Did Menches Brothers Invent The Hamburger?

I found out earlier this week that I would be finishing up my work for a client in Uniontown, Ohio and decided that as my last lunch while working there, I would check out one of the contenders who stakes a claim of ownership for inventing the hamburger. I speak, of course, of Menches Brothers. Interestingly, several others make this claim as well, and as far as I am concerned, no one has put forward enough evidence to convince me who the true inventor really is.

That being said, if you claim to have invented it, your version better be pretty darn good. While there were once several Menches Brothers restaurants throughout northeast Ohio, as far as I am aware, there are now only two, one in Uniontown and one in Massillon. The one I went to today for lunch is located at 3700 Massillon Road, Uniontown, Ohio 44685 and can be reached at 330-896-2288.

Both restaurants, oddly enough, are located in strip retail outlets. Here was a shot of the front of the restaurant:


And here was a shot of the sign just outside the front door which makes Menches Brothers' claim to fame:


Once inside, the hostess led me to a table in the bar area and left me with a menu:






While it was nice to see the other menu offerings, I knew I was here for one thing and one thing only, the hamburger. I found out two surprising facts. First, even though the menu listed the burgers coming with potato chips by default, apparently today they came with the French fries instead. Perhaps it was a lunch special; I failed to ask. Second was that all the burgers are cooked, as my server put it, "safe done." I decided on the cheeseburger with optional strips of bacon for an extra $0.50.

After about fifteen minutes or so, my cheeseburger platter arrived:


Here was a close-up of the burger itself:


After adding a little ketchup and yellow mustard, I assembled the sandwich and took as large as a bite as I could. The tomato, being fairly good for a winter tomato, acted as the single point of failure per usual and half of my burger slid out of the bun. With the ingredients now rectified, I took another, more satisfying bite. The burger was indeed cooked all the way through. Fortunately, there was still enough juice left in the meat that it was a pleasant experience. The bacon was still warm and nicely crisped and the bun was nicely toasted. All in all I'd say that this was a fairly tasty burger. I'd put it on par with some of the better burgers I've had, like at Jerry's Cafe in Orrville. However, it didn't reach top-tier burger status like the versions I've had at the Greenhouse Tavern or B Spot.

Here was a close-up of the accompanying French fries:


The fries were nicely cooked, crispy on the outside and hot and creamy on the inside. They had a "fresh cut" look to them, but certainly didn't taste that way. Both the fries and the burger were seasoned well and no additional salt was required. This wasn't my favorite French fried potato, but it was a decent enough version that I wouldn't mind paying the normal $1.99 upgrade fee instead of the potato chips that normally come with the burgers.

Actually, the only real complaint I had about today's experience was that the service felt a little off. I went after the peak lunchtime hour and sat for quite a bit in a not-very-crowded bar area. It took the server about ten minutes to realize that I was there and when she did come over to take my order, she seemed to be very rushed. The rest of my service was alright, so I'll just chalk it up to a bad beginning.

Whomever can ultimately prove to be the progenitor of the common hamburger, Menches Brothers can at the minimum claim that they have a darn tasty version. The meal was nicely seasoned and cooked and priced just right at $6.49. If you are looking for a good example of a hamburger, I suggest you give either the Uniontown or Massillon location a try to satisfy your own craving.

The Lenten Project, Week 5 And Conclusion (2 of 2)

To date, I've eaten a fried fish and pierogi meal at five churches, two clubs, and one restaurant. I was hoping to end The Lenten Project with more of a bang than the whimper that was awaiting me at my final destination during this five week journey. I've been subjected to the good, the bad, and the indifferent. The one element that I hadn't been subjected to, much to my surprise, were crowds of people. That could be because of my penchant for arriving shortly after the meals started or it could just be dumb luck. For my final meal today, however, I arrived right in the thick of it and was afraid that I might be waiting in line a long time.

