Destination Italy at Lucca Restaurant

Opening a restaurant is a daunting proposition. Were you to tell me that you wanted to open a high-end restaurant featuring local and sustainable products, I would assume you were talking about the Cleveland market, where clientele tend to be more aware of this kind of dining option. If instead, you told me that the restaurant in question was in Canton, Ohio, I'd have a tougher time believing you. Unfortunately, just having well-executed food isn't enough sometimes to ensure a restaurant's longevity. You also have to have patrons who are willing to pay for the privilege of a chef willing to go the extra steps to ensure that what is put in front of you represents both wholesomeness and seasonality.

This is exactly the angle chef Josh Schory has taken with his restaurant, Lucca. Located on the corner of Cleveland Ave and 4th Street NE, by 7 PM on a Saturday night, it was abuzz with activity, each and every table filled with hungry patrons. But before I get ahead of myself, gentle reader, first some pertinent information. Lucca was located at 228 4th Street NW, Canton, OH 44702 and can be reached at 330-456-2534. Parking was streetside or in a parking lot just north of the restaurant. The restaurant has both a website and a Facebook fan page.

After being seated, the hostess handed me several menus. First, the regular menu:

And the daily specials menu:

As I began to look over both menus deciding which bits to pick from each, my server arrived at my table with freshly sliced crusty bread and herb-infused olive oil:

The bread, baked at a local Canton bakery, had a wonderfully chewy crust and soft crumb. The flavor of the bread plain was delicious on its own -- paired with the herbaceous peppery bite of the olive oil, it made a wonderful way to start out the meal.

I decided to begin my meal with the Carpaccio Insalata:

Traditionally, carpaccio is incredibly thin slices of pounded raw beef tenderloin that is dressed with various toppings. Chef Schory riffed on the original dish and served thinly-sliced, cured Bresaola as the base. He dressed it lightly with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon, a small green salad and a balsamic gastrique. Salty, sweet, and tart sensations danced over my tongue as I rolled each bite around in my mouth. Although the dish sounds heavy, it was surprisingly light and a perfect segue into my next course.

I was happy to see that many of the pastas came as both full entree-sized portions as well as half-sized portions. After reading over the many choices, I settled on a half portion of the Buccatini with Gorgonzola Dolce:

Accompanying the cheese sauce was pancetta, spinach, parsnips, and a hint of truffle oil. When my server sat the plate down in front of me, I inhaled deeply and was rewarded with a heady earthiness of the truffle. Since buccatini is a hollow pasta, the long strands had not only been coated in the sexy cheese sauce, but also soaked it up into the hollow cavity inside of each noodle. The pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente and the cheese sauce had a wonderful balance between the strong blue cheese flavor and sweetness. Neither overpowered the other. Essentially, this was an adult macaroni and cheese dish, but a far more elevated version than I've had before.

I have but two criticisms for this course. First, the pasta was oversauced. In true Italian cooking, the sauce is considered a condiment (thus, it being called condimento) and should essentially coat the pasta lightly and evenly. That being said, most Americans prefer their pasta drowned in sauce, so if this is your preference, you'll be pleased with the dish as it came from the kitchen.

Second, and this is less of a criticism, and more of a suggestion, the cutlery brought out to consume this course included a butter knife, a fork, and a spoon. While there is a great controversy over whether pasta should be rolled onto the tines of a fork using the spoon as a base, when I asked my server why he brought the butter knife, he answered, "In case you wanted to cut the pasta." As a general rule, pasta should neither be broken before cooking nor cut afterwards.

The first two savory courses behind me, I eagerly awaited the arrival of my entree for the evening, the Sole En Papillote which was being offered on today's specials menu:

The sole was perfectly steamed and incredibly moist and tender. As I took bite after bite, the flesh simply melted in my mouth. One of the benefits of cooking fish in parchment paper (en papillote) is that you end up with fish that is almost always perfectly cooked. The filet of sole came atop salty sea beans and frenched local organic baby carrots. Additionally, fingerling potatoes that had been roasted separately were perched to the side of the fish. Honestly, everything was delicious, but the seasoning on the fish was a bit uneven. If you combined some of the sea beans with the fish, it worked well, but the fish itself could've used a bit more seasoning.

