HIGH POINTE RESTAURANT AND TAVERN

When it comes to choosing a place for a business, "location, location, location" is what marketing gurus say it's all about. In fact, I can understand that concept. For several years, my husband Jack and I spent loads of quality time at one of our favorite restaurants - Nicolino's - at the corner of U.S. Route 422 and Niles-Cortland Road on the outskirts of Niles. When that disappeared, we were so "connected" to the location that we tried a couple of other restaurants that set up shop there.

They disappeared almost as fast as they opened - no big surprise to us, since they were disappointments to us as well. But every time we drove past that corner, we'd almost feel the pull of the car wheel turning in that direction since we'd done it so often.

When the restaurant reopened as High Pointe Restaurant and Tavern, though, we resisted the urge to stop. We'd loved Nicolino's - and disliked its immediate follow-ups - so much that we were hesitant to try it. Then one day, prompted by a discount coupon in our Entertainment Book, we decided to take the plunge.

Since then, I'm happy to report, we've returned several times. And although I admit I still haven't tried the linguine with clam sauce here (Nicolino's made the best on the planet, in my humble opinion), I've been quite satisfied with everything I've had. Once again, this location is a winner.

The decor remains much the same as it always was; a step-down area just inside the door filled with booths and a couple of large tables, a main level with more tables and a separate side that has a bar and, I'm told, quite a crowd on weekends. We've always liked the downstairs section, which boasts a couple of sunny windows and the booths we prefer.

There are a number of lunch specials here, ranging from around $5 to $7, that make good choices when 1) you're in money-saving mode and/or 2) you're in a hurry. A full bar complements the food as well, and we usually opt for on-tap Labbatt's Blue or Yuengling. On our first visit, I couldn't resist the $6 fried balogna sandwich that comes with roasted red peppers, Italian greens and provolone. The choices for sides include fries, cole slaw or applesauce, so I decided to try the fries. Jack took his time to decide but finally settled on the mushroom-Swiss burger (ordering it well done), also with fries - it was one of the $7 lunch specials.

Both of us left stuffed and happy. The balogna sandwich was delicious, and I'll note that it was the greens that sealed the deal on this one. Jack's burger was cooked perfectly and was quite tasty as well. As for the fries, well, they're quite good - but be prepared for a huge mound. In addition to a box to take the halves of our sandwiches we simply couldn't manage to get down, we took home another large box filled with nothing but fries.

When we discovered we had an Entertainment Book coupon good for a free entree with the purchase of another (up to $8) here, stopping once again was an easy decision. This time, since we had a good discount, we looked at the list of appetizers. The chicken tenders were appealing ($5.99), but then we saw the Italian nachos (homemade nachos with Alfredo sauce, black olives and roasted red peppers for $6.99) and decided that would hit the spot.

My initial experience with that fried balogna sandwich enticed me to try it again (yes, it was just as good this time), but Jack opted for an open-face roast beef sandwich with garlic mashed potatoes and gravy ($7.99). He asked to substitute cole slaw for the potatoes, and I picked applesauce instead of fries with my sandwich since I now knew there was no way I could get through all those fries.

The real standout on this visit was the appetizer; the nachos were square-ish "pillow" puffs of dough - nothing like the usual crispy chips - smothered in a mouthwatering Alfredo sauce. We cleaned off the entire plate in no time and agreed this could make a meal in and of itself.

More recently, we stopped for lunch with our friends Jerry and Barb from Niles, who, like us, are Entertainment Book users and had a coupon like the one we'd used at our last visit. We insisted on treating them to the Italian nachos appetizer - they loved it too - and Jerry wanted to try the hot peppers in oil appetizer. Nice guy that he is, he shared - and the flavor is delicious. The crispy peppers aren't terribly hot, especially if you watch out for the red pepper seeds, and the grilled pita triangles were tasty for those who needed to tone down the heat still another notch.

Our friends both wanted to try the Tuscan chicken sandwich with cole slaw ($7.99), while Jack and I went with something new: the pulled pork sandwich with slaw for $6 (him) and the pepper and egg sandwich with fries, also $6 (me). Our first delicious surprise was the slaw; the three who got it raved about it so much that I tried a bite - and agreed. It's got a real zing, which we concluded might come from at least a touch of horseradish sauce.

The grilled chicken breast in the Tuscan sandwiches were topped with Italian greens, roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese and won kudos from our friends; in particular, Barb said the bun was exceptionally tasty. Jack said his pulled pork was tender and the flavor was delicious. And my pepper and egg sandwich, which was a good-sized layer of scrambled eggs and chopped red peppers between two large grilled slices of bread, was outstanding.

As for the fries, we had plenty to pass around. Cooked Idora-style, they're great sprinkled with salt and vinegar. Even with four of us sampling, I had close to half of them left when we'd polished off the rest of our meals.

If you go: High Pointe Restaurant and Tavern
754 Youngstown Warren Road
Niles, OH 44446
330-544-3300

TRAX RESTAURANT

Restaurant food in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys is as good (or better) than I've found anywhere else in the country, in my humble opinion -- with one exception: Seafood. For the most part, that's not because we're basically landlocked in these parts; rather, it's because it's inevitably overcooked to the point of being relatively tasteless and tough.

