Spiciest Dish in Columbus Series: The Crafty Pint

Feelin’ a bit spooky, might go eat some ghosts.

When The Crafty Pint first opened, we wandered there quite a bit for their hand twisted pretzel with beer cheese, mustard vinaigrette and sweet habanero dipping sauces (a tiny lil’ kick). We also enjoyed the Chicken Churasco Sandwich and their bayou mayo quite a bit. Nestled between several pizza spots right along 161, it boasts a fairly large draft list including local beers and features beers from around the US.

After a few subpar experiences, we stopped going for a while, but there was a spicy dish that needed eating, so we decided to head to an old haunt.

Fry burger ratio all-time high.

The Crafty Pint definitely still has some unique dishes, including a Blackberry & Goat Cheese Wood Fired Flatbread and a Fried Bologna Sandwich. The lady of the farm got a Short Rib French Dip, but neglected to remember that these posts eat first! No worries, it looked like a standard French Dip, but came with extra Horseradish Mayo on the side instead of an au jus dipping sauce. Interesting choice, but seemed fine enough.

With a poltergeist breathing down my neck I ordered the Ghost Pepper Bison Burger, the spiciest dish on the menu. As I did I saw three spirits begin to swirl around the ceiling, shrieking about Dr. Seuss. They yelled “You can eat it with a ghost, you can eat it on some (pretzel) toast!” “BE GONE SPIRITS” I thundered, much to the dismay of other customers.

As one lil’ ghosty boi crept into the wall, he whispered, “Be sure to get extra maple bacon aioliiiiiii,” but I did not hear him as I was entering the Spicy Zone^TM.

Gratuitous picture of cheese.

Behold, the Ghost Pepper Bison Burger. Sporting a slice of Ghost Pepper cheese, maple bacon aioli and pickles on a pretzel bun, it apparated in front of my very eyes, a ghostly transition from no food to food. The shot above was to give as clear of a look at the spicy part as possible. If you look closely you can see some pepper flakes in the cheese. It’s somewhere under the aioli. Just strain your eyes a bit. There you go.

First bite in didn’t give me much of the cheese, but I knew I would get to it soon enough. A couple more bites in I had found the spicy cheese and it was, pretty tame. The cheese as a ghost pepper cheese is a fine cheese, it just doesn’t pack much of a punch. Every bite after, I’d get a quick spooky hello and then as ghosts do it would disappear back into the netherworld or wherever ghosts go when they disappear. Maybe to go eat some of their favorite pasta, spookhetti. We’ll see ourselves out.

The rest of the way through the burger was more of the same. A little spooky wave and then it would be gone. No sniffles or sweat, but the maple bacon aioli was pretty tasty. If only I’d listened to the spirits and gotten some on the side. As a burger, it was fine, but as a spiciest dish this one will be fairly low. It’s a great “first spicy dish” for folks looking to get into the game, but others will be like “ah, so it’s spicy cheese.” A lot of our spicy dishes (even when they are lower on the spicy scale) have a heat that stays with you throughout most of your meal. The Ghost Pepper Bison Burger at The Crafty Pint has a quick hit and then gone and because of that we’re putting it fairly low at #44, just below Condado Tacos and their Dirty Sauce and above Firdous Express Tunisian Chicken.

At this time, Bru Burger still holds the lead as the spiciest Burger in Columbus with their “Melt Your Face Burger.” The Ghost Pepper Bison Burger could definitely creep up there, but it would take the bison meat being mixed with some ghost pepper powder to make that happen. If that’s of interest, hit us up, we know some people with Ghost Pepper Powder (it’s us).

You can find The Crafty Pint at 2234 W. Dublin Granville Rd. Columbus, OH 43085.

Look below for more in our spiciest dish in Columbus series and hit us up if you have any suggestions that are not already on our list!

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