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The first Beef O’Brady’s opened in Brandon, Florida, in 1985, so the chain isn’t all that new. And although I spent more time than I really wanted to trying to track down how many are in operation today, the best I could do is a report claims there were about 215 franchises in several states as of January 2011. On the downside, I also turned up a report naming the franchise to a list of 11 that posted the highest rates of failure of their federally guaranteed loans used to buy them in the first place.
The financial issues may or may not have been resolved by now - and all I know
(or, for that matter, care much about) - is that there’s now one in Cortland. My husband Jack and I drove past a couple of times on our way home from photography outings at Ashtabula Harbor and/or Mosquito Lake State Park before it opened, saying each time that we’d have to stop in for a bite once the place got up and running.
That finally happened this past Veterans’ Day, when the place was close to full when we arrived about 1 p.m. The parking lot is smallish and a bit tough to navigate (heaven help those driving vehicles with a wide turning radius), but we got lucky and found an open spot. Ditto with a booth; there might have been one other unoccupied table when we came through the doors.
Turns out there’s a small bar/pub at the back of the place, and it, as well as the main dining area, is nice although with a sort of nondescript decor. Sports memorabilia from the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Lakeview Bulldogs and 12 big-screen TV sets line the walls - most of the latter tuned to sports shows.
Once we’d settled in and ordered a couple of beers from what we call the “normal” list - there’s a large number on tap including lots of funky stuff - we began to peruse the menu. And boy, is there ever plenty to peruse, from burgers to flatbreads to ribs and wings and just about anything in between.
I gave up and simply gravitated toward items marked as “signature” dishes, and in the end Jack did the same. He picked the fish ‘N’ Chips basket ($10.49), which includes four fried, beer-battered cod fillets with tartar sauce, fries and coleslaw. I was determined to sample the beef, so my choice was the Roast Beef Garlic Melt ($8.79), with sliced onions and provolone cheese pressed on garlic Cuban bread. Fries are standard, by the way, but there are several items, like onion rings and chili, that can be substituted for $1.99 more. We might make a switch on our next visit, but the fries were exceptionally good, so then again, maybe not.
When the food arrived, Jack really liked the tasty fish and the coleslaw. Just one bite of my sandwich made my taste buds sing - the beef was exceptionally tender and full of flavor - and with the second bite I realized it’s also the saltiest beef I’ve ever had (this coming from someone who tends to salt restaurant food without even tasting it; thank goodness I hadn’t done it this time out).
So although I smacked my lips as I happily ate the whole thing, I told Jack - who’s on a low-sodium diet - that the bite I allowed him to sample probably exceeded his sodium allowance for the week. As it turns out, that’s not too far off; a bit of online research on nutritional values confirmed that the sandwich alone (i.e., without the fries), contains 3,940 mg of sodium. Whew!
But flavor? My sandwich definitely had that “wow” factor; just for that alone, I knew we’d be making a return visit; given the sodium content on much of the food, we won’t stop often, though - once every several months will have to do.
But because I wanted to write a review, we relaxed our rule a bit and made another trip in early December. Jack stuck with the fish and chips - again with that tasty coleslaw, but I decided a burger might be a good choice. There are about nine on the menu, including a build-your-own version for $7.99, but when I spotted the Amarillo Firecracker at $9.99 - called a “new” item at the time of our visit - I knew it was the perfect choice for me.
An Angus burger is topped with bacon, fried jalapenos, pepper jack cheese and sweet jalapeno mayo - be still my pepper-loving heart. All burgers, the menu says, are seasoned with a blend of kosher salt and black pepper (there goes that sodium raising its head again), and they can be ordered medium, medium well (my choice) or well done.
Because we loved the fries, we didn’t bother trying a substitute (especially since they all cost an extra two bucks). But we got a big surprise this time out - and not a particularly good one; this time out, the fries were a big disappointment. They were thinner, didn’t seem to have much flavor and, simply put, just weren’t up to par.
I, of course, was looking forward to a sandwich filled with the zing of hot peppers. Alas, as far as the firecracker was concerned, I didn’t feel the heat, but I sure felt the love - it was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly to order. In fact, it was so good I ate the whole thing - very unusual for me. The only suggestion I have is that sandwiches should be served with a sharp knife; even the burgers are too big to pick up whole, and I’m here to tell you that trying to cut a bacon-topped burger in half with a table knife is darned near impossible.
Oh yes, one other thing: I searched both the corporate website and the local restaurant's Facebook page, and while I found the address and phone number, nowhere could I find the hours the place is open (except for the day you happen to check on Facebook). C'mon, guys, it's not fair to force people to call ahead; the only reason I can think of for not posting hours is that they're subject to change with little notice. And that's definitely not a good sign!
If you go:
Beef O’Brady’s
3660 Niles-Cortland Road
Cortland, Ohio 44410
(330) 400-4815
Open for lunch and dinner
http://www.beefobradys.com
Sometimes, my husband Jack and I are really slow on the uptake. Make that really slow; Vasilios Restaurant & Pizzeria is celebrating 30 years as we speak - but would you believe our visit in mid-June was our first time there? Sure, we've driven past the place countless times, usually - as was the case with our first visit - on our way home from poking around somewhere in Ashtabula County.
