Archive for October, 2014
Halloween Itinerary for Downtown Columbus
Trick or Treat? This year you will have to decide more than just whether to “trick” or “treat” yourself for Halloween.
Downtown Columbus offers a variety of fun events ranging from meeting some of the cast from The Walking Dead at Ohio’s Comic Con to hanging with WNCI at their Halloween Party. This year, you get to choose your own fate and pick your own Halloween itinerary.
Here’s what happening this weekend:
Friday, October 31
- 6:30 pm – Boyce Avenue will play at the LC in downtown Columbus, across the street from Flats II
- 7 pm – The Columbus Blue Jackets take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in downtown Columbus at Nationwide Arena, a short walk away from Arena Crossing
- 8 pm – WNCI’s Haunted Fest Halloween Party at Battelle Hall in The Greater Columbus Convention Center
- All Day – Wizard World, Ohio’s Comic Con at The Greater Columbus Convention Center
Saturday, November 1
- 4 pm – The Columbus Crew have their first playoff game against the New England Revolution
- 4 pm – Short North Gallery Hop
- 8 pm – The Ohio State Buckeyes take on Illinois at home
- All Day – Wizard World, Ohio’s Comic Con at The Greater Columbus Convention Center
Sunday, November 2
- All Day – Wizard World, Ohio’s Comic Con at The Greater Columbus Convention Center
- The Lion King plays at Ohio Theatre
So this Halloween you can choose your own adventure and treat yourself to some amazing events that are only a walk away from the downtown Columbus apartments.
A Taste of Spinelli’s Deli
If your on the prowl for a new lunch spot you should check out Spinelli’s Deli located just down the street from Flats on Vine, one of our downtown Columbus apartments. Most locals consider this a Columbus favorite with its various deli offerings: breakfast sandwiches, pastries, bagels, salads, soups, hot and cold sandwiches, pizzas and coffee (all served fresh, and catering is available).
It’s nestled into the little set of shops near the Giant Eagle off of Neil Avenue and is quintessentially delicious. Whether you sit on the patio during one of the last warm days of fall, or you have to snuggle inside with a hot cup of their Tomato Herb Bisque, you need to try this place out.
One of their Hot Sammies is the Spinelli’s Spicy Beef and is made of juicy roast beef, grilled onions and mushrooms, topped with cheddar cheese that gets warm and melty in the process. But the star of the show is the jalapeno bacon. It’s got that great bacon flavor with a little kick.
Another house favorite is the Three Cheese Tomato & Garlic Panini made with cheddar, pepperjack, provolone, tomato, and homemade fresh garlic spread on ciabatta bread. You’ll have garlic breath afterwards by the flavors are totally worth it.
Spinelli’s has even more to offer so you should check out their lunch menu.
Bodega Changes It Up
Some updates are hitting Bodega. (Don’t worry they aren’t closing for another renovation.) The Short North staple is updating its menu for fall and hours. Brunch will be served on the weekends from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the brunch includes biscuits and gravy and chicken and waffles. Beginning Monday Bodega will be open every day to serve lunch as well.
Pumpkin 101: The Circleville Pumpkin Show
The Circleville Pumpkin Show will be held from Wednesday, October 15 – Saturday, October 18, 2014. There are plenty of family-friendly events going on all week at this free festival including 7 parades, plus pumpkin-flavored everything!
When I say pumpkin-flavored everything I mean it. They have the classics like pumpkin pie and pumpkin breads, but they take even those a step further. When it’s getting colder out, the best thing to warm you up is some nice fried pumpkin pie while you watch one of the 7 parades at this festival. Or if you want to get yourself some of that sweet pumpkin ice cream, they will even make it into a shake for you. If you are looking for more of a savory route, go with the pumpkin chili. It’s got a tang that only natures biggest squash could bring. Want out of the box delicious? Try a fried pumpkin flower. Don’t be fooled, these are not your “Blooming Blossom” type flowers if you know what I mean. It’s literally the flower from a pumpkin plant, filled with delicious cream cheese stuffing and then battered and deep fried. They come served with ranch.
There are tons of things to do, but check the Schedule of Events for yourself! Don’t miss the Giant Pumpkin Sculpting by Gus the Squash Carver October 15-16 from 2-6 pm. Friday night the Pumpkin Show Band Concert plays, and several other bands are lined up for the main stage. There is also a pet parade, rides and face painting for the young and young at heart. Saturday morning hosts the Circleville Classic 5 Mile Run at 9 am, for those who want to burn calories before they consume them in the form of pumpkiny-goodness.
