Our fair city is celebrating its 200th birthday in 2012! Bicentennial events are planned all around Columbus, OH. Below is a curated list of my top five. Thanks to travel plans, we will not be able to attend many festivities but we will celebrate in spirit. 200Columbus Best Bicentennial Events One of our cities most beloved institutions, the Columbus Metro Library, will host birthday parties at all 21 locations at 3 pm on Saturday February [...]

Freshstreet Yakitori (previously Section 8 Yakitorium) has received a good bit of press lately. The reviews are universally great but no one has picked up on exactly what makes the Yakitorium so tasty and authentic. It’s the bincho. Bincho-tan is a special hardwood charcoal produced and imported from Japan. So far as I can find, no one else in Columbus (and possibly the state) is using this cooking fuel. Bincho-tan is produced from oak by [...]

A food truck with a name dear to our chicken-loving hearts opened recently in close proximity to our house. Alex visited first, took pictures, and wrote this review: Clintonville is seeing an influx of food trucks recently.  Despite the objections of various stick-in-the-mud types, the diversity is only growing. The Coop is the latest truck to arrive on the Clintonville scene.  As the name suggests, it is a poultry-themed establishment and happens to have thrown [...]

Fill your calendar and your belly with some of the local food events scheduled for this autumn! Hounds in the Kitchen classes at Franklin Park Conservatory: register by calling 614.645.5923 or download, print and mail a registration form. Puttin’ Up Keep the summer bounty easily at hand all year long with tried and true preserving techniques. Homesteader Rachel Tayse Baillieul will guide class participants to make freezer basil pesto, water-bath canned applesauce, “sun” dried tomatoes [...]

Continuing in the 2011 farmer’s market tour series, two weeks ago I visited the Market at 15th and High. It is held on OSU campus in front of the Wexner Center, 1871 North High Street, on Thursdays from 3:30 – 6:30. This small market brings fresh produce to Ohio State students and employees, and anyone else who wants to know the hands that feed them. The location is easily accessible by the Olentangy bike trail [...]

A week ago, I shared that urban agriculture genius Will Allen is visiting Columbus. Tickets are still available to the Friday keynote and Saturday-Sunday workshop intensive. Thanks to a donation from Scotts via Slow Food Columbus, I am able to give away a ticket to the keynote address this Friday, July 15, 2011 at Franklin Park Conservatory. The winner can attend both the semi-private meet & greet session at 5 pm and the 6 pm [...]

Have you heard? Two weeks from today, Will Allen will be here with staff from Growing Power to educate and inspire central Ohio gardeners and food lovers! Who is Will Allen? The New York Times magazine article ‘Street Farmer‘ provided my first introduction to Allen and his company Growing Power. From the cover photo of his strong hands holding precious garden worms to the thoughtful questions raised and answered by Allen’s work in urban agriculture, [...]