I wasn't sure if I was going to have dessert or not, so I asked my server to recite the list for me. While there were six or seven options, the only two that were made in house were the creme brulee and the fresh fruit parfait. I have nothing against a good creme brulee, but it seems that every restaurant anymore offers creme brulee (and chocolate lava cake, too). Thus that left me with the Fresh Fruit Parfait:

Composed of macerated strawberries and blueberries, the mini-martini glass filled with fruit had been topped with a Grand Marnier-infused freshly whipped cream and garnished with some shaved chocolate. To complement the "mini-ness" of the glass, the accompanying spoon was designed for hands far more delicate than my own. All that said, this was the perfect dessert to finish up the meal. It was only slightly sweet and paired well with the cup of decaffeinated coffee I also ordered.

All said and done, my check with tax came to just under $48 (I only had water to drink). Was this expensive? I suppose that depends on what you normally spend on dinner. I would think that Lucca isn't a place that someone goes to on a regular basis and has a four-course meal. However, most of the full-sized pasta entrees are at $20 or below and you could certainly make a meal out of that, while perhaps splitting an appetizer with a dining partner.

One final note about my experience tonight at Lucca's. Dining out by yourself has its advantages -- primarily, people watching. At several points during the meal, in addition to my server and the hostess making sure I was enjoying the meal, the chef went from table to table asking people if they were enjoying their meal. As it turns out, even though I don't believe I had ever met Josh Schory before, he actually recognized me from the work I've done here at Exploring Food My Way. That being said, others around me were having as equally a pleasurable meal as I was, so I don't believe I received treatment that would've compromised this review.

Do I recommend Lucca? Absolutely. Will I be going back soon? You'd better believe it. I left a business card with my server at the conclusion of the meal and he obviously passed it along to the chef as I got an email not fifteen minutes later thanking me for my visit and telling me about some of the culinary techniques he is trying to work into the cuisine (sous vide and the antigriddle to name two). There are few chefs I have come across where I'd walk in, sit down, and simply ask for the "Chef's Whim." Lucca is a place where I can see myself doing exactly that.

No "Mamma Mia!" at Gervasi Vineyards Italian Bistro

One of the benefits of living in east Akron and working in Canton was that I often stopped at restaurants along the way and was much more versed in the comings and going of Canton and North Canton eateries. Since then, I have moved to the west side of Akron and now live and work in the same vicinity. As a consequence, getting to dinner in Canton is a bit more of an effort for me than it has been in the past. However, after reading extensively about what can only be described as a "complex" due to its enormous size, I knew I had to check out the Italian Bistro at Gervasi Vineyard.

The entire complex was located at 1700 55th Street NE, Canton, OH 44721 and can be reached at 330-497-1000. Getting there was a bit time consuming from my origin, but surprisingly easy. Exit I-77 south at the Everhard Road exit and head east until you run into Cleveland Avenue. Make a left and then an immediate right onto Easthill Street. This will turn into 55th Street and within about ten minutes, you'll come upon the entrance to the vineyard. Turn into the driveway and take it all the way back to the large building at the back of the complex. Ample parking was available in front of the bistro:


Prior to going for dinner tonight, I had read their online menu with great interest and came prepared for the type of food being served. What I didn't expect was that simply showing up on a Tuesday night at 7:30 PM sans reservation was not as fabulous an idea as I had originally thought. Upon asking the hostess for a table for one person, she got a pained expression on her face and basically stated that unless I had a reservation, there were no tables available. There was, however, a communal table that was about half full of "people like me" (e.g., no reservationists) and several two top bar tables. Fortunately, one of the bar tables just opened up, so I took it.

At this point, even with servers passing by my table every minute or so, it took about ten minutes for someone to notice me and bring me a menu. Fortunately, once my server noticed me, service hiccups disappeared. Here was tonight's menu:



It was nice to see that the Italian Bistro was serving seasonal cuisine. The menu was appropriately sized with several selections in each category -- this made it feel uncluttered and not overwhelming. Seeing as there was only one of me tonight, I decided that instead of ordering a larger entree (at a larger price), that I would sample several of the smaller plates.