And for a seafood lover like me, that's a big disappointment; I'm always a bit leery of ordering it, knowing it's likely to be less than "perfect." So when I noticed lemon pepper swordfish on the daily specials menu at Trax Restaurant in Austintown, I hesitated -- but since swordfish is hard to find and is my favorite fish to eat -- I decided to reel it in. As a special, it came with one side and a salad for just $10.95, so I figured I wouldn't lose all that much if it wasn't all that great.

Ah, I'm delighted to report it was wonderful! I chose spaghetti as my side - as you'll find out in a minute, I'd tasted the sauce here before and liked it. This time I'd say it could have used a bit more sauce, but quite honestly I was too full to care after devouring every mouth-watering bite of the sizable chunk of swordfish steak. Not only was it juicy, the lemon flavor was subtle but noticeable and the cracked pepper added just the right touch of zest. Yum!

We arrived here this time for an early dinner, just before 4 p.m.; our server brought a list of lunch specials even at this late hour, which was nice because there were loads of great things from which to choose, including cavatelli-stuffed and chili cheese stuffed breadbowls ($8.50). I also considered the Italian sausage hero at $8.99 before spotting that swordfish.

Jack had a bit more trouble deciding, finally settling on the Yankee pot roast ($10.50), described as beef and carrots with au jus and one side. He opted for slaw instead of salad and picked mashed potatoes and gravy as his side, which seemed a natural fit for the pot roast. When he placed the order, our server assured him it was delicious - in fact, she'd had a big mound of it for her lunch earlier in the day.

Turns out she was right on the money; the pot roast was yummy with a large amount of fork-tender meat. And even though he made a point of reminding me he doesn't like carrots, he scarfed down all of these chunks (noting that he was doing so because they didn't taste much like carrots after simmering in all that juice for what must have been a long time). At his request, the server brought a container of extra gravy, which was rich, thick and delicious.

As I mentioned before, this stop for dinner wasn't the first time we've been to Trax; on one occasion, we sat on the separate bar side for a couple of quick sandwiches and beers. The interior, by the way, is a darkish red and gray and features lots of old photos, most related to the B&O Railroad -- especially interesting to us because Jack's late uncle, Robert M. Semple, for many years was the local yardmaster. There's also a large outdoor patio that's open in good weather, and we hear there's live music out there now and again.

A couple of weeks before my encounter with the swordfish, we stopped for lunch mostly because we had a coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase, including alcohol. Speaking of alcohol, there's an extensive wine and beer list plus a few on tap including our favorite Yuengling. Some of the menu items are things I haven't seen in a while, like city chicken ($9.50 for the dinner portion). I also noticed Cincinnati chili ($9.50) -- another favorite of mine. Most dinners come with a potato or salad plus bread and butter.

Any time stuffed cabbage or peppers is on the menu, it's hard for Jack to resist. This time it was cabbage, which usually comes with mashed potatoes. He asked for slaw instead, plus a salad with balsamic viniagrette dressing, all for $9.50.

I was in the mood for plain old spaghetti, and when I asked our server about the difference between the marinara and "regular" red sauce, she explained that the marinara at Trax "isn't like others" and is filled with lots of vegetables whereas the red sauce has two meatballs. I opted for the red sauce over spaghetti (ziti was my other choice), salad with bleu cheese dressing and a cup of wedding soup for $8.29.

Jack liked that the stuffed cabbage was topped with an abundance of sauce, which all too often isn't the case. There were a couple of slices of kielbasi in it as well, which he passed on to me and they were delicious. Our server also brought a basket of good-sized rolls and butter, but we had so much else to eat that we brought them home.

The salads were your garden-variety head lettuce with some sliced black olives, one tomato slice and one of those yummy small hot peppers (the latter of which Jack gave to me since he's not into anything spicy hot). Dressings are served on the side, and both of our choices were very good. As is his custom, Jack asked for "extra" and got two containers, which was plenty to make him happy.

My wedding soup was quite tasty, filled with lots of greens, carrots and one of those teeny meatballs. My only complaint was that it was almost lukewarm (but keep in mind I like soup almost at the boiling point). The red sauce was delicious as well, and the meatballs were outstanding. The bowl was ample, giving me about half to take home for another day.

When we finished up, we noticed several desserts listed on a chalkboard - among them cocoanut creme and lemon merangue pie at ($3.50 a slice). They sounded wonderful, but we had absolutely no room left. For the record, they were still on the list the next time we visited, but the same thing happened: Our stomachs were so full with the main courses that we couldn't have downed another bite. Oh well, guess we've got a couple more reasons to go back!

If you go:

Trax Restaurant
4250 New Road
Austintown, Ohio 44515
(330) 799-2245

Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday at 11 a.m.; Sunday 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

DANNY BOYS ITALIAN EATERY

Any time it takes more than 15 minutes to pick what you want to eat at a restaurant - and hear other diners around you asking their servers for more time to decide - you know you've hit the menu mother lode. That's exactly what happened the first time my husband Jack and I visited Danny Boys in Boardman.

