Burger Night At Teschner's Tavern

I think we all have those friends in our lives that we can lose touch with for months at a time and then all of the sudden, something sparks a connection and we remember that it has indeed been six months since I've sent or received anything from this friend. Such is my relationship with friend, mentor, and teacher Kathy Lehr. She was the instructor of my very first class at the Western Reserve School of Cookery on French breads and for some reason, we have always had a very strong connection. I've mentioned Kathy before on the blog, when I published her recipe for Roasted Red Pepper and Black Peppercorn bread that I took with me to Friendsgiving last year.

Kathy is a retired school teacher, but given her very active lifestyle, she is anything but retired. Besides teaching her bread classes and workshops at the school in Hudson, she is taking classes on her own as well as assisting others in building outdoor bread and pizza ovens. I hadn't talked to her in quite some time and after my successes at breadmaking at both the Heartland Gathering this year in Ann Arbor as well as my demonstration at the Howe Meadow Farmers Market, I had sent her an update on myself and asked how she was. To my surprise, she invited me to join her and her husband Mike for dinner at a local favorite hangout of theirs, Teschner's Tavern in Richfield, Ohio.

Now, I had actually heard of Teschner's Tavern before. When I was in the throes of my Lenten Project back in March of this year, I had come across pierogi being served at the United Methodist Church in Peninsula, Ohio that had been provided by a small local Akron company named Posh Pierogi. At the time I didn't know this, but soon after my write-up posted on the blog, I was contacted by one of the owners, Autumn Johnston. After some discussion with her about the company and their products, she informed me that as of right now (at least back in March 2010), only Teschner's Tavern had their pierogi on the menu. Excited to finally get to try them again, I emailed Autumn to confirm this fact. Not only was my information correct, but it turned out that Teschner's was also selling their sauerkraut balls as well.

As I pulled into the parking lot of Teschner's located at 4252 Broadview Road, Richfield, OH 44286, I realized that I had never even seen Teschner's before now. Many times I get recommendations for restaurants that I've come across before, but just never visited. I pulled into an open space in the lot and prepared to walk inside. If you wish to contact Teschner's via telephone, their number is 330-659-9094. I couldn't find a website that was obviously owned by Teschner's.

The first thing I recognized the minute I walked through the door was how dimly lit the inside was. I arrived while the sun was still up; however, when it finally settled below the horizon, getting a good picture was near impossible (as you'll see soon enough). I sat myself at one of the tables in the bar and looked around. Kathy had told me that Wednesday's were $2 off burger nights. I figured that the place would be packed for dinner; it wasn't.

While waiting for Kathy and Mike, I decided to go ahead and take snapshots of the menu:





In addition to the regular menu, there was a small plastic holder on the table announcing the daily happy hour specials:


What surprised me was how expensive the food was. I mean, $9+ for a burger was in B Spot territory and while Kathy professed how good the burgers at Teschner's were, I was skeptical that they rivaled a Michael Symon burger. Soon, my other dining companions arrived and after an initial hug and greeting, we sat down to start looking at the menu. Clearly this was a favorite haunt of theirs since the minute they walked in, the woman running the bar welcomed them by name and shortly after filling their drink order, came over to take our order.

Unfortunately, Kathy decidedly killed any chance of an anonymous review today when she revealed who I was, what I did, and why I was there. I was a little peeved about that at first, but then I resigned myself to the fact that with this knowledge, hopefully the kitchen will make sure that the food coming out tonight would be first rate, and for the most part, it was.

After discussing Posh Pierogi and their products, we decided to start our meal out tonight by splitting a round of appetizers. First up were the Posh Pierogi fried sauerkraut balls with a side of horseradish sour cream:


And here was a shot of the interior of a sauerkraut ball:


The flavor of these was mild, the sauerkraut being present, but not overwhelming. Sadly, there were three problems with this dish. First, they had been fried a bit too long and the outside was considerably darker than it should have been. Second, one of the sauerkraut balls came adorned with a black hair; no one at our table seated near the basket of balls had black hair. Third, the horseradish infused sour cream was nearly horseradish-free. In fact, it tasted like ... sour cream. Which, was a nice flavor to pair with the balls, but the horseradish would've added a nice kick to it.