After placing my order, my server brought out the Bread Service:


The bread had been sliced, oiled, herbed, seasoned and slightly toasted so that it had a crunch but wasn't completely dried out. Not wanting to spoil my meal, I had a slice or two, but pushed them aside in order to make room for the rest of the meal.

I decided to start my meal out with the Butternut Squash Soup:


When someone other than my server (who I assume was a food runner) approached my table with an extremely shallow bowl with several toasted hazelnuts in the bottom, I was a bit confused. He set the bowl down in front of me and produced a pitcher from which he poured the soup into the bowl, covering the nuts. Sadly, the effect was a bit lost because the soup was so thick that as you can see in the above photograph, it didn't even cover the entire bottom of the bowl.

The flavor of the soup was a bit on the sweet side, but I expected that as the menu listed "truffle honey" as one its ingredient. That being said, only one bite of the many I took did I get the remotest hint of truffle flavor. The hazelnuts added a nice textural contrast to the smooth, thick soup and the fattiness from the heavy cream used to enrich it would have been well served by an acidic component to the dish to help cut through it. Overall, I thought the soup was decent.

As I was originally looking through the menu, I noticed that it had four pasta dishes listed. I asked my server if the pasta was made in-house. After checking with the kitchen, she returned and told me that none of the pastas were homemade save the ravioli on the appetizer section of the menu. A little disappointed that a place billing itself as an Italian Bistro didn't make their own pasta, I decided to order the one dish that featured said product -- Smoked Salmon Ravioli with Capers, Horseradish and Dill Creme:


At $12, this meant I was paying $4 per square of filled pasta. I first tasted the horseradish and dill creme. The horseradish flavor and heat were there, but was incredibly subtle. I then cut into one of the pasta squares. The ravioli had a good amount of filling in them, enough to get a substantial taste, but not bursting at the seams. The filling was actually a combination of mashed potato and smoked salmon. I dragged my forkful in the creme sauce and took a bite.

Two thoughts simultaneously fought for attention as my mouth starting sending warning signals northward. First, the smoked salmon was WAY too strong and pretty much the only thing I could taste was the smoke and the salt from the fish. Second, the filling was COLD! Whomever had cooked the pasta had not cooked them long enough. The pasta casing was fine, but the filling itself was at best, slightly colder than room temperature. Thinking I might have gotten a bad one, I cut into both of the other ravioli to discover that they were cooked exactly the same way. This dish was pretty much a fail -- unbalanced flavors that were not executed properly.

For my final course, I decided to try the Creme Anatra Pizza:


While I was pretty certain that the Italian Bistro was making their dough daily, I was curious to see if I could taste the effects of using a pre-ferment or any kind of aging in the dough. Seeing as the pizza oven was directly in front of me, I actually watched as they prepped and then baked my pizza. The pizza, at a $12 price point, seemed a bit on the small side, but came topped with some delicious looking toppings: pulled duck, garlic cream (Ed. Note: Every other time it was spelled "creme" on the menu except here. I wonder why?), mushrooms, spinach, fig jelly, ricotta, and aged provolone.

The crust was crisped nicely, although I would've have personally preferred a bit more color on the bottom. The crust had a nice balance of chewiness and crispiness, but I didn't notice any sourness to the dough's flavor on its own. This leads me to believe that the dough was made without the use of cold fermentation or a pre-ferment (like a biga or poolish). It wasn't until I got to my third piece of pizza that I finally got a slice that actually had all of the ingredients on it. When I finally bit into that piece, my mouth was quite happy. Prior to that slice, previous bites lacked a balance between all of the flavors of the toppings.

All said and done, my bill with tip and tax came to roughly $36-$37 and I left with a few slices of pizza remaining that I took home with me for a snack later on that night. Honestly, I'm a little torn about the Italian Bistro at Gervasi Vineyard. It aspires for greatness, that is for sure. However, the dishes I had tonight ranged from bad to so-so to good. The restaurant has been open for a while now, so I can't chalk up tonight's experience to breaking in a new restaurant staff. In the end, I would marginally recommend you check them out. At this price point, everything coming out of the kitchen, while maybe not fantastic, should at least be in the very good category. Hopefully they will get there soon.

