Gamekeepers Taverne - Chagrin Falls

Gamekeepers is located in the heart of beautiful Chagrin Falls.  If you are not from the area I suggest going while the weather is nice and plan on staying awhile.  There is a park, falls viewing area and cute shops.  There is not a lot of parking and it's spread out, but I did not have a problem finding a spot on a Wednesday night.  Gamekeepers is a old, cabin like building.  There is a large patio in the back and I think there is a lot of seating, but it's broken up into smaller intimate rooms making it hard to tell.  The menu is small but impactful.  There are some non-gamey items if you prefer (or go with someone picky!).  I met my parents there while TBG was at work.  My mom got the special which was seafood over black rice and mixed veggies with a wasabi asparagus sauce.  It was good.  I had never had black rice before and it was surprisingly sweet.  The sweetness was offset by the wasabi in the sauce.  It definitely was a pretty plate.  My dad got a burger with fresh chips and spicy coleslaw.  He said it was good quality.  He does not like much other than hamburgers, so quality is all that matters to him.  I got the wild boar short ribs over mashed potatoes and asparagus.  It was great.  The boar was so tender and moist.  The fried onions on top cut through the sweetness from the BBQ sauce and added much more to the plate than I thought they would.  The portion sizes were perfect for all of us.  The service was good, she was able to answer all the questions my picky father had.  The wine list was good, but expensive.  There were a lot of bottles I would have ordered if TBG was with me.  I will definitely go back.  There is also a more causal place next door owned by Gamekeeper's that I would like to try.  Good for date night, or a special occasion! 

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____9 Chipps

Atmosphere____7 Chipps

Beer List____5 Chipps

Wine List____7 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

Nosh Eatery - Hudson

Nosh is located in a strip mall on Rt 91 South of downtown Hudson.  There is a decent size parking lot in front.  The atmosphere is urban coffee house.  There are not a lot of seats, but everything is clean.  There is a counter to get coffee or something out of one of the cases.  We sat down and ordered coffee since we were there for breakfast.  The coffee was good, TBG said he would come just for that.  The specials sounded pretty good, but we both ordered off the menu.  I got the pistachio french toast topped with fresh fruit and goat cheese whipped cream.  It was amazing.  The pistachio crust was nice and crunchy while leaving the inside fluffy.  The toppings added a sweet touch.  TBG got the Wake and Baked breakfast sandwich.  It had eggs, ham, bacon, tomato, lettuce, Boursin cheese and white truffle on sour dough.  He loved it.  Everything tasted freshly made and carefully put together.  We will definitely be back.  The service was good, but there are not many tables in the whole restaurant.  The prices are good for the quality of food.  The portions are not huge, but were big enough for me, and TBG finished mine anyway.  They serve breakfast, lunch and boxed dinners so get there early and get your Nosh!

Service____ 7 Chipps

Food____9 Chipps

Atmosphere____7 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____8 Chipps

Buffalo Chicken Enchilada Recipe

 

I got this recipe from the Pillsbury Casserole book.  I don't usually make things with so many pre-made ingredients, but this is delicious.  Make a lot because it is even better left over!  I shred my chicken, but if you don't have the time you can cube it like the original recipe says.  This time I used wheat tortillas to make it a little heathier.  I usually end up buying the larger tortillas, so I make less than 12 or make more of the fillings. 


Serving size is 2 enchiladas, makes 6 servings
3 cups cooked chicken
3/4c Buffalo wing sauce
1 cup sour cream ranch dip
3 cups Cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
green onions
12 - 6" tortillas


Grease a 13x9" pan and preheat the oven to 350.

To make shredded chicken, boil a pot of water and add chicken.  Cook for about 20 min or untill the chicken is not pink inside anymore. Take it out and shred with a fork holding the hot meat with tongs or another fork. Stir the chicken into the wing sauce.  


In a seperate bowl mix the soup, dip, and onions together to make a sauce for the inside of the enchildas.  Save a good amount of the sauce for the top so the tortillas do not dry out in the oven.  I set up a station to make filling each tortilla quick and easy.  Save some of the cheese for the top also.  Once filled, roll each tortilla and place seam down into the pan.  Spread the sauce on top when pan is filled then cover with aluminum foil.  Cook for 35-40 min or until hot and bubbly.  Take the foil off, add the cheese, green onions and cook for another 5 min.  Serve warm with a side of hot sauce!  Start to finish this dish takes a little while, but the chicken could be cooked the night before.  The enchiladas could even be put together ahead of time and kept in the fridge.  All in all, this is a fairly easy dish for how good it is!