It also turned out that Wednesday nights were chicken wing nights and a basket that normally cost $8.50 was cut to a much more affordable $4.50. Mike decided to go with a basket of the Teschner's Tangy, fried crispy, with an additional coating of Parmesan cheese and chopped garlic:


Having had the roasted garlic and Parmesan cheese chicken wings at B Spot and found them to be a bit unbalanced, I have to say that Teschner's version absolutely rocked. The skin was nice and crispy, the sauce was slightly spicy with a bit of acid from the vinegar and the garlic and Parmesan added to the complexity of the overall flavor instead of dominating it. I'd order another basket of these in a heartbeat.

Our final appetizer was a small dish of the Posh Pierogi potato and cheddar pierogi with fried onions and a side of sour cream:


These were quite good and reminded me why I had liked them so much when I had them back at the United Methodist Church during Lent. This time, however, they were fried perfectly and the combination of the crispy exterior and the creamy interior made for a delightful bite of food. The onions were expertly caramelized and the sweetness played nicely with the tang of the sour cream. While the pierogi from Posh Pierogi weren't inexpensive, they were also high quality and you could taste the difference when eating them.

Our appetizers now finished, we decided to go ahead and put in our burger orders. While there seemed to be a burger for many tastes, I decided to go with a deluxe cheeseburger, minus the raw onions, along with a side of the onion rings:


By this point in the evening, it was so dim in the tavern that I had great difficulty getting any shots that were in focus, evening with the flash on my camera. I've included the following shot only to prove that I asked for my burger to be cooked to medium, and sure enough, it was:


The burger was seasoned properly, it was juicy, and quite honestly, it was pretty darn good. The cheese was nice and melty and the tomatoes were perfectly ripe. The bun held up well and didn't get sogged out from the moist beef patty. It was a good burger and one that I would eagerly have again. However, it didn't take me to the same place that one of B Spot's burgers did. Considering that with tonight's burger discount it also only cost me $6.25, so there was that to consider, too.

The onion rings were somewhere between good and tasty. They were seasoned nicely, but as Kathy pointed out when she tried one of my rings, the breading to onion ratio was a bit too high. Additionally, as you bit into a ring, the inner onion easily detached and pulled away from the cooked batter, a sign that these were more than likely fried-from-frozen. This was later confirmed when I asked our server if that was the case. While the rings weren't bad, they also weren't a stand out either.

After separating out the checks, I ended up dropping about $21, with tax and tip. While my compatriots had several beers / cocktails, I stuck with water for tonight. While I am not adverse to spending that much for an appetizer and a burger with a side, it seemed that the problems with the sauerkraut balls and the provenance of the onion rings makes me think that if I had to choose only one, I'd pick B Spot over Teschner's Tavern. That being said, the burger was good and if you don't feel like driving all the way to Woodmere, Teschner's Tavern might just be the place to stop to satisfy your burger craving.

Burger Contention At Whitey's Booze 'n Burgers

Any time I've ever come across a discussion, be it on the Internet or between actual people, about who makes the best hamburger, Whitey's is always thrown into the conversation. Over the years, I've gathered scant bits of information about them. They have really great chili. They are located in Richfield, Ohio. They make killer burgers. But that was the extent of my experience until I decided to make a post-shopping trip stop for a bite to eat one afternoon. Given the fact that it was nearly 3 PM on a Sunday when I stopped, I figured there wouldn't be an issue getting a table. I was right.

Whitey's Booze 'n Burgers was located at 3600 Brecksville Road (just a little bit north of the Brecksville/Wheatley intersection), Richfield, OH 44286 and can be reached at 330-659-3600. They also have a website located here. There was a more than ample parking lot and I easily found a spot and got out of my car.

Here was a shot of the front door:


There was a volleyball court in the back of the building and I discovered after walking in through the door above that there was an another door in the back between the court and the bar. As it was rainy and a bit nippy today, there wasn't any outside frolicking happening. From the moment I walked into the bar, I had to adjust my vision because of the darkness. I was greeted with a traditional bar at first and when I walked around the corner, additional restaurant-style seating was available.

Just inside the front door was a chalkboard wall menu laying out daily and monthly specials:


"What?" I thought to myself. "Fried eggs on a hamburger? I'm intrigued." Not sure whether this monthly special was an homage to Michael Symon's Lola burger or the Good Morning burger from The Simpson's television series, I thought about it all the way to my table. The other takeaway from this menu was that today was $0.35 chicken wing day and I'm always in the mood for some good (and even not so good) chicken wings.

