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.

Getting A Chicago-Style Dog Without The Drive

On the day that my review of the Hot Dog Shoppe posted on the blog, a longtime acquaintance and faithful blog reader, Jessie, called me to tell me that my post about hot dogs had sparked a memory of a visit to a different hot dog shop that she had taken with her husband. When she mentioned the name and location of the restaurant, Dan's Dogs A Hot Dog Eatery located right off the main square in Medina, Ohio, I immediately realized that I recognized the name. Not because I had read anything about the food, but that a hot dog place had opened up some time ago in downtown Medina. Seeing that our conversation had taken place before lunch and that I was already in Wadsworth visiting with my grandmother, I figured today would be the perfect day for a quick trip for what would hopefully be some hot dog goodness.

Dan's Dogs was located at 111 West Liberty Street, Medina, OH, 44256 and can be reached at 330-723-3647. Being that today was a national holiday, I called to confirm they were open and sure enough, they were. After arriving on the square, I parked in one of the many available spots dotting the town center and walked the rest of the way. It wasn't long before I came across the front door to Dan's Dogs:


Upon entering the restaurant, I was told to sit wherever I'd like. Seeing a table by the only window in the long and narrow space, I decided to take advantage of all the natural light I could. The interior was a throwback to the days of the 1950's diner, complete with booths, tables, and a counter area with stools up by the ordering station. The only modern sensibility was the tabletop video game seated next to my table, a throwforward to the mid 1980's. While I waited for my server to bring me a menu, I took a photo of the small sign sitting on my table:


I'm always a sucker for a good old-fashioned root beer. When I asked my server about it, she said that while the root beer wasn't made on-site, it was made specifically for Dan's Dogs. I decided to go with the smaller of the two available mug sizes and was quickly rewarded with this:


I immediately noticed two items about my mug of root beer. First, there was a ton of ice in it. Second, there appeared to be no carbonation at all. As I commented during my last trip to B & K, good root beer has to have the right level of carbonation. Too much and it creates a burning sensation as you swallow it. This version, with it's utter lack of carbonation, seemed equally as wrong, too. I also wasn't sure why my already chilled mug had so much ice in it. It wasn't until one of the servers was walking around the restaurant with a pitcher providing free refills of the root beer that I guessed that the root beer was probably not actually be coming out of the soda fountain and if it was, preserving carbonation wasn't an issue.

The flavor of the root beer was good, but a bit too sweet for my taste. My first sip actually elicited a "whoa!" out of me. I suppose it was a good match for the saltiness of the hot dogs I was about to order, but by itself, it was a little too much.

While the menu consisted of a single page, front and back, the number of hot dog options was enormous. Hot dogs are available in regular and jumbo sizes and I figured I would try and go for two different regular-sized dogs rather than just one jumbo-sized one. When I saw that the first dog on the list was a Chicago-style hot dog, I knew I had to get one of those. After careful consideration, I decided that my second dog would be the Reuben-inspired hot dog.

Here was a shot of my dogs when they arrived:


Here was a close-up of the Chicago-style dog:


Loaded with yellow mustard, relish, onions, pickled jalapenos, pickles, and celery salt, this was definitely a mouthful. With the number of jalapenos loaded onto this hot dog, I was quite surprised at the minimal heat level each bite of this hot dog seemed to possess. The hot dog was nice and juicy and the myriad of flavors adorning the dog really seemed to go well together.

My other dog, the Reuben-inspired creation,


was topped with sauerkraut, melted swiss cheese, and finished off with 1000 Island dressing. Also flavorful and juicy, I can't say that this tasted exactly like a Reuben sandwich, but once I suspended my disbelief, I thought this hot dog was a pretty successful homage to the original product.

One very important distinction I wanted to point out, gentle reader, was the awesome use of the hot dog bun itself. They weren't using standard hot dog buns at Dan's Dogs, but rather hot dog rolls:


Seen more often on the east coast being used for sandwiches such as lobster rolls, the wonderful thing about these rolls is that they can be toasted or grilled to add even more flavor to the party. These particular rolls were toasted quite nicely and added both a wonderful textural contrast and that nicely toasted bread flavor in each bite. I first noticed the use of these rolls when I visited Limburg's Patio Grill.

