Restaurants
Let’s Go to Mr. Freeze!
“Let’s go to Mr. Freeze!” I have been saying these words for as long as I can remember. This has always been a difficult proposition for my parents to disagree with because they love the wonderful soft serve cones, shakes, and sundaes as much as I always have. On a hot summer night, you can […]
Jumping Mullets!
Large Styrofoam cups are constantly being re-filled with sweet, cold, crisp, strongly brewed tea, cool air being is pushed around by the ceiling fans, the walls are colored a nice sandy yellow and covered with pictures of local prize catches; this is the atmosphere greets us as we walk into the Fish Hook Grill on […]
Mountain Pizza
As we hear my Uncle Mike’s truck pulling up the mountain in the late afternoon drizzle, we know dinner is here. Luckily, Brian and my cousins are almost back from a swim in the pond, so they can get cleaned up and have dinner with us. As they walk up to the porch with a […]
A Restaurant in Columbus, Among Us
Columbus, Ohio is a city of large, fast-paced chain restaurants. I had the pleasure of “cutting my teeth” at the Columbus Fish Market as a first job after high school. I was often in over my head as I worked the sauté station, helping to churn out 400 plus covers a night. We knew of […]
The Scoop on Columbus
In Columbus Ohio there is a trendy ice cream shop that is all the rage. Unlike some similar places in New York City, Jeni’s Ice Cream offers a large variety of off-the-beaten-path flavors, but still things you want to eat. Jeni’s is responsible about their ingredients; milk, cream, and berries are raised sustainably from Ohio’s […]
Mancy’s Toledo
“Once places like this are gone, there is no replacing them.” said my mom after another memorable meal at Mancy’s steakhouse in Toledo, Ohio. Classic restaurants such as this truly are irreplaceable and have become fixtures in the community by offering simple, well prepared food with great service and atmosphere. Stained glass, portraits of lounging […]
Sensory Pho
Smell the scent of freshly plucked Thai basil, the rich beefy aroma of the gently spiced broth; hear the slurping of noodles and crunching of a crispy spring roll. Eating pho and Vietnamese spring rolls has a ritual surrounding it, elements of seasoning and cooking at the table, and a variety of flavor, texture, and […]
Virginia Is Flexing Its Mussels
I have been lucky to have my aunt Polly to travel with; she has taken me along in her adventures from the Bahamas to Italy to some of my first trips to New York City. One early summer evening recently Polly took us to discover Occoquan, Virginia, a town south of Washington, DC. Once a […]
Central is “Capital”
Every now and then you stumble into an experience you couldn’t have expected. When we were in Washington D.C. this past week visiting my family we had a bunch of great meals. A Belgium place with my Aunt Polly in Virginia to just outstanding meals cooked at home. A day trip to the city happened […]
Enlightened Hospitality 101
Growing up in my house no one was ever left hungry. We always had a house full of food and the kitchen was–and is to this day–the center of the house. It wasn’t just my home either, it was my aunts’, uncle’, and grandparents’ houses too. At breakfast, we would sit together over anything from eggs […]