The Leptologists Eat at the Food Truck Festival

Candice: We're doing the food trucks today.
Paul: Food trucks? I'm in!
Candice: The trucks descend on the Columbus Commons every Thursday, but this weekend is something special: The Food Truck Festival!
Paul: Even more food trucks than usual, plus music! Let's go.
Candice: They're building condos around the Commons, blocking the view of them from High Street.
Paul: We almost walk past the park entrance!
Candice: Now there's going to be dog crap on the grass all the time!
Paul: Now there'll be dogs to play with all the time!
Candice: Harumph.
Paul: First things first, we walk past all the trucks.

Festival Crowd

Candice: I want ribs.
Paul: We spot several trucks serving bar-b-que, but none have ribs.
Candice: No ribs? What kind of bar-b-que trucks are these?
Paul: No ribs - brisket and pork.
Candice: No ribs?
Paul: No ribs - brisket and pork.
Candice: No ribs?
Paul: You are taxing.
Candice: No ribs?
Paul: Yes. No.  Ribs.  I'm going to find me something to eat.  I settle on an interesting truck called Blu Olive.

Blu Olive

Candice: I choose the pizza place: Mikey's Late Night Slice.
Paul: I order the Italian Sausage Sandwich with Cheese and Marinara. The sandwich is pretty tasty, like a slice of sausage pizza in sandwich form. I eat it so fast that I forget to take a picture. Oddly, they say they can't serve me any water. How weird is that?
Candice: That is weird.  Wonder why? My slice is gone pretty fast too. Spicy Pepperoni with a dollop of Slut Sauce atop it.  Delicious, as always, but I'm still hungry.
Paul: Of course you are, empty pit.  I'll fetch us some water while you go in search of more food.
Candice: Meet you right back here.
Paul: I'll be right here on this line painted in the grass.
Candice:  Right.  Where else would you be?
Paul: My search for water leads me to a tent where drink tickets are being sold for $3 a piece. I get two, enough for 2 waters. Unfortunately, when I go to the directed spot for water, no one knows what I'm talking about. I head back to the tent and they admit there is no water. "5 minutes!" they claim, but not for another twenty minutes does the water arrive.
Candice: It's enough time for me to return with this crappy sandwich.

Shit Sandwich from That Food Truck

Paul: Is that popcorn?
Candice: Yes! From That Food Truck.
Paul: There's nothing on that thing. And it's served on popcorn!
Candice: This is disgusting. I am not eating it.
Paul: Well, we've got water at least.
Candice: Let's keep looking.
Paul: There's more trucks over there on the East Lawn.
Candice: Island Noodles looks great.
Paul: But the lines are too long.
Candice: They are cooking some awesome looking noodle dishes in ginormous woks.
Paul: How about that Mexican place?
Candice: It looks promising.
Paul: It's called El Taco Peton.
Candice: I order the Chorizo Quesadillas.

Chorizo Quesadilla

Paul: It smells good.
Candice: And it tastes good. This is very good food. And that's not even mentioning this lovely lemonade that fell from the sky.
Paul: Finally! wait, wha?  Oh, yes - liquid manna.
Candice: Yes - Yay! Let's find some shade and enjoy the band.
Paul: It's the The Yeah Babies.
Candice: Let's end this trip with something sweet.
Paul: Cupcakes!
Candice: The place we choose is Go Cupcake from Dayton.
Paul: The cupcakes are laid out at the window.  I decide on the peanut butter cupcake.
Candice: And I get the lemon one.
Paul: Not bad. What do you think?

Cupcakes

Candice: Same - not bad. It's a simple yellow cupcake with a bit of icing and a lemon drop.
Paul: Mine has the same yellow cupcake and is topped with a dollop of icing and a single mini peanut butter cup.
Candice: Meh.
Paul: Agreed. Thoughts?
Candice: I managed to get some decent food today but it wasn't easy.
Paul: My sausage sandwich from Blu Olive was pretty good. This cupcake was so-so.
Candice: My pizza was awesome as was the chorizo quesadillas. But the sandwich from That Food Truck was a rip off at 8 bucks and disgusting. The cupcake was...just a cupcake, but I've never been much on sweets.
Paul: That's because you're sweet enough as it is.
Candice: You've got those cues down pat.
Paul: We've known each other long enough.  My quest for water here was the most horrific event. How can they not serve beverages at a food truck fest? It's dangerous.
Candice: Um, I always understood horror to be something you see and terror to be something you experience.  Horrific?  Did the idea of water not within comfort's reach cause an out of body experience?
Paul: Might as well have.  Harumph!....So, yeah - some good, some bad, and some stupid.
Candice: Yeah, let's get out of here before there's more stupid.  That'd be...
Paul:  Don't you dare...

