Posted: 1/22/2015 1:22:12 PM EDT
| I know this has been asked before, but here goes. Me and the Old lady are going to Columbus for a week end. She has never been. Where are the areas to stay away from? Good eats ? Cool things to see and do? Motorcycle shops. And of course good local gun stores? |
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Places to eat:
Thermans - huge and great burgers Schmidt's Sausages - Amazing German food too. Hoggies - good BBQ up on Polaris. Lot's of other places too, but those two stand out. Gun shops: Vance's of course is the old stand by. There are some others as well. There are some other newer ones, that have popped up since I moved. Motorcycle shops - of course you have the HD store up north of Polaris. Or you can go to Iron Pony. If your wife /SO likes to shop, go to Easton or Polaris. |
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FYI all the Hoggies are closed, except the Bethel Road location they share with Johnny Buccellis.
I like Arch City Tavern and Bodega, both in the Short North, for good happy hour deals, if you make it to town by afternoon om Friday. Arch City has half price fancy pizzas, and half price beer and wine. Bodega has half price beers. Both have a good selection. |
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Quoted: Places to eat: Thermans - huge and great burgers Schmidt's Sausages - Amazing German food too. Hoggies - good BBQ up on Polaris. Lot's of other places too, but those two stand out. Gun shops: Vance's of course is the old stand by. There are some others as well. There are some other newer ones, that have popped up since I moved. Motorcycle shops - of course you have the HD store up north of Polaris. Or you can go to Iron Pony. If your wife /SO likes to shop, go to Easton or Polaris. Columbus resident here, disagree with some of this, and have some to add. Thurman's is awesome if you don't mind waiting 30-90 minutes for a table, just so you can have a gigantic burger. Hoggy's is gone, but Rt 62 BBQ is in the running for best BBQ in the state if you don't mind driving to Johnstown. Never been to Schmidt's Sausages, but if you like Asian food go to Molly Woo's in the Polaris Mall. I think its a bit underpriced for how good it is. If going on Saturday after 5:30 use Opentable to make a reservation. If you want an amazing steak and excellent microbrewery beer and don't mind spending some money, go to The Elevator on High Street between Long Street and Spring Street. Get the Rock Filet. Parking is terrible though. Tons of excellent pizza shops, Columbus has some of the best pizza you'll find. Hounddog's Pizza north of OSU is great for the younger crowd, just make sure you get the Smokin Joe's crust. Can't go wrong with Kingy's pizza in Pickerington. Plenty of others I can't think of right now. Quaker Steak & Lube is good for wings and ribs. If you like unfiltered comedy shows check out http://www.shadowboxlive.org/ If you want to see a movie go to the AMC theater in Dublin Village. I haven't been to the Marcus theater since it got remodeled so I can't make a fair comparison, but I think it's the nicest theater in the city and usually isn't too busy. Leather recliners are worth a couple extra $$$. Don't go to the original Vance's store in the middle of Columbus. Either go to Buckeye Outdoors or their new store in Obetz. Never been to The Bullet Ranch but it looks nice. Blackwing has nice facilities but is a bit pricey. Cabela's by Polaris is a good time. Field & Stream is silly expensive, but its owned by Dick's Sporting Goods so that's to be expected. Don't go to Easton. It sucks. Polaris is nice and has everything. Sawmill Road area has tons of stuff but traffic makes it not really worth it. I know there's a Harley shop to the north of Polaris, don't know about any other shops since that's not my thing. Not sure if it runs through the winter but there's a weekly car meetup called Columbus Cars & Coffee every Saturday morning at the Lennox. Lots of amazing cars show up, but you'll have to do some research to see if its even going on right now. Honestly, try to stay outside of 270 with a few exceptions. Downtown Columbus is nice, Arena District, Brewery District, German Village, Short North, Bexley and OSU campus are all fine. You venture a block or two away from any of those and it goes downhill FAST so stay aware of surroundings. Most of the really great places around Columbus are small holes in the wall. Seems like I tend to forget half the stuff that I like. If you don't already have a hotel reservation, I'd suggest finding a place around Polaris. Downtown hotels are really expensive, but obviously nice and well kept. I wouldn't suggest staying anywhere south of the downtown area. Feel free to PM me with questions |
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I love all sorts of food in Columbus, but some of my favorites are:
Mr Wok in Gahanna has tasty food, good lunch specials (entree, rice, and eggroll or soup for about $5) -- the pork fried rice is terrific, and I love the general tso, kung pao chicken, and garlic chicken. The Supreme Buffet in Hilliard (just off 70) is also tasty, especially for the price -- a large selection, and it includes the hibachi grill and fresh-made sushi (you can see them making it right there). J Alexanders is not just a local place, but it is good: there is one on the north side (23 & 270) and there is a new one opening at Easton (don't know if it's open yet)...good food and nice service. I like the blue cheese coleslaw and the prime rib, among other things As was posted, lots of good pizza places around town for all different kinds of tastes -- I used to eat at Eagles Pizza in New Albany a lot (they have more than just pizza too). I don't know which weekend you are visiting, but this weekend is the NHL All-Star game downtown, as well as free & open to the public event Saturday Morning at Ohio Stadium to celebrate the football National Championship. |
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LOL Rt. 62 BBQ best in the state. Not even close.
