Good morning,
The Arcadia coffee shop finally gave me the inspirational push I needed to create this blog and in my haste to write down my experience I neglected the obligatory initial "About Me" post. I suppose I should get this one in before I write anything else. It is brief as I'd rather talk about food than myself but here goes.
I hail from St. Lawrence County - New York. The poorest county in the state, but also the most beautiful county. There is not much there save for farms, schools, hospitals and prisons but the landscape's beauty is unrivaled. Yes, Grant, it beats Vermont! I will probably frequently shout out to Grant (affectionately known as Buddy) on this blog because when I lived in Syracuse he was my partner in crime as we scoured that city for good eats. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself ...
I lived my entire life right next to all of my family, never knowing what a friend was because all my friends were cousins. I went to The Clarkson School and met Tiffany - probably the greatest girl in the world. If I were male or things were different...yeah, you know.. She's that kind of awesome.
We both stayed at Clarkson for our Bachelor's degrees, joined the same sorority, and indulged our best friend status on Dunkin Donuts coffee (I have no idea why I loved it but back then it was all I had) and Dinty Moore beef stew. I was an eclectic person, I'd have my junk food binges with Tiffany but then go to fine dining establishments with Buddy. So.. I understood the spectrum of food, at least as much as St. Lawrence County could provide. (Note: Tiff is a really classy lady who likes good food too but we were so poor this was what we could afford. If it wasn't for Buddy being such a gentleman, I couldn't afford to go out to fine-dining establishments.)
I then moved on to complete a Master's at Potsdam and then a PhD at Syracuse.. Finally, I'm out of the county I grew up in. The food scene expanded greatly when I went to Syracuse. Not only did I have your typical bad indian food, but now I had high quality American-style indian food AND, dare I say it, the authentic stuff too. There were so many choices. It was during this PhD program that I was able to explore Washington, D.C. some more, and New York City, Long Island, and parts of Pennsylvania. While these might not seem like the culinary capitals of the world, they have a lot to offer and I believe that if you've only tasted high quality, high society food you'd never know the joys of a nasty, gooey, chewy steak sub now would you?! So I'll post on everything I find - even the chain restaurants.
My long-time, long-distance boyfriend - we'll refer to him as Imaginary Friend - got a job teaching math at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. He was there for a year while I was in Syracuse and I was miserable. I finally just made the move out here and now I'm without Tiff, Buddy, AND my seriously great New York food scene. Or so I thought...
When I would visit Ames, IA last year it was difficult for Imaginary Friend and I who didn't know very many people to find good places to eat and hang out. In fact, our choices are still limited even though he's made a few friends. This is due to a couple of things: 1. CampusTown changes daily. People open shops and restaurants and they close within weeks, months, and the early years. 2. The city is booming. This are changing so rapidly and new stores are coming in so quickly it is difficult to keep up with. 3. Everyone in Ames seems to stop caring about the internet so all of the websites that used to discuss good restaurants are dead, or so outdated that it wouldn't help you. Imaginary Friend and I seriously took a list of places recommended by a website and crossed off 6 of our top choices because they no longer existed.
This is where my mission arose. I realized that I would be bored out of my mind here in Ames if I didn't do something. He would be off at work socializing and teaching the masses. I'd be stuck home with the two cats (yes we have cats and they're hilarious and lovely but no we are not those people...we love dogs too and will have a dog some day.) fulfilling their every demand in cat language, never needing to even say hello.
For fear that I'd lose my humanity and start acting like my cats, I decided to find a purpose. This is my purpose. I hope this blog will be a go-to guide for people looking to find great food and great living in Iowa. I also hope this will entertain my friends and family whom all live on the coasts of this great country and cannot fathom life in the prairie. I haven't received this question yet but I'm sure soon to get it: "So is it like Little House out there?" Emily, I'm expecting this from you. :-)
Finally, I intend to quickly expand this foodie blog into something more reflective of my actual life - I'm a baker, a cook, a cat owner, a foodie/food critic, a knitter, and an amateur sewer. I'm a video game-loving, sci fi/fantasy watching, guitar playing, acrylic paint experimenting, job-hunting DIYer. So as our life grows here, so to will this blog. We intend to buy our first home in the next year so I'm guessing the DIY section grows then. Until then please enjoy the ramblings of someone trying to find their stride in Ames.
Well, it was supposed to be brief... is it a crime to love yourself? :-P
Best,
Alicen
