The Old Mohawk

We had full intentions of going to Graffiti Burgers to give them a try when a wrong turn and a misunderstanding in 5th Ave vs St, lol, we ended up at the Old Mohawk....I had heard from my fellow coworkers that this place served up some pretty good stuff and I should definitely try it sometime and I am so glad that I did!
Steve and I were just planning on a small amount of food and a beer or two, but we got far more then that.  Happy Hour is 4-7 everyday (I believe anyway) and that is the best time to go if you just want a nice outing with your honey in a quaint little area.  The Server was very good and I am so mad at myself for not remembering her name as I am a Server also and love it when people mention my name in a review.  It is OK that I didn't get her name as I can pretty much say I will be visiting this unusual place again.  We ordered the Nachos which are vegetarian (for those of you whom care)  They put vegetarian chili in it with lots of jalapenos, red peppers, loaded with cheese, etc.  The most unique and best of all about the nachos is they serve the nacho topping in a bowl that literally just came out of the oven and boiling hot with bubbly cheese on top and a large dollop of sour cream on top of that big mess, and then the chips are fresh in house made (I believe) light and crisp, are served in a separate bowl.  You are given two app plates so that you can dish out your own nachos and how great they don't get soggy at all!  Still more on the nachos, they are 9.49 and I added chicken which was 3 dollars more, but it was half off due to happy hour so only cost me bout 6 bucks and it is freaking huge people so bring someone with you, lol!!!  We took a box with us, but unfortunately and no fault of theirs the nacho topping nor chips are very good the next day : (  We also got the fried green beans with caraway sauce for only 3 bucks and they were so good.  
Finally we had two large Yuenglings on draft as they were only a buck 50 a piece YA!

Long story short, lots of art work to look at, decent selection of beers (that I am told rotates quite often). Very extensive menu, I so want to do the hummus app, and so much of their other stuff looked awesome.  

If you need a lot of attention from your server during Monday at the start of happy hour this will not be the case.  I loved our server and she was really friendly, helpful, nice.  She was pretty busy when we went in with a good 6-7 tables, 2 of those tables parties of 5 or more.  She sat us very quickly and really had only minimal time to spend with us and I understand as I am a server, but she did fine taking care of us, not making us wait and when we left she informed us of the beers changing frequently, and that the art all over the walls is switched out from month to month so locals can sell their art there.  very nice girl and place and I will return again and again especially for happy hour!

I've been here a couple of times so far. The first time, I was fortunate enough to go when Columbus was preoccupied elsewhere on a Saturday afternoon. The most recent visit was a much more packed Friday night right before dinner rush hit (and did it hit...there was a wait for a table by the time we left). In both cases, the food and service were great.

First, there's the Old Mohawk itself. Nice brick structure, much like the rest of German Village. The interior is nice; rather interesting artwork in an otherwise rectangular dining room that is dominated at one end by the bar. I wouldn't call the place "roomy," particularly during a dinner rush, so if I were going to get dinner, I'd definitely make plans to arrive as early as possible.

Ideal seating: as far as I'm concerned, the closer you can get to the front windows, the better. The tables by the window feel like sitting in a rather large booth, with a nice view of the street outside.

Now, on to the food. The first time around, I had a fairly-typical yet tasty reuben. The second time around, I tried the Mother Mohawk, and let me tell you, I'll be having that again! Delicious with an interesting variety of textures and overall great taste (hence the "delicious" adjective). Then again, I look forward to sampling other items on the menu, so I don't know how soon I'll be visiting the Mother again, but it can't be soon enough.

Overall, I liked the vibe, the food...pretty much everything. Good food in a good atmosphere surrounded by good people? There's not much more you could ask for.

Being in town for my yearly trip to Columbus, I was relieved that I was able to convince my coworker to try another restaurant beyond Schmidt's Sausage Haus. After setting into our room at the Comfort Inn, I quickly logged onto Yelp to see what else was in the neighborhood. After some investigation, The Old Mohawk sounded promising. In my random conversation with Jim B., my coworker, I mentioned they offered turtle soup which somehow segued into a story from his childhood about some neighbor who used to make homemade turtle soup. I don't believe I have ever had such a discussion about turtle soup as I have today.

After a short walk through the charming German Village area of Columbus, we found ourselves entering The Old Mohawk. Proudly displaying local art on the walls, and featuring a bar at the heart of the dining room complete with turtle stained glass lampshade, the dining room was comfortable and casual. The menu was wildly varied; I was overjoyed to see so many Vegetarian options. I ended up ordering the homemade black bean burger with the kettle chip upgrade, cup of veggie chili, and a Four String Cherry Blonde pint from the bar. Jim had the turtle soup--which surprisingly was not green but more akin to my chili--and the Mother Mohawk sandwich, which is a peculiar pairing of grilled roast beef with cold chicken salad on marbled rye.

I was really pleased with my black bean burger though I was it was a little less mushy. It was served with provolone, lettuce, tomato and onion, the latter two I had held. The kettle chips were totally the right call--perfectly crispy and freshly made--there's no comparison to bagged Ruffles. It really was a tough decision on ordering--I came close to trying their three cheese grilled cheese, making a custom quesadilla (which I love that I know they were added to the menu in 1986 as per the timeline on the back of the menu), and the crustless pizza, an Old Mohawk original of penne with sauce, baked cheese and toppings.

I think my favorite part of the dinner was actually the dessert. I think I reached an Urkel level of geeked when I spotted the Pumpkin Roll on the dessert board. It was presented with three dollops of real whipped cream, caramel drizzle and was perfectly moist. The cream cheese inside was smooth and velvety--it was almost like a cream cheese custard--probably one of the best desserts I have ever had.

I also loved that I got to question the waitress about them keeping the turtles in the basement (according to their menu they used to keep them in a pit in the basement in 1933)--they don't. She did tell us that she believes the restaurant is haunted! I tried to suggest a Silence of the Lambs-esque "Do you hear the turtles Clarice?" notion, but she crushed my cinematic dreams with a tale of spinning bar stools instead.

I would gladly return to the Old Mohawk, and have already started laying the groundwork for next year's trip. Pumpkin roll will always trump cream puff in my book.