State of Roamance: The Bates Farm Kitchen (Sandusky)/Georgetown Vineyards (Cambridge)

When you roam around the state of Ohio as much as we tend to do, you end up at a lot of places that are definitely worthy enough of a mention despite the one singular visit. This is the case with these two venues we had the pleasure of visiting recently in The Bates Family Farm up near the lakeshore in Sandusky and the combination Georgetown Vineyards/Southside Brewing in the foothills of Appalachia in Eastern Ohio's city of Cambridge.

The diner concept is one that has proven durable over the years, and usually those that sport a unique atmosphere or those that try just a little harder for something beyond the basic are the ones that grab your attention. The latter aspect is what drew us to The Bates Farm Kitchen during a recent visit to Sandusky.

Another Blogiversary: A Little Spring Cleaning

Anyone who has read this blog through its three years of existence will know
that there is no need to feel sad about ice cream at anytime
(image from one of my childhood favorites: ABC TV's Schoolhouse Rock)

Last year when I wrote up my second "Blogiversary" post, I received a nice comment from one of the deans of local blogger-types in the CMH Gourmand, noting that on average a "sustained" blog generally lasts on average about 33 months and that I was just about there.

Well, I guess its time to celebrate a little bit then with this third "Blogiversary" post. After putting up a initial statement post back in late May of 2014, three has proven to be a magic number indeed. While this venture was meant as more of a fun lark and a way to keep mentally sharp when I started, I have noticed the traffic to this blog grow surely but steadily over time. For those of you who poke their heads here on a regular (or even semi-regular) basis, I thank you for your time and I hope you have been entertained by the ventures of my spouse and I over this span.

Post number wise, things have remained pretty steady: after a blazing (and unsustainable) three posts a week during my first year of blogging, I have striven for and pretty much have reached the two posts per week mark these last couple years. As Goldilocks might say, that number seems to be just right, and no changes will be made on that front for the time being.

The Smell of Success: Middle West Spirits

As I wandered deeper into the inner works of Columbus' Middle West Spirits distillery space, I fully expected the sight of shiny tanks and coppery stills, and the taste of sampled spirits, to be my prime attention-grabbers. Those did grab my attention indeed, but it was surprisingly my sense of smell which moved to the forefront of my thoughts.

"Mmmm, so nice....smells like a bakery," I mused, as did many fellow Columbus-area food bloggers who I had joined on this day to take this special tour.  We learned that the flour smell came from the ground wheat from around the town of Fostoria, Ohio, considered some of the finest in the country and just one of many signs of this distillery's local-when-possible focus. It was definitely not an experience I had anticipated for this particular tour, but it is this reaction that helps explain the passion behind and the evolution of the city's first micro-distiller.

The grinding of some of the finest Ohio wheat leads to the smell
of distilling success at Columbus' Middle West Spirits