If you’re lucky enough to be visiting Columbus next week, you’re in for a treat! It’s Restaurant Week ! More than 50 dining spots around the city are offering fixed price menus ranging from $15-35 per person, which lets you sample some of the best places to eat at a great value. If you’re a local, this also is a great chance to branch out and try a restaurant or two you’ve never been to.

Restaurant Week is a food opportunity for visitors and locals alike to try one of the newest additions to Columbus’ dining scene - and an instant front-runner for a "best patio" award: Milestone 229 on the Scioto Mile. The restaurant specializes in updated classic American dishes, and for the $30 Restaurant Week menu, you can sample soup or salad, salmon or pork, and a house-made ice cream sandwich for dessert!

If you’re a bit more eclectic in your taste, Aab India is an excellent choice. Your $15 dinner starts off with nan, a delicious tandoori-oven-baked flat bread and a pakora or samosa, and then continues to a nice selection of spiced entrees - either vegetarian, chicken or lamb. The patio at Aab is hard to beat, with a nice view of Grandview’s pedestrian-friendly main drag.

You can find the menus for many, many more participating restaurants at restaurantweekcolumbus.com . It’s not a bad idea to call ahead for a reservation, as Restaurant Week can be busy. Which restaurant are you most excited to try?

It’s February and we’re getting a bit antsy to end our winter hibernation and start getting out again. I’m here with just the remedy to warm you up - the North Market Fiery Foods Festival , Feb. 19-20.

This family-friendly weekend features a little of everything spicy. On the first day of the festival, things kick off with an amateur guacamole contest and face painting. Things really heat up from there with the Chef Chili Challenge, followed by the amateur chili contest and fiery cornbread and jalapeno eating contests.

Day two will continue the spiciness with a Fiery Foods Brunch, Chili Pepper Art Contest judging, hot sauce competition, salsa competition, hot sundaes and hot wing eating contests.

Also available throughout the weekend will be the usual fare from your favorite North Market merchants . And you can come see what I’ll personally be serving up on Saturday at the guacamole and Chef Chili Challenge contests.

Check out the full schedule and other details here .

The Columbus Blue Jackets draw fans from all over the state of Ohio, the region and Canada. This post is for all of you traveling to Columbus for an upcoming game, as I’ll share some ideas of where to stay, eat and play when in town. Whether it’s your first or an annual trip, Columbus has much to offer and there are many reasons to stay the night and make it a getaway.

Arena District

Nationwide Arena, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets, is located within the Arena District , a 95-acre planned development. The district features restaurants, nightclubs, the Arena Grand Theatre, Huntington Park (home of the Columbus Clippers) and the LC, an indoor/outdoor music hall.

Also, the Columbus Visitors Center is located just one block south of the arena. You can stop in to find out what else is going on while they’re in town, get recommendations on restaurants and even purchase tickets to the game.

See the Arena District for yourself, before you get here: (more…)

M will offer 3 courses for just $35

It’s wintertime and, if you’re anything like me, your wallet is a little thin post-holidays and you’re trying to eat better and start an exercise routine.

But that doesn’t mean depriving ourselves entirely. We just need to make better choices – like where to eat at a bargain during the upcoming Restaurant Week, Jan. 17-22.

Forty-eight restaurants are participating this time during Restaurant Week Columbus , presented by 614 Magazine. All are offering three-course meals at a fixed price, ranging from $15-$35 per person. (Tax, beverages and gratuity not included.)

Here’s a sampling of restaurants at each price point:

$15 – The Olde Mohawk and Cabo Cocina

$20 – Columbus Brewing Company and Figlio

$25 – Bon Vie and Michael O’Toole’s

$30 – Cameron’s American Bistro and Lindey’s

$35 – The Refectory and Rigsby’s (more…)

Today’s post is written by Bethia Woolf , owner of Columbus Food Adventures . A UK native, Bethia has long been a prolific chronicler of the Columbus food scene. She began Columbus Food Adventures with the belief that the quality and diversity of Columbus’s food scene is a story worth sharing.

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Last minute holiday gift ideas for food lovers
by Bethia Woolf, Columbus Food Adventures

If, like me, you are still looking for last minute gift ideas, here are some ideas for the food lovers in your life. These suggestions are Columbus based but might give inspiration to those of you living elsewhere.

Gift certificates

Gift certificates are available for many Columbus restaurants. If you don’t want to pick a restaurant for your giftee- then opt for a Dine Originals gift certificate and your recipient can choose from over 50 restaurants. You can use these at wonderful restaurants such as Tasi Cafe , Rigsby’s and Pistacia Vera .

