A Week In The Life At The Blue Door Cafe

I love The Blue Door Cafe and Bakery.

Am I recognized when I walk through the front door? Yes. Am I given seating priority over other customers? Never. Do I ask for special treatment or go off menu when ordering? Nothing that I wouldn't do at any other restaurant. Do I think that the kitchen might take an extra second or two to make sure my plate of food is a stand-out dish both visually and in how it tastes? Absolutely.

Lest I set the bar too high so early in the review, let me bring some reality to the situation. I have been going on a fairly regular basis to Blue Door since they converted over from The Golden Goose just under a year ago. On the whole, the food is creative, very tasty, and fun. Have I ever gotten a bad plate of food -- something I would send back to the kitchen? No. Have I ordered items off the menu that weren't as stellar as others? Yes. It is a sad fact of life that not all dishes are created equal and while I've been knocked out of this world too many times to count with the food here, sometimes a dish can be cooked correctly and seasoned properly, but still only register a "meh" in the taste department.

So why do I love Blue Door so much? Mostly because of the commitment of every single person that works there to provide a positive experience, from the homemade breads and pastries, to the effort to use seasonal and local ingredients as much as possible, to the knowledgeable waitstaff, and to the kitchen team that not only continually strives to innovate new dishes on a daily basis, but also has the chops to be able to pull it off.

While the restaurant has a regular menu which changes very little, the true magic of this place is the daily "specials" menu, which tends to rotate definitely on a weekly basis, and quite often, on a daily one. This week, dishes on the specials menu centered on an Italian theme, some of which were of true Italian descent, others were a nod to an Italian tradition.

Shall we begin the journey with Wednesday, May 16th?

Many times I already know what I am going to order even before walking through the front door. This is because owner Michael Bruno does a great job of fairly regularly updating the status of the restaurant's Facebook page. He'll list out the daily specials for the following day so that customers have an idea of what to expect. Nine times out of ten, that status update will be what prompts me to come in the following day for breakfast or lunch.

So what was today's sirens' song? Fresh Pasta Carbonara:

Made with homemade egg noodles, fresh peas, shallots, Nueske's bacon, and Parmesan cheese, this creamy and salty concoction made my head swoon with delight. I am particularly fond of the fact that from it's very inception, Blue Door has championed the use of the deliciously smokey and salty Nueske bacon, which adds such great depth to any dish it appears in. The fresh peas were delicious and added little pops of sweetness to a pasta dish which could've easily landed on the salty side.

Not wanting me to miss out on the opportunity to try one of the kitchen's homemade meatballs, at the chef's request, my server also brought me one covered in the house marinara sauce:

This was one of the most tender meatballs I think I've ever eaten, probably due to the freshly ground bread crumbs that were added to help retain the meat's moisture. The marinara sauce had a nice acidity to it that complemented the fattiness of the meatball. On the menu, this meatball was intended for the "Not Just Any Spaghetti and Meatballs," also with homemade egg pasta. Had I not been so hot and bothered for the carbonara, I would've gladly ordered this in its place.

On Thursday, May 17th, I returned for lunch and decided this time to try the Italian Sausage Sandwich accompanied by a selection of Fresh Fruit:

Here's a slightly different angle:

Placed in a toasted housemade baguette roll, the Italian sausage was a little bit spicy, substantial, and delicious. Housemade marinara along with roasted peppers and onions also filled the roll and was finished off with melted cheese and a chiffonade of fresh basil. When the plate was first set down in front of me, I had to pause for a moment to consider my line of attack. While I'm sure some could unhinge their jaw and attempt to eat this like a normal sandwich, today I opted for knife and fork. Everything about this plate of food was delicious. And while the interior crumb of the baguette was nearly perfect, the only concern that I had was with the exterior. When toasting a baguette, it can get a bit too crusty for my dental work. The fresh fruit was an excellent complement to the savory sandwich.

When I stopped in on Friday, May 18th, I noticed that some of the specials had been reworked (like the Cannoli French Toast was now a Sicilian French Toast) and new items were listed where others had lived before:

I am ALWAYS up for a good burger and having never had one at Blue Door before, I decided to go with the Mafia Burger with a side of French Fries. Here was one angle:

and a different angle:

So what made this burger so special? For one, the ground beef was local Ohio beef that had been grass-fed. It arrived at the perfect medium-rare I had ordered it. Second, the pesto creme fraiche, organic roasted red peppers, and toasted ciabatta roll were all made in-house. As you can well imagine, the French Fries were hand-cut and fried to a proper crispy golden brown and delicious texture and flavor. While I had read the night before on Blue Door's Facebook page that the bun was going to be a seeded brioche, I was a little surprised that the burger actually came on a ciabatta roll.

If there was one gripe about the burger, it was the ciabatta roll. Don't misunderstand, gentle reader. It was impeccably fresh and had a wonderful crust and crumb. And it was right for the kitchen to split and toast the roll in an effort to avoid a soggy bottom bun from the juicy burger patty. But because of the nature of ciabatta, the crust was tougher to bite through. This meant that with every bite, the interior contents of the burger were being squished out the other end of the roll. A minor gripe to be sure, but when you're working at such an elevated level, every little consideration counts.

I mentioned it to Michael on my way out of the door and he concurred that ciabatta wasn't the best match for the burger, but that he just hadn't had time to get the brioche done that morning. Fair enough.

