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immersing myself in the Ohioan experience

immersing myself in the Ohioan experience
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  • immersing myself in the Ohioan experience

    Post #1 - June 25th, 2007, 11:05 pm
    Post #1 - June 25th, 2007, 11:05 pm Post #1 - June 25th, 2007, 11:05 pm
    Life -- or rather, work, not the same thing -- has brought me to Ohio this week. Not one of the big three C's (Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland), but the small-town area of Newark, Heath, and Hebron, in Licking County, 30 or 40 minutes east of the east side of Columbus, but still 20 miles short of Zanesville. I'll be here all week.

    For lunch today I had what I believe is a Cincinnati special: a hot dog smothered in chili, cheese, and onions. I saw on the menu, but decided to wait til tomorrow to order, a grilled bologna sandwich. The other thing I've heard of and thought was Ohioan was chili on a bed of spaghetti. Haven't seen that on a menu yet.

    I'm told I'm one county away from some Amish communities, if I'm looking for farm-made jams and cheeses. I am, if I can get away from work long enough.

    This evening I went to the Eagle grocery store (open 24 hours, which I found amazing, by downstate Illinois standards, for a town of this size). I was very pleasantly surprised, by, among other things, the range of products available in the Indian, Thai, Mexican, UK, eastern European, and kosher sections of the store. Also pleasantly surprised by the selection of wines -- possibly twice as large a wine section as at Sunset. Towns this size, I usually don't realistically expect to find anything more than a few bottles of Boones Farm and Sutter Home pink zinfandel.

    Also found, in the Chinese food section, bottles labelled gyosa - dumpling dipping sauce. In a different thread, I reported on my mostly disappointing search for such a thing. I bought two bottles.

    Any LTHers from central / east / southeast Ohio? Anything else I should not miss while I'm here?
  • Post #2 - June 26th, 2007, 12:19 am
    Post #2 - June 26th, 2007, 12:19 am Post #2 - June 26th, 2007, 12:19 am
    Do you mean the Eagle Supermarket or the GIANT Eagle supermarket which is based in Pittsburgh and is quite common in NE Ohio. They generally do a pretty good job of carrying a wide variety of specialty foods.

    As for chili over spaghetti, you will more likely find that in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas than in SE Ohio.

    You are in the general area of where you will find a fried bologna sandwich. A lot of places in that area make their own trail bologna.

    I wish that I could give you more guidance but the SE portion of Ohio is not an area that I have explored that much.
  • Post #3 - June 26th, 2007, 7:22 am
    Post #3 - June 26th, 2007, 7:22 am Post #3 - June 26th, 2007, 7:22 am
    HI,

    You may luck out to find a Waffle House, which is a chain you cannot find here. I like the pecan pancakes and their hashbrowns. This is a chain where the food varies from location to location depending how who is the short order cook.

    If you do encounter real Amish, could you ask them about chicken and waffles? When I was at the Longone Symposium on American Food, one speaker claimed the Amish originated chicken and waffles. Until then I always assumed it was rooted in Black culture.

    Please keep us up to date on your impressions. I'm enjoying the trip via your eyes.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #4 - June 26th, 2007, 8:57 am
    Post #4 - June 26th, 2007, 8:57 am Post #4 - June 26th, 2007, 8:57 am
    If you're near Granville check out the Granville Inn. It's nice to just walk around downtown Granville and check out the old time drugstores and soda fountains. Cherry Valley Lodge has a nice breakfast. Bob Evans vegetable soup, yummy...Donatos pizza is an old favorite, a different style than Chicago, but very regional there. Lee's famous recipe for fried chicken carry out. Natoma downtown Newark for an gyro, this is an oldie but a goodie type place.
  • Post #5 - June 26th, 2007, 9:57 am
    Post #5 - June 26th, 2007, 9:57 am Post #5 - June 26th, 2007, 9:57 am
    Cathy2 wrote:
    If you do encounter real Amish, could you ask them about chicken and waffles? When I was at the Longone Symposium on American Food, one speaker claimed the Amish originated chicken and waffles. Until then I always assumed it was rooted in Black culture.


    I have been to a lot of the non-tourist Amish places and I have never seen waffles served at all - generally only pancakes. And the fried chicken has been more pan-fried rather than traditional "dump it in the fryer" fried chicken.

