Columbus, Ohio, located in the heart of the meat-and-potato-loving Midwest, is home to a diverse collection of healthy restaurants. Ohio’s capital city offers vegan fare, organic restaurants and a variety of restaurants that focus on locally-grown meat and produce. Below are just a few of my favorites:
1. NorthStar Cafe. With locations in the Short North district, Easton Centre and Beechwold, the NorthStar Cafe has Columbus covered with healthy fare. Though each location has its own personality, all focus on food made from scratch using local, organic (where available) ingredients. NorthStar Cafes are open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m and serve everything from a quick breakfast snack to full dinners. Menu highlights include a burger made with organic brown rice, beets and black beans (it’s delicious) and the sweet potato and turkey hash. Vegetarians (and vegans, too) will find plenty to interest them.
2. Banana Leaf. Located on Bethel Road on the northwest side of Columbus, Banana Leaf serves gluten-free vegetarian and vegan Indian fare. The family-owned eatery, open for lunch and dinner every day except for Monday, offers an a la carte menu all day as well as an affordable buffet for lunch. Everything here is prepared in-house, even the spices. Be sure to try the chaats: small, appetizer plates similar to Chinese dim sum.
3. Till Dynamic Fare. Till Dynamic Fare is one of Columbus’ newest healthy restaurants. Located near the Ohio State University campus, this eatery is the most recent creation of former Dragonfly owners Magdiale Wolmark and Cristin Austin, whose collective roots include Japanese, African-American, Polish and Palestinian. Unlike their first restaurant, Till Dynamic Fare serves both vegetarian/vegan and non-vegetarian fare. All dishes, though, are painstakingly crafted from scratch in-house; it’s open for lunch and dinner. Highlights include the BD (bio-dynamic) burger, made with organic beef and topped with lots of veggies. The menu changes daily to take advantage of the freshest available ingredients.
4. Lemongrass. Another restaurant located in the eclectic Short North neighborhood, Lemongrass combines the best in healthy European and Asian cuisine. The high-end eatery serves lunch and dinner daily in a classy, relaxed atmosphere. Menu items include sushi, a wonderful pad Thai and a nice selection of fish and seafood entrees, including banana-wrapped roughy and seared lemon sole.
5. Whole World Natural Restaurant. Whole World was an early pioneer in the Columbus healthy eating scene. Established in 1978, this still-excellent eatery serves 100 percent vegetarian fare from its Clintonville location. Whole World is open daily for lunch and dinner and also Sunday brunch. The bakery items virtually melt in your mouth and the tasty sandwich menu includes an eggplant meatball sub and a to-die-for avocado croissant sandwich. The entire place has a genuine, friendly atmosphere that’s hard to resist.
6. Aladdin’s Eatery. Though it’s a mini-chain, (Aladdin’s has more than a dozen locations throughout Ohio), these restaurants offer good, healthy Middle Eastern fare at reasonable prices. Their hummus is some of the best you’ll find this side of the Mediterranean and more than 70 percent of the menu items are vegetarian. Aladdin’s is open for both lunch and dinner. The Columbus restaurants are located in the OSU campus area, Bexley and Grandview.
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