There are plenty of ways to celebrate fall, but there is only one that includes bites from 20 local restaurants. Join Columbus Underground and Shipt at Best Bites: Comfort Food on November 2 for an event like no other. Get in from the cold and sample the greatest comfort food in our city, plus explore COSI after hours, with no need to fight the crowds. We are so excited about the event we’re giving you a little peek inside the menu, so you can get ready to fill your plate.
Chicky Chicky Waffle is a new Food Truck on the scene here in Columbus, focusing on a classic comfort food, Chicken and Waffles! Each piece of fried chicken is dipped in waffle batter before getting fried to a golden crisp. They can be found all over Central Ohio dishing out their mains and creative sides. At Best Bite: Comfort Food you can try their Chicken and Waffles as well as their pumpkin fries!
The Hills Market Downtown is more than your local grocery store. Serving the Downtown crowd with lunch and dinner options and boasting exclusive events, there is always something new to try. Their fresh menu items are created in-house and often incorporate local ingredients. At Best Bites: Comfort Food they will be sampling a Pesto and Tomato Cheese Tortellini Salad.
The defining characteristics of Due Amici can be found in its name, ‘two friends’ in Italian. Located on Gay Street in Downtown Columbus, they’ve been serving up modern interpretations of classic Italian dishes since 2003. They offer an extensive collection of fine Italian wines to complete the dining experience. At Best Bites: Comfort Food guests can try a trio of meatballs from their kitchen, including traditional veal with red sauce, chicken parm with rose sauce and bacon mushroom with mushroom beloute.
Florentine Legacy stands on decades of tradition. Owner and operator Nick Penzone is keeping his family’s restaurant, Florentine, alive through this his new retail venture. A Columbus, OH staple of Italian food, it opened its doors in 1945 and served loyal customers until 2016. New and old fans can take a piece of the restaurant’s legacy into their homes by purchasing one of the many signature sauces from Florintine Legacy. At Best Bites: Comfort Food, guests can try the Florentine Tomato Cream served with pasta or bread.
Barroluco Argentine Comfort Food is an open door to traditional Latino experiences and culture. Since 2009, Barroluco’s Omar D’Angelo has been serving the Columbus community authentic Argentinian fair. D’Angelo started with traditional baked goods and continued to expand his offerings as their popularity grew, introducing their food truck in 2016. At Best Bites: Comfort Food guests will be able to try a wide range of Argentinian treats including Paella, Empanadas and Pastries.
Tickets to the event are $30 and include food samples from all vendors, live entertainment, a specialty cash bar featuring Modelo, Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon, Jacob’s Creek Classic Chardonnay, and Saint Brendan’s Irish Cream, and voting rights to name the Best Bite of the night. Plus, all ticket holders will get exclusive after-hours access to all of Cosi’s exhibits (a $20 value!) – we know you want to ride that highwire unicycle.
Featured vendors include: The Hills Market Downtown, Dough Mama, Ambrose & Eve, Blind Lady Tavern, Sabauce Handcrafted Marinade, Piada Italian Street Food, Sweet Carrot, 101 Beer Kitchen, Chicky Chicky Waffle, Due Amici Restaurant, Melt Bar and Grilled, Dirty Frank’s Hotdog Palace, Trillium Kitchen & Patio, Florentine Legacy, The Boathouse Restaurant, Palle by Moretti, Copious, Moretti’s of Arlington, Barroluco Argentina Comfort Food, COSI Catering and more!
All guests will have access to explore COSI from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. You can choose from two ticketed times to get your food samples, from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. or from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. The only question is, do you want to have your fun before or after dinner?
A portion of all ticket sales will go to The Breathing Association. The Columbus Underground Best Bites event series has been raising money for local charities since launching in August 2014!
Best Bites: Comfort Food is brought to you with help from ECDI.