    My experience has been limited to the NE Ohio and the Illinois communities.

    That is an interesting question, though.

    Here is another source:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_and_waffles
  • Post #6 - June 26th, 2007, 10:06 am
    Post #6 - June 26th, 2007, 10:06 am Post #6 - June 26th, 2007, 10:06 am
    nicinchic wrote:If you're near Granville check out the Granville Inn. It's nice to just walk around downtown Granville and check out the old time drugstores and soda fountains. Cherry Valley Lodge has a nice breakfast. Bob Evans vegetable soup, yummy...Donatos pizza is an old favorite, a different style than Chicago, but very regional there. Lee's famous recipe for fried chicken carry out. Natoma downtown Newark for an gyro, this is an oldie but a goodie type place.


    I heartily second the recommendation for the Granville Inn. I used to stay there fairly often when in the area on business. Among other things, their pies are well worth seeking out.
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #7 - June 28th, 2007, 7:43 pm
    Post #7 - June 28th, 2007, 7:43 pm Post #7 - June 28th, 2007, 7:43 pm
    So far I have been very pleasantly surprised by this Heath/ Hebron/ Newark area. Looks small on the map, but it's very nice.

    It is a GIANT Eagle grocery store.

    Haven't had a grilled bologna sandwich yet but I am keeping my eyes open.

    Haven't seen any Waffle Houses yet. The farthest north I recall having seen one of those was in Nashville.

    There are the usual chains (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Applebees, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc.) The only surprising thing about that is how many of them there are considering the small size of the town.

    Off-the-beaten-path dining options, I have to say, haven't tended to be worth going off the beaten path for. I've had a very mediocre chili dog, mediocre BLT, mediocre baked potato, and particularly mediocre grilled ham and cheese sandwich (for which I waited an hour and a half) at the little local places here.

    But the Granville Inn is one I've heard very good things about here so I'm glad to see other LTHers recommend it. We finished up work here today but I can't get a flight back to Chicago, til 6 pm tomorrow, so I think I'll head over to Granville during the day. Some local people I was working with this week also mentioned the Amish communities nearby; I'm going to check to see if I have time to stop by there too.
  • Post #8 - June 28th, 2007, 7:54 pm
    Post #8 - June 28th, 2007, 7:54 pm Post #8 - June 28th, 2007, 7:54 pm
    Katie wrote:Haven't seen any Waffle Houses yet. The farthest north I recall having seen one of those was in Nashville.


    There is one at least as north as the southside of Indianapolis on State Road 37. Trivia Note: For years, because of trademark issues, in Indiana the chain went by the rather insane name of "Waffle Steak." Why? There is or at least was a local chain of "Waffle Houses" in central Indiana that predated the infiltration of the Georgia-based Waffle House/Waffle Steak into the region. Note also that the apparent northernmost locations of Waffle House are in the Scranton, Pennsylvania region.
    JiLS
  • Post #9 - June 28th, 2007, 11:28 pm
    Post #9 - June 28th, 2007, 11:28 pm Post #9 - June 28th, 2007, 11:28 pm
    Hi,

    I admit I don't quite know where you are in Ohio. Most of my travel in Ohio is confined to interstates. I have seen Waffle Houses along I-70.

    Thanks Jim for the Waffle-Steak explanation. I have seen that and I think maybe one other variant, but the colors were pure Waffle House: yellow and brown.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #10 - July 5th, 2007, 1:32 pm
    Post #10 - July 5th, 2007, 1:32 pm Post #10 - July 5th, 2007, 1:32 pm
    There's Waffle Houses in Columbia MO, in KC MO, and one in Bonnor Springs KS. Zat count as "North" ?

    :^)

    Geo
    Sooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick! :)
  • Post #11 - November 8th, 2007, 11:30 am
    Post #11 - November 8th, 2007, 11:30 am Post #11 - November 8th, 2007, 11:30 am
    Well, here we are - just East of the Dayton area off 675. I'm guessing we're going to eat at a chain since we're guests, but if anybody has any suggestions....

