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Have you ever happened on a restaurant you absolutely love from the minute you walk in the door? Well let me tell you, it’s a treat. Such was the case when my husband Jack and I went to a family get-together at Mike’s Place in Kent. Even before we took a bite, our eyes took in the decor - which might best be described as All-American Clutter - and knew we’d found a culinary home.
For the record, Mike’s has been around since 1987, created “in the honor of salt, sugar & grease,” or so the website says. Also of interest on that website (see below), are the “Rules of Mike’s Place - a sampling of my favorites follows:
Special Orders DO UPSET US ! (our kitchen is staffed with former professional wrestlers).
Tips may be thrown at cooks. (in appreciation or as an incentive to never cook again).
Yes, burping is allowed and appreciated. (please, no rolling your placemats into megaphones).
We will not split orders. If you are that cheap, split it yourself.
We serve breakfast all day (cuz we never know when your lazy butt is getting out of bed).
At that aforementioned party, which was arranged by our son Scott, his wife, Lilla and Lilla’s brother Iain, we had a room to ourselves next to a real bus - empty except for the driver’s seat (a special attraction for restless youngsters) and several tables and chairs. Turns out, in fact, it’s rentable, as are other rooms here with intriguing names like Twin Coach Bus Room, Da Tequil Room, Thortan O'Grady "Filthy Oar" Irish pub room and (my personal favorite), "Ship Happens.” On that occasion, we chowed down on delicious munchies like wings - with way too many sauce choices to count here - as well as baskets filled with yummy breaded mushrooms, fries and such washed down with equally yummy margaritas.
We very much enjoyed poking around in all the other rooms, which are filled with all sorts of kitschy “stuff,” but since we were there mostly for the camaraderie we didn’t pay much attention to the menu except to make a mental note that we’d have to come back. And that we did a month or so later on our way home from drooling over the snazzy cars at the big auto show at the Cleveland I-X Center with friends Jerry and Barb from Niles. The first thing we learned is it’s absolutely impossible to review the entire menu and pick what you want in less than a couple of hours.
Yes, it’s that extensive. The sandwich section alone had 39 entries (and that’s not counting burgers or wraps); the whole menu takes up most of four pages of newspaper tab-size paper with print so small that if you’re our age or older, you’ll need a magnifying glass to read most of it.
Oh yes, and then there’s The Stu-anator - nearly 70 ounces of ground beef, onions, mushrooms, American and Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard and mayo topped with fries, curly fries and at least one pickle. Eat the whole thing and you get a shirt and your photo on the wall, but don’t get your hopes too high: 152 have tried it but only five have been successful.
We made a half-hearted attempt that lasted perhaps 15 minutes as we polished off the first of our beers, and then we simply gave up. The special of the day was all-you-can-eat breaded fish (cod, if I recall correctly) for $9.99, so we threw up our hands and went for it. Then, of course, we were faced with choosing two sides apiece - not an insignificant challenge. In part, that’s because the food here is a bit out of the ordinary; yes, there are mashed potatoes and fries and a couple of other standard accompaniments, but other choices are spicy Baja rice, Texas style baked beans with sausage, sprats with bacon & kraut, Southern green beans and, well, you get the point.
The fish turned out to be two rather large filets - so big that only Jerry polished them off and had room for a refill. It was delicious - as was the homemade tartar sauce that came with it. Our sides ranged from the simple to those baked beans with sausage for me, and I’m here to tell you I’ll be having that side dish again.
It didn’t take long for us to head back again, this time also on the way home from Cleveland but just Jack and I. Once again, we wrestled with the menu, looking at dozens of yummy-sounding entrees like shrimp tortellini alfredo, ($11.39) and others with oddball names like The Hog Wild Mother Clucker, The Wild Salty Dawg Horseshoe and The Reagga Reefers Seafood Combo. Ah, what’s a diner to do?
We know what we did - revert to the old standard grilled whitefish ($9.99 with two sides, but not all you can eat). I got mine blackened, while Jack opted for basic lemon butter. For our sides, he chose simple cole slaw and applesauce, while I couldn’t resist trying the sprats with bacon & kraut and yes, those beans again. The sprats were good - lots of paprika - but I probably won’t try them again. And next time we’re here - and there will be a next time very soon - I’ll have had a chance to look over the menu I brought home and at least narrow it down to a couple of sandwich and entree possibilities.
And then hope to heck I don’t like the special of the day and have to start from scratch.
If you go:
Mike's Place
1700 S. Water St.
Kent, Ohio
(330) 673-6501
http://www.mikesplacerestaurant.com
Open 6 a.m. - 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 6 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday; 7 a.m. -10 p.m. Sundays.
Trying to pinpoint the type of cuisine at Selah Restaurant is like trying to lump animals in a zoo into a single category. The food at this Struthers, Ohio, eatery might best be described as eclectic -- perhaps reflecting, as least in part, the fact that one owner is Chinese and the other is Italian. But diners here will find many other ethnic influences here, from Mediterranean to French to plain old US of A.
Our first visit came some time ago, when we were delighted to receive a gift certificate -- this is a place we'd been wanting to visit, but since Struthers is a bit out of our u
sual shopping, errand-running and photography outing territories, we hadn't made a special trip. But now, we had a special reason, so we gathered a couple of friends who were more than willing to tag along. And as it turned out, it was a wonderful experience that would bear repeating.
