Columbus has come a long way from its days as a meat-and-potatoes town known principally as a test market for fast food chains.  Good food now abounds, but the same low key, unpretentious attitude about dining prevails.  You will not need a tie at even the fanciest restaurants in town.   You can run up a substantial dinner tab wearing shorts.  

The main restaurant areas of metropolitan Columbus are:  German Village, the Arena District, the Short North, Ohio State campus, Grandview, Easton and Polaris.  This does not mean that restaurants are not located in other places, of course.  And a note about pizza: it's everywhere, and it's very good.  The neighborhood pizzeria, and most neighborhoods have several, in general will serve better pizza than the supposed "best" pizza places in other cities.  If you are visiting, just ask a few people where they recommend, because everyone has a favorite or two.    Out of towners will be surprised to see round pizza cut into squares, rather than pie-shaped wedges (although upscale pizzas tend to come in wedges). 

German Village, as the name implies, is an historic area once home to Columbus's German settlers, and now home to urban professionals.  It is bounded on the west by the Brewery District, once the home to breweries.   Food ranges from continental cuisine to neighborhood tavern, including the original Max & Erma's restaurant.  The Village is a pleasant place to eat or drink and then stroll around the tree-lined streets.  Parking sometimes can be hard to find, particularly for restaurants located in principally residential areas. 

There is nothing old about the Arena District, an area immediately north and slightly west of downtown.  Named for Nationwide Arena, which anchors the area, the Arena District largely has been developed since 2000.  A new minor league ballpark, the home of the Columbus Clippers, will be completed in 2009.  The Arena District is about eating and drinking, not fine dining.  Portions tend to be hearty, and prices are relatively reasonable.  The Arena District is just west of the convention center, making it a convenient location for people attending events.  The North Market, a group of food and other stores, is located in the Arena District and has a farmer's market on summer Saturdays.

A few blocks north of the Arena District is the Short North, largely several blocks on the east and west side of High Street lined with art galleries, restaurants, bars and eclectic shopping.  Several of the city's best restaurants are located here, and cuisine ranges from cutting edge contemporary to comfort food.  The art crowd congenially mixes with urban professionals, and the people on the street are a bit older than you will find in the Arena District.  Parking in the Short North is limited, and can provide a challenge on Friday and Saturday nights if visiting a restaurant without without valet parking.

Moving north, next up is the Ohio State campus area.  The huge Ohio State campus -- Ohio State's Columbus campus has a larger population than many cities -- has the student bars and cheap eats that you would expect of a university area.  It also is the center for Columbus's ethnic cuisine.  If you are looking something out of the mainstream, near Campus is where you are most likely to find it. 

West and slightly south of Campus is the Grandview area.  Grandview is a largely residential suburb of Columbus, a few miles from downtown, with several blocks of restaurants, bars, coffee and shopping.  Most establishments are clustered on either side of Grandview Avenue. 

North and east of downtown is the Polaris area, named for the large shopping mall that started it all.   Polaris is all about shopping: shopping malls, strip centers and "big box" stores.  Polaris vies with Easton as the top shopping area in town.  The dining options tend to be what you would expect to find in a shopping area.  If a local restaurant has two or more locations, one of them is likely to be at Polaris. 

Easton, like Polaris, is all about shopping.  Located north and east of downtown Columbus, the central Easton shopping area was developed to appear as a town: shops located along streets rather than in malls, with restaurants interspersed among the shops.  Surrounding the town center, though, are the typical suburban shopping centers and big box stores.  The chain restaurants are well represented at Easton, but there are local and regional restaurants as well.