Crave - Akron

Crave is conveniently located in downtown Akron across from the Art museum parking garage.  Parking is free after 6:00pm during the week and all day on weekends.  The restaurant is fairly big with a large bar area in the middle.  The atmosphere is almost like a club, kinda dark and trendy but comfortable.  The beer and wine lists were about average.  There were a decent amount of craft brews on tap, but I expected that from this upscale local resturant.  The menu had so many great sounding things it was hard for me to choose.  I met a friend there so I did not have TBG to finish my food.  (I took it home and he finished it anyway!)  We started with the short rib and potato stuffed samosas with a cilantro pesto.  They were great.  There wasn't as much short rib as I hoped, but the sauces were great and the somosa was cooked perfectly.  For dinner I got the steak wrap with peppered bacon, chihuahua cheese and a smoked cumin and bay leaf aoili.  It was simple but very good.  The steak was cut thin and was tender. I didn't really taste the aoili, but the wrap was nice and moist.  My wrap also came with a side salad.  It was a good mix of lettuces.  I got the house dressing which was a maple pomegrante.  I was not impressed, it was too watery and I couldn't taste the pomegrante.  My friend got the corn flake crusted chicken sandwith with manchego cheese, caramelized onions, mustard BBQ and smoked paprika sauce.  She got sweet potato fries with her sandwich and they were great.  They were thicker than most, but had a nice sweet crunch on the outside with fluffy potato on the inside.  I would definately reccommend going to Crave if you are out in Akron.  Right around the corner is Musica and Rubber City Clothing, so make a whole day of it!

Service____ 6 Chipps

Food____7 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____5 Chipps

Wine List____5 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

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

Luigi's - Akron

Luigi's is located in the Northside area of Akron.  There is almost always a wait to get inside.  If you don't mind standing outside talking to people in line then this is the place for you.  I hate waiting for food, but have on occasion.  This time we went early and while it was cold out; no wait!  We always start our meal with a salad with cheese, but I forgot to take a pic!  Sorry.  It is not a huge salad, but they put plenty of mozzerella cheese on top.  The dressing is also really good; they almost put too much, so if you don't like a lot ask for it on the side.  TBG loves the Bianco pizza so we got one of those.  It has 3 different types of cheese and an alfredo sauce.  It is good, but I still like the regular cheese pizza better.  The crust is a little on the thicker side, but tastes good.  The cheese is great and they put plenty on.  The sauce is almost too much for me, but it is not bitter, and also not too sweet.  It goes perfectly with the rest of the pizza.  We got mushrooms on half, and pepperoni in the other half of our second pizza.  The mushrooms were not canned, but fresh cut and good.  The service is always good even when they are busy.  The atmosphere is just like you would expect from an old Italian restaurant.  It could probably use some updating, but that doesn't take away from the experience.  There is a small wine and beer list.  I would recommend Luigi's for just about anyone and anytime.

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____8 Chipps

Atmosphere____6 Chipps

Beer List____3 Chipps

Wine List____4 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

Bricco - Akron

We have been going to Bricco for years.  It is located in downtown Akron with not much parking.  This time it was cold so I valet parked.  The menu has not changed in the years we have been going but it must not need to.  The food is always of good quality.  Mon and Tues have retail wine night and the wine list is fairly long.  This time we started with the meat and cheese tray.  TBG was not impressed, he said it looked like they just grabbed whatever they had in the back and put it on a platter.  We also got the calamari with peppers which I almost forgot to take a picture of.  I promise it looked better when they brought it out.  It was good like always.  It's never rubbery and has chorizo in it too.  We ordered 2 pizzas for the table.  The first is the tenderloin pizza with boursin.  It's wonderful.  This is the pizza that started us eating boursin at home. You can see from the picture that the tenderloin is perfectly cooked.  There isn't too much sauce and the crust is good as well.  The second pizza was the chorizo pizza with sriracha on top.  It was also good and you can see there are large hunks of sausage on the pizza.  The pizzas are also a pretty good size.  There was only 3 of us, but we left with about half a pizza.  The server this time was kinda slow and not real friendly, but I do not remember this being the norm at Bricco.  Usually there is local artwork on the walls in the bar, but this time there was still (old) Christmas decorations up.  The atmosphere otherwise is nice.  There is a back room for parties, and fun booths in the dinning area.  We usually sit at one of the large tables in the bar area surrounded by brick walls and windows looking out into Main street. The beer list is as good as the wine list, offering craft beers, and the prices are reasonable for the ingredients offered here.  Bricco is good for Happy Hour, or a nice dinner out.

