Columbus, Ohio has so much to offer, that I feel it necessary to break these posts down into categories. In this post, let’s talk about the dining scene. One can find just about any type of food in this diverse and moderately large city of just over 900,000. If you are looking for casual dining, the choices are endless. One of the more notable places to eat in Columbus’ German Village section of the city, an area located just south of downtown, is none other than Schmidt’s Sausage Haus Restaurant, a very well known german restaurant that not only serves up authentic german food, but are also famous for their bakery section and desserts, especially their cream puffs. The food is delicious, portions are more than adequate, and atmosphere is german all the way, complete with oompah music. J. Fred Schmidt came to America as a german immigrant and decided to plant his roots in the city of Columbus. He had a desire to share his own culinary experiences from his homeland and opened a meat packing plant soon after his arrival in the late 1800’s. In the years that followed, many of the family’s businesses stemmed from this, and in the mid 1960’s, the family opened their first restaurant. Come see what makes this place special and a perfect compliment to German Village! A few other notable restaurants that I found particularly noteworthy and also within German Village, is Fox in the Snow Cafe, Plank’s Pizzeria, and The Thurman Cafe. Fox in the Snow is probably one of the most impressive breakfast spots I have ever experienced. They claim to serve the “World’s Best Egg Sandwich” and I will admit, it is probably the best one I have ever had and loaded with flavor! They have such an incredible array of fresh baked pastries and a variety of quality coffee drinks, that it can be difficult to go in there and pick just one item. So if you find yourself in this very special place, do as I did and get the egg sandwich AND a pastry, even if you have to save that pastry for tomorrow! This is one breakfast spot you need to put on your Columbus bucket list! Plank’s Pizzeria was introduced to me by my lovely landlords. We met up after work one day and shared one of the tastiest pizzas I have ever had. The sauce has a gentle sweetness to it and the crust is perfect. If you are looking for a really great pizza, while spending some time in German Village, check out Plank’s. Lastly, in this neighborhood, I have to give a shout out to The Thurman Cafe, a place known for their large and satisfying burgers. This is their claim to fame and apparently good enough to draw the attention of the hit show “Man vs Food”, and has been noted to have the best burger in Columbus. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, their website states they are temporarily closed due to a fire a few months ago, but appear to have every intention of re-opening one day soon. Keep an eye on their website before you go. This is a place definitely worth experiencing.
“World’s Best Egg Sandwich” at Fox in the Snow
Heading over to Easton Town Center, a well known and premier shopping, dining and entertainment complex in the northeast section of the city, you will find Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, The Rusty Bucket, as well as NorthStar Restaurant, just to name a few. I have seen Cooper’s Hawk in my travels in places such as northern Virginia and Kansas City, Missouri, however it took me years to finally pay them a visit, and I was glad I did. Although a chain, they do what they do well! When you walk in, you find yourself standing in front of a large wine bar where you can pay a reasonable price to sample about 8 different wines. These wines are of very good quality, and the servings for a wine tasting are outrageous: let’s just say, you better stick around and have dinner afterward. But maybe that is their strategy? Well, it sure worked for me. I did just that and enjoyed an amazing and flavorful pasta dish, paired with one of their wines of course. If you like good food and good wine, Cooper’s Hawk is a place you must plan to visit. It can get pretty crowded, so unless you are a party of one, you may need to make a reservation. Another establishment, The Rusty Bucket, is a fun place within Easton Town Center where you can grab both a drink and some pub style comfort food. This is a great choice when you prefer something more than just fast food, yet still have a lot of shopping to do, but want a bit of a respite for an hour. NorthStar Cafe, a local chain restaurant, offers quality pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and entree’s, but what really impressed me about this place, is the fact that they offer bakery style jumbo sized cookies in a variety of flavors. Just when I thought it couldn’t get better than the chocolate chunk, I tried the peanut butter. Not only is it crisp on the outside and moist and a little chewy on the inside, it is LOADED with full size pieces of peanuts. This cookie was insanely good, and if you are a cookie fanatic like I am, you will go out of your way to pick one up to take home if you are in the vicinity of a NorthStar.
