The 'Official Food Of Columbus, Ohio' Is At An Iconic German Restaurant With Big Portions And Unpretentious Bites

Some people associate certain cities with events that have happened there, like the Olympics in Lake Placid, or with famous structures, like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Others remember cities for the food they're famous for, like New York's pizza or Philly cheesesteak. If you fall into the latter group, there is one dish in an Ohio city that is likely to make your mouth water before you even book a trip. Right outside Columbus, Ohio's downtown is the idyllic neighborhood of German Village, and there you'll find the city's "official food," according to a 2014 poll by The Columbus Dispatch: the Bahama Mama, a beef-and-pork hickory sausage at the historic German restaurant Schmidt's.

The iconic Schmidt's, loved by reviewers for its large portions, has been around as a brand since 1886, when German immigrant J. Fred Schmidt moved to South Columbus and established a meatpacking plant. The products, which had gained a good reputation, ended up being sold at the Ohio State Fair by his son beginning in 1914. (It's still sold there, and, according to the restaurant's website, it's the oldest food booth at the fair.) His grandson started the restaurant in 1967 near the original meatpacking location and used recipes from when it all began.

One Yelp reviewer says of Schmidt's, "We have been coming here since I was a child, and every time we have gone, I have never once been disappointed. ... I really do recommend it if you like good German food." You can get the famous Bahama Mama sausage in a large platter, which, as the menu says, comes with "hot kraut und pork with German Potato Salad, Chunky Applesauce, and a toasted split-top bun." You can also get it in sandwiches and samplers. The name doesn't sound very German, of course, but there is a funny reason for it, according to the restaurant's website. The sausage recipe was created by George F. and Grover Schmidt in 1964, though it didn't have the evocative name. Grover is said to have been a "ladies man," and after a trip to the Bahamas, he talked all about the "Hot Bahama Mamas" and named the dish after his experience. 

Schmidt's serves sausage samplers, bratwurst, and knockwurst, as well as unpretentious comfort food like chicken noodle soup, spaetzle, meatloaf, and large sandwiches to fill you up. In fact, Schmidt's was featured on Food Network's "Comfort Food Tour." The all-you-can-eat Autobahn Buffet was mentioned on "Man v. Food: Carnivore Chronicles," and you can get the Bahama Mama sausage there as well. For dessert, there is a variety of enormous half-pound cream puffs, which have been featured in Columbus Monthly. Completing the European ambiance, there's live German music playing several times a week. Finally, while you're visiting Columbus – known for its downtown area with unique dining spots — make sure you hit its most walkable neighborhood, the artist haven of Short North, to burn off some of those sausages and cream puffs.