Lenten Project II: Week 5, Part 2 and Conclusion

Ah, gentle reader. It's been a slippery slope of mediocre to poorly fried fish, mostly commercially-available pierogi and less than stellar macaroni and cheese. Of course, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church did do its best to elevate the humble Lenten fish fry and honestly, while not exceptional, did an above average job across the board. That being said, I still had one final stop on my culinary Sisyphean journey; one final chance to discover fried fish and homemade pierogi redemption: the Polish American Club of Akron, Ohio.

Now, I knew ahead of time that the pierogi would be homemade. And that little beacon of hope was enough to sustain me through the weeks of eating the same monotonous pierogi that I can get EVERY SINGLE DAY at Giant Eagle or Acme. And just like pizza, even bad homemade pierogi are better than the mass-produced and marketed commercially-made frozen ones that are designed to appeal to all demographics. The question in my mind tonight as I pulled off of Route 8 onto Glenwood Avenue was whether the rest of the dinner would live up to those little potato dumplings.

According the to the U.S. Post Office, the Polish American Club was located at 472 East Glenwood Avenue, Akron, OH 44310 and questions about the Lenten fish fries can be directed to 330-253-0496. For the purposes of successfully getting you this fish fry, I have to tell you that the Polish American Club was not visible from the road as I turned onto Glenwood from Route 8. What you need to do is go to the very first intersection east of the exit (Dan Street) and make a right. Almost immediately on your right you will see this roadside sign:


Pull into the driveway packed with cars (this was a good sign that the food coming out of the kitchen might be fresher, but a bad sign that there might be a wait), find a spot, and walk to the rear entrance of the club:


Once inside, if it was as packed with people as it was on Friday night at 6:30 PM, you'll need to give your name and the number in your party to the person working the entrance. Fortunately, the Polish American Club was running like a finely tuned machine and within fifteen minutes, a table had opened up right in front of the kitchen and I took my seat anticipating what this final meal held.

The Polish American Club had quite the extensive menu and I quickly (and I thought discreetly) pulled out my camera and began snapping photos:



Apparently, my server saw the tail end of my less-than-nefarious photodocumentation and questioned me.

"Are you taking pictures of the menu?"
"Yes." (My standard answer which is usually enough to discourage further questions.)
After a slight pause, she said, "WHY are you taking pictures of the menu?"
At this point, I decided not to lie, but also not to give up too much information, too. "I'm a food writer and I'm covering local fish fries. This will be my last of nine locations."
"So do you work at the Beacon?"
"No, I'm an independent food writer."

She actually seemed excited that a food writer was sitting at her table. While I knew that giving away too much information might compromise the review (meaning in this case, receiving preferential treatment), at this point of the project, I was absolutely through with crappy fried fish. If this ensured that I got a pristine piece of fried fish, then so be it. I didn't specifically ask for it, so I honestly don't feel especially guilty about my revelation. Plus, that meant I didn't have to hide the camera to capture pictures of my meal. A trade-off, I suppose.

After careful consideration, I decided to go with the regular size Foster Lager Battered Cod Dinner and picked Coleslaw and Macaroni and Cheese as my two included sides. I also ordered an extra side of the homemade Potato Pierogi. Within a few minutes, bread and butter arrived at my table:


There wasn't anything special about this bread, but it was fresh and soft and I appreciated that.

Along with my bread came the Coleslaw:


While I didn't verify if this was homemade or not, the cabbage had been shredded quite finely and was different from the other coleslaws I had eaten prior to this one. It had a nice flavor to it, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.

A few minutes later, my Potato Pierogi came out of the kitchen:


These were large, obviously homemade, and HOT! My first bite was filled with the heat that had come from being fried on the flattop before being plated. I loved the fact that the outside was crispy (without being tough, which had been one of Our Lady of Guadalupe's issues) and the filling was pillowy and soft. The onions could have been caramelized a touch more, but the seasoning was decent. It wasn't until I isolated a bite of just the filling that I realized it was a touch underseasoned. Not as badly as the homemade pieorgi at St. Nicholas, but it definitely needed a touch more salt. To verify this assumption, I took a bite of the filling and sprinkled a bit of the salt on it from the shaker already on the table. Yep ... that fixed it.

I originally thought that the pierogi had made it to my table so hot and quickly because my server had said something to the kitchen staff. However, given that the wait for my fried fish and macaroni and cheese took just as long for me to get it as others around, I questioned that notion. However, while waiting for my main meal to arrive, the kitchen manager, who had obviously been tipped off by my server, came out to my table, introduced himself, and shook my hand. I won't go much into our conversation as it was quite similar to the original one I had with my server.

A few minutes after this impromptu conversation, the remainder of my meal finally arrived:


The "regular" dinner comes with four fish fillets. Had I known this ahead of time, I probably would've gotten the small, not so much to save money, but because this was my second dinner of the evening. Ah, well, I knew that they had take out containers.