I also decided to order a side dish to my lunch order today. I wasn't particularly feeling the love for the fresh cut fries, so I asked about the "Real" onion rings. Now, before you think that I am using air quotes willy-nilly and without merit, the menu listed the onion rings in this fashion. Figuring that the realness must mean that the onion rings are made from scratch, I asked my server about them and discovered that I was sadly mistaken about my initial conclusion. The "realness" came from the fact that they actually use a whole onion ring inside the batter as opposed to chopped up onion meal (a la Burger King).

I will warn you that the price listed on the menu was for a side of onion rings. They were also available as a basket at an obviously more expensive price. When I read the menu initially, I had thought that the price listed was for a basket, so when my server offered me a side instead, I took it figuring it would be less than the price listed on the menu.

Here was a shot of my side of "Real" onion rings:


Good grief! I'm happy I hadn't ordered the larger basket as I had trouble finishing even this amount. The onion rings were fried nicely and not greasy, but they had also been sitting for a little bit as they were just a little hotter than lukewarm. The breading was nicely savory and the textural contrast between the coating and the cooked onion made these rings better than average. However, the same issue that most fried-from-frozen onion rings have plagued this version, too. In almost every ring I ate, the onion had separated itself from the fried outer shell and all it took was one bite to pull out the entire onion from the now empty casing. While I would still prefer these onion rings to fresh cut fries, I kind of wished Dan's Dogs would go the extra step and make these fresh to order.

After my very lackluster experience at the Hot Dog Shoppe, it was nice to find a spot where their creativity, and most importantly, the flavors of their flagship product were so prominently featured. With so many combinations of hot dog toppings, as well as soups, salads, burgers and more available on the menu, it would be quite easy to find something that everyone in your party could enjoy. While there were very few children when I went, the atmosphere was fun and I have no doubt that children would find Dan's Dogs as accessible as adults do. There are lots of very interesting shops on Medina's downtown square and if you find yourself in the area to do a little shopping, stop in at Dan's Dogs A Hot Dog Eatery for lunch or dinner and check them out for yourself. I definitely think they are worth it.

Hot Dogs That Will Make You Say, "Meh"

When I traveled to Warren, Ohio a while ago to try a restaurant that I had found on the Internet, I happened upon another local Warren establishment along my route. After returning home and doing some research, I discovered that not only is the The Original Hot Dog Shoppe uniquely a Warren restaurant, but that it also has a devoted following based on the comments left on the Yahoo Maps page. They are located at the corner of Rt. 45 (Tod Rd.) and West Market Street and have ample parking to the right and behind the restaurant.

Here is a photo of what to expect when you arrive. Note that the hot dog at the top of the spire spins:


I was a little confused at first on the proper procedure for ordering my meal. I will therefore break it down for you, gentle reader. Immediately inside the door is a wall menu and several cash registers. If you wish to order your meal to go, simply walk up to a cashier, place your order, pay for it, and then wait for it to be packaged up. If, on the other hand, you want to actually eat at the restaurant like I did today, you simply find an empty seat at one of the long luncheon counters and sit down. A server will approach you shortly and take care of you.

I found a seat that had a good shot of the wall menu:


This place is bare basics: hot dogs, burgers, fries, and chili. That's it. By the way, the first three dogs listed on the menu are all the same basic hot dog but with various toppings. The "Super Dog" is a one-quarter pound hot dog that you can have dressed any way you'd like.

I decided on a cheddar and chili dog, a cheddar and kraut dog, and a small order of fries with "sauce". I wasn't really sure what the sauce was, but someone next to me ordered it that way and several posters to the Yahoo Maps site listed it as their preferred way of ordering the fries, too. I figured I'd just roll with the punches.

First up, my lemonade. Well, technically, my pink lemonade:


I was hoping that this was actually going to be homemade lemonade. The menu does list several varieties of soft drinks, but I could see from the soda fountain taps that these were simply national brands -- Barq's root beer, Fanta cherry soda, etc. What I didn't see on any of the taps was lemonade. Apparently I missed the tap where the pink lemonade was dispensed.

After just a few minutes, my lunch platter arrived:


And a close-up of my hot dogs:


And my fries with "sauce":


It turns out that the "sauce" is simply more of the chili ladled over the fries. I started with the cheddar and chili dog first. I was somewhat startled that I didn't see any cheese on either dog. Resigned to the fact that the shredded cheddar must be underneath the dog instead of on top of it, I took a bite. That's when I made the shocking discovery that they weren't using shredded cheddar cheese on their dogs, but cheddar cheese sauce. You know, the same kind you get at the concessions stand at high school football games to go with your tortilla chips. I looked up at the grill line and sure enough, an unopened can of cheddar cheese sauce was sitting on the counter top. I have nothing against cheddar cheese sauce, per se, but I kind of felt like there was a bit of lack of truth in advertising going on here.

