Chester’s Legacy Tavern – Painesville Tavern

Just like Hannibal from the A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together.  I have been sitting on a Groupon (Groupon Site is here) for Chester’s and with fall having come it was Clambake time.  So I was very pleased when on visiting Chester’s  website  I noticed that they were doing Clambakes on the weekends in October.   Sounded like a good way to spend a Friday night, chowing down on some tasty bivalves. 

Chester’s is easy enough to get to, located at 11 Chester Street, Painesville, Ohio 44077 just a stones throw from the Painesville exit of Route 2, the location is convenient, if nothing else.  The outside is a fairly nondescript building, but there is a decent sized parking lot and a small patio on one side.  Walking in I was quickly greeted and then seated at a high two top next to the windows and right at the transition between the bar area and the dining room.  The decor is clean and comfortable, heavy on wood and earthtones, but looking very well kept and timeless.  This is the kind of place you would think of as nice, but probably wouldn’t be able to remember anything specific.  A long bar with a lowered ceiling presents a comfortable area to grab a drink and settle in.

Chester’s menu (go here to check it out) is a nice selection of American and Tavern classics, with an emphasis on fish and seafood, a good sign for me since that is my wheelhouse. Also included was the specials with several variations on the Clam Bake (Clams, Clams & Chicken & Clams & Steak). I settled on the Clams & Clams which included 2 dozen clams, chowder and sides.  I also ordered the Shrimp Chester appetizer.

First up was a cup of the New England Clam Chowder.  This was a very nice rendition of the classic recipe, thick, but not over loaded with cream, the mild soup was stocked with chunks of potatoes and plenty of tender fresh clams.  Very satisfying and a good way to get my seafood taste buds going.

Next up was the Shrimp Chester ($10), good sized fresh shrimp smothered in a wonderful garlic sauce and cheese and baked to perfection.  Sided with garlic bread, this was a cannot miss treat.  Simply presented, the aroma got me as soon as this was set in front of me.   The shrimp were perfectly cooked, tender and firm and wonderfully complimented by the garlicky cheesy goodness, that managed to get even better as it cooled and set up.  With the bread there to soak up the extra sauce, this was a very well thought out and executed dish.

Next up was the main course and the reason I made the trip East.  The two dozen clams came out in the classic fiber bowl with melted butter and extra clam broth for dipping.  Sides were the ear of corn and I substituted sweet potato fries for the regular sweet potato.  Portions were large, with the clams generally coming in about half dollar sized and steamed in their shells.  The clams were mild and tender, each a mouthful of the goodness of the sea perfectly complimented by the drawn butter.  Out of the 2 dozen clams, I had 3 that didn’t open (and you should always leave these be), but I had more then enough to satisfy my hunger.  The corn was sweet and fresh and the sweet potato waffle fries were crispy on the outside and sweet and delicious on the inside.  At $26 for the Clams and Clams bake, not cheap, but considering the amount of food and the quality, I think they give you what you expect.

Service was good and friendly, although there seemed to be a bit of a lag on the time for food to come out of the kitchen, it might be that I was there early and they hadn’t hit there groove yet, but I would hope they would be more on top of things when most of the tables were empty.

Chester’s is a place worth checking out, especially if you are in the area.  The food is good, well prepared and presented nicely.  There is not a lot of flourish or trendiness here, but that can be a very good thing.  The biggest thing working against Chester’s is location, if they were located a couple miles North in Fairport Harbor or Grand River I think that they would be more well known, but as it is this a great place to get some good solid food.  Chester’s is trying to push their presence with some of the Groupon and radio and TV station offers, so if you look around you might be able to get a deal.  Check them out.

Metro Burger - Akron Premium Burger Joint

Metro Burger would not be one of my first choices for a meal, in fact just a couple of weeks ago I picked Zub's across the street (see review here), but when it came up on Groupon I checked out the website (located here) and they claimed to have award winning veggie burgers so I figured for half price it was worth a chance; and that is a great thing about Groupon, you get to take a chance without the full outlay of money (check Groupon out here).  Located at 845 W Market St. Akron, OH 44303 in the Highland Square area of Akron (map is here) is an attractive modern premium hamburger joint. 

