Travelling Within – Tastings of Columbus, Ohio

How many states have you been to? I think Ohio was my twenty fifth…

In the past, whenever I thought about taking a holiday, my mind always wandered to localities beyond our borders…Italy, India, Algeria, Lebanon and beyond…

But recently, due mostly to my job and partly to a roommate eager to share the delights of California, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to spots I normally wouldn’t have considered visiting. When I found out that a meeting that was held in Florida two years ago was to be held in Ohio this year, I thought-  oh crap, there go my hopes of enjoying some sun and catching up on my vitamin D deficiency- but Columbus turned out to be surprisingly charming.

The hotel I stayed at lay in the heart of downtown and a short stroll down the hotel-adjacent High Street led to brick-laned streets lined with very intimate pedestrian-scale buildings that housed everything from earth friendly smoothie places and used cd’s to higher-scale restaurants and eccentric art stores. Every block or so, there was also an iron wrought wreath over the street announcing a new section of the block that was intertwined with twinkle lights. Accompanying each of these iron entrance gates were also wall-sized paintings of various streetscapes and colorful motifs. Some colleagues of mine visited ‘German Town’, a historic neighborhood in the south side of downtown Columbus east of S. High Street and I got to stroll down ‘Italian Village’ a couple days later. Italian Village is located just north of downtown and east of the North High St. also known as the ‘Short North’. I’m pretty sure my buddies went to Schmidt’s Sausage Haus and loved it – meanwhile I tried out Lemongrass on High Street with my childhood buddy- the outcome? Yum. I got a shrimp and green bean dish that was actually too large of a portion for me while my friend Sam got the pad thai and inhaled it. However, Lemongrass doesn’t really stand out in my memory compared to some of the other items that I was lucky enough to sample.

My culinary adventure really started with lunch at North Market where they had dozens of choices for food- both green and otherwise. There was an Indian place, a Middle Eastern place, a classic sandwich joint that was very generous with their heapings of meat, a Chinese restaurant, a bakery, a stop to get the perfect shot of espresso and even a green grocer. I had the vegetarian Indian dish two days in a row but the highlight of all my eating in Columbus was Jeni’s Ice Creams. I’ve had heapings of gelato in Barcelona and tried tons of fancy places in London- but Columbus, Ohio’s Jeni’s was truly amazing. Imagine: a cold lump in your mouth that slowly unfolds to first reveal fresh pear and continues to unravel into a bubbly Riesling- while maintaining a pear texture! That flavor was actually called something like Pear Riesling, but I had to pair it with my classic favorite of chocolate. For me, nothing compares to chocolate and they had a couple different types of chocolate- dark cocoa gelato was my favorite amongst the chocolates. Though Thai Chili, Salty Carmel, and Pistachio and Ashland (local!) County Honey were amazing as well. Guess what? They deliver too – I know, not very green- so I’ll have to seek out amazingly unique ice creameries around D.C. Please do let me know if you guys know of a unique place.

 

 

When I started to feel dull with all the sitting around, I helped myself to a carrot-apple juice at Inta Juice. The location that I visited was right across the street from the Ohio State Barnes and Nobles and right next to the Aveda on High Street. The childhood buddy that I keep mentioning is named Sam and he got a smoothie with a supplement of gingko to help with his legal writing.

For dinner, a group of us headed to Northstar Café in Short North (aren’t I cool using the local lingo). This place had a variety of vegetarian choices – I almost want to say everything was vegetarian- but I can’t seem to recall. They also had a couple of great organic wine options. I ended up ordering the Root Salad both nights because it was quite simply one of the best salads I’ve ever had. The greenery included walnut encrusted goat cheese plus additional candied toasted walnuts that stayed crispy the entire time I munched slowly through the perfect pile of leaves.

What I really want to do is sketch out an architectural looking map of the culinary journey I made in downtown Columbus and scan it to share with you all- but I’m feeling a bit lazy. But I can see it in my head and for now that’s enough to make me content…

Yum, yummy, yum = Columbus, Ohio.

And this was what I discovered in three days; imagine what a whole week could have uncovered…

-greenDCgirl

 

My Date with Missy (aka a Friday at Vegetate)

In order to research Vegetate properly, I probably ended up drinking a wee bit much than I needed to. Though all in the name of green living!