Truth is, we found it by accident; exiting Mill Creek Park on state Route 224, we crossed to the south side of the road to take a peek in another restaurant we'd planned to review at some point. Then, Jack noticed Danny Boys, a place almost next door he'd never seen before. Since we also were trying to kill 15 minutes or so before the YM Camera store just up the road opened (it was a Sunday, and the store doesn't open till 12:30 p.m.), Jack drove over to Danny Boys for a closer look.

He liked what he saw; so after we stopped at the camera shop and he'd purchased a new neck strap for one of his cameras, he suggested having lunch at Danny Boys even though we'd intended to head straight back home. Never one to turn down an invitation to eat out, I quickly agreed.

As it turns out, there's a good reason we hadn't noticed the place before; as of mid-November, it had been open just four months, our friendly server responded to my question. And, it's a chain; based in Rocky River, Ohio, since 1991, there are other locations in Canton, Chesterland and Sandusky. Along the way have come a number of culinary kudos, the most recent of which (at this writing) are a "Top 10 Best Pizzas" award from Cleveland Magazine and "Best Pizza 2010" from WKYC Channel 3 and Metromix.

As the name implies, this place specializes in Italian food with emphasis on pizza. Catering is available as well, and Danny Boys says that depending on menu choices, the cost per person usually ranges from $6 to $9 and dinners and salads can feed two to three people per portion - not bad if you're hankering to host a party.

First, though, a bit about decor; just about everything here is related to Ol' Blue Eyes. Not only are the walls decorated with old photos, playbills and such; menu items are called "Chairman of the Board," "Lady is a Tramp" and even "Hammy Davis Jr." And most of the soft background music is by - you guessed it - Frank himself.

The number of choices in each category on the menu, from appetizers to sandwiches and calzones to pasta entrees, is impressive (we had a sample menu to peruse before our first visit and even then we had a tough time deciding). As I mentioned before, lmost everything here has an Italian flavor, but the primary emphasis is on that award-winning pizza.

You can, of course, build your own; in fact, that's what Jack did, ordering the basic one-item 10-inch pie for $9.99 and adding pepperoni, mushrooms and green peppers to bring the total cost to $13.99. Not in the mood for pizza, I finally decided on the Grilled Classic Club Croissant ($7.99) - sliced ham, turkey, bacon and melted pizza cheese with lettuce, tomato and pesto ranch dressing. It comes with mildly flavored kettle-style chips, but diners can substitute a variety of fries, like the Cajun flavored I tried, for just $1.

Jack really liked the pizza, which had the "regular" thickness of crust as opposed to a few thin-crusts on the menu and the Chicago-style deep dish (both of which we plan on trying sometime down the road). The pizza sauce is very tasty and definitely a cut above other places, so it's easy to see why it's garnered some awards along the way.

My sandwich was absolutely fantastic, and although I really wanted to scarf down the whole thing, the size prevented that from happening and I took nearly half of it home. Those Cajun fries, BTW, are well worth the extra buck.

I should mention that presentation is big here, too; the food is delivered on large red plates with the food in the center and the rims dusted with sprinkle cheese. Very nice! And for another interesting touch, there's a deck of cards on each table so you can play a few hands while you wait.

Needless to say, we shared our great find with a few other folks who promised to keep my upcoming review a secret till publication day, so it came as no surprise when our friends Jerry and Barb said they'd love to try it too. Although we'd warned them about that menu - and showed them a copy while we drove to the restaurant - once again we had to ask for extra time to decide.

This time, it was I who opted for pizza, but I strayed from the traditional and picked one of the new, and intriguing, thin crust pies - this one Cabo Shrimp and Taco, made with lime cilantro olive oil, three-cheese blend, cilantro, chopped red and yellow peppers, black olives, chipotle shrimp, chopped lettuce and cilantro ranch dressing ($9.99). Although our goal is to try four different things to share, the pizza I chose sounded so great that Barb decided to give it a try, too.

Both of us ordered appetizers to pass around as well; Barb's choice was a half-order of the Bada Bing Buffalo Chips ($3.99), those crunchy kettle chips drizzled with mild buffalo sauce and topped with crumbled bleu cheese and a little pizza cheese. I just couldn't pass up the Italian Pigs in a Blanket ($5.99). The chips were quite good, although the add-ins didn't seem to add a whole lot of additional flavor. But my pigs in a blanket? Oh my.

The appetizer consists of two Italian sausage links, each wrapped in a baked crescent roll; cutting each in half to share among the four of us gave us a good taste but also left us wanting more. The sausage, which tasted homemade, was absolutely mouth-watering. Next time, I promised myself, I'd look for something else made with that sausage. And looking at the menu back home, I think I've found it: The Abe Froman "Sausage King of Chicago" sub made with these links, sauteed onions and green peppers and warm pizza sauce covered with melted pizza cheese ($8.99).

