STONEBRIDGE GRILLE & TAVERN

Just one bite was all it took. The minute I sank my teeth into "The Russo" at StoneBridge Grille & Tavern in Boardman Township, Ohio, I added it to my Top 5 all-time favorite sandwiches list. Needless to say, I polished off every bite (well, almost -- it was too big for me to consume the entire thing at one sitting).

What's in it, you ask? Well, it goes something like this: Scrambled eggs, sweet and hot peppers, chopped pepperoni, melted provolone cheese and mayo on grilled Italian bread.

And to think it almost didn't happen. My husband Jack and I don't get to Boardman all that much, and when we do, it's usually because we've driven all the way through Mill Creek Park from the Velma and D.D. Davis Visitor Center to U.S. Route 224. Then, most often we hang a left and head back toward home by hopping on Interstate 80. Several months ago, though, we had reason to turn toward Canfield -- I believe we were heading out to the White House Fruit Farm to get some tart apples -- and we were surprised to see that the Rockne's restaurant near Tippecanoe Road was no more. In its place was something called StoneBridge Grille & Tavern. At that time we weren't hungry, but we filed it away in our "must check out" list for later.

Later came about a month later when, instead of heading for a late lunch at Smokey Bones or the Youngstown Sports Grille, we remembered StoneBridge. Who knows, we reasoned -- maybe we'll find a new treasure!

As it turned out, that's exactly what happened. StoneBridge, for the record, is locally owned; everything is made from scratch, or so the Web site says (and after our visits, we have no reason to doubt that claim). There's a banquet/conference room that can accommodate up to 45 complete with a gas log fireplace and large-screen TV, and the restaurant has free WiFi.

Inside, there's a restaurant side and a bar side, and we chose the latter. Lots of dark wood is offset by windows that let the sunshine in, and the booths are very comfortable and maintain a secluded feel. Several beers are on tap including some of our favorites -- Labbatts, Blue Moon and Dos Equis. Sipping one of those buyed us some time to browse through the extensive menu.

Checking out the daily specials always comes first for us -- often, these are items that are repeated often, which means, we assume at least till we've tasted them, they're popular with customers. At lunchtime here, the half-sandwich combos that come with fries, soup or salad for $7.99 got our attention right away. Still, we looked longingly at the grilled "stuff" like prime rib, with a 10-ounce portion going for $14.99. The smoked mozzarella raviolo ($11.99) with wilted spinach, Roma tomatoes and shallot butter sounded wonderful as well. We found at least 10 tempting salads ranging from $6.99 to $9.99, and an appetizer sampler for $10.99 includes ribs, wings, fried shrimp and bacon cheddar fries.

Among the "house specialties, which come with a side salad and choice of side, are other temptations like Island Shrimp & Chicken ($16.99) and Pan Seared Tilapia ($13.99). In the burgers and wraps section, I zeroed in on the Kobe Burger ($9.99), while Jack eyed the Southwestern Wrap, available in chicken or steak versions ($8.49 and $7.89, respectively).

For no other reason than to delay our decision, we ordered a chicken quesadilla appetizer ($7.99) with cheddar jack, tomatoes and scallions with salsa and sour cream. It was quite tasty -- nice and hot with lots of melted cheese and cut into six good-size wedges. Jack doesn't care much for salsa, and in this case it was a good thing; it was packed with enough hot pepper punch to knock him cold (I, of course, loved it).

Finally, we made our decisions, sticking with the half-sandwich combos. I chose the shaved turkey with roasted red peppers, Arioli, roasted tomatoes, provolone and argula on multi-grain bread while Jack stuck with a more classic Philly cheesesteak. Both of us decided on the soup option -- lobster bisque for him and wedding soup for me.

Both soups were to die for; Jack called the lobster bisque one of the best he's ever had. In a slightly reddish broth, it's got lots of bits of lobster plus something that adds a bit of zing -- wine, perhaps? The wedding soup was loaded with pieces of chicken, tiny meatballs and other wonderful things in a very tasty broth; both soups, we agreed, deserved to be tried at future visits.

As for the sandwiches, the halves probably aren't large enough to satisfy a medium-sized football player, but coupled with the soup, they filled us up just fine. The Philly steak was good, and my shaved turkey was piled high. The combos come with a very large, crisp dill spear as well -- also a plus considering the limp, almost tasteless spears we've encountered at countless other restaurants.

The next time we went on a photography expedition in the park, we made it a point to stop at StoneBridge. This time, Jack tried another daily special, the open-face roast beef sandwich, which is loaded with shaved beef and comes with mashed potatoes and pan gravy on toasted Italian bread ($8.99). And, he couldn't resist another cup of the lobster bisque -- it really is that good. The sandwich was delicious as well -- definitely one he'd be happy to order again.

I, however, was feeling a bit more adventurous; so when I saw The Russo -- that concoction I mentioned above that's built around scrambled eggs -- I just had to see what it was like ($7.29). At first bite, it was indescribably delicious -- and remained so with every bite thereafter. The bread is crunchy and buttery, and those hot peppers added just the right amount of pizazz. Ah, my taste buds are tingling at the mere thought of it as I write this. Methinks we'll have to take another drive through the park a little sooner than we'd planned!

If you go: StoneBridge Grille & Tavern
1497 Boardman-Canfield Road
Boardman, Ohio 44512 (330)
629-8040
www.stonebridgegrille.com

Kitchen open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.