Columbus, Ohio

I have been putting off writing this post for entirely too long.

Columbus, Ohio is my home. I’ve lived there for 20 years, which is longer than I’ve lived anywhere…by about 15 years. It is where I made most of my biggest mistakes and celebrated many of my greatest triumphs. I can trace my own evolution into adulthood through rental properties and neighborhood bars. I feel a connection to this place and these people that I cannot explain. How can I possibly distill this town down to a blog entry of a length that anyone will actually read? How can I hope to adequately communicate the nuance of this place that I love? I considered just skipping it and coming back later, but I need to get this monkey off my back.

It’s complicated. Several early drafts of this piece started with the sentence, “Much of what I loved about Columbus is gone.” The city is growing, more than just in population. Even while Ohio State University is an inextricable part of the city’s heart, Columbus is finding its identity apart from being the home of the Buckeyes. And the campus itself is changing – I am required by law as an alumni to lament the transition of the campus area to a mall-like stretch of commerce with no soul. (I’m sure it impresses future tuition-paying parents, but I would like to point out that precious Brayden is probably going to smoke weed whether or not there’s a Panera.)

And even in a piece celebrating what’s great about Columbus, I don’t want to ignore the city’s more serious problems. There is an ongoing duel to balance neighborhood revitalization vs heartbreaking gentrification. Housing prices in some areas are becoming unreasonable. There is the ongoing opioid crisis. The police and city management are failing in many cases to hold up to the scrutiny of an increasingly vigilant population and our vice squad…well, you may have read about that in the national news.

Writing a travel blog about a city you know less well is probably easier. (We’ll see, those are coming next). You can focus on the art, the music and the craft beer, blissfully ignorant of any underlying struggles. But, maybe we shouldn’t. Maybe the heartbeat of an area is found in how its citizenry rises to meet challenges.

The people of Columbus may not always agree on how to fix the city’s problems, and some of them would be horrified should my big Irish mouth be interpreted to speak for the whole town.

However, I can safely promise this – we love our town. There is a vibrant, diverse community dedicated to making Columbus a great city. And you should visit them.

About these posts

I’m a librarian and I like rules: in these posts I will only recommend or talk about places I have actually visited.  The goal is to highlight the things we love, not tear down the things we don’t, or to suggest that this is all there is to offer in any given town.  So let’s get to it.

 

Columbus, Ohio

Though the state capital and the most populous city in Ohio – flirting with 900K – Columbus is often dismissed as a cow town or as solely the home to irrational college football fans. And while it does have those, it also has robust music, comedy and art scenes, more craft breweries than you can shake a stick at, and yes, lots of sports.

Gay Street / Downtown

We lived here for three years, on Gay Street between High St and Third Ave, and this little block is a city neighborhood. During the day, many of the local restaurants do a steady lunch trade supporting the nearby Ohio statehouse and lots of corporate workers. At night, more and more restaurants are staying open late to accommodate the growing downtown population. There are a couple of hotels right on Gay St and by staying there, you get the city experience.

Tip Top

On that same block, Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails is a dive bar with excellent American comfort food, a wide draft beer selection and tasty cocktails. If the weather is nice, ask for a table on the porch for happy hour and watch the city go by. If the weather isn’t nice, get cozy inside. The food is perfect for cold nights. Everyone I know loves the pot roast, but I go for the meatloaf. There are plenty of vegetarian options and the corn chowder is can’t miss.

Because of the local hotels, the crowd varies – I personally love the Rock on the Range crew for people watching purposes – but it is anchored by a steady set of regulars. And the staff are pros. Don’t pull out your standard “jokes I use with the server” book. You should never do that, actually, but here, you will not even get a sympathy laugh. They’ve heard your bullshit and are not here for it.

Scioto Mile / Franklinton

Not far from Gay Street, just west of downtown, rests the Scioto River and a recently rebuilt area of public space called the Scioto Mile. (Remember when the jazz/rib fest had to be moved because the old sidewalk was crumbling into the river? This is a major step up from that.) There is a splash pad, a stage that hosts concerts on summer nights and plenty of beautiful holiday lights at the end of the year. The public green space stretches across both sides of the river, and links the local bike paths to the Center of Science and Industry Museum and the rapidly changing neighborhood of Franklinton.

Land-Grant/RayRay’s

Columbus is a mecca of craft breweries and Land-Grant Brewing Company is among the best.  We are less well known, in that we are not known at all, for our barbeque.  So I understand your scoffing and saying, “Oh sure. Ohio barbeque.” Talk to me after you have RayRay’s Hog Pit barbeque.

