No Salt Added at The Annex Bar and Grille

I must have driven by The Annex Bar & Grille on Pettibone Road in Solon several dozen times over the last number of years. Friend and fellow food blogger Nancy lives close by The Annex and every time I would drive to or from her house, I'd pass by the small structure. I never even gave it a second thought until recently when Nancy contacted me to tell me that two old friends, Walter Hyde and Scott Slagle (of Fat Casual fame) were now working certain shifts behind the bar and the grill. Not only that, but apparently they were doing some low/no sodium items on the menu for lunch.

After doing some initial research with Walter, I met up with Nancy and her husband for lunch just a few weeks ago to check things out. It turns out that The Annex has a policy of not salting anything on the menu. Here I was all prepared to say, "no salt, please" to everything I ordered, but as it turns out, there was no need to. Now, that being said, there are still only a couple of menu items that can be done low/no sodium successfully because much of the food is traditional bar food -- highly processed frozen items that can be quickly cooked or deep fried during service. These items (and there are many of them) can't be done without salt because they are seasoned even before they are cooked.

The first item I tried was the burger. The burgers come in two sizes, a one-third pound patty and a two-third pound patty. I was feeling particularly hungry that day, so I went with a two-third pound burger, medium rare with just some lettuce and tomato on a toasted (but not buttered) bun. While The Annex doesn't use salt, it does use butter, so if you want a toasted butter-free bun, make sure to order it that way. Paired with my burger was an order of their fresh-cut fries, also completely salt-free:

I have to say, for a measly $8 for this combination, this was a pretty damn good burger! Now, of course, there was some natural sodium in the beef and the bun was just a regular hamburger bun (so probably around 200-250mg of sodium), but for around 300-350mg of total sodium, this was a great way to kill the craving for a burger and fries. And at two-thirds of a pound of ground beef, it was VERY filling.

On every table (and presumably the bar), there was a container with standard condiments. Since I knew I wanted some ketchup and mustard with my meal and knowing that regular ketchup and mustard pack a large sodium wallop, I brought my own. I've done that twice now and nobody seems to care, so if you want sodium-free condiments, do what I did and bring your own. To be fair, malt vinegar was available for your French Fries, but I kind of prefer ketchup.

It was also during my first visit that Walter informed me that the chicken breast wasn't brined and would therefore be a good choice, too. I decided to take him up on that bit of information and several weeks after my first visit returned to order the grilled chicken sandwich with a side of the same fresh-cut fries:

In the second image you can see my sodium-free ketchup and mustard in the background. Heinz makes a nearly sodium-free ketchup that you can find in most regular grocery stores. Unfortunately, the downside to this ketchup is that it uses high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as the sweetener. It turns out that you can't have your (condiment) cake and eat it, too. Either you get the "natural" ketchup with real sugar that has salt or you get the no salt added ketchup that has no added salt but HFCS. I figure that as rarely as I eat this ketchup, having it twice in six months was acceptable. The sodium free mustard I used was one from Westbrae and is available at Mustard Seed Market (the one in Fairlawn) for about $3 per jar. It comes both in organic and non-organic varieties (and the price varies accordingly). I've found this to be an excellent mustard that I can use liberally since it has 0mg of sodium per serving.

But I digress; back to my chicken sandwich. Based on how the menu reads, the chicken sandwich normally comes between two slices of bread. Figuring a hamburger bun would be slightly lower in sodium than two pieces of sandwich bread (200-250mg vs. 300-350mg), the only change I made was to ask for it on the hamburger bun, again without butter. While it was nice to have the option of either the grilled chicken or the burger, were I to do it again, I'd probably stick with the burger. In the end, it was just the better tasting of the two. The fresh-cut fries, however, were great both times.

The only other option you really have if you're not in the mood for a sandwich is to order a house salad with grilled chicken on top. The only problem is that while they have malt vinegar to dress your salad, I don't know that they have oil to go along with it (you might just want to bring your own).

Will I go back to The Annex? Absolutely. For $8(ish) for either a healthy-sized burger or chicken sandwich with fresh-cut fries, it's a great deal. Is it the best burger I've ever had (price aside)? No, but it's pretty darn good and I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to others, especially if they're looking for low sodium options.

