I’m in Foodie Heaven

Entirely thanks to my mother, I am a foodie. I used to be a super picky eater as a kid, but thankfully I’ve expanded my horizons. Last week was Thanksgiving break which means lots of good food in good company and I’m not talking about Thanksgiving Day- turkey is not it.

My mother also happens to be an incredible cook. The first day I was home she prepared ricotta stuffed chicken breast served over polenta, garnished with a homemade tomato sauce and spicy Italian sausage. My grandfather lives with us and grew the tomatoes used to make the sauce in his garden this season. The dish was absolutely delicious. I finished all of it but the sausage, which I passed to my grandpa, it was way too spicy for my taste- my nose was running.

The second night, she made pork enchiladas with a homemade enchilada sauce. This was only the second time I had ever had enchiladas as I didn't like them as much the first time- they were not made by her. The enchilada sauce was just the right amount of sweet for my taste and I scarfed it down. 

Of course when I come home I can’t not go to First Watch in Dublin for an incredible breakfast. My older brother, my younger cousin and I all went on Wednesday. I had a Belgium waffle with a side of the “million dollar bacon.” I think they put a hint of cinnamon in the batter, but whatever they do, they have the best waffles I’ve ever had. The million dollar bacon is cooked in syrup and seasoned with peppercorns. It is addictive. My brother got the acai bowl with a blueberry pancake and my cousin got the skillet hash with a banana crunch pancake. Everyone was very happy and very full by the end.

Skipping over Thanksgiving Day because we had all the basics, we celebrated my grandfather’s birthday Friday night at Akai Hana. Akai Hana is a super authentic Japanese restaurant on the western side of Columbus in the Japanese Marketplace. I have been going there with my family since I was a kid, typically with my Japanese grandmother on the other side of the family. They’ve been rated as the number one sushi place in Columbus so of course we ordered around five plates of sushi. We also had gyoza which most people know as potstickers or dumplings and age (pronounced ah-geh) tofu. In our party of six, three of us got sukiyaki which is like a hot pot dish, two of us got oyako don which is a bed of chicken, onion and egg served over rice with a soy and stock soup at the bottom. Finally, my father got yaki udon which is stir fried noodles.

The last night I was there we celebrated my friend/our family friend’s birthday at Redlands Grill aka J. Alexander’s. This is another place we’ve been coming to for years almost exclusively for either my birthday or hers. I typically get the ribs, but I opted for the crab cakes which my brother says are up there with crab cakes from the crab capitals of the U.S.. I also got the “not your ordinary mac ‘n’ cheese” which has always been a favorite along with some thin cut french fries. 

Break may have been full of being full, but overall it was very relaxing and I am thankful I was able to spend time with my family. I’m also very glad it was topped off with the best chocolate cake!