Last Wednesday I had the privilege of going to see Broadway across America’s presentation of Mary Poppins! I was very excited about this as well as getting to go out for dinner before (and on my moms bill! :D) Knowing I am the only one who cares enough about restaurants, I was designated to choose where we eat before. I’m constantly giving my parents crap for going to freakin’ Applebees when there are a million great places to eat in Columbus.
Anyway, I chose The Jury Room. Its located on Mound just off High so it was close to the Ohio Theater. It was originally a pub for Jury members, judges, etc. to go to during trial back in the 1800s, making it the longest running restaurant/bar in Columbus. Recently Liz Lessner and her Betty’s family of Restaurants became the new owners.
The atmosphere is laid-back like the other Betty’s Family restaurants and the decor has a very vintage feel like you might be eating at the same table as some judge back in 1850.
The menu is not very big but includes a fairly big variety of beers and cocktails. As far as food they have pasta, hoagies, appetizers and some bigger entrées. There were 5 of us (my mom and sister, me, my moms best friend Sally, and her daughter Courtney-who’s also my bff) so needless to say we got to sample quite a few different things.
First off we ordered drinks and appetizers. They had Magic Hat #9 on draft which I have been getting a lot lately. It is not hoppy at all and has a great apricot flavor to it. Possibly going to be my summer beer this year.
For apps we ordered the pan-seared zucchini which came in a pile of shavings on top of marinara sauce dusted with parmesan. I LOVE zucchini but I had never had it with marinara. It was very good- we were all trying to scoop it up before it was gone! We also ordered the grilled asparagus bruschetta. Again I enjoy asparagus and bruschetta but had never tried them together. There were also tomatoes, parm and balsamic involved. Yum. My only complaint was that the bread was so hard it was falling apart and hard to bite into- but it was nothing a fork couldn’t fix. I think most of the Betty’s restaurants incorporate unorthodox pairings of food- which I think is really fun and inventive. and yummy.
These pics are so much better by the way because they are from my Sis’ iPhone 4 (my 3GS cam sucks)
Next we ordered our meals. They weren’t as exciting as the apps but were still good comfort food. My sis and I ordered spaghetti, hers with half alfredo- half marinara sauce, and mine with marinara and a meatball. I have to say I enjoyed her combo sauces better than mine but the marinara itself was still good. Nothing too seasoned or fancy, just good tomato-ey sauce. The meatball was a little plain for my liking, but again, I prefer simple vs overdone.
Sally ordered meatballs as well and my mom got the Chicken Marsala. It is one of her favorite dishes but she is very picky about getting it at restaurants- however she approved of this version! I had a few bites and it didn’t have a very strong wine flavor but the chicken was de-lish.
Courtney’s meal made me envious. First she got the old school italian garlic bread which was literally covered in garlic, so much that my mom could smell it at the other end of the table. I happen to love garlic so I thought it was delicious, but my breath didn’t really recover until after multiple pieces of gum and brushing my teeth. She also ordered the Skillet Spaghetti which is spaghetti noodles, tossed in alfredo sauce, rolled in italian bread crumbs, and then fried and served over marinara. I know, sounds amazing right? I mean they had to be, she ate them before I even got a chance to try them! I feel like that would be a really fun dinner to try to make at home though so maybe ill add that to my to-do list…
After finishing up and thanking our lovely waitress ( I wish I remembered her name, she really was so accommodating) we were off to the theater!
I had not been to the Ohio Theater in years and forgot how gorgeous it was. I could literally look at all of the intricate designs and decor for hours. Just over-the-top grandeur moldings, colors, lights, etc. Even the carpet, upholstery, and wallpaper is incredibly detailed. I had actually watched the King’s Speech the night before so I kept thinking of how much the theater reminded me of the imagery in the film.
Once inside, we realized our seats were even better than we expected! Of course I have no memory so I was trying so hard to remember the tickets that I forgot my glasses. I’m pretty much blind these days so I probably would have had to be sitting on the stage to see any facial detail/expressions, but I managed to squint through it :) As expected the show was great. They sang all the favorite songs from the movie as well as a few new ones. At one point Bert walks upside down and Mary Poppins even flew a couple of times! It was a great production. Besides the fun songs I think my favorite part of the show was the design. All of the costumes, colors, and sets were so vivid and so well styled. It really made watching the show much more enjoyable since I was too blind to make out much detail. All in all it was a great night with great food, fun, and friends!
Beer, Bites, and Buckeyes 