Meanwhile, the guys simply rode our coattails on the appetizer thing, heading straight for the main course. Jack's choice was a New Jersey Chicken "Woogie" melt, with Ricotta cheese, grilled chicken, pepperoni, tomatoes, basil, romano and pizza cheese drizzled with house Italian dressing and marinara sauce on the side ($8.99). Jerry finally settled on a Steak & Cheese Ciabatta ($7.99), a grilled beef brisket, mushrooms, hot peppers and pizza cheese topped with tomatoes, onion and Italian pub cheese sauce.

Jack deemed his Woogie Melt delicious and said he wouldn't hesitate to order it again. Jerry was a bit less enthusiastic, noting that his ciabatta was quite good but not "exceptional." As for the thin-crust pizza, the jury's still out.

That's not because it wasn't delicious; it was, and the lime flavor came through loud and clear. But it was extremely rich, so neither of us could eat more than a couple of slices. We also noticed that the thin crust was starting to get soggy by the time we'd downed our two slices (most likely, the thin sauce was contributing to that phenomenon). At any rate, we spent some time trying to decide how best to reheat it back at home. Microwaving pizza is never a good option, and certainly not when the crust is already soggy.

Barb said she planned to scrape off all the topping and refrigerate it, then re-baking the crust in the oven till crispy again, nuking the good stuff and then adding it to the crust. I figured I'd leave mine intact but bake it at a fairly high temperature in the oven in the hopes of crisping up that crust.

In the end, we did neither; an e-mail from Barb told me she'd taken a bite right from the fridge and it was quite good; ironically, I'd been about to head to the kitchen and do exactly that - so I followed suit and agree it tasted almost as good cold as it did when it was hot.

If you go: Danny Boys Italian Eatery
1315 Boardman-Canfield Road
Youngstown, Ohio 44512
(330) 726-3726

www.dannyboyspizza.com

SPAGHETTI WAREHOUSE

Visiting friends who live just north of Columbus, Ohio, has been a treat for my husband Jack and I for the past couple of decades. Those friends, in fact, introduced us to another treat: the Spaghetti Warehouse. The restaurant opened there in 1978, in the former Crystal Ice Manufacturing and Cold Storage Building (warehouse, get it)? That plant closed in 1965 and remained vacant until Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurants Inc. of Irving, Texas, decided to renovate the place and open up shop.

For years, we looked for a location not quite so far away; for a time, there was one in Cleveland, but even that was a bit too far to go unless we had another reason to visit the city, and by the time that happened, the place was closed. What we didn't realize - at least until our son and daughter-in-law, who invited us to join them for lunch one fine day, mentioned the place as a possibility - is that there's a Spaghetti Warehouse in Akron. Oh wow, we said - when did that happen?

A little research on the company's website told me it happened in 1993 - and now we're kicking ourselves for missing several years of opportunity to enjoy the wonderful Italian food lo these many years. This location is historic as well - the building once was the B.F. Goodrich Building #33 and was closed in the 1980s.

For the record, Spaghetti Warehouse now has restaurants in Akron Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Pittsburgh plus a presence in New York, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas (where it all began in 1972) and Florida.

The decor at both the locations we've visited is interesting, fun and always incorporates artifacts from the original buildings - the Akron restaurant, for instance, features one of the few remaining Akron Railway cars that transported people up and down Main Street. There are lots of goodies hanging from the ceiling, and everywhere you look you'll find signs, memorabilia and intriguing items that demand a closer look.

But it's the food that stirs up our cravings to return. If you love Italian, we think you'll love it too.

I must say the traditional red sauce here seems to have changed a bit from our old-time visits to Columbus. I've said many times over that my favorite spaghetti sauce comes from Sunrise Inn in Warren. My second favorite was from Spaghetti Warehouse; it was thick, sweet, what I'd deem to be "Old World" style and absolutely mouth-watering.

What we got in Akron wasn't quite what I remembered (truth is, neither was it the same last time we were at the Columbus restaurant perhaps a couple of years ago). Today, it's thinner and much less distinctive, but that's certainly not to say I don't like it.

Our party of five -- the two of us, our son and daughter-in-law and her mother -- had reservations, but there was plenty of seating available so we wouldn't have needed one. Interestingly, we sat at a large cage-like table with booth seating that was situated directly under a huge mirror (that's it on the left); if we looked up, we could watch ourselves eat! Needless to say, it made for some neat photos.

The menu is quite extensive, starting with tempting appetizers like stuffed mushrooms, calamari, fried zucchini and garlic cheese bread. Soups and salads are available too; wedding soup is always a favorite of mine ($4.49), and the beer chili -- beef, chilies and beer simmered together served with cheddar cheese and onions -- sounded yummy too (also $4.49). But our appetites weren't exactly on high alert at lunch time, so we passed this time around and headed straight for the entrees.

