A Short Weekend At Short North

We know a woman who organizes friends like she's sorting flatware in the kitchen drawer, and it's a good thing. She sometimes organizes us into pleasant events, choosing destinations and making reservations on our behalf, which was the case this weekend,

Husband and I, and three other couples, met in Columbus for Gallery Hop, a monthly event in the Short North, which is a trendy area in Columbus. That section of High Street is now filled with shops and galleries, restaurants, cafes and bars. The first Saturday of the month, the street is also filled with tons of people, street musicians, activists with petitions to sign and a few Harikrishnas.

We spent Saturday night at the 50 Lincoln Bed & Breakfast, a big house just a few short blocks from High Street. The place was big enough to accommodate us all, plus a group of about eight women. We had private rooms and baths, and we shared a comfortable living room and had the run of the kitchen. There was a guest refrigerator filled with wine, cheese and fruit, and we could all help ourselves any time. Breakfast was served in the shared dining room, and it was just lovely—bacon, blueberry pancakes, coffee cake, fruit, juice, coffee.

We had dinner at Rigsby's Kitchen, a great place just a short walk from the B&B. The server was a sort of caricature, and he was very good at what he does. He brought us great meals—arctic char with black rice and oranges for me—but we skipped dessert in exchange of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream. I'll explain.

I first heard about Jeni's when No. 1 lived in Columbus. She called one day to describe the serving of cucumber ice cream she had had, and she raved about every flavor on the changing menu. Turns out there was a Jeni's just down the street from our restaurant, so we decided to go there for a taste of something wonderful. First, we went to several galleries and gift shops and generally roamed around, and then we cross the street to discover the line for Jeni's was out the door, around the corner and down the street. It's that good.

Some of us were perplexed as to why we would wait in a long line just for ice cream, but the rest of us stuck to our guns and got some of the best ice cream I've ever tasted. I ordered two small scoops—one of dark chocolate and one of black coffee. Ohmygoodnesswhatacombination! Next time I'm in Columbus and get a chance to stop at Jeni's, I might order the pear and reisling sorbet. Doesn't that sound wonderful? If you don't follow my links to the B&B and restaurant, at least follow the one to Jeni's and watch the video on the home page.

So, it was a great weekend away. People should do this more often. Maybe if we all had friends who organized us like forks and spoons, we would.