Breakfast, however, is a bit different. Except for the year Jack retired after 33 years of teaching at Niles McKinley High School and the day school started that fall we were sitting on the beach at the North Carolina Outer Banks lifting plastic glasses of champagne toward Ohio at 8 o'clock in the morning, the spirits never have moved us at that hour of the day.
And breakfast, I would argue, is what Bob Evans does best; besides that, it’s an Ohio staple, starting out in the small town of Rio Grande (for you tenderfeet, that’s “Ryoh,” unlike the river that separates Texas and Mexico). Corporate headquarters are being relocated from Columbus to New Albany this year, and the company today is a $1.7 billion restaurant and retail food products company with somewhere around 600 full-service restaurants in 18 states and more than 100 company-owned Mimi's Cafe locations in 22 states.
That's not to say the other meals aren't good, though; in fact, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say we've never had a "bad" meal here. And now that the chain has undergone a substantial remodeling outside and in, it seems a good time to give it a plug.
There's another little secret I'll share up front for what it's worth (and to us, it's worth plenty): Sign up online to get email news, and you'll get great deals on meals. Just about every week, we get BOGO offers for breakfasts and dinners. To be honest, some are good for a single day and usually don't arrive much in advance (they tend to be on holidays like July 4 or days like the day after Thanksgiving when, we suppose, business is slower). Still, there have been very few we haven't cashed in. There's also a requirement of purchasing two beverages - which aren't the cheapest on the block - but especially when you consider that we're usually able to bring home some leftovers, these are not-to-be-missed deals.
When it comes to breakfasts, I have two favorites here to which nobody else can yet compare, starting with sausage gravy. This does, however, require a bit of background. Coming from a farm and a cook-from-scratch mother, sausage gravy was a staple of growing up. But when I got married, it was to a handsome fellow who (gasp!) didn't much care for sausage in any shape or form, although he did manage to get some down when I'd cook sausage gravy and biscuits for whatever crowd we were with the morning after our New Year's Eve celebrations. But once we stopped partying quite so hard probably 20-plus years ago, the sausage gravy just never got made. Luckily, it was served at Bob Evans; so once or twice a year, we go there for breakfast (served all day, I should add) and I'd get my fix.
And then they changed it. No longer was it the white gravy with visible and plentiful sausage crumbles; suddenly, it was dark brown, the sausage seemed harder to find and that wonderful down-home taste took a turn for the worse. Then one fine day much, much later I saw the photo in the menu and realized it was white once again - be still my heart! Needless to say, I wasted little time ordering it, and it's become my go-to, blues-chasing breakfast ever since. Prices can vary from place to place, but around here, a good-sized bowl of gravy with two of those giant buttermilk biscuits goes for around seven bucks.
When we get one of those breakfast BOGO coupons, though, we try our best to get the most for our money by ordering items that are very close in price (with these deals, you get one free, but it's always the least expensive of the two). My pick of the litter is the Farmer's Choice ($8.29), which comes with eggs (any style), hash browns, home fries or grits, bacon or sausage (patties or links) and your choice of a fruit crepe, two hotcakes or two slices of French toast. It's a great deal, and if you haven't tried those crepes yet, you're in for a real treat.
Jack usually opts for the Big Egg Breakfast - same price - with three eggs, sausage or bacon and a breakfast side (several choices here, but most often he gets whole wheat toast).
Lunch and dinner entrees are all over the map, ranging from big salads to pasta to fish, and there are several "55 & Over" possibilities that are smaller and a bit less expensive. One of my favorites is the slow-roasted turkey breast, with plenty of tender meat over bread and celery stuffing with mashed potatoes and gravy and a side. Jack, however, is fond of the potato-crusted flounder filet, which usually comes with a baked potato, broccoli and baked rolls or buttermilk biscuits (he substitutes other things for the potato and broccoli depending on his mood at the time). He's had the salmon filet, too (with a choice of Bob Evans Wildfire BBQ sauce or garlic herb butter) and likes that almost equally well.
Bob Evans has other options that aren't readily available at other restaurants, too, such as a $5 carryout value menu that includes a number of items including signature soups (we especially like the tomato basil and beef vegetable). Every once in a while we'll take one home for later - it's plenty for two very large bowls.
Another option is the family-size meals to go (there were 10 on the menu last time I checked). Priced at just under $20, they include a main meat - such as chicken breasts or tenders, turkey breast or country-fried steak - and one large side and freshly baked bread sufficient to serve four; call ahead for quick pick-up. Other options are offered for special occasions like Thanksgiving, with prices based on the number you'll be feeding. When you factor in not having to spend hours cooking, the price isn't bad at all.
Here's another tip: Bob Evans puts nutritional information on its website as well as recipes for quite a number of the foods for which they're known (slow cooker meatloaf, Italian Sausage, Tortellini Soup and yes, that sausage gravy, for instance).
Each store also has a small selection of gift items, and on several occasions we've purchased whole pies from the in-store bakery (the cookies and banana bread are delicious as well). On one occasion, I bought bags of Bob Evans medium roast coffee when they were on sale at two for $10; it's good coffee, but much too mild for my taste. There's a new bold roast being advertised now that I'd like to try, but so far it hasn't been available by the bag at either the Austintown or Niles locations where we're frequent diners. Neither is the company's new loyalty card (spend $60, earn $4), launched in Dayton not long ago. We'll keep an eye out!If you go:
Bob Evans
1100 N. Canfield-Niles Road
Austintown, Ohio 44515
(330) 652-8211
http://www.bobevans.com
Open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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