I was meant to meet my friend Melissa at Vegetate at 7pm this past Friday, but I completely lost track of time as I caught up with an old elementary school friend on the phone whilst I walked from Woodley Park to Metro Center (I felt antsy and dull after sitting around at a conference the past two days).

“Okay-Okay, 1414 9^th St…should I walk left from the metro or right? I think right. “

Four blocks later, I was pulling my scarf and coat off as I realized I had been running in the wrong direction and was now twenty minutes late to meet Missy. When I called Vegetate and got the cross streets (between O and P on 9^th) I started walking briskly in the opposite direction and finally arrived at Vegetate out of breath and sweaty. But luckily, their cocktail menu was creative and diverse and perfect for the thirsty fish that I was at the moment.

These are the drinks that stood out:

Green Tea Cool Out: Charbay green tea vodka, lemon juice and agave nectar.
Being a green tea snob, the taste of the tea was too mild, none of the flavors were very strong but you could differentiate them, however it wasn’t what I felt like drinking.

Grapefruit Margarita: Tequila, Patron Citronage, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, lime and pink sea salt.
Kind of watery; none of the flavors were distinct-though it was pretty!

Lime Rosemary Martini: Charbay vodka, fresh squeezed lime juice and rosemary.
Amazing, delicate scent- smooth on the palette! Wonderful-wonderful. I love the smell of rosemary- I kept feeling like I should breathe the drink in.

9^th Street Iced Tea: Charbay Meyer Lemon Vodka, Vegetate iced tea and chambord.
Strong, like many iced tea cocktails out there- but I have a crush on Meyer Lemons (a hybrid lemon/orange), so it was pretty good.

 

 

 

 

Note: Melissa helped me sample all of these; I did not drink all of these alone. Also, these cocktails ranged from $8-10. Fresh libation please!

As Melissa and I got busy catching up on all our life and work dramas- we decided to order a couple appetizers and main dishes and share everything. In the meantime, the waitress brought us some crisp green beans to chomp on; they tasted slightly pickled but very fresh- lots of bite to the beans. Missy and I sword-fought with them for a bit before we munched them away. We ordered the Savory Herbed French Toast with truffled goat cheese and greens ($9); the Vegetate Burgers ($6); and the Crispy Risotto Croquettes with sun dried tomato tapenade ($5). Perhaps it was the two or three rounds of drinks we’d already had but it was really enough to fill us up. Out of the three dishes, the French toast truly stood out; it was perfectly seasoned and crisp on the edges-nicely juxtaposed with the tart goat cheese and delicate greens. I’m going to have to tell my sister about this dish- maybe we can adapt it into some sushi roll? (though I tend to hate sushi rolls with cheese in it-we’ll see).

Other items of note on the menu that we didn’t get the chance to enjoy included root vegetable noodles, sesame crusted wild rice cakes and blue cheese skilletcakes w/apple confit. Don’t they all sound unique and yummy? And you can get any of these with a side of pomme frites and homemade ketchup.

The space was great; large and comfortable with hardwood floors and three stories to wander through. The second floor had the bar and a DJ station adjacent to a small dancing space and a balcony. Perhaps Missy should celebrate her birthday here next year The service was good; there when we needed them and not too intrusive. The location, I will admit is a bit ghetto or it has character – depending on what type of person you are.

Mostly I’m annoyed that so many of my pictures came out blurry- so the next place I visit will have to be in the daytime so I can take advantage of all the light. But Vegetate was awesome. Thanks for being my date Melissa!

 

Flextarian

Okay, turns out there is a word for being a part-time vegetarian: a flextarian!

 It also turns out that there is a Vegetarian Society for D.C. and they have conveniently composed a very thorough list of most of the vegetarian friendly restaurants here in the area, click here for that list.

 Personally, this is my wish list for the next two months- I plan on dragging some of my friends along with me so we can sample an assortment of dishes while I snap away with my Canon.