Lenten Project II: Week 3, Part 2

Tonight's second fish fry destination shared two things in common with last Friday's visit to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on the campus of Akron University. First, the menu lacked pierogi and thus filled the other spot on my list of churches I added after I ran out of places to visit having both fish and pierogi on their menu. Second, while tonight's parish was not Greek, it was Romanian and thus offered up something interesting that I hadn't seen on the other churches' menus.

I speak, for those not familiar with my Lenten Project schedule, of St. George Romanian Byzantine Catholic Cathedral located at 1123 44th Street NE, Canton 44714. For those in need of additional information, they can be reached at 330-492-8413. St. George is one of many churches which just appear out of the middle of nowhere while traveling through residential neighborhoods in Canton. Last year's second place winner, Our Lady of Peace, was exactly the same. Regardless, I pulled into the rather long driveway for St. George and took it around to the back parking lot. While it was pretty full, I assumed that the first wave of diners would probably be finishing up and leaving shortly.

At roughly 6:45 PM, I got out of my car and took a picture of the rear of the church:


The entrance to the fish fry was to the rear left in the above picture. Behind the columns was a small corridor that led to a door. Once inside I was greeted warmly and handed the menu:


Mercifully, the fried fish was offered as one, two, or three piece dinners. While I hadn't eaten all of my dinner at my previous stop, I still wasn't really in the mood to put away (much less pay for) a full three pieces of fried fish. Each dinner came with two sides and extra sides could be ordered for between $1-$2 each. While pierogi were off the table (so to speak), St. George was offering something quite unique in its place, which was why I decided to visit them in the first place, mamaliga. My interest clearly piqued, I decided to go with macaroni and cheese and mamaliga for my included sides and added a side of coleslaw.

After paying for my meal ($6 + $1 for my coleslaw), I grabbed a tray and proceeded to walk the service line from start to finish. From what I had been told by the woman greeting visitors at the front door and what I could tell from the chafing dish, mamaliga was a layer of corn polenta that had been topped with both sour cream and melted cheese. After gathering my entire meal, I retired to a table that had a couple of open chairs.

Here was a shot of my dinner at St. George:


First up was the Fried Fish:


Sadly, my timing on the fried fish was off by just a few seconds. When I got to the position in line where the fish was being served, the pickings were pretty slim. After being served my portion, one of the kitchen crew walked around the corner carrying a brand new hotel pan filled with freshly fried fish. When I finally had a chance to cut into the fish, it was lukewarm and the outside soggy and limp. The coating had not an ounce of crispness left in it and the fish was definitely dried out.

Here was a shot of the interior of the fish:


I tried to pair it with some of the pickle-laden tartar sauce, but there was just no hope for this. I will give St. George the benefit of the doubt that while when first fried it may or may not have been perfect, it still would've been better than what I was served.

Next up on the plate was the Macaroni and Cheese:


After the terrible version of this American staple I had eaten earlier in the evening, I knew that my odds could only improve. Yes and no. Fortunately, the kitchen staff at St. George had managed to not cook the pasta to death, but it was still overcooked. As opposed to my fish, the macaroni and cheese was fresh out of the kitchen, so sitting in a hotel pan for any length of time couldn't be the culprit. Helpfully, the crispy topping added some textural contrast. The down side was that this pasta lacked necessary assertive cheese flavor. I understand that there are many variations of macaroni and cheese, but with only two ingredients in the name, I need to be able to taste both.

Up next, the very item for which I had been excited to stop at St. George, the Mamaliga:


The texture of the polenta was firm, as such I needed to slice it and not spoon it. I cut a piece and placed it in my mouth. I definitely got the corn flavor from the cornmeal. The sour cream and cheese added a bit of flavor contrast to the corn and just a touch of saltiness. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to cover up the fact that while the polenta layer had a bit of salt, it was grossly underseasoned. While I obviously realize that the people making up the kitchen crew are not restaurant professionals, if your church or organization is going to charge money for food, then it really does fall under the same level of critique that a restaurant would. Were I served this in a restaurant, I don't think I would order it again.

