STONEBRIDGE GRILLE & TAVERN

Just one bite was all it took. The minute I sank my teeth into "The Russo" at StoneBridge Grille & Tavern some three years ago, I added it to my Top 5 all-time sandwich favorites list - and that's where it's remained ever since. 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 ($7.69). The bread is crunchy and buttery, and those hot peppers added just the right amount of pizzazz.


Admittedly, 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. More often than not, it's somewhere around lunchtime and we're hungry; our first stop here was when we turned toward Canfield to go to the White House Fruit Farm and noticed that StoneBridge had replaced an old favorite sandwich place, Rockne's, and decided to give it a go.

StoneBridge, for the record, is locally owned; everything is made from scratch, or so the Web site says (and based on 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 always choose the latter. The 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, giving us something to sip while we check out the daily specials. 

Although we're here for lunch, we always look longingly at the entrees - in my case, that's always seafood like Haddock Francaise ($15.99), Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna with Jasmine rice, Asian slaw and an Aioli drizzle ($18.99) and grilled Wild Caught Mahi-Mahi that can be ordered blackened ($16.99). Veal lovers should be happy here too, with a couple of choices that sound good even though it's not my meat of choice. 

Several pasta entrees are on the menu as well, as are grilled beef delicacies including a center cut filet, ribeye and 14-ounce New York strip. Love salads? You'll find 10 here, so there's something for everyone (more on that later). If you can't decide on an appetizer, you might try the sampler ($13.99) with stuffed peppers, hand-breaded fried Provolone, Italian greens, hot peppers & oil, pita bread and homemade pomodoro sauce. Quite honestly, that would make more than enough to satisfy the two of us for lunch.

If for no other reason than to delay our decision, we ordered a chicken quesadilla appetizer ($8.99) with cheddar jack, tomatoes and scallions with salsa and sour cream the first time we came. It was quite tasty -- nice and hot with lots of melted chees and cut into six good-size wedges. Jack doesn't care much for salsa, and in this case it was a good thing he didn't take a taste; it was packed with enough hot pepper punch to knock him cold (I, of course, loved it).

On our most recent stop, we both went for the half-sandwich and soup, salad or side combo ($8.49) - something we've done before. All the sandwiches marked with the SB logo are included - six in all. My usual choice is the Reuben, and Jack's is the Philly steak. Once I ordered the shaved turkey, with roasted red pepper Aioli, roasted tomatoes, Provolone and argula on multigrain bread, and it's temped me ever since.

We part company with the side, though; I'm a fan of wedding soup, and he absolutely loves the fabulous strawberry vinaigrette dressing here so he picks a salad. I agree that dressing is the best I've ever had; deep pink in color and an amazing fresh strawberry flavor. He's also had the lobster bisque and deemed it outstanding, but that's more appealing in cold winter months.

The wedding soup is quite good, although I've had better elsewhere (I pined for the wedding soup we used to get at the old Niki'z in Niles for years after it closed. Now that it's reopened on Mason Street, I've been nagging owner Nick Logan to bring it back). Here, the generous size cup includes lots of shredded chicken, meatballs, assorted veggies and greens, but the broth flavor is a bit lackluster. 

As for the sandwiches, the half versions probably aren't large enough to satisfy a medium-sized football player, but coupled with the soup, they always fill us up just fine. The Philly steak was good, and my shaved turkey was piled high. But the whole versions - like my favorite Russo and another of Jack's favorites that was a daily special, an open-face roast beef with mashed potatoes and pan gravy on toasted Italian bread ($8.99 at the time) - are guaranteed to satisfy even the biggest appetite.

Ah, now I've gone and done it; my taste buds are tingling at the mere thought of that Russo 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. Reservations accepted.

FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES

Quite honestly, I could probably live the rest of my life without having another hamburger. Some of that is because I just don't eat much red meat any more, but I suspect another reason is that I so miss the wonderful Maid-Rite sandwiches from Greenville, Ohio, near the farm where I grew up. Not sloppy joes but "loose meat," the recipe has remained a secret ever since the place started in 1926 (no, I was not a customer back then). Every single time my husband Jack and I go back "down home," though, I insist on grabbing a big bag of the treats from the brick building that's known as a hangout for the used chewing gum teenagers stick on the walls.

That said, every once in a while I do get a hankering for a good ol' burger, whether it be plain with mustard, lettuce and tomato or a fancy schmancy job topped with bacon and/or bleu cheese. Generally, I satisfy the urge at Gasoline Alley in Niles or Fudruckers in the Eastwood Mall. But when we spotted a Five Guys Burgers and Fries near the Walmart store on Elm Road in Cortland a while back, I started to salivate and said, "Let's give it a try."


Other shops are in Boardman and Austintown (we've been to the latter), and the closest Pennsylvania location I could find is in Meadville. For the record, the whole thing started in Arlington, Va., in 1986; today, there are more than 1,000 locations nationwide and another 1,500 or so under development, or so the website says. You can hook up with them on Facebook and Twitter, place orders online and enjoy a totally trans-fat free menu. They do, however, use peanut oil, so anyone with a peanut allergy should stay away.

The restaurants are relatively small, but quite colorful and fun. Food is packed in brown paper bags, you can grab a container of peanuts in the shells from a huge bin -- they're free) -- and huge bags of potatoes are stacked to form the entrance to the order-your-own counter. In addition to burgers, Five Guys is known for fries, which come in a big plastic cup reminiscent of Idora Park. The cups are so full that they spill out, making big grease spots on the brown paper bag.

Although this is a neat place for kids, it's not the least expensive burger joint on the block; our total bill at our first visit was $17.74 including tax, and that was for two "regular" hamburgers, one order of fries, one large soft drink and one bottle of water. But those regular burgers ($4.89 at the time of our first visit and $5.29 at our second) are double patties, and all the fixin's are free, including jalapenos, tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, pickles, relish and a variety of sauces. As it turns out, the "little" burger, which is a single patty, would have been less expensive and quite sufficient for me - and I'm sure would be enough to satisfy young children.

Comparatively, a regular bacon cheeseburger (now $6.69), a kosher style hot dog is $3.59 and a grilled cheese $3.59. The beef is always cooked well done and is fresh - there are no freezers in any of the restaurants, the website says. There's a veggie burger as well ($2.99) into which you can put any or all of the vegetables that are on the menu into a bun. I haven't tried that yet, but it sure sounds yummy.


The hamburgers are unusually flavorful, and in Austintown, I tried the kosher hot dog topped with onions, jalapenos and mustard. The dog is split in half lengthwise and grilled, exactly the way I do them at home. The jalapenos, I hasten to add, pack enough heat that they're not for the faint of heart.

Jack got a hamburger with his favorite grilled onions and mushrooms as he did at Cortland, noting - as he did then - that's is really nice to get all those toppings at no extra cost. In addition to finding a bit of a price hike, we ran into a newfangled push-button drink dispenser here; it's just different enough that it took a little extra time (and more than a couple of sloppy mistakes) to figure out how it works. Pretty cool, actually!

If you go:

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Cortland: (330) 372-0232
Austintown: (330) 953-2880
Boardman: (330) 629-8038

http://www.fiveguys.com

Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.