The decor is modern funky with bright colors and steal tables and chairs.  A long counter holds the menu sheet that you fill out and present to the cashier, a slightly different approach and it can be a bit daunting with all of the choices, but at least they are clearly presented. 

While it may take a while to work through, the menu is fairly easy, you pick the kind of burger you want (beef, vegie, chicken or turkey), the size and whether you want a combo or not.  Then you work through the toppings, sauce, cheese and how its presented.  In my case I got a double veggie combo on a pretzel roll with smoked gouda, mushrooms, onion straws, red peppers and jalapenos.  Add in sweet potato fries and a drink and the $10 was gone. I also ordered the BBQ sauce and Basil Pesto Mayo to top the burger with.

After a couple of minutes wait, my electronic buzzer went off and I picked up the order.  I immediately noticed that they forgot the BBQ sauce, which they quickly remedied and later figured out they gave me the Horseradish Mayo, which actually worked out well for dipping the fries.  But I would make sure that you get the right order, especially if they are busy.   The 1/3 pound veggie burgers were huge and if I had to do it all over again I would order a single and get another side.   The veggie burger was interesting with a beef like texture, if I had to guess I would venture that it was a combination of soybeans and some other bean.  My personal preference would be for the patty to be a bit moister inside with a bit of a crust on the outside, but this was much better than most of the commercially available veggie burgers.  Taste was mild, without a lot of distinct flavor notes, good to use to build a sandwich around, but not a burger that I would crave.   The pretzel bun was nice, except it started to fall apart once the burger was fully dressed and sauced.  The toppings were good with the roasted jalapenos being the standout player, spicy hot with plenty of flavor and punch.  The gouda was lost between the two big patties.  Topped with BBQ sauce and some hot sauce the burger overall was good, but it had more to do with all of the accouterments then the "meat" of the sandwich.  The sweet potato fries were OK, nicely fried, but without much sweetness; luckily the horseradish mayo that I got by accident proved to be a great dip for the fries, with enough horseradish punch to set off the fries, but not enough to blow your nose off.

If I had it to do again, I would have probably gone with a single and gotten the onion rings or the fried pickles.  Metro Burgers was good, its a bit pricey, but you get a lot for what you pay, especially when you consider the premium toppings and quality ingredients.  The veggie burger is better then most, but lacks a bit in the crave-ability department.  Using the Groupon I was very happy with my visit, but for me, Metro Burgers is not high on the list for a return visit any time soon, but the carnivores among us should enjoy it.

Wild Goat Cafe - Wholesome Food in Kent

This blog has not had many nice things to say about national chain restaurants, but I will admit that they do build good buildings that offer fertile ground for local owners when the chain abandons them; one good example of what can happen is the Wild Goat Cafe in Kent.  Located at 319 West Main Street in Kent (map is here) in what was once a Friendly's, the Wild Goat is doing things right.  When I was an undergraduate at Kent many moons ago, I used to take Star, our fraternity dog, for walks along the Cuyahoga and then head over to Friendly's for some ice cream; I can say that while I miss Star, the Wild Goat beats Friendly's with ease. 

I had heard that Wild Goat was a great place for breakfast and lunch and that it was trying to use locally sourced, wholesome foods, so combined with the name I was expecting a kind of wild and funky place; actually Wild Goat is pretty mellow and straightforward.  The one big dining room is painted with several subdued colors, the tables and chairs are restaurant standard and there is a minimal amount of decoration.  The effect is pretty much standard American family restaurant.  When I got there it was early afternoon on a Sunday and they were full up, but there was room at the small counter up front.  Service was fast and friendly, the kitchen was a bit slower, but the food was worth waiting for.


The menu begins to reveal a bit more about the Wild Goat (you can see it here) with a bit more flair and a number of items that mention quality items such as hydroponic bibb lettuce and Kobe beef for the hamburgers.  But still sticking to a fairly straightforward selection of breakfast, sandwiches, salads and starters. 

Since I was in a breakfast mood, I ordered the Pancakes and Eggs with a side of sweet potato fries.  The pancakes were 3 medium sized cakes  firm on the outside and just the right amount of sponginess on the inside to absorb the syrup with a good mild taste.  The two eggs were perfectly cooked over medium and seemed to have more yolk then most eggs I have had, which is always a good thing.

