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September 12, 2016

Where to Eat in Columbus

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As you guys may have seen on Instagram, I recently had the opportunity to spend a weekend in Columbus. I’d never been to Columbus but had heard from friends that it’s a cool city with a great food scene, so when Life in Cbus reached out to me about a visit I was all about it! I invited my best friend Jenny to join me – she lives in Atlanta and it was an easy and affordable flight for both of us. Perfect! Girl’s weekend it was. 🙂 I was so excited to get her to myself for a weekend – we hadn’t had that much quality time together in ages since we don’t live close by and she has two little kids, so it was quite the treat for her too. 🙂

P8270052

Before we arrived in Columbus – or Cbus, as the locals call it – I did a ton of research on local restaurants and mapped us out a tentative itinerary to make sure we hit the best of the best. Jenny is mostly vegetarian (she eats some fish), so I focused on spots that had a lot of veggie options, which you guys know I’m all about anyway! We were both really impressed with the food scene in Columbus – everywhere we went was awesome. Here are the highlights by category.

Dinners

For our first night of the trip, I made us a reservation at Barcelona, which offers Spanish-inspired food and reportedly had great wine – perfect for a leisurely catch up dinner!

barcelona columbus

I heard Barcelona was great for vegetarians and meat/fish eaters alike and that the ambiance was also fun – especially if you could snag a spot on their gorgeous patio. The patio was unfortunately packed, but we found the indoors to be lively and welcoming, too.

dinner at barcelona in columbus

We shared a whole bunch of small plates and then an entrée. The only thing we got that we didn’t absolutely love was the fried calamari (basic/nothing special) – everything else was REALLY good. The goat cheese stuffed avocado with tomato sauce was especially good – never would have thought to try that combo! And the salmon entrée was phenomenal, too.

barcelona restaurant columbus review

We also both really enjoyed the wine – they offer flights with three 2 ounce pours of your choice of any of their wine, and we told our waiter to just surprise us. Delicious!

barcelona wine restaurant columbus

Our other dinner of the trip was at Northstar Café, which came highly recommended by a ton of people on Instagram as well as Yelp! They had a great outdoor patio that we were able to snag a seat in (you order at the counter and then wait at your table for your food). I had one of their ginger mojitos while we waited – delicious and refreshing!

ginger mojito

Northstar is apparently amazing for brunch as well as dinner – wish we’d had time to go back for brunch! – but I heard that their veggie burger was the thing to get so I wanted to go at dinnertime. Jenny and I decided to share two entrees – first up was the famous veggie burger, made with beets, black beans, and brown rice, as well as other top secret ingredients. Plus sweet potato fries! You guys – this was seriously THE best veggie burger I’ve ever had. Both of us absolutely loved it. The sweet potato fries were amazing, too – super crispy!

veggie burger northstar cafe

For our other entrée, we shared the “Buddha Bowl”’ with tofu, which was veggies, brown rice, and tofu (chicken is also an option) with peanut sauce. The sauce completely made this dish – it was so good we both wanted to drink an entire container of it. YUM!

buddha bowl northstar cafe

Brunch/Lunch

On our first morning, we walked to yoga (more on fitness in my other recap post coming tomorrow!) and then hit up Tasi Café for brunch on our way back to the hotel. This was a super cute, hipster spot – small and cozy. We loved the vibe! It was another place where you order at the counter and then wait at a table for your food.

tasi cafe columbus

I enjoyed the huevos rancheros, which was a fun spin on the usual dish: a spicy tomato veggie sauce and eggs with a quesadilla stuffed with spicy black beans. Yummy! Jenny had the poached eggs with black bean cakes, which was kind of like a spin on eggs benedict. We also had some potato latkes on the side for good measure. 🙂

tasi cafe brunch

On Sunday, Jenny and I went for a run that had us end with lunch at Alchemy Juice Bar + Café in German Village! My blog buddy and fellow dietitian Alexis co-owns this café, and the healthy but creative menu sounded right up our alley. Alexis was super sweet and met us for lunch and treated us to a bunch of food – thank you for spoiling us, Alexis!

alchemy juice bar columbus

In addition to the juices (loved the basil in the green one, and the chia seeds in the strawberry one!) and yummy smoothie bowl pictured above, we also got sandwiches and an avocado toast to share because Alexis said it was not to be missed. 🙂 The avocado toast was as good as Alexis promised! It was topped with house-made hemp walnut pesto and hemp seeds – I MUST recreate this at home because it was seriously amazing.

alchemy juice bar columbus lunch

The sandwiches were also SO good – I had the tuna-kraut, which was house-made albacore tuna salad (made with organic sauerkraut and apple – great combo) topped with avocado and micro-kale on fresh local whole wheat bread. Jenny got the house-made organic BBQ jackfruit which was topped with herbed cashew cream and carrot cabbage slaw on local ciabatta. Have you guys ever had BBQ jackfruit? It tasted JUST like pulled pork – insane!

