First time visitor, what to see? (Columbus, Worthington: rental car, rental, homes)

[sdurbanite]

I'll be in your city this weekend and was wondering about the must-sees of Columbus.

I've been told to check out German Village, Short North and Worthington. Mostly interested in checking out the cool neighborhoods and getting some good recommendations for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I'm coming from San Diego and will have a rental car.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[Beavercreek33]

Don't forget the Arena District:

Arena District | Columbus, Ohio | Sports, Dining, & Entertainment

[streetcreed]

Columbus is a neighborhood city so you are on the right track with your plan.

When roaming the neighborhoods be sure to leave main retail strips. Especially in the Short North

The Short North is just north of downtown. When visiting it is a great idea to park your car and walk. The area is the most walkable neighborhood/retail/entertainment area of Columbus. It is a lot of fun to explore. The Arena District, North Market, Victorian Village, and Short North are all within walking distance.

High St. is just the retail strip but the actual awesomeness of the area is the renovated historic homes, buildings, and parks of the neighborhoods off of the main retail strip.

Victorian Village is west of High St and goes for blocks with renovated victorian structures. Italian Village is west of High St, the Short North retail strip.

Second, German Village, south of downtown. The area is acres of walkable streets with retail mixed in.

The OSU/University District is just north of the Short North and downtown. The high St. corridor can be interesting and there's a lot of ethnic restaurants, record stores, 4/20 shops, etc.. The university it self has interesting architecture and is west of High St. The Wexner Center for the Contempoary Arts. is located on High ST. in the University District.

Columbus Alive : columbusalive.com
lists events occurring at museums, art galleries, movie theaters, concerts etc. I would check there to see if there's anything specific occuring you're interested in.

[sdurbanite]

Thank you, streetcreed! The info you provided (street names) is exactly what I was looking for!

Any casual restaurant recommendations? I'm doing a mini-Midwest road trip by myself that will take me to Indy, Cincy, Louisville and Pittsburgh, as well and will be posting a similar thread in each of those cities.

I hope the weather is nice while I'm there. This California native is wimpy when it comes to cold temps and precipitation

[Tenzo]

Schmidt's Haus in German village is worth a visit.
Everyone does it once.

The weather should be right along what you are used to.

If I were you I would dump the car somewhere around OSU in the morning. Say at the big parking lot at the football stadium called "the horse shoe". Enjoy the campus, meander east to High. Pick up a bus and take it about a mile south to 5th street (Nothing much between campus and 5th). Walk south down high with a detour to Gooddale park). Cross over the highway at high and head one to 6 streets east, continue south through german village. (If you need a refresher, stop at Katsinger's at high and third). Walk around German Village and stop at Schmidts. From Schimdts, catch the shuttle bus to the Arena distrcit. Grab an Jenni's ice cream at the North Market and walk back to campus through Victorian village staying a little east of Neil.

That would be my idea of a nice weekend day in Columbus.

Oh, and after that, you have seen it all.

[sdurbanite]

Thanks, Tenzo! Sounds like I can't make it to Columbus without hitting Schmidt's Haus, right?

The menu at Katsinger's looks great. Big and Bigger? Kinda scares me, I guess my low cal diet will end once I walk in the door, unless I order off of the kid's menu.

Oh well....when in Rome!

[Tenzo]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

Thanks, Tenzo! Sounds like I can't make it to Columbus without hitting Schmidt's Haus, right?

Everyone goes once
But only an idiot would go twice

The food will be better at Katzingers. But you wont know that until you see it yourself. It's kind of like the leaning tower of Pisa

[streetcreed]

For a casual restaurant North Star in the Short North is good if your looking for great vegan food that you wouldnt even know is vegan food.

Any specific kind of place? ethnic fare, vegan, pub style?

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by streetcreed

For a casual restaurant North Star in the Short North is good if your looking for great vegan food that you wouldnt even know is vegan food.

Any specific kind of place? ethnic fare, vegan, pub style?

More of a carnivore than a vegan here

As boring as it sounds, I'm interested in restaurants serving Hungarian, Polish, German, etc, which are hard to find in my city.

Asian, Indian and Latin American restaurants are a dime a dozen here, so I guess I'm looking for Eastern European cuisine, which I assume are plentiful there, but I could be wrong. I'd be happy with Midwest Comfort food, as well.

[Tenzo]

Originally Posted by streetcreed

North Star in the Short North is good if your looking for great vegan food that you wouldnt even know is vegan food.

You can also go to La Fogata which is Mexican that you wouldn't even know is Mexican.
Or Italian G Micheals, that you wouldn't even know is Italian food.
Or Taste of Thai, that you would not even know is Thai food.