Latitude 41
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue – and launched the greatest culinary revolution of all time.
Potatoes, corn, tomatoes and cacao, the great explorer brought all of these mysteries back to Europe. At Latitude 41 – named for the coordinates of Barcelona, where Columbus reported to his Spanish patrons – Chef Dean James Max also wants diners to experience a new way of eating.
“We’re always trying to discover new things with food,” Chef Max says. “It doesn’t have to be a new ingredient, but a better quality ingredient. It’s those discoveries that are important to us.”
Raised along Virginia’s fertile shores, Chef Max grew up with crabs from the Chesapeake, sweet potatoes from his father’s farm, and peppers from his own patch. At Latitude 41, he and Chef David MacLennan source local lamb for their stew with Shiraz broth, farmer’s market heirlooms for their salads, and hand-aged Gouda for hearty winter fondues.
Signature flatbreads flamed on the restaurant’s open hearth get piled with Tunisian-spiced shrimp in the summer, braised short ribs in the winter. The scaloppini of free-range local duck might be paired with tomato jam or quince – or, whatever a farmer wanders in with.
“We might have a farmer who brings us gooseberries that he just planted for fun,” Chef Max says. So they’ll go with the duck. Or alongside some heirloom pork chops. Or perhaps into a sweet-spicy chutney. Anything that lets diners explore exciting new tastes.
“We don’t like things to get too fussy,” says Chef Max. “We just want to give people great food.”
Columbus Renaissance
50 N 3rd St.
Columbus, OH 43215
50 N 3rd St.
Columbus, OH 43215