The Annex Bar & Grille is located at 36200 Pettibone Road, Solon, OH 44139 and can be reached at 440-248-5725. Hours listed on their website indicate they are open Monday through Saturday from 10am-2:30am (kitchen 10am-10pm) and on Sunday from 12pm-12am (kitchen 12pm-10pm). That being said, I know they recently added breakfast hours on Saturday mornings.

What Makes Eddie's Famous Cheesesteaks Famous?

It's rare that I visit a restaurant on opening day. It's even rarer that you read about it later that same day.

From the moment it was announced in the weekly food section of the Akron Beacon Journal about a month ago, something about Eddie's Famous Cheesesteaks has simply grabbed hold of my attention and refused to let it go. Was this a national chain? It kind of felt like it but initial research indicated otherwise. The Facebook page for the restaurant was filled with endless mono-thematic rants of, "Cheesesteaks, baby!" and a gratuitous over-use of the exclamation point. To top it off, even though the original ABJ article written by Lisa Abraham stated that the restaurant was supposed to open on May 24th, in actuality, because of delays in getting various permits and certifications, it didn't open until today, Wednesday, June 15th at noon. And I only discovered that since I periodically checked the Facebook page for updates.

Eddie's Famous Cheesesteaks was located at 1375 North Portage Path, Akron, OH 44313 and can be reached at 330-864-8500 (this was a different number than was listed on their Facebook fan page). There was ample parking around the small group of businesses clustered together. Here was a shot of the front entrance to Eddie's:


What you don't really see to the left of the above shot was the painter's scaffolding that was still up. If it wasn't for the balloons with the "Welcome!" message on them, I might have thought they still weren't open. Once inside, I was surprised to discover that I was the first actual paying customer (not of the day, mind you, but like, ever) and I was warmly greeted by about six people. While service today felt a little "rough," since this was their opening day, I didn't take any service blips into account (employees were still learning the cash register, soda fountain, etc.). Those things should gradually ameliorate themselves over the next couple of weeks.

While there were wall menus hanging above the service line, I wasn't able to get a picture of them with my rather conspicuous camera, so I resorted to grabbing one of the printed menus at the cash register and photographing it at my table instead:



I liked the composition of the menu. It felt focused and yet had enough variety to appeal to a crowd not interested only in beef and dairy offerings. What I didn't care for on the menu was the lack of attention to grammar, punctuation, and spelling. For instance, under the "Our Story" section at the bottom in the above photograph:

"Welcome to Eddies Famous Cheesesteaks & Grille! We started at festivals and street fairs across the U.S. -- in Panama City Beach something happened. Eddie met a cat ironically also names Eddie. What happened the next three years is truly what legends are made of: Eddies created cheesesteaks beyond real. The "Eddie", a pound and a half of cheesesteak love took Eddies to a new level of fanatic admiration on the beaches of Panama! Cheesesteak Eddie, as the PCB cat came to be known, convinced Eddie that it was time to open a full time joint. Eddie's is fresh stuff right off the griddle -- before your eyes and made-to-order. Our soon to be legendary fries with our cheesesteak heaven are amazing. Crossed the country to find the bomb fries, found them on a boardwalk in Maryland, and "WOW", we found French Fry Nirvana! Ours are close but we one upped 'em and added the gourmet French Fry Bar! Lots of other good eats to choose from -- all made with the highest quality, freshest ingredients. Think of it as your festival faves, taken up a notch. We threw in kick butt salads with housemade dressings to make sure you know were serious about our food. Eddie thinks you'll love this joint and come back often -- See ya soon!"

Now look, gentle reader, I realize that I have made plenty of spelling and grammatical mistakes over the course of the last two and a half years of writing this blog; I don't claim to be perfect. However, to my eyes, I count numerous punctuation, grammar, and spelling errors in the above copy. This is on your menu, for goodness sake! A blog can be easily corrected; five thousand copies of your menu have to be reprinted once the corrections are made. [Ed. Note: My high school senior composition teacher, Ms. Rohrer, probably would have had a stroke reading that paragraph.]

Okay, so enough with the English lessons. How was the food? After ordering and paying for my lunch, I took my French Fries and glass of water and retired to one of many tables lining the dining room area. Shortly afterward, my cheesesteak joined the party. Here was a shot of my lunch after I had applied some of the regular ketchup from the "gourmet French Fry Bar":


Incidentally, the gourmet French Fry Bar was six or seven sauces inside translucent plastic bottles sitting on one of the islands in the dining room. Today I was here for the standard meal, so I choose plain, ordinary ketchup for my fries. Perhaps next time I will be more adventurous and try one of the other sauces.

