A few weeks ago, food blogger and fellow Daring Baker Lisa of La Mia Cucina posted an interview meme on her blog, and invited anyone who wanted to be interviewed to respond to her entry with a request. I asked, she sent the questions the next day. But because I’m a big fat procrastinator and have been feeling less than stellar lately, I’m just getting around to answering these questions now. Sorry, Lisa, for the delay. So here goes. Let’s hope I don’t get fired for showing up late to the interview. 
1- If you could move any where at all - where would it be? Or would you stay in Columbus? If so, why?
I fantasize about moving to exotic locations all the time (would love to live in Florida for the weather, in Paris for the food, back home in NJ because of it’s familiarity, etc.) but I don’t think I could ever leave Columbus. Bear in mind that I chose to live here when I moved from New Jersey 12 years ago, and this was without even visiting once beforehand. I’ve found that Columbus has anything I’ve ever wanted in a town - it’s a nice big metro area that has all the benefits of being a metro area, but it also feels like a small town in other ways. People are much friendlier here. There are more good restaurants than I’d ever have time to visit, lots of talented local artisans, and we have just about every store out here so I can almost always find exotic ingredients or other things that I would otherwise have to order online - I mean the fact we even have a Penzey’s should explain what I mean. I may move to a different part of town (we chose to buy a bigger house in a part of town that’s not very vibrant, because that was what we could afford at the time), but I probably will never leave the metro area. If I do, it would only be to move north to Cleveland or south to Cincinnati.
2- I know you like to review restaurants. If you had to pick your favorite Columbus area restaurant, which would it be and why?
Ooh, tough one - and I only say that because I have so many favorites, for different moods and different occasions. So I’ll go with one I go back to again and again - Starliner Diner. Excellent plantains, nice spicy food, great kitschy atmosphere. That’s for casual dining. As for a little more upscale, I do like Cameron’s very much and we go there once in a while. And I was really impressed with G. Michael’s when I went there the other day. I’m still looking forward to reviewing many more places, so my favorites may be different a week/month/year from now.
3- Everyone is getting this question, just because I wanna know! If you were told that you could only have 5 foods and 1 beverage for the rest of your life - what would they be?
This one is super easy. For the beverage - water. It’s pretty much all I ever drink, with the occasional exception of a smoothie or a cocktail. In a tall cup with lots and lots of ice. I’m an ice chewer. It annoys the hell out of people, but I still do it. Can’t help myself. But I digress. OK, foods? Cheese is at the top of the list. I looovvvee cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. And balsamic vinegar, since I use it a lot in cooking. Eggs would be the third choice, since they’re so versatile and I like them in all different configurations. Chocolate would be number four, for obvious reasons, and the fifth choice would be salt, because I hate bland food.
4- What made you decide to write your blog?
It didn’t start out as a food blog. I had/have a Livejournal personal journal, and started (beats me why!) posting pics of what I ate for some reason, mixed in with regular entries. I don’t remember how, but I joined the food_porn community on Livejournal, and then decided to move over all the food stuff to a separate journal there on Livejournal. After a few months, I didn’t like the limitations of Live journal, and purchased the columbusfoodie domain and moved everything here. I’ve been blogging more and more since then. I’m much more prolific now than I was in the beginning. I’ve been at this since October 2005 and don’t see any end to it in the immediate future. In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m just scratching the surface. To say I’ve learned a lot in the past few years is an understatement.
5- Top 5 TV shows?
Top of the list is easy. House. I lurve me some Hugh Laurie (yum!) And I love his snarky personality. I’m also a big fan of Lost, and hate that I’ll have to wait almost a year for a new one. Hell’s Kitchen would be the third one. Grey’s Anatomy is fourth, although the writing sucked this past year (Izzy and George? Who thought of *that* pairing?). Good Eats (or anything else with Alton in it) brings up the rear with #5.
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So there ya go! And we can carry this thing on further, if you’d like!
DIRECTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW MEME
1. Leave a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. Beware, I’m not shy of asking personal questions! Please make sure I have your email address.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
June 8th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
My daughter will be headed to Columbus next week for a two month clinical rotation at Columbus Children’s. I will be sure to tell her about Starliner Diner
(she loves plantains!) If you have any other places to shop for food or eat in Columbus on a grad student budget, we would really appreciate it!