Where you begin care for your heart or vascular disease makes all the difference. When you choose The Ohio State University Heart and Vascular Center, you’re choosing expert diagnosis and treatment from the team who can manage your ongoing care and treat even the most complex conditions. All at central Ohio’s only adult heart hospital ranked “Best” by U.S. News & World Report.
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March 25, 2025 6-9 p.m.
You're invited to enjoy the impressive offerings served by Columbus Monthly's Best New Restaurants, along with drinks and live entertainment.
Experience the city's most exciting arrivals, from emerging cuisines to innovative takes on familiar classics—all in one venue.
For tickets and updates about participating restaurants, scan the code:
Early bird tickets (until March 1):
$65 each
($75 each after March 1)
Tickets include featured bites from each participating Best New Restaurant, specialty cocktails from Noble Cut Distillery and a one-year Columbus Monthly subscription.
Event is 21 and older. Menus will not be published in advance and chefs will be unable to make modifications to their dishes.
We celebrate 10 of our favorite new eateries from the past year, including Taj on Fifth, pictured above.
Our annual roundup of Best Driving Vacations maps out fun weekends in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo and Milwaukee.
The Columbus Museum of Art’s Short North gallery is coming alive after a period of dormancy.
16 RAGS TO WRAPS
Xantha Ward’s innovative fashion designs give Goodwill fabrics a second life.
18 LOST COLUMBUS
The history of the building at East Gay and North High streets, where The Columbus Dispatch operated more than a century ago.
20 EVERYDAY KINDNESS
A startup co-founder uses writing to heal from childhood trauma, and he shares his work freely to help others heal.
22
23 PEOPLE: COMMUNITY HOUSING NETWORK
Celebrate the Resilient at Vue Columbus
24 DATEBOOK
Hans Zimmer, Rick Steves and Black History Month events
54 WHAT’S HOT
Blossom Flower Bar brings a cheerful shop to the Short North.
55 ART, LIFE AND LOVE
Brenda Kroos’ Dublin home is bursting with brightly colored art from a lifetime of travels and relationships. 61
66 OHIO PROUD
Local Millers gives chefs and home cooks access to fresh Ohio grains.
68 TASTE TEST
Our team named the best pilsner in Ohio from among several we tried.
69 LET’S EAT
Our monthly directory of where to dine.
64 INTO THE WINDS
This Yellow Springs café is a good bet when you feel like exploring.
49 PRIVATE SCHOOLS 2025 A directory connecting you to the top private schools in the Columbus region
Sometimes the beneficiary is a stranger. Sometimes it’s a friend, acquaintance or colleague. We look to honor those who perform extraordinary selfless acts to improve, heal and unite our community.
Consider lifting up the volunteer quietly aiding their neighbors or the community member tirelessly advocating for change. We need your help to recognize the kind, selfless heroes among us.
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The Columbus freelance writer brings us the story of the city’s amazing pinball scene, which has spawned several internationally recognized players. Inside the quirky pinball culture, Page 12.
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Shelley Mann
The freelance writer (and former CM food and drink editor) checked in with the Columbus Museum of Art on what’s planned for its Pizzuti gallery in the Short North, Page 14.
Jill Moorhead
Moorhead traveled to Chicago and Cleveland to develop weekend itineraries for readers in our Best Driving Vacations package, Page 41. Freelance travel writer Steve Stephens also contributed pieces on Buffalo, Milwaukee and Detroit.
What a joy it was putting together this month’s Best New Restaurants cover package. Food and Drink Editor Linda Lee Baird and I spent the fall visiting newly opened spots all over the city, from Downtown to Dublin to Polaris to Northland, tasting delicious dishes and feeling dumbfounded this was actually someone’s job—ours.
Katy Smith katy@columbusmonthly.com
I also came away from the package feeling grateful for our independent restaurants. Not only do we live in a community that embraces creative cuisine enough to fund these ventures, we have a gem in Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, whose team is dedicated to growing the careers of new chefs—in its own restaurants and in others. Two of our favorite new restaurants for 2025 are part of the CMR family, and at least one chef at the others built experience in the company’s kitchens.
The remaining eight spots on our list are helmed by a diverse group of food entrepreneurs who, like Mitchell, have the guts and stamina to put themselves out there in
One reader reached out to ask why the plan for a new Columbus Symphony Orchestra concert hall on the Scioto Peninsula hasn’t advanced more quickly. The plan was the subject of a feature in the November issue.
“As a concertgoer to many different venues and many types of music, I just have to ask, after I read the November 2024 article, ‘Concerted Effort,’ why is everyone so negative about bringing live, orchestral music to the next level? The article uses the word “skepticism” at the very beginning. In the next sen-
front of the public every day they’re open. They do this facing immense staffing challenges, unpredictable food costs and skyrocketing fees charged by credit card companies. You might be frustrated by rising menu prices, but it’s important to keep in mind few people become wealthy running restaurants. The vast majority do not.
Every time you visit an independent restaurant, you’re putting food on the tables of the people who work there—your neighbors. You might even do them the favor of paying cash, if they’ll let you. It will save them a few percentage points in bank fees. Then, you can savor their creations just a little bit more, knowing they’ll be around to greet you another day.
Editor, Columbus Monthly
tence, the question is posed: ‘Will the project serve arts groups beyond the orchestra?’ Well, it seems to me that a new and modern music venue in Downtown Columbus would and should first serve the community!
In 2011, Columbus Monthly published a visionary article, ‘What Columbus Needs.’ Now, in 2025, we have what it needs! Downtown needs a community meeting place, like a stellar music venue to see musicians and performers from all over come to play. It would be like what Nationwide Arena is to the Arena
Send letters to: Editor, Columbus Monthly, 605 S. Front St. , Ste. 300, Columbus, OH 43215. Or email: letters@columbus monthly.com. A letter must include the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number. Letters will be edited for length and clarity. All letters sent to Columbus Monthly are considered for publication, either in print or online.
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District. This idea for a new music venue is, of course, not a new idea. But it’s the next step forward to revitalize Downtown and give us concertgoers what we’ve been waiting and hoping for.
The symphony and other performing arts groups in Columbus are here to stay. The audiences are diverse and ever-growing for live musical performances. Major city=major orchestra=major music venue. The community wants a new venue and has been patiently waiting and wondering if it would ever happen. The time is now.”
Kimberly Gill, Hilliard
BY TIM JOHNSON
and High streets Downtown. Delve into the building’s history, Page 18.
The Central Ohio pinball community is one of the most competitive in the world, and it’s only growing.
It’s a scorching August day in rural Ohio, yet over 120 pinball enthusiasts from all over the country are milling about Trent Augenstein’s barn in rural Ostrander. They’ve been on their feet for 12 hours, with limited nourishment or bathroom breaks, sparring friends and mortal enemies. It’s a battle of skill and stamina for a trophy, cash prize and, more importantly, the bragging rights of winning Tilt Amusements’ summer pinball tournament.
You see, the WPPRs that could be earned at this particular tournament—“WPPRs” being jargon for the points one can accumulate to increase their World Pinball Player Ranking— are in high demand. That’s because the competition is at the highest level, with players among the best in the world. And many of the best in the world inhabit the Columbus pinball community.
“It’s gotten huge in Columbus over the last 20 years,” says Augenstein. “There are more pinball machines and barcades than there were in the 1980s and
1990s, which is nuts. The barcades and homeowners were starting to buy games, which has been the biggest reason for the increase. But we’ve seen growth all over the world.”
Augenstein, owner of Tilt, is primarily a distributor for the Chicago pinball manufacturer Stern Pinball, a company responsible for most of the new machines you’ll see on location. Recent titles include Godzilla, John Wick and the Uncanny X-Men. But his barn houses a living museum for the hobby; a labyrinth of games old and new, as well as modern, new-in-box Stern machines reaching the ceilings, ready to be shipped to a brewery, pizza shop, laundromat or someone’s rec room. Sales have risen by 15 percent to 20 percent every year since 2008, Stern told The Economist in 2023.
“The Columbus pinball community is definitely in the ‘high school’ stage of its existence,” jokes Amy Kesting, who last March became the first-ever Women’s North American Champion, battling 46 opponents in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “We
have regular class times, some awesome teachers, a few cliques, a couple of dropouts and plenty of after-school activities. I think in general, everybody likes everybody, and we are all trying to get along.”
Virtually every night of the week you can find some entry into the web of competitive pinball.
Whether it’s playing weekly in the popular Silverball League at Level One Bar and Arcade at Crosswoods, a launch party for a new game at Grizzlybird Brewing Co. in Westerville, or being invited to a clandestine tournament in someone’s basement, there are no lack of opportunities to become a member.
The lore of how public leagues began is rooted in a once-tiny network of aficionados started in the mid-1990s. Depending on who you ask, the first “registered” league in Columbus began with Tom and Therese Edwards of T-N-T Amusements. Shortly after, players would travel to different locations across Ohio to compete, only to find that the number of games at any given
location couldn’t keep up with demand.
Chris and Rhonda Wamsley subsequently started the Ohio Pinball League, a gathering built out of necessity and composed of collectors who would host tournaments from their homes.
“Honestly, we started buying machines because we got tired of playing broken games,” says Rhonda Wamsley, who with her husband now hosts public leagues at Grizzlybird and Homestead Taproom and Kitchen in Canal Winchester. “We would go to the auctions that used to be held at the fairgrounds, and eventually we found our first game, Whitewater, in Chattanooga. We bought that in 2001. Over the first two years, we purchased a total of 18 machines and never looked back.”
Indeed, the Wamsleys filled a void and helped build the community into what it is today, even having a hand in starting Belles and Chimes, a women’s-only league that encourages membership in what many might perceive as a “boy’s club.”
“I saw a need for a place for women to play separately. Many women I knew were intimidated by playing against men in a competitive situation,” says Rhonda Wamsley, “While the women are competitive, our first goal is to help players grow and enjoy the game. I have seen women come into league or other events not even knowing how to start a game [who] are now playing in tournaments and placing in the top 10.”
The massive push in public leagues wouldn’t be a thing without the guidance of John Geiger. The lifetime collector used to host wild parties in a rented industrial space he called Arcade Super Awesome, which was in a former mill near Grandview Heights. When he eventually gained the ability to create his own arcade, which opened in 2015 above the original Yellow Brick Pizza in Olde Towne East, it was the ideal refuge for the pinball curious. By combining neon interiors, pinball’s aesthetic danger and competitive play under the same dark lights, it became the germ not only for nostalgic entertainment resurrected in Columbus but also for nurturing competitive pinball as something that could only grow.
“Seeing the social and the cultural side of pinball, there was just something more to it,” says Geiger. “I love the video game world, but it is one person versus the video game. When I started watching pinball, I saw that there was a lot more
interaction. It’s deeper. The game play is deeper, the design is deeper. As machines, they are just fascinating.”
His true obsession with the skillful, tactile experience of playing is Zen-like, and that appreciation for the culture is felt by many in the city. Pinball is not some secret society. Though there’s a learning curve and a language, everyone is welcome.
A decade of growth on the Columbus pinball scene has produced world-renowned players like Carlos DeLaSerda (currently ranked 13th according to the International Flipper Pinball Association), Cody Webb (ranked 98th), Deborah Tahlman (ranked eighth among women). Columbus also is home to 19-year-old phenom Gregory Kennedy, who in the last year has amassed thousands of dollars in tournament winnings and has climbed the
ladder to become the 16th best in the world, according to the IFPA.
Kennedy’s comet-like ascent is emblematic of the future of pinball. He’s using his love of math to maximize points, scouring online videos and studying the old heads for tips and strategies. His streamed games with players like DeLaSerda have become enthralling entertainment—you can watch him win the 2024 Ohio State Championship on Twitch.
With that enthusiasm, and with a bevy of new manufacturers making machines as niche as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the future of pinball, especially in Columbus, seems limitless. Even ESPN is taking notice. National television aside, there’s no experience quite like cashing your own $5 bill into a handful of quarters. Nothing like it. ◆
The Pizzuti’s newest exhibition examines the building’s history while reimagining its future.
By Shelley Mann
With Prologue, a new exhibition running through May at The Pizzuti, the Columbus Museum of Art aims to reopen the Short North space and reintroduce it as a more experimental, perhaps more relevant counterpart to its Broad Street institution.
Prologue combines art installations with curated programming presented in collaboration with Ohio State University, including artist talks, film screenings and DJ after-parties planned through May. Starting in July, visitors can expect regular hours and innovative contemporary art exhibitions.
When Columbus art collectors Ann and Ron Pizzuti gifted the building to CMA in 2018, the museum embraced the second location as an opportunity to expand programming and engage a broader cross-section of the community, says Brooke Minto, CEO of the museum. Programming launched in 2019 before The Pizzuti was throttled by pandemic-related closures in the years following.
After the last exhibition held in the space, Sarah Rosalena: In All Directions, closed in February 2024, CMA
halted programming at The Pizzuti to rethink its role.
“We’ve been taking a pause to reassess how to best utilize the space,” Minto says.
To that end, Prologue explores the background and architectural history of the building itself, which opened in 1923 as the national headquarters for the
Order of United Commercial Travelers of America, a fraternal organization for traveling salesmen. Daniel Marcus, curator of collections and exhibitions for CMA, was drawn to this history, and particularly to the aspect of door-to-door solicitation. He sees one role of artists as being “persuasion agents”—“someone
who’s trying to convince you of something”—a tendency they share with traveling salespeople.
The exhibition features newly commissioned works from contemporary artists based on archival materials and historical artifacts. Artist Julia Scher worked from historical blueprints to create an audio tour of the United Commercial Travelers Building as it originally would have looked.
Prologue also includes pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, including a series of imaginary Masonic plaques made by Columbus artist Elijah Pierce.
That kind of innovative, artist-driven programming is what Marcus and Minto hope will fuel upcoming exhibitions in the space, with a quick turnaround and cultural relevance that isn’t always possible at the main museum, where exhibitions are planned several years out.
And for those who live in the area, Minto says she hopes they come to think of The Pizzuti as their “neighborhood museum.”
“We hope to have a robust series of public programs for visitors, many of whom we imagine will be neighbors in the Short North, Victorian Village and Grandview areas,” she says. ◆
A conversation with artists Julia Scher and Julia Weist, and Errant Forms X Nesting, a DJ series curated by Love Higher.
6:30-10 p.m. March 14
Columbus Museum of Art at The Pizzuti
632 N. Park St., Columbus columbusmuseum.org
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A designer inspired by repurposing thrift store materials has created a line of apparel on display in the Columbus nonprofit’s shops.
Xantha Ward feels like she was born to design. From a young age, anything she saw, whether it was an object or a piece of clothing, she imagined something different that could be done with it. “Creativity and reimagining the ordinary have always been second nature to me,” she says. Ward’s early experiments involved dyeing cloths and even hair using Kool-Aid. She also took apart jewelry and used the pieces as buttons for clothes or resized them to fit her Barbie dolls. Giving life to old items became a defining trait of her design process.
As she grew older, a local designer named Ms. Douglas asked Ward to model for her. Ward enjoyed the experience and loved getting to see Ms. Douglas
By Laura Newpoff
work behind the scenes. It “truly lit a fire in me. From that day on, I knew I didn’t want to be a model. I wanted to be a fashion designer,” Ward says. “Her creativity and craftsmanship gave me a clear vision of what I wanted to do with my life.”
The creative mind behind the Xantha W line of apparel and accessories grew up on the Near East Side, and her journey into fashion began in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She started by experimenting with reconstructing clothes, and one day she had “a pivotal moment that shaped my career and creative direction.
“I didn’t have enough fabric to complete a project, so I took a blue jean jacket I already owned and extended it using denim fabric I had on hand,” Ward says.
“This moment led to the creation of my first collection, ‘Ghetto Blues.’ This milestone marked the beginning of my career as a fashion designer.”
It was an all-denim collection and her most successful line to date. Since then, Ward’s designs have been featured and honored in top fashion magazines and at local, national and global fashion events. They’ve been worn by celebrities around the world. Her Xantha W brand offers a bold collection of ready-to-wear clothing, handbags, accessories, hats and frames.
In late 2023, Goodwill Columbus CEO Ryan Burgess caught a local news segment on Columbus Fashion Week featuring Ward, who spoke about her passion for sustainable design, including
finding affordable fabric at thrift stores. The two connected in early 2024 and began discussions about a paid collaboration.
The first project to come out of the partnership is a collection of four looks Ward created that will be showcased inside four Goodwill stores through mid-February: Reynoldsburg/Brice Road, Clintonville/ North High, Whitehall/Robinwood and Northland/Morse Road. The designs feature items found inside the stores that have been repurposed for high fashion. It’s hoped the displays inspire the store’s customers to find creativity in everyday items.
The collection is rooted in the colors red, black and white, and leans avant-garde with a couture edge. Ward incorporated unconventional materials like loofah scrubs, which were taken apart and added as scarf details or enhancements to blazer jackets. She also used placemats as decorative elements on hats and transformed curtains into skirts and blouses for mannequins. The result, she says, “was a bold and innovative collection that showcased the beauty of reimagined materials.
“You have everything you need around you,” Ward says of the designs. It also shows people, especially budget-minded
young fashion designers, that they can be “part of the solution” for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly world by taking things that already have been made and transforming them.
The sale of donated goods in Goodwill’s stores allows the nonprofit to provide job training, placement and support services to Central Ohioans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The sustainability aspect of donating goods rather than throwing them away combined with Ward’s passion for reusing items made the two a good fit, says Simone Attles, Goodwill’s director of marketing.
“We may not all have Xantha’s talent, but we can think creatively and shop secondhand to help reduce over consumption and promote a more sustainable future,” Attles says.
Goodwill expects to work with Ward again in 2025, and the partnership could expand to a larger line of designs, a fashion show and potentially involve students from Columbus City Schools.
“We hope this gives people a reason to buy donated items,” Ward says. “Go to Goodwill and buy something more affordable and elevate that piece.” ◆
By Jeff Darbee
The entire operations of The Columbus Dispatch once were housed in a building at Gay and High streets.
The oddly narrow building (23 feet by 119 feet) at 66 N. High St. on the northeast corner of Gay and High streets has recently been renovated and is now home to French restaurant, Chouette (meaning “grace,” “nice,” or “cool”). It may be hard to believe, but it once housed the entire operation of The Columbus Dispatch, the city’s daily newspaper since July 1, 1871 (and its only newspaper since the demise of the Citizen-Journal in 1985). The paper’s reporters, business offices, photo department and printing presses all were at Gay and High.
The Dispatch began life a little to the south at the corner of High Street and Lynn Alley. Sources are not specific about which corner; an educated guess is the southeast one, where a much newer commercial building long has stood. The newspaper-cum-printing company moved in 1893 to a new building at the northeast corner of Gay and High; above the second floor was a big “Dispatch” sign that wrapped around the west and south sides of the building.
The newspaper left this location involuntarily: the building burned in 1907, and the Dispatch relocated temporarily to a building a little to the south on High Street. The current building at Gay and High opened on June 5, 1910, on a portion of the burned building’s site. The newspaper tooted its horn about its new home, noting that it was built of Bedford (Indiana) limestone, “semi-classic in design” and adorned with carved stone details by New York sculptor Frederick Cheers. High on the narrow west side is a garland with a globe above, perhaps symbolizing how The Dispatch intended to bring the world to Columbus.
Rapid growth of the city and The Dispatch meant a new home soon was necessary, so in 1925 it moved to another new building at 34 S. Third St. on the east side of Capitol Square, the one many still associate with the newspaper. The paper left there in 2016—it’s now occupied by other organizations—but the huge lighted rooftop sign remains, updated annually, to remind us of the 153 years (and counting) The Dispatch has served its home city. ◆
Startup founder Alec Santiago shares his story with other trauma survivors in books available for free.
By Sophia Veneziano
Looking at Alec Santiago’s resume spanning academia to medical research to authoring books to helping animals, it’s clear he does it all.
However, his story of accomplishment had a rocky start when he was growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Before he earned his Ph.D. in the microbiology and infectious diseases program at the University of Texas, cofounded medical research company Kitsune Bio, or moved to Columbus for a job at Ohio State University, Santiago and his younger sister were raised by a single mother battling addiction in a neighborhood people called the “war zone.”
“It was a lot of poverty, a single mother addicted to meth and being homeless for a while,” Santiago says. “Me and my younger sister lived with a lot of family members and did the whole hotel thing, living in a car. There was mental and
physical abuse—not a great start, right?
“Luckily, I did pretty good on some standardized tests. I got to go to college. I escaped and left as soon as I turned 18.”
Unfortunately, Santiago’s undergraduate career at Auburn University wasn’t the escape expected. He struggled with his mental health and the trauma from his childhood, and he had to take a break from his studies when he lost his full-ride scholarship after his junior year. To fund his final year, he needed to save money.
He says a therapist helped him begin to process his trauma, find a sense of purpose and move forward in life.
“I eventually got into therapy and was given the words, given the freedom to kind of express myself, to understand what it was,” he says. “All these swirling colors, all these strong physical reactions— finally I had something I could point to and say, ‘Oh, it comes from this,
and that’s what I can do about it.’ And that freedom was really nice, because I feel like it gave me a lot of control,” he says.
In a letter to himself, he began writing down “all the things that I wish people would have just told me in the beginning,” he says. That writing became his first book, “Seeing Inside.”
As he continued on his journey of growth, he wrote three books to help others with their mental health. He began giving them out for free at SeeingInside.us, asking recipients to make a donation to Stop the Suffering Animal Rescue in Columbus.
After “Seeing Inside,” he created a workbook called, “Self-Actualized Goals,” and another book, “The GodMaker Project,” in which he reflected on his spirituality. A friend of Santiago’s is a devout Christian, and
he described Jesus Christ as an embodiment of what people should try to be. Santiago realized he didn’t have a religious icon in his life, and he wanted an idealized figure. He took his family’s ancestral dolls, created by the Hopi and Zuni Native American tribes, and wrote essays using them as characters symbolizing community and ideal values.
His writing is something he does in his free time atop running Kitsune Bio with co-founder Makenna Morck, alongside his day job.
Passionate about startups, he works as a venture development analyst for Ohio State University’s Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge (ERIK) team to help commercialize OSU’s research and technology.
Morck says the Kitsune team’s research explores using cyclic peptides to target diseases that do not yet have good treatment options. This includes cancer, autoimmune diseases and obesity, she says.
“[Santiago] is just the kind of person that is always looking for ways to con-
tribute. I describe him as very resourceful, and he’s a very outside-of-the-box thinker,” Morck says.
“He does it because he’s really passionate and really interested, not just in the science, but how it’s going to impact people. And that’s something that we talked about a lot when we were founding a company.”
Through all his leadership roles and accomplishments, there is a theme for Santiago: supporting people experiencing feelings of helplessness like he and his younger sister did when they were young.
Whether it’s people facing untreatable diseases or individuals struggling with their mental health, Santiago says he wants to help them find a way out with “a little mental unlock that reorients your entire trajectory.” The books share ways to create that mindset shift.
“They’re relatively small books, but I think … it’s a small introduction to big concepts.” ◆
This article was made possible by support from the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, which has partnered with Columbus Monthly to profile those making our community a better place. Help us inspire kindness by suggesting people, initiatives, or organizations for writer Sophia Veneziano to profile. She can be reached at sveneziano@dispatch. com. Learn more at ColumbusMonthly. com/Kindness.
On Dec. 4, Columbus Monthly, The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus CEO and the Center for HumanKindness at the Columbus Foundation co-hosted an Everyday Kindness Heroes event at COSI, celebrating acts of kindness by individuals in the Columbus community. Jane Jacquemin-Clark was selected from five finalists and 13 semifinalists as the 2024 Everyday Kindness Heroes champion for her founding of Hope Hollow, a nonprofit supporting cancer patients and their families during treatment.
1 Challen Brown, Faith Brammer and Chelsea Kiene 2 Diana and Larry Long
3 Katy Smith, Michael Shearer, Sophia Veneziano, Michelle Crossman, Eric Wygle and Julanne Hohbach
4 Chere Hampton and Kelly Mathews
5 Kristine Watts and Mark Edwards
6 Sally Malaret and Fiona the Therapy
Dog 7 Shane Coy and Arlette
Kajyibwami 8 Michelle Crossman, Katy Smith, Linda Lee Baird, Lucy Clark and Julanne Hohbach
Community Housing Network held Celebrate the Resilient, its new annual fundraising event, on Oct. 10 at Vue Columbus. The organization provides affordable housing in Franklin County—including to those with mental health issues, disabilities and substance use disorders—and connects them to other supports that will help them thrive. Senseera Potter, a former Community Housing Network resident, was the keynote speaker.
1 Mary Price, Marissa Stanback and Stephanie Meredith
2 Angie Stella, Lori Robinson-Terry and Arlene Reitter 3 JV Wulf, Senseera Potter and Samantha Shuler 4 Ivory Brown, Paul Henley and Michael Lemley 5 Terri Lynn Erskine, Christopher Shurelds and Gina Bangura 6 Melissa and Phil Pennino; Jack and Melissa McEwan 7 Samantha Shuler and State Sen. Hearcel Craig
FEB. 4 | Hans Zimmer
Don’t miss the chance to see award-winning movie composer Hans Zimmer conduct an orchestra live at Nationwide. Hear the iconic soundtracks of franchises like “Dune” and “The Dark Knight,” and movies including “Inception” and “Gladiator.” hanszimmerlive.com
FEB. 14 | Cocktails at the Conservatory
Make it a special, if not unseasonal, Valentine’s Day at this tropically themed evening at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Savor tropical drinks as Polynesian dancers teach hula. You can also enjoy a romantic after-hours stroll through the venue. fpconservatory.org
FEB. 20 | Rick Steves “On the Hippie Trail”
Travel writer and activist Rick Steves will be at Mershon Auditorium to share stories from his new book—a travel narrative detailing his experience backpacking from Istanbul to Kathmandu in the 1970s. ticketmaster.com
FEB. 26 | “Picturing Black History”
The four historians who co-authored “Picturing Black History: Photographs and Stories That Changed The World” will be at Gramercy Books to present their photo-driven essay collection, which dives into the lived experience of Black
people in America and the powerful influence of photography as a medium. gramercybooksbexley.com/ events
FEB. 27 | Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers
Explore the life and works of one of the most impactful artists of his time at the Columbus Museum of Art. This film dives into the personal life that influenced
his most famous creations. columbusmuseum.org
THROUGH FEB. 28 | The World of William Fouse
The Westerville History Museum, located inside the Westerville Public Library, shares the story of an educational activist and trailblazer—the first Black Westerville High School and Otterbein University graduate. westervillelibrary.org/fouse
FEB. 8
Columbus Polar Plunge
Embrace the cold weather while supporting Special Olympics Ohio by participating in Columbus’ annual Polar Plunge at Lower.com Field. Adults and children are welcome to participate and all are encouraged to come dressed for a pre-swim costume contest. sooh.org/fundraising -events
FEB. 22
Buddy Up for Life Gala
Break out your black tie best and head to Kemba Live! for Buddy Up for Life’s annual gala to raise money for athletes with Down syndrome. The theme is Diamonds are Forever, and the event will feature catering from Cameron Mitchell, live music and a diamond necklace raffle. buddyupforlife.org/events
FEB. 26
A World Reimagined: The Work of Abolition
The McConnell Arts Center will host members of the Returning Artists Guild—a group of formerly incarcerated artists—to discuss the state of incarceration and ideas for a better future. This is a companion to RAG’s art exhibits at the McConnell, Home Free: Ohio Artists Envision Prison Abolition. mcconnellarts.org
The leading cause of cancer-related deaths, lung cancer, presents many treatment challenges, largely due to symptoms that present late or are mistaken for signs of less serious conditions.
Fortunately, early diagnoses can significantly improve lung cancer patients’ survival chances, and new screening technologies can help doctors catch cases at more treatable stages. The key to maximizing the effectiveness of screening programs involves reaching people considered most at risk.
“If screening is not performed, the early detection of lung cancer is usually left to chance,” says Jasleen Pannu, MBBS, medical director of the Lung Cancer Early Detection Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). “Early lung cancer will usually not have any symptoms. Because of that, it stays hidden and may not be discovered until it becomes large enough to produce symptoms, and by that time, it is more advanced.”
“Screening,” Pannu says, “has been shown to reduce lung cancer deaths by 20%.”
“If lung cancer is detected early, the chances of patients living cancer-free lives are quite high,” she says. “In stage 1A lung cancer, the five-year survival rate can be as high as 90%, whereas if patients are diagnosed later, at stage 4, the average five-year survival from lung cancer can be less than 10%.”
How does lung cancer screening work?
The goal of lung cancer screening is to detect and diagnose the disease before it spreads or develops. To do so, the OSUCCC – James Lung Cancer Early Detection Program combines the latest screening techniques and technologies with access expansion efforts to bring potentially life-saving testing to eligible patients.
“Lung cancer screening is a relatively simple process that doesn’t involve hospital admission, needle sticks or sedation,” Pannu says. “It’s a simple CT scan test that only takes minutes, and anyone who’s eligible for screening can schedule an appointment.”
After screening, the scans are examined by OSUCCC – James experts and patients are called to discuss results. Any concerning results like nodules or spots in the lungs are
immediately referred to a specialized lung nodule clinic or other specialized clinics for further management.
Lung nodule findings are also evaluated at weekly multidisciplinary board meetings, which include radiologists, interventional pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons. Comprehensive plans are laid out even before patients are seen in the lung nodule clinic.
Patients who meet the following criteria can qualify for testing at the OSUCCC – James Lung Cancer Screening Clinic:
• 50-80 years old
• Current smoker with a history of smoking one pack per day for 20 years
• Ex-smoker who has quit within the past 15 years
Eligible patients can undergo screenings every year, further increasing the chances that lung cancer will be caught early. The Lung Cancer Early Detection Program also offers consultations with smoking cessation experts. While anyone with lungs can develop lung cancer, smoking and other tobacco use account for 80-90% of cases in the U.S.
Scan the QR code to learn more about the OSUCCC – James Lung Cancer Screening Clinic.
Lung cancer screening hits the road Increased access to screening is a vital part of the effort to reduce lung cancer deaths. At the OSUCCC – James, screening experts will take testing on the road with a new, state-of-the-art mobile unit that will soon begin operating throughout Ohio.
The mobile unit visits Appalachia and other rural areas, where smoking rates are higher and there’s less access to screening technology. The effort builds upon the success of another OSUCCC – James mobile unit that scans for breast cancer in several Appalachian counties without mammogram facilities. Women who undergo the tests also receive follow-up care.
“Ohio State, in its mission, is dedicated to reaching out to the community equitably, including areas that are rural or underserved, to get cutting-edge technology and the best care available to all residents of Ohio,” Pannu says.
The Mobile Lung Cancer Screening Unit will feature the same world-class technology available at the OSUCCC – James, which can be a literal lifesaver for patients who are unable to travel for testing.
“This vehicle can go to people instead of requiring them to take a day off from work to get screened for lung cancer,” Pannu says. “This is a specific effort for underserved areas, and highlights the importance of making screening available everywhere.”
Mobile screening is part of a global effort to reduce the impact of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancerrelated deaths for women and men.
“Only 6% of individuals who are eligible to undergo lung cancer screening are currently being tested,” Pannu says. “That is why we need more and more attention on lung cancer screening and early detection efforts.”
Scan the QR code to learn about lung cancer, including risks, symptoms and care at the OSUCCC – James.
Our favorite new places to eat in Columbus showcase diverse cuisines, price points and neighborhoods. Full service restaurants that are newcomers to the region and opened in late 2023 through the end of September 2024 were eligible. Enjoy the stories behind these exciting additions to our city’s vibrant dining scene.
This Historic Dublin neighborhood gem is absolutely worth traveling for.
Independent restaurants are a special breed, and Gene’s in Historic Dublin is extra-special. This little neighborhood gem hums with all the personality you’d hope to find in a (likely) pre-1900, one-story place—updated with a vibe that’s fresh yet classic, timeless yet so very today, with its black-and-white diamond flooring, white wainscoted walls, soft schoolhouse lighting and a ledge that runs around the room, displaying beautiful bottles of wine and interesting artwork both antique and modern. A bar in the center of the room turning out creative, refined cocktails gleams with classic glassware and chrome taps instead of televisions.
The creative vision of owners Dustin and Molly Snow, Executive Chef Bobby Moore and Wine Director and General Manager Michael Vehlber come to life in Gene’s, which is a few doors from Snows’ Coast Wine House, a wine bar and bottle shop that hosts frequent tastings and events. The restaurant’s patio makes the most of good weather, along with a lovely culinary and wildflower garden.
Like the rest of Gene’s, the seasonal, vegetable-forward menu sings with originality and surprises. The Eggplant Tonkatsu showcases a whole aubergine, still wearing its pretty green cap, flayed and deep-fried whole. The fruity, creamy eggplant boasts a satisfyingly crunchy breading and arrives resting on a cool layer of sumac-dusted yogurt. This dish is decorated with bright mint, basil, pickled onions and ribbons of cucumber.
Another standout where humble ingredients are creatively coaxed into star status is the Chicken Fried Wild Mushrooms, featuring crispy, cornmeal dusted mushrooms atop tender black-eyed peas nestled in their pleasant, earthy juices. A clever, slightly sweet sriracha glaze— you’d never know that’s what you were tasting—brings the dish together with a bit of that “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” magic.
GENE’S
91 S. HIGH ST., DUBLIN DINEATGENES.COM PRICE RANGE: $24-$62
At just 1,434 square feet including the kitchen, Gene’s is certainly intimate, but not awkward. The warm, professional staff clearly enjoys the food and the atmosphere as much as the diners do, and it’s a good bet you will, too.
This lively little house of food and drink is absolutely worth the drive, the time and the price.
The restaurant recommends: Have wine with dinner—the expert staff can help you choose (and may proudly note their curated list differs entirely from Coast’s, as they did during one of our visits). Share dishes with your table—try as many items as possible. Live your best life and add some Tsar Nicoulai caviar.
—KATY SMITH
A splurge-worthy new Downtown steakhouse
In a year full of steakhouse openings, Butcher and Rose stands apart. The latest from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants is situated in the newly renovated Preston Centre on East Broad Street, an iconic Downtown Columbus location featuring a glass-walled bar and dining room that bumps out to the sidewalk. In the moody and romantic main dining room, swanky banquettes are crowned by sparkling chandeliers and pink and purple flowers that tumble from the ceiling, while a mural along the east wall depicts five running bulls. You don’t have to ponder the art. Yes, you are definitely in the house of steak.
Yet diners find themselves in a restaurant that also offers well-crafted lighter fare such as seafood and handmade pasta dishes—the “rose” in Butcher and Rose. (Vegetarians may note there is no meatless entrée, but this is a Cameron Mitchell establishment, where yes is the answer. Undoubtedly, some items can be modified.) Salmon, stuffed lobster and roasted chicken precede the “Butcher’s Edition” section of the menu, where one can choose from among no fewer than 15 steaks and chops, from a classic 8-oz filet mignon to a Wagyu flight of three, 3-oz selections ($159).
As is the norm with steakhouses, sides large enough to share and expensive enough (in the $13 range) to split encourage tables to find a way to compromise. Selections can be negotiated from among delicious classics like whipped and baked potatoes, and elevated vegetables like chili-roasted broccoli and glazed carrots with a pistachio crumble.
Housemade breads, a robust raw bar and soups and salads open the night, while the bar kicks things up a notch
with concoctions like the olive-oil infused Club Martini and The Butcher, featuring Wagyu-washed Maker’s Mark, demerara and a touch of cinnamon.
Being Downtown, which remains an employment center despite many people still working from home, lunch is an important part of Butcher and Rose’s business. The Square Meal rounds up a turkey and Swiss sandwich, salad or soup and chocolate cake into a cute lunch box. Of course, power lunchers can also order steak at that hour.
The restaurant recommends: Ask for sommelier Jeff Ziegler to help pair a wine with your dinner selections. Go with friends and splurge on the Epic Seafood Tower ($205), which has an “unreal presentation.” Try the King Crab Brulee appetizer. —KATY SMITH
This Grandview-area eatery prioritizes quality over quantity in its unique craft cocktails and thoughtful menu.
The typical Indian restaurant follows a playbook: open for a lunch buffet, close for an hour or two in the afternoon, reopen for dinner service with a large menu that includes many of the same items served at lunch. This is the formula Ajay Kumar grew up with at Taj Mahal, the restaurant his family opened on North High Street near Ohio State University in 1984 as one of the first Indian establishments in Columbus.
Forty years later, Kumar wanted to do things differently, and in his own space. As an industry veteran, he knew firsthand the number of hours and dishes required to make the typical formula work. “I didn’t want to go through all that again,” he says. “I wanted to kind of focus on just the quality part of it.”
He did so with Taj on Fifth, with a streamlined dinner-only menu that allows for a singular focus on upgraded versions of Indian classic dishes—you’ll find several excellent takes on lamb, like the Kashmiri Rogan Josh, and plenty of tandoori specials. A central bar replac-
es the buffet and serves signature cocktails with an Indian twist; the Jackson Heights, for example, incorporates cardamom and chai-infused vermouth into an unconventional Manhattan.
To bring this vision to life, Kumar partnered with his wife, Roopa Singh, whose background in marketing and communications help her focus on customers’ experience; and head chef Deepak Kumar (no relation), who brought hospitality expertise including a stint cooking on cruise ships and work in several local Indian kitchens.
“He wanted a connection to the original Taj Mahal, but something that felt a little more contemporary,” Singh says of her husband’s idea for the restaurant. Including “Taj” in the name recognized
his roots; putting it “on Fifth” referenced its location along a bustling avenue in the Fifth by Northwest neighborhood and elevated the concept.
After so much time in the industry, Ajay Kumar is thrilled to finally do things his way. “Sometimes me and Roopa sit back, like, ‘You know what? I think we did something good here!’”
The Restaurant recommends: Ajay Kumar says the chicken tikka masala and chicken makhani (butter chicken) are two classic dishes that are a great place to start on the menu. The crispy kale chaat and aloo tikka chaat are standout small plates. —LINDA LEE BAIRD
An authentic French bistro offers a Parisian escape Downtown.
Chouette means owl in French. And like the bird, the restaurant is something that, once spotted, you want to study and enjoy. After opening in August as part of the Gay and High streets revitalization led by The Edwards Cos., Chouette offers Downtown Columbus something most of us didn’t realize it needed: an authentic French bistro with an approachable menu. But now that it’s here, it feels like it belongs.
Jeff Edwards, CEO of the Edwards Cos., saw a French bistro as a cornerstone of his vision for Downtown. “Whenever I travel, I always search out this kind of food and atmosphere for at least one meal,” he says in an email. “This corner and this building in particular is where we decided to make a stand for a Downtown revitalization.”
A partnership with Makeready, the hospitality company that also runs Hank’s Low Country Seafood and Raw Bar across the street from Chouette, brought Edwards’ dream to fruition.
Jacques Sorci, Makeready’s culinary corporate director (and a Maître Cuisinier— or master chef—of France) came aboard to develop the menu and oversee the kitchen’s approach. With a resume that includes kitchens in France, Belgium, Switzerland and New York City, Sorci knows his way around a restaurant.
“The restaurant is as authentic as it gets,” Sorci says of Chouette. “It’s not French-like. It is French.” The menu and the space are designed to appeal to all; whether you’re a Francophile or you can’t seem to pronounce “croissant” correctly, you’ll feel welcome at Chouette.
“A bistro in France is where people meet,” Sorci says. “People just stop by at any time of the day and they have a coffee, they have a glass of wine, they have
whatever.” His hope is that guests will stay awhile—and maybe even strike up a conversation with a stranger.
The restaurant recommends: Sorci encourages guests to sample from each section of the menu; he names Bouillabaisse Marseillaise, coq au vin, steak frites and Escargots de Bourgogne as standouts. The Dirty French Caesar, made with dirty martini olive brine, is a good vegetarian option. Edwards says his current favorite dish is the Trout Grenobloise. For dessert, cheeses and chocolate mousse will help you round out your meal the same way they do along the Seine. —LINDA
LEE BAIRD
Authentic Salvadoran cuisine is served all day and late into the night at this family-friendly Northland spot.
It is said that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
When Tania Alvarado looked around Columbus for the authentic food she and her family loved and remembered from her childhood in El Salvador, she came up short. So together, Tania and her husband, Edvin, created Calero’s Bar and Grill, a Salvadoran restaurant where their family could work and grow together.