I started with the Foster Lager Battered Cod:


All hopes of finishing out the Lenten Project on a high note vanished with the first touch of the coating: greasy. The kind of greasy where it didn't look greasy sitting on the plate, but the minute you put any pressure on the fish to cut it with your fork, the wet sheen of oil suddenly appears. After cutting into it, I took a picture of the interior flesh:


While this wasn't as dry as the previous meal of the evening had been, it also wasn't that juicy, lush, moist fish for which I had been pining since the beginning of the fish fry season. The seasoning was decent and I had confirmed with my server that both the fried catfish and the fried cod were being fried from frozen. That certainly isn't a death sentence, but it does mean you have to pay attention to making sure that the fish is properly fried. My guess is that with how greasy the fish was, either the kitchen had tried to fry too many pieces at once (thus lowering the temperature of the oil in the fryer) or the oil wasn't at the proper temperature to start with.

Additionally, and I will give the Polish American Club a pass on this one, the fish was a little warmer than lukewarm, not screaming hot like the pierogi had been. While I admit that it took a minute or two to photograph the fish and macaroni and cheese, it is possible that the cooled fish might be a result of my delay in tasting it. Thus, my final grade on the fish takes this into account.

After so many poor renditions of Macaroni and Cheese, I came upon my final version for the Lenten Project:


About fifteen minutes after placing my order with the server, the table behind me got re-sat and when the couple tried to place an order for macaroni and cheese, the server apologetically told them that they had run out for the evening. Apparently, I was one of the last few patrons to receive a portion. Having a seat so close to the kitchen, I could see that the kitchen staff was dishing up the macaroni and cheese out of a chafing dish being heated by Sterno. Knowing how poorly macaroni and cheese can hold up when served in such a manner, I wasn't entirely shocked to see the contents in the bowl that came with my fish dinner.

The sauce had been absorbed into the pasta and as a result was somewhat dried out on the outside. The texture of the pasta wasn't complete mush, but it also didn't have the nice toothy bite that both Annunciation and Slovak J's versions did. The cheese flavor was decent, but in a surprising twist, the pasta was slightly underseasoned. Just to make sure, I cleansed my palate several times with the water from my glass and re-tasted, just to be sure. Each time I came to the same conclusion. It wasn't wholly unsalted, but it still needed just a bit more. Who knows? Perhaps the same people who made the pierogi filling also made the macaroni and cheese.

My meal now at an end, I asked my server for a to-go box and proceeded to put the remaining food into it for a late snack last night (it certainly was edible and I wasn't about to throw out a pound and a half of leftovers). When my server dropped off my check, the total with tax had come to roughly $10.65. After giving her the cash for the check (plus tip, of course), I left one of my blog business cards with her and told her to look for the review on Sunday morning. I have no doubt that someone from the Polish American Club will read this review and I hope they take what I have to say, both positive and negative, in the light in which it was meant: constructive criticism. I suppose like most restaurant reviews, the people in charge can be upset with me for saying something negative, or they can take it, learn from it, and improve for next year.

Before I finish off with the final ratings for the 2011 Lenten Project, I will finish this review by saying that if you are looking for excellent homemade pierogi in the Akron area, the Polish American Club is the place to go. Which, knowing that pierogi are Polish in origin, I would rather hope and expect.

Here are the final rankings from best overall to worst overall as well as an individual grade for each of the major elements on the plate. Note that second and third place was incredibly close this year and I actually thought about having them tie for second place, but the inclusion of a very tasty dessert that was included in the price of the meal put St. Andrew at just a slight advantage over the Polish American Club.

1. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (Akron): Fish, B+; Macaroni and Cheese, B; Coleslaw, C; Roasted Potatoes, B; Baklava, A-
2. St. Andrew Ukranian Catholic Church (Parma): Fish, C; Macaroni and Cheese, C; Coleslaw, B; Pierogi, A; Honey Cake, B
3. Polish American Club (Akron): Fish, C; Pierogi, A-; Macaroni and Cheese, C+; Coleslaw, B
4. St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (Mogadore): Fish, C+; Jo Jo's, B; Pierogi, B-; Coleslaw, C+; Punchki, B+
5. Slovak J Club/Jednota (Akron) : Fish, D; Macaroni and Cheese, B-; Coleslaw, C; Hot Rice, B; French Fries, B-
6. St. George Catholic Church (North Canton): Fish, C-; Macaroni and Cheese, C-; Coleslaw, C+; Mamaliga, C
7. Queen of Heaven Catholic Church (Green): Fish, C+; Macaroni and Cheese, D; Roasted Potatoes, C; Pierogi, C; Coleslaw, B-
8. Our Lady of Guadalupe (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Pierogi, D+; French Fries, C; Coleslaw, C
9. St. Mary Church (Hudson): Fish, D+; Pierogi, C-; French Fries, B

Lenten Project II: Week 5, Part 1

Of all the fish fries I would be attending this year, I knew that two would be repeats from last year's project. Queen of Heaven was the first and turned out to be almost completely identical to last year's meal. I was curious to see if the other repeat contender, Slovak J Club (aka Jednota Club) was going to fare in a similar light as last year. While Slovak J's previous meal was good enough to find them in a spot on the top half of my final scorecard, I do remember that it wasn't particularly stellar. It turns out that really good fish fries are surprisingly hard to find; mediocrity is often enough to guarantee you a spot in the top 50%.