Today's second meal of the day was held at Queen of Heaven Catholic church located at 1800 Steese Road, Uniontown, OH 44685 and can be reached at 330-896-2345. Their website is located here. The fried fish dinner was actually being served in the Parish Life Center, which was across the parking lot from the actual church. While there was a very large parking lot, it was nearly full and finding a spot took some effort.

Once I successfully parked the car, I approached the front of the Parish Life Center:


I walked inside to find a lot of noise, but no lines. There were two signs posted: The one to the left indicated where to head for dining room sales and the one on the right indicated where to head for take-out sales. I headed down the left hallway off the main entrance to discover a room where there were two tables set up and two very short lines of people. Sitting on a chair next to the line in which I was standing was today's menu:


Fortunately, for my second meal, macaroni and cheese and pierogi were considered side items and the fried fish dinner came with two sides for $8. Perfect! I waited for my turn and finally placed and paid for my order. I was handed this meal ticket:


A short walk out of the room and across the hallway and I entered the gymnasium where the fish fry was being served. This was clearly the source of the noise I had heard when I first entered the center. A sign was erected just inside the doors asking for patrons to wait to be seated. Seeing as I was the only one standing at this sign, it didn't take long for one of the volunteers to steer me to a table near the back of the room.

Within a minute or so, a different volunteer wearing food service gloves approached me and asked what I wanted to drink and if I preferred apple sauce or coleslaw. She indicated that I needed to take my meal ticket up to one of the two buffet service lines at the front of the room and hand it to one of the workers there. Neither line was incredibly long, but I did stand for about ten minutes before reaching the buffet table lined with chaffing dishes. I handed my server my ticket and she plated my fried fish before handing it to the next woman who was dishing out sides. My plate now complete, I returned to my table to discover that bread, a cup of coleslaw, and a glass of water had been left by our server.

Here was a shot of the bread:


Served in a paper "sleeve," there was also a pat of butter inside as well. Like my meal earlier in the evening, this was probably the nicest piece of bread I've had so far during the project. This one almost felt artisan. While the crust and crumb were nice, I could tell that it wasn't a true artisan bread because it didn't have the wonderful yeasty, sourdoughy smell that well-made bread has. Nevertheless, it was fresh and leaps and bounds better than some of the regular food service dinner rolls that had made an appearance at other meals.

I next turned my attention to the coleslaw:


Tonight has apparently been a good night for coleslaw. Just like at Slovak J, Queen of Heaven's coleslaw was immediately identifiable as being homemade: The irregularity on the cut of the vegetables, the crunchiness of the cabbage and the dressing. At first I thought that the dressing was of the vinegar - sugar - salt variety, but upon digging around the bottom of the cup, I discovered that the dressing did have a mayonnaise base to it. The problem was that it was so soupy and diluted, that unless you dug out a bite from the bottom of the dish, the cabbage on top didn't stay well dressed. Still, it was a decent enough version.

After sitting down at my table and removing my plate from the cafeteria tray, I took a shot of my main meal:


Both the fried and the baked fish available tonight were cod. The adult dinner netted you three pieces of fried or one piece of baked fish. Overall, I think the fish was pretty good. The batter was crunchy without being oily. The piece of cod inside the batter was of decent thickness and the entire bite was seasoned properly. The only miss on tonight's dinner was that the fish just couldn't live up to the moistness and juiciness I had experienced at Our Lady of Peace. This was a good version of fried fish, but not a great one. I'm not sure if the tartar sauce was homemade or not, but it was a little bit lacking in the flavor department. It tasted more like straight mayonnaise than the sweet and sour piquancy that pickles and capers would've brought to the party.

The one item on the plate I was absolutely sure was not homemade were the potato pierogi:


With their perfectly stamped and crimped edges, these doughy puffs were simply mediocre. The fried onions were nicely done however and gave the pierogi a sweeter flavor rather than a savory one. After finishing my meal, I approached one of the workers who wasn't busy and asked about the provenance of the pierogi. "Mrs. T's," she said as she hunched her shoulders as if to say, "Yeah, sorry about that."