    One thing to add to this thread - we often go to the Young's Dairy Farmfor ice cream and agritainment. I don't recall the food, but it seemed servicable, and the ice cream was comparable to Homer's in Wilmette.
  • Post #12 - November 8th, 2007, 10:51 pm
    Post #12 - November 8th, 2007, 10:51 pm Post #12 - November 8th, 2007, 10:51 pm
    Cathy2 wrote:I admit I don't quite know where you are in Ohio. Most of my travel in Ohio is confined to interstates. I have seen Waffle Houses along I-70.

    I'm coming a bit late to this discussion, but along I-70 through Columbus contains at least a couple Waffle Houses that I remember. I've spotted them into NW Ohio (going up I-75 all the way to Bowling Green), though most of the Ohio ones are from an expansion push several years ago. To my mind, they feel cleaner and just... different... from older ones further south.
    Aside: at a point not too long before that, Tim Hortons was making their first big push from Canada into Ohio in some partnership with Wendy's. For whatever reason, they got as far as Toledo, then seemingly shrugged and skipped straight to Columbus. In certain spots you can see the vast frozen tundra of the Canadian north closer to the syrupy goodness of the southern US practically abutting each other.
  • Post #13 - November 9th, 2007, 12:31 am
    Post #13 - November 9th, 2007, 12:31 am Post #13 - November 9th, 2007, 12:31 am
    "Tim" wrote:Aside: at a point not too long before that, Tim Hortons was making their first big push from Canada into Ohio in some partnership with Wendy's. For whatever reason, they got as far as Toledo, then seemingly shrugged and skipped straight to Columbus. In certain spots you can see the vast frozen tundra of the Canadian north closer to the syrupy goodness of the southern US practically abutting each other.


    Wendy's purchased Tim Hortons and opened a whole bunch of them in Columbus and moved outward. They might have been successful had they actually produced the donuts in-house rather than bringing in frozen product.

    They took a great concept and destroyed it.
  • Post #14 - November 9th, 2007, 3:25 am
    Post #14 - November 9th, 2007, 3:25 am Post #14 - November 9th, 2007, 3:25 am
    Mhays wrote:One thing to add to this thread - we often go to the Young's Dairy Farmfor ice cream and agritainment. I don't recall the food, but it seemed servicable, and the ice cream was comparable to Homer's in Wilmette.


    I'd second the suggestion for Young's Dairy Farm, but only for their ice cream. I didn't care for that place beyond their ice cream, though I do like how they had a decent variety of ice cream flavors, which were all pretty good.

    However, Young's overall reminded me a lot of Fair Oaks Farms in northwest Indiana(off of exit 220 along I-65). Not to mention after going to Young's earlier this year, I have to definately say that I prefer Fair Oaks over Young's, due to the fact you can get better food at FO, it offers an excellent variety of cheese(something Young's doesn't offer), and unfortunately, I thought Young's was way too overrun with kids. Of course, I'm sure this fact about Young's was since they offer a couple of kiddie attractions on site, such as a miniature golf course.

    Finally, it seemed to me that Fair Oaks draws somewhat less families overall, than Young's does. Well, I'll stop talking about the kiddie aspect, as I'm sure y'all know what I mean about my major dislike of bratty kids running everywhere! :) As for Young's, the only positive I can think of, vs. FO, is that I preferred their ice cream over FO. However, the ice cream at FO is definately not bad, just I prefer the quality of Young's ice cream, and that the latter has a better variety of flavors than FO.

    Re Tim Hortons: Wendy's used to have a partial ownership stake in Tim Hortons, which is (I'm sure) why they did make their brief run on expanding south of Canada, and even co-branded some Wendy's locations with Tim Hortons. They've since sold their ownership stake in Tim Hortons, based on what I read in a Chicago Tribune business section several months back.
  • Post #15 - November 9th, 2007, 8:35 am
    Post #15 - November 9th, 2007, 8:35 am Post #15 - November 9th, 2007, 8:35 am
    :D We wound up at Young's last night, got there too late for agritainment, but actually had a lovely dinner. (there are two restaurants, The Dairy Store and the Golden Jersey Inn, where we ate) As we were ordering, clearly under the influence of unknown forces I found myself saying: "Gorgonzola steak pasta, please" Blushing to cover the surprise that this had escaped my lips, we continued with our dinner; enjoying the excellent complimentary sides: fresh pumpkin bread with cinnamon butter, really good coleslaw that had been drained properly (finally! I mean, how hard is that, America?) and applesauce. Sparky had pretty ordinary mac & cheese and the 'spouse had a bland but serviceable rendition of chicken and dumplings. MIL had BBQ Chicken Breast (avoid), and FIL had a bacon-wrapped pork chop with a pecan-sweet potato casserole and stewed apples.

