by Caitlin Saniga
A heaping pile of fried green beans from Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails
** This is technically a $7 snack. Keep reading to see why I’m including it in $6 Snacks anyway.
If you order the fried green beans from Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails in Columbus, you’re going to get a buttload of green beans in a basket. My friends laugh at me when that’s all I order for a work lunch outing. But when they’re all grabbing and dipping my stragglers, and when I’m packing a box full of leftovers to take home, I think they get it. I order this dish because it’se tasty, filling – and there’s plenty to go around.
The beans range in size up to about 7 inches long. Covered in crunchy breading, the beans themselves are pretty soft and still green on the inside. (When I first ordered this appetizer, I was afraid they’d be olive-brown from sitting in deep-fryer oil. But I had nothing to fear.)
Maybe the best part about this snack, though, is the duo of dipping sauces served alongside. The first is a creamy house-made ranch, and, duh, anything fried and dipped in ranch tastes pretty good. The second is a Bloody Mary sauce with a tomato/black pepper flavor. This one has a thin texture, but the flavor is a winner.
Did I mention you get so many beans with this order? If you can’t finish all of them – and I guarantee you won’t by yourself – ask for lids for your sauces and a to-go box. When you’re hungry later, spread the beans on a cookie sheet and set them under the broiler until the first side gets crispy and golden again. Flip them, and let them broil on the other side. They’re almost as good the second time heated.
If fried green beans don’t sound strange enough to you, Tip Top also serves an appetizer of Fried Eggplant for $7. There’s house-cut fries and sweet-potato fries, too, for $5. All of these can be ordered as sides for most entrees, at an additional cost.
Visit Tip Top Cocktails and Restaurant in downtown Columbus: 73 E. Gay St., Columbus, OH,43215; www.tiptopcolumbus.com
Photo: Caitlin Saniga
*$6 Snacks is a recurring feature that reviews an area eatery’s snack — for $6 or less. Look at a map of the places we’ve tried.
