A great thing about traveling is that there are always new restaurants, food trucks, bakeries and diners to try. We have written about the good food locations we visited last year in the post, Great Grub. In this update we will share some old favorites and new places that we visited in 2024.

Resch’s Bakery, 4061 E Livingston Ave, Columbus OH 43227

This was a must stop for Sue’s parents, every time they visited Columbus, OH. They would pre-order lots of pastries, pick them up and then drive home to Pennsylvania. Once home, they would freeze them and defrost them for the holidays and special occasions. Sue and I continue this tradition of visiting Resch’s Bakery and enjoying some well-loved pastries, breads and cookies.

Resch’s is a German bakery that has been in operation for over 110 years, and is now operated by the fifth generation of Reschs! You can tell immediately that the bakery has been around for a while by the wooden display cases. Both sets of Sue’s grandparents frequented this bakery and to this day their pastries and goodies continue to bring a smile. If you go, be sure to order the granny rolls and pretzel bites!

Hot Chicken Takeover, Seven locations in the metropolitan Columbus, OH area and one in Cincinnati, OH.

We first stumbled upon Hot Chicken Takeover at the North Farmers Market about 10 years ago. The North Market is worth visiting in its own right. GREAT Farmers Market with lots of selection.

Hot Chicken Takeover serves perfectly fried chicken with a wonderful heat and great side dishes such as beans, slaw and fries. They now offer a choice of “heat” ranging from “mild” to “unholy”. We stick with the classic “hot” chicken. Buy extra chicken, who doesn’t like left-overs?

Jaarsma Bakery, 727 Franklin Street Pella, IA 50219

There are more than doors and windows in Pella, IA! Marion county, Iowa was settled by immigrants from the Netherlands fleeing religious persecution. Dutch influence is visible every where. The town has an annual tulip festival, an actual small canal located downtown, and the Vermeer Windmill, one of the tallest working windmills in North America.

While the history is interesting, we were there for the pastries at Jaarsma Bakery. Located in the center of town, is a beautiful commercial district facing the park. There we found truly remarkable pastries and lots of Dutch treats.

The bakery was founded by Harmon Jaarsma and is now operated by the fourth generation of Jaarsma’s.

We are already in Wyoming enjoying the very warm (high 90’s) but very dry (45% humidity) conditions.

Thanks for checking in on us.