The cheddar and chili dog overall was simply average. The bun and dog were nothing special. It was the flavor of the chili on top of my dog that kept nagging away at me. I knew I had tasted this flavor before, but I couldn't put my finger on it yet. It was a fairly rich and heavily spiced meaty tomato sauce, although the emphasis was more on sauce than meat.

The cheddar and kraut dog was also a bit of a disappointment. The kraut had been griddled briefly before being laid on top of my dog and while this did give it some texture and color, the kraut was almost completely devoid of any acid or salt. It's like they had taken the kraut and soaked it in water before they used it. The combination of the kraut and the cheddar cheese sauce was interesting and might have worked if the kraut had more punch, but as it stood this dog was also average, although slightly better than my cheddar and chili hot dog.

I knew going into the Hot Dog Shoppe that their fries are the "fresh cut" variety from which I normally shy away because they are all limp and greasy. But, having no other choices for a side, and given the fact that so many people recommended getting them with the "sauce", I went ahead and ordered them. The fries were exactly what I was expecting, so I won't belabor that point with incessant complaints. The chili on the fries was a nice idea in that it added a nice textural contrast. However, the wet chili tended to exacerbate the "moistness" of the french fries themselves.

As I sat there eating my sauced fries (and thinking to myself that probably the only way I would truly enjoy this meal is if I was sauced myself), I returned to that nagging feeling about the chili they served. The restaurant makes a point of making sure you know that the chili is homemade. I searched my memory for a minute and it suddenly hit me: I remember eating a strikingly similar chili back in my college days, when canned foods were not only convenient, but cheap, too. The brand of chili, you might ask? Hormel meat chili with no beans. Yes, that was it!

Now, gentle reader, I am in no way stating that the Hot Dog Shoppe is not making their own chili on a daily basis completely from scratch. However, what I am saying is that by employing your favorite brand of hot dog and hot dog bun and then going to your local supermarket and picking up these handy items,


you can save yourself the time and gas required to drive out to Warren, Ohio and still have a very similar experience. From all of the positive comments I'd read on the web about this restaurant, I was expecting a lot more. Unfortunately, what I found was something I could make myself at home using ingredients I didn't have to drive 45 minutes each way to get.

If you happen to be on the west side of Warren for some completely unrelated reason, stop by and experience this local favorite for yourself. Otherwise, I'd say this place isn't worth the trip.

A Nice Day Trip to Limburg's Patio Grill

While talking about restaurants to try, a good friend of mine suggested that I try out his uncle's place connected with the Coshocton Airport. Apparently it is a very small and seasonal grilling place that offers simple, but tasty food. Having just eaten there the previous week with his family, he assured me that the burgers were excellent and the ice cream even better. Having a completely open Sunday, I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to try Limburg's Patio Grill located at the Richard Downing Airport (aka the Coschocton Airport).

The address I found on-line for the airport is 24569 Airport Road, Coschocton, Ohio 43812. That being said, Google Maps couldn't make heads or tails of that address. Therefore, I'll give you the quickie directions. Take I-77 south past New Philadelphia. Get off on State Route 36 heading west towards Coshocton. Once you pass State Route 621, look for Airport Road (there is a sign for it). At the light, make a right onto Airport Road and follow the heavily wooded, twisty and turny road up the hill for about a half-mile. Suddenly the trees will part and you will have found the airport. A good sign that you've made it is when you see this marker:


There is ample parking around the airport and I choose to park in the outer lot because most of the closer spots were already taken (ominous foreshadowing, I suppose). From here you could see several of the parked aircraft:


As I walked toward the main building, my confidence was bolstered that I was at the right place when I saw this sign:


And right next to that sign was a sign hanging on the fence that only served to reinforce how fleeting this little "restaurant" actually was:


Clearly this is a limited-time summer treat. Only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday hours and even those didn't start until June 13th. I didn't have a chance to ask when they close up shop for the year, but my guess would be sometime in August. I walked around the corner following my nose as a guide only to discover that to my horror, apparently everyone from Coshocton had shown up and gotten in line just before me:


