If you find yourself in Downtown Columbus around lunchtime and you’ve got a few extra minutes on your hands, you have a great opportunity to stray from the beaten path. Pick from the area’s best bites and enjoy that food in a beautiful park for a truly relaxing interlude to your day.

First up, on Gay Street, you’ll find Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails . Order the sweet potato fries. They’re so addictive, and come with spicy aioli for dipping. Sweet potatoes are healthy, right? While you wait for your order to come up, why not indulge in a drink? The Bottoms Up (whiskey and RC Cola garnished with a cherry) is only $3 all day, every day.

Right around the corner is El Arepazo , a pan-Latin restaurant on Pearl Alley. Pick up an arepa, which is a corn cake sandwich filled with meat and/or veggies, popular in the owner Carlos’ native Venezuela. The real show stopper here is the creamy, green sauce that comes on the side. You’ll want to order extra. El Arepazo is very popular, so arrive a bit before or after noon for a shorter wait.

For Downtown dessert, it’s hard to do better than Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweeties . They’re famous for their brownies and blondies, packed with imaginative flavors. My favorite is the fiery brownie – with lots of ground hot pepper to add a memorable kick.

You’ll need somewhere to eat, because great food deserves a great atmosphere, and there plenty of parks within a few minutes’ walk. My nearby favorites are the new Columbus Commons and the Topiary Park . Columbus Commons has lots of shaded tables, a carousel and a free library of books to peruse while you eat. The Topiary Garden is a hidden gem. Mature trees provide shade, and the finely manicured topiaries recreate Seurat’s famous A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte.

What’s your perfect combo for a downtown lunch?

Photo: Barrio

This post is part four of a seven part series featuring Columbus happy hours . Check back each week as Experience Columbus staff spotlight their favorite areas of Columbus to meet friends, share a drink and have some fun.

In this post, Kelly explores the happy hour specials downtown. You can also check out options in the Short North Arts District , Grandview , or Park Street . Stay tuned for future posts in the series, where we’ll feature the University District at OSU, Easton Town Center and Worthington.

Downtown Columbus restaurants are known for many different things - some are trendy and upscale, while others are more laid back and casual. Whatever atmosphere you choose, you’re also sure to find great happy hour deals. Whether it’s half-price drinks, specially priced bar menus or daily food specials, you can’t go wrong.

One of my favorite happy hours is at Barrio Tapas Lounge, especially for their 2-for-1 Tapas Tuesdays. Every Tuesday tapas are buy-one-get-one-free, all day. Create a new combination each week and never get bored, or stick with your trusty favorites (I recommend the Fried Potatos and Crab and Almond Empanadas). Pair your tapas with a half-price pitcher of sangria, and you’re in for a good night at a great price.

Check out more details and other downtown options: (more…)

If you only had 24 hours to spend in Columbus, what would you do? This was a hard question for me to answer, but I’ve come up with a list of must sees and must dos that I feel will leave any visitor with an experience uniquely Columbus.

I’m sharing these ideas in a three part series - the first post is geared to families, the next to the business traveler, and finally, a post to help a local decide what to do with visiting friends or family.

Here’s part two of three, with suggestions geared to the business traveler.

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With Columbus being the state capital and the home of 14 Fortune 1,000 companies (six of which are Fortune 500), it is a frequent stop among business travelers. The city is located within a one-day drive or one-hour flight of nearly half of the population of the U.S. and Canada, so those who do travel here may be in and out of town in a day or after a brief overnight stay.

Here are some helpful tips and recommendations to make the most of your visit.

Where to Stay
Like I mentioned in the family travel post , there are several great hotel options at varying price points around downtown - click here to check them out. One property great for business travelers is The Columbus, A Renaissance Hotel , located on N. 3rd St. in the heart of downtown and near the capital, Nationwide Arena and the Greater Columbus Convention Center . The Columbus has the city’s only seasonal rooftop pool with great views of downtown; it’s often the site of an impromptu happy hour and always a great place to relax or swim a few laps. The hotel also has Wi-Fi access throughout, a large lounge and bar in the lobby.

Where to Eat

Photo: Latitude 41

If you’re staying at The Columbus, I recommend dining at Latitude 41 .  It’s located in the lobby of the hotel and it’s known for unique American cuisine. Also, a quick walk down Gay Street (across from the hotel) offers several unique Columbus restaurant options including fine Italian at Due Amici , great comfort food at Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails and Cuban cuisine at Plantain Cafe.

