Thus far in my 22 years, I have seen and experienced a fair share of what life has to offer. In the last five years alone, I have lived in Pittsburgh, North Carolina, New York and Columbus, visiting countless cities and towns in between — and I am not afraid to admit I have fallen in love with each and every one. And in that time I have learned one thing: If the people represent a city’s heart, the food represents its soul. A city’s food culture defines it, and Columbus is no different.
Although I spent a year gallivanting through the Manhattan and Brooklyn food scene, my time eating and drinking in Columbus should hardly go unrecognized. With a local vibe that triumphs anywhere I’ve been in the world, Columbus’s food scene quite literally brings a lot to the table, if you know where to look.
Here are three of my must-visit venues to eat and drink in Columbus this year.
Dos Hermanos Food Truck
1101 N. 4th St.
Sa (5 p.m. to 2 a.m.)
Dos Hermanos Taco Truck is one of the handful of local food trucks Seventh Son (1101 N. 4th St.) has on-site throughout the week. Their guacamole alone is mind-blowing, but add it to their amazing and authentic dishes and you get my favorite Columbus street tacos.
Hot Chicken Takeover
North Market (2nd floor), 59 Spruce St.
Th- Su (11 a.m.-3 p.m.)
Let me be clear. Hot Chicken Takeover is not your run-of-the-mill, fast-food fried chicken. This chicken brines for 15 hours, is double deep fried, and dry rubbed with a spicy cayenne paste — a procedure that breathes life to this amazing Nashville-inspired cuisine. The four-item menu emphasizes quality over quantity.
Bareburger
63 N. High St.
M-Th (11 a.m.-10 p.m.), F/Sa (11 a.m.-11 p.m.), Su (11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.)
I’m not a huge red meat fan, but every now and then I crave a juicy burger, and Bareburger never disappoints. I first ate there in Brooklyn and I moved back to Columbus just in time for a location to open on High Street. The menu has countless create-your-own burgers where you choose your meat, your toppings and your bun.