Tonight's meal at Slovak J was during my earlier Friday time slot and I turned onto Morgan Avenue promptly at 5:00 PM to see the following familiar edifice:


This building was located at 485 Morgan Avenue, Akron, OH 44311 and questions about the fish fry can be directed to 330-786-9972. After pulling past the front of the building, there was a driveway immediately to the left which I turned into and pulled into the rear parking lot. The entrance to the fish fry was actually located at the very rear of the building:


After entering these doors, I walked down a small flight of steps into a dimly lit corridor and approached the double set of doors at the end of the hall. I'm guessing during at other times of the year, a membership was required to gain entrance, but fortunately, a simple tug on the door revealed the underground bar area and just beyond, the fairly well-lit dining hall.

Last year, Slovak J had sit down service. This year, it was an all you can eat (AYCE) buffet. A hostess stand was in front of the dining hall and after paying my $8, I was stamped (a fish, how appropriate!) on the top of my hand and told that while water was available inside, soft drinks and other beverages could be purchased at the bar. I walked into the dining hall and immediately noticed on my right a series of tables holding chafing dishes and volunteers efficiently scooping out various fish fry items.

I grabbed an empty plate and essentially went down the line, getting a serving of everything they had. When I got to the end and didn't see any pierogi, I asked about its odd absence. I mean, come on, they had pierogi last year, even if they were commercially made! That's when I discovered that I hadn't read the original Akron Beacon Listing posting about Slovak J closely enough. Towards the end of my meal, I pulled up the original article on my smartphone to discover that pierogi were only being offered on Ash Wednesday, the day the Beacon's article went live. Drat!

I took my meal and found a nice empty table towards the rear of the hall where I proceeded to pull out my camera and start taking pictures. Here was a shot of the entire dinner:


Slovak J was definitely not shy about loading up the plate with food! If your Lenten fish fry desire is to load up on sheer volume of food, Slovak J would probably be first on the list. Here was a shot of the Fried Fish with French Fries sitting on top:


The first item I dug into was the fried fish. I noticed almost immediately that the two predominant descriptors that kept coming to my mind were dry and salty. Neither of which was so strong that it made me spit it out, but both kept nagging at me as I continued to try and eat it.

Here was an interior shot of the fish:


While it looked like it should be moist, it simply wasn't. I also thought that since this was the first bit of food I had eaten since lunchtime, maybe my palate just hadn't adjusted yet to the saltiness. I purposely came back to the fish after trying everything else out and it still tasted too salty. After cleaning up after myself at the end of my meal, I approached the hostess in the bar to ask her if the fish was fresh or fried from frozen. She replied that the fish was actually fresh pollack.

She then made the unfortunate choice of asking me how it was. Normally when I am doing these reviews, unless something is WAY off, I usually respond with answers like, "Fine." or "Good." By this point in the Lenten Project, however, I had pretty much had it with crappy fried fish. I responded with a back-and-forth tilting motion of my palm and said, "Eh ... so, so." When I mentioned the saltiness, she quickly added, "Yeah, I kind of thought it was too salty, too. But then again, I'm sensitive to salt." So am I. Especially when there is too much of it. But I digress.

I should mention that the French Fries were okay, but a little bit on the lukewarm side and not quite as crisp as they would be straight out of the frier. I suppose that's the trade-off you get when you put them into a chafing dish on a buffet table.

Next up on the plate was the Macaroni and Cheese:


I was very happy to see that the noodles the woman dishing this cheesy pasta dish out were creamy and not an amorphous clump of overcooked dough. One look and one taste confirmed that the texture on the pasta was quite good, the creaminess was nicely balanced (meaning that it wasn't swimming in sauce nor overly dry), and the cheese flavor was decent. The only odd note about tonight's macaroni and cheese was that it had quite a bit of black pepper in it. I've used freshly cracked black pepper in my own macaroni and cheese before, but tonight's version at Slovak J almost bordered on too much. It competed a bit too much with the cheese flavor.

Something that is very common in northeast Ohio but has been lacking at any of the fish fries this season was Hot Rice:


A staple of Barberton chicken joints, this combination of cooked rice, tomato base, onions and peppers is definitely an acquired taste. I don't know that I personally have acquired a taste for it, but I've eaten enough of it to know whether tonight's rendition represented a proper hot rice. For the most part, it did. It lacked some depth of flavor that I've found in better tasting examples, but I'd say that Slovak J's hot rice was about on par with most restaurant offerings.

