Budd Dairy Food Hall is a multi-level dining and entertainment destination in Columbus, Ohio, housed inside a former milk-processing facility dating to 1916. The historic Budd Dairy Company building once served as one of Columbus's major milk-processing operations.

The facility operated until 1967, and its brick exterior, industrial architecture and original details have been preserved as part of its transformation into a modern food hall. Unlike a traditional food court, Budd Dairy operates as a chef incubator, providing independent restaurateurs with space to develop their concepts, establish customers and potentially expand into standalone restaurants. BEEP!BEEP! NOODS, RICE AND STREET FOOD "Dubbed as Ohio’s best Filipino restaurant by Food & Wine Magazine, the team behind the success of Bonifacio: Modern Filipino is exploring the diverse and complex Asian influences of Filipino cuisine through our new street food concept – beep! beep!

Inspired by the bustling streets of Manila, where the honking of jeepneys and the sizzle of street food stalls fill the air, it captures the energy of a bustling urban food scene. From Chinese-inspired dumplings to Japanese-influenced noodles, beep! beep! celebrates the merging of flavors that make Filipino food uniquely delicious. With bold, comforting dishes served in a vibrant setting, it recreates the lively experience of an Asian night market, where every bite tells a story of tradition and innovation."

CREAMY SESAME UDON W/ PORK - Medium spiced, made with sesame brown butter, with creamy tahini, served with kale, egg, ground pork, and BACON. THE CHEESECAKE GIRL "Our goal is to keep dessert nostalgic, make everything from scratch, and keep it as local as possible. We operated as a pop-up bakery, pairing up with local breweries and selling tickets to cheesecake and beer pairings. Then we moved onto farmer’s markets and weddings from there. Eventually getting to our Hilliard location in 2020 and our Dublin location in 2021!" The Cheesecake Girl’s Skyline Chili mini cheesecake is a playful dessert inspired by Cincinnati’s iconic chili dish. Rather than incorporating actual chili, the miniature cheesecake is decorated to resemble a serving of Skyline Chili, turning a familiar savory dish into a sweet treat. HATCH – THE JERK SPOT "The Jerk Spot is characterized by the aromatic bold flavors and unique blends of spices and fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Signature items such as Jerk Chicken and Oxtail are seasoned and infused with flavor using their signature Jerk Rub and Jerky Paste.

Owner, Troy, has a deep-rooted love for Jamaican and Caribbean food which has inspired him to share this passion with their customers and give them that island experience that is rare in the city. The Jerk Spot team pride themselves on consistency and presentation, and their meals are a statement of the heart."

RASTA PASTA - Made With Pepper Cream Sauce, Sweet Peppers, And Broccoli Florets. MODERN SOUTHERN TABLE "The journey for Modern Southern Table began in the food court of the Colony Square Mall in Zanesville, Ohio, after Daisy Lewis competed in and won the Food Network’s “Food Court Wars” in March 2014. When her lease in the mall ended, Lewis refocused her efforts on relocating, hoping to open a restaurant in the Columbus area." "No stranger to the highs and lows that come with working in the restaurant industry, Lewis cites the wealth of knowledge she’s learned from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (CMR) as a turning point in her entrepreneurial career. Other highlights include winning local accolades such as the Big Pitch and Best Fried Chicken awards and national recognitions such as winning the “Food Court Wars.”" GEECHEE RED RICE - A classic Gullah Geechee Dish!! Red Rice is the long-lost Granddaughter of Jollof. But she’s also the grandmother of Jambalaya! The rice is cooked in tomato sauce with onions, peppers, bacon & and andouille smoked sausage.

SOUTHERN MAC AND CHEESE - Wouldn’t be a true southern restaurant without Mac and cheese, Right! BAKED mac and cheese, that is! We gotcha covered, it might not be your momma’s mac, but it sure is good.

BLACKEYE PEA SALAD A cold salad of blackeye peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs in a homemade vinegarette. TACOS RUDOS "The term Rudos comes from Mexican wrestling or lucha libre, where the Rudos, the antiheroes, fight the tecnicos. Relatives of the Rudos Team trained and became wrestlers in Mexico City around the 1970’s, they were Rudos. Ever since then, lucha libre has been one of our traditions, great food being the other."

FISH (RED SNAPPER) - “BEST FISH TACO IN OH” Beer-battered Red Snapper, cabbage, pico de gallo, serrano cream on a flour tortilla. ZAKI MEDITERRANEAN GRILL "From grape leaves marinated in lemon, to falafel balls seasoned with cumin and spices, there are so many tempting choices at Zaki Mediterranean Grill. Don’t miss the chicken shawarma with turmeric, paprika, and garlic sauce, the gyro packed with slow-roasted lamb and beef, or the chicken sandwich with grilled chicken and garlic sauce."

HUMMUS BOWL WITH FALAFEL - Ground chickpeas, parsley, green onion, cumin, served with basmati rice, salad, tzatziki sauce, fresh hummus and pita. Other restaurant concepts include CLUCK NORRIS, ELEVATED PIZZA KITCHEN, MARLOW’S CHEESESTEAKS and MCGINNIS’ GRILL.