And oh my, what a wealth of choices greeted us. Those who don't care for red sauce might consider Wild Mushrooms Chicken Pasta or Roasted Garlic Shrimp. Those who do might opt for the 15-Layer Lasagne, Chicken Florentine ($12.49) or Chicken Bowtie Milano (grilled chicken, spinach, mushrooms, artichokes and bowtie pasta in creamy marinara cream sauce, $11.99) - these prices reflect the dinner menu, by the way.

That 15-layer lasagne, I should note, is hand-made daily, and the stack includes meat sauce, Italian pork sausage, ground beef and Romano, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses topped with extra sauce ($11.49).

In the end, three of us stuck with fairly basic spaghetti dishes; our son picked the one with two meatballs and tomato sauce, asking for it on angel hair pasta ($9.99). My choice had no meatball, but the meat sauce was house-made with beef and pork, onions, garlic, Romano cheese, olive oil, tomatoes, beef stock and seasonings (also $9.99). I also asked for the "spicy" version.

Jack's choice was Spaghetti & Mushrooms, which consisted of tomato sauce topped with cremini and button mushrooms sauteed with onions, sherry and garlic butter ($8.29). The other two ladies in the group picked Chicken Tettrazini, or grilled chicken over spaghetti with sauteed mushrooms and Romano cheese in cream sauce ($9.99) and Grilled Chicken Alfredo, a breast served over fettuccini with creamy Alfredo sauce ($9.29).

Our son did point out that there's no pesto sauce of any kind on the menu, which came as a bit of a surprise at an Italian restaurant. No surprise, though, was that we were all delighted with our choices, passing our plates around so we could try everything. As far as I'm concerned, I'd be quite happy with any one of them - and I think the others came to the same conclusion. If I had a complaint, it was that their idea of spicy certainly doesn't match mine (either that or my request was overlooked totally). There wasn't even a hint of extra heat.

Since we'd passed on appetizers and weren't in any hurry to go anywhere else, all but one of us went wild and crazy with dessert. Here, too, our son noted the lack of espresso - something he loves after dinner and certainly expected to find here. Similarly, Jack loves spumonte but it's hardly ever available at other Italian restaurants. Happily, though, it's here; a sundae at $2.99 tasted like heaven. I decided on lemon cream cake ($4.99), white cake with a tangy lemon cream filling served with strawberry and mango puree (talk about heaven)!

Another favorite was the 12-layer chocolate cake for $6.29, which turned out to be an absolutely gigantic chuck with cake and chocolate mousse layers with vanilla ice cream and a drizzling of chocolate sauce and chopped pecans. Our son tried the Warehouse Tiramisu ($4.99), noting that it was more "elaborate" than he'd expected. It was quite good, but he said he still prefers the more traditional version. I'm not a Tiramisu fan, but I tried a bite and liked it a lot.

Back home, I signed up for the Spaghetti Warehouse e-mail club so I can get discount coupons, news and other good stuff. And yes, we're already planning another family get-together - in fact, it may have taken place by the time you read this!

If you go:
The Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurant
510 S. Main St.
Akron, OH 44311
(330) 374-0025
http://www.meatballs.com

Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

DAS DUTCH HAUS RESTAURANT & BAKERY

In years past when we didn't have to choose between buying a winter coat and filling up the gas tank, my husband Jack and I loved to venture south to Columbiana County to take in the beautiful countryside, perhaps stopping at a couple of antique shops in Columbiana or heading on down to get some photos in the scenic Beaver Creek State Park. On the way home, we enjoyed stopping for a meal, often at the wonderful Das Dutch Haus Restaurant & Bakery in Columbiana.

These days, I'm sad to say, forays that require gasing up the car have become few and far between, as have impromptu stops for shopping or a meal. But now and again, we still get the urge to hit the road, as we did recently when we traveled down State Route 11 all the way to East Liverpool, stopping at Broadway Wharf for photos along the Ohio River and at the Lou Holz Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame downtown.

And would you believe that on the way home, our old-but-still good Pontiac Vibe just seemed to nose into the parking lot at the Das Dutch Haus complex? This is, I should note, way more than just a restaurant; you can spend the night at Das Dutch Village Inn, where the 51 rooms and suites are furnished in a variety of styles such as Shaker, Colonial and Victorian. You can browse unique merchandise like cheese, books and hand-crafted items in the Das Dutch Village Shops as well.

But the main attraction here, at least for me, is the restaurant. The main dining area can accomodate 450, and even then the lines can be a bit long during peak dining hours. As soon as you open the door, the smell of fresh-baked bread, pies, cakes and other goodies tantalizes your senses. Then, you see why; to the right, rack after rack of these delights stand ready for take-out. Look left, and you'll see an expansive area filled with items that make wonderful gifts (a great place to explore after your stomach is full).

Since our visits tend to be at off hours - most recently, we got there around 2:30 p.m. - we're usually seated immediately. The decor is decidedly Dutch, with lots of wood, flowers and Old World wall hangings. Large tables can accommodate bigger groups, and dinners can be served family style (all you can eat chuck roast, chicken and all the trimmings including the salad bar for $14.75 per adult).