After seating me, the hostess handed me the menu. On the front was the restaurant's logo:


The back contained an array of appetizers, salads, a few baked entrées, burgers, and sandwiches:


I only took a picture of the burger section because the lighting was pretty horrific, even having been sat at a table close to a window. I looked over the list of burgers and even though my server informed me that I could essentially build my own burger if I wanted to, the Eggs - elent burger from that chalkboard menu just kept nagging away at my brain. When I asked if the fried eggs were cooked all the way through or if the yolks were still runny, my server acknowledged the latter. Done! I was sold. I also found out that the burgers (and I'm guessing the sandwiches, too) were all a la carte. That was actually good news for me since I wanted to get a small order of their chicken wings as a side instead of potato chips or French fries.

After placing my order, I set about watching the large flatscreen television sets mounted on the walls and before I knew it, my chicken wings had arrived:


My server informed me when I was originally asking about the wings that all the wings are hand-breaded and served naked with the sauce of your choice served in a little cup on the side. Normally I prefer to have my chicken wings pre-sauced, but okay, I could roll with the punches. The chicken wings were excellent, probably some of the best I've had in the northeast Ohio area. The breading on the outside was crispy without being greasy, the tender wing meat was succulent and juicy and the wings just by themselves were nicely seasoned. The accompanying sauce, "Hot" as the menu described it, was the classic combination of hot sauce and butter. This was exactly the kind of sauce I remember cutting my wing "baby teeth" on back in college and I enjoyed every bit of it. If I go back to Whitey's for nothing else, their chicken wings would be enough.

Since I had told my server that this was my first visit to Whitey's, she brought out a small complimentary container of their fresh cut fries:


Even though I tend to shy away from fresh cut fries, these were actually pretty darn tasty. They had the rustic look and taste of a fresh cut fry without the annoying qualities that I dislike so much. They were crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and not the least bit greasy. I don't know that I would've ever ordered these on my own, so I have to give my server thanks for thinking I might like to try them. I will also say that these are best eaten hot and fresh. By the time I finished my meal and packed up the remainder, the fries were still good, but a tad more limp once they cooled off.

Having finished all of my chicken wings and some of my fries, the main event arrived, the burger:


The Eggs - elent burger consisted of a half-pound burger cooked to order, topped with ham, two fried eggs, and hollandaise sauce and crammed into a seeded bun. I had ordered mine medium and when I used the supplied steak knife to bisect my burgers, I was rewarded with this:


This was food porn at its best: oozy, runny egg yolks and the juicy, juicy cooked - perfectly - to - medium burger! When I took my first bite I was instantly rewarded with a warm, juicy, rich flavor that honestly, rivaled some of Michael Symon's legendary burgers at B Spot up in Woodmere. Eating just half of this burger was at least a three napkin event.

Here was another side shot, this one just a bit less cluttered:


I have to admit that Whitey's has a damn fine burger and I'm so glad that I stuck with the monthly special and didn't order a burger off the regular menu. Essentially Eggs Benedict on top of a burger, the flavors really competed well with each other. There were two small problems, however. First, as much as I was thoroughly enjoying how juicy this burger was, the juiciness also worked against it, too. The heel of the bun had been almost completely sogged out and it soon became apparent that any kind of structural integrity from the bottom half of the bun was gone. The crown was fine, but the heel ... eh, not so much.

The other issue for me was the seasoning, or lack thereof. When I tasted a bit of the burger meat just by itself, I found it grossly underseasoned. Granted, both the ham and the hollandaise were seasoned, but seasoned appropriately for itself. When you added in unsalted fried eggs and a burger patty, there was seasoning, yes, but it lacked a real punch. If Whitey's ever chooses to address those two issues, LOOK OUT! To my taste they will have achieved serious contender status for the best burger in northeast Ohio.

I took the other half of my burger along with my pickle and the remainder of my fresh cut fries home with me and planned to have a little snackfest a little later on that night. I should also mention that Whitey's was a cash/check only kind of establishment and no credit cards were accepted. Fortunately, there was an ATM available in the main hallway in case you didn't bring enough green with you to pay for your meal. Also, your server will present you with your check, but you actually go into the main bar area to pay your tab.

Having now eaten at some of the major heavy hitters in the burger arena in the Cleveland and Akron area, I have to admit that Whitey's is certainly not out of place when talking about great burgers. I'm going to have to make it point to return sometime soon (hopefully another Sunday so I can get more of their excellent chicken wings on the cheap) to try their other famous offering, the chili. I heartily recommend you look Whitey's up if you happen to be in the Richfield area (they are only fifteen minutes from the Fairlawn area, specifically Summit Mall). I think even with my minor quibbles about the seasoning and the soggy bun bottom, the burgers are quite good.