 On Saturday, May 19th, I was completely stoked to see that Blue Door had received a shipment of ripe heirloom tomatoes. There are few pleasures in life as a really ripe tomato and I was excited to see what would appear on the specials menu for the day:

While there was a Salad Caprese on the menu:

I was thinking more along the lines of a sandwich. So, in a moment of foodie inspiration (or desperation, depending on your point of view), I decided to order the Salad Caprese and one of Blue Door's signature croissants, split and toasted on the flattop:

With salad and croissant in hand, I simply assembled the breakfast sandwich I had been envisioning all along:

I mean, how can you go wrong with fresh ripe tomatoes, fresh Ohio basil, fresh mozzarella cheese, 30-year-old balsamic vinegar and an incredibly buttery, flaky croissant? Truth be told that one croissant only used up about half of the salad's contents, so I had a lovely time finishing the remaining salad with my fork. For about a tenth of a second, I thought about ordering a second croissant to make an additional "sandwich," but decided to keep my butter quota in check for the meal. If you have the chance to try this for yourself, do it!

For my final visit, TODAY, I had arrived early enough to consider a breakfast dish instead of lunch. As such, I decided to give in to my sweet tooth:

Any time I order something sweet, I also try to order something to balance it out. In today's case, that would a cup of coffee from local, Akron-based coffee roaster Angel Falls:

Hot and bitter, this was a lovely way to start my meal and wake up in the morning.

The Sicilian French Toast had been teasing me most of the week and a comment from a Facebook friend finally pushed me over the edge:

The French Toast was made with housemade Challah bread, soaked in lemon, milk, cream, and eggs, which had then been griddled and then layered with a lemon pastry cream, topped with Creme Chantilly (aka fresh whipped cream), sprinkled with Vietnamese cinnamon, a chiffonade of fresh mint, fresh raspberries, and powdered sugar. I was surprised at how well the lemon and mint went together. Actually, the whole thing was delicious and while it wasn't the best French Toast I've had at Blue Door (that honor goes to the brandied peach French Toast), if you're looking to satisfy your sweet tooth, this would be the way to go.

Along with the sweet portion of my meal, I decided to add a bit of smokey saltiness with some of the Nueske applewood-smoked, thick-cut bacon:

Honestly, this is some of the best bacon I've ever eaten. It isn't inexpensive, but it is meat, hearty, rich, salty, and smokey all at the same time. I probably shouldn't have gone the extra step because I couldn't finish everything, but every time I taste this bacon, it takes me back to my youth when I would camp out with the Cub Scouts and we'd cook most of the food over an open fire.

So there we have it, gentle reader, an entire week's worth of Blue Door Cafe and Bakery.

Now, I will be the first to admit that Blue Door is not inexpensive. On a fairly regular basis, with tip and tax, each of the meals I wrote about above was anywhere from $15 to $20. Those wandering in thinking that Blue Door is the same old greasy spoon diner it used to be in one of its previous lives will be a bit shocked. In fact, I have seen people sit down, look at the menu, then at each other, get up and leave before ordering anything. Honestly, those aren't the kind of folks that Blue Door cater to anymore.

But if you are interested in nearly everything being made from scratch, local, organic, sustainable food being cooked and seasoned properly, and understand that quality ingredients cost money, then you really ought to check out Blue Door as soon as you can. Do note that while the outside door is now blue, the old sign for The Golden Goose is still standing out in front of the restaurant. That will change at some point, according to Michael, but it is worth remembering in case you are trying to locate the restaurant for the first time.

I've included lots of gorgeous pictures in this write-up from my past five visits (which open up extra large when you click on them), however, I have many, MANY more starting from the day they opened in on my Flickr account. If you'd like to see more pictures, click here. You can even start a slideshow to view them from beginning to end.

There is so much I didn't get to cover during these five visits. Gee, I guess I'll just have to pick another week in the future and repeat the experiment. And that will be fun for both of us!

Preview of Amber Li's Restaurant

New restaurants often have soft openings before opening to the general public. Surrounded by family and friends, every layer of hospitality can be tested -- the kitchen, the front of house, and the management -- in an environment that simulates real-world dinner service, but with people who might be a little more understanding if the experience isn't quite yet perfect. But, of course, to feed people (often for free) and to pay employees isn't a small inconvenient expense. And even with a soft opening, it can still take a restaurant a month or two to really start humming with efficiency.

I knew going into tonight's dinner that Amber Li's Restaurant had only been open for a few days. This meant that there would likely be a few delays and perhaps the wrong soup being brought to the table, but I've developed a keen eye in spotting actual problems versus opening day jitters. Having learned of them from Lisa Abraham's weekly Food Notes section in the Akron Beacon Journal, I decided that a visit was warranted since she wrote that the menu consisted of, " traditional Chinese fare, sushi, hibachi-grilled and Japanese dishes." It was the traditional Chinese fare that caught my eye.

After work today, I hopped in the car and headed to 4195 Massillon Road, Green, OH 44685. The location of the restaurant was inside the Green Plaza, at the corner of Steese and Massillon Roads. There was ample parking in the common lot. If you wish to contact the restaurant, Amber Li's can be reached at 330-899-8856.

Here was a shot of the front entrance of Amber Li's:


Once inside the main door, I noticed the sushi bar located in the rear left of the restaurant with the remainder of the space broken up into tables and booths. I was surprised to see the restaurant only about one-third full as I figured a mention in Lisa's weekly food column would have packed the customers in. I was seated almost immediately, but noticed within moments of sitting down at my table that it had a severe wobble. I thought that perhaps as I settled in that I may have knocked something loose used to level it, but upon checking the floor, I found nothing. I decided to put up with the annoying wobble.

As I prepped my camera for the upcoming pictures, I began to people watch. It became immediately clear who the owner was, Amber Hazel. A native from China, she was the very stressed person running back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room, her diction being very harsh on one side of the kitchen door and much softer on the other. I sat quietly at my table for about ten minutes before anyone acknowledged me and asked if I would like something to drink. It took another ten minutes before my waitress finally stopped at my table to take my order. Twenty minutes is a bit too long for a restaurant that is only one-third full, so I'll have to chalk that one up to opening week jitters.

