Mahoning Valley Eats & Treats: B B ROONERS FOOD & SPIRITS

Saturday, March 24, 2012

B B ROONERS FOOD & SPIRITS

When it comes to dining out, life is very, very good in northeastern Ohio. Within a drive of 20 minutes or less in any direction, my husband Jack and I can be chowing down on wonderful food, from burgers to lobster tail depending on what mood we're in.
Personal taste and a budget, though, mean we're more likely to gravitate toward the burgers; casual food generally costs less, and we much prefer a laid-back atmosphere to worrying about whether we're using the wrong fork. If we're heading south, one of our favorite stops is in Salem at B B Rooners Food & Spirits, a place that's popular just about any time of day or evening (and has been so for more than

22 years, although we didn't "discover" it until perhaps a dozen years ago). The atmosphere screams sports bar - TV sets tuned to football, basketball or whatever happens to be in season plus team trophies and even motorcycles parked on display inside. When the weather's decent, there's an outside bar and deck as well.

There are two main dining areas, one of which includes a good-sized b

ar; the other now hosts lunch buffet that costs just $6.99 for a goodly array of that usually includes pastas, pizzas, soup, salads, sandwiches and such (kids under 10 pay $4.99). On the other side of that is a long hall-like "room" with several booths that offer a bit more privacy than other parts of the restaurant.

That hallway is where we sat on one recent Sunday visit around lunchtime; in fact, we snagged the last available booth. I was especially hungry, so I asked for more time to ins

pect the menu, hoping to find a taste appetizer to take the edge off. The BB Spuds sounded good - potatoes with melted cheddar, bacon bits and sour cream for $7.20 - as did the battered fried zucchini sticks with marinara sauce ($5.15). In the end, I ordered eight wings with butter garlic sauce to share with Jack (also $5.15).

Choosing an entree took even longer; several specialty pizzas, including white with garlic and oil, hot peppers and five cheeses ($9.25) sounded wonderful. The pasta dinner for $10.30 comes with a salad, bread and butter, and diners can choose from cavatelli, spaghetti, linguine, penne, rigatoni or wheat (decisions, decisions, decisions)! On top of the "normal" sauces is an option for chili on top.

There are several salads and soups, and if you choose a sandwich, you can substitute one of these for the fries that come standard. Speaking of sandwiches, many have intriguing sports-related names: Triple Play Burger, World Series, Golf Club (as expected, a club sandwich) and Hook Line & Sinker, a breaded jumbo piece of fish on toasted bun for $7.20 (add 80 cents if you prefer broiled).

Our two children are well beyond the age to qualify for the children's menu (for that matter, so are our four grandchildren), but I couldn't help noticing that the "Little All Stars" menu here has quite a few choices that would appeal to munchkins, like two mini-burgers with fries and spaghetti and a meatball with applesauce. All are priced at a reasonable $3.99. When it comes to dessert (which we almost never have room to try), the options are limited, but the apple dumpling that's served warm with ice cream always sounds appealing.

After much deliberation, I chose the Pit Stop ($7.20), a DiRusso Italian sausage topped with peppers, onions and homemade sauce billed as "Just Like The Fair" (that's the storied Canfield Fair for those who don't know). Jack stayed on the lighter side with Post Time, a tuna salad sandwich on toast. He picked a side salad and I chose wedding soup instead of fries.

The wings were outstanding; the breading was crispy but not tooth-breakingly crunchy, and they were softened a bit by swimming in minced garlic and butter. They're also on the plump side, so we couldn't polish them all off before our server delivered other goodies. I admit that the strong spices in my first taste of the wedding soup gave me pause, but once I found (and removed) the whole bay leaf that was lurking in the cup the flavor grew on me. By the time I got to the bottom I was wishing for more. Jack's salad was simple with basic greens and a few veggies - pretty standard fare -- but he did say the raspberry vinaigrette dressing was exceptional.

Both sandwiches were very good. Jack said the tuna salad wasn't anything special, but then we're not exactly sure what could make tuna salad out of the ordinary (and he probably wouldn't like it if it were). My sausage link filled a large Italian hoagie roll, and there was so much sauce, peppers and onions on top that I literally couldn't get it to my mouth without spilling it. In the end, I just pulled it apart and ate it with a knife and fork, enjoying both the sausage and the delicious sauce.

Our next visit also came at lunch, but this time, we sat on the "restaurant" side, where there are a number of booths and tables. Once again, we got the last available booth, which happened to be near the wall board that listed the day's specials. I walked over to check out the buffet as well. I found a variety of pastas, pizzas, soup, salad and even small sandwiches, and everything looked appealing. Still, I'm not much of a buffet aficionado, so I decided to pass on this option (as did Jack).

We deliberated for a while, and finally I ordered the Reuben lunch special with fries ($6.99, down 30 cents or so from the usual price). . Jack decided to go healthier with a turkey burger ($6.70), choosing a side salad with that great raspberry vinaigrette dressing instead of fries or soup.