Specials - including pies of the day - are posted on boards in each section of the restaurant. Shortly after you're seated, a server asks for your drink order (no alcohol here, by the way) and then brings a basket of fresh-baked bread.

The down-home menu is extensive, and dinner entrees range from creamed chicken on a homemade biscuit to smoked sausage to Swiss steak (all $11.25) and a couple of fish dinners priced slightly higher. For lunch, hot sandwiches like beef, pork and turkey are especially tempting, as are old favorites like the Dutch Boy Ham & Swiss Cheese served with horseradish sauce on a homemade bun ($5.25).

On our "official" visit, we both opted for one of the daily specials; Jack ordered a sloppy joe with potato chips and cole slaw and I picked baked chicken, which came with two sides. I knew I wanted mashed potatoes and gravy, but I wasn't sure about the other one. Noticing the baked squash with brown sugar-walnut crumb topping, I asked our server, who told me it's delicious. So, squash it was.

There's not much to say about Jack's sloppy joe and slaw except that both disappeared in very short order, a clear indication that it was tasty (and that he was very hungry). Meanwhile, I took one look at the huge mound of squash and figured I'd be a while.

It was quite tasty, too, made special by that crumb topping (I liken the flavor to mashed sweet potatoes). The mashed potatoes somehow didn't quite taste like the real thing, but if they were fake, they were good. The two pieces of chicken weren't very large, but the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and the flavor was wonderful. Next time, I told myself, I'll go for the same thing only the dinner-size entree.

Although our stomachs were full after polishing off our main meals, we made sure to leave room for dessert - and I urge you to do the same. The pies here are hard to beat - Jack tried the sugar-free apple - and I usually go for an apple dumpling ($3.45 for each). The dumpling comes warmed, and our server asked if Jack wanted his pie that way (he did). I decided to add vanilla ice cream, too, which costs $1.25 but really makes the dumpling special.

After we finished, we virtually waddled out of the restaurant section to browse the gift shop and bakery. The special-occasion cakes caught my eye - one very large cake was shaped and decorated like a fabulous castle. Other display cases contain the restaurant's homemade soups, potato salad, ham loaf and more as well as those wonderful whole pies, cakes, breads and doughnuts.

This time out, we resisted buying anything to take home (mostly, I suspect, because our stomachs were so full we figured we wouldn't want to eat anything else till at least the next day). That's a decision we'd come to regret once we got back home, though, so for sure next time we go we won't make that mistake again!

If you go: Das Dutch Haus Restaurant & Bakery
14895 South Ave. Extension
Columbiana, Ohio 44408
(330) 482-2236

www.dasdutchvillage.com

Open Monday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Sundays.

ELEPHANT & CASTLE PUB AND RESTAURANT

If you think the name of this restaurant is intriguing, you're not alone. Every time my husband Jack and I go shopping at the Grove City Premium Outlets near Grove City, Pa., we drive by one of the 20-something locations, always saying, "That place looks really interesting. We've got to have lunch there someday!"

Not long ago, that someday arrived -- and we've added it to our list of favorite places to eat when we're over that way.

In the interests of full disclosure, though, I must tell you that the corporate owner, Elephant & Castle Group Inc., of Boston, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 5. That said, officials say no restaurant closings are expected, and you'll find locations across the United States and Canada from Toronto to Boston to Chicago to San Diego and San Francisco.

Update March 1, 2012: The Elephant & Castle Group Inc. has sold substantially all of its assets (19 locations) to Original Joe’s Acquisition Corp. for $22.75 million. All locations and "substantially all" employees will be retained, officials said.

Of course, it's the name that's most intriguing about this place, so let me give you a condensed version from a company-provided brochure. As legend has it, there once was a fair maiden who lived in the French province of Castile. Her parents wanted to marry her off to a rich English prince. Because English nobles often spoke French as well as English, the daughter became known as L'Enfant de Castile (the child of Castile).

Then, a London innkeeper decided to name his place after her; but the Cockneys had a bit of trouble with pronunciation and the pub became known as Elephant and Castle. Even today, an inn of that name is located across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament.

I will note, however, that as soon as I posted the blog, I heard from someone who's a U.K. citizen informing me that this version is a common misconception but not the true story. Not wanting to get in the middle of an elephant tussle, I'll share the link I received and let readers draw their own conclusions: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ele1.htm

However the name came to be, fast-forward to 1977, when twin brothers Paul and Jeffery Barnett and their associate George Pitman opened the first Elephant & Castle in Vancouver. I have no idea where the Grove City pub stands on the development timeline, but I do know I'm glad we found it.

We stopped for lunch around 12:30 on a Tuesday afternoon after a relatively quick stop at the mall to check out our favorite Bass, Van Heusen and Izod stores as well as look for a new pair of walking shoes for me at the Nike store (no luck on the latter; the most I'm willing to spring for a pair is about 40 bucks, and among the less-than-a-handful I found on sale at that price, I found nothing I'd ever willingly put on my feet).