Service____ 6 Chipps

Food____8 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____8 Chipps

Wine List____8 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

Arnie's Standing Room Only - Akron

TBG and I met at Arnie's for lunch during the week.  Arnie's is located on busy Market St, but there is a large parking lot in the back.  We were the only people in the restaurant this day.  It was a decent size inside and has a nice patio in the front for the nicer weather.  There is also a sitting area with a fireplace if you are just hanging out.  The menu is small, mostly sandwiches.  TBG got a Turkey Reuben which has coleslaw instead of kraut.  He did not care for it, said everything tasted cheap.  The side is a bag of chips and a pickle.  He was still hungry when we were done.  I got a roast beef sandwich with mushrooms and onions.  It was ok, nothing stood out but I wasn't as disappointed as TBG.  The chips came with a dill dip that was a little plain, but I used it anyway.  The prices were a little high for the small amount of food and a bag of chips.  The happy hour beverage prices seemed pretty good.  The service was not great even though we were the only ones there.  She never asked us how our food was and really only came around when she felt like it.  I would recommend coming here for a few drinks, but not for the food or the service. 

Service____ 5 Chipps

Food____5 Chipps

Atmosphere____6 Chipps

Beer List____5 Chipps

Wine List____5 Chipps

Value____5 Chipps

Brick House Tavern & Tap - Akron

The Brick House is conviently located on Howe Ave near Chapel Hill Mall.  I love the decor of the Brick House.  There is a fireplace outside and inside right when you walk in.  The bar is a decent size and there are plenty of TVs to watch sports.  There  are couches, booths, and tables whichever makes you the most comfertable.  There are fun sayings along the walls and the wait staff is all female.  The beer list is pretty good, not great but they have a variety of kinds, and sizes to choose from.  We started the meal with the calamari and pretzel sticks.  The pretzel sticks are awesome.  Soft and warm they are perfectly salted and come with 3 dipping sauces.  The mustard one is just mustard, but there is a pepper jelly dip, and pepper cheese dip that is pretty good.  The calamari was good, cooked nicely, not over breaded and the oil drizzeled on top was very good.  It came mixed with jalapenos but was not overly spicy.  For lunch, I got the fried chicken salad and TBG got the Gun Show burger.  The salad had candied walnuts, blue cheese, carrots, cheese, and fried chicken.  The menu says mixed greens, but I only saw iceburg.  It also says eggs, but I do not think I got any and I maybe got one small piece of bacon.  The creamy balsamic vinegrette dressing was very good.  The chicken was over cooked, I actually didn't eat most of it.  The Gun Show burger is a "brick" burger with a fried egg and dijon mayo.  The server did not ask how TBG wanted it cooked, but he tried to tell her med rare anyway.  It came out medium-well.  The egg was way overcooked, not runny at all.  He said the burger was still good, he missed the runny egg and ended up taking the egg off, but the burger was still juicy.  The fries were really good.  The server was nice, she came to check on us often.  We were there on a Sunday at 1:00 during football season and they were suprisingly not busy.  I would recommend coming here if you are watching a sporting event and just want to hang out, drink beer, and get apps.  The apps are really good and I come back time and time again for the pretzels, but have never been totally satisfied with my meal. 

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____6 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____7 Chipps

Wine List____4 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

Saffron Patch - Akron

So I have been unable to quench my craving for Indian since I first realized I like it.  Here is another Indian place in the Akron area.  This one is in the Merriman Valley with all the bars.  The decor is nice, clean and Indian feeling.  Some tables had curtains hanging in front of them.  The service was prompt and helpful.  We got some fried tortilla like things with two dips when we sat down.  The one dip was good, like a BBQ sauce, the other was a cilantro dip that I did not care for but TBG liked.  We ordered the mango yogurt drink (lassi) and it was delicious.  It went perfectly with the spicy entrees we ordered.  We ordered the chili pakodas with a mango chutney for a starter.  They were not too hot, but were good.  Very much like jalapeno poppers at American places.  TBG got the lamb vindaloo which was ok.  The sauce was good, but the meat was rather tough.  It had an acceptable spice level and was overall an average dish.  I got the lamb rogan josh.  It was also an acceptable spice level and a good taste, but the lamb again was fatty and tough.  The portions were large and came with saffron rice.  We also ordered 2 orders of naan, one regular and one garlic.  The prices were a little bit high for the quality of food.  All in all there are better places to get Indian in Akron.



