The Ice Creams of Ohio

I've written time and again about how I miss Ohio food and restaurants you simply can't find in New York.

As spring heats up and summer is right around the corner, at the top of that list is Ohio ice cream shops. Or, in Ohio, perhaps that should be "shoppes."

To my delight, my sweet tooth was satisfied with ice cream twice during our trip to Ohio last month, and in two very different ways.

First, Graeter's. This ice creamery was founded in Cincinnati more than 140 years ago and now has locations throughout southeast Ohio, Columbus, Louisville and Indiana. I was introduced to Graeter's shortly before starting at Ohio State and I soon fell in love with the black raspberry chip, with chocolate chunks nearly as big as my thumb.

There's a Grater's in Worthington, right at the farmer's market we attended that Saturday. So I was a bad girl and skipped all the homemade, surely organic treats and went straight to the food I've been craving for almost four years.

It was worth it.

Second, the Town Trolley. This small outpost is in the tiny town of Huntsville, an hour outside of Columbus just off Route 33. I think it sells Hershey's ice cream, and I tend to get black cherry, but the brand or flavor hardly matters. See, the Town Trolley is directly on the route between my parents' house and Paul's, and we would always stop at least once each time we'd visit Defiance in the spring and summer.

That's a tradition you just can't break.

A Stormy Sunday Evening in Ohio

The weather, for the most part, cooperated while we were in Ohio.

We were preceded by rains so long and heavy that lawns were like ponds and farmers and gardeners worried about getting their seeds planted. After we left, strong tornado-like winds whipped down branches and scared a small neighborhood a few miles from my parents' house.

But the sky was blue and the sun was out that Sunday afternoon, when my parents hosted a big family get-together and potluck. Two-thirds of the three-car garage was filled with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents snacking and chatting. The other one-third was reserved for the ping-pong table and the many duels we challenged each other with.

After everyone had left, however, we could see dark clouds barreling over the farmland, quickly coming to a rest over rural Defiance. I could feel the first raindrops as I took my last photo, but the shower didn't last long. The bark was worse than the bite.

A Summer Saturday Morning in Ohio

One of my oldest friends got married a couple of weekends ago in northwest Ohio, which gave us the perfect excuse to go home and visit our family and friends.

We arrived in Columbus late one Thursday and departed the following Tuesday morning, early enough so that I was at my desk working by 9:15 a.m. We spent the first half of the long weekend with Paul's family and the latter half with mine.

Since we were in Columbus on a Saturday morning before leaving for the wedding, Paul and I did something we've done only a handful of times since moving to New York: We attended the Worthington Farmers' Market.

Paul's mom has had a table at the market for many years, selling plants, flowers, tomatoes, potatoes and other goodies. When we lived in Columbus, Paul would regularly join his mom in Worthington on Saturday mornings. Despite growing up in the country, I would usually stay in bed. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to visiting the market again, even if it would mean getting up at 6:45 a.m. to get ready, leave and set up before the crowds arrived.

Truth be told, I wasn't much help. I can't tell one plant from the next, and I spent most of the time browsing other booths. And yes, that was me taking a 20 minute break inside the van, reading a magazine. I like to think I provided moral support, but I'm not so sure.

Paul was also excited to buy some beef jerky, which he realized he forgot in his mom's refrigerator as we drove to the airport Tuesday morning. Whoops.

Allergies bothered both Paul and me nearly the whole time we were in Ohio, and being around so many plants and greenery probably didn't help. Sneezing because of nature, however, is eminently better than sneezing because of pollution, as I was doing Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan.