Columbus, Ohio
 

In need of names of good bars in Columbus, Ohio.

I have a group of about 15-20 people coming down and I need a few good places to take them!!

Thanks!!

4 Kegs is always good :)

bump ;)

Try this website...it may be of help?
City Search - Columbus

I don't really need to know about the bars, but I just wanted to announce that I'd be visiting February 24-26. Not a long visit, but if anyone wants to meet, please PM me!

I need to get back home to see my dad, but I don't know what the chances are of it being that weekend. I'm waiting for a great fare...

If it happens then, I'll get in touch.

Wow, someone's coming to Columbus? Cool! Rashid, are you actually going into the city or more the general metro area?

DeltAlum, please do!

AOIIalum, well....I assume I will be in the city the whole time. Two friends go to OSU (PhD and MD) and two others just work in the city. One works for A&F and the other is a community organizer.

I'm there just to visit all my friends and go to a party the med student is throwing.

All my friends who live there can't believe somebody wants to visit....lol.... but I miss them and hey, when else will I be inclined to visit?

I will.

It's funny, when I was growing up and then working there shortly after college, I thought it was pretty "average."

Now, that I haven't lived there in years, it seems like just a pretty nice place.

I have a theory that what makes people think a city is "big time" is (unfortunately) a well known major sports franchise.

Columbus doesn't have an NFL, NBA or MLB franchise -- and the reason for that is the amount of sports dollars available. It is surrounded by major league cities in every direction, (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh) within two to three hours drive, and a big expensive franchise might struggle there. (Taking nothing away from the NHL team, etc)

That being said, there are numerous things about Columbus that make it a nice place to visit.

Ahem - Columbus has the FIRST soccer-only stadium in the United States, and the Columbus Crew of MLS plays there. I've been to a LOT of games there, and it truly is THE way to watch a soccer game!

We normally go to a pub-style bar which name escapes me, but I'm asking on another board what it is - I'll be back with an edit, because it's a great place!

ETA:
The Rose and Thistle
1200 Chambers Rd
Columbus, OH 43212
(614) 486-1990

And a very nice one just off of I-71.

I will point out in very small letters, that the last I heard the team had defaulted and was being sued over the stadium. I don't know if that's ever gotten resolved.

There is talk of a soccer only stadium here in Denver, but I don't know where the plans stand or the timing.

Besides, I was talking about Major League sports.

(I've hidden the staple gun)

Hmmm... I wouldn't be surprised, with the last two seasons that the Crew had, but I hadn't heard. Wait a second, from here, it looks good for them!

BTW, I should let you know that, for some silly reason or another, my daddy made sure we have several staple guns - each!

Plus, soccer is only not quite-so-Major here! There's a little tournament called the World Cup being held in Germany this summer...

Hey, maybe the Columbus Blue Jackets are still the toddlers of the NHL, but they're starting to come on strong. Loyal fans, a decent owner and the best arena I've ever been in for any sport at the professional or collegiate level.

Besides, a NFL or NBA team would take a back seat to Ohio State around here ;)

I'm really not trying to start a fight -- honest -- but the NHL couldn't even get a major TV contract. The two real heavyweight sports are the NFL and MLB -- with the NBA somewhere behind them.

Since I grew up in Columbus, then worked in TV there for six years, I hear what you're saying about Ohio State.

I will just say, though, that when we moved to Denver, the Broncos were the Mile High example of the Buckeyes. They were everything. The Nuggets were popular, but didn't hold a candle to the Broncos. It was almost silly. A lot like OSU.

Now that we have four major sports, plus soccer, arena football, LaCrosse and professional water skiing (well, OK, we don't have professional water skiing), the Broncos are still huge -- but they're not the only story in town.

I suspect the same would be true with Ohio State. But, as I said much earlier, I don't think there are enough sports dollars to support a big ticket team in that region.

Otherwise, there would be one.

I know you aren't, and I know the NHL didn't do themselves any favors during the lost season. Can't blame the majors and ESPN for choosing not to air the NHL this season. Having said that, I still believe that Nationwide is the top arena in major league sports and Crew Stadium is supposed to be the ultimate in MLS stadiums.

No one is really going to compete with OSU around here. Sure there are Bengals, Browns and Steelers fans around every corner, but OSU reigns supreme.