The Best BBQ in the state is just north of Downtown/Campus on High St. called Ray Ray's Hog Pit. It's more of a truck than a restaurant and it's only open Friday through Sunday so a weekend is the perfect time to go. Katzingers Deli has GREAT sandwiches and house made all you can eat pickles. It'd be a great lunch stop (but be warned it's not fast-food priced). Schmidt's is a German restaurant and a Columbus classic. The sausage is their own and the cream puffs are as big as two fists. The Thruman Cafe of Thruman's as it's often called makes HUGE burgers that also follow-up with the taste. Los Guachos is awesome for some Mexian street-style food. It may be more of a to-go type place but the Al Pastor is delicious. Got to the Godown Rd. location. IF you're looking for fancy Cameron Mitchell Restaurants are pretty much all a hit. This may sound weak, but Northstar Cafe has awesome veggie burgers. It a little hipster joint but everything there is good. Dirth Frank's Hot Dog Palace has some really creative hot dogs that are just good. It's next-door to 16 Bit Bar and Arcade so it's a great place to get drinks after and play some games. There are a lot of classic arcade games, and they're all FREE. Just a reminder that The Ohio Deli burned down and hasn't been rebuilt yet. A.D. Farrow Harley Davidson is the place north of the city that people keep talking about. It is the oldest continually operation HD dealer in the world. Iron Pony is a GIGANTIC parts and accessory store. There's also a small Yamaha dealer attached, I believe. Vance Outdoors is the place to go. There are a few store locations. Don't be afraid to go to the one on Cleveland Ave, it's a great little store. Cabela's at Polaris of course is a place to check out. Don't expect it to be one of the HUGE stores like in Dundee Michigan or in Wheeling, WV It's grocery store sized. If I think of anything else I'll make sure to add it. Have fun! Columbus is a great place. |
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You looking for "Pub Food" or good dining?
For good food: Barcelona. They take reservations. (Hint, places that don't take 'em serve pub food, even in German Village.) Gun stores are gun stores. Nothing special about them in Columbus. -- Chuck |
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Best new restaurant in Columbus is Hofbrauhaus. I really like the food, German music and their beer.
Go to Iron Pony to see their new showroom for Indian Motorcycles. |
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Forgot to add one of my favorite restaurants, Brazenhead.
It's not incredible at anything (except the dipping sauce for the chips) but has good beer, and good food. I recommend the fish and chips and the burgers. There's one on Fifth and one in Dublin. |
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Wherever you take your wife to shop, Easton, Polaris, etc, just go to the Victoria's Secret - since it's based here, thes are the flagship stores. Take a seat in one of the big pink chairs, sit and watch the endless parade of 25 year old hotties in yoga pants walk by, and pretend it's your own personal soft-core porn show. Best part? Wife buys something sexy, you get to try out at the hotel. You're welcome.