The final item on my plate tonight was the macaroni and cheese:


As soon as the woman scooped out a portion at the buffet line, I immediately thought I was in trouble. As she turned her ladle over, this amorphous mass landed with an almost sickening thud on my plate and ceased movement. While I have to assume that this was made from scratch (and to be fair, I think all of the macaroni and cheeses I've tasted so far have been homemade), sadly this version reminded me all too much of the version I had eaten at Duffy's Restaurant during week two of the project. While it was certainly infused with cheese flavor, the pasta had been grossly overcooked and almost had no texture. It wasn't quite as bad as Duffy's, which was the only reason it barely earned a passing grade. Queen of Heaven's version required a minimal amount of chewing where Duffy's literally dissolved in your mouth, no chewing required. Needless to say, as this was the last side eaten at my second dinner of the evening, I took a bite or two and passed on the rest.

There were desserts available priced at only $1 each, but as you can imagine, I was too full to take advantage. As I was walking out of the gymnasium I overheard one of the volunteers mentioning to another that they were going to be running out of macaroni and cheese before the end of dinner service if people continued to walk through the front door at the same rate they had been all night. To which I quickly muttered under my breath, "Thank goodness."

So now that I'm done evaluating all of the meals, it is time to crown the winner. I figured I would give out an award to best overall meal and an award for best fried fish since they happen to be two different locations. The winner of the best overall meal goes to the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church located in Streetsboro. While the fried fish wasn't quite perfect, the homemade macaroni and cheese and potato and cheese pierogi were top of the class. The winner of the best fried fish goes to Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church located in Canton. Fried perfectly, hot, juicy, and thick, this was a piece of fried fish that no one else could match.

Here are my final rankings from best overall to worst overall as well as an individual grade for each of the major elements on the plate (Fish, Mac & Cheese, Pierogi, and Clam Chowder):

1. St. Joan of Arc (Streetsboro): Fish, B; Mac & Cheese, A; Pierogi, A
2. Our Lady of Peace (Canton): Fish, A; Mac & Cheese, C; Pierogi, C
3. Slovak J Club (Akron): Fish, B-; Mac & Cheese, B; Pierogi, C
4. Queen of Heaven (Green): Fish, B; Mac & Cheese, D; Pierogi, C
5. United Methodist Church (Peninsula): Fish, C+; Pierogi, B
6. Knights of Columbus (Mantua): Fish, C; Mac & Cheese, C-; Pierogi, A
7. Our Lady of Grace (Hinckley): Fish, C; Pierogi, C; Clam Chowder, C
8. Duffy's Restaurant (Akron): Fish, C-; Mac & Cheese, F

For those who have been following my adventures from the beginning, I wish to thank you. For those tuning in a little late, at least you managed to arrive in the nick of time to find out who I felt had the best overall fish fry. Remember that other than Our Lady of Grace, you still have next Friday, March 26th to try out any of the fish fries I've listed above. Whichever you decide to attend, I hope you have a fantastic meal and for those who celebrate the Christian holiday of Easter, I'd like to wish you an early Happy Easter.

The Lenten Project, Week 5 And Conclusion (1 of 2)

I have to admit that going into the fifth and final week of The Lenten Project, I'm getting a little sick of fried fish and pierogi. Not so sick that I couldn't fulfill my final duties, but enough that I think its going to be at least a month or two before I look at any of this food with lust in my eyes again. Thankfully, Lent only comes around once per year or I might just have to pick a different holiday to explore next time.

Tonight's early dinner was at a lodge / bowling alley / watering hole that I had never heard of before taking on this project, the Slovak J Club. When discussing my impending dinner with a good friend of mine, he had never heard of the Slovak J Club, but when he heard the address, he almost immediately exclaimed, "Oh, you mean the Jednota Club?!" Um ... yes? The Akron Beacon Journal, the source from which I compiled my original list of locations I would be visiting, had listed it as the Slovak J Club. Located at 485 Morgan Avenue, Akron, OH 44311, they can be reached at 330-724-0141. There was no website associated with this organization when this review was written.

