Last Friday I went to Columbus to hear a Venetian glass blower speak, but I’m not going to write about that.

I am going to write about all the wonderful food I consumed that day, courtesy of my fine friends who live in Columbus and were quite fortunately not so busy that they couldn’t entertain me.

First up is the North Market. This market contains 35 different eateries from all over the world and with all kinds of foods. Just walking around is a feast for the senses. I finally settled on mac & cheese from Pastaria, a mini Belgian waffle with strawberries and cream from Taste of Belgium and artisan ice cream from Jeni’s.

The mac & cheese was delicious because it was different from what I make at home or would get from a restaurant. Penne pasta was used, along with an orange cheese and a white cheese that tasted like Gorgonzola. It was topped with bread crumbs.

I haven’t been to Belgium so I can’t say what a waffle is like there, but this was different from American Belgium waffles that are prepared just like regular waffles. This was different because it was a bit hard and also because it had some sort of  syrup dribbled all over it. And then the cream was home made and the strawberries were fresh.

And the ice cream. I love ice cream and I don’t know that I’ve ever had bad ice cream, but I do know that I have had some pretty fantastic ice creams. Two gelatos from Italy come to mind: Nutella gelato in Venice and pure chocolate in Rome. Also, the rum raisin from Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y. would win a prize in my book. And mint chocolate chip is my favorite flavor, and Toft’s in Sandusky, Dietsch’s in Findlay and Katie’s Korner in Warren all do a pretty marvelous job.

But at Jeni’s I couldn’t compare any of these because Jeni’s doesn’t have run-of-the-mill flavors. Jeni’s has flavors I’ve never heard of that change with the season and fresh produce. It was very difficult making a decision, but I finally settled on three flavors: Riesling poached pear, Meyer lemon blueberry and kona and stout. Wonderful is all I have to say about my experience at Jeni’s.

All too soon it was dinner time. My friend Janice asked if I wanted to have a tasty hamburger, and of course I said yes. Her choice was the Blue Danube on High Street north of the OSU campus. The Dube was really quite fitting because Janice and I are friends from Salzburg and the other two friends I hung out with that day were also German class friends. At the Dube, you can order your burger with whatever kind of cheese you want, so Janice got feta and I stuck with American. This burger was quite delicious and came with crinkle cut fries. After the burger, we had dessert because this dive of a restaurant has pie. I had Boston creme and Janice chose French silk. Mmmmm.

I couldn’t move by the time dinner was over, but good food days are worth it.