Ghostwriter Public House: A Culinary Gem in Johnstown, Ohio

Ghostwriter Public House was everything I was hoping it would be (and more!) as I made the snowy/rainy commute to Johnstown last Monday evening.

I’ll admit two things right out of the gate:

1) I didn’t even know where Johnstown WAS until the owners of GW reached out to me a few weeks ago to join them for dinner. We always tell ourselves things like “we should get outside of downtown Columbus sometime to support local restaurants that are outside of the 270 loop”. But alas, we hadn’t – until Ghostwriter. And I’m so glad we did, because that leads into my second admission..

2) I’ve been feeling kinda uninspired lately. A few experiences at new (to me) restaurants that I’ve been able to visit have fallen sort of flat, and I’ve been way more into cooking at home as the temperatures start to drop. And I know there’s nothing wrong with that! I just really missed the enthusiasm and passion that I normally experience at restaurants here in Columbus.

OKAY. Now that that’s out of the way, on to Ghostwriter! If you’re reading this post and live near the downtown Columbus area, let me assure you immediately that the 30-40 minute drive you just Google mapped is WORTH the trip. And if you live in any suburbs that are east of the city? Even better – because you’re that much closer! While the owners (Dennis and Denise Blankemeyer) were kind enough to give us visitors a little deeper insight into their business, how they started, and who their partners are (a ton of AWESOME farms and businesses that I’ll name at the end) you can find most of that info on their website. Trust me, click the link. The website design is cool AF and I’m not ashamed to say I clicked every click on it because I didn’t want to miss anything.

From the intricate details of the decor to the composition of the restaurant’s tables and chairs, it was very evident that Dennis and Denise took the time to ensure that the ~vibe~ of Ghostwriter was a distinct and welcoming one. Wondering about the name? The true definition of “Ghostwriter” refers to an author who writes books, articles, etc. under the name of someone else. Put that into service industry lingo, and Dennis said that he believes the name of the restaurant embodies all of the hardworking individuals who aid in the daily workings of a restaurant, but may not necessarily get the credit. The farmhand who helps harvest the vegetables that are on special for the week, the dishwashers in the back who work 12 hour shifts to make sure the dining room has enough plates throughout dinnertime, etc. Pretty cool, huh? And I haven’t even gotten to the food.

Chef Brett Fife, formerly of Lindey’s in Columbus, joined the Ghostwriter team a few months ago and helped bring the restaurant across the finish line when they were ready to open in November. Many of the ingredients you’ll see on the menu are due to his forged relationships with local vendors, then transformed into incredible dishes.

A few of my favorite appetizers were the devils on horseback (alwayssss a good savory/sweet app to start with!), deviled eggs, and OMG let me introduce you to this pimento cheese dip for the pork rinds! I’m a huge small plates girl (if that made any sense), so I could’ve snacked on any of these all night. Don’t let the “bread and butter” board pass you either – the toasted Lucky Cat Bakery bread about sent me over the edge when I tried it!

If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you. And for that I will award you with this advice: ORDER THE CAESAR SALAD. The only restaurant in Columbus where I’ve had a caesar salad almost this good was The Rossi, and I’m just a little afraid to go back there now considering the whole…rat.. incident. I even called them “The Ratsi” the other day on accident.

Whoops.

Anyways – the salad! What makes it so special? The romaine on the Caesar Salad is served almost whole, after being wood grilled and tossed in a roasted garlic caesar dressing. Then, it’s covered in crumbles of croutons, speck (cured ham) and aged cheese crumbles. I’m drooling while thinking about it and I’m only like 10% embarrassed to admit it. Check out the photo on my Instagram post here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6MdY0Pg_7X/

For entrees, we tried the “Responsibly Raised Beef” – a perfectly seared filet that comes from a local farm in Ohio, served with a bed of lightly dressed arugula and fingerling potatoes. Oh, and bearnaise aioli. Yum!

Our other entree was a bit more adventurous. We tried out the “Gnudi”, and yes.. you’re right, it’s pronounced noo-dee, and it most certainly didn’t disappoint. Gnudi are gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta cheese instead of potato and like WHY hasn’t someone thought of this BEFORE. Although the dish was rich, you’d best believe we finished off the whole thing!

We finished the night with a slice of an impeccable smore’s torte. Flourless chocolate cake – torched marshmallow – gluten free graham cracker – beautiful presentation. We loved the meal from start to finish.

I hope I’ve convinced you by now that a drive out to Johnstown is worth the meal, the hospitality, and the community. See you soon, Ghostwriter Public House!

A few of GW’s local partners: Lucky Cat Bakery, Jeni’s Ice Cream, North Country Charcuterie, Copia Farm, Saddleberk Pork, Black Radish Creamery, Shagbark Mill, and more!