For this Columbus Adventure, my peer leader group went to Chop Shop. This restaurant is a mix between a good, fast food, burger place and a nice sports bar. My experience here was all pleasant and I have no complaints with the food or the service because it came out quick and tasted pretty good. The one thing that I did not like was that the Cleveland Cavaliers game was not on the TV that I could watch from the table. Overall, I learned that there was a good, higher quality burger place close to campus that I could go to with some friends to watch a game. I would definitely recommend Chop Shop to a friend looking for  solid burger place near campus.

The second experience I had while exploring Columbus was taking a COTA bus to Eden Burger with my girlfriend, Scout. She’s vegan and so she absolutely adores any plant based restaurants, so Eden Burger was perfect for her as it is completely plant based. At Eden Burger, we both ordered the same type of burger, but I went with a tempeh patty and she chose the traditional style burger. She loved her burger and I liked mine, especially considering that I am not vegan. The burgers did not compare to the taste of a real hamburger made from meat and real cheese, but they were still the best veggie burgers I have ever had. We also tried their shakes which were not great, basically just a blended up banana with some soy milk so any flavoring they tried to add to the shake was just masked by the taste of banana. Overall my favorite things about Eden Burger were the fries and the atmosphere of the tiny restaurant. I would recommend it as a place to go if you are looking for a good veggie burger, however if you are not vegan and are looking for a regular burger, just go to the Five Guys a few blocks away.

The third experience I had was a trip to Whit’s Frozen Custard with two of my roommates, Trent and Cole. This trip took much longer than it needed to because of the COTA buses being so off schedule that day. The Whit’s was located about two miles North of Campus and we waited at the bus stop on our way there for 20 minutes and on our way back for even longer. The two buses were more than 15 minutes off from the scheduled times and this made the experience much less enjoyable. However, the actual ice cream was very good. I got the Wahala Sunday which had nuts, brownies, and hot fudge. The ice cream would have been more enjoyable if it was not so cold outside waiting for the buses, but the actual ice cream was my favorite part of the trip. Overall, I would recommend Whit’s to a friend and I would be open to going back.

My favorite experience was Mike’s Late Night Slice, because I thought it had the best food out of the three. I learned just how many good places there are to eat in Columbus and that there is a large variety of styles to try. This project has definitely made me want to explore Columbus even more and try the many other restaurants all around Columbus. I would recommend just going to restaurants and places that have unique styles to them, like try the plant based restaurant, or a pizza by the slice place, or Brazilian barbecue, Columbus has a lot to offer.

This semester I’ve chosen to go to places from the “Local Food Favorites List,” because I love food and am extremely interested in cooking, so exposing myself to these new restaurants and local places allows me to taste new foods and see different styles unique to Columbus. I am most looking forward to going to these restaurants and trying new things at each restaurant. Specifically I am looking forward to trying the food from Harvest Pizzeria, Katzinger’s Deli, and Aab India. My goal for this assignment is to try new food and eat out off campus more often because I’m getting somewhat sick of the food at the dining locations on campus.

So far I’ve been to several places on the list, such as Eden Burger and the North Market, however more recently I was able to go to Mike’s Late Night Slice and actually get a picture of myself eating there. I went there with my girlfriend who’s vegan and once we get off the bus and enter the restaurant area I get confused on how to order there but we eventually figure it’d it out. I ordered got the cheese slice and she got the vegan individual pizza, however they were out of the vegan cheese so she just had some sauce on bread. My favorite part of the experience was the food, it was a really good slice of pizza and also the feeling of the restaurant, which had all outdoor seating and unique decor. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to a friend.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]