Fortunately, when I was sat, the hostess left me with the menu to peruse:


Sadly, the "traditional Chinese fare" for which I was hoping to dine upon tonight ended up being the same Americanized Chinese cuisine served at every other Chinese restaurant in Akron. While I can appreciate Americanized Chinese cuisine from time to time, I find it to be rather boring and often times way too sweet. Never heard of Americanized Chinese cuisine, gentle reader? General Tsao's (aka Tso's) Chicken is a perfect example. This is a dish that doesn't exist in China and has been fine tuned for the American palate over decades since its introduction.

All that said, I have come across a few really excellent General Tsao's Chicken dishes over the years and I figured I would give theirs a try to see if Amber Li's version was at least worth seeking out. I was happy to see the menu indicated that all entrees came with either steamed rice or a California roll. When my server finally stopped to take my order, I asked about this unusual choice as I had never seen it before.

"No, it's just the steamed rice that is available. Amber changed her mind about offering a sushi roll."

That was too bad since I was actually going to order the California roll in place of my steamed rice. C'est la vie.

So, in order to try a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B, here is what I actually ordered:

* Shrimp Eggroll
* Miso Soup
* General Tsao's Chicken, extra spicy
* Steamed Rice

Here was what came out of the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. First up was the General Tsao's Chicken with Steamed Broccoli:


And a plate of what I had originally thought was a California roll, but was actually a Spicy Shrimp roll:


No Shrimp Eggroll and no Miso Soup. As for the appearance of the sushi, I figured that Amber had okayed the substitution of the California roll for the steamed rice since I had asked my server about it. Assuming that the eggroll and the soup would be coming out of the kitchen shortly, I decided to go ahead and dig in to what was already in front of me.

I started with the sushi. As I ate my first piece, several thoughts went through my head. First, the California roll was missing the avocado. All I could taste were cucumber and what I thought was imitation crab. Second, California rolls don't usually have a spicy sauce associated with them. I figured that might just be a personal touch at Amber Li's. Third, and most surprising, the sushi rice was utterly and thoroughly bland. I even dissected one of the six pieces on the plate and tried the rice just by itself. Yup, steamed white rice, nothing added.

Why is this point so important? Su-shi literally translates to "vinegared rice." Sushi rice is made by adding rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt to the rice after it is cooked. This gives the rice a bit of acidity as well as seasoning from the salt. Soy sauce applied at the table would not have helped in this case. Curiously, while dissecting the sushi piece, I also noticed that the imitation crab looked an awful lot like a piece of shrimp. That's because it was! What I thought had been my accompanying California roll for my General Tsao's was actually my server thinking I had asked for a Spicy Shrimp roll instead of a Shrimp Eggroll. D'oh! The final check confirmed my suspicions.

On to the General Tsao's Chicken. It actually wasn't all that bad. The chicken was fried until crispy; the sauce was a bit oily and sweet and could've used a bit of acid to balance the other flavors. The steamed broccoli was a nice touch, but the carrots and green peppers the menu description promised were nowhere to be found. I had asked for the dish to be extra spicy and the kitchen's response was simply to add more whole chili peppers to the dish. Not being a complete moron, I moved the whole peppers to the side of the dish. Overall, I would say this dish was about a medium spicy and not particularly incendiary.

Having finished my sushi and chicken, I realized that nothing else was going to come out of the kitchen for me. After asking for and receiving the check, I finally understood what happened with the Shrimp Eggroll / Spicy Shrimp roll mistake; however, I had still been charged for the Miso Soup. I pointed the mistake out to my server, who quickly removed it from the bill. I could've contested the Spicy Shrimp roll mistake (as the sushi was $6 and the eggroll that I had ordered was only $2), since I didn't correct the error when I first detected it, I decided to pay for it. The check, with tax, came to just under $18.

While there were some components from tonight's meal that I enjoyed, there was a LOT that needs to be improved upon. Quickly. If Amber Li's is running this inefficiently and with this many mistakes a month from now, customers will tire quickly and decide to spend their dining dollars elsewhere. While my personal preference in Chinese cuisine tends more towards the authentic side, if Americanized Chinese cuisine is your bag, once Amber Li's gets it right, this might be the place for you. Since I can get these flavors much closer to home, other than visiting again in order to re-review it, I personally wouldn't make the drive from Akron.

Lenten Project II: Week 3, Part 1

In the movie The Matrix, when one of the characters noticed the same cat cross the same doorway twice, it ultimately meant trouble for the small band of freedom fighters. Deja vu, or that sense that you've experienced some emotion, feeling, or experience before is something that I think everyone has had to deal with from time to time. The only two dinners on my list of destinations this year that are return visits include stops at the Slovak J Club and tonight's visit to Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in Green, Ohio.

While consistency is something for which any good restaurant strives, in the case of Queen of Heaven, I could've simply placed a link to last year's review and walked away. But, of course, I haven't given out the whole story quite yet. While consistency is a great thing, if you aren't consistently good, then that presents its own problem. At just after 5:00 PM today, I pulled into the parking lot for Queen of Heaven to discover an already full parking lot. When I went last year for my second dinner of the evening, I had a somewhat tricky time even finding a parking spot. Clearly this dinner was a popular Lenten destination.