If you are just skimming this, the point is – Circleville Pumpkin Show has something for everyone, go there this weekend. Take your family, or a date, or just some other people who like pumpkin flavors. Whatever you do, don’t miss out.
If you need more to convince people to go with you, check out this fun Circleville Pumpkin Show Fact Sheet!
Great Donuts to Eat this Fall
This post is written by Nick Dekker, blogger at Breakfast with Nick and author of a book all about breakfast in Columbus. You can follow him on Twitter@BreakfastwNick.
Donuts are the perfect pastry for autumn. There’s nothing better than enjoying a fresh warm donut with a mug of apple cider on a cool, crisp morning. Here are some of the spots where you can snag a baker’s dozen fresh donuts this fall!
Auddino’s Bakery is famous for their doughssant pastries: flaky croissants with a thin glaze. Roy Auddino has been making them since the early 1990’s! You can find the doughssants (and lots of other donuts) at their original shop near the Fairgrounds or their newer café in Hilliard.
DK Diner in Grandview supplements big diner breakfasts with loads of handmade donuts. Their glazed cake and sour cream donuts are top picks, as well as their softball-sized apple fritters.
Like DK Diner, Honey Dip Donuts & Diner in Upper Arlington serves up some big breakfasts to go with their donuts. If your breakfast is heavy, try a lighter honey dip donut: a yeast-raised confection with a light honey glaze. Want to really live out your donut love? Both Honey Dip and DK Diner will make you a breakfast sandwich or a burger using donuts as buns.
Schneider’s Bakery in uptown Westerville is a perfect example of the old school donut shop. Owners Jeff and Debbie Hamler maintain nearly 60 years of tradition by baking donuts using the Schneider family’s recipes. Stop in for carton of milk and their signature Davy Crockett: a cinnamon twist donut with maple icing.
Resch’s Bakery also claims old school status. Celebrating their 100th anniversary in 2012, six generations of the Resch family have served their neighborhood with cakes, bread, and trays and trays of donuts. Favorites at Resch’s include the granny roll, a cinnamon roll covered with nuts and white icing.
Heather Morris of Destination Donuts bakes her donuts at home, then delivers them to One Line Coffee, Hills Market Downtown, Luck Brothers and other shops. You’ll also find Heather set up at North Market regularly. She concocts flavors like Triple Berry Cardamom, Maple Sausage, and Apricot Pistachio, and she even makes vegan donuts!
Near Ohio State’s campus, Buckeye Donuts is a perennial favorite. Open 24 hours a day, the shop serves trays of cake donuts and their namesake Buckeye donut: a yeast-raised donut iced with chocolate and filled with peanut butter. Although they’re not officially affiliated, there’s a second Buckeye Donuts on the south side, serving up old school longjohns and custard-filled yeast donuts for decades.
Just down High Street from the original Buckeye Donuts, Little Donut Shop piles all sorts of crazy ingredients on their, well, little donuts. They use a simple cake donut base and dip, drizzle, or swirl their donuts with sprinkles, chocolate chips, M&Ms, coconut, bacon, and so much more!
Speaking of little donuts… the Lil Donut Factory in Hilliard always has to keep up with big crowds. Their longjohns, donut holes, and chocolate-glazed donuts sell out quick, so get there early!
The Golden Donuts Diner on the South Side is known for its greasy diner breakfasts, as well as its apple fritters and cake donuts. Long-time central Ohio residents can still treat themselves to donuts and coffee at the three remaining Jolly Pirate donut locations on East Broad St, in Reynoldsburg, or in Grove City.
So where in Columbus do you like to grab a dozen donuts?
Keystone Apartments open and ready for leasing
Developer Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd.has opened the first phase of apartments at its Keystone mixed-use complex at Grandview Yard.
Thirty-six of 42 resident units will be occupied this week in one of three connected buildings.
“Not a bad start at all,” Nationwide Realty Marketing Manager Emily Garvey told me.
The next batch of 36 units will be opened to tenants this Friday with the last 42-unit phase set for completion on Nov. 20.
Rents for one-bedroom units in The Keystone on Yard begin at $1,128 per month while the two-bedroom units begin at $1,622 per month.
The four-story project offers 28,000 square feet of commercial space on its ground floor.
So far, no office or retail leases have been signed. The space will be ready for occupancy in December.
The Keystone marks second phase of apartments within the 100-acre section of Grandview Yard as part of redevelopment of the former Grandview Heights industrial district.
Garvey said all but three of the 154 Apartments at the Yard are leased.