One thing as a Sunday restaurant go-er you always needs to be conscious of is the post-church crowd. Clearly they were out and in-force today as all the people in their nice clothing and the little girls in their Sunday dresses were here for some backyard grilled food. While I was slightly annoyed that I picked the exact moment when everyone was going to order, it also gave me a chance (actually about 30 minutes worth of chances) to do some people watching and as I got closer, to start observing the operations going on in the restaurant ... er, tent. Yes, everything from taking orders to cooking and plating food was all being done under this one large tent. As I got closer, I got a better idea of how the service was going:


As I got close to the front of the line, I took a gander at the posted menu to the left of the tent:

(c) Copyright 2009, Dale Limburg. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

The menu is extremely simple: hamburgs (to use their vernacular) and cheeseburgs, double hamburgs and double cheeseburgs, hot dogs with optional coney sauce or sauerkraut, grilled chicken breast sandwich, and something called a Patio Grill Salad. There were no fried sides like french fries, but you could get cole slaw, baked beans, and bagged chips. There was sweetened and unsweetened fresh brewed iced tea and a soda fountain with five or six different choices of nationally branded sodas (Coke, Diet Coke, etc.).

In trying to figure out exactly how the ordering / picking up of food transaction was to take place, I noticed that to the left side of the tent, people were picking up their food on plastic trays and taking them to one of the many picnic tables available. But the one thing I really noticed was this one woman in a green shirt and khaki pants who seemed to be at that counter an awful lot. Realizing that there were a lot of families there today, I figured she had put in a huge order and was dutifully picking up finished food and taking it back. After a while of seeing her do this, however, I actually thought to myself, "Jeez, lady, how much food did you order?!?"

By the time I got to the front of the line, I had figured out that when you order your food, they give you a little card with a letter or symbol on it. You take that card and find a spot to sit. When your food is ready, they bring the food to you. The woman who I had originally thought was ordering enough food to feed an army was actually WORKING for the restaurant. Okay, mystery solved. I placed my order and was given my card. Today I was the letter 'L':


I took my card and found a picnic table at the opposite end of the tent. A perfect spot to watch the goings on of the grilling area:


Everything is essentially done on two grills, one for meats and one for toasting buns. Speaking of the buns, I should mention that the hot dog buns they use are extremely unusual for this area. Well, really, any part of Ohio. Instead of using what most of us think of as hot dog buns, they actually use a New England lobster roll, similar to this picture. All the buns are buttered and then subsequently grilled.

While sitting at my table watching the various workers doing their jobs, I almost noticed a no-no, but the owner, Mr. Limburg, actually caught himself before making it. The chicken breasts are kept in the cooler marinating in a large bucket of what looked to be Italian dressing of some kind. There were tongs associated specifically with the chicken breasts. There were also tongs used for grilled meats that were hung over the end of the grill. When Mr. Limburg reached in to grab the bucket of chicken, the "chicken" tongs fell onto the ground, obviously contaminating them. Instinctively, he went to grab a second pair of tongs to transfer the raw chicken to the grill, the "already grilled meat" tongs. However, as soon as he touched the "grilled meat" tongs, he immediately realized his error and instead used a gloved hand to reach into the bucket and grab the number of chicken breasts he needed. He then discarded the used glove and got a new one. The problem was that once he used the pair of tongs that were for only cooked meats to transfer raw chicken breast, they were now potentially contaminated. Had he then touched a cooked burger or hot dog right afterward, he could've potentially caused salmonella poisoning because of cross contamination from the raw chicken. Excellent save on his part.

After about another twenty minutes or so, my food finally arrived. A shot of the large unsweetened iced tea that I sipped on slowly while waiting for my food:


And a shot of the two sides that I ordered with my burger:


First let's talk about the cole slaw:


This slaw was strange to me. It wasn't that it was bad; it wasn't. But the dressing used to make the slaw really had no discernible character of its own. Normally most of the flavor comes from the dressing and the cabbage and carrots are there for the textural contrast. In this case, the dressing was so mild that I could actually taste the cabbage. And raw cabbage definitely has a very subtle flavor. I tried bite after bite of this to try and nail down whether I liked this version or not. I will simply say that I was wholly intrigued by it. My perception up to this point is that I prefer dressings with a bit more vinegar, sugar, and salt. This was lacking in all three. I certainly have never found cole slaw that tasted like this.

