The Coffeehouse in Weston was quite the pleasant surprise.



When I was coming to town, I wasn't searching for coffee. But I stumbled upon this shop and had to check it out.



The building houses more than just the coffee shop, I think. So, when walking inside, veer to the right to see a wide open space with some sweet country-chic decor.



They serve specialty coffees, cold coffees, drip coffee, cider, hot cocoa and tea. 



They even have chocolate-covered espresso beans and whole bean coffee for sale. 



While I'm a sucker for hot cocoa, and the peach cider sounded really good, I went for a caramel latte instead. 



For me, it was a perfect amount of sweetness and bitter. It was soothing and gave me a little extra pep in my step.



Have you been?



Grade: A

Typically when I am visiting a city, I do my research to find the "must-try" places - usually a mix of touristy places, foodie places and random places I'm in the mood for. Double Happy fell into the last category.  



I just wanted ice cream. Truth be told, I literally always want ice cream. But this ice crem drive-thru offered up milkshakes, as well as espresso drinks & blended drinks, Happy Burgers, chicken breast sandwiches, and the World's Largest Waffle Fry.



One thing that made this place interesting is that they use A2 milk. What does that mean? 

"In business since 2017, we started making our own soft serve with locally sourced A2 milk from Indian Creek Creamery in January, 2020.

Milk has two beta-casein proteins, so A2 milk is technically A2/A2 milk. Milk that is regularly available from the store has an A1 protein as well… A1/A2.

Some people believe they are lactose intolerant, but many times are just intolerant to the A1 protein in store bought milk.

An intolerance to A1 cow's milk protein and lactose intolerance are distinct problems. Lactose is milk's sugar and not a protein. Lactose intolerance occurs in people who have a deficiency in the production of an enzyme called lactase, whose role is to break lactose molecules during the digestive process, transforming it into energy for human body cells. Intolerance to the A1 cow's milk protein can cause similar reactions to lactose intolerance, which can generate confusion between the two problems.

Interestingly, non-cow milk, including that of humans, sheep, goats, donkeys, yaks, camels, and buffalo contain mostly A2 beta-casein protein.

If A2 milk is so great, why isn’t it the “normal” store bought milk? Breeds of cows have differing gene frequency. Though the bull book has many A2/A2 animals, to transition a herd to A2/A2 can take ten years or more. Therefore, industrial scale operations have found it better, so far, to not take the big step to A2 only.

Though the scientific community is not yet convinced, our real world experience at Double Happy is significant. Two or three customers each week tell us that while they experience troubles after having regular milk from the store, they feel fine after enjoying our products.

We look forward to offering many more people the chance to enjoy locally sourced A2 milk… in our soft serve ice cream, milkshakes, and coffee drinks."

I kept it simple with a "Berry, Berry, Berry" milkshake which had blueberries, strawberries, raspberries. It was fairly mild in flavor, but lightly sweet and refreshing.

Grade: B 

Stauf's Coffee Roasters has locations all over Columbus, serving up a fine cup of joe.



I visited the Grandview Heights location and ordered the Milky Way latte, which included chocolate and caramel syrup.  



No snack on this trip - just the caffeine. And it was good. A nice, robust espresso that was tamed with the two syrups.



It's no surprise I like my coffee on the sweeter side, and I could definitely taste the bitterness of the coffee - but it worked for me.



What's your favorite drink here?

Grade: B

Mount Hope is home to a small coffee shop called Coal Bucket Coffee Shop. I had been wanting to check it out because small town coffee shops are one of my fav places to visit.



I arrived here as soon as it opened... but it wasn't open, unfortunately. Ten minutes after... fifteen minutes after... still no sign of opening. So I had to leave, go do my errands in the area and come back. Thankfully, they were open the second time around.



There wasn't anyone to greet me right away, so I kinda hovered awkwardly until I was waited on. Once that happened, I was able to order a frozen caramel coffee. The ice was a bit chunkier than I'd prefer, but there was plenty of caramel to please even the sweetest tooth - like mine.



Grade: B

Casa D'Amici is well-known for being the downtown pizza joint open late at night. And while you could dismiss it as drunk college food, Casa actually serves up a pretty decent pie. So, I was pleased to see them expand beyond downtown and into the Cheat Lake area.



The Cheat Lake location 1) has plenty of parking and 2) seems so big and open. I think because the ceilings are so high. They offer pizza, subs, pasta, calzones and baked rolls. I went with a variety platter to take home for dinner. 



I always enjoy their baked rolls because it's not something you see at all pizza shops - and hey, it's close to a pepperoni roll, what can I say?



I ordered a spinach, mozzarella and ricotta; I only wish I could've added mushrooms. Always love this flavor combination, and it was just enrobed in a perfectly golden brown crust. 



We ordered a few slices to try - a pepperoni and mushrooms, as well as a Hawaiian slice. Both were good - large, thin slices that could be crisper on the bottom, but not bad. 



Finally, we had a vodka penne dish with garlic bread. I liked the flavor, though there wasn't really a ton of sauce. It just coated the pasta, so there were some bites that had virtually no sauce. I also think some meatballs or other protein would help the texture.



Overall, though, I enjoyed my meal. I like the variety offered for what it is, and I've not had a bad dish here. It's consistently good, fast pizza and pizza-adjacent items.

Grade: A