The Thurman Cafe in German Village, Columbus, Ohio

          Three friends and I ate at The Thurman Café, 183 Thurman Ave., in German Village of Columbus, Ohio this past Saturday afternoon.  The Thurman Café is one of the more popular restaurants in German Village, as evidenced by the 45 minute wait we had to experience to get into the place at 2:00 in the afternoon.  Part of the wait though, can be attributed to the small and cramped size of the restaurant.  Only so many people will fit into the place. 

          The Thurman Café is really just a small bar that is being used as a restaurant.  For an interesting touch, the walls are covered in photos and signed dollar bills.  The ceiling is covered with Budweiser beer ads.  We noted that out booth was so cramped that we had to suck in our breath the whole time we were there just to fit into our seats.  The edge of the table uncomfortably dug far into our abdomens.  True, a couple of us were slightly overweight, but, given the fact that most of America is, and that overweight customers are a fat (pun intended) source of income for a restaurant, a couple of more inches between the seat backs and the table would have been gratefully accepted.

          Once we got seated, my friends and I were greeted by friendly and personable waiters who quickly took our orders from a very ample menu and brought them to us in a reasonable time frame.  The restaurant specialty is a 12 ounce hamburger, with more than 20 different burgers to choose from.  There are also coney dogs, pizzas, wings, and many other sandwiches.  The biggest burger is the Thermanator, made from two 12 ounce burgers, bun, and all the trimmings, for $21.99.  Once we saw the softball size burgers, my friends and I decided to order something more suited to our smaller appetites. 

          My friend Susie ordered Sweet Thai Chili chicken wings.  She liked them, especially the sauce.  It was "perfect, with just the right amount of spicyness."  I tasted them.  I liked them too.

          Greg ordered the "Chicken Club".  He liked it, but was not unusually impressed.  When he saw the oversized, traditional corned beef "Reuben" that I had ordered, he suddenly developed a craving for a Reuben of his own.  My sandwich was packed with corned beef.  The cheese and sauerkraut blended perfectly with the meat and the bun, and the thousand island sauce served on the side allowed me to temper the juiciness of the sandwich to my individual taste.  I like sauerkraut so I wouldn't have minded a touch more kraut, but the overall taste of the sandwich was so good, as prepared, that the difference was not enough to pick at.

          Donna ordered the "Breaded Gourmet Onion Rings" and the "Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings".  She loved the rings.  They were "crisp" and tasted good.  She hated the boneless wings.  They tasted more mild than "Hot".  Donna thought that maybe the restaurant had somehow gotten the hot sauce mixed up with a touch of barbeque sauce, ruining the intended taste.  She gave the wings an overall thumbs down. 

          Would we try the Thurman Café again?  Probably.  There were so many items on the menu, and the wait staff were so friendly, that it might be worth giving the restaurant another shot.  However, due to the long wait to be seated, and the unpredictability of the taste of the food, we probably will be giving other restaurants a shot at making us happy first before we rush back to the Thurman Café.