An Evening with Ginger Rabbit and Metsi’s

By Ryan G

Look out, world. A culinary and auditory adventure awaits in the Short North Arts District of Columbus, OH.

Real talk: My now wife and I have been discussing having Ginger Rabbit as a date night spot virtually since we’ve started seeing each other. We decided to take the plunge (after 3 years of talking about it) and now we basically have FOMO for all the times we haven’t attended. Also a disclaimer – we messed up and took a lot of video for the ‘gram but neglected to get some good photos of the ambience for both places – the vibe is worth your while!

On a recent Wednesday evening, we decided to drive down to the Short North (rare for a weeknight) and visit the Ginger Rabbit jazz lounge and then have dinner at the brand new wood-fired Italian joint Metsi’s. In the back of my mind, I knew that we would be attending these places during a watershed moment for executive chef BJ Lieberman, the driving force behind both concepts. General life and business circumstances forced the closure of the critically acclaimed Chapman’s Restaurant in German Village over the summer, and Metsi’s had seen previous life as the Mediterranean concept Hiraeth – a highly immersive concept itself. After a brief transition to an event space, Metsi’s is active. I asked Lieberman how he was doing in light of the changes, and he had the following to say:

Losing a restaurant is obviously emotional, but we had 2 months to plan for it, celebrate it and mourn it and now that I handed the keys in, I am left with nothing but gratitude for the Chapman’s team and the community we built. A big part of this move was so I could spend more time with my family, but something I didn’t consider was the quality of the time I’d get to spend at Ginger Rabbit and Metsi’s without all of the administrative work that Chapman’s required. I get to play with food again and that makes me very happy!

The first portion of my evening was in Ginger Rabbit. My wife Katie was with me and we sat the bar. One important note: Ginger Rabbit is not a speakeasy! People tend to use this descriptor for all dark, cocktail focused spaces. BJ Lieberman noted on a June episode of The Perfect Bite podcast that true speakeasies in their day were rambunctious places of debauchery. Ginger Rabbit might have energetic acts now and again – but this is the sort of cool place you can bring your significant other to, or your mom.

Ginger Rabbit may be the classiest pregame spot I’ve ever attended. Katie and I enjoyed a couple of awesome snacks to hold us over until the dinner at Metsi’s. First up was the Whipped Feta – a dish for pita bread. It’s simple yet elegant. The Whipped feta dip includes cheese, honey, olive oil, herbs, and pistachios. I don’t even like feta in my salads and I love this (and yes, my wife found that little tidbit surprising when she first realized). All that to say – if you have a contrarian palette like mine, you’ll want to try this. Afterward, Katie was eager to try to make this at home herself. Our second dish we tried was the Goat Cheese Toast. This was riskier endeavor for Yours Truly, but a worthwhile one. It was a more challenging eat. Prosciutto is not something I spring for on a regular basis. It was an overall satisfying flavor combo – when you could get every element in one bite. I would order this again. I would DEFINITELY order the whipped feta again.

On to the cocktails. Now, I’m a sucker for a good cocktail bar. Ginger Rabbit has it all. An elegance that slowly comes into focus the deeper you get into its space. Friendly mixologists. The right combo of cozy and character. Ginger Rabbit captures the middle ground you want between coziness and class – elegance without the pretense. Plus, the fact that our bartender, Kovy, was someone I was already familiar with through his role with the alternative band Outsider Heart added a fun twist to the experience. For drinks, I figured I had to get the signature drink so I ordered a Ginger Rabbit (gin, carrot juice, sherry, ginger syrup, lemon juice and celery bitters) and Katie ordered a Burly Words (rye, bolivar bitters, velvet falernum, genepy, grapefruit and lemon). Suffice to say, we both found our drinks to be pretty darn refreshing. Katie prefers lighter drinks, and this held up in her eyes!

Burly Words? Why does that sound familiar? I’m glad you asked.

Burly Words is the namesake drink of Whirlybirds, a jazz quartet that performed a mix of jazz standards and originals. Whirlybirds have established themselves as an in-demand act that bridges demographics in Columbus. I knew it would be good based on my previous experience seeing them at Madden Road Festival in Mutual, OH and having heard Joseph Brenneman’s other project – a prog rock band called Tensor. Their stage presence was fun and approachable. They certainly make their rounds; this summer alone they hit up Columbus Arts Festival, Creekside Festival, Jazz and Rib Fest, Madden Road, and many more (arts fest has the mission they back the most though). When they’re not plugging their favorite festivals, they’re championing our local scene – the breadth of the jazz element of the Columbus scene runs the gamut to the fresh out of school, to the regulars, to the veterans and there’s room for everyone. They don’t take themselves too seriously – on or off stage. Their stage banter was lighthearted and they knew how to read the room for what’s probbaly a unique set of folks for every show. This particular evening several people from the Rotary were in Columbus from out of town, and in some cases out of the country and had bought out a lot of the bar.

