Falls Deli - Cuyahoga Falls

Falls Deli is a take out only stand.  TBG picked it up and brought it home.  The prices are pretty fair, but do not come with a side unless you make it a combo.  Every sandwich does comes with a fresh pickle.  I don't really like fresh pickles and thought these tasted more like just cucumbers, but TBG liked it.  TBG got a reuben.  He said it was good, not enough sauerkraut, but the corned beef was good.  I ordered the Gyro.  It was good, not real big but big enough for me.  The pita was nice and moist, the meat well flavored.  There wasn't too many onions like a lot of places, but the tomatoes were a little on the big side.  I would go back if I was in the area or wanted something quick to grab and bring home.  They are not open on Sundays so beware.

Service____ 6 Chipps

Food____6 Chipps

Atmosphere____5 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____6 Chipps

Rosewood Grill - Hudson

The Rosewood Grill is located on 303 right off the square in downtown Hudson.  It is inside a 160 year old mill and the decor is very cool.  It is also pretty big.  The parking lot was big, but some parts are a far walk.  They do not accept reservations, but you can call ahead.  Or so they told us.  We called an hour before we got there, was quoted 1.5 hours, but still had to wait 1.5 hours when we got there.  There is a fairly big bar area you can wait in.  They have their own brew from Thirsty Dog.  We didn't try it since we got a bottle of wine, but I would go back just to try it!  The bar looks into the kitchen, so we got a little preview on what we wanted to order.  The menu wasn't too big, but everything looked good.  We started with the mussels.  They were well cooked with a flavorful wine and roasted tomato sauce.  The bread they brought before the meal was good on it's own, but even better dipped in the mussel broth.  We ate our first course with a bottle of wine at the bar.  The bartender was awesome.  She was very busy but still treated us like she had all the time in the world to wait on us.  Nothing took a long time and she remembered everything. When we finally got a table we ordered our meals.  I got the short ribs with savory bread pudding.  The short ribs were a little fatty, but good.  The bread pudding was also good, but there was too much of it.  TBG got the killer french dip sandwich.  It was also pretty good.  The fries were average, but he really liked the homemade ketchup.  We were both pretty full after all this food, but I really wanted to try the chocolate espresso cheesecake.  It was awesome.  It was creamy and decadent.  The prices were a little high, but people must not mind paying since it was soo busy.  I think in this case you are paying for the atmosphere.  All in all I liked the Rosewood Grill and will be back.  This is somewhere I would take people who are visiting the area. 

Service____ 7 Chipps

Food____8 Chipps

Atmosphere____9 Chipps

Beer List____7 Chipps

Wine List____8 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

Fat Casual BBQ - Macedonia

Fat Casual BBQ is located on E. Highland Rd just off Rt 8.  It's not much to look at on the outside, but worth going in to check out.  The inside is set up like a barn party, large tables where everyone sits together.  The menu isn't large, but includes all the nessecary BBQ foods.  I got the plain pulled pork sandwich which comes on a pretzel bun.  I was not crazy about the bun, it fell apart and I really didn't want to taste anything other than the smokey, vinegar pork goodness.  With that being said, I loved the pork.  It wasn't actually pulled, it was chopped which resulted in a little more fat than I like, but it tasted great.  I loved the vinegar mop they used, the pork wasn't dry and had a wonderful Carolina BBQ taste to it.  My sandwich was big enough for me, but if TBG got it he would have needed a side to go with it.  TBG got the Highlander.  It was also on a pretzel bun, which he said he could have done without.  The huge sandwich had smoked turkey, corned beef, cheese sauce and coleslaw.  He liked it but said mine was better.  The Highlander came with homemade cajun chips which were actually kinda hot.  They weren't chewy, but cooked and seasoned well.  The coleslaw I thought was a little mayonasie-y for a Carolina style place, but it wasn't bad.  I would like to try some of their other sides.  The service was fast and friendly.  This would be a great place to get food to-go and bring it home.  They also sell their meat by the pound if you want to have your own backyard BBQ.  The prices seem pretty reasonable for what you get. 

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____7 Chipps

Atmosphere____5 Chipps

Beer List____5 Chipps

Wine List____0Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

Fried Rice

There are a couple recipes I make when I don't know what else to make. One is fried rice, TBG's fave.  I am not Asian, and have never taken a cooking class or anything else so this is just my version.  I love to have leftovers for work so I make a lot when I make it. I also have a really big skillet which helps.  I have never tried to make this in a wok or anything else.  I have tried to make this healthier with brown rice but it's just not as good.  I have also used low sodium soy sauce, but ended up just using more.

Serves 4-5

4c white rice (better if it's leftover or sits on the stove awhile)

2 tbls canola oil

1 tbs sesame oil (optional)

3 cloves garlic (I use more, but we really like garlic!)

1-2 tbls grated ginger depending on your taste

5 eggs

1 large chicken breast

1-2 c of whatever veggies I have around; peas, baby corn, carrots, zucchini, mung bean sprouts...

soy sauce (I use almost a whole bottle every time)

Heat the canola oil, add garlic and ginger.  Tip: freeze the ginger to make grating easier. Saute for 1-2 min then add chicken. While the chicken is browning add the sesame oil if using, and about a tablespoon of soy sauce. If using a veggie that needs cooked longer like carrots or zucchini add now too. I usually add the peas or bean sprouts right before the rice. When everything is cooked add the rice and stir well. If the rice looks dry you can add more oil or a couple slabs of butter. There are two ways to do the eggs, you can scramble them then pour them into the rice, or break them into the pan then scramble. I do not like to dirty extra dishes so I move the rice to the side then break and scramble the eggs right there. Really up to you. Add enough soy sauce to make the whole thing wet, stir well. Let cook another 1-2 min then serve with more soy sauce. TBG also adds Sriacha if you like it spicy.

Hope you enjoy, leave me a comment if you have any questions.  Thanks!

Beer Haus - Akron

The Beer Haus is located in the Merriman Valley in the old Coopers building.  There is plenty of parking, and the resturant is pretty big.  There are pool tables, arcade games, and lots of TVs.  The menu is nice and small with burgers and german style food.  We started with the prezel sticks and sourkraut bites.  The pretzels were good, but needed a cheese sauce.  They came with butter and mustard.  The mustard was pretty good, it was whole grain, not the yellow stadium mustard.  The sourkraut bites also came with the mustard.  They were fried and had bits of corned beef inside.  The bites were pretty good but didn't taste freshly made.  I ordered the Beer BBQ Burger.  It has provolone cheese, beer BBQ sauce, and fried onions.  It was ok, not great, just ok.  I probably wouldn't order it again.  Nothing stood out as especially flavorful.  The onion rings gave it a good crunch, but made it hard to eat.  The fries were too thick, which made them too soft, but I like mine crispy.  TBG got the Atomic Bratwurst which is jalapeno stuffed, and bacon wrapped with a sriacha aioli.  He said it was also just ok.  He expected more.  The beer list was pretty good.  TBG loves the large mugs for the draft beers.  The service was average.  I would reccommed this place only if you want to play games and drink beer.  The food wasn't really worth going for. 

Service____ 6 Chipps

Food____4 Chipps

Atmosphere____6 Chipps

Beer List____7 Chipps

Wine List____4 Chipps

Value____6 Chipps