Eating Wish List

Vegetate
Metro: Shaw/Howard & Mt. Vernon Sq/Convention Ctr
1414 9th St., NW
Washington D.C. 20001
202.232.4585
Tues-Thur: 6pm-10pm
Fri-Sat: 6pm-11pm
Sun: 5pm-9pm

Sticky Fingers Bakery
Metro: Columbia Heights
1370 Park Rd., NW
Washington, D.C. 20010
202.299.9700
Mon-Thur: 7am-7pm
Fri: 7am-9pm
Sat: 8am-9pm/Sun 9am-6pm

Java Green (Veggie Fare w/a Korean Twist!)
Metro: Farragut West & Farragut North & Dupont Circle
1020 19th St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
202.775.8899
Mon-Wed: 830am-830pm
Thurs-Fri: 830am-9pm
Sat: 11am-6pm/Sun: Closed

 

no more meat – or less meat?

Besides finally getting around to starting this blog, my other new year’s resolution was to become a vegetarian. It hasn’t been very successful. I think I lasted three weeks. It’s very difficult when your parents keep reminding you how they grew up without meat (and they insist that is why they are shorter) and how they had to eat crickets (protein) while the country was getting over the war. Plus, a great deal of traditional Korean dishes include meat… especially some of my favorite soups. Oh, thinking about suhl lung tang or sam gae tang makes me long for meat again. Also, did I mention I’m from Texas? The medium-rare in this area isn’t rare enough for me.

 However, this is an article from the nytimes that my friend Greg sent to encourage me to get back on the veggie wagon: eat less meat  

Two especially poignant lines from the article:

-“To put the energy-using demand of meat production into easy-to-understand terms, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius. Similarly, a study last year by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days. “ 

-“When you look at environmental problems in the U.S.,” says Professor Eshel, “nearly all of them have their source in food production and in particular meat production. And factory farming is ‘optimal’ only as long as degrading waterways is free. If dumping this stuff becomes costly — even if it simply carries a non-zero price tag — the entire structure of food production will change dramatically.” 

Why become a Vegetarian? –In Simple Terms:

 The environmental reason: The livestock pollutes our water (seen the Simpson movie anyone?) and produces a gross amount of GHG. 

“An estimated 30 percent of the earth’s ice-free land is directly or indirectly involved in livestock production, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which also estimates that livestock production generates nearly a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases — more than transportation…Agriculture in the United States — much of which now serves the demand for meat — contributes to nearly three-quarters of all water-quality problems in the nation’s rivers and streams, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.” †

The human justice/poverty reason:
Rising food prices for the poorest while GHG’s from the livestock continue to increase global temperatures, which will have the most impact on the world’s developing nations – plus, in terms of hunger issues- meat is inefficient.

“More meat means a corresponding increase in demand for feed, especially corn and soy, which some experts say will contribute to higher prices. This will be inconvenient for citizens of wealthier nations, but it could have tragic consequences for those of poorer ones, especially if higher prices for feed divert production away from food crops. The demand for ethanol is already pushing up prices, and explains, in part, the 40 percent rise last year in the food price index calculated by the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization. Though some 800 million people on the planet now suffer from hunger or malnutrition, the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs and chickens. This despite the inherent inefficiencies: about two to five times more grain is required to produce the same amount of calories through livestock as through direct grain consumption, according to Rosamond Naylor, an associate professor of economics at Stanford University.” †

The human health reason:
Obesity and all those chronic diseases that are our ‘nation’s leading killers’. Plus, potential antiobiotic-resistancy.

“Because the stomachs of cattle are meant to digest grass, not grain, cattle raised industrially thrive only in the sense that they gain weight quickly. This diet made it possible to remove cattle from their natural environment and encourage the efficiency of mass confinement and slaughter. But it causes enough health problems that administration of antibiotics is routine, so much so that it can result in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten the usefulness of medicines that treat people. Those grain-fed animals, in turn, are contributing to health problems among the world’s wealthier citizens — heart disease, some types of cancer, diabetes. The argument that meat provides useful protein makes sense, if the quantities are small.” †

So what will I do?  

I will eat less meat – it will become a treat.  

Perhaps once a month? Yes, that’s good – now I need to learn how to cook my favorite Korean dishes in meatless form.
 

-greenDCgirl

† Bittman, Mark. Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler. The New York Times. 27 January 2008.