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Quoted:
Thank you everyone for your help. We were going to go this week end ,but have postpone. Probably next week end. Once again thanks to all. Just want to make sure you're aware the American Motorcycle Association museum is in the Columbus area. |
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Quoted: Wherever you take your wife to shop, Easton, Polaris, etc, just go to the Victoria's Secret - since it's based here, thes are the flagship stores. Take a seat in one of the big pink chairs, sit and watch the endless parade of 25 year old hotties in yoga pants walk by, and pretend it's your own personal soft-core porn show. Best part? Wife buys something sexy, you get to try out at the hotel. You're welcome. what about the fat chicks coming from the Northland area via COTA bus buying undies 3 sizes too small?
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Quoted: You're welcome. Quoted: Quoted: Wherever you take your wife to shop, Easton, Polaris, etc, just go to the Victoria's Secret - since it's based here, thes are the flagship stores. Take a seat in one of the big pink chairs, sit and watch the endless parade of 25 year old hotties in yoga pants walk by, and pretend it's your own personal soft-core porn show. Best part? Wife buys something sexy, you get to try out at the hotel. You're welcome. what about the fat chicks coming from the Northland area via COTA bus buying undies 3 sizes too small? Wear dark shades...only the right ones will still be in the visible spectrum. |
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Quoted:
You're welcome. what about the fat chicks coming from the Northland area via COTA bus buying undies 3 sizes too small?
Quoted:
Quoted:
Wherever you take your wife to shop, Easton, Polaris, etc, just go to the Victoria's Secret - since it's based here, thes are the flagship stores. Take a seat in one of the big pink chairs, sit and watch the endless parade of 25 year old hotties in yoga pants walk by, and pretend it's your own personal soft-core porn show. Best part? Wife buys something sexy, you get to try out at the hotel. what about the fat chicks coming from the Northland area via COTA bus buying undies 3 sizes too small?
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Mott's Military Museum in Groveport is a lot of fun, I'd recommend checking it out.
Gun stores are gun stores, but there's a monthly gun show at Westland Mall (Broad just west of 270) if you can catch it. Schmidt's is great, and they make handmade candies and sweets across the street. For fine dining, there's the Top on East Main. My wife and I love going to the Book Loft (several dozen rooms just packed full of books) in German Village, then down the block to Cup o' Joe to read our new books. |
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Don't go to Easton, ever since they put it on the COTA line it has gone downhill very fast. It's nice in the day but after dark the atmosphere kinda changes.
Lavash Cafe in Clintonville is an amazing Mediterranean place. I gave it a try like a year ago and am hooked. Family owned place and the staff is always friendly. Polaris area is the safest in town. The area district downtown can be pretty fun. Vance's gun store on Cleveland Avenue is a good shop. Some people don't like it because the area it is in but it's not really that bad compared to other spots in town. Their Obetz store feels more like a tourist place and the Cleveland Avenue a gun store. If you narrow down where you are staying I can help out tons. |
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Polaris is on the bus line now, too. They're soon to get hit with the hammer. Easton is really nice during the week, but probably best to avoid it on a Saturday night. Too many kids. No other shopping center or mall is worth your time.
Vance's is an interesting place to visit, but if you're actually going to buy a gun or ammo set aside 2 hours. So many people go there it takes forever for your number to come up. If you just want to get in and out, get there at 7:30 and you'll be out by 8. Avoid campus this time of year, but the Arena district is pretty nice. Good places to eat abound. North Market is a fun place to check out. For some of the best food, visit Schmidt's. It's worth the wait. Do not skip the cream puff desert. |
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Quoted:
Polaris is on the bus line now, too. They're soon to get hit with the hammer. Easton is really nice during the week, but probably best to avoid it on a Saturday night. Too many kids. No other shopping center or mall is worth your time. Vance's is an interesting place to visit, but if you're actually going to buy a gun or ammo set aside 2 hours. So many people go there it takes forever for your number to come up. If you just want to get in and out, get there at 7:30 and you'll be out by 8. Avoid campus this time of year, but the Arena district is pretty nice. Good places to eat abound. North Market is a fun place to check out. For some of the best food, visit Schmidt's. It's worth the wait. Do not skip the cream puff desert. I've had the opposite experience now that Obetz store has opened. I have been to Vance's Cleveland Avenue 3 times since then and haven't had more than a 5 minute wait, and once I walked right up to the counter with no number needed. |