Once you’re done with business, a few great places to get dinner and a drink with locals downtown include the Elevator Brewery and Draught Haus , M restaurant, Mitchell’s Steakhouse and The River Club at Confluence Park .

Another uniquely Columbus eatery is our public market, the North Market . This is one of my favorite places to grab a quick bite and people-watch, as it is home to dozens of unique, independent merchants and farmers. Merchants offer ethnic food specialties, gourmet groceries, flowers and gifts. (more…)

Schiller Park in German Village
Photo by Larry Hamill

As extreme cold grips much of the country, I started to wonder how I might want to spend this upcoming weekend in Columbus.

So I turned to two groups who know and love this place - the Experience Columbus staff and our Twitter pals. I received no shortage of suggestions.

Here’s what some of the Experience Columbus crew had to say when asked their favorite things to do during a (really) cold weekend in Columbus:

Ben Walters : I like to head to a favorite watering hole like Tip-Top , Betty’s , or Bodega to get a nip and some good food with some good friends. It’s social and warming. Another favorite option is to find a indoor concert, preferably at small venues like Ruby Tuesday, Carabar or Rumba Cafe.

Nicole Massenelli : When it is cold I love to meet friends for a hot drink at Cup O’ Joe or grab a bite at Panera because both places have fireplaces. I love to sit by the fire in comfy clothes and enjoy great food and drinks with friends.

Scott Peacock : When it gets really cold outside I like to go to grab some good comfort food at Tasi , get a coffee to go and then head to the Wexner Center for the Arts or the Columbus Museum of Art to see the latest exhibits inside.

Claudia Plumley : Like Nicole, I head to Cup O’ Joe . We get a big latte and sit around the fire. Then we head to the movies to see an Oscar contender.

Kelly Brooks : This may seem counter intuitive, but when it’s cold outside I like to go to a Blue Jackets game. Not only does winter weather set the mood for hockey, but at tonight’s game I will be almost comforted to know that it is actually warmer inside Nationwide Arena than it is outside!

Amy Gatto Klein : Vino Vino in Grandview. The coziness of the space, a bottle of Pinot Noir (before I was pregnant, anyway) and small plates of yummy food warm me right up.

Cathe Moog : When it’s cold outside, our family likes to go to the North Market for lunch. We select entrees with a spicy kick to warm us up.

And what did the Twitter pals have to say? I was surprised to find three in particular who laugh in the face of the cold. They reminded me that being outside during this time of year has its advantages:

Betty B : Hiking at a Metro Park . It postpones the winter blues.

Jeff Johnson : Being in any city park because I have it all to myself when it’s this cold.

Andrew Miller : I’ll be the third person to say that this is the perfect time for a stroll. Plenty of alone time plus beautiful snowy scenes.

I’d say this is proof positive that there are more than enough reasons not to camp out at home during the winter.

What gets you out and about when it’s cold in Columbus?

These first chilly weeks in Columbus have me thinking one thing: comfort food. One of the best places to hit up for such fare is Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails .

In addition to the favorites your mom might have cooked - a very tasty pot roast, a simple grilled cheese and a killer meat loaf, there is a nice selection of updated standbys. My favorites are the fries, especially the eggplant and sweet potato varieties. Both come with imaginative dipping sauces and if you share a basket with your table, there won’t be any left - of the fries or the sauce (try the Bloody Mary sauce with the eggplant fries). If you decide to indulge in that basket of fries, there is also a nice selection of salads to feel virtuous about - I usually opt for the goat cheese salad.

Food is only part of the story at the Tip Top. The other part is the funky decor of Columbus pride items and the drink menu . In addition to a nice selection of beers on tap (including some CBC options and a couple of seasonal offerings), there is the not-to-be-passed-over whiskey cocktail menu. Those who have studied up on Columbus history will recognize some of the cocktail names, such as the Bottoms’ Up or the LeVeque Tower. Staying true to our family’s roots, my brother always chooses the Flytown Pick-Me Up, which combines ginger ale, whiskey and maple syrup.

If you save room for dessert, don’t forget to ask for the daily pie selection to pair with Brioso coffee. Cafe Brioso , just half a block up Gay Street from the Tip Top, roasts their own coffee beans so the product is always fresh.

From inventive cocktails and tasty fries to that last bite of pie or sip of coffee, the Tip Top doesn’t disappoint if you’re looking for a unique comfort food destination. Take some time to linger over the photos on the wall and try to forget the chill in the air that drove you here in the first place.