Backstage I had to ask Whirlybirds which artist in a weird location should be next in the trend of All American Rejects playing backyards and MGK playing random dives. The answer was immediate – “Muse in a bathroom.” Take that unhinged energy and make it a little more buttoned up and you have the vibe of Whirlybirds summed up. See below a clip of their performance from the evening (they have a residency at Ginger Rabbit: the first Wednesday of every month):

Metsi’s is a classy Italian wood-fired joint, located underneath and in front of a parking garage in the Short North (look for the sideways Mona Lisa painting!). The first thing I noticed was the maroon exterior and signage pointing the way for patrons. It made it hard to miss. Entering the restaurant, you come in via the elevator vestibule (a small change from before that actually opened up the space for more seating) you pass through a light, airy ground floor bar with a small dining area. After checking in with the hostess, we were led through a wood paneled tunnel staircase to the main dining area, which built anticipation for the main event. This is how Lieberman summed up the mission of this restaurant:

My dad grew up in NYC, and the style of Italian food and Italian restaurants that I am most familiar with are what I like to call “Metropolitan Italian” or in other words, east coast, big city, red sauce joints. I love the vibe of those places, like it makes you feel that you’re in an episode of the Sopranos. Then as I got older I started getting into making pasta, understanding the different regions of Italy, eating at fine dining Italian restaurants and my aperture was opened even more. What I hope people understand about Metsi’s is that we are trying to create an institution, like the Carbone’s of the world, but that we are also paying homage to the Metropolitan Italian cuisine of my childhood as well as my love of a fine dining experience. It is global Italian, which is kind of a funny way to think of the cuisine of a specific country.

Katie and I were seated at one of the chef’s tables – side by side, and facing the open air kitchen where we had a keen view of dishes being kissed by flame. While sitting there, it was clear that Lieberman’s vision for familial environments with classy hospitality was influencing everything. The decor is striking but understated. If it were gaudy that would just take away from the focus; the food and the people running the restaurant. I left feeling like management and our servers could be new friends.

The pivot to Italian cuisine from the previous concept Hiraeth was actually serendipitous for Lieberman; he mentioned in an email interview that “My family had Italian so often that I actually thought it was Jewish food for most of my childhood.” This was a part of a greater narrative of quality food that followed him through childhood and shaped him into what he is today. An early favorite of his was crab pickin’s in the summer. He explained, “Growing up on the Chesapeake, blue crabs were a summer staple and getting a bushel, grilling some corn and sitting in the backyard and crushing a dozen crabs with the family is such a core memory. I wish everyone grew up with that experience.” In a way Metsi’s is a homage to even this memory of crab pickin’s. Rather than sit isolated in a booth with all the prep work hidden out of sight – you, the customer, are invited to participate in the experience by seeing cooking in its most basic form; over a flame and out in the open, surrounded by warm hospitality. Though the expereince isn’t as hands on, you are privy to the sights, smells, and sounds of your meal being prepared – which builds the anticipation and makes the result that much more satisfying.

So, what did Katie and I eat? We started with a classic – fried calamari. What was noteworthy about this dish to us was the fact that the marinara sauce was the foundation of the dish itself – the calamari sat on top of the sauce. No need to share a dish for dipping. This dish met expectations and I personally appreciated the twist on the presentation. For our main meals I had the herbed snapper and my wife was adventurous and tried a pasta dish she knew nothing about – the Radiatori Alla Roma. I found the fish to be light and the flavor to be powerful; the “kissed by the flame” effect came through front and center. No, it didn’t taste burnt. My side dish, the vegetables miste, bagna cauda, tasted so fresh and zesty it almost overshadowed the main attraction itself! Katie boldly declared that her pasta was the “second best pasta she’s ever had” (#1 was at Rolf and Daughters in Nashville) which might sound like a backhanded compliment, but is intended to be high praise! The pasta dish, which I also tried, was hearty and flavorful with a slight kick.

The cherry on top (pun intended, since we’re talking about dessert) to the evening was Tiramisu. I’m now going to be bold and say this was the best Tiramisu I’ve ever had. I’ll be honest; I was very full at this point. After munching on bread based appetizers at Ginger Rabbit followed by a full meal at Metsi’s I had every intention of calling it a night and heading out – until I saw that dish pass by me and we got the standard “would you like dessert?” question. Ordering rich dessert at the tail end of a full night out can be a risky bet; however in this instance we were able to share the dish and leave for home feeling satisfied but not like we ate too much!

One last thing – since this started as a music blog; we had to ask the brainchild behind our evening what he’s been listening to and if it had any impact on the spaces. Lieberman had this to say in response:

Aside from K-Pop Demon Hunters (thanks to my 4-year old son and 40-year old wife), I listen to a lot of podcasts, which don’t do much to inform the design of the spaces all that much. I don’t get to listen to music as much as I used to but when I do, I typically revisit my favorites vs trying to find new things. I find myself listening to a lot of Jason Isbell, TV on the Radio. I just introduced my son to the Grateful Dead. He said that it’s “the best music ever!” which was pretty awesome. The only “new” thing I’ve been listening to is a band called Songhoy Blues, who are from Mali and play what they call “Dessert Rock” and it is like, all gas, no brakes. The songs just GO from the jump and its great prepping or driving music.

Here is a live clip of Songhoy Blues: