Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

Columbus Food Adventures helps locals and visitors explore city’s food scene

As Columbus’ cuisine scene continues to grow, locals are stepping up to make the city a destination for foodies all over the nation.

More and more people are finding that, from the Short North to German Village, Columbus is ripe with options.

In 2010, Bethia Woolf, founder of Columbus Food Adventures, found a way to shine a spotlight on the best – which are sometimes not the most popular, she says – eateries the city has to offer.

Woolf and Andy Dehus, her co-founder and husband, were running food blogs when they realized they had a sizable following. There were more and more people joining the couple for dinners out at their favorite restaurants.

These guests, Woolf says, started talking about food tours in other cities.

“It was kind of one of those things where all the threads came together,” Woolf says.

On May 22, I joined tour guide Debra O’Molesky on a walking tour through the Short North – the first Friday Short North tour of the season. We were joined by two couples: one originally from the Cleveland area and the other visiting family in Columbus.

Woolf says Columbus Food Adventures attracts people who are visiting Columbus for such events as the Columbus Marathon.

The five of us were an ideal size for O’Molesky, who told us she prefers connecting with a more intimate group. O’Molesky was one of the first tour guides Woolf hired. At the time, she was a stay-at-home mom.

“(I had the opportunity) to talk to grown-ups, eat delicious food and brag about the neighborhood,” she says. “Sign me up.”

Our first stop was the Fish Guys inside the North Market, where we were offered two different types of clam chowder soup to sample before continuing on to Brezel. We each tried a pretzel twist as we listened to an employee tell us the history of the company. The owner, Brittany Baum, traveled to Germany, but as a vegetarian, there weren’t many options available for her in a country famous for its meat. She and her husband ate plenty of pretzels, and when they returned to the U.S., they wanted to recreate their food experience. Thus, Brezel was born.

A learning component is part of all the tours, Woolf says, whether it’s about the neighborhood or the food. For example, in German Village, she says groups stop along the way to learn about the architecture of the homes or specific buildings.

Hot Chicken Takeover was our next stop. As I’m a vegetarian, I was served mac and cheese while everyone else tried the famous hot chicken.

Columbus Food Adventures will accommodate dietary needs as long as you make them clear in advance. The only spot I had trouble with was Fish Guys, but I was good to go for the remainder of our stops. Make a practical choice based on your diet – obviously, I would never go on the Meat Lover’s tour.

We left the North Market and ventured on into the Short North. O’Moleksy gave us a history lesson, telling us about how the arts district was once a working-class neighborhood that suffered a downfall in the 1960s.

“Many families picked up and moved out,” O’Molesky told us. “People said if you had to drive through Short North, you better lock your doors, hit the pedal and hope you don’t hit any lights.”

Now, of course, Short North is home to some of the best restaurants in the city. We stopped at Le Chocoholique, where we sampled chocolates and learned that a lot of the best-selling chocolates include bacon. I was assured that chocolate and bacon is actually a great combination (Editor’s Note: A purer truth has never been spoken).

We moved on to Eleni-Christina Bakery, owned by the Rigsby family. We didn’t get to try anything there, but we did learn the bakery supplies more than 20 area restaurants.

Tasi Café was our next stop. Tasi focuses on freshly prepared meals composed of natural ingredients. If it were not for Columbus Food Adventures, I’m not sure I would’ve ever found it, since the café is tucked behind the Short North’s main strip. Even though I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms, the mushroom lunch sandwich served with fresh mozzarella was incomparable.

We then made our way over to Rigsby’s, where we were not only allowed in before business hours, but were presented a dish not yet on the menu. The potato gnocchi served with brown butter and sea salt immediately became the group’s favorite dish. We also got to try a variety of Eleni-Christina bread.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is typically the final stop of the Short North tour, but at the time, the shop was closed. Instead, our group was treated to éclairs at Le Meridien Columbus, the Joseph. While the éclairs were being prepared, we were invited to explore the hotel and view art from the Pizzuti Collection, which can be found among the halls.

Most of us, too full to finish the éclairs, took them in to-go bags.    

This summer, Columbus Food Adventures celebrates its fifth anniversary. It currently offers 11 tours, as well as itineraries that cater specifically to different meals or food groups, such as the Brunch Tour and Dessert Tour. The average cost of a tour is about $50-$60 per person.

Woolf says Columbus Food Adventures stands out because, unlike most food tours, not all of its options are in walkable areas such as the Short North.

“Because we were very passionate about the ethnic food in Columbus, such as small immigrant restaurants that are not necessarily located in walkable neighborhoods, we wanted to offer van tours,” she says.

The tours take guests out of their comfort zone, she says. But the tour guides are there to lead guests along the way. Tour guides are typically people who, like O’Molesky, are passionate about Columbus and food, Woolf says. Some are food bloggers, or are otherwise engaged in the community. Woolf and Dehus are guides as well.

“Columbus has a big Somali population, but most people have no idea what to expect from their food,” Woolf says. “They wouldn’t feel comfortable going on their own because of the cultural barriers. It’s good to have a guide explain things to them. The tour is a way to introduce other people to what we have discovered.”

Hannah Bealer is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.