WINKING LIZARD TAVERN

Especially this time of year, sometimes you just gotta get outta Dodge, even if it's just for a few hours. For my husband Jack and me, that usually means hitting the road to find interesting things to photograph, and more often than not, we'll head for a park. After we've filled up our camera media cards, it's virtually guaranteed that we'll stop somewhere to fill up our stomachs as well.

Winter months around northeastern Ohio aren't all that beautiful, but it's also a time when cabin fever is at its peak - so as long as road conditions aren't hazardous, we're quite willing to head out. One of our favorite haunts is the vast Cuyahoga Valley National Park, where the scenery can be beautiful any time of the year, especially at Hale Farm and Village and some of the visitor centers.

When we get hungry, a likely stop is in historic Peninsula, Ohio, because we typically pass through on our way back home. We've written here before about the wonderful Fisher's Cafe & Pub. But there's another terrific place right across the street that gets our vote as well: the Winking Lizard Tavern.

In fact, this isn't the only one; as of this writing, there are 14 Winking Lizard locations, two in Columbus and the rest in the Cleveland area. The original tavern opened in 1983 in Bedford Heights (or so the website says). For the record, neat "stuff" like T-shirts and logo drinking glasses are for sale at the online store.
Speaking of drinking glasses, the website also claims that the beer list here is "second to none," and we've found no reason to doubt that. In fact, it's a participant in the annual World Tour of Beers. This year-long "event" invites folks to sign up and sample as many as possible (this can be done at any participating bar or bars). There are something like 295 different brews at Winking Lizard - many of which we're pretty sure we couldn't quite stomach, like the sweet Left Hand Milk Stout (from the U.S. of A.), the extra special bitter Monty Python Holy Grail from England and any that have fruit in the title.

The Winking Lizard is a popular place, and it can get quite crowded at meal hours and in summer and fall when tourists and hikers are out in force. It's a true bar atmosphere - lots of wood, high tables and stools and laid-back servers. Just inside the door, we spotted a large lizard in a glass cage; how cute that they've got a stuffed animal on display, we said to each other - that is, until he really blinked! Yep, folks, the lizard is very real with a face only a mother could love.

Special events are frequent happenings at various Winking Lizard locations as well; March 24, for instance, is the 2012 Cask Conditioned Ale Festival at Bedford Heights. For $35 per person, you get a sandwich and appetizer buffet plus your choice of a glass from one of the participating breweries (check the website below for more information).

The website, by the way, is the best place to check out the menu as well. Don't miss the graphic "placemats" for each location to see the monthly specials specific to each location. You'll find a drink and dessert of the month (in March, the dessert is Bailey's Tiramisu, or layers of coffee-flavored ladyfingers and a mascarpone cream infused with Bailey's Irish Cream served with vanilla ice cream and lightly dusted with cocoa powder for $6.99). On Mondays and Tuesdays are 40-cent wings, ordered in multiples of 5 with a 5-wing minimum and a $4.99 small cheese pizza. Wednesdays are 1/2 slab of St. Louis ribs w/fries and slaw for $7.49; Thursdays most burgers are $5.79.

Food, needless to say, is outstanding as well. I love Joe's All American Chili ($2.29 for a cup; add 80 cents more to load it up with cheddar cheese and onions). There are plenty of pizza, wings, ribs and salad options as well, but most often, we stick with sandwiches. One of my favorites is made with Black Forest ham, smoked turkey, melted Swiss cheese and hickory-apple bacon on a pretzel roll with potato pancakes, but last time I checked the online menu, I couldn't find it (boo hoo, because it sure was yummy). But I'll "settle" for the Bo-Man's Honey Club, with broiled chicken breast basted in honey mustard sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese, applewood bacon, lettuce and tomato ($6.49).
Jack loves the barbecue pulled pork here, and at our last visit he got the three minis that normally come with fries, substituting shells and cheese for the fries ($7.99). He's also a wrap fan, so the strip steak version with mozzarella cheese, grilled onions, mushrooms and lettuce always is a temptation ($8.49). I don't care much for wraps, but when I'm not in the mood for meat or a salad, the roasted veggie wrap stuffed with grilled portabello mushrooms, roasted zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, red peppers, spinach, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese is a good choice ($8.79).

Most of the time when we eat out, it's for a late lunch; first of all, lunch prices usually are lower, and second, if there's a bit of a drive to get back home, we can make it before dark (we concede the point that old folks tend to be homebodies once the sun goes down). Lunch specials at Winking Lizard are available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., giving us quite a bit of flexibility, and although the list isn't long, there's at least one discounted item Monday through Friday (Wednesday's turkey Reuben with fries is our pick of the litter).

To be honest, we've never tried dessert here -- we're always way too stuffed by the time we finish whatever we've had for the main course. But one of these days I want to sample the funnel cake sticks, or light fried pastry sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce (and yes, whatever the dessert of the month happens to be)!

If you go:

WINKING LIZARD TAVERN
1615 Main St.
Peninsula, Ohio 44264
(330) 467-1002

www.winkinglizard.com

Kitchen open 11 a.m. 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.