After I'd ordered my sandwich, our friendly server (for the record, we've never met a server here anything close to unfriendly) told me they have great Reubens. That's a fact I knew to be true since I've had them here before, but not very recently. When it arrived, it contained the requisite corned beef, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing on delicious grilled, buttery marble rye bread. The fries didn't look like the overwhelming amount some restaurants pile on these days, but even after sharing a few with Jack I had plenty left.

Jack was happy with his ground turkey burger, which was topped with tomato and grilled onion and tomato as requested and rather sizable. In fact, he polished it off with time enough to spare that he could help me finish my Reuben.

If you go:

BB Rooners Food & Spirits
256 E. State St.
Salem, Ohio 44460
(330) 337-0001
www.bbroonersfoodandspirits.com

Open at 11 a.m. for lunch and dinner seven days a week.

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Why This Blog?

The Mahoning Valley region of Ohio is perhaps most often thought of as part of the so-called "Rust Belt" -- if it's thought of at all. Tucked up in the northeastern corner of the state about 15 miles from the Pennsylvania border, it's arguably best known for a former U.S. Representative who spent time in jail, the "Mob" and shuttered steel mills. I know that how? Because every single time we travel to another state -- any other state -- and tell folks we meet where we're from, it's guaranteed that we'll get a question about one or all of the above.

Add in a reputation for somewhat lousy weather, and it's enough to make a body wonder why anyone would want to visit, much less live here. But I don't see it that way. I've been in this part of Ohio for close to 50 years now, and while I'd love to see more sunny days, I firmly believe this is a great place to be. The cost of living is remarkably low compared with other parts of the country. It brings together the best of the city and country; cornfields and other amber waves of grain dot the landscape right along with interesting museums, shopping centers and parks.

Oh sure, the weather can be iffy -- if you don't like what you see, just wait 5 minutes, we're fond of saying. But on the other hand, it never gets boring, and not much compares to walking along a tree-lined path amid brilliantly colored foliage on a crisp fall day. Besides that, within an easy hour-or-so's drive we can be walking barefoot on a sandy beach, climbing an historic lighthouse or trolling for wildflowers in one of at least 15 state and national parks.

Then there's the food. My husband Jack and I travel as much as we can, and when we do, we love to eat. We've had dinner at some pretty well-known restaurants in quite a few states, and you know what? Every single time, we say to each other, "This is great, but there's nothing here that's better than what we can get back home every single day."

Of course, I can't discount the familiarity factor and learning to love what you're used to; there's a reason they call it Home Sweet Home. Still, we've always insisted that the Mahoning Valley's cuisine is pretty hard to beat. And just for the record, we include the Shenango Valley in that sweeping declaration; just over the Pennsylvania border are plenty of other fantastic restaurants and attractions just waiting to be discovered by me and you.

I do admit to one exception to my "home" rule, though: As seafood moves inland, it tends to lose ground. Not surprisingly, absolutely nothing compares to fresh-from-the-ocean "lobstah" at The Lobster Dock in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, the huge, almost no-filler-added crabcakes from The Crab Claw in St. Michaels, Maryland, or the steamed spiced shrimp at Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar on the North Carolina Outer Banks. That said, there seems to be a direct correlation between distance from water and how long fish is cooked; by the time you reach mid-Ohio, all too often it's barely recognizable. Sorry, Charlie, but the fish is dead. No need to kill it again (and again!) by leaving it on the grill or in the oven till it's tough and tasteless.

The reason for this blog is to showcase some of the eateries and other treasures our little part of the world has to offer. There's no set schedule for updates, but the plan is to add something new every couple of weeks. For the most part, what you'll see is what we get in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in Ohio and Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania. But once in a while -- especially since I'm an official "Ohio Ambassador" charged with promoting what the Buckeye State has to offer -- I'll stray into other parts of Ohio (and maybe even another state or two) to bring you a look at a special restaurant or attraction we've found.

If reading about these places entices you to come visit, that's wonderful -- y'all come on down (or up, or over as the case may be). And if you have questions about anything you see here or want to suggest a favorite restaurant of your own, zap me an e-mail. I'm always up for a new adventure!

Just for the record, I've had a bit of experience at not only eating and traveling, but writing about it as well. I wrote about local restaurants and travel for The Business Journal in Youngstown for several years (and Jack penned 100 "Dining Out" restaurant reviews for that newspaper over a period of four years). Besides that, I've posted similar "stuff" on a number of travel Web sites since then.

In the interests of full disclosure -- and the letter of the blog law -- I'll emphasize here that no one associated with any restaurant pays me, or gives me free meals, or in any way influences what I write here. As I mentioned before, I'm open to suggestions for places to visit -- but whether or not I go there or write about it is completely my choice. I'll also say, though, that while I don't mind pointing out a flaw or two here and there, my purpose is to showcase what's good about the region's restaurants and attractions. As such, I'll stick to what my mama always taught me: If you can't say something good about somebody, don't say anything at all.

I'll try to add something new here every couple of weeks, give or take, so check back often. If you want to be notified when a new entry is made, there's a place here to sign up for that as well. And finally, if you'd like to see some of my photos, you're invited to visit my galleries at Zenfolio. Enjoy!

Monnie Ryan

Mahoning Valley Eats & Treats

Saturday, March 24, 2012

B B ROONERS FOOD & SPIRITS

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