And while you’re there, enjoy some great craft beer and watch some sports. If you’re the type who likes a large, frequently changing selection, this place will be your jam. The tried-and-true options here for me are the StiffArm and the Greenskeeper.

Short North / Italian Village

This is the area of town between downtown and campus and has changed dramatically since I lived there in the early 2000s (is it early aughts?  Or does that make me sound like a gold prospector?) If you are a visitor, you won’t get wrapped up in what used to be where and you almost can’t go wrong just wandering up High Street and finding a restaurant or watering hole in which to spend your afternoon.  But, for me, the best stuff is off the main drag.

The St James Tavern

Two long blocks east of High Street is the bar with the best beer selection in town. Notice that I didn’t say “biggest”. The owner of the St James Tavern gets the best brews, and the bartenders know what’s what. Don’t ask for 87 samples, though. We don’t do that here. Put on your big girl panties, ask for advice and order a beer. Take a risk.

The jukebox is killer. The bar is long and the place is small. There are no tvs; there are two pool tables.  I once bought a ballerina painting off the wall. Their male bartenders posed in a pinup calendar to benefit women’s rights.  It is one of my happy places.

Seventh Son / Dos Hermanos Taco Truck

A few blocks south of the St James is a great local brewery, Seventh Son Brewing.  Originally built in an old gas station, the brewery has grown exponentially over the last few years. My personal favorite beer is the Humulus Nimbus, but if you’re feeling adventurous, ask them about the cocktail with the grapefruit slushie in a beer.  The brewery is dog and kid-friendly.

Dos Hermanos Taco Truck rolls up to the brewery on Saturday and their tacos alone are worth the trip.  Josh and I are not big crowd people, in general, so as Seventh Son has grown, Saturday nights have not necessarily been our favorite time to go.  But for Dos Hermanos. Go. Have multiple tacos and a really good beer and pet a cute doggie.

Olentangy Trail

The Columbus area has 120 miles of bike trails.  The city, as a whole, is becoming more bike friendly.  But the crown jewel, in my opinion, is the Olentangy Trail. She might not be the prettiest, but she’s functional and she’s fun. (Coincidentally, this is my homecoming queen campaign slogan).

The Olentangy Trail runs 13 miles north and south and when you connect it with the Scioto trail, you can use it to get to many of the great neighborhoods in the city.  In the last few years, I have done almost all of my running, and at least part of my commuting, along this path. Don’t forget that you’re in a city – be aware of your surroundings and be sure to have your phone.  But I have never run the path without seeing other people – sometimes crowds – running or biking or walking the dog. And, more than once, doing the walk of shame. That’s what happens when your bike path connects a college campus and several party neighborhoods. That’s ok; you do you.

Doing Good

The Mid-Ohio Foodbank has a wide-reaching and comprehensive strategy to combat hunger in the greater Columbus area.  Read about it on their website. And, if your schedule allows, they always need volunteers.

For the RVers

For both stops 1 & 7, we stayed north of Columbus proper at the Cross Creek Camping Resort in Delaware, Ohio.  We have had excellent experiences at this resort – it is well maintained, the staff is very nice, and there’s lot of stuff for kids to do.  There are mix of seasonal, full-time and temporary residents at this campsite, but that seems to translate into lots of people that want everyone to have a good experience.  There are a lot of kids on the weekends. As of September 2018, Verizon and T-mobile cell carriers worked great, but AT&T, not as much.

The biggest complaint I see is that they are rule sticklers, but we haven’t had any issues.  This is not a party campground. For our purposes, that’s not a ding, but look elsewhere if you’re looking for a raucous camping experience (yeah, I didn’t know that was a thing either, but then we went to Sandusky. Stay tuned.)

Delaware is a gem in its own right, so I will save that for a future post.

Local experts

This post is already too long and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface.  I haven’t talked about the Ohio State University campus or gameday, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, the Book Loft, North Market, Goodale Park, the Franklin Conservatory, the recently saved Columbus Crew, Ohio Roller Girls, Skully’s Music Diner, El Camino Inn, The Walrus, OH! Chips, Pelotonia, Elevator’s 13th Floor taproom…I could go on for days.

So I’ll leave you with some actual local experts who can fill in where I’ve fallen short:

• Columbus On the Cheap – see the town and don’t break the bank.
• Columbus Underground – local news and events
• 614 Magazine – in addition to the website, this is a local print mag, pick it up at any of the places mentioned above.

There. I’ve ripped off the band-aid.

 

Now, Columbus-ites, what did I miss? What would you add? Let me know in the comments.