With both sides being tasted and evaluated, I turned to my extra side, the Coleslaw:


While I don't believe this was homemade, it was nice and tangy and a good representation of what most people expect when they order this shredded cabbage salad. After the relative blandness of the mamaliga, this was a nice change of pace.

And in an odd show of solidarity to tonight's earlier meal, it turned out that the fresh bread stole the culinary show:


While I am not exactly sure where Queen of Heaven was getting their fantastic bread, I learned quickly the provenance of tonight's offering. At least three volunteers working at St. George tonight made sure everyone knew that the bread was homemade by one of the parishioners. The bread was incredibly fresh and had a nice pull to both the crust and crumb. One sniff of the crumb and I immediately could tell that this bread was made with no pre-ferment (aka starter) as I was missing that wonderful yeasty acidic smell. As such, while it was WAY better than food-service dinner rolls, it didn't quite tickle my taste buds as much as Queen of Heaven's had. However, I give the baker an A for effort as I know how much time it takes to bake enough bread to feed such a large crowd week after week.

My second meal now complete, I packed up my camera, grabbed my coat and walked out the door into the parking lot saddened by the fact that the high points for both meals tonight had been the bread. After making strides in all areas last week, tonight was one of those "one step forward, two steps back" experiences. Let's hope that next week's dinner will dole out some fried fish and pierogi redemption.

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. George Catholic Church (North Canton): Fish, C-; Macaroni and Cheese, C-; Coleslaw, C+; Mamaliga, C
3. Queen of Heaven Catholic Church (Green): Fish, C+; Macaroni and Cheese, D; Roasted Potatoes, C; Pierogi, C; Coleslaw, B-
4. Our Lady of Guadalupe (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Pierogi, D+; French Fries, C; Coleslaw, C
5. St. Mary Church (Hudson): Fish, D+; Pierogi, C-; French Fries, B

All Bite And No Bark At Hog Heaven

Some friends recently returned from a wedding in southern Ohio, from the New Philadelphia area. When I stopped by to visit with them, they told me how the wedding reception had been catered by a favorite local restaurant chain, Hog Heaven. They waxed on for quite some time about how wonderful and delicious the BBQ had been. Something odd about the name stuck in my head and then I remembered that there was a restaurant of that very same name on Cleveland Avenue on the north side of Canton. I pulled out my trusty smartphone and loaded up Google. A few key taps later, I had confirmed that the restaurant I was thinking of was the third and newest location in this local chain.

Based on my friends' glowing reviews of the food, I decided to take a closer look. While I didn't realize that there would be the advantage of lunch specials the day I decided to go, I'm glad I went when I did. The Canton location of Hog Heaven was located at 2730 Cleveland Avenue NW, Canton, OH 44709 and they can be reached at 330-458-0904. Their website lists menus, hours, and pretty much all the other information you'll need. Parking at the Canton location was in a lot next to the restaurant.

Here was a shot of the restaurant's roadside sign:


Once inside, I was greeted by one of the servers and quickly shown to my booth. The interior has a definite "wood" feel to it and most of the tables, chairs, and decorations were some type of stained and polyurethaned variant of what I suppose a Texas-style BBQ joint would look like. After being handed a menu, I began to look around for the best way to try the most flavors for the least amount of money.

Here was a shot of the menu:






Additionally, since I was there during lunch hours, there was an additional placard announcing daily lunch specials:


When I saw that the pulled pork sandwich was being offered with one side for only $3.99, I made a point to ask my server about it. It turns out that it was the same pulled pork sandwich listed on the menu for $8.99, but with only 1/4 pound of meat on the lunch version. While regular diners might have scoffed at only being offered a measly 1/4 pound of meat, this was perfect for someone like me. I got to try a smaller version of the original for a much smaller price.

When I asked if any of the sides were homemade, I was informed that the only homemade item was the "real mashed potatoes" (which was how the menu listed them). Everything else, my server said, already came prepared. I ended up going for the real mashed potatoes, but because my meal was so cheap, I decided to add the baked beans as well.