Next, let's talk about the baked beans:


These were nice. Nothing out of the ordinary, but hot and creamy and delicious. They had that nice sort of brown sugar / molasses / tomato sauce flavor combination to them. They also had a nice amount of sauce and weren't overcooked at all. I would definitely order this as a side dish again.

Finally, the reason I had driven 90 minutes to get here, the double cheeseburg:


I had ordered mine with ketchup, mustard, and pickles. The pickles they added directly to the bun before putting the meat on top. The other condiments, however, were my responsibility (if you look closely in the above photo, you can see the packets of mustard and ketchup peeking out from behind the burger on the left). Upon taking off the crown, I discovered a nicely buttered and toasted bun:


When my friend was telling me about the burgers at Limburg's, he mentioned that they are grilled to order. Not exactly. They are grilled only after you order. All the burgers are cooked the same way: done. There is no ordering your burger cooked medium well or medium rare. Also, don't make the same mistake that I did, a double cheeseburg is a large sandwich. Each of the patties was easily 1/3 of a pound. I didn't actually manage to eat the entire sandwich, although I did get through most of it.

The burger itself was seasoned well. The meat was thoroughly cooked, but just a tad bit dry. The ketchup and mustard I applied helped a bit, but I found myself going back to my iced tea just a bit too often. The meat had a wonderful smoky flavor from the grill and the grilled bun stood up excellently to the enormousness of the sandwich. The bun itself was nice and fresh as well. This certainly isn't the best burger I've ever had, but it was a decent example. I would say that this level of burger is what I would expect at a back yard BBQ at the neighbor's house. A neighbor who knew how to properly season food and cook the burgers until they were totally safe to eat. And I suppose I have to at least say that if I was grilling burgers for my closest 200 friends in my back yard, I don't imagine that I'd be grilling them to specific temperatures either. You'd get your choice of "done" or "done", which would you like? That being said, if you were in my back yard and I was grilling you a burger, I wouldn't be asking you to pay for it either. So there is that to keep in mind.

Part of the charm of Limburg's Patio Grill is its location at the airport. While you sit lounging in the sun, you get to watch planes come and go:


A real crowd-pleaser, a helicopter landing directly on the parking area for the planes drew lots of attention from the crowd:


Honestly, I had the theme song from Magnum, P.I. running through my head while watching this helicopter swoop in and land on the ground. I half expected Tom Selleck to come climbing out of the cockpit. Alright, gentle reader, I hear you, enough with the 80's flashback.

One of the other reasons for my visit was to experience a unique Ohio-based company, The Velvet Ice Cream Company, and some of their flagship products. They had eight different flavors from which to choose, and after carefully considering my options, I decided on a small bowl of the Buckeye Classic:


And a closer shot:


This was marvelous! Studded with bits of the Buckeye candies, the veins of chocolate-y fudge and creamy vanilla ice cream, this was a mouthful of flavor from the first bite to the very last. The fact that this dish of ice cream was only $1.25 also made my wallet very happy, too. I was hoping to try some other flavors of Velvet ice cream while I was there, but with that very large burger, my sides, and my small ice cream, I was absolutely stuffed. I felt a food coma quickly approaching. I returned to the now much shorter line and got a free refill on my iced tea, hopped in my car and headed back down Airport Road preparing for my return trip to Akron.

While lunch certainly wasn't a short affair, I really did enjoy my time at the airport. Well, except for the slight sunburn I am now sporting on my arms and neck. It honestly never occurred to me that I might be sitting out in the sun at the hottest part of the day. I'm not sure when their "slow" hours are, but I can certainly tell you it isn't at 12:30 pm on a Sunday afternoon. The hours were posted in an earlier photo, but I'll provide them here so you don't have to go scrolling upwards in order to find them. They are open on Fridays from 5 - 8 PM, Saturdays from 11 AM - 8 PM, and Sundays from 11 AM - 6 PM.

Just for the sake of self-disclosure, I wanted to point out that I have never met my friend's uncle nor did I mention to my friend exactly when I would be showing up to try out the food. In addition, I paid for everything I ate today and neither expected nor received any complimentary food. While I certainly understand the fact that I was reviewing the restaurant of a good friend's relative, I tried to be completely fair and objective in my assessment.

If you happen to find yourself in the Coschocton area over the summer months (perhaps visiting the Roscoe Historic Village) and you are looking for an interesting and unique culinary outing, I would definitely recommend you stop by and check out Limburg's Patio Grill at the Richard Downing Airport. But go soon or they may be all closed up for the year.