Ah, the Budna Grill.  For those of us who grew up in North College Hill the mere mention of the Budna stirs a wide variety of memories.  The Budna was the name that sprawled across our chests on our soccer and little league t-shirts.  It was the place where we had our first beers at the ripe old age of under-21.  It had cheap drinks, terrible food, and a great jukebox.  For whatever reason, no matter how dirty it was or bad it smelled we still kept coming back.

So about a year ago when I heard the Budna was for sale I was a little down.  I was afraid that NCH might lose a little bit of it’s history.  (I even thought about putting together a half baked attempt to buy the iconic bar.  Needless to say that didn’t happen.)  However, I couldn’t have been more excited when I heard about who purchased the location and the plans.

A former NCH resident, Chris Howeler decided to purchase the location and give something back to the community that raised him.  Chris, a former chef at Trio, has totally transformed the old Budna location into the Vanzandt Tavern. (Vanzandt is the original name of Galbraith Rd where the tavern is located.)  The structure has been completely renovated and expanded with a dining area, open-air (covered) seating in the front of the restaurant,  and a great bar area that houses the original bar from the Budna Grill fully restored to a beauty it hasn’t seen in decades.

The food at VanZandt is really good.  The burgers are huge and served on homemade (really big, thick) rolls or foccicia bread.  I can pack away some food, but it isn’t easy to finish a whole burger, despite how much you want to.  Aside from good burgers they have pizzas that are reminicent of the kind you would find at Trio (i.e. BBQ, with chicken, bacon, provolone, smoked gouda and a homemade BBQ sauce), sandwiches (including a Reuben, which according to my Irish friend had very good corned beef) and entrees.  They also have a selection of appetizers and homemade desserts.

Beer snobs (like Sean) will appreciate that VanZandt does not carry “Domestics” on tap.  No draft Bud Light.  You can, however, still get them in bottles.  That is certainly a large departure from the Budna, which I’m pretty sure was the last place on earth to still serve Icehouse on draft.

While North College Hill has lost the beloved Budna it has truly gained a classy establishment with the addition of the VanZandt Tavern.