I also decided to order a starter. Hog Heaven, towing the same line that many mid-level family-oriented chain restaurants do, offers appetizers mostly in the $5-$9 range. Which, if you are eating with a group makes sense because that splits out into $2-$3 per person. But eating out by yourself, it discourages a lone diner because a) it's too high of a price to pay for an appetizer at a place like this and b) it's too much food for an appetizer. Nevertheless, my sudden lunch discount made me reconsider and I ordered the much spoken of and ballyhooed Prehistoric Hog Eggs. Essentially a hard-boiled egg that was batter dipped and then fried, it was eerily reminiscent of another version, Scotch eggs, that I've had in the past.

The Hog Eggs came out quickly enough paired with a traditional Buffalo chicken wing hot sauce:


The main aroma coming off this plate was due to the chicken wing sauce (which smelled vaguely similar to a Frank's Red Hot-based sauce) and the blend of seasonings sprinkled on top of the fried eggs. The most recognizable scent from the blend was oregano, which was quite nice. I cut into an egg to check out its internals:


I was shocked to discover nary a gray or green ring circumnavigating the egg yolk. Given the plethora of pre-made sides, I was a bit hesitant to assume that they hard-boiled the eggs on-site, but at the very least, the eggs that they were using were nicely cooked. The fried batter on the eggs was thin and crispy and eaten without the hot wing sauce, these were fairly tasty. I dipped a bite into the hot sauce and while the hot sauce was good, it overpowered the more delicate taste of the egg. Personally, I think I would prefer this wing sauce on, well, their chicken wings rather than these fried eggs.

After finishing up most of my Prehistoric Hog Eggs, my lunch finally arrived. Here was a shot of my pulled pork sandwich, the real mashed potatoes, and a side of the homemade barbecue sauce:


I was happy to see that the barbecue sauce came by default on the side. This meant I could add it to my taste.


The barbecue sauce was definitely tomato based and had a more acidic taste than most barbecue sauces in northeast Ohio. This I liked. Sadly, though, it was still a little too sweet for my liking. The pulled pork sandwich consisted of a buttered bun and a mound of pulled pork. I'm not quite sure why they buttered the bun as it hadn't been thrown onto a flattop to toast it. I tasted a bit of the pulled pork just by itself and while it was tender and quite juicy, I was amazed to find the complete absence of and really assertive flavors of its own. Even the smoke flavor from the smoker was barely present. I dug around through the meat to discover the complete absence of any bark. Bark, for those of you who aren't familiar with true barbecue, is the outer layer that develops on a pork shoulder that has been thoroughly covered with a dry rub. It is usually a combination of spices, sugar, and herbs and it darkens up during the smoking process.

When the fully-cooked pork is shredded, bit of the bark are incorporated into the pulled pork itself, so that every bite gets just a little bit of flavor from the dry rub. Some purists even insist that with a good enough dry rub, there really isn't even any need for "sauce." Well, as tender and juicy as this pork was, it definitely needed a flavor boost. I added a liberal amount of the supplied barbecue sauce and it definitely helped to give the sandwich some flavor.

I turned next to the real mashed potatoes. There was definitely more here going on that just boiled mashed potatoes as they had a very rich flavor that coated my tongue. Based on the slight tang I was tasting, I was guessing at a minimum butter, but possibly also sour cream or cream cheese, too. As smooth as they were, they still had small bits of potato in them just to remind you that they were homemade. They were seasoned quite nicely and I didn't have to make any adjustments.

Finally, I turned to my extra side, the baked beans:


These were decent enough and I would order them again, but there wasn't anything particularly special about them. They were a traditional ketchup and molasses/brown sugar-based baked bean and they were sauced nicely and the beans themselves were tender.

Having completed my meal, I now had two questions in my head. First, did the barbecue sauce contain high fructose corn syrup in it? Most commercially bottled sauces do and even the fine folks at Old Caroline Barbecue, despite the fact that they are a local chain operation, obviously have their sauces bottled by a big name company because each and every one of their sauces contains the stuff. When I asked for a pre-jarred bottle of their sauce, I was surprised to learn that the label didn't list the ingredients. While I know that they make the sauce from scratch, I figured if they sold it commercially bottled, they would have to list all of the ingredients. Interestingly, no. So, I asked my server directly what the sauce contained. She confirmed with the kitchen that no corn syrup of any kind was used in the sauce.

