I think the question of support is what actually gets to the heart of the matter: if a city doesn’t support creativity, can it really be said to be a good food city? Portland’s culinary scene is diverse and exciting in part because the population supports its creative chefs. I can’t tell you how many people in Columbus I’ve met who describe themselves as a “foodie” who lists something like Cooper’s Hawk or Cap City Diner as their favorite restaurant. Meanwhile many of the “Top 10” restaurants continue to struggle and are always on the brink of shutting their doors.
Great comment! You're absolutely right, demand for something is the only rationale for its existence, and my intuition tells me that the demand for creative food experiences locally is as high as it's ever been (though admittedly not as great as in Portland).
Where that all seems to fall apart is when the cost of accessing that creativity exceeds a certain threshold of perceived risk. In other words, the more someone spends (both in money and time), the more it seems as though they want to feel certain they'll have a predictably good experience. I've often speculated that because so much of the wealth in Central Ohio is a result of working in heavily risk averse industries, that this middle-of-the-road instinct transfers to spending choices on dining.
That said, for every well-heeled Cooper's Hawk aficionado I've met (and, oh yeah, I've definitely come across them), I've also met someone of more limited means who goes out of their way to prioritizes experiences like Agni, Veritas, various pop-ups, or our supper club. They may not be the majority, but they're out there and they're passionate about the pursuit of culinary novelty. That leads me to suspect that we're moving in the right direction, which I recognize is little consolation in the short term to our high end restaurants fighting the good fight.
I agree on the risk aversion, although one of the things I appreciate about Columbus is that there are a lot of affordable creative food experiences, too (including several listed in this article). We love to splurge on Agni, Veritas, or Andrew Smith's meals, but it's much more often that we grab a meal at Joya's, a new pizza at Paulie Gees, a Warrio's special, or a Little Ladies sundae of the week. I think there's plenty of low-risk culinary novelty at lower price points in Columbus, and those places seem to be well supported. I hope the higher end places are successful, too, because we'll absolutely take one of those over Coopers Hawk or a Cameron Mitchell restaurant when a birthday or special occasion rolls around. Andrew Smith's meals, in particular, have blown us away (and are often completely booked even on a Tuesday or Wednesday night).
I think the question of support is what actually gets to the heart of the matter: if a city doesn’t support creativity, can it really be said to be a good food city? Portland’s culinary scene is diverse and exciting in part because the population supports its creative chefs. I can’t tell you how many people in Columbus I’ve met who describe themselves as a “foodie” who lists something like Cooper’s Hawk or Cap City Diner as their favorite restaurant. Meanwhile many of the “Top 10” restaurants continue to struggle and are always on the brink of shutting their doors.
Great comment! You're absolutely right, demand for something is the only rationale for its existence, and my intuition tells me that the demand for creative food experiences locally is as high as it's ever been (though admittedly not as great as in Portland).
Where that all seems to fall apart is when the cost of accessing that creativity exceeds a certain threshold of perceived risk. In other words, the more someone spends (both in money and time), the more it seems as though they want to feel certain they'll have a predictably good experience. I've often speculated that because so much of the wealth in Central Ohio is a result of working in heavily risk averse industries, that this middle-of-the-road instinct transfers to spending choices on dining.
That said, for every well-heeled Cooper's Hawk aficionado I've met (and, oh yeah, I've definitely come across them), I've also met someone of more limited means who goes out of their way to prioritizes experiences like Agni, Veritas, various pop-ups, or our supper club. They may not be the majority, but they're out there and they're passionate about the pursuit of culinary novelty. That leads me to suspect that we're moving in the right direction, which I recognize is little consolation in the short term to our high end restaurants fighting the good fight.
I agree on the risk aversion, although one of the things I appreciate about Columbus is that there are a lot of affordable creative food experiences, too (including several listed in this article). We love to splurge on Agni, Veritas, or Andrew Smith's meals, but it's much more often that we grab a meal at Joya's, a new pizza at Paulie Gees, a Warrio's special, or a Little Ladies sundae of the week. I think there's plenty of low-risk culinary novelty at lower price points in Columbus, and those places seem to be well supported. I hope the higher end places are successful, too, because we'll absolutely take one of those over Coopers Hawk or a Cameron Mitchell restaurant when a birthday or special occasion rolls around. Andrew Smith's meals, in particular, have blown us away (and are often completely booked even on a Tuesday or Wednesday night).