Just as I was about to sit, a man walked over to me and introduced himself as Ed Sutter, owner and general manager of Eddie's. He asked my name (which I dutifully provided) and thanked me for being the first customer. I thought about revealing my true reason for coming in, but decided since he hadn't asked and since I wanted to try and enjoy my lunch instead of talking all the way through it trying to explain what I do on this blog, I allowed the conversation to end quickly.

First, I started up with my half sandwich, the "Original":


I don't know whether this was a conscientious decision on Ed Sutter's part or not, but nowhere had he ever claimed that he was offering a Philadelphia or "Philly" style cheesesteak. That is an important distinction because many outside of Philadelphia have claimed it and nearly all of them have failed. Miserably. The only two I've come across in my travels that have been nearly as good or as good have been Cosmo's Cheesesteaks in Scranton, PA and Original Steaks & Hoagies in Twinsburg, OH.

The "original" comes with grilled meat, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and Provolone and Mozzarella cheese. The meat, lying under the bed of cooked onions, was tender and seasoned well. The onions and mushrooms were cooked nicely, soft, but not mushy. My only criticism of the onions was that they were a bit unwieldy; had they been chopped more finely and integrated into the meat, they wouldn't have been falling out with each bite. The blend of cheeses was noticeable visually, but not so much in the taste. It wasn't that the sandwich lacked salt, more like it lacked punch. Perhaps using a sharp Provolone would've made this sandwich stand out more.

Finally, the roll. Believe it or not, the roll on a cheesesteak sandwich, Philly-style or not, is as important as the ingredients it carries within. Most versions of this sandwich I've had in northeast Ohio haven't held up to the juiciness of the meat, sogging out and falling apart mid-bite. To Eddie's credit, the steamed buns, while completely soft, actually held up during the entire consumption of the sandwich. A true Philly cheesesteak would've been served on a roll (such as the ones made by the Amoroso Bakery) that had both a nice chewy exterior while maintaining a soft interior. But, as I said before, Eddie's wasn't advertising an authentic Philly cheesesteak. Overall, as a steak sandwich, it worked. The full size was a foot long, but I was completely happy with my half today for lunch.

I next turned my attention to the boardwalk-style fresh-cut fries:


Fresh-cut fries have generally meant thin, limp, oily masses of fried potatoes. Some people love this style of fry. I, as has been stated numerous times before, do not. I was surprised to discover that I actually liked Eddie's fries. They were thick cut and for the most part, properly fried. Seasoned correctly even without the ketchup, I am guessing I could have enjoyed them plain. I did find a fry or two at the bottom of the container that was a touch greasy and undercooked, but this was mostly a successful side dish.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by my lunch today at Eddie's Famous Cheesesteaks. I think it definitely takes some chutzpah to open a restaurant in an area where you aren't known and claim that you are "famous" for offering a food item for which there are plenty of purists around, ready to dispute your version. Essentially, if you are looking for a "whiz wit" or a "mushroom Provolone witout," Eddie's is not for you. Find your way up to Original Steaks & Hoagies in Twinsburg for that. However, if you are looking for an overall decent cheesesteak and pretty darn good boardwalk-style fresh-cut fries, Eddie's may just be the place where you can get your fix.

Now if they could just get a menu printed that didn't require the use of a red pen.

Lula Bell's Old Fashioned Hamburgers

My mother, as I am sure a number of other mothers out there, told me growing up that if I didn't have anything nice to say, then I shouldn't say anything at all. If I heeded this advice, this particular restaurant review would be short indeed! When I walk into a completely unknown restaurant, I try and do so with as open a mind as possible. While first impressions are often crucial, a bad first impression can often be turned around with stellar service or delicious food. In the case of Lula Bell's Old Fashioned Hamburgers and Ice Cream, the warning signs occurred early on and continued right on through the meal.