I wish I could eat at Alchemy every day – their menu was amazing. Don’t miss it if you find yourself in Columbus!

Snacks/Coffee

In addition to Alchemy’s great juice and snack options, I’d also recommend checking out Native Cold Pressed, a cute juice place in Short North.

native juice columbus

Jenny and I walked by after a sweaty yoga class and decided to pop in and share a juice – we opted for “Summer Nectar” which was watermelon, cucumber, mint, and aloe. Super refreshing!

native cold pressed juice columbus

We also bought a couple of their nut butter snack balls to eat during our kayaking adventure later that afternoon (more on that tomorrow) – yum!

native juice snack balls

I’d also recommend checking out the adorable and hipster Fox in the Snow Café – it was our first stop (it was about a mile walk from our hotel in Short North) on our trip!

fox in the snow cafe columbus

The coffee was awesome and the scones were phenomenal – we shared a savory cheese scone and a blueberry lemon scone which was just the right amount of sweetness.

fox in the snow cafe scones

Last but not least: as many of you told me on Instagram no trip to Columbus is complete without a visit to Jeni’s ice cream.

jenis ice cream columbus

This was our last stop on the trip and I’m so glad we didn’t miss out on it! The flavors were so fresh and creative. Jenny and I shared 2 scoops: goat cheese with red cherries and roasted strawberry buttermilk. As good as they sound, and not overly sweet, either!

jenis ice cream columbus

What a fun and delicious trip with a great mix of healthy and more indulgent eats. If you’re a foodie, put Columbus on your “to visit” list. 🙂

I’ll be back tomorrow with my other recap sharing our fitness adventures from the trip – stay tuned!

—

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Life in Cbus. I was compensated for this post and given a stipend to cover most of our flight and hotel expenses. We paid for food and fitness on our own. The opinions and text are all mine. Check out Life in Cbus on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

- anne
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13 comments
  • Kori
    September 12, 2016 · 8:43AM:
    You have me wanting to jump in the car and head to Columbus now! Everything looks incredible! I follow Alchemy on Instagram, and her food does look amazing. Can't wait to read your next recap post!
    Reply
  • Dietitian Jess
    September 12, 2016 · 9:16AM:
    I have been hearing awesome things about the Columbus foodie scene and it sounds like you hit up all the great spots. Hope you are having a great time in Hawaii and thanks for sharing my Spiralized Veggie Polenta Lasagna last week :)
    Reply
  • Charise September 12, 2016 · 10:45AM:
    Everyone is always so surprised at how great the food and drink scene is in CBus - I love my hidden gem of a city! I am so glad you enjoyed it, especially my 'hood - I live down the street from Barcelona and go to the gym Alchemy is inside. :)
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 13, 2016 · 11:07PM:
      The gym where Alchemy was looked really nice!
      Reply
  • Elisabeth September 12, 2016 · 8:36PM:
    I love that you got to spend a weekend in my city! I was born in Ohio and have lived here for 34 years, but just moved to Columbus 2 years ago. It's honestly the coolest city with so many unique things to do & places to eat. Glad that you were able to hit up so many of the best spots (especially Jeni's)!
    Reply
  • Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday
    September 12, 2016 · 8:45PM:
    There's so much good food in Columbus - I think it's pretty underrated (but I'm biased because it's my hometown). The places you hit are some of the best :D So glad you enjoyed your trip!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 13, 2016 · 11:06PM:
      Glad to hear I hit many of the best! :)
      Reply
  • masala girl
    September 12, 2016 · 10:40PM:
    awww i still cant believe i left columbus like 2 days before you arrived! glad you enjoyed your trip:D those are my 2 favvvorite dishes from northstar! but there are so many good restaurants. if you ever come back,, you need to hit up thai basil, brasica, and the table!! oh and angry baker for brunch :)
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 13, 2016 · 11:06PM:
      I really wanted to try Brassica - tried to book it but sadly it was full! Next time - thanks for the recs! :)
      Reply
  • Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life
    September 12, 2016 · 11:30PM:
    This sounds like you had an amazing trip! That veggie burger looks amazing and those sweet potato fries ~swoon~. I can't wait to hear more about your fitness adventures tomorrow!
    Reply
  • Roadrunner September 13, 2016 · 6:00AM:
    Wonderful post; makes "Cbus" sound like a very nice place to got out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
    Reply
  • Jeremy
    March 28, 2017 · 4:40PM:
    I'm planning to visit Columbus this weekend. This really helps. I'll try Northstar as it has great reviews. :p
    Reply
    • Anne
      March 28, 2017 · 5:48PM:
      Enjoy your visit! :)
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

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