Queen of Heaven Catholic Church was located at 1800 Steese Road, Uniontown, OH 44685 and can be reached at 330-896-2345. They also have a website. Like last year, the fried fish dinner was held in the Parish Life Center:


Being an experienced diner at Queen of Heaven this year, I knew that once inside the door, there would be two lines, one for placing take-out dinner orders and the other for dine-in only. As I approached the order and payment tables in the dine-in line, I took a snapshot of the menu:


As I wanted to make sure I sampled both the pierogi and macaroni and cheese (to see if they had improved from last year), I was happy to see that all dinners came with two sides. Since I had discovered the roasted potatoes from the previous week's visit to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, I decided to add an additional side of the potatoes. I paid my somewhat reasonable tab of $9.50, took my filled-in order form, and walked into the entrance of the gymnasium/cafeteria/fellowship hall. Once there, I was greeted and shown to a table.

After sitting for only a minute, one of the church volunteers approached me with a tray containing fresh bread slices and a choice between applesauce and coleslaw. I selected the coleslaw, placed my drink order, and proceeded to walk up to the front of the hall and queue up behind roughly fifteen other people.

After getting all of the food for which I had paid, I return to the table and began dutifully photographing all of it. Here was a shot of my entire meal:


The table at which I had been placed was already populated by two other sets of couples. When I began taking pictures, one of the other diners at my table sort of laughed/snickered and said, "I don't have to take pictures to remember what the food tastes like!" I briefly thought about engaging him, but then thought the better of it and just let the comment lie. You have to pick your battles and this was one I didn't feel was worth the effort.

The one thing I remembered as being outstanding from last year's visit was the bread. As you stand in line waiting to be served, you invariably ended up walking past the table where a volunteer was slicing the bread fresh and inserting each slice into it's own waxed paper envelop. This year's dinner was no exception. It was fresh, it was tasty, and it had a wonderful chew to both the crust and crumb. If Queen of Heaven succeeded nowhere else, they absolutely rule when it came to their choice in bread. Sadly, this was the high point.

Having enjoyed the bread, next up on the tasting docket was the Fried Fish:


I seem to remember the fried fish from last year being the second brightest point of that meal. This time around, the fish looked nicely fried and golden brown on the outside, but the slightest pressure or touch yielded very greasy fingers. The coating was crisp and nicely seasoned, but once I tasted the fish, I was longing for a bit of seasoning. While the standard fried fish dinner came with three pieces, I ate the first and about half of the second before giving up.

Here was a shot of the interior of the fish:


In an interesting turn of events, while the first piece of fish I ate was decent in turns of moisture, the second piece was much drier and less enjoyable. Considering that they had come from the same batch on the same side of the chafing dish, this was a little worrisome. Overall, I think the execution of the fish dropped a bit this year.

New on my plate this year were the Roasted Potatoes:


While I was excited to see some herbs sprinkled on these potatoes (the very thing for which I dinged Annunciation's version), sadly these had none of the magic that came from a properly roasted potato. The potatoes were lacking any crispy exterior, although the interior was definitely creamy enough. Additionally, these lacked seasoning. To their credit, they weren't unsalted, just undersalted. For a boiled or steamed potato, this would have worked well. Roasted? Not so much.

Next up on the plate was the Macaroni and Cheese:


This was the one item I was eager to see if it had improved from last year. I figured it really could only improve (I mean, I gave it a 'D' last year). As soon as the woman working the chafing dish scooped my portion and placed it on my plate, I knew that this was going to be deja vu all over again. And it was. Apparently, completely overcooked, mushy pasta was how they like to serve it at Queen of Heaven. While the macaroni and cheese had a decent cheese flavor, the pasta was BEYOND done. I took approximately two bites, one to register my first impression and the second to confirm it. I left the rest.

The next item I tried on my plate were the Pierogi with Fried Onions:


While the pierogi looked slightly different than the ones from last year, they also looked 100% uniform and resembled the standard Mrs. T's frozen product that I can get year round at the grocery store. One bite of these potato-filled dumplings confirmed my suspicions. The onions, while somewhat fried, still had a bit of raw crunch to them and didn't do that much in adding any sweetness to the pierogi. All in all, as was my assessment last year, average.

The final component on my tray tonight was the Coleslaw:


This dish intrigued me last year and it intrigued me this year. I asked my the woman delivering this side dish if it was homemade (I kind of guessed that it was last year) and she gave me the most incredulous look and said, "I have no idea if it is homemade." Still, based on the irregularity of the cut on the vegetables, it looks homemade. And, just like last year, the dressing was very light and sank to the bottom of the cup. It would be easy to think this was a mayonnaise-less dressing because it didn't taste heavy, but the scant milky dressing at the bottom of the cup would beg to differ with that conclusion. While this was certainly better than standard food service coleslaw, it didn't really sing either.

My meal now complete, I gathered my personal affects and headed outside, convinced that what I had experienced at Queen of Heaven's fish fry last year was indeed an accurate reflection. While the fish suffered a bit this year, the pierogi were still average, the macaroni and cheese was still sub-par, the coleslaw was still intriguing, and the fresh bread still remained the best part of the entire meal.

Here are the current rankings so far from best overall to worst overall as well as an individual grade for each of the major elements on the plate.

1. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (Akron): Fish, B+; Macaroni and Cheese, B; Coleslaw, C; Roasted Potatoes, B; Baklava, A-
2. Queen of Heaven Catholic Church (Green): Fish, C+; Macaroni and Cheese, D; Roasted Potatoes, C; Pierogi, C; Coleslaw, B-
3. Our Lady of Guadalupe (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Pierogi, D+; French Fries, C; Coleslaw, C
4. St. Mary Church (Hudson): Fish, D+; Pierogi, C-; French Fries, B

The Lenten Project, Week 5 And Conclusion (2 of 2)

To date, I've eaten a fried fish and pierogi meal at five churches, two clubs, and one restaurant. I was hoping to end The Lenten Project with more of a bang than the whimper that was awaiting me at my final destination during this five week journey. I've been subjected to the good, the bad, and the indifferent. The one element that I hadn't been subjected to, much to my surprise, were crowds of people. That could be because of my penchant for arriving shortly after the meals started or it could just be dumb luck. For my final meal today, however, I arrived right in the thick of it and was afraid that I might be waiting in line a long time.

