If you're ever in Akron - where I spent the previous 11 years - you must eat several things: a burger from Swensons, frozen custard from Strickland's, a killer brownie from the West Point Market and a sauerkraut ball.

If you�re ever in Akron � where I spent the previous 11 years � you must eat several things: a burger from Swensons, frozen custard from Strickland�s, a killer brownie from the West Point Market and a sauerkraut ball.

That�s right: a sauerkraut ball.

The appetizer consists of sauerkraut and savory meat (sometimes ham, sometimes corned beef) rolled in crumbs and deep-fried until crispy.

They�re manufactured in Akron.

And they�re found on the menu of just about every restaurant in town � from casual to fancy.

They�re so popular (and tasty) that years ago they were voted Akron�s official food.

When I asked around recently about the official food of Columbus, I drew a lot of blank stares.

Sure, Columbus has plenty of great places to dine. (I am slowly eating my way through town, and I hope that every restaurant offers something unique that wows me.)

But I want to know what the city�s iconic food is.

Philadelphia has its cheesesteak; Buffalo, its hot wings; Cincinnati, its chili.

Columbus, tell me: What do you have?

What one food represents the spirit, history and culinary identity of the community?

What food do you brag about to visitors?

What does Mayor Michael B. Coleman offer in friendly wagers with the mayors of other cities when our sports teams face each other?

For the record, spokesman Dan Williamson said the mayor usually settles such bets with a shipment of Jeni�s Splendid Ice Creams.

Columbus, Williamson said, has no official food.

�If it does, I�ve never heard of it,� he said. �I�ve never heard of Columbus having an official city anything.�

He hesitated to nominate any particular food because most of his ideas weren�t especially healthful choices: ice cream, White Castle Sliders, a Wendy�s Frosty.

�We�ll hear from Dr. (Teresa) Long if we pick one of those things,� he said, referring to the city health commissioner.

Apparently, Columbus is trying to promote itself as a fit and active city.

(Note to City Hall: When selecting an official Columbus food, it should not have the term lite in front of it.)

Williamson suggested that I call Mike Curtin, the former Dispatch editor and current state representative from Marble Cliff whose knowledge of Columbus history runs deep.

Curtin said no official food has been named since he started paying attention to such matters in 1973. He�s also pretty sure that one wasn�t named before then, he said, because legislators in those days were less likely to waste time on such frivolous matters.

Official food � frivolous? I disagree.

An official food is something we can all rally around as a source of pride � or we could, if we had one.

So I�m asking all of you for help.

What do you think Columbus� official food should be?

Send me your nominations.

Tell me your reasons for your choice and let me know about the special place you think the food has in Columbus history.

Make sure your nomination can still be purchased in Columbus. There�s no point to having an official food that hasn�t been available for 20 years.

I�ll identify a list of finalists, and we�ll put them up to a public vote.

When we�re finished, I promise you, Columbus, we�ll have an official food to champion.

And I will be its biggest cheerleader.

Mail your nominations to Official City Food, c/o Lisa Abraham, Food Editor, The Dispatch, 34 S. 3rd St., Columbus, OH 43215; send email to labraham@dispatch.com, with �Official City Food� in the subject line; or call 614-461-5529.