But before I get ahead of myself, let's get the technical details out of the way first. Lula Bell's was located on State Route 43, just south of Tallmadge Avenue in Kent, Ohio. Specifically they were located at 3958 SR 43, Kent, OH 44240 and can be reached at 330-677-3905. Parking was in the gravel lot in front of the restaurant. At the time of this writing, no website could be found that was directly associated with Lula Bell's. The actual entrance to Lula Bell's was back from the street a bit, so if you are looking for the location, pay attention for the roadside sign on the east side of State Route 43.

Here was a shot of the front entrance:


And a shot of their hours of operation:


Once inside, you can't help but notice the Fifties diner decor. With pictures of all the usual suspects on the walls, the diner stools at the counter and the monochromatic paint throughout the joint, clearly the owners were trying to take you back a few decades. What surprised me first wasn't actually the decorations; it was the fact that besides myself, on a Friday night, there was only one other table with patrons at it. In fact, during the entire hour that I was there, only one other couple came in for food.

Since there were no instructions inside the door telling me to wait, I seated myself at a small two-top table. While there was a paper menu on the table already, after opening it and reading it, I realized that it was a breakfast menu. My server finally approached my table and told me about the daily special, a fish fry with hush puppies and coleslaw. I considered it long enough to perplex her with a question about what kind of fish it was (her original answer was "Ummm ... fish?"), but decided in the end that the promise of an "old fashioned hamburger" was where I wanted to go tonight gastronomically.

Once she retrieved a copy of the menu from the front counter, she left me to look over the quite lengthy menu. Because the pages were so large, I ended up taking a top/bottom photograph of each page:







What surprised me were the sheer number of burger combinations available. When I saw the bacon and egg burger, my mind raced back to the Lola burger I had eaten at Michael Symon's B Spot restaurant months prior and my mouth began to water. When my server finally returned to take my order, I asked her if the burgers were cooked to order. "No," she replied, "They are cooked all the way through." Fair enough, though that seemed like overkill for a 1/3 pound burger patty. The only additional topping for which I asked was a slice of American cheese.

Since all of the burgers are a la carte, I also ordered a side of onion rings. Apparently, they were out of this made in-house and frozen fried side item, so I went with a small order of the French Fries instead. The menu didn't say "fresh cut" and it didn't occur to me to ask if they were given that the onion rings were homemade, too. Bad mistake on my part.

After what seemed to be an inordinately long period of time (considering that the other table had already gotten their food and I was the only other person in the restaurant), the line cook actually ran the food to my table:


Here was a close-up of my bacon, egg, and cheese burger:


And a shot of the toppings with the crown of the bun removed:


Of course, the ketchup I had asked my server to bring with my meal was nowhere to be found, so I asked the line cook for it, which he was happy to get. As you can see from the pictures above, the egg portion of the burger that the menu described wasn't the fried sunnyside up egg that comes on the Lola burger, but essentially a thin, folded over omelet that reminded me of a McDonald's Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit. I guess it didn't occur to me to ask how the egg was cooked. That being said, this wasn't the deal breaker for me.

The first of three deal breakers, however, was the woefully undercooked, flabby bacon:


Oddly enough, the bacon was actually one very long strip and had been cooked and then twirled in concentric circles so that it fit neatly on the burger patty. Unfortunately, because it hadn't been cooked to crispy, nearly every bite of my burger involved me having to bite down on the stretchy bacon and using my fingers to sever the bacon in my mouth from the bacon remaining on my burger. After two bites, I simply removed the remaining bacon and put it in my basket.

The second deal breaker was the burger patty itself. While a nice sized burger patty at 5-6 ounces, the reason my dinner had taken so long to come out of the kitchen was because the line cook had managed to cook the burger meat to beyond well done. I had originally asked for the ketchup for my French Fries, but after seeing how dried out the patty was, I applied the tangy condiment not so much for its flavor, but more as a way to get moisture in my mouth while chewing.

The third, and final deal breaker were the French Fries:


As soon as the line cook set the burger basket down in front of me, my heart (and stomach) sank because I was pretty convinced that these were of the fresh cut variety. When my server stopped in to check on me, I asked her about the provenance of the fries and she cheerfully smiled and replied that they were indeed cut fresh every day. Having been wrong about fresh cut fries in the past, I went ahead and grabbed the end of a single fry. As I suspected, the fry was extra greasy and limp, the other end of the fry easily falling wherever gravity dictated. I took a bite and discovered that at least to Lula Bell's credit, they had been seasoned with salt after being fried. And while I don't think they were undercooked, the interior of the fry definitely wasn't that soft, fluffy texture that I look for in a properly fried potato.