Today's second meal of the day was held at Queen of Heaven Catholic church located at 1800 Steese Road, Uniontown, OH 44685 and can be reached at 330-896-2345. Their website is located here. The fried fish dinner was actually being served in the Parish Life Center, which was across the parking lot from the actual church. While there was a very large parking lot, it was nearly full and finding a spot took some effort.

Once I successfully parked the car, I approached the front of the Parish Life Center:


I walked inside to find a lot of noise, but no lines. There were two signs posted: The one to the left indicated where to head for dining room sales and the one on the right indicated where to head for take-out sales. I headed down the left hallway off the main entrance to discover a room where there were two tables set up and two very short lines of people. Sitting on a chair next to the line in which I was standing was today's menu:


Fortunately, for my second meal, macaroni and cheese and pierogi were considered side items and the fried fish dinner came with two sides for $8. Perfect! I waited for my turn and finally placed and paid for my order. I was handed this meal ticket:


A short walk out of the room and across the hallway and I entered the gymnasium where the fish fry was being served. This was clearly the source of the noise I had heard when I first entered the center. A sign was erected just inside the doors asking for patrons to wait to be seated. Seeing as I was the only one standing at this sign, it didn't take long for one of the volunteers to steer me to a table near the back of the room.

Within a minute or so, a different volunteer wearing food service gloves approached me and asked what I wanted to drink and if I preferred apple sauce or coleslaw. She indicated that I needed to take my meal ticket up to one of the two buffet service lines at the front of the room and hand it to one of the workers there. Neither line was incredibly long, but I did stand for about ten minutes before reaching the buffet table lined with chaffing dishes. I handed my server my ticket and she plated my fried fish before handing it to the next woman who was dishing out sides. My plate now complete, I returned to my table to discover that bread, a cup of coleslaw, and a glass of water had been left by our server.

Here was a shot of the bread:


Served in a paper "sleeve," there was also a pat of butter inside as well. Like my meal earlier in the evening, this was probably the nicest piece of bread I've had so far during the project. This one almost felt artisan. While the crust and crumb were nice, I could tell that it wasn't a true artisan bread because it didn't have the wonderful yeasty, sourdoughy smell that well-made bread has. Nevertheless, it was fresh and leaps and bounds better than some of the regular food service dinner rolls that had made an appearance at other meals.

I next turned my attention to the coleslaw:


Tonight has apparently been a good night for coleslaw. Just like at Slovak J, Queen of Heaven's coleslaw was immediately identifiable as being homemade: The irregularity on the cut of the vegetables, the crunchiness of the cabbage and the dressing. At first I thought that the dressing was of the vinegar - sugar - salt variety, but upon digging around the bottom of the cup, I discovered that the dressing did have a mayonnaise base to it. The problem was that it was so soupy and diluted, that unless you dug out a bite from the bottom of the dish, the cabbage on top didn't stay well dressed. Still, it was a decent enough version.

After sitting down at my table and removing my plate from the cafeteria tray, I took a shot of my main meal:


Both the fried and the baked fish available tonight were cod. The adult dinner netted you three pieces of fried or one piece of baked fish. Overall, I think the fish was pretty good. The batter was crunchy without being oily. The piece of cod inside the batter was of decent thickness and the entire bite was seasoned properly. The only miss on tonight's dinner was that the fish just couldn't live up to the moistness and juiciness I had experienced at Our Lady of Peace. This was a good version of fried fish, but not a great one. I'm not sure if the tartar sauce was homemade or not, but it was a little bit lacking in the flavor department. It tasted more like straight mayonnaise than the sweet and sour piquancy that pickles and capers would've brought to the party.

The one item on the plate I was absolutely sure was not homemade were the potato pierogi:


With their perfectly stamped and crimped edges, these doughy puffs were simply mediocre. The fried onions were nicely done however and gave the pierogi a sweeter flavor rather than a savory one. After finishing my meal, I approached one of the workers who wasn't busy and asked about the provenance of the pierogi. "Mrs. T's," she said as she hunched her shoulders as if to say, "Yeah, sorry about that."

The final item on my plate tonight was the macaroni and cheese:


As soon as the woman scooped out a portion at the buffet line, I immediately thought I was in trouble. As she turned her ladle over, this amorphous mass landed with an almost sickening thud on my plate and ceased movement. While I have to assume that this was made from scratch (and to be fair, I think all of the macaroni and cheeses I've tasted so far have been homemade), sadly this version reminded me all too much of the version I had eaten at Duffy's Restaurant during week two of the project. While it was certainly infused with cheese flavor, the pasta had been grossly overcooked and almost had no texture. It wasn't quite as bad as Duffy's, which was the only reason it barely earned a passing grade. Queen of Heaven's version required a minimal amount of chewing where Duffy's literally dissolved in your mouth, no chewing required. Needless to say, as this was the last side eaten at my second dinner of the evening, I took a bite or two and passed on the rest.

There were desserts available priced at only $1 each, but as you can imagine, I was too full to take advantage. As I was walking out of the gymnasium I overheard one of the volunteers mentioning to another that they were going to be running out of macaroni and cheese before the end of dinner service if people continued to walk through the front door at the same rate they had been all night. To which I quickly muttered under my breath, "Thank goodness."