The sweet potato fries were excellent, they came out piping hot and wonderfully crispy, with a bit less sweetness then most I have tried.  Each fry was light in color, with a clear snap to the outside and the inside perfectly cooked.  The flavor was less sweet then most, which worked wonderfully by playing more on the savory side of the palate.

Finally, although I was full, I could not resist taking home one of giant Cinnamon Rolls in the front case.   For $3 this was the buy of the day, with a giant roll that filled the full sized to go container, topped with a more then generous amount of frosting.  The fresh baked roll was very nice with a well balanced cinnamon layered between its swirls and the wonderful butter cream topping.  What was unusual, especially for an item such as this was that the sweetness was well controlled, even with the icing so that while I am sure I had too many calories, it could have been a lot worse.

The Wild Goat does very good food made from quality ingredients at fair prices.  Don't let the name fool you, this is straight ahead wholesome food prepared by people who care.  It may not be the flashiest, but it is hard to go wrong.

Yours Truly Restaurant - Good Clean Food

We were out for a weekday evening hike in North Chagrin Metropark and wanted to get something easy, so we headed over to the Yours Truly in Mayfield Village.  For those few who haven't stopped at one of their locations around town, Yours Truly is good wholesome food at affordable prices and has been around for almost 30 years. 

The Mayfield Village location is in the corner of the small shopping center at the corner of SOM Center Road and Wilson Mills (map is here).  The brick building with several large windows makes for a good setting for Yours Truly.  Once inside there is a short wait to be seated as they were full up, but things move quickly and we are soon seated in a comfortable booth.  The decor is a bit old fashioned, but balanced nicely and with some restraint, resulting in a comfortable and friendly feel.

The menu is fairly extensive, but hews mainly to American classics (you can see the menu here).  On Fridays, they have a very nice fish fry, but that wasn't available so I went with a scoop of the Tuna Salad on a garden salad.  The salad was fresh greens with tomatoes, cukes and shredded Mozzarella, topped with a generous scoop of very good Tuna.  At the table we also had the sweet potato fries, a chili dog and the choose two.  The food was simply prepared with good quality ingredients.  The flavors are simple and well presented in generous portions.  About the only surprising item was the honey mustard sauce that came with the sweet potato fries, because this was not a combination I had seen before.

Mindy described Yours Truly as "Clean" and I think she hit it on the head, the decor and upkeep is very good, the food is simple and value sized portions.  Eating at Yours Truly may not be the high point of your culinary experience, but you will come away satisfied and well fed and that is a good idea that has been going on for quite a while now.  I am sure that Yours Truly will keep up the good work.

Fifty Six West - Lakewood Eclectic

This is the first of my Groupon deals that I have used and I am glad I did.  In this case, I got a $20 coupon for $9; using the coupon was easy, I gave it to my friendly server when I was seated and ended up not even seeing a check, all I had to do at the end was leave a tip.  Nice, easy, a very good deal and about the only downside was I may have had too much food.  You might want to give Groupon a try, they will email you a different deal each day, you just look until you find something interesting.  If you want to try it the link is here.

56W is located in two small storefronts on the corner of Detroit and Westlake Avenue, with the address being 16300 Detroit Avenue (Map is here).  The small brick building has a nice light blue awning over the door, with the 56W logo.  Once inside you find two nice clean rooms, with the majority of the tables in the dining room on the left.  The decor is modern and comfortable, the word that came to mind for me was tidy.  Tables are clean with a limited number of condiments.  Overall the feeling is relaxed and comfortable. 

The menu is an interesting mix of items, with 5 basic proteins served up as salads, sandwiches and large plates.  Add in some interesting appetizers and sides, plus some unusual sauces and you have an mix of the familiar and the exotic.  I found the food to be very good quality and well prepared.  Items are dominated by one or two major flavors, but those are usually interesting.

In this case I thought the food was very very good, especially for the price, but each item seemed like a small tweak here or there could have moved it up to excellent, this may just be my taste, but with a place this good you want to see them take the next step.