Next up was the Coleslaw:


Food service. Average. Nothing out of the ordinary to see or taste here. The dinner roll, as with the coleslaw, while fairly fresh, was also a food service product and not particularly interesting.

All said and done, I finished my macaroni and cheese and that was about it. I felt bad throwing the rest out, but it wasn't particularly noteworthy and I had another fish fry to attend in about an hour. Normally, I'd ask for a "to go" box and take the rest home and have it later that evening or for breakfast the next morning, but I had absolutely no compulsion to do so. If AYCE is your cup of tea, perhaps Slovak J is for you. Me, not so much.

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. St. Andrew Ukranian Catholic Church (Parma): Fish, C; Macaroni and Cheese, C; Coleslaw, B; Pierogi, A; Honey Cake, B
3. St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (Mogadore): Fish, C+; Jo Jo's, B; Pierogi, B-; Coleslaw, C+; Punchki, B+
4. Slovak J Club/Jednota (Akron) : Fish, D; Macaroni and Cheese, B-; Coleslaw, C; Hot Rice, B; French Fries, B-
5. St. George Catholic Church (North Canton): Fish, C-; Macaroni and Cheese, C-; Coleslaw, C+; Mamaliga, C
6. Queen of Heaven Catholic Church (Green): Fish, C+; Macaroni and Cheese, D; Roasted Potatoes, C; Pierogi, C; Coleslaw, B-
7. Our Lady of Guadalupe (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Pierogi, D+; French Fries, C; Coleslaw, C
8. St. Mary Church (Hudson): Fish, D+; Pierogi, C-; French Fries, B

Lenten Project II: Extra Helpings At St. Andrew

When I discovered that fellow food blogger Alicia from Poise In Parma was doing her own version of the Lenten Project up near her home, I was delighted and honestly, just a little bit flattered. While I am well aware of the fact that there are a ton of great fish fries out there, I am but one person, only able to cover a fraction of the churches, clubs, and organizations in the Akron area, much less others. Through a short Twitter conversation, Alicia thought it would be a fun idea to join forces and cover a church fish fry somewhere between Parma and Akron. I couldn't have agreed more.

I looked around the Internet for a church doing both fried fish and pierogi in the Richmond area (a city roughly halfway between us), but alas, I could find nothing. Knowing that my fried-from-frozen pierogi experience so far (with the exception of my visit to St. Nicholas earlier in the evening) had pretty much been devoid of any kind of homemade pierogi, I expanded my search and ended up finding two churches pretty much in Alicia's back yard that she hadn't covered yet. I presented both options and we both agreed that for my second meal during the fourth week in Lent, I would be attending the fish fry at St. Andrew Ukranian Catholic Church in Parma, Ohio.

St. Andrew was located at 7700 Hoertz Rd, Parma, OH 44134 and can be contacted at 440-886-3258. Parking was somewhat tricky as there was a cemetery between the church and the fellowship hall where the fish fry was hosted. My best advice to you, gentle reader, is to go up the main driveway and then once you are behind the church, take the exit to the back left of the parking lot, not the one that leads straight into the cemetery. I made this mistake and ended up having to backtrack to finally find the correct parking lot.

Here was a shot of the front of the building hosting tonight's fish fry:


Once inside, I met up with Alicia and her husband Hans as well as fellow food blogger Jill, from ClevelandRocksClevelandEats. We were warmly greeted and told of the award-winning pierogi (as judged by Cleveland Magazine three years ago) that we could expect to be served tonight. I knew that I was looking forward to it. While the general procedure at St. Andrew was to place and pay for your order before sitting down at the table, Alicia happened to retain one of the printed and laminated menus. Here was a shot of the menu:



I opted to go with the fried fish and pierogi dinner (clearly) and being in a good mood, decided to add a side of the macaroni and cheese as well. My total came to $11.50, which while a bit pricier than some of the other dinners I've had, wasn't crazy either. Once I ordered and paid for my dinner, I took my meal ticket and proceeded to make the rounds at the various stations inside the main room to pick up my food. Here was what I ended up with at the table:


Of course, the first place I started was with the Fried Fish:


By the time we arrived at paid for our meals, it was already close to 6:45 PM. Since the dinner ran only until 7:30 PM, almost all of the fish required for the remainder of the evening had already been fried and was simply being held in the kitchen and served as needed.

Here was a shot of the interior of the fish:


The outer coating was very crispy (initially a good sound and sign), but once we started to tuck into the fish itself, we discovered that it was decent to poor in terms of moisture. The flavor was fine, but both of my pieces were a bit dry. Alicia's husband, Hans, had one fillet that was moist and one that was not, but the rest of the diners tonight found the fish to be lacking in the moisture department.

