Fest Food With Nick
By Dr. Breakfast (aka Nick from Marketing, Communications & Events)
Even though I’m technically working the entire weekend of the Columbus Arts Festival, I still look forward to trying as much of the food as I can. The gastronomic offerings at the Festival have been growing and changing in recent years, and while you can still find all the fair favorites — cold lemonade, corndogs, shaved ice, funnel cakes — you now get a fuller experience of the culinary arts while you enjoy the visual and performing side of the Festival!
If you look at the Festival map, you’ll see the main concentrations of food are split on Town Street (west of the river) and on Main Street (on the east side). These are convenient collections of food and drink close to music stages, family activities, artist booths — you name it.
As I stroll the Festival grounds, you can bet I’ll be eyeing my next meal the whole time. That’s half the fun of the Festival: just walking and waiting to see what you discover. A few of the meals on my radar:
Cluckwagon served chicken and waffles (my kryptonite) last year, with a special offering of Nashville-style hot chicken (my other kryptonite). You can be sure I’m making another pass again this year. That or Chicky Chicky Waffle on the other side of the river!
Buckeye Donuts is a perennial favorite. I can never resist them. If you can’t find me during the Festival, I’m probably hanging out there.
Cousin’s Maine Lobster made its debut in Columbus last month. The truck — one of many across the country — was started by two guys from LA who hit it big on Shark Tank. As you can guess from the name, they focus on lobster rolls, chowder and other New England specialties.
I’ve also never been to Loops. They have a brick and mortar in Grandview, and their truck is appearing at the Festival this year. Loops does gyros, fried chicken, Chicago hot dogs, etc. They were one of Guy Fieri’s stops for the Columbus Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives episodes. (Side note: I was on it, too, for like two seconds.)
I’m still thinking about the empanadas and the bacon churros from Barroluco. And the owner, Omar, is the nicest guy. So you can bet I’ll be back.
You’ll need to cool down at the Festival, and the tastiest way to do this is by finding Cody at Rime Time Curiously Crafted Pops. He comes up with some of the greatest combinations, like strawberry Angostura, peanut butter and jelly, or coconut marble.
And there are many more favorites: hot dogs from Angry Weiner, sliders from White Castle, watching the guys chop veggies at Island Noodles, the occasional cream puff from Schmidt’s and a bite (or two) of barbecue.
Pro-tip: you can check out the Festival Guidebook early here or download the new Festival app, look in the Food tab, preview menus (which are subject to change) and even bookmark places you want to visit.
And what goes better with food than beer? Although I’m not imbibing while working the Festival, I’m excited for the new Local Craft Beer Garden on the west side of the river. I love festivals where you can enjoy a brew while you stroll and listen to music or check out vendors, so I appreciate that you can snag a beer from the likes of Seventh Son Brewing, Columbus Brewing Company, Four String and BrewDog. All four should have perfect festival-going beers for sale!
Come join me at the Columbus Arts Festival, June 8-10 on the beautiful downtown riverfront, and if you run into me, say hi!
columbusartsfestival.org