Letter from the Editor

Jack McLaughlin

Editor-In-Chief

Best of the Best

As a Chicago transplant, I’ve always loved The Arch City for its ability to balance big-city options with a Midwestern sensibility (ope).

But like anywhere we live, it’s easy to forget just how great the city we call home actually is.

Places, relationships, and even just things in our lives will always lose their novelty. I am certain of this. In the day-to-day hustle and bustle of deadlines and video calls that could’ve been handled with an email, the place that was once wild and beautiful in our minds becomes pedestrian.

For me, at least, it’s all too easy to let this wave of gray sweep over the things in Columbus that are outstanding. There’s no shortage of them: From historic marketplaces to riverside gathering spots and even a world-class zoo thrown in for good measure. Plus every top-tier restaurant and distillery, the energy and excitement of Grandview, and every historical German Village brick along the way.

Each year, our ColumBEST poll–which reaches nearly half a million votes and just about every nook and cranny the city has to offer– serves as a lot of different things for a lot of different people. It can be a way to create a self-guided food tour through Ohio’s capital city, a way to show visitors what’s what, and a whole lot more.

For me, it’s a reminder.

Seeing all the dining, drinking, and doing options in the Columbus area all laid out in one place together never fails to remind me that our city is an unmitigated destination; a place I’m proud to call home, a place I’m excited just to exist in. It’s like, for a month, I’m seeing it all again for the first time.

For you, it can be anything. And that’s fine too. And you’ll have everything our city offers at your fingertips.

Welcome to ColumBEST 2023.