which is cut and cooked to order. The main courses we had were disappointing (and expensive). I had the vegetarian Chef's Mercy - I was at Uriah's mercy for whatever he was in the mood to make. This night it was ratatouille which I found bland and odd. My husband had the pasta with some kind of gorgonzola cream sauce. It was pretty good, but again I found it lacked flavor. By the reputation The Columbian has around town, I expected the main courses to be memorably good. But all in all it was a great time and I will definitely return when in town.
Pros: Uriah's personality, appetizer breads & jellies
Cons: price, bland entrees
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