I will say at the outset that Selah is not inexpensive, especially if you indulge in alcoholic beverages and appetizers; dinner entrees here run in the $9 to $18 range, and very few wines are available by the glass (beer and mixed drinks, though, are quite reasonable). But for those looking for a quiet, relaxing dining experience in interesting surroundings, this is a great place.
The surroundings begin with the building itself; an old bank that's been converted to house restaurant fixin's, the owners have kept brass teller cages, a walk-in vault (with seating) and original photography. There's an onsite bakery that emanates tempting aromas, and dark wood throughout adds a pleasant, comfortable feel to the overall ambience.
When we first visited, I didn't do much information gathering, but I do remember that we shared a couple of appetizers to start, one of which was stuffed grape leaves with feta cheese ($4.75), that were delicious. For entrees, three of us settled on one of the daily specials -- my choice was salmon -- and here, too, we smacked our lips over just about every bite and vowed to make a return trip.
That happened recently, and once again we saved some serious cash by taking advantage of a discount coupon from Groupon.com. If you haven't signed up at Groupon, by the way, it can pay off; the Youngstown area is now represented (although the folks at Groupon seem to think that Grove City and New Castle, Pa., qualify even though they're way too far away for us to consider going there with any regularity whatsoever).
That said, we decided to go to Selah on a Friday night, but we called ahead for a reservation. I doubt reservations would have been necessary; although 
there was a rather large party in the vault room, only a couple of tables were occupied in the main dining area when we arrived for our 6:30 p.m. "appointment." Still, this is a popular place, so I recommend making reservations if you don't like to wait.
Especially given our discount coupons, we decided to go whole hog, so to speak, ordering two appetizers to share. One was the stuffed grape leaves (now $5) and the other marinated shrimp and avocado with tomato-citrus drizzle for $6.50.
As is the custom when we dine with our friends Jerry and Barb, we each try to order something different so we can sample. Here, we had no problem, since each of us had a difficult time choosing which entree would satisfy most -- just too many tempting items on the menu. In the end, I chose Tilapia Francaise ($12.75), my husband Jack decided on Bourbon Beef Tips ($16.75), Jerry opted for Coq au Vin ($13.50) and Barb's choice was The Devonshire ($17.75). All entrees come with a house salad, one side dish and fresh-baked rolls.
Our salads arrived before the appetizers did, not that we cared a whit. We love the house balsamic dressing, which topped a nice combination of field greens, tomato, black olives and feta -- a very tasty way to start a meal. The appetizers were wonderful as well; we knew we loved the grape leaves from our first visit here, but we were exceptionally pleased with the plate of warm shrimp contrasted by cool slices of avocado (the drizzle, whatever it was, was delicious as well).
Side-dish choices include redskin potatoes with roasted red peppers, slow-cooked wild rice in chicken stock, garlic mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, sweet potato fries and a vegetable of the day. Two of us chose the wild rice, but when our entrees were delivered, our server told us that the rice wasn't fully cooked yet and so they'd given us a temporary substitute of the garlic mashed potatoes (with a promise of delivery of the rice when it was ready).
That was a nice gesture, although personally I'd have preferred to be told that the rice wasn't available up front so I could have canceled 
my rice order and picked the substitute I wanted to go with my meal (I'd have chosen the redskin potatoes, which I'd almost picked over the rice anyway). The garlic mashed potatoes were good and quite filling, which turned out to be a bit of a problem since the rice wasn't ready until we'd all finished our meals. By then, we had no room left for the rice except for a few bites. It was quite tasty, though, so we took most of it home and definitely will try it again next time we're here.
Still another slight frustration was that we didn't get the fresh rolls as indicated on the menu; however, once we inquired about them, a basket was delivered immediately (with a tub of butter and a wonderful olive tapenade consisting of, if my taste buds are correct, very finely chopped olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil). We polished off all four in short order, and a second basket appeared as if by magic.
The entrees were absolutely wonderful -- not a complaint among us. By way of description, Barb's Devonshire is a seared steak with portobello mushrooms, onions and spinach deglazed with fresh cream -- sounds tantalizing, doesn't it? Jerry's Coq au Vin was chicken with Potrobellos and roasted red peppers finished with a red wine reduction, and it was outstanding.
I'd waffled between the Citrus Pan-Roasted Salmon, seared wild Alaskan Sockeye with a citrus-garlic marinade and the Tilapia Francaise. I loved the tilapia, but I think next time we're here I'll try the salmon. Jack also loved the Bourbon Beef Tips, which are deglazed with Kentucky bourbon sauce. I tried them and agree the flavor is delightful, but since he ordered them in his usual well done style, they were way too overdone and tough for my medium rare taste.
Admittedly, we had no room left for dessert - a disappointment given the choices (I noticed what appeared to be creme brulee in the glass case near the entrance as we went in, a special favorite of mine). For the record, whole cheesecakes and other cakes, cupcakes and tortes are sold at the onsite bakery, as are bags of Selah's own whole bean and ground coffees.
Ah well, there's always next time!
If you go: Selah Restaurant
130 S. Bridge St.
Struthers, Ohio 44471
(330) 755-2759
www.selahrestaurant.com
Open Tuesday and Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday
