Tasi Cafe

Tasi was brought to my attention one day as I was reading an article on Easy Columbus: The off campus guide.  The person interviewed mentioned it in passing, but since I'm always looking for new breakfast spots around Columbus, I Googled it and found the place tucked away in the heart of the Short North.

Tasi Cafe is owned by Tasi Rigsby of Rigsby's Kitchen.  Having only sampled the breakfast menu, I can only speak of the morning offerings.  Items range from cinnamon challah french toast to Greek scrambled eggs with zucchini, tomato and feta.

Nevertheless, all the food is prepared with the typical "organic" this and "farm-raised that," but the unique flavors make me want to go back time and time again.  Maybe it's the hint of Bolivian.  As an example, French Toast is usually delicious, but it's nothing to write home about.  Even if home is somewhere in France.  They take this breakfast classic to the next level by pouring what is effectively Bananas Foster (butter, sugar and rum coated bananas) over the grilled bread.  Really?  How bad can that be?

*Side note: "French Toast" isn't actually French.  Not even a little bit.  Supposedly it dates back to 4th century Rome.  Who knows.  For the time being, I'll keep telling myself it's actually authentic French goodness. Oh well.  

The Coffee?  Crimson Cup is one of the better cups of coffee in Columbus; leaps and bounds ahead of Starbucks and about equal to Cup-o-Joe.  

Bottom Line: For adventurous types, it's a unique twist on breakfast that will have you coming back to try something new every time. There are more than enough offerings to keep things interesting with each visit.

Try it!

680 North Pearl Street
Columbus, OH  43215-1518 

How the world Googled in 2010

Song: Good Life by One Republic.  I'm a fan.

Blackberry: Phone or Fruit?

Earlier in the semester, a marketing professor of mine gave us an update on his grandchildren.  Just as any proud grandparent should do, he usually shares fun anecdotes about birthday parties, trips to the zoo and the like.  But this time, it was much more profound.

He mentioned that his three year old grandson Sam had been trying out new apps on his iPad. Say whatttt?  Just when I thought LeapFrog was cutting edge stuff, this kid is walking around preschool with a new iPad.  Evidently all the cool kids are doing it.

How has this happened?  Sam's home of Seattle, Washington is just north of what all self-proclaimed nerds would consider their mecca: Silicon Valley.  But does that mean three year old children should be waltzing around with iPads?  I think so.

Here's why:

The Apple brand is synonymous for producing operating systems that "scream" ease of use.  iPad is no different.  With a large, uber-intuitive touchscreen, it is the perfect way to browse the news by virtually "turning the pages" or, if you're three years old, playing the coolest version of "Squiggles" or "Sneezies."  Both highly rated in the iPad App Store, apps are not only inexpensive, they are easy to add and easy to remove as kids grow up.

Now think about the phone.  My grandparent's generation has been witness to the most incredible technological revolution;  going from no phones, to iPhones in one lifetime.  Incredible.

Technology is progressing at such a pace, it is unfathomable to think about what little Sam, with his soon-to-be-outdated iPad (Hello, iPad 2) will be using to teach his children.  Another thing?  He will probably NEVER find himself pecking away at an archaic tactical keyboard.  At three years old, he has virtually mastered the flat surface interface of the iPad, and by the time he gets to high school, who knows what we will be using.

Gartner, a world leader in Information Technology research, recently released a study that says more than 50% of personal computers sold by 2015 will have touchscreen interfaces.  This does not include enterprise solutions for corporations, only home users.  Even so, it is a clear sign of where technology is headed in the not-so-distant future.

With that, let's also think about how culture is driving systemic change in our vocabulary.  Ten years go, when someone said "Do you like Blackberry?" you would have been thinking about the fruit, maybe in jam or pie form.  Now?  Instantly, whether you are 10 years old or 60 years old, your mind thinks phone.

Ten years.

Put that in prospective: barely a blink of an eye.

I won't say that I am equally addicted to both the fruit and the phone.  Rarely do I seek out the fruit variety at the grocery, but my phone seems to follow me everywhere I go.

Where will we be when little Sam graduates high school?  I can't wait to find out.

"Tuition fee decision day"

So, this being a former London blog and me being a college student, I thought it appropriate to comment on the madness that went down in the City of Westminster earlier today. London's Metropolitan Police had their hands full dealing with massive protests.  Rocks were thrown into the windows of City Hall, likewise at the High Court, a Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square was set alight and a car carrying Prince Charles and Camilla was pelted with a barrage of rocks.

Why all this violence?  Earlier in the day, MPs finalized a vote that effectively *triples* university tuition rates, capping the fees to a maximum of £9,000 per year in England, by a majority of 21.

First, I'd like to point out that yes, if I saw my tuition bill tripled, it would infuriate me, but no I wouldn't find myself running for DC ready to throw rocks at the President.

I get that David Cameron, with the help of his coalition Government, has successfully implemented the largest austerity plan ever; cutting billions of pounds from the Government's annual budget and I understand that it must be outrageously expensive to cover the cost of all those tuition bills (since the number of students attending university is rising steadily every year).  But tripling the cost?  Really?  All at once?

What ever happened to doing things methodically, with a plan or maybe some options?  It would be so much more reasonable if they had a ten year plan that would A: allow students who are in the middle of their schooling to finish and B: give some people some time to prepare for that massive increase.

We must also put this number into context: £9,000 per year in England.  As of 30 seconds ago, Google told me £9,000 is equal to roughly $14,000.  What? $14,000?

For a typical private, liberal arts education in the US you're going to pay $20-30 if not more than $40,000/year for school.  Let's realize that the British Government is still subsidizing much of that cost.  Universities in Europe don't have some magical power which makes them any less expensive to run, maintain, stock with books, or cut the grass.  The Brits have just been pretty generous.  And to think that before this so-called "austerity plan,"  put in place by the now-divided "coalition" Government (quickly becoming an oxymoron), Parliament was set to vote on ELIMINATING TUITION FEES for all university students.  Mind. Blown.

PM Cameron's new coalition Government, however, has realized running a massive budget deficit probably isn't the most fiscally responsible thing if one is trying to ensure long-term growth and stability.  The result?  They've been cutting everywhere to the tune of 81 billion pounds ($126 billion). That's about what we spend in Iraq over the course of two business days.  Awesome.


Two problems: a ballooning deficit and poor university students.  I don't have a solution, but I will say:

A: As cool as Government subsidizing every student's university education sounds, it's impractical, expensive and unreasonable. 

B: Give those poor students a break; decrease the funding in small, planned increments until it drops to the final level which is evidently triple the max now (£3,000 to £9,000).

And let's be real, if I was paying £3,000/year to attend university, I would be ecstatic.  Grow up, get over it and take out a student loan.

Ferrari Shell Commercial: Over the Years

London: 7 months later

After taking this hunk o' virtual paper that is "A Taste of London" to print back in mid-September, I am officially declaring it history.  Good history, I'd like to think.  History that I'll be able to look back on...in 50 years.  But time inevitably keeps passing and life keeps on rolling.

After my re-entry back into the good ol' US of A, I managed to convince myself that packing up and moving into entirely new atmosphere called "the south" was the most logical next step in my life.  New school, new friends, new professors and a new major.  Rationale being: I was half way through college and desperately wanted to "love" where I attended.  Sounds reasonable.  The reality? Moving back to Columbus for the summer only made me grow fonder of the city with every passing day.  Two weeks into the summer and I was on the phone to College of Charleston telling them I would be withdrawing from the university.

I can't really explain the epic epiphany I had, but it is clear I desperately needed to go through the process to finally appreciate Capital and all of its merits. 

As I sit here in the library drinking my coffee and eating my cookies complements of Capital University's "Finals week library fund," I can't help but reflect on the last year of my life.  A year that has not only gone by quicker than I could have ever anticipated (don't they always), but one that has put me on another planet in terms of "personal growth."  Making mistakes, learning from them and literally trying anything I could get my hands on seemed to be the ticket to happiness.

Managing to fall into an internship, land a paying job and score free room/board for the summer added up to equal one incredible summer.  And to think it all just fell into place both while I was living out the final days abroad and also after I was getting settled back in Columbus.  If that says anything, it's that I need to chill out and let life take me.

Where am I going with this?  It's sort of a backhanded introduction to the new phase of this blog.  It was a great way to communicate back in London and, considering my recent Facebook hiatus, I think it will be a nice way to ease myself back into the social media realm.

So what's the "Tasting Life:" all about?  A logical progression from "A Taste of London," maybe.  I've been pondering several titles; that one seems to just work. I like it.