Chowder House Café–Cuyahoga Falls Eclectic Greatness

I have to admit that I am a very happy guy, for a while it seemed like I was in a bit of a rut, hitting places that were ok, but nothing special, but I seemed to have found my mojo, and Chowder House Café was o

ne of the major reasons why I got my groove back.  I have to give credit on this one to Groupon (the link is here), since I had not  heard of CHC when it came up on the Akron/Canton Groupon listing; I liked the menu and figured that I would give it a try since during the summer I get up to Cuyahoga Falls for the Friday Concerts  and the Gorge Park.  I have to say that I found CHC to be exactly the kind of place I am looking for and exactly what this blog is all about.
Located at 2028 Chestnut Blvd., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44223, just off of State Road (old Route 8), it is easy to miss CHC unless you are looking for it, since the building is not very visible from State Road.  The outside starts to give a hint of the eclectic wonders that await inside. with some funky painting, little twinkle lights and a patio that must be a nice place to hang in the summer.  Once inside you find a couple of small dining areas with the kitchen in the middle.  The Chowder House name may invoke images of New England and you may expect lobster pots, nets and other nautical gear, but CHC has gone a completely different way.  The décor is what I would describe as funky eclectic, with brightly colored and quite complicated murals on the walls, comfy tables and chairs and just a wonderful friendly atmosphere of organized chaos.  To me the place feels like something you would find in New Orleans or the hip part of a big city, not in the middle of suburban sprawl across from a drugstore.
I was seated at a high table next to the window, which of course had a winter wonderland display; my server told me that the decorations change seasonally.   A quick perusal of the menu (which you can see at the CHC website here) reveals the eclectic extends to the food selection as well.  There are influences from different cuisines such as New England (Clam Chowder, Lobster Rolls, etc.), New Orleans (Étouffée, Muffuletta), French (Cassoulet, French Onion Soup) mixed with Fish Tacos, Walleye, and just anything else that the chef finds interesting.  Putting together a menu like this can be fun and exciting, but the test is whether the food actually delivers on the diverse range of flavors.
I made the tough choice and started with a the Lobster Bisque, deciding to save the namesake Chowder on another trip.  I got a nice sized bowl of some of the best bisque I have ever had.  The soup was creamy, without being thick, perfectly balanced with just a touch of sherry for acid and loaded with sweet and tender pieces of lobster.  Sided with a thick slice of bread, that was a bit softer then I would have guessed, this was a perfect start to my meal.
Next up I had the walleye sandwich, with a nice fillet of baked walleye on a nice bun with a herbed mayo.  I think this is the first time that I have had walleye that wasn’t fried.  The fish was moist and expertly cooked, with most of it tasting wonderful.  Unfortunately as I have found with walleye, there is part of the fillet that can be a bit more fishy, in this case it wasn’t bad, just a  bit inconsistent.  The portion is nice and with the big mound of chips and pretty filling meal.

Since I had $30 of Groupon to spend, I ordered a Lobster Roll to take home for the next day.  A generous portion of lobster and shrimp is mixed with some quality mayo and served in the classic split top hot dog bun.   The salad was excellent, with just enough mayo to hold it together without overpowering the subtle flavors of the lobster.  A great taste of New England at a reasonable price which was a perfect lunch the next day.
With a couple of bucks left on the Groupon, I decided to see what was in the desert case and was seduced into a slice of the chocolate cake.  Layers of a moist cake alternated with rich frosting and then topped with delicious chocolate ganache resulted in a great end to one of the better meals I have had in a while. 
My waitress was wonderful, knowledgeable and friendly, but not afraid to check on something when she wasn’t sure (I asked about meat in the Etouffee and sure enough, they do add sausage into their version).  She seemed to be happy to be working at CHC and provided the right level of attention without being overbearing.
Chowder House Café is a real find, I cannot recommend it more highly.  This is clearly a place where the chef has a vision of what he wants and has the skills to execute the food properly.   With a menu as diverse and eclectic as CHC has, it would be easy to have some major miscues, but I did not see any in my visit.  The atmosphere is funky but has an energy and verve that I like, the food was excellent and very well priced for the quality and flavor that you get.  If you are near Cuyahoga Falls or Akron, you should try CHC out, but I would go further and recommend that you consider making a trip to give CHC a try even if you are not nearby.

Mike's Place - Kent Mainstay for Grub

Over the weekend I took my young buddy Danny to Kent to show him around.  Since I was a student there they have redone the Cuyahoga River which used to be dammed behind a waterfall.  Now the river can run unimpeded but they have retained the old waterfall by using a pump to circulate water over it.  There is a nice park along the river and we saw fish, a turtle and a blue heron.