Service____ 7 Chipps

Food____5 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____5 Chipps
Wine List____5 Chipps

Value____5 Chipps

Eddies Famous Cheesesteaks and Grille - Akron

*UPDATE:  I am sorry to say Eddies is now closed*  Eddies is a new sandwich joint in the Merriman Valley.  We decided to try it, but TBG got carry out and brought it home.  The menu isn't large offering varieties on the classic cheesesteak and a few salads and sides.  We got the full original cheesesteak and the full Gotcha.  The full is 1lb of meat on a foot long bun.  I split the original with my mom and we both loved it.  The size was perfect for the two of us, which is probably why they also offer a half sized sandwich.  The sandwich was juicy, and the bun was not soggy even after being brought home.  The Gotcha is the original with banana pepppers and jalapenos.  TBG liked it as well.  He ate the entire full, but that is normal for him.  We also got a side of the fresh cut fries.  They were ok, I like my fries crispy and these were more soggy, but they were fresh cut.  When you walk in there is also a "fry bar" with a selection of salts and different vinegars.  The atmosphere is more like a fast food resturant, but it is a sandwich place after all.  The service seemed ok since our order did not take an overly long time but it was relatively small too.  The value was pretty good because it comes with a lot of quality food.  I will definately be going back when I get the hankering for a good cheesesteak. 

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____7 Chipps

Atmosphere____6 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps
Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

The Rail - Fairlawn

The Rail is the new burger place at Summit Mall.  I really like the decor they chose.  There is a cow with meat cut lines and the names of counties in Ohio instead of cuts of meat.  They advertise that all their meat is local and they have a good variety of local beers.  The beer list is short but packs a big punch.  The bar is pretty big and there is lots of bar type seating.  There are also some booths in the back which is where we sat.  They were not busy when we were there and our server was great.  We actually had a complaint about the fried jalapenos on our fries and he took it right back to the kitchen and they made us fresh ones.  He even recommended beers even though TBG didn't take his recommendations.  There is a decent happy hour and seasonal specials.  We started the meal with the Bon Fire fries which are nice thin crispy fries with creamy melted pepper jack cheese and sriracha and fried jalapenos on top.  It was very good and plenty big enough for 2 people.  I liked the fries so much I ordered more with my burger.  TBG got the Crouching Burger, Hidden Bacon burger.  It has bacon, pork shoulder, and a crispy wonton on it.  He also added pepper jack cheese.  It was good, the burger was cooked exactly as he ordered it.  The pork shoulder was average, not much of a taste.  TBG mentioned that the crispy wonton got lost in everything else and he couldn't even tell it was there.  I ordered the Mr. Mariola which is fresh mozzarella, pesto, and tomato.  It was good, but the pesto really took over the flavor of everything else.  It was a good pesto, but there was too much on the burger.  It was dripping down my hand with every bite I took.  I did not care of the buns they used.  The bottom bun was so thin it was disintegrated by the time I was halfway through my burger.  The prices were about the same as every other gourmet burger place, but there are a few other I would rather go to eat.  If you are at the mall anyway and looking for some good food, or better yet good beer, this is the place to go.

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____6 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____7 Chipps
Wine List____5 Chipps

Value____6 Chipps

Valley Cafe - Akron

Also known as V-Caf the Valley Cafe is located in the Merriman Valley in front of all the bars.  As soon as you walk in you feel like you are in your mothers kitchen.  Flowery wall paper and table cloths overwhelm, but are clean.  There is a coffee bar on the side that offers different kinds of coffee.  The staff was very friendly and timely.  The menu was average breakfast offerings and the prices were about the same.  I definately did not mind paying the prices but I would not say it was cheap.  The breakfast sandwich was good, you pick your cheese, bread, and meat.  The country fried steak was tender but tasted frozen, and the gravy was definitely not homemade.  The hash browns were good, would order crispy next time.  The eggs benedict was a last minute decision for us.  It was good but not the best.  The hollandaise was thin and needed more flavor.  The eggs were poached nicely though.

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____6 Chipps

Atmosphere____7 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps