Q2 Bistro- Not A Me Too

Chinese restaurants in Columbus are a dime a dozen, or should I say 0.632101 yuan a dozen, and are remarkably unmemorable. I like Asian foods so much that I'll even tolerate odious places like China Dynasty in the Lane Avenue shopping center or Eastern Bay on Riverside Dr., but compared to real Chinatown establishments in NY, SF or Toronto, etc., I'm left largely unimpressed, if not full.

To stand out in this bland crowd, you have to either be willing to serve more authentic food with exotic ingredients, which turns off many squeamish Midwesterners, or do the basics better. Q2 Bistro chose the latter.

It's evident as soon as you walk in that details are important to the owners, as they've tastefully decorated the small space with bare concrete floors (countered with acoustic sound-absorbing ceiling panels), light, modern woods and a serene bamboo-jungle motif. They are also unfailingly friendly and prompt, which is unheard of in the aforementioned Chinatowns and you will never wait long, even when they are busy.

The stylish interior and attractive servers are deceptive, as it may lead you to believe that the menu is trendy. It is not. In fact, it's not really authentic Chinese, but few suburban American Chinese restaurants are.

You'll find the norms like egg rolls, spring rolls, hot & sour soup, dumplings, etc. on the appetizer menu and entrees that include vegetarian dishes, various stir-fried medleys, noodle dishes, Sesame, Orange and General Tso's chicken, along with Korean-style casseroles of rice, meat and vegetables served with a spring roll in a cast iron pot (not to be confused with Chinese Hot Pot, which is a spicy, hot broth served family-style in a large pot that you dip various meats, seafood and condiments into).

I don't mean to imply that the menu is boring (there are lots of hot & spicy choices) or limited (I've only listed a few items) but rather, that they have chosen to serve things that they know will appeal and they do them very well- and that's a good thing.

What you'll also find is that each of these simple dishes are extraordinarily fresh. Veggies are always crunchy, sauces are light and the food is always steaming hot, right from the wok with less oil than is typical. Behind the curtain in the small kitchen, someone is paying close attention and it shows.

I can be a creature of habit, so when I find something I like, I tend to order it often. The good thing about this is that it allows me to judge consistency and Q2 is consistent to an extreme. In 20 visits or so, they have never let me down.

The Firecracker Chicken (white meat chicken stir fry with jalapeno, green and red pepper in spicy soy sauce), Mongolian Trio (Tiger shrimp, beef, and chicken sauteed with white and green onions in spicy and aromatic soy sauce), the Spicy Hoyu Medley in the pot (Tiger shrimp, beef and chicken stir fry with celery and onion in oyster sauce) and the Pad Thai are all favorites. Their spin on hot and sour soup is also interesting as it has a slight, lingering sweetness not typically found.

Portions are  medium large. Prices are fair with most entrees in the $5-7 range (lunch). Hopefully this will not change, however, a recent visit revealed a dinner/Happy Hour special banner in the window, which is not good sign. This can mean that the dinner business is slow and that's where a good portion of the profits can come from, as the meals are marked up higher and more drinks are sold. I hope this is not the case and that this small, one-of-a-kind business can make it in the food chain hell that the Polaris area is.

RATING: 4 Bites

472 Polaris Pkwy.

Westerville, OH 43082

614-898-1988

472 Polaris Parkw3082

614.898.198