I started with a cup of the Veggie Chili which was one of the two soups available.  For $3 the portion was nice, but could have used some crackers of some kind on the side.  The Chili itself was more of a cross between a regular chili and a vegetable soup; a slightly thickened chili was loaded with vegetables and made a nice hearty start to the meal.  As chilies go this had a nice flavor, although a bit one note and definitely milder then I prefer.  A couple of shots of hot sauce woke it up, but I could have used some kind of meat substitute to make it feel like a real chili.

Next up was the fried pickles appetizer and this was the highlight of meal.  I received a very nice portion of dill pickle wedges beer battered and served with a nice dipping sauce beautifully presented in a modern white bowl.  I have been wanting to try fried pickles for a while now and if this is a what I can expect, I will have them more often.  The slightly sweet beer batter were nicely fried and wonderfully set off the salty flavor of the pickles, added to that was the nice contrast between the texture of the batter and the cooked pickles.  I might have cut the pickle slices a bit thicker so that there was a better balance with the batter.  I did not detect the hot spice that the menu promised and found the red curry dipping sauce to be nice, but nothing special.

My main course was the Seared Tuna sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries.  The tuna were two thin pieces of tuna, seared on the grill and stacked on top of each other with Asian Slaw and a Wasabi Mayo.  The tuna was well cooked, and still moist which was impressive since it is easy to dry out on the grill.  I think the sandwich would have been better with one thicker piece of tuna, which would allow for a sear while keeping the center rare.  Also a marinate before cooking could have deepened the flavor of the fish.  The Wasabi Mayo seemed to be concentrated in a small portion of the sandwich,with a couple of bites having a nose clearing blast and the rest having no Wasabi flavor; I would think making the mayo a bit milder and spreading it more evenly would solve this.  The slaw was crisp and mild, but I didn't get any flavor profile that made it Asian.  The side of sweet potato fries were excellent, with a nice sweetness and a very good and slightly spicy homemade ketchup.  I did not detect the promised chili rub on the fries which would have been a nice contrast.  For the most part the food presentation was nice and modern, but I had no idea why they stuck a big steak knife in the tuna sandwich; I could understand if I had gotten the steak or if the sandwich was so bit it needed to be cut to be eaten, but neither was the case here.

Service was friendly and attentive and it was clear that my waitress knew the menu well, which is always appreciated.

I would give 56W a strong recommendation, this is a place to get some flavorful high quality food at a reasonable price in a relaxed atmosphere.  This is a place that highlights one or two unusual flavors for each item, while not always delivering the punch the menu promises, they still do better than most places in the area.  I have been a bit more critical in this review, because I think 56W has such great potential and is so close.  I look forward to getting back and trying more of the menu.

Frozen Dee-Lite Cafe - Old Fashion Take Out

For the past couple of years whenever I have been out East on Route 422, usually headed to or from Nelson's Ledges, I have always been interested in the big take out place at the fork in the road in Parkman, Ohio. So since Sunday was a nice day I hopped on the motorcycle and headed out that way. Turns out the place is called the Frozen Dee-Lite Cafe, its address is 16508 Main Market Rd, Parkman, Ohio (see map here). A long building with an orange/red steeple on top, it is hard to miss. The set up here is interesting, there are a series of windows along the outside wall where you place your orders, behind the windows is the kitchen and then there is an enclosed dining area with a bunch of tables so you can eat inside, but you have to order outside. The menu is actually quite extensive, with everything from burgers to pizza to Cincinnati style chili. And there are a whole lot of ice cream choices, both soft serve and hard ice cream. I tried the clam strips and an order of the sweet potato fries. The clams were a portion of typical frozen clams, nicely fried and served with a typical tarter sauce. While nothing to make a trip for, they were pretty good. The sweet potato fries were very nice, although they were served as more of a desert, topped with powdered sugar and sided with a brown sugar butter that was very good. The fried items were very clean tasting, it is apparent that they use a good oil and clean it regularly. Since there was only one person working I had to wait while he completed the previous order, so he gave me a free small soft serve cone. The soft serve was good, nice and creamy with a very nice vanilla flavor. It seems that the Frozen Dee-Lite Cafe is not doing anything exceptional, they are doing a lot of different things very well. This is not a place you are going to get high end ingredients or exotic flavors, but they seem to be taking care to keep things fresh and clean. Definitely worth stopping at if you are in the area. I will probably be using this for a stop when heading home after a hike at the ledges.