It's Easy To Trace The Trucks of My Cheers (Summer 2019)

As mentioned in a previous blog post in the Autumn 2018, I have veered toward notable experiences with the area's food trucks instead of comprehensiveness due to the sheer number of food trucks that roam Central Ohio these days. With that said, two of the three trucks featured here are well-established veterans of the scene which my spouse and I have had the chance to visit numerous times, while the other reflects a culinary trend in the local area that I hope is a continuing one.

Fetty's Street Food - my spouse's niece, who had spent some time studying in South Africa near Durban earlier this decade, mentioned one her favorite dishes she ate there was something called Bunny Chow. Originating with the Indian population of the area, this popular dish involved a nicely spicy curry poured into a hollowed out portion of a bread loaf.

Central California Adventures (Pt. 2) - International Bright Flung Things

Statue of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, famed pianist, former Prime Minister of
Poland, and one of the most famed residents of Paso Robles

As it turned out, our dalliance with an Paso Robles' Pappy McGregor's (an Irish Pub detailed in my last blogpost) was just a sign of the unexpected international tour we would end up getting with our Paso Robles travels.

Obviously, California has more than held their own in the wine making world the past few decades, and much of that has come with grape varietals such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Blanc that originated on French soil (on a side note, Zinfandel, one of California's big players in the wine-making world, actually traces its origins to Croatia.)

However, less familiar stateside are wine styles from France's Rhône Valley. Grenache and Syrah will probably ring bells for even the casual wine drinker, but seeing other grape varietals such as Marsanne, Mourvèdre, Picpoul Blanc and Counoise are still somewhat uncommon.  As it turns out, many of the wineries around Paso Robles feature the perfect climate and soil to grow these grapes, and we heard word that the wines coming from the grapes grown at Tablas Creek Vineyard, a pioneer in the state for these Rhône varietals, are among the best.

Food Truck Dossier: A Delicious Escape to the Cape

Big events like the Columbus Arts Festival aren't the only options for the many
Columbus food trucks (like The Cluckwagon and Schmidt's Sausage Truck) these days

As I mentioned in my previous food truck post rounding up some of my summer encounters, the combo of increased numbers of food trucks and increased numbers of places that host them within this city makes it tougher to even try all the menu items on a particular food truck.

That's not necessarily a bad thing - it is rare when any food entity does everything well, and with a food truck, you're usually pretty happy with two or three solid selections. Consider it a bonus when you find a food truck that does everything well; in those rare instances for us, we're more than happy to make trip out to where they're setup (Ajumama and their melding of Korean and Midwest comfort classics comes to mind.)

Then there are those rare trucks that feature something so novel and unique, you're willing to make the extra effort to check out what they have to offer and see how the dishes stack up.  This has definitely the case for me in regard to Hisham's, a newcomer to the Columbus scene.

From Computer Sci to Pizza Pie: Halwani Cuisine

As my time residing in Columbus continues to climb, I've come to realize that you can find pretty good examples of almost any style of pizza you care to name. Of course, Columbus has its own style of pizza that I've grown to highly appreciated, and my spouse and I have found quite a few favorites throughout the metro area of many different styles and price ranges.

Occasionally, you'll find an example that doesn't quite fit into a neat package, and this was definitely the case for us with Halwani Cuisine in Columbus' Fifth by Northwest neighborhood.

Craft Beer San Diego (Pt. 3) - Boerewors and Bjergsø

When you start seeing zebras after a few beers in San Diego and you're
NOT at the zoo, it's time to go get yourself something to eat

Successful brewery hopping requires a few things to make it through to the end in good shape. In lieu of a hired/designated driver, pacing is vital, along with common sense things like proper hydration and keeping well fed throughout the journey. After visits to Longship Brewing and White Labs (contained in this previous blog post) we figured it was time to pack our bellies with some sustenance. But then the next obvious question popped up: where?

Here's where a nice chance glance came into play. I had noticed what seemed to be a restaurant called CapeTown, as in the western port city located in South Africa. My spouse had had a niece spend some time in that country during her educational studies, and Columbus itself has a food truck that features South African specialties in Fetty's Street Food - could this actually be a South African cuisine restaurant?

A quick check of the smart phone confirmed our suspicions, and we made the short drive over.