Calero’s is an all things, all times, all people kind of spot, serving traditional Salvadoran breakfast, lunch and dinner from 8:30 a.m. until 2 a.m. on weekends. There’s a children’s menu and an indoor swing to accommodate young families. The bar TV shows sports, while sound equipment and a disco ball are set up in the back corner for live music, karaoke and dancing after dark.
“This is not Mexican food,” Alvarado cautions. While generally recognizable as Latin American, there are subtle differences and iconic dishes that distinguish Salvadoran cuisine. Most noticeably, the tortillas stand out. Served with most
dishes, these staples are softer, denser and thicker than Mexican corn tortillas, formed by hand and never pressed.
Other highlights include the Sopa de Gallina, a chicken soup traditionally made from an old hen. It’s first poached to make the broth and then the meat is grilled and served on the side. Asado Tipico—a spice-rubbed grilled skirt steak—comes on a platter with grilled scallions, avocado slices, roasted plantains, house-made fresh cheese and a small ramekin of refried beans. It’s well worth the time and effort to build bites of these ingredients together on a torn piece of warm tortilla with a dab of homemade hot sauce.
Be sure to try the many “boquitas” or small bites on the menu. We particularly
CALERO’S
enjoyed the Chica Guac ($4.99), a small ramekin of guacamole served with pieces of deep-fried pork belly and house-made tortilla chips.
The restaurant recommends: Alvarado insists that first time visitors sample Calero’s pupusas, pillowy rounds of griddled masa filled with various ingredients ($3.50 each).
The list of more traditional pupusas (Las de Siempre, for eating “always”), includes those filled with beans or cheese, while the Las de Antojo list (for “special cravings”) includes pupusas stuffed with Loroco, a Salvadoran edible flower, or Alvarado’s personal favorite: the Revueltas and Jalapeno with beans, cheese, pork and jalapeno peppers. —AMY BODIKER BASKES
Leave your preconceptions at the door and dive into a delightful vortex of flavors.
Walking into Flour Modern Pasta Bar, the whimsical, bright pink space and vibrant décor suggest you have stepped into an upscale place. The house-made bread, salad dressings and pasta—which is made by hand—carry the same vibe. But a glance at the menu brings a surprise: For an affordable $28, you can get a meal with bread, salad and entrée.
Are you in an Italian restaurant? Not exactly. Pasta is the star here. Gnocchi is on the menu. But so is butter chicken, also known as chicken makhani, one of the most popular dishes found in Indian restaurants. At Flour, it’s “Butter Chicken Alla Vodka” and comes parmesan-style, kissed by some of the best chicken makhani sauce in Columbus—the same that you’ll find at Rooh, the well-regarded Indian restaurant in the Short North.
That’s because Flour’s chef and founder, Yash Kishinchand, is part of the Westerville family behind Rooh, which was founded by his brother and parents. At 25, the young chef has already earned his culinary stripes, with degrees in pas-
try from the Culinary Institute of America (Napa) and food business management (New York) and years working at Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. He’s got a café partnership with chef Sujan Sarkar of Chicago, with whom Kishinchand owns TikTok favorite Swadesi. There, his pastries blur flavors and cultures, such as
in the Samosa Chaat Croissant. (Sarkar earned a Michelin star for Indienne, his Windy City eatery.)
Flavors and traditions combine in the most delicious way at Flour, too. The menu offers other pasta dishes you would not see in a ristorante italiano: Buffalo Chicken Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Miso Brown Butter and Mushroom Noodles and for dessert, Tres Leches Tiramisu Cake, which showcases Kishinchand’s pastry prowess.
“I love pasta—it’s my favorite food in the world, it’s so much fun,” says Kishinchand. “You can do so many things with it. It’s such a blank canvas, there are so many different shapes and colors.”
The restaurant recommends: Go with friends and try as many things as you can—especially the shoestring fries with rosemary salt and olive aioli and the House Baby Gem salad with Herby Green Goddess Ranch. Kishinchand’s signature desserts are a highly recommended addon to the three course prix fixe menu.
—KATY SMITH
Hand-pulled noodles steal the show at this understated Northwest Side eatery.
Columbus has no shortage of great Chinese restaurants that represent a variety of regions, so for a spot as unassuming as Kung Fu Noodle to stand out, that’s really saying something.
Dennis Zhang started his eatery in 2019 outside of Dayton and opened a second location in Columbus in the spring of 2024. He was inspired to start the restaurant to capture a taste of Lanzhou, the city in China he calls home. Zhang had been saving ingredients imported from the region so he could cook favorite dishes himself. “I couldn’t really find very authentic Chinese places to invite my friends to,” he says. “So instead I invited my friends over and I cooked them authentic dishes with my wife and served them. Everybody loved it.”
The recognition quickly came from beyond Zhang’s friends and neighbors: his Dayton-area shop made Yelp’s 2024 Top 100 Restaurants list, putting Kung Fu Noodle on the national map.
The restaurant’s Columbus space is simple, with a couple TVs on the wall, a
handful of tables scattered throughout and a mishmash of decorations like license plates and records. But that’s not the focus; the main event is the hand-pulled noodles featured throughout the menu.
“We’re trying to bring all the key ingredients directly from China,” Zhang says. “And also the techniques of making the noodles. We’re hand pulling them, and not many places do that. It takes a lot of experience and training for a chef to be able to actually pull them. [The noodles are] so even, like [they are] machine made, but it tastes so different.”
Chef Wei Dong keeps busy pulling and shaking the noodles by hand. And he must, to keep up with demand. Zhang estimates the restaurant sells 100 to 150 bowls every day. The noodles are
KUNG FU NOODLE
featured throughout the menu in dishes like the signature Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup, a fragrant concoction similar to Vietnamese pho.
The restaurant recommends: Zhang says the hand-pulled dan dan noodles, ladled in a fiery sauce and topped with minced pork, are an easy entry into his shop that quickly wins over guests. But even beyond the delightfully toothsome noodle dishes, it’s worth noting that Kung Fu Noodle’s entire menu is memorable, from the cumin-soaked sliced potatoes to filled-to-bursting soup dumplings to the zesty hot pepper pork over rice. —NICHOLAS DEKKER
This Easton restaurant channels an upscale seaside escape all year long.
Replicating a south Florida restaurant designed to evoke your favorite Mediterranean vacation at a mall in the Midwest is complicated. But in the capable hands of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, who have opened more than 100 restaurants across the country in the span of over 30 years, bringing Naples’ Del Mar to Easton (at the former Bon Vie Bistro location) just made good sense.
Del Mar, meaning “of the sea,” is not strictly a seafood spot (though the restaurant offers plenty of it). Its menu is peppered with the bold flavors found across the sunny southern Mediterranean: think olives, spice blends and smoked pepper instead of lemon wedges and drawn butter. Del Mar’s non-seafood offerings also include savory flatbreads, earthy dips and spreads, and hearthgrilled meats commonly found in coastal Turkey, North Africa and Spain.
Del Mar expresses its Mediterranean influence in its décor as well, even without the warm ocean breezes and natural seaside elements found at the Naples original. At Easton, lush greenery hangs from Del Mar’s ceiling, large vessels containing live olive trees are tucked in the corners, and colorful patterned mosaic tile plates brighten the table. And when Columbus’ seasons and weather allow, the large patio doors that wrap the restaurant’s perimeter open to create a fluid indoor-outdoor environment overlooking Easton’s iconic Central Park Fountain.
The restaurant recommends: Seafood is still the main event at Del Mar, with plenty of raw and grilled options to satisfy every pescatarian. General Manager Jill Armstrong recommends first time visitors try the Open Fire Roasted Shellfish Platter as emblematic of Del Mar’s approach. It’s a shareable combination of smoky, hearth-cooked seafood—lobster, prawns, clams and scallops—all brightened with garlic and lemon. Or start with the loaded hummus by dragging torn pieces of freshly made warm pita through shredded bits of sweetly braised lamb, sitting atop a house-made hummus and finished with an herbed tahini drizzle.
—AMY BODIKER BASKES
Community takes center stage at this restaurant inside a bustling market.
How many times have you eaten something you loved at a restaurant and wished you could make it at home? Littleton’s Market Café, inside Littleton’s Market, was born with this idea in mind.
Opened in December 2023, Littleton’s replaced the longstanding Huffman’s Market in Upper Arlington. Co-owners Rob Littleton and Alan Scantland (Littleton’s father-in-law) were inspired by a visit to a seafood market in Marco Island, Florida, which offered “pretty much everything you need for a meal in a really small space,” Littleton recalls.
But they soon determined their customers might want to do more than shop. “We quickly realized that the best way to highlight our food was to actually prepare it for people,” Littleton says. They chose do so with Littleton’s Market Café: a full-service restaurant operating inside the market and outdoors on the Tremont Center plaza.
Head Chef Charley Sigler has chosen to highlight Littleton’s goods beyond what you might expect from a restaurant inside a grocery: December’s dinner menu boasted a short rib appetizer,
a raw bar, house-made pastas and steak frites alongside salads and sandwiches. The market’s production space at the Littleton’s Market Bakery in the North Market, helmed by esteemed pastry chef Aaron Clouse, ensures fresh bread and top-notch baked goods are part of the program.
There’s another advantage to the restaurant-in-a-market approach: “[If we] can’t sell this particular vegetable or fruit, we’re able to take that, rather than wasting it, and create recipes,” Sigler says.
Community events are central to the market’s philosophy. From hosting Upper Arlington’s Common Greens Farmer’s Market on the pavilion to organizing thrice weekly Sip and Stroll events, where $5 buys guests samples of three wines to try as they shop, Littleton’s is a neighborhood hotspot.
LITTLETON’S MARKET CAFÉ
2140 TREMONT CENTER
UPPER ARLINGTON
LITTLETONSMARKET.COM
PRICE RANGE: $22-$55
The restaurant recommends: The LM burger, made with prime-grade beef and a black garlic aioli, is a bestseller, as is the jambon beurre sandwich (sold in the market’s chef’s case). The soon-to-belaunched daily brunch menu will include a Vietnamese pork belly dish topped with egg and coconut rice—something “sweet, savory and spicy” that Sigler says he is excited to serve. Bonus: You can buy any wine from Littleton’s carefully curated collection to enjoy with your meal. —LINDA LEE BAIRD
When Toledo’s Maumee Bay Brewing wanted to establish a footprint in Central Ohio, the operators wisely found ways to transform their brewpub into a modern concept that showcased house beers while elevating the food menu. What didn’t change was a desire to create a beloved neighborhood hangout, and from its opening in spring 2024, Shawnee Station Taproom | Kitchen has been busy welcoming visitors.
“We feel like we found a great spot,” says Richard Rores, a partner in the business, of the location at 6058 Glick Road. “We love the community. We’ve been very warmly received by Dublin, Shawnee Hills, Powell. This is one of the most fun projects I’ve done. While we were building it, everyone in the community stopped by to tell us how excited they were.”
This “something for everyone” spot elevates the traditional brewpub while keeping the taps flowing. SHAWNEE STATION
“We have this great edict from our ownership to be the neighborhood spot,” adds General Manager J. Larkin. “So we’ve wanted to be a beacon in the community to gather and celebrate.” The restaurant’s
location just down the street from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium also means the space is ideal to welcome visitors from well beyond the neighborhood.
Shawnee Station stands out from the average brewpub with a progressive menu developed by Head Chef Travis Hyde. “We go from having one of the best burgers all the way through our walleye sandwich,” Rores says. Chef-curated pop up wine dinners often include uncommon menu items, with an elk chop featured in December. “People come and say, ‘I can get that here?’ Then they realize there’s a really skillful set of hands in the kitchen,” Rores says.
Hyde’s menu visits familiar touchpoints while updating them, like apple cider pork belly with shoestring sweet potatoes, blue crab pimento cheese, and
flatbreads loaded with fig jam and prosciutto. His entrées cross the globe, from shrimp and grits to tuna poke bowls to cavatappi Bolognese.
The restaurant recommends: The classic burger-and-a-beer combo is something to reach for here. It’s hard to argue with such a beautifully executed double-stacked smashburger and a pint of Buckeye lager. “It comes down to the relationship to the community,” says Rores. “We just love food. We’re all chefs here, and we’re trying to put together a dynamic menu of cocktails, food and beer.” -NICHOLAS DEKKER
BY JILL MOORHEAD AND STEVE STEPHENS
Spend a weekend in one of these five historic cities along the banks of the Great Lakes, all within a day’s drive of Columbus. Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Buffalo hold tremendous charm and personality.
Lose yourself in a weekend of sensory delight in the Windy City.
Chicago, just over six hours’ drive from Columbus, invites exploration of the senses. Its neighborhoods, marked by banners declaring their identity, feel like small cities within the city. On one block, pedestrians outnumber cars. On another, a bucket drummer’s rhythms echo through the air. Bundled-up locals shuffle past with pizza boxes in hand, destinations unknown, but dinner certain. Aromas from a United Nations of cuisine shift with every step, while a zigzag route offers fleeting glimpses of sun and its welcome warmth.
With the Chicago River and Lake Michigan as constant guides and an intuitive transit system, losing your way is rare, but losing yourself in the sounds, smells, and sights of the city is inevitable.
Lose the car and head to TheWit in the North Loop, where valet parking awaits at this four-diamond Hilton Hotel, offering Chicago River views, a 2023 remodel complete with bedside Amazon Alexas, and a location steps from the State/ Main L Station and Chicago Theatre sign.
The hotel channels the energy of its theater district. Explore the flagship stores along The Magnificent Mile and Rush Street. A larger and more artistic version of Columbus shopping mecca Easton, you’ll see what happens when brands go big.
