Coleman Fish Market - Wheeling WV classic

I have been keeping close to home since I twisted my ankle last week, but since it was feeling better and the weather was beautiful, I decided to take a ride down to Wheeling, WV and check out Coleman's Fish Market.  I had heard about it from the Cleveland BMW Motorcycles Owners club and it sounded like a great ride and an interesting place to check out.  To get there I cruised down past Canton and picked up Ohio Route 250 which proceeds to meander down to Wheeling; the road has some nice twists and turns, especially after you pass Cadiz.  The ride was about 2 1/2 hours, and I located the Center Market without much trouble (map is here).  The market is a couple of buildings with Coleman's in the middle, with some local artist exhibits at one end and a couple of food places, but overall nothing too big.  The surrounding area seems to specialize in antiques.

Once you find Coleman's you see that it is an actual fish market along one side with fresh fish and seafood and then a counter at the end to order prepared food.  You can see the menu at this link, although prices have gone up a bit, the menu is still simple and very affordable.   One thing that was a bit hard to figure out was there were two different lines, going around to the right would allow you to order the regular items which come up quickly, on the left is the special items.  I ended up ordering the Canadian white fish sandwich, the fried clams and onion rings.  The portion sizes on each were extremely generous, especially considering the prices.  The fish was 4 or 5 medium sized fillets served between two slices of white bread, the fish was nicely breaded and fried and very fresh, add the tarter sauce (which you have to order and pay for) and you have a very good classic fish sandwich.  The clams were also nice and came with a mild cocktail sauce for dipping.  The generous portion of onion rings had a classic batter and were tasty with a nice balance of sweet onion to batter.  There are plenty of tables nearby to eat at.

Coleman's provides very fresh fish prepared in a classic American style with very little fuss and muss.  You are not going to find anything radical or even terribly modern, but the value is outstanding and the food is fresh and tasty.  If you are down near Wheeling WV it is definitely worth checking out for some good affordable grub. 

Swensons Driveins - The update

I know that I just posted my review of Swensons Driveins a week ago, but after going back on Sunday after another hike at the Gorge Park, I tried and saw a lot more of the menu, and I am even more impressed. After yet another very nice hike in the Gorge, we headed over to Swensons with 4 people and 3 vehicles (2 cars & 1 motorcycle). Thanks to this we ended up with a much wider variety of food. Let me comment on what we had. I had the shrimp sampler, which was a very nice sized portion of fried shrimp. The shrimp were nicely breaded and well fried, they were hot and tasty. An interesting thing to note is that while most places, the fried shrimp is fairly uniform, here the shrimp had a bit of variety to them almost as if Swensons is doing their own shrimp rather then using a large commercial product. Good popcorn type of shrimp and a filling portion. I also had the Mint Whip drink, which is a combination of phospate water, mint syrup and ice cream then blended. The result is lighter then a regular milkshake and had a frothy texture with a refreshing minty flavor. A real winner. The steak salad was another winner. A large green salad came in a large bowl, topped with tomatoes, eggs, cheese and chopped steak. Of special note was the peppermill brought carside for fresh ground pepper, a very nice touch and not something I have seen at any other fast food place. Swensons seems to take their salads seriously, making them fresh to order and serving a very nice salad. Among the other items we had was a very nice looking sloppy joe and Watermellon and Key Lime milkshakes. I got to taste the Watermellon and it reminded me of the watermellon Jolly Rancher. Mindy, thought it was a different watermellon flavor and said that while she was not impressed at first, the flavor of it grew on her the more she drank. The shakes were clearly hand made, no soft serve machine here. I saved the best for last; the fried zuchini were exceptionally good. Strips of zuchini were breaded with Italian seasoning and then fried. The results were excellent, with the Italian seasonings perfectly setting off the delicate flavor of the zuchini. Mindy liked it with the ranch dressing, I thought that while the ranch was very good, it overpowered the delicate flavor combination that had been created. I will definately get more of the zuchini in the future and look forward to trying the mushrooms. After another visit to Swensons I am even more impressed. The menu offers alot of choices and the food is made fresh to order. Add to that a place that isn't afraid of adding flavors and spices to its food and you have a winning combination. Once again the young and friendly staff make the visit enjoyable. What more could you ask for from a fast food restaurant?

Swensons Drive Ins - Akron Classic

So I was out in Cuyahoga Falls to take a hike in the Gorge Metropark, which by the way is a really nice park and well worth checking out (see the website here) and I was looking for a place to eat nearby. Well with Chapel Hill Mall and the other shopping centers nearby I figured it should be no problem; but I try to stay away from the usual chains. Luckily I noticed that there is a Swensons right by the entrance to the park, so since it had been a while I thought give them a try. For those who don't know Swenson's is a small Akron based chain of drive-ins that have been around since 1934. Swensons is a true drive-in; you park the car, or in my case motorcycle, a server brings you the menu takes your order and brings you the meal on a tray. That's right curbside service and eating in you vehicle still lives and thrives. Not only that but Swenson's actually has a fairly diverse menu (go here to see it) with burgers, other sandwiches, salads, fries, onion rings and lots of drinks, including some very unique ones. The menu and the place has a 50's feel, but they have added more modern things as well. I ended up getting a fish sandwich and an order of onion rings. For under $5 it was a nice meal. The fish was an actual filet nicely fried and served on a standard bun, overall freshly cooked and tasty. The onion rings were nice sized rings with a medium breading; tasty without being overly oily; a very good old fashion onion ring. I will be heading back when I am in the area to try the shrimp basket and some of the other sides like fried mushrooms or zucchini. I also want to try some of the different drinks; with 17 flavors of milkshakes, smoth-eees, phosphates and even drinks called California and Florida, it could take me a while to get through this menu. Some how the Mint Whip seems like it might be first on my list. The servers at Swensons are friendly and seem to be having fun, despite having to run alot to keep up. If you want to get away from the usual chains, or you want to get something a bit different, or heck you just feel like reliving Happy Days, give one of the Swensons locations a try (list of locations is here).