A Farewell To Summer

Many people rejoiced with the arrival of the Autumnal Equinox at 4:21 AM on Wednesday. Indeed, with the fall comes cooler weather, the spectacular colors displayed by dying leaves, full fledged football and the World Series in Major League Baseball, and a whole host of other highly anticipated events.

I do love the fall, but I think I'll always be a summer person at heart. Specific to Columbus, I've come to appreciate the numerous festivals, sometimes wild weather, and being bathed in sunlight and the accompanying warmth. The following photos are something of an ode this now departed season:

Lemonade stands were plentiful (and often visited) around
our new neighborhood of residence

Renee of Mighty Macs flashes a big smile at the Moonlight Market
on Gay Street (we flashed one too when we tasted her macarons)

Some of the stones dedicated to female figures found along
the path in Women's Park in Yellow Springs, Ohio

A large crowd queues to see the special sneak peek showing
of John Green's Paper Towns movie at the Palace Theatre

Fourth of July decor was in prominent display at the
family-oriented Spirit Parade, held annually in the
Colonial Hills neighborhood in Worthington

Rain dominated the first month of summer; this torrential
downpour slowed down cars for a several minutes along
northbound State Route 315

A member of Central Ohio Plein Air works on her painting
on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse

A closeup of the Brewmaster's Gate in Columbus Brewery District
 as seen during our tour hosted by Columbus Brew Adventures

Street musicians get into the groove during
summer edition of Yellow Springs' Street Fair

First of two from Columbus' Greek Festival:  the mosaic
rendition of Saint Mark on the dome above
inside the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral

Dancers of all ages performed traditional Greek dances
as part of Columbus Greek Festival entertainment

Some neat vintage placards found on a 1931 Arrow Pierce automobile
at the annual Cruise The 'Ville event in Clintonville's Whetstone Park

The Long Street Cultural Wall, detailing important people and landmarks in
Columbus' African-American Community, reached its first birthday this year

Terminal Tower, Cleveland's sister landmark skyscraper to
Columbus' LeVeque Tower, stands tall on a windy day

The folks at The Coffee Mess, a vendor at this year's Old Hillardfest,
show you what your face looks like before you get their pourover brews

Elsie The Cow stands guard on this building brick wall
located just outside of downtown Chillicothe, Ohio

The female winner of the half-marathon speeds down the homestretch
at the annual Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio

A simple and somber tribute to those who lost their life four decades
ago in the devastating F5 category Xenia tornado, the worst
of the 148 tornadoes from the April 3-4, 1974 Super Outbreak

A slightly stylized photo of Columbus' Topiary Park, nestled
firmly within the city's Discovery District

Workers tend to the greenery on top of a Downtown Columbus bike shelter

Storm clouds try to get their act together above a Columbus
Clippers baseball game at Huntington Park

The young ladies of Bailey's Drive-Inn Donuts prepare bags of their fried
goodies at the Thursday version of the New Albany Farmers Market

High-heeled encouragement on a sign just north of the
OSU Campus along the Olentangy Trail

The giraffes and camels go two-by-two on this Noah Ark-themed
vase in Zanesville's Giant Circle of Vases

Brewsome Twosome: Weasel Boy (Zanesville, OH) and Restoration Brew Worx (Delaware, OH)

The state of Ohio, along with much of the Midwest portion of this country, has been a hotbed of craft beer growth over the past year. A recent Nielsen report, as noted in this Columbus Underground article, notes that the Columbus area landed in the top 10 cities in both dollars spent on craft beer and growth compared to the previous year; Cincinnati and Cleveland also made appearances on this list.

My spouse and I have enjoyed exploring this growth immensely, from the "old guard" institutions to the newcomers and everything in between. Two of our most recent journeys exploring the area's craft beer scene are documented here with Zanesville's Weasel Boy and Delaware's Restoration Brew Worx.

Weasel Boy resides in an attractively attired brick-walled facility
in South Zanesville, roughly one hour east of the Columbus metro

Weasel Boy Brewing: Founded by Jay and Lori Wince in 2006, Weasel Boy is something of a tweener in Central Ohio's craft beer scene, coming in well after breweries like Columbus, Barley's and Elevator were founded, but before the fairly substantial and continuing second wave of craft breweries splashed on the local scene in the current decade. Situated comfortably in the brick-walled Carl L. Mitzel building in South Zanesville along the banks of the Muskingum River (views of the river are available from inside the space), the brewpub lies roughly one hour's drive on I-70 east from the Columbus metro area.

A casual atmosphere, riverside views, and an event space that hosts
regular music and art displays marks the brewery's interior

The interior of Weasel Boy is quite spacious, with the main brewpub area (along with requisite beer barrels and tanks along with seating) as well as an event space and business offices. Works from local artists are regularly rotated on display, and the venue has event spaces to host large parties and similar.

My first real experience with Weasel Boy Brewing's beer was at the Columbus Winter Beerfest, where I had one of the more interesting brews of the night in the form of their smoked Rauch Weasel Porter. On this trip to the brewpub, we decided to go with pints of their offerings rather than a full-fledged flight and found the more interesting brews to be their seasonals. While the Dancing Ferret IPA and Brown Stoat Stout were merely okay in our book, we both agreed that the Mango Wheat (recently replaced on the tap menu by their Oktoberfest) was quite enjoyable, with a solid mango presence but just enough wheat presence to balance things out. A perfect lawnmower beer indeed. Also interesting was the Paw Paw Pale Ale - if you are a big fan of that unique flavor, this beer, strongly tilted with toward the fruit in its profile, will please you in spades.