One of the best ways to try a variety of restaurants is to take a food tour through Columbus Food Adventures. I took two during my stay there. The first was their international tour via van shuttle. This tour introduced me to Vietnamese food and the most delicious bahn mi (a flavorful pork and pickled vegetable sandwich on a baguette). Another stand-out of this tour was the Yemen restaurant we went to. This was my first experience in this type of restaurant and the soup, fresh tandoor bread and hummus were outstanding. Inside, you definitely feel like you left the country for a dining experience. The second food tour that I went on while in Columbus was the Grandview Tour. Grandview is another section of Columbus, located on the west side of downtown, that offers plenty of dining options in a small area. This tour took us to Si Senor, Grandview Theater Pizza, Cub’s Cookies, The Avenue Steak Tavern and Jeni’s ice cream. Of course, Cub’s Cookies was one of my favorites. Big, thick and perfectly baked to perfection. Starting from their humble beginnings and using fresh ingredients, Cub’s Cookies are a Columbus institution! You need to taste to believe.
Heading over to Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus located due west of the city, provides you an opportunity to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and the traffic issues I mentioned in my last post. This area is a perfect blend of suburban life with modern conveniences. You can find several great restaurants in this town and if you head to the park along the riverfront and walk over the pedestrian bridge to the other side, you will find a few more, as well as some fun little breweries. The Kitchen Social, across the street from the waterfront park, is an upscale eatery where you can pair a great cocktail with a fresh and innovative entree. Every aspect of my meal in this place was absolutely delicious, right down to the dessert. If you can’t decide what you are in the mood to eat, you can walk a block or two and enter the North Market Bridge Park. The North Market is a very cool food hall in Dublin that offers high quality eateries that allow you to order at their window, and within a few short minutes, have your meal in hand and ready to dine at a table in the center of the food hall. I chose a bahn mi, after having discovered my newfound interest in this Vietnamese sandwich on my food tour. With so many options under one roof, the North Market Bridge Park is the perfect spot to find something for everyone!
In the Clintonville section of Columbus, you will find Harvest Bar & Kitchen, a great spot for happy hour. At the time I went to this cozy, upscale establishment, I ordered 3 large meatballs over polenta with a red sauce, shaved brussel sprouts, and 2 blackberry sage moscow mules, all for just $27, including the tip! You can’t beat that price for that amount of food, and 2 drinks to boot. These were made from scratch, delicious menu items and fresh tasting drinks. Alternatively, if you are in Clintonville around breakfast time, check out Katalina’s. Katalina’s offers a slow roasted pork and egg sandwich, as well as pancake balls with spicy bacon. Pancake balls are golf ball sized stuffed pancakes that come dusted in powdered sugar and with maple syrup on the side and filled with Nutella, dulce de leche, etc. These are just two of the many menu items you will find here, but the two that I personally tried and can attest to. Both very good and worthy of a visit.
To wrap up this post, my recommendations would not be complete without mentioning a few places that fall more into a fast food category, with the exception of India Oak. India Oak is a dive bar in Columbus that is known for one of the best italian subs you can find in the area, and it did not disappoint. As for the others…Ritzy’s, is well known for their burgers, shakes and hot dogs and is a very popular spot in the area when looking for an alternative to McDonald’s. Jet’s, a national chain for take-out pizza, offers Detroit style slices, which is similar to the deep dish pizza you find in Chicago, except with a more carmelized, crispy crust. Jet’s offers the option of ordering “4 corners” slices, which gives you a crispy edge along all four corners of their rectangular slices. Krema Nut Company, at the time I was in Columbus anyway, was not only just a nut store, selling bagged nuts and snacks of numerous varieties, but also had a sandwich and milkshake counter where you could order gourmet PB&J’s …or… PB and just about anything, on thick homemade breads, paired with a thick satisfying milkshake. I ordered the Buckeye, which is a chocolate peanut butter milkshake, made with real peanut butter and made famous by the candy of the same name which originated in this area of the Buckeye State. As far as ice cream goes, I mentioned Jeni’s ice cream earlier, but another great ice cream to try when in Columbus is Graeter’s Ice Cream. Graeter’s has numerous locations in the area and has been around for years and is very well known by the locals. They offer up creative and creamy ice cream flavors that are sure to fit the bill, when looking for that sweet treat to cool off. Graeter’s is a Columbus favorite by those that live there. Trusting the locals, when it comes to dining, is usually a good bet!
I could go on and on and on. Columbus has so many culinary delights, an entire book could be written about them. If you find yourself in this city one day, use this blog post as a reference for some really great choices! In my next post, we will switch gears a bit and discuss Columbus’ Brewery scene. Cheers!