And Then There’s Ampersand
Food Review by Gary Gardiner
Ampersand in Westerville made a strong closing statement for this year’s Lenten Fish Friday reviews.
Good Friday pushed me toward the ahi tuna rice bowl, even though that would not normally be my first choice on a menu that also offers bowls built around some of my more customary favorite meats and is especially known for its ramen offerings. Even so, the tuna bowl proved excellent: fresh, colorful, and full of contrast, with cool fish, crisp vegetables, crunchy toppings, and roasted corn that immediately won my approval.
Regular readers of the Farmers Market food reviews already know my standing devotion to corn and cucumbers, and this bowl did nothing to weaken it. My drink, an iced green tea sweetened with strawberries and rhubarb, added a bright, lightly fruity note that fit the meal nicely without overwhelming it.
Before the bowl arrived, there was an appetizer of crab rangoon, and it set the tone well. Each piece came with a delicate crunch that gave way to a hot, creamy center, rich with that familiar sweet-salty balance that makes the best versions so satisfying. They tasted freshly fried rather than heavy, the wrapper crisp and light around a filling smooth enough to linger on the palate. It was the kind of appetizer that disappears quickly and leaves you wishing the plate had carried a few more pieces.
The setting helped. The dining room was open, bright, and quiet enough that I realized I could easily have sat there reading a book while I ate. There was no kitchen clatter, no noisy rush, only the occasional squeal from a nearby child joyfully responding to some unseen triumph on her own plate. That kind of calm is rarer than it should be, and Ampersand wears it well.
A book at the table would have been especially fitting, since the restaurant stands on the same site once occupied by Book Harbor, the bookstore on the avenue leading toward Otterbein University. The old building was demolished after its owners died and the property fell into disrepair, so the location carries a little ghost of literary memory with it. Eating there, in such a bright and peaceful room, it was hard not to feel that echo.
That said, I remain at heart a red meat and baked potato with chives and bacon kind of diner. These Fish Friday reviews began several years ago with visits to the fast food places around town and ended with a penitential stop at McDonald’s on Good Friday, simply to preserve the sacrificial character of the season. This year’s ending was plainly a better deal.
I did not grow up on tuna bowls or restaurant ramen. I grew up on catfish, bream, and largemouth bass pulled from family lakes and ponds. Rice, when it appeared, was usually served Southern style with stewed tomatoes or black-eyed peas, or both, with pepper sauce nearby. The beef came from my once-removed uncle’s cattle ranch, a place rarely discussed in detail but always spoken of with reverence. And the chicken came from the coop in the backyard.
Which is why Ampersand impressed me. Even ordered under the obligations of Good Friday rather than personal instinct, the meal was balanced, satisfying, and good enough to send me back with real interest in the rest of the menu. Ahi tuna may not have been my first choice, but the restaurant made a strong case for return visits. The rice bowls alone offer enough variety to reward another stop, especially for diners more naturally drawn to chicken, pork, or beef.
But the deeper temptation may be the ramen menu, with rich tonkotsu, shoyu, miso, and other variations suggesting a kitchen that takes its noodle bowls seriously. For someone like me, whose instincts usually run toward heavier, heartier fare, that ramen list is persuasive enough to make me consider an unfamiliar act of devotion: coming back voluntarily for noodles.
The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.
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