Finding the Slovak J Club wasn't too difficult. I simply traveled south on Brown Street (starting at Akron University) until I crossed under I-76. A few more streets south and I found Morgan Avenue. I made a right onto Morgan and almost immediately came upon the front of the building:


To the left of the building was the entrance to the parking area and once off the street I realized that there was ample parking available next to and behind this enormous structure. As has been the case all too often, the actual entrance to the fish fry was at the rear of the building. After walking through this door,


I proceeded to walk down a set of stairs and through a metal door. On the other side of the door was a bar area and across the room was a nicely lit dining room where the fish fry was actually taking place. I walked over to the dining area where a woman greeted me and handed me a paper menu. She indicated that I could sit anywhere I liked and someone would be over to take my order. Other than Duffy's (which was a restaurant), this was the only other location that had full table service, from taking your order to bringing your food and checking in on you.

Here was a shot of the menu for today's meal:


Sadly, pierogi were only offered as a side and couldn't be substituted in any of the dinners. Not really caring about the potato option, green beans, or hot rice, I asked if I could just substitute in a couple of pierogi for those items. My server looked apprehensive, lowered her voice and head and whispered, "We're not supposed to make any substitutions." Fair enough, I wasn't trying to rock the boat, just order the main tastes for which I was here in the most economically feasible way possible. I also learned from my server that the Lake Erie perch was actually fresh tonight. The Ocean perch, while a full $2 cheaper, was being fried-from-frozen. Realizing that there was no way to avoid dropping some coin tonight for my first dinner, I ordered the Lake Erie perch dinner with a side of pierogi for the full $12.

Dinner service started with a basket of bread and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter:


I skipped the packaged spread and went straight for the bread. It was fresh and tasty and I assumed it was simply pre-sliced Italian bread. The crumb had a little bit of give, but the crust was nice and chewy. This was actually a step above most of the food service dinner rolls I have been eating over the last couple of weeks.

With my bread, my server also brought me my choice of salad; I went with the coleslaw:


Just by looking at it, I suspected that it was homemade. After tasting, I was further convinced. The dressing tasted good and had the balance I so desperately look for in a well dressed salad: salty, sweet, creamy, and acidic. The vegetables still had a nice crunch to them and hadn't been totally wilted by the vinegar. When my server returned with my main meal, she confirmed that the coleslaw was indeed homemade.

Speaking of my meal, here was a shot of the Lake Erie fried perch platter:


I had my choice of baked potato or French fries. I chose the fries simply because I knew I would be taking food home and the fried potatoes might hold up better. The French fried potatoes were cooked well and didn't look or taste greasy. However, they were kind of limp and a bit cold. The fried fish, however, was hot and the fish itself tasted quite fresh. The coating was nicely crisped and wasn't oily. That being said, the perch fillets were so thin and small that there just wasn't that moistness and juiciness I love to find in the middle of a nice piece of fish. It wasn't like fish jerky, but it wasn't done to the level of the first fish fry I attended, Our Lady of Peace. I tasted the tartar sauce on its own before pairing it with a bite of the fish and while not exceptional, it did bring some flavor to the party.

Along with my fried fish dinner, I received three side dishes:


To the rear were the dreaded canned green beans with little bits of onion. While my friend and fellow food blogger Jill would be gobbling these up in no time flat, I generally avoid this hated dish from my childhood. However, trying to be completely fair to the entire experience today at Slovak J, I did taste them. While not as horribly offensive as they were during my visit to the Knights of Columbus in Mantua, Ohio two weeks ago, they still had the same scent and flavor for which I simply just don't care. In the front right was a dish of hot rice. This is a side dish that only seems to exist here in northeast Ohio and can be primarily found in many of the Barberton chicken houses. Slovak J's version was good, with just a little bit of heat in the background, but the one quality I noticed was that it was a bit too sweet. Not cloyingly sweet, but enough that I kept thinking to myself, "Something is strangely amiss." The third side was the homemade macaroni and cheese. The pasta in the dish gets high marks for not being overcooked and having a wonderful toothy texture. The cheese sauce, while definitely creamy, had a certain sourness to it which I found a little off-putting.