The restaurant has a look and feel similar to others of its ilk -- among them Applebee's, TGI Friday's and Ruby Tuesday -- but the abundant glass, dark wood, old books and ale tankards and the like do give it an atmosphere somewhat like I'd expect at a pub in Merry Olde England. There's an extensive beer list with plenty of specials; on this day, one of the best deals was $2 pints of Coors Light, of which we happily partook.

I'll also alert you that it's a great place to go on your birthday; just show your ID and you'll get a percentage discount on your meal that's equal to your age. Next March, trust me, I plan to be there with bells on -- and clean house with my 71% off! We'll follow that up in June for Jack, who'll get an even bigger 72% discount.

Since this was our lunch, we zeroed in on somewhat lighter fare; sandwiches come with a house or Caesar salad, pub chips or soup. Jack chose a salad, asking for the homemade viniagrette. I opted for soup, with three choices: The cream of broccoli soup of the day, onion soup or chicken and leek (it was the latter for me).

The soup and salad were delivered almost immediately, and Jack said the dressing was very creamy and flavorful. He was less enthusiastic about the salad, since it was filled with all different kinds of greens he claims make him think he's eating the front yard. Never mind, I said, eager to polish off what he left.

The soup had a thin chicken-flavored broth with lots of celery, leeks, small chicken chunks and other greens. It tasted great, and I discovered that the delicious salad croutons (terrific flavor and not so crisp that they threaten to break your teeth) made an excellent addition to my soup as well.

For our entrees, Jack picked the Loaded Beef Dip ($8.99), with caramelized mushrooms, jack cheese and au jus for dipping. My choice was the bruschetta chicken sandwich ($8.69), a chicken breast topped with jack cheese and bruschetta tomatoes on a rosemary Focaccia bun with pesto mayonnaise.

Jack really loved his sandwich, although he did find it a bit hard to dip it into the small cup of au jus -- it was quite funny watching him bite it in very strange ways just to get it to fit. My sandwich was delicious as well, with finely chopped, flavored bruschetta tomatoes. The chicken breast didn't even come close to filling the bun, although it was fairly thick. If I'd been the cook, I'd have simply pounded it thinner to stretch it out (and it would cook faster as well). I do admit, though, the bun was quite large to begin with -- and that rosemary flavor came through loud and clear.

By the way, the website serves up a wealth of information, including current promotions, special features (see the link below). For fall, I've got my eye on the sausage sampler, a grilled bratwurst and British banger with a hot pretzel, beer mustard and braised red cabbage for $8. Or, the grilled bratwurst -- two char-grilled German-style sausages with wine braised red cabbage onion gravy and garlic mashed potatoes ($11.50) sounds like a wonderful alternative. For dessert? My mouth is watering at the thought of a Stout poached pear ($6.50), served with stout syrup and vanilla ice cream.

Much of the food, understandably, has a strong British flavor; the menu can vary slightly from location to location, though, so it's a good idea to check the website for the menu specific to the location you plan to visit. I should also note that in case you want to spend the evening sampling the beers and ales, you can spend the night as well; the Grove City location offers 12 air-conditioned rooms with cable and Internet connections, a continental breakfast and 10% off on restaurant meals for overnight guests.

If you go: The Elephant & Castle Pub and Restaurant
1923 Leesburg-Grove City Road
Grove City, Pa. 16127
(724) 748-1010
www.elephantcastle.com

Open 11 a.m. to midnight Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

DINO'S RESTAURANT

Dino's Restaurant is celebrating 31 years in business this year, and that's quite an accomplishment for any eatery these days. But would you believe it took a dining-out disaster to get us here for the first - but definitely not last - time?

On a cool but beautiful Saturday afternoon in mid-September, our son Scott and his wife Lilla invited my husband Jack and me to join them at at a local winery near Berlin Center, which was hosting a clambake catered by a local restaurant. The occasion was to celebrate the birthday of our daughter-in-law's brother, who was visiting from London. Also along for the fun was their mother, Sheila, who's been living in South Africa but is here now. Told to arrive about an hour prior to our reserved time to get a good seat for the clambake, we cheerfully obeyed - and proceeded to drop more than $100 on tasting trays, glasses and pitchers of wine and bottles to take home as we waited for our appointed serving time.

To our dismay, the "reserved" time turned into "just 15 more minutes," then 15 more, and then another 15. The winery folks blamed the caterer, and the caterer blamed an equipment malfunction. The bottom line is that nearly an hour after the time we were to eat, we were so frustrated (not to mention starving since none of us had eaten lunch to save up for the big dinner) that we demanded a refund ($28 times six, by the way) and left.

Long story short, we still had our hunger to deal with and a birthday to finish celebrating. But since we live about an hour away from our son - us to the east and he to the west - we wanted to find someplace in the middle so neither of us had to backtrack very far. But where?

Suddenly, Jack remembered Dino's Restaurant in North Jackson at the corner of Mahoning Avenue and State Route 45. As soon as he mentioned it, I recalled that a friend -- I believe it was Mike Costarella, who, among other things, hosts "Another Valley View" on AM 1540 WYCL each week -- had recommended it to me. So, Dino's it was.