After being a bit disappointed in the fried fish, I next turned my attention to the "award-winning" Pierogi:


Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a a winner! These were not only tender, but also incredibly flavorful. The filling was nicely seasoned and the fried onions and included packet of sour cream meant that I could truly savor my three potato-laden pockets of love tonight. THIS was what I had been craving during the past four weeks of Lent. Regardless of the other components on my plate tonight, the pierogi were enough for me to recommend St. Andrew.

I next moved onto the Macaroni and Cheese:


This had wonderful cheese flavor, but unfortunately, it was overcooked. I'd be curious to try this just after the dinner service started at 5 PM, but by 7:00 PM, the pasta had only a slight bit of texture. It was definitely homemade and clearly pasta doesn't do well being held for a long time, but in the grand scheme of things, the overcooked pasta made this a less-than-stellar version of this American staple.

As opposed to the woman at St. Nicholas who claimed that homemade coleslaw just wasn't possible for the masses during Lent, St. Andrew brought serious game to their version:


Clearly homemade, the slaw was tasty and refreshing. Just like the pierogi, I had grown accustomed to food-service coleslaw. Having the fresh stuff available was both surprising and welcomed. While it wasn't perfectly balanced between sweet and sour, it did go a long way towards satisfying my need for something made from scratch.

Finally, every meal included one of several sweet treats. Tonight I decided to go with a slice of Honey Cake:


While the cake definitely tasted of honey, it was just a touch dry (most likely due to the fact that it had been sitting out in the open air before I approached the dessert table and requested a piece). At the same time, I also ate the entire piece of cake fairly quickly, so clearly my objection to its dryness wasn't too overpowering. There were a selection of desserts available (poppyseed rolls, amongst them). Like my meal earlier in the evening, I liked being able to finish my meal with something small and sweet, but not overpowering.

I finished my meal tonight very happy with the pierogi, but somewhat disappointed in the fish and macaroni and cheese. That being said, I'm guessing that if you show up sooner rather than later, both of those issues might be corrected, at least somewhat.

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. St. Andrew Ukranian Catholic Church (Parma): Fish, C; Macaroni and Cheese, C; Coleslaw, B; Pierogi, A; Honey Cake, B
3. St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (Mogadore): Fish, C+; Jo Jo's, B; Pierogi, B-; Coleslaw, C+; Punchki, B+
4. St. George Catholic Church (North Canton): Fish, C-; Macaroni and Cheese, C-; Coleslaw, C+; Mamaliga, C
5. Queen of Heaven Catholic Church (Green): Fish, C+; Macaroni and Cheese, D; Roasted Potatoes, C; Pierogi, C; Coleslaw, B-
6. Our Lady of Guadalupe (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Pierogi, D+; French Fries, C; Coleslaw, C
7. St. Mary Church (Hudson): Fish, D+; Pierogi, C-; French Fries, B

Lenten Project II: Week 2

With Lent now in full swing, the time has come for this week's journey into the vast sea of fried fish and pierogi to get my fill once again. Except that tonight's destination didn't have any pierogi. "What?" I hear you cry. "Wasn't the point of this whole thing to find churches, clubs, and organizations that serve both fish AND pierogi?" Well, gentle reader, yes, it was. The problem was that once I excluded the bottom half of last year's list (I mean, really, do I need to go two years in a row if the experience was that bad?), sadly, that only left me with six places to visit this year.

So, I did what any resourceful food blogger would do and looked at the remaining fish fries to try and determine if there were two that offered something interesting instead of pierogi. It turned out that tonight's sole destination, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church was offering not only some Greek twist's on the traditional Lenten fish fry, but had also loaded their menu offerings with one of my favorite sides, macaroni and cheese! [Ed. note: I am but a simple man, with simple needs. Good macaroni and cheese is one of them.]

At around 4:30 PM, I packed everything up at work, hopped in the car, and by 5:00 PM on the dot, I was sitting in the parking lot of Annunciation, facing the Greek Community Center at the rear of the church. For those not familiar with Annunciation's location, it was 129 South Union Street, Akron, OH 44304. If you have questions about the fish fry, you can call them at 330-434-0000 or you can visit them at their website. One thing I will warn you about, gentle reader, is that Google Maps has the church right at the intersection of South Union and Forge/Mill and you need to continue going south just past the intersection. The church will be on your left.