My second question was where the pulled pork came from. She quickly answered that all of the pork, brisket, and other smoked items were done at the flagship store in New Philadelphia and then transferred to the other stores. Knowing how well pulled pork holds well in the refrigerator, her answer didn't surprise me. I think I may just have to visit the original location sometime and check out their smoking rig for myself.

In the end, I think that the Hog Heaven Canton location served up a decent-enough meal. Was it the best barbecue I've ever had? No, but it was decent enough for northern Ohio. While the Hog Eggs were an interesting appetizer, the pulled pork sandwich was definitely tender and juicy. The lack of assertive flavor just didn't make my mouth water as much as I thought it should. The sides were decent and the overall experience was enjoyable. I don't know that I'd be taking someone well-versed in barbecue here to impress them, but for your average Ohioan, it's worth the trip.

A Seasoned Nut At Taggarts Ice Cream Parlor

Every time I think I've completely explored the local restaurant scene in a city, I am proven wrong. Having worked for a Canton-based client for nineteen months, I thought I had hit the major spots that people recommended time and again. It wasn't until a longtime Canton resident and friend of mine, Rick, mentioned Taggarts Ice Cream Parlor that I was to learn of another great area spot to stop in for a meal. The entire conversation came about because I had mentioned to Rick about the Chicago style hot dog that Dans Dogs were offering on their menu. Rick, also a lover of the Chicago style hot dog, then introduced Taggarts to the conversation. While I didn't have a chance to do a little research until I returned home, once I looked up their website menu, I knew a stop at Taggarts would be on my list of places to visit.

Taggarts Ice Cream Parlor has two locations. The primary location was located at 1401 Fulton Road NW, Canton, Ohio 44703 and can be reached at 330-452-6844. The secondary location was in Magnolia, Ohio and was located quite a bit of a distance to the southeast of Canton.

Having keenly looked over the menu provided on their website, I was interested in stopping in for both a meal and to try out some of their homemade ice cream creations. On a cold Saturday night, I pulled up Fulton Road and finally found Taggarts at the corner of Fulton NW and 14th Street NW. There was no dedicated parking lot that I could see, but parking along the street was ample and soon enough I was standing in front of the restaurant.

Here was a shot of the exterior of the restaurant:


Once inside the main door, there were basically two areas. To the right was a large room with tables and booths. Presumably the restrooms were also on this side of the restaurant. To the left was another room, broken up into a service and seating area and the kitchen in the back. I'm not familiar with other days of the week, but tonight there was a sign indicating that guests should sit anywhere they wished. Since the room to the right looked awfully full, I decided to seat myself at a small table on the left side of the restaurant.

Present on every table are a small basket of condiments and several menus. Even though I had studied the menu pretty intently online before coming, I went ahead and retrieved one so I could provide you with some photographs:





Menu photographs two and three consisted of all the non-ice cream options (such as burgers, hot dogs, soups, salads, etc.) while photograph four listed all of the cool and creamy treats that awaited me at the end of my meal.

While I waited for my server to come to my table, I realized that my table of choice had been a serendipitous one. It appears that I had a full-on view to the workings of the ice cream service area and I watched intently as entire trays of goblets and glasses were prepared for service:


Interestingly, the ladies working behind the ice cream counter only prepared the treats up to the point where the finishing touches were added. It wasn't until the servers went to pick up their orders that a whipped cream gun (it literally looked like one of those soft drink hose dispensers) was used to top sundaes that required it and the obligatory bright red maraschino cherry was placed on top. The two ladies working behind the ice cream service counter also ran the cash register (on the right hand side of the above photo) and they were the modicum of efficiency tonight.

Once my server got to my table, I placed my order for the Chicago-style hot dog and an order of the beer battered onion rings. Just based on looking at the menu, it appeared that some sides were homemade and some were not. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask until she had returned with my dinner. It seems that the onion rings were not homemade, but she assured me that they were good. Of course, since she had just dropped off my meal, I wasn't in a position to argue with her, so I decided to simply give her the benefit of the doubt.