The Leptologists Eat at The Crest Gastropub

Candice: I've driven by here a dozen times, but never stopped in.
Paul: Today's the day for The Crest Gastropub.
Candice: They've remodeled this place. It used to be a dive bar.
Paul: Now it's a gastropub. I'm not sure if I like that word.
Candice: Maybe it just sounds better than "dive bar."
Paul: We choose the outside dining area on this beautiful July day. The weather is very unlike summer in Columbus.
Candice: We'll take advantage of it and sit under the huge umbrellas outside.
Paul: They've broken the outdoor patio into two areas. There's maybe ten tables out here.
Candice: And ample seating inside too.
Paul: Julia is our waitress and she has to duck down under the umbrella to get our order.
Candice: She says she hits her head on the umbrellas at least once a day. A conundrum she experiences each shift - if she stands back so as not to hit her head on the umbrella, she appears aloof to her customers; if she ducks under and steps in, she feels like she's smothering her customers.  She found a perfect middle with us engaging us in light-hearted conversation.
Paul: Light-hearted and light-stomached!  I'm famished...and thirsty so I order the fresh-squeezed lemonade.
Candice: And I the iced tea. For an appetizer, we go with the Lamb Lollipops. My entree is the Crest Burger.
Paul: For me, the Pastrami Melt.
Candice: Julia returns quickly to let us know there are no Lamb Lollipops.
Paul: Luckily, we had second and third choices ready for appetizers.
Candice: Who does that?
Paul: We do.  The weirdos do.And so we go with the Cheese Balls instead. This lemonade makes me pucker.
Candice: You don't like it?
Paul: I never said that!
Candice: Let me try. That's a good, refreshing drink.
Paul: Agreed! Julia arrives with our appetizer.

Cheese Balls

Candice: Wow. These are wonderful. They are rich and sweet. The texture of the toast and almonds is fabulous on the tongue.
Paul: The sweetness of the honey is a strong contrast with the tart cheese. Very good.
Candice: Julia says they are their most popular choice.
Paul: Here are the entrees. The sandwich is dagwoodesque in size.
Candice: I'm sure you can get your mouth around it.
Paul: The meat is fresh. The sweet onions are a great flavor opposite the rye bread. I'm not going to be able to eat it all. Have a bite.

The Pastrami Melt

Candice: Oh, that is a good sandwich. The pastrami is bubbly and fresh.
Paul: How's yours?
Candice: Hmmm. Salty. I'm having a hard time eating it.
Paul: Uh oh.
Candice: Yes, this is ultimately inedible for me. The amount of salt is overwhelming.
Paul: Here, have half of my sandwich. There's enough to go around.

The Crest Burger

Candice: This is a really tasty sandwich. As disappointing as my burger was, all in all, the Crest does seem to have good, fresh food.
Paul: I'm happy with mine.
Candice: The fries are great and I love the house hot sauce that's on every table.
Paul: We didn't get our Lamb Lollipops, but our second choice was excellent. I don't know if the lollipops would have been better than the Cheese Balls.
Candice: Trying the Lamb Lollipops is just one reason to come back.
Paul: So it's worth coming back. Worth the price?
Candice: Yes, the prices weren't bad. And there was no wait at all. Service from Julia was excellent. Though she did forget the malt vinegar I asked for.
Paul: She brought it fast enough when we reminded her. But I agree, a very good lunch experience. Thumbs up all around!
Candice: One last note as we walk out: The planter boxes around the outdoor patio are filled with herbs and spices. I love that they take sustainability that serious.

	Candice	Paul
Worth the Price?
Worth the Wait?
Worth Coming Back?