the world tastes good cause the candyman thinks it should

my final stop in chillicothe had to be lloyd's sweet shoppe. i'd been eyeing it since my arrival, and i can tell you, it did not disappoint.

i had the immense pleasure of speaking to beth todaro. her and her husband jim bought lloyd's around last christmas and have been building on the candy purveyor's history ever since.

one of their additions, besides the historic photos of water street when it was a canal, is the sale of local chocolatier ranny and maude's confectionery concoctions. she (i think her name is lisa) is a prodigious chocolate dipper and uses her skills to create everything from chocolate covered brownies, twinkies, and pretzels to truffles.pictured here is a hazelnut truffle (center); two chocolate covered cherries with fondant, stem and all; chocolate covered graham cracker; chocolate covered caramel pretzel; and the owner's recommended favorite, the toffee pretzel sticks. particularly impressive is that mass to the left of the photo, an opus known as the wooly bear. it's basically rocky road on a stick - marshmellows, caramel, nuts, chocolate - you get the idea.

another staple at lloyd's is a myriad of chocolates by waggoner, out of canton, ohio. waggoner chocolates is operated by the family of the late harry london. their portfolio of delicious decadence includes dark raspberry or orange creams, white key lime chocolates, buckeyes, and chocolate covered peanut butter sandwich cookies. pictured below are a few of my purchases.

lloyd's also has chocolate covered potato chips, a wide variety of sugar free chocolates from asher's chocolates, and a whole counter of 'penny candies' by the pound. i bought some gummy vampire teeth.

besides all these incredible offerings, lloyd's participates in the gallery walks on the second saturday of every month by displaying a local artist's work. in speaking with the owner, beth, she was enthusiastic and creative, full of ideas to promote lloyd's and the community in chillicothe, including horse drawn carriage rides and lloyd's mini melts ice cream cart on the sidewalk on hot afternoons. lloyd's really is a gem.

the best part? they ship. just check out their website for contact information.

new system

i would like to introduce my new favorite donut in the universe: the bismarck.i'm usually pretty noncommittal about donuts, since i never feel like anything lives up to the idolized pastries of my childhood from this fantastic bakery that closed. but the bismarck, from the new system bakery in chillicothe, is marvelous. the dough and cream create this ying and yang of sweetness and butter, a perfect balance for a breakfast delicacy. it's a grown up donut; i don't think it's sweet enough for a kid's refined palate. and on fridays, they make chocolate bismarcks, with chocolate dough and chocolate icing on top. those didn't last long enough to get photographed.

the final week in chillicothe

i have to admit something, something that may revoke my status as a foodie wannabe. one night for dinner this week i ate at the golden corral. brian didn't believe it, so he asked for photographic evidence.that drink isn't actually mine. it's in the picture simply because it says 'golden corral' on the cup. and that is my plate of three desserts, including banana pudding. pharmacy resident matt insists the best chefs in chillicothe work at the golden corral. the mashed potatoes were pretty good.

aside from the golden corral, we also noshed on the local legend, jerry's pizza. located by the mead paper mill (which gives chillicothe a lovely smell on stifling summer mornings) and serving up thin crust pizza and a bevy of fried foods, jerry's is your typical dive. the type of place where you can't tell what time of day it is because it's always dark inside - full of ambiance.

they have tubes of beer with taps for your table. there's a baseball, bowling ball, etc. we opted for the racing themed table keg, filled with amberbock. it hit the spot after a hard day on the psych ward. while regular pilsner glasses are used for the draft beer, bottled beer is served with tiny glasses like my grandmother used to drink orange juice out of every morning.

so we started off with what we came for - the pizza. it's got thin crust and is light on the cheese, a blend rumored to include swiss. it was pretty good, a little mushy in the middle. although i don't know if it lived up to all the hype. great bar food, though, sliced in strips so it was easy to eat with one hand while holding a beer in the other.

after we finished the pizza, our curiosity was piqued by several other menu items, including the fried mac and cheese and the potato munchers. a few minutes of greasy gurgling from the fryer and this basket appeared at our table.

i have the distinct impression that if anything sits still for long enough in chillicothe, it ends up in the fryer. it's really pretty admirable. i am beginning to suspect that morning stench may be discarded fryer grease. but i digress. the potato munchers turned out to be mashed potatoes, cheese, and jalapenos fried up and served with ranch for dipping. both these and the mac and cheese were pretty amazing. as fried foods tend to be.

stuffed (of course), we paid our ridiculously small bill. the service was great at jerry's; very friendly and very patient. the social workers with me, liz and amanda, live in chillicothe and said they would make jerry's part of their regular rotation.

here we go again

yes its true. i was given a cheese making kit from Lehmans. the 30 minutes mozzarella and ricotta kit was actually what i had received (not the hard cheese making kit as pictured above).

here is what the website says;

Mozzarella Cheese Kit - For authentic-tasting Italian recipes like pizza and lasagna. Includes ingredients to make Ricotta cheese. Takes 30 minutes using any kind of milk (use skim for low fat). Includes recipes booklet, cheesecloth, vegetable rennet, thermometer, citric acid, flake salt. Makes up to 15 lb.

seeing that when we tried to make cheese this summer it took days and certainly did not produce 15 lbs of cheese, this should be quite interesting. reading through the directions to appears to be similar to what we had followed except only 30 minutes.

needless to say, updates to follow.

everyone else is doing it, why shouldn't we?

i've seen this a number of places, so here is my omnivore's hundred:

Here are his rules for the game:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (tomato, pomegranate)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini LOVE THEM
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

hmm. i have some eating to do. and i guess there isn't anything i wouldn't try once...although i'm still debating on the roadkill.

top 5 favorite patios to while away hours drinking and eating

these are in no particular order, because how could i choose? it depends on my mood and company.

- gajah wong. we've discussed how the food is hit or miss, but their cocktails are good and cold and their patio is like being in a fantastic eastern fairy tale. i love the stone statues and all the lights in the trees.

- mecklenburg gardens. my grandparents had their wedding reception here way back in the day and i don't think the bier garden has lost it's charm. i graduated to here from christy's when i became aware of how much older i was than everyone else at the bar.

- cabana on the river. sure, they have neon palm trees, but spending a hot summer night down by the river never hurt anyone. the menu is regular bar food. my favorite appetizer is this bread with cheese and olives...i can't remember the name right now. and if you're from the westside, on any given night you are bound to run into your cousin, your mom's best friend from high school, and a dreaded ex-boyfriend.

- honey. it's just so cute. and the food is good.

- arthur's. the old standby.

movin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches

hollmeyer orchards, located deep in the westside on fiddlers green, has some absolutely phenomenal peaches. we always used to go down there when i was a kid, but we hadn't been in years until yesterday. we picked up some peaches, pears and apples (the really crisp, tart kind). they also had tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, honey, and jams. from what i remember, they also will have some delicious apple butter coming up here in the next couple months. in the spring they have asparagus. my family has always felt, though, that the peaches are the real reason to visit hollmeyer. firm, juicy and sweet, with not too much fuzz. i haven't tried the ones we bought yet, because they are not quite ripe.

does anyone have any favorite recipe for peaches (or pears or apples, for that matter) that you're willing to divulge? i would hate to not be able to eat them all and to see them go to waste.

fun fact about peaches: the peach was a sign of immortality to the ancient chinese. giving it as a gift was a sign of friendship. so make sure you share.

if you are going to go to hollmeyer, go soon. they only have peaches for another two weeks.