Weasel Boy's food menu is limited, but in this case the specialization works. Their whole-wheat, beer infused pizza crusts with a side of pizza sauce were a great snack-while-you-drink; based on the reaction of the couple sitting next to us at the bar, their full-fledged pizza, which is offered as a build-your-own version as well as a few preset combos, is also a winning dish. Diners also have the option of salads and pop drinks from the brewery's menu.

Weasel Boy Brewing Company
126 Muskingum Ave, Suite E (Google Maps)
Zanesville, OH 43701
(740) 455-3767

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Restoration Brew Worx, situated in quaint downtown Delaware,
is among the newest of newcomers to the local craft beer scene

Restoration Brew Worx: During this summer, we discovered that downtown Delaware, roughly one half-hour north of the Columbus area (depending on traffic on the sometimes cloggy US 23), has a lot to recommend it for an easy day trip, from antique shops, interesting eateries (including a very memorable dinner at Veritas Tavern) and craft beer-oriented establishments. Staas Brewing. at a mere two years old, counts as the veteran member of the local breweries now with the very arrival of newcomer Restoration Brew Worx, which opened its doors this May.

Restoration Brew Worx sports indoor and outdoor seating in a
space that invites you to relax and hang out for awhile

Similar to a brewery we have become quite familiar with in Clintonville's Lineage Brewing, Restoration was founded by a foursome of acquaintances, as noted in this Drink Up Columbus article. In my mind, the comparisons don't end there - their respective settings are reasonably compact but overall feel uncrowded relaxing, sporting both outdoor and indoor seating and a general "hang out and stay awhile" kind of vibe.

Restoration has an evolving menu of bar favorites and select entrees
with a revolving selection of solid beer choices

Based on this first sampling, Restoration is brewing some very tasty, highly drinkable brews. All the selections on the flight we ordered were quite delicious, including their Rush Porter, unTamed Blonde Ale and Big Bag of Judgment Belgian IPA. Interestingly, the fourth taster of the bunch had a unique little side note on the big board inside, stating that Restoration's brewer "hates Hefeweizen". While Hefeweizen is not necessarily either of our favorite styles as well, the very warm and humid conditions on our visit made the great balance of banana, clove and wheat on the Effe-weizen Hefeweizen the winner for a second order of a full pint.

Restoration's menu sports a select inventory of appetizers, sandwiches and entrees, and for us the ginger Fried Chicken Wings and Soft Pretzel with two different dipping sauces were solid fare. In recently announced news, the brewery has announced they will be featuring the frozen goodness of Indulgence Ice Cream, which has been featured in local area restaurants such as La Tavola and Ella.

Restoration Brew Worx
25 North Sandusky St (Google Maps)
Delaware, OH  43015
(740) 990-7120
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Ice Cream Chronicles (Vol. 17): Crossing the Y(ummy)-Bridge - Tom's Ice Cream Bowl

Next to the Y-Bridge, Tom's Ice Cream Bowl might be
Zanesville Ohio's most familiar landmark

Founded by John McIntire in 1797, on land deeded by town namesake as well as father-in-law Ebenezer Zane, Zanesville stands as the largest Ohio outpost on the I-70 freeway between the Columbus metro area and the West Virginia border. Known historically for its Y-Bridge (in its fifth iteration since its original construction in 1814) and its renowned pottery industry, Zanesville also sports a top-ranked ice cream store as determined by USA Today in Tom's Ice Cream Bowl.

Originally known as Jack Hemmer Ice Cream when the business first opened in 1948, its current appellation as Tom's Ice Cream Bowl was finalized in 1957, four years after now-retired co-founder Tom Mirgon bought Jack's interest in the business. Current owner Bill Sullivan, the former store manager, agreed to keep the business pretty much the same. In fact, while other ice cream brick-and-mortar shops I have visited over the past couple years may have been in business longer, Tom's may be the one store (Johnson's Ice Cream in Bexley is also a contender here) that stays the most true to its bygone era of origin.

Dapper employees in white hats and aprons matched with black bow ties stand behind the counter within a distinctly soda fountain styled setup that probably hasn't changed all that much since the 1950s. The non-ice cream menu also stays firm to those classic 50's-era diner dishes (burgers, hot dogs and chili) with a few Ohio-area twists (shredded chicken and Rittberger fried baloney sandwiches.) To top it off, a line of nuts and candies from Canton's Ben Heggy's are available to take home for further snacking. We got the impression prior to our visit that large crowds are something of the norm at Tom's, and nothing from our experience dissuaded us from that line of thinking.

Tom's Ice Cream Bowl blends an ice cream soda fountain atmosphere
with diner dish favorites and Ben Heggy's nuts and candies

Of course, they wouldn't call it the "Ice Cream Bowl" if they didn't have ice cream, and we weren't dropping by simply to look at what flavors were on the board. Tom's sports both seasonal and standard flavors ice cream all made in-house, and we decided we both would go with one dip off both flavor menus (Tom's regular flavors are listed in two corners of the store.)

That's our bowl of absolute frozen deliciousness coming our way

True to the name, we received our ice cream in bowls, and there was a lot of it to be had. I ordered my standard Butter Pecan, which was good but I felt was trumped by the Coconut Chocolate Almond (it ranks up with the Coconut Chai from Cedarville's The Neapolitan as one of my favorites this year) I bagged as my second dip. My spouse's Maple Nut was also quite delicious, and she was also pretty pleased by her Chocolate Caramel Marshmallow Fudge. Prices for the ice cream and the menu as a whole fall on the inexpensive side of the ledger, making it fairly easy for the visitor to fill their bellies without breaking the bank...or bowl, in this particular case.

Tom's Ice Cream Bowl
532 Mcintire Ave
Zanesville, OH
(740) 452-5267
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