Yours Truly - Hudson

Yours Truly is located on RT 91 in Hudson just South of First and Main.  They have their own large parking lot.  The decor is old fashioned, but everything is clean.  The whole atmoshere comes off more like home, then hole-in-the-wall.  We have been here a couple times but this paticular time was for breakfast.  They have a nice selection of healthy, not so healthy, and cheap staples.  TBG got the Kill it Skillet, a sausage skillet.  He said it was good, but not the best he has ever had.  The ingredients were quality and cooked well.  I got the oatmeal.  It was way too big and came with raisens, walnuts, brown sugar, and strawberries.  I enjoyed it for a change from the usual greasy big breakfast.  The oatmeal was cooked well and the toppings were perfect.  I probably would have eaten more if I had more toppings, but I am glad I didn't.  The service was good even though we were there on Father's Day and they were very busy.  I would reccomend this place for a quick bite that doesn't break the bank. 

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____6 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

 

Dave's Cosmic Subs - Hudson

Located on Main St in downtown Hudson, Dave's is a small sub shop decorated like the 60's/70's.  I didn't think a whole lot of it when TBG suggested we go there.  A sub is a sub right?  I was wrong.  These subs are great.  The bread is a very tasty crusty Italian.  They say the Dave's Cosmic sauce is Italian, but it's zestier and creamier than most Italian dressings.  We liked it, but you can get it on the side if you are unsure.  Every sandwich comes with a homemade pickle.  They even sell the pickles by the jar if you really like them.  It took a little while to make the sandwiches even though they didn't seem to be busy.  TBG got Dave's San Fran.  It has turkey and capicola and is served hot.  I got a Grateful Dave which is turkey with avocado and alfalfa sprouts.  We both really liked our sandwiches.  I thought it price was a little high but that is ok every once in a while.  We have already been back.

Service____ 6 Chipps

Food____8 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

 

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

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

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

Lola - Cleveland

Lola is another Michael Symon resturant located in the Gateway District on E. 4th Street in Downtown Cleveland.  We had never been to this area of Cleveland and immediately loved it.  There is valet parking although a little expensive at $15.  The rest of the "street" which is more like an alley has restaurants and shops.  We will definitely be back to try more of the restaurants.  When you walk in Lola you are greeted by a open bar area to the left with a beautiful glass wine cellar as the backdrop.  To the right is the hostess stand.  We had reservations which I would recommend, the restaurant was pretty full.  We were immediately sat at a small table too close to the other tables around.  We ended up talking to the tables around us throughout the meal because you couldn't avoid hearing others' conversations.  Other than that I liked the atmosphere.  The high ceiling was pretty and the place was larger than I expected.  The kitchen was open so you could watch what was going on if you wanted.  The waitress greeted us after we were served water and when we asked for a wine list we received an ipad.  It was really great to be able to look at the wines you want by country or grape and each wine had a picture of the label.  It was hard to tell how many wines they actually had but it was a lot.  Everything we would want they had.  The prices are actually on the cheap side for a bottle of wine at a fine dining restaurant.  In the meantime bread was brought to the table.  It was perfectly warm and garlicky with whipped butter. 

After we decided on a wine we ordered the beef check pierogies.  We were each presented with one large pierogi with a horseradish creme fraiche, wild mushrooms, and a BBQ sauce.  I could have eaten a whole plate of these.  The horseradish made the dish and the beef check was so flavorful.  The whole thing was actually creamy and smooth.  Next we ordered our entrees.  I ordered the wild boar cavatelli and TBG ordered the pork chop with cheesy polenta and BBQ onions.  The wild boar was great.  It was tender and flavorful.  It was not gamey, if you like pork or beef you would like wild boar.  The cavatelli was cooked perfectly and made the whole dish feel like comfort food and was very filling.  I only ate about half even though I wanted much more.

  The pork chops were moist and flavorful.  The cheesy polenta was the best we have ever had and the BBQ onions were also good.  I thought they were a little sweet, but TBG loved them.  The presentation was nicer than mine but both dishes were great.  After we were finished eating we still had some wine left so we ordered dessert.  We got the 6 a.m. special which is brioche french toast with a maple-bacon ice cream and carmalized apple.  Even as full as I was I wanted more of this dessert.  It was great.  The maple-bacon ice cream was unique and perfect with the warm fried french toast.  The maple flavor was not too strong and there was small pieces of bacon throughout.  The french toast was crunchy and soft on the inside.  I would go back just for this dessert.  After all this the waitress brought us 4 pine nut tyme lemon cookies.  These sound weird but were really good.  The texture was crispy at first, but chewy throughout.  The service overall was great.  The manager stopped by to make sure everything was going well and the bussers were always on top of clearing our plates and crumbs.  The food came out relatively fast too.  We didn't even look at a beer list.  The prices were high, but the food was worth it.  I would reccomend Lola to anyone willing to spend money for good food. 

Service____ 10 Chipps

Food____8 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____? Chipps

Wine List____10 Chipps

Value____9 Chipps