As I sat there, thinking how unsatisfied I had been with my meal, a couple walked into the restaurant and sat at the stools by the front counter. Immediately recognized by my server, greetings and pleasantries were exchanged. As they turned around and stared out the plate glass window at the front of the restaurant, they must have seen someone lingering outside because one of them said in a quiet, sort of sing-song way, "Come on in, the food's great!" I didn't actually say anything, but my inside voice was pretty emphatic: "NO, IT'S NOT!"

I paid my check at the cash register, left a tip for my server, and walked back out into the cool Friday air. I certainly can't condemn Lula Bell for their entire menu since I only tried a single burger and one side item. That being said, at least 50% of the menu space (not to mention the restaurant's banner hanging out front) was dedicated to that very thing. Additionally, if this was what an old-fashioned hamburger was supposed to be, then I'm entirely content with all manner of nouveau burger creations. Between my burger and fries, I was definitely not impressed with my meal tonight. Given the out of the way location of the restaurant, I'm confident that it won't be hard for me to simply forget about it.

Lunch At Cafe Bricco

Bricco Restaurant has made quite a name for itself. Originally opened in downtown Akron, locations have spread to a second location in Cleveland across the street from Playhouse Square, Pub Bricco on Merriman Road in The Valley, and it's newest location, Cafe Bricco located inside the DoubleTree Hotel on West Market Street right across from Summit Mall in Fairlawn, Ohio. Each restaurant has its own focus on the cuisine served and my intention is to eventually do a comprehensive review of all three. Of course, in order to do that, I will need to divide and conquer. With work being in close proximity to the Cafe Bricco location, I decided to stop in for lunch and check out the first location.

Cafe Bricco does not have a dedicated entrance, but was instead just a few short steps inside the main doors at the DoubleTree Hotel. The DoubleTree was located at 3150 West Market Street, Akron, OH 44333. The dedicated line for the restaurant was 330-835-2203. Parking was in the lot surrounding the hotel. I parked in a spot just outside the front door of the hotel, walked inside and veered to my left.

Only a few short steps later, I was greeted by the entrance to the restaurant:

When I stepped inside, I stood by the hostess stand, waiting for someone to seat me. What surprised me about the space was that it looked deceptively small. When I finally got around to estimating how many guests could be accommodated, it was actually close to fifty, so I suppose the space wasn't all that tiny. The room was long and narrow, so perhaps that was why I had perceived it as being small.

As I sat down at my table, I noticed that each table had either an amber or tangerine-hued margarita class with an unlit white tea candle in the center of each. While this little bit of color was appreciated, when I looked above the bar, I was stunned to see this hand-blown glass chandelier:

While certainly eye catching and stunning, it felt a little discordant with the rest of the settings, the colors on the walls, the carpeting, even the napkins, which were more of a butterscotch color. The gentleman who seated me left me with the two page menu to peruse:

While the dinner menu could be significantly more expensive (read: twice the price), the prices for lunch today were fairly reasonable for an establishment at this level. Do note that the online menu for lunch (and I'm assuming probably breakfast and dinner, too) didn't exactly match the menu I was handed today in the restaurant. Scanning the menu, I was happy to see that some of the salads came in half portion sizes at quite attractive prices. Since I was a bit hungry today, I decided to pair a half salad with one of Cafe Bricco's sandwiches and included sides.

Looking around the room, I noticed that other tables had received baskets of bread; I never did. Perhaps only entrees came with bread. While I didn't miss it today, I was curious as to why some had bread and others did not.

As an avid lover of anything with apples, bacon, and fresh chevre, when I saw the Mixed Greens Salad with Caramelized Apples, Goat Cheese, and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, I knew what my half salad would be. After a noticeable wait, my salad finally arrived:

Tossed with a warm bacon vinaigrette, there were also pieces of bacon tossed into the salad as well. The salad was dressed well, with only a minimal amount of dressing remaining on the plate after I scarfed this delicious salad down. The caramelized apples had been lightly dusted with cinnamon and when combined with the tang from the goat cheese and the smoky-salty flavor of the bacon, each bite hit multiple taste receptors in my mouth. This was a tasty salad. If the toasted pumpkin seeds were added for texture, they were kind of lost to the bacon pieces. Additionally, at only $4, this was a great value as the amount of salad was enormous for a half-portion. Should you decide to order a full portion, gentle reader, know that it would be enough to make an entire meal.