    Damned to find I was not driven by Pazuzu, but by the Angel Domiel, the Mercy-Bringer! Don't get me wrong - it was nothing to drive to Yellow Springs for, but it was simple and elegant and completely free of glop or grease: plain al dente pasta, sitting in the juices of garlicky crisp carrots, broccoli and cauliflower with strips of steak and big chunks of cheese. You never know in these situations. Later, we stopped at the Dairy Store, which now serves very good gelato as well as ice cream.

    This afternoon, lunched at Tickets Pub & Eatery, a serviceable pubgrub place- MIL and FIL had OK gyros (much more reasonable portion sizes than Chicago,) the 'spouse had a reuben, and I had (because we're here) a fried pork tenderloin sandwich with mustard mayo. Not quite Cross-Rhodes, but it all went down easy.
  • Post #16 - November 12th, 2007, 2:50 pm
    Post #16 - November 12th, 2007, 2:50 pm Post #16 - November 12th, 2007, 2:50 pm
    Further along in our trip, we tried a place that I've passed by many a time. The signage had me really hopeful:
    ImageImageImage

    And the not-yet-opened lunch buffet suggested a lot of mayonnaise- and jello-based salads, which can be a sign to skip lunch in favor of breakfast.

    ImageImage

    Unfortunately, though both the 'spouse and I ordered Biscuits and Gravy as the place had all the makings of somewhere that should know how, we got bechamel with sausage bits over bisquick biscuits. (Real biscuits and gravy use the sausage and its fat to create the roux, rendering the gravy slightly grey/brownish - lily-white gravy as pictured is a bad sign) To add insult to injury, it was cold.
    Image
    Apparently their signature dish is fried chicken, which we will try on a future trip...
    Carriage Inn Restaurant
    25 Green Valley Dr
    Enon, OH 45323
    (937) 864-1307

    However, I was overjoyed to discover that Graeter's has a location nearby in Beavercreek, OH and once again, we explored the pleasures of ice cream:
    Image
    Image
    And, even more exciting, the possibility of bringing some home - $50 for ice cream this good isn't unreasonable, is it? (6 pints at $4.50 each plus $8.50 for the cooler/dry ice setup)
    Image

    Beavercreek Graeter's
    2330-A N. Fairfield Road
    Beavercreek, OH 45431
  • Post #17 - November 15th, 2007, 3:48 pm
    Post #17 - November 15th, 2007, 3:48 pm Post #17 - November 15th, 2007, 3:48 pm
    Agritainment and unknown forces moving you to order steak pasta, :lol: MH.

    Can you give some more details on the Agritainment? This is not the Yellow Springs I remember, at least what little I do remember.
    d
    Feeling (south) loopy
  • Post #18 - November 15th, 2007, 5:13 pm
    Post #18 - November 15th, 2007, 5:13 pm Post #18 - November 15th, 2007, 5:13 pm
    Young's Jersey Dairy Farm, which appears to morph and expand periodically, includes a cow-themed mini-golf course, batting cages and a driving range, a petting zoo (IIRC it includes llamas, goats, pigs and a calf or two) and seasonal agritainment: a corn maze, Moovers & Shakers (a dairy-themed train ride) and, most frighteningly, in June:Dairy-themed speed dating. Most of the agritainment is ten years old or less, so it wouldn't be surprising if you missed it, D..

    Later reports on the dinner suggest that I had the only palatable main course, a special, at that... :D
  • Post #19 - November 15th, 2007, 5:38 pm
    Post #19 - November 15th, 2007, 5:38 pm Post #19 - November 15th, 2007, 5:38 pm
    Young's Dairy has to do something to attract people to drive the 20-30 miles out of Dayton, Middletown, and the neighboring areas for their ice cream. They need to generate some buzz to maintain their business.