On this occasion, we'd been to historic Ashtabula Harbor and Geneva-on-the-Lake, where we enjoyed a large appetizer platter at the Old Firehouse Winery. We weren't terribly hungry when we got to Vasilios, but we figured we could get something to nibble on and take the rest home for later.
There's a banquet room that can handle up to 60, and one of the big attractions here is pizza (the first thing diners encounter - pun intended - is the pizza stand right at the entrance). The restaurant is open and airy, and in good weather there are a couple of small cafe-type tables outside. Admittedly, the views of busy highways are less than
spectacular there, but hey, we didn't come for the scenery; it's food we're most interested in.
Breakfast is served here all day, for the record, and for me, that's a Martha Stewart good thing. That's the main reason I like Bob Evans, to be honest (that plus the fact that they're extremely generous with the buy one, get one free breakfast coupons). Neither of us enjoys eating breakfast at the "regular" time, but put that incomparable sausage gravy and biscuits in front of me any other time and get out of the way!
Here, though, we stuck with non-breakfast foods; in part, that's because we figure it's pretty hard to totally ruin bacon and eggs so that's not a good choice for review, and partly because we were in the mood for something a bit more substantial. And unlike Bob Evans, this place has a liquor license (I don't know about you, but eggs and beer just don't mesh). There's no beer on tap, but that's fine with us; it always tastes better in a bottle (and the beer and super-frosty mugs are just the way I love it). Several wines are available as well, including Canyon Road, one of our favorites.
Because pizza is a specialty here, we ordered an Old World to take with us when were done (a medium 12-inch for $8.50 plus $1.50 to add pepperoni). We both ended up getting linguine with clam sauce ($9.50) - red for him and white for me.
I got wedding soup, always a favorite, to start - and the broth was delicious. There wasn't much of those tiny round things (orzo??), but the chunks of chicken, meatballs, greens, onions and carrots were generous. Jack ordered shrimp gumbo, which I normally don't care much for, but it was quite good and had a noticeable kick. Italian dishes are a specialty here, by the way - everything from veal, chicken and eggplant parmesan to ravioli to stuffed shells to gnocchi.
The linguine entrees were totally non-standard, topped with chunks of celery, black olives, onions, mushrooms and clams. My white sauce didn't have much of a distinct flavor, but it was good - and Jack liked his quite well. The bowls were huge, and we each brought home more than half of our orders and even had enough to share with our daughter Chris and her husband Jerry next door. As for the pizza, it smells and tastes very much like our favorite Brier Hill-style at Sunrise Inn in Warren, but with a thicker crust. Outstanding!
We didn't waste much time going back, and once again it was for a very late lunch after taking photos at several of Ashtabula County's 18 covered bridges. Several other folks were here as well - always a good sign when a place is busy other than at peak dining hours.
This time, I settled for broiled whitefish, choosing my favorite soup in the world, wedding, instead of a salad. Jack picked the seafood platter with fries (salad instead of soup). The platter, a reasonable $9.95, contains four scallops, three jumbo shrimp and whitefish.
The soup was quite tasty (truth is, I don't recall ever eating a wedding soup I didn't like), but the fish was a bit of a disappointment. It was described as having a "light" red sauce, which I interpreted to mean not thick and heavy like pasta or marinara (I'm not a fan of red sauce and fish; both of us absolutely love linguine with clam sauce, but we disagree on what kind. I'm a white, he's a red, and never the twain shall meet.
As it turns out, the sauce here was very tomato-flavored and bright red - and the whole thing was covered with chunks of zucchini, onion and green peppers (all good) plus those funny olives that I think start with a K (not so good; give me a green olive by itself or in anything, but that's as far as my olive-loving goes). Actually, the sauce was very flavorful - but for me, just not on fish, please. Once I scraped most of that off, though, the fish itself was quite good. There were three substantial-sized filets, and I took quite a bit home to be consumed happily by Jack the next day.
All was good with the fish platter, except turns out one of the items on it was smelts, which is not one of his favorites. The breading was relatively heavy and crispy, so I threw caution to the wind and tried one - not bad at all, although I won't say they'll ever be a favorite seafood dish.
Vasilios does have a posted list of daily specials: Monday, it's a combo eggplant and chicken parmesan; Tuesday, chicken marsala; Wednesday and Friday, all-you-can-eat fish; Thursday, eggplant rotellini; Friday, Greek spaghetti; and Saturday, Italian platter. I expect the specials change occasionally, though, so if you want to make sure your favorite is on the menu, give them a call before you go.
If you go:
Vasilios Restaurant & Pizza
500 Trumbull Ave.
Cortland, Ohio 44410
(330) 638-3718
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vasilios-Restaurant-Pizzeria/119898652449
Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday
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.