So now that I'm done evaluating all of the meals, it is time to crown the winner. I figured I would give out an award to best overall meal and an award for best fried fish since they happen to be two different locations. The winner of the best overall meal goes to the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church located in Streetsboro. While the fried fish wasn't quite perfect, the homemade macaroni and cheese and potato and cheese pierogi were top of the class. The winner of the best fried fish goes to Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church located in Canton. Fried perfectly, hot, juicy, and thick, this was a piece of fried fish that no one else could match.

Here are my final rankings from best overall to worst overall as well as an individual grade for each of the major elements on the plate (Fish, Mac & Cheese, Pierogi, and Clam Chowder):

1. St. Joan of Arc (Streetsboro): Fish, B; Mac & Cheese, A; Pierogi, A
2. Our Lady of Peace (Canton): Fish, A; Mac & Cheese, C; Pierogi, C
3. Slovak J Club (Akron): Fish, B-; Mac & Cheese, B; Pierogi, C
4. Queen of Heaven (Green): Fish, B; Mac & Cheese, D; Pierogi, C
5. United Methodist Church (Peninsula): Fish, C+; Pierogi, B
6. Knights of Columbus (Mantua): Fish, C; Mac & Cheese, C-; Pierogi, A
7. Our Lady of Grace (Hinckley): Fish, C; Pierogi, C; Clam Chowder, C
8. Duffy's Restaurant (Akron): Fish, C-; Mac & Cheese, F

For those who have been following my adventures from the beginning, I wish to thank you. For those tuning in a little late, at least you managed to arrive in the nick of time to find out who I felt had the best overall fish fry. Remember that other than Our Lady of Grace, you still have next Friday, March 26th to try out any of the fish fries I've listed above. Whichever you decide to attend, I hope you have a fantastic meal and for those who celebrate the Christian holiday of Easter, I'd like to wish you an early Happy Easter.

A Tasty Green Chile Cheeseburger At Pancho's

Ever since I saw the double whammy of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and Bobby Flay's Throwndown on the Food Network featuring a New Mexican food favorite, the green chile cheeseburger, I have secretly been on a quest to find a local place here in northeast Ohio where I can sample this delicacy. Granted, I don't have the original from New Mexico to compare with a local version, but I know what tastes good to me, so I wasn't too worried.

One of the advantages of my day job is that every so often, I change locales. This means that during the day if I want to go out for lunch and grab a bite to eat, I have an often changing selection of restaurants from which to choose within a short driving distance. Seeing that my current client is near the Uniontown / Green area, I pulled up Yahoo! maps and put in my address and searched for "restaurants." What came up today was a list of places, some of which I had already visited, some of which I had no interest in visiting, and one which I had been meaning to get to since I started working in this location, Pancho's Southwestern Grille.

Located at 4335 Massillon Road, Green, Ohio 44232, they can be reached at 330-896-1991. Their website can be found here.

Pancho's has been around for a very long time and it has probably been at least fifteen years since I have eaten at this restaurant. In fact, I think the last time I ate here was with my grandfather. I'm not sure why we didn't return after that last time, but I figured that today would be as good as any for a return visit. As I normally do, I checked out their on-line menu before leaving for lunch. As it turns out, they offer an 8 ounce Angus burger for lunch and for only an extra $0.50, you can add chopped roasted green chiles. The notion suddenly hit me that I would finally be able to try out this somewhat strange combination that I had been pining after for such a long time.

I arrived around 12:30 PM on a Wednesday afternoon to find the parking lot perhaps one-third full. I know that when I've driven past this restaurant after I get off of work, it fills up incredibly quickly, so I was happy to find an off-peak time to go. It just so happens that the Angus burger is also available on their lunch menu (which is only served until 3 PM), so the burger itself and my choice of side were cheaper than they were on the dinner menu. Score!

Here were some photos of most of the menu (one of the pages came out too blurry to use):





After ordering, my server brought me chips and salsa:


I must be getting spoiled with chips and salsa because the first thing I noticed was that the chips were room temperature. So many Mexican restaurants serve chips that were freshly fried and hot that this seemed unusual to me. The chips had an interesting dusting of spices on them. From what I could tell, salt, pepper, chili powder and cayenne. The flavor was very complimentary and didn't overpower the chip. The salsa was also nice, especially for those who love raw garlic. The garlic flavor wasn't so much present when eating the salsa, but when you stopped for a minute, the garlic notes lingered on my palate.

Having never had an authentic green chile burger from New Mexico, I could only guess as to what toppings I wanted from reading about it on places like RoadFood. It seemed that besides the normal toppings of tomato, lettuce, and onion, the cheese should be American, the only condiment used should be mayonnaise, and of course, there should be lots of roasted and chopped green chiles. Figuring that the kitchen would overcook my burger, I ordered it medium. That usually gets me a medium-well burger that is still juicy.

For an additional minimal charge, I could get fresh-cut fries, home fries, or Pancho fries. Knowing that the fresh-cut fries were not an option for me, I asked my server what the difference between the two varieties of home fries were and he told me that the Pancho fries were the home fries with onions and peppers mixed in. Perfect!

After what must have only been about fifteen minutes or so (although my server seemed concerned that my food was taking too long and checked on it several times), this was what arrived at my table:


And a shot of just the burger:


I was a little surprised to see that the mayonnaise had come in a separate cup, but I just rolled with the punches and applied a liberal shmear onto the crown of the bun. As can be expected in the winter in Ohio, the tomato was sad and anemic looking (and more or less flavorless and mealy). I asked for a steak knife so that I could bisect this half-pounder. Here was a side shot of the burger:


As it turns out, although I had asked for my burger to be cooked medium, it ended up being a tad undercooked at medium-rare. Knowing that a trip back to the kitchen would probably end up adding another fifteen minutes to my lunch hour, I decided just to eat it the way it was. Besides, I would rather have it a little underdone than a little overdone.