Having said that, Columbus is still a great place for a visit! Great restaurants, shopping and things to do and see.

Where is the great shopping? :confused:

I like going to the Eastown mall myself when I drive down to Columbus

Easton and Polaris for starters, then there's the Blueline :D

*nods* GREAT choices :)

Oh, and go to the Columbus Zoo, they have Jack Hannah!! :p

I guess my train of thought is you've seen one Banana Republic/Gap/Express/Victoria's Secret/Bennetton/J. Crew, then you've seen them all. :D

Do you have any recommendations for places that aren't quite so cookie cutter?:)

Old Dublin? Yes, there's a Starbucks, but also a few cute boutiques. Other than that, I couldn't tell you.

Wow. Columbus is kinda okay! But glad I only came for the weekend. :)

Right now, I am waiting for my friends so we can all do brunch at the Blue Danube on High Street before I have to get on the plane this afternoon.

I went to a party last night at CBR's in the Brewery District. (I learned this weekend that I can't say rural or brewery.) CBR's was okay -- a lot bigger than I expected it would be.

The party was thrown by the Student National Medical Association, so I met lots of med students, mostly people of color. But the crowd was very diverse in general. I enjoyed myself. Although the DJ was so-so, it was a cool evening.

I went to the Barnes & Noble/OSU Bookstore. It was okay. I am a Borders kinda guy, though.

Went to the reggae music store called Roots and picked up a few t-shirts. Although there were only three, that was the most white people I've seen with dreadlocks in one place.

Went to Spirit Concepts and parked in the lot behind the store (Not the McDonald's lot) as was suggested in the other thread. The store is nice! I got some OSU stuff and spent WAY too much money on para. I got the makings for some paddles -- the prices were a LOT cheaper than ANY of the stores in DC. The NPHC section was nice -- larger than I expected -- and all the NPC stuff was nice, too, though there were some things the NPCs had that I wished they also had for NPHCs.

Had lunch of Bento Go-Go, a sushi joint that was really good. Shrimp Tempura: off the hook.

My first night there, all I really did was tour the city and attend this function by a black grad student alliance. We watched Rosewood (until the DVD messed up) and fellowshipped with each other.

The Deltas at Epsilon Chapter were there (in the Hale Cultural Center) doing some sort of service project. That place is NICE. Maybe I sound like a freed slave, but I was like "Are you serious??? This is all for US???????" We just don't have anything like that for the colleges in the DC area. (Maybe at U Maryland?)

All in all, this has been a great weekend away that I really needed. Out of the four friends I have here, I was able to meet with two, one more is coming to brunch, and the fourth....well, haven't tracked him down, so maybe next time.

And by the way....OSU woulda been toooooooooooo big for me! It made me appreciate my "medium sized" alma mater a lot more.

I'll be heading to Columbus at the end of July for the Ohio bar, so i'll have to remember this thread.
I think that the bar exam is held at some sort of Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall? I know Pittsburgh has a Soldiers & Sailors hall, I guess Columbus does, too.
And recommendations for hotels in that area? Preferrable within walking distance? Price doesn't matter so much, since the firm is paying. I'll be spending 3 nights, so hopefully later on I can get some restaurant recommendations as well.

Ya know, I'm glad you thought so.

It's changed a lot since I lived there, but the Blue Danube (we called it the Blue Dube) lives on!

And I agree that Ohio State is way too big -- which is why I went to Ohio University.

OK Hippy.

-Rudey

I went to Cloumbus for a convention once and did not have that great of a time. I guess I should of got the low down before I left.

I went to the UT / Ohio State Game.......some of the bars were pretty good. But they were overtaken by Texas fans so it was fun.

I agree about how BIG OSU is! That is why I went to a much smaller school across town. I saw where someone had wanted out of cookie cutter places to shop..try the Short North District. They have some funky and fun stores! Good bars are 4 Kegs, Ledo's and Mianis.

Senusret I: I am glad you didn't get towed when you went to Spirit Concepts!! Yay!!! (I made the mistake of parking in the wrong spot once and in 10 mins my car was GONE!!!)

Ohio State is much too big, no arguments there.

Glad you had a good time Rashid. Our HD is also a graduate assistant in the Cultural Center. I've heard a lot of great things about that office and their programming.