Day of Gluttony, Columbus Style (Part 1)

If nothing else, cutting the cable cord and going to streaming has increased our viewing options several dozen times over.  At times, the sheer number of options overwhelms, but at other times, something unexpected gets us both intrigued enough to invest our viewing time, or when we have an unexpected bunch of time to burn on the couch (such as recently, when the cold bug hit us both.)

Admittedly, both of us are well past our prime food gluttony years (our waistlines still seem to think we're being pretty gluttonous, but that's a whole another future blog post.) Thus, a food show like "Day of Gluttony", originally produced by Tastemade and currently showing on Hulu, didn't hold much promise when we clicked it on a couple weeks ago, but it turned out to be a more fun way to blow an hour than we ever figured.

Bruce Aguirre and Harry Yuan, hosts of Tastemade's "Day of Gluttony",
is available for viewing on the Hulu streaming service

First, the hosts were Asian (Harry Yuan and Bruce Aguirre, of Chinese and Filipino descent, respectively) something that I just don't see all that often.  Second, the first episode was shot in a place I know pretty well in San Francisco, where I worked and lived for a number of years before moving to Ohio. Also, the show's concept was pretty simple - finish 24 dishes at 24 different venues in a span of 24 hours or less.

We dove in and found ourselves entertained, with great chemistry between the hosts, rapid-fire coverage of places visited, efforts (intentional? perhaps...) of various venues to derail the hosts with extra dishes, and liberal use of old-school arcade graphics, enough so to put it on our current rotation to get through its ten-episode run (we found no indication of a season two as of now.)

The Truth is in the Tasting Vol. 2: A Return to Veritas

We don’t do fancy meals all that often, so anticipation rises high when we do indulge. Four years ago in 2015, we found ourselves in Delaware, Ohio at Veritas, a place which had been earning "Best Of" kudos throughout the region. We found out the recognition was well earned, and their tasting menu and cocktails provided us with easily one of our top three dining experiences ever.
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Flash forward to the future: owner Josh Dalton has jumped at the opportunity to move his restaurant to the proverbial heart of it all, relocating to the historic Citizens Building in Downtown Columbus. Not only that, they have emphasized the tasting menu even more, both with their current seasonal tapas selections as well as their Chef’s Table, which leaves it up to the chef and his kitchen staff to wow you with their creativity.
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The latter option sounded like the perfect way to dive into Veritas the second time around for another special meal.

Temple of the Dog: Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace

Even the Swedish have learned the value of the venerable hot dog, offering
a dining enticement to those stop by the IKEA Columbus location

Growing up, I thought of hot dogs as something you got at baseball games or at picnics.  It wasn't until later in my life when I thought of it as a regular lunch/fast food option (via Der Weinerschnitzel or the Bay Area's Casper's Hot Dogs mini-chain), and even much later when I discovered of even larger sausages in a bread roll (Polish dogs? Uh, yes please.)

But when it comes down to it, I generally go simple with my hot dogs (mustard for sure, and onions and relish if available). When the mood strikes, the basic hot dog cart (Downtown Columbus sports its own regulars) works perfectly, and I'll always grab a dog whenever I get out to the ballpark.  Occasionally, though, I'll want a little bit of the wild and unpredictable, and that's where an original member of the Columbus Food League of restaurants comes in handy.

No Toying Around: Ho-Toy Restaurant

A big tray of Chow Mein or crispy Orange Chicken historically
wouldn't be out of place at any of my big family gatherings

Chinese-American cuisine has, at least in my household, gained an increasingly important role at the family table over time. I was introduced mainly to the somewhat compact sweet side of the cuisine when my family moved to San Francisco, when boxes full of Custard Tarts or Sesame Balls would occasionally make their way home with my parents and grandparents.  Also memorable were the Haw Flakes, which reminded me of a far tastier rendition of a Communion wafer - my Grandpa would sometimes drive us into Chinatown after a day of fishing at the old Municipal Pier to grab a multi-pack, much to the joy of me and my siblings..

Later on, trays of Chinese-American cuisine standards like Sweet & Sour Pork, Chinese Fried Rice and Chow Mein would make appearances side-by-side by the Filipino standards I grew up with, mainly as a way to ease the cooking load off my elders as well as guaranteeing everyone got more than enough food.  After all, it would be a shame if the foam take-away trays stored conveniently underneath the serving tables ended up unused.

Nowadays, I don't actively seek out Chinese-American restaurants on a regular basis, but I'll get the occasional random craving for it.  However, my move to Columbus revealed that something that I thought I had conquered in the pursuit of tasty treats still needed some work.

Signs of the Times: A Little Downtown Columbus Restaurant History

LeVeque Tower provides a lovely backdrop for this pathway along the
Scioto Mile, a green space respite from the concrete of downtown Columbus

In the course of everyday life, even the simple things can your day go better. In terms of Downtown Columbus, something that initially was quite helpful early in my orientation to this area has slowly become a curious combination of light annoyance and culinary history.  But as I recently discovered, signs of change (or is it changes in signs) are on the horizon.