For dining, skip the Loop and venture into the neighborhoods—Lincoln Park’s Briny Swine Smokehouse & Oyster Bar is a standout, with occasional live music and unforgettable Sweet Corn & Andouille Hush Puppies with crab remoulade.
Head to the West Loop for brunch and boutique browsing, starting with a protein-packed plate at Publican Quality Meats, a butcher shop and café featured in season two of The Bear. Then, head to Millennium Park, nestled between South Michigan Avenue and the lake. Climb Franz West’s sculptures, find your reflection on The Bean and prepare to traverse the massive Art Institute of Chicago. Guests receive a guide for a quick hour-long visit, but if you arrive
before Feb. 10, don’t miss the intricate ash basket weavings of Jeremy Frey, a seventh-generation Indigenous artist. Reflect on this work with a coffee or cocktail at the Chicago Athletic Association’s Drawing Room, a blend of Gothic elegance and vintage charm. While deep dish dominates Chicago’s pizza fame, tavern-style pizza deserves attention and averts a food coma—stop by Pat’s Pizza and Ristorante in Lincoln Park, where wafer-thin crust serves as a crisp base for the toppings.
Sunday
Chicago sleeps in on Sunday mornings, leaving the city quiet for those on East Coast time. Start the day with a serene visit to AIRE Ancient Baths in River West, set in a restored 1902 factory. Relax in nine candlelit pools of varying temperatures—including a salt bath with underwater music—surrounded by exposed brick, wooden beams and industrial columns. Be sure to book early and add a massage. Afterward, head to Goddess and the Baker for a stylish brunch at this café-inspired spinoff of the beloved Goddess and Grocer. Spend the afternoon wandering the winding paths of Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary in Lincoln Park, where the sounds of birds and planes accompany stunning views of the skyline and Lake Michigan. Cap the day with a visit to Gavroche, a 32-seat gem in Old Town offering modern takes on French cuisine. Follow the aroma of browning butter, and let your senses guide you to the perfect end to the weekend. —JILL MOORHEAD
Cleveland has an in-your-face attitude—and it’s not just the icy gusts blowing off Lake Erie. Just over two hours from Columbus, this city proudly claims its spot as the birthplace of Superman, the home of rock and roll and a perennial haven for sports fans (even those with a complicated love/ hate relationship with their teams). But a weekend in Cleveland reveals so much more: a world-class destination brimming with rich arts, culture and history waiting to be explored. Before you gas up and hit the road, check out clevelandartsevents.com to see what level of creativity—or audacity—awaits. Perhaps Brite Winter, a 16-year-old outdoor music festival on Feb. 21 and 22 that scoffs unapologetically at Ohio winter temperatures is just for you.
Start your weekend in Cleveland with a stay at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown, an architectural standout overlooking Lake Erie and within easy walking distance of Huntington Bank Field, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the East 4th Street dining district. The hotel
offers Midwestern hospitality, paired with stylish rooms and lake views. After you valet, bundle up and stroll to Cordelia on East 4th Street. This high energy eatery treats Midwestern staples with the same respect as French cuisine, and it blends playful high-low décor with impeccable service. (Don’t miss the pork belly.) End the night with a nightcap at Maker, the elegant bar tucked inside the newly restored Hotel Cleveland on Public Square, where classic cocktails meet historic charm.
Saturday
Start your day with a pastry and coffee at the Cleveland Museum of Art in University Circle, a district showcasing many of the city’s cultural gems. An exhibition featuring nearly 300 of Picasso’s works runs through midMarch, and you’ll glimpse Strata, monumental clay, pumice, concrete and stone sculptures reminiscent of another Cleveland icon—the sandstone Art Deco “Guardians of Traffic” on Hope Memorial Bridge. Cleveland’s newly reopened Museum of Natural History boasts new galleries, a visitor
hall and improvements ten years in the making. Stop by the nearby Sculpture Center, a space dedicated to sculptors in the first decade of their careers. For lunch, head to Tommy’s Restaurant in Coventry Village, one of Cleveland’s first vegetarian-friendly spots. (Try their fries and spinach pies.) Next, visit Zygote Press, a community printmaking studio and gallery, before heading to Larchmere Boulevard for vintage shopping. Must-sees include Loganberry Books, an expansive shop that includes Strong Bindery, a fascinating book restoration business; Fiddlehead Gallery, featuring gifts by local and international artisans; and Adun Spice Co., where you can pick up single-origin spices and blends. End the day with dinner at Butcher and the Brewer near the hotel.
Head west to Ohio City and its surrounding neighborhoods, making sure to stop by City Goods , a collection of Cleveland-born businesses housed in chic industrial hangars. Grab brunch at James Beard nominated Larder Delicatessen and Bakery , a Jewish eatery in a restored firehouse, and catch a musical performance at Cleveland Museum of Art’s Transformer Station . If theater’s more your vibe, head over to the nationally recognized Cleveland Public Theatre , or take in some regional community theater at Near West Theatre . Close the evening back in Ohio City at Cent’s Pizza and Goods , a snug wood-fired pizzeria serving natural wines and an insider vibe that leaves no doubt: You’re in the heart of Cleveland’s in-your-face cool. —JILL MOORHEAD
To paraphrase Mark Twain by way of Henry Ford, tales of Detroit’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Although it’s suffered some hard times, Motown retains much of the energy, beauty and friendliness that have made it a must-see Midwest destination for more than a century—and a marvelous spot for a weekend getaway.
Friday
The drive to Detroit from Columbus takes less than three-and-a-half hours. A variety of lodging options awaits visitors, including the chic Siren Hotel in the former Wurlitzer Building, a 13-story Italian Renaissance Revival gem, from $179; Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, a downtown architectural icon since 1924, from $300; and Atheneum Suite Hotel in Greektown, from $189.
Detroit also has options for both foodies and visitors who prefer more traditional fare. Detroit-style pizza, said to have originated in the 1940’s at Buddy’s Pizza, is square, with pepperoni on a focaccia-like crust, topped with tomato sauce
and aged Wisconsin brick cheese. For more upscale dining, consider Joe Muer Seafood, a white-tablecloth favorite for generations of Detroiters; or trendy Freya with a slightly more casual setting and a prix-fixe menu. If you’re in the mood for a Coney Island-style hot dog—for which Detroit is also famous—stop by the iconic American Coney Island downtown.
Detroit is the Motor City, and there’s plenty of places to explore the area’s automotive history and culture.
Travelers come from around the world to visit the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. The museum has an astounding range of exhibits exploring American invention, technology and history, including automotive, of course. Among the artifacts are the bus upon which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in 1955 and the chair Abraham Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated at Ford’s Theater.
The 80-acre Greenfield Village is divided
into seven “historic districts,” where visitors can watch craftsmen who use vintage techniques; explore Thomas Edison’s original Menlo Park lab (which was moved to the site); or hop aboard an authentic Model T Ford. Other automotive venues to visit include the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum, where the first Model Ts were built, and the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in nearby Grosse Pointe.
Sunday
Detroit occupies a beautiful location on the Detroit River, which connects lakes Huron and Erie. A series of riverfront paths and trails conveniently links about three miles of interesting sites, many with beautiful river views. Stops along the Riverwalk include the iconic downtown Renaissance Center, seven connected skyscrapers that house several shops, restaurants, offices and the current headquarters of General Motors. (GM is moving out and the center’s future is in doubt, so see it while you can.)
For an evening out on the town, consider a visit to the Greektown neighborhood with its vibrant bar scene, plenty of great Greek (and other) dining spots and the Hollywood Greektown casino. —STEVE STEPHENS
Take a weekend trip to Lake Michigan’s sunrise shore.
Beer made Wisconsin’s largest city famous. Visitors will still find plenty of the sudsy stuff, from brewing giant Miller to dozens of craft brewers, producing beer in so many styles and varieties it would have made your Pabst-drinking grandpa’s head spin (if it wasn’t spinning already).
But a weekend trip to this city on Lake Michigan’s sunrise shore offers visitors, even teetotalers, so much more.
The drive from Columbus takes about seven hours. Milwaukee has a wide variety of lodging options including the historic Hilton Milwaukee City Center, a beautifully restored downtown Art Deco landmark, from $134. The Brewhouse Inn and Suites is located within the former Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery, from $159.
For the hungry, Wisconsin-style goodness can be found at Solly’s Grille, famous since 1936 for its butter-burger which, as you might guess, consists of a ground sirloin patty topped with cooked onions and a big dollop of Wisconsin butter. Milwaukee, however, has a food scene that goes well beyond the traditional brats and cheese cuisine that the region is known for. Three Brothers in the city’s lakefront Bayview neighborhood has been turning out Serbian-inspired favorites since 1956. For
an upscale and contemporary foodie experience, try the Mediterranean-centric fare at Lupi & Iris. Or for a terrific small plate and shareable menu, consider Odd Duck and its globally inspired, but locally sourced, cuisine.
Milwaukee’s Miller, Schlitz, Pabst and Blatz breweries were once among the largest in the world. Of those, only Miller, now part of multinational Molson Coors Brewing, remains. And the Miller Brewery is a great place to begin exploring Milwaukee’s brewing past and present. Visitors can take a 70-minute indoor-outdoor guided tour that explores 170 years of brewing history and technology. Tours are also available at several of the city’s modern craft breweries. And you can navigate the craft brew scene with the free Brew City Beer Pass at visitmilwaukee.com.
Brewery fortunes also led to the construction of some of Milwaukee’s grandest mansions, including the splendid Pabst Mansion, a Gilded Age masterpiece of stone, brick and terra cotta. Tours of Frederick Pabst’s 1892 home reveal gorgeous 19th-century décor, furnishings and craftsmanship, and an impressive fine arts collection.
Milwaukee’s Lake Michigan waterfront is beautiful and compelling. A great view is available from atop the Grand Staircase at historic Lake Park, designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. But the Milwaukee River has been the heart of Milwaukee since the town’s earliest days. The 3.1-mile accessible RiverWalk connects three city neighborhoods with walkways on both sides of the river.
Exploring the RiverWalk is a great way to spend a morning or entire day. The paths link Downtown’s skyscrapers, shops and restaurants; the Historic Third Ward’s classical 19th-century buildings containing boutiques, galleries and night-spots; and the Beerline “B,” a neighborhood with a long tradition of brewing.
Other unique Milwaukee attractions include the downtown Harley-Davidson museum and the Milwaukee Museum of Art, whose three lakefront buildings, designed by legendary architects Eero Saarinen, David Kahler and Santiago Calatrava, are as much a part of the experience as the art collection. —STEVE STEPHENS
Worth the drive for rich architectural history, iconic dishes and— of course—the unforgettable Niagara Falls.
To most people, the city at the eastern end of Lake Erie, a fivehour drive from Columbus, is known mostly for snow and a team that can’t quite win the Super Bowl. But Buffalo has a deep history, a magnificent natural wonder and a tradition of architectural and culinary innovation that is perfect to explore during a weekend getaway.
Buffalo has plenty of interesting lodging options, including many that reflect the city’s rich architectural history.
The Lafayette Hotel in the heart of downtown is a French Renaissance-style beauty designed by Louise Blanchard Bethune, believed to be the first professional female architect in the United States. Completed in the first decade of the 20th century, the structure is today home to the Hotel at the Lafayette, from $159 per night, as well as the Lafayette Brewing Company craft brewery and restaurant.
Or if a bed and breakfast is more your style, consider Parkside House, from $215 per night, located within walking distance of the Frank Lloyd Wrightdesigned Martin House, a must see when visiting Buffalo.
As for dining, Buffalo has far too many iconic dishes to taste in a single weekend. But you might as well try.
For instance, where do you think Buffalo wings were invented? That’s right. And the Buffalo Wing Trail will lead you to 14 of the best-loved neighborhood pubs and taverns featuring some of the best chicken wings and sauces anywhere. Don’t skip the Anchor Bar, where the
chicken wing was first served up in the form known and loved today.
At the top of any visit to Buffalo should be a stop at Niagara Falls—especially if you’ve never experienced the falls before. (And if you’ve already seen them, you certainly want to go back.) The natural wonder—and the city of Niagara Falls—are less than 20 miles from downtown, so you can drive up and take a peek in less than an hour. But once there, amidst the undeniable grandeur, you’ll probably decide to make a day of it.
In warmer weather, two must-see attractions should top any visit. The Maid of the Mist has been sailing tour boats into the teeth of the falls for nearly 180 years. The trip is wet and wild, like every waterpark ride you’ve ever been on rolled into one and multiplied by 100.
The Cave of the Winds doubles that. Guests traverse a series of redwood decks mounted against the falls cliff and skirting into the very edge of the Bridal Veil Falls. The view is much better from the Maid of the Mist, but Cave of the Winds will give you a hurricane-like thrill you’ll never forget. For the best panoramic view of the entire falls any time of year, take your passport and make the easy crossing of the Rainbow International Bridge into Canada.
The Canadian side is also the best option for falls-view dining at places like Rock House Restaurant, located at the very brink of Horseshoe Falls.
Sunday
Buffalo’s architecture offers buildings designed by such famous American
architects as Louis Sullivan, Henry Hobson Richardson and Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright’s Martin House is one of the best examples of his Prairie-style architecture and offers several different tours daily. Visitors will also find four other Wright-designed structures in Buffalo.
For an unusual and fun look at Buffalo’s past and future, try a Buffalo River History boat tour. The tour cruises past the huge grain elevators that once helped make the city the eighth-largest in the United States, which are now being repurposed and renovated for residential, commercial and other uses.
Downtown Buffalo also has its own theater district with a number of performance venues such as the beautiful and historic Shea’s Performing Arts Center, as well as several galleries, nightspots, bars and restaurants.