North Market gift certificates offer similar flexibility as they can be used at any of the 30+ vendors. Jeni’s ice creams gift cards are a fun stocking stuffer, and best of all, of course is a Columbus Food Adventures gift certificate . You can choose a gift certificate for any of our scheduled tours and they are valid for a year. (more…)

Refectory owner Kamal Boulos

When you talk about culinary traditions and fine dining in Columbus, there is one place that comes to my mind as the epitome of both. The Refectory is the most award-winning restaurant in Columbus and has received Zagat, DiRoNa and Wine Spectator Awards. As if that weren’t enough, The Refectory has also received the prestigious Four Diamond Award from AAA for 15 years in a row.

The menu developed by Chef Richard Blondin, a native of Lyon, France, offers contemporary American cuisine and classic French cuisine. Its also complemented by arguably the largest wine cellar in Columbus, which includes over 700 selections. My wife and I went for dinner with high expectations and we were not disappointed.

The dining room menu features a good mix of seafood and shellfish, meat and poultry and even several fantastic vegetarian options. For those of you fin lovers, the salmon duet hors d’oeuvre is fantastic mix of cold and hot smoked salmon and it’s plated beautifully. My favorite, though, has to be the alpaca terrine with pistachio, olives and cranberry pumpkin vinaigrette. So good, I almost ordered two of them. (more…)

One of my favorite times of the year is almost here…Dine Originals Week! November 8-14, over fifty locally owned and operated restaurants will offer a delicious menu for $10, $20 or $30.

I look forward to it every year because it is the perfect opportunity to go out and try something new at a reasonable price. I admit that I grew up eating at the same chain restaurants and always ordering the same food. But as I’ve gotten older, things like Dine Originals Week allow me to be more open to trying new restaurants and their unique dishes. I haven’t been disappointed yet. (more…)

Spinelli’s Deli

When I found out that a second Spinelli’s Deli location was opening downtown (50 N. High St.), their delicious food was reason enough for me to go check out the new location. The menu is the same as the menu at their Victorian Village location : breakfast sandwiches, pastries, bagels, salads, soups, hot and cold sandwiches, pizzas and coffee (all served fresh, and catering is available). Nestled in the hustle and bustle of downtown Columbus, the new location also features free Wi-Fi, bar-style seating, a patio, a large retractable window facing High Street and an online ordering/pickup system with a separate, dedicated register.

Spinelli’s is also offering a reason other than food to visit: Art. The walls of the downtown Spinelli’s restaurant will serve as a gallery space, featuring four local art exhibits a year. The first artist to be featured is Columbus photographer and native, Kojo Kamau . His work is described as "artistic impressions with historical significance." The exhibit will highlight some of Kojo’s signature pieces and will be on display through December 31. Anyone who purchases a photograph will receive a $10 Spinelli’s gift certificate.

Both Kojo’s work and Spinelli’s Deli focus on a strong sense of community, and you can check them both out tomorrow night at a grand opening celebration. Stop in on Wednesday, October 27 from 5-8 p.m for great food, great art, and a dose of Columbus community spirit.

Homestyle cooking at the Dutch Kitchen

October is finally here – bring on the pumpkins, apple cider and the beautiful fall leaves! Kelly recently shared a whole slew of ideas for fun, family-friendly activities , but I have one more to add: Consider a trip to Plain City for the Dutch Kitchen’s Fall Family Fun Festival, which is happening all month long. It’s not that far of a drive, yet you feel like you are out in the country.

Admission to the Family Fun Festival is free and outdoor activities include: (more…)

This post is part 2 of a 6 part series featuring Experience Columbus Days , which takes place Oct. 8-11. During that time, Columbus attractions offer 50% off (or in some cases, BOGO or free admission). Plus, the restaurants of Dine Originals Columbus offer 25% off your food bill for two people.

In this post, Sayaka has rounded up a few Dine Originals Columbus restaurant suggestions . Stay tuned for future posts in the series - we’ll be featuring  Experience Columbus Days activities that are great for dates,  perfect for art fans, fun for kids and recommended for history buffs. You’ll find the first post, featuring suggestions for groups, here .

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It’s no secret to those who know me that I love to eat. And every year, I use Experience Columbus Days as my chance to try new restaurants at a discount. Now that there are ten more Dine Originals Columbus restaurants than last year, I am having a hard time deciding where to go!

I asked some of my Experience Columbus peeps where they plan on going next weekend; here are their suggestions: (more…)