Mahoning Valley Eats & Treats: THE 356th FIGHTER GROUP

Saturday, June 23, 2012

THE 356th FIGHTER GROUP

Less than a handful of years ago, my husband Jack and I discovered the wonder Military Aviation Preservation Society Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio. Run by an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, the intent is to educate people about the history of military aviation. Since the topic here is dining out I won't include details, but it's a wonderful place to visit.

When we first stopped at the museum a couple of years back, we wanted to have lunch at the nearby 356th Fighter Group restaurant. Everything we'd heard about it was positive, and we wanted to see for ourselves. But alas, we had no time to spare then; but one day, we vowed, we'd get there.

The day finally happened when we purchased a half-price admission for four to the MAPS Museum from Groupon.com, with the intent of taking our friends Jerry and Barb from Niles, who'd never been there. Since we'll be in the neighborhood, we said, why not plan to eat at the 356th?

Indeed we did - and long before we were back in the car to head home we'd unanimously decided to go back soon.

Even without the food, this is an impressive place. Located on the south runways of the Akron-Canton Airport, the exterior is reminiscent of a beautiful old castle. Inside, the surprisingly spacious interior boasts several rooms with windows overlooking the airport runways and grounds. Brick walls are everywhere, and here and there are large stacks of real sandbags plus weathered wood, fireplaces and many more artifacts, all designed to reflect the World War II era.

We arrived for a late lunch, so there were plenty of places to sit. Our very friendly server brought menus that included a list of daily specials and took our drink orders - there's a full bar here, of course. After a quick look, we decided to share two appetizers: the crab-stuffed mushrooms ($9.99) and stuffed cubanelle peppers with mild Italian sausage and homemade marinara plus provolone and mozzarella cheeses ($8.99).

It took a while, though, to decide on our entrees; the menu is both lengthy and impressive, and for our first time here, we wanted to make the best-possible choices. Not easy, we learned; from pecan crusted tilapia to asiago pretzel crusted chicken to "healthy choice" items lilke a marinated pork chop and vegetarian stir fry and oodles of tempting sandwiches and salads, everything sounded wonderful.

Finally, I zeroed in on one of the daily specials - prime rib bordelaise for $12.99. It comes with sauteed mushrooms and house-made bordelaise and rice pilaf, and for my side, I chose the chicken corn chowder - also a soup of the day. The prime rib was cooked medium and above for the day's special, so I asked that they come as close to medium as they could (as those who have read my reviews before know, I prefer my prime rib to be just shy of still mooing).

Jerry liked the idea of prime rib, but in the sandwich version ($10.99). It's shaved thin with jack cheese, mushrooms and sauteed onions and served open face with au jus and fries. But when the server described the homemade chips here, he swapped out the fries to go with the chips.

Both Jack and Barb were in a fishy mood, I guess, so they finally settled on the stuffed sole filet with scallops and crabmeat stuffing, Hollandaise sauce and rice pilaf for $11.99. Both chose a tossed salad as their side.

Especially at lunchtime, we could (and probably should) have stopped at the appetizers. The stuffed mushrooms were especially mouth-watering, filled with lots of crabmeat bits and almost none of the usual bread crumb mixture as they are at most other places. The peppers were wonderful as well, with delicious marinara sauce and peppers that really had a kick (but not so much that even Jack, who loves the flavor but not the heat, couldn't eat a few bites).

The salads were good, although nothing out of the ordinary; but when our server delivered a round loaf of fresh whole-grain bread, we devoured it almost immediately. I loved my corn chowder, too; the broth was on the thin side, but exceptionally flavorful - and there was no shortage of shredded chicken, chopped red peppers, and, of course, corn.

The entrees couldn't have been much better, confirming that we'd done well in our choices. The sole was well cooked with a tasty stuffing; my prime rib wasn't think, but it was a piece bigger than my two hands held side by side with my fingers extended - and this was a lunch portion, for goodness sake. They did well in giving me a portion close to medium, and the flavor and texture reminded me more of ribeye than prime rib. The sauce was absolutely delicious as well and made the rice pilaf extra good when I added in a bit of the sauce. In the end, I had to take home more than half of my meat and sauce.

Jerry loved his sandwich, although it was so large and stuffed full that he finally gave up trying to get it to his mouth intact and cut it up in more manageable pieces (which he mostly ate with a fork).

If you go:

The 356th Fighter Group
4919 Mount Pleasant Road
North Canton, Ohio 44720
(330) 494-3500
http://www.356fg.com

Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for Sunday brunch; Sunday dinner 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

1 comment:

Cathy FAugust 30, 2014 at 6:36 AM
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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, June 23, 2012

THE 356th FIGHTER GROUP

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