As if that wasn't enough food to make your head spin, I also had to contend with the side order of pierogi I had placed at the beginning of my meal:


At four pierogi for $2, this was definitely an economical addition to my meal. As soon as these were set down in front of me, I didn't even need to ask if they were homemade. The regular patterns of the crimping machine were entirely obvious on each dough pocket. I asked my server what flavor they were and she simply answered, "Potato." The onions on top had been cooked so long that they had basically given up their structure and had been transformed into more of a onion marmalade. The pierogi themselves were pretty much what you'd think boiled-from-frozen pierogi taste like, but the onion marmalade actually added a nice bit of salt and flavor to the party.

Overall, I'd say that Slovak J did a decent job of doing a Lenten fish fry. While the commercially made pierogi were easily forgettable, the coleslaw, some of the sides, and the onion marmalade were a nice touch. While Slovak J didn't top my list of favorites, it certainly showed up in the upper tier.

To continue with my rankings from best overall to worst overall as well as an individual grade for each of the major elements on the plate (Fish, Mac & Cheese, Pierogi, and Clam Chowder):

1. St. Joan of Arc (Streetsboro): Fish, B; Mac & Cheese, A; Pierogi, A
2. Our Lady of Peace (Canton): Fish, A; Mac & Cheese, C; Pierogi, C
3. Slovak J Club (Akron): Fish, B-; Mac & Cheese, B; Pierogi, C+
4. United Methodist Church (Peninsula): Fish, C+; Pierogi, B
5. Knights of Columbus (Mantua): Fish, C; Mac & Cheese, C-; Pierogi, A
6. Our Lady of Grace (Hinckley): Fish, C; Pierogi, C; Clam Chowder, C
7. Duffy's Restaurant (Akron): Fish, C-; Mac & Cheese, F

The Ever Popular Hartville Kitchen

An old college friend of mine who originated from Uniontown had long ago suggested that I give the Hartville Kitchen a try. I kept the suggestion in the back of my head for quite some time now and only recently had the opportunity head over one Friday night after I got out of work. I kind of suspected that the place was popular, but what I didn't expect was to pull in on a Friday night at 6:00 PM and discover a line of people that must have easily number 200 strong. Looking at the parking lot, you wouldn't think that there could be this many people just waiting to get in, but sadly, there were.

Realizing that I was not in the mood to stand in a line quite this long, I turned around and walked away. I figured I would try this some other time. Which was exactly what I did for lunch today, Tuesday at noon. I pulled into the parking lot in front of the enormous building and hoped that my luck would be better today.

Hartville Kitchen was located at 1015 Edison Street, Hartville, OH 44632 and can be reached at 330-877-9353. Parking was available in an enormous lot outside of the complex.

Even though the restaurant was located on the west end of the building, you enter through the main entrance:


Once inside, I made a left and walked towards the entrance to the restaurant (don't worry, there were signs). This time around I was greeted with a line of about ten people. MUCH better. I watched in mild amusement as a woman with pulled back hair sporting a wireless microphone and headset shuffled people off to their tables. She had a rather stern look on her face and made me envision what would happen if Brittany Spears and the lunch lady had spawned a child. Lots of finger pointing and clicking and, oh did I mention the stern look?

The restaurant was divided into at least four enormous sections and I was seated along the east wall. Someone was soon over to drop off a place mat which also served as the written menu. I ended up taking a photo of each section as that was easier than trying to get one photo of the entire thing:




I told my server that the restaurant had been recommended to me and that I hadn't eaten here before. I asked for house specialties. She replied that there really weren't any house specialties, per se, but that everything was good. Wonderful, I thought to myself, that should help narrow it down. However, as she was hitting the high points on the menu, she did mention broasted chicken. They offer two varieties, all white meat or a mixed platter containing a breast, a thigh, and a wing. I haven't had broasted chicken since my last meal at Das Dutch Kitchen and I have fond memories of that, so I decided on going with the chicken (it is also offered broiled as well).

