snowrooster

We're going to take the kids to Columbus for a night Memorial Day weekend to visit COSI and the zoo. I'v made reservations at Residence Inn Columbus Southeast. City BBQ has a location fairly close to our hotel and we'd love to try it. Is anyone familiar w/City BBQ? Good food? Good family atmosphere to bring kids or better for carry-out?

Thanks!!

bc

City BBQ is very popular. Although it is not my personal favorite, I am definitely in the minority among my friends. I have never eaten at the one close to your hotel (they have four or five locations), but City BBQ is definitely a family-oriented place.

snowrooster

Is there another place for BBQ you would recommend in the Columbus area? I like pulled pork, and City BBQ claims to have NC Style pulled pork, I hear. In Cincinnati, we don't have much for BBQ (there is one good spot for brisket). I mentioned I like Sonny's once (in Corbin, KY on 75) and the BBQ afficionados laughed in my face - said it isn't "real BBQ." So let me know if you have other recommendations. I want to try the real stuff (we do eat BBQ at a place in Hilton Head each summer called Smokehouse, and it is quite good IMHO).

cchottel

City B.B.Q. isn't my favorite either. Better for takeout. It is just dreary! I prefer Hoggy's or even SmokeyBones. Don't know if there are any in the Southeast though.

If you like Mexican food, I recommend El Vaqueros. There are several locations, inexpensive, and lively atmosphere.

buckeyemom

Hoggy's is my favorite, they do have a location in Grove City now, 1998 Stringtown Rd. Website is: www.hoggysrestaurants.com. Have a great time in Columbus!

buckeyemom

They changed the website url, it's http://www.hoggys.com now.

snowrooster

Thanks for the info - you guys are awesome! I'll check out Hoggy's location and see if it fits into our itinerary.

Regarding El Vaqueros - how authentic is it? We do LOVE mexican food but there is only one place in Cincinnati we consider good and never eat at faux mexican like Don Pablos - yuck! Does El Vaqueros go beyond enchiladas or is it your basic fare?

hilda

City BBQ has excellent food, however it is not a sitdown restaurant. You order the food and they serve it on trays that you carry. You sit on picnic tables to eat family style. Self serve soft drinks. The food is better than Hoggys which I think has gone downhill. City BBQ is Great for kids, I would not carry it out as it is so messy to eat BBQ. I'm not sure where the SE Residence inn is. The zoo is NW. .

aliska

Another vote for Hoggy's. City BBQ is very expensive! My daughter and I SPLIT a BBQ chicken dinner and with drinks it was more than $20. Make sure you visit Graeter's ice cream when you are in town, BEST ice cream in the world, very rich and premium tasting.

plotnik

El Vaquero is authentic mexican food. A couple of my favorites besides El Vaquero is Mi Mexico and El Acapulco. We also take our children to Old Bag of Nails - great pub food -the Gahanna locaton is the best for families with a river walk (expect a wait after 5:30) and a restaurant atmosphere instead of a pub feel like the Dublin and Worthington locations.

snowrooster

Is Hoggy's a sitdown restaurant? We'd like to go somewhere we can seat & eat rather than get carryout. I checked their website and it looks like there is a location near the zoo.

aliska - I'm quite familiar w/Graeters - it is actually from Cincinnati which is where I live (I didn't realize they'd branched out to Columbus!). It is AWESOME ice cream!!

hilda

Hoggys is a sit down, City BBQ is a serving line and picnic tables adjacent to the line. I think City BBQ is less expensive.

snowrooster

I'm so glad I posted here - it sounds like Hoggy's is definitely more what we are looking for. We're not really so concerned with price as we are with good food and a pleasant atmosphere to sit and relax after a day at the zoo! We're going to Schmidts the other day after COSI - perhaps I should consider jogging back to Cincinnati!!

snowrooster

Okay, we did our one night mini-vacation so I thought I'd share my thoughts.

The Columbus Zoo was very nice and well landscaped but it was SUPER crowded (which wasn't unexpected on Memorial Day weekend). I enjoyed the manatees and the moose. Skip the train ride - long line, pathetic ride. It was a nice zoo, but I prefer the Cincinnati Zoo - a lot more animal variety and more of them in each exhibit.

Dinner at Hoggy's was mediocre (we are kind of bbq snobs even though we don't get the good stuff often). Loved the atmosphere and the rib appetizer was good, but entrees were disapointing (when your pulled pork comes with the sauce on it a ramikin the same size as the sides, something isn't right). Honestly, I've had better pulled pork bbq at Cracker Barrell (if the pulled pork was slow cooked as long as they claimed, why did it have big chunks of fat in it?).

We went to COSI the next day and were SUPER impressed. It has been years since I've been and it has been totally redone. We've been to quite a few children's type museums, and COSI was the best. Everything was SO well done, well marked, and all well maintained. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Lunch at Schmidts. Been there before and it is always relialbe. DH loves sausage so he was in heaven at the buffet (love the Bahama Mama, sausage stew, and german potato salad). We split cream puffs for desert and the kids were wired on sugar the whole drive home.

We really enjoyed or time in Columbus. The suburbs we ventured through (Dublin and Gahanna) were really just lovely. So beautifully landscaped and even the stip malls were pretty!! A nice little trip if you live in the area.

wliwl

Thanks for the report!

LT

snowrooster:

Glad you enjoyed Columbus! I grew up there and think it's a great place!

Not surprised you were disappointed about Hoggy's, though . . . I definitely prefer City BBQ! If you go back, give 'em a try! They do have a pretty authentic NC BBQ sandwich . . . they even have Texas Pete's sauce available!

I LOVE Graeter's, too! I live in Baltimore and was back in OH a couple of weeks ago . . . Took 2 pints back w/me on the plane! YUM!!! There's no comparison -- the ice cream here on the east coast is garbage! The next time you're in Columbus, try Handel's Ice Cream at I-70 and Rome-Hilliard Rd. This is a small chain from Youngstown that opened up a branch in Columbus. Supposedly, Bill Cosby likes it so much that he has pints shipped to him!