Here was a shot of the back entrance of the church (also known as the Greek Community Center):


Once inside, you walk to the end of the hallway where the menu is posted on the door leading into the kitchen area:


While the Grecian Baked Plaki Dinner sounded interesting and unique, as far as the fish went, I had to be able to compare apples to apples, so I decided I would get the All You Could Eat (AYCE) fried flounder. After walking through the entrance to the kitchen, I picked up a cafeteria tray and placed an empty Styrofoam plate on it along with my plastic utensils and a napkin. At the beginning of the line, you tell the person behind the chafing dishes which type of fish you'd like. Since I was getting the AYCE fried fish, I told her two pieces would be plenty to start out. Each dinner also comes with two sides and tonight's choices were plentiful: roasted potatoes, macaroni and cheese, rice pilaf, steamed vegetables, salad, and coleslaw. Macaroni and cheese was an obvious choice, but I decided to go with the roasted potatoes for my other side. While I could've stopped there, I decided to also add a side of coleslaw and a piece of baklava for dessert.

After loading up my tray, I walked to the end of the long table and the person sitting there tabulated my bill. My meal tonight, with an extra side and dessert, came to $10.45. I then headed into the large auditorium, grabbed a glass of water, and retired to a somewhat dimly lit table near the back, where I could shoot pictures without disturbing anyone.

Here was a shot of my entire cafeteria tray:


I started out my meal tonight by examining the dinner roll:


While I would be shocked to get anything other than a food service dinner roll at one of these fish fries, when I tore it apart and examined it, it was merely okay. It wasn't stale, but it also wasn't really fresh either.

Fortunately, when I turned my attention to the Fried Flounder,


the meal took a dramatic turn for the better. The fish had been fried quite nicely, with the exterior colored a nice golden brown and the fillets lacking any greasiness. When I cut into the fillets, I was rewarded with moist, juicy fish:


Even though these fillets were clearly fried from frozen (they were way too uniform to be fresh), the kitchen crew had done these a real service by not only frying them correctly, but cooking them until they were hot, tender, and moist. Additionally, the flavor was mild and the problem of an off odor from last week's visit was completely absent tonight. If I had been still hungry after finishing the rest of my meal (and since I didn't have a second meal to attend tonight), I would have gladly gone up and gotten a second serving. The only real criticism was that the fish was a bit thin. That being said, this was a huge improvement over last Friday's visits.

Next on the plate was the Macaroni and Cheese:


I had a sneaking suspicion when the woman doling this side dish out in the kitchen scooped a spoonful and placed it on my plate that it was going to be good. The creamy pasta sort of easily slid from spoon to plate and lacked the amorphous thudding sound I've encountered in the past when the pasta had been cooked beyond done. Sure enough, the sauce was cheesy and wet without being soupy and the flavor was quite good. The only criticism of the pasta was that while it wasn't cooked to mush, it was just slightly overcooked so that it lacked a nice chewiness.

Rotating my plate another quarter turn and I landed on the Roasted Potatoes:


One of the key ingredients that I find most bad roasted potatoes lack is salt. Tonight's version was a mixed bag. While there was some salt on the potatoes, they could've used a bit more. That being said, there was a salt shaker on the table, so take what I say with ... what else? A grain of salt. Seriously, these were nicely roasted and were crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The only thing I would've wanted would be a little bit of chopped parsley on top to add just a little bit more flavor as they were just a bit one-note on my palate.

After finishing what was included with my dinner, I turned to my added side, the Coleslaw:


When I asked the woman dishing out the coleslaw in the kitchen if it was homemade, she seemed confused and finally conceded, "No." Based on how uniform it looked and how average it tasted, I would have to agree with her. It wasn't bad, just not memorable. I would have skipped adding it to the bill the next time around.

The savory portion of my meal now complete, I turned to the sweet ending I had purchased just a short time earlier, the Baklava:


I certainly didn't mind paying the $1.25 for this little bit of Greek heaven, but it was essentially three bites of dessert. That being said, the minute I tasted my first bite, I was suddenly jonesing for a nice cup of Greek coffee. The phyllo on top was crispy, the layers of walnuts, honey, and cinnamon were intense and delicious, and even if I only got three bites out of it, it was still worth it. The other dessert being offered today was rice pudding, but something tells me that THIS was the more satisfying of the two desserts.

Finally, when I sat down at my table tonight, I noticed a number of order forms scattered across the surface:


Apparently, you can order many of these fabulous Greek treats and pick them up in mid-April. I have no financial gain in promoting this, but I thought that if something like this interested you, gentle reader, you might want to make your way to Annunciation's fish fry sooner rather than later.

Truly satisfied that I had finally had my first piece of really properly fried fish, I collected my trash and walked the cafeteria tray over to a garbage bin near the front entrance of the auditorium. After depositing my trash, I handed it to one of the women wiping down the trays and proceeded out into the overcast, but still warm spring air. I enjoyed my meal tonight, even if the dinner roll and the coleslaw had been average. Annunciation has clearly set the bar for this year's Lenten Project and I am eager to see who can live up to and perhaps surpass them.

