Consuming in Columbus is like experiencing a microcosm of the U.S., a mid-size land of milk, honey, and Buckeyes. Town is house to immigrant traditions and wealthy culinary historical past, from the advantageous eating legend conserving court docket a number of the cobblestone streets and pink brick constructions in German Village, to the meals truck parked on hustling, bustling Top Boulevard allotting birria tacos, to the hidden gem tucked away within a strip mall serving Ghanaian classics to community aunties and uncles.
Many of those companies profit from the town’s spectacular, ancient structure, however masses extra eating places have withstood the check of time in much less auspicious properties. Have a look during the home windows of a as soon as rusty hundred-year-old fuel station to peer crowds Instagramming pancake balls powdered with sugar and served with an collection of candy sauces. Or hunt down the small brick construction off the freeway, a post-Prohibition relic that’s turn into a go-to dive for regulars, inexperienced persons, and someone getting off paintings wanting revival. Then test underneath the neon signal across the nook for a bedrock of Buckeye tradition the place alumni and new youngsters at the block meet over contemporary, old-school doughnuts.
If Columbus is a microcosm of the country, it has additionally skilled the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted all American meals communities. Most of the town’s maximum notable eating places, standby watering holes, and loved companies have closed their doorways. The puts that populate this listing don’t seem to be the one deserving ones, however you’ll see the paths of arduous paintings and resolution that allowed them to conform to the brand new realities of pandemic eating.
You’ll pattern somewhat of historical past and numerous world flavors as you consume your manner across the town’s crucial eating places, however each meal is quintessentially Columbus. So come sit, seize a menu (or load it up from a QR code), and tool up for a ceremonial dinner. And as at all times, tip generously, masks up when requested, and indulge.
Angela Lee is a author, photographer, and nurse, however maximum of all a storyteller weaving incredible tales and at all times in search of her subsequent culinary journey. Her paintings has been featured in Suitable for eating Columbus and 614 Mag.
Be aware: Eating places in this map are indexed geographically.