Grade: A

Danny’s BBQ Stand is a barbecue restaurant at 1019 Quarrier Street in downtown Charleston, founded by former Charleston Mayor Danny Jones. The restaurant has a history tied to Jones’ decades of experience in the restaurant industry, dating back to the 1960s. The restaurant specializes in traditional barbecue, including ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and chicken, prepared with Jones’ signature barbecue sauce. Other menu favorites have included smoked chicken salad, homemade chili, baked beans, coleslaw and smoked potato salad. The dining room features newspaper clippings, photographs and memorabilia documenting Jones’ years in Charleston, giving the restaurant a personal connection to the city's history. My pulled pork was drippy, which is not my favorite adjective to describe this type of sandwich. I didn't mind the savory & slightly sweet flavor, though the texture left something to be desired.

Grade: B

Kel’s Tavern is an American restaurant in Charleston’s Elk City district on the West Side. It opened in September 2025 at 222 West Washington Street, taking over the former Sergio’s Italian restaurant space, which had previously housed Books & Brews. The restaurant is connected to another Kel’s Tavern in Ashland, Kentucky, and focuses on elevated tavern food at relatively approachable prices. Its menu combines familiar American comfort food with some more creative appetizers and entrees. The dining room retains much of the layout from its previous occupants, with high ceilings, an open seating area and a prominent turquoise accent wall. A stage was also added to accommodate live music. The menu includes items like ribeye, bourbon-glazed salmon, fried chicken, fish and chips, pork chops and traditional sides such as broccoli casserole and baked macaroni and cheese. The Big Bang Shrimp ($13) featured Captain Morgan-battered fried shrimp tossed in a sweet, warm, tangy sauce and topped with fresh scallions. The shrimp had a golden fried coating beneath the generous layer of creamy orange sauce, combining sweetness and tanginess with the crunch of the batter. The Buffalo Chicken Empanadas ($13) were filled with spicy Buffalo chicken, fried until golden brown and drizzled with Kel’s house ranch dressing. The crispy pastry pockets combined the heat of Buffalo chicken with the cool, creamy ranch sauce. Pimento Cheese Fries: A generous serving of french fries topped with creamy pimento cheese. The Southern-inspired appetizer combines crispy, salty fries with rich, tangy cheese and the mild sweetness of pimentos. Meatloaf: A hearty serving of homestyle meatloaf accompanied by sides of Kel’s Corn and broccoli casserole. The meatloaf had an OK flavor, but I wish it was more moist. Kel's corn is whole-kernel corn served in a seasoned sauce, which was different. And the broccoli casserole was less ooey-gooey casserole-like than it was a mushier broccoli with crunchies on top. Points for effort, another visit to determine execution. Grade: B

Sippin' Suite is a locally owned specialty drink shop in Winfield, specializing in colorful, customizable nonalcoholic beverages. It focuses on drinks such as dirty sodas, loaded teas, energy drink combinations, refreshers and boba. If you're not familiar with dirty sodas, they typically start with a familiar soft drink, such as Dr Pepper, Sprite or Coke, before flavored syrups, cream and other additions are mixed in. The result is a customized soda with flavors that can resemble everything from fruity candy to dessert. I turned my attention toward the dirty lemonade menu. I went with "Watermelon Sugar," which had lemonade, strawberry, pineapple and sweet cream. I really enjoyed this because it was sweet and fruity -- which I find more refreshing than soda. It's a little treat that is tasty, pretty and fun to concoct. What's your favorite drink here? Grade: A

Here's my latest column for the newspaper:

Every autumn, the search begins for the perfect pumpkin in the patch: round and evenly shaped, bright orange, with a sturdy stem that curves just enough to give it character.

It is the pumpkin made for front porches, hayrides and photographs.

In Appalachia, the perfect fall squash historically looked a little different.

It was big, oddly shaped and not particularly orange. Its bottom was broad and bulbous, its neck long and sometimes crooked, and its pale skin was streaked with green.

It’s a squash made for feeding a family, keeping well beyond the fall harvest and moving easily between sweet and savory dishes.

Cushaw squash bears little resemblance to the picture-perfect pumpkins of fall, but it proves far more useful. That’s why it’s been around for so long.

The cushaw commonly grown in Appalachia belongs to the species “Cucurbita argyrosperma,” which was domesticated thousands of years ago in Mexico.

It traveled north long before European settlement and became an important part of Indigenous agriculture across portions of North America.

Appalachia was one of the places where cushaw found an enduring home. It became a familiar sight in gardens across the region.

Seeds were saved from one growing season for the next, shared with neighbors and handed down through families. With those seeds came the knowledge of when to plant, when to harvest and how to use it in family recipes.

Cushaw can be roasted, stewed or mashed. It can become soup, bread, butter and preserves. Add sugar, eggs, dairy and warm spices, and it becomes cushaw pie. Clean and roast the seeds, and it becomes a snack.

Or, maybe all of the above. A single large cushaw can easily weigh 10, 20 or even 30 pounds and yield several quarts of cooked, mashed squash — enough for soup, an entree and dessert, with plenty left over.

Cooked cushaw can be refrigerated for a few days or portioned and frozen for longer storage. An uncut cushaw can last even longer, keeping for weeks or even months in a cool, dry place with good air circulation.

In an era before refrigeration and supermarkets stocked with produce in January, a crop that could sit for weeks or months and then become dinner — or dessert — had clear value.

Butternut became nationally ubiquitous. Acorn became a supermarket staple. Pumpkin became the commercial symbol of fall. Cushaw remained something people knew because somebody in their family grew it.

Cushaw is a squash that modern agriculture largely passed over, but Appalachian gardeners sure didn’t.