Admittedly, we had a few doubts. First, it's located in a small plaza, certainly isn't "fancy" and we figured we wouldn't be able to get a beer to wash down our food even if it was good. Well, I'm here to tell you, we were dead wrong. No, it's not fancy; but alcohol is served here, and the food -- well, let's just say it was so good that Jack and I returned for lunch the very next day (more on that later, of course)!

We arrived about a quarter to six on a Saturday night, and despite a decent crowd, we were seated immediately at a large round table. It took a while to settle on what we wanted to eat since the menu is fairly extensive - and our choices were all over the map. The first thing I noticed is that they have pierogies, both batter-fried as an appetizer and "regular" with butter and onions. Our son Scott ordered the fried version as his meal, and he definitely wasn't disappointed (quite a nice feeling after our clambake fiasco, I hasten to add).

Jack zeroed in on linguine with clam sauce ($7.99), ordering it with red sauce instead of white. As it turned out, he got the white sauce by accident, but he said it was absolutely delicious and, instead of complaining, downed the whole thing while vowing to try the white next time. Lilla's brother Iain chose the veal parmesan, her mother picked the seafood trio appetizer of shrimp, clams and a crabcake ($6.99) while my choice was baked haddock ($8.49). For my sides, I paid a bit extra to have wedding soup and pierogies (the ones with butter and onions).

The fish turned out to be one of the tastiest portions I've had inland, and both the soup and pierogies were delicious as well. Admittedly I was too busy chatting with everyone that I didn't do a lot of writing, including getting prices on several of the items -- but the fact that most of the chatting came to an abrupt halt when the food arrived and didn't start up again till dessert is a good indication that everyone was quite satisfied.

Speaking of dessert, Wow! says it best. Most of us were too full to even think about a slice of pie, an apple dumpling or even a sundae, but then we spotted the stuffed elephant ear ($4.99), filled with vanilla ice cream and either apples or cherries (our choice) and topped with whipped cream. We ordered just one with four spoons, and there was plenty to go around. The elephant ear was huge -- and delectably warm -- and the ice cream, cherries and whipped cream sort of melted into it (melting with it all the calories, of course). Oh my!

A couple of us had beer or wine and the rest soft drinks, but perhaps the biggest and best surprise came at the end of the meal: The total bill for the six of us was just over $77 -- quite a noticeable difference from the $168 we'd have paid for the clambake, and everything was wonderfully tasty and delivered as promised.

The next day, Jack and I had hoped to stop at White House Fruit Farm near Canfield for the annual fall craft fair. But when we discovered the traffic was creeping along just to get to the entrance and the parking lots looked to be overflowing, we kept right on going. It would have been fun, but fighting big crowds just isn't something we have any interest in doing these days. We headed down a bit to Salem, and after cruising through the downtown and a few of that city's beautiful streets, we found ourselves back on State Route 45 to head home again.

And as luck would have it, it was somewhere around lunch time. Since we were on the right road, it took Jack about two minutes to come up with the possibility of stopping at Dino's for lunch -- and about two seconds more for me to say that's a great idea! This time, we agreed, we'll try a few new things.

We also looked around a bit more; this isn't a really large place, but there are plenty of large and small tables and booths along the walls. The decor is mostly wood, with Italian-style wall hangings in recessed areas. There's a banquet room to accommodate larger crowds as well and a small outdoor patio when the weather is cooperative. Specials are available each day, and I was tempted by several varieties of fried chicken (three pieces with a side of slaw is just $5.99). For future reference, we also noted that domestic beers are $1 on Wednesdays.

The Sunday entrees included prime rib for $12.99, but I wasn't quite that hungry. Instead, I opted for cavatelli chicken and greens with garlic broccolini sauce for $10.99. Jack had a tough time choosing as well, but he finally settled on pot roast with mashed potatoes, gravy and slaw for $7.99.

For starters, our server brought a basket of four very large (and still warm) rolls with my salad and Jack's slaw. Better still, the rolls were accompanied by plenty of butter pats. One of my big pet peeves is that most restaurants aren't stingy with the bread and rolls, but they really skimp on the butter and/or margarine. Admittedly, I tend to use more than many people do, but one or two of those tiny packets don't even begin to cover half a dozen pieces of bread and it's not always easy to catch a server's attention when I want more.

My chicken dish was served in a large oval bowl, and the sauce tasted fabulous. The grilled chicken pieces perhaps could have been more tender - pieces that small tend to cook up fast and get tough even faster. But the flavor was wonderful -- absolutely loved the homemade greens -- and I had plenty left to take home.

No such luck for Jack, since he scarfed down every single bite of what he called delicious pot roast (I sampled a bit of the gravy and agree with his assessment). Once again, we left satisfied -- proving that our initial experience was no fluke. Already, we've added Dino's to our list of places we love and will return to any time we're in the neighborhood (ah, I'll rephrase that: It's one we're willing to go out of our way to visit)!

If you go:

Dino's Restaurant

9245 Mahoning Ave.

North Jackson, Ohio

(330) 538-2263

Open Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.