I took my first bite, making sure that I got a sufficient amount of meat, cheese, green chili and mayonnaise. As I began to chew, the sublime combination of savory, creamy, and a very gentle spiciness began to fill my mouth. I don't know about the authentic burger out of New Mexico, but this was a darn good burger. Of course, with all burgers of height, this one almost immediately began falling apart and within seconds my fingers were stained with burger juice, melted cheese, and mayonnaise. I persevered and finished my first half greedily. What surprised me the most was how gentle the spiciness of the chile was. While I normally crave things a little spicier, this was the perfect amount of heat.

One cautionary note, since the chiles are obviously a natural product, bits of hard-to-chew fibers found their way into my burger:


I don't know that these would hurt you if you swallowed them, but I could see how this might be a choking hazard if someone were particularly susceptible. Just something to keep in mind.

As for the Pancho fries, it turns out that they are sliced potatoes that have been fried on the flattop, very similar to hash browns (I'm thinking diner style hash browns, not McDonald's). When my server said that the "Pancho" version had onions and peppers in them, I had assumed he meant cooked onions and peppers. Nope:


The Pancho fries are home fries with the addition of raw onions, green bell peppers, and tomatoes. There were really two problems with this side dish. First, because the vegetables were raw, there was no extra flavor from the flattop (like the color that the potatoes had on them from caramelization). Second, and more egregious, was that the Pancho fries had little, perhaps even no seasoning on them (I'm talking salt and pepper here), so they were extremely bland. While there was ketchup provided, even a liberal dosing didn't help to fix the problem.

Wanting to make sure that this wasn't how they were supposed to be, when my server stopped back in to check on me, I asked him if the Pancho fries were supposed to be served underseasoned. After explaining what "underseasoned" meant, he said that as far as he knew, that was how they were supposed to come out of the kitchen. And, in fact, he couldn't actually ever remember seeing any of the line cooks actually adding seasoning when preparing this side dish. I guess this surprised me because my burger had been properly seasoned.

The lunch version of my burger today was $6 and with cheese and green chiles, it came to $7. The Pancho fries were only $0.99 more. Considering that the Pancho fries are the home fries "dressed up," perhaps the better option here is to get the fresh-cut fries. The next time I return I will have to experiment.

While the Angus burger is but one item on Pancho's rather extensive menu, I can definitely see myself returning when that craving strikes me again. I doubt I'd ever get the home fries or Pancho fries again, unless they decide to start seasoning them properly. Bland potatoes, even if cooked well, just aren't very good. Pancho's Southwestern Grille may just be the first stop on my new quest to find the best green chile cheeseburger in Northeast Ohio. Gentle readers, if you have a suggestion, I am definitely all ears.

One Burger To Rule Them All

I knew that when my good friends, let's call them Debbie and Scott, returned from their overseas adventures, they would be eager to try out Ohio's only certified green restaurant, the Greenhouse Tavern. They had eagerly been tracking the progress of the construction of the restaurant for a while and this would be the first opportunity for them to try it out with a large group of friends and family. Debbie and I met up first at the Velvet Tango Room for a couple of refreshing cocktails and then headed over to the restaurant to meet up with all of our friends.

In my previous post on the Greenhouse Tavern, I was amazed by all of the food. The Ohio beef burger, however, absolutely astounded me. I have had plenty of excellent juicy burgers in my time, but that burger went above and beyond. It was simply, bar none, the best burger I have ever eaten. Many of my fellow Akronites took little time to say, "Whoa!" What about Louie's, they cried? What about Swensons, they cried? So, as the day for our visit approached, I was determined to once again vet the burger credentials at the Greenhouse Tavern and see if it still could cut the mustard now that I've eaten examples from the other eateries in question.

Our dinner began with a selection from the wine list. Lately I've been on a mild red kick. Nothing too assertive, but still with a lovely berry nose. Today I chose a glass of the 2007 La Grange de Piaugier syrah:


An excellent selection, this paired well with nearly every course except for the oysters I shared with Debbie. More on that later.

First to come to the table was the bread service. In the two times I have now come to the Greenhouse Tavern, the bread has always been outstanding. This time the bread had been lightly toasted and served with pork rillette. The last time I went it was duck rillette.


This is essentially pork that has been cooked low and slow until completely tender. It is then shredded and then additional fat (either pork fat or butter) is mixed in until the mixture is essentially "spreadable". The pork rillette they served today was absolutely delicious and was a great pairing with the bread.

Knowing that I was with my foodie friends, I decided to let them take care of ordering a round of appetizers. I went to the restroom to freshen up a bit and when I returned, plates just started appearing at the table. First up came the organic American prosciutto over grilled bread:


In much the same way that the fattiness of the pork rillette complimented the grilled bread in the previous course, the prosciutto added a lovely salty, fatty flavor to this bread as well. It amazes me how you can get two completely separate but similar flavors by these different preparations.

Next up are the French breakfast radishes:


The thing about this dish that surprised me the first time I had it and was reminded when I tried it again is how the simple preparation of the radish layered with butter and finished with salt can be such a wonderful combination. Because of how mild the radishes are, none of the components compete to be the dominant flavor profile. So you end up with the mildness and crunch from the radishes, the creaminess from the butter, and the bit of crunchiness and seasoning from the salt. A truly tasty dish.