When we started to get hungry I took Danny to Mike's Place, which has been around for quite a while now, yet I had never managed to eat there.  Located at 1799 South Water Street, Kent, Ohio, which is the intersection of Ohio Routes 43 and 261 (map is here), Mike's is a place you almost have to see to believe.  The building started life as a Dutch Pantry, for those who date back further than we might like; which has been converted, added to and just messed with in ways that are fantastic.  To start with there is the full sized Star Wars Tie Fighter siting out front; where this came from I don't know, but it certainly looks good and draws attention.  Then you might notice the Castle Turret and catapult that sits behind the main building.  Finally you see the bright yellow and blue paint job and you are assured this isn't just some chain restaurant.

Inside is an amazing mix of memorabilia, antiques and just plain junk.  The booth room where we were seated looked out at the back of the Tie Fighter.  Looking the other way you have a booth with Elvis and R2D2 on top.

Even more amazing is that each room is different and each is the result of someone with their own wacky vision.  In the back, inside the castle is the bar with a medieval theme.  There is a Bus that has been added to the restaurant with tables inside. And everywhere pictures and license plates.  Truly a unique and fun atmosphere.

Then you get to the menu (which can be downloaded here).  At a hefty six pages of small type, this is one of the most text heavy menus you will find.  It is also one of the most in your face, funny, insulting and generally interesting things you will find.  From the 21 listed acceptable methods of payments, ranging from checks (sometimes) to droids and Excalibur to indentured servitude to the Rules (example: 10. Stop stealing our menus and we’ll stop keying your cars.) this is more than just a list of food, it is funny, it is insulting and it is extensive.

After much discussion and amusement we finally deciding on our lunches and gave our order to our friendly Serving Wench (I know I am violating Rule #2, but just as Mike's is his castle, this is my blog!!!). Service was friendly, knowledgeable and prompt, kudos to the staff and kitchen, especially as there was a Shaker Baseball team of 13year olds up for a tournament and yet everything was handled smoothly.

Danny had the kid's cheeseburger meal, which comes with fries and a drink for $4.  As you can see they use a nice bun and give a large order of fries; what you don't see is that there are actually two patties on the bun.  Danny said the burger was good and for $4 this is a great deal.

I ordered the Walleye dinner, which comes with two large fillets and two side dishes.  I ordered the baja rice and fries, which ended up being overkill.  The Walleye fillets were large and batter fried very nicely.  The fish was mild and flaky, the crust was crunchy and tasty.  Combined with homemade tarter sauce and the fresh lemon, better then I expected, and much bigger.   Added to this was the huge portion of tasty rice, which was moist and flavorful, but about twice what I could eat, then you get a full basket of crisp fresh cut french fries and you start having way more food then you need or want.  This was a lot of food for $9 and you even get a couple of rolls on the side. 

Mike's Place is the kind of place that I really like, it has attitude, good food, huge portions and more than a bit of humor.  The food is good straight forward cooking, well prepared; you are not going to get exotic food combinations or  or subtle seasoning, but you will leave full and satisfied and probably more then a little entertained.   Worth a trip, if only to get a picture of your Star Wars fan in front of the Tie Fighter.  If you are up Kent way stop off and give them a try.  

Fathead Brewery - Westside Saloon

I have been meaning to give Fathead Brewery a try for a little while, have heard good things about it; so I managed to get across town this weekend and see what is going on. Fathead is located 24581 Lorain Road, North Olmsted, Ohio (map is here) at the intersection with Columbia Road, not far from Great Northern. The space used to be a large farm market that has been made over into a spacious restaurant and brewery. The bar is in the front with a big dining room taking up the back room. The feeling is one of lots of space with the beamed ceiling and room between tables. Overall the look is nice and clean with a warm feeling. Of course there are TV's with sports playing, but less then at most bars around town. I sat at the bar, unfortunately since I was on the motorcycle I had to pass on having a beer; they offer a wide selection on tap, including both their own house brewed beers and other specialty beers. Instead I took a look at the menu of starters, pizza and sandwiches (go here to take a look). I settled on the Walleye sandwich; while there are some items, this menu caters to the carnivores. The walleye was an 9" sub bun with a couple of nice sized pieces of the fried fish lettuce and tomato served with a very good tarter sauce and a large helping of homemade potato chips. The fish was good, although some parts had a bit of a fishy taste which can happen with walleye. The overall portion was large and as I said the tarter sauce was one of the better ones I have tasted, with some nice bright flavor notes to compliment the fish. The chips were ok, unfortunately not that crisp despite being quite well cooked. For $9 a very big portion and quite filling and that seemed to be the norm here, watching other food come out Fathead seemed to tend towards the Flintstone's style portions of food, big and meaty. Overall a nice place, being a Pescatarian, I am probably not their key demographic. A good place to head if you want some quality beer and large portions of food at decent prices. Hopefully I will get back there and try some of the beers. Once again, I will remind you that if you like the blog, please consider making a donation to Bowl For Kids Sake for Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters; any amount would be welcome and more information is available at this post. Thank you.