Sadly, I was only one-third of my way through my salad when my sandwich platter arrived:

A tad bit annoyed that the kitchen hadn't timed the two courses a little better, I went ahead and let my server place the plate on the opposite side of the table while I finished my salad. Did the quality of the sandwich and fries suffer because it sat for an extra five minutes before I got around to eating it? Perhaps just a little. But my only other option was to have them hold it in the back until I was ready for it under a heat lamp, and I don't think it would have fared much better.

Having now finished my entire salad, I switched the plate out for my Salmon, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich served with a Basil Aioli on a laterally bisected croissant:

After cutting the sandwich in half, I also took a side shot to inspect the layers:

When I originally ordered the sandwich, I asked my server if the fish was cooked to order. He indicated that unless otherwise requested, the fish was cooked to medium. I was happy to learn upon taking my first bite that he was exactly right. The fish was tender and juicy and had decent salmon flavor. The lettuce and, more importantly, the tomato were fresh and ripe and added notes of crunch and sweetness to the flavor. I didn't get a whole lot of basil flavor from the aioli, although small strands of it were clearly visible. I tried a bit of the bacon and just as in my salad, it was smoky and salty without being overly so.

All that being said, something felt amiss. The bacon tasted fine by itself, but wasn't overly assertive (like bacon can be sometimes). When I tried just a bit of the salmon with my fork, I discovered the issue. The salmon wasn't seasoned at all. Even with the salt from the bacon, once you combined it with the unseasoned lettuce and tomato, the sandwich simply lacked salt. While there was a combination salt shaker/pepper grinder on the table, given how thickly the aioli had been applied, it would've been a messy proposition to try and correct the situation tableside.

Fortunately, my side of freshly cut steak fries were properly seasoned:

These thick cut fries were decent. The good news was that they weren't oily and a few of them were crispy. The bad news was that more than not, these fries were just a tad limp. While I did enjoy them with the cup of ketchup provided with the platter, I ended up leaving more on the plate than I ate. To be fair, however, that was due more to the fact that by this point in my lunch, I was definitely full.

With the bill coming to just over $13 with tax, I think I had a solid meal that was also a decent value. There were a few missteps along the way between the seasoning on the salmon, the rather limp steak fries, and the service guffaw that led to my sandwich platter arriving only minutes after receiving my salad, but the flavors were decent and the half-portion of salad was an outstanding value.

When I was doing my research before my visit, I discovered that one of the other duties of Cafe Bricco, besides being a restaurant catering to outside patrons, was to provide food for the DoubleTree's guests, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner. As such, they are open seven days a week from very early in the morning until very late at night. Unless you are looking for a spot to eat in the wee early morning hours after the bars close, Cafe Bricco will have their door open and a table waiting. I suggest you give them a try.

Sometimes You Need To Bastardize The Homogeneity

Since I started writing this blog two years ago, I have stopped in occasionally to visit a childhood favorite of mine, Marie's Pizza and Chicken. This Wadsworth-based restaurant established itself on the south side of town where it's most major accomplishment was to win the Akron Beacon Journal's Best Pizza Award in 1976. From that point until the late 2000's when the new location opened up just north of I-76, the focus has been on what made the restaurant such a maven for locals: great pizza and simple, but delicious Italian classics.

When walking into the new building, one familiar with the previous location could immediately recognize that the new space tripled (and that's without the extra banquet room space) the amount of seating. In addition to starting out with a completely new space for the restaurant, the owner also decided to expand the menu, presumably in an effort to compete on a more level playing field with the likes of Applebee's just down the street, which never seems to have a shortage of patrons on the weekends.

Smartly, the dishes that made Marie's such a go to spot in the first place remained on the menu. Not-so-smartly, the expanded menu sought to include dishes that were well outside of their comfort zone, such as teriyaki-flavored dishes and sandwich wraps. When the new location opened several years ago, the place would be literally mobbed for lunch and dinner and in fact, I waited about six weeks before even attempting to try and get in. Since then, I have written about them three times, two of which were positive and the last, well, not entirely glowing.

