My second Columbus to-do list experience was at the Harvest Pizzeria. Despite the name, pizza is not the only thing on Harvest’s menu – in fact, I did not even order pizza when I went. The menu item that stood out to me the most that I felt like I had to order was the veggie burger. The veggie burger is made from mushrooms, walnuts, rice, carrots, peppers, and sweet potatoes. It is served on a bun with Dijon aioli, pickles, lettuce, onions, and cheese with a side of fried potatoes and ketchup. I can definitely say that my order was absolutely delicious. The aioli made the burger taste perfect; I did notice that the burger was a bit dry without it. The potatoes were amazing as well; while they were a bit extra salty, the ketchup balanced that out. The only real complaint I would make is that the burger was very hard to not eat messily – it fell apart quite easily! Overall, I greatly enjoyed my experience at Harvest and would go back to try some of their other menu items. I would also recommend it to anyone who happens to be in Columbus.

As I loved eating at both Lavash and Harvest, it is hard to say which experience I enjoyed more. I will say that I preferred Harvest’s atmosphere – it was cute and fancy inside and the music consisted of quality old songs. However, Lavash and Harvest both have great food items that everyone should try at some point. Both places are a bit pricey, but the food is certainly worth it! From these experiences, I have learned about two delicious new dining locations, one of which is also in my hometown, Cincinnati. They have definitely encouraged me to explore Columbus some more and find other interesting places, both for eating and for other enjoyable things. For anyone else who wants to explore Columbus, I would recommend trying both things you think you would enjoy and things you might be unfamiliar with. It’s great to do what you know you like, but you won’t know what you’re missing out on if you never try anything new!

The Columbus to-do list I chose for this semester is Local Food Favorites. I am definitely looking forward to enjoying some of the best food Columbus has to offer! From this assignment, I hope to be able to have some enjoyable experiences in the city I am currently staying in outside of those on campus.

An experience I have had so far is a trip to the Lavash Cafe. It was quite the experience! Because Lavash is on High Street, I thought it would be easy to get to – I could just get on a COTA and get down at the stop closest to the cafe. Unfortunately I thought wrong. The COTA I got on did go down High Street for quite some time, and I constantly watched the door numbers on the buildings for the best stop to get off at. Then the COTA unexpectedly turned into another street, and as a result I received a surprise tour of Columbus. After the bus drove all over the city, it finally stopped at the COTA station. At that point I asked the driver if she would be going back to High Street, and thankfully she said yes. She drove back on the exact same route she had taken to the station, and finally I was at the last stop on High Street before the turn. I got down and walked the rest of the way to Lavash, deciding that I was too hungry to stand around waiting for another COTA to drive me there. What I can say about my meal at Lavash was that it was 100% worth the wait after getting lost in Columbus! I ordered the Lavash combo – hummus, tabouleh, falafel, and stuffed grape leaves – and it was some of the best Mediterranean food I have ever had. The staff there were all very friendly, and I especially appreciated one of the servers placing pita bread (not listed in the menu description of my order) by my plate while I got up to get utensils. Even though my order was a bit expensive, the quality of the food was so good that I would definitely go back to Lavash and try some of their other menu items. I would also recommend the Lavash Cafe to anyone who happens to be in Columbus!