First up was my Chicago-style hot dog. Here was a shot of the entire dog:


And a close-up of one end:


It should be noted that this was a 1/4 pound hot dog. I was a little concerned when I saw a menu price of $4.50 for just one of these beasts, but given it's size, I wasn't disappointed with what I received. Using a traditional toasted hot dog roll, the all-beef hot dog extended well beyond each end of the bun. The dog had also been scored in several places before being grilled. The bun had been coated liberally in yellow mustard, sweet pickle relish, tomatoes and onions before being annointed with the cooked dog. Topping the dog was cubed cucumbers that were sprinkled with celery salt. Instead of integrating the pepperoncini into the actual bun, there were two whole peppers, one located at each end. This was a very tasty and very juicy hot dog. The flavors did a nice job melding with each other as well as shining on their own. I kind of wish they had found a way to incorporate the pepperoncini into the sandwich, but I solved this problem by taking a bite of pepper before taking a bite of hot dog. The only real problem with this dog was that it was messy. I suppose in that regard, it very much resembles its namesake from the Windy City.

Along with my hot dog, here was my ordered basket of the beer battered onion rings:


When my server initially set this down in front of me, I was a bit overwhelmed. At $3.45 for this serving, I had originally thought this would be a side better split with another person. But then I started to eat them. Even if they weren't homemade, the line cook responsible for cooking these beauties did an excellent job. There was minimal grease on either the rings or the bottom of the bowl. In fact, when I reached the bottom of the bowl, I took another photograph of the paper just so you could see how little grease there was:


They were light, crispy, and had just enough of the onion inside each ring so that you got a little bit of sweet with the salty coating in each bite. They weren't too big and they weren't too small. I found myself popping ring after ring in my mouth, marveling at how good they were until I realized that I had truly eaten the entire bowl. What I originally had thought would be a nice side for two people turned out to be a healthy (in terms of portion) side for one.

Had I stopped there, my total bill for dinner would've only been $8. Not bad. But I knew I wanted the entire Taggarts experience. Taggarts makes all of their own ice creams as well as their hot fudge and chocolate sauce from scratch. I debated on what to get for dessert. Having just finished dinner, I wanted a "taste" of something without overdoing it. I decided on getting the Mini-Bittner. A smaller and cheaper version of the original, the Mini-Bitter combined some of their homemade vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce and was topped off with roasted pecans. Fortunately, the Mini-Bittner didn't contain the 3/4 pounds of ice cream that the original has.

I was surprised how quickly my Mini-Bittner showed up at my table after I ordered it:


Based on the description on the menu, I thought the chocolate sauce would be more "swirled" into the vanilla ice cream. It was definitely more thoroughly blended. The resulting consistency was as soft as frozen custard, but not quite as thin as a milkshake. On top of the creamy base were a layer of roasted pecans that looked like they had been dusted with something. Topping it all off was an application of freshly whipped cream from the gun at the service counter.

I decided to try one of the roasted pecans by itself. Expertly roasted, the pecan had an amazing flavor and the nut meat itself had a nice snap to it. The coating I had noticed earlier began to make my mouth water as I chewed it. While it was definitely salty, I tried to detect any other savory profiles. While paying my bill later on, I asked the woman working the cash register how they prepare the pecans. Apparently they are salted twice, once before and once after roasting. It certainly would account for the great depth of flavor.

I then took a nice big spoonful of everything and was rewarded with salty, sweet, creamy, and crunchy, all in one mouthful. The nice thing about the salted pecans was that the salt didn't hit your taste buds right away. As the ice cream began to melt on my tongue, only then did the saltiness kick in to add that extra layer of savory. I wasn't sure if I was going to love the Mini-Bittner upon first reading it, but I can assure you that I am now a big fan. I was sad when I reached the bottom of my ice cream dish that my experience for tonight was over, but also happy that I had ordered the smaller version of this Taggarts' classic dessert.

With tax, my entire meal only came to just under $12. With my stomach and taste buds happy and sated, I made a promise to myself to return again ... soon! Taggarts has been in operation since 1926 and still has that old-world feel to it. It is eminently family-friendly and has menu choices for all tastes. Only a few of the dessert items have the roasted salted pecans already incorporated, but fortunately, you can order a side of them for a small price. Be warned, though. Once you try them, you might find yourself highly addicted to them.