I decided to include a fourth review not because I am a glutton for punishment, but because a) they have a newly printed and bound menu and b) I think I am at the point where I can conclusively recommend Marie's for only a handful of items on the menu, sadly most of the ones that made the original menu at their first location such a success.

When I sat down today, my server handed me the now tome-like menu. While not quite as bad as say, The Cheesecake Factory, it was certainly nowhere near the brevity of their first menu:











As I looked through the menu, I was actually filled with a bit of sadness. Besides the spelling mistakes I noticed, the menu spoke of the homogeneity of today's modern dining out experience. This menu had the same look and feel of almost every national chain restaurant; instead of standing out and counting on its individuality, the new menu instead emphasized the vast blandness of conformity. So sad.

While I have more or less stuck to the tried and true menu items from my youth, today I was feeling in neither a pizza nor pasta kind of mood. Since my last sandwich selection wasn't particularly good, I decided to try one of their newer additions, the Tuscan Wrap. While the sandwich came with potato chips by default, for an additional upcharge, I could add fried-from-frozen French Fries and a side such as coleslaw, applesauce, or cottage cheese. I chose the coleslaw, which came out first:


Essentially food service coleslaw (which, gentle reader, means that the kitchen simply portions each serving from the prepared and delivered container that someone like Sysco provides), this side was about as remarkable as every other version you could get at a national chain restaurant. Which is to say, completely unremarkable.

Things perked up slightly after our table received the complimentary garlic bread sticks and warm marinara dipping sauce:


Since I've described the bread sticks and sauce in a previous entry, I won't do it again here. Sadly, this was the high point of the meal for me.

After a little bit longer, our lunch plates arrived. Here was a shot of my Tuscan Wrap with French Fries:


Here was a close-up shot of the filling in today's wrap:


The Tuscan Wrap was a sun-dried tomato basil wrap containing grilled chicken, onions, green peppers, melted cheese and dried Italian herbs, I'm guessing oregano. While the ingredients in the wrap were definitely hot, my first taste of the wrap left me wondering if they had opened up an Italian Taco Bell in the kitchen as the flavors and textures reminded me of the chicken burrito I can get for $1.39 at the fast food giant. With how uniformly cut the chicken chunks appeared inside the wrap, it didn't take a stretch of the imagination to realize that the chicken had already been cooked and chopped and simply re-warmed for service.

Fortunately, the French Fries were the saving grace of this plate of food:


While they were fried-from-frozen (as confirmed by our server), at least they were fried properly, seasoned well, and were nice and fluffy on the inside. I ended up eating less than half of my wrap and about half of my fries before throwing in the towel and calling it quits.

Having eaten Marie's pizza about a week prior to this lunch, I do have to say that the pizza still captures a special place in my heart. However, should their pizza and pasta start to decline, even just a little, I would be entirely willing to write this once adored pantheon of carb-laden goodness off as a casualty of conformity.

As today's visit to Marie's was a celebratory one (my aunt's birthday was the day prior), we returned to my grandmother's condo to finish off the lunch with a small cake from Ann's Pastry located in downtown Wadsworth:


After expressing my desire to have a small cake (it was just four of us) that had REAL buttercream frosting and not the seemingly de facto standard of vegetable shortening sweetened with sugar, my mother managed to track down exactly what she needed at Ann's. While the cake had thoughtfully come adorned with just a single red rose, my mother decided to transform the cake into the poster child for breast cancer awareness by covering every available square inch on top of the cake with pink candles.

After singing Happy Birthday with some very, ahem, interesting clapping by my aunt (whom I promised I would not post the footage I captured on my camera), I set about slicing up four servings of the cake:


The good news was that this yellow cake was both tasty and moist. The bad news was that the frosting, although a buttercream, suffered from way too much sweetness; to the point where I had to seek out a glass of water to help tame it down a bit. I haven't had the opportunity to give a range of Ann's Pastry Shop products a try yet for the blog, so I don't want to condemn the entire shop just because the frosting today was over the top in sugar content. They've been around quite a long time (more than twenty years), so they must be doing something correct. I'll have to give them a more formal review at some point in the near future.

For those interested in checking out this quaint little shop, it can be found at 121 High Street, Wadsworth, OH 44281 and can be reached at 330-335-7441.