Whoa. This past weekend has been crazy. I managed to hit Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN and Cincinnati in 3 days. 

On the downside, only spending maybe a full 24 hours in each city I didn't actually have time to find the most interesting offers of each location. However, I did manage to utilize my short time in each city to try some local eats and coffee. 

Nate Bargatze had a stand-up show at the Funny Bone in Columbus OH on a Thursday night and I had to go. If you enjoy laughing - if that doesn't apply to you, I'm genuinely concerned - you need to take some time and look up Nate. I stumbled upon him on Netflix in the Netflix standup series. My sister and I were literally crying from laughing so hard. I almost couldn't breathe, I thought this guy was THAT funny! In all honesty it was one of those nights where we were slightly slap happy and tired to start with but WOW. I then had to look him up and see if he was going to any cities near me. He was, however none of them worked into my schedule so I finally found one that did and called up one of my friends in Columbus to see if she wanted to go with me. Fun fact, I'd already decided I was going regardless, even if that meant sitting alone because Cbus isn't too far and the tickets were under $20 bucks. Like myself, she loves a good adventure and laugh and oh boy Nate did not disappoint.

Before the show we grabbed dinner at Melt which like many Food Channel Junkies, I have seen make it’s rounds through local eats shows. It was pretty good and being able to enjoy your food in the presence of glowing Halloween decor was a fun vibe for sure.

Good old Indy, the big city of the Hoosier state. I made my way down to Indianapolis to work a show and by a true miracle arrived in the city with some time to spare before call time. Naturally I looked up local coffee places and stumbled upon a gem. Calvin Fletcher’s Coffee Company, mixed spectacular service with delicious drinks and a perfectly laid back atmosphere for working on projects, blogging as I’m doing right now, or catching up with friends. Speaking of friends, I’m pretty sure all of my friends understand how I feel about food - first I love food it’s one of my favorite parts of travel, secondly no one and I mean no one wants to meet hangry Jenn - just trust me on this so naturally a lot of my energy each day is spent in planning out the next meal. I ventured over to the Bluebeard, a farm to table restaurant. Another thing my friends can tell you is I love to talk atmosphere and this place had a cool one. Stained glass window panes along the back wall helped to create and cozy artsy vibe in this small retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city. With the chill of winter outside I opted for a classic comfort food - Mac and Cheese. Guys the mac and cheese that arrived on my table was a tasty work of art. The sweet peppers and microgreens were a pleasant and modern twist that took this classic dish to a level I never knew it needed, I would recommend this choice and have to multiple friends visiting the area.

Next up, Cincinnati! After working a show at Bankerslife in Indy I made my way east and took some time again to try a new coffee place in Mason, OH. Cocoon Coffee is the mecca of work spaces for when you need a break from your home office. There were so many seating options from desks and tables to plush chairs and that’s not even the best part. We have all walked into a busy coffee shop with the hopes of pulling out our laptop and getting shit done. I think it’s safe to say we’ve all also walked away accomplishing nothing because the one open table is pretty much 18.4 miles away from the only outlet in the whole room which is already being shared by multiple tables in the corner. Ugh, the lack of outlets in coffee shops is one of my biggest pet peeves. But Cocoon Coffee took their outlet game up a notch, there were the normal wall options, some floor outlets, and extension cords with power strips for days!! Honestly that’s all I need to hear, but the coffee was also good, not bitter at all as some local places tend to be.

If you make it to any of these next time your in the Columbus/Indianapolis/Cincinnati area, leave a comment and let me know what you thought or if you found any other gems that need a proper shout out

A Note - the descriptions are a little lacking in this post because although I started writing it at that coffee house in February of 2018 I’m just now (in the summer of 2019) wrapping up and publishing this draft that’s been collecting dust in the interwebs for a year. I promise you guys and myself that I will try to do better and not wait so long to write about experiences in the future haha.