kona bistro, aglamesis, and goodbye to celia

so oakley, while really not my favorite place to live (thanks crazy toilet seat + duct tape + gym sock roommate), is a totally fun place to hang out. celia is moving to NC and my friends and i have been so sad that we have insisted on multiple going away parties/dinners for her all week. tonight avani, celia, and i went to kona bistro for some last minute goodbyes before celia heads out on friday.

we started with dinner at kona bistro. i blogged about their brunch once here. i was not that excited about their brunch, but for lunch and dinner they are great. i go to kona bistro a fair amount, probably once every couple of months. it's just a good standby. you can rely on great service there, and the prices and food are always good. the atmosphere is casual and relaxed but still cute. i really do not even think about this as a place to blog about because it feels like such a part of my normal life. i take out of town guests there and it is a great place to spend a long meal catching up with a friend.

i love the crab and corn chowder and order it pretty much every time i go to kona

i just really like this place and my only possible criticism would be that i wish they would change up their menu a little every once in a while since i have tried most things on it. but they do a few specials every day so that works too.

after dinner we were not ready to say goodbye yet so we decided we needed some dessert. for the second time this week, i got to have a sundae at aglamesis bros.

ok. i had never been to aglamesis before sunday, when beth t. was kind enough to open my eyes to this absolute cincinnati gem. i cannot say it strongly enough... i LOVE this place. truly. i literally go in there and become giddy. i cannot explain this reaction since the thing is, i am really not a big sweets person. i normally do not care much about candy and ice cream. but there is something about aglamesis that just makes me utterly and completely happy.

this is the sign that you have reached mecca

i love it so much in fact that it has been added to the short list of locations which i consider my happy places. by this i mean a place that, when i go there, causes me to feel totally overjoyed to the point that i feel totally at peace and i cannot stop smiling. my other happy places:

• guatemala (probably many people would not consider an impoverished central american nation a happy place but i love it)
• the natural history museum in manhattan (i am completely obsessed with the dinosaurs)
• zion national park (it is possible that my near miss from falling off a 1500 foot cliff is what actually filled me with joy rather than the park itself)
• coney island (in brooklyn, not the crappy one in cincinnati)
• miami beach (even i do not understand this one)
  

anyway, enough time hanging out in my brain. back to aglamesis... it is awe. some. if you have not been, you must go. they have the best ice cream, way better than graeters, and they have these amazing sundaes that are like something out of soda parlors from a century ago. everyone that works there is super friendly and cheerful, but not annoying, and you just feel so happy there. or at least i do.

aglamesis is so awesome that we could not even feel sad about celia leaving while we were there

it was such a fun night and a great way to say goodbye to an awesome friend who i will miss so much.