And before you leave Buffalo, don’t forget to get wecked. The beef on weck sandwich—sliced roast beef on a salty kimmelweck roll—is another Buffalo creation and among the great American sandwiches. It, too, has a trail, with six traditional stops including Schwabl’s in West Seneca, a Buffalo-area favorite for more than a century. (You can also order up a topnotch traditional Manhattan from the Schwabl’s bar.) —STEVE STEPHENS
The Columbus Chamber’s Annual Meeting is the most distinguished event of our calendar, uniting a remarkable assembly of Columbus Region business and community leaders. Join us at Ignite US | Fueling the Future of Columbus Together, presented by Mount Carmel Health and Wright-Patt Credit Union! Ignite US marks a pivotal moment of transition and transformation for our business community. As we welcome new leadership, this event will spotlight the collective energy, vision, and collaboration essential to driving the Columbus Region forward. Join us as we ignite fresh ideas, celebrate our shared achievements, and build connections that will shape the future. This is your opportunity to engage with the leaders and innovators who will steer our region through its next chapter, ensuring Columbus remains a vibrant and prosperous hub for all.
Young people in Greater Columbus—and their families—have a wide array of private and independent schools to choose from. In the pages that follow, we offer an alphabetical list of the most notable schools in the region. The information on enrollment, student-teacher ratio and tuition is current as of December 2024.
Columbus Academy
This 114-year-old independent coeducational school cultivates an atmosphere that transforms lives by igniting curiosity while developing appetites for learning and the confidence to live with intention. “We create a culture of thinking and learning,” says head of school Melissa Soderberg. “We are a tight-knit community, but we raise our children to be at home in the world.” The unmatched campus stretches over 231 acres of woods and streams, outdoor classrooms, high-tech makerspace labs, conservatory-quality music rooms and athletic facilities that rival small colleges. 4300 Cherry Bottom Rd., Gahanna; 614-509-2220; columbus academy.org
Grades: Age 3–grade 12
Enrollment: 1,162
Average student-teacher ratio: 7:1
Tuition: $15,300–$35,300
Columbus School for Girls
Since 1898, Columbus School for Girls has been a proud pioneer in educating and empowering girls and young women to excel in every aspect of life. This legacy of excellence comes alive across its three-campus learning environment, where students shine in the classroom, on stage and on the athletic field. Led by 14th head of school Camille Seals, the robust curriculum includes computer science, visual and performing arts, leadership development, experiential learning, and global studies. Students are also encouraged to excel athletically on a sprawling 70-acre campus. 65 S. Drexel Ave., Columbus; 614-252-0781; columbusschoolforgirls.org
Grades: Pre-K–12
Enrollment: 528
Average student-teacher ratio: 8:1
Tuition: $12,300–$31,900
Located on 7 acres, this school stresses hands-on learning and standards-driven dual curriculum, which includes Torah study and the Hebrew language. Leaders say that students leave their time at the school with the tools for the next step in their education, recognizing the importance of both intellectual growth and social responsibility. “We integrate both Jewish and secular learning across all subject areas,” says director of admissions and marketing Julie Mikalov. “Our approach empowers students to become lifelong learners and compassionate, thoughtful individuals. We are committed to helping every student discover their unique path.” 150 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., New Albany; 614-939-5311; cjds.org
Grades: K–5
Enrollment: 60
Average student-teacher ratio: 8:1
Tuition: $18,625
This private, faith-based school combines a rigorous academic program, including honors, advanced placement and college credit plus courses, with an emphasis on community service and numerous athletic offerings. The results speak for themselves: the school has a college placement rate of 100 percent. “We believe we are the best-kept secret in Central Ohio,” says head of school Andrew J. Mills. “We take great pride in creating strategies to help our students achieve their goals in the classroom, in the community and in their relationships with Jesus Christ.” 4595 Gender Rd., Canal Winchester; 614-382-1111; harvestprep.org
Grades: K–12
Enrollment: 806
Average student-teacher ratio: 15:1 Tuition: $6,500–$9,200
e will thrive. She will ovate. She will experi he will She will pire. She will innovat e will thrive. She will ovate. She will experi She will lead. She will columbusschoolforgirls.org
At Columbus School for Girls, academic excellence and experiential learning create an environment designed intentionally for girls. With small class sizes, award-winning faculty, and experiential learning like no other, it’s no wonder why Columbus School for Girls is the only choice for girls to truly thrive! lead. pire. She will innova e will thrive. She will ovate. She will experi She will lead. She will
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Marburn Academy
On its 17-acre campus in New Albany, Marburn Academy prides itself on its program tailored specifically to those who learn differently due to dyslexia, ADHD and executive function difficulties. “We are proud to be the only school in the Midwest with a full academic program accredited by the Orton-Gillingham Academy,” says head of school Eldrich Carr. “Through this approach, Marburn Academy supports all students as they acquire the skills, self-knowledge, and strength of character needed to be successful in school and life.” Financial aid options are available, and the school is a Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Provider. 9555 Johnstown Rd., New Albany; 614433-0822; marburnacademy.org
Grades: 1–12
Enrollment: 196
Average student-teacher ratio: 8:1 (grades 1–8); 16:1 (grades 9–12)
Tuition: $33,030– $34,385
Oak Community School
Red Oak’s primary purpose is to develop confident, capable learners through a growth mindset approach that equally values social/emotional skills alongside academic skills. The school serves learners across 15 school districts in central Ohio. Red Oak offers integrated two and three day homeschool supplement programs, allowing part-time students to experience a more traditional school day while providing professional support and resources for homeschool-
ing parents. 93 W. Weisheimer Rd., Columbus; 614-362-9776; redoak communityschool.org
Grades: K–grade 5
Enrollment: 80
Average student-teacher ratio: 12:1
Tuition: $4,643–$10,495
The Wellington School
Founded in 1982 by a group of local entrepreneurs as Columbus’ first coeducational independent school, The Wellington School is dedicated to helping students find their purpose and realize their potential for tomorrow’s world. Students in preschool through grade 12 have freedom to delve into interests that spark their curiosity, all while building a solid academic foundation through challenging and engaging
curriculum. The Wellington School believes that every form of diversity makes people stronger and strives for each member of its learning community to share their individual voice and have a deep sense of belonging. 3650 Reed Rd., Columbus; 614-457-7883; wellington.org
Grades: Pre-K–12
Enrollment: 719
Average student-teacher ratio: 8:1
Tuition: $22,500-33,000
Welsh Hills
The words of Katherine Naul, the founder of Licking County’s only independent school, still resonate with leaders today: “We believe that education must exceed the limits of the mere accumulation of information by extending the child’s education to include the creative, experimental and practical use of knowledge.” Celebrating its 45th year, the school remains committed to those principles, which are reflected in its STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) program, which allows students to acquire knowledge in those areas through hands-on applications. “Our students are provided with myriad opportunities to creatively apply what they are learning in a project-based approach and to increase their depth of knowledge through the pursuit of interest-driven learning,” says head of school Shelli Drumm. 2610 Newark-Granville Rd., Granville; 740-5222020; welshhills.org
Grades: 18 months–grade 12
Enrollment: 80
Average student-teacher ratio: 8:1
Tuition: $5,850-$14,550
Curating Memories
The home of gallerist Brenda Kroos is filled with artwork she’s lovingly collected over a lifetime, including “Angel Doll” by an unknown artist. See her collection starting on Page 55.
Blossom Flower Bar in the Short North delivers create-a-bouquet joy.
By Lucy Clark
Whether gracing your wrist or lapel at a wedding, gifted on a birthday or anniversary, or sprucing up your home, flowers are there to chart the moments in your life—a sentiment Blossom Flower Bar owner Megan Robinson holds dear.
The Cleveland-based boutique opened in a Short North storefront in December, offering public and private workshops, delivery services, arrangements and the ability to design your own bouquet. Though similar to what’s available at Market Blooms in the North Market, at Blossom, you’re encouraged to bring friends, food and drinks, and make yourself at home for an afternoon of flower arranging. The space, described by manager Patsy Francescon as “refreshing and creative,” holds a seasonal assortment of individual stems in boxes along the walls. A menu on the bar top tables provides the price-per-stem and an arrangement guide. Walk-ins are welcomed and encouraged, Robinson says.
“I can’t tell you how many people have come in and just for fun, during the day, they’ll say, ‘Hey, I’m going to make myself something,’ but then they end up coming back for all of our workshops. There’s really something [special] about getting your hands in there and getting dirty.”
This is Robinson’s third Blossom store. Coming from a background in real estate, she took inspiration from flower trucks popular in the South. “I was like, what if we did something like the flower truck where people can get flowers per stem, but in a store? And it evolved from there. I was just taking a walk one day and there was a storefront for lease right around my house [in Lakewood, a Cleveland suburb]. And I was like, why not?”
Six years later, Blossom has evolved from an impulse to a fixture in its Lakewood home, and it’s opened a second store in Chagrin Falls.
The Short North reception has been overwhelmingly positive, Robinson says.
SHORTHAND
Blossom Flower Bar
946 N. High St. (614) 572-1694
Hours: 11 a.m. to 4.pm.
Tuesday–Thursday, Saturday–Sunday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday
“The residential population in the neighborhood has been so welcoming and very excited about the concept, but also the businesses. I can’t stress enough how great it’s been to just have this community and be so well received.”
Robinson sought out the Short North because of the artistic, experience-based small business culture, citing shops like Penn & Beech Candle Co., where you can pour candles, and Pinot’s Palette, which offers wine-while-painting sessions. “We didn’t look anywhere else in Columbus other than the Short North,” she says.
Flowers are more than decoration or memento to Robinson. “Almost all of our customers identify as women, and it’s really cool, because that’s empowering. Like, hey, I’m going to send my friend a bouquet just because she deserves it. People want to empower each other,” she says. “And it’s empowering for me as a business owner, getting to hear about someone’s day. [They’re] going to literally stop and smell the flowers.” ◆
Gallerist Brenda Kroos’ Dublin home is filled with reflections on a ‘lifetime of relationships and exploration.’
Brenda Kroos and Larry Renner’s worlds collided the day he walked into her gallery in Cleveland in 1992 to purchase artwork for a client. He was an interior designer and, at 59, had never married. She was divorced. The two connected quickly and were married nine months later in the gallery.
Kroos opened the 5,000-square-foot gallery in the city’s Warehouse District following a 10-year run operating the first woman-owned art gallery in Columbus—Brenda Kroos Gallery in Olde Towne East. When the Cleveland lease was up in 2003, she and Renner decided to move to the capital city.
They purchased a condominium in Muirfield Village that previously was owned by sportscaster Jimmy Crum and his wife. The couple immediately felt at home, even though they knew they’d need to modernize the interior. “This is it,” Renner told his wife as he stood in the upstairs loft and admired the view into the living room. “We’re going to turn this into a place that’s really fabulous.”
Kroos and Renner had similar interests in the arts, music, theater, dance, gardening and travel, and they shared a love of family and friends. It was the glue that held them together as true soulmates, Kroos says. They used those shared passions to reimagine their new home. They replaced the pink granite floors with black granite in the entryway, bathroom and fireplace. They removed ceiling fans and put in track lighting. They painted the walls stark white to serve as a background for their artwork, just like in the galleries. They also replaced the flooring with neutral carpet, and they added a classic Italian sofa and Knoll Brno chairs from the Bauhaus Collection. Their new dining room table echoed the work of Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, which was paired with mid-century modern chairs.
The redesign also involved adorning the home with a collection of sculptures from Papua New Guinea, which they placed on black granite and metal ped-
‘‘ My home has always been a place of sharing these wonderful memories with family and friends.
estals designed by Renner. Original artwork from artists Kroos has represented over the years fills the space, joined by global finds like an embroidered piece of art from a Southeast Asian bus stop and a 400-year-old mask from Africa. A
Haitian-carved wood sculpture of men in a boat, African giraffe sculptures, a woven peace bowl from Rwanda, wooden puppets carved by artists in Prague, and a Marilyn Monroe serigraph display are some of the items featured in the home.
The loft features a striking portrait of Kroos that was part of an animal welfare fundraiser in Cleveland. Before Renner got a chance to purchase it for her, she purchased it for him. Renner died in 2010. It was his wish that Kroos continue to pursue a life filled with joy and happiness. Part of that involved resuming her art consulting business—Brenda Kroos Gallery—after pausing to help care for him during an illness. She also resumed her love for travel, and brought back artwork and objects from each place she visited, just like she and Renner had done. In December, she traveled to Antarctica via Buenos Aires and brought back work from a street artist there.
Clockwise from top starting on facing page: Portrait of Brenda Kroos; carved wood sculpture from Papau New Guinea, painting by a Cuban artist, mixed media by David Bierk and lithograph by Fernand Leger; set of three Poppy Flowers paintings by Dean Drahos over the fireplace; carved wood sculpture from Haiti; painting by Todd Camp of Columbus and bookshelves with original paintings by Dean Drahos
Today, Kroos is celebrating her 47th year in business and works from her home as an art consultant helping clients create environments with high quality prints, original art, sculptures and murals. Her clients have included Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, PwC and EY, and she’s worked with many architectural and interior design firms.
Kroos has maintained a special interest in representing artists with disabilities. Her collection includes artists working with Open Door Art Studio and Gallery in Grandview Heights, which strives to make the arts accessible for people with disabilities. This interest began when Kroos was head of recreation at Orient State Institution, a facility for people with disabilities that became a prison in 1984 and closed in 2002. Her bachelor’s degree is in physical education from Ohio State University.