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. Our Lady of Guadalupe (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Pierogi, D+; French Fries, C; Coleslaw, C
3. St. Mary Church (Hudson): Fish, D+; Pierogi, C-; French Fries, B

Lenten Project II: Week 1, Part 2

Having finished my first Lenten fish fry dinner for the evening at St. Mary Church in Hudson, I hopped back in my car and headed north on Route 91 to get to my second destination for the evening, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Macedonia. While I had budgeted about ninety minutes of times between the two dinners, between lingering at the first dinner and taking a phone call while I was sitting in the parking lot of the second, 6:30 PM came around much quicker than I thought it would.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was located at 9080 Shepard Road, Macedonia, OH 44056 and can be reached at 330-468-2194 ext. 38. The church was set back a bit from the road, but fortunately a sign was placed near the street indicating the availability of tonight's fish fry. As I pulled around to the back of the church, I was greeted with an enormous parking lot. After parking and gathering my camera, I approached the rear of the church to discover fairly obvious directions:


This was similar to Queen of Heaven Church in Uniontown that I visited last year. I suppose this keeps the whole operation more efficient as you won't have people standing around waiting for their to-go food order. Once inside the church, I walked through a roped area to a podium where a woman greeted me warmly and asked if I was here for the dinner. When I responded that I was definitely here to get some fried fish and pierogi, she emphatically responded by praising their pierogi offering. She then handed me off to another gentleman dressed nicely in a suit who selected a half-empty table at which I could sit.

It seemed that the "restaurant" theme was prevalent in tonight's visits as Our Lady had been staffed by the youth of the church. After taking our drink orders, I got down to the business of capturing tonight's menu:



Once my order had been taken, I was surprised at how quickly my food arrived at the table. First up was my dinner roll for the evening:


I didn't bother with the margarine, but I did sample the roll and found it ... okay. It wasn't pristinely fresh, but it also wasn't stale either.

Next up was the coleslaw:


While this did have a nice acidity to it, it was clear that this was run-of-the-mill food service coleslaw. Let's just say that my socks have not been knocked off at this point in the meal.

While I was waiting for the main portion of the meal to arrive, the woman seated next to me engaged me in a small bit of conversation after she heard that I had ordered the pierogi dinner. "Oh, the pierogi are very good!" When I asked if they were homemade, she got a slightly pained look on her face and replied, "No, I don't think so."

It was actually cheaper (by about $0.75) to order the pierogi dinner and add a side of fried perch than the other way around. Here was a shot of the Pierogi Dinner with French Fries:


I'm not sure if the menu had a typo on it or not, but the menu said nothing of French Fries. Rest assured, it came with them. Sure enough, a not-so-close examination of the pierogi indicated machine made dumplings (more than likely Mrs. T's or something similar). While the fried onions had been salted (unlike St. Mary Church's version), the poor pierogi had been pan fried to within an inch of their lives. While I do enjoy the textural contrast of a crispy exterior to the creamy interior, these were dried out and hard to chew.

The French Fries were average. The good news was that they weren't greasy, but there were a few fries that were a bit limp.

My side of Fried Perch arrived on its own plate:


Examining the exterior of the fish, it appeared not to be greasy, the color of the batter was good, and there wasn't an abundance of flaked off batter like I had experienced earlier in the evening. After cutting into it, I found that while it wasn't the juiciest piece of fried fish I had ever eaten, it wasn't bad and certainly a step up from St. Mary's. Here was a shot of the interior of the fillet:


The only problem I had with the fish was that it had a slightly fishy smell to it. Not so strong that I would refuse to eat it, but definitely noticeable. The seasoning on the fish was done well.

It was at about this point in the evening that the same gentleman in the suit who had seated me earlier came over and inquired about my copious use of the camera. I make it a policy not to lie about what I am doing when directly asked. I produced a business card, explained that I was a local food blogger and had selected Our Lady of Guadalupe out of the Akron Beacon Journal's listing because they offered both fried fish and pierogi and told him that my review would be going up Sunday morning. Satisfied with that answer, he walked away. I suspect, based on what I've written here, that he probably won't be especially pleased should he actually visit the blog.

All said and done, I took my tab to the table outside of the eating area and ponied up my $8.50. Had I ordered the fried perch dinner and added a side of pierogi, it would've been $9.25. Not a bad price, either way you slice it. The service was quick and efficient and felt a little less assemby-line-ish than my previous dinner tonight.

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. Our Lady of Guadalupe (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Pierogi, D+; French Fries, C; Coleslaw, C
2. St. Mary Church (Hudson): Fish, D+; Pierogi, C-; French Fries, B

Completing The Rounds At White House Chicken

It may have come a little too late to take advantage of the buzz Michael Symon created a few months back when he took on the Barberton Chicken challenge between Belgrade Garden and Whitehouse Chicken, but I finally got around to trying my fourth and final Barberton chicken joint, Whitehouse, recently in an early bird (no pun intended) setting on a Saturday night. I don't normally crave this regional style of chicken, but tonight for some reason it sounded good. So, I hopped in my car, drove to the corner where the original Whitehouse Restaurant was located and proceeded to drive around the block three times before settling on the fact that unlike the other three chicken houses (Belgrade, Hopocan, and Milich's), Whitehouse did not have a dedicated parking lot. Instead I opted to park across the street in the strip mall parking lot and braved the arctic air while crossing the street to reach the front entrance.

