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Though dubbed the "Fast Food Capital of the World" by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal (Wendy's and Max & Erma's are both headquartered here), Columbus features a lively restaurant scene. Eateries tucked into Downtown, the Short North, German Village, and surrounding suburbs offer everything from down-home barbecue to haute cuisine.
Go for the food, not the surroundings. The tables are crammed together, there's no table service, and smokers sit in the parking lot. You'll be rewarded, however, with big portions of North Carolina–style barbecue or ribs dressed with corn, baked beans, and other traditional fixings. The approach has worked, as City Barbecue has several Columbus locations and has expanded into the Cincinnati, Dayton, and Toledo areas.
The more than 80 menu items are printed on chalkboards at this New York–style deli in German Village. It's known for its Reuben sandwiches, and open-air dining is available.
One of German Village's first pubs, this eatery in a 1933 building is famous for its horseshoe-shape bar. Pictures of staff and customers cover the walls. With the food a cut above "pub grub," it's one of few places that stays open until midnight on weekdays and 1 am on the weekends. Specials are ever-changing and there are all-you-can-eat quesadillas nights. Popular dishes include the roast beef sandwich with chicken salad on top and beef stew served in a hollowed-out round of bread.
The Worthington Inn, with its antiques-filled dining rooms, is about 15 mi north of Downtown. New Zealand rack of lamb and grilled salmon are specialties. Don't miss the bountiful Sunday brunch of shellfish, waffles, eggs, desserts, and cheese. Open-air dining is available on the front porch with cast-iron furniture or in the brick-paved courtyard. There's live jazz on Fridays.