Brenda Kroos Gallery hosted the first solo art show of Ralph Bell, who lived with cerebral palsy and resided at Orient. When he was 67, an occupational therapist gave him a paintbrush attached to a piece of headgear. He used it to paint brilliant watercolors and continued his craft when he was moved to apartments on Columbus’ West Side. She has his artwork in her home, too.
Kroos says her home is a reflection of the things she loves; every object and artwork has a story.
“My home has always been a place of sharing these wonderful memories with family and friends,” she says. “My story is an example of how the art in my home is more than a collection. It is a connection to a lifetime of relationships and exploration.” ◆
Dec. 1-31, 2024
$3,495,000 4632 Tensweep, New Albany
Todd and Carie Shepard from Michael and Jessica Jackson
$2,850,000 7547 Ehret Round, New Albany Keri Lee Carmen from Andrej Mueller
$2,250,000 7414 Milton Ct., New Albany
$1,930,000 2249 Yorkshire Rd., Upper Arlington
$1,450,000 7605 Steeplechase Ln., New Albany
$1,431,000 7714 Ogden Woods Blvd., New Albany
$1,409,900 3774 E. Pembrooke Green, New Albany
$1,390,000 104 Orchard Wood Path, Granville
$1,383,839 5962 Victory Ln., Galena
$1,365,000 1890 Tremont Rd., Upper Arlington
$1,335,000 7557 N. Goodrich Sq., New Albany
$1,300,000 2363 Wickliffe Rd., Upper Arlington
$1,300,000 4028 Chelsea Green W., New Albany
$1,275,000 2800 Squires Ridge, Upper Arlington
$1,200,000 6393 Albanese Cir., Dublin
$1,200,000 5151 Green-Cook Rd., New Albany
$1,150,000 4345 Brookie Ct., Columbus
$1,150,000 7859 Calverton Sq., New Albany
$1,100,000 7200 Oxford Loop N., New Albany
$1,095,400 4020 Patricia Dr., Upper Arlington
$1,050,000 7816 Straits Ln., New Albany
$1,050,000 4217 Penrith Ct., Dublin
$1,050,000 3561 Westbrook Pl., Lewis Center
$1,000,000 2003 Beverly Rd., Upper Arlington
$996,999 854 Newark-Granville Rd., Granville
Zaigham Shah and Summiyah Nasir from Richard D. and Lori A. Weiner
Bradley Wayne and Sarah Christine Royalty from Ryan Frederick Smith Trust and Belinda Jean Frazer Trust
Lauren Carter and William Ei from Bob Webb Woodhaven LLC
Aaron and Rebecca A. Shocket from Caleb Ryan and Andrea Lee Porter
Alexander Ryan Mallison and Samantha Leigh Marks from Tracie L. and Ryan D. Klinefelter
John and Andra Less from Joseph A. and Dianna S. Sayre
Matthew R. Anderson trustee from Bob Webb Nook at Highland Lakes LLC
Charles O. and Leyla F. Moore from Brad and Sarah Royalty
Morgan J. Simon from Jonathon D. Jasper and Douglas Thor Hess
Chris and Allison Forhan Gottron from Tuckerman Home Group Inc.
Ryan P. Flynn trustee and Lisa M. Flynn trustee from Scott A. Kriss
Ryan and Amy Watt from Gerald B. Penn trustee
Sangamesh Hubballi and Chaitra Shivan from Daniel and Shanda Yoon
Amy L. and James D. Gehrig from Stacie N. Fleming trustees
Brent M. Jenkins and Stacy R. Sleeper from Sarah E. Driskill and Sarah Jacobs
David Vaziri trustee from Stephen and Nancy E. Morris
Jennifer M. Taylor from Adam Stephen and Elle V. Young
Joseph Pool trustee from Namhak LLC
Michael and Jessica Kozak from Vanessa and Howard Lee Mosbacker IV
Arthur Jefferson Palmer from Scott P. and Anne V. Moore
Ryan Scott and Lisa Lidke from David C. and Jill A. Sisson
Charles Lovett Palmer IV and Amanda L. Martz from Sarah and David S. Simpson
Matthias M. Edrich and Malliga Och from CCSJPS LLC
DON’T MISS A WORD
On the field. In the locker room. On the recruiting trail.
If it’s happening in Scarlet & Gray, it’s happening here.
This Yellow Springs institution— best visited at lunch—boasts a poetic menu and creative fare.
By Bailey Trask
A mainstay in the progressive town of Yellow Springs, the Winds Café has been a dining destination for 47 years. Opened in 1977 as a collectively owned and operated café called The Four Winds, it has since evolved into a European-inspired restaurant with an American twist, emphasizing locally sourced, organic ingredients produced using humane and environmentally friendly methods. Located just 45 minutes from Columbus, visitors to Yellow Springs can pair a meal at the Winds with exploring independent artisan shops, hiking in Glen Helen Nature Preserve or John Bryan State Park, or cycling along the town’s scenic bike paths.
The Winds frequently hosts special events and boasts a seasonal menu that changes every two months. Its menu often doubles as a poetic thesis, featuring heartfelt explanations about the food, insights into farming conditions and appeals for community peace. In late summer 2024, the menu shared a poignant note on the absence of sunflower seeds— usually harvested from the restaurant’s picturesque sunflower field—due to drought. This same page also acknowledged the undue attention its neighbors in Springfield were receiving, serving a course of empathy with its homegrown, vegetable-forward menu.
Lunch is an ideal time to visit the Winds. Arrive before 3 p.m. to enjoy the full menu, or opt for a limited selection at the bar during the brief transition between lunch and dinner service. Outdoor seating is available when weather permits, and the attentive service adds a touch of casual luxury, with an ambience that makes any visitor feel like a regular.
One standout item is the Organic Sandwich II ($13). “Ok...take a deep breath. Remember, change is good.” These words on the menu serve as a warning to longtime diners that the restaurant’s vegetarian cheese sandwich—available all day—has evolved.
Winds Café
I had mine barside after a late autumn hike. Served on a crusty wheat bread, the surprisingly filling salad-on-asandwich partners cool white cheddar, avocado spread, microgreens, roasted marinated tomato and a crisp slaw of cucumber with pickled red onions tying it all together.
The restaurant’s kale salad is called Winter Is Upon Us-Emma Style ($12) and is based on one found in an Asheville, North Carolina, restaurant. Rib-
215 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs windscafe.com
Open: Tuesday–Saturday for lunch and dinner
bons of kale meet thinly sliced pears, goat cheese bits, and a tart and sweet dressing. Dinner, while popular (reservations are suggested), presented some challenges when I visited in November. The dining room, adorned with local art, is hampered
by poor acoustics that make for quite a noisy experience. (This is less problematic during the less-crowded lunchtime.) Service, though earnest, lacks polish, which also seems out of step with the elevated menu and upscale décor.
One favorite appetizer is the smoked trout cake ($14), a Winds classic. The meatball-sized, pan-fried smoky trout cakes boast a crisp exterior, though they lean a bit salty. The accompanying apple salad (a few sticks of Peifer Orchard apples kissed with vinaigrette and bright chive oil) is delicious but sparse.
Among the mains, the seared scallops and dill ($38) were a standout, specifically because of the incredible, thinly sliced roasted fingerling potatoes served atop a dill cream. The Duck You Can Eat With a Spoon ($32), was served cassoulet-style and the duck was indeed spoon-worthy. Unfortunately, the butter beans served in the wine reduction appeared to be cooked separately, and thus were on the raw end of al dente. Given the strong flavor profile of the dish, this was disappointing, as the beans should serve to balance the gamey duck.
There’s definitely room for dessert. A berry and kiwi-laden pavlova was a de-
lightful end to the meal. Layers of crisp meringue (with perfect marshmallow center) are stacked with whipped cream in this delectable dish.
The Winds Café remains an important part of Yellow Springs, and its commit-
ment to local, ethical sourcing is commendable. Yet, like its sunflower field, this may have been an off season. For now, a visit for lunch is a good bet, when the experience better matches the restaurant’s potential. Pair your visit with a hike or stroll through town—you’ll leave happy and full. ◆
Local Millers stone-grinds flours from sustainably grown grains. Columbus chefs love them.
By Kirsten Reach
It’s only midmorning when I meet Doris Bozzi, owner of family-run Local Millers flour, but she has already made several stops today, including to Weiland’s Market to drop off the pumpkin biscotti she bakes. If you start looking, you’ll see the Bozzis’ grains in many places, including in the Birdseed Sourdough at Yawning Bear Bread, the Rust Belt Sourdough at Littleton’s Market Bakery and in The Bread Pirate Roberts’ offerings at Emmett’s Café, to name a few.
according to Local Millers’ website, and the sustainable farming practices produce unique grains that are in high demand. Today, Local Millers is selling its flour widely in Ohio, with partners in Lancaster, Gambier and Sandusky, in addition to business across Central Ohio.
Local Millers flours are available for purchase at localmillers.com
Founded in 2021, Bozzi left her full-time job in March 2023 to pursue the business, which now mills 6,000 pounds of flour each week at Brandt Family Farms in Carroll, Ohio. Founder David Brandt is known as the “godfather of regenerative agriculture,”
Columbus is in the middle of an agricultural state, and Ohio is one of the largest producers of soft red wheat in the nation, according to data from Ohio State’s Agronomic Crops Network. But much of the state’s corn is grown for livestock, and most of the flour is grown for the commercial market. The Bozzis are determined to provide grains that are local, stone-ground and that support the soil through regenerative agriculture.
“Whether you have a heritage, heirloom, ancient or modern grain, if it’s grown on a farm that is focusing on their soil health, it’s going to be a healthier product,” Bozzi says. While Local Millers does offer some modern strains of wheat, when it’s “grown properly, it’s going to be healthier than somebody who’s mass-produced it on soil that has no nutrients and just added lots of chemicals to it,” she explains.
One standout product is Local Millers’ Blue Clarage cornmeal, made from a sweet dent corn with a remarkable hue that has been grown in the Columbus area since the 1920s. Bozzi says Blue Clarage has traditionally had a bit of a marketing problem, since the farmer who first popularized it had the last name Rotten, and it was known for years as “Rotten corn.”
But with Local Millers’ rebranding and a little cream, the heritage corn has found a new audience. “I swear by it, and I try to push it on other chefs,” says Ryan Southern, executive chef at Alqueria on King Avenue. “I’ll keep using it forever, probably.” Southern uses Blue Clarage for the restaurant’s shrimp and grits, pork belly and fried green tomatoes.
Liz Brett, owner of Yawning Bear Bread Co., agrees the flavor and scent of Local Millers’ flours are “extraordinary.” While baking with freshly milled flour has a learning curve, requiring a lower hydration than what you might find on
Courtesy Ryan Southern, Alqueria
Serves 4
1 cup Blue Clarage Corn Grits (may substitute any other Local Millers variety of corn grits)
3 cups water
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
¼ cup Spanish paprika (or less, to taste)
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
½ cup heavy cream or whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring water, butter and seasonings to a rolling boil. Slowly pour the grits into the pot while quickly whisking so they don’t clump. Keep whisking until thoroughly incorporated. Allow to boil for about eight minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes while you bring the cream or milk to a simmer, then whisk into the grits. Add more cream as desired and salt and pepper to taste.
grocery shelves, the Bozzis’ partners find the experience worthwhile.
“I cracked open some Turkey Red [wheat flour]. When I opened that bag, I was like ‘Oh, I’m standing in a harvest field right now. I’m in coveralls, I’m a farmer,’” Brett says. “I instantly fell in love.” ◆
We tried five varieties made by brewers across the Buckeye State to find our favorite.
By Linda Lee Baird
When you’re looking for the perfect beer to balance out a hefty meal, reaching for a pilsner is a good choice. Named for the city of Pilsen, Czech Republic, where the style originated in 1842, pilsners are a member of the lager family—light in color and crisp in the mouth, but heartier than their appearance might suggest. This is a beer robust enough to be served alongside a warm roast on a cold winter’s night, although it wouldn’t be out of place during your summer barbecue.
Several Ohio breweries produce pilsners of their own. The food team from Columbus Monthly and The ColumbusDispatch tried five versions from around the state. We sampled:
• Piazza by Jackie O’s Brewery (Athens)
• Slackpacker by Nocterra Brewing Co. (Columbus/Powell)
• Katzinger’s 1984 by Wolf’s Ridge (Columbus)
• American Pilsner by Immigrant Son Brewery (Lakewood)
• Bush Organic Pilsner by Half Baked (Columbus)
Beers were purchased in cans and each was poured into a plastic cup, then sampled blindly. Tasters ranked each on flavor, appearance, smell, carbonation and the overall experience.
Our Tasting Panel’s Picks
While calling them the “bottom three” is a misnomer, as I maintain pilsners are very drinkable, the beers that received the lowest scores were all within three points of one another, and there was quite a bit of disagreement among tasters about what they liked. (One person said the Bush had an “odd, implacable flavor,”
while another called it a “crisp, drinkable beer.”) Katzinger’s 1984 and Slackpacker joined the Bush in this group.
Piazza, an Italian-style pilsner made by Jackie O’s, was the second-favorite flavor sampled by our tasting team. The “citrusy, floral flavors” topped by a “soft froth” stood out to its fans, although a bitterness detected after the initial sip was harder for some to swallow.
Coming out on top was the simply named American Pilsner by Immigrant Son Brewery in the Cleveland area. Like its name, the beer stood out for its flavor-without-frills. One fan called it “rounder than others; well balanced” while another praised the “soft flavor with floral hoppy notes.”
But the experience might be best summarized by the taster who wrote simply, “I could drink a few of these.” ◆
Editor’s Note: Please call restaurants to check hours and menu availability.
$$$$ Very expensive, $30 and higher
$$$ Spendy, $21–$29
$$ Moderate, $13–$20
$ Affordable, under $12
NEW Restaurant has opened within the last few months.