The original location of Whitehouse Chicken was at the corner of West Paige and Wooster Road North, or more specifically 180 Wooster Road North, Barberton, OH and can be reached at 330-745-0449. There are also satellite locations in Ellet, Green, Tallmadge, Wadsworth, and Cuyahoga Falls. I've eaten at several of the other locations in the past (a long, long time ago) and I was never particularly impressed. So to be fair to the other reviews I've done on Barberton Chicken joints, I wanted to review the original.

Here was a photograph of the front entrance to Whitehouse from across the street:


Once inside, I was surprised at how much bigger the restaurant was on the inside. From its exterior, the place looked barely large enough to fit a few tables. After being told to seat myself wherever I liked, I tried to find a table near the back where it was unoccupied and I could do my photography without disturbing other patrons. Shortly after taking my seat, my server dropped off a menu for me to peruse:



Unlike all the other chicken houses, the menu at Whitehouse was short and sweet. It was chicken, chicken, chicken, and, okay, for you non-chicken eater out there, one fish dish. While the basic chicken dinner offerings were virtually identical to the other houses, the prices at Whitehouse were considerably more inexpensive. I ended up going with a "Classic White" dinner which included the breast, back, drumstick, and wing along with three sides all for roughly $8.99. A similar dinner at Belgrade would have set me back closer to $11.

After placing my order, the ubiquitous slices of white and rye bread made an appearance on my table:


As with the other chicken houses, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the bread or the butter.

Unlike the other houses, however, my dinner made an appearance within about two minutes of me ordering it. In fact, when the food runner showed up at my table, I was almost certain that she had made a mistake. Apparently, I had arrived just as the kitchen had begun volume production of the fried chicken for tonight's dinner service, in anticipation of the dinner rush.

Because everything came out on one platter, I didn't get a shot of the entire thing. Instead, I decided to take photographs of different portions, with some of the foods overlapping from shot to shot. First up was the hot rice and mashed potatoes with white pepper gravy:


The tomato-based hot rice was hot, both in terms of temperature and spice level. I've never really developed a taste for this side at any of the Barberton restaurants, but other than the somewhat mushy texture of the rice, Whitehouse's version was decent enough. The mashed potatoes were also decent and seasoned well, but didn't really knock my socks off. The white pepper gravy was somewhat of a misnomer. Depending on how you read the description, it could be taken to mean that it was a gravy containing white pepper or a white gravy containing pepper. In this particular case, it was the latter. The gravy added a nice pepperiness to the potatoes and I think I would prefer it over just a plain brown gravy.

On the other side of the platter was the fried chicken and the homemade coleslaw:


Consistent with the rest of the chicken joints, the coleslaw was a simple shredded cabbage that had been dressed in a vinegar, sugar, and salt combination and allowed to sit until soft. Whitehouse's coleslaw had a nice balance to it, being neither too sweet or too acidic. I still think my favorite version was at Belgrade, but this one wasn't bad either.

Finally, the main event, the fried chicken:


The coating on the chicken was crispy and not greasy. While the crust wasn't quite as thick as the version found at Belgrade Gardens, it was still evenly coated and well seasoned. After cutting into the breast meat, I decided to snap one last photograph, to demonstrate how juicy the meat was on the inside:


I was most impressed with how well cooked the chicken actually was. For two dollars less than the same plate of food from my favorite, Belgrade Gardens, Whitehouse was astonishingly good. While I hadn't thought I was hungry enough to eat four pieces of chicken when I walked through the front door, by the time I was finished with my platter tonight, it was nothing but bones, cartilage, and tiny bits of meat that were inaccessible to teeth and fork. I finally realized just how difficult a decision it had been for Michael Symon when he had to choose the winner for his television show. Of course, there are many out there who will draw a hard and non-negotiable line over which chicken house is the best, for me, between Belgrade Garden, Hopocan Garden, and Whitehouse Chicken, the various shades of gray are incredibly close.

To me, Belgrade Garden still edges out everyone else in terms of overall flavor, crispiness of the chicken coating and juiciness of the meat. That being said, if a Barberton chicken dinner is what you are after and you aren't particularly dogmatic about your selection, I don't see how you could go wrong with Whitehouse Chicken. The good news is that you might even spend a little less to experience nearly the same meal. As I stood from the table in preparation of paying my check, I noticed that there were considerably more guests seated at tables than when I arrived. Given that Whitehouse Chicken just doesn't have the physical space to handle the massive crowds that the other houses do, I'd suggest getting there early unless you don't mind waiting.