    Their pies are really great, especially the blackberry.
  • Post #20 - November 16th, 2007, 11:59 am
    Post #20 - November 16th, 2007, 11:59 am Post #20 - November 16th, 2007, 11:59 am


    Sounds, dare I say, udderly wonderful :oops:. Actually, it is miniature golf speed dating and not as enchanting as it sounds. I was picturing speed dating in the milking barn - pick your date based on how he/she...

    Almost forgot that LTHForum is PG-rated. Will keep the rest of the fantasy private. Anyway, you made my day.
    d
    Feeling (south) loopy
  • Post #21 - November 16th, 2007, 12:12 pm
    Post #21 - November 16th, 2007, 12:12 pm Post #21 - November 16th, 2007, 12:12 pm
    dicksond wrote:Sounds, dare I say, udderly wonderful :oops:. Actually, it is miniature golf speed dating and not as enchanting as it sounds. I was picturing speed dating in the milking barn - pick your date based on how he/she...

    Almost forgot that LTHForum is PG-rated. Will keep the rest of the fantasy private. Anyway, you made my day.


    Having married a dairy farmer's daughter, a girl who is skilled in the milking parlor is a highly sought after individual and a very scarce commodity.
  • Post #22 - November 16th, 2007, 4:18 pm
    Post #22 - November 16th, 2007, 4:18 pm Post #22 - November 16th, 2007, 4:18 pm
    :lol:
  • Post #23 - February 28th, 2008, 9:07 pm
    Post #23 - February 28th, 2008, 9:07 pm Post #23 - February 28th, 2008, 9:07 pm
    About to head out into the frozen hinterlands again...if anybody has any new suggestions, I'll see if I can work them in...
  • Post #24 - March 5th, 2008, 9:39 am
    Post #24 - March 5th, 2008, 9:39 am Post #24 - March 5th, 2008, 9:39 am
    Found the motherlode! Unfortunately, we were too booked up on this trip to actually explore, but - apparently the Air Force Base has opened the way for a Koreatown!!! Yay! Most of the signs were in both English and Korean, so I'm hoping the food isn't lost in translation the way so many ethnic cuisines are in Ohio. We passed by no less than 2 Asian groceries and 3 restaurants - anybody headed this way, please report back!

    Myongs Cafe
    1328 Kauffman Avenue
    Fairborn OH 45324
    Orders to go (937) 879-2880

    Seoul House‎
    1864 Colonel Glenn Hwy
    Fairborn, OH 45324
    (937) 878-3553

    Saya Korean & Japanese Restaurant‎
    1030 Kauffman Ave
    Fairborn, OH 45324
    (937) 879-9700

    Hon Me Oriental Food (Grocery)
    1064 Kauffman Ave
    Fairborn, OH 45324
    (937) 879-3138

    Hanguk Oriental Food Market‎
    1042 Kauffman Ave
    Fairborn, OH 45324
    (937) 754-1619
  • Post #25 - March 27th, 2011, 5:04 pm
    Post #25 - March 27th, 2011, 5:04 pm Post #25 - March 27th, 2011, 5:04 pm
    I was in Dayton for the NCAA basketball tournament this weekend. We were going to head to the Pine Club for dinner finally. However, as we expected a very long wait, we decided to pass.

    It was one of those days where we were not tremendously hungry or decisive. We thought of going to Cedarland off of East Linden, a Lebanese place, but it did not look real great.

    We decided to head for a sandwich and ice cream at Young's Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs. And eventually, we did get there. However, before we made it to Yellow Springs, we saw a place with a small sign "CJs Southern Cooking". Southern cooking sounded a lot better than sandwiches.

    We stopped at a place that looked like an old Wendy's (actually a KFC). The place had a great variety of southern specialties including catfish, ribs, greens and the like. The two partners and one employee run the place and the food is quite good.

    My favorite was the catfish. For $8.99 you get three 4-oz catfish filets fried in fresh oil served with french fries and grilled hot peppers. It is a combination that sounds weird but it works. The greens were served with your choice of ham hocks, smoked turkey wings, and no meat.

    The place was BYOB which is generally unheard of in Ohio.


    CJ's Southern Cooking
    1535 Xenia Ave.
    Yellow Springs, OH

    http://ysnews.com/news/2010/06/cj%E2%80 ... 8bama-food

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