Outdoor Seating
B Breakfast BR Brunch L Lunch D Dinner
2024 Best New Restaurants
Let’s Eat comprises Columbus Monthly editors’ picks and is updated monthly based on available space. Send updates to letters@columbusmonthly.com.
1808 American Bistro
Josh Dalton’s American bistro uses both contemporary and classic elements in décor and cooking. The menu features short ribs, filet medallions, and shrimp and grits. 29 E. Winter St., Delaware, 740-417-4373. BRD $$$
Asterisk Supper Club
Owner Megan Ada offers teatime and suppertime in a bibliophile’s dream atmosphere. Craft cocktails are served at a handsome bar, while the eclectic menu ranges from fancy grilled cheese to lamb chops. 14 N. State St., Westerville, 614-7764633. LD $$
Hudson 29
This Cameron Mitchell restaurant looks to bridge the gap between Napa-inspired, California-fresh cuisine and Texas-style comfort food, with simple approaches to dishes like flatbreads, steaks, sushi and knife-and-fork sandwiches coming out of an open kitchen. 260 Market St., New Albany, 614-859-2900; 1600 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington, 614-487-0622. BRLD $$$$
Kitchen Social
A stylish, independently owned restaurant serving classic American grill fare alongside plates inspired by global cuisines. Start with the fan-favorite cheddar and scallion
Visit columbus monthly.com to read about the latest restaurant openings.
Bite This
biscuits to go with any of the signature cocktails or a glass from the extensive wine list. The menu includes entrée salads, pizzas, tacos, seafood, steaks and more. 6791 Longshore St., Ste. 110, Dublin, 614763-1770; 8954 Lyra Dr., Polaris, 614-5058492. BRLD $$
MTM Tavern | Steakhouse
American eatery Matt the Miller’s updated its name and menu to emphasize steak. The menu still ranges a good deal, from Lake Erie walleye to flatbread pizzas, and the classic fish and chips remain. 6725 Avery-Muirfield Dr., Dublin, 614-799-9100. BRLD $$
Shade on the Canal
A friendly neighborhood watering hole and restaurant with a massive menu of sports bar standards, like loaded nachos, salads, sandwiches, pizza and excellent wings. 19 S. High St., Canal Winchester, 614-8379873. LD $
Auddino’s Italian Bakery
They don’t make bakeries like Auddino’s anymore. This old-school Italian retail bakeshop and wholesaler offers sandwich buns, pizza dough, pastries, cookies and more. 1490 Clara St., University District, 614294-2577. BL $
Bite This
Annie Dickson’s bakery celebrates goth culture as much as it does her innovative baked creations. A 12-foot tall skeleton greets visitors who stop in to this take-out shop for cakes, brownies and Dickson’s famous savory Bagel Bombs. 3009 N. High St., Clintonville. BL $
Kolache Republic
Now located inside The Daily Growler, this Czech-inspired bakery offers sweet and savory kolache for breakfast as well as varieties like kielbasa and cheese that pair well with beer. 730 S. High St., German Village. BLD $
NEW Paris Baguette
“Paris” may be part of the name, but this Korean bakery chain serves so much more than your traditional French fare. Yes, you’ll find croissants and quiche, but the menu also includes mochi, milk buns and other sweet and savory options, served all day. 3969 Merchants Row. Easton, (614) 9145133; 8839 Lyra Dr., Polaris, (614) 368-2007; 1325 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington, (201) 507-4805. BLD $
The crème de la crème of Columbus pastry shops, with macarons, croissants, éclairs, tarts, quiches and a small selection of sandwiches. 541 S. Third St., German Village, 614-220-9070. BL $
Alchemy Café
This café is no protein shake shack. It’s simple, healthy food that’s familiar and whole, with recipes created by a registered dietitian. The menu is vegetarian-friendly and includes smoothies, toast, açai bowls, sandwiches, juice, and grab-and-go salads and snacks. 625 Parsons Ave., Schumacher Place, 614-305-7551. BLD $$
Heirloom Café
The fresh and seasonal café located inside the Wexner Center for the Arts always seems to have whatever we’re craving—homemade soup, sandwiches, salads, pastries and coffee drinks. 1871 N. High St., Campus, 614-2922233. BL $
Katalina’s
Expect an eclectic menu of Latin-leaning items at this café known for its pancake balls, breakfast tacos, egg sandwiches and killer patio in the warmer months. 3481 N. High St., Clintonville, 614-689-8896; 1105 Pennsylvania Ave., Harrison West, 614-2942233. BLD $$
NEW Pine Coast Café
This Dearborn, Michigan-founded café features fresh sandwiches, salads and innovative sides like Kimchi Steak Fries. A kids’ menu and variety of ice creams make Pine Coast a good stop for all ages. 3229 Hilliard-Rome Rd., Hilliard, 614-219-1161. LD $
Rio Fresh Café & Pizzeria
With an all-organic menu, Rio Fresh has a wide array of smoothies to go along with breakfast favorites like French toast and lunch options like the avocado turkey croissant and grilled chicken bowl. 50 N. High St., Downtown, 614-817-1073; 747 N. High St., Short North, 614-732-0011. BL $$
Addis Restaurant
The injera here is about as good as it gets with traditional Ethiopian dishes like tibs, kitfo, shiro wot and doro wot. 3750 Cleveland Ave., North Side, 614-269-8680. LD $$
Nile Vegan
Vegan meets Ethiopian at this restaurant, where customers can expect affordable combination plates of stewed or puréed veggies on injera. Go for the mushroom combo, a mushroom stew with curry split peas, a beet medley and Puy lentils. Don’t forget the chai. 1223 Goodale Blvd., Grandview, 614-223-1288. BLD $
Zara Restaurant & Bar
Find fresh and affordable East African cuisine like tibs, dulet and kitfo at this spot on the East Side of Columbus. 1383 S. Hamilton Rd., Whitehall, 614-826-1459. BLD $$
101 Beer Kitchen
At this expertly executed gastropub (its owners could school others in the art of developing a restaurant), craft brews are paired with madefrom-scratch, seasonal dishes. 7509 Sawmill Rd., Dublin, 614-210-1010; 397 Stoneridge Ln., Gahanna, 614-934-5501; 817 Polaris Pkwy., Westerville, 614-776-4775. BRLD $$
Atlas Tavern
Located at The Pointe at Polaris, Atlas pairs house cocktails and craft beer with wellexecuted tavern fare like wings, burgers, nachos and a fine fried chicken sandwich. 8944 Lyra Dr., Polaris, 614-400-9739. LD $$
High Bank Distillery Co.
High Bank’s dining room offers plenty of games, TVs and space for large groups. The cocktail menu puts the distillery’s own offerings to good use, while the food menu offers grown-up pub fare such pizzas, locally sourced beef burgers and seared salmon. 28 S. State St., Westerville, 614-380-3130; 1379 E. Johnstown Rd., Gahanna, 614-656-7343; 1051 Goodale Blvd., Grandview, 614-8265347. BRLD $$
The Pearl
Gastropub meets oyster bar at this Cameron Mitchell restaurant with a throwback vibe, craft beer and barrel-aged cocktails. 88 N. High St., Dublin, 614-6956255; 641 N. High St., Short North, 614227-0151. BRLD $$$$
Prohibition Gastro Lounge
A hip spot in quaint downtown Powell serving craft cocktails and elevated bar food such as truffle fries, duck tacos and scallop mac ’n’ cheese. 21 W. Olentangy St., Powell, 614-840-9100. D $$$
Basi Italia
Nestled in the heart of Victorian Village, Basi Italia serves clean, simple Italian fare with innovative twists in a setting so intimate, you’ll feel like the chef invited you over for dinner. Basi offers one of the city’s best patios. 811 Highland St., Victorian Village, 614-294-7383. D $$$$
Figlio Wood Fired Pizza
The vibe is simple and relaxed at this longtime neighborhood restaurant with Italian dishes, wood-fired pizzas and a hearty wine list inspired by the travels of owners Peter and Laurie Danis. 1369 Grandview Ave., Fifth by Northwest, 614-481-8850. D $$$
Moretti’s
An intimate neighborhood eatery serving traditional Italian fare with sausage made in-house, lasagna, veal française and crab cakes. 5849 Sawmill Rd., Dublin, 614-7170400. D $$$
Speck Italian Eatery
Chef Josh Dalton tackles rustic Italian fare at this buzzy Downtown spot in the Nicholas building. The menu ranges from mortadella on house focaccia to rigatoni Amatriciana to scallop risotto. 89 N. High St., Downtown, 614-754-8544. LD $$$$
Villa Nova Ristorante
A family-owned Italian eatery that’s a local favorite for its red-sauce Italian cuisine (manicotti, lasagna and ravioli), no-frills pizza and ice-cold beer. 5545 N. High St., Worthington, 614-846-5777. LD $$
Everest Cuisine
Combining Nepalese, Tibetan and Indian fare, Everest Cuisine boasts authentic dining at affordable prices in Old Worthington. 652 High St., Worthington, 614-601-6004. LD $$
Momo Ghar
Since 2016, Momo Ghar has gained a loyal following thanks to the handmade dumplings that co-owner Phuntso Lama and her crew make by the hundreds, weekly. No trip is complete without the bestseller, jhol momo. 59 Spruce St., Short North, 614495-6666. LD $$
Namaste Indo-Nepali Cuisine
At humble Namaste you’ll taste Nepal via influential neighbors India and China. Familiar favorites like samosas, tandoori chicken and curries are all here, but the menu lets you know they’ve been seasoned Nepali style (think ginger, cumin, fenugreek, cardamom, coriander, cloves and mustard seeds). 1307 Stoneridge Dr., Gahanna, 614-705-6077; 1279 Morse Rd., Northeast Side, 614-2613636. LD $$
COLO Market & Oyster Bar
In addition to fresh seafood for cooking at home, this North Market fishmonger offers lobster rolls, chowder, shrimp po’ boys and oysters on the half shell. 6750 Longshore St., Dublin, 614-683-8782; 59 Spruce St., Short North, 614-929-5701. LD $$$
Cousins Maine Lobster
Lobsters shipped directly from Maine are carefully prepared in small batches to provide a traditional New England experience. Offers lobster rolls, lobster tots, shrimp tacos and whoopie pies. Food Truck, Citywide, 614448-1256. LD $$
Mitchell’s Ocean Club
With wood-paneled décor, live piano music and martinis shaken tableside, the Ocean Club evokes the Rat Pack era. On the menu, expect high-end seafood like yellowfin tuna, teriyaki salmon and jumbo lump crab cakes. 4002 Easton Station, Easton, 614-416-2582. D $$$$
Pier 11 Boiling Seafood & Bar
Windward Passage Restaurant
Pier 11 offers seafood kicked up with Cajun and Creole flavors. Offerings include boiled shrimp, crawfish and mussels, as well as po’boys and fried catfish. 1335 Stoneridge Dr., Gahanna, 614-934-7077; 7661 Farmsbury Dr., Reynoldsburg, 614-367-6666; 3920 E. Broad St., Whitehall, 614-817-1007. LD $$
This hoot of a retro restaurant has porthole windows and nautical décor, as well as some of the best fried fish in town. 4739 Reed Rd., Upper Arlington, 614-451-2497. D $$$
Buckeye Pho
Venture to this strip mall eatery for highquality Vietnamese fare such as a fantastic banh mi. 761 Bethel Rd., Northwest Side, 614-451-2828. LD $$
Huong Vietnamese Restaurant
Housed in a Northland-area strip mall, this bright and simply decorated restaurant turns out great Vietnamese fare such as pho, bahn xeo and bun nem nuong. 1270 Morse Rd., North Side, 614-825-0303. LD $$
Mili Café
The tucked-away North Side eatery is known for its flavorful pho, made-from-scratch banh mi and other Vietnamese classics. 5858 Emporium Sq., North Side, 614-899-9202. LD $$
A studio large enough to hold a giant painting—and the artist’s fond memories of a dear friend.
By Peter Tonguette
What does a painter do when their latest painting is too big to paint?
That was the dilemma faced by Central Ohio artist Paul Hamilton. In 2014, Hamilton agreed to paint a piece intended to occupy a large space at the soon-toopen James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University—one of several pieces Hamilton provided to the facility.
This painting came into focus one day when Hamilton received a text message from his friend, Annie Cacciato, who had been contending with lung cancer. “It said, ‘Paul, I’m in complete remission.
God has healed me completely. And from here on out, it’s all blue beautiful skies,’ ” says Hamilton, 59, a longtime Granville resident now based in Hebron.
Hamilton had his title—“Blue Beautiful Skies”—and, glancing outside, he began to foresee the piece itself: 96 panels that, when arranged in a pattern, would meld into a majestic landscape showing countless clouds against heavenly hues of blue.
The problem: Hamilton did not have sufficient space at his then-home studio to create the work. He set up shop at the Granville Studio of Visual Arts, where he taught and which Cacciato had co-founded. Now known as the Bryn Du
Art Center, the studio is on the grounds of Granville’s Bryn Du Mansion.
Hamilton took over not the main area for students, with its stainless steel tables, easels and paint-speckled floor, but a large separate gallery room. He did so with the approval of the woman who was the space’s “heart and soul.” “I ended up telling Annie that I’m going to use that room, and she said, ‘Paul, it’s all yours,’” he says. “I took two pieces of 4-by-8 plywood and I built a rack—kind of like an easel.”
Cacciato died in 2021. Hamilton continues to draw inspiration from the studio he once shared with her. “I’m going to start teaching again,” he says. ◆
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