Additional plates of food continued to appear and I finally managed to get a shot of my plate once I got a little bit of everything:


At 1 o'clock are the breakfast radishes. At 4 o'clock is the American prosciutto. At 8 o'clock are the warmed olives and ramps. I love really good olives and these were a shining example. Serving warmed olives seems to be a trend lately in restaurants; they are served as an appetizer and I find that I like them this way. It brings forth more of the fruit of the olive rather than just focusing on their saltiness. Finally, at the 11 o'clock position is a piece of bread that has the fromage blanc, or Farmer's Cheese, layered on it. Made fresh with cow's milk, this also had pickled thyme and olive oil added to it. Need I say that this was good? Well, I'll say it anyway. This was good. The herbal notes of the thyme added a wonderful earthiness to the cheese.

Thinking our appetizers were done, I was happy to see it wasn't when our next one arrived, chicken wings with roasted jalapenos, scallions, and garlic:


I'm totally a sucker for a chicken wing, even the bad ones. But these were a perfect example of a chicken wing done right. The skin was crisp and delicious, the meat inside was tender and simply falling off the bone and the seasoning was perfect. The roasted jalapenos had given up most of their heat and simply added a lovely fruity flavor along with the sharpness of the scallions and the garlic. I was happy to eat the two on my plate, but my friend Scott loved these so much that he ordered an entire bowl for himself in lieu of an entree.

When my friend Debbie saw that the menu offered Fanny Bay oysters with Meyer lemon mignonette and horseradish vodka, she became just giddy with delight. She and I agreed to split an order:


Here are my three:


I don't eat raw oysters all that often. It's just not something that I normally crave. But every now and again, the opportunity will come up for me to try them and I'm so glad I tried them today. They were incredibly fresh and smelled sweetly of the sea. The Meyer lemon mignonette succeeded in enhancing the fresh briny flavor of the oysters without overpowering them. But what really put this dish over the top was the horseradish infused vodka. Just a little sip of the vodka with each oyster took an already excellent dish and elevated it to a higher level. The vodka flavor disappeared and all you were left with was the ultra clean horseradish flavor and bite. A perfect pairing, if you ask me. Debbie was equally impressed with this dish and she is a stickler for freshness when it comes to seafood.

In what can only be classified as serendipity, Debbie and I hatched a plan so that we'd both be able to try the Ohio beef burger and another entree. She would order the burger, I would order a different entree, then we'd split both and share. Perfect! Another opportunity to try the burger and a different entree all at the same time.

I decided to go with a new addition to the menu, the spring pasta:


That's a poached egg on top of the pasta. Once cut open, the lovely yellow yolk spread throughout the dish:


This dish contained homemade pasta, more of the delicious pork rillette, carrots, celery, fresh porcini and French trumpet mushrooms and of course that lovely egg. To borrow a phrase from Steve Martin, this dish was simply marvelous. I can see why they called it a "spring" pasta; the availability of the mushrooms used in the dish are only available right now. However, this was also a very rich dish. Everyone who tasted it immediately felt it was more of a fall or winter dish. Nomenclature issues aside, the flavor and texture of all of the ingredients was wonderful and it was seasoned perfectly.

Debbie decided to order her burger medium rare. At any other restaurant I would order it medium well to avoid any bacterial issues. But the last time I was here I ordered it medium and was quite pleased, and I normally order my steaks medium rare, so I didn't have a problem with this.

Here is a shot of Debbie's burger and rosemary pommes frites:


And a shot of my half:


Alright, moment of truth time. Would this burger take me back to the last time I had this? Would this still be the king of all other burgers? In one word? Yes. In two words? Hell, yes!

The burger comes simply adorned with a slice of roasted tomato and Raclette cheese. The bun has been buttered and grilled. Additional condiments are available, but they are completely unnecessary. In fact, I think they would detract from this most perfect burger. Honestly, I feel almost shameful eating this burger because you want to eat the entire burger in one bite and at the same time slowly nibble so as to prolong the experience. Eminently juicy and seasoned to perfection, this truly is burger nirvana for me. If it were legal in the state of Ohio to marry a burger, I'd be engaged at this very moment. And I would have no problem giving up all other burgers (even a Galley Boy) if I could only have this burger for the rest of my life. It is simply that good.

For dessert, I decided to try some of Jeni's homemade ice cream. Jeni's is a small shop out of Columbus that turns out small batches of very unique flavors. Tonight's offering was Gravelly Road:


And a shot of the ice cream:


Gravelly Road consists of salted caramel ice cream that has been studded with smoked almonds. Clearly an adult version of Rocky Road, this ice cream was extra rich and creamy and the salted caramel and smoked almonds worked well together. And while you don't need a huge scoop of the ice cream to enjoy it, the tiny spoon they serve it with just seems out of place and a bit too much of an affectation. A regular spoon would be just fine, thank you.

Served with the Gravelly Road were two homemade gingerbread cookies:


Sprinkled with a bit of coarse sugar, these were a nice foil to the richness of the ice cream. They had a nice blend of ginger, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Assertive without being overly so. The ice cream was definitely the star of this dish and the gingerbread cookies were perfectly happy to play the supporting role.

Now as I'm sure you have probably picked up by now, gentle reader, this was a behemoth of a meal. We were at the restaurant for a good 2 1/2 to 3 hours. And we consumed vast quantities of both food and drink. When push came to shove and we finally settled the bill, my portion with one glass of wine came to only $50, including tax and tip! While I know that not everyone can afford $50 per person on a night out on the town, if you simplify the order to a shared appetizer and an entree apiece, a check for two people might only run you a total of $40-$50. Certainly doable as a once-in-a-while treat.

Happily, the Greenhouse Tavern was nearly packed during our visit. In these current economic times, it is important that we spend what precious dining dollars we have on places that offer up something unique and delicious and support our local farmers as well. For all of those Louie's and Swensons burger lovers out there, I challenge you to try the Ohio beef burger at the Greenhouse Tavern. It redefined what the ultimate burger was for me and I think it can do the same for you.