Weekend [Culinary] Update

There were lots of fun food happenings this weekend here in Columbus! On Friday, we attended an open house for the grand opening of Jeni's Ice Cream's Grandview location. We sampled a variety of flavors, including spicy pecan praline, cocoa zinfandel, and luscious lemon yogurt, and I got to try a piece of Brie pizza, topped with apples and walnuts, from Spagio Wine Cellar next door. As expected, Jeni's store is fabulous, with light fixtures made from antique glass milk bottles, and one wall made of 200-year-old Ohio barn wood. We'll definitely be back and soon!

As of a couple of weeks ago, our beloved Mama Mimi's is offering a new kind of pizza: The Marmalata Amore! It's great: the crust is brushed with apricot glaze and topped caramelized onions, chicken, smoked provolone, and basil--definitely something you could recreate at home.

Our Mardi Gras bash was a great success. My companion made a giant stockpot full of gumbo, and I made my first-ever coconut creme brulee and pecan pralines! (I highly recommend buying a butane kitchen torch. It's incredibly fun.) Our friend Emily brought the king cake, since she got the slice with the baby in it last year!