Since the broasted chicken was considered a dinner entree, it came with my choice of three sides and white or wheat rolls. I asked my server about which sides were made fresh. Some, like the mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and macaroni and cheese were made on-premises. Others, like the green beans, corn, and carrots were either from a can or frozen. I decided to go with the mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, and a tossed salad with some of their homemade French dressing.

My salad appeared within a minute or so of me placing my order:


The dressing was like an old childhood friend. Unlike today, as a child my parents were big believers in bottled dressings. Before I even knew that there was a Hartville Kitchen complex, I knew there was a local company called Hartville Kitchen, because we had several jars of their dressing in constant rotation in our refrigerator. Today's salad, however, was a bit unconventional. Topping the shredded lettuce were finely diced Ohio winter tomatoes and grated carrots.

Because of the composition of the salad, you couldn't really eat it in a convention manner with the fork. Instead of stabbing through the leaves, I ended up having to scoop it onto the fork and eat it that way. As you can imagine, the tomatoes were mealy and pretty much useless, so the major flavor components were the lettuce, the carrots, and the French dressing. I've never seen carrots so finely grated on a salad before; I guess I'll just have to chalk it up to their signature style.


WIth my salad, my server also brought me a couple of warm white rolls with salted butter pats. These were fresh and had a wonderful yeasty smell to them. The crumb was tight and the crown was nicely browned. Quite simply, these were nice.

I was afraid that my chicken would take quite a while to cook, since broasting is a standardized process. Then again, being a busy restaurant, you can broast the chicken before receiving an actual order knowing that you'll be going through it on a fairly rapid basis. My dinner arrived about ten minutes after my salad and rolls.

Here was a shot of the broasted chicken and the mashed potatoes and gravy:


First, the chicken. It was breaded nicely. It wasn't overly greasy. The skin was crispy in some areas. Both the breast and the wing were cooked through and hot. The seasoning was nice and didn't overwhelm the meat. The only negative thing I can say is that the chicken was just slightly overcooked and a tad dry. I'd say that based on the rather consistent version that is served at Das Dutch, Hartville Kitchens comes in at about 90% of that. Very close, but just not quite as good.

The mashed potatoes and gravy were both seasoned well and both were hot. When I first tried the advertised-as-homemade potatoes by themselves, it was incredibly smooth with just a little grit. I began to doubt the sincerity of the "homemade" moniker until I came across a bite that had some lumps in it. The chicken gravy also had a nice savory profile to it and complimented the potatoes nicely.

The final side that came with my dinner today was the homemade macaroni and cheese:


This was a nice version of macaroni and cheese. The elbow macaroni wasn't overcooked and mushy. The cheese sauce had a very nice balance to it; it wasn't over or under sauced. I've been known to receive versions of this American staple from both extremes, cooked macaroni floating in cheese soup and dried out macaroni that almost has cheddar cheese powder on it. I personally would have liked it with a touch more cheese sauce, but I think this one struck a nice compromise between the two extremes.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal today at Hartville Kitchen. The food wasn't fancy, but it was prepared well enough. The prices were reasonable, anywhere from $3.50 for a sandwich to $10-$11 for dinner entrees. They had a plethora of pies from which to choose if you are a dessert lover, but after all of that food, I was completely full. Since there were a number of other shops in the complex, I have no hesitation recommending this place as a destination dining type of restaurant. Come down (or up), do a little shopping, do a little eating, and if they are open, check out the marketplace behind the main building for all sorts of other goodies.

[Ed. Note: I had originally published a response from Elise Harper, Human Resource Manager from Hartville Kitchen. I have removed the response because I am unclear if she was aware that my solicitation for a response meant that I would be posting some or all of her comments as an addendum to my review. I would like to encourage her or any other member of the Hartville Kitchen team to feel free to leave a public comment on this posting.

To that end, I am tweaking the change I discussed here. I will still make available for preview pending reviews to restaurants that I am easily able to contact electronically. However, instead of requesting a response to be published with the review, I will simply invite them to comment publicly on the blog itself. ]